Mock Squid Soup - May 8, 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Could it be anything else?

Nan and I had grand plans to watch movies and tease trivia, but, alas, it was not meant to be!

Currently, it stands as my favorite Marvel movie and it cracks the top ten of all my movies on Flickchart.

I saw it during previews with Nan and our son, then saw most of it at the drive-in the next night with a large group of friends (including my son, my daughter and her boyfriend) and then again on Saturday with my two cousins in Rutland.

There are stories behind each viewing, but the clock on the wall says I have to head to school.  I might find my placement for next year today.  And then I have a big presentation tonight for my Masters project so it will all have to wait.

I hope you are all well.

Mock Squid Soup - March 13th: Three Days of the Condor

This blog has been long neglected.  It has been 71 days since I last posted.  Life changes rapidly and I have been making some choices to keep up.  One of the casualties of my choices has been my free time....specifically my on-line free time.  I don't seem to find myself with enough time on my hands to visit blogs and comment, let alone posting here with any regularity.

It also means finding 90 minutes or more to sit and watch a movie is difficult.  My Netflix queue is full of movies ranging from "Oooh...I always wanted to see that" to "Hmmm....that looks worth watching."  I had no idea of what I might watch for this month's Blog Hop.  My prospect for finding time was bleak...but then it happened.

While cleaning up Netflix profile, Nan said she and our son had an Odyssey of the Mind meeting on Sunday and at the same time I saw "Three Days of the Condor" was now available on the service.

Currently #114 on my flickchart list

Robert Redford plays a low level analyst for the CIA.  He is part of a group that reads every book published and feeds the details to a computer to find out if pending CIA operations have been compromised.

One rainy day, it is Redford's job to get lunch for his co-workers.  When he returns, he discovers that they have all been murdered.  The rest of the movie is spent following Redford trying to unravel the mystery and figure out who he can trust.

For me, this has always been the epitome of 1970's conspiracy spy flicks, despite not having seen it for well over 15 years.  It held up well for me on this viewing with stellar performances and a veritable "who's who" of 1970's cinema.

Cinema Sunday: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Currently #25 on my flickchart list

My son was a little bugged that he hadn't seen a movie when it opened at midnight.  He good-naturedly ribs me occasionally that I took The Armchair Squid to see The Avengers midnight opening....neglecting to recall that at the time, my son was 8 and not up to a midnight showing.

Our original plan to see this movie on opening night was derailed by my current quest to obtain my master's degree...I had class last Thursday, Friday and Saturday making it impossible to fit in a screening.

So we made plans to go to the latest showing possible this past Friday night.  We had so much fun on our Father-Son Night Out.  The previews rocked.  During one, I said we needed to see the movie advertised in the theater...Logan replied "On another night like this!".  He was easily the youngest member of the audience and reveled in that fact.

When the movie was over, we both started babbling about the Easter Eggs we caught and were eager to see it again.  Logan pegged it as his second favorite movie in the Marvel Universe.  I put it third behind Captain America: The First Avenger.  We both have The Avengers first.

I sometimes have trouble wrapping my head around the fact that we live in a world where the SEQUEL to a Captain America movie holds the box office record for April releases.  Where I would get a SEQUEL to a Thor movie and enjoy it even more than the first Thor movie.  Where I would have THREE Iron Man movies to rank and be okay with not liking some of them!!

Someone recently posted on-line that they could imagine themselves as an old man lecturing kids on the days when there were so few good superhero flicks growing up.  I remember the days of having to hang my hat on the first Superman movie and some of the second Superman movie.  I remember convincing myself that the first few Batman movies were enough to hold me over until...some day.

Now I'm waiting for Guardians of the Galaxy, a second Avengers movie, an Ant-Man movie....

Cinema Sunday: February 2, 2014: "Definitely not Swedish."

Cinema Sunday: The Lone Ranger, Independence Day (Special Edition), X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Star Trek: First Contact

Currently #186 on my flickchart list

It always seems like faint praise to say a movie was better than I expected.  That being said, despite the reviews, we actually expected to like this movie.  Nan and I are big fans of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but were disappointed by numbers 2 and 3.  The fourth was, for us, a return to form.

While we agreed this movie could have been a little more "light" in places, overall it was enjoyable.  We expect it to be added to our collection once we find a used copy.

Currently #113 on my flickchart list.

I saw this sooooo many times in the theater.  At the time, it led to the (short lived) public debut of both my Robert Loggia and Harry Connick, Jr. impressions.  Despite all of that, I've never seen this extended edition.  Well, I've a stack of papers to correct, two assessments to enter into the school grade book and a week's worth of lessons to plan, so why not bring up some movies to have on in the background.

I find it weird to type that this version added to the movie, but it actually did.  A few character motivations get fleshed out and there is nothing that feels padded.

Currently #132 on my flickchart list

Better than I remembered.  And the only portrayal of Gambit in any medium that I've liked!  I'm fine with the mucked up movie timeline and the changes to how things "really" happened in the comics.

Currently #65 on my flickchart list

Our last movie of the day was Logan's choice.  We watched it with the pop up Trek trivia which fired us both up to watch more episodes of ALL of the series.  It leaves the episode of Enterprise which deals with the fall out of this movie as the only Borg themed installment we haven't seen!

Star Trek Into Darkness

I went to see this last weekend with The Armchair Squid, Wikes, their daughter and my son.  This marks the SECOND movie in a row that both the Squid and I remained awake through!!

I know reaction to this has run hot and cold.  Some blogging friends seemed to like it, while others walked out!

I liked it for what it was...a big action flick with some sci-fi elements.  Wikes called it STINO: Star Trek In Name Only...and I think she is right.

I proclaimed it my third favorite Trek film.  Squid asked what my top three were...

If I look at ALL 12 movies that fall under the "Star Trek" banner, here are my Flickchart rankings....

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

#46

 Star Trek: First Contact

#63

Star Trek Into Darkness

#71

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

#95

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

#118

Star Trek

#120

Star Trek: Generations

#163

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

#189

Star Trek: Nemesis

#276

Star Trek: Insurrection

#407

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

#414

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 

#549

Z is for Zombieland

Zombieland is currently #372 on my flickchart list.

I've only seen it once and I guess I enjoyed it well enough!  I'm not a huge "horror" fan, even when it is tinged with comedy (or is this a comedy tinged with horror).

I've heard murmurs of a television series adaptation that I don't really have much interest in!

Today's poster gives a subtle "SPOILER" that was such a delight when I saw the movie.

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Y is for Young Frankenstein

Young Frankenstein is #155 on my flickchart list.

I have a fondness for 1970's era Mel Brooks movies.  This is among his best.  And that's saying something...look at his output:

Blazing Saddles 1974 (#253)

Young Frankenstein 1974 (#155)

Silent Movie 1976 (#507)

High Anxiety 1978 (#380)

History of the World: Part One 1981 (#511)

He didn't direct another movie until Spaceballs (#935) in 1987.  It's been a long time since I've seen it, and at the risk of upsetting Nan, I'm going to refer to it as "over-rated".  It certainly lacked some of the cleverness of his earlier work.  It always seemed to me he started to feel the pressure of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker juggernaut and couldn't get his form back.

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X is for X2: X-Men United

X2: X-Men United is currently # 40 on my flickchart list.

One of the best superhero films.  I loved the introduction of Nightcrawler and the look into Wolverine's origins.  Well crafted!

Even though the promise of the Dark Phoenix saga was squandered with the next movie, it was set up so nicely here.

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W is for Watchmen

Watchmen is currently #43 on my flickchart list.

Though much maligned by comic book fans and movie fans alike, I really liked the film.  I went to see it on my own.  It didn't have the build up The Avengers (#3) had for me, but it did have a lot to live up to.  That being said, I really felt it delivered.

And the opening credits (NSFW: violence) are second to none...they set the tone and give so many nods to fans of the original limited series:


The Watchmen Opening Titles por ypsilon2 no Videolog.tv.




(Both of the above are the same, I just want to make sure at least one stays embedded...)

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V is for Vegas Vacation

Vegas Vacation is currently #240 on my flickchart list.

A worthy entrant into the National Lampoon's Vacation (#75) franchise!  Far better than National Lampoon's European Vacation (#516) and better than the somewhat overrated National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (#248), I find the movie funny and well scripted.

Ohhh...and tonight...Star Trek: The Next Generation "Best of Both Worlds" on the big screen!

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U is for Unstoppable

Unstoppable is currently # 29 on my flickchart list.

Lots of action (though less than the poster above would have you believe) and character development (more than you would expect from a runaway train movie).  

Inspired by real events, this movie quickly became a family favorite.  My kids already knew Chris Pine as "their" version of Captain Kirk and the movie is a great way to prep my son for a future full of Denzel Washington movies.

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T is for Time Bandits

Time Bandits is currently #10 on my flickchart list.

I saw Time Bandits when it was released probably 5 or 6 times in the theater and it was probably one of our first VHS rentals.  I'm not sure if I went to see it because of my love for all things Python-esque or if this was my gateway to Python.

Either way, it was just what my 11 year old mind needed....helped shaped my sense of humor.

And it has one of the greatest George Harrison compositions playing over the end credits!  It took me FOREVER to find a copy of the song...

I really thought 12 Monkeys would be in the "T" slot, but it is just shy of Time Bandits coming in at #14!

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S is for Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is currently # 10 on my flickchart list.

I saw Saving Private Ryan in the theater by myself when it was released.

I had the pleasure of living with my grandparents for awhile during college and then again with Nancy before she and I got married.

Gramps spent one night going through a bunch of photos and telling us the stories behind his getting shot down, life in the prison camp and about his eventual liberation.  Nana chastised him, stating that he would have nightmares "again".  Gramps said it was important for us to know.

I also remember him telling my cousins and I the story of his getting shot down in great detail when I was still in high school.  Nana was so worried for him that night too.

I remember his story like this....he was nearing the end of his commitment   He was due to leave the theater of operations and went on one more mission.  He was a fighter pilot and told us of a fierce firefight.  He was protecting some bombers and in the course of the firefight, his plane was hit.  There was fire in the cockpit.  He tried to eject but there was trouble with the ejection system (as it was).  He managed to get out of the cockpit and rolled across the back of his plane and slammed into the tail.  He rolled off and tried to deploy his chute.  His chute would not deploy so he used his secondary chute.  The chute deployed and then almost immediately caught on fire.

He landed in a field in Yugoslavia and was discovered by some locals who cared for him until the Germans could take him into custody.

He spent the next two and a half years as a Prisoner of War.  He was even declared KIA bu the US Government!

He missed the events in this movie but I still needed to see it.

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I nearly forgot to blog today!  I am a school teacher and today is our first real day of Spring Break!  Of course, that means I have some household projects to tackle.  I set out today with the goal of finishing the renovation of our downstairs bathroom that we started last year after the flood.

A relatively straightforward project revealed some mold and damage we didn't find last year.  However, I've torn out some drywall and cleaned and repaired what I could.  I decided I would take a small break before finishing the floor and replacing the sink.

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R is for Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark is currently # 8 on my flickchart list.

I remember being at "Lums" in Rutland with my brother, Justin, and probably my dad having lunch with Nana and Grandpa in 1981 after "Raiders of The Lost Ark" (the correct, true title) had come out.

Gramps had recently seen this with my cousins Marc and Lars. I clearly remember him telling us about the Swordsman scene, reenacting it and laughing, deeply and honestly, at the scene and his own retelling.

To this day, I try to buy all the toys based on the scene...

And, Dean at Springfield Punx made both of these. He had the Indy done and I asked if he would ever consider creating the Cairo Swordsman...and he did!  I need to ask Lee sometime if Gramps had any real "Simpsons" knowledge.

 

And the fan made posters....

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Q is for Quick Change

Quick Change is currently # 48 on my flickchart.

I haven't seen this one in a long time.  It is the only movie Bill Murray has co-directed to date.  His performance is incredible.  This comes in the middle of a streak of some of his best work:  Scrooged (#24), What About Bob? (#123), Groundhog Day (#44), Kingpin (#234), and The Man Who Knew Too Little (#174).

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P is for The Prestige

The Prestige is currently #26 on my flickchart list.

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O is for Ocean's Eleven

Ocean's Eleven is currently #25 on my flickchart list.

The modern "caper" flick.  Some strong acting....fun dialog...a fluid narrative structure.  And one of the only DVD commentaries I have ever listened to more than once!  

We tried the first sequel once and lasted about 40 minutes before during it off.  Never saw the second one.

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N is for Noises Off

Noises Off is currently #21 on my flickchart list.

Another movie that I can't trace my first watching.  Nan and I have since seen it performed on stage two or three times.  If you like screwball farces and have any love of the theater, you must see this movie.

It takes a few moments to get going but it grows and grows in laughs.  Each viewing still has me gasping for air as I am laughing so hard!!

The basic premise is that we are watching a group of actors attempt to put on a play entitled "Nothing On".  We get to see the trials and tribulations as the group move in and out of relationships and still try to remain "professional", because "the show must go on..."

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M is for My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro is currently #29 on my flickchart list.

Two animated features in a row!!

I'm not sure how we discovered My Neighbor Totoro.  However, once we did, it became a staple of our viewing habits.  My daughter, my wife and I loved it.

I even brought it into my classroom.  When I taught 4th grade at my previous school, we had a culture unit.  My teaching partner had chosen Japan and Mexico as the two cultures we rotated through every other year.  To end the Japan unit, we would watch this film.  It presents such a wonderful overall view of what life was like for Miyazaki growing up.  I had so much trivia on the movie that I would share with the kids as we watched it.  They loved it.

Sometimes, I still use Totoro images for my laptop wallpaper.  These will get projected up on the SMARTBoard while I am teaching.  This is the first year that NOT ONE student knew what the images were...it really bummed me out.  I think I will have to rectify the situation.

For more Miyazaki goodness, please to check out my pal The Armchair Squid via this LINK and scroll around.

And the art you can find online is awesome!!!

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