Let Shannon Dunk

[Shannon Brown, Mr. Go-Go-Gadget Legs]

There are only 18 days left to cast your votes for the NBA All Star Game!  Seeing as Orange County is Lakers Territory, many of you may have heard of a 6'4" game changer with springs for legs named Shannon Brown. Trevor Ariza (R.I.P. - how good is he doing with The Rockets though?) and Shannon Brown were my favorite players last season - well besides Kobe - obviously. Every time they came off the bench they made things happen. They are forces of nature that can change the momentum of a game in the blink of an eye.

Shannon Brown is fast becoming famous, at least around these parts, for his insane dunks. This guy is athletic beyond belief. Three moments stick out in my mind right now as some of the craziest things I've ever seen:

1. When Delonte West of Atlanta got a turnover and was on the fastbreak for a dunk and Shannon Brown chased him down, jumped up so high he could have jumped over the backboard, and blocked the dunk from behind, and clean I might add (I don't care what the refs ended up calling). Click here to see it and make sure to watch for the reactions of Kobe and Trevor and everyone. It's classic.

2. When he tried to block Kyle Lowry (his look a like) in the playoffs last year with this insanely high jump. And...

3. When he dunked (see here) on Chris The Birdman Anderson in the playoffs last year versus Denver. I bet Cleveland and Chicago are kicking themselves now for not keeping this kid around.

In efforts to get Shannon to the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest, LetShannonDunk.com has been erected. You can check out videos from fellow players and announcers encouraging fans to vote as well as a highlight reel of the man himself, although I believe the video doesn't even begin to show the talent of this guy. Which is why I posted the video above. It's longer and includes more goodies. So head over to NBA.com and lets get Shannon to Dallas! And Kobe and Pau and Ron and Lamar too of course. Now if Ron could just heal up and the bench would show up for a few games the Lakers could be on the road to another Larry O'Brien for the trophy case!  Check out my interviews with Ron Artest and Sasha Vujacic if you missed them in print. Ron Artest is one of the funniest people I've interviewed yet. You've got to check them out if you haven't already!

- Amy
on my iPod: Whiskeytown's "Hard Luck Story"

Sherlock Holmes: Movie Review

I always wondered who goes to opening movies on Christmas day.  Don't people have families?  Or holiday functions to go to?  I never understood how standing in line with tons of strangers to sit in a dark room for 2 hours classified as family bonding. Well, I'm here to eat my words.

Since I heard that Guy Richie was directing a movie with Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Mark Strong and Rachel McAdams about one of the greatest fictional characters of all time, I have been dying to see Sherlock Holmes. It opened on  Christmas Day and for the first time in my 23 years on this earth I not only wanted to go to the theatres on Christmas day for opening day of a film, but I convinced the rest of the family that it was a great chance for family bonding. I didn't believe that one bit, but upon leaving the theater we were all laughing and talking and reciting our favorite lines. Low and behold, we were bonding. I must say, however, that I believe that that was mostly owing to the fact that Sherlock Holmes was such a fine film.

It mixed all the great characteristics of the usual Guy Ritchie films like Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels with the epic adventure style of director greats like Spielberg. Imagine Indiana Jones meets Snatch. Sounds amazing doesn't it? Guy Richie's signature was all over the movie, just in a much more polished and large scale manner. You still had the amazing slow motion fighting scenes, at least one Irish folk drinking song, and of course the movie was set in the underworld of London Town with some of the greatest, quirkiest villains I've seen in a Richie film yet (I still think I love Vinnie Jones as Big Chris in Lock Stock best though).

It was really interesting how Robert Downey Jr. played Holmes. Having read the books, I've always seen Sherlock Holmes as a polished, suave, genius with impeccable style, and Watson as the smart but not so intuitive, rotund sidekick. That's how the movies generally portray them too. You can always count on Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr. to shake things up. Downey Jr. plays Holmes as a hard drinking and unkept detective who's so brilliant he's a social cripple, almost on the verge of insanity. And it's amazing! The relationship between Holmes and Watson, played by Jude Law, is just classic. Watson is the intelligent doctor and somewhat unwilling right hand man to Holmes on all of his crazy endeavors. Where the literary duo has been typically portrayed as a sophisticated pair of intellectuals, Downey Jr. and Law play the team off as a bickering pair of best friends, both brilliant and both polar opposites, who fight like brothers and know just how to push each others' buttons. With a duo of such wits and character, hillarity and adventure obviously ensues.

If you haven't seen it yet, you have to! Not one person in my ecclectic family didn't like it. Even our English family friend (who was very wary of an American playing Holmes) laughed all the way through and ended up singing the praises of the film and Robert Downey Jr. It really is a movie for the whole family. If you don't want to take my word for it, check out the trailer below and you'll be a believer. How can you go wrong with Guy Ritchie and such an all star cast? It's elementary my dear Watson.

- Amy
On my iTunes right now: Dashboard Confessional's "Swiss Army Romance." (Takin' it back.)

The Best Christmas Songs Ever: Part Two

PART TWO

Only two days left till Christmas! That's still 72 hours you can jam pack with holiday music! Therefore I present to you the second installment of my completely biased list of the best Christmas songs ever. All of the mall workers are gagging right now. But to all you jaded desk jockeys, numbed to the holiday spirit by the flood of corny Christmas music that has overwhelmed your ears for the last two months, I'm here to bring you the promise of a better tomorrow. A better tomorrow filled with holiday cheer and excellent Christmas music. This list goes deeper into the world of holiday music to find those hidden treasures you won't hear on KOST 103.5. As a rock n' roll kid, I love angsty covers of Christmas classics, so be prepared for a few of those within this list. Enjoy!

1. "A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)," Glasvegas  -  Glasvegas is an amazing band from Glasgow who make some of the best rock n' roll you'll ever hear. It's like punk mixed with rock mixed with that wonderful 50's era sound. It's just good - and B.A. Frontman James Allan reminds me of Morrissey, the way he always has a hint of sorrow in his voice. Which is perfect for this somber Christmas song about how the littlest things can give you hope when you're feeling lost.

[Dustin Kensrue]

2. "Fairytale of New York," Dustin Kensrue  -  This song starts out "It's Christmas Eve babe, in the drunk tank." It's definitely not your typical Christmas song. The song is an Irish folk ballad originally done by Irish folk rockers The Pogues, and it follows an old drunk sleeping off a binge in the drunk tank while reminiscing on years past and unrequited love and dreams.  A beautifully sad song. Dustin Kensrue's whole This Good Night Is Still Everywhere Christmas album is really awesome, but this one is definitely my favorite.

3. "Auld Lang Syne," Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin  -  Any Christmas song sung by The Rat Pack is on my Christmas playlist. No one sings it like they did!

[Remember these guys? N'Sync]

4. "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays," N'Sync  -  You're lying if you don't like this Christmas song. It is so catchy and fun! It's that song you swear you won't like, but try as you will you can't deny it.

5. "This Christmas," Donny Hathaway  -  Everyone and their mom has covered this song, but the original is still the best in my book.

[The Reverend Horton Heat]

6. "What Child Is This," The Reverend Horton Heat  -  If Sergio Leoni made a Christms film, this song would be in the soundtrack. Twangy slide guitars and a galloping beat drive this rockabilly spin on the Christmas classic.

7.  "Silent Night," Johnny Cash  -  The man in black is known for his songs about black trains, booze, and life behind bars, but Johnny Cash had a soft spot for the holidays. We grew up listening to his Christmas albums and I always loved this one.

[The Who]

8.  "Christmas," The Who  -  What song isn't great on the Tommy album? This song is very interesting and deep to me. Listen for yourself.

9. "I wish it was Christmas Today," Julian Casablancas  -  If The Strokes' frontman Julian Casablancas can get into the Christmas spirit then there's hope for everyone, even you, mall employee! When I heard Julian was realeasing a Christmas single, I almost lost my mind. When I listened to it and it was good, I really almost lost my mind. Who other than Julian Casablancas could rock such a cheesy Christmas song in such style?

[The Honorary Title (Side note: Jarrod Gorbel has the funniest YouTube.com videos ever.)]

10. "Salvation," The Honorary Title  -  My sister and I wondered if these alt-rockers are tricking us to see how many albums they can sell with some of these Christmas albums they're putting out. Bright Eyes, Sufjan Stevens, now The Honorary Title. As much as we mocked it at first, this song has caught on, and maybe we've been duped, but isn't ignorance bliss?

11.  "Same Old Lang Syne," Dan Foggelberg  -  I don't know why I love this song. It's one of those things my mom used to listen to and after not hearing it for ten years it came on the radio the other day and I took a nice little stroll down memory lane. So I downloaded it right when I got home and as I listened to it over the next few days and started to hear more and more of the lyrics, I was amazed at how funny they are. It's about how the singer meets up with an old fling and how they grab a twelve pack and sit and talk in the car for hours drinking toasts upon toasts. Each chorus is a toast. Then it ends with "The beer was empty and our tongues were tired/And running out of things to say/She gave a kiss to me as I got out/And I watched her drive away." After 8 choruses and 16 toasts, that is not a very good Christmas message.

[Bob Seger]

12. "The Little Drummer Boy," Bob Seger  -  Bob Seger singing about Hollywood nights is awesome, but Bob Seger singing about little baby Jesus with onomatopoeia sound effects  is equally as awesome.

13. "St. Stephen's Day Murders," Elvis Costello and The Chieftans  -  Another amazing Irish Folk Rock Holiday song.

[Whiskeytown (Notice Ryan Adams still sporting his Lennon-esque specs.)]

14.  "Houses On The Hill," Whiskeytown  -  This is a real stretch for a Christmas song, but I love it and it's about wintertime and at one point they speak of tinsel and lights, so that's enough for me. Whiskeytown is the band Ryan Adams was in before he went solo. It's a punk/country/alternative/rock conglomeration of glory.

15. "Zat You Santa Clause," Harry Connick Jr.  -  You have to include Harry in a Christmas song list. He has such a great jazz style perfect for Christmas songs. This one is ultra jazzy and 50's Harlem-esque.

Merry Christmas!

- Amy

On my iPod: Bright Eyes' "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" (Another one to add to this list)

12 Days of Gazette Christmas

I proudly present to you,

(appreciate this, it took me a long time!) (thanks)

                  _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Happy Holidays everyone!

-Blythe

On my iTunes: Dean Martin's "Baby It's Cold Outside"

The Newport Beach Boat Parade

There are two things in this world that never fail to bring a smile to my face: fireworks and Christmas lights. Someone could have run over my dog, I could have gotten dumped, and California could have broken off from the North American continent and if fireworks started going off or I saw twinkle lights, the world would still be O.K. It's irrational, but true.

Yesterday two of my favorite things came together at The Newport Beach Boat Parade. My friend and I braved the traffic, fought tooth and nail with the hundreds of other cars looking for parking, and eventually trekked our way down to The Balboa Fun Zone to grab a piece of real estate along the rail of the harbor. A walking zombie after a 3,000 hour press week (do that math), the minute I caught a glimpse of those lights, all was well with the world. Suddenly my tired eyes were wide with wonder and a snoopy grin was spreading from my left ear to my right. 

Boat after boat floated by, each with their own unique Christmas decor, some kitschy, some classy, but all amazing. Not only were the boats decorated, almost every house on the water was decorated too. Each boat and house cast a reflection into the Newport Harbor giving the illusion of a formidable fleet of twinkle-lit vessels. The carousel and ferris wheel were filled with smiling faces, young and old, families and friends walked around laughing and talking, and if you blocked out the smell of dead fish and sewage that occasionally interrupted the aroma of fresh funnel cake, it felt like you were in a scene out of Tim Burton's Big Fish. 

The parade eventually made its rounds and settled back in the harbor for the grand finale of fireworks. Sure it wasn't the 4th of July or New Years Eve in New York City, but fireworks are fireworks, and everyone ooed and ahhhed as if it were. Everyone in the crowd seemed light and free as if all their cares and worries were fading with the dust of each exploding firework. We were all young again, not a care in the world, corn dog in one hand and a loved one in the other.  Christmas spirit took over Newport Harbor with an armada of brilliant lights in a peaceful show of gunboat diplomacy that Roosevelt would have been proud of, and we were all willing captives. 


- Amy
On my iPod: Dustin Kensrue's "Fairytale of New York" (Download it now! You'll thank me later.)

Acoustic Christmas Benefit Concert

[Cory Joseph]

Today's blog may be a little shorter and less coherent than usual, but it's press week again over here at The OC Gazette HQ.  But there was an event I had to let you know about: Tonight at The Gypsy Lounge is the 4th Annual "Acoustic Christmas" Toy Drive! There are going to be a million different musicians including all of your favorite Gypsy Lounge usuals as well as some new guys. Sarah Nicole will start the show off at 8 pm and closing out the show will be Living Machine who will go on around 1:45 (which really probably means about 2:45). The lineup is below - get your scroller finger ready, because it's a doosey. Obviously as inferred by the name there will be a toy drive to benefit Hollywood Heart, a charity founded by David Gale, the Vice President of MTV New Media and Specialty Films Division. Check out some of their awesome programs by visiting their website.

[Rocco Deluca]

Also at the Gypsy for the rest of the month will be ROCCO DELUCA every Tuesday night. This upcoming Tuesday, Jack Bauer/Keiffer Sutherland's L.A. rockers (that's right - this band is so B.A. that they have Jack Bauer as a manager) will be supported by one of our favorite local acts, Janu and The Whalesharks (fronted by brother/sister duo Jake and Sarah Papas, who's voices meld together perfectly over drums, bass, guitar and a mean banjo). 

[Janu and The Whalesharks]

Also on the Dec 22nd lineup will be Gyspy staples, AJ Degrasse (kind of like a mixture of Mark Cohn, Joe Cocker, Bruce Hornsby) and Chris Karn from Deccatree (haven't heard him solo yet, but Deccatree puts out some awesome 90's-esque rock, so I have high expectations). 

So there are two shows coming up at one of our favorite local venues. Say hi to the owner Mike up in the soundbooth for us. 

- Amy

On my iTunes: Radiohead's "Nice Dream"

Acoustic Christmas Lineup:

8:00 - Sarah Nicole

8:15 - Mike Peralta

8:30 - Robin Orr

8:45 - Shaw

9:00 - Alice Wallace

9:15 - Paulie Pesh

9:30 - Brenna Whitaker

9:45 - James Below

10:00 - Cory Joseph (lead singer of Sleepless Me - reminds me of Jeff Buckley)

10:15 - Mike Vitale

10:30 - Fallborn

10:45 - Natalie Watts

11:00 - Julie Bell

11:15 - Josh Mohr

11:30 - Kurt Hunter

11:45 - Danny Maika 

12:00 - Gayle Skidmore

12:15 - AJ Degrasse

12:30 - Pawn Shop Kings 

12:45 - Chris Paul Overall 

1:00 Chris Karn from Deccatree

1:15 - Joe Denges from Hollowell

1:30 - Skee

1:45 - Living Machine

Operation Homefront

The holidays are a joyous time for many, but can be a very difficult time for some. Whether you're looking to get in the spirit of generosity this season or simply stumbled upon this post during your daily blog-checking routine, I'd like to call to your attention a great need that exists. Operation Homefront, a local organization that rallies support for military families, would like the public to know about an opportunity to bring joy to the families of our troops.

Operation Homefront provides aid to military families struggling not only with emergencies, but also with the problems of everyday life. Existing programs include providing food, baby care items, vehicle donations and repairs, financial assistance, furniture donations, moving assistance, holiday baskets, back-to-school supplies, and an online magazine, among other things.


Support our military families this season by contributing to Operation Homefront Southern California. A non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance and morale to the troops, to the families they leave behind, and to wounded warriors when they return home.
You can sponsor a family for $35 and provide a holiday meal and toys. O.H. is always looking for volunteers and have a number of opportunities to help in our community donations programs.
Visit www.operationhomefront.net/socal or call (866)424-5210

Other ways you can help:

-Donate household items (for more info, click HERE)

-Donate vehicles in working condition (click HERE)

-Donate real estate, securities, insurance policies, or in your trust/will (click HERE)

-Find out about individual family needs by clicking HERE

-Make a monetary donation HERE

All donations are tax deductible. Your donation will be used to fully support the quality of life of military families.

Keep your eyes peeled to read more about Operation Homefront in the January issue of The Gazette Magazine!

-Blythe

On my iTunes: St. Vincent's "Actor Out Work"

The Science of Gingerbread at Discovery Science Center

"And when they approached the little house they saw that it was built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear sugar." The classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a boy named Hansel and a girl named Gretel introduces us to the delicious idea that a house can be made out of candy. Gingerbread walls glued together with vanilla icing, peppermint doorways, and licorice-laced rooftops sprinkled with gumdrops set the scene for "The Science of Gingerbread" exhibit that is currently on display at Discovery Science Center (the 108 foot tall Cube off the 5) in Santa Ana.

Last week, I indulged in the simple pleasure of viewing Discovery Science Center's ninety-four local community gingerbread house entries with my good friend and photographer, Janet Wood (her images are shown in this post). Ninety-four unique entries; now that's a lot of gingerbread love!

The exhibit is separated into a few different sections that reveal the 'science in every bite'. Basically, there is a large display area with all of this year's entries plus rooms that focus on the components of what breaks down a gingerbread house, including the science behind the engineering, nutrition, and ingredients. Also, as an added bonus, there's Candyland Lane, which is a blacklight-lit maze that requires 3D glasses!

This year's entries came from both corporate organizations and local residents. The houses were exceptionally fun with themes as original as "SpongeBob's House", "Snow Valley or Bust" and "Fire and Icing" to classic ideas like "Santa's Workshop and "Winter Wonderland". The award-winning entries are out-of-this-world wonderful. Check out The Great Park Balloon, carting a little gingerbread man in front of an old-fashioned hanger (above). Look at the intricate detail in Heather Zubiate's "Christmas Cathedral" entry that won her an award for Most Realistic Creation (below).

There was even a nativity scene entry complete with a gingerbread baby Jesus asleep in the manger and marshmallow-coated sheep.

This exhibit is sugar and spice and everything nice, and it is a great place to take any candy admirer, culinary artist, holiday enthusiast, or young aspiring house-builder (kids who like to lick frosting off their fingers work too). Gingerbread houses are fun, beautiful and even magical. Even the President has one. Read about the Obama family's breathtaking gingerbread house complete with a mini marzipan Kitchen Garden here.

Make sure to visit this sweet holiday exhibit at Discovery Science Center soon! It lasts through January 3rd.

- Sara

Listening to "Mele Kalikimaka" by Bing Crosby

Dressember

Calling all our female readers: It is still not too late to jump on the Dressember bandwagon! What is Dressember, you ask? Well, pretty much exactly what it sounds like: Dressember is a month of dress-wearing. The idea is to wear a dress every day. It doesn't necessarily require different dresses (ie: repetition is allowed), simply that you wear a dress every day in December.

It started with a vision, and POOF! It became a reality. I dreamed it up a couple weeks ago and it's spreading like wildfire! Just look, the Gazette office is catching on:

(click on any photo to make it bigger)

United in our dresses we stand:

You can see a full recap by visiting my personal blog (click HERE).

We heartily invite you to join in on the Dressember magic! Email me your Dressember photos at blythe[at]theocgazette[dot]com, and I'll include you in our Dressember Wrap-up post at the end of the month!

Happy Dressember!

-Blythe

On my iTunes: The Union Line's "Goldmine" (they're playing at the Anaheim House of Blues this Friday, btw...See you there?)

The Best Christmas Songs Ever

I woke up this morning shivering in my bed. I grabbed my iPhone to check the weather (how handy are those things?) and was aghast to see the forecast: low of 32 degrees (if you can remember back to elementary school that is freezing point) and a high of a only 52 degrees, with the current temp reading in at 32 degrees at 7:45am. I spent most of my youth in upstate NY, where you wake up to four feet of snow and temperatures in the ‘teens with negative windchill factors to throw into the mix. Having survived years and years of frigid winters, I shouldn’t even be phased by this fair show of Orange County cold weather in comparison.

Assimilation. I blame it on assimilation. This is my 7^th year being back in California after spending all those years back east, and I have infiltrated back in with the locals. All my cold-weather-NY-survival-savvy has flown out the window after 7 years of 11-month-a-year-sunny-lovely-CA weather. Like:

• I always forget the rules of driving when it rains when said rain actually comes
• I don’t even own an umbrella anymore
• I wear open-toed shoes and sandals in December forgetting that every day isn’t 70 degree weather
• I have to layer upon layer to have any sort of outfit fit for cold weather because pretty much all I own are summer clothes.

There is one winter season intuition that, be it 50 degrees or 12 degrees, I will always have: an impeccable taste in Christmas music. Thus, following is part one of a list of my favorite Christmas songs. We'll call it, "Amy's Completely Biased List of The Best Christmas Songs Ever." May they delight your ears and warm your hearts through this chilly California weather! Note: This list is not in order from greatest to least. I will be posting part two next week, so tune in!

1. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," Judy Garland  -  This song makes me tear up every time, and I'm not a crier. I loved this song ever before I saw Meet Me In St. Louis, the film it was written for. No matter how bad things get in your life, you can listen to this song and remember that as long as you've got your friends and family, you've got a lot. Whenever I'm having a bad day I listen to this song, even if it's mid July.

2. Do You Hear What I Hear," Bing Crosby  -  Bing's low and booming voice is perfect for this song. Especially on the line, "Listen to what I say, Pray for peace people everywhere."

3. "A Big Red Shovel," Michael Giaccino  -  If you haven't see the film The Family Stone yet, don't rent it, just buy it. It's one of my favorite Christmas movies ever. It has Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Daines, Diane Keaton,  Craig Nelson - basically an ensemble cast that will rock your world. It's just such a funny and heartwarming movie about family, love, and how Christmas brings everyone together. The montage using this song is so beautiful. Everytime I hear this song I think of that scene. You just have to see it to understand it fully.

4. "Baby It's Cold Outside," Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting  -  This version is so cute and flirty and conversational. It's also got that great singers and standards era feel that I love in my Christmas songs.

5. "Toyland," Doris Day  -  Another great Christmas song I grew up listening to and now consider it the best version of this song. She sings it very slow and almost in a melancholy way, but you can still hear her smile through her voice.

6. "River," Sarah McLachlin  -  I like Joni Mitchell's version too, but this one is really pretty. I'm usually not a huge fan of Miss McLachlin because I lean more towards rock n' roll and punk and alternative, but when it comes to Christmas music her voice is perfectly suited! A great modern Christmas classic.

7. "White Christmas," Bing Crosby  -  This is just another one of those classic Christmas standard songs. My mom used to play this on our record player every holiday season in NY and KY while we put up decorations between telling old stories and sips of eggnog.
8. "The Christmas Song," Nat King Cole  -  Basically Nat King Cole's whole Christmas cd was always spinning on our record player during Christmas time. No one sings the classics like ole' Nat.

9. "Happy Christmas (War is Over)," John Lennon  -  Two of my favorite things melded together into one: John Lennon and Christmas songs. What's not to love is the real question? There's even the full children's choir in the background.

10. "Christmas Time is Here," Vince Guaraldi Trio  -  The whole Charlie Brown Christmas album is a definite holiday staple. I especially like how they used this song in Wes Anderson's film The Royal Tenenbaums, which is another great movie, although not very much about Christmas at all.

11. "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," Frank Sinatra  -  Clearly I'm a little biased towards the standard style Christmas songs. Anything Frank, Dean or Nat sang I love. They're so jazzy and timeless.

Let me know what your picks are! Expect part two of this list next week with more amazing Christmas selections. Next week we'll go deeper into some more obscure stuff!

- Amy

on my iPod: Judy Garland's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

Fantastic Mr. Fox & The Gazette

Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Wes Anderson's new stop-motion animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox, adapted from Roald Dahl's classic children's novel. To my great surprise, in the movie, Mr. Fox works for The Gazette! Call it a shameless plug for the magazine; I have something in common with this suave and sneaky animal. "There's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there?"

I cannot recommend this film enough. It is an adventure from start to end, complete with bandit hats, hunting beagle security, whistling, clicking and "the meanest, ugliest, nastiest farmers in the valley". In brief, the plot plays like this: Mr. Fox devises a master plan to save his family from attack by three evil farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Beans.

As if Wes Anderson's stellar cast (George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe), wonderful soundtrack, beautiful sets, warm colors, incredible attention to detail and witty script weren't enough to prove that he is a creative genius, he brilliantly replaces all profanity with the word "cuss". (Examples: What the cuss? Cluster cuss. Graffitied cuss.) Oh so silly and smart. Whether 5, 15 or 85, this movie will entertain everyone. Take your little brother, a friend or even your next door neighbor. I took my dad. He ate popcorn, I ate nachos. We giggled the entire time. Fantastic Mr. Fox really is fantastic. Watch the preview below!



- Sara
Listening to "Street Fighting Man" by The Rolling Stones