I just wanted to share a recent conversation I had with my 4 year old niece Brooklyn.
Me: So Brookie, what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?
Brookie: A dog, a snake, a parrot and a mice.
Me (siezing the opportunity to be wise and condescending): And what do you call just one mice Brookie?
Brookie: .....Fred.
.
.
.
I think that was the most perfect answer to a question I have heard in many years.
Epic fail for me, completely owned by a four year old.
So much for my wise and condescending intentions.
The mouse/mice conversation will have to wait for another time. Although now that I think about it, she probably already knows about all that and was just having a bit of fun with me.
Love ya Brookie!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
New Moon > Twilight
For those of you who are in a hurry I’ll just come right out and say it. New Moon is a better movie than Twilight. If you are interested in why I think so then please continue reading.
Actually it’s not better in every way but it is in the most important ways. First let me tell you the things I didn’t like about it.
The score and music. I thought the music from Twilight was excellent and fit the story very well. The music in New Moon is completely forgettable and I was actually distracted by it a couple of times. It just felt much less mythical and vampirey and much more like the music from a typical generic Hollywood love story.
Although this movie did a very good job of staying faithful to the book they did leave out the part that I was looking forward to the most. After Edward leaves Bella, she gets back to her room to find that Edward has taken anything and everything that could possibly remind her of him. Her immediate and total devastation is so well written in the book but is completely skipped over in the movie. I was disappointed.
My final gripe is in no way the fault of the film makers as it is part of the story from the book itself and so I was quite prepared to endure it but that doesn’t mean I had to like it right? That being, that for the bulk of the movie Edward is gone and Jcub is left to weasel his way into Bella’s life. I just don’t like anyone messing with Bella and Ed’s destiny.
Now for the good news, yay!
What a difference a change of director can make. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on Kristen Stewart after the first movie. Although I was disappointed in her portrayal of Bella in Twilight I really did feel that she still had Bella locked up inside her somewhere and I was right. She is so much better in New Moon! And if I may say so, they seem to have ignored the fact that she is supposed to be kind of plain and just decided to let her be the beautiful girl Kristen is capable of being complete with magazine quality eyebrows and lovely well conditioned hair. I have never seen K Stew looking this good. She is just so pretty in New Moon. But never mind all that. It appears that her one dimensional performance in the first film was completely the fault of the director. In New Moon she shows a much wider range of emotion and really feels much more like the Bella of the books. Most importantly she is allowed to show that she is genuinely in love with Edward. This was what I found missing from her performance in Twilight and what I was so glad to see this time.
Most of the other actors seem to have gotten makeovers between films and were much more Hollywood if that makes sense. I think that I actually preferred most of their looks in the first movie but I’m glad they let Ashley Greene get rid of that silly spiky hair from Twilight and let Alice become the lovely girl I could see hiding under all those spikes last time. (In case you haven’t noticed before, I just really really ♥ Alice.)
Call me crazy but when an original story is good I generally prefer the movie to stick with it rather than having the director give us his own personal vision which is supposedly somehow based on the book but inevitably takes off in a totally different direction. Chris Weitz has done very well in this regard and except for my previously mentioned disappointment I don’t really have any other complaints about what parts and how much of the book he was able to get onto the screen. Like other movies based on big fat books, there is the inescapable condensing of the story so it is obviously to be enjoyed most by those who have read the book.
Ultimately, Edward and Bella were great together and seemed to me to be much more like they were in the book. This is what is most important to me about the whole twilight story and this movie got their characters back on track and where they should have been from the start. Most everything else is secondary.
Dear Kristen has finally become Bella and Edward is back from Italy never to leave again. I can now look forward to the continuation of the story without worrying if I will ever recognize Bella and Edward from the book up on the screen. I still like the first movie and continue to prefer certain aspects of it to this one but overall I think New Moon gets more of the important things right and is definitely the better of the two films.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
August Rush
This review is a couple of years late but...
A couple of days ago I sat through a movie (at home) called August Rush but I think I only saw about half of it because my eyes were constantly rolling into the back of my head.
First let me say that I do enjoy good heart warming movies, as long as they are honest in their approach and bring a good story along with the sweetness. In fact, that is why I decided to watch August Rush in the first place. However I found it was, from the beginning, unrelenting in its attempts to pull on the heart strings without giving us any real reason to care. It felt so full of clichés and scenes we’ve seen many times before in other movies. I mean come on, please tell me that Mrs. Doubtfire his-own-self didn’t just suddenly pick out a new name for the kid from some text that just happened to be in his field of vision at the time.
Poor but gifted orphan boy – check.
Teased and misunderstood by other boys – check.
Runs away to find much better life with seemingly loving and unselfish street people – check.
Tormented rocker father and Julliard alum cellist mother – check …He was a skater boy, she said see you later boy… oh sorry, I just drifted off there for a second. Also, these two just happen to meet on a rooftop, under a full moon no less, where they instantly fall in love and decide to make a baby right there and then. How romantic, mystical and free spirited of them.
Anyway, speaking of Freddie Highmore, although he definitely pushed his luck with me in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and in Finding Neverland I just managed to tolerate him those two times. This time though, I’m afraid he’s gone too far. He is suspiciously good at crying on cue and is way too emoting and just overall annoying. I mean there must be thousands of other boys who could be in some of these movies. Why does it always have to be him? I say it’s about time we give some other kid a shot at being the misunderstood weepy genius nerd.
In the end, when all is said and done, and what it all comes down to is this. August Rush is a one trick pony that feels like a collection of clichés and overused bits and pieces of other tear jerkers. It places all its eggs in the “let’s get them crying” basket which unfortunately has a huge hole in the bottom. I don’t mind and can even enjoy a good bit of sugar as long as it is riding on something much more substantial to keep it in check. August Rush though is missing the substance and I felt like I was being force fed straight sugar and I’m afraid it was just too much to take. Actually I must admit, it wasn’t just straight sugar, there was also a significant amount of cheese as well but I’m afraid that only made things worse.
A couple of days ago I sat through a movie (at home) called August Rush but I think I only saw about half of it because my eyes were constantly rolling into the back of my head.
First let me say that I do enjoy good heart warming movies, as long as they are honest in their approach and bring a good story along with the sweetness. In fact, that is why I decided to watch August Rush in the first place. However I found it was, from the beginning, unrelenting in its attempts to pull on the heart strings without giving us any real reason to care. It felt so full of clichés and scenes we’ve seen many times before in other movies. I mean come on, please tell me that Mrs. Doubtfire his-own-self didn’t just suddenly pick out a new name for the kid from some text that just happened to be in his field of vision at the time.
Poor but gifted orphan boy – check.
Teased and misunderstood by other boys – check.
Runs away to find much better life with seemingly loving and unselfish street people – check.
Tormented rocker father and Julliard alum cellist mother – check …He was a skater boy, she said see you later boy… oh sorry, I just drifted off there for a second. Also, these two just happen to meet on a rooftop, under a full moon no less, where they instantly fall in love and decide to make a baby right there and then. How romantic, mystical and free spirited of them.
Anyway, speaking of Freddie Highmore, although he definitely pushed his luck with me in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and in Finding Neverland I just managed to tolerate him those two times. This time though, I’m afraid he’s gone too far. He is suspiciously good at crying on cue and is way too emoting and just overall annoying. I mean there must be thousands of other boys who could be in some of these movies. Why does it always have to be him? I say it’s about time we give some other kid a shot at being the misunderstood weepy genius nerd.
In the end, when all is said and done, and what it all comes down to is this. August Rush is a one trick pony that feels like a collection of clichés and overused bits and pieces of other tear jerkers. It places all its eggs in the “let’s get them crying” basket which unfortunately has a huge hole in the bottom. I don’t mind and can even enjoy a good bit of sugar as long as it is riding on something much more substantial to keep it in check. August Rush though is missing the substance and I felt like I was being force fed straight sugar and I’m afraid it was just too much to take. Actually I must admit, it wasn’t just straight sugar, there was also a significant amount of cheese as well but I’m afraid that only made things worse.
Friday, October 16, 2009
The Best Bar of Chocolate
Do you remember that chocolate bar you probably tried once or twice sometime during your childhood? Maybe you got a miniature one in your Halloween candy from some old person who just wasn’t “down with the kids” and didn’t know about all the current trendy candy they liked. You’ve probably never actually bought one yourself unless it happened to be part of a party pack, but thanks to the variety of experiences life does seem to inevitably provide, you have probably eaten a piece of one every now and then. You know, it’s the bar without any nuts, caramel, wafers, marshmallow, nougat or sprinkles of any kind. The plain one, so plain in fact that it comes in a mostly white wrapper with a simple unassuming name guaranteed not to draw attention and to nearly always be passed over for something more flashy, exotic or extreme. Have you guessed which one I’m talking about yet?
Yes it’s the Jersey Milk bar. On a hunch I bought one the other day, probably for the first time in decades. All I can say is WOW! Now that is some real quality milk chocolate. It’s a true chocolate bar, not a candy bar as they are often called these days. No need to disguise some cheap waxy chocolate flavoured imitation with other overbearing flavours. The Jersey Milk is simple yet obviously made of authentic high quality milk chocolate and is some of the best tasting, smoothest chocolate you can buy for less than a dollar.
In the olden days it came wrapped in gold foil with an outer white wrapper made of paper. Nowadays it has changed to a one piece plastic wrapper but has maintained the plain but elegant design of old. So after your kids come home Halloween night and you are sneaking through their bounty of goodies maybe pass over the Snickers, Oh Henry, Kit Kat and Wonderbars and see if you can’t find a mini Jersey Milk bar. I promise the kids won’t care or probably even notice if you help yourself to such a plainly wrapped and obviously boring bit of swag. Either that or you could just go buy one RIGHT NOW! Except those of you who don’t happen to reside in Canada of course. Yeah, unfortunately they are not available in the states. Sorry about that.
Yes it’s the Jersey Milk bar. On a hunch I bought one the other day, probably for the first time in decades. All I can say is WOW! Now that is some real quality milk chocolate. It’s a true chocolate bar, not a candy bar as they are often called these days. No need to disguise some cheap waxy chocolate flavoured imitation with other overbearing flavours. The Jersey Milk is simple yet obviously made of authentic high quality milk chocolate and is some of the best tasting, smoothest chocolate you can buy for less than a dollar.
In the olden days it came wrapped in gold foil with an outer white wrapper made of paper. Nowadays it has changed to a one piece plastic wrapper but has maintained the plain but elegant design of old. So after your kids come home Halloween night and you are sneaking through their bounty of goodies maybe pass over the Snickers, Oh Henry, Kit Kat and Wonderbars and see if you can’t find a mini Jersey Milk bar. I promise the kids won’t care or probably even notice if you help yourself to such a plainly wrapped and obviously boring bit of swag. Either that or you could just go buy one RIGHT NOW! Except those of you who don’t happen to reside in Canada of course. Yeah, unfortunately they are not available in the states. Sorry about that.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
201 movies in 199 seconds
Yeah I know it's been a whole month since I last posted but due to my exciting life this is all I've got for you today. I know it's not much and pretty much pointless but you can at least take comfort in knowing that it took me several hours to make. Therefore I hope the 199 seconds required to watch it may seem at least partially justified.
The music in the clip is by Vanessa Mae, yes that very same Vanessa you met in my last post. The song is called Contradanza in case you are interested.
The video consists of movie still shots each lasting just under one second in the video. ( I tried to match the timing of the shots to the beat of the music but Windows movie maker doesn't provide quite that level of control so it is what it is.)
These are still shots from most of my favourite movies and many others that I consider well above average. I hope you recognize many of them. I would be very surprised if anyone could match every still with its movie as I'm pretty sure there are at least a few that none of you has ever seen. Maybe someone will prove me wrong. I hope so.
Maybe in the comments you could tell me how many of the photos you were able to match to a movie and we can see who gets the most. If anyone gets them all I promise to address you as "Master and Commander" all the rest of my days. (Yes that is the name of one of the films in the video, so one down, only 200 more to go.)
If you recognize a photo but can't quite place it and it really bugs you and renders you utterly unable to think about anything else and get on with your day then please feel free to ask me.
So here they are, 201 movies in 199 seconds and some great music as well.
The music in the clip is by Vanessa Mae, yes that very same Vanessa you met in my last post. The song is called Contradanza in case you are interested.
The video consists of movie still shots each lasting just under one second in the video. ( I tried to match the timing of the shots to the beat of the music but Windows movie maker doesn't provide quite that level of control so it is what it is.)
These are still shots from most of my favourite movies and many others that I consider well above average. I hope you recognize many of them. I would be very surprised if anyone could match every still with its movie as I'm pretty sure there are at least a few that none of you has ever seen. Maybe someone will prove me wrong. I hope so.
Maybe in the comments you could tell me how many of the photos you were able to match to a movie and we can see who gets the most. If anyone gets them all I promise to address you as "Master and Commander" all the rest of my days. (Yes that is the name of one of the films in the video, so one down, only 200 more to go.)
If you recognize a photo but can't quite place it and it really bugs you and renders you utterly unable to think about anything else and get on with your day then please feel free to ask me.
So here they are, 201 movies in 199 seconds and some great music as well.
Friday, September 11, 2009
My Favourite Vanessa
Due to the recent sell off of much of my DVD collection as well as a few other things, I have had the chance to browse through my only slightly substantial CD collection as well. Since most of the songs I own on disc, at least my favourite ones, are now living in my iPod, I rarely find myself spinning the original discs at all anymore.
While sorting through my old collection I came upon one particular CD that I used to listen to over and over about 10 years ago. Although I don't listen to it nearly as much as I used to back then I still play it now and then. I'm fairly sure it's one that most of you have never heard of. The artist's name is Vanessa Mae and the album is called Storm. One song in particular, I'm a Doun, is the one I really loved.
If you don't mind, please click on the play button and listen to I'm a Doun now before you read on further. Although there are no lyrics, except for a short poem she sings at the beginning, maybe see if you can tell what it's about.
I'm a Doun by Vanessa Mae
I had never heard of her either until one day, back in 1998, I returned home from a long day of work, plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. Apparently I had left it on the "Bravo" channel the day before so that is what came on again. A program called Bravo Videos was on and a video of a pretty violin player had just begun. I missed the title and the few lines of singing at the beginning and saw her just begin to play her violin. Although there were no more lyrics to listen to, only Vanessa playing her violin and a couple of obviously out of place yet somehow perfectly appropriate dancers to watch and listen to I felt I knew exactly what the song was about. The violin music seemed so full of longing and despair it surely must represent a lonely girl longing for the unlikely return of her love who has left her and gone far away. The exotic sounding drums, voices and dancers are from a far away land and represent everything that is keeping her love from her and preventing his return.
Her violin starts out softly and slowly but as the sounds of the distant land get louder her violin also gets bolder, higher, more determined yet somehow even more tragic as the duel of opposing forces intensifies and she becomes more desperate and fights ever harder to bring him back. In the end I like to think her violin perhaps wins out over the exotic drums and voices but maybe that's just wishful thinking.
I will admit that I had, only months before, watched the love of my life walk away never to return so to say that I identified with this song would be a severe understatement. That first time I saw and heard it it brought me to my knees but I loved it anyway for knowing what I was going through and expressing it so well, even without words. (I would rather not have mentioned this bit but I guess I had to for the whole thing to make sense.)
As the video ended the title and artist's name came up again so I was able to find out that critical information. I actually e-mailed the Bravo Videos program and asked them if they would let me know when they would be playing that video again because I just HAD to have it. (It wasn't on the YouTube back then.) Surprisingly the man in charge of the program actually replied and did let me know the next time they would play it so I was able to get a VHS copy of it. I couldn't find the CD in any store so I made my very first online purchase and the Storm CD arrived a few days later. I would almost be embarrassed to admit how much I listened to it over the next several months and to this day it remains one of my favourite albums.
The Title comes from the short poem she sings at the beginning. It's in old Celtic English so here it is with a rough translation.
I'm o' doun, doun, doun,
I'm doun for lack o' Johnnie.
Gin Johnnie kent I was na weel,
I'm sure he would come to me;
But o, gin he's forsaken me,
Och hone! what will come o' me!
I am sad, sad, sad
I am sad for lack of Johnnie
If Johnnie knew that I was not well
I'm sure he would come to me
But o, since he's forsaken me
Oh now what will become of me
Finally, here it is, the video that I just happened to catch one day so many years ago and I'm so glad I did. It's dedicated to anyone who has ever had to watch the one they really truly loved... walk away never to return.
While sorting through my old collection I came upon one particular CD that I used to listen to over and over about 10 years ago. Although I don't listen to it nearly as much as I used to back then I still play it now and then. I'm fairly sure it's one that most of you have never heard of. The artist's name is Vanessa Mae and the album is called Storm. One song in particular, I'm a Doun, is the one I really loved.
If you don't mind, please click on the play button and listen to I'm a Doun now before you read on further. Although there are no lyrics, except for a short poem she sings at the beginning, maybe see if you can tell what it's about.
I'm a Doun by Vanessa Mae
I had never heard of her either until one day, back in 1998, I returned home from a long day of work, plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. Apparently I had left it on the "Bravo" channel the day before so that is what came on again. A program called Bravo Videos was on and a video of a pretty violin player had just begun. I missed the title and the few lines of singing at the beginning and saw her just begin to play her violin. Although there were no more lyrics to listen to, only Vanessa playing her violin and a couple of obviously out of place yet somehow perfectly appropriate dancers to watch and listen to I felt I knew exactly what the song was about. The violin music seemed so full of longing and despair it surely must represent a lonely girl longing for the unlikely return of her love who has left her and gone far away. The exotic sounding drums, voices and dancers are from a far away land and represent everything that is keeping her love from her and preventing his return.
Her violin starts out softly and slowly but as the sounds of the distant land get louder her violin also gets bolder, higher, more determined yet somehow even more tragic as the duel of opposing forces intensifies and she becomes more desperate and fights ever harder to bring him back. In the end I like to think her violin perhaps wins out over the exotic drums and voices but maybe that's just wishful thinking.
I will admit that I had, only months before, watched the love of my life walk away never to return so to say that I identified with this song would be a severe understatement. That first time I saw and heard it it brought me to my knees but I loved it anyway for knowing what I was going through and expressing it so well, even without words. (I would rather not have mentioned this bit but I guess I had to for the whole thing to make sense.)
As the video ended the title and artist's name came up again so I was able to find out that critical information. I actually e-mailed the Bravo Videos program and asked them if they would let me know when they would be playing that video again because I just HAD to have it. (It wasn't on the YouTube back then.) Surprisingly the man in charge of the program actually replied and did let me know the next time they would play it so I was able to get a VHS copy of it. I couldn't find the CD in any store so I made my very first online purchase and the Storm CD arrived a few days later. I would almost be embarrassed to admit how much I listened to it over the next several months and to this day it remains one of my favourite albums.
The Title comes from the short poem she sings at the beginning. It's in old Celtic English so here it is with a rough translation.
I'm o' doun, doun, doun,
I'm doun for lack o' Johnnie.
Gin Johnnie kent I was na weel,
I'm sure he would come to me;
But o, gin he's forsaken me,
Och hone! what will come o' me!
I am sad, sad, sad
I am sad for lack of Johnnie
If Johnnie knew that I was not well
I'm sure he would come to me
But o, since he's forsaken me
Oh now what will become of me
Finally, here it is, the video that I just happened to catch one day so many years ago and I'm so glad I did. It's dedicated to anyone who has ever had to watch the one they really truly loved... walk away never to return.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Those Joyful and Cloudless 80s
Today was the last day of what is universally recognized as the best month of the year, July. Here in Smallville it was a bright sunny day, a perfect marker for the middle of summer.
In celebration of this the supreme season of the year and another perfect but final day of July, won’t you join me in remembering an extra awesome summer song from those joyful and cloudless 80s. It was the biggest solo hit for the not quite as famous as Belinda Carlisle but most talented member of the Go-Go’s, Jane Wiedlin. I hope you remember it. It’s a really fun and sunny song; especially recommended for those top-down, windows-open, hand-surfing-the-wind drives on joyful and cloudless summer days.
Rush Hour by Jane Wiedlin
P.S. Can also be used to brighten, by at least three shades guaranteed, dull and dreary days as well.
In celebration of this the supreme season of the year and another perfect but final day of July, won’t you join me in remembering an extra awesome summer song from those joyful and cloudless 80s. It was the biggest solo hit for the not quite as famous as Belinda Carlisle but most talented member of the Go-Go’s, Jane Wiedlin. I hope you remember it. It’s a really fun and sunny song; especially recommended for those top-down, windows-open, hand-surfing-the-wind drives on joyful and cloudless summer days.
Rush Hour by Jane Wiedlin
P.S. Can also be used to brighten, by at least three shades guaranteed, dull and dreary days as well.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Nines and Eights
Today while driving I was listening to music from my iPod which was connected to my car stereo. I had it set to “shuffle” so the songs play randomly and I never know which of the 744 songs currently living inside my nano™ will start up next. The display on the stereo keeps a count of the number of songs which have played since being set to shuffle. Track number 98 was just ending so the display next showed “Track 99” and then the song title was to come up. The word track disappeared but “99” was still being displayed. At first I thought something was wrong and wondered why the title wasn’t coming up. As the softly starting song gradually got louder I finally recognized it and figured out that there was nothing wrong with the display because track 99 was indeed 99. I wonder what the odds of that happening were. Probably about 744 to 1 actually, but somehow they seem much lower than that even, don’t you think?
For you young’ens who ain’t never heard the song and think Toto only makes toilets maybe you could go to the YouTube and check it out. Actually never mind, here it is. Yes, it’s those “Africa” dudes again but that is just coincidence, or maybe it isn’t… Hmmmmm…
Shortly after that happened I noticed my odometer was soon to blow through 88,888 kms… Okay okay, so it was really 188,888 but still another rare aligning of numbers right? Did you know that the number 8 is considered a lucky number in China?
So anyway, that was my excitement for the day. I can’t believe I’m even going to post this!
For you young’ens who ain’t never heard the song and think Toto only makes toilets maybe you could go to the YouTube and check it out. Actually never mind, here it is. Yes, it’s those “Africa” dudes again but that is just coincidence, or maybe it isn’t… Hmmmmm…
Shortly after that happened I noticed my odometer was soon to blow through 88,888 kms… Okay okay, so it was really 188,888 but still another rare aligning of numbers right? Did you know that the number 8 is considered a lucky number in China?
So anyway, that was my excitement for the day. I can’t believe I’m even going to post this!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Someone once said,
“I would stay asleep my whole life if I could dream myself into a company of players.”
After seeing two different plays on two consecutive nights down at the local theatre I can definitely identify with that statement.
Thanks to some cool people who shall remain nameless (their initials are KJAMBD) I was lucky enough to come into two tickets to the local playhouse. And um… since all of my girlfriends are always so busy I ended up going solo…twice, and that’s all we’re going to say about that.
The first night I saw The Ark. Yes, that ark. I went to it first because one of my old friend’s daughter is in it. Sydnee Ralph is her name and just let me say she is brilliant! She has an awesome singing voice and quite a natural knack for acting as well. In fact, all of the actors are genuinely talented and the show is full of great singing and lots of comedy too. Noah’s wife even came into the audience and cut off a piece of my arm for food. (Hey I’ll do anything I can to help out.)
Tonight I went to another play in which liquid precipitation features prominently, Singing in the Rain. Yes it’s the very same story as the Gene Kelly movie. Besides the title song there were a few others that I recognized but just never knew where they originated. The dancing, although of course not at the Gene Kelly level, was impressive and significantly better than I was expecting. Overall another great and seriously funny show but maybe more for grownups than The Ark is.
The main point of this post though, is not meant to be a review of the plays so much as it is about the theatre itself. There is just something about a live performance by real people on a stage that a movie can never match. No matter how great the film there is always a distance and lack of intimacy that movies can never escape. Even with perfect visuals and sound and spectacular effects a movie always lies flat on the screen and when it’s over the screen is instantly blank and we realize that none of the characters who grabbed our hearts, made us laugh and made us care for them was ever really there.
The actors in a play however, are completely real and alive. Even in small town productions like the ones I was lucky enough to see there is an unmistakeable connection between the players and their audience that you can almost taste. Although they may be strangers when the curtain rises they become our friends by the time it falls. They allow us in, to witness the fruits of their talents and long hours of rehearsals and in return we show them our appreciation with our laughter and applause. Sure, in reality it is unlikely that we will ever see them again but for a few minutes we both occupy the same little world and we love them for building it for us.
Maybe the fact that my girlfriends are always busy and my going solo contributes to the connection I feel with the live actors on a stage. I suspect and hope though, that it’s not just me.
Someone once sang, “Players only love you when they’re playing.” Yeah, that’s probably true but I feel just a little more alive for those few minutes that they do.
Admittedly the high from the play is inevitably followed by a corresponding and shockingly immediate crash as I walk out into the night and fumble for my car keys. That’s okay though, it was so worth it.
Thanks for the tickets KJAMBD. I hope to go to more real shows from now on.
After seeing two different plays on two consecutive nights down at the local theatre I can definitely identify with that statement.
Thanks to some cool people who shall remain nameless (their initials are KJAMBD) I was lucky enough to come into two tickets to the local playhouse. And um… since all of my girlfriends are always so busy I ended up going solo…twice, and that’s all we’re going to say about that.
The first night I saw The Ark. Yes, that ark. I went to it first because one of my old friend’s daughter is in it. Sydnee Ralph is her name and just let me say she is brilliant! She has an awesome singing voice and quite a natural knack for acting as well. In fact, all of the actors are genuinely talented and the show is full of great singing and lots of comedy too. Noah’s wife even came into the audience and cut off a piece of my arm for food. (Hey I’ll do anything I can to help out.)
Tonight I went to another play in which liquid precipitation features prominently, Singing in the Rain. Yes it’s the very same story as the Gene Kelly movie. Besides the title song there were a few others that I recognized but just never knew where they originated. The dancing, although of course not at the Gene Kelly level, was impressive and significantly better than I was expecting. Overall another great and seriously funny show but maybe more for grownups than The Ark is.
The main point of this post though, is not meant to be a review of the plays so much as it is about the theatre itself. There is just something about a live performance by real people on a stage that a movie can never match. No matter how great the film there is always a distance and lack of intimacy that movies can never escape. Even with perfect visuals and sound and spectacular effects a movie always lies flat on the screen and when it’s over the screen is instantly blank and we realize that none of the characters who grabbed our hearts, made us laugh and made us care for them was ever really there.
The actors in a play however, are completely real and alive. Even in small town productions like the ones I was lucky enough to see there is an unmistakeable connection between the players and their audience that you can almost taste. Although they may be strangers when the curtain rises they become our friends by the time it falls. They allow us in, to witness the fruits of their talents and long hours of rehearsals and in return we show them our appreciation with our laughter and applause. Sure, in reality it is unlikely that we will ever see them again but for a few minutes we both occupy the same little world and we love them for building it for us.
Maybe the fact that my girlfriends are always busy and my going solo contributes to the connection I feel with the live actors on a stage. I suspect and hope though, that it’s not just me.
Someone once sang, “Players only love you when they’re playing.” Yeah, that’s probably true but I feel just a little more alive for those few minutes that they do.
Admittedly the high from the play is inevitably followed by a corresponding and shockingly immediate crash as I walk out into the night and fumble for my car keys. That’s okay though, it was so worth it.
Thanks for the tickets KJAMBD. I hope to go to more real shows from now on.
Friday, July 17, 2009
HP and the Half-Blood Prince
I had planned to see it eventually but thanks to some heads up advance tickets purchasing done by the Quintons and their inviting me to use an extra one, I was able to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in a sold out theatre on only its second day of release. Thanks to Dennis, Leisel, TJ, Megan, Steve, Taylie and Spencer for letting me join you.
As it has a running time of 2 hours and 33 minutes it was easy to forgo the $12 popcorn and drink combo and just enjoy the movie knowing I wouldn’t be distracted by the need to “go” during the latter part and also that, for the rest of the night, I wouldn’t have that mildly nauseating and greasy on the inside feeling you get from consuming way too much popcorn topped with a silly amount of melted yellow chemical sludge. Now on to the movie…
The familiar main title in all its jagged glory opens the show as usual but the surprising absence of the even more familiar mood setting theme music was disappointing to say the least. I suppose it may have been a sign that this was going to be a departure from the traditional HP movie formula and it definitely was that, but in a good way this time.
In real estate they say the three most important things are location, location and location. Well for me in movies it’s all about story, story and story. This Potter movie is all about story. It may not be the exact story contained in the book but it is a good one and it’s told with purpose and passion, without stopping along the way to apologize for omitting this particular bit or that inconsequential character. Instead of trying to include tiny fragments of every bit of the book, as they have often done in the past, this time it seems they recognized the important elements and concentrated their efforts on the central story leaving many familiar faces with little more than cameos this time around. Sure it was unfortunate not to have more time with some of them but if the end result is a deeper much more meaty and involving tale then I’m all for it.
If I may now mention a few specifics, I’ll start with Daniel, Emma and Rupert. They of course play Harry, Hermione and Ron. These three have been together for so long now that it’s quite obvious they are genuinely comfortable working together. Although I must admit I had always hoped that it would be Harry and Hermione who would end up together, as their special bond is shown to and felt by us in this movie much more than in any of the previous ones. Daniel and Bonnie Wright (Ginny) unfortunately have about as much chemistry as a liberal arts major. Emma and Rupert on the other hand have fairly good chemistry and although they go through a rough patch Ron and Hermione are back together by the end and their reconciliation is quite sweet.
I had read that there was a lot of snogging (apparently it’s what they call kissing over there) in this movie but I was relieved to find much less than I had feared and that there is no real need to nickname this Harry Potter movie as “Hogwarts 90210” at all.
One more pleasant surprise was the amount of humour in HP 6. It is by far the most funny of all the films thus far. It’s not that they went out of their way trying to make a comedy at all. It doesn’t feel forced or fake, but they have done a great job including some good laughs along the way.
Quidditch is back for a brief but spectacular appearance. Although it has been good in the past it seems that this time they found someone who really understands the physics of motion and athletics to choreograph the flying and the play so it looks more realistic than ever.
This is also the creepiest and scariest of the films so far. There was one spot (obvious to anyone who has read the book and even to many who haven't) in particular where several of the girlies in the packed theatre let out some professional grade screams.
A couple of minor characters stood out to me and I must mention them.
Helena Bonham Carter makes an early appearance, as Bellatrix of course, and a couple more later on and I must say I wish she was on the good guy’s team. She absolutely steals every scene she is in and I find it nearly impossible to take my eyes off her. She has so much charisma and she is obviously one of the best actors in the film.
Evanna Lynch (Luna) is her usual quirky little self. She is no Alice Cullen but she is just a tiny bit the same type of character. A bit strange from afar but quite lovely once you get to know her.
Above all, this is Harry and professor Dumbledore’s story and they tell it well. For the first time I found myself not missing Richard Harris so much and it was spectacular to witness the full fury of Dumbledore’s legendary magical power used in anger to save Harry.
I will admit that the large gap of time from when I read the book until seeing the movie tonight may have something to do with my lack of disappointment due to bits of the book gone missing. Having said that, I must say that this HP movie is my favourite of them all and by quite a large margin. A somewhat concentrated and great story is well told. I was more involved, I cared more, I laughed more, I got more stuff in my eye, I was more afraid, I was sadder and I was happier. It's just a great ride. I think I'm ready to go again.
8 out of 10.
P.S. Just one more thing I intended but forgot to mention. To top it all off it was so nice to walk outside into the 9:30 twilight™ and find it still warmer than inside with a muggy but very pleasant humidity that reminded me of places on this planet humans were actually meant to inhabit… Like Hawaii or basically anywhere between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Memories of Japan courtesy of Africa by way of Slovenia
I think/hope most of you are familiar with Toto’s song Africa. It was released in 1982 and became a number one hit early in 1983. This was just after I got to Japan on my mission.
It was of course a huge culture shock being in such a completely foreign land so anything familiar that reminded us of home was appreciated immensely. We were not allowed to listen to music on our own but that doesn’t mean that we never heard any. Music was often playing in many public places and much of the time it was western music (as in pop music from the English speaking world, not country/western.) As it was just becoming the number one hit worldwide “Africa” was one of the songs we heard most often. In fact one particular day in Japan is always brought back to me when I hear this song. The area we were serving in was having their stake “undokai” or sports day. Basically a track and field day/picnic type of affair. We were allowed to dress in our casual clothes and participate in the whole thing.
One of the members brought his portable music player (CDs were just barely coming out then so it would still have been what they called a “rajicase” or radio/cassette player.) The only song I still remember hearing that day was Africa and whenever I hear it now I remember that sports day in Sakai, Japan.
Completely by chance I came across this cool version of the song on the YouTube. It is an a cappella version done by a Slovenian choir. It starts off with a very cool rain/thunder storm. I have also included the original version by Toto just for comparison in case you need to refresh your memory.
(listening through headphones highly recommended)
One afterthought if I may, I think it would be coolest if you listened with your eyes closed, from the beginning through the rain/storm part up until they start singing. Then open your eyes and restart it so you can see just how they made it rain and thunder.
It was of course a huge culture shock being in such a completely foreign land so anything familiar that reminded us of home was appreciated immensely. We were not allowed to listen to music on our own but that doesn’t mean that we never heard any. Music was often playing in many public places and much of the time it was western music (as in pop music from the English speaking world, not country/western.) As it was just becoming the number one hit worldwide “Africa” was one of the songs we heard most often. In fact one particular day in Japan is always brought back to me when I hear this song. The area we were serving in was having their stake “undokai” or sports day. Basically a track and field day/picnic type of affair. We were allowed to dress in our casual clothes and participate in the whole thing.
One of the members brought his portable music player (CDs were just barely coming out then so it would still have been what they called a “rajicase” or radio/cassette player.) The only song I still remember hearing that day was Africa and whenever I hear it now I remember that sports day in Sakai, Japan.
Completely by chance I came across this cool version of the song on the YouTube. It is an a cappella version done by a Slovenian choir. It starts off with a very cool rain/thunder storm. I have also included the original version by Toto just for comparison in case you need to refresh your memory.
(listening through headphones highly recommended)
One afterthought if I may, I think it would be coolest if you listened with your eyes closed, from the beginning through the rain/storm part up until they start singing. Then open your eyes and restart it so you can see just how they made it rain and thunder.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Up - by Pixar
Minor spoilers only.
Just like the house in the movie, Up has a promising lift off but soon loses altitude and drags its way to the end. It’s actually a pretty good movie, but story wise, it’s just not up to Pixar’s usual high standards.
I have seen all but one (A Bug's Life) of Pixar’s feature films and I must say that Up lands firmly at the bottom of my favourite Pixar movies list. In fact, just so you know where I stand, here is my list from best to merely somewhat spectacular Pixar movies.
The Incredibles
Toy Story
Toy Story 2
Monsters Inc.
Finding Nemo
Cars
WALL-E
Ratatouille
Up
It is of course visually stunning. Pixar only keeps getting better in that department. Although I must point out that I’m not a big fan of the current 3D fad. I don’t think it adds much to the experience and in fact detracts by causing eye strain and washing out the colors slightly, as would happen if you watched wearing mildly tinted sunglasses. It also distracts by jolting you out of the story every time the 3D kicks in and it’s like the film makers suddenly shouting “hey look what we can do.” Anyway, on to my next nit to pick.
I believe that the line separating movies which are genuine and honestly moving and those that are plainly emotionally manipulative can often be very thin. To me, for the first time, Pixar crosses the line from the side of honestly moving to emotionally manipulative. This is not because the moving aspects of the story were too extreme or unbelievable, but because those elements were literally left hanging out on their own by a story that provided little else in the way of engaging plot, serious adventure, real excitement and that all important movie magic.
The actual adventure part of the movie is the least compelling and drags the movie down the most. Comedy wise there are a few laughs but far fewer than we’re used to in a Pixar movie. The most prominent and unfortunately most over used gag in the story is facilitated by dogs who wear collars which translate their barking into human language. The first few times we hear it is cute and funny but it gets old pretty quickly.
Another bit, which I first thought could be at best a slight diversion part way into the story (it involves a rare big bird), turns out to be the main focus of all the action and was thus disappointing.
By the time it’s over we’ve learned nothing new, been treated to tired old inspirational clichés and are left wondering why we had to go through all that merely to be reminded of a few lines of greeting card poetry.
Looking back, it seems quite obvious to me that they started out with the sob story first then tried to write the rest of the movie around it. Didn’t quite work for me.
Just like the house in the movie, Up lands exactly where it intends to in the beginning. And just like the house in the movie, the ride involves much more dragging and much less soaring than I had hoped.
It has the scenes to make you cry, it just doesn’t have the scenes to make you care.
6/10 for me.
P.S. Most people are gushing over this movie so you may well love it as well. It just seemed a little lacking to me.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Virtual Treasure Hunt 2
It's that time again folks, time for another virtual treasure hunt using a movie and Google Earth. If you'd like to play this time the movie you'll get to watch is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Wait, don't click away to Facebook just yet, just hear me out on this.
I remember seeing CCBB as a young kid but I'm not quite sure if I saw it in the theater or on TV. Until seeing it again a couple of days ago I didn't remember much of the story, only that it made a big impact on me when I saw it as a child.
When I watched it again a few days ago it struck me how different it is from movies that come out these days. The two main kids in the movie especially were quite a shock. Instead of the eye rolling, know it all, wiser than every adult, ungrateful, cynical and sarcastic brats that inhabit every screen these days, the kids in CCBB are respectful and sweet. I kept waiting for them to produce some attitude but they never did. I can't say why exactly but that one aspect was just so nice and refreshing to see I had to share it with you.
Overall it's a very fun film, kind of a James Bond caper for kids. This is not surprising as the original story is by Ian Fleming the author of the Bond stories. There is some singing but it all fits in nicely with the story and the songs are mostly good and fun. One more refreshing part about CCBB is that it's not based on any cartoon or video game characters so you can actually show it to your kids without worrying about going out after and buying them all the officially licensed merchandise or McToys.
At 145 minutes it's a bit long but I recommend it highly. There is one particular character in it called the Child Catcher who, you guessed it, catches children. He is nothing but funny to adults but kids may find him genuinely creepy in the kind of way political correctness and social engineering have mostly eliminated from modern movies. Kids raised on Barny and Dora might find him quite scary. On that note, on to the game we go.
If you played along last time this will all be familiar to you. Below you will find twelve questions. The answers to the questions can be found in the movie. The answers will appear in the same order as the questions so there is no need to look for more than one answer at a time. Each answer will be a single digit number. The twelve questions will be lettered A through L. The answers when entered into the following format will become the latitude and longitude coordinates to a certain spot on the earth.
AB°CD'EF" North
GH°IJ'KL" East
You can then use Google Earth to locate the spot and find out what is there. You will need to have the "geographic web" layers selected/checked (at least the panoramio option) and then click on any of the little blue squares that appear at the location to find out just what is there. I don't have any prizes to give out this time so it will be just for the fun of playing. Please tell me the coordinates you come up with and what you find in the location by leaving a comment. Of course since the answer will appear there make sure you don't look at the comments until you are finished the game and/or are ready to check.
Here are the twelve questions:
A - How many sails/blades are there on the Potts' windmill? (Just to be clear, assume each sail ends at the center hub. In other words, you should count separately sails directly opposite each other extending out from the center on the same line.)
B - How many vertical wooden bars are there in the chair back of the chair Mr. Potts is sitting in when Edison first whistles through a candy?
C - How many kinds of treasure do Jeremy and Jemima have in their treasure chest?
D - How many pence was Caractacus charging for a haircut?
E - How many "change room" tents do they set up on the beach where they have their picnic?
F - Subtract 2 from the number of stones Truly steps on when she crosses the pond.
G - When the two spies meet grandpa Potts how many medals is he wearing on his chest?
H - Subtract 1 from the number of pockets on the billiard table seen when grandpa enters the castle.
I - How many "Jack-in-the-Boxes" does the Child Catcher open in the Toy Maker's basement?
J - When the Baron opens the trapdoor how many lit candles are there in the candle stand in the background?
K - When Chitty lifts off and leaves the castle how many people are in the car?
L - Add 3 to the number of buttons on the vest Lord Scrumptious is wearing in the Potts' home?
Good luck with the game, mostly though I hope you enjoy the movie. I'm so glad I rediscovered it after all these years. If you don't have a copy you can borrow mine if you're close enough. It's definitely worth renting or even buying. I think HMV has the full screen version going for $6 right now.
I remember seeing CCBB as a young kid but I'm not quite sure if I saw it in the theater or on TV. Until seeing it again a couple of days ago I didn't remember much of the story, only that it made a big impact on me when I saw it as a child.
When I watched it again a few days ago it struck me how different it is from movies that come out these days. The two main kids in the movie especially were quite a shock. Instead of the eye rolling, know it all, wiser than every adult, ungrateful, cynical and sarcastic brats that inhabit every screen these days, the kids in CCBB are respectful and sweet. I kept waiting for them to produce some attitude but they never did. I can't say why exactly but that one aspect was just so nice and refreshing to see I had to share it with you.
Overall it's a very fun film, kind of a James Bond caper for kids. This is not surprising as the original story is by Ian Fleming the author of the Bond stories. There is some singing but it all fits in nicely with the story and the songs are mostly good and fun. One more refreshing part about CCBB is that it's not based on any cartoon or video game characters so you can actually show it to your kids without worrying about going out after and buying them all the officially licensed merchandise or McToys.
At 145 minutes it's a bit long but I recommend it highly. There is one particular character in it called the Child Catcher who, you guessed it, catches children. He is nothing but funny to adults but kids may find him genuinely creepy in the kind of way political correctness and social engineering have mostly eliminated from modern movies. Kids raised on Barny and Dora might find him quite scary. On that note, on to the game we go.
If you played along last time this will all be familiar to you. Below you will find twelve questions. The answers to the questions can be found in the movie. The answers will appear in the same order as the questions so there is no need to look for more than one answer at a time. Each answer will be a single digit number. The twelve questions will be lettered A through L. The answers when entered into the following format will become the latitude and longitude coordinates to a certain spot on the earth.
AB°CD'EF" North
GH°IJ'KL" East
You can then use Google Earth to locate the spot and find out what is there. You will need to have the "geographic web" layers selected/checked (at least the panoramio option) and then click on any of the little blue squares that appear at the location to find out just what is there. I don't have any prizes to give out this time so it will be just for the fun of playing. Please tell me the coordinates you come up with and what you find in the location by leaving a comment. Of course since the answer will appear there make sure you don't look at the comments until you are finished the game and/or are ready to check.
Here are the twelve questions:
A - How many sails/blades are there on the Potts' windmill? (Just to be clear, assume each sail ends at the center hub. In other words, you should count separately sails directly opposite each other extending out from the center on the same line.)
B - How many vertical wooden bars are there in the chair back of the chair Mr. Potts is sitting in when Edison first whistles through a candy?
C - How many kinds of treasure do Jeremy and Jemima have in their treasure chest?
D - How many pence was Caractacus charging for a haircut?
E - How many "change room" tents do they set up on the beach where they have their picnic?
F - Subtract 2 from the number of stones Truly steps on when she crosses the pond.
G - When the two spies meet grandpa Potts how many medals is he wearing on his chest?
H - Subtract 1 from the number of pockets on the billiard table seen when grandpa enters the castle.
I - How many "Jack-in-the-Boxes" does the Child Catcher open in the Toy Maker's basement?
J - When the Baron opens the trapdoor how many lit candles are there in the candle stand in the background?
K - When Chitty lifts off and leaves the castle how many people are in the car?
L - Add 3 to the number of buttons on the vest Lord Scrumptious is wearing in the Potts' home?
Good luck with the game, mostly though I hope you enjoy the movie. I'm so glad I rediscovered it after all these years. If you don't have a copy you can borrow mine if you're close enough. It's definitely worth renting or even buying. I think HMV has the full screen version going for $6 right now.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Some of My Favourite Movies
A few days ago I decided to add just one category of interests to my nearly blank blogger profile. Justified or not I'm always cautious about launching too much personal information into cyberspace but I figured a list of my favourite movies couldn't hurt much.
After adding the list of some of my favourite films I found that each movie in my list became a clickable link to a page which shows all of the other bloggers who included the same movie in their lists and of course the constantly changing total number of people who did. (I'm sure you all knew about this stuff but it was news to me.)
Anyway, my list of thirty films includes many of my favourites but I wouldn't necessarily say it includes all of them. It's just a list I came up with off the top of my head. You may notice the absence of many hugely popular big blockbusters or well known, well loved classics. It's not that I don't like some/many of them it's just that I didn't see the point of including them as it wouldn't give you much information about my own specific taste in movies.
What I found most interesting was to see how many other people shared my interest in each particular movie. The range was from a whopping 250,000 people who love The Princess Bride (no surprise there) all the way down to only 2 people (just me and Lizy from Chile) who both love The Road Home. Actually that is not much of a surprise either since it is a little known (at least in North America) Chinese picture. It is a shame though. Although my favourites fluctuate somewhat The Road Home is often at the very top of my list and never ever out of my top five. In fact all three of the movies on my list which only show a single digit after them are usually in my top ten. The Road Home, To Live and Grave of the Fireflies.
So here it is, my list of thirty uplifting, dramatic, magical, romantic, heart rending, gut wrenching, epic, elegant, fantastic, cool, rejuvinating, hilarious, smart, lovely, mind bending, captivating, tragic, hopeful, inspiring and just plain awesome movies.
Roman Holiday 119,000
Braveheart 180,000
The Shawshank Redemption 195,000
Stardust 78,900
The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin) 2
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) 28
To Live (Huozhe) 5
Groundhog Day 73,400
The Big Lebowski 83,100
Peter Pan (2003) 320
Out of Sight 4,600
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) 9
The Princess Bride 250,000
The Station Agent 13,000
Aliens 74,800
Before Sunrise 41,900
Kill Bill Vol. 2 5,300
Snatch 178,000
Lost in Translation 230,000
The Usual Suspects 93,900
To Kill a Mockingbird 102,000
Immortal Beloved 4,700
Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) 22
The Prestige 73,200
Big Fish 202,000
Tombstone 67,900
Ghost World 47,300
Last of the Mohicans 33,200
Gosford Park 16,400
Open your Eyes (Abre los ojos) 12
Does any of these make your list?
What is one of your lesser known but favourite movies?
Would you like to know more about any of these?
Do you have any recommendations?
I sure would like to meet Lizy from Chile some day.
P.S. The number of other bloggers who have favourited the same movies seems to fluctuate wildly. I'm not sure just what, if anything, is indeed up with that.
After adding the list of some of my favourite films I found that each movie in my list became a clickable link to a page which shows all of the other bloggers who included the same movie in their lists and of course the constantly changing total number of people who did. (I'm sure you all knew about this stuff but it was news to me.)
Anyway, my list of thirty films includes many of my favourites but I wouldn't necessarily say it includes all of them. It's just a list I came up with off the top of my head. You may notice the absence of many hugely popular big blockbusters or well known, well loved classics. It's not that I don't like some/many of them it's just that I didn't see the point of including them as it wouldn't give you much information about my own specific taste in movies.
What I found most interesting was to see how many other people shared my interest in each particular movie. The range was from a whopping 250,000 people who love The Princess Bride (no surprise there) all the way down to only 2 people (just me and Lizy from Chile) who both love The Road Home. Actually that is not much of a surprise either since it is a little known (at least in North America) Chinese picture. It is a shame though. Although my favourites fluctuate somewhat The Road Home is often at the very top of my list and never ever out of my top five. In fact all three of the movies on my list which only show a single digit after them are usually in my top ten. The Road Home, To Live and Grave of the Fireflies.
So here it is, my list of thirty uplifting, dramatic, magical, romantic, heart rending, gut wrenching, epic, elegant, fantastic, cool, rejuvinating, hilarious, smart, lovely, mind bending, captivating, tragic, hopeful, inspiring and just plain awesome movies.
Roman Holiday 119,000
Braveheart 180,000
The Shawshank Redemption 195,000
Stardust 78,900
The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin) 2
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) 28
To Live (Huozhe) 5
Groundhog Day 73,400
The Big Lebowski 83,100
Peter Pan (2003) 320
Out of Sight 4,600
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) 9
The Princess Bride 250,000
The Station Agent 13,000
Aliens 74,800
Before Sunrise 41,900
Kill Bill Vol. 2 5,300
Snatch 178,000
Lost in Translation 230,000
The Usual Suspects 93,900
To Kill a Mockingbird 102,000
Immortal Beloved 4,700
Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) 22
The Prestige 73,200
Big Fish 202,000
Tombstone 67,900
Ghost World 47,300
Last of the Mohicans 33,200
Gosford Park 16,400
Open your Eyes (Abre los ojos) 12
Does any of these make your list?
What is one of your lesser known but favourite movies?
Would you like to know more about any of these?
Do you have any recommendations?
I sure would like to meet Lizy from Chile some day.
P.S. The number of other bloggers who have favourited the same movies seems to fluctuate wildly. I'm not sure just what, if anything, is indeed up with that.
Monday, May 18, 2009
I Sold My Cow For Some Magic Beans
In a last ditch attempt to lure in a few more people to my blog I decided to sell my last cow for some magic beans and rent a billboard in NYC. If this kind of desperation doesn't send my readership numbers rocketing all the way into double digits I don't know what else possibly could.
Onto the $2000/day eye magnet I slapped my unfeasibly handsome blog photo along with my blog title and address. How could anyone possibly resist all that. (Go ahead and embiggen the photo and see for yourself. Yeah I know embiggen isn't a real word but they used it on The Simpsons so that means I can too.)
As I am surely on the brink of worldwide infamy I would just like to take a moment to thank all of you who have been kind enough to stop by regularly even though my blog is plain and pointless. You know who you are and so do I.
Actually, none of this is real of course. (Did you believe it at all for even a few seconds?) I don't even have a cow to sell for magic beans, which I'm sure are wonderful, but I doubt you can use them for billboard rent. It's just a made up photo from a website I found. You can do all sorts of fun things with your photos there so if you want to give it a try just go to MakeSweet and check it out.
So, unfortunately, my blog is not about to become well known. It'll be just you and me as always. If I may I'll just repeat one of my previous paragraphs with the exception of the first part of the first sentence.
I would just like to take a moment to thank all of you who have been kind enough to stop by regularly even though my blog is plain and pointless. You know who you are and so do I.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Star Trek (2009)
I hadn’t been to the movies for a while, let’s see… since Twilight actually, so that would be about six months ago. I hadn’t even been looking forward to this movie particularly but after hearing that it was getting rave reviews I suddenly felt the urge to sit in a broken seat and have my shoes stuck to the floor for a couple of hours.
There were rumours that this was not going to be the same old Star Trek and I was absolutely fine with that. Although I enjoyed the original series, some of The Next Generation and a few of the movies, I am definitely not a Trekkie or a Trekker and would never bother driving through Vulcan on my way to YYC even if it only meant a ten minutes longer trip. Okay maybe, but probably not.
As long you make a good movie, go ahead and make all the changes you want; I really don’t mind.
Changes were definitely made; it’s just the “make a good movie” part that they seemed to forget.
-Spoilers ahead-
The opening scene is excellent, action packed, dramatic, and even a little emotionally moving though we’ve just barely met these people. If the rest of the movie is going to be like this… Well, unfortunately it’s not.
What starts with great promise quickly degenerates into a generic sci-fi ‘splosion fest that turns out to have little heart and no soul. Lots of stuff getting “blowed up real good” and with that oh-so-trendy shaky-cam thing going on all the time and so many bits and pieces flying around it is hard to tell what bits are whose. (Hey I can’t really tell what's going on but there are so many explosions, so much stuff flying around and the camera is shaking so badly it must be awesome right?)
I soon got the feeling that I was watching a mixture of Star Trek, Star Wars and Transformers. Upon returning home I checked IMDb to see who the writers were and funny enough one of them (Roberto Orci) was the same guy who wrote Transformers. (If I’d have known that I wouldn’t have bothered going in the first place.)
It is Star Trek mostly in name only. They did a fine job of finding actors to play the younger versions of the Enterprise crew but were inconsistent in that some of them did an excellent job of recreating their original characters (e.g. Dr. McCoy) while others made no attempt whatever to resemble theirs (Kirk.) Either have everyone emulate the originals or have no one do it. To have some doing it and others not seems silly to me. The Enterprise looked fantastic, on the outside, and was much more spectacular than previous versions when letting loose her full fury on the enemy. The interior, especially the non bridge areas, however, was significantly less awesome. Other than the names of the characters and the shape of their ship, there is nothing Star Trekky about the movie so the only real reason to call this Star Trek is to milk it for all it's worth and make as much money as possible... Oh, okay then.
It is like Star Wars because there is much more fighting and billions instead of tens die. Instead of a hopeful future of exploration and getting along with your freaky alien neighbours, conflict and destruction of entire planets are the order of the day. In one particularly Star Warsy scene Kirk is fleeing from a slobbering sticky monster (no not a human toddler) on an icy planet. When he ends up running into an ice cave I almost expected him to find Luke Skywalker hanging by his feet from the ceiling and trying to remember the accio charm to retrive his light sabre... Oh, wait, forget that last bit.
Mixing Star Trek and Star Wars is not necessarily a bad thing but tragically this film is most similar to Transformers. It has the same obviously expensive CGI effects, explosions, baffling shaky cam (hey the movie is getting extra awesome again) all accompanied by a lame story and no characters I was able to get invested in. It seems to subscribe to the philosophy of, if we can keep their brains dazzled and bewildered with lots of flashes, noises and general sensory overload they won’t have time to figure out that it’s all way too much theatre and not nearly enough play.
If you like to slam Mountain Dew while riding down hills in shopping carts and use the word extreme several times when describing your day to mommy while she nukes your pizza pop for you then you’ll probably think this Star Trek is like totally like awesome dude. (OMG! LOL! j/k! idk.)
If you enjoy all the hard work done by the computer people but also need a good story and characters to be the foundation for all the other less important elements then you may well be disappointed in this Star Trek. It’s got a few fun moments and a few great visuals but is completely forgettable.
I give it 6 drops of Red Matter out of 10.
P.S. No one knows exactly what Red Matter is but it plays a huge roll in the movie. It either creates a black hole and/or enables time travel. In both cases lots of stuff blows up so it's like super extra awesome, we just never are told how or why. So dude, just like, try not to like think, eat your like $7 popcorn and like enjoy the ride.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Gum Eggs and Ham
A few days ago I was doing a bit of browsing at the local Chapters and as I always seem to do when I’m in a bookstore, I found myself resolving yet again to do more reading and less TV watching. As I passed by the audio book section it occurred to me that maybe these could be the best of both worlds. They combine the laziness of TV watching with the rewards of actually reading a real book; no need to put forth any actual effort yet still get all the benefits.
I have never listened to an audio book but remember hearing that the narrator of the Harry Potter books is particularly awesome. His name is Jim Dale and he also did the narration for Pushing Daisies which was one of my favourite um… TV shows until it got cancelled. His narration was one of the best things about that show so I decided that his audio books must be great as well. What I am trying to get to here is that I began to search for my favourite Harry Potter, The Prisoner of Azkaban, in its spinable format. There was however no CD version of Prisoner of Azkaban or of any other Potter books on the shelf so getting a Jim Dale audio book would have to wait.
Just as I was about to move back into the read-it-yourself world of normal books a tray toting teenager from the in-store Starbucks came by and asked me if I would like to try a sample of one of their new breakfast sandwiches. I wasn’t particularly hungry, plus I was chewing gum so I was about to decline but felt a sudden urge to cooperate and help her get rid of her quota. I picked up a section of an Egg McMuffin copycat sandwich, said thank you and smiled as she moved on.
I wanted to get rid of my gum before eating the ham and egg muffin but there was no garbage can nearby. I took it out of my mouth and was about to flatten it between pages 266 and 267 of… (No I didn't, just kidding. Do you really think I would do such a thing?) Anyway, I decided that I could just tuck the gum up above my front teeth, quickly chew and swallow the food and then bring the gum back down and it would never know that I had cheated on it. After a few chews the gum started to slip so I immediately thought to move it to the yet unoccupied back corner of my mouth and keep the muffin on the other side. This bright idea also quickly degenerated into a big mess and within seconds the gum and the muffin were irreversibly combined into a ham and egg flavoured, lumpy goo which had just a lingering hint of minty freshness. My final desperate attempt to rescue the situation involved chewing up the whole mess until only the gum remained but that also quickly became obviously impossible. Finally I gave up and swallowed my pride along with the muffin-gum. Yummy! Decades ago I learned to walk and chew gum at the same time but now I know that eating and chewing gum simultaneously is a skill I will never master.
I left Chapters empty handed, with no new book to better my mind and just a bit grossed out.
Now where’s that remote?
Veruca Salt - Volcano Girls
(please see comments for why)
I have never listened to an audio book but remember hearing that the narrator of the Harry Potter books is particularly awesome. His name is Jim Dale and he also did the narration for Pushing Daisies which was one of my favourite um… TV shows until it got cancelled. His narration was one of the best things about that show so I decided that his audio books must be great as well. What I am trying to get to here is that I began to search for my favourite Harry Potter, The Prisoner of Azkaban, in its spinable format. There was however no CD version of Prisoner of Azkaban or of any other Potter books on the shelf so getting a Jim Dale audio book would have to wait.
Just as I was about to move back into the read-it-yourself world of normal books a tray toting teenager from the in-store Starbucks came by and asked me if I would like to try a sample of one of their new breakfast sandwiches. I wasn’t particularly hungry, plus I was chewing gum so I was about to decline but felt a sudden urge to cooperate and help her get rid of her quota. I picked up a section of an Egg McMuffin copycat sandwich, said thank you and smiled as she moved on.
I wanted to get rid of my gum before eating the ham and egg muffin but there was no garbage can nearby. I took it out of my mouth and was about to flatten it between pages 266 and 267 of… (No I didn't, just kidding. Do you really think I would do such a thing?) Anyway, I decided that I could just tuck the gum up above my front teeth, quickly chew and swallow the food and then bring the gum back down and it would never know that I had cheated on it. After a few chews the gum started to slip so I immediately thought to move it to the yet unoccupied back corner of my mouth and keep the muffin on the other side. This bright idea also quickly degenerated into a big mess and within seconds the gum and the muffin were irreversibly combined into a ham and egg flavoured, lumpy goo which had just a lingering hint of minty freshness. My final desperate attempt to rescue the situation involved chewing up the whole mess until only the gum remained but that also quickly became obviously impossible. Finally I gave up and swallowed my pride along with the muffin-gum. Yummy! Decades ago I learned to walk and chew gum at the same time but now I know that eating and chewing gum simultaneously is a skill I will never master.
I left Chapters empty handed, with no new book to better my mind and just a bit grossed out.
Now where’s that remote?
Veruca Salt - Volcano Girls
(please see comments for why)
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Exact Moment I Became Old
Like the story in my last post this event also happened when I was getting a haircut. I assure you that is the only commonality of the two events; different shop, different girl (way different girl), different everything. It is actually quite an old and perfectly true story. It happened six years ago and at the time I was so shocked and embarrassed I was sure it would be my deep dark secret; one that I would take with me to my grave without ever telling a single soul. Since then I have come to terms with the initial shock and have in fact told this story just once. Years later, I realize that I had been in denial since well before I was hit by the reality train and somehow now don’t really care who knows about it. If my tale of woe can give any of you a bit of a chuckle then I suppose that some small good has been derived from the day. So without further delay, here is the story you were never meant to hear… (yeah I know) or read.
The shop seemed fairly new. It was clean and bright and the staff was friendly. The initial vibe I got was certainly promising. As usual I had no appointment but was told they could fit me in right away. I had barely taken a seat and opened a now forgotten magazine when I heard my name being called so very sweetly and looked up to see the kind of girl who sometimes graces these kinds of places with her presence but who never ever cuts MY hair. She introduced herself as Alice and invited me into the back to one of the chairs and en route I was thinking they probably just wanted to make sure I was officially seated and stuck in a chair before they brought Helga out from her hiding spot to cut my hair. To my surprise and cautious delight Helga never did appear and the Lovely Miss Alice stayed right where she was and began the best haircut of my life.
I first learned of and experienced a scalp massage when I got my hair cut in Japan. They sure know how to give a great massage over there and most that I have received since being back in Canada have generally been less stellar in comparison. The Lovely Miss Alice though was doing a great job and didn’t even try to make me talk while she was doing it; she just let me relax and enjoy it. I was sure it would end any moment but she continued for what seemed like double or triple the usual time. I’m never this lucky, I thought, but enjoyed every second of it.
I figured she was about 23 or 24 though I never did ask her of course. She was very pretty but to simply say she was hot would be to completely understate her attractiveness. The way she moved, the way she spoke, the elegance in her voice, the things she said, all showed me that she was entirely beautiful from the inside out. Even if she hadn’t been too young for me she was obviously way out of my league but I was just happy to be there anyway.
Anyone who knows me might be surprised to learn that I generally prefer to just get my hair cut rather than make a lot of small talk throughout all the combing and cutting. I just seem to end up with fewer hairs in my mouth at the end that way. This time though I was happy to answer any questions the Lovely Miss Alice cared to ask me. She was far too elegant to ask anything too personal but she did ask about some of my interests, likes and dislikes, favourite foods, movies, hobbies etc. She just seemed to be really taking an interest in me that no hair stylist had ever taken before. I admit I nearly allowed myself to think that maybe I still had it and that this scissors wielding sweetie was genuinely interested in me. However, I immediately remembered that I never ever had it in the first place so I couldn’t possibly still have it now then could I? Something just wasn’t right. The only logical possibility was that this whole thing was a dream, induced when Helga had clumsily knocked me out with the shower head on the end of the flexible water hose at the sink. Any second now surely I would be awakened by the scratching of her knuckle hairs against my temple as she trimmed my sideburns.
It was all very real though. As the Lovely Miss Alice was finishing up she suddenly apologized for asking me so many questions and then went on to explain that “It's just that I am kind of looking for a nice guy… (Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!)… to introduce to my recently single mother.”
[Que dramatic Death Star explosion - Flash! BOOM! Silence...]
(What?... Wait… Mother?…Me?… But…No!... I’m not… Am I?)
That was the exact moment I realized I was officially old and nothing would ever be the same again.
By the way, if anyone wants to know what it feels like to shoot into the sky like a rocket only to be sucked into a Rolls Royce Turbofan and instantaneously chopped into a billion tiny pieces which are then vaporized in jet engine combustion I’m pretty sure I know just how it feels.
I don't remember much between the moment I found out she was considering me to be her step-father and when I walked out the door. I never let her know how she had so suddenly changed me. I did find out that her mother was exactly ten years older than me and I suppose I should feel good that she saw me as a potential partner for her own mother but that was little consolation at the time. In fact, that particular thought didn’t even occur to me until several days later.
I've never been back there since.
P.S. Alice was not her real name. I do remember and will always remember what it was but...
The shop seemed fairly new. It was clean and bright and the staff was friendly. The initial vibe I got was certainly promising. As usual I had no appointment but was told they could fit me in right away. I had barely taken a seat and opened a now forgotten magazine when I heard my name being called so very sweetly and looked up to see the kind of girl who sometimes graces these kinds of places with her presence but who never ever cuts MY hair. She introduced herself as Alice and invited me into the back to one of the chairs and en route I was thinking they probably just wanted to make sure I was officially seated and stuck in a chair before they brought Helga out from her hiding spot to cut my hair. To my surprise and cautious delight Helga never did appear and the Lovely Miss Alice stayed right where she was and began the best haircut of my life.
I first learned of and experienced a scalp massage when I got my hair cut in Japan. They sure know how to give a great massage over there and most that I have received since being back in Canada have generally been less stellar in comparison. The Lovely Miss Alice though was doing a great job and didn’t even try to make me talk while she was doing it; she just let me relax and enjoy it. I was sure it would end any moment but she continued for what seemed like double or triple the usual time. I’m never this lucky, I thought, but enjoyed every second of it.
I figured she was about 23 or 24 though I never did ask her of course. She was very pretty but to simply say she was hot would be to completely understate her attractiveness. The way she moved, the way she spoke, the elegance in her voice, the things she said, all showed me that she was entirely beautiful from the inside out. Even if she hadn’t been too young for me she was obviously way out of my league but I was just happy to be there anyway.
Anyone who knows me might be surprised to learn that I generally prefer to just get my hair cut rather than make a lot of small talk throughout all the combing and cutting. I just seem to end up with fewer hairs in my mouth at the end that way. This time though I was happy to answer any questions the Lovely Miss Alice cared to ask me. She was far too elegant to ask anything too personal but she did ask about some of my interests, likes and dislikes, favourite foods, movies, hobbies etc. She just seemed to be really taking an interest in me that no hair stylist had ever taken before. I admit I nearly allowed myself to think that maybe I still had it and that this scissors wielding sweetie was genuinely interested in me. However, I immediately remembered that I never ever had it in the first place so I couldn’t possibly still have it now then could I? Something just wasn’t right. The only logical possibility was that this whole thing was a dream, induced when Helga had clumsily knocked me out with the shower head on the end of the flexible water hose at the sink. Any second now surely I would be awakened by the scratching of her knuckle hairs against my temple as she trimmed my sideburns.
It was all very real though. As the Lovely Miss Alice was finishing up she suddenly apologized for asking me so many questions and then went on to explain that “It's just that I am kind of looking for a nice guy… (Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!)… to introduce to my recently single mother.”
[Que dramatic Death Star explosion - Flash! BOOM! Silence...]
(What?... Wait… Mother?…Me?… But…No!... I’m not… Am I?)
That was the exact moment I realized I was officially old and nothing would ever be the same again.
By the way, if anyone wants to know what it feels like to shoot into the sky like a rocket only to be sucked into a Rolls Royce Turbofan and instantaneously chopped into a billion tiny pieces which are then vaporized in jet engine combustion I’m pretty sure I know just how it feels.
I don't remember much between the moment I found out she was considering me to be her step-father and when I walked out the door. I never let her know how she had so suddenly changed me. I did find out that her mother was exactly ten years older than me and I suppose I should feel good that she saw me as a potential partner for her own mother but that was little consolation at the time. In fact, that particular thought didn’t even occur to me until several days later.
I've never been back there since.
P.S. Alice was not her real name. I do remember and will always remember what it was but...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Haircut
My hair had already been growing for way too long and today, being the hottest day of the year so far, the extra heat made me realize I was well overdue for a haircut. I decided to try the nearest place I could find and ended up at one of those places called… actually I can’t quite remember, I think it was “Last Resort Hair Cutters” or something like that.
Maybe it’s just me but don’t you get a certain vibe about a place just as you walk into it. I can usually tell what kind of haircut I’ll be getting as soon as I walk into the shop and this time was no different. In hindsight I suppose I should have followed my gut reaction and bailed when I saw the sign for recruiting new staff in the window offering only $12/hour but I guess I was just too willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
There were two ladies working and the cuter of the two, who am I kidding, the cute one, met me at the counter and said it would only be a few minutes so I took a seat and checked the stack of magazines just to be sure they were all at least six months old. Soon I was invited in to a chair and just like always, it wasn’t going to be the cute one who would be cutting my hair but the um… other one. How come it’s nearly never the one I hope it will be? I mean of course it’s no big deal but all other things being equal what guy wouldn’t prefer the cute girl to cut his hair?
Anyway, as the muffin top silverback (I’m sorry that was 100% inappropriate and I apologize profusely) starts cutting my hair she begins asking me all these personal questions. Are you married?, Do you have any kids?, What’s your pin number? and stuff like that. She must have been a long lost childhood friend judging from her interrogation of me but I swear I’d never seen her before in my life.
Oh, and as for that vibe I got when I walked in, it was spot on as usual. The speed and carefree or maybe even careless nature of the movement of the electric clippers on my head caused me to momentarily become unsure of where I was and I found myself checking the walls for any kind of military signage or posters because it suddenly felt like I was getting buzzed for boot camp. To make an already too long story shorter it was just one of those times when you can easily tell she’s just not trying and her heart isn’t in it at all. End result is shorter hair with a few uneven spots and hack marks here and there but whatever. It’s a good thing I’m not trying to impress anybody.
Next time I think I’m going back to the slightly farther and a couple of bucks more expensive place where she took her time, used several different tools and cutting techniques, made pleasant conversation without asking about my intimate personal life and gave me her complete attention while she was cutting my hair. I.E. She didn’t spend the whole time planning her upcoming weekend with her co-worker at the next station like so many of them do. Oh yeah, in case you are wondering, yes, she was pretty too. I think her name was… Kim.
Maybe it’s just me but don’t you get a certain vibe about a place just as you walk into it. I can usually tell what kind of haircut I’ll be getting as soon as I walk into the shop and this time was no different. In hindsight I suppose I should have followed my gut reaction and bailed when I saw the sign for recruiting new staff in the window offering only $12/hour but I guess I was just too willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
There were two ladies working and the cuter of the two, who am I kidding, the cute one, met me at the counter and said it would only be a few minutes so I took a seat and checked the stack of magazines just to be sure they were all at least six months old. Soon I was invited in to a chair and just like always, it wasn’t going to be the cute one who would be cutting my hair but the um… other one. How come it’s nearly never the one I hope it will be? I mean of course it’s no big deal but all other things being equal what guy wouldn’t prefer the cute girl to cut his hair?
Anyway, as the muffin top silverback (I’m sorry that was 100% inappropriate and I apologize profusely) starts cutting my hair she begins asking me all these personal questions. Are you married?, Do you have any kids?, What’s your pin number? and stuff like that. She must have been a long lost childhood friend judging from her interrogation of me but I swear I’d never seen her before in my life.
Oh, and as for that vibe I got when I walked in, it was spot on as usual. The speed and carefree or maybe even careless nature of the movement of the electric clippers on my head caused me to momentarily become unsure of where I was and I found myself checking the walls for any kind of military signage or posters because it suddenly felt like I was getting buzzed for boot camp. To make an already too long story shorter it was just one of those times when you can easily tell she’s just not trying and her heart isn’t in it at all. End result is shorter hair with a few uneven spots and hack marks here and there but whatever. It’s a good thing I’m not trying to impress anybody.
Next time I think I’m going back to the slightly farther and a couple of bucks more expensive place where she took her time, used several different tools and cutting techniques, made pleasant conversation without asking about my intimate personal life and gave me her complete attention while she was cutting my hair. I.E. She didn’t spend the whole time planning her upcoming weekend with her co-worker at the next station like so many of them do. Oh yeah, in case you are wondering, yes, she was pretty too. I think her name was… Kim.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Twilight – the DVD
Upon Further Review…
With the recent release of Twilight on DVD I have had another chance to see the movie which I had been “mostly disappointed” in, and as you probably don’t remember gave only five out of ten… stars or dollar signs or buckets of popcorn or whatever you prefer, after seeing it in the theatre the first time. I now realize that I may have been a bit severe in my criticism and indeed quite stingy in my distribution of stars or dollar… let’s just stick with stars shall we.
I have since changed my mind and decided that it was too much to ask of a mere movie to recreate the complete story and much more importantly the atmosphere of Twilight the book. I of course already knew not to expect a film to be as good as its book but I guess I still had my hopes set too high.
I have also had a chance to reread the book since seeing the movie and discovered that the film did in fact cover nearly all the critical plot points of the original story while lifting many of the most key lines directly from the book and cleverly combining and readjusting things to make the best use of the limited time they had available. In the end, I think the film makers did as well as could be expected in most aspects of the movie. As I mentioned in my previous review, I liked how most of the secondary characters were portrayed and was really only disappointed in Bella and to a lesser degree Edward.
If I may mention one particular standout for me, Christian Serratos, who played Bella’s friend Angela, stole every scene she was in. The way she wonders out loud “Maybe he'll (Dr. Cullen) adopt me?” is just darling and then in another scene where Edward surprisingly shows up at the restaurant with Bella, Angela only says a few words but has more facial expressions and shows more emotion in that one short scene than K Stew manages in the whole movie.
Everything I’ve mentioned so far made me realize that Twilight is certainly a better movie than I originally gave it credit for. Unfortunately my main disappointments still stand.
I can’t be too hard on Kristen Stewart because as we know this story is all about Edward and Bella and in the book we get to know everything Bella is thinking and know very well how she feels about Edward. In the movie though it’s not just Edward who can’t read her mind, (with the exception of a few scenes) none of us can either. This puts much more pressure on the writers and Kristen Stewart to convince us that she really does care for him like she did in the book. Unfortunately, this most critical element was the one that was most obvious in its absence. I think Kristen had only a couple of expressions throughout the whole movie and did way too much of that sideways head micro-shuddering thing. Even immediately after we find out that she is “unconditionally and irrevocably” in love with Edward the very next thing she does is go to her window to see Edward waiting outside for her yet even then she can’t muster up a genuine happy bubbly smile. Come on Kristen, you’ve got to give us more than that!
Don’t get me wrong, I think Kristen has the potential to be a much better Bella and I will be hoping for her to do well in the rest of the movies. I really do want to like her. Rob Pattinson isn’t quite the perfect Edward either but he is much closer than Kristen is I think.
In the end, this is the story of Twilight which, regardless of all of this movie's shortcomings, is still such a wonderful, beautiful and overwhelming story. Who among us doesn’t long to love and be loved like Edward and Bella are. That is what it’s really all about isn’t it? That is why even after complaining way too much I still somehow find myself wanting to watch the darn thing yet again, to visit Edward, Bella and the Cullen's world one more time. If that isn’t the mark and the most important sign of a great movie I don’t know what is. Sure maybe the credit is due more to the story than to the film itself but that doesn't mean I won't watch it again.
Twilight – the movie, one more star from my head and two more from my heart for a solid 8 out of 10!
(The song I tacked onto the beginning of this post is the one playing when Edward and Bella are dancing in the gazebo at the end of the movie. I barely noticed it the first time I saw the movie but after listening to it a few times now I really like it. If you happened to push play when you started reading and read rather slowly like I do then it is probably ending right about... now!)
* * * * * * * *
If I may add just one more good reason for the extra stars…
One of the best songs in the film is played while Edward and Bella are in the restaurant and Edward admits to Bella that he isn’t strong enough to stay away from her anymore. It is only slightly audible in the movie and even when listening to just the song itself the lyrics are very hard to understand. Listening to it while reading the words creates an entirely different and surprisingly moving experience, well at least for me it did, your mileage may vary.
This song is written and performed by Rob Pattinson (Edward) and expresses well just how real Edward’s torment is between being with Bella or staying away to keep her safe, that it is a very real and dangerous battle for him to keep himself from hurting her and even worse, damning her soul as he believes his own soul to be; it's about how he desperately wants to be with her but deep down already knows that he will eventually have to leave her.
It may be best listened to late at night and/or when all is quiet. It’s one of my favourites from the movie.
Here it is, with the lyrics of course.
Never Think – Rob Pattinson
Never think
What's in your heart
What's in our home
That's all I want
You'll learn to hate me
But you still call me baby
Oh Lord
Just call me by my name
And oh, save your soul
save your soul
Before you're too far gone
Before nothing can be done
I'll try to decide when
Shall I win
I ain't got no fight in me
In this whole damn world
To tell you to hold off
But you still hold on
It's the one thing that I know
Once I put my coat on
I'm coming out of this all wrong
She's standing outside holding me
She's saying oh please
I'm in love
I'm in love
Girl save your soul
Save your soul
Before you're too far gone
And before nothing can be done
'Cause without me
You got it all
So hold on
Without me you got it all
So hold on
Without me you got it all
Without me you got it all
So hold on
Without me you got it all
So hold on
Without me you got it all
So hold on
Hold on
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Selfish Giant of Cardston
While I was in Lethbridge today I spent a few minutes in the woods down near the river to check on my geocache. Although the trails were still a bit muddy in places it was such a nice day there. Part way along the path that leads to my cache I came across a young rabbit which of course ran away as soon as it saw me, or rather, as soon as I saw it. The sun was shining, there were rabbits hopping, birds singing and in general it was just spring all over the place there.
I found my 5 ½ year old cache still in amazingly good condition, still bone dry on the inside and containing a traveling monkey named Fred. Fred seems to have began his world adventures in 2005 in California and has so far traveled over 16,000 km including two trips to Hawaii. This is a photo of "travel bug" Fred who was placed in my cache just three days ago.
After meeting Fred and completing my other business in Lethbridge I started back toward Cardston. This time spring gradually gave way back to winter, first with snow in the ditches then more and more remaining in the fields. Finally the view of Cardston in the distance included an immense blanket of pure white snow. I was instantly reminded of the story of the Selfish Giant that I posted about recently and how the scene looked so much like the giant’s garden still held hostage by the relentless winter while just outside spring had already come to everyone else nearby.
Apparently there is another Selfish Giant living right here in Cardston who is obviously responsible for this blatently localized and unacceptable delaying of spring. For all I know, he could be me. Yikes! All these years I had attributed the ridiculously long winters in Banff to its northyness and location in the mountains but maybe it was me all along. I apologize to all the residents here and promise to move on just as soon as possible. In the meantime, hopefully spring will somehow manage to find its way here soon.
I found my 5 ½ year old cache still in amazingly good condition, still bone dry on the inside and containing a traveling monkey named Fred. Fred seems to have began his world adventures in 2005 in California and has so far traveled over 16,000 km including two trips to Hawaii. This is a photo of "travel bug" Fred who was placed in my cache just three days ago.
After meeting Fred and completing my other business in Lethbridge I started back toward Cardston. This time spring gradually gave way back to winter, first with snow in the ditches then more and more remaining in the fields. Finally the view of Cardston in the distance included an immense blanket of pure white snow. I was instantly reminded of the story of the Selfish Giant that I posted about recently and how the scene looked so much like the giant’s garden still held hostage by the relentless winter while just outside spring had already come to everyone else nearby.
Apparently there is another Selfish Giant living right here in Cardston who is obviously responsible for this blatently localized and unacceptable delaying of spring. For all I know, he could be me. Yikes! All these years I had attributed the ridiculously long winters in Banff to its northyness and location in the mountains but maybe it was me all along. I apologize to all the residents here and promise to move on just as soon as possible. In the meantime, hopefully spring will somehow manage to find its way here soon.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
New Blog Background
Made you look, made you look!
Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up. Indeed nothing has changed.
I know that some of you, perhaps my regular visitors, (whose numbers hopefully will someday reach double digits) may have thought at one time or another, “I can’t believe he’s still using that default setting blogger template. Doesn’t he know it’s totally lame?" Actually I do know it may well be considered boring and uncreative to be still using an original blogger template after… let’s see… hey, two days from now (March 19, that’s Marlan’s birthday) will be my second anniversary of my venture into the blogging world. Anyway, it’s not that I haven’t thought of changing it, or that I haven’t looked for a new background, but I just haven’t been able to find anything I like I guess. I know some people like to change their background every week it seems. I’m definitely not that fickle but I wouldn’t mind a change of scenery once in a while.
The problem is, it seems all of the blog template creators are under the impression that only females blog. Women may indeed be the vast majority of casual bloggers but there are a few of us men doing it as well. Whenever I search for a new template all I can find is unicorns, ribbons, butterflies, flowers and rainbows. Either that or they are so loud and busy that I find it hard to believe that anyone who visits a blog with such a background is ever able to read it due to being instantly and terminally distracted by the “in your face” background. (I wonder if that qualifies as an oxymoron.) I have enough trouble getting people to read my blog without having some hallucination inducing shenanigans going on all around it. Oh, and don’t get me started on those backgrounds that actually intrude into the space meant for the writer’s text, often covering it up rendering it unreadable. What’s up with that?
Okay, I feel much better now. I suppose I just needed to get that rant out of the way. In the meantime, I plan to periodically continue my search for a new blog background. For now though, I will continue on with my tried and true, blogger original, newbie template. I’ll just be hoping that instead of finding it lame and boring, you might find its consistancy at least a little bit cozy and comforting.
Finally, just in case you're thinking of suggesting that I make my own template, I'm afraid that is quite impossible. Just as in most other areas of my life, I must rely on the use of other people's creations in order to express my own individuality.
Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up. Indeed nothing has changed.
I know that some of you, perhaps my regular visitors, (whose numbers hopefully will someday reach double digits) may have thought at one time or another, “I can’t believe he’s still using that default setting blogger template. Doesn’t he know it’s totally lame?" Actually I do know it may well be considered boring and uncreative to be still using an original blogger template after… let’s see… hey, two days from now (March 19, that’s Marlan’s birthday) will be my second anniversary of my venture into the blogging world. Anyway, it’s not that I haven’t thought of changing it, or that I haven’t looked for a new background, but I just haven’t been able to find anything I like I guess. I know some people like to change their background every week it seems. I’m definitely not that fickle but I wouldn’t mind a change of scenery once in a while.
The problem is, it seems all of the blog template creators are under the impression that only females blog. Women may indeed be the vast majority of casual bloggers but there are a few of us men doing it as well. Whenever I search for a new template all I can find is unicorns, ribbons, butterflies, flowers and rainbows. Either that or they are so loud and busy that I find it hard to believe that anyone who visits a blog with such a background is ever able to read it due to being instantly and terminally distracted by the “in your face” background. (I wonder if that qualifies as an oxymoron.) I have enough trouble getting people to read my blog without having some hallucination inducing shenanigans going on all around it. Oh, and don’t get me started on those backgrounds that actually intrude into the space meant for the writer’s text, often covering it up rendering it unreadable. What’s up with that?
Okay, I feel much better now. I suppose I just needed to get that rant out of the way. In the meantime, I plan to periodically continue my search for a new blog background. For now though, I will continue on with my tried and true, blogger original, newbie template. I’ll just be hoping that instead of finding it lame and boring, you might find its consistancy at least a little bit cozy and comforting.
Finally, just in case you're thinking of suggesting that I make my own template, I'm afraid that is quite impossible. Just as in most other areas of my life, I must rely on the use of other people's creations in order to express my own individuality.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Junior Cougars smack mini Comets…
… out of orbit and into deep interstellar space.
Return to galaxy unlikely some say.
Congratulations to Kendall and his team on their 92 – 59 obliteration of the Junior Comets! The once mighty comet has been smashed into a million tiny pieces and blasted into oblivion like the dying embers of an exploding firework.
The Cougars had their backs up against the wall and needed to give 110% in the final shootout of the zone playoffs. Some members of the team were overheard saying that they were just happy to be there and hoped to be able to contribute. Others spoke of believing in themselves, digging deep to turn it up a notch and bringing their play up to the next level. With both teams playing at such a high level turnovers will be the key some noted.
After the Cougars built a nearly insurmountable lead early on some Comets fans became upset when, during a timeout, an ABBA song (Mama Mia) was played. This unusual choice of song at a boy’s basketball game apparently caused some Comets fans to infer that their team was playing like a bunch of girls. Any such implication however was denied outright by the AV nerd running the music thingy.
In the post game interview the coach may have been heard saying: In the end we played our hearts out and really took it to them. We had several kids making a living out beyond the three point line. We brought our A game today and I’m really proud of the way our guys hung in there. This win hasn’t really sunk in yet. We’ve got the greatest fans in the world bob loblaw…
While the victorious victors ride off into the sunset in victory our thoughts now turn to the surely baffled and bewildered mini Comets. Defeat is not suffered lightly in their town, well known as the center of the basketball universe (at least to the people who live there.) A genuine butt kicking by over thirty points though is likely to cause emergency meetings to be convened at various levels and grief counsellors to be brought in to help the locals deal with a tragedy of this heretofore unheard-of magnitude.
The players themselves will of course not be riding all the way home on the loser bus but will nearly certainly be dropped off at the last junction and be forced to walk the final five miles in order to ponder and reflect upon the great shame they have brought upon their entire town.
So anyway Kendall, Well done! Now I hope you get to enjoy your extra hours away from school!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Welcome to Earth Lucas!
(Banner and balloons thanks to KJAMBD)
It’s so nice to meet you. Sorry about all the snow and the minus 20°C. I promise it will get much nicer soon. Hey think of it this way, at least you’ll have one more day to look forward to in February than most of us.
We do really have quite a nice planet here, I’m sure you’ll love it even though it’s probably not nearly as nice as what you’re used to. For the first while, the food is nutritious but can get a little “didn’t I have this for breakfast and for dinner last night too,” but when you get a bit older there is much more variety I assure you. There are so many things to learn and do, I hope you take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. You have an awesome family who love you and will help you as much as they can along the way. I wish you all the best in the life you began just today.
Happy Birthday Lucas! This first one is a freebee, next time around the count up begins.
Love,
Uncle Lorin
Uncle Lorin
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
2009 OSCARS - In Memoriam
So it's Sunday night and I just couldn't find any good WWE, Ultimate Fighting To The Death matches, ( I think that's the one where two guys are in a cage and the winner has to knock the other guy out and then kick him in the head until at least five teeth or one eyeball falls out) or even a Michael Bay movie on TV. I was therefore pretty much forced to watch the OSCARS which I reluctantly (cough) did.
I'm not here to do a review of the show or comment on who won what or who didn't. Overall I thought things went well with the one glaring exception of the segment where they pay tribute to some who have passed away in the previous year. What they have always done in the past is show the video feed directly to us but this year apparently they wanted to show off all the flat screen monitors they had going in the building and had the camera pan and zoom while the camera man was being chased around the room by a pack of wild dogs, or so it seemed. The ridiculous camera work rendered many of the names and faces unreadable and unrecognizable, was disrespectful and ultimately a big fat train wreck even if you don't ask me.
Luckily someone with access to the original video, not what was broadcast to all of us, has posted it on YouTube. So just in case you were frustrated like me, care at all, or are just a bit curious, here is the segment the way it should have been shown in the first place.
I'm not here to do a review of the show or comment on who won what or who didn't. Overall I thought things went well with the one glaring exception of the segment where they pay tribute to some who have passed away in the previous year. What they have always done in the past is show the video feed directly to us but this year apparently they wanted to show off all the flat screen monitors they had going in the building and had the camera pan and zoom while the camera man was being chased around the room by a pack of wild dogs, or so it seemed. The ridiculous camera work rendered many of the names and faces unreadable and unrecognizable, was disrespectful and ultimately a big fat train wreck even if you don't ask me.
Luckily someone with access to the original video, not what was broadcast to all of us, has posted it on YouTube. So just in case you were frustrated like me, care at all, or are just a bit curious, here is the segment the way it should have been shown in the first place.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Selfish Giant
It seems I overestimated people's familiarity with the story of The Little Match Girl a few posts ago. So now I have another old nostalgic animated tale to share with you and I hope that this one is at least a bit more familiar to everyone. It's called The Selfish Giant. This one is definitely not done by Disney which becomes obvious when watching it. It used to be shown on TV every year or so but I haven't seen it for many years which is too bad. I wonder if you remember seeing it at all. It's about 25 minutes long and is split into three parts on YouTube. Here they are:
I still have my copy of the book that mom gave me many years ago.
I still have my copy of the book that mom gave me many years ago.
Monday, February 2, 2009
For Your Eyes Only
Below is a link to a rather plain web page and the start of simple yet difficult game called "The eyeballing game", hence the title of this post. You can use only your eyes to play the game and, may I add, any inferring done on your part that you may have been about to become privy to any sort of top secret information or spy grade communications whatever must unfortunately be deemed wishful thinking.
You are asked to manipulate seven images to obtain the desired result. These tasks will be repeated twice more, slightly modified, for a total of 21 attempts. When you have finished, it will show you your average score and how your score compares to all others who have played.
My best score is 3.22
So, are you up for it?
Be sure to come back and tell me how badly you beat me.
Game on!
The Eyeballing Game
You are asked to manipulate seven images to obtain the desired result. These tasks will be repeated twice more, slightly modified, for a total of 21 attempts. When you have finished, it will show you your average score and how your score compares to all others who have played.
My best score is 3.22
So, are you up for it?
Be sure to come back and tell me how badly you beat me.
Game on!
The Eyeballing Game
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Little Match Girl - Part Two
Having revisited my early childhood memories of The Little Match Girl recently I gradually recalled and came to decide that my original knowledge of the story resulted from listening to a record which contained a few of Hans Christian Andersen's stories that were narrated by Danny Kaye. I wasn't quite 100% positive but I was fairly sure that was the case. I wonder if anyone else in my family remembers listening to such a record.
I didn't really have much hope but thought that just for fun I would try to find any evidence of such a record on the internet. I googled "little match girl danny kaye" and the very first hit led me to a web page with a long list of old children's story records including the one I was looking for. The record containing HCA's stories narrated by Danny Kaye did include TLMG plus a few others that seemed to ignite recollection in my head so I'm sure it was the one I had heard long ago, and here it is.
The page also includes downloadable mp3 files of the records so of course I did just that and upon listening to Danny Kaye tell the story of The Little match Girl I am now sure that it was the very same recording that left such a big impression on me all those years ago.
If you would like to hear it for yourself you can listen to it right here.
I must admit that now I prefer the silent animated film version I included in my previous post but Danny Kaye had the advantage of being the first to tell me the story and that, when I was still so young. He must have made an quite an impression, for me to search out the Little Match Seller once more all these years later.
Anyway if you or your kids might be interested in listening to some old stories told the old fashioned way, here is the link to the web page.
http://www.artsreformation.com/records/
(The record containing The Little Match Girl that I downloaded is "GLP 74")
Finally, to close, may I just quote another great old story teller and say, "now you know...(dramatic pause)...the rest of the story."
(Um, yeah, that's Paul Harvey)
I didn't really have much hope but thought that just for fun I would try to find any evidence of such a record on the internet. I googled "little match girl danny kaye" and the very first hit led me to a web page with a long list of old children's story records including the one I was looking for. The record containing HCA's stories narrated by Danny Kaye did include TLMG plus a few others that seemed to ignite recollection in my head so I'm sure it was the one I had heard long ago, and here it is.
The page also includes downloadable mp3 files of the records so of course I did just that and upon listening to Danny Kaye tell the story of The Little match Girl I am now sure that it was the very same recording that left such a big impression on me all those years ago.
If you would like to hear it for yourself you can listen to it right here.
I must admit that now I prefer the silent animated film version I included in my previous post but Danny Kaye had the advantage of being the first to tell me the story and that, when I was still so young. He must have made an quite an impression, for me to search out the Little Match Seller once more all these years later.
Anyway if you or your kids might be interested in listening to some old stories told the old fashioned way, here is the link to the web page.
http://www.artsreformation.com/records/
(The record containing The Little Match Girl that I downloaded is "GLP 74")
Finally, to close, may I just quote another great old story teller and say, "now you know...(dramatic pause)...the rest of the story."
(Um, yeah, that's Paul Harvey)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Little Match Girl
Do you remember the story of The Little Match Girl - by Hans Christian Andersen? Of course you do. Maybe not every detail but you do remember the general plot right?
For some reason I got to thinking about her tonight and decided to see what I could find on the YouTube. I found this version done by Disney which is surprisingly (‘cause it’s Disney) faithful to the original story and still contains the saddest parts and has absolutely NO talking animals in it. I wish I’d have come across this a few weeks ago when it would have been a bit more timely. Even so, it’s such a wonderful telling of a sad but beautiful story.
Here is a link to the text version of the story in case you want to refresh your memory before you watch this “silent animated film” version. (The story is shown accompanied by some perfect music but there is no talking in it.) I hope you will take a couple of minutes to read the story once now. I think it will help you get the most out of the film version.
http://www.online-literature.com/hans_christian_andersen/981/
And now for Disney's "The Little Match Girl".
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The Little Match Girl, poor, abused, and unloved. We witness the final moments of her life when, although literally freezing, she is too afraid to go home having been unsuccessful in selling any of her nearly worthless matches. At first she resists the urge to use any of the matches for herself but she finally gives in and, as she slowly freezes to death, we are shown her desperate wishes for only the most basic human needs of shelter, food and love. Things we so often take for granted. Has there ever been anything sadder? Finally her grandmother, the only person who had loved her, comes to take her away from all the pain and the last thing we see is a shooting star, which as the Little Match Girl knew, having been told by her grandmother, meant a soul had ascended to God.
The contrast in the heart breaking yet somehow happy ending is something long lost in modern children’s stories I think.
I’m not sure why I made a post about this. I guess it’s not so much for you this time as it is for me. I was just so happy to discover this little gem and to be reminded to be grateful for all I have, especially on a cold winter night; happy to remind myself to keep an eye out for the Little Match Girls out there and when I encounter one to be sure and buy every one of her matches and then some.
P.S. I also found out that this very same video is included on disc 2 of the two disc version of The Little Mermaid (another Hans C. Andersen story) DVD in the bonus features. So if you happen to have the DVD, it of course looks much better.
For some reason I got to thinking about her tonight and decided to see what I could find on the YouTube. I found this version done by Disney which is surprisingly (‘cause it’s Disney) faithful to the original story and still contains the saddest parts and has absolutely NO talking animals in it. I wish I’d have come across this a few weeks ago when it would have been a bit more timely. Even so, it’s such a wonderful telling of a sad but beautiful story.
Here is a link to the text version of the story in case you want to refresh your memory before you watch this “silent animated film” version. (The story is shown accompanied by some perfect music but there is no talking in it.) I hope you will take a couple of minutes to read the story once now. I think it will help you get the most out of the film version.
http://www.online-literature.com/hans_christian_andersen/981/
And now for Disney's "The Little Match Girl".
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The Little Match Girl, poor, abused, and unloved. We witness the final moments of her life when, although literally freezing, she is too afraid to go home having been unsuccessful in selling any of her nearly worthless matches. At first she resists the urge to use any of the matches for herself but she finally gives in and, as she slowly freezes to death, we are shown her desperate wishes for only the most basic human needs of shelter, food and love. Things we so often take for granted. Has there ever been anything sadder? Finally her grandmother, the only person who had loved her, comes to take her away from all the pain and the last thing we see is a shooting star, which as the Little Match Girl knew, having been told by her grandmother, meant a soul had ascended to God.
The contrast in the heart breaking yet somehow happy ending is something long lost in modern children’s stories I think.
I’m not sure why I made a post about this. I guess it’s not so much for you this time as it is for me. I was just so happy to discover this little gem and to be reminded to be grateful for all I have, especially on a cold winter night; happy to remind myself to keep an eye out for the Little Match Girls out there and when I encounter one to be sure and buy every one of her matches and then some.
P.S. I also found out that this very same video is included on disc 2 of the two disc version of The Little Mermaid (another Hans C. Andersen story) DVD in the bonus features. So if you happen to have the DVD, it of course looks much better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)