McGuffin by Hitchcock from isaac niemand on Vimeo.
5 Random Yet Classic Hitchcock MacGuffins (Off The Top of My Head)
1. “Government Secrets” Microfilm/George Caplan in North By Northwest
2. Wine Bottle Uranium in Notorious
3. What’s Buried in the Garden in Rear Window
4. Identity of the Thief in To Catch a Thief
5. Message Encoded into Music in The Lady Vanishes
Here’s a nice article on some other famous non-Hitch movie MacGuffins.
And here’s a cool pic of the Man himself.
Of course, I’m either late to the party (no pun intended) or the network execs hate me as they always have in the past. But these two hilarious shows deserve your time. Find ‘em on-line and give ‘em a shot.
Check Netflix Watch It Now for the first and Hulu for the latter. BOT is still lacking 2 episodes that have never aired, apparently. I hate to use the ol’ “if you like this, you might like that” but if you dig Arrested Development, you might enjoy Ted. As for Party Down, it has a great cast with a lot of Veronica Mars regulars, but you’ll also see “Bill” from the BEST SHOW EVER Freaks & Geeks, as well as Jane Lynch and a host of fantastic cameos such as JK Simmons.
Both of these are great shows that go in the “Brilliant But Canceled” category. Watch ‘em!
Do not, under any circumstances, watch this film:
It’s so bad it will actually make you angry, which, last time I checked, is not what this kind of movie is supposed to do. There is literally ONE funny line in the entire piece of work. And the two Taylors (Lautner & Swift) are so appalling inept at acting that it is laughable. So, I guess that means there are three funny things in the movie.
Instead, watch this brilliantly collaborative take on love that shows how great writing, good direction, and a cast made up not only of celebrities, but of fine actors, can achieve what every romantic comedy aims for: a beautiful, multifaceted depiction of love.
An Open Letter to Jason Richman.
Last month, a small announcement said that Jason Richman, screenwriter of such films as Bad Company, Swing Vote, and Bangkok Dangerous, has been drafted to pen the upcoming MacGyver movie. Now, it’s not that I don’t have complete faith in Mr. Richman’s skills, but just in case anyone else saw that Chris Rock/Anthony Hopkins movie (because let’s face it, when you think “action,” those are absolutely the first two names that come to mind), I just wanted to offer a few things for consideration when writing the MaGyver movie.
1. Mac is a Spy - Yep, that’s right. 
Mac does spy things. Yes, he works for a private institution called the Phoenix Foundation, but my point here is that he travels around the world to exotic locals meeting other agents and stealing top secret stuff and blowing shit up and so on and so forth. So, please, don’t even come to the table with a script where he helps out the neighborhood kids or something. That would just say to me, “this guy only watched, like, season 5 or something.”
2. Mac Eats Healthy - Long before Michael Weston was digging into a cup of yogurt, MacGyver was the first hero I ever saw on TV who cared about what sort of stuff went into his body. He was always making wheatgrass smoothies and tormenting his boss Pete with health foods. He may have even been a vegetarian! Mac loves Mother Earth, let’s just remember that. Please don’t have him chowing down on some quick fast food or wrestling a plate of baby-back ribs into submission.
3. Mac Helps His Friends - 
Let’s face it: it does not pay to be one of MacGyver’s friends. It seems like every week, Mac was having to jump into action to avenge the death of one of his friends. Or going undercover as a homeless man to find out who killed his priest friend. Whether it was a kid targeted by neo-Nazis, his former hockey coach, or a deaf teacher friend whose nightmares may contain clues to an ingenious plot to steal a missile-guidance system, Mac was always helping his pals. Penny Parker, Pete Thornton, Jack Dalton, Nikki Carpenter, the list goes on. So yeah, the movie should probably be about that.
4. Mac Was in the War - Sure, he’s all peace-loving pacifist now, but back in the day, the original MacGyver was in Vietnam. Of course, that’s probably going to have to be the Gulf or Afghanistan or something nowadays, but just be sure it’s in there, because it informs everything he does.
5. Mac Is NOT a Badass -
OK, he was in the war, he blows shit up, but he’s not a badass. If I go into this movie and the first 5 minutes I see some egotistical, muscle-bound numbskull kicking ass and taking names, I’m walking out. On the extremely rare occasion when MacGyver punches somebody, it hurts Mac almost as much as it hurts the guy he punched. And I don’t mean, in an emotional way - IT HURTS HIS HAND. Because, unless you are Bruce Lee, it hurts to punch someone in the face. Do I even need to go into the fact that Mac shouldn’t be killing anyone, either? I didn’t think so. Mac isn’t that impressed with his own work either, so let’s not spend any time on him breaking his arm to pat himself on the back after a minor success. And while we’re on the subject of the first five minutes of the film…
6. Mac Should Sell the Entire Movie in the First Five Minutes - In the first seasons of the classic TV show, there was a little something that is held in incredibly high esteem by MacGyver fans: The Opening Gambit. This was a cold open where each week, the viewer would find Mac embroiled in some bit of espionage where he would think his way out with some brilliant escape. If this movie does not have an Opening Gambit, I will not only burn the print of the film, I’ll probably burn down the entire theatre as well. And while we’re on the subject of Mac being brilliant…
7. Mac Is Cleverer Than the Audience - MacGyver is smarter than you and me. That’s the whole point. I’ll say that again: THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT. Mac is smarter than everybody. Whether it’s some sweet, sweet science or just looking at the world in a way that the rest of us don’t see it, the entire crux of the character is being clever. That’s what we love about him. I guess what I’m saying is, just don’t let me see it coming. Surprise me. I always thought if the guy on screen was this smart, the writers must be the quickest and coolest guys on the planet. So, please be smarter than me.
8. Mac Is AWESOME - Seriously, don’t let me down on this. This show is HUGE the world over. It’s classic. It’s so cool, the name of the show is goddamn shorthand for being awesome. Keep that in mind.
Here’s a couple of classic clips for inspiration. Now get started on that script, Mr. Richman, and knock it out of the park!
The only thing the GiNCHY GUiDE loves as much as music, movies, TV, and comics is junk food. So, we’re adding a new topic to the site: snacks.
We’re going to look at a few new items on our radar today.
1. Atlanta’s King of Pops - This is a guy who sits outside of a gas station on the corner of North and Highland and sells homemade, crazily-flavored popsicles. I had the Blackberry Mojito the other and I felt like I was Don Draper enjoying a cocktail while driving home. Highly Recommended! 
2. Sun Chips 100% Compostable Chip Package - 
The only thing we love more than snacks is green snacks. And while we applaud Frito-Lay for taking the initiative to wrap their delicious snack in something that won’t make Mother Earth choke to death, MAN, IS THIS BAG LOUD! Good God, man, I feel like everyone in a 10 block radius knows when I’m digging in for some Sun Chips with my lunch. We would love to have given this an A+ but we’re going to have to knock it down to a B- just based on the sheer decibel level. Please take this thing back to the drawing board, Frito-Lay Food Scientists.
3. Pretzel M&Ms -
Meh. An interesting idea but the dry,
flavorless center just leaves us feeling… meh. You can skip ‘em.
4. Snyder’s Cheddar Cheese Flavored Pretzel Pieces - Amazing. Absolutely addictive in the way junk food absolutely ought to be.
5. Newman O’s - Holy crap, I never thought I would say there was a better creme sandwich cookie out there than Oreo’s but this is it. Tremendous cookie. My will power is not really a shining beacon, but nevertheless, I can not stop eating these damn things. Pricey but worth every penny. And they are organic! 
I was on the fence about posting this one but I decided to go with it because it’s a good chance to get in a good-natured dig at my friends who like NIN. What makes it great is it doesn’t have any of those awful NIN lyrics!
If you, like us, were thinking that this summer was kind of sucking with regard to killer movies being released, well, maybe we were all wrong. I mean, sure we don’t seem to have a ginormous Dark Knight or a Star Trek or whatever this year, but there might be a few cool flicks to sneak in under the radar. I mean, Scott Pilgrim looks promising and I still have high hopes for The Expendables to fulfill all my ridiculous ’80s action needs.
Still, that said, I hadn’t been truly excited about any new movies this summer. Until I saw this trailer. Honestly, I thought the first one was, well, kind of brilliant…
And even if we can’t gorge ourselves on popcorn at movie after movie as we have done in recent summers, at least we’ve already had two great albums released in as many weeks. Has everyone bought Paul Weller’s mindbending Wake Up the Nation and Teenage Fanclub’s pristine Shadows? Well, you should have.
Don’t watch this movie:
Watch this movie instead:
It’s basically the same thing only WAY funnier and the leads have much more chemistry.
Don’t watch this movie:
Watch this one instead. Twice:
Of course we love Kristin Bell, and we’re even quite fond of Amy Adams, but these two recent rom-coms are amazingly disappointing. And hey, at least Roman Holiday actually TAKES PLACE in Rome.
You’re welcome, loyal readers. The GUiDE is just here to help. Please take advantage of the countless hours we have spent enduring poorly made romances and take advantage of our suggestions for time better spent.
I had been a fairweather fan of Camera Obscura going on a few years now, specifically of their song “Happy New Year,” and the beautifully simple album from which that song comes.
But I’ve been riding around this summer listening to My Maudlin Career and let me just say, it is perfect for classic summer activities such as, say, making your way through unfamiliar neighborhoods on the way to see a friend of a friend’s band play at a coffee shop on a warm, Georgia night.
Long story short, get this album to soundtrack your summer adventures.
Man, nobody does a love song like these guys, but give them strings and a horn section and look out!
One of the best tracks is the opener, “French Navy”: