Often been surprised by a movie after what a film critic said about it? Ever felt cheated out of big bucks on the recommendations of a punk 24-year-old? Or really loved the ones they panned? Well, you no longer need to feel out of step with the current movie review band. Different Drummer is for you. Read more about our take on the film world. And get ready to relive your favorite movies with the recipes that follow each review. You can find many other great recipes in Different Drummer’s own Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook.
DVDS from the summer rental cabin that I somehow missed the first time around – the good, the bad, and the ugly. First Different Drummer has her say, then other critics – who may or may not agree.
2009 – An Education: Champagne Punch
An education… in the school of hard knocks, if you will forgive a somewhat salacious pun. Yes, for years older men have seduced teen-aged girls, but usually without the willing cooperation of their clueless parents.
“... attempts to impress audiences with its worldliness, but it comes off instead as an awkward, unformed teen fantasy run amok.” Jeremy Hellman
2008 - Flashbacks of a Fool: English Apple Traybake
Maybe the real fool is Daniel Craig, who cashes in his 2007 James Bond bona fides for this insipid vehicle produced by his best bud.
“An ambitious but disappointing, regret-filled psycho-drama.” Jeannette Catsoulis
2008 27 Dresses: Mexican Wedding Cakes
This sweet comedy makes you want to believe in love all over again. And 27 of the most bizarre wedding themes in all their over-the-top splendor provide the icing on the cake.
“27 Dresses is so flimsy it gives froth a bad name.” Peter Ravers Rolling Stone
2007 – P.S. I love You: Lamb Shanks Braised in Guinness Stout
Gifted veterans like Kathy Bates and Hillary Swank can’t bring this script back from the dead even with the assistance of Gerard Butler's ghost. The Irish clichés are as flat as day old Guinness.
“I hated every calculated second of it with a passion.” David Keyes.
2006 The Holiday: English Fairy Cakes
The ham-fisted Hollywood/British clichés fade with Jude Law’s textured sweetness, but it is 91-year-old Eli Wallach who steals the show.
“No amount of ironic gift wrapping can conceal the triteness within in this double-plotted festive chick flick that is too long by half, and too cloyingly sweet to be healthy.” Anton Bitel 
2006 The Devil Wears Prada: New York Appetizers
Merly Streep as the chic dominatrix of the fashion police relishes every stinging slap of her leather-barbed insults.
“An agreeably shallow comedy.” C.R. Jones
“The whole thing is humbug, a giant ad for the industry it affects to critique.” Ben Walters
1987 - 84 Charing Cross Road: Apple Brown Betty
As a love story it’s a near miss, but with legends like Anne Bancroft and Antony Hopkins as well as a nearly unrecognizable Judi Dench lending her hand, how can you resist?
“…such unrelieved genteelness that it makes one long to head for Schrafft'sfor a double-gin martini, straight up, and a stack of cinnamon toast from which the crusts have been removed.” Vincent Canby
This one appears to be an accident, but what about the “Over 3 Dozen Bodies Found in or around Lady Bird Lake since 2022.
Read more here https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/body-of-paddle-boarder-found-in-ladybird-lake-june-3-2025
For a more complete summary of events read more here: https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/rainey-street-drownings-the-smiley-face-killer-connection?rq=Petition%20Demands
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
A petition calls out the Austin Police and City officials for what it terms “a miscarriage of Justice,” hinting that there is something “darker at play” here, and accuses officials of treating the victims’ families “callously and without empathy.”
Victim’s family pleads against plea bargain for this Austin Serial Killer.
https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/i-survived-the-rainey-street-ripper
“I survived the Rainey Street ripper': Drugged man who plummeted 25ft off bridge believes 'serial killer' stalking Austin tried to drown him.” Daily Mail
Twelve bodies have been found in Lady Bird Lake and Colorado River since 2022
Police insist there is no serial killer but the mounting bodies sees rumor persist
Jeff Jones survived falling off bridge near river, thinks he may have been pushed
Read more here
The Serpent’s Tooth: A Texas Mystery
Austin is now the trendy number one city, but back in the eighties it was more laid back – not so many skyscrapers and urban hipsters. Just outside of town, you'd be likely to run into old cowboys, ranch hands, and a diamondback or two. And just maybe – an accidental death not as accidental as it seems…
Complete with Texas Recipes for the Oktoberfest Dinner where all is revealed.
An Illustrated Introduction to Classical Horsemanship: Concepts and Skills from A to Z
by Gary Borich
A comprehensive resource in a succinct alphabetical format that brings the beginning rider through every aspect of learning to train and ride for show and trail.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/body-of-paddle-boarder-found-in-ladybird-lake-june-3-2025
