Four Movies

So this morning, I read an article on the A.V. Club that asked what four films define you.

Now, this isn't supposed to be your favorite movies, but those that helped make you who you are.

So let's see...

Star Wars (1977)

Superman (1978)

The Princess Bride (1987)

... and, hmmm.  Let me think.

So, let's start with Star Wars.  It shaped so many of my generation, but it became the center of so much growing up.  The toys were a collection to be completed, but I was forced to stop collecting midway through The Empire Strikes Back sets.  The music was everything to me.  It was what I listened to always.  John Williams became the standard against which all other composers were measured.  And then there was the beginning of the concept of what a Jedi is and what they can do.  Star Wars also began the slow trickle of science fiction into my life.  Surte, it's actually space fantasy, but it still piqued my interest.

Superman was a given that I would watch with my love of comics, but again there was more to it.  It was truly giving in to the hype that "You will believe a man can fly."  It was the amazing score again by John Williams with the main theme that I would use to test any new sound system.  Or for celebration.  And seeing my favorite comic book hero looking so real just kept me waiting to be a better person.

And speaking of being a better person, we come to The Princess Bride.  Released the autumn of my freshman year of college, it had everything Peter Falk's character promised: Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...  Fencing became very interesting to me, and I even took a weekend class on it.  The more I learned about it, the more amazed I was at the choreography in the movie.

My fourth is difficult because there are two that helped bring me into my groups of friends in Maryland for high school and California in high school and college.  The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension has to become a close fifth movie, but the true fourth is Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).

Monty Python had been something that I watched with my parents and their introduction to me of the movies was vital to those who became my friends.  In my high schools in Maryland and California, I bonded with other members of the marching bands.  It was where I first learned about the entertaining call and response aspect of reciting lines.  In college, that was only reinforced.  And then there's just the whole structuring of my sense of humor.

Movie Time

So, yeah, it's been kind of difficult getting back into blogging momentum after my mom's death.  I'm hoping I can build some up again.

I have seen some movies over the past few months...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - It's just fun.  There's no other way to describe it.  I like the new characters and it was great to see the old characters again.  I've seen it twice in theaters (tying for Jedi, but falling short of Empire [3 times] and Hope [4 times]), and the blu-ray has already been ordered.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Seen through Fathom Events, and so enjoyable on a big screen.

Blazing Saddles - Also great on a big screen.  Something of note, when the town is exploding at the end?  Those bodies flying into the air are horses.  That's a detail you miss on a small screen; I always though they were people.

Queen: A Night in Bohemia/A Night at the Odeon - Jennifer surprised me with tickets this week to a combination documentary (30 minutes) followed by a live recorded concert of Queen.  The documentary was a cool little bit of interviews through the years on "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Queen's move from one label to another.  What struck me a fascinating was Freddie Mercury saying how BR was actually three songs he had in his head that he strung together into one.  What makes this more interesting to me is that in an interview I heard, My Chemical Romance described the creation of "Black Parade" in a similar way, but with 4 or five pieces.  The recorded concert was actually Queen's Christmas Eve concert on BBC-1 in 1975.  Yes, 1975.  Aside from the fun of the concert, watching Brian May play was kind of funny.  He plays, and moves a bit then stands still and plays more, then repeat.  Freddie's showmanship hadn't worn off onto him yet.  He looks like such a nerd (astronomy major, remember) who just happens to play excellent guitar.

Deadpool - Now, I'll preface this with the fact that I knew nothing of Deadpool aside from internet memes and "Wolverine: Origins".  However, that being said, this was a movie that was just fun.  Crude and violent, but lots of fun.

Lovecraft Movies

So, I was looking something up and mistyped "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and instead typed "The Girl With the Dagon Tattoo".  It got me thinking if there are other Lovecraft inspired titles I could make.  Granted most are difficult to mistype like that, but what about substitution?

The Girl With the Dagon Tattoo
Miskatonic, Inc.
Straight Outta Innsmouth
The Curious Case of Randolph Carter
The Colour Purple from Outer Space
The Shoggoth DA
Whateley and Me

Contributions from friends:

Herbert West-World
Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Tintalos
Ghoulies
M. Nyalothotep Shayamalan's Elder Signs
Mi-Go Busters
The King in Yellow and I

If I come up with more, I'll post those.

Inside "Inside Out"

So, on Monday, I got a text from Jennifer.  She asked me if I wanted to go see Pixar's new movie "Inside Out" on Tuesday (yesterday).

Now, we had worked out the first half of the week already with meals and such, and so I was surprised she wanted to go see a movie.  She called me and said that she had been looking at possible movies for the weekend, and there had been a Google banner ad about an insider look at "Inside Out".  She clicked on it and followed the path until she got to buy the tickets.

So last night we walked to AMC in Emeryville, less than a mile from where the movie had been made.  We got out tickets and when the ticket taker let us in, he gave us mini-posters and matching lanyard with tags.

Now, Jennifer has been very accommodating with my... movie going fixations over the years; however,  they tend to pay off.  If I'm not at the theater early, I get, I don't know, antsy, I guess.  I have a little part of me that wants to get the best seat, so I like to be there in time to be as close to first as possible.  Last night we were not the first in, but we got great seats: dead center on the row, and the back row of the front section of seats.

There were bits of trivia for the movie running, and some made sense and some didn't until after seeing it.  And the movie itself was great.

The story is engrossing and touched a big nerve as it's about a little girl who has to leave her friends and everything she knows behind to move to San Francisco.  And then things that happen outside and inside shape and reflect the other.  The two scenes that resonated most with me were the scene where she has to stand up in front of the class and introduce herself, and the resolution at the end.

One of the things that makes the movie visually compelling is that the two worlds are rendered in different fashions.  The "real world" is done in a pretty realistic fashion, but still keeps away from the uncanny valley.  The inside world is cartoon-ish and more symbolic.

The five voices used for the emotions are well chosen, and my favorite is Lewis Black.  When Robin Williams was chosen for "Aladdin", we all wondered how many outtakes of curse words there must have been.  We can now wonder the same thing with Lewis Black, but Pixar took that into account on many occasions.

You don't have to be a parent, or a girl to enjoy this movie, because it's not just about those things.  It's all about the journey.

Sword Fighting

I saw this video, and it’s really quite the pastiche of Hollywood sword fights.  The only notable ones I didn’t see were the old black and white Zorro movies.

And then there’s the whole meta-ness of it by having the sword fight from “The Princess Bride” which is a tribute in and of itself to the old Ho

Technorati Tags:

Hollywood sword fights.

Reel Wisdom

So there's not a lot going on right now. I'm sending out applications, but I haven't heard back from anyone yet.

I found this though. The only things I think it lacks are a couple quotes from "The Princess Bride" and "John Q".

Mars and Moon

Today Jennifer and I went to go see "Moon".

It was an intriguing movie.

There is so much I could say about it, but the only thing I want to say is go see it.

The movie stands well as a whole, and tells a fun story.

***

This evening I finished reading Ben Bova's Mars Life. I really enjoyed it even though parts seemed predictable. It was written in a style similar to Michael Crichton, and so you knew there had to be a disaster somewhere. Granted, there ended up being three, but still until the first one hit, I was waiting for the shoe to drop.

It's a fun read, and I'm glad I read it. I was glad that everything got wrapped up, because for a while I was afraid it was going to be a multi-parter.

This is the first Ben Bova book that I've read, so now I've got a new science fiction author to check out.

Netflix Madness

Sunday Jennifer and I watched three DVDs.

Well, kind of.

We tried to watch the final DVD for "Planet Earth" but the three shows on it were all about conservation and save the planet and stuff. We're kind of the wrong people to watch that in the same way it's not necessary to tell boys that dinosaurs are cool.

(I'd say "...and girls that ponies are cute", but I'm afraid Miss Em would smack me long distance.)

We also watched two episodes of the original "Star Trek": "A Private Little War" (mugatu!) and "The Triskelions" (quatloos!).

The third thing we watched was George Carlin's second HBO special. This one was done in the round. In 1978. We're working through his shows as chronologically as I could arrange them.

Solace

Tuesday night, I took Dad to see "Quantum of Solace". We had a good time and enjoyed the movie.

There were even less gadgets than Casino Royale, but the GPS tracking business card was a cool touch.

My only complaint is that Dad and I both had never seen concrete burn quite so much.