Another two years have gone by. Time for another post!

Okay, so I guess the hoped for renaissance of this blog from two years ago never really happened after that last post. Once again I felt like putting some thoughts down and re remembered ( is that a thing?) this blog, so here I go.

I recently and finally got a 1080p tv. Yay! Now I know why I bought that blu ray player after all. Well, I have previously shared Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Last Crusade with my 5 year old daughter but I had refrained from showing her Temple of Doom because I thought it would scare the crap out of her and I would be the worst dad in the world if I showed it to her. But here it is Saturday night, we wanna watch a movie and I think hey, let's watch TOD. I can just get her to close her eyes when Mola Ram pulls that dudes heart out.

This is the first time watching the blu ray of this movie on my new 1080p tv and I was really impressed with the video of TOD. The colors and sharpness of the images was great with just the right hint of grain to make it awesome. John Williams music is perfect-it hits all the right notes at all the right times. I don't know how he did it but Spielberg once again pays homage to classic Hollywood film making while making his own classic film. Too often these kinds of attempts, though well intentioned, either fall flat, turn campy, or just seem contrived. Though you can see how Spielberg is almost checking off all of the time worn techniques in this movie, they still completely serve the story and don't exist just to call attention to themselves. This is classic, old school movie making and Spielberg is a master at it. Plus, even when bloody and beaten as he gets at times in this picture, Ford is never more a matinee idol as he is in this picture. Ford's presence and performance as Indy, coupled with Spielberg's filmmaking prowess, makes it a pure joy to watch these Indy movies.

Now I know TOD is looked at as inferior to Raiders and Last Crusade (I won't even mention KOTCS, I've said enough about it already!). I won't proclaim it to be better than either of those films or even their equal, but TOD should not be seen as a distant third. It's a different flavor for sure, but I think a lot of the dislike comes from it being different from the other two films. We don't see Indy back at university, no Marcus Brody, no Christian relic, it's too dark and violent, and having a little boy sidekick and an annoying female lead  are all complaints about this film. Some of those are valid, but if you just stop and try to enjoy the movie without comparing it to the other two I think you will enjoy it and realize it is nowhere near as bad as you may have thought it was all this time.

Okay, so back to my decision to let my 5 year old daughter watch the movie. Yeah, there is a lot of violence and dark, disturbing imagery in this movie. There's far more stuff than just Mola Ram ripping the poor guy's heart out! A lot of bloody fighting and gruesome deaths (though much of it is carefully cut away from).  I'm still not sure I should've shown it to her, but she did enjoy it, and as of right now she hasn't woken up with a nightmare, so maybe I can avoid that worst dad distinction for now!

WOW, "It" has been awhile, and some thoughts on 1990's "IT"

Ok, so it has been FOREVER since I wrote anything here! I was thinking of a place to just record some thoughts about different movies and things I saw, and then I tried to look for this old blog instead of starting a new one because I am lazy. Some funny stuff from four years ago on here-I think I should never have posted my revised Indy IV post, because I think I nailed it the first time. That movie sucks. Bad. I was in denial for a LONG time on that one.

Ok, so I was up late with my 1 month old son this past Saturday night, and I had recorded IT (the 1990 version) on Spike. I literally had not seen it since 1990 when I was a teenager. I had forgotten most of it. I remembered Richard Thomas and his epic ponytail and Tim Curry's Pennywise but that was about it. Fast forwarding the commercials, I got through this thing in just under 3 hours. I was up to 4 in the morning watching this sucker, and these are just some of my random thoughts and observations (and no, I have not read the book. I have read and enjoyed many Stephen King books, but this is not one I have read before).

I guess the first thing I noticed was IS EVERYONE IN THIS HICK TOWN A SOCIOPATH? Between young John Ritter's "lovely" cousin and aunt to little Annette O'Toole's crazy dad ("Only 12 and already goin' around with some boy!"), to the bully who threatens to kill everyone in the loser's group (for not liking to be bullied, I guess), just a whole lotta disturbed going on here. It seems living in this town, being attacked by a demonic clown might be the least of your worries.

Tim Curry is truly disturbing as Pennywise. If you are scared of clowns, this is the mother of all clowns to be scared of. I thought he was the best thing about the movie. "We all float down here!" Classic. He pulled of creepy very well.

As many have said over the years, the children's story (and acting performances) come across much better than the adult story. Watching the unengaging older versions reenact a lesser version of something we just saw earlier simply did not work. And how did all these disturbed kids from this backwoods Maine town all separately end up in show biz (except poor Tim Reid)? And that ending. OH, that ending...

But before we get to that ending, what a letdown the whole "bully- eaving the psych institute to go back and murder the old Losers Club" arc. Ok, this old bully guy who took the fall for the murders 30 years ago sees Pennywise on the face of the moon, coercing him into killing the old group that's come back to town. The end result? He gets the jump on Tim Reid and barely stabs him in the side once before he's "overpowered" by some of the rest of the crew and ends up stabbed in the chest and dies immediately. I'm sure Pennywise was not amused.

Sooo, the big climax turns out to be...the demon is a really crappy puppet spider that the cast rips apart at the end. That's it. Ok, I guess. Not really. Pretty lame, actually. I've invested 3 hours watching this thing, and this is the payoff. Not fulfilling. At all.

And the last scene. To wake up his sweetie, Richard Thomas and his awesome ponytail decide that, "Hey, if  I ride Olivia Hussey on a bike really fast down some hillls on main roads and dangerously into busy, downtown traffic, I can break this demonic coma thing!"  What an almost surreal scene, and there are no back roads in Derry, I suppose. A very silly ending to a very silly movie.

Seeing a bearded John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Dennis Cristopher's hair, Richard Thomas's ponytail, Tim Curry's Pennywise, and the overall production design/wardrobes that scream 1990 was a fun jump back in time and somewhat worth the 3 hours I invested in it. But I'm not sure I'll be in a hurry to tackle this thing again anytime soon.They'll all have to float on without me.

***SPOILERS***-"Doc! I have to tell you something about the future!"

"No, Marty!"

In Back to the Future, Doc Brown did not want to know anything about his future, as it might effect the space time continuum. But our hero Marty will have none of this, and he does what he believes is the right thing by writing the letter to Doc, warning him of the terrorists that will shoot and kill him on the night Marty goes back in time.

The same dilemma occurs whenever you hear about an awful plot point/device in a movie, one so bad that it will make you completely change your mind about seeing that movie, and you feel that you must warn your friends. Say you find out something awful, like Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks shoot CGI prairie dog missles to defeat the bad guys in the new Clone Wars movie...do you tell your friend(This is just a made up example: I don't know of anything bad in the Clone Wars movie, and I look forward to seeing it)? I know I would want to be told. I would hate to feel ripped off after having spent money to see something that turns out to be horrendous. Now, I'm not advocating spoiling any and everything. I am referring to those instances when you find out a spoiler that is so bad, you feel obligated to warn your friends.

Recently, I did what I thought was my obligation to do and warned a couple of friends about an obscenely bad plot point to an upcoming movie. What I thought was a good deed ended up backfiring on me, as a good friend of mine got pretty pissed at me for doing this. In turn, I got a little pissy myself, as I thought my friend was being a big baby. I mean, I was doing him a favor, because I had warned him about a plot that sucks beyond belief. After having an opportunity to think things over, I think we both have valid points, but I guess I should just err on the side of caution from now on and not spoil anything, no matter how bad it is. And I'm telling you, this particular plot point is BAD.

So, this is my letter of explanation/apology to you, my friend. I promise not to tell you any more spoilers for any movies, no matter how bad they are. But, if I find out that terrorists will shoot and kill you in the parking lot of the mall sometime in the future, I'm still gonna warn you.

(revised) Movie Review-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

After my second viewing of KOTCS, the verdict is...this movie is pretty good. Going into it with more realistic expectations, the movie played a lot better the second time around. Everything felt right and made sense. Some things that bothered me in the first viewing were totally fine this time around-the ant scene didn't bother me at all, and even the monkeys and Shia swinging through the trees ala Tarzan didn't bother as much as before (though I still could have done without it).

Its so funny how context can change how you perceive something. Having already seen the movie, watching it this time was more like watching the other Indy films because now I knew what would happen next, so I could focus more on other things than just trying to follow the plot. The movie is definitely rewatchable. There is so much more that I liked about it the second time around. I really enjoyed the first half to two-thirds of the movie. The intro at Area 51, Indy meeting Mutt, the Peru scenes, and even most of the big chase set-piece were good stuff. The whole ending still bugs me, the whole "I want to know", bad CGI alien, spaceship scene. It didnt feel like an the old Indy movies, whereas most of the rest of the movie does.



So, what exactly am I trying to say here? Indy IV is good-very good. It is worth repeat viewings. Its not as good as Last Crusade or Raiders, its got a little too much CGI for my tastes, but it is entertaining and satisfying. I hope that they make a couple of more movies with Indy in the 1950s!

Serenity Now! -The Official Podcast of Its a Trap and I Ated the Berries is Online Now

Check out the links to download the pilot episode!

Movie Review-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

After watching Indy IV last night and coming away somewhat disappointed, I rationalized to myself that I just didn’t give the movie a chance. I didn’t follow my own advice to take the movie in context, and not build it up to unrealistic heights (see my post from April 19-I’m such a hypocrite!). So, the morning after the midnight showing, I had talked myself into the fact that the movie wasn’t that bad, and that I should wait until after my second viewing to write any sort of review. I was gonna give Indy another shot.

Well, I am still gonna give the movie another shot and try to enjoy it more on its own merits, but I realize that you can’t always avoid first impressions. There are just some things that I don’t think that I’ll change my mind or heart about. So, I think I need to get these thoughts, opinions, and ruminations down before my second viewing. After my second viewing, perhaps some of my opinions will change, and perhaps I can synthesize what I gained from two viewings and construct a more compete view of the movie, but I want to get these first impressions down while they are still fresh.

Alright, after that preface, I am going to start with the good stuff. Harrison Ford looked GREAT, and I mean that in a totally hetero way (this old dude is buff!). He can so totally still play Indy. It wasn’t weird or not the same or anything. He has still got “it “as Indy. Ford still has the magic, even at 65. Ford’s age was never a negative or distracting issue.

Shia as Mutt Williams was also very good, and his relationship with Indy was believable, and he and Ford had chemistry. Shia was NOT the Jar Jar that ruined the movie. His character and performance were quite good, and I enjoyed many of his scenes, especially with Indy. Spielberg nudges us pretty hard early on in trying to show us the parallels between Indy/Mutt and Indy/Henry Sr., but overall it works.

I loved the fifties setting. The diner scene was great, and I also enjoyed the opening scene with the Elvis music playing as the teenagers in the hot rod raced the Army car. I like how the opening scene established the tone of the movie before we ever see Indy-it s obviously the fifties and years since the last movie, and the opening sets that up nicely.

The action scenes were good for the most part, and I enjoyed seeing Ford still do some of his own stunts.

Now, for the negative…Aliens. Monkeys. CG ants. Oh, my.

Ok, I did not have a problem with aliens being part of the relic for this movie. This seems to be the major ill people see in the movie, but I am ok with it. All of Indy’s big treasures have had a supernatural or fantastical element, so the crystal skull being of alien origin was not a problem for me. The whole crazy, X-files ending, though? It was a bit much, to say the least.

Shia swinging through the trees with CG monkeys. Do I even need to make a comment about that? This, combined with the ants, is where this movie really “jumped the shark” (I know, that term is so overused and cliché’ now, but it applies). Speaking of the ant, scene, I thought I was watching the Mummy Returns, and that is most definitely NOT a good thing. This scene did NOT feel like an Indy movie. I kept waiting for Brendan Fraser to pop up during this scene, and again, that is not a good thing.

One thing that you cannot accuse the filmmakers of is a lack of effort. In the wake of the poor reception by the fans of the Star Wars prequels, you can easily see that Lucas and Spielberg were hell bent on pleasing everybody with this movie. They try to throw everything into this movie-what happened to Marcus Brody and Indy’s dad, Marion comes back, we see the Ark of the Covenant, you got a female baddy ala Last Crusade, etc. You could tell that little stuff had been pulled from here and there, and that a million hands had touched the script, and everything just did not mesh together. The plot did not follow one strong arch as the other films did. The filmmakers tried too hard to just throw disjointed ideas together in an attempt to please everyone rather than just make a tight, solid adventure narrative. Like the old saying goes, when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one (I think that was the moral of one of Aesop’s fables).

All of this being said, I think that perhaps I went into this movie with the wrong mindset. Instead of sitting there, waiting to be blown away by the second coming, I should have come with a more light hearted attitude of wanting to be entertained by master entertainers (which, despite any of their flaws, Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford excel as entertainers). If I had just chilled out, I probably would have enjoyed the film much more. Although I can’t just disregard my first impressions, I want to like this movie so much that I am most definitely giving it another shot. After my Friday evening viewing, I will post a follow up review to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and share any new thoughts about the movie at that time.

Serenity Now!

We just recorded our first podcast today-its Serenity Now! I hope to have the podcast ready to download from here soon. ShaolinDolemite and I riff on weekend box office, Darth Vader, Sex in the City (not a misprint), Hitler, Scientology, and more in our inaugral podcast. You don't wanna miss it!