Jason in Focus

The Walking Dead

2010-11-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

First off... I'm a fan of the comic series. Second... I'm not one of those comic fans that get all crazy upset when something doesn't translate perfectly to the small or big screen. Mediums are different and I understand when changes need to be made in order to best serve the medium it's being presented in.

I already love The Walking Dead. I know it's only been one episode at the time of writing this but so far what I have seen has been a good time. Not only is it very faithful to the original comic but the quality of the production is above and beyond what I expected when I first heard that this was coming to the small screen.

For those who are not familiar with the series, it's about the zombie apocalypse. We don't really know how or why it happened because we are learning things at the same time the main character is learning them due to him being in a coma at the time the world went to hell. He's a sheriff who wakes up after being hurt in the line of duty and finds that the world has been turned into a massive horror movie. He's on the hunt for his family and this is his story.

Like I said before, the production value of the series is great as the zombies look properly decomposed and the world around them looks disheveled and broken as you would expect in a world run by the dead. The music is haunting as are the performances by the actors. They are able to be human and act natural even while discussing the subject of zombies.

Above all else, the show and the comic, is a story about people. We see folks at the end of their wits just trying to survive and keeping their loved ones alive at the same time. It's about what people do when pushed to the edge with no sign of light at the end of the tunnel. The dead are here and they don't seem to be going anywhere. It's not a story about why this has happened or a story about how to stop the dead and save the world. They aren't trying to be heroes. They just want to live.

The show is on AMC which has surprised many with it's ability to develop hit shows even when the rest of the tv networks struggle to keep their programming on the air. With hits like Mad Men and Breaking Bad under their belts The Walking Dead seems like a natural fit. They have shown that they can produce quality programming and keep it diverse enough to bring in all types of viewers.

It's good to see some original shows on the air after these last few years. The good thing is that people are recognizing the good writing and even better acting and they are watching. The people are speaking and what they are saying is that we want diverse and quality programming. We don't want the same old formula pushed at us anymore.

We want zombies.

Warners goes with no 3D rather than bad 3D

2010-10-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to me that Warner Brothers would rather miss out on the premium ticket sales that the 3D conversion would bring in than release their movie with a process that most folks regard as inferior. It's a bold move by one of the biggest movie houses with one of their biggest franchises ever. I'm happy with Hollywood this day.
Let's be honest. Hollywood is about money more than anything else. Everything they do is about making the big bucks. It's what goes into each decision made over the course of the day. If we make this how much will we get? If we get this person to star how much will we get? If we remake this flick... etc. It's refreshing to see a change in that mindset for once.
3D isn't going away anytime soon. Hollywood has found a cash cow in the process and they are going to milk that thing dry. I'm ok with it for now. As long as it stays being something we only see in CGI movies, action flicks, the random horror movie. But the second it starts popping up on the latest romantic comedy I'm fairly certain that will mean the end of things.
What I discovered I hated was the conversion process for movies not specifically shot for the 3D effect. What we got then was a cross between the old school 3D and a viewmaster. And to be honest, the viewmaster looked a lot better than Clash of the Titans did.
Warners decided to skip out on the crappy conversion while deep in the process already. They saw that it didn't look good and they bowed out. This sends a message. If you can't get it right then we aren't going to do it. I like that message. It's one I would like to see more of in Hollywood. If you can't do it right then we shouldn't do it. If this was also applied to some of the movie released these days then I think the world would be a better place.
The decision is especially surprising since this is effecting the biggest franchise Warners has had. Ever. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One ushers in the final installments of the movie series and for them to miss out on the massive income of the 3D tickets is a big deal.
This makes me wonder about the recent decision to re re release the Star Wars movies in the next few years with a 3D conversion. Will this make Lucas stop and think that maybe this isn't the best idea until the process is better or will he just shrug and do it anyway. My vote is that he doesn't really care about the quality of what he's putting out because he knows all the Star Wars fans out there will grumble the whole time but they will still pay out the nose to see his movies again on the big screen.

A New Season Begins

2010-09-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of television. My co-host Dannt watches a little television and a lot of movies and it sometimes feels like I am the opposite. I'm so busy these days that getting a bit of entertainment and hour at a time is all I can manage. So each time the new season starts I find myself looking at all the upcoming shows to see if there is anything I would like to check out. There are a few guidelines though. Here they are...

1. I usually give the show at least three episodes to grab my attention. A lot of folks will just give them one chance but with the popularity of serialized dramas I feel that one episode doesn't give the storytellers the chance to open up the world that we are supposed to hang out in for the duration of the show. Three episodes is a good amount to learn the characters and the idea that the writers are trying to get across. But after three episodes if I haven't committed to the story by that point I don't think I ever will. So I tune out.

2. Find out what network the show is on. It seems over the last five years the networks have developed a pattern for how they treat their new shows. The worst of the bunch is NBC. They tend to load up on shows and cancel most of them within the first seven episodes. It's hard for me to commit to anything on this network because there is very little chance of it going for the long haul. Especially when the shows are serialized. Why get into a long running story that I will never get to see a conclusion to.
ABC will give a show a chance and have it finish out the season but you better hope the season doesn't end on a cliffhanger cause there is a good chance it'll be gone next year. CBS plays it safe and just does spin offs of their most popular shows all the time so you're pretty safe on this network.

3. Beware the genre shows. I'm a comic book fan and tv seems to be trying it's best to cash in on the superhero genre that's making big bucks in the box office but it doesn't seem to be catching on. Each show that focuses on the super powered folks seems to have a very short life span. Heroes lasted a few seasons but it went from being one of the hottest shows on the air to one of the most hated in just a few short years. ABC is trying their hand this year with No Ordinary Family and I plan on giving it a watch but I am aware that it's lifespan will most likely be a short one. Smallville is the only super show that has had any legs over the past few years and even that one ends it's amazing 10 year run this year. We also have The Cape popping up this season but I give this one less than half a season and then it's gone as well.

4. Find out what has stuck around the last few years and invest in some DVDs. There are some shows out there that didn't make the cut for me in years past that are still going strong. With these shows I like to get the DVDs and catch up. Something must be going right with these shows for them to have survived the brutal cutting process developed over the last few years so why not give them a chance. Bones, Chuck, Fringe, and Dexter were some of these shows that i have picked up and been happy with. There are some good shows out there and thanks to the awesomeness of that is TV on DVD we can catch up with them on our own pace.

5. Finally... tell your friends when you find a good show. Get the word out so the show you like can get all the attention it needs not to get cut. What difference will you make? Very little. But the more people you tell the more word of mouth grows and that can make a big difference.

Let me know what shows you have checked out this new season. What's good? What's bad?

So far I have seen the first episode of The Event and I wasn't too impressed. But it's got two more episodes to turn that around.

Truthless Trailers...

2010-09-05T14:25:00.001-07:00

The art of the Trailer... you have a very short amount of time to sell people on the idea of a movie and to make them want to pay the money to go see it when it comes out. A lot of times you get the complaint about all the good stuff being in the trailer after viewing the full film. Maybe you moan about a certain scene in the trailer not being in the final film. Anyway you slice it the makers of the trailer will use anything to get those butts in the seat.

This last week I went to see The American starring George Clooney after the trailer sold me on the idea of Clooney playing a gray haired Bourne-like character. The trailer had quick cuts, action, car chases, guns, intense music... basically promising a thrill a second ride sure to make your heart pump with excitement.

The movie I ended up seeing was the opposite of that. It's a very slow euro indie art house flick all about the internal struggle of a man disgusted with his life and his want of something more. He barely speaks any lines about the struggles of his torn soul and instead relies on looks and body language to express everything we need to know about the state of his journey.

When action does happen it's sudden and is over before you know it's happening. There are only about three or four times action plays a part in the story so the promise of a thrill ride go right out the window as we are usually watching Clooney silently struggle with himself and not with a weapon wielding adversary.

The music is also slow and puts you in a relaxed state as we watch wide shots of vast landscapes and Clooney driving. A lot. This guy loves to drive everywhere.

All of this to say that the trailer lied. It's a lie. The movie they sold to the people sitting in the theaters doesn't exist and that bugs me. I actually liked the movie for what it was but it took some time to get over the fact that I wasn't going to be watching the movie I had paid to see.

I think the folks in Hollywood need to be a little more honest about what they are trying to get us to see. Tricking us to get some cash isn't a way to gain our trust.

So beware of seeing movies based solely on the trailer. Look up the flick and see what it really is before shelling out the cash.

What movies out there have tricked you?

DC Animated Features issue...

2010-08-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is not a review of the movies that DC has put out over the last couple years. It's just something weird I've noticed as I have collected and watched them.

Every time I watch these flicks I fall asleep. Every single time. I'll get the newest one on bluray and pop it into the machine. About half way through the flick I drop into a deep sleep. I'm usually not tired when I start the movie and I do find them interesting enough to keep my attention but each time I find myself dozing off and having to come back to it at a later time.

Like I said... I think the movies are good and I look forward to each new release. Only one has gotten a bad review from me and that's the first one, Superman Doomsday. It was pretty horrible and it made me question the brand as a whole the first time out of the gate but since then they have delivered pretty quality story and animation.

Could it be that it's due to my knowledge of the source material? The movies are based on comic book story lines that I am familiar with and most are ones I own in paper form from the get go. Could it be that I grow tired due to the fact I know how it's going to end? I don't know.

It's a little annoying though and I made attempts to get over it on the latest venture into the world of the animated DCU as I sat down to view the Batman: Under the Red Hood. I sat up on the couch avoiding the dreaded lay down position, I had a snack and a beverage with me, and I watched it in the middle of the day so I wasn't in the least bit tired. But as the movie went on and the snack was finished I found my eye lids growing heavy. I readjusted the sitting position and focused on the screen more. And then I woke up.

Somewhere in there I nodded off and missed half the movie. When I did awake I went back and finished the movie and have since come to the conclusion that it was really well done and I had liked it a lot but still... in the end I once again fell asleep.

I can't figure it out.

I just don't know.

Maybe I have that weird sleeping disease... Narco-Sleepy...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ............

Comic Books Need Not Apply...

2010-07-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

The San Diego International Comic Convention is one of the largest and well known comic book conventions on the planet. I have been a few times over the last few years and I think I got out just in time.

No longer is it about the art of the comic book and filling holes in collections built over many years unfortunately. Comic books have taken a back seat to what the con has ultimately become and that is a soap box for every Hollywood production company to shop their goods. Movies and television shows that have nothing at all to do with the world of the comic geek take up most of the space and time that used to be filled with the major and minor publishing companies.

I am not a fan.

The last year I was there I had to deal with hoards of Twilight fans filling up the biggest convention hall so they could save seats for the Twilight panel in the middle of the day. They rolled their eyes at the panels they didn't care about and joked at how lame everything was while fans of certain franchised sat outside and missed things they wanted to see.

While there is no Twilight panel this year the place is still over run with Hollywood pushing any and all films they may have coming up in an attempt to woo one of the most critical groups of viewers to enter a theater. The Fanboy.

They figure that if they get the people who manage to get a Spider-Man and Batman movie a few billion dollars to commit to come seeing their movie about two hard luck police detectives then they will be able to make some "comic book money" on a flick they paid 10 million to make. It's a little ridiculous and doesn't really work but they do it any way and that means time and floor space is taken from a comic book property to make room for a studio movie that has nothing to do with the genre.

This doesn't mean I don't wish I could be there each and every year with all the other geeks though. I want to be there. I want to be walking down the street and run into a celeb of the comic or film world. I want to see some of the upcoming toys and books I'm going to want to buy. I want to be able to ask questions of the guys who create the heroes of my youth and today. But I don't have a giant urge to be crushed in the massive crowd of sweaty fanboys all out for themselves. I don't want to have to sit in line and wait for a panel I'll never be able to get into.

So I'll stay home and remember fondly of the times I went to SDCC when it wasn't sold out within weeks of tickets going on sale.

But I hear WonderCon is a cool place to hang out...

LOST: The End

2010-05-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

As expected with a show ending there was no way the writers were going to make everyone happy. And this show is no exception. The camps seem evenly divided for the most part and like always the ones that weren't happy with the ending are the most vocal. They spew their venom onto the interwebs with a passion that was once reserved for the show itself when it was running full steam ahead.

I'm not going to be one of those guys.

The evening was a good one for the most part as I gathered with friends and filled a living room to max capacity and settled in to watch the final episode. We watched as the folks on the island battled the Locke-Less Monster and really fought to get through what seemed to be an impossible task of finally getting free of the island once and for all. We witnessed the coming together of loved ones in the flash sideways as the people there came to realize what they were all there for. You would have thought seeing the memories flood back for all the characters would get old but for me it was wonderful each time.

In the end the show was over and the room was silent. Then came the hate. The room was filled with people complaining about questions not answered and characters not seen and within the time span of a few minutes it seemed all fun had been drained from the room. With the realization that there were two among their midst that actually enjoyed it they turned on us with a barrage of questions about why we enjoyed it with none of the answers being accepted but rather pushed aside and scoffed at. It was then that I realized that there were two schools of thought for the fans of LOST.

There is the "Question Fans" that watched the show only to get answers to queries posed during the run of the show. This quest for answers drove their fandom and kept them tuning in week after week hoping each episode would give them some sort of answer to a burning question deep within them. Where did the Polar Bear come from? What is the Smoke Monster? What is so special about Walt? What's with the big egyptian statue with the four toes? Tell us what we want to know!!!

There is no way that these people were going to be satisfied with the final episode. The Powers That Be had already stated that not all the answers were going to be revealed. They were going to leave some of the mystery hidden on the island. The island is a place of wonder, magic, and questions. To spill all the answers would take the wonder away and turn it into just another rock sticking out of the water. Besides... a lot of the answers to the "unanswered" questions are out there if you just pay attention and think about it.

Then there are the "Character Fans". These are the people that have followed these lost souls on their adventures and have found friends. They followed the leaps to the past and the future with rapt attention as the lives of these people unfolded and we discovered what makes people the way they are and why it's important to not judge other by stereotypes and looks alone. We all have stories and these were more important to these fans than questions about how the island works.

The division comes with the realization that the writers and creators of the show were of the "Character Fan" variety. They loved these characters and felt that their lives and stories where the most important thing on the show and that's how they tackled the end. They finally gave these poor beat up people the happy ending they deserved. They showed us that despite the fights, sadness, and intense situations these people went through together... they had all become friends. A family. A family that we as fans had grown to love as well. And I like the fact that they all were given the happy ending they deserved.

Was the episode perfect? No. I had a few things I would have liked to see but in the end I felt it was a good way to go out. It was a fun adventure and one I will be taking again when I watch the series again someday.

Oh... the polar bear was brought to the island by the Darma folks for the animal testing that they had been doing. When Darma stopped operating the thing was either set free or escaped. This question was answered years ago so people really need to stop asking about how it got to the island. Sheesh...

A Lazy Day of Movies...

2010-05-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

One of the super rare occasions is coming up in my life where I will be able to sit on my butt and watch movies all day uninterrupted. It hardly ever happens and when it does I sometimes lose my focus and other things get in the way of getting through the pile of flicks I line up for the day.

This time that is not going to happen.

I'm getting a list of movies and food ready for the event. I'll have everything I'll need to get through the movies without leaving the house or falling into the trap of video games or computer work that usually spells doom for the day.

The first thing I'm going to do is turn off the computer and close the door to the office. I will restrain myself from going into that room for I know that what lay inside is nothing but distraction and loss of time.
Food is the next thing on the list that I need to acquire. It's going to be a mix of junk food and stuff that's not going to make me want to hurl if I eat too much in one sitting. Pizza is on the menu for the big meal but chips, dip, cookies, yogurt, fruit, and ice cream for the end is also being served up. The trick is to space all this stuff apart so you don't get sick and so you have room to snack on all this stuff without filling yourself up right away.
The stack of movies is all ready and it includes titles from all genres and decades. Most of it is stuff I picked up when Hollywood Video went belly up but some of it is saved to the instant watch on the ol XBox. I'm hoping to get through 6 to 8 movies and I wouldn't put it past me to manage ten in one sitting. As I said... this chance to veg comes around once in a blue moon. I need to make sure I get my fill before the real world crashes back around me.

How do you set up for a day of movie watching?

Comic Book Movie News...

2010-04-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I am a comic book fanboy and as such I follow the news surrounding comic book movies intently. I had write about a few things happening in Hollywood regarding comic flicks that have popped up over the last couple days...

JOSS WHEDON DIRECTING THE AVENGERS!

Why not? He's used to dealing in worlds that aren't quite reality but feel real on screen and he has a good knowledge of comics and what makes them good. He's a fanboy like the rest of us but knows how and when to blend what is in the pages of the books to what's being seen on the screen. I think he will be able to satisfy the majority of the fan community while making a movie that allows the non fans to have a good time.
I hear now that he's even going to give a polish to the Captain America script as well. I'm all for that one too as that means a little more unity between the Cap movie and the Avengers flick.
I've said it before and I'll say it again... Marvel knows what they are doing when it comes to their flicks at the moment. They understand that while their characters are strong... they are mighty when together.
If only DC could figure that out we would have some great summer movies to look forward to.

SONY NOT PLEASED WITH GREEN HORNET

It's being reported that Sony isn't happy with what they have seen of The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogan. One of the comments made is that they don't think he looks anything like the action hero.

Um... Duh.

Fanboys around the net have been saying this for the last year or more since we found out Rogan was the man in the suit. He's a comedic actor who at the time was a little over weight and not known at all for being active in his flicks. Sure, he's lost a lot of weight and even I will admit he looks a lot better in costume than I thought he would but in the end I'm not sure that will save his performance.
Another aspect of the film being called into question is the campy nature. Duh, again. Sony ordered a comedic version of the film and cast a well known comedian in the title role. You got what you asked for guys.

With such a luke warm response by the studio I'm curious to see how they go about the marketing and release of the film. Worse case senario is that it heads straight to DVD. Best case is that the studio hopes Rogan's name is enough to sell the movie and goes full steam with it. I see it maybe landing in the middle with a limited marketing campaign and a release in a random part of the year. One thing is sure though... Sony needs to shut it's trap about how terrible the movie is or else no amount of marketing will sell this film to the fans online.

The Midnight Culture...

2010-03-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple years the city I live in has been a lot better about doing midnight showings of the latest and greatest Hollywood has to offer. I've been going to a lot of them and I've noticed a thing or two about the culture of the midnighters that is different from when you go to the theater any other time.

For the most part we are all making a sacrifice. It will either be a job, school, or early rising kids. Whatever it is... we are going to be losing sleep due to us going out to this movie. Energy drinks and coffee will be drank. Snack food will be consumed in the late hours throwing off peoples eating schedules. Chaos will consume us all.

I usually show up an hour and a half early to make sure there isn't a massive line beginning to form. I like to get good seats and if that means sitting on the floor for extra time so be it. This isn't usually a problem for some of my friends as they show up way later and get to jump right up front with me. That brings up a question of line etiquette but we will get to that later.

Last year I can think of only one movie that had a line. I think it was for G.I. Joe. No... it was for Wolverine. Anyway... the rest of the time it was clear of lines and I would wander over to the local coffee shop with the friends who had tagged along and we would sip coffee and chat about movies, comics, movies, and life. This is one of the reasons I like hitting the midnight showings because there is a lot more chance of hanging out with friends than usual. Most of the times I go to a flick with a friend we show up on time for the movie and then the flick starts and when it's over we go home. There isn't much of a chance for conversation. But with the midnight flick there is time to kill and hanging out to do.

Next we come to the two different types of crowds one sees at these late night viewings. You either have the fans or the masses.

The fans are folks that love the genre or the series of films (if it's part of a series) or just film in general. These people have a good time with the event and will even chat you up in line. These are some good folk who are here to join together in something we all like and have a passion for.

The masses are those people who came to see a movie cause they either had nothing else to do or they saw so many commercials on tv the weeks prior that they flock to the theater in some sort of herd mentality. These folks are usually loud and obnoxious because they don't give a rip about the movie or the people around them. They are there to kill time. I don't like these people. They kill the experience for me and everyone around them.

Oh yeah... the line etiquette...

If you are in line with a couple of your friends and a couple more show up and want in the line with you... let them in. It's not that big a deal. You're going to be saving seats for those folks anyway once you get in the theater so it's not like they are stealing someones seat. But if you are standing in line and a massive group of friends shows up and wants in... nope. Tell them to go to the back.

The same principal is true that you will be saving their seats when you get in anyway but the fact of the matter is that by having this mass squeeze into the line with you... things are going to get a little cramped not only for you but for those around you. Take other folks feeling into consideration.

But I dig the midnight showings. They hurt in the long run as I still have to wake up in the morning but all in all its a good time.

The unfortunate part is that I seem to be seeing a lot more crap at these showings than I used to.

3D War...

2010-03-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

I went and peeped the newest entry into the 3D craze last night at the midnight showing of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. I liked the flick fine and had a good time watching it. The 3D looked good but not better or worse than all the other movies I have seen in the format over the last year or so. I'm a fan of the tech but I also don't compare it to the Second Coming, if you know what I mean.

But there is a war brewing out there on the internets over the massive push to have all the big movies in this 3D format. People are vocal over the fact they either hate or love it. With each new blockbuster we get a new wave of hate directed at the studios who they say are just trying to cash in on a gimmick. To this I say... Hollywood? Grabbing for cash? Say it isn't so!!!

Here are a few of the complaints...

IT'S STUPID - The worst of the complaints as it offers no information at all. This one comes mostly from the people who either haven't seen a movie in 3D recently or just truly have no idea how to verbalize a coherent thought.

IT'S BLURRY - True. Some of the backgrounds can be a bit blurry but that isn't due to the tech. It's added to the film to give a little depth perception. When you are focusing on a specific thing such as a character standing in a field then that person is clear as day but the scenery behind that person will be blurry because your eye is focused on the near object. Now in real life you can choose to look past the person standing in front of you and the scene behind them clears as you focus changes. But this is a movie and it just doesn't work like that.

IT'S JUST STUFF GETTING THROWN AT THE SCREEN - Again... these people either haven't been to a 3D film in a while or have been to only 3D horror movies like My Bloody Valentine or Final Destination. In those movies the makers are only concerned with throwing axes at the screen and hoping for a jump from the audience. Other films use it to enhance the visuals and depth to create a viewing experience that takes you into the film as a near participant rather than just a viewer.

IT'S TOO DARK - There are some that feel that the 3D glasses make the screen to dark and that when you take the glasses off during viewing you can see that the colors are much more vibrant. Duh. The people who do the 3D conversion color correct the film so that when wearing the dark lenses you are able to see the film as it was meant to look. This means they ramp up the brightness and colors. You put on the glasses and the lenses dim it down to how it's supposed to look. It's not rocket science. If you went to the 2D version of the same film it would look exactly the same. Just flatter.

The arguments are many and some of them can be written off as just plain ignorance but the tech does have it's flaws. Here's my thoughts on the biggest one...

I love seeing the movie in the theater with the 3D tech. It looks great and it's fun. But when I eventually buy the thing on DVD or Blu Ray I'm going to be getting the short end of the stick as that same 3D tech is not available at my house. Yes... there are 3D versions of these movies that come out but they are reduced to the old school format of the red and blue card board glasses. The colors are killed and the immersive experience is reduced to near nothing.
There is tech being developed to fix this but it isn't here yet and that's going to hurt when it comes time to grab my copy at the local store.

With all that said... I like 3D. I like that it's making the theater relevant again. People are wanting to see these flicks on the big screen and in the new format instead of waiting for DVD and a viewing in the comfort of your own home.

Is it a gimmick? Yes. But all film was a gimmick at some point in history.

Moving pictures? It'll never catch on.

Buying DVD's...

2010-03-02T15:38:00.001-08:00

Buying movies is getting to be a hassle these days. I'm low on the spending cash but I'm wanting to get more and more flicks as the weeks progress. Luckily there is a video store closing nearby. That helps a little. It's a bummer that they are closing but I'm getting cheap movies out of the deal so I'm finding ways to cope.
I managed to grab all three of the Child's Play movies which was pretty sweet. I'm getting the other two "Chucky" movies as they were not good at all. I also picked up FX and FX2 which are sweet movies that I recommend if you haven't seen them. I also managed to grab the 80's remake of King Kong and it's sequel King Kong Lives. They were all pretty cheap and are all good for a weekend watch.
Heading over to Walmart scores me a couple movies as well as they are pretty good about having a flick or two worth having in the $5 bin. You just have to be careful as I almost grabbed a Full Screen version of Office Space. I shudder at the thought.
Walmart also has a nice little section of $10 BluRay movies. I've nabbed a few of those over the months and it's help my little collection grow to fill a whole shelf.
Where are you scoring cheap flicks?

Canceled...

2010-02-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

With television on dvd being a main course of my viewing diet I have found a rather annoying side effect. Canceled shows. Sometimes I start getting through a season without knowing that the fate of the show is already written.

Usually there is the tale tell sign on the cover. Right on the box they declare that the packaging holds the complete series. That means that it's a dead show and buying and watching it is at your own risk. After all, you may end up really getting into the show and then it ends with a cliffhanger due to the makers not knowing that they wouldn't be coming back to finish the story.

Sometimes they try and trick you though. Instead of putting THE COMPLETE SERIES on the packaging they put SEASON ONE even though the show is canceled. So you think to yourself... I'll get it and catch up and when the new season starts I'll watch week by week. And then you find out that there will be no more show and it ended on that stupid cliffhanger and now you are a bitter tv watcher.

A lot of the shows that met their ends prematurely can be found on HULU which is good. You can watch the shows without having to worry about putting forth the cash on a show that will leave you wanting. This is a plus as I am poor.

This whole thing has happened to me many a time. So I leave you with this... a small list of shows that ended badly or wrapped up pretty good.

Dead Like Me - Lasted two seasons but the end isn't too bad. It works well as the last episode of the series. There are a few questions left up in the air but that's how it goes sometimes.

Journeyman - Not on DVD at this time but the last episode works well to wrap up the first season and the show. I really wanted more and to really get into the mythology they were beginning to set up but the writers strike killed this one.

Firefly - This one speaks for itself. An excellent series wrapped up well with a big budget movie.

Dark Angel - Killed too early. The series ends with the beginning of a massive change to the story and never comes back. Enter at your own risk.

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Four seasons but ends on a massive cliffhanger. Be prepared.

The Flash - Only played out for a season but is cliffhanger free and a good time.

I just got comfortable...

2010-01-30T12:57:00.001-08:00

Know what I hate? I hate when I sit down to watch a movie, throw the blanket over my legs, get the snack and drink right where I want them, go to hit play on the remote... only to then notice I forgot to put my glasses on. So I throw the blanket off and find the glasses and put them on. I head back to the couch and get all ready again... only to have forgotten to turn off the lights I had switched on to find the glasses.

I seem to go through this dance a lot. You think I would be prepared or at least conscious of the fact that it happens more often than not to make sure I covered all the bases before getting comfy. But no. I never think of it until near the point of no return.

This afternoon as I sat to watch a flick the same thing happened but with the rare twist of the DVD that just doesn't want to be my friend. I sat and got all situated on the couch only to have to get up again and get the glasses I mentioned before. After all the up and down was finished I was watching the movie and getting into it. It's a cloudy gloomy day out and that's always good for a movie. I was relaxing and getting into that zen mood when the dumb movie stopped. Not turned off but froze up on a frame and didn't feel like going on.

Now in these situations I can usually stare at the screen for about ten seconds before I push the play button again on the remote in full understanding that it won't do a dang thing. The machine whirs and clicks as it tries to do what I have asked of it. It tries to work through the scratch or smudge that is keeping me from finding out if Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock really do love each other despite all their differences when I finally break down and get up. I head to the machine and get the DVD out to see what could be causing the problem. It's a little scratched but nothing that I can see would cause the issues. There is a little smudge so I clean the disk off a little and then put it back in the machine.

After a little menu surfing I manage to get back to the spot in the movie where the freeze up was and it plays perfectly through it. So I settle back onto the couch and recover the legs and get back into the mode of Film Zen I had been pulled out of. I'm finding out that good ol Sandy isn't the cold hearted witch she seems to be on the outside when I get another freeze.

This time I refused to get up and do the same song and dance as before and just hit the chapter skip button. I do a little rewinding (I know it's a DVD and thus cannot be "rewound" but who cares) and get to the spot right before the freeze occurred. Once again I have been disrupted but it has been fixed. The universe resumes it's slow spin and I once again get back into Film Zen.

But man... I really hate it when that happens. Don't you?

Film Class: The First Week

2010-01-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

My first week in my first film class is over and done with. It's not at all what I expected the class to be but it is something I'm looking forward to sitting through week after week.

On the surface it's a film class in as much as we view movies and talk about them. But we really don't talk about the ins and outs of the movie making process. The whole class is designed to help you intelligently take the themes of a film apart and figure out what's going on behind the story. To find out what it's saying about the time period in which it was made and what was the writer or director trying to get across with the things they showed us.

It's a class to get you to look beyond just the visuals on the screen. It's not what I thought the class was when I signed up for it but it's something that I think every film buff needs to think about. I come across a lot of folks who can tell you about the smallest things in regards to the filming, the acting, and even the directing but sometimes they are clueless as to what the movie is really about. What is the story behind the story? Why did the creators feel the need to tell this story?

The first class was the usual intro to what we would be doing as the weeks numbered themselves. Papers will be written, tests taken, and movies watched. The class is going to be mostly focused on the "comedy" side of film. I mean that in the Greek idea of comedy. A story that doesn't end in a sad or low note. The other side of that would be Tragedy. The list of movies we will be handling is pretty interesting. The first one we are going to tackle is DAVE. A good flick I have seen before but it's been a while and I don't think I have ever looked into the deeper meaning of the flick so I look forward to the viewing.

All in all I think I'm going to have fun in the class and I think it will be challenging. I'll keep you guys up to date on how it goes.

A New Year

2010-01-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

We are flying through January of 2010 and I really want to know where my flying car and our moon colony are. Isn't this supposed to be the future now?

Anyway... we have a new year of films ahead of us and I'm excited for what's around the corner. And I mean right around the corner. Some of my most anticipated movies for the whole year seem to be popping up within the first three months of 2010 and that's a bit of a change from what we have seen in the past.

It's summer that usually brings all the awesome movies and then those are followed up with all the usual Oscar contenders in the last couple months of the year. But not this time around. Hollywood is stacking the front of the year with a lot of big budget flicks including The Wolf Man, Shutter Island, and The Book of Eli. I know a couple of these flicks were meant to come out at the end of 2009 but I would think pushing them out a couple more months to the beginning of the summer flood wouldn't have hurt business much.

Is the winter / spring season the new summer for the honchos in LA? It might be as we haven't seen this type of action in a long time. Not that I'm complaining but I hope they save a few good ones for the rest of the year as well.

And that brings me to my resolution for the year in regards to movie watching. I'm really going to try and see more recent movies as the year passes. I may not make it to the theater as much as I would like but I hope to see the new releases when they come out on DVD a lot sooner than I have been. I've slacked on that bad this last year. I got into a groove of watching documentary films and haven't seem to surfaced yet. I'm just now getting caught up on the Harry Potter movies. Two of those left to get through...

25 Days of Christmas: Elf

2009-12-22T16:20:00.000-08:00

Elf (2003)

"You sit on a throne of lies!" - Buddy

People kept telling me I had watch this flick. They said that it was one of the best Christmas movies out there. They said it was equal to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. They said that even though I wasn't a big fan of Will Farrell I would like him in this movie.

Well... they were wrong.

While it isn't a terrible movie it's not as great as they said it was. It's watchable. I won't watch it again, I don't think.

First off, it's Will Farrell doing the same thing he does in every comedy he makes. It's him being stupid and not noticing that he's being stupid. That shtick got old with me a long time ago. If there is more than that to this guy it's being suppressed by the big money making machine of Hollywood that says that if something makes us money then we need to keep doing that same thing over and over again till it stops making us money. That's Will Farrell... even in this movie.

The story is ok but a little silly. Actually... what little story there is, beyond the crutch of Buddy not knowing a thing, is really weak. We get surface level characters that give us the slightest hint of a personality and then we're back to Will Farrell not knowing something else. I would have liked to see more of him in the department store and interacting with the people there. I would have liked to see more between Buddy and the girl he falls for. But we get first date and then they have a family in less than thirty minutes. Plus... isn't he a little old for her? I didn't see chemistry there at all.

He gets brought into the family very quickly and everyone but his father loves him within minutes. The change of heart for James Caan is rather fast as well. This whole movie felt pretty rushed to me and that's probably due to there not being much there in the first place.

Like I said... it's not terrible but it's no where near the top of the list when it comes to Christmas movies.

Jingle All the Way is far superior to me.

25 Days of Christmas: An Update

2009-12-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

Well... I tried. I had to skip a couple days and on top of the internet issues I was having this weekend I feel that my challenge has come to an end. I tried... and I failed.

I still have some reviews to post that I collected over the weekend and I will get those up tomorrow so it doesn't feel like a total loss. Sorry if I didn't get to a movie you were really looking forward to.

Coming up tomorrow... I finally watched Elf for the first time.

25 Days of Christmas: Day Sixteen

2009-12-16T14:35:00.000-08:00

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

"You've been given a great gift, George: A chance to see what the world would be like without you." - Clarence

I didn't see this movie until I was 22 years of age. I'm not sure why it never crossed my path before then. I was alone that Christmas. My wife was deployed away from me for six months and Christmas happened to fall in there at some point. I had been asked by a friend to come over to his house for Christmas dinner and to hang out a little before that and when he heard I had never seen the movie he put it on and made me watch it.

My first thought upon finishing the film was... that was a really long movie. But not in a bad way. I didn't know we would get to see so much of the life of George Bailey. I didn't know we would get to see his childhood and his young adult days. We traveled with him all the way to his marriage and into his gray hairs. It was a good trip. One that it took George a visit from an angel to see.

I knew the story. I had seen countless copies through out my life. Someone on the edge gets to see what the world would have been like if they had never been born. I remember Bevis and Butthead doing an episode like it and the angel was telling Bevis that maybe it was best if he really hadn't come into the world because it would have been a better place without him. An interesting twist.

I like the movie. It's not one I feel the need to watch every Christmas though. Maybe every couple of years here and there. It's not one I want to abuse and have it become another Christmas Story for me. I don't need another movie ruined by over exposure.

The acting is great in the flick but that's almost a given since we have Jimmy Stewart giving life to George Bailey. He is one of the most consistent actors that has ever graced the silver screen. It doesn't hurt that he is the star of my favorite flick, Rear Window, either.

I recommend seeing this one of you haven't already. You may have seen the ending all over the place or seen other versions of it but trust me. It's the journey George has to go on... not the destination that is important.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 15

2009-12-15T00:17:00.000-08:00

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

"Don't you know a kid always wins against two idiots?" - Kevin

Once again, Kevin is on his own. It's up to him to fight the bad guys and save Christmas for us all. Well, I guess it's not for all of us but it is for all the boys and girls that will be getting the cash the returning thieves are trying to get their hands on.

The family is heading to Miami for the holiday's and Kevin isn't too pleased with the situation. He wants to stay home where there are Christmas trees. It's a little silly but he's a young guy and the thought of no Christmas tree during Christmas is something that he just doesn't want to wrap his head around. So once again the family is late in getting to the airport and Kevin gets sidetracked and ends up on a plane to New York. Once there he finds himself alone and holding his dad's wallet with all his credit cards.

One hotel room at the Plaza later and Kevin is having a good old time riding in limos, visiting toy stores, and running into the two bumbling thieves from the first flick. Ok... that's not good times. But the ensuing chase and torture of the two thieves is fun.

It's pretty much the same movie as the first flick with Kevin in a different location. It's the same bad guys and nearly the same ending with Kevin loading up a house with home made booby traps designed to keep the baddies at bay. Once again he befriends a lonely older person that is scary at first but shown in the end to be a caring person who helps him out when he really needs it.

It's the same but I like it. The first movie has some charm to it that I enjoy and this one carries that same charm into the big city. I don't mind that it's a carbon copy much like the Teen Wolf movies. It was good the first time and it's good this time.

There are other movies in the series but none of them featured the original cast and characters and went straight to DVD or cable. I remember watching one of them once but I don't think it was any good and I'm not sure I made it through the whole movie. They managed to capture lighting in a bottle twice and that was the end of it.

25 Days of Christmas: Day Fourteen

2009-12-14T23:38:00.000-08:00

Home Alone (1990)

"This is my house, I have to defend it." - Kevin

What kid didn't want this to happen to them. Being left home alone during a crappy family get together sounds like the best thing ever. You get to eat whatever you want. You can watch anything you want on television. You don't have anyone to tell you when to go to bed. It's amazing. Until you get to the part with the thieves trying to break into the house. Then it gets to be less fun. Unless you are Kevin McCallister.

The whole movie centers on a kid who gets left alone while the rest of the family packs up and heads off on a family Christmas vacation not knowing they have left the youngest of the family behind. Kevin wakes up to find that the house is empty with the thought that his late night wish that his family would go away has come true. His mother, on the other hand, realizes what has happened as her plain is taking off into the air and is freaking out that her baby is in the deepest of troubles.

Kevin makes the most of his new found freedom as he eats crappy food, watches crappy tv, and does whatever he feels like doing with his time. The real fun starts as a couple of local robbers decide that his house is the next one on their hit list. Kevin has to go up against these guys with a house full of MacGuyver style booby traps to make sure they don't get what they want.

The film is funny and touching at the same time as the kid begins to realize that he needs his mom and the rest of the family and that being on your own isn't all that it's cracked up to be. The casting of Kevin with Macaulay Culkin was a stroke of genius and a death warrant for this kids career as an actor. Suddenly he was type cast as the cute kid and that is a monster label to shake off in Hollywood. He would forever be known as the kids from Home Alone.

The two bumbling thieves are played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern and they couldn't have picked a better pair. One is short and stout while the other is tall and lanky. They have great chemistry together and, for me, are a good example of a great on screen duo.

Everything from the music to the sets to the directing all comes together for this movie and it works. You believe this kid could hold up against these guys with a handful of micro machines and an iron. He's written as a smart kid so you buy that he's smart enough to pull this off. The ridiculous becomes plausible.

This movie could easily stand on it's own but there are more of them to see. That's what we will do tomorrow...

25 Days of Christmas: Day Thirteen

2009-12-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

White Christmas (1954)

"Well how do you like that? Not so much as a "kiss my foot" or "have an apple"." - Doris

They just don't make them like this anymore. This an excellent movie with an all star cast that could really do anything. Comedy, singing, dancing, drama... you name it they had it in spades.

Yes, it's a musical. Don't let that put you off of seeing it though because the story is just as compelling as the excellent music that fills it. We begin in the days of World War II. Two guys, Wallace and Davis, are brought together during an attack and after the war is over they team up to do a duo singing act that grows and grows until they are two of the biggest stars out there.

A chance encounter with the sisters of an old war buddy has them heading to Vermont to a down on it's luck ski resort in the middle of a season that has not brought any snow. Wallas and Davis decide to bring a brand new version of their hit show to the resort to help drum up business. The resort happens to be owned by a General they served under in the war. A General which they feel deserves to have a Christmas miracle.

I love the music and dance numbers in the film as well. They range from the very simple to the massive as we go from bombed out battle front to small train car to the grandeur of a broadway musical number being rehearsed for the big show. The tunes are catchy and fun to watch as each of the talented actors knows there way around a stage. Plus we get to hear Bing Crosby croon through the whole thing to finish with the best version of White Christmas there has ever been.

There is also the love story that unfolds between the Haynes sisters and Wallace and Davis. It feels natural and the guys and gals are paired off perfectly. It's not fun and games and musical numbers though. There is misunderstanding and drama that pulls everything apart at the last minute. But all turns out well as it's Christmas... the time of miracles.

I watched this movie a hundred times or more as I grew up as it was a favorite in my house. We all know the songs and can quote nearly the whole movie by heart. It's old fashioned movie making that makes it feel like Christmas each time I put it in.

25 Days of Christmas: Day Twelve

2009-12-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

"Hey! If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey *beep* he is! Hallelujah! Holy *beep*! Where's the Tylenol?" - Clark W. Griswold

This ties one other movie for my favorite Christmas movie of all time. This is the best of all the National Lampoon movies out there and it's all thanks to the masterful comedy timing of Chevy Chase. His portrayal of Clark W. Griswold is one of the best ever in the history of comedy.

All the man wants to do is have a fun traditional family Christmas. The kind he remembers as a kid. The kind you see in holiday specials on television. Family, decorations, carols, presents, snow, a swimming pool...

But no. There isn't one thing he tries to do that goes right no matter how small that thing may be. Putting up Christmas lights resulted in hours of labor and almost falling off the roof and dying. All of that and the stupid things didn't even twinkle. Plus the bright light brought Cousin Eddie right to his doorstep.

A simple sledding outing turned into a death race. Cutting down a Christmas tree... well... you know. All of this to show that he was trying really hard. And in the end when his boss screws him over for the bonus he deserved... he snapped. We've seen him snap before. It's never good.

But leave it to Cousin Eddie to save the day. I know... I can't believe it either.

I know it's the comedy that makes this movie great but it's also the fact that we can all relate at least a little. We know the stresses of the holiday and we know that no matter how hard we try it's never going to be perfect. Some one in the family is going to give you a headache and the scene of the perfect holiday dinner that you played out in your head is not going to match up to the scene you find yourself in come that snowy night. If you have snow, that is. At the moment I have way more than enough. I can send you some.

My favorite scenes are too many to count but the dinner scene, sledding scene, tree cutting scene, Cousin Eddie scenes... see what I mean! I love them all. But I guess if I had to narrow it down to one tiny scene... it would be Clark plugging in the lights. His excitement as he leads his family in this most important of events and his disappointment and rage as the whole thing mocks him when no one else is looking. When he beats the ever loving snot out of the reindeer and then drops kicks Santa right out of the sleigh I lose it every time. I've been there. I've been that guy. I killed a toaster once. It wasn't pretty.

It's also one of the most quotable movies out there. Nearly every word that Clark says is funny and memorable and the rest of the family follows suit. Cousin Eddie explaining why he shouldn't put the spray on his sled is repeated at every sledding trip I have ever gone on since the age of ten.

It's a fun movie with heart, laughs, and a lot of crazy. I can't not watch this a couple times or three during the Christmas season. It's as necessary as Santa to me.

25 Days of Christmas: Day Eleven

2009-12-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

"Oh, a battle of wits. It's a shame that you come unarmed." - Carol Newman

Who knew this could be a franchise? Tim Allen as Santa returns to find a woman. Turns out that if he doesn't get married soon he can't be Santa anymore. That would hurt the chances for another sequel so he gets to looking.

Eventually he falls for the hard nosed principal of his son's school and holiday miracles ensue. Plus there is trouble in the North Pole as the robot Santa that was left in charge while Tim Allen was out looking for a bride malfunctions and starts causing all sorts of issues.

I liked this movie for the most part. I was down with the search for the wife and the whole deal with him falling in love again. But the parts with RoboSanta really didn't do it for me. It felt uneeded. I think there was enough drama going on with Tim Allen trying to woo the woman with the heart of stone. Did we really need the crazy hijinks of the robot.

The whole cast returns for the sequel which was nice. I enjoy it when the cast can be preserved for extra outings. Charlie, the son, is having issues in this movie as he goes about tagging buildings and getting busted by the cops. Things get worked out in the end though and he's put on the path of good once again. He's older in this flick which threw me off watching these movies right after each other. He's no long the squeaky voiced little kid forcing his dad into a dead man's clothes...

What happened to the former Mrs. Clause? If you need a wife to keep being Santa what happened to the wife of the guy who fell off the roof? I don't remember them saying anything about her...

Anyway...

My favorite scene is when "Scott Calvin" livens up the teacher Christmas party by giving out the toys that the adults always wanted as kids. It's a sweet scene that gets me every time.

Um... I don't really have too much to say about the flick other than that. I liked it. It's a good watch this time of year. The acting gets the job done. I'm not sure it really needed to be a three film franchise which is why you won't find the 3rd movie on the list for this little experiment in cheerfulness. I think the first two say it all.

Onward we go on the list...

25 Days of Christmas: Day Ten

2009-12-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

The Santa Clause (1994)

"It's Santa! You killed him!" - Charlie

This is the second film in this years viewing that has the job of Santa being one that is passed on. Unfortunately, in this version it passes on when the current Santa dies. In this flick he falls off a roof and, I'm guessing, breaks his neck and dies instantly. This is a pretty dark movie if you think about it. After the big guy dies none of the elves even morn the guys passing. It's business as usual for them and they don't even miss a beat. Not to mention the guy who takes over the job is pretty much responsible for his death in the first place.

Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, a toy designer that inherits the role of Santa Claus and bumbles his way into adventure through out the course of this flick. He's joined by his young son Charlie most of the time and this leads to some issues as Scott is divorced and his ex thinks that being with Scott is hurting the mental stability of their son.

I like the year we get to see before Scott becomes the man himself as he struggles with magical weight gain and a beard that grows back the second he shaves it. The fat suit used in this movie is pretty flawless and Tim Allen wears it well.

Scott's attitude shifts as the year goes on as he inherits other abilities as well such as knowing if people are naughty or nice. When the elves do come for him he is prepared but still questioning that whole mess he's gotten himself into.

The bottom line is that this is a pretty decent Christmas movie. It has all the family drama, the magic, and a pretty good dose of humor that makes repeated viewings hold up.

The thing I keep coming back to though is the lack of mourning over the death of the Santa before Scott. How many Santa's have died in the line of service for all the elves to become so jaded? Even Charlie, Scott's young son, doesn't seem to broken up over the fact that the man has died. He's just really excited that his dad is now wearing the dead man's clothes. It's a little morbid and a fact that gets to me every time I watch the flick.

What happens when Tim Allen dies while trying to deliver the toys one year? Will it continue to be business as usual? Will Charlie care then?

Maybe I'm thinking about it too much...

25 Days of Christmas: Day Nine

2009-12-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Story (1983)

"You'll shoot your eye out, kid." - Mall Santa

Not a fan. I know. There are those of you out there who must think I've lost my mind. How could I not love a movie that is played on television 24 hours straight every Christmas? How could I not dig the antics of Ralphie as he tries his best to get the coveted Red Rider BB Gun under that tree come Christmas morning? I don't know. I just don't care for the flick.

I guess I can see why other folks like it so much. It's very quotable. There are some things from everyones childhood represented in the flick. I can relate to having a crush on a teacher. I know the fear one feels when tormented by the school bully. I know what it's like to yearn for a toy all Christmas season with no garuntee that it would end up being yours in the end. I just find the whole movie a little over rated.

The film centers around Ralphie as he goes about his life during the Christmas season. He really really really wants a Red Rider BB Gun but no one seems to understand. They just keep telling him that he'll shoot his eye out if he did get it. He tries trick after trick and ploy after ploy with nothing to show for it except a bruised ego.

Of course... he does get the gun in the end thanks to his father who understands more than his mother why the kid needs to get the coveted gun. It's a guy thing, after all.

Over the years I've learned that most folks see this as the fathers movie as much as it is Ralphie's. We get to see the Old Man through the eyes of his young son as he attempts to fix a heater day after day and when he gets excited over winning a prize that for everyone else is a joke but to him it's a validation that he has worth in the world other than bringing home the bacon.

There is one seen that always comes to mind when I think about this movie. The tounge to the flagpole scene. I get chill everytime I see this scene for what boy hasn't thought about doing the same thing. I remember having a root beer float ice cream bar when I was younger and when I took the first lick my tounge stuck to the icy exterior and for a brief moment I knew the fear of that young lad as he froze, literally, in place for fear of ripping his tounge from his head. The fact that all his friends leave him there to suffer is a point of sadness in the movie for me and not the humor that most get from it. That's just messed up.

While I don't think it's a terrible movie I just don't see what all the hype is over. I could do with a couple of years without having to see this on television everytime I flip through the channels.

25 Days of Christmas: Day Eight

2009-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Jingle All The Way (1996)

"It's Turbo time!" - Turbo Man

I know it's not a great movie but I like it and eventually see it at some point in the Christmas season. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a dad who has to head out into the dangerous world of last minute toy shopping to score his kid the most wanted action figure on the market that year... a Turbo Man.

Not only does he have to deal with the mass of other parents racing from toy store to toy store, fighting in the aisles, and double crossing each other... but he seems to have picked up a nemesis in the form of Sinbad who is playing a mail man down on his luck and searching for the same toy. The result is a chase through the city and into the underground toy selling market itself. Eventually we end up at a version of the Macy's parade and Arnold actually gets to become Turbo Man on a massive float and do battle with the evil... Sinbad?

The story, for me, is pretty fun as I have been one of those people out there running around town looking for that special something that will make the holiday for someone you love. I have fought with other shoppers and even hidden away certain items so that I can return to them later if a better price hasn't been found. I've even made the call to friends that have sounded like this...

"Dude... are you still looking for the rare Superman figure with the black "S" on the cape instead of the yellow one? Sweet... you need to head down to Target and go to the linen department. In the second aisle with the pillows you will find an ugly orange shag throw pillow three shelves up in the middle. Yeah... ok... behind that pillow is a plastic divider with the screws taken out. Behind that is the figure. Sweet."

So... yeah. I can relate.

There is the usual plot device of Arnold having disappointed his kid a couple times in the beginning of the movie so getting the toy is the one thing he thinks will make up for all the times he screwed up with the kid. A side plot is that his next door neighbor, played sleazily by the late Phil Hartman, is trying to move in on his wife during this whole thing. I really enjoy the fun had with this flick. It doesn't take itself seriously and neither do I.

The cast works pretty well and the direction is as good as you're going to get in a movie like this. The future Anakin Skywalker plays Arnold's kid and he's just as dopey in this as you would expect him to be. We don't really care though as it's all about Arnold and Sinbad falling into one mess after another.

In the end the father comes out on top, the jerk neighbor gets his due, and the world is once again safe thanks to the heroics of Turbo Man.

25 Days of Christmas: Day Seven

2009-12-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

"Ooh, and I am about to raise you right off the pavement!" - Miss Piggy

We return again to the world of the Muppets as they set their sights on the classic Christmas story of the Christmas Carol. There had been a little bit of time between the last Muppet production and this one as Jim Henson passed away and the future of the Muppets seemed a little uncertain. After all... Jim Henson was not only the creator and guiding force behind the Muppets but he was the voice of Kermit as well as others in the cast of characters.

His son, Brian Henson, comes in and directs the movie with skill and passion. Michael Cain brings the role of Scrooge to life and you can feel the hate and greed pour off the man in the beginning and see the light grow brighter in his eyes as the ghosts take him through the night. Plus the man had to act opposite the Muppets. I'm actually surprised an actor of his caliber agreed to do the flick. He didn't phone it in... he excelled.

This might be my favorite of the "Carols" that I have currently seen due to it being the Muppets and for the straight up fact that it's a well made movie. The set is massive and detailed and all the Muppets were well cast for the story. Sure... some liberties were taken here and there but nothing that changed the story or the intent.

I love the music as well. I find myself humming and even singing along with each tune. Sometime during musicals there might be a song or two you don't really care for and one or two that you want to put on your iPod right away. All the songs in the movie are good and it's nice to hear them again as the holidays come back around each year.

There is so much good about this movie that it's really hard to find something wrong with it. The only thing I noticed for the DVD is that they have a anniversary edition that has an extended cut on it. But you can only watch the extended cut on the full screen version of the movie and only the theatrical version is in widescreen. That bugs me. But that has nothing to do with the film itself.

The humor in the flick gets me each time as well. I love when Piggy is going off on Scrooge at the dinner and her daughters are coping the last ew words she says. I know it's coming but each time it makes me laugh.

The more serious notes of the flick are... well... serious. They don't tone down the heart break over losing Tiny Tim or the dark events surrounding the looting of the recently deceased Scrooge. You may think this is a kids film but it treats the topic at hand with seriousness so as not to delude the lesson it's meant to tell. I respect that as they could have easily watered it down with humor. I believe it when Scrooge has his transformation.

All that to say that this is an excellent Christmas movie and one that I try and watch every year on Christmas eve with the kids.

Thanks to all who have commented on the past posts. I'm enjoying going through all these movies and it makes it all the more worth it to know you are enjoying the posts as well. See you tomorrow for another flick...

25 Days of Christmas: Day Six

2009-12-06T22:13:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)

"We can call it... Christmas 2!" - BZ

I went and saw this movie in the theater when I was a little kid and ever since then this is what I picture when I think about Santa and his workshop. The whole place is made out of wood and the elves work happily making the old fashioned wooden toys for all the kids of the world. The night I went and saw the flick it was snowing like crazy and I remember we almost didn't go to the movie due to the weather. It's a good Christmas memory.

The movie begins with the origin of Santa as he and his wife are trapped in a snow storm and are transported to the North Pole where they meet the elves as learn what the future has in store for them.

We get a pretty good montage as Santa gets his bearings and we travel through time with him as he makes his name until we come to the present day. He befriends a homeless boy and we get to see how Santa lives and how much he cares about what he has been called to do with his eternal life.

Things go a little bad when the newly appointed assistant elf, Dudley Moore, messes up one Christmas and allows a ton of defective toys to leave the workshop only to break soon after they are delivered. It breaks my heart every time when the little boy with the wagon full of leaves watches as the handle comes loose and the thing rolls into the path of a massive truck and is smashed to bits. The little kid is heart broken when he sees his new toy that he asked Santa for destroyed before his eyes. *sniff*

I'm ok....

Anyway... Dudley Moore is broken up about the mess he made and he takes off for New york City to try and prove himself once more. He hooks up with a sleazy toy merchant and offers him a chance to make candy that will allow people to fly for a short amount of time. This is all well and good but the toyman wants to make tons of money off this venture and in the end make the world forget about Santa Claus all together.

It gets even worse when we find out that the candy explodes when it gets too hot. That's an issue. With the help of the young boy and another young girl Santa sets out to rescue his disgraced elf and ultimately Christmas itself.

It's fun little movie from the same people who brought us Superman: The Movie and the director who gave us Supergirl. The cast is pretty good with a few cheesy folks thrown in for good measure. I'm looking at you, John Lithgow...

It's very 80's and the product placement is pretty in your face at times. I can tell you right now that Coke and McDonalds gave up a lot of cash to be in this flick. At one point you see the homeless kid with his face smashed up against the window of the local McDonalds and drools as the packed restaurant serves it's customers. It also seems as if each patron has ordered something different so that we can see the full range of the menu on screen.

Watching this flick again for the first time in decades brought it all back for me and I enjoyed every moment. David Huddleston was excellent as Santa. I liked his gray beard and his massiveness as he stood with elves and children. He easily makes the top of the list as the best Santa so far.

And with this movie the sleigh rolls on and I pick out the next flick on the list...

25 Days of Christmas: Day Five

2009-12-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

"Naughty." - Billy

I don't know why I put this on the list. I was trying to have a good mix of old and new, comedic and dramtic... and then there is this thing.

It cause quite a stir when released back in '84 as parents all over the country were trying to get the film banned from their movie houses. The ads depicting a murderous Santa was thought to be unfit for the public as the question came up as what would happen when children started seeing them. Would they think that Santa really was an axe murderer?

It's a cheap horror movie that capitalized on the trend of basing horror flicks after holiday's and this happened to be the first to use Santa as it's villain. Of course it isn't the real Santa. It's Billy. Billy who had watched his father and mother murdered by a man in a Santa outfit and then would eventually get a little... off... due to that traumatic experience.

We see that in the orphanage he is sent to with his little brother, Ricky, that every year around Christmas he starts acting up. The repressed memories of his parents murder come out here and there. Eventually he grows up into a strong young man who gets a part time job at the local toy store. But soon the holidays roll around and he starts to remember more and more until Christmas Eve is upon him and he is asked to be the store Santa. This is when it gets bad.

Billy remembers the murders of his parents and he snaps and just starts killing folks. All the people at the store Christmas party go first and then random people around town who are being "naughty". See... Billy's crazy grandfather in the beginning of the movie told him that Santa gives toys to good kids... but the naughty ones get punished. So he's punishing folks doing bad things. Having sex, drinking, and stealing some kids sleigh will be the end of you in this flick.

At the end Billy goes after the Mother Superior at the orphanage that tormented him for years and this proves to be his final act. Before he can off the nun he is gunned down while his little brother watches. It ends with the passing of the torch when Ricky looks hatefully at the nun and says one word. Naughty.

And that's why there a few sequels to this flick.

It's your run of the mill horror movie with t & a, blood & gore, etc. The only thing different about this flick is that it feels more appropriate to watch it during Christmas rather than Halloween. Is it really worth the watch? Not really.

So far... on the list of best Santa's in the movies on this list... this one is at the bottom.

25 Days of Christmas: Day Four

2009-12-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)

"I don't care if the turkey said the dog was a turkey! The dog is not the turkey! The turkey's the turkey, you turkey" - Doc

Of all the Christmas movies of my childhood this is the one that stands out the most. I remember watching this every year on an old VHS tape and marveling at the fact that all the muppets were in one place at the same time. We go to see the Muppets interact with the Sesame Street gang. Kermit and Robin sang with the Fraggles. There were live action Muppet Babies! It was awesome!

It's a simple little story about how the whole gang crashed the farmhouse of Fozzie's mom for the holidays and a massive storm rolls through and everyone is worried about Miss Piggy as she is the only one that hasn't arrived yet. So we have the little bit of drama needed for a Christmas special, we have music, jokes, and even a surprise appearance by the man himself, Jim Henson.

It was magic to me as a kid and it still holds up to this day. I still love the running gag about the slippery spot on the porch that causes all who enter to fall on their butts. I like the Swedish Chef trying to lure Big Bird into the kitchen so he can cook him for the Christmas dinner. I also love out of tune pianos...

As I said... the story is simple and the whole thing is really just a bunch of sections slapped together to make an hour long special. It's jumbled. But it doesn't matter. To see the original cast get together and have some fun is great in itself.

One thing that I never noticed when watching this over the last few years... when the Sesame Street folks show up caroling I thought to myself that this was my Sesame Street. Back before Elmo took over. No Elmo here, no sir. And then I saw him. That little red guy was singing with the rest of them. I had never noticed him before and was a little shocked that Elmo was hanging with the crew even back then. I wonder if he was Elmo back then or just another random unnamed monster...

Another thing I never noticed before... When the Fraggels come out to see what the singing is near the end of the movie, I never noticed that Uncle Traveling Matt was there as well. He was standing right underneath where they were. He was so close to his Nephew and he didn't even notice... kinda sad.

It's a great Christmas special and I urge you to take a look. I just watched the whole unedited version on YouTube. There is a DVD out there but it's edited and some of the music is missing. For your first viewing I guess that would work but for those who grew up on the special we can see that there is something missing and it's not cool at all.

After watching this I truly feel like the Christmas season is upon us...

25 Days of Christmas: Day Three

2009-12-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)

"Careful, now... them be PISIN!" - Ernest as Snake Wrangler

I remember watching this as a kid in the theater and loving it. And I still do.

When I was younger the Ernest movies were in full swing. He went to camp, saved Christmas, saved Halloween, and was sent to prison and died in the electric chair for a crime he didn't commit.

Don't worry though... he came back to life as a electrically charged superhero of sorts.

But I digress.

Today we talk about how the lovable everyman saved Christmas from fading away forever. You see... Santa Claus was in town looking for his replacement. It turns out that the mantle of Santa is passed down every hundred years or so and in doing so the magic of Christmas is charged full and kids all over the world get to look forward to another hundred years of Christmas.

This isn't the only movie out there that holds the idea that Santa is a rotating cast of characters. Later in the month we will see Tim Allen take over for the big guy after he causes the somewhat accidental death of the current suit wearer. But again... I digress.

Ernest is a cab driver in this flick and he's the lucky guy to pick up Santa from the airport. This begins the adventure as the guy Santa wants to hand the reigns over to doesn't have a chance to hear the pitch before the man's agent gets Santa hauled away by the cops. So Ernest and a runaway girl, who goes through the whole movie going back and forth in her unbelief of what's going on, have to bust him out and help him track down the guy that is supposed to take over for him. All of this happens on Christmas eve for the most part so there is a ticking clock running.

Ernest is going strong in this flick and I enjoy each scene he is showcased. He manages a little Fletch action in this flick as well as he goes from costume to costume to help get Santa to the places he needs to be. The snake farmer is my favorite. The mother of the agent is creepy and effective.

We even get a sequence with Vern! Ernest shows up at Vern's house to help him decorate and he ends up trashing the place instead. Reminds me of the old commercials and at this point it reminds me that Jim Varney is gone and he will be missed.

It also struck me that if they ever wanted to remake any of the Ernest movies they could use Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs as the title character. They look similar enough... but... nah... Ernest is one of a kind.

Douglas Seale does a good job as a somewhat naive but wise Santa. He looks the part and dresses pretty slick. He even gets to punch a guy in the face. We don't get to see our Santa's do that very often. So far in this little movie watching journey he is the number two Santa next to Art Carney though. The new Santa that gets tapped in the film wasn't on screen as the big guy long enough to make the list.

The movie stands strong in the realm of Christmas movies and I think will continue to hold up for a few more decades.

Knowhatimean...

25 Days of Christmas: Day Two

2009-12-02T23:48:00.000-08:00

Prancer (1989)

I won't lie... this was a little tough to get through.

The movie tells the story of a young girl in a small town who thinks the injured reindeer she finds in the woods is the lost Prancer. She nurses him back to health with the intention of taking him up into the hills the night before Christmas eve in hopes of Santa coming to get him.

I'm going to assume it's because I'm older and wiser now with kids of my own but during this viewing all I was thinking was "Sam Elliot should send that brat girl packing to her aunt's house."

The girl Jessica played by Rebecca Harrell was such a turd in this flick I really didn't care about anything she wanted as the story progressed. I could see if the father was a jerk and was mean to her but I only saw a man who was trying everything in his power to keep a roof over his kids heads and his turd daughter kept running off and ignoring everything he said to her. I wasn't broken up at all when it came out that he was thinking of sending her off to live with the aunt. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, kiddo...

The first thirty or forty minutes I was wondering why people thought this was a good flick and it wasn't until Jessica had to make some cash to feed the hurt Prancer that the story got a little interesting. She heads over to the crazy lady who lives in the spooky old house over the hill and offers to clean her house. The woman agrees and is soon breaking into a smile and seems to enjoy the company until she finds out Jessica has gotten into the mass of Christmas decorations hidden in the attic.

It turns out that this lady used to be a nice woman who would go all out during Christmas every year but something happened to change her into the old crone we now see in the flick. Jessica manages to melt the frozen heart of Mrs. McFarland enough that she allows the decorations to be put up on the house and then we see her rejoining the town at life. But what was the thing that turned her into the town shut in? What's her story? Well, they don't bother telling us. Bummer.

The last bit of the movie picks up as we see the healing of the relationship between the father and daughter and sister and brother and the town comes together for the usual Christmas miracle. Sam Elliot takes his daughter up to the hills to set Prancer free so he can go back to Santa and it's pretty much shown that the reindeer is in fact the lost pet of Santa himself. Or is he? Sam Elliot doesn't seem to be surprised that the animal disappeared off the edge of a cliff. He doesn't look up in the sky to see the sleigh and eight tiny reindeer fly across the full moon. He doesn't even acknowledge the jingle bells. The only one to see the sight is the girl. Was it in her mind?

I think Prancer jumped. I felt like doing the same through most of the flick.

It's not horrible though. But it's so slow at parts and when it does start to get interesting it's only on the surface and doesn't try to get any deeper than that. This was a better movie when I was younger.

25 Days of Christmas: Day One

2009-12-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

The Night They Saved Christmas (1984)

"If you continue, there's a very good chance you're going to blow up Santa Claus!" -- Ed

Like I said in the last post... I watched this on YouTube. It's a movie from my childhood and it was good to revisit it after all these years. Heck... decades. Plus it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

The whole story is that there is a man, Michael Baldwin, drilling for oil in the North Pole and all the blasting he's doing is wrecking house over at North Pole City where Santa lives. So Santa sends his chief elf, Ed, to see about getting them to stop blasting. As you might guess, this doesn't go over as smooth as planned.
When Ed comes back to offer Michael a visit to North Pole City and a chance to talk to Santa about the matter the disbelieving Michael pushes the elf onto his unsuspecting wife and children and rushes out to a meeting with his boss. The elf takes the family to North Pole City and soon they realize that it isn't a practical joke and that Santa is real and the danger to the city is growing.
The race to stop the blasting continues and the family must find a way to convince Michael that there really is a Santa Claus before Christmas is doomed forever.

It's a pretty simple story and the effects are low budget but it was made for tv so I didn't expect much in the area of visuals. The Santa in this story relies more on technology than the magic you would normally see as some of the things he uses to get all those toys to the kids include transporters, orbiting toy holding satellites, and even a machine that slows time. Some of the things were pretty cool and a nice change from the usual magic stuff I feel I'm going to be seeing a lot of as I get through all these movies.

The acting was really good on the part of Art Carney as Santa but the rest of the cast were really hamming it up for the camera. There are two times during the movie when Jaclyn Smith, as the mother Claudia, and the kids go missing and are presumed either kidnapped or dead and the father gets a little bummed out and heads to work. He doesn't seem to broken up that his wife and kids could be gone forever but by golly... he is going to be upset if he doesn't find that oil.

The music is way cheesy and like most movie productions in the 80's it's heavy on the sax. It ends with a song that's supposed to be good I think but it's pretty bad. I'm not sure if it's bad in a good way or not.

We also get to see a toy of the future near the end that's given to one of the boys as a present from Santa and let me tell you... if this movie wasn't dated before this will make it show it's age. It's a small rolling robot that has the ability to store over a hundred riddles on it's hard drive. OVER A HUNDRED! Man... it's almost magic!

The kids are pretty bad but you don't mind them. The rest of the cast pulls it off enough so that there is little to no cringing. In the end it's a fine little family flick for it's time. I had fun watching it.

The first flick of the 25 Days came out a success. I don't know how many sappy Christmas movies I'm going to get through before I crack...

YouTube, I tube...

2009-11-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

It's coming up on my 25 Days of Christmas so I thought I would hurry up and write something that had nothing to do with Christmas movies. You'll be getting enough of that in a couple days.

Today we're talking about YouTube. Crazy, huh? I've recently fallen in love with YouTube all over again and it wasn't due to the video of the van getting taken out by the wrecking ball either. It because I have been able to reconnect with a few gems from my childhood that I thought we lost to the sands of time.

One lazy and gloomy day I was sitting in front of the computer with nothing to really do. I had checked all the emails accounts, updated the Facebook, peeped the daily news... and then I did something very random. I decided to look up a made for tv movie that I had seen when I was a child. It was a little movie called Mr. Boogedy and it was a made for tv movie that played during The Wonderful World of Disney sunday nights on ABC. I saw this thing when I was a kid and remember it being really good and the next year they had a sequel pop up on the same program.

I searched the flick and surprisingly found a link that sent me to YouTube. I was expecting a clip or something but it turned out the whole flick was on there in 10 minute sections. I was blown away. This led me to search out other flick from way back and I found a few others that I had been missing since the VHS tapes of my childhood went the way of the Dodo.

The last week or so I viewed a pilot episode for the never picked up Young MacGuyver. Starring Supernatural star Jared Padalecki it was the story of MacGuyver's nephew and his adventures being a secret agent following in the footsteps of his uncle. It wasn't that good but it was a treat to view.

A couple nights ago I watched a made for tv movie that I had seen as a kid called a Smokey Mountain Christmas. It starred Dolly Parton and Lee Majors and was pretty silly but it brought back some good memories of watching Christmas specials each year and looking forward to seeing what the networks were going to have for that year...

Which brings us right back to the 25 Days of Christmas and the first flick I'm going to be watching. It's a little movie called The Night We Saved Christmas and I'm going to be watching it in 10 minute sections on YouTube. Join me if you like but I warn you... it's pretty cheesy.

25 Days of Christmas

2009-11-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna do it. I'm going to try and do it.

That's right, folks. This year I am going to attempt to watch one Christmas movie every day until the morning of Christmas day. That's 25 movies I have to get through. And that doesn't count the ones I will be watching for the various podcasts I am doing Christmas episodes for. It's going to be a challenge to keep on track and not to skip a day here or there.

I'm trying to add as many movies I haven't seen to the list as possible. There are a few of them out there from the last few years that I never got to and this is going to be a catch up of sorts as well as a revisiting of ones I haven't seen in a while.

Here is the list of flicks I have. This is not in any order. I will be watching them as I get them.

1. Prancer
2. The Night They Saved Christmas
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
4. A Muppet Christmas Carol
5. Die Hard
6. Die Hard 2: Die Harder
7. Miracle on 34th Street (original)
8. Miracle on 34th Street (remake)
9. It's a Wonderful Life
10. White Christmas
11. Santa Clause: The Movie
12. A Muppet Family Christmas
13. Jingle all the Way
14. Four Christmases
15. Christmas Story
16. Ernest Saves Christmas
17. Christmas with the Kranks
18. Trapped in Paradise
19. The Santa Clause
20. The Santa Clause 2
21. Elf
22. Home Alone
23. Home Alone 2
24. Silent Night, Deadly Night
25. Deck The Halls

So those are the flicks.

The next step in the process will be talking about all these movies. So I'm going to do that here. Each day of the 25 Days I will be back here to blog about the movie of the day! So stay tuned, folks. It's going to be a challenge...

The world is coming to an end...

2009-11-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the new film 2012? I did. Turns out the world is going to be ending near the end of the year 2012. Bummer, huh? If only it were just a movie and not a peek into the future of mankind.

Except that it is a movie. It's not real. This is a made up story written by a writer or two in an office. There is no magic or science behind it. It's for entertainment purposes.

You may be asking why I had to state the most simple of facts in this blog. It's because there are people out there that aren't getting it. They sit on forums and comment sections of the web and argue with people about how at the end of the actual year of 2012 there will not be an alignment of planets that will help bring the downfall of the world itself. They argue that the science of the movie is fake and as such the movie is silly and shouldn't be watched. To all of this I say one thing...

IT'S A MOVIE. YOU DUMMIES!

It doesn't matter if there is or isn't going to be a cosmic event in the year 2012! That was written into the movie as a plot point to get us to the part of the movie where the world goes to crap in a hand basket. This isn't the director trying to show us what he thinks will happen to us in the future and telling us to open our eyes and prepare for the coming doom. The director likes to blow crap up and this is his way of doing a lot of that in one movie.

People need to stop taking the entertainment industry so seriously. Folks need to stop complaining about the science of a big dumb fun action movie and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Critics need to stop bashing a movie that doesn't have a goal of enriching the art or lives of the people who view it. Sometimes a movie can just be for having fun.

I saw 2012 and I had a good time with it. The acting was fine, FX were excellent, and the story had some eye rolling moments but in the end the whole thing was a hoot and I left the theater smiling. So go have fun, people.

It's not the end of the world.

Revisiting Old Friends...

2009-11-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

There are movies out there that I watched as a kid that filled me with a sense of adventure and wonder. I loved the characters and the situations that they were put in had me on the edge of my seat as I waited to find out if they would make it through unscathed. I would put these flicks in a special drawer of the movie collection at my house. A drawer reserved for movies I loved and could watch over and over again.

As I grew older and my tastes started to change and solidify into what they are now something happened that saddens me to this day.

A lot of those movies got really dumb.

It's not their fault. They were created to appeal to a kid who didn't exist anymore when it came to my life. The silly adventures of these characters had now been unmasked as unrealistic, poorly written, and in the end... not entertaining.

Every once in a while I will come across a movie I haven't seen in ages and have to make that decision. The decision of if I should watch the movie and run the risk of having it turn into one of the films that has been lost in the same place childhood things go.

There are a couple movies I have sitting at my house right this very second that I have bought on DVD because the memories I have of that film are ones of wonder and excitement and I have yet to watch them for fear of losing them as well. Some of these flicks I have had sitting on my shelf for a couple years.

Some of the movies hold up. They may not be as good as I remember them being but they are fun and still hold a bit of wonder within them. But the loss is too great to chance sometimes. Sometimes I want to hold on to the memories a little bit longer.

I sat with my family this week and watched The Muppets Take Manhattan. I hadn't seen the flick in a while and I wondered if this was going to be the case. Was I going to come away from this viewing thinking that the Muppets were lost to me? Of course not... it's the stinking Muppets!

Are there movies out there like this for you? Which ones?

Trailer time...

2009-11-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

I love trailers.

I make sure that I make it to the theater with enough time so that I don't miss any of the trailers that come on before the movie each time I head out to peep a flick. I makes some of the people I tend to go to movies with think I'm a little nuts. They tend to roll up into the theater right before the movie begins and it's not unusual for them to come in a few minutes into the movie. I never understood how they can do that.

I always saw the trailers as an event in and of themselves. You may be there to see the latest action flick but the chance to get a peep at the latest flicks Hollywood has to offer is like getting an extra present under the tree at Christmas time. It's like getting a desert at a resturant and not having to pay for it. It's like winning the lottery!

Ok... so thats taking it a little far.

The point is... trailers are cool. Some of them are made better than the movies they are trying to sell you. An example...

When the trailer for the first new Star Wars movie in forever and a day came out in the theater people were flocking to the movies houses just to see a peek at the movie. What we saw was magic. Brief glimpses into a world of magic and science that we hadn't seen in years. A world that was now sharper and bigger. The sounds of the classic theme and the hum of lightsabers filled the darkness and we all held our breath in excitment and anticipation.

And then the movie came out.

It wasn't all we had expected from what we saw in the trailer. At least it wasn't for me. I felt a little left down as the epic nature of the trailer did not extend to the film itself. Now I know there are plenty of people out there who will disagree with me about that but it's only my opinion. You can like what ever movie you want. I won't judge.

Another trailer I saw that was pretty cool was for another sci fi flick. I sat in the theater and watched as scenes played out of SWAT teams storming a building, black helicopters, an explosion, and a vast field with a white tent in the middle. I had no idea what this movie was and when a single voice called out a single name to warn the other of impending doom I was pretty stinking excited. That name was Mulder.

The trailer for the X Files movie was cool because you couldn't tell what movie it was until the reveal. I liked that.

A teaser that comes to mind that got a lot of reaction in the theater was the teaser for The Dark Knight. Bits of dialouge mixed with the black background that is torn apart and reveals the bat symbol was awesome. Yoy could hear the people in the theater get excited as they realized what they were seeing. I love those moments.

These are the moments that you are missing when you come to the theater late. I recommend taking in the whole experience next time if you are one of those people who wanders in after the movie has started.

The Downside of Paranormal Activity...

2009-11-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

It happened when Clerks made a big splash back in the 90's. It happened when Blair Witch Project came out as well. If you want to go back a little farther then you just have to look at the original Halloween. They all have the same thing in common. People saw these movies and then said... "I can do that."

After Halloween came out in theaters and raked in a ton of cash after being made for a tiny amount the market was flooded with copy cats. There were a few good ones but for the most part we were flooded with cheap knock offs that were just plain horrible. The thought behind it all was that we could make very cheap movies and even if they turned a low box office amount we would still be in the black cause we didn't really spend money on the thing to begin with.

Clerks had the same outcome. Kevin Smith released his movie and it along with a few other flicks of the same pedigree caused the indie boom of the 90's. Everyone with a camera went out and made cheap movies and Hollywood was buying them up. Once again, we did have a few gems come out of this boom but for the most part it was a lot of garbage.

Blair Witch cause the same series of events to unfold. It even ushered in a new form of film making that hasn't gone the way of the dodo even all these years later. After the release we couldn't go a step in the video store without passing a rip off of that flick. There was even a couple porno titles in there somewhere.

We now find ourselves in the time of Paranormal Activity. The movie made for $11,000 that has dominated the box office and internet chat rooms for a month. And it's good. It's the scariest movie I have ever seen and it's worthy of all the articles and praise. But there is always a downside to success in Hollywood and this type of movie brings with it a particular curse that I fear.

"It was made for $11,000? That's it? I can do that."

Get ready for the flood of wanna be's, folks. It will come in two types. The folks out there with cameras who think they can do it better and for less and the Hollywood execs who want to buy one of these cheap flicks in the hope that it will bring a larger profit.

The people who think they can make it for less may be able to. They might already have the equipment. They might have actor friends that they don't need to pay. That's all great and good but unless you have a story to tell you are just going to be making a cheap piece of... well... you know.

In my opinion it all comes down to the story being told. It has to be compelling. It has to engage the audience. Most film makers out there who are just trying to get the flick done as fast as possible with as little money as possible lose focus on the story and it ends up falling by the wayside. Paranormal Activity didn't have a script. It was add libbed. So was Blair Witch. It's become an option to not even write a script anymore. Now that's scary.

On the Hollywood front it's almost worse. Suddenly Hollywood starts to think that all the millions of dollars they are throwing at these movies isn't worth it. If we can make movies for $11,000 and get millions back at the box office why should we make a lot of those million dollar movies? Why can't we get an Iron Man for a couple million instead of the hundred or so we are spending now? Something we don't want is Hollywood taking a few steps back in quality in search of more cash.

Paranormal Activity didn't make all this money by having a small budget. It was the story. It was the acting. It was the mood. It was the perfect storm of film making that doesn't come along often enough. I think it was mostly luck.

What are we supposed to do with all this information? How are we to safe guard ourselves against watching the crap that's about to start hitting the local video store? Just be watchful and wait till it dies down. It always does.

But then it happens again.

Why isn't Saw 6 straight to DVD...

2009-10-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Paranormal Activity beat out Saw 6 for the top spot this weekend. Could it be that audiences have grown tired of the franchise? I'm surprised that it isn't hitting the straight to DVD shelves by now. When you release a sequel every year for the last six years it's bound to happen someday.
Maybe this will show Hollywood that we would like a little quality instead of quantity for a change.

The true test comes next weekend though. Will Saw remain out of the #1 spot? The way I see it is that we have a Halloween weekend and people are going to want to go see a scary movie. Saw isn't scary. Saw movies are gross. It scares no one. With all the news agencies and twitter posts about Paranormal being one of the scariest movies ever I think people are going to flock to the theaters to see it on the one night of the year you are meant to scare the heck out of yourself. I know I would.

I wonder what the Saw folks are doing this morning as they get up and head to work? Are they having meetings about bumping up the marketing? Did they even see this as a possibility? Are plans for the next movie being rethought?

I would hope so. I would like to think that the studio has seen that the franchise has been drained of life and that it's time to move on to something new. I doubt it though. It still made a little money and it will make a little more as the weeks pass. Plus DVD sales are always pretty good. I guess we just have to wait it out.

Of course... I just read about the push to get Paranormal Activity 2 off the ground. Now that's scary.

Ghosts and Goblins...

2009-10-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

One more week until Halloween. It used to be my favorite holiday of the year. My friends and I would plan a Halloween party, I would watch a ton of scary movies, and I would enjoy all the Halloween episodes of all my favorite tv shows.
As the years have gone by my love of the holiday has gone away. I don't watch horror movies that much. I don't get excited about finding a costume. Halloween on tv has been minimized almost to the point of exclusion.
What has this got to do with movies, you may ask?

I'm bringing it back this year. I'm bringing it back and it's starting with the movies.

After seeing Paranormal Activity last week I am excited to see some good horror movies this October and with only a week left in the month I really have to get cracking.
So my plan is to try and watch a couple movies a night for the rest of the week and I'm going to try and make sure these are movies I haven't seen before.
I'm going to throw in a few zombie movies, a slasher or two, and maybe even some good ol fashioned monsters.
If anyone out there has some ideas on the flicks I should peep let me know. I have a few in the Netflix instant watch already and a couple bought over the last couple years I have yet to watch so I'm set for the first few nights. But a little help couldn't hurt.

I grew up watching horror movies. I'm not sue why I was allowed to watch them at such a young age but... oh well. I grew up with Jason, Freddy, Michael, and Leatherface. I had seen all the originals and all the sequels and at a young age knew which ones were cool and which ones were jumping the shark. I became a critic of fine horror cinema. I remember getting at least one horror movie each visit to the video rental store. I would devour whole series in a weekend. One Saturday I managed to get through all the Puppet Master movies. No small feat.
I find it funny that my kids have a small collection of movies that consists of nothing but Disney and Scooby-Doo movies and when I was young I had Friday the 13th and Child's Play among my tapes.
Horror seems to have dropped in quality since I was a kid. What used to be left to the imagination has been brought into the light with horrifying detail as most horror movies coming out these days are pushing the graphic and leaving behind storytelling. I'm not saying the movies from before were gone with the wind. They just didn't need to show all the brutality to scare you.

But times have changed and now I find myself about to jump into the horror arena once again. Maybe I'll revisit the Puppet Master flicks again...

I saw me some movies...

2009-10-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

It happens a few times a year. My friend Danny and I are able to leave our busy lives behind us and find sanctuary inside one darkened theater after another. We pick the movies, we figure out the order, and we buy the tickets.

Yes, we but tickets for all the movies we attend. No theater hopping for these adventurers...

A meal is thrown in at some point and snacks are consumed mid film. It's always a good time and we even see a few friends for one or two of these films.

This time the line up was Zombieland, Law Abiding Citizen, Where the Wild Things Are, and Paranormal Activity.

The started around 11:30. Getting to the theater we bought the tickets and then decided to get a quick lunch before the first movie began. There are a few options for lunch in the area we went to and we decided to try out the new BBQ place that had opened next door to the theater as we were short on time.
As we wandered into the eatery I noticed that there was a "Coming Soon" sign above the door. I thought maybe they weren't open for business yet but as we pushed open the door we saw people sitting at tables eating. So we figured they were open but just hadn't taken the sign down yet. We walked up near the counter and took a look at the menu to see if this was indeed the place we wanted to eat when the manager spoke to us.
"Is this going to be for here or to go, gentlemen?"
Not knowing if were going to be eating there or not I responded with "We're just looking at the moment, thanks."
"It's on us today, just so you know." he said before I could turn my attention back to the menu.
I was a little taken back by this statement and by the look on Danny's face I could see he was too. It turns out that the restaurant wasn't open yet but was doing a dry run to make sure they were ready for business when they did open in a couple days.
Needless to say, we stayed and had a really good lunch and that seems to have marked this day as a successful movie day right off the bat.

ZOMBIELAND

It was funny. I had a good time watching it. Was it the best? Was it as good as people had been saying it was for the past few weeks? Not really. I suspect there is a really good movie in the somewhere but it's hidden under the desperate attempt to be Shaun of the Dead.
The acting is there as Woody Harrelson does what he's best at. The rest of the cast follows suit and pulls off each of their characters. I didn't feel super connected to any of them on a personal level though.
There was an attempt to bring some emotion to the flick in a couple places but only one works really well but it's dropped as soon as it happens and that left me feeling a little cheated out of what could have been a good story.
Danny liked the flick more than I did, which was a surprise, as he isn't in to zombie movies at all. In the end I give it a good 3 stars.
And the secret cameo in the flick is as awesome as people were telling me it was. I won't spoil it for you though.

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

This was the movie we saw that when ever I told folks what movies I was heading out to had never heard of. It wasn't pushed hard in the marketing and even I had only seen a couple trailers for it in front of other movies.
It's about a man whose family is killed and the people responsible are not prosecuted to the full extent of the law. When his voice isn't heard the father decides to prove to the people of the city that the system is flawed. This leads to death, explosions, and a pretty good thriller/action flick.
Jamie Foxx plays the city's hot shot prosecutor and Gerard Butler plays the man who was wronged.
It was surprisingly good and turned out to be the second best movie of the day. It's not essential for it to be viewed at the theater but it's worth a rent the week it comes out. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

I didn't grow up with the book. I didn't have fond memories of this story and it's characters to pull me into the theater the second it came out.

That being said...

It was BORING. It really felt like a super expensive art film. About twenty minutes into the film I was bored and ready to move on to the next movie on the list.
The kid was a bit of a whiner, the monsters were a bunch of depressed whiners, and to top it off... there really wasn't a point to the flick. Yes, the kid decides he needs to go home and be with his family in the end but it was mostly because he had made a mess out of things with the monsters and they really didn't want him around anymore.
I don't see the allure of the film and I don't see what has people loving the book as much as they do.
I know I'm going to get some people thinking I don't know what I'm taking about on this one but I just wasn't feeling it.
1 1/2 stars.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

This is the movie I was worried about the most for the day. I love ghost movies. I love ghost stories. They creep me out. They scare me.
This flick came out in limited release at first and I kept hearing people saying that it was the scariest movie they had ever seen. This had me excited. They had a campaign for people to demand a wide release and soon it was coming to a theater near me. At this point it had hyped to the point that I was afraid it wouldn't live up to what all these people were saying. Plus, the way things had been going all year with the movies I had been wanting to see I was thinking this was going to be another disappointment.
Danny didn't join me for this one. He had no interest. So I teamed up with a few other friends and went to a later showing. At night. In the dark.
What happened next shocked me.

The theater was packed full. A sold out crowd. People were excited. They were hoping to be scared out of their minds. I was hoping that the movie could at least live up to some of the hype that had been thrown about online and in talking to friends.

And it didn't.

It surpassed them.

I am still creeped out by this flick. It is, without a doubt, the scariest movie I have ever seen. Period. And it was a very well made and well acted movie.
The story we are thrown into is that a couple has been having issues in their house. Strange noises. Things moving. the normal haunting stuff. So the man of the house has bought a camera and is going to try and catch whatever it is on tape and prove that it's not a ghost. And he does prove it's not a ghost. It's actually worse...

The flick is "Blair Witch Style" film making. We watch the footage this guy has taped over the course of a few weeks. It's not as shaky and nausea inducing as you may think. A lot of the time the camera is mounted on the tripod in the bedroom and the times it's not the footage is pretty solid and well framed. These people have figured out how to make a film in this style without alienating the folks who may not be into the other films made like this.

It's awesome and frightening and I'm still creeped out. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject because you have to see it for yourself. If someone tries to tell you about the movie don't let them tell you about anything that happens. You don't want to spoil this one. Trust me.
4 1/2 to 5 stars

.........

And that was the day. It was a successful movie day with only one movie being weak and I didn't even have to deal with stupid annoying people at any of the viewings I went to. That is a rare feat indeed.

Filling the void...

2009-10-15T08:53:00.001-07:00

I hate having this thing blank so I'm going to write a little bit to show you all that I can actually spell.
The purpose of starting these blogs is so that Danny and I have an outlet for our film love during the week when we aren't recording and to fill some gaps that are created when real life gets in the way of sitting in front of a mic and talking to you all. Of course, I can't promise that I will be able to keep this thing updated on a regular basis but I'm going to give it my best shot.

My first official post for this blog is going to come on sunday after a day long movie marathon. I'm going to talk about the day and what we saw and how I felt about the movies... and the crowds. I can't go see a single movie without people causing a headache so just imagine what going to four movies in a row is like.

I think that's what this blog is going to be for the most part. Me talking about watching movies. And a little bit of reaction to whatever is going on in Hollywood. There's always something happening...

So I hope this will be fun for both me and you as we get into this whole blogging thing. It's a lot easier for me to talk than it is to write so I make no promises as to the quality of the posts.

We'll get through all the bad grammar...