Author Archives: AaronOOF

Last week was filled with milestones: my birthday (and Alfonso Ribeiro’s!), Jen Daily Refill’s birthday, Yom Kippur, the last day of summer, the first day of fall, the effin 49ers being shut-out for the first time in 27 years (at least I had plenty to drink). Arriving with the first day of fall also comesContinue reading “THE FALL SEASON IN (P)REVIEW: A SCHEDULE APPROPRIATE FOR UGLY MONDAYS”

Oh yeah, there’s reason to stay home this Saturday night for sure. That’s the night that Hustle premieres. You know — Hustle. The original film on ESPN. Who says ESPN can’t get quality filmmakers. They’ve got Tom Sizemore starring as Pete Rose in a film directed by the (once) great Peter Bogdanovich. Sure, way backContinue reading “WHO SAID FILMMAKING TAKES A LONG TIME”

As we inch closer to that moment of the day when the sun disappears and millions of us New York Jews somehow manage to stop eating for a full 24-25 hours and become like PETA activists refusing to wear any piece of clothing that may have come from an animal, all in order to reflectContinue reading “OFTEN CALLED TEASERS, THEY MAY AS WELL JUST SAY “GOTCHA””

If I’m anything, it’s loyal. To a fault, as some like to say. For example, I’m staring into the abyss of a football season where my beloved 49ers will likely lose well-over 10 games, but you’ll still find me every Sunday I can at a sports bar to catch the game. Stupidly enough, I showContinue reading “BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO”

Rest in peace Russ Meyer. It’s not really easy to call his films “good,” but they certainly were important, and for influential young boys like me coming-of-age in the 80s, they were better than Porky’s. But I’m definitely not a Meyer expert. And The cinetrix, with the help of Roger Ebert (who has a WGAContinue reading “THANKFULLY, THE NEWS DIDN’T BREAK UNTIL AFTER MY B-DAY”

Last week, I gave special attention to Sony’s purchase of MGM and how I hoped they wouldn’t retire the iconic Lion banner which represents remembrances of Hollywood past. While concentrating on the history and importance of MGM, I didn’t mean to neglect its subsidiary studio which, by all accounts, seems destined to disappear, United Artists.Continue reading “THE LION ONCE SWALLOWED UA, BUT IT’S PEDIGREE NEVER WENT AWAY”

Back in July when the Emmy nominations were announced, I was annoyed, as usual, with the TV Academy’s refusal to actually honor the best in TV, instead throwing nominations at shows like Will & Grace (which simply isn’t funny at all anymore) or The West Wing (which had a subpar season) as well as perfectlyContinue reading “THE EMMYS: FOR ONE NIGHT, CYNICISM LOSES OUT … MOSTLY”

On this Erev Rosh Hashanah, I couldn’t think of a better way for my more-and-more secular Jewish self to recall that Jesus was 33 when he went up on the cross. What does one thing have to do with another? Well, it just so happens that my birthday is next Tuesday (9/21) and I willContinue reading “HAPPY NEW YEAR! AREN’T YOU FEELING EXTRA-GIVING RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY WITH BIRTHDAYS ON THE HORIZON?”

Mark Cuban seems to pride himself on being a “risk-taker,” and the majority of his risks have paid-off. He made his fortune by starting and then selling broadcast.com to Yahoo! He throws money at the Dallas Mavericks, and year-to-year they’ve become a better team. Along with partner Todd Wagner, he has sunk a ton ofContinue reading “THE WORST (WELL, MAYBE SECOND-WORST) REALITY SHOW EVER: IT’S JUST PLAIN STUPID”