Movies...

So, over the holiday break TheBoy and I finally sat down and watched "Diehard." He's heard us quote the movie extensively - especially around the holidays - and we figured he was old enough to deal with the language responsibly. A few days later we watched "Diehard 2," and he was hooked on the classic action flicks of the '80s and '90s.

New Year's Eve we were at my sister-in-law's house with my wife's two sisters and their families, and TheBoy asked the group what *other* movies he needed to see from that same time period. He's interested mainly in comedies and action movies, particularly ones that get quoted a lot in popular culture.

We sat down and brainstormed a list...

Comedy:

Blues Brothers

Holy Grail

Men in Black

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Vacation & Christmas Vacation

Major League

Sandlot

Slap Shot

Better off Dead

Blazing Saddles

Young Frankenstein 

Revenge of the Nerds

Animal House

Office Space

Ghostbusters

Airplane

Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure

Princess Bride 

Beverly Hills Cop

Trading Places

Spies Like Us

My Blue Heaven

Great Outdoors

Armed & Dangerous

Uncle Buck

The Jerk

History of the World Part 1

Wayne's World

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Dumb & Dumber

Coming to America

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Austin Powers

UHF

American Graffiti 

Weird Science

Cannonball Run

Smokey & the Bandit

Action:

Indiana Jones

Tombstone

Untouchables 

Pulp Fiction

Mission Impossible 

Fifth Element

Terminator 1&2

Lethal Weapon

Army of Darkness

Fugitive 

Big Trouble in Little China

Full Metal Jacket

Aliens 

True Lies 

48 Hours

Predator

Total Recall

Star Trek 4

Bladerunner 

Red Dawn

Above the Law

Road Warrior

 

Obviously, this is not an exclusive list. We've added to it as more folks have chimed in, and will most likely continue to add movies to the list. The criteria are simple: evocative of the time period/genre, memorable, quotable, etc. He's 15, so we're not quite ready for rom/com or dramas, so I left it mostly action/comedy with a smattering of sci-fi thrown in for good measure.

What else should be on the list?

That is all.

Traditions...

One of my favorite traditions is running this bit:



"With G-d as my witness I thought turkeys could fly." - One of the greatest lines in television history. Yes, wild turkeys can fly for short distances. No, turkeys raised to be food cannot.

There's just so many great quotes: "They're hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!" "It gets pretty strange after that." "It's like the turkeys mounted a counterattack."

And another Thanksgiving Day tradition:



Hard to believe that in a couple more years, that recording will be 50 years old. Yikes. Arlo Guthrie recorded this when he was 18 years old.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Remember what's important, and everything we have to be thankful for.

That is all.

Boy. TheBoy.

So, I took TheBoy to see the new Bond flick Spectre this past weekend. Short synopsis? It's a Bond flick. If you like Bond flicks, you'll like Spectre. There's nothing terribly different or innovative in Spectre, almost a dearth of gadgets, and the brooding Bond as portrayed by Daniel Craig. Again, it's not a bad movie, especially; it's entertaining enough and there's just enough special effects to make seeing it in the theater worthwhile.

I did find it especially telling that, on its second weekend in theaters, that we walked in 10 minutes before it started and there were only about a dozen people there. More trickled in, but I was rather surprised to find the theater so empty. We are fortunate in that we have a Regal Cinema not even 2 miles from the house here in VA, and an IMAX theater only 5-6 miles away.

And yes, we will be seeing the new Star Wars movie in IMAX. But I digress.

Anyways, TheBoy is quite the Bond fan now. He's seen all of the Daniel Craig Bond movies, and we're going to start filling in the gaps in his Bondian knowledge with DVDs and Friday night movies. I love this plan. I was an unabashed Bond fanatic growing up, seeing a succession of campy, Adam-West-as-Batman-style Roger Moore James Bond movies in the 1970s and 1980s. Once we got a VCR in the house, I discovered just how much better Sean Connery was, and Bond will, for me, always be a mishmash of the two actors.

Dalton was wooden; he played Bond like a brooding teen and his tenure was mercifully short. Brosnan was seemingly born to play James Bond and landed somewhere in between Connery and Moore for how Bond should be played; more jocularity than Connery, more serious than Moore. Daniel Craig--his views on firearms aside--played Bond more true to Fleming's gritty version than the campy Moore Bond of the '70s and '80s.

Permit a nerdy aside - Craig is to Bond, compared to Moore, as Christian Bale's Batman compares to Adam West's. 

So, I have several months of Friday night movies with my son watching James Bond flicks from the 1960s through the 1990s. Yeah, I'm pretty damn excited about this. The big question is whether we rent from RedBox, or buy through Amazon/WalMart, etc. Part of me wants to pick up the movies to have available - one enduring theme throughout the Bond universe is the Cold War that comprised my childhood, and the movies are an almost quaint reminder of when we had a singular, identifiable enemy.

And part of me realizes that one can only watch a Roger Moore Bond flick so many times...

That is all.

So Impractical. SO WANT...

So, this exists...

X15 Personal Flamethrower

I like. Would be quite useful for wasp nests, clearing old brush, and keeping the walkway free from ice...

Why can I not get this scene out of my head?



"Just a little touch-up"...

That is all.

Feelin' Oooold...

So, I was reminded that "The Breakfast Club" is 30 years old. Yikes. Yeah, "Back to the Future" is the same age, and come this October, it will actually *be* the date that they traveled forward to in "Back to the Future2". Again, I say "yikes."

Now, I haven't watched a lot of recent movies, certainly not teen comedies, but one of the things that jumped out at me when I was a teenager was the prevalence of the 1950s. BTTF is probably the most representative, but there's a number of other movies either set in the '50s (like "The Wanderers") or featuring cars from the '50s (like "The Heavenly Kid" - also released in 1985).

Obviously it was a shout-out to my parents' generation, who would presumably be taking the kids to the movies and would enjoy seeing the time frame of their youth. This must have been a winning formula in Hollywood in the 1980s, given the number of movies containing throwbacks to the '50s and '60s. My folks would have been teenagers in the '50s and young adults in the 1960s; taking their teenaged son to a movie in 1985 would have put them in their early '40s - pretty much my age now.

Should I, then, be looking for a glut of movies aimed at my son and daughter that are set in 1985? Can we eagerly look forward to a movie containing 1985 Chevrolet Celebrity's and 1984 Plymouth Reliants? I'd wager if you own a mid-1980s Mustang, Camaro, or Dodge Charger it would be a great idea to keep it, as it's a good bet they'll be hot properties should Hollywood decide to reach out to Gen X'ers.

Something tells me, though, that the 1985 Buick Regal isn't going to be the star of any upcoming teen comedies...

That is all.

American Sniper Review

So, over this past weekend, in the middle of a snowstorm, I went to see "American Sniper." I'd been meaning to see it since it came out over Christmas break and finally got a chance to get to the theater (which, mind you, is a whopping 2 miles from my house).

First thought: While it's over 2 hours long, it flies by. Eastwood paces it very well, with rapid-fire battle scenes interspersed with tense, terse personal scenes throughout. The complex character of Chris Kyle is fleshed out, beyond "the Legend" who had more enemy kills than any other American sniper. The toll that war takes is clearly etched on Kyle's face and demeanor, and Bradley Cooper does an excellent job conveying the complex emotions torturing him.

Anyone that claims "American Sniper" is some sort of pro-American military, pro-war movie quite simply has no idea what they're talking about. While the American military isn't viewed unfavorably, it's far more a means to an end. Sure, it doesn't go out of its way to point out every fault, but that's not why the movie was made. And there's plenty of questioning why we're at war, why men are dying, why men like Chris Kyle have to do what they do.

And there are some cliches that could probably have been done without. The enemy master sniper played against Kyle was too close to a foil, right down to making scope adjustments in the same manner (and a Soviet scope on a PSL hardly makes the same clicks as the standard U.S. Military issue scope). While there's a lot of cheering at a critical juncture (I won't spoil it for you), anyone that couldn't see it coming from 10 miles away should get their eyesight checked.

Overall, though, I really liked "American Sniper." While folks certainly have their opinions of Chris Kyle (and Taya Kyle, and Clint Eastwood, and pretty much everyone else involved in the making of this movie), it's an engaging story about a charismatic individual who happened to be exceptional at what he does. Were he a stock car driver, fighter pilot, or bartender he might have been played by Tom Cruise. As it stands, Cooper did an excellent job in the big role as Chris Kyle.

Two thumbs enthusiastically up for "American Sniper".

That is all.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Interstellar...

Saw Interstellar this weekend. It came highly recommended by several folks whose opinions I trust on such things, and in general it has gotten favorable reviews.

Visually and viscerally it is an *amazing* film. It was worth seeing in the theater for no reason other than the cinematography with the sound - scenes on earth are loud, with background noise and the hundred little sounds we hear everyday, while in space it was completely silent. Very, very well done there. I completely understand why folks have strongly recommended seeing it in an IMAX theater.

For me, though, the plot and sciency stuff is what did me in. There's a little too much deux ex machina sprinkled liberally throughout, and the big "gotcha" revealed at the end, I had picked up in the first ten minutes. The writing is good, overall, with the struggle for survival placed squarely against the struggle to keep one's humanity. Sometimes they mesh; often they do not.

It could have been about an hour shorter and been fine. While a little suspense-building is necessary, it almost seemed like parts were left intentionally long just for the sake of being long. At two hours and 49 minutes of run time, for a movie with little actual action sequences and fairly little dialogue, it seems like it could have easily been much closer to two hours and not lose much.

I can't get too heavily into the plot issues I had without giving too much away, but none were deal-breakers. I'm glad I saw it in the theater, but I'm on the fence whether I'll get the Blu-Ray when it comes out. We've got a decent sound system at Casa G. Sud, and I can pause it for refreshments or comfort breaks. That makes a difference.

On the flip side, they rely pretty heavily on surprises and gotchas - I don't know if the second viewing will hold up when you know what's coming. The suspense is a pretty big part of the film, and knowing how it's all going to pan out from the get-go might take some of the fun out of it. Maybe wait until the Blu-Ray release is marked down then watch it again.

I liked it, I did. It's visually stunning and has been compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey (which, for the record, I thought was abysmally dull and boring), and the plot is such that it's pretty much the sturm to 2001's drang as far as plot devices and good guys/bad guys. The story does hook you in, and you genuinely care for the characters in the film. That's a rare movie that can make you care what happens to the people they've created.

Go see it in the theater, ideally something with a real bitchin' sound system. You'll thank me later.

That is all.

No, I Couldn't Resist This...

Is This The New Batmobile For ‘Batman V Superman’?

Filming on “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” has been going on in Detroit for a while without anything too scintillating leaking onto the web. A few weeks ago, we got a look at Superman’s new suit, but the Batman hasn’t appeared in public, just lame Bruce Wayne.

Well, finally someone has found something good near the set. Instagram user amacro13 took these pictures of what looks like the Batmobile, parked and dusty in Detroit.

It looks absolutely nothing like any Batmobile we've seen so far. I kinda like it:

(pic from link)

I like that it is different, actually. It's not the art deco Lincoln Futura from the campy TV series, nor the glorified and uber-finned Corvette from the Tim Burton franchise, nor the Frank Miller-inspired Batmo-tank of the Christian Bale reboot. There's elements of the two most recent Batmobiles, with the oversized tires and deliberate sports car-esque shape, but it looks like they've come up with something novel.

I'm a little leery of the "Batman Vs. Superman" part, though. I thought Frank Miller had a pretty good take on the whole "Dark Knight" bit, and how he'd handle the Big Blue Boy Scout in the end. "I want you to remember... the one man who beat you." If the movie is even remotely close to this, I'll see it in the theater. Given the (stupid) insistence the DC franchise has against jokes and such in their movies, it would make sense to keep this close to the Miller model.

We'll see, though - I don't hold any high hopes when it comes to Hollywood not screwing things up...

That is all.

Movie Review: Lone Survivor

This past weekend I got to the theater to see "Lone Survivor", which is based on the book of the same name, a non-fiction account of Operation Red Wing where Navy SEAL Team 10 was ambushed while attempting to take out a high-ranking Taliban official.Three out of four members of the team were killed during the operation, as were other SEALs involved in an attempted rescue effort.

Some of the criticism of this movie comes from people that obviously have not seen it, nor would they care to. They claim it's some sort of rah-rah pro-military propaganda film, which I can only surmise comes from the fact that the movie centers on military personnel and does not have them actively eating babies. The good part about hearing drivel like this is that you can immediately dismiss the person stating such as a moron. This movie is about the four men involved, their interactions with each other and their fight to stay alive.

Caution: Warriors curse.

I found "Lone Survivor" to be fast-paced, well-written and acted, and quite engaging. Throughout the nonstop action is interwoven the backstory of the sailors involved, giving enough background to make the men human, rather than just cardboard action heroes. The two-hour movie moves fast - it felt like 15 minutes when it was done - and the last 5 minutes at the very end, when a montage of the sailors involved was shown, hit the hardest. Definitely have some Kleenex on hand in case the theater's ventilation system isn't up to clearing the theater of, um, dust.


"Lone Survivor" is one reason to give Hollywood some of your hard-earned money - we want them to make more movies like this.

That is all.

Pretty Darn Cool...

Saw this linked on Facebook yesterday:



It's a sad commentary that these guards have to do this, it really is. We witnessed this two years ago when we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. People just don't understand the significance of the Guard, and the Tomb. It's sad, really.

At least the idiots acting like idiots are called out for, well, being idiots...

That is all.

Your Monday WTF...

SCI-FI sends this in to remind us that even Hollywood greats have their, um, weak moments.



Yes, folks, that is an embryonic Tom Hanks rapping. Sure, it's 1987 and it seemed like the thing to do. And yes, I'm also aware that Dan Ackroyd is also rapping, but it's a sacrifice we're willing to make to see Tom Hanks rapping. Did I mention that Tom Hanks is rapping?

The 1980s were an odd time, kids; ask your parents before getting to deep into it on YouTube...

That is all.

All Hallow's Eve...

...Or, Halloween as it is known by 99.9999999% more people.

Perusing YouTube last night, there's about 150 gabillion horror movies out there. I'm trying to avoid thinking about the first holiday away from my family, so let's talk horror movies, shall we? I don't go for them, I really don't. I'm the guy sitting there, watching the movie, yelling at the characters to NOT take refuge in the creepy abandoned insane asylum. I'm watching the movie thinking to myself, "you know, if one of these idiots had so much as a Smith & Wesson model 10 this movie would be a hell of a lot shorter."

I'm practical that way.

So, in that spirit, what's your favorite horror movie? It could be one like "They Live" that is just so horrifically bad that it comes around and starts to approach good from the other side (I mean, really, Rowdy Roddy Piper?) It could be one that's really well done, like Silence of the Lambs or Misery - I think the psychological horror movies are easier for me to take rather than slasher types.

Alternately, how would you end some of the classic horror movies? 

That is all.

Fandom, X 1,000,000

This, folks, takes fandom to a whole new level...

Star Trek Continues Webseries

Star Trek Continues is a non-profit, fan produced webseries that was launched in May 2013 with its first episode, “Pilgrim of Eternity.” The show is being produced to complete the final two years of the original 5-year mission. Our inaugural episode brings back original series guest star, Michael Forest as Apollo. The accuracy of the sets, lighting, filming and the quality acting and characterization brought great praise and support from Star Trek TOS fans all over the world.

The first episode is available in its entirety in the link. I would embed it, but it's better to hit the site and take a look around for yourself. I took a watch last night, and it is an amazing effort. The writing, scenery, and general feel show great attention to the original series - although they certainly have tried to introduce aspects from the Next Generation.

Of all the various incarnations of Star Trek, the Original Series is still my favorite. Sure, the special effects were often hokey - and you could tell when the budget was drained, as they would show up on whatever set CBS had left over at the time (OK Corral? 1930s Chicago?). But the writing outshone whatever deficits the "effects" might have brought.

Remember the time period in which the original series was aired. Racial strife, sexual equality, war; all of these divisive topics were covered in Star Trek. Not only that, but they were done in very subtle ways without beating you about the head and shoulders like certain other shows (LOOK WE ARE MAKING A POINT HERE). This continuation retains much of the feel of the original series. Whether it will continue or not, I salute the effort.

And yes, the actor who plays Scotty really *is* who you think it is...

That is all.

(tip of the keyboard to Tango for the link)

OH. DEAR. SWEET. LORD. NOOOOOOOO....

DaddyBear posted this on Facebook last night. I finally recovered from the horror to post this...

Ladies & Gentlemen, Your New Batman is Ben Affleck!

After weeks of guessing, and arm-chair casting, and Ouija Board manipulation, we have the name of the person who will next play Batman He’s the actor who once took up the mantle of Daredevil, the man formally known as one-half of “Bennifer,” and after that train wreck he re-invented himself as a respected Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Yes fans, Ben Affleck has been cast as the Caped Crusader in the Man of Steel sequel Batman Vs Superman according to Deadline.

Ben Affleck as Batman. I guess we're returning to the Adam West, campy-1960s Batman, because Affleck has about the same acting "ability" as Adam West. Ben Affleck is to acting what Will Ferrell is to comedy - or what anti-matter is to matter. The two cannot coexist in the same arena at the same time. Affleck cannot act. Period. He's a carved block of wood they position in whatever scene they want. The odds of Ben Affleck being able to convey the tortured soul that is the Dark Knight are about the same as me being cast as Samson...

Gah. With the Christian Bale Batman, I was hoping they were returning to the gritty Dark Knight, I really was. Batman was never campy; the 1960s, 70s and 80s were an AWFUL time for the franchise. From the campy West Batman to the "Superfriends" abomination cartoon to Tim Burton's Mr. Batmom, Gotham's #1 defender hasn't had the best portrayal in my generation's memory. The recent Batman series - with Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker - has been about as close to the original as we've seen since the Frank Miller "Dark Knight" graphic novel of the 1980s.

Ben Affleck as Batman. I can think of worse choices - like Emmanuel Lewis - but about a thousand better ones. Like, say, actors that can, you know, act? Have a range of emotions beyond bored affectation? What other casting nightmares can we come up with? Emo Philips as Wolverine? Danny Devito as the Hulk? I mean, it's almost like the went for the least likely actor to be able to correctly portray the known quantity of Batman.

Well, at least I'll save money on movie tickets and Blu-Rays...

That is all.

Okay, *This* Is Very Clever...

The parents out there will never look at a Pixar movie quite the same way again after reading this...

The Pixar Theory: Every Character Lives in the Same Universe

Several months ago, I watched a fun-filled video on Cracked.com that introduced the idea (at least to me) that all of the Pixar movies actually exist within the same universe.

Since then, I’ve obsessed over this concept, working to complete what I call “The Pixar Theory,” a working narrative that ties all of the Pixar movies into one cohesive timeline with a main theme.

Now, obviously, a lot of the "coincidences" are simply Pixar being cute and self-referential. Part of the appeal for the grownups watching these movies with their kids is picking up on the in-jokes and commonalities between the movies - for example, seeing "Dinoco" as the sponsor in "Cars" when it was the gas station where Buzz and Woodie have their showdown in "Toy Story".

Go read. It's an interesting proposal, to be sure. I suspect the author is both taking liberties and has his tongue firmly in cheek. Having seen all the Pixar movies I can attest to the inside jokes, dovetailing of products, and allusions to previous (and future) Pixar films. It's one of the little things they do to give their films a second, subtle layer that mom & dad can enjoy while the wee ones laugh at the antics of the characters.

I guarantee you won't look at Wall-E the same way again...

That is all. 

I May Have To Go To The Movies...

With quality films like these coming out:



Now, I am a *HUGE* Tolkien fan. I've read "The Hobbit" and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy at least a dozen times each (if not more). I've seen the first installment in the Hobbit movie trilogy, and have been impressed at how well they've portrayed Tolkien's book. It appears as though the second installment takes us to the Misty Mountain, and I would imagine that the last part will be the death of Smaug, the Battle of the Five Armies, and the voyage home. Can't wait.

This, too, caught my eye, for a completely different reason:



Legos. Batman. Superman. 1980s Space ... guy. How can you possibly go wrong? I might have to see if TheBoy wants to grab his favorite cousin (the 4 year old son of my wife's youngest sister) and hit the theater for this one. Oh, I suppose I might let my MIT-graduate brother-in-law come with, too - I suspect he'd like it as well. Just a hunch, mind you.

Looks like there will be at least one non-sequel movie out this summer!

That is all.

For The Young (Or Young At Heart)

This ought to be good. Stumbled across this today:

13 Pixar Classics: We Rank 'em!

Owen Gleiberman and Lisa Schwarzbaum have admired all the studio's animated features leading up to this year's ''Brave'' (now on DVD), but they do have a pecking order; see where Scottish princess lands on their list.

They list all 13 Pixar feature films, and arrange them in order. I agree with their #1 and #2 pick "The Incredibles" would be #1, except that it took the runaway smash hit of the original "Toy Story" to get the franchise rolling. Respect, yo. The remainder of the list, though, I disagree with mightily. "Wall-E" is #4? "Ratatouille" is #9, ahead of "Monsters Inc." and "A Bug's Life"? Heck, "A Bug's Life" is #12 out of 13?

I am an unabashed fan of Pixar, owning all of the films except the current release of "Brave" (and only because it just came out. "The Incredibles" is one of my all-time favorite movies - animated or not - and both of my kids had Pixar movies as their "IT" movies - TheBoy had "Monsters Inc." and BabyGirl G. had "Finding Nemo" (for non-parents, the "IT" movie is the one your 2-4 year old decides that they need to watch 2-5 times a day for weeks on end. Yes, you *will* learn the dialogue by heart...).

Which is your Pixar fave?

That is all.

Cinematic Good News/Bad News

Good news: Robocop still drives a Ford Taurus.

Bad news: They're remaking Robocop.

Gah. I thought it was bad when they remade Red Dawn and turned the baddies into the Chicoms instead of the Russkies. True Grit with someone other than John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn? On the plus side, it looks like they've run out of bad 1980s TV shows to make into movies. The A-Team? The Dukes of Hazzard? REALLY?


And there doesn't appear to be an end in sight - there are way more remakes on the horizon. Dirty Dancing? Judge Dredd? Pet Semetary? Point FREAKIN' BREAK??? I mean, Hollywood's really mining the bottom of the 1980s barrel for some of these - what's next, "Bill & Ted: Reloaded"? WARGAMES???

It's a sad commentary on the state of the film industry that there are so many remakes. Why bother coming up with a script and new characters when you can just take an existing story and put new actors and actresses in it? It's a shocking lack of creativity, which, hello, is the whole reason we even have a film industry. If I wanted to watch "Weekend at Bernie's" again, I'll watch "Weekend at Bernie's" again - I don't need someone else to toss together a new, young, edgy cast and a talking alien that only Bernie can see.

Maybe we're seeing the start of the decline. Maybe this shocking lack of effort and, dare I say it, artistic vision, is the death throes of Hollywood as they succumb to the same fate as dead tree newspapers. With the advent of the internet, streaming video, and cheaper and cheaper means of filming and editing one's own videos, the independent filmmaker has never had it better. Rather than come up with a superior product, Hollywood just puts in less effort until finally they're the celluloid equivalent of a horse and bayonet...

And to top it all of, there is talk of a new Mad Max. I may have to hurt someone.

That is all.

I Can't Tell...

...if this is the most awesome thing I've seen today, or the dumbest...



Now, I can understand the appeal of Zombie Osama bin Laden - it means we get to kill him again. But a zombie outbreak in Afghanistan? It would seem to me that a zombie outbreak in a war zone would be about the shortest-lived (dead?) outbreak in history - given the ordnance available in A-stan, zombies would have deathspans measured in nanoseconds. Let's face it - no one gives a rat's ass about the ROE when it comes to zombies...

OTOH, killing bin Laden X2 = WIN!

That is all.

MArooned Five Second Movie Review

Jurassic Park: Did NOT pass the test of time...

That is all.