Tops on the Dinner Topics Meter (DTM, trademark pending) is the fourth installment of Mission: Impossible titled Ghost Protocol.  Yes, Tom Cruise is still the star of this franchise, and early buzz is very favorable (93% on RottenTomatoes.com) with the script written by J.J. Abrams (Lost) among others while famous animated film director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Iron Giant, Ratatouille, etc.) takes over the directing reigns.

The latest Sherlock Holmes movie (A Game of Shadows) debuts the same day.  Starring Robert Downey Jr., Holmes has the star with the better recent track record, but Mission: Impossible is far and away the stronger box office franchise, so expect Ghost Protocol to win the battle at the ticket window.  Either way, feel free to make a joke about how both movie titles sound like they could be the title of a future Harry Potter book.

The last sequel coming out Friday is one for the kids: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.  Reviews matter very little to movies like this: kids want to see it and parents take them.  As for the plot, well, I think the title pretty much says it all.

One thing to take away from this Dinner Topic to use at your next meal conversation is Tom Cruise’s recent stunt work.  Known for doing his own stunts, Cruise didn’t shy away even at the age of 49 as he scaled parts of the exterior of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai for some action scenes in the film.  The Burj Khalifa is over half a mile tall and is currently the tallest building in the world, so regardless of the safety precautions, Cruise deserves some credit for doing what most of us sane individuals who are partial to the ground floor wouldn’t do.

Read on:

TheNews.com.pk – Cruise faced ‘moment of truth’ in Mission Impossible 4

The story itself makes for a great Dinner Topic, but it also helps to know what Baldwin was playing.  Words With Friends is a word game nearly identical to Scrabble that has millions of online players, playing via various methods: apps on tablets and smartphones, Facebook, etc.  Anytime you want to play a game, you can immediately connect to a random player and play the Scrabble-like game to its conclusion, exchanging turns in rapid fashion or over days if your schedule doesn’t allow for all-day gaming.

Words With Friends is an addictive word puzzle game that was wildly popular before, and now thanks to Alec Baldwin’s ego, figures to reach new heights of popularity.  Luckily, you follow Dinner Topics and are well-informed when the story is discussed at the table later.

Read on:

Slate.com – Alec Baldwin, Airline Spar Over “Words With Friends” Incident

WordsWithFriends.com

(image above from TwitPic.com)

Conspiracy theorists can go wild with the notion that killing Oswald may or may not prevent the assassination depending on what you believe, but the novel isn’t about who did it but rather how to stop it before it happens.  The assumption is that Oswald is known to be the killer.

As for setting aside that evening to read, you may want to set aside a weekend or perhaps skip the holidays all together if you want to tackle King’s novel.  Why?  11/22/63 is 849 pages long!!  Maybe it would be better as a gift…

Read on:

USAToday.com – Stephen King’s creativity lights a dark day in Dallas

USAToday.com – King evokes horrors of history in ’11/22/63′

StephenKing.com – promo page

(image of dust jacket above taken from StephenKing.com)

Not running

No doubt the talk this weekend will be about the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs.  As always on Dinner Topics, we try to give you some details, so regarding Jobs, here are a few things to know:

• He had a liver transplant in 2008 and ultimately died from a form of pancreatic cancer.
• Over 300 million iPods have been sold since inception, or about one for every American.¹
• Over 128 million iPhones have been sold² since the original, and in case you think market saturation is approaching, remember that worldwide, Apple’s iPhone only makes up 5% of the overall mobile phone market³, and the new iPhone 4S is a world phone available to be used anywhere.  Also, Sprint has been added as an additional carrier in the U.S., so as carriers as added and the phones are designed for global use, expect Apple’s market share of the mobile phone market to increase even without Jobs.

Among other news to know for the weekend, Sarah Palin announced that she will NOT be running for president in 2012.

In entertainment, an upbeat cancer movies (if that’s possible) called 50/50 is gaining some traction, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, while George Clooney’s new move The Ides of March opens today with costar Ryan Gosling.  If you can’t get enough Gosling, he is also starring in Drive, a film still in theaters about Gosling as a stunt driver/getaway car driver.  All three movies above have been favorably reviewed by most.  Lastly, the heavily promoted Real Steel opens today, starring Hugh Jackman and some “rock ‘em sock ‘em” robots involved in underground boxing.  Reviews are mixed according to RottenTomatoes.com, but if you’re going for the robots, you’re probably not concerned with Roger Ebert’s review. 

In sports, the NBA is likely headed toward a cancellation of a portion of the season (or more) with no end to the lockout in sight, while in baseball, the Tigers and Rangers will face off in the ALCS.  The National League matchups are still up for grabs with two series-deciding Game 5 matchups tonight.  One point to note is that in tonight’s game between the Phillies and Cardinals, Roy Halladay will be pitching against Chris Carpenter, former teammates in the Toronto organization and current friends.  Someone will have bragging rights shortly.

Read on:

WashingtonPost.com – Sarah Palin not running for president

RottenTomatoes.com – Real Steel

ESPN.com – Cardinals-Phillies Preview

The stock market took a big hit this past week after the Fed tried to stimulate the economy again by buying back about $400 billion in longer term Treasuries (by selling the same amount of short-term bonds) in the hopes of keeping interest rates low and entice more refinancing, more borrowing, and more spending in the economy.  Of course, someone forgot to tell the Fed that until the banks ease lending requirements, low rates are irrelevant for the masses looking to refinance.  As a result, the market looked at this tactic (known as Operation Twist as a nod to a similar tactic used in the ’60s) with little surprise but with acknowledgement that the Fed still believes the economy is in trouble, and continued problems with debt-ridden countries in Europe haven’t helped.  The result?  A falling stock market until it stabilized briefly on Friday.

The real Billy Beane

On the lighter side of the weekend is the cineplex, where the “non-baseball” baseball movie Moneyball opens starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.  Based on the book of the same name from Michael Lewis, the true story of Billy Beane (Pitt’s character) and his quest to even the playing field using statistical data to compete with larger market teams seemed like a tough sell for an entertaining night at the movies, but after several hiccups in trying to get the movie made, things must have gone right.  Roger Ebert gave it four stars, and many other critics seem to be praising the film, co-written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men, Sports Night, The Social Network, etc.) who seems to have a knack for making dry subjects interesting on the screen.

Abduction, starring teen heart-throb Taylor Lautner, debuts Friday but wasn’t screened for critics.  The very early returns are as expected for a movie now available for screening – critics are calling it one of the worst movies of the year, but the biggest critiques seem to be for the writing and not as much for Lautner’s performance.

Lastly, a family movie called Dolphin Tale debuts this weekend as well and is getting solid reviews.  Based on a true story, the plot revolves around a dolphin getting a prosthetic tail, thanks to some help from a boy in need of some life affirming events himself.  Some reviews peg it as “heartwarming” and “hokey.”  See it and judge for yourself.  If not, at least you will know what your niece is talking about when you hear something about a “tail-less” dolphin.

Read on:

Bloomberg.com - Fed’s ‘Operation Twist’ Fails to Convince Investors It Will Boost Growth

Freakonomics.com – Operation Twist 101

 RottenTomatoes.com – Moneyball

RottenTomatoes.com – Abduction

imdb.com – Dolphin Tale

• James Spader is replacing Steve Carell on The Office, and you already know that Ashton Kutcher took Charlie Sheen’s place on Two and a Half Men.
• Simon Cowell is bringing an American version of The X Factor to Fox, and promos make it look like an American Idol copycat, complete with Paula Abdul (no joke) and prominent Pepsi cups alongside the judges instead of Coke cups.
• Up All Night is one of the more hyped comedies, starring Will Arnett and Christina Applegate.  Maya Rudolph has an increased role, and with Rudolph and Arnett, sometimes less is more, so it will be interesting to watch the future of this comedy about raising a baby.
• Zooey Deschanel has a sitcom on Fox titled New Girl where she lives with three men.  Early ratings from yesterday’s debut were positive.
• Tim Allen has a new sitcom coming called Last Man Standing, and Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a dual role as twins in a CW show called Ringer.
• Pan Am and The Playboy Club are two Mad Men-type series set in the ’60s, although early reviews suggest the quality isn’t Mad Men-like.
• Anchoring the Thursday night spot on NBC held by ER for many years is Prime Suspect, an intriguing new drama starring Maria Bello.  The original series was a British drama starring Helen Mirren.

Including the premium cable channels, there are dozens more new shows not discussed, but the above descriptions will get you through most conversations this fall.

Read on:

TVGuide.com – Fall TV Schedule

USAToday.com – Zooey Deschanel: Both beauty and sweetie

ChicagoTribune.com – Most of ‘X Factor’ smacks of Cowell’s ex-show