tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97550122024-03-18T22:53:10.055-04:00Mr. CellophaneIn 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.lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.comBlogger1353125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-1059566790913033732024-03-10T15:43:00.001-04:002024-03-10T15:43:18.348-04:00So, what do you think is gonna win?<p>Well, here we are again. On the cusp of another Oscar ceremony. Of course, I'll be watching. And my picks to win (No bitching about what I think should've been nominated, I promise.):<br /><br /><b>Picture:</b> <i>Oppenheimer</i>. Why not?<br /><br /><b>Actor:</b> Pretty solid lineup, but I'm picking...Paul Giamatti. Marvelous work and he is long overdue.<br /><br /><b>Actress:</b> Lily Gladstone. Just wonderful.<br /><br /><b>Supporting Actor:</b> Robert Downey, Jr., as he was quite good and, given that I saw <i>Chaplin</i> for the first time last week, let's call this a make-up Oscar for the time they gave it to Hoo-ah!<br /><br /><b>Supporting Actress:</b> Da'Vine Joy Randolph. Turns out her name is pronounced 'DAY-vine'. Go figure.<br /><br /><b>Director:</b> Christopher Nolan.<br /><br /><b>Original Screenplay:</b> <i>The Holdovers</i>.<br /><br /><b>Adapted Screenplay:</b> <i>American Fiction</i>, because - in spite of strongly disagreeing with the ending - I feel it ought to get something.<br /><br /><b>Cinematography:</b> <i>Oppenheimer</i>.<br /><br /><b>Editing:</b> <i>Oppenheimer</i>.<br /><br /><b>Production Design:</b> <i>Barbie</i>. They ran out of pink paint. Don't let that sacrifice be in vain.<br /><br /><b>Original Score:</b> No truly objectionable nominees here. A welcome change. <i>Oppenheimer</i>. One of the better scores from a Nolan movie.<br /><br /><b>Original Song:</b> What it really comes down to is which <i>Barbie</i> song will win. "I'm Just Ken" is a nice power ballad, but expect the sentimental vote to go to "What Was I Made For?".<br /><br /><b>Costume Design:</b> <i>Barbie</i>. It makes sense, don't it?<br /><br /><b>Sound:</b> <i>Oppenheimer</i>. I'd like to think that Nolan knew that audiences were getting a little logy and the explosion would be just the thing to wake them up and keep them up.<br /><br /><b>Animated Feature:</b> <i>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</i>. My reasons are my own...and because it was awesome.<br /><br /><b>Animated Short:</b> Now, for these next few categories, I'm just gonna pick the one I like the best from its Wikipedia page. Of these, I pick "War is Over!".<br /><br /><b>Live-Action Short:</b> Though "Invincible" sounds interesting, I'm gonna say "Red, White and Blue". It seems like it delivers its message a lot cleaner than, say, "The After". A win for that would be perfectly on brand for some of the last few years of winners in the category; shorts that wallow in misery while purporting to deliver a message. I have no patience for that.<br /><br /><b>Documentary Short:</b> I'd have said "The Barber of Little Rock" in a walk, but "Nai Nai and Wai Po" sounds ridiculously adorable.<br /><br /><b>Documentary Feature:</b> "20 Days in Mariupol" sounds properly harrowing and timelier than ever given you-know-who's plans for Ukraine.<br /><br /><b>Foreign Language Film:</b> <i>Io capitano</i>.<br /><br /><b>Visual Effects:</b> Haven't seen the movie, but the fact that (apparently) such spectacular effects could be created on a relatively low budget should be rewarded. <i>Godzilla Minus One</i>.<br /><br /><b>Make-Up and Hairstyling:</b> <i>Poor Things</i>. <br /><br />Also, they moved the show up to 7. Can they do that? Especially without telling me?</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-33226510735478447952024-03-07T10:08:00.007-05:002024-03-07T21:38:32.814-05:00Mary, Mary, quite contrary.<p>Well, the movie <i>Ricky Stanicky</i> is hitting streaming today, the latest from the once-great Peter Farrelly. Given the bullshit of <i>Green Book</i> winning him two Academy Awards, the trailer made me laugh and the premise intrigued me as far back as when I read the script and the Scriptshadow review back in its Blogger days.</p><p>The reviews so far have…not been kind. One review said that the film is a long way from <i>There’s Something About Mary</i>. “<i>There’s Something About Mary</i> is a comedy masterpiece!” It’s been 25 years; a quarter of a century. Are people really still swallowing that man gravy?</p><p>All I ask from a comedy is that it make me laugh. If you can do that, you’re in like Flynn. You’re talking to a defender of <i>Kung Pow! Enter the Fist</i> and <i>Land of the Lost</i>. A comedy would have to work damn hard to make me hate it.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-27979996457340254962024-02-14T17:02:00.007-05:002024-03-10T15:23:11.096-04:00"Sarah, be my bloody valentine."<p>Figure I may as well post something. Tonight, the Revue Cinema is showing the uncut version of 1981's <i>My Bloody Valentine</i>, including a Q&A with the film's director, George Mihalka.<br /><br />In tribute to that sure-to-be-awesome screening that I'm not attending, here's the film's end credits song, a stirring and emotional ballad that you wouldn't expect to find in a movie like this.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IuY7GsM6tvE" width="320" youtube-src-id="IuY7GsM6tvE"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-25699768915015627132024-01-30T22:20:00.012-05:002024-01-30T22:35:39.807-05:00The film music of 2023.<p>Okay, then.<br /><br /><b><u>My favorite scores of 2023:</u></b><br /><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/108258.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/108258.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Michael Abels - Amazon)<br />Abels' score for the true-life courtroom drama plays like the best score Terence Blanchard never wrote.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Call Me a Child of God", "No Intention of Closing", "Gonna Have Him on a Cross"<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/106051.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/106051.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Thomas Newman - Disney)<br />Newman's score lent a lot of flavor to the Pixar romance.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Across the Ocean", "Pipe Blows", "Make Connection"<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/106055.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/106055.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Benjamin Wallfisch - WaterTower)<br />Easily the weakest comic book movie of the year, but one would never know listening to Wallfisch's exciting score.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Run", "What is This Place?", "Worlds Collide"<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/105055.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/105055.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(John Murphy - Hollywood)<br />Murphy laces moments of awe and warmth into this lively score.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Warlock vs. Guardians", "It Really Is Good to Have Friends", "The High Evolutionary"<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/108940.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/108940.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Laura Karpman - Disney)<br />Karpman provided one of the more unique efforts in the Marvel canon.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Dar-Benn", "Entangled", "The Marvels"<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/109457.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/109457.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(John Powell - Back Lot)<br />Powell's music for the animated feature is appropriately lush and colorful.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Bedtime Story", "Heron Adventures", "Jamaica"<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104952.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104952.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Daniel Hart - Disney)<br />It's virtually impossible to write a bad score for a Peter Pan movie and Hart's fun work continues the tradition.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "The Darling Darlings", "Peter Pan Shall Perish Today", "Goodbye Peter Pan"<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/103697.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/103697.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Panu Aaltio - Moviescore Media)<br />Delightful action music that should point to a bigger career for Aaltio.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Newspaper Ad", "Grand Adventure", "Mystery Never Ends"<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104642.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104642.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Marco Beltrami - Back Lot)<br />Beltrami revisits his <i>Warm Bodies</i> and injects a lot of musical style.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Wake and Bake", "You're the Monster, Renfield", "Full Husk Emptied"<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/103680.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/103680.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Christophe Beck - WaterTower)<br />This robust superhero score might well be Beck's best work of the year.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "Main Title Theme", "Philly Tree's Take", "Hero"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104476.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104476.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Brian Tyler - Back Lot)<br />One of Tyler's most exuberant efforts, bolstered by clever interpolations of the game themes.<br /><b>Favorite tracks:</b> "King of the Koopas", "Lost and Crowned", "Fighting Tooth and Veil"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104579.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="500" src="http://www.filmmusicsite.com/images/covers/large/104579.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Lorne Balfe - Lakeshore)<br />Balfe's pulsating music channels the feel of the classic video game.<br /><b>Favorite tracks: </b>"Falling Blocks", "Hard Drop", "TeeWee"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Other good scores: </u></b><br /><br />Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Christophe Beck), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Harry Gregson-Williams), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Lorne Balfe), Haunted Mansion (Kris Bowers), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (John Williams), mon crime (Philippe Rombi), Napoleon (Martin Phipps), Rustin (Branford Marsalis), Slotherhouse (Sam Ewing), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Daniel Pemberton), The Tenderness (Fernando Velazquez), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Jongnic Bontemps) and Zombie Town (Ryan Shore)</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b>My favorite CDs of 2023:</b></u></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Battle Beyond the Stars</b> (James Horner - Intrada) - Horner (literally) lays the groundwork for future favorites with his score for the sci-fi western.<br /><br /><b>Hook</b> (John Williams - La La Land) - The complete presentation of the underscore is welcome, but the real attraction is the songs written back when the project was to be a musical.<br /><br /><b>Mouse Hunt</b> (Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande CD Club) - At long last, one of Silvestri’s finest - and most fun - scores receives the presentation it deserves.<br /><br /><b>The Munsters: the Television Music of Jack Marshall</b> (La La Land) - Compilation spans Marshall's Universal scoring for the small screen, highlighted by the delightful music of the headliner show.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>On Dangerous Ground/The Man Who Knew Too Much</b> (Bernard Herrmann - Intrada) - The label's re-recording cleans up the former score and showcases the latter in all its glory.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Peter Pan</b> (James Newton Howard - Intrada) - Howard’s sweeping and lovely music made for a perfect fit to the (sadly) forgotten adaptation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Rat Race</b> (Elmer Bernstein - La La Land) - Bernstein's rejected score for the chase comedy saw him throwing out the <i>Airplane!</i> playbook and going full-tilt wacky.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sabrina</b> (John Williams - La La Land) - The romantic comedy remake featured one of the Master’s finest works, supported by an elegant main theme.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Solo: a Star Wars Story</b> (John Powell - Intrada) - Every note of Powell's exciting score is finally available on a physical album, which is reason enough to celebrate.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Venom</b> (Michael Kamen - Quartet) - Kamen provided a wonderfully creepy score for the underrated killer snake thriller.<br /><br /><b style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration: underline;">Other great CDs of 2023:</b><br /><br />Hot Fuzz (David Arnold - La La Land)<br /><br />Humanoids from the Deep (James Horner - Intrada)<br /><br />Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Denny Zeitlin - Intrada)<br /><br />MacArthur (Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada)<br /><br />The Manions of America (Morton Stevens - Dragon's Domain)<br /><br />Moment to Moment (Henry Mancini - La La Land)<br /><br />Pleasantville (Randy Newman - Varese Sarabande CD Club)<br /><br />Seance on a Wet Afternoon (John Barry - Quartet)<br /><br />Shattered (Alan Silvestri - Intrada)<br /><br />Sneakers (James Horner - La La Land)<br /><br /><b style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration: underline;">Random thoughts:</b><br /><br />- Hans Zimmer wrote a fine score for <i>The Creator</i>, but it was originally not to be. Writer/director Gareth Edwards’s plan was to have an AI generator replicate a Zimmer score, at least until cooler heads prevailed. As a film music fan for most of my life, I find this to be just offensive; depriving talented composers of work just to save a few bucks. Haven’t seen the film, but I suppose I can be grateful that it was a box office flop, which could certainly throw a wrench in Edwards’ future career and make sure that his psychotic ideas don’t infest other filmmakers.<br /><br />- Given his amazing scores for Kenneth Branagh’s first two Poirot movies, I eagerly awaited Patrick Doyle’s music for <i>A Haunting in Venice</i>. However, his work on the music for the coronation of King Charles precluded this, leaving the job in the hands of…Hildur Gudnadottir. Her grim, one-note score seemed to wander in from another franchise, one that recoils at the concept of melody…or fun. There are tons of working European composers that could’ve done a better job. To wit: Craig Armstrong, David Arnold, Roque Banos, Bruno Coulais, Alexandre Desplat, Pino Donaggio, Anne Dudley, George Fenton, Alex Heffes, Tuomas Kantelinen, Rolfe Kent, Dario Marianelli, Rachel Portman, Edward Shearmur, Carlo Siliotto, Frederic Talgorn, Fernando Velazquez or Gabriel Yared. You mean to tell me that they were all washing their hair the night came to choose a new composer?<br /><br />- I don’t know if it’s a case of two composers having the exact same brainwave or a demand of Jason Blum, but I couldn’t help but notice that the scores for Benjamin Wallfisch’s <i>The Invisible Man</i> and Anthony Willis’s <i>M3GAN</i> both feature incredibly harsh, electronic tones for technology going out of control, which I suppose makes it an appropriate affectation, but it is hard to listen to outside of the film.<br /><br />- Much like the previous year, scores for horror movies were generally a disappointing lot with the exception of Sam Ewing’s colorful work for <i>Slotherhouse</i>, about sorority girls trying to stop a killer sloth. You live long enough, anything will happen, I guess.<br /><br />- Fernando Velasquez’s score for <i>The Tenderness</i> was pretty good, but the thing that struck me most was the very first cue: “la isla desierta”. Seriously, give it a listen and tell me that Shirley Walker hasn’t come back from the grave:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6S3eZcIwe18" width="320" youtube-src-id="6S3eZcIwe18"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-8853403491114182682024-01-28T19:49:00.015-05:002024-01-28T22:05:43.334-05:00How do you nominate Barbie without nominating Barbie?!<p>I had considered using a line from the title song of the movie <i>Gold</i>, but I had to say something.<br /><br />- As of a few days ago, I saw five of the ten Best Picture nominees. My best ratio in years.<br /><br />- Seriously, Margot Robbie gave a marvelous performance, the kind that (you would think) would guarantee an Oscar nomination. Weirdly, director Greta Gerwig was also snubbed. Someone tweeted this yesterday and they nailed it: "No nomination for (actress) Margot Robbie. No nomination for [director] Greta Gerwig. Ryan Gosling* gets an Oscar nomination. This is actually the whole plot of <i>Barbie</i>." Just imagine Sophie's Choice if it was nominated in every category but Best Actress.<br />* - Gosling was terrific, but the point remains.<br /><br />- Other snubs: <i>Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret</i>., Supporting Actors Dominic Sessa (a stunning debut in <i>The Holdovers</i>), Glenn Howerton (the highlight of <i>BlackBerry</i>) and Charles Melton (didn't see <i>May December</i>, but as a "Riverdale" fan, the buzz had me jazzed), <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem</i> (more deserving of a nod than <i>Nimona</i>) and <i>Dumb Money</i>.<br /><br />- It's nice that the scores for the four best Indiana Jones movies have been Oscar-nominated.<br /><br />- I didn't love <i>American Fiction</i> as much as I wanted to, but I'm still pleased it landed five nominations.<br /><br />- First-time nominees: Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Colman Domingo, America Ferrera, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Huller, Cillian Murphy, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Jeffrey Wright.<br /><br />- I don't really have much more to say. My <i>Barbie</i> complaint took the wind out of me. March 10th. Be there or be square.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-70636832246391212282024-01-26T22:43:00.004-05:002024-01-27T08:11:23.059-05:00The movies of 2023.<p>I saw 68 movies in 2023. I really don't want to reprise my 'the theatrical experience lives!' spiel from last year, but what can you do?<br /><br /><u>My favorite movies of 2022:</u><br /><br />10. <b>Elemental</b> - Pixar’s first attempt at romantic comedy is as charming and eye-catching as you’d expect.<br /><br />9. <b>Asteroid City</b> - Fascinating Wes Anderson take on an alien invasion, brought to life by a marvelous cast.<br /><br />8. <b>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem</b> - Oddball animation and a spirited voice cast make this an engaging reboot.<br /><br />7. <b>The Holdovers</b> - Splendid drama about broken people healing each other nicely evokes the era in which it is set.<br /><br />6. <b>Sisu</b> - WWII thriller is one of the most exciting - and most gorgeous-looking - movies of the year.<br /><br />5. <b>Guardians of the Galaxy - Vol. 3</b> - James Gunn concludes his trilogy in grand style with surprising emotion.<br /><br />4. <b>M3GAN</b> - The story of a girl’s new best friend is an entertaining yarn from Blumhouse.<br /><br />3. <b>Killers of the Flower Moon</b> - Terrific adaptation of a little known chapter of American history is properly sprawling and powerfully acted.<br /><br />2. <b>Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves</b> - Fun fantasy adventure carries itself much like the actual game.<br /><br />1. <b>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</b> - Follow-up to Into the Spider-Verse may well be even better; runs the gamut from action to drama to comedy.<br /><br /><u>Runners-up:</u><br /><br />Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.<br /><br />Barbie<br /><br />Blue Beetle<br /><br />The Boy and the Heron<br /><br />Dumb Money<br /><br />Joy Ride<br /><br />Missing<br /><br />Oppenheimer<br /><br />Still: a Michael J. Fox Movie<br /><br />Thanksgiving</p><p><u>Underrated:</u><br /><br />Haunted Mansion, The Marvels, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken<br /><br /><u>Overrated:</u><br /><br />John Wick: Chapter 4, Nimona<br /><br /><u>Streaming exclusives that should've been released in theaters:</u><br /><br />Quiz Lady, Still: a Michael J. Fox Movie, They Cloned Tyrone<br /><br /><u>Theatrical movies that should've been relegated to streaming:</u><br /><br />The Flash, Retribution, Silent Night, 65</p><p><b><u>My favorite things in movies - 2023:</u></b></p><p>Andrew Barth Feldman serenades Jennifer Lawrence - forcing her to rethink what she wants - in <i>No Hard Feelings</i><br /><br />Anthony Ramos quits his job in <i>Dumb Money</i></p><p>The build up to the bomb’s detonation, and the detonation itself, in <i>Oppenheimer</i></p><p>The cheeky nod to spiritual predecessor <i>Searching</i> in <i>Missing</i></p><p>The curtain getting pulled back in <i>Asteroid City</i><br /></p><p>Dave Bautista in <i>Knock at the Cabin</i>. His finest performance yet in an exceptionally tense thriller officially confirms him not as a wrestler-turned-actor, but as an actor who happened to wrestle in his younger days.<br /><br />The flame-rounds oner in <i>John Wick: Chapter 4</i>. The nearly three-hour running time is a classic example of filmmakers getting high on their own supply, but it was almost worth it to get such an exhilarating sequence.</p><p>Glenn Howerton in <i>Blackberry</i></p><p>Hespera reads the letter in <i>Shazam! Fury of the Gods</i></p><p>The in-person cameo in <i>The Flash</i>. Sad that this is something that had to be qualified, but…you know. In two and a half hours of pathetic, Emmerich’s <i>Godzilla</i>/Bay’s <i>Transformers</i>/‘cadence of a joke’ humor, it is the one thing in this movie that genuinely made me laugh.<br /><br />Jack Black in <i>The Super Mario Bros. Movie</i>, especially his performance of the song, "Peaches".</p><p>Jason Momoa in <i>Fast X</i>. Even now, I am gobsmacked that he was allowed to get away with such a character - and such a performance! - in 20-freaking-23 and we get two more movies with this cat? Bring ‘em on!<br /><br />Kjell Lagerroos's cinematography for <i>Sisu</i></p><p>The narrator dog in <i>Strays</i>, especially one line in particular; if you seen the film, you know exactly the one</p><p>The opening sequence in <i>Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</i>. So, young Harrison Ford was executed with CGI. That shit was exciting and anyone who disagrees is lying to themselves.<br /><br />The power-switching montage in <i>The Marvels</i></p><p>Pretty much anything said by George Lopez’s Uncle Rudy in <i>Blue Beetle</i></p><p>The re-creations of 1931’s <i>Dracula</i> in <i>Renfield</i></p><p>The resignation montage in <i>Napoleon</i></p><p>The scenes between Denzel Washington's McCall and Dakota Fanning's Collins in <i>The Equalizer 3</i>, especially the reveal as to why he contacted her<br /></p><p>The sense of humor in <i>Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves</i>, a strong element to an enjoyable movie, especially the line following the heroes' escape.<br /><br />The surprise ending of <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i>. It takes a real prankish sensibility to conclude your heavy historical drama on this note, and I quite liked it.</p><p>Tony Hale as Ben Franklin in <i>Quiz Lady</i>. Granted, the schtick is little more than a rip off of Janeane Garofalo's cameo in <i>The Cable Guy</i> ("There were no utensils <i>in</i> medieval times, hence, there are no utensils <i>at</i> Medieval Times. Would you like a refill on your Pepsi?"), but hey, I laugh at what I laugh at. <br /><br />The violin duel in <i>Chevalier</i></p><p>“We’re in a franchise!” - <i>Scream VI</i></p><p>“Who’s Black Sabbath?” - <i>Thanksgiving</i> <br /><br /><u>Random thoughts:</u><br /><br />- As I have noted several times on message boards, I’m well aware that we live in the Internet age where nothing could be kept a secret anymore, but this blew up in my face in the worst way. I had planned on seeing <i>Thanksgiving</i> the day before the actual holiday. I was pretty excited, but days before I was to see it - and, bear in mind, this is not even a couple days after it's been released in theaters - some jagoff on YouTube posted a video revealing who the killer was. I still enjoyed the film, but it was a bit less magical because of it. People like that ought to have their hands chopped off if they can’t even wait so much as seven goddamn days.<br /><br />- <i>Air</i> was a decent look at how Nike and Michael Jordan turned each other into legends, if burdened with far too many 80s signifiers (it was almost like a rerun of “The Goldbergs”). However, they saved the worst for last: during Matt Damon’s climactic speech about what Jordan is capable of and there are flashes to the real-life tribulations that he’d go through. Jesus Christ! Way to undercut the guy that the whole freaking movie spent telling us was less a man than a god!<br /><br />- So, yeah, that was totes Josh Gad‘s voice as Samara Weaving’s date at the beginning of <i>Scream VI</i>, yes?<br /><br />- The last year or so has seen a number of YouTube trailers advertising fake Wes Anderson takes on a number of different plots. These trailers are executed with AI, apparently mocking Anderson’s style and his stable of actors. Now I’m more than a little unashamed to admit that I have gotten some laughs from these trailers, but it is the damnedest thing. This past summer, I saw a trailer for (ostensibly) a real movie, <i>Jules</i> (which played right before <i>Asteroid City</i>, if you can believe it!), that told the story of an alien who visits a small town and befriends an old man. For real, it totally felt like a Wes Anderson AI trailer for <i>Asteroid City</i>, but in real life. The only thing missing was the credit of “Owen Wilson as Jules”. (“Wow.”)<br /><br />- Once upon a time, a movie based on a graphic novel was adapted into an animated feature by Blue Sky Studios, but then 20th Century Fox was bought by Disney, and the project was shelved. With roughly 25% of the project still yet to be completed, Netflix took over the production of the film and released it this past summer to great critical acclaim. That movie is called <i>Nimona</i>, which is now an Academy Award-nominated feature. I watched the film last December and, seriously, am I missing something here? I mean, the animation is good, and there are some strong thematic virtues, but then you have the protracted narrative (a moment occurs roughly an hour in that would seem to signal the natural endpoint of the story, but then, it just keeps going), the confused worldbuilding (so, the film is set in the near future, but there are also knights?), leftover Blue Sky humor (a secondary character dabs, because that is oh-so-timely and also, this is a movie produced in 2023 that used “Awkward.” as a punchline. I’m gonna say that again for the cheap seats: a movie produced in <i>twenty-twenty-mother-fucking-three!</i> used “Awkward.” as a punchline. Also, the title character is rather irritating for a good portion of it. I genuinely don’t see how this could be any sort of serious award competition for <i>The Boy and the Heron</i> or <i>Spider-Verse</i> and it’s high time that the film's die-hard fans realize that. <br /><br />- Blumhouse scored a home run at the beginning of last year with <i>M3GAN,</i> but as the year went on, things kinda went pear-shaped for them. In collaboration with Universal Pictures, the company spent $400 million on the rights to <i>The Exorcist</i> in the hopes of making a new trilogy. The first movie, <i>The Exorcist: Believer</i> made a little money, but was a critical failure. Three weeks later, they put out <i>Five Nights at Freddy's</i>, which ended up being the company's highest grosser, but creatively, it was very bankrupt. The trailers for their next couple projects, <i>Night Swim</i> and <i>Imaginary</i>, look wholly unpromising. I don’t want to say that the days of <i>Get Out </i>and <i>The Invisible Man</i> are far in the rear-view mirror, but I guess I just did. <br /><br />- The year in PG-13 F-bombs: <i>Missing</i>, <i>The Flash</i> and (surprisingly) <i>Guardians of the Galaxy - Vol. 3</i><br /><br />- “Say, do you wanna know why the aliens are here and what they want with Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever)? Well, you can fuck all the way off, ‘cause I’m not gonna tell you!” - Brian Duffield, writer/director of <i>No One Will Save You</i>…probably. Oh, and an extra ‘fuck you’ for stealing a plot point for a script that I was writing.<br /><br />- If I had a nickel for every 2023 movie about an asshole teenager who uses time travel to go back and save their murdered mother, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Also, if I had one for every 2023 genre piece that tried to be pointlessly artsy by stripping away all the dialogue…<br /><br />- Another moment of <i>Fast X</i> that stood out to me - besides Jason Momoa - was the scene where Jack Reacher tells Captain Marvel that he hates barbecues. I feel like this should have its own page at TV Tropes where the villain says that they hate something the hero loves. My go-to example is <i>A Good Day to Die Hard</i>: "If there's one thing I really hate, it's Americans. Especially cowboys."....and I know that we didn't know he was a villain when he said that, but in a movie like this, revealing that he <i>wasn't</i> a villain would've been a major disappointment.<br /><br />- What do <i>Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania</i> and <i>Renfield</i> have in common? Both movies were written by veterans of “Rick and Morty”…and judging by both movies, neither gentleman has completely flushed the show from their respective systems. I haven't seen <i>Quantumania</i> (and unless an extended cut of the film featuring at least 30 seconds of Michael Pena delightfulness drops on Disney Plus, I never goddamn will), but from what I've heard, the residents of the Quantum Realm may as well have been rejects from an episode of the show, and Ben Schwartz's character in <i>Renfield</i> struck me as the kind of one-note one-shot character who gets introduced and ends up either getting killed or horribly mutated. If I’m being perfectly honest, I’m amazed his character lasted as long as he did.<br /><br />- Is it possible to love a movie despite not having the faintest of clues what the hell is going on for most of it? That was <i>Dumb Money</i>, for me. The cast was terrific, and the <i>Social Network</i> blueprint is bulletproof, but honestly, I was practically Lorraine Bracco‘s character in <i>Hackers</i>. If someone asked me to explain short selling at gunpoint, that is the last you would ever hear from my Black ass.<br /></p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-69881227598808020822024-01-22T20:09:00.026-05:002024-01-23T22:13:08.246-05:00My Oscar ballot.<p>May as well get used to filling these out. I am going to get a script sold…just as soon as I start writing it. Anyway…<br /><br /><u><b>PICTURE</b></u><br /><br />Asteroid City<br />The Holdovers<br />Killers of the Flower Moon<br />Oppenheimer<br />Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse<br /><br /><u><b>ACTOR</b></u><br /><br />Dave Bautista, Knock at the Cabin<br />Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers<br />Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer<br />Jason Schwartzman, Asteroid City<br />Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction<br /><br /><u><b>ACTRESS</b></u><br /><br />Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.<br />Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon<br />Scarlet Johansson, Asteroid City<br />Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings<br />Margot Robbie, Barbie<br /><br /><u><b>SUPPORTING ACTOR</b></u><br /><br />Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction<br />Robert Downey, Jr., Oppenheimer<br />Ryan Gosling, Barbie<br />Glenn Howerton, Blackberry<br />Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers<br /><br /><u><b>SUPPORTING ACTRESS</b></u><br /><br />Kathy Bates, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.<br />Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer<br />America Ferrera, Barbie<br />Rachel McAdams, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.<br />Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers<br /><br /><b><u>DIRECTOR </u></b><br /><br />Wes Anderson, Asteroid City<br />Greta Gerwig, Barbie<br />Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer<br />Alexander Payne, The Holdovers<br />Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon</p><p><b><u>ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY </u></b><br /><br />Air<br />The Boy and the Heron<br />Elemental<br />The Holdovers<br />Sisu<br /><br /><b><u>ADAPTED SCREENPLAY</u></b><br /><br />Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.<br />Barbie<br />Dumb Money<br />Killers of the Flower Moon<br />Oppenheimer<br /><br /><b><u>CINEMATOGRAPHY</u></b><br /><br />The Holdovers<br />Killers of the Flower Moon<br />Oppenheimer<br />Sisu<br />Wonka<br /><br /><u><b>PRODUCTION DESIGN</b></u><br /><br />Asteroid City<br />Barbie<br />Killers of the Flower Moon<br />Oppenheimer<br />Wonka<br /><br /><u><b>EDITING</b></u><br /><br />Asteroid City<br />The Holdovers<br />Killers of the Flower Moon<br />Oppenheimer<br />Sisu<br /><br /><u><b>COSTUME DESIGN</b></u><br /><br />Barbie<br />Chevalier<br />Napoleon<br />They Cloned Tyrone<br />Wonka<br /><br /><u><b>ORIGINAL SCORE</b></u><br /><br />American Fiction, Laura Karpman<br />Elemental, Thomas Newman<br />Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, John Williams<br />Oppenheimer, Ludwig Goransson<br />Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Daniel Pemberton<br /><br /><u><b>ORIGINAL SONG</b></u><br /><br />"I'm Just Ken", Barbie<br />"Peaches", The Super Mario Bros. Movie<br />"Scrub Scrub", Wonka<br />"Sweet Tooth", Wonka<br />"What Was I Made For?", Barbie<br /><br /><u><b>SOUND</b></u><br /> <br />Killers of the Flower Moon<br />Napoleon<br />Oppenheimer<br /><br /><u><b>MAKEUP</b></u><br /><br />Guardians of the Galaxy - Vol. 3<br />The Last Voyage of the Demeter<br />Wonka<br /><br /><b><u>VISUAL EFFECTS</u></b><br /><br />Blue Beetle<br />Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves<br />Guardians of the Galaxy - Vol. 3<br />Haunted Mansion<br />Oppenheimer<br /><br /><u><b>ANIMATED FEATURE</b></u><br /><br />The Boy and the Heron<br />Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget<br />Elemental<br />Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse<br />Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-80611823170275783912024-01-18T14:36:00.005-05:002024-01-18T23:31:01.545-05:00“This is for Tupac.”<p>At work today, as is my wont when I’m working on something, I looked for a podcast to listen to as I while away the time. I searched my database in my phone’s Notes app and I settled on Made for TV Mayhem.</p><p>A number of different podcasts came up. At the best of times, I struggle to pick one I can get into until I happen upon one called They Made Another One?!. This show goes into the sequels and remakes that have come out over the years. I could certainly see myself returning to this one week after week…or so I thought.</p><p>The episode I chose examined the pointless and unintentionally funny 2019 remake of <i>Child’s Play</i>. At least, it was supposed to. The episode ran an hour and fifty minutes and the show was roughly half over before they got to talking about the film. A lot of it was focused on dull tangents stemming from moments barely connected to the film, such as the quote above leading into a discussion between the three hosts about whether they preferred 2-Pac or Biggie and listing the players and (for some reason) their other credits flying off into talking about the movie <i>The Ghost Goes West</i> or debating whether <i>Playmobil: the Movie</i> fits the podcast’s criteria.</p><p>Though the skip button on my phone got a major workout, I toughed it out. Then came the moment that made me ragequit: one of them decrying black and white movies. Maybe, it was a joke, but if so, it wasn’t a very good one; there are too many jagoffs in the world today that genuinely espouse this sentiment. And on that note, if they were serious, what fucking business do they have talking about movies of any kind?!</p><p>I think someone needs to institute a new rule for movie podcasts: the host or hosts a) need to love movies and b) shouldn’t be fucking high when recording the episodes.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-44490573607262291452023-12-28T10:13:00.005-05:002024-02-09T21:58:02.486-05:00Worst movies I saw in 2023.<p>I’ve watched just over 400 movies this year - a new record for me - and, as ever, there were those movies that, for whatever reason, left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.</p><p>Spoilers, bitches!<br /><br />--------------<br /><br /><b>BEWARE, MY LOVELY<br /><br /></b>In the last couple years or so, I've become fascinated by film noir thanks mainly to TCM's "Noir Alley". In watching a lot of those movies, I’ve gotten to know the names Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino quite well. Given how much I enjoyed the two of them in <i>On Dangerous Ground</i> from 1952, I was curious to see them together again, but this effort from 1951 did not live up to expectations. In this film, Ryan plays a drifter/handyman who, as the film begins, we see panicking when he finds that the old woman he’s working for has been murdered. And the culprit...is himself; an unfortunate result of his disassociative identity disorder. (One of the film's few clever touches comes in us finding out, as the story goes on, that he killed the old woman before the story began, but had already switched to the docile personality.) He heads off to another town where he ends up in a boarding house run by Lupino, who slowly but surely learns of his malady. Introducing "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" DNA into film noir isn’t the worst idea in the world, but the execution is just painful to watch. With its female protagonist harassed by a stranger in her home with virtually no means of getting help or escaping this nightmarish situation, I was uncomfortably reminded of 1964's <i>Lady in a Cage</i>, whose atrociously acted-and-characterized aggressors suggested <i>The Purge</i> reconfigured as bad dinner theater. Ryan’s character isn't quite as annoying, even if his personality changes are wielded by the screenwriters like a chimpanzee with a loaded gun. The irritation factor seem to be transferred to Lupino‘s niece Ruth (Barbara Whiting) who, in her two scenes, struck me as an even more annoying version of Red Riding Hood from the Bugs Bunny cartoon, "Little Red Riding Rabbit". And you would think that, after a good 77 minutes of Lupino's attempts at saving her own life, she would overpower her attacker or Ryan would be arrested or, at the very least, shot dead by police or <i>anything</i> in the way of catharsis. Instead, he just walks out of her home, a smile on his face, having completely forgotten about the ordeal he subjected her to and free to (more than likely) put another innocent woman through the same treatment. As sour and unsatisfying an ending as one is likely to find in noir, but unlike most endings in the genre, this doesn't serve the story or leave the audience with a message or any emotion other than frustration. With any luck, this is the only dud I run into in the genre, which I've really grown to like.<br /><br /><b>BIG TROUBLE<br /><br /></b>One thing in movies I’m oddly fascinated by is when two actors in a particular kind of movie end up working together on a project that’s at a complete remove from their initial meeting. (A particular example that can take one aback: Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron as hot-shot lawyer/mentally deteriorating wife in <i>The Devil's Advocate</i>, then harried businessman/free-spirited girlfriend in <i>Sweet November</i>.) Even though the lead actors of this 1986 farce more or less played their character archetypes before, their chemistry in the earlier project was such that the reunion promised something special. Alan Arkin played an insurance agent desperate to put his triplet sons through college, and the money needed to accomplish this lied in a zany scheme concocted by dizzy dame Beverly D'Angelo to profit off of the impending demise of her rich, eccentric husband Peter Falk. As a reunion of the talents behind 1979's <i>The In-Laws</i> (not just the lead actors, but also Richard Libertini in a small role and a script by Andrew Bergman, credited under a pseudonym after he was replaced as director by a clearly desperate John Cassavetes, likely doing a solid for his buddy Falk) and a comic variation on <i>Double Indemnity</i> (replete with a shamefully misused Charles Durning in the role of Keyes), this film is a massive letdown and - given the talent involved - curiously laugh-free. As far as I'm concerned, the only star-studded farce with this title that matters was released in 2002 and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.<br /><br /><b>BLOOD LINK<br /><br /></b>This 1982 mystery utilized the durable evil twin concept. In the hands of a skilled filmmaker, one could imagine how the narrative is supposed to go: Michael Moriarty is a doctor who’s arrested for murder, but he’s not the man responsible. The crimes are being committed by his evil twin brother and following a few more killings and a struggle, the bad twin is locked up and the good twin can continue his life (or have the good twin imprisoned by mistake while the evil one takes over his life, that is, if you want to be an asshole about it). Alberto de Martino, the auteur behind <i>Medusa vs. the Son of Hercules</i> and <i>The Pumaman</i> (a title that may mean more to “Mystery Science Theater 3000” devotees than Joe Schmoe), is not a skilled filmmaker. Frustrating (the police investigating the murders have never seen this alleged evil twin that Moriarty keeps harping on nor have they looked into his bloodline confirming that a twin - good or evil - even exists, so obviously, he’s a fucking liar), exploitative (funny how every single female character with more than one scene in this film ends up getting naked, at some point) and just ugly, ugly, ugly (in aesthetic as much as anything else). Surprisingly, the film isn’t completely worthless. The lush music had me longing to witness the movie that Ennio Morricone thought he was scoring and while the appearance of Cameron Mitchell in something like this would seem to be obligatory, he was, by far, the most alive thing in the film. It’s still pretty worthless, though; an incredibly unpleasant movie and the sooner society can go back to ignoring its existence (something I don’t imagine taking a very long time), the better.<br /><br /><b>THE BRINK’S JOB<br /></b><br />I don’t know about a lot of other people, but I find it can be rather bracing to see a director known for more serious fare try their hand at comedy. Projects like <i>Wise Guys</i> and <i>1941</i> may not be very popular with fans of their respective directors, but they definitely have their moments. And this period story from 1978 - based on an actual incident! - seemed like a potentially engaging change of pace for <i>French Connection</i>/<i>Exorcist</i> director William Friedkin. In 1950, Boston, a motley crew of ordinary joes plot to rob Brink’s of $2 million. The premise, the cast (among them, Peter Falk, Paul Sorvino, Peter Boyle and Warren Oates) and even the poster pointed toward something like a comedy, but, sorry to say, there was very little that was funny about this movie. One couldn’t help but think that this came down to its director and writer (<i>The Wild Bunch</i>’s Walon Green) having little - if any - faculty with humor. And this isn’t even me coming down on Friedkin; he managed to find his footing in the genre years later, with the universally despised (even by Friedkin himself) but under-appreciated <i>Deal of the Century</i>. Perhaps in the right hands, this story could receive the treatment it deserves yet. Now, you’d have to be a truly heartless son of a bastard to dislike Peter Falk, but boy, did he make some questionable movie choices.<br /><br /><b>EVERY LITTLE CROOK AND NANNY</b> <br /><br />Based on a book by Evan Hunter (who has written everything from police procedurals under a variety of pseudonyms to the screenplay for Hitchcock’s <i>The Birds</i>), this 1972 comedy told the story of a woman (Lynn Redgrave) whose etiquette school is shut down by the machinations of a gangster (Victor Mature), so in retaliation, she pretends to be a nanny for his bratty son so she can kidnap the boy and hold him for ransom. A terrific premise that should give rise to a number of gut-busting scenarios. However, the story wanders all over the place and the finished film is - here we go again! - entirely bereft of laughs, not terribly surprising given that Robert Klane was one of the adapters (and don't you dare think I'm going to spare the verbal rod a second time just because Klane died this past year, too; William Friedkin was, otherwise, talented enough to merit a softball, but Klane...less so. Sure, he fluked out with his first movie, <i>Where’s Poppa?</i>, but did audiences really have to pay for that mistake over and over again for the next three decades? Jesus H. Christ, it’s the Farrelly brothers all over again!). Even with a supporting cast that included Austin Pendleton, John Astin, Dom DeLuise, Paul Sand, Pat Morita and ten seconds of Isabel Sanford, the titular pun is the only comedy to be found here.<br /><br /><b>KONGA<br /><br /></b>In the 1950s and 1960s, England dipped their toes into the field of horror cinema. Hammer produced a number of features, principally re-vamps of classic movie monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein. The Wolf Man). On the other end of the spectrum were the works of producer Herman Cohen. One of his efforts came from 1961 and saw Michael Gough as a scientist whose experiments turn a chimpanzee into a gorilla because <span face=""Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #546673; font-size: 16px;">¯\_(ツ)_/¯</span> and uses the enlarged primate to get revenge on his enemies. Said enemies include anyone who might stand in the way of a) carrying out his unethical experiments or b) perving on his pretty blonde student. It was about the time he shot his cat for licking up the spilled serum that I started eagerly rooting for the man to be killed in as brutally graphic a way as an early 60s British horror movie would allow. Having him dropped to the ground during the now-building sized creature's climactic, not-at-all-like-<i>King Kong </i>rampage was good, but not good enough to keep the film from being a waste of time. <br /><br /><b>THE LOVE GOD?<br /><br /></b>A number of Don Knotts vehicles in the 1960s adhered to a formula: a nervy, but good-hearted man (played by…guess who) triumphs over adversity, comes out on top and, maybe, gets the girl. It may seem a little corny to modern audiences, but formulas endure for a reason…and then, there was this unfortunate 1969 attempt to step outside the formula. Knotts’ Abner Peacock operates a bird lover’s magazine that’s hit a financial rough patch. The capital needed to save it comes from Edmund O’Brien's Osborn Tremaine who, unbeknownst to Peacock (but knownst to us; seriously, the first scene of the film shows him on trial for plying his trade), is a pornographer who remakes the publication as a girlie magazine, leaving a vacationing Peacock as the fall guy for this salacious new direction. The film - as befitting the work of Nat Hiken, creator of “The Phil Silvers Show” (better known as “Sgt. Bilko”) and “Car 54, Where Are You?” - is not without laughs, but there’s too much space between them, the narrative full-to-bursting with cruel opportunists that suck up all the oxygen and overwhelm the nominal star. (Peacock’s own defense attorney bloviating against his supposed proclivities right after the prosecutor had done the same is a particular low point.) Imagine if half the characters in <i>The Ghost and Mr. Chicken</i> were Skip Homeier’s one-dimensional bully Ollie and you’re pretty close. Also, even considering the time period, the view of women is reductive, from the elderly parishioner who spits in Peacock’s face after learning of his ‘desires’ and his innocent fiancée with no life of her own besides standing by her man to the ambulatory blow-up dolls posing for the magazine and Anne Francis’ crusading reporter Lisa LaMonica who (in the film’s most nauseating scene and the one most responsible for this movie making my bottom 10 for the year) strips down to lingerie and crawls into bed with Peacock - after getting him drunk - and making it seem like they slept together, because if people were to learn that this “sex-mad smut monger” (the movie’s words, not mine) was a virgin*, all of the opportunists are screwed. In fairness, the film makes some decent points about free speech, but why the filmmakers felt that they (and the subject of same) belonged in a Don Knotts vehicle and not, say, <i>The People vs. Larry Flynt</i> is anybody’s guess. One wouldn't expect the words 'Don Knotts' and 'distasteful' to occupy the same language, much less a sentence, but there you go.</p><p>* - And hearing Knotts say…okay, murmur the word ‘virgin’ is cringe in a way I didn’t think it was possible to experience.<br /><br /><b>THE PALM BEACH STORY<br /><br /></b>When one thinks of the great comedy directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age, a number of names come up: Hawks, Capra, Lubitsch, Sturges. It is said that every Preston Sturges movie is on the spectrum of classic studio comedy, and this 1942 effort is widely considered, for some reason, to be one of his best. Claudette Colbert (whose presence just makes one wish they were watching <i>It Happened One Night</i> again) played a woman who decided to travel south to lure a rich husband so the sap can finance her real husband Joel McCrea’s inventions. A neat premise rich with comic potential. However, this is where things go pear-shaped. In the opening scene, McCrea treats his wife abominably, making one wonder why she’d stick with the guy, much less why she’d scheme to finance his inventions instead of telling her prick husband to stop playing with the toys and get a real fucking job! And that’s not even getting into the bits with the quote-unquote ‘hilarious’ deaf old man and the gun club members firing their rifles on a moving train, willy-nilly. It’s only after this side-splitting ‘comedy’ that the film fulfills the promise of the premise in the second half, but the film is DOA by that point. (Much like Buster Keaton’s <i>Seven Chances</i>, there was a terrific idea that would really make a great comedy in the hands of somebody who knew what they’re doing.) I found <i>The Lady Eve</i> and <i>Remember the Night</i> to be middling and while <i>Sullivan’s Travels</i> was very funny 65% of the time, the other 35% seemed to be reaching for deeper meaning, undercutting the comedy. Maybe I’m being too hard on Sturges and should try again with the likes of <i>Hail, the Conquering Hero</i>, <i>The Great McGinty</i> or <i>The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek</i>, but sometimes, I feel like I should just concede that his stuff isn’t for me. <br /><br /><b>RAZORBACK<br /><br /></b><i>Jaws</i> really split open a can of worms in 1975, not just in birthing the enduring ‘bigger is better’ summer movie mentality, but in giving rise to a number of films that saw giant animals of all species rampaging across movie screens. Australia got into the game somewhat late with this 1984 thriller, which saw Gregory Harrison as an American who traverses the Outback to learn what’s become of his missing journalist wife. It's not long before he meets her killer: a giant (and possibly mythical) Razorback boar. The unfamiliar setting, the massive (if somewhat barely mobile) creature and cinematography from <i>The Road Warrior</i>'s Dean Semler. All the ingredients were there for a strong feature. Unfortunately, the film ended up in the hands of Russell Mulcahy, then best-known for music videos...something the film very seldom lets you forget. In some sequences, it's not hard to imagine the rock music blasting away and a cutaway to the band on a desert stage. The film nearly drowns in style, to the detriment of basic plausibility. To cite an example from the film's beginning: the Razorback charges through an old man's home, destroying it and causing a small fire in the process. As the old man cries out for the missing and presumably dead grandson he’d been minding, the action suddenly moves outside where the old man finishes his skyward scream in the foreground while the house in the background is now engulfed in flames. He didn't even make an effort to save his home situated some ten degrees south of Bumfuck, Nowhere, but boy howdy, it sure made for a cool shot! And in keeping with the music video motif, for some reason, Harrison's character was met with ludicrous jump scares from a laughing skeletal horse and a pig-faced woman. Worst than all of this, surprisingly, were the two grungy Australian brothers, the more unbearable of whom thought nothing of trying to sexually assault the soon-to-be-gored wife and whose own death-by-Razorback was entirely too little, too late. A decade later, Mulcahy directed what I still consider to be his best film, <i>The Shadow</i>. I now choose to believe that it turned out amazing <i>in spite</i> of his involvement.<br /><br /><b>SANS DESSEIN<br /><br /></b>A Letterboxd watchlist can be a dangerous thing. You’re going about your day surfing the Internet and you hear about this (usually unknown) movie that strikes your fancy for one reason or another. You add it to your list, thinking to yourself, “oh man, I can’t wait to watch that!”, then you do and…well, much like what I said in last year‘s column about punch-up, this 2001 comedy (such as it is) stands as a strong example of how this practice can go horribly wrong. The premise was a fascinating one: the recently-departed ghost of an older man travels back in time to visit his younger self in the hopes of guiding them toward a more fulfilling life. Unfortunately, the filmmakers decided to smother this potentially riotous idea with ridiculously disgusting quote-unquote 'humor'. To wit: the main character's older self ends up drowning in a toilet that he just filled with his own fecal matter; the main character's younger self is fired from his job for accidentally destroying his boss's model of the Eiffel Tower, constructed out of Q-Tips and the boss's own earwax; his GBF is lifted into the air by the ghost while at a urinal, causing him to urinate into another man's mouth; his ultimate girlfriend showing a maxi pad with blood on it and writing a song about her vaginal area; the girl of his dreams getting sexually assaulted by the ghost…and finding that she likes it! Also, there were the flashbacks to the main character's middle school life, executed in an animated cut-and-paste style that recalled "Angela Anaconda" and, well, enough said there. But even if the film had studiously avoided all manner of low comedy, we'd still have to deal with the fact that we’re rooting for a main character who - consciously or not - was stringing along two different women, neither of whom he’d done very much to deserve. It’s hardly a coincidence that the film’s writer, co-director and star are all the same person. The English language title for this Quebec-shot disaster was <i>Lost Cause</i>. Some jokes just write themselves.<br /><br />More bad movies I had the displeasure of discovering this year: <i>The Cat Creature</i>, <i>Cooley High</i>, <i>Cries and Whispers</i>, <i>Crooklyn</i>, <i>The Deep End</i>, <i>Eraserhead</i>, <i>Ghoulies</i>, <i>The Hollywood Knights</i>, <i>The Laser Man</i>, <i>My Demon Lover</i>, <i>Punch-Drunk Love</i> and <i>Suspiria<br /><br /></i><u>Things that annoyed me about movies that weren't quite the worst I saw this year:<br /><br /></u><i>(Adventures of) Arsene Lupin</i> - Debbie Wiseman‘s magnificent score - still one of my favorite scores of the century, so far - and its track arrangement on the soundtrack album led me to expect a more exciting and enjoyable movie than the utterly depressing and dour insult to the source material that I got. Maybe, I should just stick with the anime.<br /><br /><i>American Graffiti</i> - So, Ron Howard’s Steve has no problem breaking up with his girlfriend, Cindy Williams’s Laurie, because he feels they should spread their wings and date other people. Also, while he’s away, he’s entrusted his car to Charles Martin Smith’s Terry, who while screwing around with a girl, loses the car to thieves and then you have Mackenzie Phillips’s Carol who takes a ride with Paul LeMat’s John and threatens to introubulate him with a false rape charge. Needless to say, I didn’t like too many of the assholes in this movie. In fact, given my disinterest in <i>Cooley High</i> and <i>The Hollywood Knights</i>, maybe the <i>American Graffiti</i> template isn’t for me.<br /><br /><i>The Bedroom Window</i> - This thriller had a good cast (including a surprisingly effective Steve Guttenberg) and good Baltimore locations. However, the trial scene threatened to derail the film. Prosecutor Wallace Shawn points out that Guttenberg‘s Terry wears contact lenses and that he’s not supposed to drive without corrective lenses...and yet, Terry had absolutely no problem driving well beforehand. I’m aware that Curtis Hanson was adapting a novel by Anne Holden, but I have to know: was the contact lenses thing as much of an asspull in the book as it was in the movie?<br /><br /><i>Bells Are Ringing</i> - A neat little musical whenever it focused on Judy Holliday, Dean Martin or Frank Gorshin, but then you factor in the ridiculous subplots with Jean Stapleton‘s (!) scumbag boyfriend and police thinking that the phone service was a front for a prostitution ring. Sweet Jesus.<br /><br /><i>Black Nativity</i> - Not a bad musical, really; how many opportunities do you get to hear Angela Bassett* and Forest Whitaker sing, but it reminded me too much of <i>Lady Bird</i>: good story, fine supporting cast, but centered around just the biggest asshole that ever assholed.</p><p>* - I admit to being a little put out to learn that Bassett didn't do her own singing in <i>What's Love Got to Do With It?</i>, but Tina Turner's voice is hard to replicate, so I can't fault the production too strongly.<br /><br /><i>Body Snatchers</i> - Game attempt at changing up the formula by moving the Jack Finney story to a military base, but having Gabrielle Anwar attacked by a soldier who warns her 'they get you when you sleep' in the first few minutes pretty much kills the suspense before the opening credits have had a chance to unspool. This borrows a lot - maybe, too much - from the 1978 version, but without fully understanding why those aspects worked in the first place. For example, why would a character drop the whole 'you can fool them if you fake having no emotions' bomb if that character is, within a minute, revealed to be a pod person?! Also, it felt like somebody on the production team went full Sean Parker: "You know what’s cooler than one desiccated person? A dozen desiccated people!". It’s certainly inferior to the earlier renditions of the story, but it is hard to completely dislike a movie that sees R. Lee Ermey and Forest Whitaker sharing a scene and <i>Ermey</i> is the calm and rational one. <br /><br /><i>Bullitt</i> - Once you come down from the high of one of the greatest (if not <i>the</i> greatest) car chases ever captured on film, there’s too much in this movie that doesn’t pass the smell test. So, why did the guy unlock the door of the suspect's room at the hotel if he was supposed to be under lock and key? Also, while this film may not have invented the whole 'You know that guy we told you needed protecting? Yeah, we were just fucking with you. <i>That’s</i> the guy that need to be protected.' cliché, it just annoyed me greatly. Film looked cool, though, and that’s what matters, right?<br /><br /><i>Cash on Demand</i> - It has been said that Peter Cushing‘s overly officious bank manager is said to be a variation on Ebenezer Scrooge. In most variations of "A Christmas Carol", we’re not supposed to sympathize with the Scrooge character initially, but over the course of the story, given that Cushing‘s wife and child are threatened - to say nothing of his livelihood and freedom - I think the filmmakers did a pretty shit job in having me not sympathize with him. Also, there’s the ridiculous ending where Andre Morell's Col. Hepburn departs the bank with its entire fortune, only to be brought back by police roughly 30 seconds of screen time later. How the hell did they catch him so fast, especially if you consider that the police were there and yet Cushing was unable to rat the guy out? What's more, it turns out that his wife and child were in no danger whatsoever, so how do you explain the panicked phone call earlier? Hepburn said something about a tape recorder, but what the hell does that have to do with anything? Hammer (yes, <i>that</i> Hammer) had one of the great Christmas noirs on hand and they let its brilliance slip right through their fingers. All in all, it’s no <i>The Silent Partner.<br /></i><i><br />Cobweb</i> - Well-acted, well-staged and well-written, this was one of the best horror movies of the year…or, at least, it could've been if it actually resolved the story; the last scene seems to show Woody Norman’s Peter in a new home over the creature's narration that it will always be with him. So, did he get away? Did his teacher Cleopatra Coleman take him in? Is the creature locked away? Did Peter end up a suspect in the weird deaths of his parents? It seemed like the filmmakers just wanted a 'gotcha!' ending, never mind if it even made sense.<br /><br /><i>Coneheads</i> - No complaints about the film; it's still one of the better SNL movies to come out, for what that's worth. My main complaint is about the current print of the film. Back when I watched this from the 90s, I distinctly remembered there being a scene at the beginning of the film, where Dan Aykroyd's Beldar was conferring with his associate, Phil Hartman's Marlax, about the scouting mission to Earth, and how Beldar's ship would be undetectable if he utilized the cloaking device. Marlax is really hammering this home, even silently fuming when Beldar leaves the device behind for a moment. Over the opening credits, the ship is picked up on radar, leading to this exchange:<br /><br />Prymaat: "Nibs! You should've activated the cloaking device!"<br />Beldar: "I cannot remember everything!" <br /><br />This would've paid off the opening beautifully. What happened? It couldn't possibly be a matter of pacing; the film is just under 90 minutes long. I wonder if the older DVDs have this scene? <br /><br /><i>DuBarry Was a Lady</i> - There were too many musical numbers in this musical, but I must say that they did a nice job of distracting from the supposed plot, which ends up making no sense (So, a musical number at the beginning of the movie justifies the last third set in royalty times...wait, what?). Even more, I really chafed at Red Skelton‘s overconfident dope schtick, at its most indigestible in the way he spent the entire movie recoiling at the thought of Va-Va-Voom! cigarette girl Virginia O’Brien** throwing herself at him every chance she got, and at the end when he woke up from his dream:</p><p>Skelton: "Where was I?" <br />O'Brien: "You’ve been right here in my arms this whole time."<br />Skelton: "No wonder it was a nightmare." <br /><br />Fuck you, too!<br /><br /><i>Empire of the Sun</i> - Beautifully made (because Spielberg), but the boy's curiosity about the encroachment of war bordered on ignorance. The early scene where he peeked at the meeting of the Japanese soldiers in the field was bad enough, but the moment I completely lost investment in what was happening is when the crowd of people were trying to escape the soldiers and the boy - instead of staying with his parents and possibly getting to safety - decides to retrieve his toy plane he'd dropped. Sure, I'd regained interest with the internment camp sequence, but it's hard to ignore what got us to that point.<br /><br /><i>The Flash</i> - Sweet zombie Jesus, where do I begin? The way our quote-unquote 'hero' thinks nothing of stealing food and clothing from innocent bystanders. The ridiculous baby shower sequence at the beginning. The poor attempts at humor in general. (Anyone who can watch the "Eric Stoltz was Marty McFly!" sequence without wanting to smash their head through a brick wall is already a pod person. Change my mind.) The pathetic attempts at drama with Barry's departed mother (and with his ability to travel through time, it never once occurs to him to go back and find out who killed her?). The two versions of Barry that seemed to be engaged in a 'who can be the most annoying?' contest. The returns of Michael Keaton‘s Batman and Michael Shannon's Zod that were solely designed to trick the more gullible audience members into becoming the 'pointing Rick Dalton' meme. (You know what would’ve been really nice? If this movie had come up with its own villain, instead of borrowing from a better movie...in this instance, <i>Man of Steel</i> is better.) The utterly eye-rolling montage of cameos of characters from previous DC projects, executed with eye-searingly amateurish CGI that would shame the theoretical Asylum knock-off of this movie. Honestly, anyone with the testicular fortitude to slam <i>The Marvels</i> while praising this mercenary piece of shit needs to swear to this New Year’s resolution: “I will stop watching movies because, clearly, I suck at it.”.<br /><br /><i>Gothika</i> - The second half, with Halle Berry's Dr. Miranda Grey escaping captivity and investigating the murder case of the girl by whom she's being haunted, is quite entertaining and the whole project had me weirdly nostalgic for things we don't see too much of in film today: big-name actors slumming in a junky genre exercise (Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr., then-recent Oscar winner (!) Berry), mid-budget thrillers, the credit 'Music by John Ottman'. However, the film ended up not completely working for me for the same reason that derailed <i>Last Night in Soho</i>: "I was murdered and I need you to bring my killer - who's still out there - to justice...but to do that, I need to fuck your shit all the way up and make people think you're crazy, thereby undermining anything you may try to do to help me. kthxbye!" Also, I think that group shower scene was just someone on the production team getting their jollies. Prove me wrong.<br /><br /><i>The Great Race</i> - The "Prisoner of Zenda" sidetrip killed the momentum somewhat, even if it did give rise to a second delightfully hammy Jack Lemmon performance. The big millstone, though? Natalie Wood's Maggie. Her crusading reporter character (okay, seriously, between this and <i>The Love God?</i>, why was this archetype so popular with middling 60s comedies?) was just the worst throughout the story. The moment where she tricked Keenan Wynn's Hezekiah onto a train heading away from her and Tony Curtis's The Great Leslie was pretty much the moment that cemented my extraordinary hatred of her and The Great Leslie throws the race at the end of the movie…for her? Kiss my ass. If you think Professor Fate was upset at that turn of events, you should've seen me. <br /><br /><i>The Horn Blows at Midnight</i> - Not quite the dud Jack Benny so often joked about, but it’s still flawed as hell. The premise is solid gold*, but too much time is taken up with unnecessary side plots like having Benny's Athaneal get the horn back from a bunch of punk kids (one of them played by a post-"Our Gang", pre-“Baretta” Robert Blake!!). Also, there was the idiotic, movie-padding nonsense with Alexis Smith's Elizabeth thinking that Athaneal was two-timing her with an Earth babe, Dolores Moran's Fran, when she walks in on them in a clutch; the idea that Fran would throw herself at Athaneal is wholly inconceivable?</p><p>* - I still maintain that if someone were to combine this plot line with that of <i>Death Takes a Holiday</i>, you’d really have a home run. <br /><i><br />I Confess</i> - I know that Hitchcock loves his ‘wrong man accused’ narratives, but I just found it ridiculously contrived that the two young witnesses to the murder assumed that the person they saw leaving the scene of the crime was a priest, leaving Montgomery Clift's Father Logan as the prime suspect. Code of the cloth or no, if I was accused of murder, I would tell the truth and if excommunication was my punishment, so be it. Also, wouldn’t it have been a perfect ending to pay off the return of Logan's former love, Anne Baxter's Ruth? After all, the film seemed to be building to a potential reconciliation, only to refuse to pay this off. One supposes that after burning through Hitch's classics, I would eventually run into the duds (this, <i>The Trouble with Harry</i> and I'm loath to name <i>Suspicion</i>, but given its pathetic conclusion...).<br /><i><br />Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</i> and <i>Retribution</i> - Pro tip for screenwriters: If you’re gonna have your character blamed for killing people that were actually murdered by the film's villain(s), it's never a bad idea to, you know, <i>resolve</i> that storyline before the end, just for the novelty. I can only imagine that the original <i>Dial of Destiny</i> ending of Indy being erased from existence was supposed to pave that plot hole, but then they changed it and apparently, the continuity person was washing their hair the night they had to check the finished film. <i>Retribution</i> had a number of news reports over the end credits ostensibly to resolve things, but between the accents and the way they overlapped each other, they may as well have revealed that Liam Neeson‘s character was an alien the whole time. It would’ve made just as much difference to the narrative. <br /><br /><i>Intensity</i> - Sneaking into the RV of a known killer. Trying to speak to a woman who, it was pretty well established, was dead. Not checking a gun before firing it. Making an escape from the killer's compound, only to reverse when the killer returns from work early. If Voss had been a little more patient, Chyna - given how stupid she acts throughout the story - might've ended up killing herself.<br /><br /><i>Julie</i> - For about an hour, a pretty tense psychological thriller (and I had to appreciate that Barry Sullivan's Cliff helped Doris Day's Julie out not because he was secretly in love with her, but because it was the right thing to do)...then her wacko husband, Louis Jourdan's Lyle, boards a flight that she had to stewardess on and shoots the pilots before getting shot himself, forcing her to have to land the plane. Imagine if Jennifer Lopez's <i>Enough</i> suddenly turned into <i>Airport 1975</i> with absolutely no warning. Total bullshit, right? I cannot imagine how this was nominated for an Original Screenplay Oscar! Remember last year's column when I said that Oscar voters are like diapers: they need to be changed every so often and for the same reason? Bob's your uncle.<br /><br /><i>Making the Grade</i> - There were the expected 80s gags here (stereotypical Asian accents, the r-word), but the turd in the punchbowl for me: Dana Olsen's Palmer. One of the most obnoxious lead characters in all of the teen movies from that decade (I'd like to think that Palmer ended up on the same cell block as the schmucks from <i>Joysticks</i>). Really marred an otherwise surprisingly funny comedy.<br /><br /><i>Menace II Society</i> - O-Dog: “The convenience store owner just said he felt sorry for my mother, but instead of ignoring this mean but not malicious comment, I’m gonna turn him and his wife into Swiss cheese and while taking the security camera tape is a smart idea so the cops can’t identify us, I’m gonna take it home and watch it and laugh at it like it’s 'America’s Goddamn Funniest Home Videos' instead of destroying it or burying it.”<br />Caine: “Well, I’m gonna take out my gun and set it on the dresser of my girlfriend’s son’s bedroom, and instead of giving him a speech about how dangerous guns are - especially if you consider that, not 15 minutes of screen time earlier, I was sitting right next to my cousin when some dude blew his brains out - I’m gonna let him hold it and if my girlfriend walks in on us and I tell her the gun’s not loaded, maybe she won’t kick my balls into outer space like I fucking deserve.”</p><p>The Asylum may not have been a thing in 1993, but if it were, you bet your dick that this would've been considered an Asylum rip-off of <i>Boyz N the Hood</i>.<br /><br /><i>The Movie Orgy</i> - For a four-and-a-half-hour collection of clips from all manner of media, of course you're gonna run across a few duds. The “You Bet Your Life” segment was less funny than strangely mean-spirited, but worst in show had to be the "Abbott and Costello Show" sketch where Lou tried to sell some straw hats, only for some word in his pitch to get him slapped around and the straw hats destroyed. I’m not the biggest fan of their movies, but this sketch made them look positively Chaplinesque.<br /><br /><i>Night Hunter</i> - A perfectly cromulent, if inexplicably star-studded, procedural thriller...and then you have Brendan Fletcher. He made for a pretty good escaped mental patient in <i>Freddy vs. Jason</i>, but it seems like in the interim, he graduated with honors from the Sean Penn Institute of Believably Depicting the Mentally Challenged On-Screen (Paul Dano's performance in <i>The Batman</i> also bears out the theory of such a place). Such an annoying, try-hard performance. Seriously, bro, what the hell happened? <br /><br /><i>Nightmare at Bittercreek</i> - A not-too-bad made-for-TV thriller, but the last third really stretched credulity. Women turning assault rifles that they have never seen before - much less ever fired - back on their psychotic tormentors? Okay, I can buy <i>that</i>, but half the characters get riddled with bullets and they all survive at the end? Give me a break. <br /><br /><i>Old Enough</i> - The friendship between Sarah Boyd's Lonnie and Winona Ryder Lookalike Contest first-place winner Rainbow Harvest's Karen was believably depicted, making for a sweet, authentic indie drama...then a new single, female tenant moves into Harvest's building and her jerky brother embarks on an affair with the woman, while letting people believe that their superintendent father (Danny Aiello!) was carrying on with her. This leads to a Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure when Lonnie learns the truth, but Karen refuses to listen to her. Way to crap away your touching coming-of-age drama!<br /><br /><i>Set It Off</i> - Vivica A. Fox's Frankie is fired from her bank teller job because she knew the guy that held her branch up at the beginning. Chaz Lamar Shepherd's Stevie - brother of Jada Pinkett's Stony - gets shot by cops because he just had to have the same haircut as one of the suspects from that robbery. Kimberly Elise's Tisean is in danger of losing her child because he gets into the cleaning solutions at her job and, apparently, there wasn't a single other person that could've looked after him. The girls' initial take is stolen because keeping the money someplace other than where their greedy boss could get to it is too damn hard. Watchable in its mix of action and drama, but ever so contrived.</p><p>** - By the way, Miss O’Brien looks like <a href="https://i5.walmartimages.com/seo/Virginia-O-Brien-Portrait-8-x-10_a97b1051-c40f-413b-87e9-737f39c01dad_1.5e755d808f5e7089b4ca97c1730f1249.jpeg?odnHeight=640&odnWidth=640&odnBg=FFFFFF">this</a>. For real, I think I’m in love. In between discovering her and seeing Bonnie Aarons - the actress who plays the demonic nun in those Conjuring-verse <i>Nun</i> movies - <a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/iEtWuoXKx4ZKbIWwJp1V76Heavy.jpg">out of make-up</a>, congratulations. I’m pretty sure I have a type.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-59637266023061628612023-11-28T20:41:00.001-05:002023-11-28T20:41:28.581-05:00A day off of my day off.<p>So…yesterday was a real day. For the last few weeks, my check engine light has been on and, given that I’m in a town where falling snow is never too far away, that’s the sort of thing you wanna take care of really quick. </p><p>I got a day off, which gave me a lot of time to relax and wait for my car to be taken care of. Funnily enough, the problem with it turned out to be the same one as before a leak in my emissions system. It cost me a good 350 beans to fix it the last time and I figured, ‘sure, I have the money’, but there’s just too much eating away at me, financially. Like I said before, when does my money get to be mine?!</p><p>I’m in the auto shop. May as well get caught up on my movies for the month. I watch the Hammer thriller <i>Cash on Demand</i>. Nothing supernatural here. Just a simple ‘if you don’t do this illegal thing, your family is dead’ sort of thing and I just can’t resist that. For most of its short length, it was pretty damn good, but then came an ending that I’ll be sure to elaborate on in my ‘Worst movies I saw in 2023’ post.</p><p>It wasn’t until 1:30 that things were finally taken care of. I was able to get home and not a moment too soon because I needed a shower, then I wanted to go out and see <i>Napoleon</i>. Putting aside a situation involving my keys and my parental unit, I ended up braving a snowstorm to try to get to the theater that would be playing the film at a reasonable time. Some people may wonder why I would do such a thing, but then again, I braved a blizzard to go see <i>The Tourist</i>. Yes, the one with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. You put a brick wall between me and a movie I want to see, you probably didn’t like that brick wall very much.</p><p>Perhaps, I didn’t get enough sleep last night because I missed a good deal of the movie, but what I saw was pretty impressive, if not exactly for the faint of heart. Some people may complain about the rutting sex scenes (#forevervirgins), but when you see a horse disemboweled by a cannonball, everything else is Christmas.</p><p>After 2 1/2 hours, I surmise, the film ended. If I had to guess, there must’ve been about 15 people in the screening room with me. Given that I woke up to a blank screen, I must've slept right through the end credits. It doesn’t matter too much. I have Apple TV on my phone, so I’ll be seeing the whole thing sooner or later anyway. My point is that none of those 15 people or the usher that was sent in to clean up before the next screening noticed me there or bothered to wake me up. Christ's sakes, what if I had died? Would anybody have not noticed me up there? Would the smell tip them off that maybe something is rotten in the state of Denmark? Am I really so invisible? And this isn't me complaining or whining about 'oh man, I need to make some friends in the new year'. Nothing more than an observation: this is super fucked. </p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-67423441195841896612023-11-09T11:45:00.479-05:002023-12-10T16:37:42.606-05:00This Ain’t the Replacement Odyssey - Vol. 1<div style="text-align: left;"><i>The following is, with minor edits, a post I made near the end of last year on Filmtracks. It was meant to tie into a pre-existing series of articles spotlighting films with rejected and replacement scores.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 20.8px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #04ff00; font-size: 20.8px;">Neighbors (1981)</span></div><span><br /><span style="font-size: 20.8px;"><b>The Contenders:</b></span><br /><br />Original composer: Tom Scott<br />Replacement composer: Bill Conti<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 20.8px;"><b>History:</b></span><br /><br />Based on the novel by Thomas Berger, <i>Neighbors</i> told the story of straight-laced suburbanite Earl Keese whose life is turned inside out by the arrival of the extroverted - and possibly dangerous - Harry (renamed Vic for the film) and Ramona. The movie went before cameras in 1981 in time for a week-before-Christmas release, directed by Rocky's John G. Avildsen, adapted by "M*A*S*H"'s Larry Gelbart, and (it was presumed) starring John Belushi as Vic and Dan Aykroyd as Earl. However, not long before shooting began, the stars informed Avildsen that they would be switching roles. Belushi - in a marked contrast to 'Bluto' Blutarsky, 'Wild' Bill Kelso and Jake Blues - essayed the square, nerdy Earl and Aykroyd - sporting blonde hair and sky blue contacts - would play fast-talking Vic. This marked but the first of several moments where the leads would take over production, also re-writing the script, and even lobbying to have Avildsen fired. With the surprising exception of Roger Ebert, critical reception to the film was mostly poisonous and audiences were scarcely more welcoming. (Sadly, Belushi's drug issues - which lasted almost as long as his time in show business - caught up with him; in March of 1982, he died from a fatal overdose, leaving <i>Neighbors</i> as his final film.)</span><div><span><br /></span></div><div>With the passage of time, one can view <i>Neighbors</i> as something of an acquired taste; an embryonic take on the comedy of embarrassment, a sub-genre that would pick up steam some two decades later. However, the out-there sense of humor the film is leavened with places it head and shoulders above most later efforts in the sub-genre.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the time, people didn’t see it that way and even with reruns on cable in the 80s and 90s, it did not develop a cult nearly as devoted as most other comedies of the era. Temper your expectations and it is something of a hidden gem.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps unsurprisingly, with a production this troubled, there would be more than one score written for the film.<br /><br /><span><b style="font-size: large;">Music by Tom Scott</b><br /><br />Though he was a session player and a founding member of the Blues Brothers band, Scott was also a composer with a number of film and TV projects to his name (his most recent credit, <i>Stir Crazy</i>, likely made him an attractive choice to the brass at Columbia, as they produced both films). Scott’s music for <i>Neighbors</i>, with rare exceptions, could easily be mistaken for a long-lost Bernard Herrmann thriller score, which makes for a good contrast <i>to</i> a comedy - a la the subsequent works of Elmer Bernstein - but (some would argue) makes it ineffective as a score <i>for</i> a comedy. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>As introduced in the 'Main Title', Scott’s main theme is a booming brass motif over a string ostinato with a stately B-section for trumpet. Other thematic ideas include a violin-led theme for Ramona (Cathy Moriarty, fresh off of her Oscar-nominated debut in <i>Raging Bull</i>); a melody of descending chords for situations that cause concern for Earl (so, of course, it appears quite a lot); a brief, chattering piano and percussion motif and a militaristic melody for Tim Kazurinsky‘s Pa Greavey. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Test audiences - likely preferring their humor to be more overt - complained that the film wasn’t particularly funny. The studio, not too keen on re-shooting, decided to toss Scott’s score and replace it with one that could (for lack of a better word) trick the audience into thinking that what they were seeing on screen was humorous.<br /><br /><b style="font-size: large;">Music by Bill Conti</b><br /><br /><i>"It's a comedy. Give me funny!"</i><br /><br />With this dictum from longtime collaborator Avildsen, Conti got to work, crafting (in the course of a week) one of the craziest scores ever heard in a mainstream motion picture. The best way to describe it is 'Carl Stalling on crack...and crystal meth...and, maybe, a couple hits of Molly'. Duck calls, pipe organ, an antique car horn, harpsichord, doorbells, a female choir singing the Hallelujah chorus, but adding the lyric 'Come!' (for those who have not seen the movie, I’ll spare you the context of this particular orchestrational choice, but you’re welcome to hazard a guess). When you’re rescoring a movie in a week, there are no bad ideas. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div>Within this musical miasma, Conti utilized a "Peter and the Wolf" approach to the film's main characters: a schlubby melody of low brass for Earl; a wailing theremin idea for Vic; an over-the-top sax line for Ramona and Native American stylings for Earl’s wife, Enid (Kathryn Walker*, who’s appeared in <i>Slap Shot</i>, <i>D.A.R.Y.L.</i> and a number of made-for-TV movies).</div><div><br /></div><div>If people didn’t like the movie, they outright despised the score (though, from a certain perspective, one can see where they’re coming from; after all, no one likes to be told when to laugh). To pick an example out of a hat, Newsweek's David Ansen called it "the year's most offensive score; a cattle prod of cartoonish cuteness that only underlines the movie's desperate uncertainty of tone". I would personally argue that the score for <i>Sharky's Machine</i> (released the same day as <i>Neighbors</i> and composed by - of all people - "The Tonight Show"'s Doc Severinsen!!) is worse, but I’m not very keen on re-listening to it for confirmation. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Cue vs. Cue Smackdown: '1m2' vs. 'New Neighbors'</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>After a hard day of work, Earl just wants to settle in for dinner. Enid mentions a recipe for capon she read about. In the Scott score, the cue begins with the 'worry motif' making its bow, and soon, heavy strings and threatening brass follow Earl's curiosity getting the better of him as he looks next door. Conti's music is more boisterous, stomping brass and frantic strings punctuated by insistent though not entirely inappropriate quotes of the "Twilight Zone" theme. (Fun fact: the film's trailer was narrated by a Rod Serling imitator, another sort-of example of how the film promised more than it delivered.) </div><div><br /></div><div>The noise Earl hears outside leads him to investigate, ultimately finding Vic and Ramona‘s dog, Uggbaby, rushing by after digging up the garden. In an unusual reversal of the composers' approaches, Conti plays through the scene with mock horror textures, while Scott treats the canine's jaunt to a galloping, woodwind figure. </div><div><br /></div><div>Earl's report that the new neighbors have a dog leads to Enid waxing poetic on the dog spirit, accompanied by (in both scores) a Native American-sounding passage. Conti's contribution is more along the lines of a war dance, while Scott creates a melody of groaning winds and tom-toms.</div><div><br /></div><div>Earl retreats to the living room. Scott’s take has the worry motif poking at him, already upsetting his dull life. Conti utilizes quivering string figures and chords of pizzicato and noisemaker as Earl continues to wonder about the people next door.</div><div><br /></div><div>Earl answers the door and finds the come hither eyes of Ramona, who soon steps out of the shadows (and with her lithe figure and husky voice, Moriarty would’ve made a fortune as a femme fatale in the glory days of film noir). Conti (at 2:50) introduces his theme for her, saxophone, backed by all manner of muted brass, almost wolf-whistling (another recurring sound in the Oscar winner's score). As she makes her way in, Conti - without losing a step - ends the cue on cartoon source music quoting 'Pop Goes the Weasel' and a hurried passage that comes to a sudden stop. Scott, meanwhile, composed a sweet flute melody (2:55) that nicely contrasted Moriarty's vamping. Following a clarinet figure, Scott develops the motif for woodwind, building to a melodramatic climax for strings. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sorry, but I have to give it to Scott here.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Final Thoughts:</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>A lot of comedy scores strive to find some balance between the two extremes employed by <i>Neighbors</i>' composers. Sometimes they succeed, while others do not. Some manage to strike the balance, but don’t quite possess - or express - the thematic chops to really make the score stick the landing. Still, this Jekyll and Hyde approach to the music did yield fascinating - if not always audience friendly - results. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Availability:</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Both Conti and Scott's scores were released on one disc by Varese Sarabande's CD Club in 2007. Copies pop up on eBay and amazon.com, from time to time. If you are curious, this may be your one chance because, given the negative stigma of the film still carries over four decades later, and the all-Deluxe-Editions-all-the-time kick the label currently seems to be on, I wouldn’t bet the farm on a re-issue. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">* - However, the more interesting footnote in Walker’s career may reside with her romantic partners: <i>Animal House</i>/<i>Caddyshack</i> co-writer Douglas Kenney and singer James Taylor.</span></div><div><br /></div>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-82988475021016157632023-10-31T22:18:00.004-04:002023-10-31T22:18:58.563-04:00Stepmonster (Terry Plumeri)<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTc3Mzc4NTA1OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMTg5NTc5._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="436" height="800" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTc3Mzc4NTA1OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMTg5NTc5._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="436" /></a></p><br />Todd (Bill Corben) rebels at his father (Alan Thicke) finding a new love so soon after his mother's disappearance, and no one believes his claim that his stepmother-to-be (Robin Riker) is really a monster. Watchable enough (and, given the cast, most fascinating to aficionados of genre cinema and 80s sitcoms), but like most of Roger Corman's kid-centered projects of the time, it can scarcely be called a family movie, with its occasional moments of violence and scantily-clad women.<br /><br />The late, great Terry Plumeri's fine score (with a dark waltz main theme and a creepy, <i>Beetlejuice</i>-inspired secondary theme) was released in part on an Edel-Cinerama album in 1994 alongside the composer's scores for <i>Final Judgment</i> and <i>The Terror Within II</i> (since released together in full by Howlin' Wolf Records), but there is always room for more.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Stepmonster</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">composed & conducted</div><div style="text-align: center;">by</div><div style="text-align: center;">Terry Plumeri</div><br />1. Main Title 2.40<div>2. Semantics/Arrival 0.29</div><div>3. A Walk in the Woods 1.33</div><div>4. Mom's Pep Talk 1.20</div><div>5. Life Imitates Art 0.58</div><div>6. Failed Bonding 1.35</div><div>7. Room for Dessert 1.29</div><div>8. Grandpa's Advice 0.41</div><div>9. Between Meal Snack 0.27</div><div>10. Fish Dinner 1.27</div><div>11. In the Doghouse 1.17</div><div>12. Astrology Lesson/Night Walk 3.51</div><div>13. Photographic Evidence 1.10</div><div>14. Bats in the Belfry 1.21</div><div>15. Dad Leaves 0.24</div><div>16. Yard Work 0.49</div><div>17. The Trap 1.06</div><div>18. Todd Saves Wendy 1.26</div><div>19. Pawn Shop 0.18</div><div>20. Shrink Rap 1.50<br />21. Sold! 2.40</div><div>22. Down the Stairs 0.23</div><div>23. False Alarm 0.11</div><div>24. Wedding Pictures 0.09</div><div>25. Reception source/The Missing Piece 1.27</div><div>26. Dinner source/Reinforcements 2.34</div><div>27. The Real Denise 0.56</div><div>28. Final Attack 0.45</div><div>29. Father and Son 1.26</div><div>30. Reunited/End Credits 4.54 <p></p></div>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-30837526891540037042023-09-30T22:11:00.010-04:002023-10-28T11:27:26.178-04:00My Favorite Scores: Mouse Hunt (Alan Silvestri)<p><i>I can't say it enough, kids: I love film music. The sounds, the melodies, the emotions it arouses. I've had an interest in film music for just over three decades and, in that time, I've come across a number of scores that I've no qualms about calling my favorites.</i></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When it comes to film music, tracking the label’s soundtrack announcements can come to feel like watching a horse race: where you want to feel happy for the lucky saps that hit big, but your horse comes in last, assuming it comes in at all. However, one relatively recent release made me feel that I was not only watching the Kentucky Derby, but that I won the damn race myself.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Two estranged brothers - restaurateur Ernie (Nathan Lane) and dreamer Lars (Lee Evans) - are reunited by the death of their father Rudolf Smuntz (William Hickey, in his last film role) and while his string factory is a relic of the past, the house that was also part of the inheritance could be worth a fortune, provided that it’s fixed up…and heavily fumigated. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1997’s </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mouse Hunt</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> was a minor hit for then-fledgling studio Dreamworks. This may have owed to the fact that it was sold as a family movie. Though rich in the kind of violent slapstick that became de rigueur in the genre since the runaway success of </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Home Alone</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, the film is closer on the scale to ‘a Coen brothers movie that Laurel and Hardy somehow stumbled into’. (Lane even performs Ollie’s distinctive tie twiddle while flirting with two women.) </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The feature directing debut of commercial veteran Gore Verbinski, working from a script by Adam Rifkin, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mouse Hunt</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> made for a fascinating capper of a diverse year for composer Alan Silvestri.
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
Somewhat suggestive of his Stalling-esque masterwork </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Who Framed Roger Rabbit</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, albeit with a darker edge, Silvestri’s score is built on three principal melodies with a wealth of secondary ideas flitting in and out as the narrative requires. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(I am a huge fan of score and film, so expect a ton of words about both. You have been warned.)</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-wrap: nowrap;">The album starts with “Funeral Prologue”. Pipe organ and brooding horns ably
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">reflect the stormy weather </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">as Ernie and Lars carry Rudolf’s coffin out of the
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">church, but an argument about Lars’s outfit leads to the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">coffin getting away
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">from them and fast-fingered organ following Rudolf’s corpse jack-knifing into
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">an open </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">manhole.
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">
In the “Main Title”, burbling woodwinds underline the open sewer transitioning
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">to the hole in a spool, the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">brass building as parts of the film’s title are brought
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">together by different strands. The mouse’s playful </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">theme is heard for the first
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">time on bassoons accented by chimes. The action shifts to the factory, the
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">bouncy </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">music contrasting with the grim surroundings and the trudging, elderly
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">workers. The theme slows down </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">ominously as a loose ball of yarn holds up the
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">line. A brief wistful string passage accompanies the reading of </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">the will in the
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">office, and as the cue ends in sprightly figures, Ernie gets a good look at the
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">ensuing chaos.
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">
He has no problem selling the place off, but Lars reminds him that their father
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">wanted them to run the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">factory together. The executor (Eric Christmas)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">catalogs the various items bequeathed to them, among them, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">a box of cigars
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">and an old mansion, the latter underscored by a grim, distended melody that
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">follows the first </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">five notes of the mouse’s theme, holding on the fifth
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">and adding a sixth as a sort of exclamation point </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">(“Also, A House”)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">
Affecting a French accent, Ernie welcomes the mayor and his family to “Chez
Ernie”, an exuberant big-band melody accompanying his greeting. As the
“Lobster Bibliotheque” is served, Silvestri introduces Chez Ernie’s theme, a
long-lined motif, but retains the big-band stylings. A brief cut to the kitchen
hints at the grimness theme as a cockroach scurries out of the cigar box. (This
cue - titled “Walking Crouton” on the album and joined with the next cue,
“Love the Almonds” - appears in the film between the two above cues.)
Quivering strings underscore the twin daughters' discovery of half a cockroach,
with nervous brass as their father vomits up the other half. The shock undoes
Hizzoner’s triple-bypass and the restaurateur's approbation; Chez Ernie is no
more. The closeup of Ernie is treated with muted trumpet notes, a very minor
idea for his failure.
</span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not long after, Lars is met by a pair of representatives from ZeppCo who hope
to retrofit the factory. Their offer of a consultant position compels Lars to fish
out a pen to sign up, only to instead pull out his father’s string. A violin solo
backed by klezmer introduces a flashback, as well as the memories theme as
Rudolf bequeaths the string to Lars, hoping that his “Dying Wish” to keep the
business in the family will be honored. Citing his father’s axiom (“A world
without string is chaos.”), Lars rejects the offer. As a result, Lars finds himself
tossed “Out on the Street” by his money-hungry wife April (Vicki Lewis, at a
full 180 from flighty secretary Beth on “NewsRadio”), a doleful string and
chime take on the memories theme his only companion.
</span></span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
The brothers find themselves “Together Again”, lamenting their (down)turns of
fortune to the memories theme on clarinet with string backing. Neither has a
place to stay…at least until “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” comes in on strings,
reminding them of their surprise bounty. Arriving at their new “Home Sweet
Dump”, tweeting flutes show a small, furry occupant spying its new
housemates. The grimness motif plays as Ernie and Lars inspect the property.
More playful music follows as they find a single bed and their decision to flip
a quarter for it results in the coin landing on its side.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
“Meet the Mouse” (comprised of three short tracks) starts with pitter-patter
strings as the boys emerge from bed to investigate strange noises, only to be
assaulted by moths and ghostly shadows, which are accompanied by orchestral
outbursts and ever-more-worried snatches of the mouse’s theme. The 1:32
mark introduces the brothers’ comic saxophone melody as they discover the
rodent…and blueprints detailing that the house is the work of renowned
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">architect </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">“Charles Lyle LaRue”. This subsequent discovery turns the A-section
of the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">memories theme into a beautiful waltz; maybe, their luck is turning
around.
Among the looky-loos inspecting the house is eccentric house collector
Alexander "Falko" (Maury Chaykin), who is treated to a minor, <i>Judge
Dredd</i>-like horn-and-string fanfare. The idea of an auction for the house is
bandied about by Ernie, with swaying winds accompanying Falko's offer to
go as high as "Ten Million Dollars". (In the film, the two cues are followed
by a Silvestri arrangement of "We're in the Money" as Ernie and Lars dream
about the things such an amount can buy, but, sadly, a rights issue precluded
its inclusion on the Deluxe Edition.)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The mouse’s theme returns as the creature scampers “All Thru the House”
overhearing their conversation. Ernie goes about “Setting the Trap” with an
olive to abbreviated takes on the rodent’s melody and with a “Clang!” and a
busy bassoon, the mouse is taken care of…or so one would think. The next
morning, Lars finds the trap empty and the olive pit left behind. Ernie mocks
Lars’s assumption that this was done deliberately, proclaiming with undeserved
confidence that ‘I don’t think we’ll be seeing any more of that “Mouse(!)”’ as
it plops into his cereal bowl. The themes of the mouse and the brothers fight
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">for </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">supremacy as each tries to gain the upper hand in this chase.
</span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The boys try again with a mouse trap, this time baiting it with a piece of
cheese, little realizing that the mouse is making off with the entire “Cheese
Wheel”. The mouse’s theme on tuba gives way to a folksy rendition of the
Chez Ernie motif with whistler, guitar and accordion underscoring the boys’
failed home improvement. The mouse, meanwhile, looks to sleep off its feast
and its theme accompanies its journey to bed. As the rodent settles in, the
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">memories theme on </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">piano rocks it to sleep spiced with Hawaiian accents.
</span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>However, the mouse gets a rude awakening to chattering xylophones as the
payload from Lars’s “Nail Gun” fires into the wall, the cue bouncing between
the mouse’s theme and the brothers’ theme. The mouse finds itself trapped by
the nails, strings bearing down. One of the nails comes up short and before
Lars can hammer it in, Ernie calls him outside, offering a musical reprieve.
Ernie and Lars haul a Jacuzzi (their last $1200) up the stairs and the sight of
the mouse through a bottle sends the boys and their “Hot Tubbogan” down
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">the stairs and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">out the door, sleigh bells giving their theme a Christmassy feel.</span></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Ernie sets up in the kitchen a “Mousetrap Minefield”, a wafting string
and wind melody plays that is quintessentially Silvestrian. The descending
registers of the cue hint at the unfortunate revelation that the door is locked,
trapping he and Lars inside. “Cherry Catapult/Cherry Spin” begins with the
mouse’s theme as the creature maneuvers around the devices with Mickey-
mousing for some of its more acrobatic moves. Finally, it stops at a bowl of
cherries, a snare drum playing as it launches a cherry from a spoon. The fruit
spins about, its stem triggering one, then all of the traps to a raucous outburst
of brass and organ.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">After removing some of the traps, Ernie and Lars chase the mouse to a hole
with a vacuum cleaner. Swirling strings accompany the mouse’s theme as it
holds on for dear life. However, the mouse connects the vacuum to a sewer
pipe, the music building to a “Shit Explosion”.
At the "City Pound", all quietly rumbling tympani and sinister strings, the
boys are met by worker Maury (played in a canny bit of casting by Ernie
Sabella, Pumbaa to Lane's Timon in <i>The Lion King</i>), who points them in the
direction of the aptly-named Catzilla. Wavering flute and horn blasts
blare forth as the monstrous feline makes its way around the house while
stuck in its shipping crate. "Catzilla Emerges" to an Ifukube-esque fanfare,
giving way to the mouse's theme for their chase. Catzilla pursues the mouse
into a piano ("Ebony and Ivory"), their antics appropriately accompanied
with Scott Bradleyesque figures.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the factory, Lars tries to inure the workers to having their paychecks
deferred for the house’s restoration to a nervous waltzing melody of chimes,
strings and woodwinds. Meanwhile, “Ernie Finds (the) Contract” from
ZeppCo in the office to the grimness motif and not even the suddenly
withering gaze of his father’s portrait can stop the gears from turning in
Ernie’s head. The cue slowly but surely turns militaristic as the boys are
forced to retreat from the upset (and violent) employees.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>Meanwhile, the mouse tripping Catzilla up with mouse traps is treated to
another racing variant of the mouse’s theme (“Cat Trap”). Catzilla pursues
the mouse into a dumb waiter. However, the mouse chews through the rope,
sending the cat plummeting with a wry flourish.
Threatening brass figures greet the sight of the giant roach atop Caesar's van
("Roach Mobile"). Descending horns and snare mark the arrival of Caesar
(Christopher Walken, strolling away with the film in his all-too-brief screen
time), the gangly exterminator leaving Ernie and Lars in awe of his analytic
prowess...and unnerved by his eccentricity. As the man notes that 'to a mouse,
"You'(a)re the Intruder"', the militaristic idea from "Ernie Finds (the) Contract"
returns as he leaves Lars to scab amongst the striking workers, whose
resemblance to the angry villagers in <i>Frankenstein</i> was clearly not lost on
Lane, given his ad-lib: "Light a match! They're frightened by fire!".</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>Sadly, Lars is not quite equal to the task, the “Loose Thread(s)” of his outfit
ending up caught in the machinery to a mischievous rendition of the
brothers’ melody. “Caesar Searches” for the creature, scampering figures
following the mouse. “Evidence Found” in the dining room, he notes on his
tape recorder that the mouse has a slight “Calcium Deficiency”. Caesar’s
soldier-like motif returns followed by curious-sounding winds for this
impromptu meal.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">While waiting for the ZeppCo bosses, Ernie sits on a bench, opposite two
women - Belgian hair models Ingrid and Hilde. Their mutual attraction
plays without words, Silvestri’s piquant melody of vibes, accordion and
violin carrying the “Silent Movie” scene. However, Ernie’s amorous mood
- and business meeting - is cut short by an approaching bus. “Lars au
Naturel” finds him gathering the yarn balls that were his outfit off of the line
and retreating to his office, the brothers theme in a nervous string variation.
There, a scantily-clad April - having been made aware of the auction - waits
for him, slinky sax finishing the melody off. (The surprised-sounding final
notes underline a great gag that I dare not spoil.)
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Caesar sends a camera under the floor, strings and flute hanging in the air.
Unfortunately, the picture cuts out. Silvestri’s backing of the mouse’s theme
reveals the innards of the house, the camera having made its way deep
inside. Caesar reconnects two loose wires, revealing that the camera is now
outside…and the mouse retracts the winch apparatus connecting the man to
the truck. “Caesar’s Big Drag” ensues, Caesar (and the poor stuntman
doubling Walken) getting pulled through the house - the mouse’s theme
given a frantic treatment - but not before leaving behind a flea bomb.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">With a flute trill, the mouse performs a “Face Walk” on Caesar, leaving him
a snack for the road. The boys return home from Ernie’s hospital stay, having
spied “Caesar’s Truck” on the way. The grimness motif sounds as a raving
Caesar is loaded into an ambulance, an officer noting that the exterminator
was locked in a trunk in the attic, much like LaRue.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The house in shambles, grim chords follow the boys into the kitchen. There,
they find a sandwich and bassoons burble as it moves on its own
(“Sandwich to Go”). Once again, the mouse gets away, its theme hot on its
tail. Ernie follows it up the chimney, only to get stuck (“Ernie Settles In”).
The 1:34 mark introduces a nine-note string melody for the boys believing
themselves on the verge of triumph. Lars, meanwhile, trades his faulty
flashlight for a helpfully placed book of matches. Unfortunately, the mouse
has undone the fireplace’s gas main. The ensuing explosion results in a big
feeling of “Ouch!” for the both of them: Lars is blown into a cupboard,
which then lands on his fingers, while Ernie is launched into the air and
plummets into the ice lake, greeted by the jacuzzi and the muted trumpet of
“Love the Almonds”.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Shotgun Chase” finds Ernie grabbing a rifle off the wall to a grim,
determined march rendition of the brothers theme; he’s had all he can stand.
Lars tries to stay his anger, only to yell for him to “Shoot!” when the mouse
hurries by. Swirling strings follow the mouse using an empty can as a shield.
Ernie seems to nail it, only for the mouse to disappear down a hole...the
same one that housed Caesar’s flea bomb (“Floor Collapse”).
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the boys stew in the freshly blown hole, quivering strings hang in the air
for the answering machine message from ZeppCo, revealing the “Brotherly
Betrayal”. The men finally have it out, the scene left unscored. The orchestra
returns as they each declare to the other that “I Hate You”. Lars’ orange toss
at Ernie ends up knocking the curious mouse unconscious. However, the
men can’t bring themselves to kill the rodent, so they ship him to Cuba.
Silvestri whips up a lovely combination of samba and lounge music for the
restoration (with April’s financial help) of the mansion, only for the package
to be returned due to “Insufficient Postage”.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The night of the auction, a descending flute and quavering strings alert Lars
that the package has been marked “Return to Sender”. Ernie’s speech to the
audience is interrupted by the “Mouse on (the) Podium”, which he tries to
nail with the gavel to scampering bassoon and string sustain before it eats
Rudolf’s prized string. As the bidding gets underway in “There He Is!”,
pitter-patter strings and tinkling piano follow the boys’ pursuit of the mouse,
which soon jumps down Hilde’s cleavage. Lars’s attempted retrieval draws
a less than favorable reaction from April, but (at least, for a moment), he is
successful.
</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>As another patron's cigarette ash causes Hilde’s fancy hair to catch fire <span style="font-family: inherit;">
(“Flaming Doo”), the mouse’s theme is given a rowdy brass rendition
following the chaos. The hose that Lars brings in gives Ernie an idea: drown
the rodent. Bouncing low brass and twitching string figures sound as the bids
for the house get higher. The mouse’s theme in ever more agitated snatches -
punctuated by the triumph motif - dominates the cue as he escapes to safety.
Unfortunately, the hose is on at full strength, the “Water Pressure” building to
cascading brass waves as the patrons are flooded out the front door. The BS
motif from “Ernie Finds (the) Contract” returns as he tries to stop the
departing guests, the collapse behind him directly contradicting his claim
that “this house will last forever!”.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span></span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the boys stand among the “LaRue Ruins” and find Rudolf’s string
seemingly floating down from Heaven, the B-section of the memories theme
plays on clarinet. The A-section on strings and celeste soon after reminds the
boys that, in spite of all they’ve lost - money, homes, dignity - they still have
each other. A slow, loungey version of the brothers theme plays as they
embark on a “Sad Drive”...unaware of the mouse hanging onto the car’s
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">undercarriage or the brass </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">chords accompanying him.
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">
Ernie and Lars return to the one thing they have left - the factory - and fall
asleep </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">in the office. Suddenly, a bustling version of the mouse’s theme
appears as the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">machinery starts up seemingly of its own accord. The boys
wake up as a hunk of </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">Swiss is processed, ending the line as a literal ball of
“String Cheese”. The </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">memories theme tentatively plays on celeste as they
sample the product. An </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">abbreviated version of the mouse’s melody leads to
a warmer version of the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">memories theme on strings as the factory takes on a
brighter character. The </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">mouse’s theme returns on winds as Ernie runs new
flavors by their taste-testing </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">partner. The memories theme finishes things off,
a smile on the face of Rudolf’s </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">portrait and his string on a plaque.
</span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The “End Credits” cycle through Silvestri’s principal melodies, starting with
the mouse's theme at a somewhat slower tempo than in the "Main Title".
The brothers' melody appears next, garnished with the sleigh bells of "Hot
Tubbogan". Piano leads into the memories theme, with strings taking over
the B-section and winds bringing the A-section back. This is followed by
the mewing string motif of "Meet the Mouse" before allowing the mouse's
theme to have the last word.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Alan Silvestri's <i>Mouse Hunt</i> is one of his finest achievements and any fan of
his work owes it to themselves to pick up Varese Sarabande's Deluxe Edition,
a long-in-coming, but very welcome release.
<b>Availability</b>: Still widely available at Varese Sarabande's website.
Varese Sarabande VCL 0723 1236 (2023)
<b>Track Listing:
</b>1. Funeral Prologue (1:19)
2. Main Title (2:44)
3. Also, A House (0:41)
4. Chez Ernie (0:38)
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">5. Lobster Bibliotheque (0:37)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">6. Walking Crouton/Love the Almonds (1:05)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">7. Dying Wish (1:46)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">8. Out on the Street (0:37)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">9. Together Again (1:24)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">10. I'll Be Home for Christmas (0:42)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">11. Home Sweet Dump (1:27)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">12. Meet the Mouse (2:21)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">13. Charles Lyle LaRue (0:47)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">14. Falko/Ten Million Dollars (0:31)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">15. All Thru the House/Setting the Trap/Clang! (1:31)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">16. Mouse (0:55)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">17. Cheese Wheel (2:06)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">18. Nail Gun (1:12)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">19. Hot Tubbogan (0:53)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">20. Mousetrap Minefield (1:13)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">21. Cherry Catapult/Cherry Spin (2:09)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">22. Shit Explosion (1:37)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">23. City Pound/Catzilla (1:42)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">24. Catzilla Emerges/Ebony and Ivory (0:56)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">25. Ernie Finds Contract (1:47)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">26. Cat Trap/Roach Mobile (1:39)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">27. You're the Intruder (0:47)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">28. Loose Thread (0:56)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">29. Caesar Searches/Evidence Found/Calcium Deficiency (0:44)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">30. Silent Movie (1:12)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">31. Lars Au Natural/Caesar's Big Drag (2:30)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">32. Face Walk/Caesar's Truck (1:02)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">33. Sandwich to Go/Ernie Settles In/Ouch! (2:49)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">34. Shotgun Chase (1:29)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">35. Floor Collapse/Hate That Mouse (0:40)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">36. Brotherly Betrayal/I Hate You (0:39)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">37. Insufficient Postage (1:20)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">38. Return to Sender/Mouse on Podium (0:32)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">39. There He Is! (1:28)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">40. Flaming Doo (1:48)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">41. Water Pressure (2:42)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">42. LaRue Ruins/Sad Drive/Factory Brothers (2:07)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">43. String Cheese (2:17)
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">44. End Credits (5:41)</span></p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-79535748054809613242023-09-26T22:58:00.324-04:002023-09-27T23:09:26.944-04:00Went back to Toronto.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another August, another trek up North to have a few days of fun and - maybe - find some meaning in my life. The usual preparations were made: buying tickets to Fan Expo Canada (as well as exclusive events I hadn’t experienced before), making a schedule which couldn’t be locked until Fan Expo posted theirs (note: initially, I planned on visiting a ton of museums and farmer’s markets, until the intricacies of scheduling made those plans untenable) and exchanging American green for a Canadian rainbow. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had also planned to stay at the other hotel that I missed out on last year, but - being the cheap-ass bastard that I am - I opted for an Airbnb, instead, and it was quite fortuitous that was able to stumble upon the same place I stayed in 2018. Okay. Money in the bank.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Though there was ultimately nothing on the Fan Expo schedule that quite compared to…what I missed out on, I bought a four-day pass (with the overabundance of celebrity guests, I decided to leave nothing to chance). Also, I felt that the trip would’ve been greatly enriched by leaving on Thursday instead of Friday. I think history proved me right.<br /><br /><u style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday<br /><br /></u>The big day had finally arrived. I was confident that I had packed all that I needed. I promised myself that I would be out the door at 8:30 sharp. I left at about 8:45. I'm not perfect. Still, it was a good thing I had a couple of granola bars left. I needed something for breakfast.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I made my way to the Peace Bridge, as usual. Waiting in line is so dull, but it gave me time to get my crap ready for the authority figure(s) requesting it. I presented my license to the first one and gave the same 'why I'm going to Canada' spiel. The next one requested $8.00 to cross into Canada, up from $5.00. That hardly seems fair. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Queen Elizabeth Way is long and winding, but it helped to keep my mind occupied during the journey. I tried to get internet on my phone. I was unsuccessful last year, which really screwed me over, but this year...success! (The key is managing the cellular data in the settings app.)</div><p><br />Exit 30 is not too far away and thanks to my phone, I was able to get there no problem. I hauled my luggage across the street to the bus terminal. There were an awful lot of bees flying around. Lazy people need to learn to clean up after themselves.<br /><br />A few minutes after ten, the bus arrived (and not a minute too soon; damn bees). I placed my rolling suitcase in the luggage hold and took a seat. One of the few remaining seats was next to a cute blonde. I, of course, lacked the nerve to strike up a conversation with her that goes outside of my head. (And to think that I was actually frantically searching for condoms before I left. Like I would ever get the opportunity to use those. Unless there's an imminent proficiency in balloon animals in my future, I'm wasting my time.)<br /><br />The bus reached the end of the line at Burlington Station, which is where several passengers and I deboarded to hurry for the train. Who knows what became of that cute blonde? Why should it even matter to me? It's not like I was going to screw her.<br /><br />More bees that found me uncommonly interesting. After about ten minutes, the train arrived. I took a window seat. There's something about watching the world go by as I'm following along with an app on my phone that fascinated me. <br /><br />It's roughly 1:00pm. The train arrived at Union Station. I am in Toronto, and let me tell you, all that inter-continental travel built up an appetite. Off to the food court. As a weird and not entirely conscious bookend to last year’s trip, I headed to Paramount for roughly the same falafel combo:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZ85uUk6AqN9z3gMyF2OpdFzxsi52QCdw8vCfg-UDxqDedgOxPzgm7apTcpxgeRApE-d-mgVP3PH2SJvgvmkDtOmpnnsUrJJ7WEHLp-dz0AC5mIV3Tw-BKUdcADwIKz86Kxi47UkF7afd0zlXartqaUp5wF-l97-ITAFjDYL4fF1XMtSHxJIQew/s4032/IMG_0057.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZ85uUk6AqN9z3gMyF2OpdFzxsi52QCdw8vCfg-UDxqDedgOxPzgm7apTcpxgeRApE-d-mgVP3PH2SJvgvmkDtOmpnnsUrJJ7WEHLp-dz0AC5mIV3Tw-BKUdcADwIKz86Kxi47UkF7afd0zlXartqaUp5wF-l97-ITAFjDYL4fF1XMtSHxJIQew/s320/IMG_0057.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Delicious. The trip was already starting on a good note. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Unlike last year, I felt that going to Toronto a day earlier than usual was imperative to getting the maximum of fun out of the trip.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My next stop was something I’d been wanting to experience ever since I heard about it: Immersive Disney at Lighthouse Artscape. The internet on my phone was drifting in and out, but I did still have my trusty city map, so off I went. It wasn’t too far from Union, but there was a lot of walking to do.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With five minutes before my session was to begin, I made it. Sweaty and tired, but I made it. Very grateful, by the way, that I could check my suitcase. Maybe, they were aware of the proximity to Union and expected a number of out-of-towners and maybe they weren’t, but still, a good worst case scenario.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This exhibit was something to behold. Displays of animated cels. Blown up sketches of classic characters. A setup of an animator’s work station. The requisite tables for merchandise. By itself, this all would’ve been impressive, but the real magic was yet to come.<br /><br />Myself and the other visitors went into another room. Thanks to the light system, the floor was covered in stars...which quickly got out of the way of our footsteps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFy60T2IyIdb4R0IYEGb0T294p0Z3J57qQaxLyIRL3Lkt2jDKRUl9O6TrbcZS00xMbx52TT1fqVBRo6YbPfNZra5Z6WIBbtK0B-zWVDeAzFMOoQ7d9bfoVdOEX7Y5pO_6S_OqylYnqFRykKc0aDhPcTiFCJsx3OSyoa9FB9CfpYs5P7EiBqopSA/s4032/IMG_0064.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFy60T2IyIdb4R0IYEGb0T294p0Z3J57qQaxLyIRL3Lkt2jDKRUl9O6TrbcZS00xMbx52TT1fqVBRo6YbPfNZra5Z6WIBbtK0B-zWVDeAzFMOoQ7d9bfoVdOEX7Y5pO_6S_OqylYnqFRykKc0aDhPcTiFCJsx3OSyoa9FB9CfpYs5P7EiBqopSA/s320/IMG_0064.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />Of course, the youngest visitors couldn’t get enough of testing this out with their jumping.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another, much larger room allowed us to witness various scenes from - and montages of - Disney movies projected on the walls. Truly spellbinding. I was still a little sweaty from the walking, so getting to sit under the air conditioning vent was a special treat. As an additional bonus, I got to take home a picture that showcases a cel from a Disney feature. My cel was from <i>The Princess and the Frog</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had planned to visit another museum that day, but things didn’t quite shake out like I wanted (more on that later). Instead, I used the Presto day pass to make my way to Neurotica Records.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The place is just as astonishing as it was last year. My ultimate haul was impressive: the soundtracks to <i>The Natural</i>, <i>Rushmore</i>, 1994’s <i>Little Women</i>, <i>Chocolat</i>, <i>Ever After: a Cinderella Story</i>, <i>March of the Penguins</i> and <i>Bugsy</i>. The cashier reminded me of a jacked Gordon Ramsay, which I found weird, but not quite enough to dwell on beyond leaving the store.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From there, it wasn't very far to my Airbnb. I made it to the house and rang the front doorbell. No answer. I headed back to try the back way. The door was unlocked. They were expecting me. It's nice to be wanted. I was able to get my luggage moved in and took a breather on the bed for a few minutes. Hey, I still had places to go.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Significantly refreshed, I was ready to go...except for the matter of leaving the house and having the lack of security weigh on my mind. The keys were inside the lock on the banister. I didn't recall seeing one, but I checked outside and I found the giant lock. I tried to open the lock, but no dice. I contacted host Lidia again and it's a few minutes before she showed up in person. She undid the lock and I got the keys. I was able to lock up behind me and continue on my journey. Unfortunately, the time it took to get everything in order meant that the other museum trip I wanted to take would have to wait for another day. On the way out, I saw a black squirrel climbing a tree. Of course, I tried to get a picture of it, but the little guy was too damn slippery. (I also wanted to get a picture of a sign inside a car: "I'm So Gay, I Can't Even Drive Straight". Again, I missed it.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I originally planned to grab dinner at Fancy Franks, but it occurred to me that a heavy meal plus movie snacking would not be a smart move, so instead, I opted for the lighter meal of a pork belly bao at Mean Bao.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Fm5lQAo0g3c-EFWTtCsDQU4LKYy9J6yoIIZ5AozaGzl9Gf3m1Z4sRallwBVefbXutV6P7RjZHUrvwMl54w-JN6zC6WRH9-pUutRYvIc7laK0Qh1TgH4H4zbTrS_3ZCSmRRiomHHvJD17CBOL0ZMPyelvlvDWEgvfqburf_55jM8S0kt11_FoSg/s4032/IMG_0068.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Fm5lQAo0g3c-EFWTtCsDQU4LKYy9J6yoIIZ5AozaGzl9Gf3m1Z4sRallwBVefbXutV6P7RjZHUrvwMl54w-JN6zC6WRH9-pUutRYvIc7laK0Qh1TgH4H4zbTrS_3ZCSmRRiomHHvJD17CBOL0ZMPyelvlvDWEgvfqburf_55jM8S0kt11_FoSg/s320/IMG_0068.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kind of messy, but a good meal...and I really dug the presentation.<br /><br />Once upon a time, I'd wanted to see a movie in a Toronto movie theater that specialized in revival showings. The Royal - only a few blocks from my Airbnb - gave up on movies long ago, but then, I heard about the Revue. Visiting the website convinced me that a trip here should be a permanent fixture of my trips to Toronto. Roncesvalles Avenue was a little further than I'd wanted to travel, but, in the end, it was worth it. (Around the same time as the movie, there was a special Fan Expo panel featuring the cast members of <i>Scream</i>. Was I upset at missing this? Not as much as you would think. I liked <i>Scream</i> a great deal, but I loved...<i><b>love</b></i> "The Kids in the Hall".)<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Yyhk4HHEDbqcn66pzC7L8Uh8ySlBZ-aQwJO9ZKPV2QiYJaf1sE9QuSd1OwvEiQlgDh4zZxk3-PTQGBogLVyczFwA34216xvSeFweNFWCqp-nWRq79dT3UfdiUSDuouui32vJL4fhOeAgBhTrIw_ZR9VUbYc56-M4jhvN3BLZEQEkYTdphehs7g/s4032/IMG_0071.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Yyhk4HHEDbqcn66pzC7L8Uh8ySlBZ-aQwJO9ZKPV2QiYJaf1sE9QuSd1OwvEiQlgDh4zZxk3-PTQGBogLVyczFwA34216xvSeFweNFWCqp-nWRq79dT3UfdiUSDuouui32vJL4fhOeAgBhTrIw_ZR9VUbYc56-M4jhvN3BLZEQEkYTdphehs7g/s320/IMG_0071.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You walk into the theater and show your ticket that you purchased online to the ticket taker, then you head in and, if you so desire, purchase some refreshments. The popcorn was running out, so I had to wait a few more minutes for a fresh batch.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then, you walk into the screening room. There's plenty of seating near the back, so you can settle in in the third row, setting your refreshments in the seat next to you. The pre-show was an amusing stand-up routine from a local, but then the movie begins: 1999's <i>Blast from the Past</i>. About ten minutes too long, but still, a quite charming romantic comedy. Sissy Spacek's turn as Brendan Fraser's slowly-going-stir-crazy mom had me lamenting that she didn't receive many opportunities to show off her comic chops.<br /><br />I made my way back to the bus stop. A few droplets of rain. Of course, my raincoat was back in my room. Oh, well. A streetcar came up and took me to the stop nearest to my place. However, I couldn't go back yet. I didn't have soap for tomorrow's shower. I tried the Shoppers Drug Mart. No Ivory Soap. I went to the Metro next door. All they had was a ten-pack. It'd have to do.<br /><br />I headed back to my Airbnb and couldn't wait to settle in for the night. One of my main worries of the trip was missing the new episode of "What We Do in the Shadows". Barely an inconvenience. FX was on my room's television. It aired and I found it hard to stifle my laughter, but I somehow managed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I've said before, it's strange falling asleep in an unfamiliar bed, but you'd be surprised what you can do when you need to.<br /><br /><u style="font-weight: bold;">Friday</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Good morning. I scrolled through the channel listings on the TV and found, much to my disappointment, that - in spite of 400 channels listed, only a few of them were available to actually watch. Ah, well, I didn't come to Toronto to exclusively watch television...right?<br /><br />The shower was still something else. The tiles felt so good against my feet, but I was worried about slipping. At least, less worried than I was in the tub at 2019’s Airbnb.<br /><br />I ran up to the Shoppers Drug Mart just up Crawford street and then across College street. I went hoping to score a Presto day pass for public transport. Unfortunately they were fresh out. Okay, I suppose I could just walk to the next location…several blocks away. Well, shit. My feet were killing me, but, thankfully, they had what I was looking for.<br /><br />I'd heard about the Golden Diner in my tireless researching of the city's restaurants. They offered something akin to (and arguably better than) a Denny's Super Slam in the Lumberjack:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcDaH-tfsoIA0SxJ0fv_K06nUA8uE2ssqZ2VH_PIQhK6IM8R94DxpogDbI94thchNhUgx1zG6653kJD5L0LYJNl8lDBl4oD6STSOI_QfF5eM4UsDbVOaH_8WVEAZ1BX9QbybyKvMtvyWq9KOoW8oIKbTq9WWqApCkUIV_p-s1vzcFbP5jYFP_cQ/s4032/IMG_0072.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcDaH-tfsoIA0SxJ0fv_K06nUA8uE2ssqZ2VH_PIQhK6IM8R94DxpogDbI94thchNhUgx1zG6653kJD5L0LYJNl8lDBl4oD6STSOI_QfF5eM4UsDbVOaH_8WVEAZ1BX9QbybyKvMtvyWq9KOoW8oIKbTq9WWqApCkUIV_p-s1vzcFbP5jYFP_cQ/s320/IMG_0072.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Quite the appetizing dish, no? I wasn't feeling the watermelon. I've just never liked it and I didn't see it advertised on the menu, but the trip had been going so well so far, I decided not to yank that thread. Unlike last year's somewhat disappointing Saturday breakfast at Eggsmart, the pancakes were fluffy and tasty. It was the sausages that didn't feel right this time, but given that I had bacon to satisfy my meat craving, that turned out to be a non-issue.<br /><br />The TTCWatch app on my phone turned out to be invaluable, pinpointing my location and letting me know when the nearest train or bus was leaving and how long I had before they get there. I hurry to College Station and took the train from there to Union. I deboarded and I noticed some people in cosplay heading in a particular direction. No choice but to follow them. It was a long and winding road to get up to Fan Expo, taking us up escalators and over bridges. It was exhausting yet exciting and after a few more minutes of walking, I hoped it was worth it.<div><div><br /></div><div>Passing Rogers Centre and the CN Tower, I got closer and closer to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I was ready to go in, but the entrance to the South building was only for people who’ve already registered their badges. For me and a number of others, it took a little more traveling. We headed up the street and entered a tunnel that took us through a shipping road and into the Convention Centre. I waited in line and my badge was registered. Once inside, the noise grew louder and louder. It was too late to turn back now. It was like a beautiful madness. Let the madness begin. <br /><b><br /></b></div><div>I had planned on starting my Fan Expo with <b>Comedy Con - Improvised Geek Comedy</b>, but I decided against it. No particular reason. I just didn't feel like it. However, I did score a copy of Batman ‘89 #4 after nearly two years of searching. At last, the circle is complete. Now, if only I could get my hands on that Svengoolie comic…<br /><br />My first panel would end up being <b>Being Frank with Fred Tatasciore</b>. Back when I posted my San Diego Comic-Con post, I half-jokingly wondered how the strike would affect Fan Expo Canada. It was here that I and anyone else visiting a panel learned. Celebrities could not talk about any projects that they were in, or currently engaged in as it would be interpreted as promoting said projects. Ooooookay. Thankfully, the talent had other things to talk about, like - in Tatasciore's case - the thrill of getting to work with voice actors he idolized.<br /><br />Initially, I had considered next going to <b>The Movie Podcast</b> panel when the first draft of the schedule had it at 1:00pm, but it was moved to 12:00pm, so I get a free period (and I'd tested out an episode of the podcast days before I left and figured it would've been a waste of time, anyway).</div><div><br /></div><div>In Fan Expos past, I would wax poetic about a delicious dish served in the North Building: the Gotham Poutine from the Gotham Grill. They seemed to be missing from last year's show, much to my disappointment, but then, I saw what appeared to be a familiar food truck.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQ6wQdLJuJXeohakwIbT15r_RPL02do7T8u5Bva1suJHGw1usBop6rCZzir4YYZFPqiOSnrklmexV5OWAm1xw5yezoJMCUuoYhDP7FEJjsB5QVXu_5nIEVWdEvejgb1q1kOeBmnZHL3vBePd5qLo79oeHULyKkvZ9ikQQiNEDuVZPE1EO6QjOrg/s4032/IMG_0079.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQ6wQdLJuJXeohakwIbT15r_RPL02do7T8u5Bva1suJHGw1usBop6rCZzir4YYZFPqiOSnrklmexV5OWAm1xw5yezoJMCUuoYhDP7FEJjsB5QVXu_5nIEVWdEvejgb1q1kOeBmnZHL3vBePd5qLo79oeHULyKkvZ9ikQQiNEDuVZPE1EO6QjOrg/s320/IMG_0079.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I didn’t dare press the issue with anyone currently working there, but I’ll be goddamned if this wasn’t the same truck with the serial numbers filed off.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW34AacKsDZ8Y233lL-B95jk6UflUGRz7L_AYYLQNsiDbwBA32bmQ2LpI5pMp3xWPHuPBO6f1PnFKqSZEhXUPWIlY6ijPEMf_pLGCkdqfndl93CcP917p0RA_gdbHh-VQsPMi2q9Mzo_hU_4jAG1UsKepVfevuhq-jijtPfzNREAgvTr3eVzL1Gg/s4032/IMG_0081.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW34AacKsDZ8Y233lL-B95jk6UflUGRz7L_AYYLQNsiDbwBA32bmQ2LpI5pMp3xWPHuPBO6f1PnFKqSZEhXUPWIlY6ijPEMf_pLGCkdqfndl93CcP917p0RA_gdbHh-VQsPMi2q9Mzo_hU_4jAG1UsKepVfevuhq-jijtPfzNREAgvTr3eVzL1Gg/s320/IMG_0081.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>It may not have been exactly the same as the Gotham Poutine, but - in looks and taste - it definitely slotted into the category of ‘close enough’.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a booth tucked away from pretty much everything, right across from the fast food was Karan Ashley, who played the Yellow Ranger for a few seasons of “Power Rangers” and in the first theatrical movie. As I got a good look at her, taking care that she didn’t catch me looking at her, two thoughts crossed my mind: 1) I felt a little bad for her, being all tucked away from everyone; would anybody even have been seeking her out or even knew she was here and 2) was she always this short?</div><div><br /></div><div>More promising than the panel I skipped over was the <b>A Year in Film Podcast</b> panel, a neat pod where the hosts explore a year in film via two somewhat similar movies. The theme here was big city criminal chaos, explored through <i>Batman: Mask of the Phantasm</i> and <i>Demolition Man</i>.</div><p><br />Next, I so desperately wanted to go to the <b>Name That Toon Contest!</b>, but the room was filled to capacity and I couldn't get in. At least, this meant I’ll have plenty of time to get to the Danny Trejo panel, right? Wrong. He couldn’t make it. Well, may as well dick around the show floor for a while.<br /><br />If you thought the show floor in the North building was chaotic, you ain’t seen nothing yet. That of the South building had vendors, artist alley and a whole lot of geek-affiliated companies. I was particularly intrigued by the StackTV booth that had skeeball and ring toss. Of course, I tried my hand at both and, of course, I failed to win. The latter game had cardboard standees of “Rick and Morty” characters in the bottles. I asked the guy running it if there was an extra prize for getting a ring around one of the characters. As it turns out, no, they were just decorative. Go figure.<br /><br />This being Fan Expo, of course, there was interesting cosplay around. Today, I captured pics of Ramona Flowers, Emily the Corpse Bride, Doric from <i>Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,</i> Nadja and the Guide from "What We Do in the Shadows", Mei Lin’s panda form from <i>Turning Red,</i> and, interestingly enough, Al and Peg Bundy. He was nice enough to give me a No Ma’am button. The one that got away today was Elmyra from "Tiny Toons". Impressive in the brief glimpse I got of her.<br /><br />Perhaps, it's a sign of how my fortunes had turned around from last year that I'm forced to wonder: was it worse that I completely missed a wanted panel or that I was able to get into a seemingly-interesting-but-ultimately-wasteful one? That was the thought that crossed my mind as I sat through the <b>Comedy Game Showdown: Animeniacs!</b> panel. This was one of those things where the contestants ('two teams of Toronto's finest comedians'...let me be the judge of that, 'kay?) were encouraged to give joke answers to ostensibly simple pop culture questions. Apparently, "Caroline's Comedy Hour" had refused a number of callbacks because everyone here chose this panel to (poorly) workshop their tight five. What a waste. Betcha the Name That Toon panel was more entertaining than this crap. Machete, why have you forsaken me?!<br /><br />Fan Expo was over for today. Now, to get to where I wanted to go yesterday, but couldn’t: the Myseum of Toronto. Unfortunately, the same voodoo witchcraft that cost me that big time panel on the Friday night of last year‘s Fan Expo reared its ugly head yet again, turning me around and around and around and the Internet on my phone chose this moment to get super dodgy. Luckily, I had a physical map of Toronto to consult, and I was able to make my way to the museum…10 minutes before closing. Thankfully, the wonderful security guard named Sarah was able to let me in. I became the Tazmanian Devil, spinning around and snapping as many pictures as my iPhone could hold (and given the new threat of limited space, it turned out to be a lot). I never saw "Mr. Dressup" or "Degrassi", but thanks to Nick Jr., I did get to absorb "The Elephant Show" and "Today's Special" and this was reason enough to check it out.<br /><br />From there, it was off to BMV Music and Books. Much to my disappointment, the soundtrack section had been notably depleted from last year, but there were a whole lot of books for me to check out. I considered Leonard Maltin's "Of Mice and Magic: the History of Animated American Cartoons", but then I discovered two books that I couldn't bring myself to leave behind: "Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way" and "Hollywood Black". Next door, they offered some super cheap CDs and books. I might’ve considered the CDs had they not been wrapped up in three packs. I could've enjoyed one of the titles that was in the package, but then you're stuck with two titles you don't even want. Also, there weren’t too many soundtracks, either. </p><p>I then made my annual trip to Sonic Boom. Same old stuff, but on the way down the stairs, something caught my eye and refused to let go:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DZvCGni4Fccenbnn-9CL2EDsSYpY2aMlP6UMhk-NmugfVBbZ0Tu11gpU3ljS1_x6u4dhIlddI-5jiSkXM7DV5FBbRp5LDaIrSE7eMQw7BfdQvWTZlULsUGrXmKM9kj5hpLdxTORxmJg1C9vIjAMe8Z1pT14l1YP27S1TDKcn5-ZPsdCVV48Osw/s4032/IMG_0111.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DZvCGni4Fccenbnn-9CL2EDsSYpY2aMlP6UMhk-NmugfVBbZ0Tu11gpU3ljS1_x6u4dhIlddI-5jiSkXM7DV5FBbRp5LDaIrSE7eMQw7BfdQvWTZlULsUGrXmKM9kj5hpLdxTORxmJg1C9vIjAMe8Z1pT14l1YP27S1TDKcn5-ZPsdCVV48Osw/s320/IMG_0111.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, those are celebrities made up like saints. In the words of Homer Simpson, "Sacrelicious!". Apparently, there was a fair bigger amount of rubes around here than I thought, because someone at Fan Expo was hawking these things, too. I just don't understand it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Walking down College Street at night was an incredible experience. So many people walking around, hanging out and having an incredible time. The one bad thing about it, come to think of it, was trying to decide where to eat. (I considered having dinner at Kensington Market, only to figure out that it was a collective of places more than a fenced-in area. Oh, well.) I picked up a strawberry banana smoothie and a chocolate chip banana muffin from Second Cup. The smoothie was gone within two blocks, but you know me; still hungry. I passed a whole lot of places and as I drew closer and closer to my Airbnb, I knew I had to pick something to eat. Ultimately, I settled on Brick and Cheese. It's a tiny, unassuming place with a small kitchen staff, and even fewer customers. I glanced at the menu and I chose the Original Brick. The damn thing looks pretty thick and when I finally get it back to my temporary pad, it is much thicker than I could’ve ever expected.</div></div><div><br />As I struggled to digest my brick - the ultimate example of what can happen when your eyes are bigger than your stomach - I try to look on the bright side: that I could be a little smarter with my meal choices in the immediate future.</div><div><br /></div><div>For entertainment tonight, FX is running a mini-marathon of first-season episodes of “What We Do in the Shadows". I remembered it being pretty good, if not as awesome as the subsequent seasons. Re-watching the episodes, I don’t know what kind of stick I had up my ass when they first aired, 'cause these were funny as hell. With a little distance, your opinion can change on just about anything.<br /><br /><b><u>Saturday<br /></u></b><br />Up and at them. I was excited to continue on with Fan Expo, so I needed to get ready. Showering and dressing and I was off. <br /><br />I headed for Shoppers Drug Mart. I’d hoped that they were in a cooperative mood today. I would hope in vain. No day passes! I really didn’t feel like walking to another location for one. However, the girl behind the counter told me of reloadable Presto passes. Say, that might could work! I loaded $25 onto one and I was ready. As I headed for the bus stop, I got a glance across the street.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpfgrbqmAsQ_hvjHuJSrL-sw19S6F9fneuOu1RuAocqmAOaOsrNhvo11CRYinPwtwMsArMXQnHt60hJqRLfL0-rf_9IoJRDekREqDUYwU8I8HDzKhnuDtYRqwQDCsVb1Ef1IKcS23ktXdiUYBqhrpZ_i1t6pzOOKLaCgMVOL1Bi9AbTH9WOJHIg/s4032/IMG_0113.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpfgrbqmAsQ_hvjHuJSrL-sw19S6F9fneuOu1RuAocqmAOaOsrNhvo11CRYinPwtwMsArMXQnHt60hJqRLfL0-rf_9IoJRDekREqDUYwU8I8HDzKhnuDtYRqwQDCsVb1Ef1IKcS23ktXdiUYBqhrpZ_i1t6pzOOKLaCgMVOL1Bi9AbTH9WOJHIg/s320/IMG_0113.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><br />A food truck on the street at 9:30 in the morning. This place is magical.<br /><br />To my surprise - somewhat - I still had the muffin from last night. I figured that’s good a breakfast as any. Another streetcar and train ride later, I got to Fan Expo. No time to stop and smell the other visitors. I had panels to attend.<br /><br />First was <b>Meet the Legendary Jodi Benson</b>. She mentioned her son being a filmmaker and hoping the strike ended for the sake of his career. Fair enough.<br /><br />Next up was <b>The Energetic Jason Lee Has Arrived!</b>. He talked about his career as a skateboarder before giving the acting game a try.</div><div><br /></div><div>Given the incredible gap between panels, I had a means of obtaining a corn dog from Chungchun. However, to guarantee a reasonable turn-around time, it'd have to be the Bloor location from last year. Union Station to Bloor, then up the street (why and how did I not think of this that Friday night, I will never figure out).</div><div><br /></div><div>The service there was, as ever, just below par, but there was no arguing the results.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-I3vJGDJof_Ujhq6fCuR5GfzIzI0MQdTAZpUBBf2XWkqObte3NpKqguU040pqROIgU-DO_FOow040qmM27PJz9K6nY9dtcjVJYm1TUF4yX1Vugox5089A58-yowKKSJNvXKFjvglIUFaTsD5hETTsnEziSwbyd3CN2Qm-_DTgBY2qXYXm0E71SQ/s4032/IMG_0119.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-I3vJGDJof_Ujhq6fCuR5GfzIzI0MQdTAZpUBBf2XWkqObte3NpKqguU040pqROIgU-DO_FOow040qmM27PJz9K6nY9dtcjVJYm1TUF4yX1Vugox5089A58-yowKKSJNvXKFjvglIUFaTsD5hETTsnEziSwbyd3CN2Qm-_DTgBY2qXYXm0E71SQ/s320/IMG_0119.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Really, I couldn’t see myself ordering anything but Gamsung. I returned the way I came and it's off to Fan Expo once more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">On the way back, I noticed a stand selling beaver tails. (For non-Canucks, it's fried dough stretched to look like beaver tails. They're covered with powdered sugar or more detailed toppings.)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21VcVd5uTFP27LmVqgeMXOTiW6spHireSi1jS6e0JFmq-ovwNRB509IvPWxjbsur8dLpN1JJxTKRAG9sbWxEhIfbB1Vv42XZwA4nAuK5ohPhPxJu72nwT2Fy0Yb6YE1bcF9ueFwC1gp6k5Je1VtEVYz0ifwOSfxqVHaoC8v9SfHMP-dB-umyPkA/s4032/IMG_0120.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21VcVd5uTFP27LmVqgeMXOTiW6spHireSi1jS6e0JFmq-ovwNRB509IvPWxjbsur8dLpN1JJxTKRAG9sbWxEhIfbB1Vv42XZwA4nAuK5ohPhPxJu72nwT2Fy0Yb6YE1bcF9ueFwC1gp6k5Je1VtEVYz0ifwOSfxqVHaoC8v9SfHMP-dB-umyPkA/s320/IMG_0120.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I got the Bananarama. That one is covered in Nutella and bananas. Not really because I was hungry; just to get one. A little messy, but quite tasty.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />When I saw the schedule in advance, I was quite surprised to find the following: <b>Quiet - Low Sensory Space</b>. And here I was worried I wouldn't have a chance to rest and decompress like I do every Saturday. I spent roughly 20 minutes trying to take a nap, but sleeping in a sitting position was less than ideal. Before I knew it, I was mobile again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">I managed to get to the <b style="font-weight: bold;">Get Legendary with Ming-Na Wen</b> panel. Here, she talked about her early years of modeling.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br />I made my way to the South building mainly to kill time. I was craving a smoothie and there was a booth serving superhero-themed beverages. Sadly, the one I had was less impressive than the one from Second Cup.<br /><br />Now, I am what you might think of as a walking contradiction: I’m still paranoid enough of Covid that I mask up in public, but not so much that I bypass going to a convention altogether. Even so, there was more than once where the trek from one building to the other was held up by a surplus of like-minded travelers. I’m not gonna be crushing any jellybean counting contests, but I’d estimate the number of people going both ways at roughly 350. The number of people masked up, for safety or in costume, was probably less than that of my digits and who knows how many of them were vaxxed? I think it’s a miracle that I didn’t die at any point during the trip.<br /><br />Caught some great cosplay pics today: Jack Burton (who I addressed by name), Stan Pines, Hespera from <i>Shazam! Fury of the Gods</i> (and bonus points for the incredible resemblance to Dame Helen Mirren), Princess Peach (at least, I think that’s who it was), Jeannie (as in “I Dream of…”) and Deadpool. Unfortunately, I missed out on Coraline (she had the blue hair and her yellow raincoat was on her arm, but again, I’m sure it was supposed to be her).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span>The last panel of the day was </span><b style="font-weight: bold;">Query with the Inquisitive Harvey Guillen</b><span>. </span>In lieu of talking about his projects, he regaled us of his out and proud youth and how his same age group relatives took to his life choice just broke my damn heart. On a lighter note, he told how, despite slim finances, his mother supported his yen to perform.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">I had thought about finishing the day off with the presentation of <b>Emily Strikes Back</b>, but I decided against it. Maybe, you don’t need to be a <i>Star Wars</i> fan to appreciate it, but why take a chance?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once upon a time, I considered following a girl into whatever Chinatown restaurant she went in and take a chance on the cuisine there. Yes, it was a stupid freaking plan and no, I never had the nerve to follow through on it. One of the places I considered during the planning stages of my trip was Mother’s Dumplings and that’s where I ate. Cute server, but of course nothing. I had the pan fried dumplings, which I enjoyed. However, I’ve only used chopsticks four or five times in my life and maneuvering them wasn’t easy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I made it back to Lidia’s, pleased at what I’d accomplished that day. I checked out a few clips of Svengoolie, giving myself a little taste of home, then I lost myself online while whatever was on in the background played on one of the few channels available. Eh, it's cool.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><b style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Sunday</u></b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The start of my last full day here. Not sure how ready I was, but I figured I may as well give it a shot.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Normally, I would’ve been getting ready to spend the day at CNE, but I just wasn’t up to it for a multitude of reasons, none of which have anything to do with Covid. Go figure:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1) All I do is walk around 2) The idea of riding rides does not appeal to me 3) Too many people, which one supposes you could say of Fan Expo, but there’s a chance of seeing a famous face or a cute girl in costume to mitigate that 4) The exhibits don’t interest me 5) The food is good, at least when it sounds appetizing and not seemingly AI-created, but what can I get here that I can’t find around the city (though this year, they had a falafel-encrusted corn dog that I know I’ll be chasing until the day I die)?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had an elaborate Sunday morning breakfast buffet planned at Hothouse. I was gonna eat so much, someone would have to roll me around Toronto for the rest of my trip. But the previous night, I got the news: 'Christina Ricci's panel is now at 10:45am'. Now, Hothouse opened Sundays at 10:00am and even with the speed of Mercury and the navigation skills of Ferdinand Magellan, there was a very real chance that I would miss her panel entirely and I wasn't about to let that happen. Still, where the hell was I going to go?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A Google search revealed a place called Saving Gigi, a local restaurant that serves a breakfast sandwich. (P.S. On the way here, I managed to get that picture of the black squirrel after all. Hurrah.) How good can it be? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWR88SOk4CTcYsJD2sGuwFjhDAX1nj2QGp5LOYCQZRuA1JMGN2FPaGVXOu3E-c_bhMqUgV8I9JYbkpO5UV0jS4N5pyb7i1uoYNBeMQU9shrjQb2ytoiI5FrczVXqqA7ai22OauH-r5MFtIw6qmNneWIoqHE4_J50xxrNAZnD-XZxslKQgkuxk2w/s4032/IMG_0136.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWR88SOk4CTcYsJD2sGuwFjhDAX1nj2QGp5LOYCQZRuA1JMGN2FPaGVXOu3E-c_bhMqUgV8I9JYbkpO5UV0jS4N5pyb7i1uoYNBeMQU9shrjQb2ytoiI5FrczVXqqA7ai22OauH-r5MFtIw6qmNneWIoqHE4_J50xxrNAZnD-XZxslKQgkuxk2w/s320/IMG_0136.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The answer: pretty goddamn good, I must say. Unfortunately, this being Sunday, I can’t pop into Shoppers Drug Mart for a beverage. It takes a train ride to Spadina Station and a 7-Eleven to help me out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From there, I made my way to Fan Expo, once again blending in with the Blue Jays fans and passing the CN Tower. I took the South building entrance and did a little shopping, picking up comics.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With minutes to spare, I hurried for the first panel and I managed to get a decent seat for <b>Christina Ricci Takes the Stage!</b>. It is here that she recounted a situation that made her a believer in ghosts, which sounded much less cute than in <i>Casper</i>. I also learned about parasocial interaction, which, of course, I had to Google. I’ve felt that once or twice.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">Right after, I considered the opportunity to <b>Take Some Time Off with Christie Brinkley, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall</b>, but, let's face it, a lot of people were expecting Chevy Chase to be there. I bypassed it, but reading a later headline on Yahoo about Miss Brinkley told me I may have made a mistake. Oh, well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Back to the show floor, where I was eager for something to eat. There was a Pizza Pizza stand in this building, which was a nice surprise and while the slice was fine, the utter incompetence it took to fulfill my order cured me of any further desire to patronize this business.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I stood in line to see Ricci at her booth, but then, I saw the prices for autographs and selfies hovering around $100. Cash. I say, ‘Hell to the no’. I snapped a clandestine pic of the two-time Wednesday Addams and took a hike.<br /><br />There’s more to Fan Expo than being starstruck by celebrities and getting packed like sardines while trying to move from one building to the other. There's merch to blow money on. I snagged a She-Ra T-shirt and <i>Across the Spider-Verse</i> Funko for my sisters. Oh, and I also managed to get a protective sheet for the <i>Princess and the Frog</i> cel, so that was awesome.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next three panels all took place in the same room, so I was going in circles after each one trying to get to the end of the line. First was <b>Speaking with the Talented Shameik Moore</b>. As a nod to his breakout role in <i>Dope</i>, the conversation turned to his favorite 90s artists.</div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span>I ended up taking another trip round the horn so I could get into the </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Lana Parrilla Has Entered the Building panel</span><span>. She talked about making a new furry friend in her travels.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br />It's here that I decided to cut out the middleman of running around to get to the end of the line and I just went to the end of the line.</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span>The last panel of the day and of the Expo led me to <b>Talking Shop with Peter Cullen and Frank Welker</b>. As if to say 'Damn, the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!", the two men played out a scene as their "Transformers" characters, Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively. Needless to say, the crowd went nuts.<br /><br />One more day of cosplay. The pictures I captured: Waldo and Carmen Sandiego, two different versions of Harley Quinn, </span>Daredevil and Kingpin, Two-Face and Morticia Addams and...I don’t know. I guess a soldier and an anime girl. Today’s white whale: Jackie Daytona, normal human bartender, far from his stomping grounds of New York City! The conversations the two of us could’ve had...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Fan Expo had ended once again, at least until next year, but this Sunday was just getting started. I took a streetcar down Queen Street West to get the original Craig's Cookies. Opting for the usual half-dozen, I picked out a mix of classic chocolate chip, PB cup and brownie.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />It was a nice day out, so I decided to take a walk to my next location. It’s not that far away, thankfully. My God, there’s a lot of character on the street. If I were to ever move here - knock wood - I wouldn’t mind just spending a couple hours every other Sunday walking down Queen Street West absorbing the sights. <br /><br />Ultimately, I arrived at my destination: Trap Mart, one of two local places on this very street that sells rare snacks from around the world. There was a lot here I wasn’t sure I wanted to get, but I did manage to pick out specialty Reese's cups with a snack cake inside. I felt somewhat privileged until I saw weeks later that they were available here in town, as well. <br /><br />The other day, I bought a scratch-off ticket. Can you believe they have Plinko lottery tickets in Toronto? America blows. I won five dollars on that one, so, of course - stories from blogTO of big lottery wins dancing in my head - I bought another one, hoping I could maybe score the big prize. Unfortunately, the next ticket I bought was a loser. Story of my life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After getting pictures of other places that I thought about visiting in a future trip, I took a streetcar to go much further up the street to the other rare snacks place, simply titled Exotic Snax. I didn’t buy anything from here, even though I find that they were selling Nacho Cheese Bugles. I really didn’t know at the time how rare they were but next year, I’ll be a lot more aware. I next went to what I believed to be the other BMV location on Queen Street West, but I found that, much to my disappointment, the BMV is gone; replaced with a head shop. Good grief.<br /><br />At this point, I was pretty much planning to go back to my Airbnb, but then I checked my phone to see if there were any movies playing. There were quite a few of them; rather long and not really interesting to me, but then I saw that a screening of <i>Strays</i> was playing at Scotiabank Theater just up the street at 5:40. Well, I figured, 'It’s only four dollars and it's National Cinema Day. Why not check it out?' Much funnier than my initially dismissive 'I'll wait for Redbox' reaction to the trailer had me believe. There really is something about seeing a movie in a theater with a crowd of people.<br /><br />Finally, I headed back up College Street. It took a few days, but the meal from Fancy Franks (bacon cheeseburger, onion rings and - why not treat yourself? - a root beer) was worth the wait. So damn delicious. Definitely want to try this again in the future.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Canada doesn’t have a Hulu, so a lot of their PG-13-rated stuff ends up on Disney+, so of course, I had to catalog the TV shows and movies that I can’t get on the Disney+ here. It’s a lot, let me tell you.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>Monday</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One more shower. One more bout of cartoons. One more time getting dressed. One last check to make sure I’m not leaving anything behind. Something like that can drive somebody crazy, especially when - God forbid - they're leaving behind something incredibly valuable. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I bade goodbye to my temporary dwelling and headed for parts unknown, the keys left in front of the television…and with no way to lock the back door. I could only hope that the messages I sent her through Airbnb reach her in time (spoiler: they do).<br /><br />Of course, I needed to grab some breakfast and if it was good enough yesterday, why not get it again today? Another breakfast sandwich from Saving Gigi. A bit too warm as I make my way to the train station, but just as nourishing. Thankfully, this time, I had a drink to wash it down.</div><p>Much as I’d love to wax poetic on the walk of shame the morning after Fan Expo Canada, expounding on how we enthusiasts of any and all things geeky must now crawl back to our regular lives and steady jobs that provide the capital to indulge in these pursuits, my trip was not quite over.</p><p>I had hoped to pick up some Nacho Cheese Bugles. For some reason, regular sized bags of them are not to be found in the States. I searched up and down for them. Nothing. I would later learn that they were discontinued in Canada, and I had bypassed the only place they were available last night. 😭</p><p>Then, I made my way to Eaton Centre through the train station. Is this a great city or what? The place was impressively expansive. No time to actually visit the stores. Even with my Wifi access and helpful apps, my shaky grasp on Toronto geography guarantees that I’d still be in the city come nightfall. Still, there’s that much more to visit next time.</p><p>(And now, ladles and jelly spoons, the obligatory ‘comedy of errors’ paragraph.) </p><p>That reloadable Presto card of mine was on its last legs. There wasn’t even enough money to cover one more ride, and my free transfer was minutes away from expiration. Before I boarded the train, I was left with a choice; use the remaining pittance (five dollars in coins) to reload the card even though I wouldn’t be able to use it again until maybe next year or take the chance of riding the train up to Union, but possibly get pinched and suffer the $425 fine (an amount like that, the memory doesn’t surrender easy). Weighing my options, I decided to reload the card, but unfortunately, I couldn’t go back through the regular stile because I already tapped my card, so I’m pretty much waiting for somebody to go through the handicapped stile and pretty much slip my way through that. Now, I get paranoid about a lot of things in my life, but I was just way too tired to worry about this. </p><p>I got to Union Station, my train but a short way away. Of course, I'm hungry. I just needed something to fill my stomach (and I probably shouldn’t have been eating just to eat, especially when I have a potential meal lined up for later, but I’m still on vacation, so piss off). I’d heard about a place that sold Jamaican patties, but I couldn’t find it and there were so many minutes to screw around in, so I settled for Chicken Bacon Ranch with a poutine base from Loaded Pierogi.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpbHcr9mYzia8cPFMfqPYaqZatymdeaIbVmn9qz0jOUeH_c1YYHLKnUde_IuMq8Eu5CyqW80qhDWGEmJPVXH3vNv7PGAqO_SrwEz0ZCc2zrzpnzY1qdW8ucZ-9YEEpjgUS8TSepjUksVX8SEqt2GEpq5bU5TQrEnmCN1fdmO3UFF7MbYxwXsxFw/s4032/IMG_0171.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpbHcr9mYzia8cPFMfqPYaqZatymdeaIbVmn9qz0jOUeH_c1YYHLKnUde_IuMq8Eu5CyqW80qhDWGEmJPVXH3vNv7PGAqO_SrwEz0ZCc2zrzpnzY1qdW8ucZ-9YEEpjgUS8TSepjUksVX8SEqt2GEpq5bU5TQrEnmCN1fdmO3UFF7MbYxwXsxFw/s320/IMG_0171.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>It was all right, but hardly the flavorgasm with which I’d wanted to conclude my trip.</p><p>The train arrived and, luggage in hand, I got on board. As I still have service on my phone, I felt like watching something online. Disney+ had the full run of “Kiff”, so why not? About part way through “Pool Party/Road Trip”, I felt myself get crazy tired, so I finished the episode and slept. </p><p>The train stopped at Burlington, forcing me and my fellow passengers to deboard. Many of us transferred to the shuttle bus headed for Niagara Falls Bus Terminal. I ended up in the very back of the upper level next to a broken seat. I got to enjoy some solitude, but I couldn’t get a chance to offer my seat to any pretty girls.</p><p>And speaking of which, a cute brunette was engaging in some serious PDA with some guy. It was probably her boyfriend. What I wouldn’t give for a girl like her to make out with me in public.</p><p>Finally, the bus reached the end of the line. I gathered my things and headed back for my car. It felt kind of good to be back behind the wheel. </p><p>However, the trip wasn’t over yet. I still had somewhere to go. Bad news: the internet on my phone decided to be patchy, so I was forced to guess which way I was headed. Thankfully, the thumbnail for the window in which I entered directions in Google Maps was still up. The visual allowed me to feel out the route to my desired destination.</p><p>My first stop - Sobey’s - yielded no fruit in my quest for Bugles, but then came the second:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1ngy3wnHRXTKBhqvbKpItaQXP5OQ8iptgs9xv4xeJ72rr7iFlsAkfBrVoXIr2P7zY87GvlEMp2HrSUyC2oPCfLDHifqMY6uKIyUkd3QdvFMXb1Vhy_P81rzX-F4lx8MB0H2CSbwJ1wWroIWSgl8o5VFFQuWxaSHKNWOQ6WoEXsJYWgUN7ISdDg/s4032/IMG_0172.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1ngy3wnHRXTKBhqvbKpItaQXP5OQ8iptgs9xv4xeJ72rr7iFlsAkfBrVoXIr2P7zY87GvlEMp2HrSUyC2oPCfLDHifqMY6uKIyUkd3QdvFMXb1Vhy_P81rzX-F4lx8MB0H2CSbwJ1wWroIWSgl8o5VFFQuWxaSHKNWOQ6WoEXsJYWgUN7ISdDg/s320/IMG_0172.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Honestly, if I didn’t get a picture of this, I would have a hard time convincing <i>myself</i> that it was real.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I would, after Christ knows how many years, enjoy a Turkey Bacon Guacamole sub once more. In addition, I got a bag of Miss Vickie's Sweet Chili & Sour Cream chips and, well since I’m treating myself, may as well go with a traditional root beer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not wanting to get into too much trouble with the border police, I’m forced to hide my bounty as I make my way to the Queen Elizabeth Way, which is only a stone's throw away from the Quiznos.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It took me a while to get back to America and then, even longer than that thanks to the log jam of people trying to get back in the country as well. Ultimately, I was ferried into a new line and pretty soon, I was on my way home.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's probably not healthy (and since when do I do things that are?), but I couldn’t help but hold on to memories of this weekend and revel in the successes, linger on the failures and wonder if next year, I’d have the courage to chat up a celebrity or hit on that cute girl dressed like Wednesday Addams or cowgirl Barbie or Nadja from "What We Do in the Shadows"? The choice is yours.</div></div></div></div>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-38089779933765982422023-09-17T22:17:00.002-04:002023-09-18T10:00:20.310-04:00The moviegoing experience?<p>This weekend I went to see <i>Outlaw Johnny Black</i> and <i>The Inventor</i>, both films being pretty entertaining. However, the showtimes that Regal was putting up were very limited. While driving on my way to see the latter, I mused about the North Park Theater and the occasional family matinees they have 11:30 AM on weekend mornings. Maybe, I was missing out on a movie that I hadn’t seen in a while and I really wanted to see on the big screen. I figure I probably should’ve gone and checked the website and see what was up (Editor's note: Checking their website, they have none planned for this month or for the first half of next month.), but I just had to shoot my shot because, with the limited showtimes that both movies have, it’s a pretty good chance that Regal isn’t gonna be holding these over for another week.</p><p>Also, who knows when they'll end up on Redbox? I mean, for crying out loud, I was forced to see <i>Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret</i> on one of the shadier movie watching sites. It really should’ve been on Redbox long ago and, for all I know, it could be December before it shows up. And another thing: Redbox has become stupidly unreliable. Sure, they have a lot of the bigger movies here but not all of them. What's a film lover to do when a film hovers that weird period of time between getting kicked out of theaters and ending up at Redbox and don't even breathe the words 'pay $14.99 on VOD' unless you have a fortune to lend me. They don't even have a link to the 'coming soon' titles on their page any more. </p><p>It's like if you want to see a relatively recent movie that's out of theaters, it's Redbox or nothing, unless you’re really desperate to watch a movie on one of the less reputable sites. Truth be told, they’ve been helping me with a lot of movies these last few years. Not so much the other night, though. I really wanted to watch John Frankenheimer's <i>99 and 44/100% Dead</i>, but weirdly enough, it wasn't on there and you'd think it being on a now-hard-to-find Shout Factory DVD that I would’ve maybe ended up on Tubi. It's possible that it ends up there in the future, but what a pain in the ass it is to not be able to watch all the movies you want to watch. I just don’t get it. </p><p>I hope to have more to say about it before month's end, but having gone to the Revue Cinema last month on my trip to Toronto, it really makes me wish we had the equivalent here in this town. Something that shows first run movies every now and then, but more often than not, specializes in revival screenings, the likes of which are way too inconsistent in town. Sure, there's the aforementioned weekend matinees that happen maybe once or twice a month at North Park; once a month screenings of Thursday night terrors at the Amherst Cinema; and of course, there’s The Screening Room but, nine times out of ten, I’ve already seen most of those movies. The thinking with a lot of these theaters seems to be 'you see what’s there or piss off' and that’s just not right. </p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-12990611546207831552023-08-31T23:15:00.003-04:002023-08-31T23:15:25.986-04:00<p>Because I should have something in August. Got two big posts to come for September. And that's about that.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-46118058654298694792023-07-31T21:56:00.002-04:002023-07-31T21:56:12.168-04:00Back for seconds.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yeah. I know what I said last year...but it's the Taste of Buffalo. As long as I have feet to walk on, money and an appetite, there's no way I can stay away.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This year, I had a yen to revisit a technique that - I believe - served me well in the past: partake of the Taste’s bounty, steal away to the nearby movie theater and take in a flick, then return for any remaining repast. Foolproof! Seemingly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found my usual parking area some blocks away. It helps to get some exercise in with all the food I'll be eating.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I got up to Delaware, there was a huge line. After a few minutes, I couldn't help but ask about the nature of the line. As it turns out, this was the line for buying tickets with cash. However, I was in the mood for paying with credit. This line turned out to be much shorter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eight sheets (of tickets) to the wind, I head off to sate my appetite. I keep hoping that I am able to try these dishes in the style of a feast: first, an appetizer, then the main course (with sides where applicable) and finish it off with dessert. Despite my desire to lose weight, that is (given the layout of the stands) far too much walking than I am willing to put up with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Still, the first meal of interest indulges my desire somewhat: the <b>Chicken Wonton</b> from Sidelines Sports Bar and Grill.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdOJoUt_dk-32hhpP2Hm06bU23mAf6vOspL5wUFWDVdk3q6XWeBgDqBU34_ZJKNViY7wPukQ-ZNuaOrbRasNT5abMnjmezdn8Ki9Z3g-dJMBgZ64rP541Rb6Z_ILfjhMPZRdKharHmpT4qxChldpaGisBFd6TMEfjtDo3LO17IwMktqUJenwINw/s4032/IMG_0024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdOJoUt_dk-32hhpP2Hm06bU23mAf6vOspL5wUFWDVdk3q6XWeBgDqBU34_ZJKNViY7wPukQ-ZNuaOrbRasNT5abMnjmezdn8Ki9Z3g-dJMBgZ64rP541Rb6Z_ILfjhMPZRdKharHmpT4qxChldpaGisBFd6TMEfjtDo3LO17IwMktqUJenwINw/s320/IMG_0024.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The ratio of chicken to wonton was hopelessly unbalanced in favor of the latter, but the tangy dipping sauce helped to paper over any design flaws.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A good deal more walking (through crowds that seem to get thicker every year) led me to the <b>Impossible Loaded Taco Nachos</b> from Avenue29 Foods.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPl1b0aKz3umiLtF0d9MVOc1RoX5LxdIy8VgSL0rki4OaqR4m-VPAKHLq6rnEYb7N50O-4SKHej2aADTdUyV6qyqpgu09wwDnqSR4FP0i2c2JJ7cCwp5Yd_iW-MtNdVjwZdSclHj8hWU8jJv2vNalhaTmCaHgW-LT8N8w_eeXgBH5OMPnBg4wFQ/s4032/IMG_0025.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPl1b0aKz3umiLtF0d9MVOc1RoX5LxdIy8VgSL0rki4OaqR4m-VPAKHLq6rnEYb7N50O-4SKHej2aADTdUyV6qyqpgu09wwDnqSR4FP0i2c2JJ7cCwp5Yd_iW-MtNdVjwZdSclHj8hWU8jJv2vNalhaTmCaHgW-LT8N8w_eeXgBH5OMPnBg4wFQ/s320/IMG_0025.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If the scanty nature of the dish had been its only problem… Now, I like nachos, especially when they’re not too spicy like these were. I found myself eating around things more than eating them. Some people like hot peppers and jalapeños, but I’m not some people.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Just across the street were the <b>Steak & Cheese Logs</b> from Steaksters.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbazOzp8ZsyNpWWlRVCzSZ7F18L_m3hsx1JprKKSFc1dc-qL-IvZGAUjm60GuvcLt9Ec3uxqBW1kWBPV_s3J1Dm7A9tyg8wSiEhmMxzBf9uOInYL1eSNo4Hl4DuWV8eA8VKaPrnLVm-vcmMAi-qlT8PTHeflwIyK2mRAbL0uE0BqOEJ3aflZJKg/s4032/IMG_0026.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbazOzp8ZsyNpWWlRVCzSZ7F18L_m3hsx1JprKKSFc1dc-qL-IvZGAUjm60GuvcLt9Ec3uxqBW1kWBPV_s3J1Dm7A9tyg8wSiEhmMxzBf9uOInYL1eSNo4Hl4DuWV8eA8VKaPrnLVm-vcmMAi-qlT8PTHeflwIyK2mRAbL0uE0BqOEJ3aflZJKg/s320/IMG_0026.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Available with three dipping sauces and blue cheese was the only non-objectionable choice. Very tasty. Still could be considered an entree.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And what better side dish than the <b>Macaroni Tuna Salad </b>from Brodies of WNY LLC?</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi38xFEx7St-kAjcY46SMydGOcPapVNWvikx9hoKo-Ydeh5yV0T8nhiumpSZO4cdojeyfJ8lNDWFnx-FRDACEY1NxJw9my3Elyf-Axj1-aOxIv2haz7ZjU_5einBOgzQDABWzZCVQCWgda9H-4ea1P_BIC8PQMVCGUg80BXh1oGbTs2SO0wmAemA/s4032/IMG_0027.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi38xFEx7St-kAjcY46SMydGOcPapVNWvikx9hoKo-Ydeh5yV0T8nhiumpSZO4cdojeyfJ8lNDWFnx-FRDACEY1NxJw9my3Elyf-Axj1-aOxIv2haz7ZjU_5einBOgzQDABWzZCVQCWgda9H-4ea1P_BIC8PQMVCGUg80BXh1oGbTs2SO0wmAemA/s320/IMG_0027.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Despite the name, there seemed to be a lot of egg salad in its DNA, which is always a good thing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wanting to keep the fun train going, I stop at Restaurante Mi Isla to try out the <b>Arroz con Gandules</b>. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozZ56wWeAi0AdBRyxWhyUw30wFoNUr25w3fhFwoWR6dSRDON9YfDrjDy6Bxcs5_OnISpPaghJUQtxPdIbMfL8tHhlKthZ5v32FW_YlZIpJvB9a1lvj5bN6PZ3T6YqqeQ7ZoBm8aiWhSg9B8TGU2JTaa9LD2DqLhJQmfhiyFNvj_jwEt5HfeNm8Q/s4032/IMG_0028.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozZ56wWeAi0AdBRyxWhyUw30wFoNUr25w3fhFwoWR6dSRDON9YfDrjDy6Bxcs5_OnISpPaghJUQtxPdIbMfL8tHhlKthZ5v32FW_YlZIpJvB9a1lvj5bN6PZ3T6YqqeQ7ZoBm8aiWhSg9B8TGU2JTaa9LD2DqLhJQmfhiyFNvj_jwEt5HfeNm8Q/s320/IMG_0028.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The only thing missing from this dish: spices. I suppose I understand wanting to move more product so as not to offend the rubes, but man! A dash of salt, at least!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the things I loved about Tastes of old were the offerings from the (now-defunct) Jack Astor's. One of them was Garlic Bread. Dripping with butter and full of garlicky goodness. Good times.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I guess I was desperate for that same magic from the <b>Garlic Bread</b> from Anchi A La Carte.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUC4AMDjYfSlDOZpKDRCm1-8PWaCcFKX-G9-xIT51uC_2ukZhsLtWLDPI0OTBrYGBSRhFHn8hRRMhS6SUWB6ibtk86Ax6p3qabgaMWSfEjWUZb0e8KN46zeBcUGFEaSJoTix-eWblb15tiWlu-xo4l-86kGwfpAu6RMECrhg_Xv0AH6O5D6EAQSA/s4032/IMG_0029.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUC4AMDjYfSlDOZpKDRCm1-8PWaCcFKX-G9-xIT51uC_2ukZhsLtWLDPI0OTBrYGBSRhFHn8hRRMhS6SUWB6ibtk86Ax6p3qabgaMWSfEjWUZb0e8KN46zeBcUGFEaSJoTix-eWblb15tiWlu-xo4l-86kGwfpAu6RMECrhg_Xv0AH6O5D6EAQSA/s320/IMG_0029.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Edible, but a bit less magical than I wanted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As this was the 40th anniversary of the Taste, Tops was offering attendees birthday cake. The pieces were small, but still quite delicious.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I wanted to get to the theater at a reasonable time (i.e. about 10-15 minutes after the listed showtime; I trudged through the hot, hot sun and desperately needed to evacuate my bowels. The last thing I wanted was to suffer through condescending trailers for youth-aimed pablum.), so I headed back the way I came. However, there was one last item I wanted to try: the <b>"Chicken Coop" Loaded Potato</b> from Dirty Bird Chicken N' Waffles LLC. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JRU8CAJHVRGMySbSq9DjoKBmnZLBCf9YhHXn8mUmJgyM4r9GNOCOJ7Z-xSlcMfj4IakPK1QE6XNlRKUyt0lmG9VzZSZQ_7V3sgtQ56k4aXmvROAWdf4yMMNtLJJu5FQeG8lvLXjz0uOg9t7wUjUf9KQ4ibTCVDD5_Em9ypjTTsNtBjC_G1w0_Q/s4032/IMG_0030.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JRU8CAJHVRGMySbSq9DjoKBmnZLBCf9YhHXn8mUmJgyM4r9GNOCOJ7Z-xSlcMfj4IakPK1QE6XNlRKUyt0lmG9VzZSZQ_7V3sgtQ56k4aXmvROAWdf4yMMNtLJJu5FQeG8lvLXjz0uOg9t7wUjUf9KQ4ibTCVDD5_Em9ypjTTsNtBjC_G1w0_Q/s320/IMG_0030.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Even with the long, long line, I just had to get some for myself. All I can say is that I miss the Dirty Bird Sandwich that's a part of the food truck's normal menu.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Then, it was off to the movies for <i>Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken</i>. I really wanted to see it before it ended up on streaming...July 18th. (Which was announced on the film's theatrical release date of June 30th. This streaming thing is backfiring on studios in a big way and if they don't figure out that their writers and actors need to be paid a fair wage, they're sure as shit never figuring this out.) A no-prize to anyone who guessed that I was the only person in the screening room. The film is undeniably derivative - if you've seen <i>Luca</i> and <i>Turning Red</i>, you've pretty much seen this movie - but still quite charming. The character work, effective scripting and rubbery animation make it entertaining.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After the movie, I returned for more food. Sadly, as it was getting quite late, some of the vendors I wished to patronize were running low on their dishes.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Because I just couldn't stay away, I returned to Steaksters for their <b>Chicken Wing Dip Logs</b>.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOBz1W3xCgs-cH1So8uiY7Alp301E40Dku7QwUN2wN5dto3iyAGBp7yxJvR1muhxTakYa8AU9Lq147eLMAt3NpmAxetU6dmpEaGid42hXLiMC9XdDbCqzXRiWGwQQ_eM1Gd1KhBMIxzUk4Ox92xWT-17HbRZYHbrmxdlxUA9V7ifuMkxhU-O4Mg/s4032/IMG_0031.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOBz1W3xCgs-cH1So8uiY7Alp301E40Dku7QwUN2wN5dto3iyAGBp7yxJvR1muhxTakYa8AU9Lq147eLMAt3NpmAxetU6dmpEaGid42hXLiMC9XdDbCqzXRiWGwQQ_eM1Gd1KhBMIxzUk4Ox92xWT-17HbRZYHbrmxdlxUA9V7ifuMkxhU-O4Mg/s320/IMG_0031.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For real, I need to look this place up. They've got something.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had next hoped to hit up A'mano Fresh Pasta Kitchen. Their line was crazy long, so I instead tried my hand at WBBZ's booth. Three chances to throw a football through a hole in the hopes of winning a prize. I missed three times, especially demoralizing when you consider that some punk kid made it all three times.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Frustration is setting in. To alleviate that, I get the <b>Alu Tikki </b>from New Jewel of India, which is described as a 'deep fried potato pancake stuffed with peas'. What have I got to lose?</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PpUuuDTYnDF_5gew4pN57z67LlxNPlzyd5pmhpujVFbth8e0xXHqOPtDXBdgNhJ54JdK1nT-UKUGfPrvw4UecuTQAXTjbAjohl19FKmfg72DNtthJqdahO0SgLQ8y2uzEjvqPbj42zTByywnCtkaE1LCyBFHLowmDgZ8dzS6nTAjyGtgjnRQVw/s4032/IMG_0032.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PpUuuDTYnDF_5gew4pN57z67LlxNPlzyd5pmhpujVFbth8e0xXHqOPtDXBdgNhJ54JdK1nT-UKUGfPrvw4UecuTQAXTjbAjohl19FKmfg72DNtthJqdahO0SgLQ8y2uzEjvqPbj42zTByywnCtkaE1LCyBFHLowmDgZ8dzS6nTAjyGtgjnRQVw/s320/IMG_0032.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Apparently six tickets. The spice problem asserts itself yet again...and this was an Indian joint!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I get back in line for A'mano's, figuring that I truly have nothing to lose, by this point. By the time I get up there, what I want from them is still cooking and wouldn't be ready for quite some time. That they're sold out of another of their items is a sign. 'Maybe, I can salvage this with some dessert', I find myself thinking.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nope. Golden Hour Treats is on break.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Feeling that I have had all I can stand and unwilling to spend more time here than I need to, I decided that the <b>Piggy Mac'N </b>from The Cheesy Chick would be my last entree of the day.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm-B5u5fK3G4mQohsd3AwftXUZPADmMJre62POqtc2gBaVycC7MtitRUKd4vNcl0C8YVdq08eqBaU1ubqeq7aA--aXCfzAxKLhtvzwVFzbVTW6WDIg8tdxXctLJR3YObdbGWEIXNL6qVlmiLYcWqnuSoYJt9lGXQx2X1aVdlZu_jy7Gyy98I26w/s4032/IMG_0033.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm-B5u5fK3G4mQohsd3AwftXUZPADmMJre62POqtc2gBaVycC7MtitRUKd4vNcl0C8YVdq08eqBaU1ubqeq7aA--aXCfzAxKLhtvzwVFzbVTW6WDIg8tdxXctLJR3YObdbGWEIXNL6qVlmiLYcWqnuSoYJt9lGXQx2X1aVdlZu_jy7Gyy98I26w/s320/IMG_0033.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was okay; perfectly cromulent, but nothing special, a feeling I’ve had for a number of this place’s offerings.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Realizing I had been licked, I went to Just Pizza to pick up some Cajun Honey BBQ Chicken Wings for my mom. Good thing I remembered to bring a Ziploc bag to keep them in. Of course, walking all the way back to my car wiped me out, but if I could get home, decompress and whip up a strategy for tomorrow, I'd be just fine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cut to Sunday. Less hassle (I hope). Less people (I assume). More of a focused meal plan (I’m sure).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I garnish my leftover tickets with a fresh new sheet and I’m off to work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First, I head for the Kith and Kin Bakeshop & Bistro to try their <b>Meatloaf Sundae</b>.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvet64AZLsyBPDPA8cFVMAZtmDJ4OUG8lV5TjveV7n9jNAgC_SVntSshhOFZUwTBTvvM4g5UCynjNjIM_edFFl6V-5e6EiS_3MxKReEtjugXhuayz5HsDgQ1Z95urwOwXNX0_aPAgD7akCuvv7a5Ont52SwWnTMtix7vWGf0sJsxj_NoKneJjXKw/s4032/IMG_0034.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvet64AZLsyBPDPA8cFVMAZtmDJ4OUG8lV5TjveV7n9jNAgC_SVntSshhOFZUwTBTvvM4g5UCynjNjIM_edFFl6V-5e6EiS_3MxKReEtjugXhuayz5HsDgQ1Z95urwOwXNX0_aPAgD7akCuvv7a5Ont52SwWnTMtix7vWGf0sJsxj_NoKneJjXKw/s320/IMG_0034.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wow. To think this was actually in my ‘maybe’ pile as far as the weekend’s offerings. So damn good. I’d take it over half of the meals I was drowning in sweat to obtain yesterday.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once again, I went to the WBBZ booth to try my hand at a prize. Three more misses. Ugh. (Didn’t go home empty-handed, though. Got a tote bag from the WUTV booth from their faux-Plinko game.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I went back to A’mano Fresh Pasta Kitchen’s stand. The line was much shorter today. It took a whole freaking day, but I finally got my <b>Rigatoni Alla Bolognese</b>.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E03UUaUA4Vs0hdQebDoWspaOAfVdezWnUrZpyF_ATROFD0ZIvueHSCSuc7rQVaqZIIR3d917zBmTeY8mwgK9RoCNebzaB_aUMXZ7Xa7kTd_JSvi_2U537R17sH62jMFeO7adRwVcuZNwsz84VYbK2T_TB5ECyopJ9QvKKIHhOTmwD7zh02qXxw/s4032/IMG_0035.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E03UUaUA4Vs0hdQebDoWspaOAfVdezWnUrZpyF_ATROFD0ZIvueHSCSuc7rQVaqZIIR3d917zBmTeY8mwgK9RoCNebzaB_aUMXZ7Xa7kTd_JSvi_2U537R17sH62jMFeO7adRwVcuZNwsz84VYbK2T_TB5ECyopJ9QvKKIHhOTmwD7zh02qXxw/s320/IMG_0035.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was…fine. Maybe, I’d grown too accustomed to the pesto in Stouffer’s Rigatoni dish, but the marinara just didn’t compare. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Just as I'd hoped to do on Saturday, I finished my jaunt with dessert: <b>Banana Pudding</b> from Golden Hour Treats. The cost was ten tickets and it was worth every single one.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguU3VaYtrNdnNo7AEkT8-f-XIA9YqSmBaCctcLgCxa2SB5v6qJlkOoZX7WuBukf5SVTh4S07EeZ9b8wuD9Fg1IinK_l-Fq_B3QQ_hAk-JB73wPABP1hPFZbMELR3aAW0IvHl2KC389sLQ3lExo4YOQlBeZCGS_i2u_g5s_IkBIPDwN9K1Xxhvj4g/s4032/IMG_0036.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguU3VaYtrNdnNo7AEkT8-f-XIA9YqSmBaCctcLgCxa2SB5v6qJlkOoZX7WuBukf5SVTh4S07EeZ9b8wuD9Fg1IinK_l-Fq_B3QQ_hAk-JB73wPABP1hPFZbMELR3aAW0IvHl2KC389sLQ3lExo4YOQlBeZCGS_i2u_g5s_IkBIPDwN9K1Xxhvj4g/s320/IMG_0036.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Having had my fill, I trudged back to my car and made my way home, where it took me two weekends to finish this post. Be glad I didn't wait until August. I'd have totally forgotten the specifics by then.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All in all, this was one of the more interesting, frustrating and just plain unusual Tastes I've experienced and I can't promise I won't do it again next year.</div></div></span></div>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-87644661087317806422023-07-20T06:21:00.004-04:002023-07-20T06:21:32.719-04:00But will the strike affect Fan Expo Canada?<p>This schedule was drawn up before the SAG went on strike. I will not update it, because there's too much cool stuff hereabouts.</p><p><u><b>Thursday</b></u></p><p>15th Annual Behind the Music Panel: Supersonic | Room 25ABC | 10:00a - Primarily TV composers, but who says I can't learn anything from them?<br /><br />Ninth Annual Musical Anatomy of a Superhero: Film and TV Composer Panel | Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront | 11:15a - Beck, Karpman, Krlic, Lennertz, Russo and Wallfisch in a panel moderated by Giacchino. What more can I say?<br /><br />The Owl House: Us Weirdos Have to Stick Together | Room 6A | 12:30p - The voices of Luz, Lilith and Raine talk about the show. Sounds fun.<br /><br />Master Class: Writing for Animation and Comics | Room 10 | 1:30p - Because one can never learn too much about how to do this.<br /><br />Celebrating 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever on the CW | Room 5AB | 3:00p - Been enjoying the series on the CW. Another of those things that makes me feel I was born too late.<br /><br />FX’s What We Do in the Shadows - In lieu of the actors talking about the craziness of the fifth season - which started with a bang, I think - they’re offering 'A Familiar Weekend'; a stroll through Laszlo’s garden, and I suppose that could be just as good. It’s on the Hilton Bayfront Lawn, which I imagine would get a lot of traffic for the network's programming. <br /><br />35th Anniversary of Beetlejuice | Room 25ABC | 6:00p - Mainly a chat with the make-up artist that created Michael Keaton's look. Still might be worthwhile.</p><p>Ghostface's Killer Trivia | Room 25ABC | 8:00p - The voice of Ghostface, Roger L. Jackson, hosts a horror trivia contest. What I wouldn't give to have this experience.</p><p>The 26th Annual Comic-Con Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza | Room 6A | 8:00p - Yes, a conflict, so why is it listed here? Because I'm convinced I can sneak in once the previous panel is over. Hell, I think I can.<br /><br /><u style="font-weight: bold;">Friday</u><br /><br />A Look Back at Animated Series of the 80s | Room 32AB | 10:00a - Looking at various title sequences on YouTube (especially from the beginning of the decade), a lot of shows of the era were mercenary crap and that's before the 22-minute commercials entered the picture. Still, living vicariously.<br /><br />Is The Orville the Greatest Science Fiction Show on Television? | Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina | 11:00a - Would it be disingenuous to attend this panel if I've only seen a handful of episodes? Asking for a friend who also happens to have my name and body type.<br /><br />Spotlight on John Semper | Room 4 | 12:00p - How's this for a sweet gig: writing and showrunning an animated series and pretty much being left alone because the parent company you're working for is staring down the barrel of bankruptcy? I can only imagine what over stories he has.<br /><br />Rick and Morty 10th Anniversary | Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront | 2:00p - The sixth season rebounded nicely from the tasteless, pointless fifth. Here's hoping that the new voices for the title characters sound more like the original than impressions, which - let's face it - is a very thin line to tread.<br /><br />The Blerd Panel | Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina | 3:00p - I got to get on one of these one day.<br /><br />You’re Wrong, Leonard Maltin | Room 23ABC | 4:00p - As wrong as some of his reviews have been over the years (hello, <i>Cats Don't Dance</i>), I really do miss his yearly book. Still, would be interested in hearing what others have to say to him.<br /><br />Bob’s Burgers | Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront | 5:00p - The last season has had its problems (Linda going Annie Wilkes on the children's author and the snarky police operator refusing to believe the woman's Nazi report in the WWII flashback episode are noted examples), but I can't help but wonder if the show can get back on track.<br /><br />Q and A Writing Workshop with J. Michael Straczynski | Room 11 | 7:00p - The man's worked in film, television and comics. It'd be foolish to not want to hear some tips.<br /><br />Yippee-Kai-Yay, or Nay? Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie? | Room 29AB | 8:00p - What even constitutes a Christmas movie? </p><p><u style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday</u><br /><br />That 70s Show 25th Anniversary | Originally, Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp were going to look back at the show and the effect it had on their careers. All things being honest, the first four years were the best. The last four (pro tip: these episodes are all named after songs)...were not.</p><p>Futurama | Ballroom 20 | 11:00a - The show is back for (I presume) the final time thanks to Hulu. I really hope the ratio of good episodes to dull ones is better than it was in the Comedy Central run. (It was nice to get a Prisoner of Benda or Saturday Morning Fun Pit, but having to sit through five Zapp Dingbats to get to them? Life is too short.)</p><p>Cartoon Voices I | Room 6BCF | 1:00p - While I'm glad that Fan Expo has had these panels (though not last year, for some reason), it'd be nice to revisit this one.</p><p>Defiant: the Robert Smalls Story | Room 6DE | 3:00p - A movie may never be produced of this incredible true story, but a graphic novel is just as good. Can't wait to pick it up.</p><p>From The Dark Knight to Count Crowley: David Dastmalchian's Journey from Comic Book Movie Actor to Comic Book Creator | Room 6DE | 4:15p - From a scene stealer to a comic book writer. If his Fangoria article is anything to go by, he's seen some shit. I imagine those experiences translating well to comics.</p><p>Adapting Comics to TV and Film | Room 29CD | 5:30p - The challenges of adapting comics to the big screen...though I see a real blood in the water scenario having the panel anchored by the writers of <i>Morbius</i>.</p><p>Live Celebrity Gameshow: ITATYWOYCTSATATIWOMC | Room 7AB | 7:30p - Or (deep breath) "Is The Answer That You Wrote On Your Card The Same As The Answer That I Wrote On My Card?". Okay, was somebody paid by the word? "The Match Game" with voice actors. Cool.<br /><br /><b><u>Sunday</u></b></p><p>Cartoon Voices II | Room 6A | 11:45a - More talented VAs putting their spins on some kind of script.</p><p>Spotlight on J. Michael Straczynski | Room 5AB | 1:15p - There's a new "Babylon 5" project on the way, so what better time to get to know the man and his career?<br /><br /><br /><u>Conflicts:</u><br /><br />Superheroes and Not-So-Super Villains with Patton Oswalt and Friends | Room 6DE | Thu 3:15p - Any opportunity to hear Oswalt speak is a good one, especially if he has a comic book in the chamber.<br />From the Screen to Your Plate: Food in Pop Culture | Room 24ABC | Thu 6:30p - A discussion on how 'favorite fandoms inspire culinary creations'. Neat.<br />The Black Panel | Room 5AB | Fri 10:00a - I got to get on one of these one day.<br />Mobile Filmmaking: How to Make a Movie Using a Smartphone | Grand 6, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina | Fri 4:45p - Most years, I list the various filmmaking panels as something I might want to attend, but, really, all I need is this one. I'm sure.<br />History of Cartoon Voices | Room 7AB | Sat 4:30p - The 'history of how cartoons learned to talk'. What a neat chance to hear about some of the all-time greats of the genre.<br />Looney Legends: A Conversation with the Voices of Bugs Bunny and Other Favorite Characters | Room 29CD | Sun 1:30p - Ostensibly, a documentary focusing on Noel Blanc and Jeff Bergman (the latter in person) talking about classic cartoons. Awesome.<br /><br />That's all, folks! (until next year)</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-61842330743248560082023-07-12T22:07:00.002-04:002023-07-15T10:20:02.960-04:00No false reassurances.<p>I’ll be the first to admit that the things I enjoy in all facets of life are rather arcane. Even now, one of my all-time favorite movie tropes - and one I so wish would come back - is the one where the heroes have killed or thwarted all the bad guys, but there’s still one left over hiding out and they end up giving themselves way through some unseen word or action. cf. <i>The Taking of Pelham One Two Three</i>, <i>Diamonds Are Forever</i>.</p><p>Another oddly specific trope I’m fond of is the end credits music in horror movies that more or less tells the audience, ‘Don’t worry about the survivors. They’re gonna be just fine.’ David Newman’s <i>The Kindred</i> is a strong example, but another one that caught me by surprise in the last year or so was Danny Elfman‘s <i>Nightbreed</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8HY5AsBoEOk" width="320" youtube-src-id="8HY5AsBoEOk"></iframe></div><p>The first 3:02 typifies the creepy/violent nature of the film - and was a favorite whenever I’d listen to the composer’s compilation “Music for a Darkened Theater - Vol. 1” - but then (as I discovered when I first saw the film a few years ago), there was a delicate, achingly beautiful variation on the main theme afterwards. Harp, flute and strings unite for one of Elfman's most underrated cues. (BTW, yes, I am eagerly awaiting Intrada's imminent expansion of this score.)</p><p>I guess I just miss horror movies where the villain was defeated at the end because it wasn't some arcane force that could never be stopped and the characters were pretty much ass-fucked from before the first studio logo. We need more of those again.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-10348934449527978042023-06-12T08:10:00.004-04:002023-06-12T08:10:52.379-04:00<p>So, let’s see if I have this straight: this guy signs a bill into law in the hopes of ensnaring one of his enemies, only for the very same law to get him in a bucket of trouble? </p><p>For real, that is some straight-up Wile E. Coyote shit. Anyone seriously still supporting this guy needs to kill themselves out of shame.</p><p>Hell, I would if I were so gullible.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-63221382918468225232023-05-16T22:08:00.001-04:002023-05-16T22:08:25.368-04:00Murder in Space (Arthur B. Rubinstein)<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/rZeTEKs5XElco34vtLCXpNqK22w.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="750" src="https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/rZeTEKs5XElco34vtLCXpNqK22w.jpg" width="500" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">An outer space mission hits a snag when one of the crew members is killed, which could potentially create an international incident between the United States and the Soviet Union. Made-for-cable mystery has an interesting premise, but squanders it with a dull execution. Some good actors go to waste (and the less said about Martin Balsam's Russian accent, the better).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, Arthur B. Rubinstein provided an exciting score based on a properly sinister four-note melody for brass.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Murder in Space</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">composed & conducted</div><div style="text-align: center;">by</div><div style="text-align: center;">Arthur B. Rubinstein</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. Roll Call (Main Titles) 2.03</div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Breaking News 1.02</div><div style="text-align: left;">3. Making Contact 1.02</div><div style="text-align: left;">4. Dismissed 0.22</div><div style="text-align: left;">5. The Lab 1.39</div><div style="text-align: left;">6. Friction 0.36</div><div style="text-align: left;">7. Shower Talk 0.58</div><div style="text-align: left;">8. Disrobing/Late Call 1.55</div><div style="text-align: left;">9. Autopsy in Space 2.10</div><div style="text-align: left;">10. Inconclusive 0.45</div><div style="text-align: left;">11. Handle It! 0.21</div><div style="text-align: left;">12. Bad News 0.44</div><div style="text-align: left;">13. Probably a Tumor 0.52</div><div style="text-align: left;">14. Guy vs. Dominica 0.53</div><div style="text-align: left;">15. Something to Hide? 1.39</div><div style="text-align: left;">16. Confidential 0.25</div><div style="text-align: left;">17. Moscow Morning 0.29</div><div style="text-align: left;">18. Hair Follicles 0.36</div><div style="text-align: left;">19. Everybody's a Suspect 1.18</div><div style="text-align: left;">20. Conspirators 1.01</div><div style="text-align: left;">21. Cooper Spills 0.49</div><div style="text-align: left;">22. The List 0.37</div><div style="text-align: left;">23. Divorce Papers 1.29</div><div style="text-align: left;">24. Guy Collapses 1.25</div><div style="text-align: left;">25. Demands 0.38</div><div style="text-align: left;">26. New Intel/Kurt is Dead 1.50</div><div style="text-align: left;">27. Exact Words 0.43</div><div style="text-align: left;">28. Q and A/The Gun 3.17</div><div style="text-align: left;">29. Escape Pod 1.15</div><div style="text-align: left;">30. Countdown 0.35</div><div style="text-align: left;">31. Coming Home 0.26</div><div style="text-align: left;">32. The Landing 0.45</div><div style="text-align: left;">33. Under Arrest 0.44</div><div style="text-align: left;">34. Picking Up the Pieces 1.00</div><div style="text-align: left;">35. Kurt's Secrets 1.27</div><div style="text-align: left;">36. Flashback 0.18</div><div style="text-align: left;">37. What About Guy? 1.04</div><div style="text-align: left;">38. Nothing Left 0.12</div><div style="text-align: left;">39. Neutralized 0.43</div><div style="text-align: left;">40. Russian Roulette 1.25</div><div style="text-align: left;">41. Last Call (End Titles) 1.44</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a sample:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Di9p-bRXDi4" width="320" youtube-src-id="Di9p-bRXDi4"></iframe></div><br /></div></div><p></p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-4192424644071936752023-04-19T22:40:00.001-04:002023-04-24T22:26:12.156-04:00Theme (From "The Persuaders!")<div style="text-align: left;">There have to be at least 200 videos on YouTube spotlighting - whether in the original conception or in a cover - John Barry’s theme from the early-70s Roger Moore-Tony Curtis TV series, "The Persuaders", and yet, not a single one of them is anywhere near as good as this one:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/tCpUluuGkD0" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For all the stick that Silva Screen used to receive over their less than faithful re-recordings, this is one instance where their version is unequivocally better than the original.</div>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-70298855416061288322023-03-26T21:34:00.004-04:002023-03-27T21:52:41.116-04:00Christopher Gunning (1944-2023)<p>Truth be told, I didn't know much about Christopher Gunning any more than I knew about Vangelis, Burt Bacharach, Artie Kane or Angelo Badalamenti, far more well-known (at least on this side of the pond) composers. However, there is a very good reason that I'm eulogizing Christopher Gunning:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8phR94MbhqM" width="320" youtube-src-id="8phR94MbhqM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was more than likely flipping around when I first ran across the opening of "Agatha Christie's Poirot". That theme music was truly something else. Back in the olden days when soundtrack download sites were common, I managed to score a download of the soundtrack to the show. That CD-r was very treasured to me and it wasn't until last year that I came across a physical copy of the album. The disc really shows off Gunning's versatility and that he was possessive of some impressive little grey cells of his own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He will be missed.</div>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-33385307107401108112023-03-11T21:13:00.005-05:002023-03-12T20:51:38.355-04:00You can pick the Oscars and you can pick your nose...<p>...but you can't pick Oscar's nose. With that in mind:<br /><br /><b>Picture:</b> I've only seen two of them...and the other one should not have been a feature, so I choose <i>Everything Everywhere All at Once</i>.<br /><br /><b>Actor:</b> As a hearty 'fuck you' to the people that undermined him, Brendan Fraser all the way. I'm not seeing that movie, though.<br /><br /><b>Actress:</b> Michelle Yeoh. That's my pick and the reason for doing so.<br /><br /><b>Supporting Actor:</b> There's no time for love, but it is time for an Oscar. Ke Huy Quan.<br /><br /><b>Supporting Actress:</b> Angela Bassett. Like I said, it was the 'Have I not sacrificed everything?' scene that did it.<br /><br /><b>Director(s):</b> This should give you a clue for my nod...it's The Daniels. <br /><br /><b>Original Screenplay:</b> <i>Everything Everywhere All at Once</i>...but as long as it doesn't go to <i>The Banshees of Inisherin</i>, I'll be happy.<br /><br /><b>Adapted Screenplay:</b> <i>Glass Onion</i> delivered on its mystery angle and its social commentary angle. So there.<br /><br /><b>Cinematography:</b> Haven't seen any of these movies, so I'm going by name. Mandy Walker's done fine work on <i>Mulan</i> and <i>Jane Got a Gun</i>. I trust her.<br /><br /><b>Editing:</b> <i>Everything Everywhere All at Once</i>. Keeping track of all those universes can't have been easy. That deserves a reward, I think.<br /><br /><b>Production Design:</b> If there's one thing you can count on from a Baz Luhrmann movie, it's splashy art direction. <i>Elvis</i> has entered the building.<br /><br /><b>Original Score:</b> Having heard all of the nominees, I remain firm in my desire to see <i>Babylon</i> lose this category. Even though it’s his fourth-best score for a Martin McDonagh movie, I'm pulling for Carter Burwell's <i>The Banshees of Inisherin</i>.<br /><br /><b>Original Song:</b> Probably "Naatu Naatu" from <i>RRR</i>. Just because.<br /><br /><b>Costume Design:</b> Going with Ruth Carter's work on <i>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</i>.<br /><br /><b>Sound:</b> <i>Top Gun: Maverick</i>. <br /><br /><b>Animated Feature:</b> This is one time where 'just give it to the Disney one' would suit me just fine. <i>Turning Red</i>.<br /><br /><b>Animated Short:</b> "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse" sounds promising.<br /><br /><b>Live-Action Short:</b> "Ivalu". Interesting title.<br /><br /><b>Documentary Feature:</b> <i>Fire of Love</i>. Documentaries aren't my thing, so I played Ring Spot (yes, from <i>Duck Soup</i>) with the nominees. Oh, like you wouldn't!<br /><br /><b>Documentary Short: </b>"How Do You Measure a Year?" Same principle as above.<br /><br /><b>Foreign Language Film:</b> <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i>, because they'll want to give it something.<br /><br /><b>Visual Effects:</b> <i>Avatar</i> has this locked up for as long as James Cameron is interested in making these things.<br /><br /><b>Makeup and Hairstyling:</b> Maybe avoid the fat suit projects and give it to <i>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</i>.<br /><br />Well, that's the ballot. Hope I'm not too disappointed.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9755012.post-67691930447308040212023-02-23T15:00:00.003-05:002023-02-23T17:26:00.708-05:00Sweet and sour notes.<p>Well, Varese Sarabande disappointed me just like I knew they fucking would. Not only is <i>The Time Machine</i>: the Deluxe Edition the first Club title out this year, but it’s the only one being released this week. To cheer myself up, I’m just gonna talk about the latest releases from a label that still believes in taking chances: Dragon’s Domain.</p><p><b>Dennis McCarthy - Tunes of Future Past</b> - Even if McCarthy's music worked for me (which it doesn't; I've never been a big "Star Trek" fan), this would still be the weakest of the titles. The piano work in the sound clips is nice, but the actual music isn't grabbing me. Oh, well.</p><p><b>Black Scorpion</b> (Kevin Kiner) - Back in the mid-1990s, Showtime aired a series of direct-to-video Roger Corman productions under the banner 'Roger Corman Presents'. Their mix of sex, violence and questionable plotting made them catnip to a 14-year-old with nothing to do on Thursday nights. One of the more prolific titles (having spawned two sequels and a TV series) was this one. I barely remember tuning in, but the sound clips are decent; kind of the same orchestral/electronic hybrid approach that served Kiner well on <i>Leprechaun</i>.</p><p><b>Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story</b> (Ernest Gold) - Following the label’s enjoyably eclectic compilation of the composer’s works from last year comes this release of Gold’s score for the 1985 miniseries about a Swedish diplomat who helped to save Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust. The orchestrations in the clips sound quite rich and one can never have enough scores for made-for-TV movies.</p><p><b>The Hummie Mann Collection - Vol. 2</b> - Two more Mann scores are paired together in a release: his orchestral score for Joe Dante’s riotous (and still timely) HBO satire <i>The Second Civil War</i> and an electronic effort for the director’s cut of the Jonathan Kaplan drama <i>Brokedown Palace</i>. The score was replaced by one from David Newman and I look forward to comparing the two in a future post.</p><p>The label is offering a special deal: buy all four titles and get 25% off. Not quite feeling the McCarthy, but we’ll see.</p>lonestarr357http://www.blogger.com/profile/16738966825188441820noreply@blogger.com0