Well... thanks to a wonderful weekend with the ladyfriend to celebrate Valentine's as well as an extended President's weekend... I still find myself unable to post a lot of the photos from sheer lack or time. You bloggers know what I'm talking about. So in the meantime, I thought I'd take out a lot of the wordiness of the pictures portion of the blog... and let you know about some interesting movies that I've seen the past few weeks while in New Orleans as well as with the ladyfriend since I came back.
First off, Filly got me hooked on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." After the first season, I didn't think it was possible... but after watching seasons 2 & 3 during some inclimate weather in New Orleans... that damn Joss Whedon has me hooked on another of his shows. Sum'bich. Anyway, I'm a few episodes into season four now... but just FYI...
First up was "Jumpin Jack Flash" starring Whoopi Goldberg from the mid-80's. How do I know that? Because it stars Whoopi Goldberg. Anyway, Filly had it on VHS & was appalled that I hadn't seen it... so we watched it. A woman who processes bank transactions (Whoopi) gets a mysterious message from a man who claims to be a British agent trapped behind enemy lines... and gets brought into a world of intrigue, danger, espionage, blah blah blah... and it's Whoopi so you get a lot of hilarious attitude along with it. It was okay, definitely had it's moments. I assume if you were ever planning on seeing it you would have already. One thumb up? It's okay.
Next up was "Star Trek IV: Voyage Home" which is the one set mostly in San Francisco where they travel back in time (disbelief) to borrow (steal) a few pair of humpback whales before some giant space thing destroys Earth in the 23rd century... because there are no whales. Yeah... think about it... it could happen. Anyway, you get the Shatner & the Nimoy & the Chekov & the Bones & you get to see San Francisco... but yeah, it's one of those sci-fi comedies even if unintentional maybe? I mean... I'm sure they took themselves seriously to a point but... I enjoyed it.
Next up was "Skyfall" starring Daniel Craig & Javier Bardem in the latest installment of James Bond. I'm sure most of you saw it in theatres... so good for you. Basically to sum up the last few Bonds, Casino Royale kicked ass & reignited the series... Quantum of Solace pretty much sucked from what I can remember... but now it's back with actual villains that you can fear both for their cunning & craziness (Bardem) and some kick ass action. As for the plot... it's a Bond flick. Former agent wants to blow up MI-6 and M (Dame Judy Dench) in particular so Bond has to save the day, even though he's having his own issues with them ordering a shot that accidentally hit him instead of its target in the beginning. I'd say spoiler alert but... it's before Adele even belts out the opening number, so I feel like I'm not spoiling anything. Go check it out if you like Bond... and if not, why are you reading my blog?
Next up is "Frankenweenie" which is a child friendly retelling of Frankenstein... but with a ten-year old kid bringing his beloved dog back to life instead of the usual story... and directed by Tim Burton. I HIGHLY recommend checking out this flick... and it's okay for the kids too. If you like "Nightmare Before Christmas" then you'll love this movie. I like it even better (primarily because of the lack of musical) but I understand that's not everybody's deal. Go check it out now.
Next up is "Flight" starring Denzel Washington & directed by Robert Zemeckis ("Back to the Future" trilogy & "Forrest Gump"). The plot seems somewhat based on the Hudson River Miracle or whatever it's called when Capt. Sully saved a bunch of people, but then veers off. Basically an alcoholic & drug using pilot (Washington) shows up hung over... but also high to counteract momentarily to an early morning flight... and about 45 minutes it, sh*t gets real... and he has to pull an amazing manuever to save 95% of the people on board (basically everybody with their seatbelts on). But then... the investigation finds that he was drunk and/or high... and basically from there, the movie drums into your face every moment that he's an incredibly obsessive alcoholic to a point of absolute unbelievability. How you ask? Well, having grown up around alcoholics, they tend to have a drink of choice that they kill themselves with. Now, Denzel's character chugs giant bottles of vodka while driving around town with the media after him while trying to be incognito (really?) but there's also beer, bourbon, everything in the mini bar, blah blah blah & it just got irritating. Thankfully I think that Mr. Zemeckis or the screenwriter hasn't grown up around alcoholics, but you can get the same effect without making it horribly obvious. Just a bit of advice. Anyway, I didn't care for the movie really. It seemed long... the "love story" was REALLY forced... and even though it had a great cast, they did okay. Nothing remarkable really. Sorry Denzel. You did okay from an acting perspective... but just didn't feel the movie.
Next up is "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale" which is a bit of Norwegian Christmas horror flick... about a company digging deep into a mountain... and releasing SANTA CLAUS into the world so that he can devour & torture children!!! The cinematography is beautiful, it's a unique look at a chestnut classic... and I highly recommend it. It's on Netflix... here's the deal, check out the trailer. If you see the trailer & it intrigues you... the movie is basically that. Go for it.
Lastly was for me, a documentary called "SEC Storied: Sam Bowie" about the guy who was famously picked ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft. Here's a quick summary of the story. Sam grew up in small town Pennsylvania (Lebanon), his mama worked hard, daddy was an alcoholic, he was really tall (7-foot-1 at full stature) and really athletic and really good at basketball. He got recruited at Kentucky and was well on his way to the NBA his first two years of college... and then he fractured his leg... and was out for about two years. Then he came back... and hurt his leg again. Then had a decent senior year, so then the draft came... and he was an athletic center with major skills... and the Blazers already had Clyde Drexler playing MJ's position so... they went with the center. He had a great start to his career... MJ missed most of his second season... so nobody was really talking about it until his third year... when Sam rebroke his leg... and was out for a long time... and MJ was MJ. Then the next seven years was a series of comebacks & injuries, comebacks & injuries, then he retired & became a punchline. It's not that he was a horrible player or anything... he just got hurt... a lot. He still played ten years in the league which is more than most can say... but yeah, it's a tragic story... but he's happy now & raising horses in Lexington. It's a great story or perseverence really. Feel free to check it out. I'm a basketball nerd... and a fan of the human condition & the stories within. Deal with it.
Anyway, that oughta hold you over for a few days until I can get these pictures posted. Have a great day everybody!!!
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