Why I Love Fall - Redux

10. Baseball - I am a new fan to this very complex sport, and now that we're in the running for the Series, well, I'm hooked.

9. Cooler weather - I am at my best during this time of year. The smell of wet leaves, the chill in the air, damp mornings and evenings on the back porch. I dig it. I really do.

8. Football - specifically, college. Go Bison, go Tigers, go Jayhawks. Nuff said.

7. Oktoberfest - I love a month that is dedicated to celebrating beer. My favorite at the moment would be Lips Of Faith Fleur by New Belgium from Ft. Collins.

6. Halloween - everything about this holiday makes me smile. The candy. The costumes. The decorations. My family has a long-standing tradition (this marks our 20th anniversary) where we get together, deep fry everything (fries, shrimp, etc.), hand out candy, watch scary movies and play cards. It's a blast, and I look forward to it every year.

5. Wineries - I love me a little long-stemmed culture on a hillside with my homeys.

4. Foliage - Missouri has phenomenal changing of the leaves. The colors are unlike anything I've ever seen. I guess growing up in North Dakota, where there are 4 trees and you have maybe 21 minutes between summer and winter will do that to a girl.

3. NBA - I think basketball players are incredible athletes. Constant movement, multitasking, speedplay. Astounding.

2. Bad horror movies - I recently reviewed the Human Centipede. I would consider this to be a bad horror movie. Bad in a good way. Others would include Motel Hell, I Spit On Your Grave, Basket Case and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre II. Actual bad horror movies would be Albino Farm, Alligator X, and any of the Saw movies.

1. Good horror movies - nothing beats a good horror movie this time of year. My favorites include Halloween, Devil's Rejects, The Shining, Grindhouse, The Exorcist, Inside, 30 Days of Night, Let The Right One In.

Movie Review - 50/50

I saw the movie "50/50" this weekend.

Overall, a very good flick. It didn't over-dramatize - I felt it stayed well within the "believable" when it came to the character's reactions as well as the kind of interactions that family, friends, and care-givers might have when dealing with cancer. Tough stuff, touching and real.

It had it's funny moments (how can it not, with Seth Rogan at the helm?) but it wasn't a comedy by any means. It's a drama, and I went through many napkins trying to mop up the tears and snot, especially towards the end. Be warned - it's sad. It's somewhat depressing. And it stays with you longer than you want it to after leaving the theater.

I am a solid fan of Seth Rogan. I am also a fan of the more bit-players in this movie - Angelica Huston, Anna Kendrick and Bryce Dallas Howard. But this movie made me more of a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt than I was before. I still haven't gotten through "Inception" (doubt I ever will at this point), but JGL gives a really strong performance in most movies I've seen him in, 50/50 being no exception.

**SPOILER**

One of the scenes I liked the best was when the cancer doc was doing dictation in front of JGL, rattling off the diagnosis with the huge, scary medical terminology while the patient sits there, smiling, waiting for the doc to greet him. Then the doc, after being interrupted by JGL, tells him he has cancer, what kind it is, and then JGL walks over to the window, and the docs voice starts to fade and white noise is amped up. From what I understand, it's pretty common for someone who's just been told that they have cancer to not hear much of the rest of the conversation.

**END OF SPOILER**

This is a good movie. It's a renter, for sure. Not really one to see at the theater, unless you just can't wait.