I’ve read all the books and I’ve seen all the Swedish films and when I heard that there was a US version of the movies being made I had no interest in seeing them. Then this happened… Two words. Fincher. Reznor. The subject matter in the first book is very dark and if there are […]
Category / movies
Aram Bedrosian – A Dark Light
I thought I had blogged this back in August, but apparently I have not. Want to play it on endless loop at work today, I decided I should embed it in a blog post. Aram Bedrosian is a bass soloist and this song is called “A Dark Light”. My hope is that he will release […]
Demographic Targeted – ME
I can’t wait.
Palm Geek Chick Flick?
Holly is currently out-of-town, so you’d think that I’d have spent the whole weekend eating pizza, renting violent movies and sitting around in my underwear — you know, reverting back to adolescence while my better half is away. Surprisingly, I wore pants and did a bunch of small chores around the house. However, I did […]
Bathtub IV Video
I was going through my tweets after lunch and found a comment by Merlin Mann. He was replying to Graham Linehan, the creator of The IT Crowd so naturally I had to follow him (@Glinner if you’re interested). As I scrolled through page-after-page of videos and links of utter hilarity, I came across this video […]
My Favorite “Superman Returns” Review
We saw Superman Returns at the Stardust Drive-in last night and I _loved_ it. Instead of waxing poetic on the whys and what nots, I think the following review sums it up perfectly…
Rendezvous
A friend of mine sent me an e-mail this morning with a link to a Google Video and I just HAD to share it. The video is a short film by Claude Lelouch entitled C’était un rendez-vous.
The film was shot in 1976 on the streets of Paris. Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a professional Formula 1 driver race it from Porte Dauphine, past the Louvre to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur. The entire course was completed in about 9 minutes, with the driver reaching 140 miles per hour in some sections. If you watch the film closely, you’ll see him run red lights, nearly hit real pedestrians and going the wrong way up one-way streets. Remember, the streets were NOT closed, because Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit for the filming.
After the first public viewing of the film, Lelouch was promptly arrested. He never released the name of the driver, but according to IMDB the Formula 1 driver and personal friend of Lelouch is Jean-Pierre Beltoise.
Having ridden many of the streets shot in the film, during a month I spent in Paris, I found this film to be absolutly terrifying. Granted, I rode the streets by bicycle, where my top speed was probably 20mph, versus the 120mph in the film. It’s completely dangereous, reckless and stupid – but it’s a lot of fun to watch. 🙂
Perfect Clip For A Monday Morning
Found this clip this morning courtesy of my good friend Kerry Woo and I just had to share it. If you’ve ever seen the cult classic movie Office Space, this is a video using the “SuperFriends” with some of the choice audio from Office Space overdubbed. It’s a wicked combination that makes for a nice Monday pickup.
About A Boy
Director(s): Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Writer(s): Nick Hornby (novel), Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz (screenplay)
Category: Drama / Comedy
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some thematic elements.
Runtime: 101 min
Country: UK
Language: English
Year: 2002
Plot: Based on Nick Hornby’s popular British novel, About A Boy is a comedy-drama starring Hugh Grant as Will, a rich, child-free and irresponsible Londoner in his thirties who, in search of available women, invents an imaginary son and starts attending single parent meetings. As a result of one of his liaisons, he meets Marcus, an odd 12-year-old boy with problems at school. Gradually, Will and Marcus become friends, and as Will teaches Marcus how to be a cool kid, Marcus helps Will to finally grow up.
Review:
I first saw this movie while on a business trip to Chattanooga. I needed to finish up some work on a presentation I was making the next day and there was nothing on TV, so I decided to splurge and rent an On-Demand movie. Most of the movies I had either seen, or had no interest in seeing and just as I was about to turn it off, I came across About A Boy. I hadn’t heard much buzz about the movie and I’m not a fan of Hugh Grant, but for reasons unknown to me, I rented it.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Director(s): Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Writer(s): Eve Ahlert, Dennis Drake, Kate Kondell
Category: Comedy
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some sex-related humor.
Runtime: 95 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2003
Plot: Sassy postgrad Elle Woods is all about animal rights. In fact, she puts her nuptial plans on hold to head to Washington D.C. to get an anti-animal testing bill passed. Her building’s doorman quickly shows her the ways and workings of our nation’s capital.
Review: There is a curse in the movie industry. It’s name – the sequel. For some reason, trying to follow up a hit movie with a sequel is very difficult for most studios because most sequels suck eggs. I forgot about this curse when I rented Legally Blonde 2 – Red, With & Blonde recently. It’s not that the first movie, Legally Blonde, was a masterpiece or anything, but it was good for what it was. It was a happy, shiny movie where you dismissed a little reality and just went with the story. Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) may be a silly character, but you go with it just to watch the character grow and mature. In addition, there were a nice assortment of memorable characters peppered throughout the story that really “kicked it up a notch”.
Since Legally Blonde was a big hit, you’d think that the producers wouldn’t mess with the formula that made it such a success. Haven’t we learned anything from New Coke? 😉 Unfortunately all the elements that made the first movie such a fun guilty pleasure are absent from the sequel and all you’re left with is a bitter taste in your mouth making you feel wrong for liking the first movie.