TAKE EIGHTEEN

My Empire Bachelor Party

On July 2, 1980, my best friend Blaine and his wife Cindy took me to see “The Empire Strikes Back” at the Center Theater on the corner of State and Third South in Salt Lake City. Watching "Empire" became my bachelor party since tomorrow was my wedding day.

While we waited in line, Blaine pointed out everyone leaving the earlier showing who were not smiling. This did not bode well. I had avoided reading any of the reviews. I was hoping for the best.

I am growing hair out of my ears like Yoda!
Look so good at 53, I do not!

The movie did not disappoint. Blaine and I wanted our own snow speeders. I just added it to my “Star Wars” want list with the Millennium Falcon and an X-Wing fighter. Overall it was a wild ride.

There was no cake, drinking or strippers. Instead I met Yoda, the Emperor and Tan-tans. 

TAKE SEVENTEEN

The Good-Bye Girl

The date movie is so very important in my mind.  The first movie I took Ellen to while we were dating was a midnight showing of “The Good-bye Girl.”  The scene where Marsha Mason walks in on nude and guitar playing Richard Dreyfuss is where I heard Ellen laugh right out loud for the first time:


Mason:         “I thought you said you were decent!”

Dreyfuss:      “I am decent.  I’m also naked.”

TAKE SIXTEEN

Airplane!

"Don't call me Shirley."

Joey gets told how things really are in the NBA.

I decided that I would take my new bride on our honeymoon to see the kind of movie I liked.  We took the bus that look like a trolley to Trolley Square to see “Airplane!”  I cried with laughter the entire movie.  Every sight gag, every quote of dialogue that has now passed into the rich collective of movie quotes all cracked me up.  One problem.

Ellen did not understand "Airplane!"  I never saw her laugh once.  She called the movie strange.  She simply missed the point.  After thirty years of marriage she knows when I stop channel surfing to watch a scene from "Airplane!" or "Hot Shots!" she just shakes her head and lets me laugh.

TAKE FIFTEEN

Summer of 1980. 

I came across a list of movies that came out thirty years ago.  You see the highs (Empire Strikes Back) and the lows (Xanadu).

*Movies I saw that summer.
#Movies I saw later.

Friday, May 9, 1980
•    Friday the 13th
•    The Nude Bomb*
Friday, May 16, 1980
•    Breaker Morant
•    Fame #
•    The Long Riders*
Wednesday, May 21, 1980
•    The Empire Strikes Back *
Friday, May 23, 1980
•    The Gong Show Movie 
•    The Shining *
Friday, May 30, 1980
•    Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)*
•    Joni
•    The Hollywood Knights
Friday, June 6, 1980
•    Up the Academy*
•    Urban Cowboy #
Friday, June 13, 1980
•    Mad Max *
•    The Island #
•    Wholly Moses!
Friday, June 20, 1980
•    The Blues Brothers #
•    Brubaker #
Friday, June 27, 1980
•    The Stunt Man 
Wednesday, July 2, 1980
•    Airplane! *
•    Alligator
Friday, July 4, 1980
•    The Blue Lagoon 
Friday, July 11, 1980
•    My Bodyguard*
•    Oh! Heavenly Dog #
•    Used Cars #
Friday, July 18, 1980
•    The Big Red One
•    Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
•    Honeysuckle Rose
•    Prom Night 
Friday, July 25, 1980
•    Caddyshack #
•    Dressed to Kill  #
Friday, August 1, 1980
•    The Final Countdown  #
Friday, August 8, 1980
•    Xanadu 
Friday, August 15, 1980
•    The Octagon
•    Smokey and the Bandit II

TAKE FOURTEEN

The Original “Tron.”

The original “Tron” held me spellbound when it came out in 1982.  The color and video game action was exciting.  I saw “Tron” six times.  The original "Tron" director, Steven Lisberger, ran into resistance by the old animators who feared the computer would replace them thus the animation department wanted anything to do with “Tron.”  It was a sad commentary on Disney’s closed corporate culture that would not change until Pixar came on board.  Here’s hoping that “Tron- Legacy” gives birth to a new vision. 

                                               END OF LINE.

              (YOU KNEW I HAD TO DO THAT!!!)

TAKE THIRTEEN

Fans waiting for Twilight. 

Waiting For the Future.

ComicCon just wrapped up and there is new trailer for “Tron- Legacy” to watch.  Five months and counting.  Five.  Four months before we see “Harry Potter” but still a long wait.  And six months to “Green Hornet!”  Gosh, I better start camping!

The reservation system at Jordan Commons does away with standing in lines to see a blockbuster movie.  You lock in a favorite seat and come on down.  I am waiting for two more items to appear.  Flying cars and the ability to fold space and time.

TAKE TWELVE

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 (TS3) is the best Pixar as EVER done.  The pinnacle.  The top.   Just watch the first TS and compare it to TS3.  Try TS2 and then TS3.  Crayons and paper compared with computers.  (Yes, I know it was all computers but still, take a look.)  And yes, it is Oscar Worthy.

The real question is, what’s next?  Cars 2.  That makes my wife happy.  She loves the rusty old tow truck Mater.  She loves Mater’s buck teeth and voice.  Ok, then.  If I ever get rich, I want a big HD, Blu-Ray and a copy of Cars.  I have seen Cars on Blue-Ray and all I can say is, OOON GAA WAA!

TAKE ELEVEN

Old joke:
Daddy, Mommy and Baby Tomato are taking a walk when the baby falls behind and begins to cry.  Daddy Tomato goes to the baby, smacks it on the head and says:
“KETCHUP!”  I’m here till Thursday!  Be sure to tip your wait staff!

I am in catch up mode and here goes:

Despicable Me Versus Toy Story 3

Why bother?  Toy Story 3 (TS3) is far better in all categories.  TS3 is so hip that it tips its hat to “Cool Hand Luke!”  TS3 represents the high point of both a franchise and the technologies used to create it.  BUT, Despicable Me (DM) has it’s charms.  It was never going to compete against Pixar.  DM competes instead with Bond.  James Bond. 

With the news that it may be years before we see another Bond picture DM fills the bill.  I want  more of the Minions.  The Minions nearly steal the show.  I like the character Gru but I love the Minions.  Here’s hoping the studio does this.

TAKE TEN

I choose to go to Jordan Commons in Sandy, Utah because it is

different.  The within the complex serves to separate you from reality.  The mini-town square does this well.  The concessions are different and varied.  Pizza, salads and gelato are among the choices.  Popcorn is still the king of the concessions stand. 

I did not like the lack of choices in the diet realm.  Diet Coke, Coke Zero and bottled water.  Yesterday, Ellen and I had a new experience.

Enter the new Coca-Cola Freestyle Beverage System.  The self-serve fountain has a touch screen where there is a choice of more than 100 different drink combinations.  This includes waters, juices, teas and sparkling drinks that have never before been available in this country.  Several machines are working at the Jordan Commons as a test of the idea and to gauge customer reaction. 

From what I saw, the Coca-Cola Freestyle Beverage System machines are an instant hit with moviegoers.  Adults and children excitedly choose several flavors at a time.  The flavor most chosen so far?  Orange Coke.  My choice is Fanta Zero Peach.  This could be the start of something big.       

TAKE NINE

The Summer so far.......
Iron Man 2
Toy Story 3
Hum.  Ho Hum.
That's all, folks!

Ages ago, when I worked in the oil fields around Bartlesville, OK there came time to clean out an oil well with chemicals called fracking a well.  I am sure the well owners had other "f" words to call it.  To frack a well, you had to have several large trucks filled with men and the men ran the pressure gauges and looked after the equipment.  It was a traveling circus of the oil patch.  I asked my boss, Blaine, what it was costing to do this. 

"Well, Jimmer," he slowly replied in his Idaho and Oklahoma drawl.  "Get yourself an oil drum and fill it full of one dollar bills.  Then light the whole thing on fire!"

He let out his crazy laugh. 

Hollywood is burning bunches of barrels of one dollar bills, only, they aren't laughing.

TAKE EIGHT

It was fifty years ago tonight that the Alfred Hitchcock classic "Pycho" made people afraid to take showers.  50!  Anthony Perkins gave new meaning to the term "Creep."  I think he was the template for all creeps for years to come!  Poor Janet Leigh later said that it was a role that she could not shake.  Hitchcock wanted the film in black and white because he felt that if he shot it in color it would be too gory.  

How about a bit of trivia?

• The "blood" in the shower scene was really chocolate sauce!  Yummy!
• The car Janet Leigh drove, a 1957 Ford, was the same one the Cleaver family drove on "Leave It to Beaver." So not only did she steal from her employer but she took Ward Cleaver's car!
• The sound that the knife makes penetrating the flesh is actually the sound of a knife stabbing a casaba melon.  Try it on your next picnic!

 

TAKE SEVEN

This day cannot pass without a tip of the hat and a hearty "Happy Birthday" to the Drive In Theatre.  It was on June 6, 1933 in Camden, New Jersey that the drive in was born.  I have many fond memories of the drive in as a kid but I will detail them in my book.  My drive in experiences as an adult tend to be less special. 

There are still 300 drive ins through out the U. S.

Again, Happy Birthday, Drive Ins!!! 

TAKE SIX

Iron Man 2- Unwatchable?  What the....?

You can't always get what you want.- Rolling Stones.

First let us go to the tried and true dictionary for the meaning of the word: "Unwatchable."

not suitable or fit for watching : tending to discourage watching "unwatchable." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. Merriam-Webster Online. 3 May 2010

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unwatchable

Thanks to the dictionary, unwatchable applies only to television.  Just kidding.  But does it really refer to Iron Man 2?  It is if you believe David Edwards of the Mirror. 

"What none of [us] realised was that another disaster was about to unfold in front of our eyes, for Iron Man 2 is a travesty – a mind-numbingly dull, chaotic and often unwatchable muddle. It might even be the ultimate masterclass in how not to make a movie.  Given the strength of part one, the sequel is not just a terrific failure but a terrific disappointment."

- Edwards, David. "Iron Man 2: World’s First Review - ‘mind-numbingly Dull, Chaotic and Unwatchable’." Http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/04/27/iron-man-2-world-s-first-review-mind-numbingly-dull-chaotic-and-unwatchable-115875-22214759/. 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 03 May 2010.

And what effect does this review have on the legion of fan boys and girls queuing up for the opening night this Friday?  None.  Zilch.  Nada. 

The following is a short list of films considered unwatchable:

• Bolero
• It's Pat
• Battlefield Earth
• Son of the Mask
• Kazaam

Those five films are truly unwatchable.  And there is no getting back the 8-10 hours of time I wasted seeing them.  Iron Man 2 is clearly not in the same trash heap.      

TAKE FIVE

Hey, kids, I am taking five and while I do, let me share this note from the Deseret News.  I will not generally include DVD releases unless they are special and this one is.  “I Love Lucy” was one of those programs that made my kids laugh fifty years after the fact!

 

 

'I Love Lucy: The Movie' DVD comes full of extras

 

"I Love Lucy: The Movie" (CBS/Paramount, 1953, b/w, $19.99).

 

This is actually the bonus disc from the "I Love Lucy: The Complete Series" set. The "movie" of the title was cobbled together from three first-season episodes, with newly filmed connecting sequences, and it was intended for theatrical release. But because Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's feature film "The Long Long Trailer" was about to be released, "The I Love Lucy" movie was shelved. And it's great fun for "Lucy" fans who don't have the series box set.

 

Just as intriguing are the bonus features - a full-length color episode (by all accounts the only one), a two-minute clip from "The Ed Wynn Show," in which Lucy and Desi appeared together on TV for the first time (and Desi can't stop laughing), along with a touching excerpt from the Emmys where Vivian Vance won for best supporting actress and "I Love Lucy" won for best sitcom - with Ball urging the Emmys to establish a writers category, which it did the next year.

 

Extras: full frame, "I Love Lucy" 1956 color episode, Lucy & Desi's first joint appearance (on the "Ed Wynn Show," 1949), Emmy Awards excerpt (1954), on-set commercial (1951), text program notes. - Hicks, Chris. "'I Love Lucy: The Movie' DVD Comes Full of Extras." Deseret News [Salt Lake City] 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2010

TAKE FOUR

A Shot in the Dark:  The Funniest Movie Ever Made.

Only one film can make me laugh right at the opening credits.  "A Shot in the Dark" is such a film.  The first time I saw the film in 1966 I laughed.  My mother reported I laughed so hard I nearly choked.   "A Shot in the Dark" (Hereafter referred to as "Shot") retains the comedic spark.

The main reason, Peter Sellers.  He IS Inspector Clouseau.   The other Clouseaus, I will not mention.  They failed miserably to fill the trench coat of Clouseau.

Rather then rehash the movie plot I would like to share some favorite scenes.

• Clouseau's first interview with Maria Gambrelli in his office.  Ripping his pants when he forgets to take out the key, notice how Elke Sommers struggles to keep from laughing!  Classic.
• Hearing the opera singer and ending up charging through the recital and out the window and into the river. 
• The nudist colony scene.  The look on Clouseau's face when it dawns on him he is at a nudist colony is priceless. 
• The nude Clouseau and Maria Gambrelli getting caught in traffic. 
• The introduction to the series of Dreyfus and Kato.
• Going out to various nightclubs where an assassin misses Clouseau, killing four innocent people instead. 
• The climatic scene.  Clouseau gathers the suspects together and each of them are guilty of murder.  They escape in Clouseau's car which contains a bomb that was placed there by the  now insane Dreyfus.
• Trivia note:  William Peter Blatty is co-credited with Blake Edwards on the screenplay.  Blatty would later give us "The Exorist."   

"Shot" was really the beginning of the "Pink Panther" franchise.  All the elements were assembled together to allow the series to continue.  I am laughing right now with the memories!

       

   

TAKE THREE

Buying stock on the Movies:  Sure thing or sucker bet?

Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to Arlington Park Racetrack for the Summer Movies Race.  Who will win, place or show?  Place your bets, folks. 

Annnnddd....they're off!  Iron Man 2 takes the lead but here comes Robin Hood close and on the outside.  Followed by Shrek Forever After in the green silks.  Sex and the City 2 is fourth but look out for Prince of Persia on the dark horse! 

The summer movies are coming and it is anyone's race to win.  The major studios are betting big and we, the movie going public are betting as well.  Winner take all!  The L A Times reported on a brand new way to lose your shirt.  Selling stocks on the movies.  Not the studios but the movies they make.  After the sterling record Wall Street has given us lately, NOTHING CAN WRONG HERE. 

I am a rank (unranked, really.) amateur and I know enough not to buy stock in the movies.  Why?  How many of us remember previous "sure things" from 2009:

•    Land of the Lost: Cost $100 million to make and made half that.
•    Funny People:  Adam Sandler!  Seth Rogen!  Pure....lead. 
•    Year One: Unfunny TRAILER equals unfunny movie.
•    I Love You Beth Cooper:  No one saw Beth Cooper let alone loved her.

Think about this.  What large studio in memory ever trotted out a picture and then spent millions saying:  STAY AWAY!  Toxic Movie!  Do not see this!  Fast answer is none.  Now add in betting.  Or stocks, I mean. 

I can picture the following :

"Bill?  John at Hee Hee Americade.  Hey, I got a hot stock.  Golden.  New film.  Called "Babies."  Yeah.  It is about four babies from around the world and they follow them around for a year.  Hey!  Let me shoot you the trailer.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/dor/objects/54003/10012014-babies/videos/babies_trlr_121409.html
 

So, how much do you want to buy?  Hello?  Hello?"

Ok.  Cuteness squared but other than doing huge business in Utah County, who is this film for?  I can predict a theatre full of women but where are the guys?  Oh? And did the broker tell you it opens the same weekend as Iron Man 2?  He didn't?  SUCKER!  

 After you pay for a sitter, parking and concessions, you are into a movie pretty deep anyway.  Why compound going to movies by investing in stocks?  If a movie sucks, all you lose is the money you spent going and the two hours involved.  Nothing more.    

Remember, Kids, vote for a movie with your feet not your retirement or kids college money.

TAKE TWO

Leonard Nimoy has announced that he will be retiring from acting soon. It had to happen. Nimoy is 79. Bones and Scotty have already departed us. Would it be worth it to see the poor man at a Trek convention with a walker? Oh well, as The Next Generation signed off on television with the final episode titled, "All Good Things" fans everywhere will miss him.

This gives me an opportunity to share with you my favorite "Trek" movies:

• ST- II Wrath of Kahn "Scotty, I need warp speed in three minutes or we're all dead!"

• ST-IV The Voyage Home "Captain, there be whales here!"

• ST-VI The Undiscovered Country "To be or not to be."

TAKE ONE

Hello and welcome to my new blog. I felt that it was time to let the world in on my love of movies. I will be mixing favorites with recently seen movies. Add to that favorite theatres, popcorn and the whole movie going experience. So let's dim the lights and get started! That being written, ON WITH THE SHOW!