Hello Meadberry,

One of my new favorite movies of all time is New Moon. I will probably never see it, but it has earned my utmost respect. There are a few movies that just fill up seats in a movie theater and this was one of them. Add it to the list of greats like Pirates, Harry Potter, anything Pixar, and Wild Hogs. Speaking of Wild Hogs, the “sequel” Old Dogs opens for Thanksgiving weekend.

The Little Projectionist is getting ready for a big trip. We are off in the family truckster to see Nonnie and Par Par. My father likes to play golf so we named him Par Par. The only problem is Par Par can’t keep up with the little man. So now we call him Bogey, Bogey. If you don’t play golf, look that up on Wikipedia. It is very funny.

I told you about Old Dogs – this movie has a scene with a gorilla à la Trading Places. Great. To get back at all the teenage girls, the teenage boys (and their Dads) will be coming to see Ninja Assassin. This is a Bruce Lee Kung Fu movie on steroids. Can’t wait. Last but not least, we have a Clooney alert. This time he is an animated fox in The Fantastic Mr. Fox. My guess is that the movie is fantastic. The tip off is in the title.

The Chophouse will be open for lunch starting November 27th (Black Friday). Lunch and a movie is not bad as long as you save room for popcorn.

Now Your Moment of Zen:

Hello Meadberry,

After only 4 years and 2 months in operation, they started to put up our new road sign today. I feel like we are now a real theater. We are taking the old hand painted thing and having a bonfire. The restaurant is also getting a sign. It didn’t really matter much for me as I ate there five times in the last week. It reminds me of the movie Diner. I am the fat guy that sits there every night eating and reading a newspaper.

The Little Projectionist is showing his sweet side lately. I think he feels Christmas in the air and is getting with the holiday spirit. Every day I get home from work he gives me a great big hug and says “Dad, I love you.” Then he punches me and says “you’re it!”. When I go to bed at night I only remember the first part of the conversation. It’s better that way.

If you don’t know what is opening this weekend you are definitely not a teenage girl. Twilight begins at midnight on Thursday night. Don’t get me wrong – I love the enthusiasm, but is there a big difference in coming out Friday at 10:00 am? Maybe we should start a special showing for breakfast at 7:00 am? We will call it ‘Movies and Eggs’. Two other good movies open with Planet 51 and The Blind Side. It gets better for Thanksgiving with Old Dogs, Ninja Assassin, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. If you don’t come to the movies and the Chophouse this week, you are, as the Little Projectionist would say, “not nice”.

Now your moment of zen:

“If you want to talk, you always have the guys at the diner. You don’t need a girl if you wanna talk.” Steve Guttenburg in Diner

Hello Meadberry,

The restaurant is open! I started with the spinach dip, had a Caesar salad, a half rack of ribs, french fries, and some kind of chocolate dessert. I then sat back in my chair, nursed the rest of my Dogfish I.P.A. and smiled. Meadberry, the Chop House is the best thing that has happened to me since the Little Projectionist was born.

My son is really an amazing human. We played basketball today. If you call basketball running around the Linesville High School gym rolling, kicking, and throwing the ball. Every time I screamed “pass”, he grabbed the ball and ran in the opposite direction. The little man doesn’t like to give up the ball at critical moments of the game. I respect that.

This week we see into the future with 2012. I love when I read about the plot. Does anyone really care about plot? We want to see the cool special effects and the close calls. Seeing Los Angeles fall into the ocean isn’t bad either. I am telling you there may be something to the Lex Luther real estate plan in the first Superman movie.

Now your moment of zen:

“Everything west of this line is the richest, most expensive real estate in the world: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Everything on THIS side of the line is just hundreds and hundreds of miles of worthless desert land, which just so happens to be owned by…”
Lex Luther in Superman the Movie

Hello Meadberry,

I haven’t seen Twilight, so I don’t get this craziness. In four years in the theater business, I have never seen more tickets sold so quickly. My wife and I made a date to buy it on Blu-Ray and watch sometime this week. We watched Adventureland (also with Kristen Stewart) last week which we loved. The Pittsburgh setting and Conneaut Park atmosphere just really was awesome.

The Little Projectionist is on a quest to have 100% control over his world. I may start to call him Napoleon. He is our home’s version of a little dictator.

The holiday movie season begins this week with A Christmas Carol. Roger Zemeckis is a genius and the story is timeless. Don’t even think about it — you will absolutely see this film sometime before December 25th. The Men Who Stare At Goats stars George Clooney and Jeff Bridges. Jeffrey Lebowski and Danny Ocean in the same movie together – like a dream come true. The only thing missing is Lloyd Dobler. He’s coming next week in 2012.

The Rib and Chop House opens Monday November 9th. When are you going to eat there? I’ll be in line early and often!

Hello Meadberry,

I can’t stop singing Michael Jackson songs. It’s strange considering I am a balding, middle- aged man, but This Is It opens this week. At first, when I saw the title I thought to myself…really? you promise? However, now I think I am excited to see this movie. Kind of like how I felt to see Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight last summer. If you think about it, Michael and The Joker had some things in common.

The Little Projectionist is going to be Spiderman for Halloween. Since Halloween lasts over a week for kids these days, I got to see him in full costume today. He looks very strong, but I still think I could take him in a fight.

The Chop House is so close to opening I can taste it. By the way, if you like spinach dip, I highly recommend the Chop House version. I have tasted it, and it is delectable.

Hello Meadberry,

I couldn’t wait to write the newsletter this week. Last Saturday night, the girl and I went to see Where The Wild Things Are. We like to do the 5:00 movie and then go to dinner afterward. It really is the most brilliant movie-going strategy. Everybody does dinner and a movie. We prefer movie and then dinner. It doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily, but it is far superior. The other phrase is just a ploy for movie theaters to charge you a higher evening price. I am all about the truth, so please try the movie first.

Where The Wild Things Are is the best movie of the year. Yep, I said it! I said it about a film where the main characters are muppets. This movie will make you cry. Remember the first time you saw E.T? Same kind of thing. Some people are saying that this is not a kids movie so the girl and I debated if we could bring our 5-year old. I think I saw Old Yeller when I was 5? That certainly wasn’t cheery. Can someone e-mail me who took a child under 10? I would like to know what happened.

Yes, we are getting Paranormal Activity in Meadville. No, we did not wait. We had this movie tagged a month ago, but Paramount and their brilliant marketing department was “building buzz”. All buzz does is make people think we don’t know what we are doing. This is a horror movie that I might actually see. No blood, just neat Hitchcock tricks to scare the pants off you. However, if you like gruesome violence we also are opening Saw number twenty something. You know who you people are….and I am not sure I approve. Lastly, a movie that I know is for kids, Astro Boy opens.

Do you smell the ribs and steak yet? The Chop House opens on November 9th. Good times.

Hello Meadberry,

In exactly four weeks The Montana Rib and Chop House will open its doors. “Dinner and a movie” will take on a whole new meaning now in Crawford County. And I find out tomorrow if we will have the new sign ready to go too!

I love the Christmas season and this year is starting to feel extra special. To the few of you who are acting like Bill Murray in Scrooged….bah humbug to you!

So I survived this past weekend by myself with the Little Projectionist and his sister. I drove up to the water park in Erie and had a blast. It is amazing how happy a kid can be if you feed them McDonald’s and take them on water slides. As for me, the McDonald’s made me feel as bad as I look in a bathing suit.

I am very excited about Where the Wild Things Are. Have you seen the preview? While this may be a “kids” movie, I think I would see it without my kids. Kind of reminds me of The Princess Bride without the humor. If you think about it Andre The Giant was kind of like a wild thing. Right? The director is the same guy that did Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. Two of the most original films I have ever seen. My guess is that this will be an instant classic.

Now, your moment of zen:

Hello Meadberry,

I got together with my college roommates last weekend. There is nothing funnier than 12 almost 40 guys trying to behave like they are 20. My doctor friend brought a pirated DVD of The Hangover. It amazes me that educated people, like a physician, don’t realize that buying pirated movies is stealing. I am still trying to gather if by watching the movie, I was party to the crime?

In return for my weekend, the girl I call sweetie is leaving me this weekend to go on a trip with her friends. My guess is the conversations will not be as funny. I will be spending some good time with the little projectionist and his sister. I figure as long as I give them everything they want, the entire weekend will be a breeze. If my wife is reading this, that was a joke.

One new movie this weekend called Couples Retreat. Vince Vaughn is very funny and people enjoy laughing. My guess is that people will put these things together and see this film. My second guess is that this film will be up for zero academy awards.

Now your momet of zen:

“Gambling? Who said anything about gambling? It’s not gambling when you know you’re gonna win. Counting cards is a foolproof system.”
The funny guy with a beard in The Hangover

Hello Meadberry,

There was an article in the Tribune last week about the Chop House. It is always so great to see the comments about the articles on the Tribune website. From the tone of things, you would think we were building a garbage dump right in the middle of the parking lot. I am sorry that we are not in the manufacturing business. If I knew how to make tools and felt there was a market, my guess is I would build a tool shop. My problem is I have never liked manufacturing since the opening scene in Joe vs. The Volcano. Yes, I just referenced Joe vs. The Volcano. Now, that is something to get upset about.

The Little Projectionist has reached def-con 5 in driving his parents crazy. He now refuses to eat anything except candy and chocolate milk. I try to say no, but he just wears me down. I am thinking of sending him to Iran as my guess is he could have that country de-nuked in a few short days.

I would tell you what is opening this weekend but, this week, I just want you to trust me. Just show up on Saturday and I promise you will see something good. Really, I mean it. No thinking. Just show up. I dare you.

Now your moment of zen:

Hello Meadberry,

The Little Projectionist’s sister started kindergarten this week. We have spent the last five years keeping her away from strangers and strapping her down in every car we have ever been in together. All of the sudden, a bus comes and we hand her right over to a stranger. At least the bus driver was not like Chris Farley in Billy Madison. She then proceeds to sit down with no seat belt at all. Life is strange.

Steelers begin their defense of the championship tonight. I drafted the Steelers D for my fantasy team. I feel good about it. The Black and Gold Club is back and this year there has been an upgrade in equipment. We now have the game on our fancy digital projector in Hi-Def. It is like sitting in front of a Jumbo-Tron. It lets you watch the game like you are in a stadium…only better. $10 gets you all-you-can-eat popcorn, soda, and a hot dog at the half.

Movies this week are Tyler Perry and some horror flicks. Tyler Perry movies are very good. Still, I am more excited about next week.

Now your moment of zen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dncx6O5J4U