A Merry Christmakuh To All & To All A Good Night

This is the first time in my life that I can remember Hanukkah and Christmas falling on the same day. I went to my Aunt Judy's house and we did the Christmas thing (she married someone who isn't Jewish), but we also did the candle/Hanukkah thing, so we essentially celebrated Christmakuh. My cousin Leah cooked, I got to meet my cousin Erin's new boyfriend (who seemed very nice) and my sister came to visit, so all in all it was a fun time. In the last week or so I have been going to the movies quite a bit and I also watched the finale of Nip/Tuck. I pretty much agree with what this guy at TV Guide says (scroll down to Nip/Tuck) about the Nip/Tuck finale. I was a little bit disappointed with the episode, but it was still pretty good. In terms of the movies I saw, I will start with what I saw today, Munich, which was compelling and surprisingly had a few tiny moments of humor thrown in for balance. Eric "I can't believe I once played the Hulk" Bana is incredible in the film and was an inspired casting choice. Munich gives you so many things to think about, like the reasons that the Palestinians might be doing what they are doing that aren't entirely evil, even if their methods are, and whether all of the violence on both sides is wrong because it just keeps the cycle of violence going, etc. Munich is the kind of movie that you think about for days or even weeks after you see it. Most of the reviews have been positive, but I like this one from the NY Times (free reg. req'd) best. I also saw The Family Stone and really enjoyed it. My sister thought it was a bit predictable in terms of how everything ends up and there might be some truth to that, but it didn't seem to matter to me because I enjoyed the acting, the writing and everything about it. Sarah Jessica Parker was great in the movie and I didn't think of Carrie Bradshaw for even one moment. Here is a review of The Family Stone, if you want to read a bit more about it. The one other thing I saw this weekend was Rumor Has It. It was definitely the light and fluffy part of my movie experience these past few days and I know some critics haven't loved it, but I thought it was a fun little romantic comedy and good for what it was aiming to be. One critic who likes Rumor Has It is Roger Ebert. I'm still so curious what it was that the Ted Griffin (the writer and original director) did or didn't do that ended up with him getting fired and Rob Reiner coming on, but I suppose I will never find out the specifics. I love getting out to the movies so much and likely will keep at it in the coming weeks, so I will update the blog when I do.