Death List Part 1
The whole world is a homicide victim, Father. Would a god who is good invent something like death? Plainly speaking, it's a lousy idea; it's not popular, Father. It's not a winner. ~ Lt. William Kinderman talking with his friend Father Dyer (Exorcist III)Death in the movies. I guess I've been thinking about this subject, subconsciously, since last weekend. Ever since I participated in another of Dennis Cozzalio's semi-regular movie quizzes (fun as they are), in fact. And, I can point to the specific question that triggered it, too:
44) Favorite moment of self- or selfless sacrifice in a movie.
I realize it's a stereotype and a cliché (movie-wise and in other forms) to say that men focus on death while women concentrate on life. But, that overused opinion does seem to resound, now doesn't it. I don't know if that's true or not. Certainly, death in movies is well chronicled with almost loving attention in print and online (the fact that most are authored by males has to be some sort of strange coincidence, huh?). One delightful example of this came out late in this summer, wonderfully written by David Frank:
Top 10 Great Movie Deaths
He put together one of the better brief lists for the subject in the article, and it has a great sub-headline:
Movies love to kill people and we love to watch...
- The Ninth Configuration - Colonel Vincent Kane: the fact that it is done by a man who is a dark legend in his own right is especially poignant to the story, and me.
- Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan - Mr. Spock: I don't think you have to consider yourself a geek for this one. I recently showed this to my kids and they very much got it.
- The Poseidon Adventure - Reverend Scott: You could almost put this forward as the movie definition of sacrificial death. Gene Hackman will always have a special place in my heart for this.
- Poseidon - Robert Ramsey: while Wolfgang Petersen's remake was nowhere as good as the original, Kurt Russell's character's final act for the survivors also got to me (plus, I've been told it is a dead-on drowning impersonation).
- Spartacus - this is the famous "I'm Spartacus" moment where all who are left alive by final battle's end choose crucifixion in an attempt to spare you know who. It's such a macho choke-up moment.
- The Exorcist - Father Karras: since I saw the movie before reading the book, I was taken aback to a high degree with his last act.
- Independence Day - Russell Cassee: when he says "Tell my kids I love 'em"... well, I don't think I have to spell it out for you.
- The Day After Tomorrow - Frank Harris: cutting the rope so that his falling through the mall's roof doesn't kill his friends, too, is such a simple but magnanimous act of friendship.
- By The Dawn's Early Light - Commanding General of the Looking Glass Plane (Alice) and the flight crew of the acting Air Force One: to prevent the nuclear escalation, these people coordinate their own deaths so a military stand-down can take place.
- The Langoliers - Nick Hopewell: the last act from the former SAS fixer volunteering to guide his friends back through the time rift and hopefully come out even (shades of The Ninth Configuration).
- Armageddon - Harry Stamper: THE most chessy, illogical, over-the-top movie on this list (believe it or not, it has a famed Criterion Collection DVD release), but when Harry blows the asteroid in two to save the Earth (and his daughter), I'm still entertainingly moved.
- Star Wars Episode IV (A New Hope) - Obi-Wan Kenobi: 'Old Ben' allowing himself to be cut down by Darth Vader so that Luke could escape was a great act (and I don't care what Lucas edits anew, Han shot first!).
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My Only and One: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band
Posted by le0pard13 in remastered, The Beatles on Thursday, December 3, 2009
With this year's release of The Beatles Remastered albums on CD, and my ongoing re-appreciation of its library of songs, this is another post in my continuation of a series arc where I look at each. From these (in the order as they are in the remastered stereo set), I'll list their tracks from the spotlighted album and pick two songs:
My Only: A Day In The Life - if I picked it back in September as the top (or near) song of the 60's, I sure as heck wasn't going to leave it off as my Only pick, now was I? Along with the title track, With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and When I'm Sixty Four, this track is it when I remember the album (my cousin and I would wear this out on the turntable during the summer of '67).
My One: Good Morning Good Morning - though it may have been inspired by a cereal commercial, it remains an underrated favorite of mine. I continue to be drawn to it for the obvious drum work, along with the ahead of its time use of brass instruments in the piece. George's distinctive guitar riff at the halfway mark broke the tie I was having with Fixing A Hole for this selection. Plus, no farm animals were hurt in the making of this song, either.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
- the only track - if I could only listen to one track, the best song that exemplifies the album, it would be this one
- the one track - if I could pick a single track that doesn't get either the play or the credit it deserves, it's this one
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- With A Little Help From My Friends
- Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
- Getting Better
- Fixing A Hole
- She's Leaving Home
- Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
- Within You Without You
- When I'm Sixty Four
- Lovely Rita
- Good Morning Good Morning
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
- A Day In The Life
My Only: A Day In The Life - if I picked it back in September as the top (or near) song of the 60's, I sure as heck wasn't going to leave it off as my Only pick, now was I? Along with the title track, With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and When I'm Sixty Four, this track is it when I remember the album (my cousin and I would wear this out on the turntable during the summer of '67).
My One: Good Morning Good Morning - though it may have been inspired by a cereal commercial, it remains an underrated favorite of mine. I continue to be drawn to it for the obvious drum work, along with the ahead of its time use of brass instruments in the piece. George's distinctive guitar riff at the halfway mark broke the tie I was having with Fixing A Hole for this selection. Plus, no farm animals were hurt in the making of this song, either.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
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True Tales
Through the years, I've flitted across all sorts of categories in books (and as I've said before, I have my mother to thank for my love of reading). Espionage tales, fast paced thrillers, historical sagas, techno adventures, horror and even some romance novels have found their way into my hands, and mind (though I'll claim amnesia covering the titles for that last one). More recently, I've become a mystery/crime fiction junkie of sorts. However, for as much as I've enjoyed getting lost in fictional tales and characters of whatever category I've read (or listened to via the audiobook form), there remains one constant pull that's never left me, or been ignored. And that written work is of the non-fiction variety--again going back to my childhood and school experiences. I can never claim to have been an exemplary student. I cruised too often, studied only when I absolutely had to and routinely tried to get by with an elephantine memory of lectures. Only later in college did I learn my lesson. Needless to say, these are the things I watch out for in my children so they don't fall into those same woeful habits. (Nag, nag, nag...)
Fortunately, the kids have inherited their mother's smarts and work ethic (see, there's another reason her nickname is she-who-must-be-obeyed). And while American Lit was just an okay subject by this so-so student, history has always fascinated me (for some strange reason). Add to this, my mom read everything... including history and true tales. From one particular P.E. course, my college judo instructor had a saying that I've never forgotten. He said after the first few weeks of basic instruction (paraphrasing):
Fortunately, the kids have inherited their mother's smarts and work ethic (see, there's another reason her nickname is she-who-must-be-obeyed). And while American Lit was just an okay subject by this so-so student, history has always fascinated me (for some strange reason). Add to this, my mom read everything... including history and true tales. From one particular P.E. course, my college judo instructor had a saying that I've never forgotten. He said after the first few weeks of basic instruction (paraphrasing):
If you haven't learned how to fall properly by now, don't worry about it. When we start teaching you (judo) throws, you'll learn it by osmosis.
Meaning, out of sheer survival you'd learn how to fall when you hit the mat enough times (the wrong way). My college career in a nutshell--even to this day, it's how I learn best. So between my mother and my own proclivities, no matter what genre I was into, history and various true tales would continue to find their way into my reading selections. For some reason, I connect easily with these. Perhaps, it's due to the real (and all too human) people and their examined situations (along with their unfeigned repercussions) on paper that grab hold of, or tear at, me. For whatever reason, they keep me coming back for more.
With that in mind, it's two non-fictions that are the subject of this post. I'm lucky, as well, that the bloggers I follow will read and review both fiction and non-fiction works. And, that they're so good at what they write, I can't help but be influenced by their selections and assessments. Besides whatever is in my TBR pile, I have the one rule where I allow myself to throw a book to the front of the line (without reservation) because it's caught my fascination by either word of mouth or review by those I've noted in a previous post. And it's two specific bloggers that I owe for my last two true reads that I found a reason to write this. To say I was thoroughly engrossed, and haunted, by both of these after finishing them, would be an understatement. The first to do this, Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer, I have Elyse (of Pop Culture Nerd fame) to thank. In fact, she clued me in to it just prior to its release. We even read it at the same time (she with the actual book and me listening to the unabridged audio format - read by Scott Brick without too much flamboyance). The author had access to and drew upon Tillman's own journals and letters (along with family/friends memories and reflections) to build an extraordinary examination of an extraordinary individual. I'd love to say more about this work, and its affect upon me, but it's been done already, singularly, by Elyse herself. Read that, instead.
The second, which I completed just this morning (and that kicked me into gear), came by way of Corey Wilde (he of the marvelously named The
Drowning Machine). Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein (the author did his own audio narration, in fact), is another remarkable work and is an account of a gaijin finding a newspaper/crime beat niche in the land of the rising sun. It's a memorable true tale of true crime in Japan. All of this amidst the world of a foreigner seeking a reporter's profession inside that society's insular and tribal culture. It's funny at times, heartbreaking at others, but it offers some gripping journalism tales. The author's candid (warts and all) exploration of his own culture shock and experiences makes it compelling, as well. Since it starts and ends with a astonishing inside account of a story many here in L.A. are familiar with (the Yakuza liver transplants performed at U.C.L.A.'s Medical Center), it had me instantly, and never let go. Corey's review, without giving away too much, is another thing of beauty with his concise appraisal of the book, and his ability to hook the reader into the work:
With that in mind, it's two non-fictions that are the subject of this post. I'm lucky, as well, that the bloggers I follow will read and review both fiction and non-fiction works. And, that they're so good at what they write, I can't help but be influenced by their selections and assessments. Besides whatever is in my TBR pile, I have the one rule where I allow myself to throw a book to the front of the line (without reservation) because it's caught my fascination by either word of mouth or review by those I've noted in a previous post. And it's two specific bloggers that I owe for my last two true reads that I found a reason to write this. To say I was thoroughly engrossed, and haunted, by both of these after finishing them, would be an understatement. The first to do this, Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer, I have Elyse (of Pop Culture Nerd fame) to thank. In fact, she clued me in to it just prior to its release. We even read it at the same time (she with the actual book and me listening to the unabridged audio format - read by Scott Brick without too much flamboyance). The author had access to and drew upon Tillman's own journals and letters (along with family/friends memories and reflections) to build an extraordinary examination of an extraordinary individual. I'd love to say more about this work, and its affect upon me, but it's been done already, singularly, by Elyse herself. Read that, instead.The second, which I completed just this morning (and that kicked me into gear), came by way of Corey Wilde (he of the marvelously named The
Drowning Machine). Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein (the author did his own audio narration, in fact), is another remarkable work and is an account of a gaijin finding a newspaper/crime beat niche in the land of the rising sun. It's a memorable true tale of true crime in Japan. All of this amidst the world of a foreigner seeking a reporter's profession inside that society's insular and tribal culture. It's funny at times, heartbreaking at others, but it offers some gripping journalism tales. The author's candid (warts and all) exploration of his own culture shock and experiences makes it compelling, as well. Since it starts and ends with a astonishing inside account of a story many here in L.A. are familiar with (the Yakuza liver transplants performed at U.C.L.A.'s Medical Center), it had me instantly, and never let go. Corey's review, without giving away too much, is another thing of beauty with his concise appraisal of the book, and his ability to hook the reader into the work:From cultural adaptation to an expose of crime, corruption, and social decadence, to personal moral and ethical dilemmas, Adelstein's story covers ten years of his life; ten years that made his life, in a world few Americans can ever hope to see or understand.Although the books are nothing alike, and 180〫apart from each other, I recommend both (and each of the respective reviews by Elyse and Corey). Keep in mind, though, both are affecting works. Neither of the books are perfect, nor are their subjects. But, then again, great ones seldom are. In looking back at both of these non-fictions in my head, I couldn't help but recall a quote from Ernest Hemingway (but please, don't let it put you off from either of these books):
All true stories end in death.
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My Only and One: Revolver
Posted by le0pard13 in remastered, The Beatles on Monday, November 30, 2009
With this year's release of The Beatles Remastered albums on CD, and my ongoing re-appreciation of its library of songs, this is another post in my continuation of a series arc where I look at each. From these (in the order as they are in the remastered stereo set), I'll list their tracks from the spotlighted album and pick two songs:
My Only: Eleanor Rigby - as difficult as choosing the exemplary song for Rubber Soul was, this one was harder for me as I consider this album seminal in the group's development. So many of its tracks have reached high popularity (and for good reason among fans). Tomorrow Never Knows, I'm Only Sleeping, Here, There and Everywhere, She Said She Said and Love You To. But if I choose the Lennon sung track from the last CD, I just couldn't leave off Paul's lament for the more than worthy Miss Rigby. Regardless of that, I think this track or this album could be used as reference points for the other.
My One: Got To Get You Into My Life - thought I was going to pick a Harrison track like Taxman or I Want To Tell You, didn't you? Why did I pick a song as commercial as this one? It's because it is such a throwback pop song among the experimental tracks this album is known for that it gets, IMO, less respect for just that fact. Plus, its prominent and telltale brass section was years ahead of the pop bands which made heavy (and great) use of horns (Chicago, Tower of Power, Earth, Wind, and Fire, etc.) in the 70's. Trivia: it was released as a single in 1976, 10 years after Revolver debuted.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
- the only track - if I could only listen to one track, the best song that exemplifies the album, it would be this one
- the one track - if I could pick a single track that doesn't get either the play or the credit it deserves, it's this one
- Taxman
- Eleanor Rigby
- I'm Only Sleeping
- Love You To
- Here, There And Everywhere
- Yellow Submarine
- She Said She Said
- Good Day Sunshine
- And Your Bird Can Sing
- For No One
- Doctor Robert
- I Want To Tell You
- Got To Get You Into My Life
- Tomorrow Never Knows
My Only: Eleanor Rigby - as difficult as choosing the exemplary song for Rubber Soul was, this one was harder for me as I consider this album seminal in the group's development. So many of its tracks have reached high popularity (and for good reason among fans). Tomorrow Never Knows, I'm Only Sleeping, Here, There and Everywhere, She Said She Said and Love You To. But if I choose the Lennon sung track from the last CD, I just couldn't leave off Paul's lament for the more than worthy Miss Rigby. Regardless of that, I think this track or this album could be used as reference points for the other.
My One: Got To Get You Into My Life - thought I was going to pick a Harrison track like Taxman or I Want To Tell You, didn't you? Why did I pick a song as commercial as this one? It's because it is such a throwback pop song among the experimental tracks this album is known for that it gets, IMO, less respect for just that fact. Plus, its prominent and telltale brass section was years ahead of the pop bands which made heavy (and great) use of horns (Chicago, Tower of Power, Earth, Wind, and Fire, etc.) in the 70's. Trivia: it was released as a single in 1976, 10 years after Revolver debuted.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
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Holiday Movie Quiz Time!: My Answers
As is his custom, movie blogger extraordinaire Dennis Cozzalio has come up with another of his grand and wonderful film quizzes:
PROFESSOR RUSSELL JOHNSON'S "MY ANCESTORS CAME OVER ON THE MINNOW" THANKSGIVING/CHRISTMAS MOVIE QUIZ
As has been my habit, I'm posting my answers to his quiz questions in this post.
1) Second-favorite Coen Brothers movie.
Fargo. O Brother, Where Art Thou? would be first (hey, Odysseus is my favorite Greek hero).
2) Movie seen only on home format that you would pay to see on the biggest movie screen possible? (Question submitted by Peter Nellhaus)
Anthony Mann's magnificent and underrated El Cid. Saw it first on television as a kid, had a copy of it on VHS tape, and finally obtained the beautiful DVD release in '08. I'd pay good $$$ to see it at a theater, on 70mm!
3) Japan or France? (Question submitted by Bob Westal)
Not that I have any against France (Wages of Fear is a common favorite of movie blogger J.D. and mine), but it's easily Japan (by the number of films in my DVD catalog). Since I have an appreciation for westerns, I have (for a long time now) been equally drawn to easterns - the great samurai films of Kurosawa, Inagaki, and Kobayashi.
4) Favorite moment/line from a western.
This one took no time whatsoever. It's Clint Eastwood's "It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have." from Unforgiven:
5) Of all the arts the movies draw upon to become what they are, which is the most important, or the one you value most?
Motion (as in pictures)
6) Most misunderstood movie of the 2000s (The Naughties?).
William Friedkin's The Hunted.
7) Name a filmmaker/actor/actress/film you once unashamedly loved who has fallen furthest in your esteem.
Steven Seagal
8) Herbert Lom or Patrick Magee?
Herbert Lom. He's portrayed Napoleon, The Phantom of the Opera, Abraham Van Helsing, Captain Nemo, Commissioner Dreyfus and Dr. Sam Weizak from The Dead Zone (and all wonderfully). How could I not pick him?
9) Which is your least favorite David Lynch film (Submitted by Tony Dayoub)
Wild at Heart
10) Gordon Willis or Conrad Hall? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)
Both are great, but it's Conrad Hall for me. He did so many of my favorites: In Cold Blood, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Professionals, Cool Hand Luke, Tequila Sunrise and a whole bunch more.
11) Second favorite Don Siegel movie.
The Shootist - Invasion of the Body Snatchers is first (but I've been known to say Dirty Harry, too).
12) Last movie you saw on DVD/Blu-ray? In theaters?
DVD: Nothing Like the Holidays Blu-ray: Wings of Desire Theater: Ninja Assassin
13) Which DVD in your private collection screams hardest to be replaced by a Blu-ray? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)
Lawrence of Arabia
14) Eddie Deezen or Christopher Mintz-Plasse?
Eddie Deezen
15) Actor/actress who you feel automatically elevates whatever project they are in, or whom you would watch in virtually anything.
In front or behind the camera, Clint Eastwood.
16) Fight Club -- yes or no?
No (and I know I'm in the minority with this one).
17) Teresa Wright or Olivia De Havilland?
Olivia De Havilland
18) Favorite moment/line from a film noir.
"My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to make guesses in front of a district attorney, and an assistant district attorney and a stenographer."
19) Best (or worst) death scene involving an obvious dummy substituting for a human or any other unsuccessful special effect(s)—see the wonderful blog Destructible Man for inspiration.
The little girl's run over dog in Pale Rider.
20) What's the least you've spent on a film and still regretted it? (Submitted by Lucas McNelly)
Cost: nothing. In my short stint as a projectionist at an indie theater I was unlucky enough to showEat My Dust I take that back, I looked back at 1976 and realized I actually showed that blot on celluloid and society known as Snuff (I just put it out of my memory)
21) Van Johnson or Van Heflin?
Van Johnson
22) Favorite Alan Rudolph film.
The Moderns
23) Name a documentary that you believe more people should see.
Trinity & Beyond - The Atomic Bomb Movie
24) In deference to this quiz’s professor, name a favorite film which revolves around someone becoming stranded.
James Cameron's Aliens.
25) Is there a moment when your knowledge of film, or lack thereof, caused you an unusual degree of embarrassment and/or humiliation? If so, please share.
I was asked about Ingmar Bergman many moons ago, and I hadn't seen any of his films to that point and had to confess that fact (perhaps, that's the reason his films aren't my favorite to this day).
26) Ann Sheridan or Geraldine Fitzgerald? (Submitted by Larry Aydlette)
Ann Sheridan
27) Do you or any of your family members physically resemble movie actors or other notable figures in the film world? If so, who?
Nope.
28) Is there a movie you have purposely avoided seeing? If so, why?
Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom. I don't really care that it's a masterpiece for its criticism of Fascism, I haven't been motivated to see the shocking and nauseating scenes (that I've heard of) involving adults torturing young teens (I guess I should have seen it before I became a parent).
29) Movie with the most palpable or otherwise effective wintry atmosphere or ambience.
John Carpenter's The Thing. The location, chill and the atmosphere in it just adds to the impending dread.
30) Gerrit Graham or Jeffrey Jones?
Gerrit Graham
31) The best cinematic antidote to a cultural stereotype (sexual, political, regional, whatever).
The Defiant Ones
32) Second favorite John Wayne movie.
Red River. The Searchers is first.
33) Favorite movie car chase.
The final car chase in Ronin. Although, I still admire the one that started it all in Bullitt, and the one QT staged in Death Proof is coming on strong.
34) In the spirit of His Girl Friday, propose a gender-switched remake of a classic or not-so-classic film. (Submitted by Patrick Robbins)
Judi Dench assuming the role of 'M' in the James Bond series with Goldeneye I do hate it when I screw up what the question was actually asking. I'd like to see an all woman jury doing Twelve Angry Men.
35) Barbara Rhoades or Barbara Feldon?
Barbara Feldon
36) Favorite Andre De Toth movie.
House of Wax
37) If you could take one filmmaker's entire body of work and erase it from all time and memory, as if it had never happened, whose oeuvre would it be? (Submitted by Tom Sutpen)
Wych Kaosayananda (see Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever)
38) Name a film you actively hated when you first encountered it, only to see it again later in life and fall in love with it.
Pulp Fiction
39) Max Ophuls or Marcel Ophuls? (Submitted by Tom Sutpen)
Marcel Ophuls (like I know what I'm talking about?).
40) In which club would you most want an active membership, the Delta Tau Chi fraternity, the Cutters or the Warriors? And which member would you most resemble, either physically or in personality?
The Warriors. I'd love to have been Swan, but my personality is more like Vermin.
41) Your favorite movie cliché.
The back-lit silhouette shot of the hero.
42) Vincente Minnelli or Stanley Donen? (Submitted by Bob Westal)
Stanley Donen (only he directed one of my all-time favorite films, the great Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn).
43) Favorite Christmas-themed horror movie or sequence.
Black Christmas
44) Favorite moment of self- or selfless sacrifice in a movie.
Colonel Kane in The Ninth Configuration.
45) If you were the cinematic Spanish Inquisition, which movie cult (or cult movie) would you decimate? (Submitted by Bob Westal)
Too easy. The Twilight series.
46) Caroline Munro or Veronica Carlson?
Caroline Munro
47) Favorite eye-patch wearing director. (Submitted by Patty Cozzalio)
John Ford
48) Favorite ambiguous movie ending. (Original somewhat ambiguous submission---“Something about ambiguous movie endings!”-- by Jim Emerson, who may have some inspiration of his own to offer you.)
Hitchcock's The Birds
49) In giving thanks for the movies this year, what are you most thankful for?
Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino coming out with another of his extraordinary films.
50) George Kennedy or Alan North? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)
George Kennedy
PROFESSOR RUSSELL JOHNSON'S "MY ANCESTORS CAME OVER ON THE MINNOW" THANKSGIVING/CHRISTMAS MOVIE QUIZ
As has been my habit, I'm posting my answers to his quiz questions in this post.
1) Second-favorite Coen Brothers movie.
Fargo. O Brother, Where Art Thou? would be first (hey, Odysseus is my favorite Greek hero).
2) Movie seen only on home format that you would pay to see on the biggest movie screen possible? (Question submitted by Peter Nellhaus)
Anthony Mann's magnificent and underrated El Cid. Saw it first on television as a kid, had a copy of it on VHS tape, and finally obtained the beautiful DVD release in '08. I'd pay good $$$ to see it at a theater, on 70mm!
3) Japan or France? (Question submitted by Bob Westal)
Not that I have any against France (Wages of Fear is a common favorite of movie blogger J.D. and mine), but it's easily Japan (by the number of films in my DVD catalog). Since I have an appreciation for westerns, I have (for a long time now) been equally drawn to easterns - the great samurai films of Kurosawa, Inagaki, and Kobayashi.
4) Favorite moment/line from a western.
This one took no time whatsoever. It's Clint Eastwood's "It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have." from Unforgiven:
5) Of all the arts the movies draw upon to become what they are, which is the most important, or the one you value most?
Motion (as in pictures)
6) Most misunderstood movie of the 2000s (The Naughties?).
William Friedkin's The Hunted.
7) Name a filmmaker/actor/actress/film you once unashamedly loved who has fallen furthest in your esteem.
Steven Seagal
8) Herbert Lom or Patrick Magee?
Herbert Lom. He's portrayed Napoleon, The Phantom of the Opera, Abraham Van Helsing, Captain Nemo, Commissioner Dreyfus and Dr. Sam Weizak from The Dead Zone (and all wonderfully). How could I not pick him?
9) Which is your least favorite David Lynch film (Submitted by Tony Dayoub)
Wild at Heart
10) Gordon Willis or Conrad Hall? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)
Both are great, but it's Conrad Hall for me. He did so many of my favorites: In Cold Blood, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Professionals, Cool Hand Luke, Tequila Sunrise and a whole bunch more.
11) Second favorite Don Siegel movie.
The Shootist - Invasion of the Body Snatchers is first (but I've been known to say Dirty Harry, too).
12) Last movie you saw on DVD/Blu-ray? In theaters?
DVD: Nothing Like the Holidays Blu-ray: Wings of Desire Theater: Ninja Assassin
13) Which DVD in your private collection screams hardest to be replaced by a Blu-ray? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)
Lawrence of Arabia
14) Eddie Deezen or Christopher Mintz-Plasse?
Eddie Deezen
15) Actor/actress who you feel automatically elevates whatever project they are in, or whom you would watch in virtually anything.
In front or behind the camera, Clint Eastwood.
16) Fight Club -- yes or no?
No (and I know I'm in the minority with this one).
17) Teresa Wright or Olivia De Havilland?
Olivia De Havilland
18) Favorite moment/line from a film noir.
"My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to make guesses in front of a district attorney, and an assistant district attorney and a stenographer."
19) Best (or worst) death scene involving an obvious dummy substituting for a human or any other unsuccessful special effect(s)—see the wonderful blog Destructible Man for inspiration.
The little girl's run over dog in Pale Rider.
20) What's the least you've spent on a film and still regretted it? (Submitted by Lucas McNelly)
Cost: nothing. In my short stint as a projectionist at an indie theater I was unlucky enough to show
21) Van Johnson or Van Heflin?
Van Johnson
22) Favorite Alan Rudolph film.
The Moderns
23) Name a documentary that you believe more people should see.
Trinity & Beyond - The Atomic Bomb Movie
24) In deference to this quiz’s professor, name a favorite film which revolves around someone becoming stranded.
James Cameron's Aliens.
25) Is there a moment when your knowledge of film, or lack thereof, caused you an unusual degree of embarrassment and/or humiliation? If so, please share.
I was asked about Ingmar Bergman many moons ago, and I hadn't seen any of his films to that point and had to confess that fact (perhaps, that's the reason his films aren't my favorite to this day).
26) Ann Sheridan or Geraldine Fitzgerald? (Submitted by Larry Aydlette)
Ann Sheridan
27) Do you or any of your family members physically resemble movie actors or other notable figures in the film world? If so, who?
Nope.
28) Is there a movie you have purposely avoided seeing? If so, why?
Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom. I don't really care that it's a masterpiece for its criticism of Fascism, I haven't been motivated to see the shocking and nauseating scenes (that I've heard of) involving adults torturing young teens (I guess I should have seen it before I became a parent).
29) Movie with the most palpable or otherwise effective wintry atmosphere or ambience.
John Carpenter's The Thing. The location, chill and the atmosphere in it just adds to the impending dread.
30) Gerrit Graham or Jeffrey Jones?
Gerrit Graham
31) The best cinematic antidote to a cultural stereotype (sexual, political, regional, whatever).
The Defiant Ones
32) Second favorite John Wayne movie.
Red River. The Searchers is first.
33) Favorite movie car chase.
The final car chase in Ronin. Although, I still admire the one that started it all in Bullitt, and the one QT staged in Death Proof is coming on strong.
34) In the spirit of His Girl Friday, propose a gender-switched remake of a classic or not-so-classic film. (Submitted by Patrick Robbins)
35) Barbara Rhoades or Barbara Feldon?
Barbara Feldon
36) Favorite Andre De Toth movie.
House of Wax
37) If you could take one filmmaker's entire body of work and erase it from all time and memory, as if it had never happened, whose oeuvre would it be? (Submitted by Tom Sutpen)
Wych Kaosayananda (see Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever)
38) Name a film you actively hated when you first encountered it, only to see it again later in life and fall in love with it.
Pulp Fiction
39) Max Ophuls or Marcel Ophuls? (Submitted by Tom Sutpen)
Marcel Ophuls (like I know what I'm talking about?).
40) In which club would you most want an active membership, the Delta Tau Chi fraternity, the Cutters or the Warriors? And which member would you most resemble, either physically or in personality?
The Warriors. I'd love to have been Swan, but my personality is more like Vermin.
41) Your favorite movie cliché.
The back-lit silhouette shot of the hero.
42) Vincente Minnelli or Stanley Donen? (Submitted by Bob Westal)
Stanley Donen (only he directed one of my all-time favorite films, the great Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn).
43) Favorite Christmas-themed horror movie or sequence.
Black Christmas
44) Favorite moment of self- or selfless sacrifice in a movie.
Colonel Kane in The Ninth Configuration.
45) If you were the cinematic Spanish Inquisition, which movie cult (or cult movie) would you decimate? (Submitted by Bob Westal)
Too easy. The Twilight series.
46) Caroline Munro or Veronica Carlson?
Caroline Munro
47) Favorite eye-patch wearing director. (Submitted by Patty Cozzalio)
John Ford
48) Favorite ambiguous movie ending. (Original somewhat ambiguous submission---“Something about ambiguous movie endings!”-- by Jim Emerson, who may have some inspiration of his own to offer you.)
Hitchcock's The Birds
49) In giving thanks for the movies this year, what are you most thankful for?
Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino coming out with another of his extraordinary films.
50) George Kennedy or Alan North? (Submitted by Peet Gelderblom)
George Kennedy
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Happy Thanksgiving 2009
Posted by le0pard13 in friends, holiday, Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving is the one holiday, each year, which continues to sneak up on me. It arrives in between the costumes, candy and ghoulish delight of Halloween, and the all-consuming mayhem and tradition of Christmas. And, I am thankful that it causes me to reflect upon all of those things I'm sincerely grateful for. Primarily, my children who continue to (healthily and intellectually) grow (and manage to stay out of the ER) and amaze their old man, along with my bride of 20 years who tolerates her husband's whims and online thoughts with love and patience that only she-who-must-be-obeyed can.
As well, I'm grateful to all of those friends and bloggers who have stopped by to this ongoing archive to read and/or leave comments. My thanks to Jen, who I had the sincere pleasure to meet at this year's Festival of Books, for encouraging me to start this blog (and all because we share the same love for the fictional universe that author Robert Crais created with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike). And that Ohio connection begat another with Corey, who I owe literary thanks for some of the best reading I've experienced this year (Fifty Grand, Big City Bad Blood, Trigger City, The First Rule, etc.), and his friendship. From this, Naomi and Gay's fine story writing - which then led me to discover and befriend local and popular arts blogger, Pop Culture Nerd. And through all of them, I've been lucky to find so many other online connections:
- a love of movies (and TV) with Dennis, John Kenneth Muir, Livius, Mr. Peel and J.D. (as only their fine writing and in-depth cinema and video examinations can express)
- more literary experiences with Lesa, Kaye, Bev and Patricia (who shared with me some wonderful book experiences, gift ideas, and generally uplifting thoughts)
- a continuing appreciation for those like Nordette Adams and Steven Hart who keep on delighting me with their thought-provoking words, music, and insights
- fine and creative authors like Crais, Sophie Littlefield, Sean Chercover, Adrian McKinty, Pam Ward, and Gregg Hurwitz who took the time to converse or write back (and for providing wonderful content for their fans to drink in)
- new blogger friends I travel virtually with in the southeast (Herb & Laura), and share an appreciation of movies and horror (here, in B-Sol, and across the pond, in Steve)
- and I cannot forget that the inter-tubes found good friends who share a love of popular music with Moondancer, and in Mexico with Poncho (and that's he's likely my distant cousin!)
I am beholden to you all. My sincerest thanks.
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My Only and One: Rubber Soul
Posted by le0pard13 in remastered, The Beatles on Wednesday, November 25, 2009
With this year's release of The Beatles Remastered albums on CD, and my ongoing re-appreciation of its library of songs, this is another post in my continuation of a series arc where I look at each. From these (in the order as they are in the remastered stereo set), I'll list their tracks from the spotlighted album and pick two songs:
My Only: In My Life - I so struggled with this one. With tracks like Nowhere Man, Michelle, Norwegian Wood, I'm Look Through You, and Drive My Car, it shows the complex strength of this album (and why it was so hard to choose). But, I settled on this remarkable and touching ballad because its lyrics mean more to me now than when I first heard them.
My One: Think For Yourself - yes, it's another Harrison cut. But, that wasn't the reason I selected it here. Besides its relevant lyrics, it's a song filled with some great guitar riffs (along with a signature fuzz bass) that doesn't get enough play.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
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- the only track - if I could only listen to one track, the best song that exemplifies the album, it would be this one
- the one track - if I could pick a single track that doesn't get either the play or the credit it deserves, it's this one
- Drive My Car
- Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
- You Won't See Me
- Nowhere Man
- Think For Yourself
- The Word
- Michelle
- What Goes On
- Girl
- I'm Looking Through You
- In My Life
- Wait
- If I Needed Someone
- Run For Your Life
My Only: In My Life - I so struggled with this one. With tracks like Nowhere Man, Michelle, Norwegian Wood, I'm Look Through You, and Drive My Car, it shows the complex strength of this album (and why it was so hard to choose). But, I settled on this remarkable and touching ballad because its lyrics mean more to me now than when I first heard them.
My One: Think For Yourself - yes, it's another Harrison cut. But, that wasn't the reason I selected it here. Besides its relevant lyrics, it's a song filled with some great guitar riffs (along with a signature fuzz bass) that doesn't get enough play.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
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Tales from the (Movie) Theater: Part 7
Posted by le0pard13 in movie theater, movies, warner theatre on Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Continuation of the series--see Intro, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6:
Surprise!
After being promoted by attrition to lead projectionist at the Huntington Park Warner Theater, following an all too short stint of a few months showing movies, I attempted to settle into a semblance of routine. This was helped by the arrival of the summer of '76 and the completion of my college spring semester (which gave me more time to work). And more work hours meant more money in my pocket, which simply fed my preoccupation of dating young women at the time (my wife would have referred to this as an HBL thing). The sad economic fact young males learn early is that good looking girls rarely had dirt poor boyfriends.
Taking on the day shifts and assuming the tedious once-a-week chore for drop off / pick up of the old and new film cans, along with putting out the weekly movie times schedule as the senior projectionist became the new habit to master. No longer could I depend upon my younger brother, the guy who trained me. I was that guy, now. However, being 21 means you know it all, and are immortal (no matter what stupid things you do, or get away with). And, I was confident I'd been taught (more than adequately) everything a projectionist needed to know to do the lead job, and get payed for it. It's also said God has a wicked sense of humor...
Taking on the day shifts and assuming the tedious once-a-week chore for drop off / pick up of the old and new film cans, along with putting out the weekly movie times schedule as the senior projectionist became the new habit to master. No longer could I depend upon my younger brother, the guy who trained me. I was that guy, now. However, being 21 means you know it all, and are immortal (no matter what stupid things you do, or get away with). And, I was confident I'd been taught (more than adequately) everything a projectionist needed to know to do the lead job, and get payed for it. It's also said God has a wicked sense of humor...
So, on one bright and warm early summer day, half-way into the second reel of the first movie that day, Isabel in the box office gave me a frantic call on the projection booth phone:
Isabel: We've got to get out of here! We're all going to die if we don't!Me: What?!?Isabel: Some guy called and said so because he put a bomb in the theater!Me: You're kidding me?Isabel: NO!!! I'm leaving... NOW!!!
It's amazing what goes through your mind when you're confronted with a situation like this one that seems tailor-made for the stress-response:
- What the hell am I supposed to do now?
- Didn't I see something like this on that made-for-TV movie?
- Am I wearing clean underwear? (Thanks, mom, for stressing that)
Luckily, my brother did teach me how to shutdown things in mid-stream, bring up the house lights, and ask patrons to exit the building in an orderly manner due to a technical problem. But before I did all of that, I kindly pleaded to Isabel not to leave and call the Huntington Park Police Department to report the bomb threat. Back then, this meant a direct call to the P.D. as L.A. County's emergency 9-1-1 service wasn't implemented till the fall of 1984. Coming down the stairs from the 4th floor booth also gave me plenty of time to assess my life to that point (both of which didn't take very long). And by the time everyone was out on the sidewalk in front of the theater, a patrol car arrived on scene. By then, I had started to relax...
The patrol officer, wearing his dark blue uniform (HPPD wore one similar to LAPD's uniforms while South Gate's PD wore the khaki top and olive green pants like those of the L.A. Sheriff's), approached and asked who called it in, and about the threat. The two concessionistas and I (representing just about the entire theater staff) huddled around Isabel and the officer to hear. When she finished, the officer looked over at me and told me to come with him. "Where?", I asked. He pointed to the doors of the theater and mentioned that's where the caller said the bomb would be. Dumbfounded, I bravely asked what qualified me for such an honor (as I was pretty sure that TV movie I saw didn't cover this scenario).
The cop left, and we all went back to work. A few of the patrons returned to their seats (the others left with rain-check tickets for another showing or complained enough to get refunds). I returned to the projection booth and started up the movie where it left off... a bit more humbled by the experience, and wondered if the caller was from our ever expanding list of former employees. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little proud of how I handled the situation. Maybe I could impress my date with this story, I mused. All's well that end's well, right? That is, until the phone rang near the start of the second feature...
The patrol officer, wearing his dark blue uniform (HPPD wore one similar to LAPD's uniforms while South Gate's PD wore the khaki top and olive green pants like those of the L.A. Sheriff's), approached and asked who called it in, and about the threat. The two concessionistas and I (representing just about the entire theater staff) huddled around Isabel and the officer to hear. When she finished, the officer looked over at me and told me to come with him. "Where?", I asked. He pointed to the doors of the theater and mentioned that's where the caller said the bomb would be. Dumbfounded, I bravely asked what qualified me for such an honor (as I was pretty sure that TV movie I saw didn't cover this scenario).
Officer: You're the projectionist, correct?He also assured me that this was likely fabricated, a hoax. Likely someone who's annoyed at the theater or the owner, or drunk, and wanted to make us sweat. That's all. I was okay with that until...
Me: Yes.
Officer: You have a flashlight, yes?
Me. Uh... yeah.
Officer: You qualify.
Officer: And for god's sake, don't touch it if you find something.Great... Even though we surely qualified as the odd couple in a bad buddy picture, we headed in as one. Checking out the restrooms first, we then split the main hall (first floor and balcony) in two. He did one side, and I the other. We walked down every aisle, and looked at every seat... top and bottom (flashlights in hand). As I searched, all I could think was I didn't know what the heck I was looking for. I couldn't stop wondering if I'd make 22 come August, and that I hoped mom would be righteous pissed off at my brother for hiring me for this job if I got myself blown up. Fortunately, as is the case in most of these instances, it was a prank. And a big waste of time.
The cop left, and we all went back to work. A few of the patrons returned to their seats (the others left with rain-check tickets for another showing or complained enough to get refunds). I returned to the projection booth and started up the movie where it left off... a bit more humbled by the experience, and wondered if the caller was from our ever expanding list of former employees. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little proud of how I handled the situation. Maybe I could impress my date with this story, I mused. All's well that end's well, right? That is, until the phone rang near the start of the second feature...
Isabel: Armand is on the phone, and he's mad. He wants to talk to you.
Me: Why?
Isabel: He wants to know why you shut down the movie and told everyone to leave the theater.
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My Only and One: Help!
Posted by le0pard13 in remastered, The Beatles on Friday, November 20, 2009
With this year's release of The Beatles Remastered albums on CD, and my ongoing re-appreciation of its library of songs, this is another post in my continuation of a series arc where I look at each. From these (in the order as they are in the remastered stereo set), I'll list their tracks from the spotlighted album and pick two songs:
My Only: Ticket To Ride - I almost choose the lead song again with Help! (it's so good), but this song with its lively rhythms and contrasting somber lyrics is my choice for the epitome of the album. With Paul on lead guitar ushering in those distinct beginning chords, I couldn't help myself.
My One: I Need You - this was the second Harrison song recorded for a Beatles album and I think it is very underrated. George's trademark smooth vocals, distinguishing guitar sound, and melancholy lyrics made it an easy pick for me (finally). Tom Petty did a terrific cover of it for Concert For George, too.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
- the only track - if I could only listen to one track, the best song that exemplifies the album, it would be this one
- the one track - if I could pick a single track that doesn't get either the play or the credit it deserves, it's this one
- Help!
- The Night Before
- You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
- I Need You
- Another Girl
- You're Going To Lose That Girl
- Ticket To Ride
- Act Naturally
- It's Only Love
- You Like Me Too Much
- Tell Me What You See
- I've Just Seen a Face
- Yesterday
- Dizzy Miss Lizzy
My Only: Ticket To Ride - I almost choose the lead song again with Help! (it's so good), but this song with its lively rhythms and contrasting somber lyrics is my choice for the epitome of the album. With Paul on lead guitar ushering in those distinct beginning chords, I couldn't help myself.
My One: I Need You - this was the second Harrison song recorded for a Beatles album and I think it is very underrated. George's trademark smooth vocals, distinguishing guitar sound, and melancholy lyrics made it an easy pick for me (finally). Tom Petty did a terrific cover of it for Concert For George, too.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
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My Only and One: Beatles For Sale
Posted by le0pard13 in remastered, The Beatles on Thursday, November 19, 2009
With this year's release of The Beatles Remastered albums on CD, and my ongoing re-appreciation of its library of songs, this is another post in my continuation of a series arc where I look at each. From these (in the order as they are in the remastered stereo set), I'll list their tracks from the spotlighted album and pick two songs:
My Only: Eight Days A Week - I went back and forth with this one and What You're Doing, but settled on the major hit because of its nontraditional guitar fade-in and studio over-dubbing work (something they'd be known more for, later) - their tight vocal harmonies didn't hurt, either. It always surprised me that this one was not a favorite of the lads.
My One: I'm A Loser - the other Lennon song, No Reply, vied with this one. But, John's stirring vocal on the track (especially how he declares it at its beginning), along with his harmonica riff, put it on top (but just barely). This is the middle track in the melancholy Lennon Trilogy (ahead of Baby's In Black) that starts the album.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
- the only track - if I could only listen to one track, the best song that exemplifies the album, it would be this one
- the one track - if I could pick a single track that doesn't get either the play or the credit it deserves, it's this one
- No Reply
- I'm A Loser
- Baby's In Black
- Rock And Roll Music
- I'll Follow The Sun
- Mr. Moonlight
- Kansas City : Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
- Eight Days A Week
- Words Of Love
- Honey Don't
- Every Little Thing
- I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
- What You're Doing
- Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
My Only: Eight Days A Week - I went back and forth with this one and What You're Doing, but settled on the major hit because of its nontraditional guitar fade-in and studio over-dubbing work (something they'd be known more for, later) - their tight vocal harmonies didn't hurt, either. It always surprised me that this one was not a favorite of the lads.
My One: I'm A Loser - the other Lennon song, No Reply, vied with this one. But, John's stirring vocal on the track (especially how he declares it at its beginning), along with his harmonica riff, put it on top (but just barely). This is the middle track in the melancholy Lennon Trilogy (ahead of Baby's In Black) that starts the album.
What would be your two?
My Only and One Series:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
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