A Bloggers' Film Society: August 2014: Stand By Me

A while back, The Armchair Squid asked if I would be interested in spearheading a bloghop with him.  I try to participate in his monthly Book Club and thought this sounded fun.

Our inaugural movie is Rob Reiner's seminal look at childhood and friendship, "Stand By Me".

Currently #93 on my flickchart list

I missed this movie back in the day. (I'm certain I watched it in college and after when I worked in a couple of video stores). I would've been about to turn 16 when it came out.  I was reading a lot of King's books at the time and had two strong friends but we didn't do a lot of movie watching.  What we did watch was a whole lot lighter than this.

My two best friends from that time popped in my head as I watched it now.  It is a strong movie.  I've never seen anything else by the two men who worked on the screenplay but I have seen lots of Reiner's movies, as well as performances by the majority of the actors, many of whom went on to rather lengthy careers, though maybe not all as leading men.

I've often wondered what the first R rated movie that I watch with me son will be.  This would be a strong contender.  I look at him and the relationship he has with his two best pals and envy him for all that he has with them.  Don't get me wrong....my adult relationships are very strong.  I might even disagree with the narrator's final heartfelt assertion and I doubt any kid is ever as self aware as these characters are portrayed as being, but that carefree time....the conversations you have before you discover girls...when the biggest worries are determining what Goofy is....summer days that spread out with endless possibilities for mischief and adventure...I do hope my boy enjoys it all.

A Bloggers' Film Society

My dear friend, The Armchair Squid, and I are proud to introduce Mock Squid Soup: A Film Society.  Each month, on the second Friday, we shall host a bloghop devoted to a particular movie.  We invite others to watch the same film and post their own reviews.

Our society shall debut on August 8th with Stand by Me, first released to theaters, not coincidentally, on August 8, 1986.  We hope that you, too, will watch this classic movie and join in our discussion. 

Consider heading over to Squid's page by clicking HERE and signing up!

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

This is not my best entry...I am trying to pre-write this days ago (watching one of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "Cause and Effect") and publishing it when I will be away.  Actually, as it publishes, I am teeing off at the Tommy Keane Invitational in Hanover, NH.  Past posts about the TKI can be found HERE.

I recently mentioned to Nan that I think reading Stephen King is a rite of passage for readers, especially for males who became readers during King's heyday in the mid to late 1980s.  I loved "The Talisman" and "Eyes of the Dragon" as well as the "horror" novels "Pet Sematary", "It", and "'Salems Lot".  Heck, I read "The Stand" in one "sitting" after getting out of the hospital (I was unable to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time and would be awake for what seemed like days).

I wandered away in college.  I really wanted to like "The Dark Tower" series but it didn't catch me and I stopped following it after the third book.  I think the last King novel I read was "Dolores Claiborne".

This month's entry for the Cephalopod Coffee House has actually received a sort of shout out from another member.  Last month, Tony mentioned he had read this book recently.

I really liked this book.  Time travel has dominated lots of my conversations recently.  As my son and I watch Star Trek episodes, his favorites are the time travel episodes.  The Armchair Squid and I have a common friend who recommended Ray Bradbury's exquisite time travel story "A Sound of Thunder" which gets name checked in this book.

This might not be a good choice as someone's first Stephen King novel.  It does have some neat callbacks to other King works but nothing that hinders the enjoyment of the novel.

King has done his research here.  One gets lost in the time period quite easily.  My only caveat is that it seemed that King actually got too in depth at times.  As the fateful day referenced in the title approaches, King actually has the narrator SPOILER ALERT HIGHLIGHT TO READ get beaten up to the point of near death and sort of fast forwards the story seven weeks. END SPOILER

Beyond that, if you like King, time travel, or mind bending works, this is for you.  While our Cephlapod Host is not a time travel fan, this one MIGHT be up his alley...the cosmic ramifications are spelled out explicitly and the ending is bittersweet and personal.

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What's The Cephalopod Coffeehouse all about?  Let's ask The Squid himself!

"The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers."

Click a link below to check things out!

1.	The Armchair Squid	2.	Counterintuitivity
3.	Subliminal Coffee	4.	Scouring Monk
5.	A ARTE DE NEWTON AVELINO	6.	The Random Book Review
7.	StrangePegs -- The Ocean at The End of the Lane	8.	Ed & Reub
9.	What's Up, MOCK?	10.	My Creatively Random Life
11.	Jim Devitt	12.	Hungry Enough to Eat Six!
13.	Bird's Nest	14.	Divine Secrets of the Writing Sisterhood
15.	Words Incorporated	16.	Spill Beans