Okay, I am going to take a break from LOST blogs for a bit….or am I? Let’s see, Cloverfield was produced by J.J. Abrams. It’s about a group a good looking people stranded on an island with a monster. The entire movie is a flashback, with some smaller prior flashbacks intertwined. One actor seen in a minor role in Cloverfield was used in a minor role in LOST. (Can you pick him out?) There are many questions with no answers. (Although, if you pay attention to the final scene, you’ll have a major question answered.) Hmmmm…….looks like J.J. is staying with a winning combination. Because of my LOST training, I did my best to watch background scenery and pay attention to every inch of dialogue. I still missed a key answer to the main question. Let me just reiterate, pay attention to the very last scene.

“Cloverfield” is the name of the freeway exit near J.J. Abrams office in Santa Monica. The movie was made with no known actors. When reading for parts in the movie, they actors were given false scripts and told nothing of the movie. One actress took the job because she was a big fan of Abrams work, especially LOST. Although afterwards, she said she would never read for another movie without knowing the premise of her role. The producers also used several other titles besides Cloverfield to keep it a secret. So just like Abrams used cloak and dagger techniques to keep it a secret, an underlying theme of the movie is that the whole incident reeks of government cover-up. So, the name “Cloverfield” has become the fictional random name the government ends up giving to this ‘incident’ in Manhattan. The movie has the appearance of being shot all on a single hand held video camera, so like home movies, it is very jumpy and many times you cannot see what the characters are seeing. Before entering the theatre, there was sign posted warning viewers they may experience dizziness and compared it to being on a rollercoaster. Personally, I got use to it after a few minutes and found that the frustration of not knowing or seeing the action actually allowed me to somewhat experience the curiosity, confusion and apprehension the characters were feeling. Even though at its heart it was a basic & predictable monster movie, (and who doesn’t like monster movies?), the filming technique used made it more believable. Of course, what’s not predictable is that we know little before & after that night and that’s it’s not your usual American ending. Remember, Abrams is a Star Wars fan, and which of the original three was the best one? The Empire Strikes Back.

The film is based around the night Manhattan was attacked by a monster. It is depicted as if you are watching a piece of Government video documentation, portraying first hand evidence of the events of the area that was once Central Park. The sole piece of the government film is the video tape taken by one of the characters.  Basically, a group of twenty-somethings are throwing a party for their friend who is leaving for a job in Japan. The first 15-20 minutes of the video depicts the party, when all of a not-so-sudden, the night is rocked by some sort of earthquake or explosion. The party-goers take to the roof and then the streets, as mayhem ensues. With government officials and troops evacuating the city, the party boy finds out, via cell phone, that his girlfriend is injured and still alive in her apartment in the middle of ‘ground-zero’. The rest of the video details these four friends trying to work their way back across the concrete jungle of Manhattan to rescue her, before the island is declared lost, and subsequently destroyed. We assume that later on, with the government investigating the island, they find the video tape and it is used as evidence and for research.

The monster itself and the reasons why this is happening are not important. Like most monster movies, the monster in this movie is really just lost, confused & scared, and is being attacked by the island’s inhabitants because they are scared and protecting their homes. (Hmmm…there’s that LOST parallel again.) In fact, what you don’t know only adds to the story and the emotions the characters going through. This unknown plus the way its shot makes it more than a basic monster movie. The opening for a sequel is there, but I don’t think you can get away with it again. I think the film technique is a one shot deal.

Now there was one thing I did not like about the movie….it’s running time. The running time is supposed to be 84 minutes, which in itself in today’s genre of three hour epics, a very short movie. Add to this the first 15 minutes of party video and we have a short film or an extended season finale of a TV show. All I know is that the movie time was 6:45 and we were out of the theatre by 8:15 and that’s including the previews of about 10 minutes. Because there is no opening credits or intro, it does feel like a long 84 minutes, but since I really enjoyed the movie, and considering the first 10-15 minutes a waste of party gossip and sexual tension, I wouldn’t of minded another 10-15 minutes of action. Anyway, even with losing a half a crow’s foot because of the short running time, I give this movie an enthusiastic three and a half crow’s feet. I wouldn’t mind seeing this on DVD again, so I can freeze frame through it, just like LOST, to see if I missed anything the first time around.

Take Care,

S

I Am Legend

First off the movie stars Philly’s own Will Smith. I have to admit some pride in saying that. I remember way back when, (okay, it was only about 20 years ago), when Will broke onto the music scene with “Parent’s Just Don’t Understand” with friend Jeff Townes. Together they were better known as Fresh Prince and D.J. Jazzy Jeff. Not long after, Will landed a sitcom based around him called “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and from there jumped to the silver screen. The rest is history and today Will Smith ranks as one of the top actors around on par with Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise, (they each have seven consecutive $100 million blockbusters). Anyway, for me, just hearing that he is in a movie is good enough for me to want to see it w/o knowing a damn thing about it. (Because my kids love him as well, I am constantly watching re-runs of Fresh Prince, and it’s still funny.)

I Am Legend is the third movie adapted from the 1954 novel from Richard Matheson of the same name. The first film adaptation of the book, The Last Man on Earth, came out in 1964 and starred another favorite of mine, Vincent Price. The second was the Omega Man in 1971 and starred Charlton Heston. I hear the latter severely deviated from the book. The novel itself deals with a lone human living in Los Angeles in a post pandemic world that was ravaged by a disease which turned humans into vampires. The book has influenced the most of the zombie genre movies that followed. This current adaptation of the book is said to be the closest storyline to the original novel.

We find our protagonist, virologist Dr. Robert Neville, in the year 2012 as the last human in NYC, and as far as he knows, maybe even the world. We find out through flashbacks and taped recordings from 2009, that a genetically enhanced measles virus was engineered to be a vaccine for cancer. But, this supposed ‘vaccine’ rapidly mutated into a malicious air borne virus that wiped out 90% of the human population and turned another 9% into ravenous meat eating zombies that are highly susceptible to any UV radiation. As per doctor Neville’s summations, most of the remaining 1% of the population, that was immune to this virus, was eventually killed by these “dark-seekers”, leaving him maybe as the last man on earth.

Three years after the pandemic, and alone with only his pet German Sheppard, Samantha, providing company, Dr. Neville roams the streets of NYC by day, hunting and foraging for supplies, as he works to find a cure to the virus in the lab set up in his basement. At night, he holes himself up in the tub of his barricaded house, next to his dog, as he waits for sleep to drown out the howls of the carnivorous creatures of the night. (These howls and other zombie vocal stylings were brought to us by Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton.)

As always, I will not outline the story, as not to ruin it for anyone. I have several friends that have seen the movie and their opinions range from “it was just okay” to “it was very good”. Personally I think it was a good movie, and one that needs to be seen on the big screen with all the bells and whistles of a movie theatre. Whereas some of it was predictable, and whereas I have become desensitized to the eerie factor of flesh eating zombies, there was enough interesting content to make it worth seeing in the movies. Because I’ve seen so many movies, I am rarely a heart pumping, sit on the edge of my seat kinda filmgoer, but there was one intense scene where I found myself wishing Dr. Neville wasn’t doing what he was doing and found myself afraid for him. I found it similar to the ending of The Blair Witch Project where the person holding the camera was running through the darkened house, and I was anticipating their demise to some unknown evils while hoping the person would come to their senses and ‘get out, just get out now’. Because of a similar, but even more intense scene in I Am Legend, among a few others, and mostly the acting of Will Smith, I give this movie three and a half crow’s feet out of five.

Note: Just like Will Smith’s real life son Jaden had shared the silver screen with him in Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith’s real life daughter Willow played his reel on screen daughter, Marley, (named after the great Bob Marley whose music is featured in the movie), in this film.

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Maybe you know this already, but Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola. His uncle is Francis Ford Coppola and has Talia Shire as an aunt. He changed his name early on to avoid any rumors of favoritism due to his famous relatives. Still, if you look closely to the credit of his first movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, you’ll see him listed for the first and last time as Nicolas Coppola.

The way I feel about any Will Smith movie, I use to feel the same in some ways about Nicolas Cage’s films. My taste for him hasn’t necessarily soured, but it has waned. I feel he plays many roles in the same character of late. Maybe he’s typecast now, in that super confident action star, but I feel his best roles were in those quirky comedies or those where he had a more somber or troubled persona, (Valley Girl, Birdy, Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas & Adaptation to name a few). And like Cage’s recent on screen personas seem to mirror each other, National Treasure: Book of Secrets is basically more of the same thing we saw in the original National Treasure. Going into it, I knew what I was going to get so it wasn’t like I was disappointed. In all fairness, the story is built around a historian and treasure hunter much like a modern day Indiana Jones. The difference to me is we are treated to much more exotic worlds in Spielberg’s Jones trilogy, (fourth one is currently in post production), and the villains are more interesting, or at least have that old world dastardly charm to them. I mean, who doesn’t like seeing a bunch of Nazis getting run over by tanks or having their faces melted? And mostly, I think Harrison Ford’s portrayal of Indiana Jones gives us a not so much macho and confident hero, but one that is more of a reluctant hero who is determined to find & protect history. He is a good person but flawed. He doesn’t always come out on top, and usually takes a beating. He has failed relationships with women and his dad. Sometimes takes the easy way out, like shooting a foe who is only wielding a sword, and he has common fears, (snakes). To me, Cage’s portrayal of Ben Gates comes off a little too pompous and in such, isn’t as endearing.

This time, one of Benjamin Gates ancestors has been implemented in the conspiracy behind the death of Abraham Lincoln. Of course, Ben and his father Patrick, played by Jon Voigt, are not going to stand for that, and are willing to do anything from kidnap the President to steal his Book of Secrets to clear their family name. Like the last movie, Ben incorporates the help of his now estranged girlfriend Abigail Chase, (Diane Kruger) and electronics wiz Ridley Poole, (Justin Bartha). Along the way the group elicits the help of some decent actors like Harvey Keitel, Helen Mirren, Bruce Greenwood, antagonist Ed Harris, and the aforementioned Jon Voigt. In National Treasure: Book of Secrets we find that the world around us is still chock full of secret riddles, hidden codes and carpentry with unknown mechanics hidden inside. (I did check my own desk hoping for some hidden treasure, but only found the gum I stuck to it.) Like the first movie showed us some of historic Philly, DC & NYC, this movie takers us to Paris, Buckingham Palace, Library of Congress, Mt Vernon, Ford’s Theatre, the Oval Office and Mt. Rushmore.

Whereas the scenery, the history, the Mason influenced artwork riddled with secret clues, and the old world mechanics and use of the six simple machines are all really cool, it’s just a different candy coating to the same milk chocolate center. Even with a great cast, there isn’t enough screen time for any of them to really shine, (although I think Justin Bartha stood out as the most the wise cracking sidekick). Still, like all candy is still good, it’s not a bad movie, just more of the same. If you go in knowing what you are going to get and are happy with dropping $8 for it, then see it in the theatre. Another plus is that it is a great family friendly movie and teaches kids a little history. But on the whole, I feel you can enjoy it just as much at home. I give this sequel two and a half crow’s feet.

Oh…..and from what I understand, whatever is on page 47 of the Presidents Book of Secrets…will play into the third National Treasure movie. But honestly, I think it just tells us who’s in the coffin from last year’s LOST cliffhanger. And of course, I already know who it is.

In the works……I hope to get some sort of LOST precap/recap out soon before I get too busy at work.

Take Care

S.

What do you get when you mix child nudity, taking the name of the Lord in vain, and giant Inuit shaman boobs with America’s first TV family? You get us leaving the theatre screaming for more…even after giving us the added bonus of jazzing up the ending credits with fun. (Don’t leave until the credits are over.) Okay, so there was no doubt I wasn’t going to not like this movie, even though it wasn’t the yuck it up from beginning to end, no time for breathing, pee my pants, non-stop adventure of laughs that I thought it was going to be. I was able to catch my breath here and there.

Okay, as per many reviews, it isn’t as funny as most critics think the TV show is, but they still feel it did justice to the show. Personally, I wasn’t as wowed as I thought I would be either, but still it was a fun movie. Overall, it was still as politically incorrect, satirical, topical, pointed, subversive, and especially hilarious as we’ve come to know and love. Considering this movie took many, many years to produce, how much more topical can you get than the underlying theme of the movie centering around environmental issues on the heels of the Live Earth Concerts. In fact, one of the earlier, and funniest, scenes was the group Green Day performing a Live Earth-esque concert on Lake Springfield. Where we are treated to seeing the group meeting its demise when the stage-raft they are playing on sinks, ala the Titanic, into the toxic cesspool that is Lake Springfield. (At one point, bassist Mike Dirnt pulls out a violin and exclaims that the band must go down with the stage.)

Aside from Green Day, we are treated to the vocal talents and/or animated versions of Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger as President Schwarzenegger, (I must of missed that amendment to the Constitution), Albert Brooks & Joe Mantegna. (It’s unfortunate, but several known stars had seen their parts not make the movie. I can only imagine how much funnier it would have been with Minnie Driver, Erin Brockovich, Kelsey Grammer, and Isla Fisher (totally hot)). Of course Springfield wouldn’t be Springfield without the vocal talents of Dan Castellaneta(Homer), Julie Kavner(Marge), Nancy Cartwright(Bart, Nelson, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders & a couple others), Yeardley Smith(Lisa), Hank Azaria(Apu, Moe, Chief Wiggum, and about 150 others on the show), Harry Shearer(Mr. Burns, Smithers, Rev. Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Ned Falnders, and others), Marcia Wallace(Edna Krabapple), Pamela Hayden(Millhouse, Jimbo, & others), and Tress MacNeille.

Again, I won’t get into detail about the plot or giveaway more than you have already seen in the trailers, but I will tell you that I give The Simpson’s Movie four crow’s feet out of five. I expected a little more, as I was looking to give it a five rating, but still, I wasn’t disappointed overall. And Spider-pig was just as funny the hundredth time I heard it, as it was the first. (And now I can down load it as a ring tone thanks to Preston and Steve. And talking about Preston & Steve……)

Preston and Steve Update

If you ever were interested in downloading them each day and never did, or if you ever meant to stream the show live via your PC, but keep forgetting…then this upcoming week is the week to do it. The group is on a collective vacation this week so they’ll be running their best of shows. Their funniest bits from the past 15 months of their tenure on WMMR will show up. We’ll probably learn the origin of things like Monkey Pick-Ass. So if you want to listen but haven’t had the chance…do it this week.

Take care.

S

P.S. Up next: When Bloggers Collide....or Just Meet for Lunch.

License to Wed

Uhg! First off let me start by saying I love Robin Williams. I think he’s one of the greatest comedians around. He still can make me laugh. BUT, of late, most of his flicks have seemed to be vehicles to perform his usual shtick without much of a plot. Honestly, I’d rather see Robin Williams in a more dramatic role. Who can argue with World According to Garp, or Good Will Hunting, Insomnia, One Hour Photo, Jacob the Liar, and one of my favorites Awakenings? Now don’t get me wrong, there have been a ton of hilarious movies for Williams. Way too many to mention. But it seems that anymore his comedies lack the punch to have me double over with laughter. This was no different. The plot was very predictable. It was good to see John Krasinski,, (Yak sei masz John?), from The Office in his first movie role, but he didn’t have the same format to work with. Mandy Moore was just a pretty face with cute outfits whose character just didn’t seem to work with that of Krasinski’s. I’m sorry Robin but this movie really didn’t do much for me. Personally, I’d rather pull out one of my Mork and Mindy DVDs and watch a few back episodes. They are still much funnier than anything you’ve put out in a while.

Considering I was with my girl, and I enjoyed just sitting next to her no matter what was on the screen, I’ll give this movie five crows’ feet. But take her away, and all I can garner for it is my lowest rating to date, a crow’s toenail. Uhg!

Live Free or Die Hard

Timothy Olyphant: Good bad guy. John McClane: Bad good guy.

Twelve years ago, yes over a decade, this franchise of films started with a ‘yippee-ki-ay mudder focker’ and a slew of dead bad guys in the burning Nakatomi Plaza. In its path it gave us some of the great movie one-liners and a couple of the best movie villains in Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber and Jeremy Irons’ Simon Peter Gruber. Now we can add Timothy Olyphant’s disgruntled ex-DOD cyber guru Thomas Gabriel.

As always, I’ll try to spare the details of the plot and most scenes because I don’t want to ruin it for you. This makes it difficult, especially when I come across a movie I really like. This is one. Yes it’s basically a blow the hell out of everything summer blockbuster with a now getting tiresome plot, and a string of unbelievable stunts that has you questioning just how much the human body can take when failure to perform is not an option. Anyway, call this “Die Hard 4.0” or “Die Hard goes Digital”, because it’s another in a recent string of movies about the end of the country from digital Armageddon. (The word ‘Armageddon’ was mention about a half dozen times in this movie. There's a Willis’ movie of the same name which is coming up on its tenth anniversary. God, like John McClane….I’m getting old.) Thomas Gabriel is an angry idealistic megalomaniac with a huge chip on his shoulder that is bent on bringing the country to its knees through something called a cyber fire sale. The end result of which is shutting down the county’s infrastructure via cyber space. But like all the previous Die Hard installments, the basis for the villains’ actions is nothing more than good old fashion greed.

Along for the ride is an extremely knowledgeable hacker named Matthew Farrell, (Justin Long), who unknowingly helped the bad guys with an encryption, and is now an unwilling aid to a man Farrell feels is a dinosaur. After noting that McClane’s taste in music, (CCR), just shows that our hero is “like a Timex watch in a digital age”. Of course, Farrell is about to realize how correct he is in his assumption of Detective McClane, because we all know the old Timex jingle….Takes a licking, but keeps on ticking”. And so the stage is set for yet another Die Hard cat and mouse game between old school good guy and new wave bad guy.

The movie picks up action-wise fast and keeps moving along so as you never really realize it’s over two hours short. The fight scenes are very good with your typical one liners and good guy taking a beating. On of the better fight scenes was between Willis and hot martial arts mama Maggie Q, (and she’s part Polish to boot). McClane basically gets the crap beat out of him until he sees an opening for an uppercut. A little bit of a hair pull and an incident with a SUV, and we say goodbye to Mai Linh. (Oh, and we are treated to another scene in an elevator shaft.) The big action sequences are as cool as they are unbelievable. The stunts with the car/helicopter and later the awesome F-35 Lightning were the best. (The stunt with the F35 was mostly CGI, along with a working size model of the plane. In reality, the F-35 is still in development. There are three variants of the aircraft with the one in the movie having the ability to lift of vertically and hover, like a Harrier jump jet. Totally awesome…I want one to go along with my battleship.) And of course we have our share of gunplay. And again, as in the other Die Hards, we find John up against a slew of well armed bad guys with him holding only his 9mm. Of course, he kills them all.

As far as action movies go, I liked this one a lot. The last action movie I saw that I liked this much was the last Bond flick, Casino Royal. Anyway, I give this movie 4.0 out of 5.0, (gotta go digital) crow’s feet. (Hey…look for Kevin Smith to make an appearance in the movie.)

Before the movie started I was once again treated to a preview of what I'm already predicting will be the only movie to gain five crow's feet on it's own merit. And that of course is the Simpson's Movie. It is unfortunate that my date saw me laugh hysterical to the whole 'spider-pig' clip. It is fortunate that she didn't run away screaming at that point. She must really like me. 

Take Care

S

Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Ooh, they're red, white, and blue
And when the band plays "Hail to the Chief"
They point the cannon right at you

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no senator's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, dont they help themselves
But when the tax man comes to the door,
Lord the house looks like a rummage sale

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no millionaire's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
They only answer "More! More! More!"

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no military son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son

Spider-man 3, A Review….. sort of.

Queue AC/DC….”Back in Black, I hit the sack….I’ve been too long I’m glad to be back…”

Alternate title: Spider-man 3, Spidey Goes Emo

Venom has probably been one of my favorite villains in Spiderman lore. He’s up there with the Green Goblin & Electro. Let’s face it, in addition to his boy next door alter ego, part of what makes Spider-man the best superhero, are his insanely colorful costumed foes. Whereas I liked the first movie, I wasn’t too happy with the way they changed up the Green Goblin. To me, the original costume was much more menacing. Also, considering that you cast the perfect actor to play him, Willem Dafoe, why put that sinister face behind a metallic mask. In this version, they basically upgraded the Green Goblin II into a skater boy. I thought the costume was much better than the first time around, but still, why screw with tradition if it works.

Venom, played by Topher Grace, on the other hand was kept pretty much in tact to the comic book version, with the exception of how Spidey acquired the suit. (I believe it was actually given to him by aliens when he, along with other super heroes, was recruited to fight in the Dark Wars.) The only problem I had with Venom was when Eddie Brock, after being taken over by the symbiote, tried to speak. Brock grew fangs, and all I heard was a guy speaking with a lisp. It took away from some of the scariness of the villain for me.

Sandman on the other hand was also fairly true to the comic books. I liked the casting of Thomas Hayden Church in this role. His deep voice and weepy face added to the sympathy this character needed to validate his criminal actions. I had a problem with trying to create sympathy for a person who takes another’s life in the act of committing a crime, with a gun in your hand. Basically you couldn’t accidentally shoot someone, if you never picked up the gun in the first place. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. (This soap box stand was brought to you by the NRA.) Still, it showed the importance of understanding someone and their actions, before judging them.

Other new characters include Gwen Stacy, (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Captain George Stacy, (James Cromwell). I like Bryce Howard in everything she’s done. She is a beautiful girl and has great eyes. That was basically her role in this movie. She’s a good actress, but wasn’t given much to work with. If I remember correctly, the character of Gwen Stacy was actually Peter Parker’s first girlfriend and died at the hands of the Green Goblin. Obviously, they changed that up some in this movie. Also, I don’t understand the purpose of casting an Academy Award winner, and great character actor like James Cromwell as her father, police Captain George Stacy, and only give him a couple lines. In the comics, his character was also killed during one of Spidey’s battles, in which Gwen blamed Spidey for her father’s death, yet was hot and heavy with Petey boy. Talk about being troubled. Anyway, I look for more from these characters if they continue the series, (which I hope they do). Dylan Barker makes a recurring appearance as Petey’s physics professor, Dr Curt Connors, (who in comic book-dom later becomes a Spidey foe called The Lizard). Bruce Campbell, (lead in some of the greatest campy films ever Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness), has been in all three movies in different roles. In the first he was the announcer of the wrestling match. In the second, he was a rude theatre usher, and in this, he was a French maitre d’. Stan Lee, (a co-creator of Spidey and many Marvel comic characters), also makes an appearance. He’s gotta be making a mint with all these Marvel based movies coming out. X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Silver Surfer, and next we get Robert Downey Jr as Jason Stark….aka…Ironman…..just awesome! I thought I read something about a Captain America project also.

Okay, now onto the movie. Watching this movie felt like being in rush hour traffic; speed up, slow down, speed up, and slow down. It goes from being a little boring to a rush. I did have a handful of issues with this second sequel. I know I said it was boring in some ways, but there was too much going on also. There were just too many story lines, too many new characters, and too many villains. I think they could of got more out of it if they focused on the love/revenge angle between Peter Parker, Mary Jo Watson, Harry Osborn & Gwen Stacy, (would that be a “love square”?), with both the Green Goblin and Venom as the antagonist. I feel the addition of Sandman in this movie took away from some of the underlying themes. I realize why he was added, to kill off popular pretty boy James Franco in a good way. I think Gwen Stacy was an empty role for Howard, and hopefully she comes back with a little more sustenance.

Another problem I had with the movie was with the action scenes. I think they happened too fast in some ways. Many times I thought the action was so fast I didn’t see every little bump and bruise that Spidey took or dished out. On top of this, the whole opening fight scene with the Goblin, was shown to us in it’s entirety in TV & online promotions. I didn’t really need to see it ahead of time. I knew what was going to happen and it didn’t do anything for me being on the big screen. Yeah, I could have not watched it…but I have no will power when it comes to wings, beer, sex, and Spider-Man. If it’s there, I will eat it, drink it, do it, and web it. (I’m all for Caligula’s Rome, without the goats of course.)

Some people will say the movie got goofy in some areas, but that’s part of the whole story. Spider-man has always been a little campy. In fact, in its many incarnations over the years, the more serious it got, the worse it was. (Like those god-awful made for TV movies of the 80s….uhg.) When you put Sam Raimi, a huge fan of The Three Stooges, in charge, you will have some fun. He is both the boyhood friend of Bruce Campbell and the director of the Evil Dead trilogy. Raimi = campy! Personally, I like the campiness of the movie. They were the best parts. When Parker accepts the symbiote for the enhanced strength and aggressiveness it brings to him as Spidey, he also accepts the cocky and self-centered attributes it brings to him as Peter Parker. (At the point where Parker dresses in an all black, more hip street clothes, and pulls his previously perfectly parted bangs over his eyes, I shouted “EMO” in the theatre, bringing cackles from my three girls and the rest of the teen squad I had with me. All that was missing was an MCR background track.) Anyway, the scene of him walking down the street in this obnoxious way was just an exaggerated throwback to the first movie after he realized his newly found power once he became Spider-man and was strutting down the street feeling good. (Queue the Petula Clark going Down Town) This theme of the movie brings up the idea that many of us, if not all of us, have thought of, that being strong in character as opposed to having no or little character, but being strong physically or just being popular and vain. It’s easy to be drawn over to the dark side. It feels good to have that fame and fortune, but at what price is it worth it? Only a strong person can walk both lines. Peter Parker isn’t a strong person. He’s just a kid with all the same issues all kids have. He has his own ghosts. THAT is what makes his character, and his alternate identity of Spider-Man, the best super-hero, IMO.

BTW - I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE BLACK SUIT. Always have. I want one. Would I go over to the dark side to get one? Damn skippy I would. Well, maybe not. It would be fun to have all that came with the suit. Still, even with the red suit, I’m probably warped enough to be on the line. Why just the other day, I was walking down the street, with my Spidey Underoos on, strutting to Only the Good Die Young….. “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than die with the saints”. As a 10 yr old, I had a crush on a girl named Virginia.

Like characters, there were many underlying themes to this movie: forgiveness, vanity, understanding, putting others before you, giving and accepting help from others, etc. But the biggest has always been, “with great power comes great responsibility”. And I add to that, with great power comes great responsibility, and sacrifice. To me, this is an analogy to what the focus of our country should be. Like our government, many of us forget this. We as individuals, as a community, and as a country, need to help others with and WITHOUT ulterior motives, even if it means putting our lives, and the lives of our loved ones on the line. (There’s that soap box again. Sorry.)

I try not to give away too much of the movie in these reviews and just pick out some things I like and dislike. I mean, why ruin it for you. Let’s face it, no one is waiting on my review to make a decision to see a movie. You do that on your own. Overall, I thought it was worth seeing in the theatre. It was worth the $8 for the ticket. (Or if you’re like me, the $35 with kids. Just take my lead and hit the dollar store before hand and sneak food in.) And since it cost over a reported 500 million to make, and it only brought in $148 in the first weekend, Spidey needs your help. So, all things considered, I give it…..think drum roll….three and a half crows feet out of five. Next up, either Shrek 3 or Pirates 3.

S

p.s. I really want to see this series of movies continue. I would love to see Electro next, maybe with an even newer version of the Goblin, (Hobgoblin) come in. Both Carnage and Scream are cool too, but a little too close in similarity to Venom. They might be setting up the Dr. Conors character to introduce The Lizard down the line. How about the Vulture, or Scorpion, or the Rhino? So, if you are a Spidey fan, which is your favorite character?  

Back in black I hit the sack
I been too long I'm glad to be back
Yes I am
Let loose from the noose
That's kept me hanging about
I keep looking at the sky cause it's gettin' me high
Forget the hearse cause I'll never die
I got nine lives cat's eyes
Using every one of them and runnin' wild
Cause I'm back
Yes I'm back well I'm back
Yes I'm back
Well I'm back back
Well I'm back in black
Yes I'm back in black
Back in the back of a Cadillac
Number one with a bullet I'm a power pack
Yes I am
In a bang with the gang
They gotta catch me if they want me to hang
Cause I'm back on the track and I'm beatin' the flack
Nobody's gonna get me on another rap
So look at me now I'm just makin' my play
Don't try to push your luck just get out of my way
Cause I'm back
Yes I'm back
Well I'm back
Yes I'm back
Well I'm back back
Well I'm back in black
Yes I'm back in black

Well I'm back yes I'm back
Well I'm back yes I'm back
Well I'm back back
Well I'm back in black
Yes I'm back in black

Well I'm back back
Well I'm back back
Back back
Back in black
Yes I'm back in black

Outta sight

History

In 480 BC, Xerxes 1, king of Persia, and his army of 2.6 million Persian warriors invaded Greece. In an effort to slow down the Persian army, and give the Greek city-states time to gather their forces, a small Greek force estimated at 7,000 men was dispatched to meet the Persians at Thermopylae. The Greek force was led by King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 Spartan warriors. The Greeks chose Thermopylae as the battle ground because it would force the Persian forces to fight in an enclosed area, where their massive numbers would no longer make a difference. The Persian invaders were forced through a pass no more than several yards in width. This enabled the better trained Greek soldiers to cut down their opponents, with minimal losses at first. For two days, Xerxes sent thousands of his soldiers in wave after wave in a frontal assault against the Greeks. Estimates of 50,000 to 100,000 Persians were killed, including many of the Persian elite force called the Immortals. On the third day a Greek traitor showed the Persian force a path around Thermopylae, thus enabling them to surround the Greek army. The remaining Greek army led by Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, fought to the death. In the following year, and because of the time that Leonidas’ force bought for Greece, the Greeks were able to amass an army & navy strong enough to defeat the Persians in separate sea and land battles, sending Xerxes away in retreat.

 The Movie

300 the film, is based on the graphic novel of Frank Miller, (The Dark Knight, Sin City). In 1962, a young Miller saw the movie The 300 Spartans and said it “changed the course of his creative life”. His version of the Battle of Thermopylae is loosely based on the historical events of the story, and focuses more on King Leonidas and his 300 fellow Spartans. In fact, while watching the battle scenes, other than the ripped bodies, flowing crimson tunics and bronze helmets of the Spartans soldiers, we rarely see any other Greek fighting. Much of the fighting is shot with a very picturesque, almost ballet like, slow motion flow to it. The battle scenes move from real time, to slow mo, to even slower for effect, with dark red, almost black, droplets of blood raining sideways through the action. At times, you don’t even notice the blood, as the beauty of the action mesmerizes you. In fact, upon reflection of the movie, other than several shots of limb decapitations, the film doesn’t really appear all that gory, (although it really was). It was done in such a surreal way, that it wasn’t necessarily thrown in your face, like it normally is in horror films. Those movies are about the gore and the various ways to make people bleed while killing them. This is a movie set around a brutal ancient battle where much blood was spent, so we come to expect the ugliness that goes with it. But it’s not about the gore, but the story of these 300 Spartan warriors and their king. So, with me, although the killing was cool, it wasn’t exactly in the forefront. There were also several disfigured aberrations of humans depicted throughout the film, like the disturbing Persian executioner, whose sharpened forearm bones served as the tool of his trade. (Note: Even though I didn’t think it was as bad as the previews suggest, I still won’t let my 14 yr old daughter watch it.)

Speaking of women, there were many of them at the theatre, and not all of them were dragged there by their boyfriends/husbands. Many were solo or in groups. I also heard many reviews from the ladies before hand that loved the movie. Now, maybe, just maybe, the fact that it was a movie where every actor was half naked and had a ripped body that would make a Greek god jealous had something to do with it. (Makes me wish I would have kept taking those Weider Mega-Paks and creatine shakes as a young man.) And of course, to make us guys happy, we are treated to a couple gorgeous and very nubile Greek women. The scenes are fairly short so as not to detract us from the battle scenes.

I was worried about the CGI effects of the film and whether or not they were going to take away from the story and make it more cartoonish. But, I was mildly surprised as it only accentuated the story of King Leonidas, the 300, and their brave & glorious last stand. Overall, I liked the movie more than I thought I would. I wish I was able to see it in an IMAX theatre, but due to weather and distance was unable to. Being that I saw it on St. Patty’s Day, and I am writing this after a night that included several pints of Harp, Irish Car Bombs, green Jell-O shots, a corn beef special, blaring bagpipes and falling in love with a waitress, I am also mildly surprised….okay…I am very surprised I remember most of the movie. For this reason alone, I give it four out of five crow’s feet. (You know, I have to get myself a little crow’s feet stamp.)  

Scarecrow

p.s. If you haven’t seen it, might I suggest Sin City the other film based on a Frank Miller novel. It is also shot in the same cartoonish, film noire kind of way like 300. It has a very good cast and unlike where 300 is eye candy for the ladies, this movie is definitely eye candy for the guys.

Or

The proper way to say Sacagawea.

It’s an okay flick. Thought it would be a good way to kill an afternoon with the girls. The Teen had to go see a completely different movie, because now, even being in the same movie theatre with her dad and younger siblings is taboo.  But it doesn’t appear to be taboo to have dad pay for it. Oh happy happy, joy joy! Still, I had a belly full of tomato pie for lunch and we snuck in a ton of holiday candy, so I was content.

Like I said, it’s an okay flick and would recommend it both for parents to take kids to, or let kids see. Basically, a good clean fun movie. It dealt with a divorced dad, (can’t get away from this stuff), played by Ben Stiller, who refuses to hold a regular job, until he realizes he may lose he son’s respect. It’s very similar to the underlying story in The Santa Clause. You know, the old bumbling single dad trying to figure out the whole single dad thing, somewhat reluctantly. (So completely unlike me, cause I have it all down.) But unlike The Santa Clause this part of the story really doesn’t develop. Also, aside from the beginnings of a relationship between Stiller and Gugina, nothing else develops here, so I can only think she was added as eye candy. (I like candy!) Seems like pretty much everything outside of the museum is just that, an afterthought to the special effects. Still, I’m easily entertained and it did the job….ooohhhh look a butterfly………

Sorry, I’m back. Where was I? Oh yeah….the movie review thingy. With a cast that includes Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, and one of my all time favorites, Carla Gugina (sweeet!), you know it can’t be all that bad. And the dinosaur isn’t the only old fossil to show up in this flick. We are treated to the comedic talents of Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney. There was one part I didn’t understand, but without giving away the movie, I’ll leave it for another day. (I know things really don’t come to life in museums after closing. Just the stuffed animals in my house….creeeeepppyyy!)

So Larry Daley, (Ben Stiller), needs a job to keep his apartment, to keep visitation with his kid. (Maybe it’s just me, but I had the uncanny urge to see Larry kick the living crap out of his ex-wife’s fiancée…go figure.) He reluctantly takes a job of a night watchman at a museum, because of course it’s the only one available. He was given a set of directions by the previous night watchmen, who know what goes on after closing, and conveniently loses them. So his first night he’s completely unaware that things come to life. After a trying first night, which has him all freaked out, he wants to quit, but is talked into it by Teddy Roosevelt, (Robin Williams), and later by the thought of his son becoming a bond trader like his mom’s fiancée. (Kick his ass Larry! Damn suit wearing monkey…oh wait…I wear a suit.) So Larry goes back, and wins the hearts and minds of all the characters in the museum. He stops the warring between the Romans and cowboys, (led by Owen Wilson), introduces Teddy Roosevelt to Sacagawea, (does he know that she has a kid?), and manages to keep Attila the Hun from tearing his body apart.

This is a light comedy. There are no big gut busting funny moments. Which, considering the cast, is real surprising. On the other hand it’s PG and the only reason I can think of is because there may be one or two brief scary parts for younger kids. Jess got a little scared by the dinosaur at first. (And this is the kid who wants to see me kill Nazis.) It’s one of those movies that will keep both you and the kids interested in. If anything, the movie will help you in the proper pronunciation of Sacagawea. And for this, I give it two and a half crow’s feet out of five. Catch a matinee to save yourself a few dollars and maybe you’ll like it more.

Take Care

S

Oh…and Happy New Year!

p.s. "The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

I saw this Christmas Day. I think Stallone takes a bad wrap for his acting. Okay so he really cashed in on the action movie genre which doesn’t exactly ooze with Oscars. But there were a few real good movies that he deserves his due for. Copland is one. The first Rocky and First Blood are others. (There were a couple real good dramatic scenes in First Blood.) This Rocky is no different. Stallone brings back the original Rocky. He’s not as dumb as he looks, and unlike the first one, he’s not content on just going through life as is. He’s conflicted in many ways. He’s lost his wife and can’t…or won’t move on. His son is growing apart from him because he feels his fathers shadow is too tough to live under. He’s giving second chances to the little girl from the first movie who said “screw you creepo” to him. Rocky takes her son under his wing. Even rescues an old dog from a pound. Okay, so the underlying theme to the first and this is about second chances. We all need them sometimes. Still, I think there were too many subplots going on. The thing with Adrian, his son, and his need to prove himself once again were enough to work into a movie. Actually, I would have liked to seen more between him and his son, played by Milo Ventimiglia, (a good Polish name?), who plays Peter Petrelli on NBC’s Heroes. The father son dynamic always works well, but other than one real good scene, I got nothing from it.

There are a lot of flashbacks in this movie…something everyone seems to use anymore. It all focuses on Adrian mostly. “She got the woman’s cancer.” Adjusting to life without her is a recurring theme. Rocky even takes Paulie on what appears to be a post death anniversary trip to all the places Rocky and Adrian visited; the per shop, the ice rink, their first house, etc. that whole scene didn’t evoke any sentimental feelings from me, but maybe it’ll work for you. We get the idea that Rock is living in the past and can’t break out. He walks around his restaurant telling the customers the same old fight stories over and over. Rocky's past is really shadowing him as well as his son. One other filming device that they leaned on too much was the end of scene slow mo. It worked the first time, but it was used another 2 or 3 times. It lost its dramatic effect after the first time.

Like the first, the movie is more drama that action. The fight scene is in the last twenty or so minutes of the movie. The camera techniques were a little different than the earlier Rockys. This was more up close, with one of those steady cams, kinda like the boxing shots from Cinderella Man. But whereas the shooting may have been upgraded, the fight script wasn’t any different. Rocky still took a billion shots to the head, was knocked down several times, but still managed to go the distance. I won’t tell you who won, but the real message, is that it doesn’t matter. (Hey, they even brought out Mike Tyson to rile things up with Mason Dixon, ala Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang in Rocky III.)

Whereas the city is different now, then what it was 30 years ago, Rocky epitomizes Philly. Back then Philly was a lot grungier. It was tougher. A real democratic working class city. Now we’re more cosmopolitan. State of the art in many ways. We have a real skyline, much to the dismay of many. It’s maybe one of the finest dining cities in the country. We’re a real player on the world stage. Hell, we even had the Republican Convention here a few years ago. Still, those working class ethics are part of us. And even though it’s not as visible, the hard working, bust you back every day Joes, are what keep this city running. Rocky is still the poster boy for the Philly working class everyday guy. He has an edge to him but will give the shirt off his back to anyone in need and not expect much in return. But cross his sense of morals and you’ll be sorry. Almost everyone in Philly can relate to Rocky in a physical sense too. I took the El to school every day in high school. Many scenes from the movies were shot underneath it. (It’s funny, but it didn’t look too different from the Rocky movies than it did in the future world of Twelve Monkeys.) His mythical house was several blocks right down the street from my high school. I ice skated a handful of times at Scanlon rink where Rock takes Adrian on their first date. Many of us have eaten in the little mom and pop Italian restaurants set up in a row homes, the kind that  Rocky owns in this movie. Stallone himself lived in Philly and attended Lincoln High School in the Mayfair area. Their school marching band was actually in the 2^nd or 3^rd movie. Everyone has gone through the Italian Market, ate at Pat’s Steaks, or ran up the steps of the Art Museum. I was actually on a class trip to the Art Museum on the day they shot that scene. Or at least that’s what we were told. We were in the bus waiting to go home when off in the distance we could see a crowd of people. Camera crews and stuff. The nuns told us something about a movie being filmed, smacked us, told us to turn around and sit up straight. The point is, Rocky is synonymous with Philly anymore, and vice versa. Both “Eye of the Tiger” and the all too famous theme music are played over and over here at pivotal points during sporting events. Really, isn’t Bill Conti’s score one of the greatest movie pieces ever written? It’s right up there with John Williams’ music from Star Wars. Till this day the Rocky score has the incredible ability to pump us up. Even during reruns of the movie, once those trumpets kick in, I start to get all juiced.

I like Stallone. He seems genuine. And in Rocky Balboa that genuineness came through in his character like the first Rocky 30 years ago. I like the way it was shot. And I feel Stallone did a very good job with the dramatic aspects of the movie. I would have liked to have seen more to the story of him and his kid. And as unbelievable as it is for a 60 yr old to get in a ring with the champ, it still works for me. I give Rocky Balboa three out of five crow’s feet. I also give it an extra crow foot for the beauty of the secondary character….Philadelphia. If you’re from here, go see it. You know you want to.

Take Care

Scarecrow

Risin’ up -- back on the street,
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance now I’m back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast,
You trade your passion for glory,
Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past,
You must fight just to keep them alive

it’s the eye of the tiger,
It’s the thrill of the fight,
Rising up to the challenge of our rival,
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night,
And he’s watching us all
With the eye of the tiger.

Face to face -- out in the heat,
Hangin’ tough, stayin’ hungry
They stack the odds still we take to the street
For the kill, with the skill to survive

Risin’ up -- straight to the top,
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I’m not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

Survivor – Eye of The Tiger

p.s. Rest In Peace Gerald Ford…I hope this isn’t a recurring theme.

I saw Casino Royale last night. Awesome! Bond gets a long due overhaul. Don’t get me wrong, I like most of the previous bonds, but come on, they came to be more about the women, the cars, and the gadgets than anything else. There are still beautiful women, but they are not used in the same way, if used at all. There are still some pretty cool cars, but again they are there just for looks. In fact, there are no real car chase scenes. The first time we see Bond driving a car, he’s in a Ford compact and parks next to a Kia. There are only one or two gadgets, but these gadgets are real and used in a believable way. The most used gadgets cell phones. No this movie is about a paid assassin, which the double O’s are, and it is done with brute force, not with style or one liners. In fact, the best one liner in the movie is a slap to the traditional Bond martini order of ‘shaken not stirred’. (Whether I say that line, or think it, it always comes out with Sean Connery’s Scottish accent. Super cool.) Anyway, I won’t ruin the new line. But it’s funny.

Daniel Craig himself has gotten a lot of grief for this role because he doesn’t fit the Bond image. He’s not a real pretty boy, he’s much shorter, (5’11”), and he’s blonde, (James Blonde). But in this man’s opinion, he’s got those ruggedly handsome good looks. His features aren’t smooth, and like his character, his looks are flawed, (something with his ears). His greatest feature is his steely blue eyes that suggest a cold blooded killer, which he is, and also serve the purpose of Bond persona by having women swoon over him. The best part about this Bond is that he has character problems. He is flawed, troubled. He trusts no one. He is incapable of love. He jokes about only having sex with married women because there are no strings. He is not confidently cocky like Pierce Brosnan. He is just down right arrogant, and is completely confused and dejected when things don’t go his way. When this happens, he becomes childish and is prone to resort to murder to solve his problem. And unlike in the past Bond films, things regularly don’t go his way, and there is no gadget to help, nor is the cavalry around the corner. (I won’t mention the torture scene, only because it really hurts just to think about it.)

This is an aside. Already, we’re only two paragraphs in? Just shut up and type. Okay, I’m just so glad you’re here to tell me what to do. Save the sarcasm, cause if you keep it up, you know who will join us, and I really don’t feel like listening to his shiny pennies and light sabers. Yeah, you’re right, he’s getting annoying. Like we were about to say….when my friends and I go on a boys road trip, we have several car games that we like to play. I’ve mentioned one before, called “Who Would You Rather Do” where we pick two persons that nobody would do, (by 'do' I mean screw, you got that right?) but the rules are you have to pick one. Probably our next favorite one is “If Your Life Was A Movie, Who Would You Choose?”. We stopped playing this because every guy started picking James Bond. Beautiful chicks, cool toys, awesome cars, luxury, etc. After a while we changed it to which Bond, everyone pick Connery, then it was changed to which Bond movie. This was the best because it did vary somewhat, based on which Bond chick we really wanted to do. Hey, we’re guys. (Halle Barry for me please. Thank you) Anyway, I would never in my life pick this new Bond. He takes an awful beating throughout the movie, there are no gadgets, no one likes him, (he’s called a thug throughout the film) and he has some real issues. Would you agree? Absolutely, and I just can’t get by that thing with the rope. Ouch! Yeah, ouch!

I won’t give away any of the plot or many of the scenes but I will tell you not to get to the theatre late. I know that’s hard to do with the myriad of previews they hit you with anymore. Not that I’m complaining. Being a movie buff, I wouldn’t mind an hour of just previews. (BTW – HOLY SPIT I can’t wait for Spiderman.) But I digress, the opening scene is shot in film noir fashion. Low key, grainy, black and white. It’s a brief scene of maybe five minutes, but what it does, it introduces us to this James Bond character as something new. Like the character and twenty other prior movies never existed. This IS James Bond. He IS an assassin. This IS what Ian Fleming was talking about. Then you cut to the typically cheesy opening credits. Always the most painful part of the Bond films. BUT, the theme, or title track, is an incredible tune. It was written and performed by Chris Cornell, former lead singer of Soundgarden and currently Audioslave. The track, You Know My Name is great. It’s been getting a lot air play around here, and it’s one of those songs that I instantly want to crank up. Back to the movie. The next action scene is a foot chase, and might possibly be one of the best chase scenes I ever saw. In fact, the bad guy that Bond is chasing has the better stunts. He moves ala Jackie Chan but without the corniness. It's fast paced and action packed.

The fight/chase scenes are shot with the kind of low angle, grainy, gritty, realistic camera work that was made famous in Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. The movie still has some of the Bond style that we are use to. Those tailored dinner jackets. The babes in gowns with plunging neck lines and plunging back lines, (which I find incredibly more sexier than the front…I love the small of a woman’s back…ummmm).

The only real problem I had with the female lead, Eva Green, is that she is soooo much more beautiful w/o makeup, which you see, than with makeup. They should of left the makeup off her completely. (I think I speak for a good amount of men when I say most woman DO NOT need anything other than simple facial applications, if anything at all.) The villain in this adaptation still has a corny look or flaw that sets them apart as the bad guy. He actually did nothing for me, at least not until we got to the torture scene, (f***ing OUCH!) And as typical with most of Bond’s bad babes in the past, the villain's main squeeze in this film wears latex that had to have been painted on. This leads us to another typical theme in all of the Bond movies, the scenery. The beauty of the female characters is only surpassed by the locations chosen to shoot the film. The film takes you to some of the most beautiful places in the world. From the Bahamas, to Montenegro, to Venice. Just incredible!

Overall, I really didn’t have too many problems with the movie. It still carried over some of the old Bond clichés that I would like to see gone, like the villains facial scars and deformities. At least he wasn’t this eccentric super millionaire with an island of his own, bent on world domination. (We all know that will be handled from one loan work station.) The biggest problem I had was there was about 15-20 minutes where the movie really dragged, and in my opinion, AFTER the climax. It became a love story for a bit, but not one that really added anything to the movie, that wasn’t easily understood by editing that part down to 5 minutes. The movie picked up a bit after that, but it got a little confusing when explaining all the double crosses and tieing up the loose ends. It ended leaving a bit to the imagination, and a ‘to be continued’ caption. The next Bond film, with Daniel Craig, (his contract is for two more), will be out in 2008.

All in all, I would give this movie four ‘crows’ out of five for the action, the change in the Bond character, and edginess. It lost a little with the couple dead spots the movie had. (BTW - Get it? ‘Crows’…4 out of 5 crows…see I’m Scarecrow and I’m using crows as a rating system…ah nevermind.) As far as being compared to the other Bonds, I’ll already rank Daniel Craig at #2, behind Sean Connery. (No one will ever surpass Sean Connery.) I like this flawed, troubled, loose cannon, always in trouble with his superiors, arrogant to a fault Bond. Hopefully, they don’t change this recipe. Now if the next Bond can be slightly shorter, a few years older, American, and the father of three girls, then I know the perfect person. Is Halle Barry available? Boy, I know any scene with me and her would have to be shot over and over 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. I wish you the best holiday with your closest friends and family. I hope you all fall asleep on the couch, with your hands down your pants, watching the Cowgirls get whooped, with your first of many turkey sandwiches perched on your belly and a little cranberry sauce dripping from the corner of your mouth.

To my foreign friends, I wish you a Happy Spanksgiving Day, (that’s today BTW). May you fall asleep on the couch, also with your hands down your pants, watching whatever hockey, cricket, or curling, with a plate of fries and malt vinegar, fish & chips, bagel & lox, pop tarts, or your lover covered in chocolate sauce while perched on your lap.

Unfortunately, I missed the Spanksgiving Day parade today. If you’re interested, I’m sure the pics and video will soon be up on www.prestonandsteve.com While you’re there, check out everything else. It’s an easy way to waste your day.

Take Care my friends,

Scarecrow

If you take a life do you know what you'll give?
Oh doll you won't like what it is
When the storm arrives would you be seen with me
By the merciless eyes of deceit?

I've seen angels fall from blinding heights
But you yourself are nothing so divine
Just next in line

Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you
The arms will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize it will never fulfill you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?

The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name

If you come inside things will not be the same
When you return to the night
And if you think you won
You never saw me change
The game the we all been playing

I've seen diamonds cut through harder men
Than you yourself
But if you must pretend
You may meet your end

Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you
The arms will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize it will never fulfill you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?

The coldest blood runs through my veins

Try to hide your hand
Forget how to feel
Forget how to feel

Life is gone with just a spin of the wheel
Spin of the wheel

Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you
The arms will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize it will never fulfill you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?

The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name
You know my name
You know my name
You know my name
You know my name
You know my name
You know my name

Chris Cornell – You Know My Name

 p.s. hey Joisey, what's with the old folks crack? you're younger than me babe. anyway, how's this? any better?

Flags of Our Fathers

I read this book a few years ago. It’s a tremendous story about the six men depicted in the most famous war time photo ever: the raising of the Stars and Stripes over Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima. It was a pivotal battle for a shelled out tiny scab of an island. The island was needed for its airstrips and proximity to Japan. Not long after we gained control of the island, the Enola Gay took off from Iwo on its fateful flight.

It’s a story about how circumstance and coincidence overcame truth and took on a life of its own. Most people don’t know that this flag raising wasn’t the original flag to go up on Iwo. The first flag went up once we captured Mt. Suribachi. The flag went up and all the photographers took their ‘money’ shots. The troops on the beach, in the foxholes, and those in the off shore armada all saw the flag go up. Marines and sailors cheered, and the ships sounded of their horns. It was a priceless moment for those fighting. Somewhere a high ranking officer on a ship saw the flag go up, realized the importance of that particular flag, and decided that he wanted it. Word was sent out to retrieve it for him. The orders got to the officer commanding the marines fighting the island and decided that he’d be damned if some REMF, (navy speak for Rear Echelon Mother F***er), was going to take the flag that his boys died for. So he sends a runner and another squad up the mountain with a second flag. At this very moment, a second photographer, Joe Rosenthal, comes ashore late and goes up the mountain with this second squad. They get to the top and without any fanfare replace the flag. That’s it. Four marines, a Navy corpsman, and a Marine runner all join in to help each other get this flag up. The photographer, knowing he was already too late, takes a shot with an older camera, because as bad luck would have it, he damaged his primary camera on the landing earlier in the day. It’s shot in black & white and is slightly off centered. After the pic he comments that it would have been a better shot if you could see their faces. (This later added to much of the mistruths surrounding this moment in time.)

It’s a story of how not quite the truth, or outright fallacies, can be stronger than the truth. About how the government can bend the truth, or lie, and feed it to us, to get what they want. It’s nothing new. Once this second photo hit the streets the public went wild. It came out at a time when people were getting bored with the war and weren’t supporting it as much. The war machine needed $17 billion to finance the rest of the war. Production of weapons, ships, tanks had almost come to a halt for lack of funds. The last few War Bond sales faltered. But when people saw this photo, they saw victory and were rejuvenated. The government saw this reaction, decided to pull the three remaining survivors of the flag raising, (the other three had died by this time on Iwo), and parade them around the country to raise money. They were told to ignore the truth about it being the second flag raising. They were told to ignore the fact that one of the three named dead flag raisers really wasn’t involved in this second raising. Which lead to confusion and grief for two war moms. Reporters looking for a story pushed the idea that the flag raising was staged. These three men could not handle being paraded around as heroes, just because they raised a flag, when all their buddies were dead or still fighting somewhere. They couldn’t handle the lies. It didn’t matter. Their country needed them to help raise money and that they did.

It’s a story about a father and his son. John ‘Doc’ Bradley never talked about the war with his family. They knew about the flag raising, but it was never brought up. It was just something dad did in the war. No big deal. Bradley would instruct his family to tell reporters that he was gone fishing in Canada when they called for interviews and to appear in parades and such. They had no idea of what really happened to their dad in the war. Not until after his death. They found boxes of stuff including the famous picture, newspaper clippings and their father’s medal for bravery and valor. Doc’s son, James Bradley decided to find out what his dad and the other flag raisers actually did in the war.

Well, I won’t tell the whole story. James Bradley has already done that. Go read the book. Go see the movie. The movie is beautifully shot to capture the mid forties. Not sure if it’s CGI, but the battle scenes of the island from the ships are pretty amazing. Plus, it’s a Clint Eastwood picture. He’s the man. The movie has done a good job of getting across the central themes of the book. War, financing, media, & government are the same no matter what era the actual battle is being fought. The life of a single man is not more important than the whole. Sometimes luck is more important than truth. And most importantly, these service men may have fought for their country, but they lived and died for the guy in the foxhole next to them.Role Models Revisited

Role Models Revisited

Aside from my parents and daughters, I look up to the men & women of the armed forces, police and firefighters. Of these, I am most in awe of World War II veterans. I don’t mean to belittle my respect for veterans from other eras, it’s just that’s who I grew up idolizing, watching, reading about, and knowing.

One of my favorite authors is historian Stephen Ambrose. He passed a few years ago, but left a growing legacy of those who served in WWII. It’s through his works that I grew to love these men who fought in WWII, especially Europe, and even more specific, those of the 101^st Airborne. In my early 20s, I was elated to find out that my dentist at the time was one of the paratroopers that dropped in Normandy on D-Day. I would find myself looking for reasons to go to the dentist. I would hope he wasn’t busy that day, so I could spend more than just my required treatment time, just to talk to him. I would always come into his office with the latest Ambrose book and a list of questions for him. I think he would look forward to me coming in. After a while, he would just talk about various memories while working on my mouth. He has since retired, and may have even passed away by now. It’s funny, I go to his son now for dental work, but have never discussed his father with him. Anyway, I look up to these people with the greatest of respect. I do feel a sense of awe when I see veterans in a parade. I still feel like I did when I was a kid. They appear larger than life to me. I also feel a sense of embarrassment when I see them.

Glory, Honor, Missed Callings & Missed Family

I am embarrassed that I never joined the service. I came close several times. One time, I was a signature away. I hate the fact I never did it. Signing up would of made me a better person. I would have matured in a better way.  Instead, I wasted away my parent’s time and money at college. (This is another great embarrassment of mine. Another shortcoming I can never fix.) No direction, not sure of my future, unsure of myself. Four years in service would at the least bought me some time to figure things out, toughened me up, and kept me from my most embarrassing moment, (a story for another time, another place, maybe never). I was mentally gung ho to sign up. Two things kept pulling my pen clutched hand from that signature line, my perceived health and my dad.

I am an asthmatic. I was a severe asthmatic. It’s part of me. I can’t hide it. I tried to. Although now, you wouldn’t know unless I told you. Back then it wasn’t as easy to hide. I was still growing out of it. My lungs were stronger, but I still had to take several meds and carried an inhaler around with me all the time. The last thing I wanted to do in the service was be put behind a desk. All guts and glory, that was me. Be the best I could be. If I was going to enlist, I wanted to be a soldier, not a pencil pusher. But, I was told that it probably wouldn’t happen. Thankfully, the recruitment officer was honest with me. Still, my health wasn’t the greatest reason. That was my dad.

My dad was dead set against me signing up. My dad started as a baker, then developed rye poisoning, and wound up driving a truck. He had to stop that due to various medical conditions that set in from the constant driving. So, he wound up working with the same trucking company on their docks, striping and loading trucks. It was back breaking work. It was shift work. He worked every second of overtime he could muster. He hated it but did it because he had a family. It’s called responsibility. My dad knew he didn’t want this for his son. He wanted his son to get the education he didn’t get and get a good desk job that afforded him no wear & tear on his body and provided for him financially w/o sacrifice to his future family. This is why he worked so hard, so I could go to college, (which I wasted). So, to him, joining the service was no different than working a manual job. Still, whereas I learned, this was more of an excuse than the real reason.

My dad was the youngest of nine kids. He had four brothers and four sisters. He was born in 1930. During the forties, his brothers were all of age to serve, and they all did. His mom, my grand mom, my Babcia, was a four star mother. Rudolf, Augustus, Joseph, & Julius, (listed in declining age), were his brothers, my uncles. Three of the brothers came back with various scars, some physical, some mental. One never made it back. I believe this affected my father, especially since the one that did not make it, was the next youngest of his brothers, thus being his closest at the time. A large portrait of him hangs in my parent’s living room. (My cousin, ‘J’ a career Navy man, had it done for my dad a few years back.) My dad didn’t want me to join because he was afraid that something would happen to his only son. My cousin J, who is 18 months my younger grew up in my house. My parents raised him. He joined up right out of high school. It was the best thing for him at the time. While not ever getting into anything himself, trouble was hanging around him like an albatross. He decided, with my dad’s blessing to enlist. He needed to get away. My dad felt I didn’t. He already decided to give up his nephew to the service, but not his son. I was babied most of my young life, and this was just another way of them keeping me safe. They still do it. It annoys me, but I tolerate it because I know that it comes from the good intentions in their heart. Anyway, I could have just done it on my own. I was old enough, but I just couldn’t go against my dad. (I was also ready to take the police exam here, but pulled out for similar reasons. I would have made a good cop.)

It didn’t bother me as much once I understood his reasons, and he told me some of the stories of his brothers. One was in the Battle of the Bulge and came back with trench foot. One came back all shot up. One was shell shocked, which I guess is called delayed stress syndrome now. He really didn’t know much about how his one brother died. My cousin and I dug up whatever I could on this brother’s service record, which wasn’t much, and gave it to him. Uncle Julius was killed in action, while on a ship, in the Philippines, in 1945. His remains/memorial is in Hawaii. It’s my main reason for wanting to go there. I would love to be able to bring back an etching of his name and give it to my dad. The three remaining brothers died of various ailments while I was young so I never really got a chance to know them. This hurts me now as our families, all the cousins, aren’t too close. I have a large family, but don’t know most of them. Well, this is something I can remedy soon, I hope. Anyway, I can’t say I can ‘forgive’ my dad for not allowing me to enlist. How can you forgive someone for loving you? There’s really nothing to forgive. He would have loved me even if I went against his wishes. This leads me to why I am embarrassed at myself. I still can’t forgive myself for not taking upon myself to join.

To my Uncle Rudy, Uncle Gussy, Uncle Joe, & Uncle Julius: I never got to know you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect you for what you did and it doesn’t mean I don’t love you.

I never knew you, but I do miss you.

Take care,

Scarecrow

And in the morning
They'll take a hero's bow
And make the ever lasting flight

Black Sabbath – Glory Ride