Ants in Your Pants of 1939 sounds like a fantastic movie. If it was real. It's one of the funny films directed by John L Sullivan. It's such a great money maker for his studio that the execs want him to direct another comedy, perhaps Ants in Your Pants of 1941. Sullivan doesn't want to. He wants to direct a movie with pathos and gravitas like a Capra film. And maybe with a little sex in it. But he doesn't have the life experience to direct such a movie. What does he know? So he outfits himself as a hobo and goes in search for that American experience. Hilarity ensues. That's the film in a nutshell. The film he wanted to make was "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Needless to say it doesn't get made because of the epiphany he experiences in his search for hobo gold.

Sullivan's Travels was Preston Sturges's film after The Lady Eve. It's one of several films he wrote and directed during the 1940's which was a very creative and fruitful period for him. I bought his box set that not only had both The Lady Eve and Sullivan's Travels but five other good films. Each one hilarious in their own right.

If you like movies with some really good dialogue, you can't do better than one of these Preston Sturges flicks.

4 of 5 stars.

Labels: hoboes, movies, review

The problem I had with this "expose" was that they talked about the film, but only show several minutes throughout the entire show. If it was a real film they would've filmed the entire autopsy from beginning to end.

Also, what was purported to be film looked like grainy video. Couldn't they at least shown it as film?

It's all fake.

1 of 5 stars

Labels: hunh?, Netflix Queue, review

I am always down for a Kerri Russell flick.

In this small, quirky film (it debuted at Sundance) she plays a waitress in a small town pie diner stuck in a bad marriage. She bakes pies, gets pregnant, and has an affair with her OB-GYN. And she looks as cute as ever.

But back to the film. It fits as one of those Sundance films. I haven't been this charmed by one of these types of films since Ruby in Paradise. It may seem overly trying at times, but the sweetness of it wins you over. Kerri Russell was winnning as the main character. She bring back Felicity who's been sorely missed. The supporting cast worked well.

4 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review

It's gonna be the biggest thing this summer. No, not any of the lame third editions of movies, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow. It's gonna be big. Real big. And you'll just have to go along with the hype.

To get you started, here's some fancy speculation about some plot points for the finale.

It's ludicrous, but somewhat believable. Yet, most everything you can say about the Potter series can come true. I've been known to dabble. In fact, I think that it will be Harry who dies with Hermione very saddened.

Labels: bookish, thoughts

As you know, I'm on a Barbara Stanwyck jag. It's been her movies which I just want to see. My Netflix queue has several. My DVD collection has expanded because of her. My Amazon shopping cart is crammed with her films. Anyway here's the post which got me started on this cinematic journey.

Labels: Barbara Stanwyck, movies

This New York Times article is certainly laughable. It's arguing that the future of movies is in the third dimension. 3-D!

That's no punchline.

Yet, to predict that 3-D is the next big thing in movies is to miss out on the resurgance of virtual reality. VR movies will supplant the lame 3-D technology of today. You can't get more into a movie than virtually walking through the sets.

Take that to the bank.

Labels: hunh?, lame idea, movies

I love pirates. Sometimes I fancy myself as one. But pretty soon searching for pirate booty will be replaced by a yearning for the freedom of the rails. And every one will want to be a hobo.

Don't believe me?

It's starting to appear every where thanks to John Hodgeman's book and his reading of 700 hobo names. Soon there'll be a hobo day and it'll seep into the blogosphere memes. You'll be wanting to know what your hobo name is.

I'm just feeling it because of watching Sullivan's Travels last night. Good movie. Veronica Lake is short. Yet, it made me want to be a hobo too. Or at least a bum.

Labels: hoboes, hunh?

Contrary to what Marge says, I wanted to write up my review, or thoughts on, 28 weeks Later...

In most horror films, there is the jerk. The character that does things against the grain in service of selfish ideas rather than in service of the survivors, like Burke in Aliens or Ed in Shaun of the Dead. It's the character you want most to die, and to be there when it happens in the most gruesome of way. In 28 Weeks Later, I felt that the two kids where that character. If not for their own selfish reasons, this movie would've been over in half the time. They were the prime motivators for killing off the human race, but they shouldn't have survived. They should've died the gruesome death of the jerk onscreen for us to cheer. I would've liked the movie that way. I couldn't like this movie when the characters I really wanted to live didn't.

Plus, there were plot points that made no sense. Why did it take hours to find the children in a deserted London? Why is the US Military incometent? How on an island can you let zombies escape? WTF?

The movie is badly plotted. And the twist, which I thought wasn't going to happen, happened. And I called it when I did not want to believe it. That's what killed it for me.

2 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review

Labels: Barbara Stanwyck, movies, screenshot, The Lady Eve

Labels: Barbara Stanwyck, movies, screenshot, The Lady Eve

Now that's what it's like when your the VP and are a board of director.

Awesome.

I wonder if its one Mac driving all that or is it 3.

Labels: geeked, Macs

Link: The Classic Leading Man Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Labels: polls, time sink

Link: The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Labels: polls, time sink

Here's an interesting Barbara Stanwyck site. It's got lots of info and vids and screen caps, but what the most impressive thing about it is how stuck it is in web design. It reminds me of 1998 and those who were on the geocities kick. Nice. Frozen in time. Like Miss Stanwyck, one for the ages.

Labels: Barbara Stanwyck, time sink

For millions of hard-working, middle-class families, life under the Bush presidency has grown less affordable and less secure. President Bush%u2019s record of fiscal incompetence and mismanagement, and Republicans%u2019 close ties with special interests, have helped lead to both lower wages on the one hand and skyrocketing costs for basic necessities like gas, health care, and college tuition on the other. Unfortunately, instead of producing solutions to the problems facing the middle class, Bush Republicans have ignored them and pushed for policies that would make matters even worse.

We are a poorer nation with that wanker in charge.

Labels: wankers

My statcounter log has surpassed the 10,000 visitor mark. Probably around Friday or Saturday it went over. Were you the one?

I don't think it's fairly accurate account. I only installed statcounter within the last year, but I have had this blog for about 3 full years. And that's coming up soon.

Labels: meta

Spiderman 3 is no Spiderman 2. It took the momentum built from the last movie, "Go get 'em tiger," and threw some grit and Sandman into the gears grinding the franchise to a halt.

The biggest problem was Sandman. I was at the comic shop this weekend where they had lots of old time Spidey comics on the wall. Issue 2 was Doc Ock. Issue 1 must've been the Green Goblin. Issue 3 was, guess who? The Vulture, but issue 4 was Sandman. So they producers felt they had to stick with the schedule of villains established by the comic book. But Venom is a fanboy favorite, and was added to the trilogy to appease them. So it feels like they started with the Sandman as the prime villain, found out his story was weak, and added Venom. It results in an uneven story.

We first get Sandman. But did I mention Green Goblin Jr? He's in it and his story line takes the most unconvincing turn of all. Back to Sandman, he's a two-bit crook on the lam to see his daughter. That's it, and by the way, he also killed your Uncle Ben. Hunh? Did he really kill him or did they make that up for the movie? Fanboys, help. They needed that in order for Spidey to work himself up for a showdown. Sandman then gets defeated at the two hour mark about which I wanted thought the ending should've occurred. He shows up in the last reel though to team up with Venom and kick some Spidey ass. Lame.

Venom was also problematic. They had to explain the entire emotional change in Peter Parker without losing time for Sandman bits. Peter becomes emo boy without the eyeliner. So after Sandman disappears, Venom takes over, but it was plainly a compression of a longer story arc from the comic book and the measly half hour it got didn't do it justice.

Raimi I respect for making the first two very fine comicbook movies. He had a lot here to handle. Bottom line they should've had one villain. I think with the third installment they should've gone for the tried and true final act by redoing the first movie (see Indy and Star Wars for hints).

Caught this in the last showing on opening Friday. The audience was looking for a better time. I think plenty of people were disappointed judging from the number of people leaving before the first fake out ending occurred. It didn't stop them from running to the doors after the second fake out ending, also.

3 of 5 stars

Labels: movies, review

I hope you and your friends made it to the comicbook store to celebrate Free Comicbook Store. I went with the seed and Marge from the Fish Tank. The Seeds been reading comics lately, and Marge has referenced some books she likes to read so they're pretty much ready for the geekiness to ensue.

And how.

My usual store is Cards, Comics, & Collectibles in Reisterstown. They do a good service and they had all the free comics you can carry. And almost most of the time I go in, there's a sale. Today was no different. $1.00 for all back issues in the bins.

So I bought a few back issues of Spiderman Loves Mary Jane. I would've bought them out, but didn't want to be seen as too enthusiastic about this title. For a dollar it was a great buy. It's a good read if you're into that. Funny thing is sometimes I am. It's reminds me of Evan Dorkin's Pirate Corps from which I got the ska bug as well as these silly relationship style comics. Pirate Corps/Hectic Planet had Halby and Elsie. Spiderman Loves Mary Jane has Spiderman and Mary Jane. And all the intendent complications about those two. It's stupid fun.

Labels: comics, geeked

May the Fourth be with you!

... Now that's corny like corn beef hash...

The movies that I really wanted to see over Memories of Murder starred Barbara Stanwyck. The latest one is Lady of Burlesque.

From the sound of the title it would've had to take place when burlesque was big. Early on in the thirties. Yet, as Miss Stanwyck makes her appearance, I expected the pretty, young thing, but it was the mature Miss Stanwyck. I found out that this movie was made in 1943! A few years from Lady Eve and just before Double Indemnity. So this is how some of her non-classic films were like. It's a B movie! Yet, guess again. It was nominated for an Oscar in the song category "Take it off the E String. Play it on the G-string" which Miss Stanwyck sang. WooHoo!

The plot centers around the backstage shennanigans of a burlesque grind house, and then the ladies get involved in a murder straight out of a Scooby Doo mystery. "I would've gotten away with it, except for these meddling ladies of burlesque." The murder mystery was pretty thin. As was the plot.

The funniest part of watching it was that I was expecting a pre-code movie. Of course, being made in 1943, it adhered to the code of ethics of the day. Just imagine how much "burlesque" they could show. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. For Miss Stanwyck's song and dance, she did some bumping and grinding. Or at least that was what was hinted at. Cut to the audience. She shakes it, but only in your imagination.

Lady of Burleque isn't bad, but it's only for those hardcore Stanwyck fans.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: Barbara Stanwyck, movies, Netflix Queue, review

What with Grindhouse, it seems like all the movies nowadays are trying to recapture something of the stories of the yesteryear. Here's two that tried. Which of them succeeded?

Disturbia is to Rear Window as Sweet&Low is to sugar. It's nowhere as good as the original. And yet, it seems that people have been flocking to it making it three weeks at the top of the box office. Why? Because they are wankers, but hey, I saw it in the theatres. I don't think I am a wanker, but I wanted to see it because of its shameless rip of one of my favorite movies.

There are few direct riffs on the original. They've escaped me right now, a week since watching the movie. I remember one being the sound of a scream/killing waking Shia up. The leaving from the scene of the "crime" a lady. These were the only vestiges of Hitchcock's film that stand out. The others were subtle. Is the killer coming over with a bat similar to Raymond Burr showing up at the door? Maybe. Is the scene with the depiction of the neighborhood the same? No Ms. Lonely Hearts though. Can't compete.

The one thing they updated was the score. Or at least the musical soundtrack with what passes for music nowadays. Why? It was an episode of the OC with that dude stuck in doors. Or that other dude on a killing spree. Sorry, about the names, but at least that is what I think it would be like.

It's a palid version of one of the greatest movies in Hitchcock's ouevre.

2 of 5 stars.

Hot Fuzz brought to us by the madmen who did Shaun of the Dead (which I thought was alright), and the director of the funniest fake trailer in Grindhouse, "Don't." Yet, this film appealed to me more. Shaun of the Dead was a mediocre attempt at a zombie movie. Zombies are tired. They should've been ninjas, or at least pirates.

But Hot Fuzz travels in the tried and true action genre.

Whether they are spoofing it or paying a cheeky homage is hard to tell. If they refer to Bad Boyz II as the ultimate flick, it's got to be a spoof. Yet, they reference Michael Bay-isms throughout. HOMAGE!

Best line riffed on Jake Gittes, but not: "Forget it, Nick, it's Sandford." That's won me some points those cheeky brits.

4 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review

Fuck, yeah! Please, somebody shoot me.



What a wanker!

I don't know how anyone could've taken him seriously. Ever. Right from the beginning you knew he was a wanker. Dude is the type that you want to have a beer with. Not the type you want to be your president. And even having a beer with him would make you feel uncomfortable, because he's just a scuzz ball. Fucking America. Bunch of stupid wankers for electing this guy. TWICE.

"Fool me once, shame on you..."

Labels: wankers, wishing for a pony

I'm turning out like CapitolSwell. I had Memories of Murder at my house for weeks. Supposedly, I had received it on the seventh of April. I didn't ever watch it. I put it back in the mail on Monday, April 30th.

It sat on my nightstand for weeks. I had also bought several other DVDs over those weeks, mainly Barabara Stanwyck flicks, which I watched. Twice sometimes.

This is the first time that I didn't watch a movie from my Netflix queue. Even some of the sucky ones which almost put me to sleep, I slogged my way through. I never let a movie get me down. Perhaps if The Host wasn't so disappointing I would have watched it quicker.

Anyhow, OneLittleSeedling has ripped it twice. So I'll just borrow it from him. If I get the urge to watch it.

Labels: movies, Netflix Queue, wankers