Pre/Post-Move Netflixing

Theaterflixing

Because of the move and stuff, there's wasn't time nor money for going to the movies.
But the Sibling and I took time out last weekend to go see a movie at The Bridge Cinema.
We wanted to see the movie on IMAX, but it was sold out, so we saw it on the normal big screen instead.

Spider-Man 3 - "Look at poor lil' Green Goblin Junior. You gonna cry now?"
The film was not as bad as some people had led me to believe. I mean, sure, it was angsty and emo, but that's Spidey!
And the previous two films were certainly angsty. No, the thing I could have done without was MJ's musical numbers.
I mean, cripes! I thought she wanted to be a theater actress, and now she's SINGING!??! Maybe I missed something.
Anyway, the movie had lots of stuff going on. It was funny, it was gut-wrenching, and Bruce Campbell was French(?).
I liked it, but I liked "Spider-Man 2" more, mostly because Alfred Molina was simply awesome as Doc Ock.
If you don't like multi-tasking movies, you ain't gonna like this.
If you didn't see the previous two films, keep your perfect record! :D


Pre-Move Netflixing

Hell's Angels (1930) - "The first multi-million dollar talking picture!"
After watching Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" again (we own the DVD), and seeing how much work Howard Hughes put into
"Hell's Angels", his WWI air war epic, I decided to actually rent the darn thing and see the results.
And I gotta say, for a film made in 1930, it's impressive and pretty good. And 2 hours long! And a it's a talkie!
Two brothers are visiting Germany with a German classmate. One of the brothers is a terrible womanizer and he fools around
with the wife of a German baron, who looks an awful lot like Pee-Wee Herman, and I wish I was kidding when I said this.
Anyway, Baron Von Herman comes home early and surprises the lovers. He seems to take things rather well, clicks his heels,
hands over his business card, and says to the womanizer: "my secondz vill visit you tomorrow mornink to arrange ze detailz".
At that point, I turned to Herr Brother and said "holy crap, I think he just challenged him to a duel".
And sure enough, the next morning, a couple of officers show up and mistake the womanizer's brother for the perpetrator.
And get this, the brother DOES NOTHING to dissuade them! He goes through with the duel and says nothing to his brother!
Definitely an older movie, with older values. The trio returns to Cambridge University, in England. The German student gets
recalled to Der Fatherland to fight in WWI. The brothers sign up for the Royal Air Corps. And the war is on!
You can tell this movie was done by a plane-loving control-freak because there are tons of planes in the air and the cockpit
footage really is cockpit footage! The cameras point at the pilot's faces and you can see the wind and the g-forces deform
their visages! Also, the film recreates the actual tactics and procedure used by German dirigible crews. I've seen countless
documentaries and specials on WWI, all of them just gave passing mentions that, yes, the Germans used dirigibles as bombers.
But they never explained how and never went into details. If you're an airplane buff, you must rent this film just for this!
The performances are a mixed bag. The film was originally silent, then was reshot with sound, and you can see that the actors
and actresses were used to perform in silent movies. The gestures and facial expressions are excessive, and the level of
melodrama can get pretty high. However, Jean Harlow's performance as a liberated woman is startingly ahead of its time.
Overall, it's a hell of a piece work. It's dated in some respects, of course, but for 1930, it's revolutionary.
My respect for Mr. Hughes has grown.

Rocky Balboa (2006) - "I think there's still something down there, in the basement..."
Rented at Le Frère's behest, this turned out better than expected.
Ol' Rocky's getting on in years. Adrian passed away a few years earlier. He's got a nice little restaurant and he makes a
great host. He's got a son who avoids him. His buddy still works at the meat plant. Meanwhile, in the boxing world, this
guy is beating everyone and makes it look easy. The crowds are getting tired of it. The guy needs a new challenge, or a
challenge at all since none of his opponents have been up to snuff. Those wacky guys at ESPN decide to get their computer
nerdsengineers to feed the stats of both the new guy and Rocky into a simulator and have them go one on one.
And Virtual Rocky wins! The new guy's agents see dollar signs and decide to have the fight for real. "Just an exhibition!"
On his own side, Rocky decides he wants to fight again, resumes training, and applies for the right license.
So I guess this is a film about doing what you want, what you feel is right, about not being too old for certain things.
Sometimes, old and busted kicks the new hotness' ass. :)

Happy Feet (2006) - "Yeah, I saw an animal do that once and then they rolled him over and he was dead."
This one was a little odd. I mean, okay, I actually dig the singing and dancing and general party atmosphere, and it's
actually really damn funny when the Latino penguins show up, but there's some weird stuff going on there. There's some
subtext about tradition, religion and nonconformalism and then it's got humans! Lots of humans! It becomes political fiction!
It's, I don't know, just weird. You know, they gave the Best Documentary Oscar to "An Inconvenient Truth" this year.
Did they give the Best Animated film Oscar to "Happy Feet" because of the ecological message? I mean, "Cars" was the usual
Pixar good, though not great, and what I've heard about "Monster House" ranges from "bleurgh!" to "super!".
I really wanted "Over The Hedge" to be nominated and to win. But, a PC Oscar win for "Happy Feet"? That would suck.
But I'm probably wrong...


Post-Move Netflixing

The Queen (2006) - "Oh dear lord, what did Diana do this time?"
Helen Mirren becomes HM Queen Elizabeth II right before your eyes in this film that recalls the painful week following
the death of Lady Diana in that fatal car crash in Paris. The monarchy's lack of reaction caused a lot of animosity from
the many thousands of people who were mourning her passing. Newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair had to do something...
In addition to rock-solid performances, you also get an interesting inside look at the workings of the Royal Family, all the
protocol and pomp and procedure surrounding the Royals. This is the kind of thing the brother and I really enjoy, these
gritty political dramas like "Thirteen Days" and to a certain degree "Good Night And Good Luck". But while I find "Ghost In
The Shell: Stand Alone Complex" riveting, he has a tendency to fall right asleep watching it, unless there's gunplay. :D
So anyway, really good stuff! And well-trained corgis FTW!!

Volver (2006)
I'm afraid Pedro Almadovar's films are not ones I'm interested in, so I didn't watch this.
It was rented for the The Sibling's perusal. I'm not sure if he liked it or not.


Netflix just delivered Blood Diamond, The Good Shepherd, and The Last King Of Scotland.
These will be reviewed at a later date.

M.I.R.P. (Multiple Independently-targeted Reentry Posts)

(Come on, I'm sure some of you have played "Missile Command"! :D )

Wil Wheaton is a nerd and a funny guy.
I've been reading his blog (yeah, I know, "Welcome to the party, pal! A little late ain'tcha!"), it's amusing and charming.
I want to meet him and shake his hand.
Maybe that's why I'm suddenly considering going to PAX '07, the Penny Arcade Expo up in Seattle in late August.
Wil is a keynote speaker there. They bribed him with a Wii. :)
And the expo is all about videogames and videogame stuff!
This would all be dependent upon how the Sibling royalties thing shakes out next month, of course.
I have oodles of paid-time-off saved up, I just need oodles of buck$ to make this happen.
With E3 dead and buried (turned into a tiny by-invitation-only event pretty much means dead and buried to us all), PAX might
be a good susbtitute, and the list of sponsors certainly seems to bear this out: lots of game companies normally at E3.


And speaking of gaming, there's one con I'm sure I won't make: Ziggurat Con
The first gaming con ever held in a war zone! Yes, military games take on a whole new form when you play in Iraq!
By the way, if any of youse got unloved roleplaying stuff laying around the house, send it all to the Ziggurat Con!
Several companies are already donating games, books, and comics, but every bit helps.
An interesting way to support our troops, for sure.


Next weekend (using my definition of "next" which is not this one but the one after) is Star Wars Celebration IV, the gigantic
SW con from hell, actually happening in Los Angeles! At the Convention Center even! Where E3 used to take place.
I'm planning to attend on Saturday (that would be the 26th) to see just what hive of scum and villainy awaits the unwary.
And I'm hoping to see amarafox! I ain't seen her in ages!!
This should be interesting...


Tomorrow Saturday is the anniversary meeting of the C/FO. Mitch Beiro will be in town and will come by the Kzinti Freehold.
The C/FO will celebrate 30 years of existence. That's three with a zero. Damn, that's a long time for an animation club!
I jumped onboard around 1984-1985 myself, I recall going to meetings on my kick-ass Honda Elite 250 scooter (the big one).
Back then, there were multiple chapters of the C/FO and I was member of the Santa Monica branch. The meetings were held
once a month at "A Change Of Hobbit" bookstore on Lincoln Blvd. Jean "Moebius" Giraud's son was a regular attendee.
I still have all the handouts and synopsiseseses from ALL the meetings! I don't know, they might come in handy some day.
So anyway, that's what I'm doing tomorrow: C/FO with BBQ and an anniversary cake, and hanging with Mitch.

I'll probably have the place to myself on Sunday because Pascal will be in the studio, working on his track.


And finally, I just wanted to mention, for those who have asked,
that absolutely nothing whatsoever happened today in sector 83x9x12.
I repeat: nothing happened. Please remain calm.