Mr. Cellophane

In a location adjacent to a place in a city of some significance, what comes out of my head is plastered on the walls of this blog.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Brownie + cookie = oh, dang!

I love brownies. I love cookies. It's not often I run into them put together. Usually, I find brownie-filled cookies, which are always tasty.

But Yahoo has posted a recipe that is basically a brownie cookie. Something I definitely want to try myself someday.

Mild spoiler warning: I'll be leaving out the walnuts.

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Monday, May 26, 2014

When Time Ran Out... (Lalo Schifrin)


A volcano, long thought to be dormant, turns out to be not so dormant, which is bad news for the guests of the resort hotel nearby. Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide put it best in referring to this as When Ideas Ran Out.... A good cast goes slumming in this final nail in the disaster movie genre coffin.

Lalo Schifrin wrote a number of terrific scores in his career. In my mind, the late 70s and early 80s were a peak period. This score features some great suspense cues and a fine main theme.

When Time Ran Out...
composed & conducted
by
Lalo Schifrin

1. Main Titles 3.14
2. Bob Spangler 0.41
3. Arrival at Kalaleu 0.27
4. Bob and Nikki 1.08
5. "I have missed you." 2.04
6. Bob and Iolani 1.38
7. Into the Volcano 4.36
8. "...damned powder-keg." 1.54
9. Kay Tries Again 2.35
10. "We better evacuate." 1.43
11. No Need for Wine/First Explosions/Helicopter Rescue/Making Waves 7.41
12. Worried Guests 0.37
13. Deaths All Around/Fireballs/Rallying the Guests 5.50
14. On the Road/Rock Climb 8.09
15. Two-Timing Bob/Bridge Work 22.07 (no, this is not a typo; this is 20+ minutes of unbroken music)
16. Earth's Final Fury 1.17
17. A Brand New Day (End Credits) 3.32

The last two weeks have seen a few obscure Schifrin titles released (The Fourth Protocol, Golden Needles). One never knows.

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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Tater tots were a staple of my diet in school lunches. As time went on, fewer and fewer venues would serve them (and yes, it does occur to me to buy them from the store; I'm trying to be dramatic).

Leave it to BuzzFeed to assemble a group of fascinating ways to serve this most underrated of side dishes:

27 Tater Tot Recipes that Will Change Your Life

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Wednesday, May 14, 2014


Just doing what I do when it gets to be too long (read: almost seven days) between blog posts and I'm stuck for a real post.

Whilst browsing my YouTube history, I rediscovered this video that I'm pretty sure I first saw thanks to Buzzfeed.

Would that the rest of us could master the art of paper planes as this person did. In the upper tier is this guy and the guy from "Paperman".

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Thursday, May 08, 2014

Paparazzi (Brian Tyler)


Hot action star Bo Laramie (Cole Hauser) finds himself targeted by a group of scummy paparazzi (because Lord knows there aren't other, bigger movie stars that they could be harassing). What happens when a decent man is pushed too far (and that, for all the world, could be a tagline for one of Laramie's movies)?

Less a movie than a rant on behalf of Hollywood stars who hate having their privacy invaded...and it's an absolute blast. Guilty pleasures don't come much guiltier.

Brian Tyler wrote a lively score for the film, its highlights including a creepy buzzing motif for the paparazzi and a rising 'realization' motif for Dennis Farina's Detective Burton.

(Okay, I admit this is something of a cheat since the score was released, but, a long time ago at FSM's message board, there was a thread that invited posters to create new track listings for existing soundtracks. I channeled my inner Michael Giacchino - only to find that he had an inner freak - and this is what I came up with for this.)

1. Bo-lden Shower (Cat and Mouse) 2.22
2. Detractors of Photography (Aftermath) 3.29
3. Bad Reflection (Solitude) 1.07
4. The Walls Have Eyes (The Break-In) 1.25
5. Coma Chameleon (The Awakening) 1.35
6. Baiting a Master (Turning Tables) 3.03
7. Rude Rolex Rider (Silent Anger) 1.34
8. Hanging by a Thread (Falling) 2.13
9. Candid Cameras (Taped Evidence) 2.25
10. Finding a Victim (Questioning) 2.26
11. Somebody's Wife (Taking Rex In) 0.49
12. Bo Knows Vengeance (Realization) 1.48
13. Bo Wrecks Rex (End of the Line) 3.36
14. Hospitalty (Discussion with a Detective) 0.53
15. Autograph Book 'em (The Telltale Pen) 2.31
16. Soccer? Riot! (Celebrity Life) 2.47
17. Rex Trashes His Scene (Garbage Fetish) 1.00
18. Planted and Payoff (Evidence Lost) 1.22
19. Rock the Boat (Laramie Hitches a Ride) 1.17
20. WonderBo (Batter Up) 2.15
21. Briton? He's Speared (Hands in the Air) 1.10
22. Nobody Got Hurt (Telling) 0.43
23. Laramie in La-La-Land (Premiere) 1.23
24. Piqued in the Valley (Scene of the Crime) 2.50
25. Homemade Sex Tape (Blackmail) 1.59
26. Drive-by Shooting (Camera Chase) 0.50
27. Bo Laramie's Punch-Out (Tabloid Exposure) 1.49
28. Ladder Alone (Adrenaline Force 2) 0.30
29. Get Shorty (Invasion of Privacy) 0.34
30. Fear Abby (Intruders) 1.41
31. Blood Red Carpet (Fans and Lights) 1.33
32. Tyler's Final Fade-Out (Resolution) 1.57

BTW, here's the film order: 29-16-27-17-26-2-3-25-14-22-28-7-8-12-24-6-21-15-4-30-19-20-1-9-10-18-13-11-32-5-23-31.

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Friday, May 02, 2014

"You were supposed to understand."

Well, today sees the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In an interesting confluence, today is Elliot Goldenthal's birthday. I'm currently listening to the score album of Batman Forever, the first CD I bought 16 years ago and the one that started me on this long, strange trip of collecting.

Someone on Twitter posted this a while ago. Damned if I can remember who it was, but he (she?) pointed out that super hero movies seem to be following some kind of Batman Forever model. Thinking about it can blow your mind a little. Check it: a nerdy geek of a scientist (who is also a nerd) idolizes the hero, then something happens to make them super-powerful and a true threat. On TV Tropes, this is called 'From Nobody to Nightmare', so it may pre-date superhero cinema as we know it (I haven't yet checked). Batman Forever. Iron Man 3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2. (All sequels!)

Just one of those weird things one can't help but notice.

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