I've gotten behind on logging our nightly movies. We've watched:
Carnival of Souls (1962) -- again, with Mike Nelson commentary. I really dug this movie. How can you go wrong with an emotionally disconnected athiest church organist who is compelled to visit a long-abandoned Mormon amusement park?
Double Indemnity (1944) -- I read the novel years ago and I'm pretty sure the ending is different, but I can't remember exactly what happens. It's always weird to see Fred MacMurray as a killer with a tendency to refer to women as "baby". He's equally evil in The Apartment, but in a different way.
Autofocus (2002) -- well, that couldn't have been any more depressing. Greg Kinnear is really good in this, and it's too bad people don't give him more credit for his acting ability. I know, I remember him as the Talk Soup Guy too. When I was a kid, my parents mentioned to me several times that one of my mom's college roommates (from the Dallas area, where he did dinner theater) went out with Bob Crane a few times. There's no way they have any clue about what he was into or they probably wouldn't think that was something to brag about, especially to a little kid. Yikes.
Blacula (1972) -- this was better than I thought it would be, with an unsurprisingly awesome soundtrack. Now we have to rent Scream, Blacula, Scream with Pam Grier, the Queen of All Women.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) -- dude, I nearly choked to death laughing at the rumble scene. How did I never hear about that? Completely unexpected. And the rest of the movie was funny too.
We also spent an evening watching my new DVD set of Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease. Stop laughing; it's good, not-boring exercise! And in case you're wondering, she doesn't get naked in the videos. I've always wanted to be healthier and a better dancer, so this is probably my only chance to realize that dream in one shot. I realize that at best, I'll probably end up with all the natural dancing mojo of Napoleon Dynamite.
It seems like we watched other movies too, but I'll be danged if I can remember what right now. It was a really weird week. We did finish watching all the episodes of Lost from last year, so we're geared up for the season premier September 21st.
Monday, August 15, 2005
This video makes me happy
This is a video of a guy skateboarding in a bowl (like an empty indoor swimming pool) full of blue balloons. Wheeee!
Link originally seen on Pop Culture Junk Mail.
Link originally seen on Pop Culture Junk Mail.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Dream Journal
I said I'd list the movies we've watched so far from our Dream Journal, so here goes:
June 24:
Batman Begins (2005)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K)
June 26:
'Manos': The Hands of Fate (MST3K)
June 28:
Maryjane (1968) -- starring 1960s teen idol Fabian, this movie is awesomely weird and not what I thought it would be AT ALL.
Roller Boogie (1979)
June 29:
Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956)
June 30:
The Manster (1962) -- apparently made for Japanese TV; short, bizarre, and racier than you'd think.
July 1:
The Last Seduction (1994)
July 2:
Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
July 3:
Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
July 4:
Ankle Biters (2002) -- vampire little people, ultra low budget.
Alone in the Dark (2005) -- the worst movie I've ever seen starring Tara Reid as a scientist. Hey, she was wearing glasses!
Obviously, this was an organized Bad Movie Night.
July 5:
Little Cigars (1973) -- crime caper starring Angel Tompkins and a cast of more little people. Midgetsploitation!
Watch the Skies (2005) -- Turner Classic Movies documentary about alien invasion movies. Started out good and then turned into a shameless plug for Speilberg's latest offering, which I haven't seen and can't get excited about.
July 7:
The Wasp Woman (1960) -- a Roger Corman classic.
July 8:
Fantastic 4 (2005)
July 9:
The Thing from Another World (1951)
Forbidden Planet (1957)
July 10:
The Long Good Friday (1980)
July 12:
Your Friends and Neighbors (1998)
Man of La Mancha (1972)
July 14:
My Bodyguard (1980) -- do you like Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne on Firefly? This was his first movie. It also features a very young Matt Dillon and Joan Cusack. This is a prototype for '80s teen movies, down to being set and shot in Chicago, but with '70s movie pacing, sensibility and brains.
July 15:
The Hellcats (MST3K) -- try inferring the plot of this biker movie
July 16:
Dodgeball (2004) -- "So what are you dying of that's keeping you from the finals?" "Right now it feels a little bit like... shame."
July 17:
Reefer Madness (1936) -- DVD with Mike Nelson commentary
July 18:
Priest (1994)
July 19:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
July 21:
Die, Monster, Die! (1965) -- starring Boris Karloff and Oakley Court, the house where a bunch of Hammer horror flicks and The Rocky Horror Picture Show were shot. I didn't know that about the movie until the house appeared in the movie, and then I exclaimed, "Hey! I've been there!" And so Meredith and I have. Their website has a little bit of information on Oakley Court's history, including the fact that it is believed to have been the British headquarters of the French resistance during World War II. Now it's a fancy hotel, hardly creepy at all. You should probably avoid the basement anyway. By the way, the title of this movie is VERY misleading.
July 22:
Wedding Crashers (2005) -- raunchy, politically incorrect, and very funny. Refreshing to see a movie like this; I'm about PG-13ed to death.
July 23:
Old School (2003) -- another spot of raunchy fun
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) -- saw it at the Alamo Drafthouse Village in Austin. What can I say; I was in the mood and hadn't seen it in years.
July 24:
Bad News Bears (2005)
July 28:
Punk: Attitude -- a documentary from IFC about the history of punk rock.
July 29:
Breathless (1983) -- American remake of Godard's influential film. This movie was clearly an inspiration for True Romance and, I'd argue, certain elements of the Butch & Fabiana segment of Pulp Fiction. A surprising amount of naked Richard Gere in this movie, if you're into that sort of thing.
Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator (2002) -- documentary on a skateboarding legend who pulled a spectacular crash-and-burn. This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the subject quits drugs, gets a whole lotta religion, and THEN rapes and murders a girl. Sad, compelling, and the place to go if you never invited Vision Street Wear into your life and want to see what you missed.
July 30: Eegah! (MST3K)
July 31:
Starsky & Hutch (2004)
The Bad News Bears (1976)
And that's where we came in. I notice we rarely if ever watch anything on a Wednesday. That's Lost and Veronica Mars night, so we're busy.
June 24:
Batman Begins (2005)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K)
June 26:
'Manos': The Hands of Fate (MST3K)
June 28:
Maryjane (1968) -- starring 1960s teen idol Fabian, this movie is awesomely weird and not what I thought it would be AT ALL.
Roller Boogie (1979)
June 29:
Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956)
June 30:
The Manster (1962) -- apparently made for Japanese TV; short, bizarre, and racier than you'd think.
July 1:
The Last Seduction (1994)
July 2:
Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
July 3:
Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
July 4:
Ankle Biters (2002) -- vampire little people, ultra low budget.
Alone in the Dark (2005) -- the worst movie I've ever seen starring Tara Reid as a scientist. Hey, she was wearing glasses!
Obviously, this was an organized Bad Movie Night.
July 5:
Little Cigars (1973) -- crime caper starring Angel Tompkins and a cast of more little people. Midgetsploitation!
Watch the Skies (2005) -- Turner Classic Movies documentary about alien invasion movies. Started out good and then turned into a shameless plug for Speilberg's latest offering, which I haven't seen and can't get excited about.
July 7:
The Wasp Woman (1960) -- a Roger Corman classic.
July 8:
Fantastic 4 (2005)
July 9:
The Thing from Another World (1951)
Forbidden Planet (1957)
July 10:
The Long Good Friday (1980)
July 12:
Your Friends and Neighbors (1998)
Man of La Mancha (1972)
July 14:
My Bodyguard (1980) -- do you like Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne on Firefly? This was his first movie. It also features a very young Matt Dillon and Joan Cusack. This is a prototype for '80s teen movies, down to being set and shot in Chicago, but with '70s movie pacing, sensibility and brains.
July 15:
The Hellcats (MST3K) -- try inferring the plot of this biker movie
July 16:
Dodgeball (2004) -- "So what are you dying of that's keeping you from the finals?" "Right now it feels a little bit like... shame."
July 17:
Reefer Madness (1936) -- DVD with Mike Nelson commentary
July 18:
Priest (1994)
July 19:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
July 21:
Die, Monster, Die! (1965) -- starring Boris Karloff and Oakley Court, the house where a bunch of Hammer horror flicks and The Rocky Horror Picture Show were shot. I didn't know that about the movie until the house appeared in the movie, and then I exclaimed, "Hey! I've been there!" And so Meredith and I have. Their website has a little bit of information on Oakley Court's history, including the fact that it is believed to have been the British headquarters of the French resistance during World War II. Now it's a fancy hotel, hardly creepy at all. You should probably avoid the basement anyway. By the way, the title of this movie is VERY misleading.
July 22:
Wedding Crashers (2005) -- raunchy, politically incorrect, and very funny. Refreshing to see a movie like this; I'm about PG-13ed to death.
July 23:
Old School (2003) -- another spot of raunchy fun
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) -- saw it at the Alamo Drafthouse Village in Austin. What can I say; I was in the mood and hadn't seen it in years.
July 24:
Bad News Bears (2005)
July 28:
Punk: Attitude -- a documentary from IFC about the history of punk rock.
July 29:
Breathless (1983) -- American remake of Godard's influential film. This movie was clearly an inspiration for True Romance and, I'd argue, certain elements of the Butch & Fabiana segment of Pulp Fiction. A surprising amount of naked Richard Gere in this movie, if you're into that sort of thing.
Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator (2002) -- documentary on a skateboarding legend who pulled a spectacular crash-and-burn. This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the subject quits drugs, gets a whole lotta religion, and THEN rapes and murders a girl. Sad, compelling, and the place to go if you never invited Vision Street Wear into your life and want to see what you missed.
July 30: Eegah! (MST3K)
July 31:
Starsky & Hutch (2004)
The Bad News Bears (1976)
And that's where we came in. I notice we rarely if ever watch anything on a Wednesday. That's Lost and Veronica Mars night, so we're busy.
Bring me my ranch dressing hose!
Here's a an interesting story from Slate.com about the history of ranch dressing. The story includes the Homer Simpson quote from my headline, which is frequently bellowed at our house. My husband has wondered aloud on many occasions about the sudden popularity of ranch; it seemed to come out of nowhere in the early 1980s and dominate everything. The article gets bonus points for mentioning my very favorite ranch innovation, the Wasabi Ranch Dipping Sauce for Boneless Shanghai Wings at Chili's. Mmm, Wasabi Ranch!
Ranch isn't my favorite, but a friend who works in an Austin restaurant says sorority girls from University of Texas will drown absolutely any kind of food in it. Gross. Even I think that's nasty, and I'm a huge fan of dipping sauces. I've found lowfat ranch usually tastes ok, but I have never tasted a fat-free ranch that wasn't repulsive. This makes sense now that I've read the article and learned that one of the main ingredients in real ranch dressing is fat. Mmm, delicious fat!
What's your favorite salad dressing? I like Caesar, with or without anchovies.
Thanks to Pop Culture Junk Mail (which uses the same template as this site, but I HAD IT FIRST! Just me and surely tens of thousands of others!) for the link.
Ranch isn't my favorite, but a friend who works in an Austin restaurant says sorority girls from University of Texas will drown absolutely any kind of food in it. Gross. Even I think that's nasty, and I'm a huge fan of dipping sauces. I've found lowfat ranch usually tastes ok, but I have never tasted a fat-free ranch that wasn't repulsive. This makes sense now that I've read the article and learned that one of the main ingredients in real ranch dressing is fat. Mmm, delicious fat!
What's your favorite salad dressing? I like Caesar, with or without anchovies.
Thanks to Pop Culture Junk Mail (which uses the same template as this site, but I HAD IT FIRST! Just me and surely tens of thousands of others!) for the link.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Thursday's movie
Last night we watched House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price. We'd seen it before but this version is the new DVD with commentary by Mike Nelson from Mystery Science Theater 3000. (Do I really need to type that out? Most folks reading this are likely to know what MST3K means.) It's a fun, silly movie, a William Castle classic starring Price and as Nelson points out, the guy from TV's The Big Valley and Robert Mitchum's sister. The commentary was the reason we picked up this DVD and Carnival of Souls; they're in the Off Color Films series from Legend Films that also includes Reefer Madness. We rented that one a few weeks back and had some good laughs from that. Sometimes a goofy, 85-minute movie is the best medicine for a stressful day. You know, instead of pot, which is stinky and far less legal.
Off Color Films does colorized versions of their movies, but they're creatively colorized so they're just enhancing the picture a little without pretending this is the color the filmmakers always intended and they totally would've shot in color if the poor saps had been able to do so, a la Ted Turner. All the DVDs have the option of watching the film in the original black and white. It defaults to color when the commentary track is on, or you can select the colorized version for normal viewing. They have fun with the colors; in Reefer Madness, the puffs of smoke coming from the teenaged dope fiends are tinted in a variety of non-standard smoke hues, like green and pink. Each disc contains a short video on how they acheive their colorization, but I haven't watched it yet.
We'll probably see Carnival of Souls this weekend sometime, and they still have Reefer Madness and the remake of Night of the Living Dead for sale, but we haven't snagged those yet. Technically, House on Haunted Hill won't be released for another month, but you can order one autographed by Mike Nelson and have it shipped now. I don't profit from any of this, but their product has my free endorsement.
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