Week in Review: December 31 - January 5

Birthdays - The first birthday of the year that we've celebrated was the 121st birthday (or what would have been, were he still alive) of author J.R.R. Tolkien, best known for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  The second birthday that we did was the considerably younger (and still living) Diane Keaton, who turned 67 yesterday.

Notes - To ring in the new year we did two notes this week; one a review of the movies of 2012 and the other listing off what I'm looking forward to seeing in 2013.  Both were a bit lazy, but what do you expect for New Years Day?

Movies - New movie of the week was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first instalment in a trilogy based on Tolkien's The Hobbit, and Les Misérables, based on the musical adaptation of the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo.  The only other movie was Friends with Kids, which I also enjoyed.

Books - Two books this week, one the historical fiction based on the childhood of Queen Victoria, The Captive of Kensington Palace by Jean Plaidy, the other the erotic paranormal romance Dark Lover by J.R. Ward.

TV - TV show of the week was the first two seasons of the BBC drama Sherlock, a modern adaptation of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novels.  I love it and want it to be 2014 just so we can see the third season.

Recommendations - No new movie recommendations this week, because there wasn't anything good, but Looper is out on DVD so go see that if you haven't already.

Next Week - Next week we'll have the Terry Pratchett Discworld novel Men At Arms, and the Judd Apatow movies Knocked Up and its sort of sequel This is 40.  There will also be a note on the 85th Academy Awards nominations.

Requests -Any requests? Let me know!

Birthday: Diane Keaton

Today is the 67th birthday of actress Diane Keaton!

While Keaton's movies as of late may have been less than great, she has had a very long and successful career.  Her first major role was in The Godfather as Kay Adams-Corleone, which she followed up with the Woody Allen films Play it Again, Sam, Sleeper, Love and Death, and Annie Hall, winning an Academy Award for her role in Anne Hall. Her second Oscar nomination was for her role in Warren Beatty's Reds, her third for Marvin's Room, and her fourth for Something's Gotta Give.  Other memorable films of hers include Father of the Bride, Baby Boom, The First Wives Club, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and The Family Stone.  In addition to turning 67 this year, she is also appearing in new film The Big Wedding, where she plays Robert De Niro's ex-wife as they attend the wedding of their son, I believe played by Ben Barnes.

I'm looking forward to it, because no matter how bad Keaton's movies may be at times I love them all.  Happy birthday!