Tag Archives: movies

At long last, the KLOL documentary

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

IYKYK. As announced exclusively in the Houston Chronicle, the long-awaited 101 KLOL Houston rock documentary, “Runaway Radio,” directed/produced by first-time filmmaker and Texas media blogger Mike McGuff, will be released this month with a special Houston screening in early March. … Continue reading →

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The Hollywood (mostly non-) response to SB8

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. In May 2021, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed into law SB8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act. It’s the latest, and most contested, challenge to the 1973 Supreme Court decision made in Roe v. Wade, which legalized … Continue reading →

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Let’s go to the drive-in

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I’m down with this. Everything old really is new again. In the midst of ongoing concerns and restrictions over the Covid-19 pandemic, Houston is going back to the future with a new drive-in movie theater. The Drive-In at Sawyer … Continue reading →

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Reopening roundup

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Judge Hidalgo adjusts to the new status that has ben imposed on us from Austin. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday announced plans to significantly expand novel coronavirus case tracing, and maintain reserve hospital capacity, to prepare for a … Continue reading →

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Hollywood’s plans to come back

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve posted a few times about how sports leagues like MLB are making plans to return to action from coronavirus shutdowns. The larger entertainment industry, including TV and movie making, are in a similar position as the sports leagues, and … Continue reading →

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Preserving Texas’ film history

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Cool story. Click play on the grainy, black-and-white image titled simply “Houston Time Service” on the website of the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and you’re treated to a 110-second Houston love story. The film, from the 1940s, is … Continue reading →

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The KLOL documentary

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest to me, and other middle-aged guys like me. This past week Houston filmmaker and blogger Mike McGuff released a trailer for his upcoming film about the late, great radio station, Rock 101 KLOL-FM, and it’s getting Houstonians of … Continue reading →

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Sandra Bullock hurts Dan Patrick’s fee-fees

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Poor little snowflake. Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick is not too pleased that Oscar winning actress Sandra Bullock has agreed to star in a movie about former state Sen. Wendy Davis, whose 13-hour filibuster helped stall an anti-abortion bill in … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege, TV and movies | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Friday random ten – All in, part 1

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have a lot of songs that begin with the word “All”, so settle in and get comfortable. 1. All About Soul – Billy Joel 2. All Along The Watchtower – U2 3. All Around My Hat – The Mollys … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Fluxblog 1980

Posted on May 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about 1980 this week: 1. The Tilt – 7th Wonder 2. Everybody Wants Some! – Van Halen 3. I Got You – Split Enz 4. My Sick Mind – The Roches 5. Another Brick In The Wall Part … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Ladies’ night, part 22

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Leftovers Day, y’all. 1. Hotel Pool – Lily & Madeleine 2. Womanizer – Lily Allen 3. Hypnotized – Linda Jones 4. Tumbling Dice – Linda Rondstadt 5. 1917 – Linda Rondstadt and Emmylou Harris 6. Funkytown – Lipps Inc. … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Ladies’ night, part 21

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I took last week off from my two regularly scheduled music-themed posts because I just didn’t have it in me. They’re back this week, not because I feel better per se, but because there’s comfort to be found in both … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Minnie The Moocher

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the movie The Cotton Club, it’s Cab Calloway’s greatest hit: I saw that movie in the theater back in the day – it was kind of mediocre, but the soundtrack is killer. I’ve owned it on vinyl and on … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Meant To Be

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the Squirrel Nut Zippers? I remember them well, and I wish they had made more CDs. I’ve been a fan of various forms of swing/jazz/ragtime music since my earliest exposure to jazz band in school. Of the bands that … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Mah Na Mah Na

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are many ways to spell that, but we all know the words. Sing along with the Asylum Street Spankers: Very sad there’s no live video recording of that, it was always a blast to watch them perform it. With … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Lady Luck

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of newer songs from my collection. The first one called “Lady Luck” is by Pickwick, featuring Sharon van Etten: That’s from a South by Southwest sampler I got via Paste magazine. Don’t ask me how I came to … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten – To the stars

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Because Audrey got to watch “Star Trek: Into Darkness” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” with us last December, that’s why. 1. Science Fiction/Double Feature – from “Rocky Horror Picture Show” 2. Enterprise-Sulu Medley – Hi-Fidelity 3. The Saga Begins … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: I Wanna Be Like You

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A Disney classic, sung by “King Louie” Prima in The Jungle Book, here’s Los Lobos: That’s from a live morning-show TV appearance; skip ahead to about 1:30 to get past the talk. This is a different rendition than what they … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: The State of New York concedes the existence of Santa Claus

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A climactic scene from one of my favorite movies of all time: That is of course the one true version of Miracle on 34th Street, the original 1947 version. I do not speak of the 1994 remake, but I will … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: I Can’t Turn You Loose

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues: I couldn’t find the clip from the movie for that, but we can all picture it, I’m sure. That was an Otis Redding song. Have you ever heard his original … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Revisiting the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs list, part 13

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s their list. 1. Papa Was A Rolling Stone – The Temptations (#169; also a cover by Andrew Rothman) 2. Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye (#168) 3. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman (#167) 4. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Groove Me

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

One of the great cover bands of our time, the Blues Brothers: It’s been over 33 years since John Belushi died. Every now and then I wonder what kind of career he would have had if he had managed to … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Taking a break from cover songs for a good, patriotic reason today: I’d love to see a modern take on that. Imagine Jay-Z interpreting and re-choreographing Jimmy Cagney’s song and dance above. Or Bruno Mars, or Justin Timberlake, or maybe … Continue reading →

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Adickes documentary

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I’d watch that. Recently local video production company The Storyhive announced details of an upcoming documentary about Houston artist and sculptor David Adickes, the man behind many of the large-scale public art pieces dotting the Bayou City area. The film, … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: The Rainbow Connection

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Going out of order, inspired by a Facebook post by my friend Andy, here’s a classic song with a particular resonance for this week: From the original “Muppet Movie” of 1979, which I need to find on DVD and make … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Sum sum summertime

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

After all the rain we’ve had here, we haven’t had any opportunities yet to complain about the heat. I suspect that’s about to end. 1. All Summer Long – The Beach Boys 2. Cruel Summer – Bananarama 3. Dirty Summer … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Cherry Bomb

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time for another edition of Same Name, Different Song. Today’s song “Cherry Bomb” is fairly well known in either rendition, though I’d venture to guess that the John Mellencamp version has been on the radio a lot more. I … Continue reading →

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“The luckiest man on the face of the earth”

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Seventy-five years ago today, Yankees great Lou Gehrig said farewell to baseball and the fans at Yankee Stadium with one of the most memorable speeches of sports history. Here’s an old newsreel of Gehrig’s career and a clip from his … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Cups

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Cup-stacking is a thing with the kids these days, and this song from “Pitch Perfect” is the soundtrack for it (music starts about 1:28). David Letterman was quite impressed by Anna Kendrick’s cup percussion ability: As someone who finds it … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: “Baby clothes. This place has got everything!”

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A shot-by-shot LEGO remake of the mall chase scene from The Blues Brothers: How awesome, not to mention OCD, is that? Here’s the side-by-side comparison: And the “making of” video: All done by the folks at Bricktease. I am in … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Five, six, seven, eight…

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

So tomorrow the Rice Owls will play the Marshall Thundering Herd at Historic Rice Stadium in the Conference USA championship game (noon EST, 11 AM CST, ESPN2, check local listings), and I’ll be there in the stands with the Rice … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Try A Little Tenderness

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Song #64 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “Try A Little Tenderness”, originally by Bing Crosby and covered by everybody in the galaxy but for these purposes by Otis Redding. Here’s Der Bingle: Oh, that voice. Makes you … Continue reading →

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Alamo Drafthouse coming inside the Loop

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Woo hoo! I am so thrilled to announce that we’re getting two new Alamo Drafthouse locations in Houston! I love living in Houston and I love the Alamo theaters here, and the expansion of the company in this wonderful city … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Hallelujah

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Song #72 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “Hallelujah”, originally by Leonard Cohen and covered by everyone on the planet many artists, in this case Rufus Wainwright. Here’s the original: That’s probably not the version you’re most familiar with; Jeff … Continue reading →

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