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zwolanerd

“I guess I just like liking things”

January 28, 2014 Tuesday 10: Ghostbusters Quotes

This ghost always looked so sad to me, surprised he's been busted.

This ghost always looked so sad to me, surprised he’s been busted.

This was harder than it looks.  At first glance “favorite Ghostbusters quotes” looks easy – I love the movie, I say stuff from it all the time, no problem! – but then you start remembering your favorites and looking up others and pretty soon you’ve quoted most of the movie and narrowing it down to just ten seems ridiculous. So as you read through this and say, “Hey, you left off this one or that one!” please know that it was most likely on the original list.

Some of these are because they are hilarious, some are because of the way they’re said, and some are because I use them on a weekly basis in normal conversations. I worked really, really hard to make it not just a Venkman list, too.

10. “Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!” – Louis
I think what I like about this line is the implied history. The Keymaster has just rattled off a whole bunch of things that have happened as a warning of what’s about to happen, and it’s all given with this matter-of-fact delivery. And that ending “I can tell you” is a funny bit of phrasing that wraps it all up nicely.

9. “Ah, if there’s a steady paycheck in it, I’ll believe anything you say.” – Zeddemore
How many times have you agreed with your boss on something you totally didn’t agree with really? Too many, probably.

8. “Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.” – Egon
“Oh, hey, guys. I forgot to mention something…”

7. “You… You’ve earned it.” – Venkman
Peter is saying this as he hands a candy bar to Egon. I love the implied history here, too. How many great scientific discoveries have been motivated by the potential candy bar (either literal or figurative)? Most, I bet.

6. “Listen… do you smell something?” – Stantz
It’s like when you’re driving somewhere and you’re at the end of the journey and now you’re trying to find the right house on the block – what do you do? You turn down the radio.  All your senses are working together, man.

5. “Back off, man. I’m a scientist.” – Venkman
This was my catchphrase for an entire summer, and I’m not sure why nobody stuck a shiv in me.

4. “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!” – Venkman
I (like most people) tend to quote this one starting with “dogs,” leaving the “human sacrifice” part off it.

3. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nice shootin’, Tex!” – Venkman
You’d be surprised by how often you can work this one into everyday conversation.

2. “I don’t have to take this abuse from you, I’ve got hundreds of people dying to abuse me.” – Venkman
I use this line way more than you’d think a person would.

1. “I blame myself.” – Egon
“So do I.” – Venkman
I use “I blame myself” all the time, and I’m always hoping someone responds with “So do I, ” but it hasn’t happened yet, and I think that’s really weird.

 

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January 27, 2014 Pop Up Video

I am not nearly as connected to music as I am to movies and videogames, despite music being way more accessible. I don’t watch movies or play games while I’m driving, and I certainly don’t put on a game or a movie to fall asleep to. Maybe it’s because music is so all around that I don’t have as much connection to it. Strangely, it’s also the most doable for me. I could never make a videogame, and I could maybe make a movie, but I make up songs almost all the time.  Sure, most of them are things that nobody would want to hear (even the cats don’t want to hear the ones I make up for them, after all), but every so often one will hit me and I’ll think, “huh, I should expand that one.” But I don’t. Some of that is lack of ability in the sense of writing actual music or playing an instrument, but most of it is good ol’ forgetfulness mixed with laziness.

I don’t exactly know how to explain what I mean by not being as “connected” to music. The best way to explain it is to say if I had to choose what to take with me to a desert island (that somehow still had electricity) I would take games and movies with me rather than music.

With that said, though, I firmly believe there should be a Pop Up Video version of ever y video ever made. How does that have anything to do with the previous two paragraphs? For me, Pop up Video makes the music way more interesting. I’m sure it’s the same reason I look up trivia for movies on IMDb, but it also goes back to my frustrations in college English courses over not understanding what particular poems meant. “Here we have foreshadowing and allegory and yada yada yada, and here is where Mark want to pull out his eyeballs.” It’s not that I don’t appreciate the creative use of language, it’s that if something is clearly meant to have a point, I want to know what that point is! Hiding your point that you want me to see pretty much guarantees I’m not ever going to get your point.

Yes, I’m pretty much revealing that I’m an uncivilized Philistine, but I still appreciate Shakespeare plays, so I don’t know.

Anyway, I was reminded that Pop Up Video had a bit of a resurgence a while back, and their webpage is still up with a bunch of the original series and some of the new stuff. I thought you might enjoy watching some of them this Monday, whether you’re gearing up to endure subzero temperatures like I am, or you just needed some background music (with random bubble sounds) to start your week.

January 24, 2014 Man Of Steel Thoughts

Please welcome Daniel to the zwolanerd family! He and I go way back – he gave me my first writing job and I owe him a bunch. Glad to have him aboard and am looking forward to seeing what he brings. Be sure to check out his main blog! – Mark

 

I missed out on watching Man Of Steel in theaters, and now that I have seen it, I’m kind of glad I waited to see it on home video. Amazon had a great deal on the Blu-ray so I picked it up and watched the movie at home.

What follows is a spoiler-filled list of my thoughts as the film played. I somehow lost the time stamping on these. If you’re familiar with the movie, then you’ll know roughly where I am in the film as my thoughts become clear. If you haven’t seen Man Of Steel much of this won’t make a lot of sense. Also, as I said – spoilers.

 

Why is Jor-El the only other person in the room? Kryptonians don’t have midwives or doulas?

Who is this prominent older woman on the council and why isn’t it Dame Judy Dench?

What the heck? A flying dog? And it’s not named Krypto? For shame.

What? First natural childbirth in centuries? This seems unnecessary.

I wonder if Russell Crowe took the role of Jor-El so long as he could be an action star.

I like the flashbacks as a way of telling the early story of Clark. There’s not enough of them though.

At this point I’m about 40 minutes into the film. Lois Lane has been introduced and we’re getting into some of the mythology of the universe being created. It’s a bit of a departure from what I grew up with. I’m not sure how I like it, and not because it’s different but because it feels like it is different for the sake of being different.

I’m pretty sure the societal subtext of Kryptonian society and childbirth could (and should) have been cut.

More of those flashbacks should have been used at the beginning of the film.

The moment where Superman saves Lois was much more effective in Superman: The Movie.

I like the over-militaristic bent the story takes, both with the humans and Kryptonians.

There’s a scene when the military is attacking Zod’s ship and there’s so many people still on the streets of Metropolis. One has to wonder at that point why these people are there if the time has elapsed that is implied.

Supposedly Wayne Enterprises has a building in Metropolis but I haven’t seen it yet. This is disappointing.

It seems a lot of people know that Clark Kent is Superman.

Zod lives? Really? Alright, I get that, and I can see where this is leading to, but it should have led to a reappearance of Zod in a sequel.

There’s STILL people in the streets? At least there’s a Lex Luthor reference finally.

Oh, the satellite… there’s the Wayne reference.

And he did it. Wow. That feels so anti-Superman.

Wait a minute. If Zod has Kal-El’s strength then how was Superman able to snap his neck? Did he “hulk out”?

Well, at least it was better than Superman 3 or Batman & Robin.

 

What was the most disappointing for me, more so than the unnecessary changes and additions to the Superman mythos, was the lack of a sense of wonder. In general it was a downer of a film, and Superman has always been a light, as counterpoint to Batman’s darkness.

I’m sure some of the questions or misgivings I came up with as I watched Man Of Steel would be answered or addressed in the special features. Thing is, I shouldn’t have to watch the special features in order to “get” a film.

Man Of Steel wasn’t a bad film, but it certainly wasn’t as good as it should have been. Warner Brothers has a sequel in the works as well as a couple of other projects in the pipeline, such as a Wonder Woman and Justice League film. Given the studio’s track record I have little faith in these projects. I will, of course withhold final judgment until I see them.

 

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January 23, 2014 After The Movie

After I watch a movie, I like to read up on it.  I rarely look up reviews of a movie beforehand (unless it’s to assure my wife that, “See? A bunch of other people say Frozen is pretty good!”), but I will generally look up reviews after I’ve seen it. Sometimes a review will help me see the movie in a different light and they have been know to help me appreciate it more.  Of course, I’ve also had a review sour me on an experience, so you take your chances.

I always check IMDb about a movie. I’ll want to know where I’ve seen that actor before, sure, but mostly I’m looking at the trivia.  I can’t figure out why, but knowing “The third car on the left in the bakery scene belongs to the director’s uncle’s friend Mike, and he’s had it since he was a teenager” helps me enjoy the movie. I am disappointed when there aren’t any bits of trivia for a movie, and I’ve even submitted a few pieces myself (though I don’t know if any have gotten posted, as I don’t keep track of things as well I should). Depending on where I am, I’ll actually check the IMDb trivia while I’m in the middle of the movie, but if I can’t, rest assured I’ll get to it soon.

There are three other sites I like to check out after a movie (not including MediaStinger, which tells you if you should watch through the credits for extra scenes). The unusual thing about all three of these is that they make fun of movies. I mean, that’s not unusual in the sense that the Internet was created to make fun of things, it just seems unusual that I would seek out sites that make fun of movies I like.

You’re most likely familiar with these, but here are the three sites I’m talking about.

  • How It Should Have Ended – There’s a running gag at the end of many of these where Batman and Superman are sitting at a diner talking about stuff. It’s pretty great.
  • Honest Trailers – I have, on several occasions, used some of these to explain to people why I didn’t like a particular movie so much. In some cases the videos have reinforced my opinions, and in some cases it has caused them.
  • The Editing Room – This one generally has a lot of cussing, just so you’re aware. This one is unlike the other two because it’s in script format, not video. Their archives go back a long way, so there’s a good chance a popular movie from years hence is included, should you want it ruined for you.

I generally watch movies with a non-critical eye. I think that’s why I tend to enjoy the majority I see, but it is a source of concern to me that sometimes I’ll miss a glaring error. These sites help me develop a more discerning eye, but I worry it might hinder my enjoyment of movies.  That’s the divide, right?  “Critics loved it” vs. “audiences hated it” (and vice versa) are things we’ve heard a ton. At the end of the day I’d rather enjoy something than be able to see all its faults, but maybe the goal is to enjoy something in spite of its faults. After all, if I love a movie, no amount of telling me what was wrong with it is likely to change my mind.

 

 

 

 

January 22, 2014 Star Trek Marathon

It’s that time of year again. The weather is cold enough that people can come to a movie marathon without feeling guilty about not being outside. For me, of course, nice weather is no barrier to movie marathons, but if I want anyone to join me, cold weather seems the best time.

This will be the 7th annual movie marathon. Here’s what we’ve marathoned before:

2008 Star Wars
2009 Lord of the Rings
2010 Indiana Jones (From Worst to First)
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean
2012 Harry Potter
2013 Batman

I can see a point where I’ll circle back around and do some of these again, partly because I’ll run out of series, but partly because it’ll be fun to go back and watch some of them again this way. So far Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series have benefited the most from marathon viewings. They’re the most cohesive stories and it helped me keep track of all the characters a little better. Star Wars is also well-suited to marathon viewings, but Episodes I-III can be a hard slog.

This year I was having trouble deciding on a series. I like to keep it PG-13 or lower, so that prohibits things like The Godfather or Lethal Weapon. I was really leaning towards Star Trek, but couldn’t make it fit. The Harry Potter series was the first time we expanded to Friday evening because we couldn’t fit all in on a Saturday. Even with that I couldn’t make all of the Star Trek series fit. I considered leaving some movies out – I don’t consider the nuTrek movies canon, but they’re the most likely to gather a crowd. I considered leaving out I and V from the original series because they’re the least good, but I can’t bring myself to do that.

So the only solution, really, is just do them all, 23 hours and 7 minutes straight through. Crazy? Yes. Doable? Who knows? We’ll see, I guess.

I’ll include the schedule here so you can watch along with us wherever you may be. These times are all Eastern, so adjust accordingly. We generally won’t watch the end credits, as I use that time to set the next movie up for viewing.

Friday, January 25

8:00p The Motion Picture
10:11 The Wrath of Khan

Saturday, January 26

12:03a The Search for Spock
1:48a The Voyage Home
3:46a The Final Frontier
5:32a The Undiscovered Country
7:25a Generations
9:22a First Contact
11:12a Insurrection
12:54p Nemesis
2:50p Star Trek
4:56p Star Trek into Darkness
7:07p END

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