Fishing in the Discount Bin: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

It's that time of the week again, for Fishing in the Discount Bin.  Isn't it weird how things are lining up?  Because of movie schedules, DVD release schedules, and my self-imposed schedule on this blog, I seem to be hitting all the big blockbusters from this time last year.  Case in point:  Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which came out on December 16, 2011 -- almost two weeks shy of its theatrical release.  This entry is dated in my notes as having been written on May 4, 2012.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Muppets

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly look at one of the many, many, many movies in my home video library.  Today, we get to one of the big releases from this time last year, The Muppets.  Dude, did it really come out a year ago?  Man, how time flies.  This entry is originally dated May 4, 2012.

The Numbers on Undies for Christmas

I guess one of the good things about being perpetually trapped in the friend zone is that my female friends are just chalk full of advice for the day I start dating. One bit of advice that I've been remembering lately is that you never, ever buy lingerie for a woman.

As my friend explained it, it all comes down to the size. If you guess too big, you're telling your girlfriend that you wish she was curvier. If you guess too small, you're telling her to lose weight. "And that's why you never buy lingerie for a woman, unless you're absolutely sure of the size. Then it might be OK," she said, as she continued trying on bras in front of me, and I sat there wondering when if I'd ever have an opportunity to make a pass.

(OK, that last part never happened, I just thought it'd make for a funnier end to the story.)

I was reflecting on this advice because, as I put together my radio show every morning, a heck of a lot of "buying lingerie for a Christmas present" statistics have been coming across my desk. Looks like my friend was wrong about the "unless you're absolutely sure of the size" part, as lingerie is the #1 gift that women hate to get from men.

For completeness sake, the top 5 that women hate to get from men:

1. Lingerie
2. Cosmetics
3. Perfume ("They never pick the right scent," says the study)
4. Kitchen utensils
5. Cheap jewelry. (I think the important part there is 'cheap.' I'm sure expensive stuff is still OK.)

Despite my friend's advice, and the above list, another study says 53% of men are planning on getting their wife or girlfriend lingerie for Christmas. As for what kind of lingerie they're going for, 41% says they're going to go for the super-sexy stuff, 21% say they're going to go for the basic, everyday stuff, and 14% say they're going to go for something unsexy, like flannel jammies.

Now, picking apart my friend's advice, she says it's OK if you get the size absolutely right. Of course, the logical way to learn your girlfriend's size would be to just ask her, but as another female friend told me, my problem is I'm a logical man in an illogical world. Of those planning to get lingerie for their wives and girlfriends for Christmas, a full 50% don't know her size. So how are they going to learn her size?

10% are going to bring along a female friend for help
30% are going to ask a clerk at the store for help.

And the remainder figure their know their significant other well enough, that they can just guess. Did I also mention that 20% of couples have broken up over bad gifts?

And speaking of bad gifts, if you still want to go with lingerie after all this, here's the top 4 types of lingerie that women hate getting as a gift:

1. Crotchless panties
2. Anything leather
3. Edible underwear
4. Fishnets

And at the risk of being practical, it seems like buying lingerie as a gift is a waste of money, as 25% of women wear it just once, and another 20% never wear it at all.

So if I may add to my friend's advice, after having now run the numbers. Never buy lingerie for Christmas. Unless you're absolutely sure of the size. And even then, it's still a bad idea.  Seriously.  Just grab the Blu-Ray of The Notebook or something like that.

Lazy Saturday and Lazier Sunday

Went into the city yesterday.  It's become habit to sit down and blog about my days in the city, but this particular trip was literally nothing to write home about. 

We're about to get into the super-busy Christmas rush at work, so that means free weekends to do Christmas shopping will soon be few and far between.  I conduct my Christmas shopping much like a military mission.  So yesterday was phase 1:  recon and intel gathering.  This phase largely consists of window-shopping, figuring out a budget, and pondering the question, "What am I going to get so-and-so?"  I've got a few good ideas, so the next phase - actually buying the stuff - should go OK. 

And of course, it's just not a trip to the city unless I spend too much money on DVDs.  Because I'm a sucker for all things comic-book-based, had to grab the Spider-Man reboot.  And since I'm a sucker for all things Pixar, had to grab Brave.  And that's pretty much my plan for the lazy Sunday afternoon.

And...ooo!  I saw Skyfall, aka the new James Bond movie.  It's so good, you guys.  In a way, this finally completes the reboot that began with Casino Royale.  James Bond finally gets a thoroughly modern villain in the form of a cyber terrorist.  Classic Bond supporting characters such as Q are finally re-introduced.  And while debates as to whether Bond is the right kind of hero in today's global political climate have been brushed off with glib comments in some of the recent films, in this one, it's openly debated by the characters and actually becomes a plot point.  It's also neat to see Bond's origins finally explored somewhat, although it does get dangerously close to Batman Begins at one point.  I'll elaborate more, but it gets into spoiler-territory.

I did find it a bit predictable, though, in how they were setting up certain parts of the Bond mythology to re-introduce.  Again, though, it didn't take away from the film.  And it resulted in some great touches and homages to the Bond films of the past.  

But yeah.  While I'm hesitant to call it the best Bond film, it's definitely the best of Daniel Craig's run to date. 

I'm going to share some of my favourite spoiler-filled bits of the film, so if you haven't seen the film yet, I'd suggest you click away now.  If you need something to click to, why not go to my main site and read my proper review of Skyfall?

Spoilers after the jump!

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Adventures in Babysitting

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly look at one of the many, many movies in my hove video library, where I watch it and wonder why the heck I bought it.  Today, we get to a much-beloved 1980s teen comedy, Adventures in Babysitting.  This entry is originally dated April 1, 2012.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Condorman

Time once again for Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly love-fest for one of the many DVDs in my collection.  Today, we do a beloved forgotten Disney movie from the early 1980s, Condorman.  This review is originally dated March 31, 2012.

A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far, Away, There Was a Targ

Still reluctant to start Series 6, but I had to meet a challenge.

After the news of the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm broke out, I was exchanging text messages about it with a buddy of mine, and he said, "Dude, I bet you could do a whole show about the Disney buy-out and what it means."

I took it as a challenge.

Star Wars Special: Welcome to the House of Mouse is the vast collection of my thoughts on Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm, what a potential Episode VII could entail, and just wondering what comes next.

Actually, as I review it, there were a few things I wanted to bring up, but forgot to.  I was listening to Rob Paulsen's podcast today, and he interview writer Charlotte Fullerton.  She mentioned that she worked on the legendary Star Wars fan film Troops.  What does this Disney buyout mean for the future of fan films?  Disney is pretty fierce in defending their copyrights, don't you know.

It's a strange new world, folks.  And all I can do is rant about it.  So give a listen to Star Wars Special: Welcome to the House of Mouse. 


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Fishing in the Discount Bin - Police Academy

Welcome again to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly rant about one of the many DVDs in my home video library.  Today, we get to one of those movies that truly defined my childhood, Police Academy.  This entry is originally dated March 30, 2012.