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- I feel very out of it right now, cinematically speaking. Normally when I see that a movie has earned the most money at the box office for a given weekend, my response is either that I’m glad to see a solid movie do well (rare) or that I am appalled at how well a crap-tacular film did (frequent). But this weekend, my response is…..huh? Not only do I not know a lot about but Disney’s A Christmas Carol, I didn’t even know Disney had a Christmas Carol remake coming out. Admittedly, I hate holiday music and movies as a general rule, so perhaps I subconsciously shielded myself from the movie. But even without my support, the Jim Carrey-led film scored $31 million at the box office and is now just $144 million (give or take a few dollars) from breaking even with its $175 million budget. That budget seems a little high given that Carrey was able to play multiple roles thanks to performance-capture technology. The $31 million tally represented the best opening in director Robert Zemeckis’ career even though most experts expected more. With screenings on some 200 pricey IMAX for the next month or so, that number should go up steadily. While I may not know a lot about Christmas Carol, one thing I do know is that I am happy to see it seize the top spot from that docu-crap film Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which dropped 40 percent in its second weekend and into second place with $14 million. Finishing close behind and in third place was the new George Clooney comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats with a weekend total of $13.3 million. Sci-fi and Milla Jovovich fans turned out in strong enough numbers to put her new alien-abduction film The Fourth Kind in, appropriately enough, fourth place with $12.5 million. The biggest story among the weekend’s top films could well be Paranormal Activity, the plucky little movie that cost a mere $11,000 to make, yet made $8.6 million this weekend to finish in fifth place and push its domestic gross to $97.4 million thus far. Don’t expect that type of profitable run for the Cameron Diaz horror flick The Box, which debuted in sixth place with $7.9 million and was universally ripped by moviegoers and critics alike. Meanwhile, the power of Oprah was on display once again in backing Precious, the Sundance-winning drama starring Mo’Nique and Mariah Carey. The film opened on a mere 18 screens but raked in $1.8 million for a per-screen average of $100,000—the largest per-screen average ever for a movie opening in more than 10 theaters. I, for one, am glad to see that Oprah has turned her ire away from the beef industry and is now focused on building things up instead of tearing them down. Overall, a solid group of top films and for that rare weekend, it wasn’t a total waste of your time to go to the movies………
- I would care a heck of a lot more about women’s college soccer if more women’s college soccer players were like University of New Mexico player Elizabeth Lambert. By now, you undoubtedly know who Lambert is even if you are a casual sports fan or not even a fan at all. Her act in a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament was flat-out awesome and just might be the most memorable moment ever in women’s soccer at any level. Lambert’s team was battling BYU, the game was heated and the Cougars had a one-goal lead when, to put it bluntly, the sh*t hit the fan. For starters, Lambert executed a perfect ponytail takedown of BYU's Kassidy Shumway, followed by a blatant trip of a BYU player at the edge of the box, resulting in one of her New Mexico teammates "accidentally" kicking the ball right in her face. At that point, you might think she’d be done for the day, perhaps even with a red card resulting in an automatic ejection. But no, there’s more. Later in the game, Lambert was battling a BYU player for a loose ball and in her zeal to win the ball, she uncorked a nice jab to the opposing player’s face. Alas, her efforts went for naught as BYU won the game 1-0 to advance to the championship game. Because of her actions, Lambert has (inexplicably) been suspended indefinitely from the team. She is prohibited from taking part in practices, games and conditioning, coach Kit Vela announced Friday. "Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship," Vela said. Crossed the line? Coach, I don’t know if you realize this, but prior to Lambert’s awesome display in that game, no one gave a rat’s ass about the New Mexico women’s soccer program. You all could have walked down the streets of Santa Fe passing out $20 bills and you would have been forgotten just as quickly as those bills were consumed. Now, people are talking about your program and although they think you are a bunch of classless hooligans, that’s better than being totally ignored. Focus on the positive here, namely that you have Lambert back next season and you can build a great marketing campaign around the chick who is as likely to send opposing players to the hospital as she is to score a goal. Not sure if you know this, but a lot of guys like seeing two chicks brawl. Now I’m not saying you need to have your team play in Jell-O (although some consistent rainfall would make for a nice mud pit), but seize this opportunity. Stop having Lambert issue public apologies and tell her to embrace her badass image. "I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary," Lambert said. "This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am. I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them. I am especially sorry to BYU and the BYU women's soccer players that were personally affected by my actions. I have the utmost respect for the BYU women's soccer program and its players." No, no, no. Stop that and stop it now. No one will remember that you and your team were 13-5-3 this season and that you nearly made the conference title game, but everyone will remember what you did on that field against BYU and you need to stop apologizing for it……….
- Any day that Jay-Z announces tour plans is a good day for music. With his latest album, "Blueprint 3," now out and receiving positive response, the rapper has announced the second leg of his North American tour in support of the album. His voyage will begin Feb. 22, 2010, in Houston, Texas, making stops in Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta and Boston before ending on March 26 in Los Angeles' Staple Center. The tour will feature Jay-Z’s Def Jam labelmate Young Jeezy as the opening act for all dates, a rarity. Tickets go on sale on Nov. 13 on LiveNation.com, but Citi cardmembers have access to presale tickets beginning Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. local time. I guess it goes to show that not even rap legends like Jay-Z are above being corporate shills, not that I am looking to rip a guy whose music I love and who has immense game. If you are a Citi cardmember, you can find more details about the presale tickets at citiprivatepass.com. You’ll also have access to VIP Ticket Packages that include VIP Lounge seats, personal concierge, a private pre-show VIP party and other perks and bennies. The full schedule for the second leg of the tour will be announced soon and the dates and ticket information for stops in East Rutherford, Uniondale, Atlantic City and Detroit will be announced at that time. In the meantime, Jay-Z is planning another effort with Alicia Keys, who teamed up for "Empire State Of Mind," originally on the "Blueprint 3" album. "Empire State of Mind Pt. 2" will include a new Jay-Z verse and will appear on Alicia Keys' upcoming "Element of Freedom" album, slated for a Dec. 15 release. Other dates on the tour besides those already mentioned would include: Feb 22: Houston, TX, Feb 23: Dallas, TX, Feb 25: New Orleans, LA, Feb 27: Atlanta, GA, Feb 28: Greensboro, NC, Mar. 3: Washington, D.C., Mar. 7: Norfolk, VA, Mar 11: Boston, MA, Mar. 16: Pittsburgh, PA, Mar 19: St. Louis, MO, Mar 20: Indianapolis, IN, Mar 22: Denver, CO, Mar 24: San Jose, CA and Mar 26: Los Angeles, CA. Stay tuned for more information………..
- Not that living in Nashua, N.H. doesn’t automatically qualify one as incredibly fortunate, but Nashua resident Bob Jaracz has gone above and beyond the boost of luck that even the world’s luckiest town could provide. Jaracz, who says he’s always considered himself a lucky guy, has bucked incredible odds and won the lottery not once, but twice and for more than $1 million each time. The first time was on Thanksgiving Day 2005, when he won Tri-State Megabucks for $1.9 million. For the next four years, Jaracz and his wife Diane were forced to make due with their $1 million (after taxes), right up until he won the Weekly Grand Game for a little more than $1 million back in late September. What’s amazing about these two wins, aside from the obvious, is that although Jaracz plays the lottery every week, he does quick picks only and thus has no special numbers, no system in place and because buys his tickets at random stores, no real pattern. He has no lucky teller, no lucky machine and other than a bit of a gambling habit, nothing unique going for him. Recalling their first lottery win, Diane Jaracz thought back to the Thanksgiving Day miracle and remembered that between all the excitement of telling friends and family, they forgot about the turkey in the oven. "It was only a little dry," she recalled. With their winnings, the couple was able to pay off all their debt, fix up their house, buy a new car and take some trips. The new round of winnings, Jaracz says, will be used for more travel, but also to help local charities such as the Humane Society and the Santa Fund. He also remarked that even after his first win, he always felt like he was going to win again. Bob Jaracz also says he has no plans to retire from his part-time work as an engineer, a role he said keeps him fresh. Will he stop playing the lottery now that he’s won twice? "No way,” Jaracz says. “I think I'm going to win again." Past evidence would indicate not to bet against him………
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