An Actual Conversation About Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

GABE: So Dad, that guy is a robot and he's trying to kill them.

PIPER: Yeah, I know.

GABE: And you can't destroy him, he's so powerful.

PIPER: Yep.

GABE: And that woman. She is the mother of that guy who all the robots are trying to kill.

PIPER: Gabe, I know this story.

GABE: ... so they're naked when they travel through time. That's weird.

PIPER: Gabe. Gabe. This story is over 20 years old.

GABE: ... that's not that old. Anyway, so the robots looks like humans and have skin, but they're really scary underneath. They've got these red eyes.

PIPER: Gabe. Stop talking. This show is not new. It's based on a series of movies that when you get old enough, we will watch together.

GABE: ... so that kid there is supposed to be the leader of this rebellion. But not now. It's a rebellion in the future.

Don't Believe The Hype!

During the playoffs, they're playing the hell out of the new Cloverfield trailer. It's not really new, but there seems to be a few more seconds of something resembling a monster of some kind in the distance. I can't really make out what it is. That's the point, of course. To pique my interest. To make me want to see more. To make me want to see Cloverfield. There may have been a time when I was interested in seeing this movie. But I think it has passed. Now I'm just angry. It used to be that movies got to be big deals once people saw them. And they were big deals because they were good movies. But now movies are the biggest thing before anyone has seen a single frame. And it's a bad path we're headed down, my friends.

I know that what J.J. Abrams is doing is nothing new. Hype has been created before. But I don't know to this level. There is a difference between wanting to see something and being told that you want to see something. I feel like Cloverfield is doing that. Every time the trailer comes on, it seems to revel in its own cleverness. In its ability to show just enough, making you want more. It makes me feel kinda dirty actually. Like I'm at one of those peep shows where just when it starts to get interesting, the wall comes down over the window and I have to pony up another quarter.

Does this hype actually work? Or better yet, can a certain level of hype be created that's actually attainable? I think the type of hype that's created today can only be detrimental. Of course I say that under the belief that what studios make can be called art and that there is some desire to create movies that are worth mentioning a year, or three years or five years from now. I don't think that's where the studios are, though. Cloverfield may be the first summer movie of the year and it's being released the middle of January. It might as well be a summer blockbuster, because Paramount is treating it that way. Front-loading the hell out of it, not really caring what the exit polls will say. They want to generate big numbers the first weekend and about half that the second weekend and chances are, this movie will be off our radar in a matter of weeks.


I think in the hype rule book (I have a copy with me and I'm reading page 26. It's a really easy read with lots of pictures) it's written that hype should eventually take on a life of its own. Become its own beast. It should be attached to a name or an idea. For example, with the new Star Wars trilogy, hype was rightfully created. You may have fallen on the side of the fence that didn't believe the Star Wars tale needed to be told anymore, but damn if you still weren't going to show up to see what happened. And all Spielberg had to do was release a photo of Harrison Ford dressed in the Indiana Jones garb to make everyone all giddy. Off the top of your head, can you name the director of Cloverfield? Or the writer? Or the stars? It's not even like it's a great, original idea. It's a monster movie. With Cloverfield, I feel the hype is manufactured. It's planned for. And maybe that's why I'm angry. Is that the hype isn't real. It's not a great idea that caught fire. It's an idea that the production company thought was great and so it's constantly reminding us how great it is.

Seriously, what are the chances that whatever the hell this monster turns out to look like, is as cool as what I'm picturing in my head. I really shouldn't care. But the problem is, I do. Not because I want to, but because I feel like I should. I know that probably says more about me than about the movie. And trust me, I realize the hypocrisy of this entire post. I'm criticizing the hype machine while feeding it at the same time. And not because I want to. But that's what false hype does. Makes us excited about stuff that's really not there.

Robotic Eye Candy

I don't care about the future of the human race. I don't care about John Connor leading the rebellion. I just want to protect Sarah Connor. I want to protect her because she's played by Lena Headey. I know that it's possible that I could die during time travel. That if I don't die in time travel, I will have to face a machine that's near indestructible. But did I mention that Sarah Connor is played by Lena Headey and it looks that she will be wearing a lot of tank tops? I know that I would probably die quickly because I'm not a soldier and I'm a bit soft in the middle, but to think that I might get a couple of close seconds with Lena where I would have to hold her close and tell her to "trust me if you want to live." That would be worth it. Because after all, Sarah Connor is played by Lena Headey.

My Dinner With Bay

Bob at Eternal Sunshine Of The Logical Mind said that it's customary for the person who starts a Meme, to do it himself. And he's right. Since I created the My Dinner With Blank Meme, I should come up with a dream dinner myself. It's only fair. But as I write this, several names are swirling through my head and I'm discovering that this might be a harder assignment than I initially thought. So I'm thinking about who I would choose. So while I do that, let me entertain you with the old standby. My favorite director and yours, Michael Bay.

So here's how the evening would go. I would invite Michael Bay to my house, but I wouldn't give him directions to my house. Instead I would give him directions to an abandoned neighborhood where there would be a couple of methed up thugs. What Bay wouldn't know is that I visited his house the night before and laced his clothes with meth, so when the thugs saw him, they would pull out a really big spoon and a really big lighter and they would try to freebase him. Bay would try to put up a fight because well, you know, he's Michael Bay. He would throw punches and say things like "do you know who I am" and "I directed Transformers which was one of the top grossing films of '07" which would no doubt turn the methed up thugs angry and they would kick the shit out of him.

Left for dead, he would no doubt call me to tell me that his spleen is bruised and he doesn't know where his front teeth ended up. I would fake concern and give him the real directions to my house. Once he showed up, I would act like I didn't know him so I would have no choice but to let loose a couple of pitbulls that had been trained by Michael Vick. Of course Bay would try to put up a fight, but now he would probably be pretty weak. But he's Michael Bay, man! He's not a puss. He's the illegitimate son of John Frankenheimer. So he would fight those pitbulls. He would throw punches and say things like "but I discovered Tea Leoni in Bad Boys" and "Pearl Harbor is more historically accurate than it seems as first." But this would not affect the pitbulls because what Michael Bay doesn't know is that his super high-end body wash that he used that morning isn't super high-end body wash at all. It's pitbull pheromones that I put in there that very morning. So these pit bulls try to eat and hump Michael Bay. So they bite him whilst trying to stick their doggie boners in any hole possible.

And so I see this and can't take it any more because yeah, it's Michael Bay, but I actually start to feel kind of bad. So I go outside and get the dogs off him. He's missing some fingers by now and is bleeding severely and completely covered in pitbull semen. I bring him inside and apologize for all the troubles, but he's cool about it because he's fucking Michael Bay already. And I tell him that I'll prepare something for him because after all, he is my dream dinner. But here's the problem. He's pretty beat up, and even though he's Michael Bay, he's about to pass out from all the blood he's losing. So I hook up a low volt battery to his nuts, because the guy has to stay awake for my questions, right? And every time that pussy starts to let his eyes roll back in his head, I flip the switch and send enough voltage to his nethers that he will never reproduce again, and won't that be a goddamn blessing. But man, where are my manners? Bay still hasn't eaten. So I reach into the trash and pull out some three day old roast that's been hanging with a dirty baby diaper. I throw that shit on to a plate, heat it up for 45 seconds on high and pour Bay a nice big glass of ipecac. And while he's choking that stuff down, I ask him my five thoughtful questions.

Piper: Michael, how does it feel to have created quite possibly the worst movie ever in Armageddon?

Bay: I'm losing a lot of blood.

Piper: Next question. So how does it feel to have created quite possibly the worst movie ever in Armageddon?

Bay: This food tastes like baby shit. Have you seen my left index finger? I lost it somewhere.

Piper: On to my next question. What I'm wondering is how does it feel to have created quite possibly the worst movie ever in Armageddon?

Bay: Wait, this isn't water. I can't focus my eyes.

Piper: So Michael, how does it feel to have created quite possibly the worst movie ever in Armageddon?

Bay: Are my nuts hooked up to a battery? Do you know who I am? I directed Sean Connery and he's an Oscar winner.

Piper: Last question Michael. So how does it feel to have created quite possibly the worst movie ever in Armageddon?

Bay: Losing so much blood. Feeling sick. Mommy, is that you?

And of course he's really professional during all this because, well, he's Michael Bay. And just as I'm getting ready to serve up a really nice marble cheesecake with a dark chocolate drizzle and some raspberries for dessert, there is a knock on my door. I open it and it's none other than my old pal Burbanked. He comes in and sees that Michael Bay is my guest and he's majorly jealous because, you know, he's a big fan as well. So then Burbanked and I proceed to kick the ever loving shit out of Michael Bay. And even though he's Michael Bay, he doesn't put up a fight because right now he's a tooth-missing, spleen-swelling, pitbull-semen-dripping, uncontrollably-puking hack of a director. Because, you know, he's Michael Bay.

What Say You: DVD versus Blu-Ray?

I own a lot of DVDs. Around 500 total. That's probably not as many as some. And probably a little more than others. My wife asks me from time to time why we own so many and my response is always the same: My DVDs are my security blanket. If we were in a blizzard that shut down Kansas City for several days, we would have endless entertainment with our large selection of movies. That has never happened, but it could. I take comfort in my large collection. And I find extreme pleasure in shopping for DVDs either in stores or on-line. Some might say I am making up for other shortcomings with my huge DVD collection. I myself would just ask that those people stop staring at my package and just be impressed with my vast DVD collection. But I digress.

So the other day, I got an e-mail from a friend asking me what I was going to do with my collection of outdated technology? He went on to ask if I was going to put my DVDs next to my LPs in the attic? This is a greeting I get from a guy in New York who I e-mail every other month or so. He leads with the punch, and then asks me how I'm doing. But again, I am digressing.

So here's the thing. Should I get all panicky? Is my extremely enormous (remember I'm not compensating) DVD collection truly worthless? Is Blu-Ray really that much better? I'm a techy guy, but I'm not convinced that I will see Blu-Ray and then want to burn all my DVDs. And if Blu-Ray really is that good, how much time do I have? A year? Two? So many questions, have I. And I look to you for the answers. Is Blu-Ray really the answer? And if it is, is anyone interested in a DVD fire sale?

WHAT SAY YOU?

My Dinner With BLANK Meme

I often wonder if I could have dinner with a person in the film industry who would it be? It's a fun little game I like to play to help pass the time when the time needs passing. Of course, the person changes a lot depending on the mood and the day. And I'm extremely self-conscious of my choices in people.

I think it's an interesting exercise though and it could provide some interesting insights into our fellow bloggers. So as of right now, I'm beginning the My Dinner With BLANK Meme. With this Meme, I'm asking a group of bloggers to think about who they would want to have dinner with and why. Could be an actor, an actress, a director, a producer, a writer, a gaffer, you get the picture. More specifically, let me spell out the rules.

1. Pick a single person past or present who works in the film industry you would like to have dinner with. And tell us why you chose this person.

2. Set the table for your dinner. What would you eat? Would it be in a home or at a restaurant? And what would you wear? Feel free to elaborate on the details.

3. List five thoughtful questions you would ask this person during dinner.

4. When all is said and done, select six bloggers to pass this Meme along to.

4. Link back to Lazy Eye Theatre, so people know the mastermind behind this Meme.

Here are my six choices.

Nathanial at Film Experience

Weepingsam at The Listening Ear

Bob at Eternal Sunshine Of The Logical Mind

Neil at The Bleeding Tree

Joseph at It's A Mad Mad Blog 2

Marilyn at Ferdy On Films

And Bemis at Cinevistaramascope

Now go and have a nice dinner and don't skimp on dessert.

Why I Love David Lynch

And why I feel like such a tool for loving my iPod iTouch. Thanks to Nathanial at Film Experience for the link.

Tom Hanks Begins To Redeem Himself For Forrest Gump

Why don't people talk about the film Volunteers when they talk about Tom Hanks' career? He was wonderful as Lawrence Whatley Bourne III. The problem was that he was a loathsome prick and everybody wants Tom Hanks to be a good guy (just try to get anyone to talk about Punchline). Well, in Charlie Wilson's War, Tom Hanks plays a playboy Congressman who enjoys his whiskey, his girls and even a little nose candy from time to time. But fear not, this is Tom Hanks afterall and while he has some (make that a lot of) character flaws, he ends up being a real good guy in the end. But there's a bigger story here. And that story is that Charlie Wilson's War is a rather large step in a much needed healing process.

The second that Tom Hanks uttered the words "life is like a box of chocolates" you just knew that it was going to take a slew of good performances to undo the mess that was Forrest Gump. And truth to tell, those performances haven't come fast enough because I can still see Forrest running down that country road in my mind, wearing his checkered shirt and his stupid grin. And the goal here is to put up as many good performances as humanly possible to act as a brain cell killer to make me forget there ever was a Forrest Gump. Of course, there's Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can and Road To Perdition to help. But there has also been You've Got Mail, The Ladykillers, The Terminal, and The Polar Express and that just leads to "stupid is as stupid does." I still don't understand that dumbass quote and don't ever care to.

Tom Hanks isn't wonderful in Charlie Wilson's War the way that Philip Seymour Hoffman is as Gust Avrakotos, but he's at least got his swagger back. A Bachelor Party like swagger that seemed all but lost. The truth is, I don't know that Tom Hanks is the kind of actor that should take down back to back best actor Oscars. No wait, I know he's not the kind of actor. Ask yourself if Tom Hanks belongs in the same company as a Daniel Day Lewis or Jack Nicholson or Dustin Hoffman. He doesn't and that's okay because I like Tom Hanks best when he's having a good time. When he's got that smile that says he's in on the joke. He's got that in Charlie Wilson's War and it's good to see it again. Even if it means I still haven't forgotten Forrest Gump.

Better late than never

The Oscars are notorious for giving the award to great actors and actresses for the wrong roles. This usually happens when Oscar messed up the first time around. So they end up giving the award for a lesser performance in an attempt to save face.

Here are actors and actresses who won Oscar. And the performance they SHOULD have won for.

Russell Crowe: Best Actor, Gladiator
Should have won for: The Insider

Denzel Washington: Best Actor, Training Day
Should have won for: Malcolm X

Paul Newman: Best Actor, The Color of Money
Should have won for: Cool Hand Luke

Sean Penn: Best Actor, Mystic River
Should have won for: Dead Man Walking

Jack Nicholson: Best Actor, As Good As It Gets
Should have won for: Five Easy Pieces

Dustin Hoffman, Best Actor, Rain Man
Should have won for: Midnight Cowboy

Renee Zellweger: Best Actress, Cold Mountain
Should have won for: Chicago

Katherine Hepburn: Best Actress, On Golden Pond
Should have won for: Anything but that

Henry Fonda, Best Actor, On Golden Pond
Should have won for: Anything but that

Nicole Kidman: Best Actress, The Hours
Should have won for: To Die For

Al Pacino: Best Actor, Scent of a Woman
Should have won for: Godfather I or II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon or
Glengarry Glen Ross

Overheard

Brian: Pat, you should see Into the Wild. There are some great performances.

Pat: From who?

Brian: Emile Hirsch.

Pat: I heard he was good.

Brian: And Hal Holbrook.

Pat: Yeah, loved him in Wall Street.

Brian: And Catherine Keener.

Pat: I LIKE her.

Brian: And Vince Vaughn.

Pat: Vaughn’s in it?

Brian: Yeah and William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden and Jena Malone.

Pat: Huh. I thought it was about a guy who got lost in the woods.

Beards Don't Hide Guilt

Last night David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno took the stage without writers. Well, Letterman had writers because he made a side deal with the union but both Conan O'Brien and Leno 'ad-libbed.' I read about how outrageous and funny it was that both Letterman and O'Brien had 'Strike Beards.' I also read that it might be political suicide for Huckabee to cross the picket lines to appear on the Leno show. What I didn't read about was how David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno should be called whores of the worst kind because they are attempting to go on with show while there is still a strike. And to add insult to injury, the three promoted their support for the strike while they were on air. Sorry fellas, the damage is already done. The death blow has been delivered. How can you possibly support the WGA Strike, while helping the Motion Picture and Television Industry prove that writers just aren't that important. And I'm not accepting the answer that the big, mean NBC and CBS Studios are making them do the show. Last time I checked, it was called The Late Show With David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Without them, there is no show.

I guess if I were to rank the whorishness of this scenario, Leno would have to be A Numero Uno for he is still a member of WGA and may have violated the strike by writing his own stuff last night. Next up would have to be Conan because he once was a member of WGA. And bringing up the rear is Letterman who avoids a bit of guilt because he is at least paying writers to write his show.

The strike is real. And it's time for those who can affect change to do so. Stop sympathizing and start doing. If Leno, Letterman and O'Brien really want to send a message that they support the strike, then don't do the show. If the studios take them to court for violating their contracts, then I say go and do that. Do they really support the strike or not? It's time to get serious, and sorry, beards are not the answer.

In Case You Missed It 2007

I'm late on this, but my time between Christmas and New Years was crazy. I won't waste anyone's time with a top 10 film list for the year because it will look similar to a lot of top 10 lists. And aside from that, I don't know that I've seen enough good movies to put together a top 10 list. Instead, I'm going to focus on the best of the film blogging community because there were lots of great things that happened blog-wise in '07. I want to highlight stuff that when I read it, I was jealous that I didn't think of it myself or I was especially taken with the insight or the entertainment of it. These are ranked in no particular order. Number one is no better than number whatever. They're all noteworthy in my eyes. Hopefully, you'll take a moment to check these out if you get a chance. You won't be disappointed. And if you are, then I didn't write them so don't blame me.

1. Ray at The Rec is a good drawler and talker. There's something out there called Sketchcast. I wasn't familiar with it when I witnessed its power at The Rec. Ray comments about Sex In The City as he draws and it's the perfect balance of sight and sound. When I saw it, I wanted to kill Ray and claim it as my own, but there's the nasty jail thing and who has money for a really good lawyer these days.

2. Burbanked re-experiences Star Wars. For the Star Wars Blog-a-Thon hosted by Edward Copeland On Film, Burbanked interviews his son after watching Star Wars for the first time. As a father myself, there is no greater joy than re-watching a movie through the eyes of your child. It's not as magical as the first time, but it's pretty damn close.

3. Getting Dirty Feels Good. I participated in a lot of blog-a-thons this past year, but the one that I may have enjoyed the most was the Trashy Movie Celebration Blog-a-Thon at Neil Sarver's The Bleeding Tree. Because every once in a while you gotta let your hair down and celebrate stuff so bad it's good.

4. If I Blog It They Will Come reaches a milestone. The descriptor of this blog goes like this "A blog About getting A particular celebrity to visit A blog about themselves and send in a photo of themselves looking at said blog." That line is the launching pad to one of the greatest blog ideas I've ever seen. The author is Evan Kessler and the first subject of this blogging experiment was Kevin Costner. Nearly every day Evan wrote a post to Kevin Costner in the hopes that word would travel back to him and the movie star would do as he was asked. Well, word did get back and Costner did send in his photo. So I guess that's one small leap for bloggers everywhere. Robin Williams is now on the clock, so we'll see if Evan can find success twice.

5. The Rec creates the Summer Movie Tournament and almost gets its swiped. Here's a great idea to help you get through the summer blockbusters. Create movie brackets. That's what Ray at The Rec did. I loved the idea. And so did The Movie Blog because it announced one a few days after Ray had e-mailed the editor about his idea. Hmmmmmm. Needless to say, Ray did not mince any words (if you read his blog, you know he never does). It was a rather nasty on-line fight which unfortunately is lost because someone hacked The Rec and most of the archives are gone. But it ended with The Movie Blog dropping its Summer Movie Tournament and the two blogs making up with passionate kissing.

6. This Distracted Globe completes 31 Days Of Hitchcock. I've never cared much for straight reviews of movies. But what Joe Valdez does is to bundle them in such a way as to make them interesting. For example, Joe spent a month reviewing remakes. And then another month reviewing Miramax films that didn't get the usual Harvey Weinstein marketing blitz. And then in the month of October, Joe reviewed a Hitchcock film a day. It was a huge undertaking and the reviews are fantastic. Not only does Joe give you his take, he writes about the politics behind the scenes. Can't wait to see what Joe tackles next.

7. Get To Know Your Bloggers: DVD Panache hosts Friday Screen Tests. There's a self-serving attitude that can run rampant while blogging, but not with Adam Ross at DVD Panache. Last year, Adam posted about a different film blogger with his Friday Screen Tests. Not only did it help this guy with some traffic, but it also helped me learn about the many film bloggers out there. It's my understanding that Adam plans on continuing this in 2008, and with that I say carry on.

8. Elijah Price proves to be a familiar nemesis. For those of who don't know, Elijah Price is the name of Samuel L. Jackson character, David Dunn's (Bruce Willis) arch nemesis in the movie Unbreakable. Elijah Price is also the name of a blogger who frequented this blog. One could say that he was my nemesis as well. He loved Dances With Wolves, hated John Carpenter and couldn't stand the movie Fandango. He and I often exchanged heated comments and while I was often frustrated with his comments, he sure made stuff a hell of a lot of fun. Well, it turns out that Elijah Price of the blogosphere was actually my best friend Charlie Calhoun from back home in Lincoln, Nebraska. He knew every button to push and he pushed them hard and frequently. I know that Elijah is Charlie because Charlie admitted as much at a recent family vacation. So now that the cat is out of the bag, Elijah doesn't come around any more and Lazy Eye Theatre is not the powder keg it once was.

11. 31 Days Of Spielberg comes to a screeching halt. I thought a lot about whether to include this because I'm sure Damian at Windmills Of My Mind would like for all of the hoopla surrounding his 31 Days Of Spielberg to just go away. But I just can't. It would be wrong to talk about the year in blogging and not mention this mess. I have read and enjoyed Damian's blog since it started. In fact, it is one of my favorite blogs because Damian is a true fan of film. A selfless critic that is able to make his passion for film come alive on my computer screen. That being said, when Damian was accused of plagiarism towards the end of 31 Days Of Spielberg, I was saddened. Although I don't know Damian personally, I never took him as an opportunist. I think Damian got in over his head and lifted a couple of sentences and got busted for it. Yes, it was wrong but the lashings that Damian took were unforgivable. One minute people are saying that Damian should publish a book of these writings, the next they are on their soapbox waxing prophetic about what is and what is not plagiarism and saying that, in fact, they never thought Damian was a good writer anyway. And then there were those that felt that Damian's apology was not sincere enough. It's all a bunch of hogwash if you ask me. I'm not releasing Damian of his guilt, but I'm sure as shit not condemning him. And the fact that he has hardly written a word since is sad, because the blogging world has been without a very good blog in Windmills Of My Mind. So Damian, come back to us soon and not just with a post here and there. And if you're not going to write, at least comment for gosh sakes.

12. Shoot The Projectionist exposes us to Pinky Violence. I'm not a very good blogger when it comes to reading about stuff I'm not familiar with. It's something I desperately need to work on. But I take a special interest in Asian cinema so I'll read about anything related to it. When I stumbled on to Ed Hardy's posts about Pinky Violence, a Japanese exploitation genre, I was strangely fascinated and the posts did not disappoint. He is still in need of a conclusion, so get on it already Ed.

13. The Online Film Communities Top 100 is selected and then debated. Cinema Fusion came up with the idea of creating a Top 100 movies list from a slew of bloggers. I was included and excited about doing it. When the list finally came out, I had regrets because it didn't feel like a list that should represent all films - and what's further I questioned my ability to even contribute to such a list. But it's still a huge undertaking and my hat goes off to Johnathan and everyone else involved because the truth is, right or wrong, you have to have the balls to put it out there and they did. And while I may have had some reservations, most involved were very happy with the list.

14. Final Girl Writes Things And Those Things Make For Some Laughing. I will not call out anything specifically that Stacy Ponder at Final Girl wrote this past year because they are all gems. Okay, how about I call out her last post Le Year in le Review. All I can say is that it is a sheer pleasure reading her stuff and she should be required reading for everyone, whether you're a horror fan or not.

15. Moviezzz makes us remember. Ever wonder what happened to Amanda Peterson, the little sexpot from Can't Buy Me Love? Or the French exchange student from Better Off Dead? There are actors out there that seemed destined for stardom but for some reason or another don't make it. I for one am fascinated with how the Hollywood machine can shoot some stars to the heavens and yet grind some down to nothingness at the same time. And Jim is just the guy to tell me about all that. I'm looking for more of the same this year.

16. The time is 20:07. If there is a safe house in this crazy film blogging world, it would have to be the Film Experience blog, as run by Nathanial. It is informative, entertaining and most importantly unpretentious. All are welcome to put up their feet and enjoy a cup of coffee and a nice bunt cake as we read reviews, film commentary and the weekly post praising Michelle Pfeiffer. And while I have lots of favorites about Film Experience, I would have to say that Nat's 20:07 posts are brilliant and strangely prophetic. They are over now for obvious reasons, but take a moment and check them out and we'll look for the next great idea in 2008.

Here's to more amazing stuff in 2008.

Once is never enough – the retraction.

On January 1, I made a rather bold statement. I said that a movie can’t be considered great if you only want to watch it once.

j.d. called me on it, and he was right.

I remember seeing Schindler’s List in the theater. It was difficult to sit through. Nonetheless, it was extremely well-crafted by Steven Spielberg and the memory of the sheer inhumanity still burns bright. I have no desire to see it again. But I’m glad that I saw it and I believe it is a great film.

However, I still contend that the movies in yesterday’s post – Titanic, The Last Emperor, The English Patient, Gandhi, Amadeus and Shakespeare in Love – are boring.

Once is never enough.

Can a movie be considered great if you have no desire to see it more than once? I don’t think so. One of the distinctions of a great film is that you actually want to watch it over and over.

Here are some Best Picture winners that I have seen only one time:

Titanic
The Last Emperor
The English Patient
Gandhi
Amadeus
Shakespeare in Love

None of those films suck. Well, maybe Titanic. But I don’t want to watch them. They are boring movies that won Best Picture.

My favorite movies include Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Graduate and Fargo. If any of those films come on TV, I stop what I’m doing and I’ll watch for 30 minutes or so.

Maybe I’m confusing great movies with favorite movies. I don’t know. I’m nursing a bit of a hangover.

All Dances Must Come To An End

This post is for The Endings Blog-a-Thon that actually finished yesterday at Joe's Movie Corner.

At the end of the film Fandango comes one of the finest finishes I have ever seen in a movie. The final minutes serve as what best can be described as one enormous montage. After calling off his wedding, Kenneth Waggener (Sam Robards) comes to his senses and he along with The Groovers - made up of Gardner Barnes (Kevin Costner), Phil Hicks (Judd Nelson), Dorman (Chuck Bush) and Lester Griffin (Brian Cesak) - arrange one hell of an impromptu wedding in a small town in Texas. A good montage is measured by its ability to marry sight and sound and this does that just perfectly. Kevin Reynolds shoots each scene with absolute grace and they flow together like the notes from Pat Metheney and Lyle Mays' jazzy guitars.

Its hard not to let ones heart soar during these last few minutes because Waggener gets to marry the beautiful Suzy Amis, but the bigger message here is that there comes a time when the road trip ends. When the bubble pops and reality sets in - reality being the Vietnam draft. This montage represents the last dance. The inevitable has been put-off as long as possible and now it's time to grow up. But for now, there is the dance and The Groovers want to celebrate every last glorious minute.