Matt's Musings

Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week. A Very Murray Christmas Starring : Bill Murray, George Clooney, Paul Shaffer, Michael Cera, Rashida Jones, Amy Poehler, Miley Cyrus, Chris Rock, and Jason Schwartzman Synopsis: When you hear that Sophia Coppola is directing a Christmas movie special with Bill Murray, you can't help but get excited. But I was disappointed by "A Very Murray Christmas," the result of that collaboration that was released on Netflix on Friday. It's only 56 minutes, so a little shorter than a typical feature, but it feels much longer. There's some attempts at humor, and there's plenty of interesting songs, but the story feels forced and a little dry. It's a shame, because there's a ton of talented people in the film and it feels like the kind of thing that should be a home run. Still, it is interesting to see Netflix starting to roll out its original films now (an Adam Sandler one debuts tomorrow). I like Christmas movies...

Week 13 was rough. Here's hoping for better in week 14. Lindsay's picks are in brackets. NFL Week 14: Cardinals over Vikings (Vikings) Panthers over Falcons (Falcons) Bills over Eagles (Eagles) Redskins over Bears (Bears) Bengals over Steelers (Bengals) 49ers over Browns (49ers) Lions over Rams (Lions) Jets over Titans (Jets) Jaguars over Colts (Colts) Chiefs over Chargers (Chiefs) Buccaneers over Saints (Saints) Seahawks over Ravens (Seahawks) Broncos over Raiders (Broncos) Packers over Cowboys (Cowboys) Patriots over Texans (Patriots) Giants over Dolphins (Giants) Last Week : 8-8 Lindsay : 4-12 Season : 118-74 Lindsay : 100-92 Week 14 Spread: Cardinals -7.5 over Vikings Panthers -7.5 over Falcons Bills +.5 over Eagles Redskins +3.5 over Bears Bengals -3.5 over Steelers 49ers +1.5 over Browns Lions +.5 over Rams Titans +7.5 over Jets Jaguars -1.5 over Colts Chiefs -9.5 over Chargers Buccaneers -3.5 over Saints Seahawks -8.5 over Ravens Broncos -7.5 over Raiders Cowboys +7.5 ov...

Today I continue my countdown with my favorite chapter of one of the greatest cinematic sagas in film history. No. 22 - Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, and Peter Mayhew Director:  Irvin Kershner Quote: "Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph! Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless!" - Yoda About : The Force is strong with this film. We are just over a week away from the continuation of this epic tale, so it seems fitting that we've arrived at my favorite of all "Star Wars" films in my countdown. There have...

We are in December, so new shows have slowed to a trickle. But we're also getting previews of what's to come in the new year. In these weekly posts I review the pilot and second episode of new shows. Monday Nights: Telenovela, Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC (Premiers January 4) About : For the second week in a row, NBC is using it's post-"Voice" slot to preview new comedies. Comedy has been a sore spot for the once might Peacock. There are only two sitcoms on this fall, and both look destined for cancellation. But NBC has "Superstore," which got its sneak preview last week, and "Telenovela" ready to debut on January 4. "Telenovela" is set among the cast of a popular telenovela. Eva Longoria plays the lead of the show within the show, a Spanish language TV star who can't speak Spanish. These are the jokes people, lap them up... The rest of the show was a shoulder shrug for me. There was plenty of typical hijinks, and the cast is somew...

Only four games left in the season and the Broncos have a three game lead in the AFC West and currently are in line for the two seed. Anything can happen during this magical run to the post season. Week 13 : Broncos 17, San Diego Chargers 3 Season Record : 10-2 (4-1 home) Key Play : With the Broncos leading 7-0 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, the Chargers faced a third and four from their own 15 yard line. Facing immense pressure, quarterback Phillip Rivers fired a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Danny Trevathan, who returned it for a touchdown to put the Broncos up 14-0. Recap: Brock Osweiler improved to 3-0 as a starter for the Broncos on Sunday, guiding the team to an easy 14-point victory. The fact that neither team scored or looked good in the fourth quarter seems beside the point. Osweiler and the Broncos are doing what they need to do and winning the games they need to win. Osweiler will start again on Sunday at home against the Raiders, and i...

"You root for your favorite, you cry when they get killed. It's sick. No one watches and they don't have a game. It's as simple as that." — Gale, "The Hunger Games" The final installment of "The Hunger Games" has been out for about two weeks, and it brought to a close a story that played out over four films. I loved the first installment of "The Hunger Games," and enjoyed all the movies and the themes they explored. But I felt like the fourth film was a bit of a let down. There are two types of film series. There is the kind where — while all the individual films are good — the whole thing comes together with a crescendo in the final installment. An example of that, for me, is "The Lord of the Rings." I liked each film, but the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts. Then there is another kind of franchise — one where the first installment builds the world and sets the themes, but ends up being the best of the series. T...

So it's Christmas season and that means plenty of holiday movies and specials. For my wife, that began with the Hallmark marathon on Halloween and has continued through the new movies on Saturdays and Sundays since the calendar flipped to November. I don't love Christmas as much as Lindsay, but this season I've been watching at least one movie a week with her. And in this "study" I've come up with some things that I gathered about Christmas from the seemingly endless supply of Hallmark original movies each Christmas. Here's my deep dive: * American women really want to become princesses. It seems like half of these stories are about princes — or kings — from nondescript, English-speaking European countries that fall in love with a feisty American woman and throw off the shackles of arranged marriages to aristocratic women from their own country. Then said American woman leaves her life behind for love in a foreign land. And it always happens around Christm...