and when alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer Tuesday night was a movie night with the girls.  To compensate for a recent overdose of stop-motion misfits who ultimately find their place in the world, we watched the 1988 action film, Die Hard.  Die Hard includes a token moment of self discovery when its hero, Korben Dallas, understands that he should have sacrificed his membership in a gang of jack booted thugs so he could be more supportive of his wife’s lifestyle decision to become a big haired corporate overlord, but otherwise it is mostly about stuff getting blown up. The girls enjoyed the film, but they were slightly confused and totally bored by the Maclean family back story.  I explained to them that this was the late 1980’s and the action movie genre was in the early stages of a transition to the more distilled form it achieved in the mid 1990’s.  Action films of this era still felt obligated to create moral and emotional motivations for the actions of their heroes, even if these motivations could not stand up to even tentative scrutiny.This seemed to satisfy them, but they still didn’t understand how the dad chose not to live or even try to live with his wife and daughter. They enjoyed watching him blow stuff up, but this did not change their decidedly negative evaluation of his character, even when he successfully defeated the bad guys. Being a hero in a crisis is noble but relatively straightforward when compared to being a stand up guy day after day, month after month, year after year. Also, smoking kills. The most important thing to know about this film when watching it with two young girls in the waning moments of this decade is that the lead bad guy, the villain, the nasty terrorist who has abandoned his moral motivation for violence in favor of greed, is played by Severus Freaking Snape.  The commentary this produces from a young audience is hilarious and impossible to capture in a dimestore composition book. Most of their other questions involved the giant stuffed bear. Why is David Addison carrying a giant bear? How did Butch Coolidge get that giant bear on the airplane? Why do they keep showing the limo driver and why is the limo driver drinking alcohol and talking to the bear? What happened to the bear in the end? Finally, a special bonus list of moments that made me realize I still have some things to work on: I felt smugly judgmental when the fancypants CEO decided to take a bullet in the head rather than give up the password to the company safe. I cheered out loud when, Willy Loman, the skeevy coke sniffing sales guy who thinks he can charm his way out of any problem gets it. Intellectually, I understand that the world needs slimy sales guys, that they fill an important niche, but emotionally, I have still not accepted it. I used to have a pair of used steel-toed black leather work shoes that I wore in the early 1990’s that had the words “DIE HARD” in their tread pattern.  I really miss those shoes.

and when alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer

Tuesday night was a movie night with the girls.  To compensate for a recent overdose of stop-motion misfits who ultimately find their place in the world, we watched the 1988 action film, Die Hard.  Die Hard includes a token moment of self discovery when its hero, Korben Dallas, understands that he should have sacrificed his membership in a gang of jack booted thugs so he could be more supportive of his wife’s lifestyle decision to become a big haired corporate overlord, but otherwise it is mostly about stuff getting blown up.

The girls enjoyed the film, but they were slightly confused and totally bored by the Maclean family back story.  I explained to them that this was the late 1980’s and the action movie genre was in the early stages of a transition to the more distilled form it achieved in the mid 1990’s.  Action films of this era still felt obligated to create moral and emotional motivations for the actions of their heroes, even if these motivations could not stand up to even tentative scrutiny.This seemed to satisfy them, but they still didn’t understand how the dad chose not to live or even try to live with his wife and daughter. They enjoyed watching him blow stuff up, but this did not change their decidedly negative evaluation of his character, even when he successfully defeated the bad guys. Being a hero in a crisis is noble but relatively straightforward when compared to being a stand up guy day after day, month after month, year after year. Also, smoking kills.

The most important thing to know about this film when watching it with two young girls in the waning moments of this decade is that the lead bad guy, the villain, the nasty terrorist who has abandoned his moral motivation for violence in favor of greed, is played by Severus Freaking Snape.  The commentary this produces from a young audience is hilarious and impossible to capture in a dimestore composition book.

Most of their other questions involved the giant stuffed bear.

  1. Why is David Addison carrying a giant bear?
  2. How did Butch Coolidge get that giant bear on the airplane?
  3. Why do they keep showing the limo driver and why is the limo driver drinking alcohol and talking to the bear?
  4. What happened to the bear in the end?

Finally, a special bonus list of moments that made me realize I still have some things to work on:

  1. I felt smugly judgmental when the fancypants CEO decided to take a bullet in the head rather than give up the password to the company safe.
  2. I cheered out loud when, Willy Loman, the skeevy coke sniffing sales guy who thinks he can charm his way out of any problem gets it. Intellectually, I understand that the world needs slimy sales guys, that they fill an important niche, but emotionally, I have still not accepted it.
  3. I used to have a pair of used steel-toed black leather work shoes that I wore in the early 1990’s that had the words “DIE HARD” in their tread pattern.  I really miss those shoes.
Tags: nakatomi plaza severus snape john maclean giant stuffed teddy bears limo drivers there is nobody likable in this entire film movie night corporate christmas parties death arslongavitabrevis die hard death of a salesman arthur miller samurai armor grunge over promise under deliver shoes | |
…il est temps pour toi d’en vivr une nouvelle! Friday night was movie night with the girls. It was their turn to pick this week, and they chose the recent Pixar release, Up. My parents took Finn and Fallie to see it in the theater, but Floyd and I had not seen it yet. I had not paid much attention to the marketing and had little in the way of expectations for the movie. The girls enjoyed re-watching it, and the movie has many charming qualities, but I cannot say I enjoyed it.  I was not prepared to watch a movie about dead wives and abandoned dreams, and I am not ever prepared to watch movies about miscarriages, no matter how true or how beautifully presented. I did not take any notes after their baby died. I don’t think the girls had many questions anyway. The talking dogs were funny.

…il est temps pour toi d’en vivr une nouvelle!

Friday night was movie night with the girls. It was their turn to pick this week, and they chose the recent Pixar release, Up. My parents took Finn and Fallie to see it in the theater, but Floyd and I had not seen it yet.

I had not paid much attention to the marketing and had little in the way of expectations for the movie. The girls enjoyed re-watching it, and the movie has many charming qualities, but I cannot say I enjoyed it.  I was not prepared to watch a movie about dead wives and abandoned dreams, and I am not ever prepared to watch movies about miscarriages, no matter how true or how beautifully presented.

I did not take any notes after their baby died. I don’t think the girls had many questions anyway.

The talking dogs were funny.

Tags: it is funny because the squirrel gets dead movie night pixar screenshots up i think that maybe i dont like pixar movies even though it seems like i should | |
an audience with the duke (featuring Harry Dean Stanton! as “Brain”) For a recent movie night with the girls, we watched the 1981 slipstream cult classic, Escape from New York, written, scored, and directed by John Carpenter. My notes on this movie night are sparser than usual, because my notebook was commandeered for a large portion of the show, but some of the topics of discussion included: Snake’s eyepatch.  Did he really lose his eye or is he trying to preserve his night vision for close combat below decks? The skull girls are big fans of pirate lore. (Further research has revealed that Snake did lose use of his eye in a formative incident.) Smoking is bad for your lungs! Why only 22 hours? There are two MacGuffins in Escape from New York. The MacGuffin that motivates Snake to complete his mission in the time allotted consists of microscopic capsules that will blow open his carotid arteries, killing him, if he doesn’t return in time. The girls had no problem understanding this one. The MacGuffin that motivates the government to retrieve the president within the 22 hours is a cassette tape he is carrying that will strengthen their position at some diplomatic conference, but which will lose its value after the conference is over. What is on the tape? Why can’t the conference be delayed? (Because. Just because. The girls and I have discussed, and they understand, that the role of the MacGuffin is more important than its actual details, but we agree that the cassette tape conference deadline in Escape from New York is frustratingly vague.) It was six hours on the life clock but only five minutes in real-time! (Go Fallie!) Molotov Cocktails.  Cabbie, played by Ernest “Double MacGuffin” Borgnine, uses Molotov Cocktails to ward off hordes of attacking night crazies.  This spawned a dialogue between Finn and Fallie about the exploration of Tuckaleechee Caverns near Townsend, Tennessee. When relating the early exploration of the caverns by two local boys, the tour guides their described the gas filled bottles that the boys used to light their way and explained that their configuration was exactly the same as a type of bomb called a “Molotov Cocktail”. (I wonder how long ad hoc spelunking and ad hoc explosives will be linked in their minds.) Re-watching this for the first time in at least ten years, its relatively tame depiction of post-apocalyptic New York surprised me when compared to my memory of the decaying penal colony, but I still enjoyed the experience. This movie has come up several times in the weeks since we watched it together.  I think that Finn and Fallie are going to remember Escape from New York for a long time.

an audience with the duke (featuring Harry Dean Stanton! as “Brain”)

For a recent movie night with the girls, we watched the 1981 slipstream cult classic, Escape from New York, written, scored, and directed by John Carpenter.

My notes on this movie night are sparser than usual, because my notebook was commandeered for a large portion of the show, but some of the topics of discussion included:

  • Snake’s eyepatch.  Did he really lose his eye or is he trying to preserve his night vision for close combat below decks? The skull girls are big fans of pirate lore. (Further research has revealed that Snake did lose use of his eye in a formative incident.)
  • Smoking is bad for your lungs!
  • Why only 22 hours? There are two MacGuffins in Escape from New York. The MacGuffin that motivates Snake to complete his mission in the time allotted consists of microscopic capsules that will blow open his carotid arteries, killing him, if he doesn’t return in time. The girls had no problem understanding this one. The MacGuffin that motivates the government to retrieve the president within the 22 hours is a cassette tape he is carrying that will strengthen their position at some diplomatic conference, but which will lose its value after the conference is over. What is on the tape? Why can’t the conference be delayed? (Because. Just because. The girls and I have discussed, and they understand, that the role of the MacGuffin is more important than its actual details, but we agree that the cassette tape conference deadline in Escape from New York is frustratingly vague.)
  • It was six hours on the life clock but only five minutes in real-time! (Go Fallie!)
  • Molotov Cocktails.  Cabbie, played by Ernest “Double MacGuffin” Borgnine, uses Molotov Cocktails to ward off hordes of attacking night crazies.  This spawned a dialogue between Finn and Fallie about the exploration of Tuckaleechee Caverns near Townsend, Tennessee. When relating the early exploration of the caverns by two local boys, the tour guides their described the gas filled bottles that the boys used to light their way and explained that their configuration was exactly the same as a type of bomb called a “Molotov Cocktail”. (I wonder how long ad hoc spelunking and ad hoc explosives will be linked in their minds.)

Re-watching this for the first time in at least ten years, its relatively tame depiction of post-apocalyptic New York surprised me when compared to my memory of the decaying penal colony, but I still enjoyed the experience.

This movie has come up several times in the weeks since we watched it together.  I think that Finn and Fallie are going to remember Escape from New York for a long time.


Tags: are you crazy nobody gets to meet the duke you meet him once and youre dead escape from new york isaac hayes screenshots Harry Dean Stanton harry dean stanton constantly kills it in a very good way i think i need to see me some paris texas harry houdini post singularity apocalyptic battles penal colonies mac ten brain duke puck movie night screenshots new york | |
the president wearing a wig (how humiliating) Finn’s movie night doodles. I only write on the right-hand page of notebooks, reserving the left-hand page for revisions or thoughts raised by the review of previous notes (i.e. notes on notes; notes on notes on notes are documented via post-it notes, index cards, or palimpsests that I tape onto the appropriate page.)  Last night, while I was writing down questions, quotes, and timestamps for screenshots, Finn commandeered the left hand page of my notebook for doodles. Name that movie?

the president wearing a wig (how humiliating)

Finn’s movie night doodles. I only write on the right-hand page of notebooks, reserving the left-hand page for revisions or thoughts raised by the review of previous notes (i.e. notes on notes; notes on notes on notes are documented via post-it notes, index cards, or palimpsests that I tape onto the appropriate page.)  Last night, while I was writing down questions, quotes, and timestamps for screenshots, Finn commandeered the left hand page of my notebook for doodles.

Name that movie?

Tags: disco ball in dukes car drawings finn finnland graffiti graffiti on outside of building macguffins movie night notebooks palimpsests. snakes something on fire tatoos escape from new york | |
my neighbor ponyo in the valley of the winds Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the Japanese theatrical version of Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent film, Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea).  We chose to watch the theatrical release, with subtitles, because Disney’s casting choices for its English releases of Miyazaki’s films are so distractingly celebrity driven and have occasionally detracted from our enjoyment of them. Ponyo is a good example of this featuring one of the Jonas brothers and Miley Cyrus sibling as the voices of the two leads in the American release. I can’t avoid cynically wondering whether they were the best choice for the part or just the members of Disney’s stable of child actors contractually eligible for a part. Cynicism like this has no place in the viewing of a Miyazaki movie. We all enjoyed Ponyo.  There was less discussion and fewer questions than usual, but a few things did come up: Among the previous Miyazaki movies, it is most reminiscent of My Neighbor Totoro. It is more strictly a childrens movie than most Miyazaki movies, but adults will still enjoy it. Fujimoto is confusingly androgynous and even though he is described as Ponyo’s father, we are still not totally clear on his relationship to her or her sea goddess mother. Is Ponyo based on a traditional depiction of a Japanese mermaid or a Miyazaki invention? Is she actually a goldfish? The water in its many forms was probably our favorite character in the movie.  (See above) Sosuke’s mother is a craaaazzzzzy driver! Tsunamis.  Finn gave us a quick summary of this phenomenon and its causes (other than mermaids visiting land). Fallie thinks Tsunamis are weird. We were not totally sure what magic powers Ponyo had before and what she gained by releasing the water of life. Given the choice between Pixar and Ghibli, we agree that there is no choice.  It must be Ghibli. Spirited Away is Floyd’s favorite Miyazaki movie.  If you haven’t seen Spirited Away, you really should.  Even if you don’t like Japanese films, children’s movies, or animated films in general, you should watch Spirited Away. (Totoro is her number two choice.) Spirited Away is obviously also Mumblelard’s favorite Miyazaki movie. (Princess Mononoke is first runner up.) Nausicaa is Finn’s favorite Miyazaki movie. (Ponyo has become her first runner up as of Friday night.) Fallie doesn’t have a favorite Miyazaki movie; that is a weird question; it depends on what the criteria are; she likes them all. (This question is broken.)

my neighbor ponyo in the valley of the winds

Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the Japanese theatrical version of Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent film, Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea).  We chose to watch the theatrical release, with subtitles, because Disney’s casting choices for its English releases of Miyazaki’s films are so distractingly celebrity driven and have occasionally detracted from our enjoyment of them. Ponyo is a good example of this featuring one of the Jonas brothers and Miley Cyrus sibling as the voices of the two leads in the American release. I can’t avoid cynically wondering whether they were the best choice for the part or just the members of Disney’s stable of child actors contractually eligible for a part. Cynicism like this has no place in the viewing of a Miyazaki movie.

We all enjoyed Ponyo.  There was less discussion and fewer questions than usual, but a few things did come up:

  • Among the previous Miyazaki movies, it is most reminiscent of My Neighbor Totoro. It is more strictly a childrens movie than most Miyazaki movies, but adults will still enjoy it.
  • Fujimoto is confusingly androgynous and even though he is described as Ponyo’s father, we are still not totally clear on his relationship to her or her sea goddess mother.
  • Is Ponyo based on a traditional depiction of a Japanese mermaid or a Miyazaki invention? Is she actually a goldfish?
  • The water in its many forms was probably our favorite character in the movie.  (See above)
  • Sosuke’s mother is a craaaazzzzzy driver!
  • Tsunamis.  Finn gave us a quick summary of this phenomenon and its causes (other than mermaids visiting land). Fallie thinks Tsunamis are weird.
  • We were not totally sure what magic powers Ponyo had before and what she gained by releasing the water of life.
  • Given the choice between Pixar and Ghibli, we agree that there is no choice.  It must be Ghibli.
  • Spirited Away is Floyd’s favorite Miyazaki movie.  If you haven’t seen Spirited Away, you really should.  Even if you don’t like Japanese films, children’s movies, or animated films in general, you should watch Spirited Away. (Totoro is her number two choice.)
  • Spirited Away is obviously also Mumblelard’s favorite Miyazaki movie. (Princess Mononoke is first runner up.)
  • Nausicaa is Finn’s favorite Miyazaki movie. (Ponyo has become her first runner up as of Friday night.)
  • Fallie doesn’t have a favorite Miyazaki movie; that is a weird question; it depends on what the criteria are; she likes them all. (This question is broken.)
Tags: movie night hayao miyazaki miyazaki animation hand drawn animation ponyo ghibli tsunamis animism cynicism beautiful Gake no ue no Ponyo | |
maybe the real god uses tricks, you know, maybe he’s not omnipotent, he’s just been around so long he knows everything Last night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1993 comedy classic, Groundhog Day, featuring the immortal antics of Bill Murray in the role of Phil Connors. This movie was plan b, we had codec combatibility issues with the scheduled selection.  Finn and Fallie have watched Groundhog Day once or twice, and Floyd and I have watched it at least twenty times by conservative estimates.  Re-watching a movie that all of us have seen before was a fun variation on the usual parameters of this family project. The girls love Groundhog Day, and they had lots of new comments and insights while watching it again: Hey, he is the guy in Ghostbusters! I don’t think that alarm clocks that play music would be very good at waking me up. Groundhogs are also called whistlepigs. (Huh?!) “Don’t mess with me porkchop!” (A top five hilarious moment from the film.) The scene with the groundhog driving the truck is the girls’ favorite moment in the film. Why and how does the same day keep repeating? (There is a glitch in the matrix.) “What if there is no tomorrow, there wasn’t one today.” (This quote has been pulled out by the blond monkeys at least once already today.  Hilarious.) What if that happened and you had a playdate scheduled and every single day you would get to play with your friend. Even if you got your head cut off, the next morning you would wake up and your head would be back. (The implications of Phil’s immortality were discussed at length and in exquisite detail during this viewing of the movie.) The beginning is kind of boring when everything keeps repeating until he figures out what is going on. (They think the beginning is funny but a little slow. The writer’s original intention was to begin in medias res which would have won him some fans with this audience.) We also discussed how long Phil stayed inside of the world of Groundhog Day.  Various analyses have yielded results from just a few years to at least ten years, but I like the idea that he was there for ten thousand years, a vast amount of time not depicted but implied by the way he perfects his movements through this single day.

maybe the real god uses tricks, you know, maybe he’s not omnipotent, he’s just been around so long he knows everything

Last night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1993 comedy classic, Groundhog Day, featuring the immortal antics of Bill Murray in the role of Phil Connors. This movie was plan b, we had codec combatibility issues with the scheduled selection.  Finn and Fallie have watched Groundhog Day once or twice, and Floyd and I have watched it at least twenty times by conservative estimates.  Re-watching a movie that all of us have seen before was a fun variation on the usual parameters of this family project.

The girls love Groundhog Day, and they had lots of new comments and insights while watching it again:

  • Hey, he is the guy in Ghostbusters!
  • I don’t think that alarm clocks that play music would be very good at waking me up.
  • Groundhogs are also called whistlepigs. (Huh?!)
  • “Don’t mess with me porkchop!” (A top five hilarious moment from the film.)
  • The scene with the groundhog driving the truck is the girls’ favorite moment in the film.
  • Why and how does the same day keep repeating? (There is a glitch in the matrix.)
  • “What if there is no tomorrow, there wasn’t one today.” (This quote has been pulled out by the blond monkeys at least once already today.  Hilarious.)
  • What if that happened and you had a playdate scheduled and every single day you would get to play with your friend.
  • Even if you got your head cut off, the next morning you would wake up and your head would be back. (The implications of Phil’s immortality were discussed at length and in exquisite detail during this viewing of the movie.)
  • The beginning is kind of boring when everything keeps repeating until he figures out what is going on. (They think the beginning is funny but a little slow. The writer’s original intention was to begin in medias res which would have won him some fans with this audience.)

We also discussed how long Phil stayed inside of the world of Groundhog Day.  Various analyses have yielded results from just a few years to at least ten years, but I like the idea that he was there for ten thousand years, a vast amount of time not depicted but implied by the way he perfects his movements through this single day.

Tags: i am a god i am not the god i dont think gods groundhog day movie night bill murray hands pillows unflattering portrayals of therapists the therapists in the broom of the system are all frauds con men or more insane than their patients how about we schedule an appointment for tomorrow abnormal psychology screenshots immortality infinite fun space i will be writing up my needlenose ned theory soon | |
home alone iv: lost in chicago vs the trouble with rooney I did not achieve this position in life by having some snot-nosed punk leave my cheese out in the wind. Last night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1986 John Hughes comedy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This wasn’t my first choice, but it was on the shelf at the library, and my copy of Escape from New York wouldn’t play, even after a special appeal to Snake Plissken. We all enjoyed the first two Home Alone movies;I hoped this would play like an older version of those films, and I was half right. I used to have a fondness for this movie.  I liked the way it captures the heightened sense of pleasure that is possible when time has been stolen back from the drudgery of obligations;everything is as high as the highest building in the world, as fast as an Italian sports car, as sublime as a painted glimpse of a one hundred year old sunny afternoon. Unfortunately, there is something off-putting about Ferris Bueller, or maybe it is just the way he is played by the smirking Matthew Broderick. Every time he talked to the camera, I cringed at the over familiarity. I admit that after John Hughes death, I re-watched a couple of his famous high school dramas; they were almost unbearable.  I could not ignore how much Hughes obviously mythologized and adored the unpleasantness that he was pretending to unmask and deplore. The film has two story lines: the kids playing in Chicago leading up to Cameron’s catharsis, and the inept suburban pursuit of Ferris by his sister and Principal Rooney.  For movie night purposes, the slapstick antics of Principal Rooney saved the film.  We laughed at Rooney’s failures and we had fun discussing several topics including: parade floats (Apparently we have never been to a parade with floats. I guess I need to correct that. shower mohawk (This was the only laugh that Ferris got.  The girls speculated with the experience of veterans on whether he was using shampoo or conditioner to maintain his spikes.) Ferris’s Rube Goldberg snoring mannequin contraption (the goal and mechanics of this were not clear and the effectiveness of the illusion that resulted was mocked.) Did he mean to do that? (Cameron falling into the pool and sinking to the bottom.  It was clear to them that this was finally a development in Cameron’s character, but the meaning of the development was not.) She’s speeding isn’t she. (Jeannie racing to beat Ferris home and unmask him.) What are they doing? (Chicago Stock Exchange and crazy hand signals. They are buying and selling stuff.) dunka shiny? (Danke Schein.  Finn made a Firefly joke.  We all cracked up.) Rooney losing his shoe in the mud. (hilarious) Rooney getting attacked by the dog. (hilarious) Rooney getting his butt kicked by Jeannie. (most hilarious.  see above.) Rooney battered and defeated getting on a school bus with kids to go home. (hilarious) Even though the movie was only a mixed success, we had fun watching it together.  It was a good night.

home alone iv: lost in chicago vs the trouble with rooney

I did not achieve this position in life by having some snot-nosed punk leave my cheese out in the wind.

Last night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1986 John Hughes comedy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This wasn’t my first choice, but it was on the shelf at the library, and my copy of Escape from New York wouldn’t play, even after a special appeal to Snake Plissken. We all enjoyed the first two Home Alone movies;I hoped this would play like an older version of those films, and I was half right.

I used to have a fondness for this movie.  I liked the way it captures the heightened sense of pleasure that is possible when time has been stolen back from the drudgery of obligations;everything is as high as the highest building in the world, as fast as an Italian sports car, as sublime as a painted glimpse of a one hundred year old sunny afternoon. Unfortunately, there is something off-putting about Ferris Bueller, or maybe it is just the way he is played by the smirking Matthew Broderick. Every time he talked to the camera, I cringed at the over familiarity.

I admit that after John Hughes death, I re-watched a couple of his famous high school dramas; they were almost unbearable.  I could not ignore how much Hughes obviously mythologized and adored the unpleasantness that he was pretending to unmask and deplore.

The film has two story lines: the kids playing in Chicago leading up to Cameron’s catharsis, and the inept suburban pursuit of Ferris by his sister and Principal Rooney.  For movie night purposes, the slapstick antics of Principal Rooney saved the film.  We laughed at Rooney’s failures and we had fun discussing several topics including:

  • parade floats (Apparently we have never been to a parade with floats. I guess I need to correct that.
  • shower mohawk (This was the only laugh that Ferris got.  The girls speculated with the experience of veterans on whether he was using shampoo or conditioner to maintain his spikes.)
  • Ferris’s Rube Goldberg snoring mannequin contraption (the goal and mechanics of this were not clear and the effectiveness of the illusion that resulted was mocked.)
  • Did he mean to do that? (Cameron falling into the pool and sinking to the bottom.  It was clear to them that this was finally a development in Cameron’s character, but the meaning of the development was not.)
  • She’s speeding isn’t she. (Jeannie racing to beat Ferris home and unmask him.)
  • What are they doing? (Chicago Stock Exchange and crazy hand signals. They are buying and selling stuff.)
  • dunka shiny? (Danke Schein.  Finn made a Firefly joke.  We all cracked up.)
  • Rooney losing his shoe in the mud. (hilarious)
  • Rooney getting attacked by the dog. (hilarious)
  • Rooney getting his butt kicked by Jeannie. (most hilarious.  see above.)
  • Rooney battered and defeated getting on a school bus with kids to go home. (hilarious)

Even though the movie was only a mixed success, we had fun watching it together.  It was a good night.

Tags: pardon my french but youre and asshole asshole you can't go home again movie night ferris buellers day off john hughes principal rooney parades danke schein i miss vandalism slapstick screenshots dream academy the acoustic version of please please please let me get what i want by dream academy is sweat but their version with lyrics is so anemic and limp oh yeah i want to go up in the sears tower and go on that new glass ledge thing they have i want to go on that glass skybridge over the grand canyon i want to go back to the art institue of chicago and see their joseph cornells among other things | |
and a hundred baby spiders came out … and they ate her Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1982 speculative fiction classic, Blade Runner, directed by Ridley “Alien” Scott and famously based on the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. There are approximately eleventy different cuts of this movie, so selecting which one to show impressionable minds becomes something of a statement of principles.  I chose the 1982 International Theatrical Cut. This was the version of the movie that was released on videotape and subsequently embedded itself in the deep structures of my adolescent mind.  Part of the pleasure of movie night for me is being able to compare my daughters’ perspectives to my own and also the perspective of my younger self.  For Blade Runner, that forces me to choose this cut even though it has been shunned by its creator. The voice overs are the most controversial, and intrusive if you don’t enjoy them, element of this cut or the U.S. Theatrical Cut.  I enjoy the voice overs and appreciate the stylistic connection they make to film noir, but I understand why some don’t enjoy them.  The happy ending is more problematic for me.  It really does feel tacked on, but it is easy for me ignore or even explain as the dream of a dying replicant. The girls enjoyed the movie.  I was concerned that it might move too slowly in places, but they never lost interest.  If you like a quiet movie watching experience, you would not enjoy movie night at our house because there is always a lot of discussion: Is he (Leon Kowalski) a replicant? (Really they used the terms robot and replicant interchangeably for the first half hour or so, and then they stuck with replicant.  Usually I answer questions like this by telling them to watch and find out.) Is he (Roy Batty) a replicant? (Yes, he is a replicant.  Sometimes it is easier to just answer the question.) Is he (Deckard) a replicant? (Damn it Finn! Was that a lucky guess or did you look the movie up on wikipedia? “I don’t know” was my answer and we tabled the question for later.  We still haven’t gotten back to it, but I will ask her later this week to see if she has thought any more about it?) Does the (Voight-Kampff) test hurt? How does it work? (No, it doesn’t hurt.  It is kind of like a lie detector test to see if they have human emotions.  The replicants aren’t supposed to have human emotions.) I want to take the (Voight-Kampff) test. (Fallie.  I wonder what the results would be.) Do they have batteries? (Yes, I think they have some kind of power supply.) Maybe a better test would be to get them wet, the their battery would stop working if they were a replicant. (It is probably waterproof.) I thought replicants weren’t supposed to have human emotions!? (Much later in the film when Roy was mourning the death of Pris.  Maybe they do have emotions even though no one thinks they do. ) Ms. Bell won’t let us say “What the!” even though we don’t say the bad word at the end. (It is better not to even fake curse when you are in school.  Watch the movie.) Is she bad now? (After the order to kill Rachael is revealed.  She might be bad or they might just be afraid that she is bad.  Since she ran away, they think it is ok to kill her.  What do you think?) He likes to kill people, that’s why he likes them to stay put! (Fallie’s response to Roy’s comment to J.F. Sebastian about liking people who stay put.) Once I accidentally touched my eye and it didn’t hurt. How cold is liquid nitrogen? If he (Leon) has human skin how can he put his hand in it? (We will have to look up the temperature at which nitrogen becomes a liquid; it is very very cold.  He can put his hand in liquid nitrogen because even though he has skin it is made to be tougher than human skin.) What is that? Glitter? (regarding the artificial snake scale Deckard finds in the bathtub. Watch, and you will see.) Is that an eagle or a hawk? (regarding some bird in the bazaar.) Is she covered in snake scales? (regarding Zhora’s dancing costume.  No, that is glitter. (I think that Finn was messing with me on that one.)) Why did he help Deckard? (regarding Roy saving Deckard. Why do you think he saved him?) Finn sat with me on Sunday morning as I grabbed some screenshots on the computer and she asked to see Pris’s death throes again.  Why does she shake like that? Because she is trying not to die.

and a hundred baby spiders came out … and they ate her

Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1982 speculative fiction classic, Blade Runner, directed by Ridley “Alien” Scott and famously based on the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. There are approximately eleventy different cuts of this movie, so selecting which one to show impressionable minds becomes something of a statement of principles.  I chose the 1982 International Theatrical Cut. This was the version of the movie that was released on videotape and subsequently embedded itself in the deep structures of my adolescent mind.  Part of the pleasure of movie night for me is being able to compare my daughters’ perspectives to my own and also the perspective of my younger self.  For Blade Runner, that forces me to choose this cut even though it has been shunned by its creator.

The voice overs are the most controversial, and intrusive if you don’t enjoy them, element of this cut or the U.S. Theatrical Cut.  I enjoy the voice overs and appreciate the stylistic connection they make to film noir, but I understand why some don’t enjoy them.  The happy ending is more problematic for me.  It really does feel tacked on, but it is easy for me ignore or even explain as the dream of a dying replicant.

The girls enjoyed the movie.  I was concerned that it might move too slowly in places, but they never lost interest.  If you like a quiet movie watching experience, you would not enjoy movie night at our house because there is always a lot of discussion:

  • Is he (Leon Kowalski) a replicant? (Really they used the terms robot and replicant interchangeably for the first half hour or so, and then they stuck with replicant.  Usually I answer questions like this by telling them to watch and find out.)
  • Is he (Roy Batty) a replicant? (Yes, he is a replicant.  Sometimes it is easier to just answer the question.)
  • Is he (Deckard) a replicant? (Damn it Finn! Was that a lucky guess or did you look the movie up on wikipedia? “I don’t know” was my answer and we tabled the question for later.  We still haven’t gotten back to it, but I will ask her later this week to see if she has thought any more about it?)
  • Does the (Voight-Kampff) test hurt? How does it work? (No, it doesn’t hurt.  It is kind of like a lie detector test to see if they have human emotions.  The replicants aren’t supposed to have human emotions.)
  • I want to take the (Voight-Kampff) test. (Fallie.  I wonder what the results would be.)
  • Do they have batteries? (Yes, I think they have some kind of power supply.)
  • Maybe a better test would be to get them wet, the their battery would stop working if they were a replicant. (It is probably waterproof.)
  • I thought replicants weren’t supposed to have human emotions!? (Much later in the film when Roy was mourning the death of Pris.  Maybe they do have emotions even though no one thinks they do. )
  • Ms. Bell won’t let us say “What the!” even though we don’t say the bad word at the end. (It is better not to even fake curse when you are in school.  Watch the movie.)
  • Is she bad now? (After the order to kill Rachael is revealed.  She might be bad or they might just be afraid that she is bad.  Since she ran away, they think it is ok to kill her.  What do you think?)
  • He likes to kill people, that’s why he likes them to stay put! (Fallie’s response to Roy’s comment to J.F. Sebastian about liking people who stay put.)
  • Once I accidentally touched my eye and it didn’t hurt.
  • How cold is liquid nitrogen? If he (Leon) has human skin how can he put his hand in it? (We will have to look up the temperature at which nitrogen becomes a liquid; it is very very cold.  He can put his hand in liquid nitrogen because even though he has skin it is made to be tougher than human skin.)
  • What is that? Glitter? (regarding the artificial snake scale Deckard finds in the bathtub. Watch, and you will see.)
  • Is that an eagle or a hawk? (regarding some bird in the bazaar.)
  • Is she covered in snake scales? (regarding Zhora’s dancing costume.  No, that is glitter. (I think that Finn was messing with me on that one.))
  • Why did he help Deckard? (regarding Roy saving Deckard. Why do you think he saved him?)

Finn sat with me on Sunday morning as I grabbed some screenshots on the computer and she asked to see Pris’s death throes again.  Why does she shake like that? Because she is trying not to die.

Tags: also and a dream of an old building with odd shaped rooms and secret doors blade runner but then again corridors died the year this movie was released earned he made twelve hundred dollars for writing the novel he was fifty four i can still remember running out of the sanctuary to vomit i cant wait to see what happens next i think the theatrical release of donnie darko is better than the directors cut is it tragic to die unrecognized is success it is impossible to look at them and even imagine a death it is not worth it its too bad she wont live less than twenty years left luck movie night nineteen eighty-two international theatrical cut not earned or or destiny philip k dick philip k dick screenshots the rim planets are looking more appealing every day then their track will determine what they are taught they are taking tests soon that will determine what track they are on | |
I told ya we should’ve got a Zenith Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1984 comedy-horror classic, Gremlins.  Other movies made in 1984 that we have watched together include: Red Dawn, The Terminator, The Neverending Story and Ghostbusters. Our 1980’s cinema education project is currently projected to be on schedule when Q4 commences next month. Finn and Fallie really enjoyed Gremlins.  Gizmo the Mogwai was very popular; when Floyd told them that there used to be a lot of Gizmo stuffed animals, Finn immediately wanted to research purchasing one.  I think she is going to have to settle for a t-shirt with an iron-on screen shot, because vintage toys aren’t in the current mumblelard budget. In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that the girls busted me writing down their movie comments about a month ago.  Obviously this has compromised the objectivity of this anthropo-cinemological experiment.  With that being said, there were many comments and questions regarding Gremlins: They loved the three rules that must be followed to care for a Mogwai.  As soon as the little boy told them to Billy’s dad in the alley, they started discussing what would happen if the rules weren’t followed.  As the movie progressively revealed the consequences of breaking the rules, they compared the outcomes with their theories. Gizmo! Gizmo! Gizmo! They loved Gizmo.  In particular, the scene with Gizmo driving a pink barbie car was very well received. They immediately connected this to the earlier scene where Gizmo was watching a movie with vintage car racing scenes. About half the movie is scenes of bad Gremlins being rowdy in slapstick ways.  The girls laughed throughout. Spike’s death scene was also very cool, but also a little gross, but very cool! “Gremlins drinking beer! This is going to be bad.” There was an extended conversation on whether it was worse for Gremlins to drink alcohol and get drunk or drink coffee and get hyper.  No consensus decision was reached. When Billy gives Mr. Hanson one of the recently spawned Mogwai for study, the girls were very concerned that he did not tell Mr. Hanson the three rules. Dire consequences were correctly predicted. Research has revealed the existence of a sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch; I think it is set in New York City.  We enjoyed Gremlins, but I am not in any hurry to see it again, and I am not currently planning to add its sequel to our movie night agenda.

I told ya we should’ve got a Zenith

Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We watched the 1984 comedy-horror classic, Gremlins.  Other movies made in 1984 that we have watched together include: Red Dawn, The Terminator, The Neverending Story and Ghostbusters. Our 1980’s cinema education project is currently projected to be on schedule when Q4 commences next month.

Finn and Fallie really enjoyed Gremlins.  Gizmo the Mogwai was very popular; when Floyd told them that there used to be a lot of Gizmo stuffed animals, Finn immediately wanted to research purchasing one.  I think she is going to have to settle for a t-shirt with an iron-on screen shot, because vintage toys aren’t in the current mumblelard budget.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that the girls busted me writing down their movie comments about a month ago.  Obviously this has compromised the objectivity of this anthropo-cinemological experiment.  With that being said, there were many comments and questions regarding Gremlins:

  • They loved the three rules that must be followed to care for a Mogwai.  As soon as the little boy told them to Billy’s dad in the alley, they started discussing what would happen if the rules weren’t followed.  As the movie progressively revealed the consequences of breaking the rules, they compared the outcomes with their theories.
  • Gizmo! Gizmo! Gizmo! They loved Gizmo.  In particular, the scene with Gizmo driving a pink barbie car was very well received. They immediately connected this to the earlier scene where Gizmo was watching a movie with vintage car racing scenes.
  • About half the movie is scenes of bad Gremlins being rowdy in slapstick ways.  The girls laughed throughout.
  • Spike’s death scene was also very cool, but also a little gross, but very cool!
  • “Gremlins drinking beer! This is going to be bad.”
  • There was an extended conversation on whether it was worse for Gremlins to drink alcohol and get drunk or drink coffee and get hyper.  No consensus decision was reached.
  • When Billy gives Mr. Hanson one of the recently spawned Mogwai for study, the girls were very concerned that he did not tell Mr. Hanson the three rules. Dire consequences were correctly predicted.

Research has revealed the existence of a sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch; I think it is set in New York City.  We enjoyed Gremlins, but I am not in any hurry to see it again, and I am not currently planning to add its sequel to our movie night agenda.


Tags: movie night gremlins beer mogwai screenshots gizmo gremlins was fun but it is a very thin movie very very thin if i watched gremlins two then i have repressed it fallie loved the pupal stage of gremlin development | |
or are the stars just pinholes in the curtain of night Last night was movie night with the girls. We watched the 1986 spec-fic classic, Highlander, starring Christopher Lambert, Sean “FTW” Connery, and Clancy “The Usher” Brown.  I will never be able to watch this movie from a perspective other than that of a teenage boy who is still waiting for the revelation of secret power and significance.  In a reasonable world, that revelation would have also involved the use of samurai swords and an interlude in my own isolated Scottish castle*.  If I make an effort at skepticism, I can see that this movie may have flaws, but its mythology was inserted into my brain early enough that it crushes any serious attempt at criticism**. Clancy Brown is incredible in the role of “The Kurgan.” He is an irreverently sarcastic thug, and he is evil, but not over the top ultimate evil; he is just nasty. The punk trappings*** of his character in the modern period also made him ever so slightly sympathetic. The girls enjoyed the movie but there were some questions (and many of them along a similiar theme): How lethal are stomach wounds? (typically very lethal especially in 16th century Scotland) Why is there lightning when one of the Immortals is killed? (His Immortal energy is released and absorbed by his murderer.) Why does he tap the anvil before he hammers the horseshoe? (The intricacies of medieval metallurgy was tabled pending additional research.) Why do they only die if their head is cut off? (Because!) Will they die if they are stabbed in the heart? (No, but it will hurt.) What will they do if their heart is cut out, how will they pump blood to their muscles and internal organs? (They will grow a new heart.) Will they die if they are just stabbed in the head? (No.) Stabbed in the eye? (No!) Will they die if only the top half of their head is cut off? And their brain is removed? (Strictly speaking they will only die if their whole head is severed from the rest of their body.) Why…? (No…) *with a girl! **We won’t discuss the sequels. ***inspired by The Terminator released two years earlier?

or are the stars just pinholes in the curtain of night

Last night was movie night with the girls. We watched the 1986 spec-fic classic, Highlander, starring Christopher Lambert, Sean “FTW” Connery, and Clancy “The Usher” Brown.  I will never be able to watch this movie from a perspective other than that of a teenage boy who is still waiting for the revelation of secret power and significance.  In a reasonable world, that revelation would have also involved the use of samurai swords and an interlude in my own isolated Scottish castle*.  If I make an effort at skepticism, I can see that this movie may have flaws, but its mythology was inserted into my brain early enough that it crushes any serious attempt at criticism**.

Clancy Brown is incredible in the role of “The Kurgan.” He is an irreverently sarcastic thug, and he is evil, but not over the top ultimate evil; he is just nasty. The punk trappings*** of his character in the modern period also made him ever so slightly sympathetic.

The girls enjoyed the movie but there were some questions (and many of them along a similiar theme):

  • How lethal are stomach wounds? (typically very lethal especially in 16th century Scotland)
  • Why is there lightning when one of the Immortals is killed? (His Immortal energy is released and absorbed by his murderer.)
  • Why does he tap the anvil before he hammers the horseshoe? (The intricacies of medieval metallurgy was tabled pending additional research.)
  • Why do they only die if their head is cut off? (Because!)
  • Will they die if they are stabbed in the heart? (No, but it will hurt.)
  • What will they do if their heart is cut out, how will they pump blood to their muscles and internal organs? (They will grow a new heart.)
  • Will they die if they are just stabbed in the head? (No.)
  • Stabbed in the eye? (No!)
  • Will they die if only the top half of their head is cut off? And their brain is removed? (Strictly speaking they will only die if their whole head is severed from the rest of their body.)
  • Why…? (No…)

*with a girl!

**We won’t discuss the sequels.

***inspired by The Terminator released two years earlier?

Tags: i am connor macleod of the clan macleod i was born in 1518 in the village of glenfinnan on tthe shores of loch shiel and i am immortal movie night screenshots sean connery the gathering the highlander there can be only one when i was young i was a roger moore bond fan then later a sean connery bond fan and now i just think james bond is just kind of a dick clancy brown clancy brown is also the voice of mister crabs | |
pyrrhic victory (image via Alien vs. Predator)

pyrrhic victory

(image via Alien vs. Predator)

Tags: screenshots movie night alien vs predator predators pyramids the birth of civilization game preserves these were nukes in the first predator movie but now they seem to be something bigger i like to watch fire turn wood into ashes i like the sound of glass when it smashes | |
alien predator chimera (chestburster edition) Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We have watched Alien, Aliens, and Predator together, and we are big fans. We had heard word of this Alien vs. Predator movie without any of us actually having seen it.  I admit that when it was originally released it sounded so over the top that I didn’t give it much thought, but my mob was adamant that we watch it now.  I am glad I gave in, it was a fun and unpretentious action movie that seemed to be very careful to maintain continuity with the distinct imaginative universes it was joining together. We talked about a lot of issues before, during and after the movie including: The actor, Lance Henriksen, plays an android in Aliens and an billionaire industrialists in AVP.  We guessed that this was a deliberate connection and it turns out that the industrialist was the model for the android created many years in the future. The Predators seem to have much more advanced visualization technologies in this movie going well beyond the thermal visual ability that seems to be native to their species.  We were all impressed by their chestburster infection MRI ability. The shifting pyramid maze set felt a little to forced and FPS designed at times, but it design was integrated into the plot of the movie, so fair enough. hybrid alien predator chestburster finale got rewatched three times.  WOW. At the end of the movie, I mentioned that there was a sequel.  Fallie stared right into my eyes and shouted, “Burn it!”* We all like movies with strong female leads, even if they are a little (or in this case, a lot) on the one-dimensional side. The alien species sowing the seeds of civilization thread is a favorite of mine. Tattoos or ritual scarification as a characteristic of warrior behavior did not require any explanation. We all agree that harsh antarctic environments are badass places for interspecies showdowns. Floyd and I were correct.  The Aliens won. In your face Finn! In your face fencesitting Fallie! Fallie approved of the ad hoc weaponry that the Predator constructed out of an Alien corpse. She would have done that too. *Should be translated as “acquire a legal copy for viewing in the near future, please”

alien predator chimera (chestburster edition)

Friday night was movie night with the girls.  We have watched Alien, Aliens, and Predator together, and we are big fans. We had heard word of this Alien vs. Predator movie without any of us actually having seen it.  I admit that when it was originally released it sounded so over the top that I didn’t give it much thought, but my mob was adamant that we watch it now.  I am glad I gave in, it was a fun and unpretentious action movie that seemed to be very careful to maintain continuity with the distinct imaginative universes it was joining together. We talked about a lot of issues before, during and after the movie including:

  • The actor, Lance Henriksen, plays an android in Aliens and an billionaire industrialists in AVP.  We guessed that this was a deliberate connection and it turns out that the industrialist was the model for the android created many years in the future.
  • The Predators seem to have much more advanced visualization technologies in this movie going well beyond the thermal visual ability that seems to be native to their species.  We were all impressed by their chestburster infection MRI ability.
  • The shifting pyramid maze set felt a little to forced and FPS designed at times, but it design was integrated into the plot of the movie, so fair enough.
  • hybrid alien predator chestburster finale got rewatched three times.  WOW.
  • At the end of the movie, I mentioned that there was a sequel.  Fallie stared right into my eyes and shouted, “Burn it!”*
  • We all like movies with strong female leads, even if they are a little (or in this case, a lot) on the one-dimensional side.
  • The alien species sowing the seeds of civilization thread is a favorite of mine.
  • Tattoos or ritual scarification as a characteristic of warrior behavior did not require any explanation.
  • We all agree that harsh antarctic environments are badass places for interspecies showdowns.
  • Floyd and I were correct.  The Aliens won. In your face Finn! In your face fencesitting Fallie!
  • Fallie approved of the ad hoc weaponry that the Predator constructed out of an Alien corpse. She would have done that too.

*Should be translated as “acquire a legal copy for viewing in the near future, please”

Tags: movie nights Alien Vs. Predator alien vs predator aliens predators chestbursters hybrids avp movie night sequesl sequels screenshots chimeras hybrids badass lance henriksen bishop weyland | |
What is the opposite of one female? One male or many males?

Fallie

Contemplating the reproductive pattern of the aliens in the movie Aliens.
Tags: aliens fallie it is a tricky question to answer when phrased that way while also keeping a careful eye out for predatory alien drones movie night no screenshots because i had to take the movie back to the library right away so no movie night write up for now queens we had to agree to disagree on this one the general consensus is that the only thing grosser than the queens ovipositor is the scene where she rips of the ovipositor to go after ripley | |
it’s kind of strange, isn’t it? how the mountains pay us no attention at all. you laugh or you cry… the wind just keeps on blowing. Friday was movie night with the girls.  In honor of the independence day holiday we watched the film, Red Dawn, a document that was apparently leaked from some timeline adjacent to but vastly different from our own. In this movie, Darry and Pony Boy and Two-Bits’ little brother are all jocks and wind up fighting a guerrilla war against some kind of pan-national invading army. This is a low gore, high explosive, and high body count war movie with a recurring camping motif that was fun to watch but had its serious side.  Its few topical allusions to early 1980s political scenarios did not provoke any interest from the girls. The identity of the good guys and bad guys are pretty clear with the exception of a few rogue vichyists, but that was enough to make this more than a straightforward action movie night. We had some interesting discussions about the logic and logistics of a war of occupation and other war related topics that included: It would be smart if they found some army outfits and put them on. (from the monday morning general) The reeducation camp and territorial occupation versus the domination of a population.  If the bad guys want the town, why don’t they just kick all of the people out, why are they keeping them in jails? (Finn. It is complicated enough to explain the balance of individual rights with a responsibility to our society as a whole.  It feels impossible to explain the absurdity of abandoning this balance and using force and threat of death to try to dictate this sense of responsibility to an individual. That is what bad guys do, no one really knows why.) Why is Tom Eckart’s face bleeding when Jed and Matt see him through the fence at the reeducation camp? (Bad guys.) What does it mean when he says “Avenge Me!”? (He wants his sons to kill the people who are going to kill him. How to explain the line between resistance and revenge?  When should you stop turning the other cheek?) How many people are in a squad? (via the little general, I had to look this one up.  It is roughly 10-12 for movie purposes.) Why is he telling them not to cry if their families just died? (After the wolverines (Archetypal warrior behavior plus the psychological distortions inherent in warfare of any kind) What does medieval mean? (The word was used to describe the state of a city that has been under siege for several months. Primitive, dangerous, brutal conditions associated with an earlier period of human history.) Drinking deer blood as a rite of passage for a hunter after his first kill. (Fallie said, I wouldn’t want to do that, but if we had to, I would.) The betrayals of their own people by the mayor and his son. Vichyists. (see occupation versus domination.) I was glad that they were asking serious questions, but the experience was not without it thrills.  A lot of fun was had watching rocket propelled grenades blow up cars, buildings, tanks, and guard towers.  We all agreed that we would like to take a trunk full of RPGs to the junkyard for a little shooting practice.

it’s kind of strange, isn’t it? how the mountains pay us no attention at all. you laugh or you cry… the wind just keeps on blowing.

Friday was movie night with the girls.  In honor of the independence day holiday we watched the film, Red Dawn, a document that was apparently leaked from some timeline adjacent to but vastly different from our own. In this movie, Darry and Pony Boy and Two-Bits’ little brother are all jocks and wind up fighting a guerrilla war against some kind of pan-national invading army.

This is a low gore, high explosive, and high body count war movie with a recurring camping motif that was fun to watch but had its serious side.  Its few topical allusions to early 1980s political scenarios did not provoke any interest from the girls. The identity of the good guys and bad guys are pretty clear with the exception of a few rogue vichyists, but that was enough to make this more than a straightforward action movie night. We had some interesting discussions about the logic and logistics of a war of occupation and other war related topics that included:

  • It would be smart if they found some army outfits and put them on. (from the monday morning general)
  • The reeducation camp and territorial occupation versus the domination of a population.  If the bad guys want the town, why don’t they just kick all of the people out, why are they keeping them in jails? (Finn. It is complicated enough to explain the balance of individual rights with a responsibility to our society as a whole.  It feels impossible to explain the absurdity of abandoning this balance and using force and threat of death to try to dictate this sense of responsibility to an individual. That is what bad guys do, no one really knows why.)
  • Why is Tom Eckart’s face bleeding when Jed and Matt see him through the fence at the reeducation camp? (Bad guys.)
  • What does it mean when he says “Avenge Me!”? (He wants his sons to kill the people who are going to kill him. How to explain the line between resistance and revenge?  When should you stop turning the other cheek?)
  • How many people are in a squad? (via the little general, I had to look this one up.  It is roughly 10-12 for movie purposes.)
  • Why is he telling them not to cry if their families just died? (After the wolverines (Archetypal warrior behavior plus the psychological distortions inherent in warfare of any kind)
  • What does medieval mean? (The word was used to describe the state of a city that has been under siege for several months. Primitive, dangerous, brutal conditions associated with an earlier period of human history.)
  • Drinking deer blood as a rite of passage for a hunter after his first kill. (Fallie said, I wouldn’t want to do that, but if we had to, I would.)
  • The betrayals of their own people by the mayor and his son. Vichyists. (see occupation versus domination.)

I was glad that they were asking serious questions, but the experience was not without it thrills.  A lot of fun was had watching rocket propelled grenades blow up cars, buildings, tanks, and guard towers.  We all agreed that we would like to take a trunk full of RPGs to the junkyard for a little shooting practice.

Tags: 1984 harry dean stanton harry dean stanton constantly kills it in a very good way i think i need to see me some paris texas movie night my third 1984 released harry dean stanton movie in a month red dawn rocket propelled grenades screenshot the first movie released to theaters with a pg13 rating war wars of occupation win their hearts and minds wolverines! i expected a great tattered american flag screenshot from this movie but there is not a single flag in sight anywhere if you see one let me know | |
it happens sometimes, people just explode, natural causes or you’re on the honor roll of “chariots of fire” same as us Last night was movie night with the girls. We watched the classic 1984 film, Repo Man starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez.  Repo Man came up after Floyd and I watched Paris, Texas a few weeks ago (and Alien before that) and I wanted to see more Harry Dean Stanton.  Repo Man, Red Dawn, and Paris, Texas were all released in 1984 and all include Harry Dean Stanton. It is an interesting collection of films. We may have to watch Red Dawn to round out the trilogy. The Repo Man movie night was very similar to the movie night featuring Spaceballs.  Finn and Fallie enjoyed the movie and laughed at a few spots, but most of the jokes required some background knowledge that they just don’t have yet. A few of the things that they asked questions about, didn’t understand, or commented about include: Repossession (I discussed this before the movie because I knew it would come up, but I guess I did not properly explain the gray area overlapping theft that repossession occupies, because there were several questions about people reactions to their cars repossession.) Why does he keep calling it a bad area? (the part of town where they are repossesing cars early in the film.  I guess we don’t live in or visit enough bad areas for this idea to have much purchase for them. They have developed some sense of the prescence of danger but I don’t know how concrete their sense of crime as something that can happen to them is.) White label generic goods (All of the store labels try to resemble marketed products now.  Does anyone sell the stereotypical “generic” food anymore except maybe the Dharma Initiative?) What are they doing? (Otto and Bud snorting speed in the car.  These are still hard for me.  We usually compare drugs to drinking but emphasize their relative potential for danger (snorting speed equals very very dumb, Bob Hope being more like beer).  Explaining drug references so that they understand their meaning in the context of a movie while at the same time explaining their real life meaning is very difficult.) Hazmat suits. (They watched E.T. so I thought they would get this one.) Radiation and neutron bombs.  (I gave a movie explanation to this one with a note-to-self to follow up with some real life references later.) UFO nuts, Men in Black, and general conspiracy theory themes (I gave a pretty generic movie level good guys/bad guys/crazy guys explanation to this. Currently they do not believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.) His stick is on fire.  (concerning Miller’s fire poking stick. This comment from Finn represents the concerns of a consummate marshmallow roaster.) Why are there so many bad words? (This movie does include frequent cursing.  I am not going to explain that cursing can be funny.  They will have to suss that one out for themselves.) In general, their favorite funniest parts of the film involved the slapstick armed robberies commited by Archie, Debbi, and Duke.  Particularly funny details included: Archie’s mohawk revealing paper bag mask Archie racking himself on the traffic barrier All three of them popping up from behind the counter after Bud and Otto bought a drink. It was a fun movie night.  I dug up the soundtrack a couple of weeks ago and we have been listening to it in the car.  Finn hates the burping at the beginning of TV Party, and she is mortified when I try to sing along to Institutionalized.  I am going to play it again today and see what connections they make to the film.

it happens sometimes, people just explode, natural causes or you’re on the honor roll of “chariots of fire” same as us

Last night was movie night with the girls. We watched the classic 1984 film, Repo Man starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez.  Repo Man came up after Floyd and I watched Paris, Texas a few weeks ago (and Alien before that) and I wanted to see more Harry Dean Stanton.  Repo Man, Red Dawn, and Paris, Texas were all released in 1984 and all include Harry Dean Stanton. It is an interesting collection of films. We may have to watch Red Dawn to round out the trilogy.

The Repo Man movie night was very similar to the movie night featuring Spaceballs.  Finn and Fallie enjoyed the movie and laughed at a few spots, but most of the jokes required some background knowledge that they just don’t have yet. A few of the things that they asked questions about, didn’t understand, or commented about include:

  • Repossession (I discussed this before the movie because I knew it would come up, but I guess I did not properly explain the gray area overlapping theft that repossession occupies, because there were several questions about people reactions to their cars repossession.)
  • Why does he keep calling it a bad area? (the part of town where they are repossesing cars early in the film.  I guess we don’t live in or visit enough bad areas for this idea to have much purchase for them. They have developed some sense of the prescence of danger but I don’t know how concrete their sense of crime as something that can happen to them is.)
  • White label generic goods (All of the store labels try to resemble marketed products now.  Does anyone sell the stereotypical “generic” food anymore except maybe the Dharma Initiative?)
  • What are they doing? (Otto and Bud snorting speed in the car.  These are still hard for me.  We usually compare drugs to drinking but emphasize their relative potential for danger (snorting speed equals very very dumb, Bob Hope being more like beer).  Explaining drug references so that they understand their meaning in the context of a movie while at the same time explaining their real life meaning is very difficult.)
  • Hazmat suits. (They watched E.T. so I thought they would get this one.)
  • Radiation and neutron bombs.  (I gave a movie explanation to this one with a note-to-self to follow up with some real life references later.)
  • UFO nuts, Men in Black, and general conspiracy theory themes (I gave a pretty generic movie level good guys/bad guys/crazy guys explanation to this. Currently they do not believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.)
  • His stick is on fire.  (concerning Miller’s fire poking stick. This comment from Finn represents the concerns of a consummate marshmallow roaster.)
  • Why are there so many bad words? (This movie does include frequent cursing.  I am not going to explain that cursing can be funny.  They will have to suss that one out for themselves.)

In general, their favorite funniest parts of the film involved the slapstick armed robberies commited by Archie, Debbi, and Duke.  Particularly funny details included:

  • Archie’s mohawk revealing paper bag mask
  • Archie racking himself on the traffic barrier
  • All three of them popping up from behind the counter after Bud and Otto bought a drink.

It was a fun movie night.  I dug up the soundtrack a couple of weeks ago and we have been listening to it in the car.  Finn hates the burping at the beginning of TV Party, and she is mortified when I try to sing along to Institutionalized.  I am going to play it again today and see what connections they make to the film.

Tags: 1984 Harry Dean Stanton harry dean stanton constantly kills it in a very good way i think i need to see me some paris texas movie night repo man yeah lets go eat some sushi and not pay screenshot | |