Movie | Blow Dry | Pass

An all star cast supports this lightweight date night movie about hairdressers who descend on a small town for a competition. Cutesy, with minimal homosexual jokes (actually, there's a reversal), but super thick accents might put off some. A Pass.

Movie | Burke and Hare | Pass

True so-so period story of two grave robbers who often didn't wait for the grave part. A tremendous cast nearly saves this unfunny comedy. Should have been better, but a Pass.

Movie | How To Cook Your Life | PASS

Excellent documentary about a Zen Buddhist tenzo (chef). The pacing of the dialogue might bother some (it did me, a bit). Marvelous and a must see!

Book | My Gun Is My Passport | Pass

Fun Western style yarn, set in the middle East. The editing can be highly distracting even though it's a bit better than his previous novel, but this is a fun independently produced tale of dust, bullets and bad guys. Great editing is such a skill unto itself (a skill which I do not possess!). A quick read and a Pass.

Movie | Lo | Pass

Indie Faustian tale of a man who summons a demon to retrieve his girlfriend from Hell. Surprisingly grotesque, though there is minimal gore (just a lot of discussion of truly disgusting things). Set and shot as if a play on a stage, it's all very inventive and creative if you can stomach the topic subject. Amazing low-budget effects. A Pass based on effort, ingenuity and execution (no pun intended).

Movie | Mad Dog Morgan | Pass

TV | Big Love | RIP

After 5 years of a knockout series, Big Love has been laid to rest. Wild and creative writing, killer acting and amazing production values combine to form classic, timeless television. While the show was most certainly not for everyone, if you're a fan of marvelous writing, plot twists and super storylines, it's hard to see not loving this show. If you just want to go brain dead for an hour and want lots of stuff blowing up, this will not be your bag.

All others....need to watch this show beginning to end. A definite PASS and it's heartbreaking that it's now gone.

Movie | Faintheart | Pass

Wonderful underdog movie about a soon to be divorced dad who loves participating in Viking battle reenactments. A great feel good movie with an excellent cast, decent plot (though slightly predicable) and an interesting connection to MySpace. Odin says, "A Pass!"

Movie | Mary & Max | Pass

Excellent claymation about friendship that blossoms across the planet, time and place. Warning: it's a heartbreaker.

Fantastic music by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, one of my favorites!

Despite the movie poster, it's in English. Despite all of that, a definite Pass!

Movie | Dance of the Dead | Pass

Fun, cheap zombie gorefest about a group of teens that have to fight off the undead. Very 80s in its' execution (no pun intended) - and that a good thing! Some slightly less than stellar acting and music don't detract from this one. A pass!

Movie | Night of the Comet | Pass

Super cheesy 80s end of the world flick from the perspective of two valley girl sisters. Some absolutely horrific editing, direction and acting don't remove the fact that this is a cult classic. A Pass!

Movie | Red Hill | Pass

Excellent thriller-Western from Oz.

Movie | The Mad | Pass-ish

The only thing good about this dad and daughter versus the zombies is the comedy. Purposefully cheesy, you'll only like this if you liked movies like Motel Hell. Billy Zane stars and it's unclear why he's in this. It's always a bad sign when the movie poster is a painting and doesn't feature the stars (though, I found one later). What, Zane wasn't recognizable enough? Maybe he made sure they didn't put his picture on it! Still, there are some really fun scenes that are worth seeing (Zane and Castle, in particular) and that's why it gets a "Pass-ish".

TV | The Wild Wild West | PASS

Great TV series.

Movie | The Good The Bad The Weird | Pass

Excellent Korean homage to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Oddball fun!

Movie | El Topo | Pass

Quite possibly the most surreal, disturbing Western ever made. Not for the squeamish.

Movie | Westworld | PASS

Fantastic Twisted Western starring Yul Brenner, James Brolin and Richard Benjamin. A keeper and the sequel and subsequent TV series were good, too.

Movie | Lone Wolf (Series) | PASS

One of the greatest chambara series ever. Period. Zatoichi not withstanding. That series also contained weaker entries (some downright pedestrian), probably because of the number of them.