Rotten Tomatoes' Top 5 Thanksgivig Movies

Home for the Holidays -- Written by "Buckaroo Banzai" scribe WD Richter and directed by the multi-talented Jodie Foster, "Home for the Holidays" is absolutely stuffed with great actors. Sort of a less slapsticky and more realistic version of "Christmas Vacation," it's about a stressed-out woman (Holly Hunter) who returns to the roost to enjoy(?) a manic Thanksgiving dinner with her entire extended family. Even if the movie stunk (which it so absolutely does not) it would be worth seeing for a cast that includes Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Robert Downey Jr., Dylan McDermott, Steve Guttenberg, Claire Danes, Austin Pendleton, David Strathairn, Cynthia Stevenson, and Amy Yasbeck. (Tell me that wouldn't be a fun crew to eat turkey with.)

Pieces of April -- This endearing 2003 indie from Peter Hedges ("About a Boy") stars Katie Holmes as an estranged daughter who invites her skeptical family for a Thanksgiving feast at her tiny little apartment. One half of the film sees April's family struggling to make it in time for dinner, and the other half deals with poor frazzled April as she desperately tries to build an edible turkey dinner. In addition to some of Ms. Holmes' very best work, "April" also features fantastic performances from Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, and Sean Hayes.

What's Cooking? -- From director Gurinder Chadha ("Bend It Like Beckham") comes this tale of four separate families, and the various preparations they make to have a solid Thanksgiving affair. Jewish, African-American, Vietnamese, and Latino families populate this holiday charmer, and the cast is another stellar ensemble: Dennis Haysbert, Alfre Woodard, Joan Chen, Mercedes Ruehl, Lainie Kazan, Maury Chaykin, Kyra Sedgwick, and Julianna Margulies keep the guest list colorful, and there's plenty of wit, wisdom, and warmth (and even a few surprises) in this holiday treat.

Hannah and Her Sisters -- Opening and closing with a pair of Thanksgiving dinners, the heavily-ensembled Woody Allen comedy is still considered one of the director's very best films. Winner of three Oscars (for screenplay and the performances by Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest) and a nominee for four more, "Hannah and Her Sisters" is a razor-sharp and hilariously insightful story about one extended family and the non-stop stress the relatives cause one another. Also on board are Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, Max von Sydow, Julie Kavner, Daniel Stern, Maureen O'Sullivan, Joanna Gleason, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Even the hardcore Woody-philes consider this one of his finest screenplays.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles -- If it's me you're asking, PT&A is the #1 finest Thanksgiving movie ever made, mainly because it's "about" nothing more than finding a way to make it home for the holidays. Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy star as a pair of astonishingly mismatched traveling partners who'll stop at nothing to make it home in time for some turkey. (For my money, this is John Hughes' finest film, just barely ahead of the teenage trifecta of "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off.") Featuring tons of laughs, lots of great sights along the way, and a sweet-natured finale that always makes my eyeballs a little moist, "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" is a comedy classic for any season ... but it really does work best in November. (If you're watching this one with the family, please be sure to cover the kiddies' ears when Mr. Martin arrives, unhappily, at a car rental kiosk. Trust me.) Also keep eyes peeled for hilarious little cameos by Kevin Bacon, Martin Ferrero, Dylan Baker, Michael McKean, Edie McClurg, and Ben Stein.

Article in the New York Times about the division of labour, housework and childcare in marriages.

James richardson

Shortly before the 1997 general election, Richardson ends the show "...and to quote 'Debbie Does Peking,' enjoy your election."

"So Gianluca Vialli, do you want to see a replay of your wondergoal last weekend then?" "No, I'm not that bothered" "But it's Gary Bloom commentating!" "Gary Bloom? Fantastico!"

Ardal O'Hanlon was in attendance at one of the matches, and when the show returned after the half time advert break, there was James holding up a couple of little models of footballers explaining to Ardal that they were 'small', but the players down on the pitch were 'far away'! A genius homage to the Father Ted scene

"...nd like a dyslexic ambulance there was some bad knee news..."

"... Ince's hard tackle on fresh young Totti..."

"...and he made off with more speed than a Scottish raver".

"as likely to score as a panda with a headache"

Ronaldo at Inter: "he gets played less than a Victoria Beckham record"

"Roma and Lazio, like Penelope Pitstop, are tied on points"

"This week, we've got the best top of the table action since The Postman Always Rings Twice"

when Lazio were pelted with manky apples and bananas after playing badly, James mentioned that there was "more flying fruit than a gay trapeze".

"As the man said at the fender exhibition, it's a bumper show"

"What do Clarence Seedorf and Pete Doherty have in common ? They both get caught in possession an awful lot"

"A Chantelle and Preston of a game if ever there was one with all the hype about the match it ends without any scoring"

“…the biggest derby since Terence Trent…”

"Gianluca Vialli, the legend who really put the T in Turin. And we should all be thankful that he did".

in reference to the usually abusive Parma fans not hurling abuse in the direction of Alberto Malesani, who had broken his broken collar bone in a car crash, James said: 'Well, there's no point in boos when he's already plastered'.

"Roberto Mancini talks about his title aspirations, which is a comeback as improbable as Leo Sayer's but with a much better record"

describing Christian Ziege as "the rootin tootin Teuton".

"I find cheese a great aid to creative writing, although medical science hasn't caught up with me on this yet."

“Day 14 of the World Cup couldn’t have been more dramatic if it was an ice dance remake of King Lear with Arjen Robben and Pippo Inzaghi…”

"the worst defence since Petracelli"

"It's said that if the Romans had been as bad as at making crosses as Attilio, Christianity may never have got started"

(Whilst talking about Sven taking up a director of football role with Inter) "Would Sven be partial to a role behind the desk ? Stop sniggering at the back!"

The advert break ends and we see the balding James Richardson sat at a table in a piazza, large cathedral dome in the background. "Welcome back, viewers," he says, "I'm the one on the left."

Ronaldo: a footballer so rich, even his teeth are big bucks.

Not since Zebedee said "Time for bed" has Florence been so excited.

Romania 0 France 0

How disappointing were the French? I was keen to see the probable Arsenal man Nasri, who was brought on late to play just behind the front man Gomi, when the French changed from 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1.

I'm not really bothered who wins Euro 2008, but I have been thinking about Karen's education and really think languages are important. With that in mind, I've resolved to improve the only language I know a bit: French.

And so, with that in mind, I'm planning to follow (as opposed to support) the French team, and attempt to read about them in French websites. Proportionally, I know so more of them from Arsenal, and from previous tournaments, than any other nation, so I've got the best chance of following what these websites say.

Alan Hansen joked he was going to leave until he remembered he was under contract with the BBC. Marcel Desailly was despondent. Gary Lineker said they struggled to find highlights.

Free PDF

A cool book about fathers and daughters:

Alena and the Favourite Thing

Quote of the week - [4 mths, 3wks old]

By Comedian Louis CK:

Marriage without kids is just dating.

You get married and you think, 'This is it. I can't leave. I wasn't really thinking of leaving, but, I can't leave.'

Then you have a kid and you think, 'Oh Shit. I could've left.'

Article on Pad Dads - [4 Months old]

Guardian article about Stay-at-Home Dads (as it seems I am to be called).

St George's Day - [3mths, 3wks old]

Not only St George's Day, but also Shakespeare's birthday. And death-day.

Sent off for Scarlett's British passport.

It had to be countersigned by someone British who knows me. It seemed appropriate that the countersignatury should be an American who has taken British citizenship.

Land of the Free - [3mths, 1wk old]

Obtained Scarlett's American passport, and certification of birth 'overseas' from the US embassy today.

The security checks before entering the building were just as tiresome, and rudely conducted, as the ones at US customs in airports.

The only difference here is that the rudeness is contracted out to British people manning the metal detectors.

The Arsenal dilemma - [3 months old]

Each home game, the blokes I stand next to at Arsenal ask how Scarlett is. Both of them have kids, and one of them is just about to have another.

I show them the photos on my phone. They make appreciative noises.

Then we discuss the upcoming match in much more detail. Last week, hwever, we spent some time on my Arsenal dilemma.

My problem is this. We have two season tickets, and I am delighted with their location. We are in the RedSection:- the noisiest, loudest, singingest, sweariest section of the ground. It is our corner which the players run to when they score, it is our section they come to and applaud at the end of the game, win lose or draw.

But it is also the only standing section. What with the standing, and the pretty colourful swearing, how can I take my child when she inherits her birthright - her uninterested mother's season ticket to Arsenal?

Immunised - [2 months old]

It's Friday night around 715 and AW has taken the screaming Scarlett to bed, hopefully for the night. She's still what is considered a 'good' baby: once the nighttime starts, she's reasonably content to treat it as sleep-time, even if she needs a couple of feeds and her nappy changed during the night. She'll usually go back to sleep quite quickly, especially if she's feeding between us in the bed. But we're trying to put an end to that, as we are moving to our smaller place, with its smaller bed, next week.

We're expecting a more disturbed night tonight as Scarlett had her first set of immunisations today. She was not pleased at the two injections, one in either chubby thigh. She'll have these again at 12 weeks, and at 16 weeks, and then the next set at 12 months. It was like we'd betrayed her - she's been very happy in the flat and in the doctor's waiting room, and then all of a sudden - pain. Hope she doesn't blame it on me because I was holding her at the time. I'll be holding her next time as well, as AW will be back at work then, I think.

Then we had to wait around the surgery for 10mins or so, to see if there was any reaction. She swiftly fell asleep in AW's arms, and remained so on our walk back to the flat. It is so convenient having our chemist, our doctor, and our dentist literally across the road from us. It was especially good when AW was pregnant.

Ducks - [1 month, 3 wks old]

On Wednesday we went and fed the ducks in Hyde Park, pushing Scarlett in the stroller my brother and his wife gave us. It was the best kind of day - cold enough to be bundled up cosily but sunny enough to be warm on our faces and for us to wear our sunglasses. We went to the statue of Peter Pan and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, and back along the Serpentine, and had the same boring conversation we always have: "How lucky we are to live here!" "How lucky we are to have Scarlett!" We are in complete accord on both those things. We feel very very blessed.

The theme of this week has mostly been - 'I can't believe how big she is!' My mother came back from Ireland this week with a really classy French baby outfit, which SAID it was for a six-month old. But that cannot be right, because Scarlett will be fitting into it fairly soon. She's getting long, and very chubby.

Stroller - [1 month, 2wks old]

This is our stroller, both the joy and bane of our lives:












The joy because it is so well-designed, and so smart.


The bane because the person who bought it for us got us the 'country' version rather than the 'city' version. The city version has a small front wheel that swivles. The country has all wheels the same size, and that means a massive turning circle.

Very frustrating getting into Starbucks on Notting Hill Gate.

Publication - [1 month old]

A baby magazine asked me to write a sixty-word response to their question, WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS UPON SEEING YOUR NEWBORN BABY? Here's what was published:

My baby seemed so distressed as she was wiped and weighed. What could I do to calm her? I shushed her, softly called her name. No joy.

Maybe a familiar song that she’d heard daily in the womb? It helped. But surrounded by medical professionals in the Chelsea operating theatre, I did feel self-conscious singing, 'Good old Arsenal…'

Sunday morning [2 weeks old]

I think Scarlett laughed for the first time today, just now, in her sleep. I know babies aren't supposed to smile or laugh this young, and that it's probably something else, but that's certainly what it looked like. Biggest smile she's ever done, combined with a 'heh-heh-heh'.

Sunday morning 830 and Scarlett and I are sitting on the couch. Scarlett's asleep on the superpillow mother bought us. AW's just gone to bed after being up all night with her from about 230am. This tends to be the case - that we take it in shifts in the lounge. Scarlett will happily sleep in the cot in our bedroom when she's definitely asleep and swaddled, but often one of us lets the other get deep sleep while Scarlett and the nominated one hangs out with the TV and the internet in the lounge.

Right now both my girls are in full sleep, in different rooms, both with their arms and hands fully extended, as if embracing sleep.

Can you tell we have a newborn? All my paragraphs so far have talked about sleep! I could give a longer discourse about Scarlett's digestive system and the liquid contents of her nappies if you want, but let's draw a veil, shall we?

I'm sitting here with a headache from my latest diet. Haven't yet had my Cabbage Soup . . .

On Tuesday I went to work for most of the day, and my girls seemed to do fine without me.

On Thursday met up with my Aussie mate in Starbucks in Notting Hill. It took longer for me and Scarlett to get ready and take the stroller a quarter mile up the road, than for him and his three-month-old (whose middle name is London!) to jump on the bus and travel here from Central London! Being 'men with babies' and therefore safe, got quite a few smiles from women.

On Friday (her two-weeks anniversary) we met up with some of the women and their newborns from out NCT antenatal classes. It was interesting enough to hear stories of the births, although I was the only bloke there, and the conversation was a little stilted on occasion. Not necessarily because of my presence. On that trip there was plenty of breastfeeding in the car, which went well, and Scarlett certainly seems to be lulled to sleep by the car sounds. She slept for the two hours up there and the two hours back.

AW absolutely loves Scarlett and is constantly absorbed by her every movement. She also loves being in the flat and NOT AT WORK. Her lowest point came last night when she had to deal with some of our paperwork regarding some US insurance.

Today we are likely to look for fireplaces, as AW's generous gift from her grandmother will go some way to letting us renovate the flat in the way we would like it. This will remove a couple of hard corners in the flat, and enable us to put down carpet, both of which should make it a little safer for the baby, as well as being more aesthetically pleasing.

It's Been, One Week - [1 week, 1 day old]

830am Saturday morning and the construction hammering below us has begun. Scarlett is sleeping on the sofa next to me. She's swaddled, but has got one hand free to put behind her head in her modelling pose. I woke up at 5 to take over from American Woman, as I have been doing at 4am for the last few days. Scarlett always sleeps at this time, so it's an easy gig to give AW a few uninterrupted hours of sleep in our bedroom while I try to sleep but end up surfing the net.

Yesterday our midwife Juliet visited again and weighed Scarlett. She has put on weight (they always drop after the birth, but now she's well above her birthweight). The midwife also talked us through how to use the breast-pump Maria has lent us.

Yesterday afternoon Patrick and Kathryn came over for a visit, bringing with them a gift for Scarlett from their trip to Nepal. It is a thick cloth jacket, lined with yak hair (!), for when she's 6-18 months (at a guess . . . ). AW was a little embarrassed that the breast pump was still on display, effectively a milking machine in our lounge.

Previous to their arrival was the messiest explosion in (and around) her nappy ever, necessitating a hurried (and unwelcome) dunking in her bath. The stuff was orange and very runny. I know Chicken Tikka Masala is Britain's favourite dish but there's no need for an impersonation.

Our NCT group of new parents are trying to arrange a meet-up in in the countryside on Friday. I suspect that 'Friday' means the women and kids only, as most of the men will be at work. Only one of us has yet to deliver. I very much doubt we'll go.

910am and she's waking up now. I will change her nappy and then wake AW as she'll cry during the change and then want feeding.