Quote of the Day [12.30.08]
“Only one thing in the world could’ve dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window.”
Ralphie, A Christmas Story
Link of the Day [12.30.08]
The year is almost up. Pretty soon the ball will drop from Times Square and the New Year will be here! To celebrate the passage of this year, let’s all have some fun and take a look at the Aztec calendar.
Quote of the Day [12.29.08]
“Quit? You know, once I was thinking about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer, all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and I won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I’m sure you have a good reason to quit. So what are you dying from that’s keeping you from the finals?”
Lance Armstrong (Lance Armstrong), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Link of the Day [12.29.08]
It’s a good time to be a skater in SoCal. If you know anything about skateboarding history, you know that pool skating became huge because of the emptying of pools in the 70s. Now we have more houses being abandoned because of the housing market turmoil, and once again we are having an emptying of pools. I wonder if people are flying planes to find the hidden gems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/us/29pools.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
The Day the Earth Stood Still
All throughout The Day the Earth Stood Still you just know that Keanu Reeves is an emotionless alien and not just for the character he plays, but for his acting.
If there was one movie not worth remaking, it was the original, The Day the Earth Stood Still. It’s not that the original was a great movie not to be tinkered with, but that it’s message of peace, love and kindness among men can be told in hundreds of ways that something original can be created without rehashing the old. The original is a classic sci-fi film, and it has wonderful sci-fi elements. To update to now means to mash up sci-fi with the CG thriller action idioms that dominate Hollywood movies today. To update to now means to take those precious rhythms of the original story and flatten them to a monotone of contemporary dreariness. To update to now means to make a very forgettable film. The original was not.
In the original, the viewer was active in confronting the need for change. In the latest, the viewer is replaced by the plaintive wail of a character expressing that things can change. In the former, it is left to each one to devise whether change can happen. In the latter, the need for change is just another story moment. It is groveling which hurt the latest. That character seems to whine too much. In the original, we must change because we are confronted with the need to; we the viewer are asked to act. The latest makes us passive, and it makes us fools. No more whining about it.
2 of 5 stars.
The Bandit is Skynet
Went to DC to get some lunch at an all you can eat Filipino buffet. Picked up CapitolSwell at his house which is just down Connecticut Ave. Driving down the street and everyone was Sunday driving. What’s wrong with people! I pass them, but realize that it’s because of all the traffic cameras there to ensnare hapless motorists. Damn. I just hope that they were under repair as there was a maintenance vehicle with one of the boxes open while we cruised through at around 40 mph.
Leaving DC, it’s the same story.
Quote of the Day [12.28.08]
“Yipee ki-yi-yay, mother-“
John McClane (Bruce Willis), Die Hard (censored!)
Link of the Day [12.28.08]
In these tough economic times, one has to scrimp and save one’s money to make ends meet. If only money grew on trees.
Well just use today’s link to print your own money. Monopoly money of course, but it’s always fun to print out thousands of dollars on your printer. You can even use it to make your own game.
http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/monopoly/default.cfm?page=strategyguide/gametools
Movie List 2008
I always compile this list before the end of the year. While looking over my posts of the movies I saw in the theatre, I was surprised that I had a lot of 2 stars even from the ones that were “good.” (I’m looking at you Dark Knight.) I’m also surprised that I saw very few movies. A rough estimate is about 60 this year whereas last year was probably around . I still a few reviews to post, but those films are just average or below. So here’s my list of 4+ star films.
- Slumdog Millionaire (4)
- Wall-E (4)
- Vertigo (5)
- Iron Man (4)
- Rebecca (4)
- There will be blood (5)
Click the link to read my review. Post your own list.
I’ve also noticed that my list is getting shorter. Either I am becoming a better judge of movies or I am becoming more finicky.
Scenes from the last Saturday of 2008
“Hey! The Great Escape just started.”
“Steve McQueen can’t make it over the big German gap!”
Just start baby. Please start. Yosh!
“Anyone know any manga with cat girls?”
“Cat girls? Not my taste. Good luck.”
Hmmm. Yozakura Quartet.
Worst lamb gyro ever.
“Mmmm. Pralines and cream milk shake.”
“Yuck. Pralines and cream milk shake.”
Anime? Miyazawa!