Tag Archives: Movies

I have Star Wars fever (again).

Posted on by Standard 6

Star Wars Series

Image by Wyckthöor via Flickr

Damn you, George Lucas.  I’m pretty sure you could sell the proverbial air conditioner to the Eskimo (is Inuit the correct term now?) without a problem, but I bet you can also amazingly re-sell him the air conditioner that he already has just by cleaning it, maybe adding a new filter, and putting a shiny sticker on it… and repeating that process every few years for the next 30 or 40.  You are a genius.

If you took a nod from L. Ron Hubbard, you could have made potentially more money by founding the official Jedi cult.  Don’t people already try to list that as a religion for the Census?  Pass the plate!

Fanboy rant that you’ve already heard a million times over aside, George Lucas is a creative genius, and no matter how much we love to bicker about changes with new actors/voices, re-releases, re-edits, mis-colored & re-colored lightsabers, flying CGI droids, who shot first, and dancing Yoda…  it all comes down to the fact that we love the Star Wars films and feel some kind of connection to them.  If we didn’t feel so strongly about them, we (hopefully) wouldn’t waste our time bickering.  (Sorry, can’t let it go: I still want “Yub Nub” back, I hate hate hate the new Ewok song in Jedi.)

Of course I’m going to get the Blu-ray version.  To have them all in one package?  Awesome.  Seems like forever-ago that I was pontificating on what I’d like to see on a Blu-ray release.  Now that it’s almost here & available for pre-order, I’m getting jittery… like I’ve had too many cups of coffee.  Maybe I did that, too.

At any rate, this was sparked by a killer article from The Digital Bits that you might want to check out:  The 2011 Star Wars Saga Blu-rays – First Insights

Bill Hunt is a lucky bastard that got a preview of the discs, and he shares the goods with us.  Basically there are a lot of error fixes, clean ups, and a bunch of sound remastering and rebuilding.  Some cool bits…

One thing I should confirm for you at this point: The original theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy are not included on these discs. Personally, I never expected them to be. I know a lot of fans want them, but it’s clear that Lucas has no intention of making them available at least for the foreseeable future.

Figured as much.

In addition to these sorts of fixes, significant additional dirt removal has been done, more garbage matte lines have been cleaned up and other little “fixes” have been applied as well. Here’s an example of one such fix done to Episode V. For years, fans have complained that in this shot of the Wampa attacking Luke’s Tauntaun, you could see part of the puppeteer’s arm because the costume didn’t extend quite far enough… Now, that’s been fixed.

Cool.  But I hope they don’t fix the clumsy Storm Trooper…

For Episode IV, however, “getting it exactly right” required a rather extensive forensic effort, as this material just wasn’t cataloged with future surround remixes in mind. In many cases, Matt and his team went back to original analog tape recordings made in 1976 to get the best quality of all the required elements. As a result, it’s fair to say that the surround mix for Episode IV was almost completely rebuilt from scratch, with Matt comparing his work to the original print master to ensure its creative accuracy. And at every step of the way, director George Lucas and original sound supervisor Ben Burtt were consulted to ensure that the mix reproduced as closely as possible their original intent for the film’s sonic experience. In fact, Matt says he played the film’s reels many times for George, in 15-20 second chucks, to get his feedback.

Crazy.  I think I’m going to have to break down & buy a surround-sound system just for this Blu-ray release.  Maybe a better Blu-ray player too.  Any ideas on how to convince my wife why this is necessary?

Now, you’ll recall that a little bit ago, I said these should probably be best considered new 2011 versions of these films, and not the 2004 DVD versions. All the fixes and corrections alone justify this in my opinion, but there’s another reason too… and you can probably guess what it is: Once again, George has apparently added a few new “surprises” into these films. I don’t know what they are and didn’t get to see any of them on Friday, but I was assured that there will be “new things to notice” when we watch the films. I think we can safely assume that one of them will be the new all-digital Yoda in Episode I…

More tweaks?  Hopefully more archive/deleted footage put into the films in lieu of additional background lizards, droids, clones, or new musical numbers.  (Although, if more aliens popped up in the background… like the ones from Close Encounters, Alien, Predator, Cowboys & Aliens, or even a Klingon, that would be kind of geeky fun.)  I’d like to see the Revenge of the Sith ending that Simon Pegg wrote about in his book.

What the other changes to these films may be, I have no idea, but I suspect there will be no lack of blog posts on this very subject within hours of the first discs becoming available to fans.

Or even before, I bet.  Ha ha.  Get the Star Wars tissue box covers ready.

Now then, let’s move on to the extras. Is it really worth getting the Complete Saga set just to get the three extras discs? For me at least, the answer here is clear: Absolutely. Yes… I’ve now seen many of the Original Trilogy deleted scenes. No… I can’t tell you much about them (believe me, that drives me as crazy as it does you). But I was pretty surprised by them and in a good way. What I can tell you is that they are substantial – at least for the Original Trilogy. This isn’t just dribs and drabs stuff – it includes long sequences. And they’re extremely cool. Frankly, for me this is the real draw of the entire BD release. As you’ve seen in some of the teaser clips Lucasfilm has released, they’re not pristine, but most of them are in HD – at least the Original Trilogy clips. And trust me, they’re well worth seeing. It’s stuff some of you have wanted to see in good quality since 1977, along with a few things fans may not have known even existed.

Nice.  I might have to start having Star Wars nights again.

What’s more, each film has two audio commentary tracks – the ones that were on the previous DVD release as well as an all-new commentary compiled from tons of vintage and archived interviews with the cast and crew. Finally, I’m assured that there are indeed a handful of “very fun” Easter eggs scattered throughout the set.

OOOH.  How will I find these?  Ha ha.  I’m going to have to set up a Google News alert or something.  I’m never good at just finding them on my own.

Go read the main article, it’s worth it if you’re a geek… and there are some killer photos!

In with that, they point to yet another article, that says exciting things like…

On the special features, we spent 3 years sifting and digging through 30 years of material that is in the vaults at the Ranch, it’s been quite an undertaking.  We uncovered boxes that hadn’t been opened in over 20 years, it was a very dirty experience! We looked through work prints, we found dailies, we went through behind-the scenes videos, we really uncovered a slew of new gems that we’re really excited to share with the fans.

Oh what I wouldn’t give to dig through those archives.

Q: Is the holiday special on there?

A:  You’ll have to wait and see!  The holiday special is a challenge, but look for some Easter Eggs – what’s a Star Wars release without a couple of Easter Eggs?! J

I’m guessing not the whole Holiday special, but maybe a clip…  especially the Boba Fett cartoon.  A clean version of that would be excellent!  (If it exists, watch it have overdubs from Temuera Morrison

If the whole special shows up, that would be killer.  No one ever asks about the Ewok movies.  What about those?  When are we going to get more forest creatures, lost footage, and an all-new CGI Gorax?  How about Cindel & Mace running around in Jedi somewhere?

Oh yeah, maybe Troops will pop up as an easter egg!

Thanks to HarrisPoll Surveys, PNC/Visa Points, and a jar o’ change, I was able to pre-order from Amazon for only $2.49 out of pocket.

I can’t wait until it gets here!!!

Related articles

Score! Free movie passes…

Posted on by Standard 1

If you read my recent rant about going to the movies, and then read my email to & the response from the theater, they you knew this was coming.  But, it’s cool that they’re actually here.  After the last response, I did reply via email to Mr. Wilson:

From: Eric Carroll <me@my.email.address>
To: Shawn Wilson <swilson@cinemark.com>
Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010
Subject: Re: Contact Us: Quality of service at a theatre

Hello Shawn,

Thank you for the reply.  I understand that you must also be frustrated with the behavior of your patrons.  My wife & I would very much appreciate two movie passes, thank you for the offer!  My mailing address is…

Eric Carroll
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Pittsburgh, PA  XXXXX

You do have a great new beautiful theater… hopefully over time, you’ll be able to have the staff available to spot & weed-out the troublemakers.  Ha… too bad that texting is one of the bans… I’d certainly have no trouble texting the theater to point out moviegoers causing a distraction for others!

Have a good day,
-Eric
.seitilibasid gninrael fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI

And, then today, this was in my mailbox when I got home:

Cinemark Letter & Rain Check Passes

Cinemark Letter & Rain Check Passes

It’s cool that it can be used for any movie any time.  I had wondered if there would be any odd restrictions. I am serious abut the texting to report troublemakers though.  If there was a “text complaints to this # to alert managers of a disturbance/error during the film” kind of thing… it would work out pretty well… except that texting during to movie is one of those things that’s already frowned upon.  They need those buttons like they have at the bowling alley… ha ha.

At any rate, we’ll have to get back out there soon to catch a free show!

We can’t change the way people act.

Posted on by Standard Reply

So, did you read the one about our last trip to the movies?  I know it garnered more comments than most of my posts.  Comments are always appreciated!  At any rate, we have somewhat of a conclusion.  I let the theater know about our evening via webform:

From: me@my.email.address [mailto:me@my.email.address]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 10:08 PM
To: SiteTheatre
Subject: Contact Us: Quality of service at a theatre

Hello,

I my wife & I recently went to the new Cinemark in Robinson on a whim, and we had an “interesting” evening.  I posted a review of the night online, and it was brought to my attention that I ought to tell you guys about the problem directly.

More and more, a night at the movies plays out like this:  https://aixelsyd13.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/movie-night-for-schmucks/

It’s a shame to have a new beautiful theater with helpful friendly employees go downhill so fast thanks to the rudeness of the patrons, and refusal of management to enforce the theater’s policies.

Should I have gone to management right away?  I would have most certainly missed the beginning of the film.

Would the other patrons have been removed form the theater?  I’m guessing no as they were also paying customers… albeit incredibly rude paying customers.

I hope that you are able to read about my experience and share your thoughts on how I should have conducted myself in that situation.

Thank you for your time, I really look forward to hearing from you!

And, I eventually got a reply:

From: Shawn Wilson <swilson@cinemark.com>
To: me@my.email.address
Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 1:41:14 PM
Subject: FW: Contact Us: Quality of service at a theatre

Good afternoon,

Thank you for visiting our theatre and for contacting us concerning your recent visit.  I sincerely apologize that your visit was less than enjoyable.

It is certainly our goal to provide the best overall movie-going experience.  We strive to make personal contact with each one of our guests.  It may be saying hello as our guests walk in, holding open a door, carrying concession items, or greeting guests as they exit the auditoriums.  I am extremely pleased that our staff was able to have contact with you and your wife on several occasions.

I can fully understand that the positives associated with a nice theatre and a friendly staff can soon be replaced with frustration when the movie is made less than enjoyable because of the actions of fellow guests in the auditorium.  Unfortunately, it seems now-a-days, some of the public has become very inconsiderate of others.  We can’t change the way people act, but we can have our staff continue to do regular checks of each auditorium and we will correct any problem or disturbance noticed.  I apologize that we were not able to identify and correct the disturbances that you experienced.  I will review this instance with my team.

Thank you, again, for contacting us.  I am disappointed that your visit to our theatre was not perfect.  It would be my pleasure to invite you and your wife back, as our guest, for a much better experience.  If you would be so kind as to provide me with your mailing address, I will place two passes in the mail.

If I can be of any additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best regards,

Shawn Wilson
General Manager
Cinemark Robinson Twp.  #1034
2100 Settlers Ridge Center Dr.
Pittsburgh, PA  15205
Phone: 412-787-1368  Fax: 412-787-1948

Well, at least I got some free movie passes!  It’ll be interesting to see if there are any restrictions on them as far as times or anything.  But hey… a free movie isn’t a bad deal.  Maybe I’ll avoid a weekend night so we don’t get a repeat of being surrounded by idiots.

It is cool that he acknowledged the problem and apologized for the situation, even if he had to concede that there’s really nothing that he can do about it.  Hopefully the staff for that evening gets commended for being personable.

Movie Night for Schmucks

Posted on by Standard 11

So My wife & I saw Dinner for Schmucks last night.  Great movie, had some really funny parts.  This blog really isn’t about the movie though… more the experience.

I hate going to the theater more & more.  We were out & about in Robinson & decided to hit up the new Cinemark theater.

I always get there early, and get a good seat… almost to the point of ridiculousness.  OK, it is the point of ridiculousness.  I like to get there as soon as it’s seating, so I can get my seat near the back, in the middle.  I realize that it’s not exactly normal.

On the other end… people were filing in up until the very second it started, acting appalled that some people had arrived on time & they couldn’t find the seat they wanted.  All of the “good” spots had been taken by then… of course the front few rows (as always) were empty, but no one wanted to sit there.  We had to suffer a host of  “excuse me”, “sorry”, and “can I get through?” during the pre-movie commercials and previews.  If I owned a theater –  once the previews started, there would be no entry.  You should have gotten there on time, and taken into consideration time to get food or pee or whatever else you need to do before going in to see a movie.

Of course, seconds before the movie began… Immediately to my right, sat an older woman who smelled like she had just sampled every perfume in the mall.  She kept putting her arm on top of mine on the arm rest, and making an audible “uh” of disgust when I didn’t relinquish my claim.  As I stated before, I got there (admittedly) insanely early to lay my claim to my seat… including the arm rest that I paid $9 for, that’s also holding my overpriced half Coke/half blue-whatever-it-was ICEE in the cup holder.

The woman who’s mouth was as loud as her stench opened & munched quite audibly on a smuggled can of Pringles.  I don’t mean the little cans that you can buy at Sheetz.  This was a giant full-sized can of Pringles.  I don’t want to know where she was hiding it.Then came the 20 oz. bottle of Diet Coke, opened with a deafening fizz, and guzzled like she hadn’t drank anything for days.  Her daughter/friend/whatever had a crinkling bag of freaking chips.

When I put my hand in the air with a “WTF?” look on my face and simply said “Really?” to Bethany, she just laughed and shook her head in amazement.  The previously loud olfactory-challenged woman attempted to mutter a “get over it” and went on munching and gulping away like she was a pig at her trough.

I get that the theater food is way-overpriced, and it’s joked about to a cliché level any time the subject is brought up.  But here’s the thing… it’s part of the overall experience.  Either suck it up & get it, or just pass.  Do you really need to munch on Pringles during the movie?

To Bethany’s left we had two guys in their late-teens or early 20’s who were the texting-during-the-movie dunderheads.  They repeated unfunny lines as if they were funny & laughed and kept asking each other what they missed because they were texting.  I wonder how someone makes it through life when they’re at this level of intelligence.

At the beginning of the movie, there was the Sprint commercial that reminded you that movies don’t interrupt your phone calls, so you shouldn’t interrupt the movie.  There were also at least two other theater-generated messages that ask you not to talk, answer your phone, or text during the movie… and even asking you to tun the phone off, or at least silence it.

I had even remarked before the film how it’s sad that Cinemark feels the need to do that.  The only problem is that it doesn’t work on the people for whom it’s intended.  They don’t care anyway.  Apparently, rules don’t apply to them. These are the same people who park in handicapped spots or over yellow cross-hatch lines.  They’re the same people who throw non-recyclables in to the recycling bin (I have an issue with recycling and it’s overall energy waste/consumption in general, but I’m not an ass).  These are the people that don’t return the carts.  They talk on their phones holding up the line at Quiznos.  They don’t double-flush the public toilet after taking a disastrous dump.

I could have gone to theater management and complained… but another remarkable thing about the theater was that we passed two guys in suits & managerial name tags while getting into the concession line, neither of them once looked in our direction or welcomed us into the theater.  Everyone else was quite friendly.  The girl who rang us up at the concession stand remarked about my amusing Dead from Lobster T-shirt.  The one kid who was sweeping up the hallway even opened to door for Bethany as she went to the restroom.  I think the same kid told us to have a good night as we exited the auditorium.

What would management have done in this case?  Would they have thrown out the people on either side of us?  I doubt it.  They were all also paying customers.  Would I have missed the beginning of the movie that I just paid to see?  Undoubtedly.

What would the solution have been here?  Perhaps they need to better police for outside snacks and glaring cell-phone screens.  Maybe you need searched before entry like a ball-park, or like an old saloon where you check weapons at the door… so must cell-phones be relinquished.  In the case of the woman beside me, they’d need her to also pass a test from that smell-detector machine I saw on CSI once.

I think I’d even pay more of my hard-earned money to go to a theater where they would weed out the schmucks.

Learn some manners, Pittsburgh!

Favorite movies from my childhood…

Posted on by Standard 5

I felt like listing some of my favorite movies from when I was a kid.  They’re in no particular order, just how they came to mind.  Some are 80’s movies, some are earlier, with a few early 90’s ones thrown in.  They were all new to me with the advent of home video rental stores.  We used to go to this place called Network Video, & eventually the general store by my house started renting videos too.

I keep adding to the list as some of these movies remind me of others, I may have to do a part 2 or something someday…

Star Wars | Original Trilogy

  • Star Wars – This one’s obvious.  I’m talking the whole original trilogy here.  I really don’t feel the need to elaborate.

    • Ghostbusters

  • Ghostbusters – I remember laughing hysterically at “We came, we saw, we kicked some ass!”  This was the perfect mix of creepy and funny for a kid like me.  I used to rent this one all the time.  I even loved the Saturday morning cartoon.

    • The Goonies

  • The Goonies – I have probably watched this more than any other movie on the list, except maybe Star Wars.  I can still watch this over & over again.  As a kid, it was really easy to be immersed in this movie.  I have felt a little bit like Mikey, Data, Mouth, & Chunk many times.  I just saw something about the original cast reuniting for a 25th anniversary celebration.

    • Gremlins

  • Gremlins – Who didn’t want a Mogwai after seeing this movie?  Regardless of the danger, Gizmo would be the best pet ever.  I actually remember the gremlins being kind of scary too.  (Hey, I was 7 when this came out.)

    • Monster Squad

  • The Monster Squad – This was like “Goonies vs. the Universal Monsters” to me… so, of course, I loved it.  Mr. Alucard called for you.  How scary is that?  This made me want to start a monster club myself.  I may just have to get this on Blu-ray… even thought I already have the VHS & DVD…

    • The Last Starfighter

  • The Last Starfighter – The movie for anyone who’s ever imagined that they’re actually in a video game.  Great plot-line for a kid who likes video games, or sci-fi.  From what I understand, it was one of the first movies to have major use of computer generated graphics.

    • Batman (1989)

  • Batman (1989) – I remember thinking (even at a young age) “Michael Keaton?  The guy from Mr. Mom, Gung Ho, & Beetlejuice?”  I was as surprised as the rest of the world when it turned out to be the scariest and most awesome Batman movie to date.  The comic book nerd in me was overly pleased with Nicholson’s Joker too.  Even though he had always been portrayed in the comics as a lanky degenerate loon… Nicholson seemed to capture the spirit of insanity perfectly in that cool demeanor that only he could deliver.

    • Batman (1966 film)

  • Batman (1966) – I loved the TV show in reruns as a kid, it was like a 60’s comic come to life in all its campy glory.  Plus, the Joker, Riddler, The Penguin, and Catwoman all in one movie?  Wow!  Ha ha ha.  This one still has the coolest Batmobile.

    • Explorers

  • Explorers – Space travel… with a home computer, a Tilt-A-Whirl car, and a junkyard.  What’s not to love about this one?  Again, to a kid, this all seemed quite plausible.  This could have been “Goonies in Space”.  Ha ha ha.

    • Leonard Part 6

  • Leonard Part 6 – Part 6 of a nonexistent line of films… Bill Cosby fends off mutant vegetarians with magic meat.  It burns them like holy water on vampires.  That alone will make you want to watch this even though Cosby hated it and spoke out against seeing it while he was supposed to be promoting the film.

    • The Experts

  • The Experts – Does anyone else remember this movie at all?  There doesn’t seem to be much  about it on the web.  It’s classic 80’s comic Commie cheese.  Two guys, one John Travolta and one other dude are somehow transplanted to a 1950’s style town in Russia set up as an experiment…  where the people think they’re in 1950’s USA.  It’s like Pleasantville, only not.

    • Cloak & Dagger

  • Cloak & Dagger – This was another one where you could really imagine being the kid in the film.  This YouTube clip sums up the mood quite well.  It’s a great kid-centered spy movie with a good deal of action, if I remember right.

    • Funny Farm

  • Funny Farm – This has got to be one of the most absolutely hilarious movies ever.  Andy Farmer is driven to the brink of insanity by an incredibly odd small town and a series of classic (& at the time still funny) Chevy Chase pratfalls.  The telephone operator,  Yellow Dog, mutton balls… all favorite movie moments.

    • WarGames

  • WarGames – Yeah, I just wrote about this one.  Every kid with a computer envisioned hacking into a government computer… or at least hacking into something… and this was all before the internet.

    • Flight of the Navigator

  • Flight of the Navigator – This movie is excellent.  I know I wore out the VHS, and watched it every time I happened to catch it on TV.  Alien abduction, a morphing spacecraft, time anomalies, government conspiracies.  Intense!

    • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – I loved this move and still crave Reese’s Pieces every time I think about it.  I wanted to build a communication device with my record player too.  This movie probably started my distrust of the government.

    • Weird Science

  • Weird Science – Geek movie extreme, with that 80’s “my life will end if I don’t get laid” vibe.  Less believable than WarGames, more believable than Explorers… Sort of.  I never watched the TV show that this spawned, but the movie was a favorite.  Oh yeah, the theme song was cool too!

    • Willow

  • Willow – Best fantasy movie ever?  Maybe.  It had a 2-headed dragon, sorcerers, a hero, an unwilling little-person hero, tiny funny guys, a villain that looked like Skeletor, and endless amounts of awesome.

    • Back to the Future

  • Back to the Future Trilogy – If there was an order to this list, this would be very near the top.  These movies were fast paced, exciting, and visually stunning.  This is what movies should be like.  Plus, Christopher Lloyd is bat-shit-nuts and that’s always entertaining.

    • Project X

  • Project X – As a kid, I loved monkeys, chimps, gorillas, and pretty much any primate.  Pop them into an action thriller, and of course I was hooked.  This is probably another reason why I distrust government so much.

    • Big Trouble in Little China

  • Big Trouble in Little China – This movie is just ridiculous.  Martial arts, Uzis, lightning bolts, and Kurt Russell.  What more do you need to throw in to have a winning movie?  Oh yeah, creepy monsters and a Chinese sorcerer.  That’s what.

    • Indiana Jones

  • Indiana Jones Trilogy – Yeah, just the first 3 here… they were, after all, the only ones out when I was a child.  Indiana Jones is the movie hero.  The hat, the whip, the attitude… it’s iconic.  These would also be at the top of an ordered list.  I think that goes without saying.

    • The Last Dragon

  • The Last Dragon – Martial arts plus Motown.  We used to watch this during lock-ins where I took Taekwondo as a kid.  Bruce Leroy vs. Sho’Nuff had a very Jedi-like vibe, and there was lightning.  This is super cheesy, but it’s what makes it a great flick.  Sho’Nuff!!!

    • Coming to America

  • Coming to America – Ah.  Once upon a time Eddie Murphy was funny, & not afraid to say dirty words.  Sadly… this movie probably sparked the fat-suit movies to follow with Eddie and Arsenio playing multiple roles.  But there are so many things in this film to love…  McDowell’s, Soul Glo, Sexual Chocolate.  Priceless.

    • Enter the Dragon

  • Enter the Dragon – Bruce Lee’s final film, and (I think) the first one that I saw.  What kid doesn’t love martial arts movies?  The crazy mirrored room scene is my favorite.

    • Star Trek

  • Star Trek series – Yeah, I like both Star Wars and Star Trek.  Star Wars is more awesome, but don’t get me started.  In school, a lot of us nerdy kids were into Star Trek… the show, the movies, the shows that came after…  it was awesome.  The play between Kirk, Spock, & Bones gets better & better with each film in the series!

    • The Karate Kid

  • The Karate Kid – As a kid in a Taekwondo class, I loved these movies.  All three were good, but especially the first one.  (We’ll forget about The Next Karate Kid, and the new Jackie Chan one.)  I wanted to be the Karate Kid, only in a Cobra Kai uniform.  “Sweep the leg!”

    • Labyrinth

  • Labyrinth – This movie still creeps me out.  David Bowie’s Goblin King is more than a little creepy.  The Muppets here are the stuff of nightmares… almost as bad as the ones in The Dark Crystal.  This is like a darker Wizard of Oz type film… it really put me in another world.

    • The Dark Crystal

  • The Dark Crystal – We need more creepy Muppet movies.  Forget this GCI and 3-D stuff, I want puppets and stop-motion!  I honestly can’t even tell you the full plot, but I watched this several times and loved it.

    • Just one of the Guys

  • Just One of the Guys – I think this became a favorite just because I’ve seen it so many times.  I mean, it was always on.  And, there was like 3 seconds of boobs.

    • Short Circuit

  • Short Circuit – Johnny 5 is alive!  No disassemble!  Very funny childlike innocence in a robot come to life thanks to a lightning bolt.  Wacky comedic adventure,  loved this one.

    • The Princess Bride

  • The Princess Bride – A very funny tale with the infamous Inigo Montoya.  All movies should be this fun.

    • The Toy

  • The Toy – If you’ve never seen this, I recommend going to get it right away… or any Pryor movie except Superman III.  It’s just fun & goofy.  The Wonder-wheel is my favorite part.  And, there’s a lesson in there somewhere…

    • Revenge of the Nerds

  • Revenge of the Nerds – This movie made me want to be a nerd, if I wasn’t one already.  The 2nd one wasn’t all that bad, ether.  I think this made me want to start a nerd band too.

    • Police Academy

  • Police Academy series – I generally like all of these movies… I think I wanted to be Larvell Jones, or at least Zed.  Heh.  The eyebrow gag is the best…  I love movies that are just goofy to be goofy.

    • Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend

  • Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend – Perhaps this is why I still believe in the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and Mokèlé-mbèmbé… and why I say “No problem!” all the time.

  • “Crocodile Dundee” – For a while in the 80’s, there seemed to be this odd obsession with all things Australian.  I don’t know if this was a cause of that or just another part of the wave, but I remember thinking how cool Australia was for quite a long time.  It was a like a fresh quirky cowboy movie.  The Simpsons episode where Bart prank calls Australia also pokes fun at this fascination.

    • The NeverEnding Story

  • The NeverEnding Story – What kid didn’t love this film when it came out?  It was visually amazing, sad, exciting, a little scary… it was an incredible adventure.  I bet Gmork would still scare me if I watched it now…

    • Don't Tell Mom, The Babysitter' Dead

  • Don’t Tell Mom, The Babysitter’s Dead – This movie has two things; the line “The dishes are done, man!” and Christina Applegate.  All I needed in 1991 was Christina Applegate. I would of watched 3 hours of her doing anything. Ha ha ha.

    • PredatorPredator

  • Predator – This movie was scary and thrilling.   It has one of the best movie lines ever… Jesse Ventura’s “I Ain’t got time to bleed.” …as well as many others.  This kind of film is so easy to get drawn into.  I was in this world when watching this film.  Heat vision?  Invisibility?  I think I wanted to be the Predator… ha ha ha.

    • I could go on with the Superman films, Spinal Tap, Dick Tracy, Howard the Duck, Harry and the Hendersons, Moving, Aliens, Beetlejuice, Gorillas in the Mist, The ‘Burbs, One Crazy Summer, Planet of the Apes, Gleaming the Cube, Pump up the Volume, King Kong, the Godzilla flicks,  so many good ones…

    Global Thermonuclear War

    Posted on by Standard 1

    Those are still scary words.  Ha ha ha.  ☢

    Today, I was made aware (via ThinkGeek on Twitter) that this was the day in 1983 that the movie WarGames was released.  This is one that’s at the top of my “favorite movies from my childhood” list.

    Another Twitter post (from TB5918) linked to some cool WarGames sounds at Movie Sounds Central.

    When I was younger, the USSR was still around and there was this really weird thin Cold War line between them being the enemy or a friend.  It was clear that our respective governments were unsure of the other, but the people in each place were just curious about each other.  They were a great movie bad guy.  Every stock film bad guy was a Communist from the USSR because they were so easy to identify and to fear.

    WarGames not only appealed to the budding computer geek in me, but it really pointed out to me that maybe the Soviets weren’t the bad guy.  Maybe we were.  Maybe no one was.  Plus, the whole machines taking over thing kind’ve messed with my little mind.

    I was also fascinated with how he hacked a payphone.  I never did get to try that out.  (For the kids, this is a payphone.)

    I know my parents had to spend mad cash on renting this VHS (and possibly Betamax, we had one of those first…) for me multiple times.  I have it on DVD at home somewhere now.  I rescued it from the Walmart $5 DVD mid-aisle bin.

    I really recommend checking this out if you’ve never seen it or if you have no idea what I’m talking about.  If you have seen it, go watch it again!  (Hey – even Rotten Tomatoes likes it.)

    I’m gonna have to make a “Favorite movies from my childhood” list.

    Maybe I can convince the wife that we need to watch this tonight, to mark the occasion…

    WarGames | JOSHUA

    Joshua

    Star Wars Night – Movie Order?

    Posted on by Standard 7

    We finally decided on a starting date for a continuing series of Star Wars movie nights at our house, so “Cut the chatter, Red 2.  Accelerate to attack speed!”

    We need to decide on a movie order.  Chronologically, they go like this, I think…

    • Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
    • Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
    • Star Wars: Clone Wars (animated microseries)
    • Star Wars: The Clone Wars (3D CGI movie)
    • Star Wars: The Clone Wars (3D CGI series)
    • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
    • Star Wars: Droids (animated series)
    • Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
    • Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
    • Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (made for TV movie)
    • Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (made for TV movie)
    • Star Wars: Ewoks (animated series)
    • Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

    Then we have a bunch of other stuff that could be included…

    • The Star Wars Holiday Special
    • Fanboys
    • Family Guy: Blue Harvest
    • Family Guy: Something Something Something, Dark Side
    • Robot Chicken: Star Wars
    • Spaceballs
    • Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (Hey, Mark Hamill & Carrie Fisher are both in it, right…?)

    We could also do a night with Hardware Wars, Thumb Wars, Troops, and any other recommended Star Wars fan/parody shorts.

    There’s the issue of IV, V, & VI.  Do we watch the laserdisc rips, the latest DVD release, or both?

    There’s the issue of watching them in release order vs. chronological order, too.

    We could watch the 6 movies, then the other stuff.  We could watch the 7 movies (including the CGI Clone Wars one) then the other stuff…  We could sandwich in the Ewok movies where they belong…

    So many choices, it’s like trying to successfully navigate an asteroid field.  Don’t tell me the odds, just vote below!  You can pick two choices if you’re indecisive like me…