Back By Nobody’s Demand: HOP Media Review

1. Children of Men, the movie: Bleak and depressing, but oddly karmic in this Advent season. For those not already in the know, this movie is based on a PD James novel. It’s the year 2027 and the whole world is in despair because of a pandemic flu, massive, evil illegal immigration, terrorism, and fundamentalist freaky people. The bigger problem however is global infertility, and the movie opens in London with news of the death of the World’s Youngest Human, who was 18. Everyone is sad and depressed and feral illegal immigrants crowd the edges of every scene. One miraculously pregnant woman must be smuggled out of the country for she is, of course, one of them. The film was absolutlely predictable but remarkable in its dark creepiness. Clive Owen was surprisingly good as the reluctant hero.

2. Oprah Winfrey: is it me, or is Oprah getting a bit agorophobic? She doesn’t seem very happy to touch people anymore, unless they are Big Celebrities. The recent guests who got style-changing haircuts fawned over her but she dismissed them with a pursed smile. Weight-loss “sheroes and heroes” tried to hug her on stage but she did the cursory pat with her elbows tucked in to her sides. Maybe it’s just a perspiration problem. On the other hand, she marched around Macon, Georgia looking for people who were watching her show and seemed barely tolerant to even be in their neighborhoods, much less walk into their homes and >eek!< make eye contact with them. Don't get me wrong, Oprah, I still adore you, but I think you might need to get laid. I'm assuming you get really good massages on a regular basis, but that's not doing the trick. 3. 30 Rock: If you haven’t watched this series, do it quickly. It will make you laugh (IF you have a sense of humor) and you’ll forget your troubles, temporarily. Best of all, you have to get it on DVD so you can just hit “Play All” and it doesn’t have to end for two whole discs! 4. There’s no book here because I haven’t read anything lately. I’m not counting “I Spy: the Night Before Christmas” or “Merry Christmas, Curious George!”