What's John watching?

MTV Icon: Metallica: I didn't catch this one from the beginning, but thought it was worth loggin' none the less. It's funny: I tuned in in the middle of Avril's set, and immediately I'm thinkin', "What the heck are those Avril fans wearin'?" I was so puzzled that I just sat there for two or three minutes, my thumb hovering over the remote, trying to figure out what was going on. (Man, she really has no stage presence.)

It was a pretty good show, although the only performance I liked (other than Metallica's, obviously) was Korn's cover of One. (Too bad I missed Sum 41.) The documentary made up for it. That, and seein' how Lars 'n' Kirk were really gettin' into it. :-) ¶ 9:43:00 p.m. (0) comments

Serpico (1973): I found myself taking genres, sets, environments, subjects... lots of things... for granted as I watched this movie; and it was only director Sidney Lumet's commentary that got me thinking about it. First, if the cop genre was old hat - and producer Martin Bregman said there had been 17 cop movies made in the previous two years - a real cop story (i.e., no "How many bad guys you get today, Tony? Uh, slow day, Jonny: just half a dozen.") was a new animal. Lumet said that even their police escort was surprised by the movie that was unfolded before their eyes, commenting that it really showed what their life was like day-to-day.

Second, even though the Knapp Commission (led by Judge Whitman Knapp) was well-known in police circles at the time of the movie's release, the general public was unaware of, and shocked by, the pervasiveness of the NYPD corruption.

Third, I see Pacino and I think, "movie star," but I guess having fresh faces was actually a prime concern of everyone involved in this project... It's easier for the audience to believe it's a true story when they don't recognize anyone in it. And, wonder of wonders, Al Pacino didn't mess that up because this movie really made him a star! The Godfather was Brando's and Coppola's movie, I guess. The second part wouldn't come out for another year.

Finally, many of the precinct sets used in the movie were actually fresh for the time. I mean, me watching it, thinks of Barney Miller and all those other cop shows, but I guess it was Lumet who started that look. As he put it, when you're makin' a movie about someone's life, there's where things actually happened, and then there's where it won't be so boring. :-)

So, it's like being more critical of car chases after watching The French Connection. This one sets the bar pretty high for cop stories. I don't know, I really liked Pacino's Serpico; he's the kind of guy you want to talk like, dress like, be like... Well, until his life of constant fear drove away everyone he loved except Alfie, his faithful sheepdog. :-) ¶ 3:24:00 p.m. (0) comments

Sex and the City: I would've preferred Permanent Midnight over on Showcase, but it was making my wife too uncomfortable. Definitely not what I've come to expect from Stiller (which is a good thing). Sorry, folks: nothin' worth bloggin' about the episode. ¶ 11:59:00 p.m. (0) comments

Beverly Hills Cop II: I know I've complained about TBS's editing before, but this job brought them to a whole new low; they cut so much out of some of the chase sequences that they ceased to make sense. Even the best of them left me feeling like I was on a bad high. And yet, I didn't shut it off. The highlight? Chris Rock lookin' so young I expected his voice to crack. :-) ¶ 11:49:00 p.m. (0) comments

I, Robot (2004): I'm in the middle of the book right now. It's a series of stories, as recalled by Dr. Susan Calvin (played by Bridget Moynahan in the movie)... Well, so far, anyway. I figured I was still safe from the "not as good as the book" syndrome, since none of the stories I'd read looked anything like the trailer. Turns out the screenplay was just "suggested by" Isaac Asimov, so, beyond some insight into the characters of Doctors Calvin and Lanning (played by James Cromwell in the movie), it seems I was never in any danger of that sort of disappointment.

Having said all that, the result of the suggestion was breathtaking. The visual effects alone were unbelievable; add in an exciting, fast-paced story and simple, subtle acting and we've got ourselves a winner, folks. Initially the product placement was over-the-top, but it did settle down before too much damage was done. I was also hoping for subtle differences in fashion - being set 40-odd years in the future - but, then again, maybe they were too subtle for me to pick up on.

I had no idea that Alex Proyas directed it. None. I was surprised, initially; then the parallels to Dark City (1998), and even The Crow (1994), started comin' at me from all directions. I love that guy's style. ¶ 10:07:00 p.m. (0) comments

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: I think this one was my favourite of the lot. The story was well paced, with no silly detours, and very entertaining. It took everything that made Raiders great, and went that little bit further; for example, the schoolboy antics of Prof. Henry Jones (Sean Connery) and Dr. Brody (Denholm Elliott) added so much to their characters.

One thing I did notice, though: was the Roman numeral ten (i.e., X) missing from the close-up shot of the floor, when they show where Indiana's (Harrison Ford) broken it? It sure looked like it to me. Oh well, minor mistake if it was. ¶ 10:01:00 p.m. (0) comments

Spiderman 2: Eh, not bad. Not bad at all. The effects when Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) is traipsing off, using the sides of buildings... Fantastic! Rippin' off car doors? Awesome! Carryin' off screamin' women? ... You get the idea. :-) I didn't notice any mistakes (and, yes, unfortunately I had caught some headline about the "many" mistakes in the movie's effects before seeing it).

Now that I've visited New York, I recognized the Flatiron, a.k.a. the Daily Bugle building, :-) right away. My wife assures me that they used it in the first one too. Amazing, how the city comes to life in movies after you've been.

This one was slower, though; no question. Overall, I certainly got my money's worth, but the first one was a better package. ¶ 10:59:00 p.m. (0) comments

911: The Road to Tyranny: Alex Jones has created one heck of an argument. He takes it too far at times, but you can see why he's all riled up. Just looking at what was withheld from the Oklahoma City bombing trials - for national security - is puzzling; it's downright horrifying if you believe Jones' explanation. There's a reason why the government is still holding on to those surveillance tapes. What do they gain from it? What do they stand to lose by letting them out?

And Jones doesn't stop there. He reaches into the closet, drags out TWA Flight 800, urban warfare exercises from the 80's and 90's gone awry, and, of course, the events that inspired the documentary's title. And you want to know the worst part? He makes a lot of sense. When I talk with my friends and coworkers, when I overhear people in restaurants and coffee shops, I hear a lot of people looking for guarantees; maybe they don't use that word, but if they hear someone in power using words like "prevent" and "terrorism," and moments later using words like "security" and "safety"... well, they're hearing what some part of them wants to hear. They're accepting measures, making trade-offs, that would've raised eyebrows ten years ago, and would've had their grandparents s**tin' bricks.

But what if the threat wasn't big enough, wasn't imminent in the eyes of most? What if those in power were gettin' older, gettin' impatient for the time when they could deliver the words that the people would need to hear? Well, I'm sure you've got a few ideas, and, let me tell you, Jones has more than ideas. ¶ 6:03:00 p.m. (0) comments

Get Christie Love! (1974): Well I'll be! That was Ron Rifkin of recent Alias fame! (I also think of the "back room chock-full of shoes" Sex and the City episode he was in when I see him; not sure why.)

There were some classic lines in this one (e.g., "You're a detective! So start detecting!" and "What'd ya think? I just called room service and said, 'Send up one killer, please'?"), but, now that I've read about Teresa Graves, all I can think to write about is her life: she quit acting back in the 70's, became a Jehovah's Witness, and died just a copy of years ago in a house fire. For some reason, that just strikes me as weird. ¶ 4:29:00 p.m. (0) comments

For Love Or Money (1993): Man, Michael J. Fox was on in this one. Scenes like the ticket trading in the park were my favourite. Fox played the concierge at the top of his game to a tee.

Aside: I laughed when Andy (Gabrielle Anwar) delivered her asshole line, but you know what Merriam-Webster lists for the etymology of concierge? Assumed vulgar latin conservius... fellow slave! Ouch!

My wife wanted to know when the movie came out because she was pretty sure that Isaac Mizrahi (pronounced Ms. RA he, for those as clueless as me) wasn't particularly famous at the time. I have no idea... Just thought it was interesting. Plus, I've wanted to have a record of how to pronounce his name ever since I watched Omarosa's flub on The Apprentice. :-)

Anyway, guess that was an aside too... The movie... Um... Well, take its message to heart: good things come to those who live... well, from the heart! :-) Oh, and it helps to have a senile bellhop around when important documents need to be delivered. ¶ 6:03:00 p.m. (0) comments

Brother Bear: Boy aren't we a couple o' softies... Sniffles and wipin' of eyes all-round when Koda (the voice of Jeremy Suarez) got to see his mom again.

Weren't Rutt (the voice of Rick Moranis) and Tuke (the voice of Dave Thomas) hilarious! Apparently their commentary is even better. I was a bit too young for Second City TV, but I'm thinkin' the DVDs would be great. ¶ 2:03:00 a.m. (0) comments

The Ladykillers (2004): I knew next ta nothin' about this movie before seeing it. Yeah, I'd seen the trailer, but, like I said, this after-work outing was my wife's idea; I guess I might've rented it one day...

Oh well, I did see it, so what'd I make of it? Well, it struck me as strange, until the credits started to roll and I saw Ethan and Joel's names; then it all made sense. Still didn't know it was a remake 'til I got home, though.

Tom Hanks... What can I say 'bout that guy? He was so in character I couldn't catch what he was sayin' most of the time; but what I did hear? Oh, I loved it. Even at his most long-winded, Dorr (Hanks) was a pleasure to watch because you believed in him.

Boy, the gospel music was somethin' else! Man, I might have to pick up that soundtrack. It isn't normally my cup of tea, but, come on, how could you not get excited by those performances? Heck, I'd probably be a believer myself if I'd grown up on that. ¶ 11:51:00 p.m. (0) comments

Mean Girls: The spur of the moment found us at the Mayfair after work. I think my wife was hoping for more than this one delivered. Me? With such low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the half dozen laughs I had. The "wildlife around the watering hole" scene was hilarious! The guys screaming like monkeys were the best! :-) The silhouette of the zombie bride scaring the s**t out of two watching the horror flick was definitely a close second.

Speaking of scares, my wife said the burn book is real. Her school called it the slam book, but it was just as cruel, according to her. It rang true in the movie, but I guess I assumed they were exaggerating. Scary... ¶ 11:39:00 p.m. (0) comments

Fahrenheit 9/11: I sit here... staring at the screen... not knowing where to start... what to type. I'm upset. This movie - it's not a documentary - upset me as no other has in years; and I'm talking about crying, not piss 'n' vinegar mad (although that's coming). And for that, and the heavy slant he takes, I'm calling Moore a f***ing bastard.

What parent will be able to pull themselves back and ask for more information after seeing this? What caring person won't think of this upset the next time Bush gets up on his high horse? Very few. And it will be for the wrong reasons...

Over a year ago, I wrote about my disgust with Bush's simplicity. But now... after pulling these crying widows, screaming grandmothers, bloody soldiers, and dead children into the mix... Well, what have we got? The truth? That bloody money can be traced right up to the highest level of the U.S. government?

The only truth that was fairly presented in this movie was that war is hell; utter hell. And trying to pitch any personal agenda on the tidal wave of that horror is despicable.

... I won't even type the string of curses bouncing around in my head right now... I've got the worst f***ing taste you could imagine in my mouth right now, though, I'll tell you that. I think Moore's done a huge disservice to civil libertarians everywhere by making this incendiary movie. He's painted us as ruled by our emotions. Bush is not indifferent - or worse, amused - by the American casualties in Iraq; I can't believe that. And yet, look at what Moore's put together...

Obviously some calm reflection is what I need... Maybe on the other side... I'm goin' ta bed...

Update: Sunday, July 11, 2004

O.K. I've had some time to reflect. The stuff on the 2000 presidential election was fantastic. Truly fantastic. But, obviously, it goes downhill. My advice? Have a read of Hitchens' article on the movie if you're still on the fence about seein' it. He makes a lot of good points. Cheers. ¶ 9:24:00 p.m. (0) comments

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001): What a great atmosphere! Just beautiful. And the pace - Ed (Billy Bob Thornton) was never in a hurry - was mesmerizing.

The murder... The Coen brothers are so good at shocking the audience. "Big Dave's" (James Gandolfini) murder was gruesome in the strongest sense of the word, going on long after most pictures would've cut it, but that, combined with Ed's mild manner, was what made it honest; gruesomely honest.

Riedenschneider was Tony Shalhoub's best performance, in my opinion; I've always liked the guy, but he was simply amazing in this role; especially his introduction, but also the second interview... Just masterful.

This movie is a masterpiece. The beautiful use of many Beethoven sonatas throughout, beautiful shots like the one outside the barber shop, when Ed's told of Doris' (Frances McDormand) arrest (Ed at one end of the shot, the nose of the car at the other, storefront in between)... The movie was just a pleasure to watch. ¶ 9:50:00 p.m. (0) comments

The Kings Mutual Insurance Company 1904-2004: 100 Years of Neighbour Helping Neighbour: My dad was in town on business, and he brought us a bunch of stuff that his company had made to celebrate its centennial, including this video produced by Annapolis Valley Audio Visual. It really impressed me; I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't a big-budget production.

There were plenty of new clippings, funny anecdotes and interviews, and, my favourite part, footage of the Canadian Forces in the First and Second World Wars. They even had copies of the original documents drawn up by the farmers who were tired paying commercial insurance rates. ¶ 7:05:00 p.m. (0) comments

Ultimate Trains: Very cool show. The simulation of the InterCityExpress (ICE) 1 crash in Germany that killed 100 passengers was horrifying. Presumably, they put it in the middle of the hour-long show to leave the audience with a positive impression. (Setting aside the fact that the last bit was on military missile tests... Oh, sorry, American military missile tests. The point being, all these trains were great, but the U.S. has the railed land speed record, baby. Yeah!) :-/ ¶ 9:20:00 p.m. (0) comments

Shrek 2: Definitely some funny moments. One of them happened before the movie even started: my wife decided to amuse herself with the Breakout-like game on her cell phone while we waited; it being her first try at the game, she was soon giggling and squealing - as she's oft to do - trying to keep the ball in play.

Now, a woman and three kids had entered the empty theatre behind us. Moments before the Breakout fun began, she'd taken the two younger boys out to get popcorn, leaving the older - I'll say eight-year-old - girl behind to happily read her Kids Tribute magazine.

Well, the inevitable happened, the bat moving just too slowly to get under the ball, and my wife - who's always quick to chide my verbal indiscretions around children - let out this long-drawn-out, poorly-stifled, F-word-like cuss of frustration. :-) The best part? She followed it up with a "What? What's the matter with you?" expression before she clued in. :-) (Incidentally, the girl didn't even twitch... Quite the little reader.)

Uh, what? Oh, the movie! Yeah, like I said, some funny moments - like the hair ball... They dragged that one out perfectly *shudder* - but, overall, it was so-so. Come to think of it, Puss In Boots (the voice of Antonio Banderas) was in the middle of all the best stuff: the whole Cops-like sequence was excellent, but the best part was the knight pulling the Baggie of questionable material off Puss:

Knight: *sniff, sniff* Catnip.
Puss In Boots: That's not mine.

The deadpan delivery was bang on. :-) ¶ 4:14:00 p.m. (0) comments