Movie – Much Ado About Nothing (2013)

As I promised in my last post, here is my review of Joss Whedon’s film Much Ado About Nothing.  (And if you like movies at all but haven’t seen my last post you should really check it out.)  I’ve done reviews of most everything Whedon has had a hand in, so if you want to reference those you can find my parent post for them here.

Back in late 2011 or early 2012 there was a surprise announcement that Joss Whedon had adapted and already completed filming Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing – all while in the midst of post-production on the biggest film in Hollywood: The Avengers (2012). Reactions ran the gamut from “are you serious?” to “that’s Joss Whedon”.  The film was held back for a while, making its debut at some festivals, and was finally released to the public in the summer of 2013.  Despite his success with The Avengers, movie theaters wanted nothing to do with a Shakespeare adaptation that had no big name stars in it.  It played the arthouse circuit then was released to DVD/BD where I finally got a chance to see it.  I enjoyed myself.  I had also seen the 1993 Branagh version way back in the day and comparisons between the two are impossible to ignore.  I will include some of those thoughts in this review.

Video – A Very Impressive Performance of Famous Movie Themes and Re-creations of Images from the Films by the Ohio State Marching Band

I was going to be posting my review of the Joss Whedon film Much Ado About Nothing today, but I ran across this video and it’s just too good not to share with folks who like movies.  I will review Whedon’s film in my next post.

In this video the Ohio State marching band performs the themes of, and re-creates images from, both old and new Superman, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and The Pirates of the Caribbean – and all in less than nine minutes.

For those folks unfamiliar with American college football here are a few things you should know to understand why this performance is happening:

1. Like soccer (football to you) there is a halftime break for the athletes.
2. For college football that halftime usually includes performances by the marching bands from the two colleges that are competing.
3. Marching bands are orchestras composed of horns, woodwinds, drums, cymbals – basically all the instruments you do not sit down to play – and they are conducted by someone standing on the sideline on a platform so that he/she can see and be seen.
4. These halftime shows for the larger colleges are basically major competitions between the marching bands for bragging rights.
5. Ohio State’s main rival is Michigan and you see the two colleges’ banners during the Pirates of the Caribbean re-creation.

Enjoy.

Video – Two Videos of the Castle Cast at the Paley Center

Note: This is part of my ongoing reviews of the Castle television show’s seasons, the books written by “Richard Castle”, and some events related to the show.  For the parent post with links to all of these, please click here.

The first video is a twelve minute clip from the longer March 9, 2012 session.  It concerns the instant classic film noir episode The Blue Butterfly from Season 4.  They have the cast talk about it then recreate some of the lines in the accents they used in the show.

The second video is the entire one hour session that was just held September 30, 2013.  Please note that the first episode of Season 6, and by extension the cliffhanger from the end of Season 5, are discussed in this video, so if you have not seen them then this will contain spoilers.  This was captured from a web stream so the video is pretty choppy in places.  The audio is fine through the entire thing, though.

Book – Storm Front

Note: This is part of my ongoing reviews of the Castle television show’s seasons, the books written by “Richard Castle”, and some events related to the show.  For the parent post with links to all of these, please click here.

This is the sixth novel to be published under the author’s name of Richard Castle – the fictional character on the TV show Castle.  When the show opened Richard Castle was the popular author of a series of thrillers that all had the main character of Derrick Storm.  He was just publishing his final Storm book, though.  He had killed off the character since he was bored with him.  He soon got an inspiration for a new character of Nikki Heat, an NYPD detective based on the Detective Beckett character he was working with on the TV show.  During the course of the show we have seen the Castle character write five Nikki Heat novels. 

This fall a new Derrick Storm book was also published.  It is not a graphic novel “adaptation” like the ones done for the first three non-existent Derrick Storm novels.  This is a new story that picks up four years after Richard Castle killed off the character.  The first thing he’s got to do is explain how Storm is still alive.  It turns out that the CIA faked his death because things were just too hot for Storm and he needed to lie low for a long time.  He’s now been tapped to once again help the CIA because there has been a reappearance of Storm’s old adversary Gregor Volkov.

Book – Richard Castle’s A Calm Before Storm

Note: This is part of my ongoing reviews of the Castle television show’s seasons, the books written by “Richard Castle”, and some events related to the show.  For the parent post with links to all of these, please click here. 

To date there have been six novels published under the author’s name of Richard Castle – the fictional character on the TV show Castle.  When the show opened Richard Castle was the popular author of a series of thrillers that all had the main character of Derrick Storm.  During the course of the show we have seen the Castle character write the five Nikki Heat novels, which are based on the Detective Beckett character, and a new Derrick Storm novel.  What about all those old Derrick Storm novels that are supposed to already exist?  The people involved with the show decided to do “adaptations” of these books in the graphic novel format.

Book – Deadly Heat

Note: This is part of my ongoing reviews of the Castle television show’s seasons, the books written by “Richard Castle”, and some events related to the show.  For the parent post with links to all of these, please click here.

Deadly Heat is the fifth book by “Richard Castle”, the fictional writer on the TV show Castle.  The actual author of these books is speculated to be one of the real authors who have appeared on the show (i.e. Michael Connelly, James Patterson) or one of the show’s creators (i.e. Andrew Marlowe).  Like the first four books, this one has events or plot points similar to things that have happened on the Castle TV show in the prior season.  This book addresses the revelations and open plotlines from the fourth book.

TV – Castle Season 5

Note: This is part of my ongoing reviews of the Castle television show’s seasons, the books written by “Richard Castle”, and some events related to the show.  For the parent post with links to all of these, please click here.  In the coming days I will post reviews of the three newest books.

Note 2: There are spoilers for Season 4 in this post, especially the final episode of that season since it directly relates to the events of Season 5.

This season picks up the morning after Season 4 ended.  Beckett had finally admitted her desire for Castle and had shown up at his apartment.  As the season opens Castle wakes up alone in bed.  Was it all a dream?  Nope.  Beckett comes in with a couple cups of coffee.  Castle quizzes her.  Does she regret it?  Was it a one time thing caused by the trauma of almost dying and then quitting the police force?  Nope and nope. 

Movie – Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins is the well known live action Disney film that stars Julie Andrews.  It was not only the biggest box office hit of the year when it was released, but it was nominated for an astounding 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.  Only the films All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997) ever received more – both with 14.  Mary Poppins won five Oscars, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews in her big screen debut.  She was only the second woman to achieve this (after Shirley Booth for 1952’s Come Back, Little Sheba.)  So what made this film so popular with both audiences and filmmakers?  For the former it was simple: this is a heartwarming family film that presents a happy message for kids.  For the latter it can be summed up in two words: Julie Andrews.

Movie – The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982)

If you have never heard of this film before today, I can completely understand.  I never heard of it myself before it was added to the most recent edition of the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.  It is from writer/director Peter Greenaway (The Pillow Book, Drowning by Numbers) and might be the most normal of the four films of his that I have seen.  Of course, “normal” is a relative term.  For instance, this film has a naked man who is some sort of moving statue that most people cannot see.  He might represent the Green Man from Anglo mythology.  And if you have a penis aversion (would that be “phallophobia”?) then you should know that you see everything.  This is just a small touch of Greenaway’s typical strangeness, though.  The main part of the film involves a slow realization that what we think is going on may be completely wrong.  And it all involves a murder.

Movie – The Exterminating Angel (1962)

Writer/director Luis Bunuel’s film The Exterminating Angel (not to be confused with the 2006 film The Exterminating Angels which actually has angels in it) has a title that really doesn’t have much to do with the movie.  That has not stopped people from generating wild theories on what it really means.  The simple answer is that Bunuel had a colleague who was going to write a play with that name and Bunuel liked the title because he felt people would see “The Exterminating Angel” on a sign and buy a ticket.  It was all about commercial success, not artistic pretensions.  That’s not to say that this film doesn’t contain any number of patented Bunuel surreal moments, like a bear and some sheep being kept inside the house in which the film takes place.  I liked this film, but it will not be for everybody.  I will explain.

Movie – The Great White Silence (1924)

One of the things that older movies do is give us a window into the past.  Sure, we may not think of that while we are watching them, but on some level we appreciate them because they have forever captured something that no longer exists.  It may be the youth and vitality of a performer, how the social mores of the time impacted the stories, or in the case of the documentary The Great White Silence, the real life 1911-1912 Robert Scott expedition to attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole.  While watching this it was impossible for me not to marvel over the fact that I was seeing things that happened more than 100 years ago on Antarctica.  Combine that with an absolutely pristine restoration and I enjoyed this film quite a bit.

Movie – The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

I first became aware of the film The Adventures of Prince Achmed after I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on DVD in 2011.  One of the best parts of the latter film was a three minute long animated sequence that tells the tale of three brothers who encountered Death, and the three items (the Hallows) that they received from him.  The style of the animation was quite unique to me and I looked into it some after I had watched the film.  Even though it was done via cgi, I learned that the silhouette style of it was heavily inspired by the oldest surviving full length animated film – the aforementioned Prince Achmed.  I made a mental note to track it down sometime, but when the latest edition of the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die included The Adventures of Prince Achmed I bumped it up to the top.  I’m very happy that I watched the film.  It’s far more than just a historical curiosity; it actually manages to convey emotions and to generate a feeling of adventure, peril, and wonder in the viewer.

Movie – F for Fake (1973)

Orson Welles made many different kinds of films over his career.  Citizen Kane (1941) is the acknowledged best of the bunch.  After that opinions differ, but Touch of Evil (1958) is probably the one I see most often mentioned next.  I would agree with those two rankings.  After seeing F for Fake, though, I have to say that I would put it very close to, and possibly even with, Touch of Evil in terms of how good it is.  It’s a puzzle box of a movie that may or may not be a documentary, may or may not be Welles stroking his ego, and may or may not be Welles having a tremendous joke on everyone.  I feel it’s quite possibly all three.

Movie – Toy Story 2 (1999)

The tale of how Toy Story 2 came to be is a curious one.  It was only the third film to come from Pixar – Toy Story (1995) and A Bug’s Life (1998) being the first two – and they were already doing a sequel?  What happened is this little animation company got taught a lesson in real life business from the massive Disney Studios.  Pixar had signed a deal with Disney to produce five animated films.  After the success of the original Toy Story, Disney started prepping a cheap, knockoff, direct to video sequel of it.  This horrified Pixar, who offered to do the sequel themselves.  They also figured it would get them one film closer to not having to deal with Disney anymore.  After they released Toy Story 2 Disney said “not so fast, the deal calls for five original films; sequels don’t count.”  This meant that Pixar had to not only get back to Monsters, Inc., which they had set aside to work on Toy Story 2, but they also had to deliver Finding Nemo and The Incredibles to Disney.  After that Disney just bought Pixar outright.

The amazing thing is that despite all of this Toy Story 2 is a fantastic film.  In fact, I considered it the best film that Pixar had ever done until Toy Story 3 eclipsed it eleven years later. 

Three Common Plot Points That Are Just Plain Wrong

There are any number of clichéd plot points that we’ve seen over and over in movies and TV episodes.  Maybe it’s the person who gets shot, sits up, and always rips open their shirt to show the viewer that they have a bullet-proof vest on – who does that in real life?  Maybe it’s the criminal who takes One Last Job or the cop who is One Week from Retirement – either way we know it’s not going to turn out well.  Maybe it’s the random object or person that shows up early on for no reason and then plays a critical role during the climax.

While all of these have been done to death, they are not wrong.  (Note: by “wrong” I mean factually, not morally or ethically.)  Bulletproof vests do stop some kinds of bullets.  Sometimes big cases do come up just as a cop is going to retire.  No, what I mean are plot points that have appeared tons of times, but every time they do they are flat out wrong, and it requires them to be wrong for the plot point to work.

I will count these down to the most common, most incorrect plot point.  Here they are:

September Movie Status

I saw 41 new movies in the month of September, plus 2 TV show seasons, plus 2 shorts, plus 2 re-watches.  The majority of those were for the 1,001 Movies list, which just got 49 more films added to it this month.  I had seen 21, so that left 28 to watch to once again complete the list.  I did that.  I also ranked all 49 additions in this post.

I only saw one Oscar Best Picture nominee.  That was Hold Back the Dawn (1941).  I had never been able to locate it, but Adolytsi of Adol’s CinematoBlogoWebboScreed tracked down a copy for me.  Big thanks to him for this.

Here are the 44 new movies, shorts, and TV show seasons I saw in September.  Highlighted movies are ones to which I would give at least three stars out of five.  I will single out the four and five star films, as well as the worst films, in the paragraphs below the lists.

1,001 Movies (28): Diva (1981), The Eagle (1925), The Devils (1971), Limite (1931), The Goddess (1934), Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979), Some Came Running (1958), The Consequences of Love (2004), The Exterminating Angel (1962), The Exiles (1961), The Great White Silence (1924), Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982), The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), Peter Ibbetson (1935), Fireworks (1997), F for Fake (1973), Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003), Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), The Hired Hand (1971), A Throw of Dice (1929), Moolaade (2004), Elephant (2003), Osama (2003), Sleeping Dogs (1977), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Wake in Fright (1971), Summer with Monika (1953)

Oscar Nominees (1): Hold Back the Dawn (1941)

Other Movies (14): Now You See Me (2013), Oblivion (2013), The Wolverine (2013), Elysium (2013), The World’s End (2013), Sound of My Voice (2011), Delicacy (2011), An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), Lotte Reineger: Homage to the Inventor of the Silhouette Film (2001), The Secret of the Marquise (1922) - short, Design for Living (1933), Full Circle (2008) – short, Castaway on the Moon (2009), Chasing Ice (2012)

Re-watches (2): The Man from Earth (2007), Iron Man 3 (2013)

TV Series (2):  The Big Bang Theory Season 6, The Big Bang Theory Season 1 (re-watch)

I had no five star movies in September.  Here are the four star films I saw:

The Great White Silence (1924) – Quite possible the single clearest and cleanest silent film I have ever seen.  And to think that the footage was shot in 1911 and 1912 in Antarctica.  This was a very good addition to the list.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) – Another great addition to the list as this is the oldest surviving animated film.  It’s not just a curiosity, though, but a movie that gives a sense of adventure, peril, and triumph.

F for Fake (1973) – Another “why wasn’t this on the list in the first place” addition to the 1,001 Movies.  I really liked the whole question of how much, if anything, we are seeing is real.  It was meta before anyone had coined the term.

Now You See Me (2013) – This is a heist film and I like that genre.  It also has several good questions on just who is working with whom.  I was able to figure out who was behind it all, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment.  This was a fun movie.

Delicacy (2011) – Audrey Tautou shines as a woman whose perfect husband dies, so she throws herself into her work for three years.  Suddenly she inexplicably starts to romance not only a subordinate, but a man who is at best only average looking.  All the people around her wonder what is going on with her.  The man is featured almost as much and he imbues his character with a full three dimensions, too.

Castaway on the Moon (2009) – A little bit Castaway with Tom Hanks, a little bit Amelie, and quite charming throughout, this is the kind of film that will put a smile on your face (unless you are dead inside and don't like it when a movie makes you feel good.)  It’s not science fiction; it’s a light contemporary drama from South Korea.  While it has several funny moments in it I would not call it a comedy/drama.

And it wouldn’t be a real month of watching entries from the 1,001 Movies list without a one star film.  That is Limite (1931).  It’s both pretentious and boring.  It’s what Un Chien Andalou would be if it were two hours long instead of 30 minutes.  It’s the only film the director ever made.  After seeing this, I am NOT surprised.

Change of Plans for Today, and Change for This Website Going Forward

I was planning to do my first of several movie reviews of the 2013 additions to the 1,001 Movies list today.  Instead, I got blindsided by Amazon late last night.  Here is the key paragraph from an email I received from them:

“We're writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account will be closed and your Amazon Services LLC Associates Program Operating Agreement will be terminated effective October 6, 2013. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional Maine state tax collection legislation passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor LePage on June 5, 2013, with an effective date of October 9, 2013. As a result, we will no longer pay any advertising fees for customers referred to an Amazon Site after October 6, nor will we accept new applications for the Associates Program from Maine residents.”

What Amazon is referring to is that Maine (the state I live in) passed a law requiring online retailers to collect sales tax if purchases are made by Maine residents.  (That’s much simplified, but it gets to the gist of it.)  Many years ago a federal law was passed that online retailers had to collect sales tax for those states where they had a physical presence, even if it was only a distribution center or a support center.  Amazon has no such presence in Maine.

Of course, they do not get to decide what is and is not constitutional.  That’s the job of the U.S. Supreme Court.  I’m sure that since this state law is related to interstate commerce, and since the Constitution says that interstate commerce is under the control of the federal government, not the states, that that is what Amazon will argue.  In the meantime, though, Amazon has apparently decided to exact retribution on the people who live in my state for the actions of the government – 99% of whom I didn’t vote into office.

I Completed the Entire 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List…Again

Hopefully you read that title in your head with Bill Murray’s delivery of “It’s Groundhog Day…again”.  If not, go back and try it now.  I’ll wait.

(dum dum de dum do dum do DUMMM do du-)

Oh hey, you’re back.  It’s better with that delivery, isn’t it?

Anyway, I’ve now seen the 49 films that the 2013 edition added to the 1,001 Movies list.  I had already seen 21 of them, which meant I had 28 to track down.  And since I had completed the entire list in July of this year, I just had to knock off these 28 new additions and I would once more be done with it.

Don’t worry; I’m not going to rehash everything I wrote back in July.  If you missed that post, though, you can read it here.

Instead, I am going to rank the 49 films that got added, and then over the coming days and weeks I’m going to review many of the ones I would recommend.  Some I have already reviewed since I either included them in other movie categories, or they were Oscar-nominated films.  Every year I do as many of the Oscar nominees as I would recommend between the time the nominations are announced and the time the awards are handed out. 

Hike – Skyline Trail, Benjies Lake Trail, and Bog Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia

View of Skyline Ridge from the Cabot Trail

The Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia is a 185 mile driving loop that is famous for its views, especially the northern third that traverses Canada’s Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  For those people who are familiar with the Kancamagus Highway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park in Maine, the Cabot Trail is a combination of the two – many curves, scenic turnouts, and fantastic views of both mountains and ocean.

Book – William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) a Klingon Chancellor said, “You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.”  I’m going to paraphrase/parallel that and say that you have not experienced Star Wars until you have read the original Shakespearean version.  What’s that?  You didn’t realize Star Wars was originally written by Shakespeare?  Well, neither did I until I recently picked up this book – thoughtfully presented by Ian Doescher.  It has everything you would expect from Shakespeare and even some things, like Banthas and Jawas, that you might not.

Movie – Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Once Upon a Time in the West is one of the best westerns ever made.  And to think that director Sergio Leone didn’t even want to make it because he was tired of doing westerns.  He couldn’t find any interest in a film he wanted to make titled Once Upon a Time in America, so he resorted to doing what he was best known for in the U.S.  It wouldn’t be until the 1980s before he would finally get to make that other film.  Despite the fact that this wasn’t his first choice he put together a great cast and story.  It includes not two antagonists, but four or even five – all with their own agendas that cause them to sometimes join with one another and sometimes to oppose one another.  That complexity is rare in westerns, whose stock in trade is easily identifiable good guys and bad guys.  Perhaps this complexity came from the fact that the film was co-written by Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Dario Argento.  The latter two would go on to become successful directors in their own right.

Kickstarter Campaign for a Sequel to the Fantastic 2007 Film The Man from Earth

Back in 2007 Netflix recommended a movie to me that I had never heard of.  It was titled The Man from Earth (aka Jerome Bixby’s The Man from Earth).  As you can probably tell from the title and author it is a science fiction film. On thing I should be clear on: it is NOT “sci-fi”.  There are no space battles, ray guns, aliens, or any other clichés of the sci-fi genre.  Instead it presented a terrific story – the kind that keeps you thinking about it long after the film is over.  If you have not seen it you can find out about it by reading my spoiler-free, very positive review of the film here.  If you want to see the film, you can watch it streaming from both Netflix Instant and Hulu Plus.  Netflix also has it available on DVD.

I enjoyed the film immensely, even going so far as to watch it again just a couple hours after I finished watching it for the first time.  One thing I never really thought about was a sequel, though.  This is not because I wouldn’t want to see more of the main character, but simply because it didn’t occur to me.

Well today I found out that the original filmmakers have just initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund a second film.  They say that over the years they have been approached many times by people wanting the rights to make more movies, a TV show, or other properties from the idea.  They had resisted all of them because they felt they weren’t right – much like Jerome Bixby’s son Emerson fought for years to get The Man from Earth, his father’s final, and perhaps greatest, story made into a worthwhile movie.

Their goal is only $175,000 by October 10, 2013.  The first film was made on a shoestring, so this may be a comparable budget.  It ended up being pirated from a screener before it was even released, and they did not make back their money until they opened a Paypal account and asked for voluntary donations from those who had seen it for free.  (The director of the film, Richard Schenkman, wrote an article about how piracy actually helped spread the word on how good this film was.  You can read that here.)

As it turns out, millions of people saw it, loved it, and drove a ton of interest in it.  For over a year it was the most searched for science fiction film on IMDB.  It is those people who have also been driving interest in a sequel.  With the successful experience of gathering funds over the internet, this time the filmmakers have gone the Kickstarter route for funding, rather than going to studios.

I wanted to embed their video discussing this effort into this post, but I couldn’t find it on Youtube yet.  It is on the project’s Kickstarter page, as are a description of what they want to accomplish, and a list of the various perks and benefits you get for the various levels of donations.  If you’ve got the dough you can even get a walk on role in the film.

If you have never heard of Kickstarter, it was founded in 2009 to help fund creative projects.  There is no risk to contributors because if the project does not reach its funding goals in the time specified then the project is off and all funds are returned.  Either you get what you contributed to (in this case a movie), or no money leaves your wallet.

I’m putting my money where my mouth, well keyboard, is and I’ve made a contribution.  Even if the second film is only half as good as the first one it will still be well worth seeing.  You know what?  I’m going to go pop in my DVD of the first film and watch it again right after I finish this post.

Here is the Kickstarter page for this film if you want to find out more and/or make a donation.

The Definitive List of Additions, Re-additions, Removals, and Changes Made to the 1,001 Movies List By the 2013 Edition, Plus Where You Can Find Them

This would have been up hours ago, but I’ve been besieged by powerful thunderstorms all day.  Now and then my UPS/Surge Protector takes a hit and shuts things down to protect my computer.  After the third or fourth time it gets really annoying.  I’ve basically been typing between the lightning strikes.

Anyway.

I have now gone through the entire 2012 and 2013 Editions side by side and put together the list of all changes the latest edition made to the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list.  I will list those below, along with where you can see them, as well as some thoughts and analysis on what got added and removed.  Overall, 47 films got added, 3 got re-added, 50 got removed, and one entry got changed.  The latter resulted in two more films being added, but without adding extra entries.  I will explain below.  The total list now contains 1,152 entries.

The 2013 Edition of the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Is Now Available

This morning I received a comment on a post saying that Skyfall was mentioned on the Amazon U.K. site as one of the films to be added.  Out of curiosity I checked the U.S. Amazon site to see if it said the same and found something else: they are now shipping the 2013 hardcover edition of the book.  This is despite the fact that they still say it is not being published until October 1, 2013.  I put in an order for it and I should get it tomorrow.  At the bottom of this post I’ve included a direct link to this Amazon page for anyone else who is interested in getting it.  I don't know if bookstores would have it yet.

And by coincidence, later this morning I received an email from Colby Mann, a person working his way through the list.  He said he had received notice from Amazon that his order of the book was going to ship.  He was letting me know.  He also pointed out that parts of the Table of Contents were visible on Amazon. 

By comparing those parts to the 2012 edition’s Table of Contents I was able to put together a partial list of the movies being added and removed.

Here are those films:

Movie – Blue Crush (2002)

Why might you want to watch Blue Crush?  Well, it’s not for the freshness of the story, which has been done many times.  But how many movies can honestly claim they have original plots in them anyway?  It’s not for the Academy Awards, because it received none.  This is more an Mtv Awards kind of movie.  So why bother with it?  Because it has stunning cinematography and sound for the ocean, wave, and surfing scenes, of which there are plenty.  When I used to demonstrate my widescreen TV and surround sound system to people in the early 2000s (neither was common yet) I used to play the lobby and rooftop scene from The Matrix (1999) and the surfing practice scene from the middle of Blue Crush.  Many people would exclaim over the way the ocean really stood out.  In addition, since this is a movie about surfing there are plenty of great looking women and men that often appear in swimwear.

Movie – Young Frankenstein (1974)

How about the year Mel Brooks had in 1974?  He directed what are now known as two genre spoof comedy classics – Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.  While the sendups of western clichés and the “meta-ness” of Blazing Saddles are fun, I prefer Young Frankenstein’s take on the monster movie genre in general and the Frankenstein’s monster movies in particular.  Brooks and the film’s star, Gene Wilder, co-wrote the film and you could tell they had a blast making it.  They received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, but lost to The Godfather Part II.  “Adapted” is a bit of a reach.  There’s not a lot of connection between this film and Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, other than the concepts.  Young Frankenstein actually is closer to the Frankenstein movies that it is making fun of.  Regardless of what it is based on, it is a very funny movie.

Movie – The World Unseen (2007)

The World Unseen is a drama set in Cape Town, South Africa in the 1950s.  While the ban on interracial relationships certainly plays a part in this film, that’s not the primary focus.  Instead it is the story of two women, one an unconventional one who runs her own restaurant and another who is a traditional housewife with a husband and three kids.  Neither woman is white or black, though; both belong to the Indian minority that settled in Africa following the troubles in their home region before, during, and after WWII.  Writer/director Shamim Sharif based the film on her own 2001 novel of the same name.  Even though she was born in England, she is of Indian and South African heritage.  While I know little of what South Africa was like in the 1950s this movie felt very authentic to me.  South Africans must have agreed because this film won 11 of the 15 SAFTAs (South African Film and Television Awards) in 2008, including Best Director and Best Ensemble Cast.

August Movie Status

I saw 5 new movies in the month of August, plus 2 TV show seasons.  For those people who remember seeing me post a couple of months with 100+ new movies seen, that “5” is not a typo.  After completing the 1,001 Movies list in early July I’ve been taking a break from movies.  In fact, I’ve seen only 11 movies in the last eight weeks, and one was a re-watch.  The only Oscar Best Picture nominee I saw in August was watched mostly because it was expiring from Netflix Instant viewing.  I watched Late Spring on the last day of the month just so I had seen at least one film from a couple of other lists; in this case, it was the only film in the They Shoot Pictures Don’t They Top 100 that I had not seen.  It was also on the Sight and Sound 2012 Critics Top 250 list.

Here are the 5 new movies I saw in August.  Highlighted movies are ones to which I would give at least three stars out of five.  

Oscar Nominees (1): A Farewell to Arms (1932)

Other Movies (4): Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Olympus Has Fallen (2013), Late Spring (1949)

Re-watches (0):

TV Series (2):  Castle: Season 5 (re-watch), Covert Affairs: Season 3

I had no four or five star movies in August.  Since I saw so few, I will comment on each.

A Farewell to Arms (1932) – This is based on the classic Hemingway novel.  Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes play the star-crossed lovers.  The film was surprisingly frank about sexual matters for its time, even with the fact that the Production Code was not yet being enforced.  I don’t know how faithful it is to the novel, but I did read that after some debate the studio kept the ending from the book.

Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) – Submarine drama with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster.  You can read my review of it here.

Kick-Ass 2 (2013) – Sequel to the very entertaining Kick-Ass.  It’s a step down, but still has its moments.  You can read my review of it here.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) - Decent action scenes, but like all action movies it has some really big plot holes that you have to ignore.  Unfortunately, I couldn't ignore the fact that the entire concept is based on the idea that the threat of killing the President would be enough to force the hand of the U.S. government.  The President is neither royal nor religiously divine.  He's not a King or a Pope.  He's just a man hired to do a job. There was one before him and there will be one after him.  If he's killed then in a very short time the next person in line will be sworn in.  It's the Presidency that is important, not the President.  And for a movie that consciously echoes Die Hard and Under Siege, there's a funny bit where a macho helicopter mission is launched.  Apparently none of the characters in the film has seen Die Hard.

Late Spring (1949) - This is basically the exact same story as Ozu's later film An Autumn Afternoon (1962), which I had already seen.  It even has the same actor playing the same role - the widower who is trying to get his daughter to marry.  I have no idea why the 1,001 Movies editors picked An Autumn Afternoon over the more celebrated Late Spring for inclusion in their book, especially if the former is a remake of the latter.

I like the films of Ozu's that I have seen, and I respect him as a filmmaker, but I don't love his films.  Perhaps its cultural, perhaps his style just doesn't mesh well with me.  If it's the latter, he wouldn't be the first acclaimed director I've had that reaction to.

  

In September I may be taking some time to do some hiking, so I don’t know if my total of movies seen will be higher or around the same as August.

Movie – Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

What praise can be given to Lawrence of Arabia that has not already been spoken many times over?  What words can be written about both a movie and a man whose histories are both inextricably linked and also clouded in questions of reality vs. fiction?  To be clear, the film Lawrence of Arabia is epic, and even that’s a bit of an understatement.  While I know of at least one person for whom “epic” is a four letter word, I am using it in the most positive way.  I could joke, “Look up ‘epic’ in the dictionary and they will have a picture of Peter O’Toole as Lawrence.”  Instead, I will be completely serious when I write the following sentences.  I have seen all 85 films that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture – from Wings (1927) to Casablanca (1943) to The Godfather (1972) to Schindler’s List (1993) to Argo (2012).  If I were ever to be put in the “gun to your head, gotta pick only one as the best of the best” situation, then my choice would be Lawrence of Arabia as the greatest of all 85 Best Picture Oscar winners.

Today is the 50th Anniversary of MLK’s I Have a Dream Speech

Most people have heard clips from the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream Speech that was delivered August 28, 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.  In fact, I’m willing to bet that these clips are the only things many people know about this event.  Have you ever heard the entire speech?  If not, I’ve included it in this post.  Are you aware that there was much more going on that day than this speech?  To be fair, it’s not surprising that Dr. King’s words overshadowed everything else about this march.  After all, it is, with Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, one of the two greatest speeches in American history.  There’s a lot more about this event that should not be forgotten, though.  And I’ve got two names for you: A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin.

Many people might be thinking “who?” and that is a little sad, but it is also a testament to the impact King’s speech had on the general public.  It’s sad because Randolph and Rustin were two early leaders in the Civil Rights movement who planned a march on Washington back in 1941 to protest the fact that blacks were being prevented from getting jobs in the defense industry.  President Franklin Roosevelt met with them before the march and agreed to issue an executive order declaring that all defense industry jobs be desegregated for the duration of WWII.  When the war ended Randolph was instrumental in getting President Harry Truman to desegregate the armed forces in 1948.

 

A. Philip Randolph

Randolph had been involved in politics and movements early on in his life.  He was the President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters – the first black workers union.  His concerns were primarily job opportunities for blacks.  Rustin was a bit more “radical”.  In addition to wanting civil rights for blacks, he also fought for gay rights, something very close to his heart since he was gay himself.

By 1963 President John Kennedy had presented a Civil Rights bill to Congress for debate.  In support of that bill Randolph and Rustin organized another march on Washington and this time it was carried out.  The thing is, it was as much or more concerned with the economy as it was civil rights.  The official name of it was the March for Jobs and Freedom.  Dr. King was not the only speaker there that day; in fact, he was the tenth and final speaker.  A. Philip Randolph gave the opening speech and it was about the lack of job opportunities.  Other speakers such as Walter Reuther, president of the United Auto Workers; Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress; and Roy Wilkins, leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People followed.

Bayard Rustin

By the time Dr. King came to the podium the prior speakers had more than covered the topics about the economic concerns of the march, so Dr. King concentrated on the Freedom portion of it.  And it is probably a good thing that no one had to give a speech after him since his skills as an orator were among the best ever heard.  With a series of rising and falling pitches in his voice he leads the crowd to his powerful conclusion – the aforementioned clips that are all that many know of this entire event.

Here is the entire 17 minute speech of Dr. King’s that I promised.  While you listen to it just don’t forget that if it were not for the efforts of people like A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, this speech, as we know it today, would not exist.

Movie – Tuck Everlasting (2002)

Tuck Everlasting is based on the award winning 1975 Natalie Babbitt children’s novel of the same name.  (I’m not using the term “young adult” since that now conjures visions of sparkly vampires and shirtless werewolves.)  I’m a little hesitant to discuss the central premise of the story since it is kept a secret from the main character for about half the film, yet all the marketing for the movie, and heck, even the title, pretty much lay it out for the viewer.  And the opening of the movie also makes clear what is special about the Tuck family.  So, I will be discussing it in the paragraphs below so you can see if this family film is one you might want to watch.

Movie – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning Tennessee Williams play of the same name.  It had first appeared as a Broadway play directed by Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront) and starring Ben Gazzara as Brick and Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie the Cat.  When it came time to make the film, Kazan passed on it despite already having done two other Williams adaptations – A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Baby Doll (1956).  Instead, Richard Brooks adapted and directed it.  The two main roles were cast with Paul Newman as Brick and Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat.  The result was six Oscar nominations, including the “big five” of Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay.  It did not win a single Academy Award, though.  It was beaten out by Gigi in multiple categories, Newman lost to David Niven in Separate Tables, and Taylor lost to Susan Hayward in I Want to Live.  I’ve seen all five Best Picture nominees for that year (Auntie Mame, The Defiant Ones, and Separate Tables were the other three) and I feel that Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was definitely the best film of the five.

Great Eyes

“He has his father’s eyes.” – Roman Castevet, Rosemary’s Baby

Pretty much every actor or actress that is attractive (which is most of them) has nice eyes.  That’s just a given.  Some performers, though, stand out for their eyes even within this sea of attractiveness.  Some even became famous precisely because of their eyes.  This category is designed to select some films that I would recommend that have these performers in them.

Now “great” doesn’t always have to mean “beautiful”; it just means that they catch your attention and hold it.  I’ve included a couple of actors that were very well known for their unique eyes.  Don’t worry, though, ladies (and some gentlemen).  Even though I am a poor judge of what makes a man attractive, I think I’ve got some examples for you in this category that will satisfy.  In fact, here’s Paul Newman for you right now.

 

His eyes are at the top of the picture, folks.

I’ve decided to go with a set of very well known films alternated with some that are more obscure, but still worth your time.  I’ve placed close-ups of the performers’ eyes below.  You’ll probably recognize some of them.  And no, none are Yoda; I only used real people. 

As I review the films I will come back and tell you who they are, along with adding links to their movies that I reviewed.

Paul Newman (top) and Elizabeth Taylor

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Alexis Bledel

Tuck Everlasting (2002)

Peter O'Toole

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Sheetal Sheth (top) and Lisa Ray

The World Unseen (2007)

Marty Feldman

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Kate Bosworth

Blue Crush (2002)

Jack Elam

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Charlotte Ayanna

The Insatiable (2007) – posted April 22, 2013

Ray Liotta

Something Wild (1986) – posted July 5, 2013

On to the reviews…

Can You Offer Me Advice Regarding Self-Publishing?

Do you have recent experience with self-publishing a book?  I published a genealogy in 1999, but I did it via a bricks and mortar publisher who contracted with a printer.  The landscape has changed greatly since then.  I am looking to publish a 15 year Supplement to it and I have been doing research into self-publishing.  My concern is that there seems to be a wide disparity in the services offered and the quality of the end product.

Have you recently (say, the last couple of years) self-published a book of any kind?  Can you offer me tips on who you used, what went well, what didn’t go well, and/or what you wish you had known before you started?

I’ve looked at CreateSpace.com, which is a subsidiary of Amazon.  The benefits are that they can literally print a single book on demand, which is perfect for the very small market there will be for this genealogy supplement.  People could also order direct from Amazon instead of from me, which also means I would not need to buy a bunch of copies I might never sell.  The downside is that I’ve seen a number of posts on CreateSpace’s boards from people saying that the print and binding quality of the books was sometimes substandard.  That’s not good for a genealogy reference book that is supposed to last long enough to be handed down to the next generation.

I’ve also looked at InstantPublisher.com.  They require a minimum print run of 25 copies (still far better than the 250 I had to buy in 1999).  They do offer more than just paperback bindings, though.  I like the idea of better bindings, but don’t relish being where I was in 1999 with having to buy the inventory up front and then hope to sell it.  Also, Instant Publisher has no message boards so I do not know if there have been any questions with the quality of their product.  They do have a bunch of glowing testimonials, of course, but these usually do not tell the whole story.

Have you tried either of these companies?  If not, have you had an experience that would make you either recommend I try someone else, or caution me to avoid someone else?

Thanks in advance for any tips you can offer.

Book and Movie – Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

First things first: Kick-Ass 2 is definitely a step down from the first film, but at the same time it is nowhere near being the crime against humanity that some film critics are trying to make it out to be.  Most of them hated the first one, too.  Roger Ebert, for instance, gave the original 1 out of 4 stars and referred to it as “reprehensible”.  He’s not around to review the sequel, of course, but I’m betting he’d dislike it just as much.  Personally, Kick-Ass was one of my Top 10 films of 2010. (You can read my review of it here.)  The thing to take from all of this is if you want to see Kick-Ass 2 then see it.  If you loved the first one like I did just don’t go into this one expecting it to have the same impact.

Movie – U-571 (2000)

U-571 is the final submarine movie I am going to recommend.  It is a WWII thriller about an attempt to steal the Germans’ Enigma coding machine off a disabled U-boat.  It is not a film you watch for historical accuracy, but for the tension and thrills as events unfold.  It has many of the things you might expect from a sub movie: sonar pings, cat and mouse games with surface ships, depth charges, leaks, having to do dives that are too deep, etc.  What makes this movie a little different is that there are additional challenges in that the submarine the characters are on is unfamiliar to them, and it is badly damaged.

Movie – Innerspace (1987)

In my last post I reviewed the 1966 adventure film Fantastic Voyage, which had a small submarine and crew being miniaturized and injected into the body of a man.  (You can read that review here.)  Now imagine the same concept, but played for comedy.  What if a miniaturized sub and gung ho test pilot were injected into a random hypochondriac who can’t get anyone to believe that he is feeling weird things and hearing voices?  What if that hypochondriac is played by the master of the nervous twitch Martin Short?  And what if he has to try to thwart a criminal organization intent on getting the miniaturization technology?  The result is the 1987 film Innerspace - a shut your brain off and just enjoy the zaniness kind of movie.

Book and Movie – Fantastic Voyage (1966)

How can you have a submarine movie when there is no body of water for the sub to travel in?  When the medium the sub navigates in is an actual body, of course.  Fantastic Voyage features the concept of miniaturizing a small submarine and injecting it into a man’s body so that the crew can perform a life-saving surgery.  You may be thinking, “Hold on, are you talking about that Martin Short comedy with Dennis Quaid?”  The answer is no, not yet.  That is the 1987 movie Innerspace, which was a comedic take on the idea.  You can read my review of that film here.  No, Fantastic Voyage is a serious adventure film, full of Cold War intrigue, thrills, death-defying adventures, and enough real biological knowledge that parts of it were used for years afterwards to demonstrate to students some concepts of human biology.

Movie – Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)

In my prior review of Crimson Tide (1995) – which you can read here – I wrote that it was closer to Run Silent, Run Deep than to other submarine movies it was trying to emulate.  Crimson Tide featured Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington as a Captain and XO of a submarine who clash with each other.  In Run Silent, Run Deep it is Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster – two people who certainly know how to command the screen.  Now imagine having both of them in the same movie, sometimes opposed to each other and you get an idea of why Run Silent, Run Deep is an entertaining movie.

Movie – Crimson Tide (1995)

Crimson Tide was the first major submarine movie to be released after the huge success of The Hunt for Red October (1990).  You can read my review of that film here.  It was obvious that Producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson were hoping to capitalize on the success of that earlier film.  The first clue is the title.  Yes, it ties in with the name of the submarine, the U.S.S. Alabama, since the University of Alabama’s sports teams are named the “crimson tide”, but the fact that the title was very similar to Red October’s was probably the biggest reason they went with it.  The second clue was the marketing.  Notice anything familiar about it?  

The thing is, Crimson Tide was far closer to submarine movie Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) than to The Hunt for Red October.  Where Run Silent, Run Deep had a clash between veteran Captain Clark Gable and Executive Officer Burt Lancaster, Crimson Tide casts Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington in those roles.  The result (for both films – see my next post for my review of Run Silent, Run Deep) is a movie whose best reason for watching is these two huge personalities battling each other for command.

Movie – Operation Petticoat (1959)

When most people hear “submarine movie” they probably think of intense war films, edge of your seat tension, battle scenes, etc.  Not all films in this genre have been ultra-serious, though.  Now and then people have decided to have a little fun with the situations that could arise on a submarine.  For instance, what would happen if some nurses had to seek safe passage onboard a submarine during WWII?  Imagine the funny issues that could arise.  Operation Petticoat tackled that story and as a reward it received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.  It was also the first big film of director Blake Edwards' career.