The Movie Meme

I got this via email but chose to post it on the blog instead.  If you feel inclined, copy and fill it in yourself.

Name a film that you have seen more than 10 times.
All of the (original) Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies.  They are like holy trinities in our house :)
 
Name a film that you’ve seen multiple times in the cinema.
(blushing) I've seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 three times now.

Name an actor/actress that would make you more inclined to see a film.
Emma Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Claire Danes, Sam Rockwell, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Benicio Del Toro to name a few.

  
Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a film.
David Spade, Vin Diesel, or anyone that is a rapper, professional athlete, "reality" TV star or WWE wrestler.

Name a film that you can and do quote from.
Me? Quote a movie? Never! Although, the very bad Gentlemen Broncos is SO quote worthy.
 
Name a film musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. 

Name a film that you would recommend everyone see.
I took this to mean a movie that leaves you with a different perspective so I chose Persepolis, a sophisticated coming of age animated film about a girl set in Iran during the 80's revolution.

Ever walked out of a film?
No but I've turned off many movies that I've rented. I'm lookin' at you, Paranormal Activity!

Name a film that made you cry in the theater.
Steel Magnolias. I saw it with my mom and we both bawled.

How often do you go to the theater (as opposed to renting/watching at home)?
I probably go to the theater three or four times a year but I would like to make an effort to go more frequently.
 
What’s the last film you saw in the theater?
Black Swan.  Mmmmmmm, Mila.... 
 
What’s your favorite/preferred genre of film?
 Black comedies and Indie flicks. Although I have a deep love of Sci-Fi and action films.


What’s the first film you remember seeing in the theater?
The Empire Strikes Back

What film do you wish you had never seen?
I can't think of one but most recent Christmas movies are crap. I get in the mood to endure something I'd normally never watch 'for the holidays' and then realize I should have spent that two hour time period shopping or wrapping.

What is the scariest film you’ve seen?
Agnes of God scared the shit out of me as a kid.  Also, the Ring gave me nightmares.  Still, I'd have to go with The Exorcist as all-time scariest.

If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be?
Princess Leia, obviously! 

Total number of films you own on DVD and video.
Probably fifty or so? I'm not counting pirated copies.

Last film you bought.
Across the Universe.  It is so worth owning just for background music.
 
Last film you watched.
Watched No Country for Old Men last night.

Five films that mean a lot to you.

These are movies that I've loved at different times in my life.
The Sound of Music - The first movie I ever loved.  My grandma used to play the record to get me to take a nap.
The Karate Kid - My brothers and I wore this VHS tape out
Reality Bites - The college years.  This was often played at the maxi-pad.
Rear Window - I took a film class and immediately fell in love with Alfred Hitchcock.

The Big Lebowski - Reminds me of Matt. :)

Looking Forward

HAPPY 2011, Y'ALL! Two weeks in and it's too soon to tell how this year will pan out but I remain hopeful that good things are on the horizon. One thing is certain - as far as entertainment, this year has me looking forward to a lot of awesomeness:

January 18 
The Decemberists will release The King is Dead which I have already heard and which is already proven to be better than their last effort.  I am a little surprised by the country turn they've taken but they also capture an early R.E.M. sound (probably due to Peter Buck contributing some riffs) that is very pleasing to me.  You can sample the single "Down by the Water" below which features Gillian Welch. Sounds good to me.




January 21
Portlandia premieres on IFC.  This is a big deal for me, being a die-hard, long time fan of Sleater-Kinney. (AKA the best female rock band EVER!) Although I am sad that Carrie Brownstein quit writing her excellent blog, Monitor Mix, I am thrilled that she is giving comedy a try.  And who better to partner up with than Fred Armisen of SNL?  Also, how cool is it that they film in Portland?  I hear there are a lot of local celebs with cameos and minor roles.



March 8
I am addicted to video games.  Always have been since our first Atari and I don't care who knows it.  One of my recent favorites is an action/adventure game called Dragon Age and I hear that they are releasing a sequel this spring.  I hope my thumbs can take another blight! (Don't hate, I know you're jealous of my mad skillz.)

 

April 22
I read Water for Elephants in two days, partly because it was the first book I got on my Kindle and partly because I couldn't put it down.  I really want to see this movie, even if R. Pat is a ginger :) Mostly, I'm looking forward to seeing Christoph Waltz play another bad guy.

 July 15
Deathly Hallows Part 2 brings an end to the Harry Potter series.  I'm just as sad that it is ending as I am giddy with anticipation. I found some snippets online and it looks like it will be as amazing as part one, which, I am not ashamed to say, I have seen three times in the theater now.  Loved. It.

Of course, I have made a few resolutions such as finding gainful employment, keeping a positive attitude when things are rough and trying to be generally more healthy but in case I should fall short of these, I'm glad for the little distractions to help keep me sane.

31 Days of Music -- Day 19

Favorite song from a movie/tv soundtrack 

While it would be easy to pick anything from any Quentin Tarrantino or John Cusack movie (he's really a soundtrack actor, isn't he?) I am picking two songs from movies that are not even great but have great music.

Stevie Nicks & Sheryl Crow -" If you Ever Did Believe" from Practical Magic

This was really a forgettable movie but I always loved the soundtrack.   Sheryl and Stevie harmonize so well together.

Crash Test Dummies feat. Ellen Reid - "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" from Dumb and Dumber.  

This could be one of the stupidest films I ever paid to see but again, killer soundtrack.  I mostly think it's cool that they chose to do an XTC cover.  No one gives them props.

Brother, Auteur

My brother Ryan is a weird dude. I say that under the assumption that he'll never read my blog but even if he did, I mean it as a total compliment as I generally hold weird people in high regard. Growing up, he was always the quietest yet most rebellious of three kids who each had a knack for finding trouble (typical "middle child syndrome" -- I suppose he had to push it to the next level as a means of getting attention.) He hung out with a rough crowd and found himself in trouble with the law early and often. Usually he was only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time but I wouldn’t go so far as to call him innocent on all counts.

Now that he’s well on the other side of his teenage riot years, he has mellowed out quite a bit but he is still close friends with some of those guys that used to terrorize the neighborhood. It’s funny to think of them all grown up with kids and jobs and girlfriends and responsibilities. Ryan himself has a great girlfriend and a great house and gets along great with our parents whom he used to torture with his deviant behavior.

Being an adult, I suppose the only way for my bad boy bro to get a thrill now is through movies so it is no surprise to me that he's a huge fan of films by Quentin Tarrantino and Robert Rodriguez. He so loved the Grindhouse double feature that he and his buddy came up with an outline for a trilogy of campy, B horror/action movies of their own in tribute. The first in the series would be Bloodsucking Lesbians, followed by Psycho Sluts From Hell. Wrapping up the ménage a trios would be their masterwork, simply titled, Say Hi To Satan. To hear them go on and on, I'm certain that many long nights of heavy drinking went in to the crafting of these tales. They had them written, cast and shot in their minds and each one was to be busting at the seems with sassy dialog, gratuitous (lesbian) sex, ample blood and highly choreographed explosions.

So it was with a bit of regret that my brother told me about a recently released movie which seems to encompass much of what his beloved trilogy was to represent. Since his dream may never come to fruition, and since this is just too damn funny not to share, I give you Bitch Slap:

Seriously?

Alternate title, “A Serious Letdown”

We recently watched the new Coen Brothers flick, A Serious Man and it has left me seriously puzzled. With few exceptions (The Man Who Wasn’t There) I love everything Ethan and Joel have done. This one left me with more questions than answers. While I’ve decided to watch again and see if I change my mind, for right now, I am giving one thumb halfway down for sheer lack of satisfaction. But then, maybe that’s the point?

Anyone else have thoughts on this or any other Oscar nominated movies?

An Answer to the Musical Question: Is this It?

Part of the fun of having just four days left in my career at Ferguson is that, well, nobody really gives a shit anymore. For the last week especially I’ve seen these managers who have been the embodiment of Professionalism for the last six years start to finally act like themselves. And surprisingly, "themselves" is a bunch of star-crazed celebrity stalkers. I realized this Friday when our big boss took us all out to see the Michael Jackson concert movie This is It.

Honestly, I didn’t want to go. Despite the promise of an afternoon off, I haven’t been an MJ fan since I was a kid and I certainly don’t think we should canonize the guy because he died suddenly. But, hey it was free and everyone else was going – I thought I’d just munch popcorn and make fun of the outrageous production. I was fully expecting a shameful last grope for the investors. This was after all slated to be the biggest concert in the history of the world and now it is not going to happen. But, where typical concert movies are overly produced, the intimacy of this footage made me feel less like I was at a concert and more like I somehow snuck in to the front row of a private performance. There are no crowds of screaming and crying fans to have to endure (with the exception of a small crowd of dancers who watch from offstage). The performances are well rehearsed but not completely polished and the director, lighting engineers and choreographers break in from time to time to go through details of a show in progress. The song selection is what you’d expect although I could have done without all the ballads.

Two of the highlights are Smooth Criminal and The Way You Make Me Feel, both of which get super-sized for the stage. Throughout the entire show, we see some of the most talented dancers, singers and musicians working today. The chick guitar player especially impressed and surprised the shit out of me. And we get to see the Michael Jackson that we haven’t seen for decades: the insanely gifted artist and performer.

While I’m not convinced the guy wasn’t a creepy weirdo in his personal life, he was truly one of the best in his profession and even if you can’t stand what he became, This is It offers a glimpse at what he was before all that - the undisputed King of Pop.

Labor-Free Days

We had a great holiday weekend. Really, it was three days of top notch, non-stop fun with a wide range of friends and family enjoying the end of summer.

We hit Gustav’s Bier Stube Friday night with the Hermans. The menu there never disappoints - seriously, I could live on that fondue. Afterwards there were more drinks at our house followed by drunken attempts at Facebook. Luckily I didn’t post anything too regrettable or embarrassing but April needs to be banished from my computer room.

Saturday we met Tom and Shannon at Rogue Brewery downtown. They were specifically here to shop and make us feel bad for not visiting them in Tacoma but really, we spent about 12 hours together eating and drinking our way through the Pearl district. We also hit a free art show, a hat shop, a few boutiques and many bars before settling down at Serrato for dinner where we enjoyed great ambience, good wine (which I spilled) and satisfying risotto. Also lots of suck talking. We ended the night with dessert at Papa Hayden. All I’m saying is Chocolate Cube. Seriously, I’m counting the days until their next visit!

On Sunday I saw 500 Days of Summer with Mom, aunt Tina and Jo. It was cute but it tried a little hard to be an arty flick. And is it just me or does Joseph Gordon-Levitt look a lot like Heath Ledger these days? In any case, it was fun to have a girls’ day out, just with family. Later that night we drank more beers with the Bills and played the new Tomb Raider game on PS3. It’s not the best in the TR series but Lara Croft’s gun slinging action and cartoon boobs always delight. Around midnight Nikki and I sang a sloppy birthday greeting to Janie in Vegas. We surely miss you and Kaylee!

Cheers to Janie on her 37th! Hope you had a great time despite our late night singing.

Matt and I had the ultimate married couples’ cliché day on Monday – breakfast, Starbucks, Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond. I got some new pillows and a new duvet. Is there anything better than the feeling of 600 thread count percale? We then puttered around and played Fallout 3 most of the afternoon. Yes, we’ve each already played the game through but we decided to be evil this time to see how it compares. Either way, this is fast becoming my all-time favorite game. He then treated me to a dang good pot roast for dinner and we started in on the second season of True Blood. I'm really liking this... not sure if it's the story the characters or how hot and seductive they make the vampires seem but it is another winner from Alan Ball, (the guy who brought us Six Feet Under.) Three hours flew by... a much deserved veggie fest at the end of an eventful three days.

Glorious.

It takes a special movie to get me inside a theater these days. Ever since investing in a home theater system consisting of HDTV with Blu-Ray player and surround sound, there is almost no need except for the popcorn – it’s a fact microwaveable can’t compare to real movie theater popcorn!

But, last weekend we were invited to check out the new Tarantino joint, Inglorious Basterds and luckily, it was well worth the expense.

Yes, there was a lot of gratuitous violence. Yes, it was another ‘quirky’ role for Brad Pitt. Yes, there were some irritating yet trademark chapter titles. But who cares? It’s the ultimate revenge flick – a bunch of Jews get to stomp the shit out of Nazis and we all have fun watching. Not only that, Tarantino surprises by not using any of his usual crew of performers. Probably the casting departure was necessitated by the fact that two thirds of the film is in French and German, another surprise to me.

But, the biggest and best surprise was the performance of Austrian actor Christoph Waltz as a Nazi colonel. The first scene of the film is so brilliantly paced and acted… the interrogation of a French dairy farmer had me riveted. Two weiner schnitzel licking thumbs up.

What. The. Hell.

I just read this article. Seriously? Three guys who are best known as Harvey Milk, Ace Ventura and Che Guevara (Sean Penn, Jim Carey and Benicio Del Toro) are going to team up under the direction of the Farrelly Brothers to play the Three Stooges. Is this going to be pure comedic genius or a big colossal waste of $10.50? I'm picturing a talking butt/eye jab montage for the 2011 Oscars...

There’s Bad, There’s Worse, and Then There’s BB

I was talking movies with one of the younger guys at work who recently told me I didn’t like any good movies. His version of “good” was anything starring Colin Farrell. Mine was anything directed by the Coen Brothers. We agreed to disagree though, I’m pretty certain my definition of a good movie is fairly consistent with people who know what makes a good movie.

But, to loosely quote my college film instructor, “You can’t appreciate a good film until you’ve seen a bad one.” So lest I sound like a total film snob, here’s my list of terrible movies that I secretly love. Most of them, especially those made in the 80’s, are dear to me because of where, when, and with whom I watched them; not because of any hidden cinematic genius. Feel free to ridicule me at will but I doubt you’ve even heard of a few of these gems:

Deadly Friend – 1986
This one tops the list because, I assure you, it is ridiculous. The synopsis: A geeky yet brilliant boy develops an artificially intelligent robot named BB. Said boy is in love with his best friend who is, conveniently, the girl next door. The girl next door tragically dies and the boy revives her with parts from the robot. Reanimated and pissed, the robo-girl-next-door goes on a vengeful killing spree and oh, what fun we have for the next hour. I watched this with two of my friends because we were big Nightmare on Elm Street fans (this crapper was also directed by Wes Craven). We may have been the only people to watch it on purpose. We may also have been the only people to watch it again.

The Last Dragon – 1985
Here’s another obscure one. Despite the cult following, I don’t think I know anyone who has seen this movie besides my brothers and me. And what a shame! They are missing out on the biggest, badass kung-fu villain ever. “SHO’ NUFF!”

My Chauffeur – 1986
OK, MOST romantic comedies do not fall under the “good movie” category but we give them a little grace because they are not intended to be great cinema. This one, however, is awful even for the genre but I watched it at a slumber party and so the otherwise forgettable flick is tangled among my pre-teen memories. Do you know what to do when you see a blue haired woman walking a blue dog? If you’ve seen this movie, you do.

Tremors – 1990
This is the inspiration for this blog. Every time I catch a bit of it on TV, I have to finish watching it. The story is so unrealistic but the gun-crazed survivalist couple played by Reba McIntyre and the dad from Family Ties crack me up, still. And Kevin Bacon actually achieved desirability as a hunky hick in nut-hugging Wranglers. I probably shouldn’t have admitted that.

Bloodsport – 1988
Yet another Porter family favorite. Upon renting this movie, my brothers and I watched it, oh, probably 20 times before returning it to the video store. From then on, any time a piece of Styrofoam needed to be broken down to fit in to the trash, the “Death Touch” scene was dutifully reenacted. Jean Claude Van Damme, I never wanted you more (or since).

Satisfaction – 1988
Poor Justine Bateman. Almost right after she landed the starring role in this movie, Julia Roberts hit it big and what would have been JB’s major motion picture debut was reissued with a new name (Girls of Summer?) showcasing Ms. Big Lips as the “headliner”. And both versions were really terrible. So I guess the original title was apt.

Tank Girl – 1995
I am usually VERY forgiving of movies based on comics but this was really poorly made. Still, you gotta love the spunkiness of Tank and Jet and the soundtrack kicks ass. “P-p-p-POW!”

The Matchmaker – 1997
You know I love me some Janeane. Ignore the political preachiness -- watch it for the glorious scenery and the abundance of Irish brogue. Also, the version of “Raglan Road” that the guy sings in the bar gives me goose bumps even if this is the most unconvincing love story you’ve ever seen.

But I’m A Cheerleader – 1999
The campy gay rehabilitation camp movie. Was the director really trying to make a statement with this outlandish premise? It doesn’t really matter; Clea DuVall just does it for me.