Ah Christmas. What a better time to be slothen and to catch up on movies. I ask you what is better than sitting in front of a movie with a bottle of Tawny Port? Yes, I have the requisite good chocolate thanks to a gift from my sister, but to top it off the other hand is holding a nice rich cup of holiday cheer flavored coffee with a healthy dose of irish creme. To make the house as cozy as possible I've opted for candles to light my evening, it works so well with horror flicks anyhow.

I slept well into the afternoon on Christmas eve, but I did manage to get the cables hooked up before heading to the evening church services. First we headed to my church and then on to Beff's. A little TV to polish off my evening and back to bed. Today I woke up and started a tasty dinner (I did depart from the originally planned hot dogs) of roasted chicken made with the tried and true Alton techniques typically for a turkey, candied yams, and a nice tomato salad. I didn't brine the bird, as that would have taken another day or so, but it was still quite tasty. A small holiday meal no doubt compared to what my mother would typically put on the table, but why make 10 dishes when you're cooking for yourself and two begging dogs.

An auction closed out earlier today too which I'm quite excited for. I do have some searches on ebay set to email me if new items appear, but this item would not be returned by any of those searches, which makes the fact that I received an email all the more odd. Nevermind that those reminder emails usually fire off when the item is added, not a day before it closes out. Either way, I'll take it... somehow I guess I was meant to see this listing. What a cute little baby face you have. This card will make a nice addition to my collection and should garner a surprised smile.

As dinner cooked I flipped on the Christmas tree lights and the girls opened their gifts. When dinner was ready I tossed in movie number 1: The new release of the Amittyville Horror. I am quite impressed with how they updated the film and didn't feel the need to stick with the same tired perspective as the original from the late 70's had. They did hold true to a few areas that are critical to still allow one to call this the Amittyville Horror. Excellent usage of scenes with Ryan Reynolds' shirt off. That alone ranks five stars.

Movie number 2: The Devil's Rejects. There is little in this film that someone who did not already watch House of 1000 Corpses would not get, but there are tidbits that are easier to "get" if you've seen Rob Zombie's first flick. Mayhaps my demand for gore is excessive, but I was a little let down by this flick. Not that the first movie was laden with gore, and it's not a sequel per se, but you still have to step it up a notch.

Movie number 3: Cursed. I've always been more of a fan of vampire flicks werewolves. I guess the closest I've come is enjoying the crossover between the two, Underworld. Cursed ruled... let me count the ways. First, it's Wes Craven. I've long since been a fan of his work. Christina Ricci, the ultimate little gothy chic, is in it. It was actually quite entertaining right down to the downfall of the 'beast' being the cattiness of women. Another female lead played Fern/Vylette in Jawbreaker, another b*tchy chic movie that I dig. Finally, my goodness did the hottie bouncer guy with the quickie part look like Paulie. Yum. Judging from IMDb the guy's name is Egan Friedlander, but no photos... rats.

On a final note I'll point out that there was NOT a single gift under my tree wrapped only in a blue bow. Booo.