Monday, January 2, 2012
Classic movie quote: Duck Soup (1933)
Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) - "Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don't let that fool you: he really is an idiot."
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Happy Birthday: 4 on the list
Sir Anthony Hopkins - best know for his portrayal as Hannibal Lector. I also liked him in The Edge and The Mask of Zorro.
Sir Ben Kingsley - too many great movies he has done to name, but two of my favorites are Searching for Bobby Fischer and Shutter Island
Val Kilmer - my favorites of his are The Doors and Heat
Tim Matheson - check out his filmography sometime - he has done a ton of work, very under the radar. My two favorites of his are Animal House and Fletch.
Sir Ben Kingsley - too many great movies he has done to name, but two of my favorites are Searching for Bobby Fischer and Shutter Island
Val Kilmer - my favorites of his are The Doors and Heat
Tim Matheson - check out his filmography sometime - he has done a ton of work, very under the radar. My two favorites of his are Animal House and Fletch.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Happy Birthday: Eliza Dushku
Better know for her roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Dollhouse on TV - had a decent role in Wrong Turn.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Happy Birthday to 4
Denzel Washington: actor extraordinaire
Noomi Repace: of recent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame (Swedish version)
Stan Lee: creator of some of the best comics ever, many of which have made their way to the big screen
Maggie Smith: of Harry Potter fame
Noomi Repace: of recent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame (Swedish version)
Stan Lee: creator of some of the best comics ever, many of which have made their way to the big screen
Maggie Smith: of Harry Potter fame
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Bob's Look: A Christmas Story (1983)
For 24 hours starting on Christmas eve, this movie is screened for celebrating families everywhere, and I usually watch 3 of the 12 showings.
This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest holiday films ever made.
Based on the writings of Jean Shepherd, who himself narrates the film, A Christmas Story follows young Ralphie Parker in his quest for the ultimate gift; an “official Red Ryder carbine action 200 shot range model air rifle” “…with a compass in the stalk, and this thing which tells time.” There are many obstacles in his way of obtaining his coveted weapon, let alone making it to Christmas, including a bully and his toady, peer pressures, Freudian slips, and the dreaded bb gun block “you’ll shoot your eye out.”
This movie is hilarious while never straying away from family friendly humor, which is never an easy thing to do. The entire cast performance was excellent, especially Peter Billingsly who is absolutely brilliant in the role of Ralphie Parker, which makes me a little sad that he never went far beyond this roll.
The movie has a good amount of childhood tomfoolery, such as daring a friend to stick his tongue to a light poll then abandoning him to the elements at the sound of the school bell, as well as lessons learned, such as getting the long awaited decoder pin to decipher an Ovaltine add. These all fit together nicely in the grand scheme of Ralphie Parker’s Christmas,
I also like how Ralphie’s state of mind is shown through daydream sequences. My favorite of these occurs just after Ralphie has soap on his tongue for saying THE word, and he imagines coming home a blind man, telling his parent it was caused by “soap…poisoning.” This is something every kid imagines a time or two when they are punished; that it will come back on mom or dad. Hey, we were kids, right?
This is the perfect Christmas film for the whole family; very quotable and very funny. I recommend making this one a Christmas tradition.
Fun facts: It’s never stated directly when the film is set, but period markers such as an issue of Look magazine, mention of the Red Sox trading Bill “Bullfrog” Dietrich, and the edition of the “Speedomatic” decoder pin Ralphie receives in the mail, the story can be placed between 1937-1940, which puts it between the depression and World War II.
The Daisy toy company have confirmed that the Red Ryder bb gun was available during this movie’s time period except for one detail; the model in that era did not have a compass or sundial in the stalk.
Red Ryder is a real character that appeared in comic books and on the radio during the 30’s and 40’s. The house in Cleveland, Oh. that served as the Parker home for the film was restored and furnished to resemble the way it appeared in the movie, and is now a popular tourist attraction.
Fun facts: It’s never stated directly when the film is set, but period markers such as an issue of Look magazine, mention of the Red Sox trading Bill “Bullfrog” Dietrich, and the edition of the “Speedomatic” decoder pin Ralphie receives in the mail, the story can be placed between 1937-1940, which puts it between the depression and World War II.
The Daisy toy company have confirmed that the Red Ryder bb gun was available during this movie’s time period except for one detail; the model in that era did not have a compass or sundial in the stalk.
Red Ryder is a real character that appeared in comic books and on the radio during the 30’s and 40’s. The house in Cleveland, Oh. that served as the Parker home for the film was restored and furnished to resemble the way it appeared in the movie, and is now a popular tourist attraction.
Happy Birthday to 5
To me...
Also to
Ava Gardner- The Killers
Deidrich Bader - Office Space
Ricky Martin- singer from Menudo
Matt Passmore- star of the Glades
Friday, December 23, 2011
Awesome Quotes: Christmas Vacation (1989)
Clark: "Kids, I heard on the radio that some airline pilots spotted Santa in the air..."
Eddie: "Are you serious Clark?"
Eddie: "Are you serious Clark?"
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Holiday Look: Christmas Vacation (1989)
Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, and Randy Quaid return to reprise their roles in a third ‘Vacation’ film, this time during the Christmas holiday season. Tomfoolery ensues when Clark Griswold and family attempt to have the perfect family Christmas. There is nice mix of one-liners, physical comedy, and a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I think this movie stands alone perfectly. If you had not otherwise been introduced to the other Vacation movies, this works well – maybe almost better.
Holidays always tend to bring out the best (and worst) in family situations, and Christmas Vacation uses many cliché holiday experiences to fuel the laughter. A cold, long walk to get a Christmas tree, decorating the exterior of the house with enough lights to illuminate a small city, antics while shopping at the mall, fun while sledding, and mishaps that result from cooking the Christmas Eve dinner are all highlighted.
The Griswold house quickly fills up with relatives; both sets of grandparents, Cousin Eddie and family, plus later a crazy aunt and uncle show up for the aforementioned dinner. In typical ‘Vacation’ fashion the movie is slow crescendo of craziness ending in Cousin Eddie kidnapping Clark’s boss for stiffing Clark out of his holiday bonus. Some other elements which add to the fun: the snotty, yuppie neighbors, Eddie emptying his RV’s septic tank into a storm drain early one morning, a cat munching on the Christmas tree lights, the actors playing Russ and Audrey changing yet again, and the tree getting burned down – which triggers Clark to running around with a chainsaw (if you can picture that one).
Fun facts: the studio execs wanted the cat munching the xmas tree lights scene cut, but the producer begged to keep it in. The test groups found audiences loved it, and noted it was one of the most funny, memorable scenes… the movie ends on Christmas Eve; it never actually made it to Christmas Day… Clark used 30 different words to describe his boss during his insane rant after finding out he did not receive a Christmas bonus check…
The Griswold house quickly fills up with relatives; both sets of grandparents, Cousin Eddie and family, plus later a crazy aunt and uncle show up for the aforementioned dinner. In typical ‘Vacation’ fashion the movie is slow crescendo of craziness ending in Cousin Eddie kidnapping Clark’s boss for stiffing Clark out of his holiday bonus. Some other elements which add to the fun: the snotty, yuppie neighbors, Eddie emptying his RV’s septic tank into a storm drain early one morning, a cat munching on the Christmas tree lights, the actors playing Russ and Audrey changing yet again, and the tree getting burned down – which triggers Clark to running around with a chainsaw (if you can picture that one).
Fun facts: the studio execs wanted the cat munching the xmas tree lights scene cut, but the producer begged to keep it in. The test groups found audiences loved it, and noted it was one of the most funny, memorable scenes… the movie ends on Christmas Eve; it never actually made it to Christmas Day… Clark used 30 different words to describe his boss during his insane rant after finding out he did not receive a Christmas bonus check…
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Bob's Look at Movies and Video Games: A dysfunctional relationship.
Movies and video games make great gifts, especially at Christmas time. They are small enough to make stocking stuffers, yet big enough to place under the tree, unless you have a dog that likes to chew on plastic (James still has that copy of Austin Powers.)
But, ever since video games became a home entertainment staple back in the early 80s, game producers have made a practice of using popular movie titles and their stories to make cheap, mediocre, if not just plain horrible games designed to move units based on title alone. Let’s consider some of the worst:
E.T.(Atari 2600) - Accepted by the gaming industry as one of the worst games ever made this is one of the games that led to great video game crash of the mid 80s, The player takes on the roll of E.T. who has to find components to build a communication device to signal his people to pick him up. The engine practically made the game unplayable, you could fall into a bit without being anywhere near it, and there was no rhyme or reason to how the board was laid out. In other words, even to kids like us who played the game, it was clear that making a good game was not on the producer’s agenda.
Top Gun (NES) - Not that the game was absolutely horrible, it was just a very cheap version of “After Burner.” It could have been much better, though.
Rambo (NES) - Basically a cheap knockoff of “Zelda 2” you assume the roll of John Rambo and are given a mission…you know what, I’ll the review the movie sometime. Suffice it to say that again, the engine was horrible and pretty much made the game ten times more difficult than needed, and there is no clear path from point a to b, so you’re going to die, a lot.
The Fifth Element (PS1) - Whoever made this game either did not like, or did not even watch the movie. The cut scenes are all out of order, the voice acting that wasn’t taken directly from the movie was horrible, and the game play was nothing short of worthless. What’s sad is the movie would have made a great action game with a little effort.
Bad Boys: Miami Takedown (PS2) - Another title on many a “worst games ever” lists. The voice acting and the dialog are both insulting while the game play remains consistently crappy.
Now, this is not a one sided story. Hollywood has tried the same tactic several times to sell tickets to poor made movies due to the fact that they carry a familiar title. These include but are not limited to:
Super Mario Brothers - Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo play the Brooklyn plumbers in this absolutely horrible film.
Street Fighter - Sadly, this was Raul Julia’s final theatrical film performance.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation - The first MK wasn’t bad, but this movie went beyond the typical sequel inferiority.
Max Payne - The trailers made the movie look like a gothic horror film, but those of us who played the game knew the real story and were not disappointed by the plots twists, we were just disappointed by how bad the movie was.
Bloodrayne - This is one of those movies that makes me wonder if bad movies were once good before the editing process. Otherwise I would have to ask why Ben Kingsly and Michael Madsen would consent to appear in such a piece of garbage.
There are exceptions to every rule, of course. Like I said, Mortal Kombat was pretty good, and Prince of Persia was alright as well. And the Lord of the Rings films inspired a couple of good games such as “Return of the King” and “Battle for Middle Earth.” But with games today being much more cinematic, and movie fx being done more on computer, crossing the two mediums seems like a bad idea, and history has proven it so.
But, ever since video games became a home entertainment staple back in the early 80s, game producers have made a practice of using popular movie titles and their stories to make cheap, mediocre, if not just plain horrible games designed to move units based on title alone. Let’s consider some of the worst:
E.T.(Atari 2600) - Accepted by the gaming industry as one of the worst games ever made this is one of the games that led to great video game crash of the mid 80s, The player takes on the roll of E.T. who has to find components to build a communication device to signal his people to pick him up. The engine practically made the game unplayable, you could fall into a bit without being anywhere near it, and there was no rhyme or reason to how the board was laid out. In other words, even to kids like us who played the game, it was clear that making a good game was not on the producer’s agenda.
Top Gun (NES) - Not that the game was absolutely horrible, it was just a very cheap version of “After Burner.” It could have been much better, though.
Rambo (NES) - Basically a cheap knockoff of “Zelda 2” you assume the roll of John Rambo and are given a mission…you know what, I’ll the review the movie sometime. Suffice it to say that again, the engine was horrible and pretty much made the game ten times more difficult than needed, and there is no clear path from point a to b, so you’re going to die, a lot.
The Fifth Element (PS1) - Whoever made this game either did not like, or did not even watch the movie. The cut scenes are all out of order, the voice acting that wasn’t taken directly from the movie was horrible, and the game play was nothing short of worthless. What’s sad is the movie would have made a great action game with a little effort.
Bad Boys: Miami Takedown (PS2) - Another title on many a “worst games ever” lists. The voice acting and the dialog are both insulting while the game play remains consistently crappy.
Now, this is not a one sided story. Hollywood has tried the same tactic several times to sell tickets to poor made movies due to the fact that they carry a familiar title. These include but are not limited to:
Super Mario Brothers - Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo play the Brooklyn plumbers in this absolutely horrible film.
Street Fighter - Sadly, this was Raul Julia’s final theatrical film performance.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation - The first MK wasn’t bad, but this movie went beyond the typical sequel inferiority.
Max Payne - The trailers made the movie look like a gothic horror film, but those of us who played the game knew the real story and were not disappointed by the plots twists, we were just disappointed by how bad the movie was.
Bloodrayne - This is one of those movies that makes me wonder if bad movies were once good before the editing process. Otherwise I would have to ask why Ben Kingsly and Michael Madsen would consent to appear in such a piece of garbage.
There are exceptions to every rule, of course. Like I said, Mortal Kombat was pretty good, and Prince of Persia was alright as well. And the Lord of the Rings films inspired a couple of good games such as “Return of the King” and “Battle for Middle Earth.” But with games today being much more cinematic, and movie fx being done more on computer, crossing the two mediums seems like a bad idea, and history has proven it so.
Bob's Thoughts On: A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite holiday stories. I've read the book many times, seen many of the film adaptations, and make it a holiday tradition to see the stage production the day after Thanksgiving, and I agree with my brother that this is the best way to view the story visually.
The Scrooge character to me is a somewhat sympathetic character in spite of his cruelty and hard disposition. Fear of poverty as a young man had twisted him into the greedy old miser that we are introduced to in the beginning. Many of the losses he endures in life, such as his fiance and his best friend, occur at Christmas. The word "humbug" is also an important element to understanding his character. The word "humbug" is defined in the dictionary as "something intended to delude or deceive." So in effect, what Scrooge is saying about Christmas is that it is a time for people to put on false faces and pretend to care about their fellow man in an effort to get something for themselves, such as free food or a break on their loan dues. When he taken to see the shadows of his past, he is shown the real reason he hates Christmas, which he finds out is much more personal. When he is taken to the present, he's shown the happiness that he is missing out of and could very easily share, as well as how his personal anger effects people other than himself. In the future, he is shown the end of his journey, where his death is celebrated in a somewhat morbid way as his body is robbed and people who owed him money were suddenly given a chance at life (which is rarely shown in film.)
Like my brother said, George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart both do a very good job in portraying the title character. Another version I tend to watch once or twice during the season is the 1938 version of the film staring Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. I have to say I also like the CGI version Disney did a few years ago with Jim Carey as the voice of Scrooge and Gary Oldman (one of my favorite actors) as Cratchit. And, being a fan of Jim Henson, I am also a fan of A Muppet Christmas Carol, which stars Michael Caine as Scrooge and Kermit the Frog as Cratchit. And Bill Murray as the Scrooge-like Frank Cross in "Scrooged" was simply brilliant. It's a story for the whole family, and one to take to heart, especially at Christmas.
The Scrooge character to me is a somewhat sympathetic character in spite of his cruelty and hard disposition. Fear of poverty as a young man had twisted him into the greedy old miser that we are introduced to in the beginning. Many of the losses he endures in life, such as his fiance and his best friend, occur at Christmas. The word "humbug" is also an important element to understanding his character. The word "humbug" is defined in the dictionary as "something intended to delude or deceive." So in effect, what Scrooge is saying about Christmas is that it is a time for people to put on false faces and pretend to care about their fellow man in an effort to get something for themselves, such as free food or a break on their loan dues. When he taken to see the shadows of his past, he is shown the real reason he hates Christmas, which he finds out is much more personal. When he is taken to the present, he's shown the happiness that he is missing out of and could very easily share, as well as how his personal anger effects people other than himself. In the future, he is shown the end of his journey, where his death is celebrated in a somewhat morbid way as his body is robbed and people who owed him money were suddenly given a chance at life (which is rarely shown in film.)
Like my brother said, George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart both do a very good job in portraying the title character. Another version I tend to watch once or twice during the season is the 1938 version of the film staring Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. I have to say I also like the CGI version Disney did a few years ago with Jim Carey as the voice of Scrooge and Gary Oldman (one of my favorite actors) as Cratchit. And, being a fan of Jim Henson, I am also a fan of A Muppet Christmas Carol, which stars Michael Caine as Scrooge and Kermit the Frog as Cratchit. And Bill Murray as the Scrooge-like Frank Cross in "Scrooged" was simply brilliant. It's a story for the whole family, and one to take to heart, especially at Christmas.
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