Happy Birthday, Mr. Hopkins!

What better way to end 2012 than a birthday celebration with fireworks and loud merrymaking? Born on December 31, 1937, Anthony Hopkins will turn 75 on New Year's Eve. Liver, fava beans and chianti are on the house.

I'm So Excited (2013)

After almost 20 years, Pedro Almodóvar goes back to his roots. His 19th film, Los amantes pasajeros (2013), is as camp as camp can get. 

The English title of his new movie is I'm So Excited. The trailer features a trio of flight attendants lip-syncing a Pointer Sisters song. 

An Almodóvar film brings about a sense of familiarity. Actors you've previously seen in his early movies somehow resurface in his latest project. For Los amantes pasajeros, there's Cecilia Roth (All About My Mother), Penélope Cruz (Volver) and Antonio Banderas (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!).

More than Cruz and Banderas, it's the Pointer Sisters synchronized dancing that got me excited.

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Los amantes pasajeros premieres in Spain on March 8th.

LEGO's The Goblin King Battle

This is a far cry from the simple LEGO toys of the '80s. LEGO now has movie tie-ins with Star Wars, Batman, and most recently, The Hobbit. For the latter, it offers several box sets. Priced at almost a hundred dollars, The Goblin King Battle is the most elaborate, and by the looks of it, the most fun to play with. 

The Goblin King Battle is inspired by a sequence in the movie where Bilbo and the dwarves are captured by goblins while passing through the Misty Mountains. There they meet the Goblin King. 

The set includes seven mini figures: the Goblin King, dwarves, Gandalf the Grey, and goblins. The latter look actually cute. That's the thing with LEGO. Even monsters (at their worst) are adorable. Be careful, though. They're all armed to the teeth.

All I Want for Christmas

Because Stormtroopers will always be cool. Because I'm sick of Hallmark. Because they will never be tacky. Because I love coffee. Because plastic bags are going extinct.

LEGO Stormtrooper Light Key Chain

Weekend DVD

Little White Lies Murray Christmas cards

Vintage Fantasy Twin Pack

Keane Strangeland CD

Penguin coffee mug

Criterion Collection canvas tote bag

The Grandmaster (2013)