tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48628352933144041152024-03-14T02:10:39.910-07:00What?This is my blogger blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger490125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-55561514073960123462018-12-23T20:06:00.002-08:002018-12-23T20:06:47.328-08:001952: An American in Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/An_American_in_Paris_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="249" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/An_American_in_Paris_poster.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
This is another movie that I watched first when I made my way through the AFI Top 100 films. At the time, I wrote that I was unimpressed. I still feel the same way.<br />
<br />
I have the disadvantage of having watched <i>Singin' in the Rain</i> before <i>An American in Paris</i>. <i>Singin'</i> came out a year after <i>American</i>. That's my problem. There were very few moments watching this that I wasn't thinking about and wishing I were rather watching <i>Singin'</i>. <br />
<br />
Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan is great (he plays himself, so yeah. I mean more of his singing and dancing). The music is great (you can't beat Gershwin). As so many musicals are, the musical numbers are the tiles and everything else is the grout keeping the musical numbers together. I didn't enjoy watching the grout. I liked the grout in <i>Singin' in the Rain</i>.<br />
<br />
I got a bit excited to watching this movie during the opening scene. It's excellent. I noticed (with no surprise) in the opening credits that Gene Kelly was the choreographer. The opening scene is of him getting out of bed in a room that barely fits the bed. He puts the bed away and gets out everything else. It's a well choreographed and beautiful scene, even though it isn't a dance number. Every move works with every line of dialogue. There isn't anything else like it in the movie, however.<br />
<br />
The closest is when Mulligan's fellow expat starving artist, pianist Adam Cook, is sitting between Mulligan and another man talking about the girls they are seeing. The only one who knows it's the same girl is Cook. Cook's "choreography" as he takes in the scene is a lot of fun. The scene is at around 1:18 if you have it and want to take a look.<br />
<br />
I also liked this line, spoken by Grant about American students studying in Paris. "They're always making profound observations they've overheard."<br />
<br />
There are many things to like. You could probably edit this movie down to a good, solid 20 minutes. That 20 puts it above a bunch of other movies. The other hour and 20 minutes puts it below the rest. I'm going to spend a week in Paris this summer. I enjoyed watching the
different views of Paris, and that includes the surreal version during
the closing number, though it goes on 15 minutes too long (it's about 17
minutes). I guess that's how I made it through the rest of the movie. It's pretty?<br />
<br />
I thought it was interesting that the opening credits that they give credit to "Gene Kelley's painting's by Gene Grant." Shouldn't they have given credit to his character? Aren't they Jerry Mulligan's paintings?<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1953 - <i>The Greatest Show on Earth</i><br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b> <br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>Gentleman's Agreement (1948) </li>
<li>
The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)</li>
<li>All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>All About Eve (1951) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>Hamlet (1949) </li>
<li><b>An American in Paris (1953)</b></li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>All the King's Men (1950) </li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>The Lost Weekend (1946) </li>
<li>Going My Way (1945) </li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-72647837958361072462018-12-08T09:11:00.001-08:002018-12-08T09:14:00.089-08:00Sorry, Music. It Was Me, Not You.I've recently had a few different conversations with people about music. One of the things I've slowly realized is that I've lost touch with music. I haven't gone out of my way to look for new music. In the car, I listen to podcasts instead of music. At home when I want background noise, I listen to Netflix instead of music.<br />
<br />
One of these conversations involved creating a playlist for work about popular songs of the summer. Of the ten or so songs considered, I barely recognized one or two of them. <br />
<br />
I wasn't happy with myself with this realization. I used to love music. I have a freakin' music degree. I used to pride myself in enjoying such a wide variety of music. I used to make mix tapes and CDs and knew every song backwards and forwards.<br />
<br />
The thing is, I don't think I'm alone in this. That's because I used to get music recommendations, either directly or indirectly, from people I knew. I haven't in quite a while.<br />
<br />
Three things happened recently that got me to take some action and change that. First, I was having a conversation with someone about the realization. She mentioned that I shouldn't worry about it, because if I really cared I would do something about it. It's the same thing I've told others, especially students, about many things. It hit home<br />
<br />
I was next invited by our evil overlords, Amazon, to subscribe to Amazon Music. Three months for $.99. I went for it. Every song ever for a buck. It's $7.99 a month after that, but I can unsubscribe after that. This ends the advertising portion of the blog post.<br />
<br />
The third was that I found my set of mix tapes that I made the summer before heading down to SDSU. I made them for the drive. I had this six set of cassettes, called "Plethora of Music" (each one numbered), in my car for the next five or so years until I paid too much money to have a CD player installed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2014/8/17/d/e/9/de95c5c4-25ff-11e4-86ac-0e395a692e18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="700" height="202" src="https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2014/8/17/d/e/9/de95c5c4-25ff-11e4-86ac-0e395a692e18.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
I have no way to listen to the tapes, and I was in the middle of a major purge of almost all of my stuff in my house when I originally found them. I held on to the liners, which listed all of the songs in order. When I first got the music subscription, the first playlists I made of were those tapes.<br />
<br />
The first listen through, I knew exactly which song was next. In many cases, I remembered that I had filled the last couple minutes of each side of the cassette (those under the age of thirty, your parents can tell you what that meant) with movie soundtracks. I knew exactly where they cut off, too. One weakness of Amazon Music is its Soundtrack collection. They have all of the Jurassic Parks except for the original. Why?<br />
<br />
For the first time in a long time, I sat down and just listened to music. It wasn't just background music. I was actively listening to it while doing nothing else.<br />
<br />
These tapes were very heavy with Van Halen, Billy Joel, and the Beatles, so that can give you an indication of what I was listening to in my high school years. I hadn't listened to two of the three of those in quite some time, so it was fun to hear.<br />
<br />
There were lots of songs that I was really happy to hear for the first time in a long time. There were also a few songs that I chose to delete from the playlist. They were bad. Really bad. So they're gone.<br />
<br />
I'm going to try to make an effort to seek out new music. I'm going to play music in the background instead of listening to another run-through of The Office. In my car, I'm going to continue to listen to podcasts. I have quite a long playlist right now, and I enjoy those a lot. With a relatively short twenty to twenty-five minute commute, that list only gets longer and longer. So that won't change. But at home, especially the upcoming winter break, I'm going to listen to music<br />
<br />
This morning, I actively looked for a playlist of Grammy nominated songs, which I'm listening to right now. Most of the songs so far? I don't like them. And I recognize almost nothing. But I look forward to listening to them again to see why I don't, or to see if anything sticks.<br />
<br />
I think I might make a future post blogging about some of these songs. That might force me to think about the music more actively, much like my very slow <a href="https://www.scottcharris.com/search/label/Oscar%20Project">Oscar Project</a> makes me watch those movies in a different way.<br />
<br />
If you've read this far, throw me some modern music suggestions in the comments. It's easy to find the top hits, so something more obscure would be especially welcome, but I'll even take the popular stuff that I don't know, too. <br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-19393202544954847142018-10-16T18:35:00.000-07:002018-10-16T18:35:38.062-07:001951: All About Eve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/AllAboutEve.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/AllAboutEve.jpeg" width="210" /></a></div>
You would think that I would be inclined to want to like a movie more
that has a Civil War joke 11 minutes in. But there are some things that
bug me about it. I really want to dislike <i>All About Eve</i>. But it's a really good movie.<br />
<br />
So what don't I like? <i>All About Eve</i> is more about Broadway in 1951, but can be said about Hollywood today. They really love themselves. Just a few minutes into the movie, a room of about 50 people in the industry give a three minute long standing ovation to a young actress for previous accomplishments. It's just weird, and why I don't enjoy watching awards shows. I just don't like the entertainer circle jerk.<br />
<br />
We're also in the height of overacting. I've seen the slow transition from silent movies up to here. Previous Oscar winners had a lot of that radio voice style of acting. They've been slowly building up to this melodramatic style. Every single line everyone says is said as if it's the line that explains the title. And with a movie about acting, All About Eve punches you in the face with it.<br />
<br />
Funny note - this is what I wrote about it when I first saw it many years ago: "Is an extremely well acted movie which should be obvious to just that anybody that watches it, even a fool like me." I was a fool. Overacting bugs me. <br />
<br />
And finally, the theme. The first four notes are basically Tara's theme from <i>Gone With the Wind</i>.<br />
<br />
What's good? Everything else. It's a great script. The best line, I think, is Marilyn Monroe's line right after the "Fasten your seat belts" line:<br />
<br />
"You won't bore him, honey. You won't even get a chance to talk."<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1952 - <i>An American in Paris</i><br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>Gentleman's Agreement (1948) </li>
<li>
The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)</li>
<li>All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li><b>All About Eve (1951) </b></li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>Hamlet (1949) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>All the King's Men (1950) </li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>The Lost Weekend (1946) </li>
<li>Going My Way (1945) </li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-68429833638655100812018-06-03T22:29:00.001-07:002018-10-16T18:34:42.533-07:001950: All the King's Men<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b3/All_the_King's_Men_(1949_movie_poster).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="228" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b3/All_the_King's_Men_(1949_movie_poster).jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<i>All the King's Men</i> is about corruption in both people and politics. The message is a bit the same as in <i>House of Cards</i> in that everyone is bad or has the strong potential for bad except for "the people." And it trying to appease "the people," anything goes.<br />
<br />
That means that there isn't anybody to really cheer for. At the beginning, we see Willie Stark as the underdog. But once he gets to power he is corrupted. It's an abrupt change like a WWE heel turn.<br />
<br />
Abrupt change was the theme I saw through the movie, but I also don't feel like that was the intention. There were several events that seemed pretty important that were glossed over. Characters changed. Events happened behind the scenes. To me, it seemed more like a pacing issue.<br />
<br />
<i>All The King's Men</i> clocked in at a welcome 1:47. But it felt like a 2:30 movie in which a bunch of important scenes were cut out. I don't know enough about cinema in this time period to know if it was common to have many cut scenes, so I just don't know if that was why it was that way. Or perhaps they figured enough people knew the story due to the novel? I don't know.<br />
<br />
This was OK. I appreciate the likely historical context of <i>All the King's Men</i> and how it laid the groundwork for similar political films. But other than that, it was OK. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1951 - <i>All About Eve</i><br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b> <br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>Gentleman's Agreement (1948) </li>
<li>
The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)</li>
<li>All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>Hamlet (1949) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li><b>All the King's Men (1950) </b></li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>The Lost Weekend (1946) </li>
<li>Going My Way (1945) </li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-90337007234276713722018-05-27T21:28:00.002-07:002018-05-27T21:28:51.742-07:001949: Hamlet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Amleto48-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="271" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Amleto48-01.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
Let's get the obvious joke out of the way. This scriptwriter is going places.<br />
<br />
I was in Hamlet in sixth grade. It was, of course, an abridged version. But it still had all of the greatest hits attached to it. I played Polonius. We also read it in Senior year. While this doesn't make me an expert on the play, I understood what was going on in the movie well enough.<br />
<br />
Before watching, I was very curious as to why <i>Hamlet</i> would win Best Picture. Was there going to be something new that Sir Laurence Olivier (I didn't ask him about a camera) would bring to cinema? Not that I could tell. Was there a new slant on the play? No. If anything, he cut it down to a more reasonable two and a half hours, but that doesn't scream Oscar.<br />
<br />
If anything, I thought a couple things were rather strange. The soundtrack didn't always match what was on screen. This was especially true in a few scenes that didn't have any soundtrack. And then there were a few shots that had me scratching my head. The one that stood out the most was a shot which pans up from Ophelia lying on the steps all the way up and out of the castle to the sky then returning down and into the back of Hamlet's head.<br />
<br />
I guess that answer as to why this won the Oscar is simple enough. It's a good story and it's well acted. Of the other movies nominated, the only one I know is <i>The Treasure of the Sierra Madre</i>. That's a really fun movie that I would have enjoyed watching again and writing about here. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1950 - All the Kings Men<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b> <br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>Gentleman's Agreement (1948) </li>
<li>
The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)</li>
<li>All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li><b>Hamlet (1949) </b></li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>The Lost Weekend (1946) </li>
<li>Going My Way (1945) </li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-78291476090925076332017-09-02T20:42:00.005-07:002018-05-27T21:18:47.553-07:001948: Gentleman's Agreement<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Gentleman's_Agreement_(1947_movie_poster).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="228" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Gentleman's_Agreement_(1947_movie_poster).jpg" title="" width="209" /></a>I needed to watch this. You need to watch this. We all need to watch this.<br />
<br />
<i>Gentleman's Agreement</i> is about a journalist who goes undercover as a Jew to investigate anti-semitism in post World War II New York City. <br />
<br />
Let me quickly mention that it's a really good movie. Gregory Peck is great. Philip Schuyler Green is a different character than Atticus Finch, which is all I really knew about him before this movie. But the different characters have the same moral compass. I was expecting to write more about that and about director Elia Kazan and his role in the McCarthy hearings. But as good as the movie is (take a look at where I ranked it at the end), it's the overall theme that is so important.<br />
<br />
I kept thinking about how watching <i>Gentleman's Agreement</i> so soon after Charlottesville and the national discussion involved serendipitous timing for me. It's so relevant. But then, and perhaps it was the history teacher in me, I realized that it didn't matter that I saw it now. It was timely when it came out, of course. It was timely in the 1960s. It will be timely today, was yesterday, and will be for far too long.<br />
<br />
After watching the previous Oscar movies, I had expectations going into the movie (my prejudice?). I knew as much as my second paragraph above and nothing more. I had an image in my head of what this movie was going to be. They were going to call out the people who use anti-semitic words, don't hire Jews, and every other big stereotype. And they do. But they also call out those who sit back and allow it to happen.<br />
<br />
One of the characters talks about sitting and listening to someone tell a joke filled with racist jokes. She describes how angry she was. She describes how hurt she felt. She states that she and several others felt uncomfortable. The response from the other character, who is Jewish, was simply "What did you DO?" That's all he keeps repeating. It works and gets the point across in the movie, but one that still hasn't spread.<br />
<br />
Yes, you can absolutely watch this and replace "Jewish" with "Muslim," "immigrant," "black," "gay," or any other term that you are glad you aren't. <i>Gentelman's Agreement</i> discusses, though doesn't use the exact phrase, Christian Privilege. The same arguments work for White Privilege. If you are white, have heard the phrase white privilege, and still believe you don't have it, or just still don't understand it, this movie might be a good way for you to still figure it out and let it sink in.<br />
<br />
If you're still supporting 45 even after his difficulty in condemning Nazis and those sheetheads, the KKK, and people are calling you racist even though you're only supporting him because of the economy, this movie might be too much for you. That's because you're wrong. You're on the wrong side of history. Your Facebook posts are Hazel Bryan's face.<br />
<br />
But I did use the word "might." Hazel changed. Orange Julius Caesar still has plenty of time to do irreparable damage to the nation and to <b>your</b> place in history. you're wrong and you're running out of time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1949 - Hamlet<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b> <br />
<br />
<ol><a href="http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2011/10/111011_CB_margolick_EX.jpg.CROP.promovar-mediumlarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="590" height="212" src="https://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2011/10/111011_CB_margolick_EX.jpg.CROP.promovar-mediumlarge.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li><b>Gentleman's Agreement (1948) </b></li>
<li>
The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)</li>
<li>All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>The Lost Weekend (1946) </li>
<li>Going My Way (1945) </li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-75389331404130590362017-07-01T17:45:00.002-07:002017-07-02T10:12:17.883-07:001947: The Best Years of Our Lives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/The_Best_Years_of_Our_Lives_film_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/The_Best_Years_of_Our_Lives_film_poster.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<i>The Best Years of Our Lives</i> was number 37 on the AFI 100 Years... 100 Movies list, so I first watched it while going through that list. Watching those movies was one of my inspirations for starting this Oscar Project. I was introdu<i>ced to a lot of great movies that I hadn't seen before, such as The Best Years of Our Lives</i>. I was hoping for the same with this project, though most of the movies I've enjoyed I had already seen.<br />
<br />
<i>The Best Years of Our Lives</i> starts off with a literal emotional hook that maintains through the movie. To me, that's what makes this movie work. The emotions. It never goes over the top with them.<br />
<br />
The events that happen affect the characters and their lives. They feel happy. They feel sad. They feel angry. Excited. Love. Hate. And the situations change their lives. But nothing is ever a tragic life or death situation. Nobody is going through an emotional breakdown because of what they experience. Instead of an emotional roller coaster, it feels... like real life. And that's so appropriate because these guys had been facing real life or death situations in World War II.<br />
<br />
Of course, many great works of art are all about taking emotions to the extreme. That's what we often love about movies and books and TV shows. We often see that in slice of life type films, and sometimes it works. <i>The Best Years of Our Lives</i> isn't a slice of life movie. It isn't extreme. But it works. <br />
<br />
Does it still hold up today? Some of the acting still feels very old fashioned and it's a bit too long. I think these two things might stop a younger audience from trying to like it. I believe it holds up much better than most of the movies I've watched in this project.<br />
<br />
When I first watched this back in 2001 for the AFI list, I wrote that I planned to watch this again soon. I'm sorry it has taken me almost sixteen years to get to it, and I hope it won't be another sixteen.<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1948 - Gentleman's Agreement<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b> <br />
<ol>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>
<b>The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)</b></li>
<li>All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>The Lost Weekend (1946) </li>
<li>Going My Way (1945) </li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-72085766314966530432017-06-18T19:31:00.003-07:002017-06-18T19:31:48.515-07:001946: The Lost Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/The_Lost_Weekend_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/The_Lost_Weekend_poster.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
I'm starting to write this by looking at the list at the bottom. When this started, there were several movies that I had to sit through that drove me insane. I was really looking forward to watching Grand Hotel and Cimarron weigh down the bottom of the list. After eighteen movies, they really shouldn't remain in the top ten, and only a few places above Gone With the Wind. It looks like so many of the classic movies of the forties didn't win the Oscar.<br />
<br />
So what was good about The Lost Weekend? It shows the dark side of alcohol (until the last two minutes, that is) and more of a reality of alcoholism. Perhaps it was one of the first to really do so.<br />
<br />
A bartender has a pretty good line in speaking about a shot of whiskey. "One's too many and a hundred's not enough."<br />
<br />
The best part is when the main character, Don, gets caught stealing a purse, he gets kicked out of the bar. The piano man at the bar starts to sing, "Somebody stole a purse... everybody!" and then the rest of the bar sings along as he gets kicked out. That was pretty good. I think we're probably getting pretty close to the having the technology to have similar scarlet songs follow around criminals<br />
<br />
But I didn't care for Ray Milland. The Wikipedia article on The Lost Weekend states that "The film was intended to have no musical score, but preview audiences
laughed at what they considered Milland's overwrought performance." As far as I'm concerned, the score didn't cover his Oscar winning performance enough.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1947 - The Best Years of Our Lives<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>
All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li><b>The Lost Weekend (1946)</b> </li>
<li>Going My Way (1945) </li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-32568030192684848062017-06-10T23:25:00.003-07:002017-06-18T19:17:54.457-07:001945: Going My Way<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ad/GoingmywayBing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ad/GoingmywayBing.jpg" title="" width="207" /></a></div>
It's a... nice movie. But it's not particularly interesting.<br />
<br />
The first thirty minutes were not great. I had to stop to take a nap so that my nap wouldn't be during the next thirty minutes. But it got a bit better from there.<br />
<br />
This movie is about a Catholic priest. One of the subplots is about him working with a bunch of boys as he turns them into a choir. It was all innocent, and I'm sure that viewers in 1944 thought nothing of it. But watching it in 2017, especially after the Oscar winner from a few years ago, <i>Spotlight</i>, there were some bits that are a bit cringeworthy.<br />
<br />
Another of the subplots, one that ties in with the boys later, involves Father O'Malley's music. O'Malley, played by Bing Crosby, is a song writer. <i>Going My Way</i> isn't just the name of the movie but it's the name of the song he wants to sell. The funny thing is that it isn't that great of a song. In fact, that's acknowledged in the movie with the music publishers not thinking much of it either. But it's featured twice and the movie is named after it. But then he sings another of the songs O'Malley wrote, "Swinging on a Star." It's a much more fun song, and one that has survived. So since it's a better song, how about naming the movie after that one? And feature it twice instead of the other?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9CDs067081E/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9CDs067081E?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
One good thing about <i>Going My Way</i> is that it wasn't predictable. All throughout the movie I though I knew what was going to happen next and which direction the various subplots were headed. I was just about always wrong. So it's got that going for it, which is nice. I would have rather watched <i>Double Indemnity</i>, which was nominated. It looks like I'll get a film noir fix with the next movie.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1946 - The Lost Weekend<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
Casablanca (1944)<b><br /></b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>
All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li><b>Going My Way (1945) </b></li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-25296985040987492402017-05-29T15:02:00.004-07:002017-06-10T23:08:08.222-07:001944: Casablanca<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/CasablancaPoster-Gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="515" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/CasablancaPoster-Gold.jpg" style="cursor: url("chrome://thumbnailzoomplus/skin/images/tzp-cursor.gif"), crosshair;" width="218" /></a></div>
I've seen <i>Casablanca</i> several times. My favorite viewing was at the Paramount Theater in Oakland a few years back. Watching it with an audience made me realize what a funny movie it is. I think that every line by Claude Rains as Captain Renault is absolutely perfect in an economy of words and delivery.<br />
<br />
Looking through the list of Oscar movies I still need to watch, there will be very few contenders for the top spot after <i>Casablanca</i>. Clearly, my delay in getting to this movie had nothing to do with dread in watching it. In fact, I just watched it and I could happily pop it in again right, perhaps with one of the commentaries (Ebert's is excellent). No, I just forgot about this project for awhile.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1945 - Going My Way<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
<b>Casablanca (1944)</b></li>
<li>It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>
All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-1389484555027509372015-12-22T23:56:00.003-08:002017-06-10T23:08:36.122-07:001943: Mrs. Miniver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/Mrs_Miniver_poster.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/Mrs_Miniver_poster.gif" width="207" /></a></div>
If you read my write up of <i>Rebecca</i>, you may recall that I was not looking forward to 1941-1943. <i>Rebecca </i>ended up being a pleasant surprise. <i>How Green Was My Valley</i> ended up being what I expected. So Mrs. Miniver was the tie-breaker.<br />
<br />
I saw a brief summary stating that it was about the beginning of World War II in England. And for a movie to win the award well over a year before D-Day, perhaps it would give an interesting perspective on the war. Was there a chance that I could be wrong again? Is there a chance that Mrs. Miniver could win me over?<br />
<br />
Nope. <br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1944 - Casablanca<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>
All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li><b>Mrs. Miniver (1943)</b></li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-13709994422341736702015-12-13T20:33:00.003-08:002017-06-10T23:09:00.835-07:001942: How Green Was My Valley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/How_Green_Was_My_Valley_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/How_Green_Was_My_Valley_poster.jpg" title="" width="209" /></a></div>
I'm not sure how much I have to say about <i>How Green Was My Valley</i>. It's the story of a family. The family has a few different stories. Any one of those stories could have been fleshed out into interesting stories. Instead, we smaller, less interesting stories that are all tied together.<br />
<br />
In summary, it's not my kind of movie.<br />
<br />
So this is one of those years in which you have to take a look at the competition. The 1942 awards are viewed much like the 1999 awards. The wrong movie won. Looking back, <i>Saving Private Ryan</i> absolutely should have won the award instead of <i>Shakespeare in Love</i>. Looking back, <i>Citizen Kane </i>absolutely should have won the award instead of <i>How Green Was My Valley</i>.<br />
<br />
I guess I'll throw a quick shout out to my favorite part of the movie. When young Roddy McDowell goes to school, he needs a boxer to teach him to fight. They call on Dai Bando to teach him. It's probably just my favorite part because this week is leading up to <i>The Force Awakens</i>. Dai Bando sounds like an old Jedi Master name.<br />
<br />
Unlike the pleasant surprise of <i>Rebecca</i> last week, I doubt I'll return to this valley. <br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1943 - Mrs. Miniver<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>
All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li>Rebecca (1941) </li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li><b>How Green Was My Valley (1942)</b></li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-50120526092608258042015-12-06T21:58:00.000-08:002015-12-06T21:58:12.235-08:001941: Rebecca<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Rebecca_1940_film_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Rebecca_1940_film_poster.jpg" title="" width="214" /></a></div>
"Are you fond of dancing?"<br />
"I love it, but I'm not very good at it."<br />
"Do you Rhumba?"<br />
"I've never tried."<br />
"You must teach me."<br />
<br />
That particular exchange is part of a very nicely written dinner conversation that I rather enjoyed in <i>Rebecca</i>. It was the first thing that I really liked about the movie. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen until almost 45 minutes into the movie. <br />
<br />
<i>Rebecca</i> is the first in a stretch of three movies that I really wasn't looking forward to when I started the project. I noticed that <i>Gone With the Wind</i> was right before them, and they looked like movies that would be in a similar to that. For me, at least<i> GWTW</i> has its history tie in. But all three felt very Wuthering Heights-like to me - classics, but definitely not meant for me.<br />
<br />
I must admit that I knew very little other than the title. It's about a woman named Rebecca. OK. I also had seen the poster, which is shown above. Apparently this Rebecca woman is in love with Sir Laurence Olivier. So... boring?<br />
<br />
Speaking of Olivier, I also wasn't too familiar with him. I have certainly heard of him. If I met him, I would know to ask him about a camera. I also knew he was well known for his legendary Shakespearean acting. In fact, I'll see his <i>Hamlet</i> as it was the 1949 Oscar winner. The only think I had actually seen of him was his role as Zeus in Clash of the Titans. I learned from him to find and fulfill my destiny. But it's a relatively small role. <br />
<br />
There was one thing, however, that stood out about <i>Rebecca</i>. With overwhelming evidence pointing me toward not enjoying the movie, there was one hint that I could be wrong. There is another name on that poster that I recognize. The director. Alfred Hitchcock. That has to be worth something, right?<br />
<br />
Right at the beginning of the movie, we get a could hints of Hitchcock. We walk through a spooky gate toward a spooky, dilapidated mansion. And in the next scene, Olivier is looking down a cliff in a shot that has an immediate sense of suspense. The shot also visually foreshadows <i>Vertigo</i>.<br />
<br />
But then the movie slowed down. It felt mostly as simple as a whirlwind romance in the French Riviera can. Great for those involved, but not so exciting to watch. Since <i>Gone with the Wind</i>, was the previous movie on the list, I had just skimmed my write up that. It was bringing up memories of that. I'm not sure if I made it clear or not in that writeup, , but GWTW is SO DAMNED LONG. I was worried that this was going to feel like a repeat.<br />
<br />
I did get to learn early on that the woman in the poster isn't Rebecca. Rebecca is the dead wife of Olivier's Maxim de Winter. So I guess that's actually her in the lower left. The woman played by Joan Fontaine is the new Mrs. de Winter. And I call her that because that's the only name given to her in the movie. This decision is clearly to emphasize that the movie is about the new Mrs. de Winter trying to live up to former and deceased Mrs. de Winter. Other than the exchange that I started with, I didn't love too much about that particular idea. Luckily for me, that's only what the first half of the movie is about.<br />
<br />
In my write up of <i>Grand Hotel</i>, I noted that I wanted to avoid spoilers. It seems silly that I needed to do so for a movie that is 83 years old. With Rebecca now 75 years old, I wonder if I need to do the same. If so, if you're planning to watch it yourself, you should probably skip the rest of it. Just note that I really, really liked the rest of the movie, and it made everything about the first half work. Even though I'm not going to spoil exactly what happens, just know the basic idea of the second half ahead of time could make it less interesting.<br />
<br />
That was your warning. <i>Rebecca</i> is actually a thriller. What really happened to Rebecca? How did she really die? Who was responsible? Who knew? What did they know? What did they<i> think</i> they knew? The costume ball scene looks like it's going to take you even further in the direction you thought you were going in. It looks like the comparison and competition between the new and old Mrs. de Winter will come to a head. It instead leads us to the heart of the mystery. You discover that the suspense has been building the whole time, but not to what you thought it would. <br />
<br />
This is truly laying the foundation for later Hitchcock films. I already mentioned <i>Vertigo</i>, and you will also get a feel for Norman Bates in <i>Psycho</i> whenever the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, is on the screen. And that goes double for her final scene. Watching <i>Rebecca</i> didn't just remind me to watch more Oscar winning movies. It reminded me to watch more Hitchcock. <br />
<br />
If you want to appreciate the beauty of black and white movies, look at the interior scenes. The exterior scenes often look like bad green screen, as the backgrounds are not often lit as well as they could. But the interiors are great. I watched this in a rip from a DVD. I would like to watch the remastered Blu Ray version for my next viewing. I think more sharpness and clarity than what I already saw would be beautiful.<br />
<br />
And yes, I'll watch it again. I would like to rewatch the first half with the second half in mind. I want to be able to pay more attention to the dialogue. I want to look more carefully at the early scenes to see what hints of the second half I can find. I have a feeling that many of them will be in the acting of Laurence Olivier. So if you kept reading this far and spoiled a bit of the movie for yourself, don't feel too bad. <br />
<br />
<b>NEXT WEEK: </b>1942 - How Green Was My Valley<br />
<br />
<b>Oscar Project Rankings:</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>
It Happened One Night (1935)</li>
<li>
All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)</li>
<li><b>Rebecca (1941) </b></li>
<li>Mutiny on the Bounty (1936)</li>
<li>You Can't Take It With You (1939) </li>
<li>Gone With the Wind (1940) </li>
<li>The Life of Emile Zola (1938)</li>
<li>Grand Hotel (1933)</li>
<li>Cimarron (1932)</li>
<li>The Great Ziegfeld (1936)<b> </b></li>
<li>Broadway Melody (1930)</li>
<li>Wings (1929)</li>
<li>Cavalcade (1934)
</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-14000085959069799912015-06-20T22:53:00.002-07:002015-06-20T22:53:23.017-07:002015 Summer USA Road Trip Spectacular<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbppEYoyuM7Xb5MWRzVqjdQz0LTFbxClVv7x4EHKBLPAFqMfCPRqrVVLNetVA1Dfb1-Mw_LfcuatRa6JSMK5JsL-zp0NuctCP-SPB2Te_zG_INo9-1Njrg1Pnv_uinmpl3PJkId0_Rgg/s1600/image_map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbppEYoyuM7Xb5MWRzVqjdQz0LTFbxClVv7x4EHKBLPAFqMfCPRqrVVLNetVA1Dfb1-Mw_LfcuatRa6JSMK5JsL-zp0NuctCP-SPB2Te_zG_INo9-1Njrg1Pnv_uinmpl3PJkId0_Rgg/s320/image_map.gif" title=" " width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "rough" outline</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
Tomorrow morning, I'm on my way. The car is packed with everything I won't need tonight. It should take me about 15 minutes to get ready in the morning, then I'm out of here.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
The main idea of the trip is to get as far east as I can as quickly as I can. I'm going to hit a couple places in Texas that I haven't been to before, enjoy New Orleans once again, then Universal in Orlando. Next I'll head down to Miami for the week long cruise, my vacation from the vacation.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
After that, I'll make my way up the east coast, returning to Orlando for that other theme park. Continuing north, I'll hit a bunch of locations that would have been great to see while I was still teaching the eighth grade curriculum. I'll hit a few Civil War sites, some new and some repeat spots. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://comicsbulletin.com/main/sites/default/files/mondo/images/0908/TA040appendix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://comicsbulletin.com/main/sites/default/files/mondo/images/0908/TA040appendix.jpg" height="180" title=" " width="200" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I'll head back west in Pennsylvania, then take a detour up into Michigan to visit family and over Lake Michigan before starting the sprint back home on I-80. The whole thing is 41 or 42 days, depending on whether I stop the last night or barrel through. Streets and Trips has the mileage at just over 9,000 miles. I imagine that with detours and side trip that I'll go over 10,000, or at least get really close to it.I'll be in 23 states (though I probably won't actually step foot in neither Mississippi nor South Carolina), Washington, D.C., and four ports in the Caribbean. I'll get to four baseball parks, three new and one old favorite.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
The biggest problem I'll face with the recent surgery is on the first day. I'm driving almost 850 miles in one shot. That was planned before my body tried to kill me. And really, it would be tough even if I were healthy. Sitting for long periods is still a test. And to put this as nicely as I can, my bladder requires more immediate attention than normal (though it's been much better the past week). I'm expecting to have to stop more than I normally would, and I'll certainly be ready to stop for the night.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMSOEVAarvaCGTKoXdqaJm9jeK46EZfOFpyip5OYUSkcfSjYsd76zVpzxArHhhKnfolVXXSHmFOIbJEkpdB1XX6241gmszMd1qnYK14SY1OMy4pN3ClLjwBUeL5eouggCF3rem_MVimE/s1600/aaa+road+trip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMSOEVAarvaCGTKoXdqaJm9jeK46EZfOFpyip5OYUSkcfSjYsd76zVpzxArHhhKnfolVXXSHmFOIbJEkpdB1XX6241gmszMd1qnYK14SY1OMy4pN3ClLjwBUeL5eouggCF3rem_MVimE/s320/aaa+road+trip.jpg" title=" " width="320" /></a></div>
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A few days later, I'll test my walking. I'm probably walking at about 80 percent speed right now, but not for long distances. For me right now, a long distance is my car to the back of Safeway. New Orleans is a walking city, so I'm a bit worried about that. A few days later I'll be at Universal Studios in Orlando. That's going to be a lot of walking, and it will also be roller coasters and rides. I have no idea what that will be like.</div>
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Motel-6-logo.svg/120px-Motel-6-logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Motel-6-logo.svg/120px-Motel-6-logo.svg.png" title=" " /></a><br />
But other than all that, I'm excited for the trip. I'm going to a lot of really cool places, some new, some old. I hope to post something on here every few days, but not a daily update. Most importantly, I won't have WiFi access everywhere I go. Motel 6 is great and cheap, but they still charge for WiFi. I might play with the blogger app and text-to-speech to post a few things while I drive.</div>
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So I'll get some pictures up here, some descriptions and maybe stories, and some dash-cam video from any places that look cool. I hope you enjoy!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-9687023757556448632015-06-08T17:54:00.001-07:002015-06-08T17:57:26.045-07:002015 Summer Contest SpectacularWay back in 2004, I took a road trip across the US of A and back again. I held a contest. People guessed a few different parts of the trip. So for my upcoming 2015 road trip, I will hold the simplified, updated version. Welcome to the 2015 Summer Contest Spectacular.<br />
<br />
The rules are simple. Take a look at the map (click to embiggen). This is a basic, simplified version of the full plan. It does not include day trips. It does not include detours. It does not include going to dinner, to and from hotels, or any other driving. <br />
<br />
So here's the question: What will the total mileage be on my car from driveway to driveway? Your guess should, then, include detours, day trips, and everything else. I will use click tare the mileage int the driveway and go from there.<br />
<br />
Closest guess received a souvenir from my trip. All guesses must be in a comment on this blog (I'll post those I have received elsewhere on here before I depart. Deadline for entries - Friday, June 19, noon. I leave Sunday the 21st and return July 31ish. Good luck!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-90159055048336373652015-02-16T21:55:00.003-08:002015-02-16T21:55:37.145-08:00Edmund Randolph<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Whiplash_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Whiplash_poster.jpg" height="320" title=" " width="216" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Number 1 - Whiplash</b></i></span><br />
<br />
If you've heard me tell this story, just skip to the end.<br />
<br />
We begin in the fall of 1994 in San Diego, CA. I was in my first semester at San Diego State University as a double Music and Social Science major. Here's some quick background as to why I was a double major.<br />
<br />
Once I had finished the transfer process from DVC and been accepted into the music program at SDSU, I learned something about the program that hadn't been advertised. The program was designed to take four years. For everyone. Even if you transferred from somewhere else, you were going to spend four years working on the degree.<br />
<br />
The did this by combining most music classes together into one simple system of eight semester long classes that had to be taken sequentially. So you couldn't stack up theory or history or genre classes to take simultaneously. Pardon the pun, bu you could in theory test out of part of the sequence. But in reality, that never happened. <br />
<br />
So as I was looking toward the next four years in the program, I had to consider that I had already taken all of my lower division general ed courses at DVC. My schedule for those four years would be light. It was recommended that I use that time to take another degree. More importantly that filling the time, I would stand a much better chance of finding a teaching job that wasn't music.<br />
<br />
But still, I was looking at another four years of college. I had planned and worked hard at DVC to get out of there in exactly two years. Why? Because I wanted college to be a total of four, the way it's "supposed" to be done. So I was facing another four years. I guess I accepted it, but that was my first big problem with the music degree.<br />
<br />
I was never a really great musician. I excelled much more at learning a variety of instruments quickly instead of specializing in one. Still, I was good enough, and the music program required you to specialize in one. Today, I can still play pretty well. I can sightread if the key isn't too odd. But I'm never going to be a professional trombone player.<br />
<br />
That was never my goal. I wanted to teach. In the two years I had spent working with students, both high school and middle school, I had liked that much more than I even liked playing. I liked conducting the band much more than I liked playing. But in college, they wanted you to be really good. That was my second real problem with the music degree (though in this case I openly admit and accept that it's more of a problem that the music degree had with me).<br />
<br />
So now we enter the actual turn of events which will also finally bring us closer to something that resembles talking about a movie.<br />
<br />
At the end of each semester, each student went through juries. In your jury, you played a prepared piece before a panel of judges, made up of music department faculty. It's supposed to be a really big deal. Even though each class has its own final exam, this is the one that's even bigger than all of those combined. So of course, I prepared. I asked questions of what it would be like of at least a half a dozen people, including two faculty members. That last sentence will become important.<br />
<br />
Leading up to it, I also went through an entire debacle involving my piano accompanist for the piece, but that's a different story. <br />
<br />
So the day of the juries. I was as nervous as any other student. I knew the piece pretty well, but it was tough. This thing even jumped back and forth between bass and tenor clef (no, I don't mean treble). Trombone players barely read bass clef, right? <br />
<br />
The room we were in was a large classroom. For the other teachers, it's probably about twice as big as your average middle school/high school classroom. The piano and music stand are at one end, where I would play. The three judges were all the way at the other end sitting at tables. They spent most of their time looking down and writing. They rarely ever looked up, and I think I will indicate the only times they did. There were lights on me. The rest of the room was dark. <br />
<br />
So I made it through the piece. There were a couple rough spots where I didn't nail some runs as well as I could have. There were a couple weak notes. It wasn't the greatest thing the jury had ever heard. But I knew I had passed the jury as soon as I finished.<br />
<br />
They all wrote a few notes for a few seconds. They put their heads together and made some quick comments. Then one of them spoke up.<br />
<br />
"Ok. The scales." They all looked at me.<br />
<br />
I looked back. "Excuse me?"<br />
<br />
"Go ahead with the scales."<br />
<br />
I didn't know there would be scales.<br />
<br />
They looked at me in a way that told me that they understood that I didn't know there would be scales.<br />
<br />
"I didn't know there would be scales."<br />
<br />
You remember the part above when I asked several people, including faculty members? Yeah. None of them told me about the scales.<br />
<br />
Starting with an audible, forced sigh, one of them explained to me that in each round of juries, I would be required to play through a set of scales. The first semester was the twelve major scales. The rest would be different variations of minors and whatever. They, of course, concluded explaining it to me a little something like this:<br />
<br />
"This is something you should have known. As a student in this college, it's your responsibility to find out things like this. We wish you had taken the time to find out what was going to happen."<br />
<br />
Awesome.<br />
<br />
They continued to stare at me waiting for a response. <br />
<br />
While I wish I had answered with, "I did. I asked several people, including two faculty members, and nobody told me about the scales." I'm sure I answered with, "OK."<br />
<br />
Luckily, playing through the twelve major scales was no problem. I knew them well then. I'm 99% confident that I could still play through them quickly with 95% accuracy. Give me five minutes and I can raise that to 100% accuracy.<br />
<br />
I played through them.<br />
<br />
After I was finished, one of them said, "That was fine, but you don't need to rush through them. Take your time and hit each note exactly where it should be on the slide."<br />
<br />
This is where I'm sure I answered with, "OK." I wish I had answered with, "Is there anything else everyone neglected to tell me about? Any more hoops to jump through?"<br />
<br />
But that was it. They told me it was finished and that I passed. I would receive comments through my instructor later.<br />
<br />
Later on outside, I remember talking with a few people. Some of them were some of the people I had previously asked about the juries. "Oh yeah," they said. "It's just major scales," they said. <br />
<br />
While that moment sucked, it's not the final moment that I knew my music major career was over at SDSU. Over the next few months, there were several events that made it clear that this program wasn't for me. One in particular was the week that I busted my ass practicing more than ever before only to be met with the "It's time you start thinking about actually practicing" speech. That one sucked, but it wasn't it.<br />
<br />
So several things continued to mount up. But let's see if you can spot the moment when it became clear to me.<br />
<br />
Jump ahead to the end of my second semester. Time for juries again. Same three judges. They would evaluate me on what I played and progress.<br />
<br />
The piece I played was tough once again, but I had it down. There was a section that I remember well in six-eight with some rather fast triple tonging. I knew that would be trouble. I'm pretty sure it wasn't perfect, but it was fine.<br />
<br />
More than that, of course, I was ready for my scales. Natural minors. I knew them, literally, backwards and forwards. When I finished playing the piece, I announced, "And now my scales."<br />
<br />
They nodded in my direction. I began to play through my scales at a deliberate pace. As I completed my Bb and started on the Eb, one of them put up his hand. I stopped.<br />
<br />
Please take a moment to remember that you're reading this as a story I'm telling. You know there's a reason I'm telling you this. So you probably know what's coming. But I didn't know at the time that I was a character. I wasn't the writer of this story. If I had been, I would have gotten rid of this line because it sounds too ridiculous. But here it is. <br />
<br />
"Can you play through faster?"<br />
<br />
You knew that was coming. I didn't.<br />
<br />
He even game me a "move along" twirl with his fingers.<br />
<br />
In case you didn't recognize it, that was the moment.<br />
<br />
I started playing through even faster that I had played the majors five months earlier. He nodded.I finished in record time.<br />
<br />
"Thank you." That was their only comment. I left.<br />
<br />
I can't recall the specific timeframe of the next few months, but by the beginning of the next semester, I was a full time Social Science major with a music minor. And now I teach history.<br />
<br />
So what does that have to do with <i>Whiplash</i>? We were both music students in college. That's about it. The main character actually has talent. That's different.<br />
<br />
But watching it brought back a lot of what I just wrote about. That's the main reason it was pushed to the top of my list.<br />
<br />
But without that, I could still easily see it being in the top three. It's a great movie. J.K. Simmons is absolutely perfect and should win the Best Supporting Actor award this year.<br />
<br />
I mentioned when writing about my <a href="http://www.scottcharris.com/2015/01/william-pinkney.html">number seven film</a> about the reactions of audiences and how they can elevate the movie. There were scenes in which none of us in the audience made a sound. There was no talking. There was no popcorn crunching. There was barely any breathing. I noticed it because once those scenes moved on, there was popcorn crunching again.<br />
<br />
There are a couple ridiculous things that happen, especially a car crash scene. But I ignored it. To me, it was no more ridiculous than being told to play faster.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-47191023141560865102015-02-01T14:09:00.002-08:002017-07-02T10:18:14.572-07:00William Bradford<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/Birdman_poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/Birdman_poster.png" width="215" /></a><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Number 2 - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)</span></b></i><br />
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Partway down in this writeup, I'm going to suggest that if you haven't seen the movie that you stop reading there. It's not plot spoilers but movie style spoilers. It's a movie best discovered one scene, one frame at a time. You have been warned.<br />
<br />
This was the best movie of the year. It deserves to win the Oscar for all the right reasons. Yeah, I have one I liked a bit more, but <i>Birdman</i> was the best.<br />
<br />
It's a movie about acting and its incredibly well acted. All of the acting Oscar noms were well earned. I've heard the Ed Norton, who plays an asshole, is just playing himself. If that's the case, he does incredibly well. Emma Stone has always seemed to be talented, and her role here just proves it. And Michael Keaton would be a shoo in for the win most years. I think it's a great group of actors this year for so many different reasons, so it could go to any of the five.<br />
<br />
But Keaton has the whole package here. He has monologues that feel real. He works with the other actors is ways that make all of them look good. He has monologues that are scenes with himself... He does it all both on screen and on stage.<br />
<br />
Beyond that, there are many fantastic things to love about Birdman. This is the point in which if you haven't seen it yet, stop here. Go watch it. If you haven't watched it, I hope that's because you just haven't been to the theater in the past few months and not because you chose to watch Ouiji or The Boy Next Door or other such dreck. Stop supporting turds and.<br />
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I'm now assuming you've seen the movie. The scene transitions are absolutely brilliant. I always love a long take when its done well. Think Henry Hill going into the Copacabana in <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&v=OJEEVtqXdK8&x-yt-cl=85114404" title="">Goodfellas</a></i> or the hallway fight scene from<i> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85114404&v=eRBwvIX7Sao&x-yt-ts=1422579428" title="">Oldboy</a></i>. A recent excellent example that comes to mind is from<i> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_HuFuKiq8U" title="">True Detective</a>.</i><br />
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After watching <i>Birdman</i>, it's such a "duh" realization that each act in a play is one long take. So the most obvious way to portray a play in a movie is to use long takes. Duh.<br />
<br />
There's a moment a few minutes in to the first scene in which I started to ask myself if there had been any edits yet or if it was a long take. Michael Keaton was also acting this a boss in the scene, as he did through the whole movie. And then the location changed. It because obvious that they weren't just doing a single scene as a long take. That's when I really started to love the movie. It was in that moment of discovery that it all clicked into place. If you didn't see the movie but decided to read on, I just ruined that for you. Next time pay attention, asshole.<br />
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That brings me to two points before I finish. First, the soundtrack is fantastic. Yep, it's a drummer. Drumming. That's pretty much it. I absolutely loved how he was worked into the long takes. I absolutely remember him showing up at least once, but I'm vaguely thinking he showed up a couple more times. I might be making that up, and I think it would be even more special if it had been just once. For the feel of the movie, the percussion soundtrack was perfect.<br />
<br />
Second, how isn't this movie nominated for Best Film Editing? I can't think of a another movie EVER that I've walked out of and thought, "That movie deserves the Oscar for editing." This is the only one ever. And it probably will be. Ridiculous.<br />
<br />
I shouldn't have to tell you to go see it because you already saw it if you're reading this. You're probably still an asshole.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-15898904567045066712015-01-14T20:41:00.002-08:002015-01-14T20:41:31.228-08:00Charles Lee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Number 3 - Guardians of the Galaxy</i></b></span><br />
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This was on my radar since they first announced it a Comic-Con in 2012. The main reason? Rocket Raccoon. I remember the character from his four-issue mini series very soon after I started reading comics. What could make more of an impression on an eleven year old than a bad-ass, gun-toting raccoon?<br />
<br />
As Lancey Kisses has mentioned, and it's in <a href="http://lancecjohnson.blogspot.com/2014/08/guardians-of-galaxy-movie-review.html">his blog pos</a>t about <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, a lot of how the general public would perceive the whole movie rested on Rocket. He couldn't be silly. He couldn't be Howard the Duck or Jar Jar Binks. He's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g85U_MjrZY">f</a>unny, but as a smart-ass instead of a clown.<br />
<br />
I knew about Rocket, but I wasn't as familiar with the other characters. My personal trepidation was with Bautista as Drax. When I think wrestler in a comic book movie, the Bane of <i>Batman and Robin</i> immediately comes to mind. That's not an image anyone should have in their minds. But as it turns out, he's perfect, and he delivers some of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h27AcB70Mvc">b</a>est lines of the movie. <br />
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In addition to introducing the characters of the Guardians, they need to introduce the entire universe that exists outside of the other Marvel movies. There are plenty of cool new worlds and characters out there who could easily become part of the Avengers movies or would work well on their own. There are also plenty of other Guardians to look forward to in the sequels. I think Vance Astro/Major Victory would look pretty spectacular on the screen and also create the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bd/Vanceastro.jpg/250px-Vanceastro.jpg">perfect visual tie-in</a> to the Avengers.<br />
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But after all of that, the movie won me over in the first five minutes. I'm listening to Redbone's Come and Get Your Love as I write this paragraph. The opening <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCu39Hrw7mk">s</a>cene will always be zapped into my head when I hear that song. Chris Pratt is pretty damned good throughout the movie, but his dancing to this song is a magic moment in the movie. He spins, he stomps, he plays in puddles, he uses an alien as a microphone, and it's all a brilliant introduction to a character that I look forward to seeing in the sequels and probably another movie or two.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-90643197421400473432015-01-12T23:00:00.001-08:002017-07-02T10:19:14.653-07:00Levi Lincoln, Sr.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Number 4 - The Imitation Game</b></i></span><br />
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The poster to the left features a quote at the top that summarizes it for me. "Benedict Cumberbatch is outstanding." Yeah. He is. And he's different from so many other roles he's played. This isn't Sherlock Holmes with a stutter. This isn't nice Khan. This isn't Smaug as a gay genius. Cumberbatch becomes Alan Turing in this movie.<br />
<br />
There were some pretty amazing performances this year, and I look forward to the Best Actor noms coming out later this week. Even through Steve Carell, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eddie Redmayne, and David Oyelowo were all amazing (and those should be your five nominations), I think this is the better movie.<br />
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If I have one complaint about <i>The Imitation Game</i> for me it's that I would have liked to have seen more of the Enigma cracking. I wanted a crack at the puzzle. Most of that work is done on unseen papers and other gadgets. But I might be too nerdy for the general audiences.<br />
<br />
There are a lot of war movies, obviously. But I don't think there have been quite enough war movies that don't really feature much of the fighting. This movie does have some great scenes showing the Blitz, but those are more plot points. While a lot of these movies feature some really brave and memorable men and women and special effects fighting, this movie shows who really won the war.<br />
<br />
But just like modern day vets, Turing wasn't treated like much of a hero. That leads to the heart wrenching ending of the movie. This guy who helped win World War II and pretty much invented the computer got a pretty crappy deal. There have been several attempts over the past few years to place Turing in his rightful place in history, especially now that we know about his success in breaking Enigma. I think <i>The Imitation Game</i> is another huge step in putting his name up where it should be in the world's lexicon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-8482004046187493422015-01-12T22:43:00.001-08:002015-01-12T22:43:57.980-08:00John Breckinridge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Number 5 - Life Itself</b></i></span><br />
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There's something a bit meta about writing about a movie about a guy who wrote about movies. <i>Life Itself</i> received a really high Rotten Tomatoes score. It's sitting at 97%, with 100% of the top critics giving it a fresh rating. I had to wonder before seeing it if the reviews were an homage to the movie or to Roger Ebert himself. It's both.<br />
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I learned quite a bit about the life of Roger Evert from <i>Life Itself</i> that I didn't know previously. It does a fine job of laying it all out, the good and the bad, and from an early age, too.<br />
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It's the scenes from then end of his life that will fascinate the most, however. Ebert and his wife were extremely open and candid toward the filmmakers as he sat in the hospital with a big part of his face missing, to be blunt. And the movie doesn't hold back from it either. So often we try to hide away the end of people's lives. We want to remember them a certain way, and the time soon before death in a well lived life isn't the image we want to remember. But it's such an important part of him and what we'll take from his life.<br />
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Perhaps its because he continued to write up until the end. Even if he didn't look like "The Fat One" from <i>At the Movies</i> anymore, his wit was still there. In many years that I wrote this list, I would read Ebert's reviews before writing about it myself. If I didn't like a movie that he did, I knew I would at least understand it better. I don't get that with any critics today.<br />
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And, for those who don't know, he wrote about quite a bit more than movies in his blog. He's the writer, not NdGT or BNtheSG, who gave me a clearer understanding of evolution. I miss his writing quite a bit, and this movie helped me to miss him as well.<br />
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As great as the rest of the movie is, the star scenes in this movie have to be the classic Siskel and Ebert clips. <i>Life Itself</i> discusses their love/hate relationship as it shows some of their absolute best, and often cut, clips. Watch this for those alone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-62931311250439247332015-01-12T21:56:00.001-08:002015-01-12T22:46:53.675-08:00Caesar A. Rodney<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Number 6 - Begin Again</i></b></span><br />
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I'm forced to compare this movie in every way to <i>Once</i>.<br />
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If you've seen <i>Once</i>, you've seen this movie. Actually, you've seen a slightly better version of <i>Begin Again</i>. This time, the struggling musician trying to create her first album is, as the word her implied, a woman played by Kiera Knightley. And as the gender roles are reversed, she is aided by Mark Ruffalo, in this case a record label exec.<br />
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The characters aren't quite as charming. The music isn't quite as fresh. The relationship between the leads isn't quite as dynamic. Though the writer and director, John Carney, is the same for both movies, he doesn't hit the same grand slam that he hit with <i>Once</i>.<br />
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But it doesn't have to be. I still like the characters. I really love the way the opening scene is shown from both points of view. It's a fresh take on an introduction. And the music, even though a lot of it has a bit of a generic pop feel to it, starts to grow on you.<br />
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I've listened to the soundtrack several times since seeing this back in July. I must compare it with <i>Once</i> once again, as that soundtrack is a permanent part of any playlist I make. But still, a few of the songs have really grown on me. The main song, Lost Stars, I really like. I prefer the Kiera Knightley version to the Adam Levine version, but I like them both. Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home is a bit poppy, but it really worked in the context of the movie.<br />
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Yeah, it isn't <i>Once</i>. It isn't a grand slam. But it's a solid standup triple with the bases loaded. I liked it quite a bit. You can listen to the soundtrack on the youtube clip below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/G5_9YPRJ7aw" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-18466963876255137812015-01-11T20:20:00.001-08:002015-01-11T20:20:13.536-08:00William Pinkney<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Number 7 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier</b></i></span><br />
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As far as the comic book movie genre is concerned, this is the movie that will be seen as the turning point. <i>Captain America: The Winter Soldier</i> is more of a spy thriller than a super hero movie. For quite a bit of it, you could replace Cap with, say, James Bond or Jack Ryan. Plenty of the stunts are unique to Cap, and the overall plot is from the comics and other movies, so it wouldn't be. But one who exclusively likes spy thrillers would also enjoy it. And it was successful.<br />
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I guess within the Marvel movie universe, the Thor movies could be seen as movies about Norse mythology. The Hulk films could be seen as monster movies. But those descriptions are stretches. This movie is a spy thriller first, comic book second.<br />
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That, I think, allowed for the success of <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, which is much more of a sci-fi than a superhero movie. This gives me great hope that many of the upcoming announced Marvel movies, such as <i>Dr. Strange</i> and <i>Black Panther</i>, can be of another genre than just super hero movies.<br />
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One point I make when writing this blog is that I have to see the movies in the theater. Even though I have a big enough TV, nice enough sound, and a comfortable enough place to sit at home, there's no substitute for watching a movie in the theaters. I was reminded of this a couple days ago when I read a movie review from a fairly minor newspaper. This person rated the movies on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being "Must watch in the big screen." And most of his reviews which received five stars seemed to focus on movies that technologically should be seen on a big screen, such as Gravity.<br />
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But that takes away such a key part of watching a movie in the theater. The audience. This is something that's pretty obvious for a comedy. A better crowd laughing in all the right places makes the experience that much better. But it also works in other ways. For example, the really annoying ladies in the audience of <i>Big Eyes</i>, who actually booed and hissed (literally - they hissed) at the screen at points, made me dislike the movie even more.<br />
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<i>Captain America: The Winter Soldier</i>, has a point in which there's a major reveal. The trailers and the media I saw did a pretty good job of avoiding this spoiler, so I don't think anyone who hadn't read the comic books would have seen it coming. That's also why I'm dancing around it now, just in case you haven't seen it. In the theater where I saw it, at the moment of the reveal, there were several audible GASPS from the audience. I like being in the middle of that. It really adds to the movie going experience. I'm going to talk a little more about that with my number one movie, I think. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-2941224930331187832015-01-11T17:32:00.002-08:002015-01-11T17:32:12.751-08:00Richard Rush<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Number 8 - The Grand Budapest Hotel</i></b></span><br />
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Wes Anderson has created an unmistakable style to his films. I remember first seeing the trailer for <i>The Grand Budapest Hotel</i>. It was obvious within the first few seconds that this was his next movie. You both see it on the screen and feel it in the way the actors speak. <br />
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There are quite a few things to admire about this movie, but I think I most appreciate the story within the story... within the story. You have three levels of story going on, but it doesn't feel like a forced storytelling technique. It just feels like... Wes Anderson.<br />
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Some of Anderson's earlier movies are too quirky. With his last couple movies, he's hit just the right level of quirkiness. While I appreciated movies like <i>The Darjeeling Limited</i>, I didn't enjoy them as much as I've liked <i>The Grand Budapest Hotel</i> and <i>Moonrise Kingdom</i>. I think he's also opened the door for plenty of new viewers.<br />
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This was released in March. I saw it in April. It's January, and even though it's out on home video, it's still showing in a local theater. I think that certainly speaks to this movie.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-14109060243410466942015-01-05T20:57:00.000-08:002015-01-05T20:57:33.115-08:00William Wirt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Number 9 - Wild</i></b></span><br />
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I might be have <i>Wild</i> as high as it is due to low expectations. The trailer and name gave me the idea that this was the female version of <i>Into the Wild</i>. In addition, Reese Witherspoon has never been impressive as an actor. She was good in <i>Walk the Line</i>, but that's still a relatively light role. I was wrong on both accounts.<br />
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The similarities between <i>Wild</i> and <i>Into the Wild</i> end at the basic idea of leaving civilization. A big part of this movie is exploring Cheryl Strayed's reason for walking the trail. She comes to the trail from a really dark place, and Witherspoon is really great in showing that side. This is absolutely her best work.<br />
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A danger in a movie like this is that there will be too many big nature shots or shots of Witherspoon just walking. I remember when the Lord of the Rings movies were announced and in finding out that they were three hours long. I pictured two and a half hours of just walking. I think the makers of <i>Wild</i> did a nice job of avoiding that in a couple ways. The first is in using the flashbacks to tell her story. Whenever she just walks, we go with her mind to visit her past.<br />
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The second is in the use of the soundtrack. Strayed just walked the Pacific Crest Trail without headphones. She didn't have music in her ears. But she was always hearing music. We know this because she hums a few different songs. When the movies starts, the songs are barely recognizable. They start to come together as the movie progresses until you hear the songs played. There was some satisfaction is "guessing" what those tunes were. But their coming into focus goes right along with the clarity in her head.<br />
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If you've read <i>A Walk in the Woods</i>, you have a great companion for <i>Wild</i>. And if you haven't read it, check it out. The two walkers go for completely different reasons, walk different trails, have different experiences, and reach different conclusions. But I still flashed back to that book while watching <i>Wild</i>. Both kind of make you want to leave it all behind and just start walking. OK, not enough for me to actually do it...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862835293314404115.post-63684868602918294112015-01-05T20:36:00.000-08:002015-01-05T20:38:49.703-08:00John M. Berrien<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Number 10 - Interstellar</b></i></span><br />
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I geeked out at the beginning of <i>Interstellar</i> in a way that most normal people probably wouldn't. It basically starts with these seemingly odd clips of people talking about all the dust and dirt. I immediately recognized the person giving the comment. No, this isn't some famous person that people would recognize walking around the streets. I probably wouldn't, either. But I know those clips and people from <i>The Dust Bowl</i> by Ken Burns really well.<br />
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Having just finished another Winter Break, I look back on the past two weeks and think about what I accomplished. Eh, not a whole lot. What could I have done? What could I have created? How could I have helped the world? All right, so maybe I don't feel quite that way, but there's still that idea of lost time.<br />
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That's a huge part of <i>Interstellar</i>. One of the scenes involves a huge loss of time. It isn't for the characters themselves. It's even worse. It's the world around them. As they play with time travel, time travels past these characters faster than they experience in. MUCH faster. And that's a weird concept to me that just crushes the inside of my skull when I think about it. I only partially mean wrapping my head around the whole theory of relativity. It's the emotional sweeping away of time that can never be returned.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0