lily putts

Notes:

• On this Halloween weekend, horror fans flocked to Lionsgate's seventh and final chapter in its lucrative slasher franchise, as Saw 3D earned an estimated $24.2 million.
• Saw 3D boasted more than 2,100 3D locations among 2,808 total engagements -- with 3D venues contributing 92% of its weekend gross.
• The solid tally for Saw 3D was still well short of a franchise record -- in fact, it had the third lowest opening in the series. Saw III bowed with a series-best $33.6 million in 2006 on the way to $80.3 million in U.S. and Canadian coin. The franchise's top domestic run came a year earlier, when Saw II fetched $87 million following a $31 million opening. But this year was a step up from last, when Saw VI opened with a disappointing $14.1 million and rang up only $27.9 million overall domestically.
• Last weekend's champion, Paranormal Activity 2, slipped to #2 with $16.5 million -- taking the 10-day haul for Paramount Pictures' scary movie sequel to $65.7 million.
• On an industry-wide basis, the weekend was strong. Top 10 finishers rung up a collective $83.8 million, or 13% more than top performers in the same frame last year.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures will be released on Monday.
• Reviews of Red, Hereafter, The Social Network, The Town, Conviction and other movies not in the top 10 can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• Sources: Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
  

I am often so tempted to pull-over the car and whip out the pair of scissors I keep in my glove box and cut flowers from bushes on the roadside. Today I did just that. I was driving over to pick up Harry from sailing and I saw these big bright beautiful pink flowers on a huge bush on the side of the road. I did a u-turn, stopped and cut a few. They have very prickly stems so I had to use the paper bag in the door pocket which was left-over from Harry's sausage roll this morning to handle them. Although they have dropped a little bit since arriving home, I do think they look pretty in the aqua vase I put them in on our fireplace mantel. It's amazing what beauty you can discover without even spending a cent.

I love seeing where bits and pieces from our shop end up. Here's a picture above of one of our vintage French chairs, which we covered in a suzani, in the kitchen of a lovely customer and blogger, Jenny from My Pink Door...I think it looks great in her kitchen/dining area with the fantastic black and white floor and the other mismatched chairs.

Halloween is this Sunday -- and most of the big networks (except CBS) are getting in on the fun. Here is the schedule of animated specials celebrating the holiday.


Thursday, October 28

8pm ET on ABC --

It's the Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown

• The third prime time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.
• Debuted on CBS on October 27, 1966 -- following the CBS premieres of A Charlie Brown Christmas (December 9, 1965) and Charlie Brown's All-Stars (June 8, 1966).
• It just never gets old watching poor Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for The Great Pumpkin! And hearing Charlie Brown's repeated infamous line while trick-or-treating!
  
• Stick around to watch Linus run for office in You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown -- which originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1972.

• All-new special featuring film star, Shrek -- the second spin-off from the movie series which started in 2001 (the Christmas special Shrek the Halls debuted on ABC on November 28, 2007).
• Halloween is Shrek's favorite holiday, and this year he’s planning a night of frights -- as he challenges Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots and the other fairy tale characters to spend the night in Lord Farquaad’s haunted castle telling scary stories. The last one to be scared "Shrekless" will win.

• ABC is re-airing the classic one night later -- with You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown following once again at 8:30pm ET.

• NBC kicks off the night by repeating the new Shrek special.
• Next up is the new-ish special starring the cast of the 2009 hit film, Monsters vs. Aliens.
• The Monsters vs. Aliens special premiered on NBC on October 28, 2009.
• Susan (aka Ginormica) and the Monsters must stop mutant aliens disguised as innocent-looking Halloween jack-o-lanterns from implementing their fiendish plan to take over Earth.
  

• Due to the MLB World Series, the annual Simpsons Halloween special is delayed a week.
• It's the 22nd season of The Simpsons -- and even if you no longer watch, you have to tune in for the annual Halloween special!
• The 21st "Treehouse of Horror" episode -- like the others before -- will consist of three self-contained segments. Guest stars include Hugh Laurie and Daniel Radcliffe.
• Tale #1 -- "War and Pieces" -- Marge, worried about the effects of excessively violent video games, encourages Bart and Milhouse to give wholesome, classic board games a shot. The best friends discover that board games are not boring after all when they find themselves playing a real-life game in which they must beat all the challenges before they are allowed to return to home. Think Jumanji!
• Tale #2 -- "Tweenlight" -- Twilight fans are in for a real treat as Lisa becomes smitten with a mysterious new student, Edmund (Daniel Radcliffe), who also happens to be a vampire. When a romance blossoms, the young lovers run away to Dracula-la Land, leaving Homer to come to Lisa's rescue.
• Tale #3 -- "Master and Cadaver" -- Homer and Marge set sail on a romantic second honeymoon, but are interrupted when they rescue Roger (Hugh Laurie), a castaway who escaped an attempted poisoning on his ship. Convinced that Roger is sabotaging their getaway and plotting a murder of his own, Homer and Marge take matters into their own hands.

Notes:

• Doing better than experts predicted, Paramount's Paranormal Activity 2 topped the domestic box office this weekend with an estimated $41.5 million -- the best debut ever by a horror film.
• Paranormal Activity 2 opened in 3,216 locations and earned more during its first weekend than its predecessor rang up in its first four weeks. The prequel also wiped from the record books a $40.6 million bow by 2009 horror pic Friday the 13th.
• The original Paranormal Activity opened in September 2009 with $77,873 from just 12 theaters, part of a low-profile launch prior to the micro-budgeted original's wide expansion. A year ago this past weekend, the film topped domestic rankings with a $21 million session en route to an eventual $107.9 million domestic haul.
• Paramount also had the #2 movie with the stunt comedy Jackass 3D, which opened in first place last weekend. Jackass 3D pulled in $21.6 million, down sharply from its $50 million opening. But the movie raised its 10-day total to $87.1 million, more than either of the earlier two "Jackass" movies took in during their entire runs.
• After opening Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon's Hereafter in limited release a week earlier, Warner Bros. expanded the supernatural drama nationwide, and the film came in at #4 with $12 million. That slightly exceeded the studio's expectations, yet like most Eastwood dramas, it was a modest start. His films play to older adults who do not rush out on opening weekend in the same numbers as young crowds.
• Year-to-date revenues are at $8.65 billion at the end of the weekend and are running 3.36% ahead of last year (thanks to higher ticket prices). Attendance is still lagging by 2.15%. Fall-to-date box office tells a somewhat depressing story with revenues off by 6% vs. last year and attendance running 11% behind last season.
  
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures will be released on Monday.
• Reviews of Hereafter, Red, The Social Network, The Town and other movies not in the top 10 can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• Sources: Hollywood.com, Reuters, AP
  

Hereafter

Invictus director Clint Eastwood and star Matt Damon re-team in the new drama, Hereafter. The film tells separate parallel stories about three individuals greatly affected by struggles with mortality -- and their beliefs in the afterlife. Damon plays American factory worker George, who is able to communicate with the dead, but finds it a curse rather than a gift. In another story, Cécile de France plays French television journalist Marie, who is haunted by her near-death experience after barely surviving the 2004 tsunami. Finally, newcomers Frankie and George McLaren play Marcus, a London boy who loses the person closest to him -- leaving him extremely lonely and longing for answers. As has been done in previous films in this style (yep, no longer original), all three stories and characters eventually converge.

The film has an extremely powerful opening showcasing Marie's survival. The special effects will pull you right into that horrific tsunami -- and the story. However, from that point on, the pacing of the film slows down significantly -- and at times, nearly stalls. And although it has a thought-provoking premise, and all three leads deliver strong performances, the conclusion seems a bit hokey and a tad unsatisfying. Still, Eastwood is a master director and the film is beautifully shot. Also stars the radiant Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village) and the miscast Jay Mohr (better suited for comedies). Written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), with original music by Eastwood. It's not as strong as Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby or Gran Torino, but still worth seeing. [Rated PG-13; opens nationwide today]


Grade: B


Notes:

• Conviction opens wider today. Click here to read my review -- and to see an interview with star Sam Rockwell and director Tony Goldwyn.
• Click on the Film Reviews icon at left for more reviews.

In the past week, we lost two TV legends -- actress Barbara Billingsley and actor Tom Bosley. Billingsley, 94, starred as the mom on "Leave it to Beaver" (1957 - 1963) and Bosley, 83, starred as the dad on "Happy Days" (1974 - 1984). Both shows were set in the same time -- the mid-1950s to mid-1960s. A time when almost all the mothers were homemakers, and the fathers always had the right answers. Ah -- a simpler time.

I found it interesting that photos released this week for both stars were quite similar! Check it out. And RIP to them both.


Photo captions/credits:

Right: TV's Cleaver family decorates their first Christmas tree, December 1957. From left, Hugh Beaumont, Jerry Mathers, Billingsley and Tony Dow (compliments of CBS; photo appeared on the Los Angeles Times Website).

Bottom: TV's Cunningham family decorates their first Christmas tree, December 1974. From left, Ron Howard, Bosley, Erin Moran, Randolph Roberts and Marion Ross (compliments of ABC, via Photofest; photo appeared on The New York Times Website)


Note: Although no date (or caption) was given for the "Happy Days" photo -- a keen eye will see that this image has to be 1974. How so? Well look who's in there -- the infamous older brother Chuck! The basketball-playing college student went to practice one day and never came back (during season 2).

The series debuted in January 1974 -- so, this photo has to be from December 1974 -- or season 2 -- which included the show's first Christmas episode. Randolph Roberts was actually the second actor to play the part. Gavan O'Herlihy originated the role in the first season.

• Compliments of People Magazine and iTunes comes a 10-track country sampler here. Artists (left) include The Charlie Daniels Band and Chelsea Field. Offer expires November 15.


• The CMJ Music Marathon first started in 1980 with a modest amount of artists taking part in week-long festivities. The New York festival officially turns 30 this year, and the CMJ will have more than 1,000 artists performing throughout NYC tomorrow through Saturday. Spinner has compiled a list of over 50 free mp3 downloads of artists performing at CMJ 2010 here. And click here to learn more about the music marathon (and the accompanying film festival).


• This year marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martens -- and you can now download the DM50 Album containing all 10 tracks that helped the company celebrate its milestone. Plus, they continually offer other free songs from a variety of artists. Click here for the current selections.


• Download Far East Movement's single "Don't Look Now" (featuring Keri Hilson) on iTunes here.
  
  

Want more free downloads? Well, don't forget to continually check the following sources -- new songs covering all genres are added frequently. Just click on the links below and enjoy some new tunes.

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon singles
  
• Amazon albums
• The BoomBox
• eMusic
• Fuse.tv
• Guvera
  
• KickKickSnare
• MTV
  
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• VolumeVote
• YNot Radio
  
• Walmart

Notes:

• Jackass 3D, the third installment in a feature series about a crew of thrill junkies, crushed forecasts by selling an estimated $50 million in tickets during its opening weekend. Rather impressive considering the film's budget. Even though it was filmed in 3D -- rather than converted in post-production -- the film cost a modest $19 million to make.
• Industry experts had predicted a $30 million debut for the Paramount Pictures release. If projections hold up when final data are issued on Monday, Jackass 3D will beat 2003's Scary Movie 3 ($48.1 million) to rank as the biggest October opening of all time.
  
• All three Jackass films have now opened at #1. The first film released in 2002 opened with $23 million and finished with $64 million. The 2006 sequel led the field with a $29 million opening, and ended up with $73 million. MTV, which originally aired the "Jackass" TV series between 2000 and 2002, and Paramount are units of Viacom Inc.
• Opening at a distant #2 was Summit Entertainment's Red, a Bruce Willis action drama based on a DC Comics book. It earned $22.5 million, in line with expectations.
• Overall revenues totaled $133 million, down 4 percent from the same weekend last year. So far this year, domestic revenue is at $8.5 billion, 3.2 percent above 2009's record pace. But adding in higher ticket prices, attendance is down 2.3 percent from 2009.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures will be released on Monday.
• Reviews of Red, The Social Network, The Town and other movies not in the top 10 can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• Sources: Hollywood.com, Reuters, AP
  

My weekend has been filled with happiness. Spending time at home with my family is my favourite thing in the world. Yesterday I played with fabrics and tied them onto chairs with bows.



Last night we had some friends over for dinner. It was cold so we lit the fire. I arranged fresh Lillies and leaves from our garden on our coffee table and I lit lots of candles. Candles and flowers make me so happy.

Not only did I arrange flowers from our garden in our house, I cooked roast chicken and used fresh rosemary and tomatoes from our garden. I bundled up a little parcel of rosemary and tomatoes for my friends to take home with them. They absolutely loved it.

This morning I have been sitting in our lounge room with the paper and my bubba listening to my music. The boys are about to have a swim as it's so gorgeous and sunny...still too cold for me though.

Can you believe I just spotted this gladioli flower which has popped up smack bang in the middle of our baron block. We obviously have very fertile soil here.

I collected more November Lillies from my friend Phoebe Stephens yesterday. I am obsessed with them at the moment.

Spring really is starting to shine through today. The blue skies are stunning as is my Jacaranda tree which is just starting to flower...

I'm off to enjoy the rest of this glorious sunny Spring day.

xo

Anna