100th Post - And Some Thoughts...

Can't believe I have done a hundred of these posts. Time flies. Funny, too, that it coincides with something I have been thinking about for awhile, but was unsure how to put into words.

Recently I read a review that went into all the things that have been "wrong" with different aspects of the various Star Trek shows. One of them stuck with me and still annoys me.

The writer said that one of the problems with Star Trek: The Next Generation was that the main characters all "got along" and that was just too unrealistic for him. I thought that sounded so depressingly pessimistic! Why can't a bunch of highly intelligent and well disciplined people (as a Starship crew would be) all work at getting along and being friends? Is it that far-fetched of an idea?

Are shows where the main characters all antagonizing each other, or flat-out disliking each other, so ingrained in us now that we expect that to be the norm? Do we even WANT that to be the norm? Why can't a show that is supposed to be based in the future, with an advanced and progressive human race, be a nice place where people are capable of getting along?

This then got me thinking about the way we live now, or at least the way we seem to expect things to be. Is it wrong to want to live in a positive world, where optimism and good will are the rule rather than the exception?

It reminds me of this scene, from Knots Landing (jump to 9m 44s), after Gary dismisses Karen as a "Pollyanna":

Karen: "I wanna be a Pollyanna. I don't want to look at the world through rose colored glasses, I want the world to be rose colored. I want people to be nice. People should be nice. Nice should be the norm. I hate it that I can't trust anyone! I hate it that I can't put my daughter on the front lawn by herself! I hate it that I have to lock my car, and that I have to worry about an alarm system in my house, and I can't send cash in the mail! That's not the way it's supposed to be, Gary! I liked being a Pollyanna, I want to be a Pollyanna!"

I have to agree with a lot of what is said by Karen here: Why is it passé or naive to want the world to be a rose-colored place? Why is her positive outlook the one sneered at as silly?

Will Ferrell is a hit-or-miss comedian, but the character he played in Elf is a great one. Buddy is without sarcasm or pessimism, totally happy with the world and wanting it to be a good place filled with good people. Yeah, he grew up in the North Pole with happy little elves, but it is when he interacts with people in the "real world" that you see how out of place he is. And all he is doing is being positive, happy and upbeat. Why is he the one so out of touch?

Another example would be Phoebe on Friends. She is usually just taken as the daffy, flighty, air-head, but if you watch the character develop, she is wonderfully interesting. How many sitcom characters have a past that involves a dead-beat dad, a mom who killed herself, and a life living on the streets? Yet Phoebe is hardly ever morose and dark. She is upbeat, loving the world and her time in it. And yet again, she isn't the norm, but rather the "odd one".

I know - I am being naive. The world is too complex, filled with too many different people and cultures wanting, needing and doing different things. And it isn't bound to change any time soon.

Just sometimes makes me sad.

I guess the only way to help change things for the better is to just be one of the positive, upbeat, optimistic people, no matter how "cool" it is to be dark and pessimistic.

Maybe, someday, rose-colored will be the norm.

Last Ten Movies Meme

Calvin and Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein (among others) have been spreading this meme around today:

What are the last ten movies you have watched?

Here are mine from the latest:

1. Blood Freak

2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop

3. Star Trek

4. Devour

5. Tropic Thunder

6. The Incredible Hulk

7. Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch

8. Valentine

9. MST3K: Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues

10. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

There you go.

You can read my quick reviews of the flicks here, here and here.

So, what about you?

Movie Monday - The Good, The Bad and the Pointy-Eared (and the Conquistador who Tormented my Childhood)

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Tropic Thunder (2008)

[Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Black, Ben Stiller]

We got this in the mail from Netflix, and at a family dinner, asked people if it was okay for us to watch with our younger kids (ages 13 and 11). I think one person spit food out of his mouth before we got a resounding "Hell, no!!!"

So, my wife and I watched it without them. Good advice. Definitely an adult flick.

That said, it is pretty damn funny. Everyone is great in their roles, especially Robert Downey Jr. He should have won the Oscar for this, truly great stuff.

Funny, fun movie. And even the damn awful Tom Cruise was good. Yeah, I wrote that.

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Devour (2005)

[Jensen Ackles, Shannyn Sossamon, Dominique Swain, Teach Grant]

Oy. Okay, I watch lots of stuff, good and bad. This I really hoped was something good. It was not, and sadly I was just lost.

A young man is having strange visions of death and horror. On his birthday, his best friend gets him on some website that does real life role playing. Or something. I don't really get it. But soon enough, his friends starting killing people before killing themselves, and then his uncle dies, but then he finds it is much more convoluted than that.

Don't see how it could get more convoluted, but it does. I just was lost by the end, unsure of which plot line the movie was following.

The acting is good enough, much better than standard low-budget fare. But the plot just cannot hold it together. I was more confused than the lead character, and that is not good.

Avoid it!

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Star Trek (2009)

[Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana]

I saw this over the weekend with my daughter, while my wife and son saw Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which they both liked.

Wow. I had heard lots and lots of good, positive reviews for this flick. But I have to admit to being wary about it.

I loved it. It is a remake, but it is definitely done with care for the deeply loved story and characters that have come before. That said, it also gives it all a fresh, clean, updated feel that, to me, reinvigorates the whole shebang.

And the casting was near-perfect, for all the characters from the "original" Star Trek. I want to say Quinto was perfect as Spock, or Pine as Kirk, but really I loved them all.

VERY highly recommended, I truly hope there are more big screen adventures for this incarnation of the starship Enterprise.

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Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

[Kevin James, Keir O'Donnell, Jayma Mays]

My family and I saw this film in theaters in January, and we liked it. My youngest son, however, loved it, so my wife bought him the DVD this past week, and we watched it again last night.

A fun, family comedy, the movie is a good enough way to spend some time. Watch it looking for a few laughs and nothing more, and you will be okay.

We also liked that some of the mall scenes were filmed at a mall we sometimes visit, and the Rainforest Cafe there we sometimes eat at. Very cool.

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Blood Freak (1972)

I don't know what to make of this film, other than that it is not good. It is like a movie made by a bunch of friends, very few of who knew what the heck they were doing.

A Vietnam vet stops to help a young woman on the highway, and is soon even more messed up on drugs. The movie goes seriously weird from there. And I am being kind.

I am guessing the point the creators of this film were attempting to make is that drugs are bad, as is the scientific tampering with the food we eat (in this case, poultry). The narrator (who appears at the beginning and sporadically throughout, reading off of something on the table before him) is smoking throughout. This is eventually shown to be ironic. I think.

Not recommended, unless you are looking for something so bad it hurts. Another flick that would be perfect fodder for MST3K.

As an aside, the movie did hold one particular scare for me: A painting shown a few times on a wall was one that freaked me out as a kid. My parents had the same painting in our house, and my aunt had one in her basement. I can only guess it was a discounted print that was available to many people in the late 60s/early 70s. It is a painting of a Spanish conquistador, I think, who has a look of evil in his eyes. Just freaky! Anyone else remember this painting?



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Go TREK Yourself...

Via "The Daily What", I found this fun Cheez-It Star Trek generator.

Here I am, as a Romulan:





Yeah... Interesting.

You can make yourself Vulcan, Romulan or just plain human... which you should already be, but hey, I guess one should never assume.

Have fun, and let me know if you do Trek yourself!

Theme Thursday - 10

Theme Thursday this week is "10", so I decided to do 10 films that are the tenth entries in their respective series.

(And I am excluding 'adult' films... sorry, WAY too many in that genre!)

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1)

Jason X (2002)



The tenth film in the "Friday the 13th" series, this film is the "Jason in space" movie. Seems to be an love it/hate it film among fans, but I like it.

I know it is lacking in plot and such (what F13 movie isn't?), but I think it makes up for that with an interesting premise (hey, at least they tried something different), some interesting kills and UBER-Jason. Not as fun as Part VI: Jason Lives, but fun in it's own right.

I definitely rank it higher than a few others in this series (Jason Takes Manhattan, anyone?). And it's also Kane Hodder's swan-song as Mr. Voorhees.

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2)

H2: Halloween 2 (to be released later this year)



This is the tenth film in the successful Halloween series, but only the first sequel to "Rob Zombie's Halloween". Supposedly picking up where the first film left off, this movie will apparently feature the consequences of Myers rampage in the previous film.

I am not really excited about this one. Zombie's Halloween was a let down for me, too much in the vein of Hostel or the Saw movies. One of the things I like about the original film is the unknown, the mystery, as to why Michael is as he is. This film goes overboard to show you it all. Not my cup of tea.

But, I will give this film a chance. Hope for the best.

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3)

Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft (1998)



10 years after Witchcraft comes this tenth film in the series. This direct-to-video sequel ranks 1.4 stars out of 10 on IMDb's site, out 226 votes. I have never seen it, so I can't comment on it's quality. But, the series HAS to be making a profit if they are still making them, right? According to the site, a Part 13 was released in 2008.

The plot: In England, bisexual British vampires free Californian Satanist Hyde from police custody; LAPD Detective Lutz and Interpol's Bureau 17 try to catch them.

Anybody seen these films?

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4)

All Monsters Attack (aka Godzilla's Revenge) (aka Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki) (1969)



Okay... So, I have not seen this film in a LOOOOONG time, not since my "Creature Double Feature" days. I don't remember it.

But, it's a Godzilla film that also features the monsters Anguirus, Ebirah, Gabara, Gorosaurus, Kamacuras, Kumong, Manda, Minilla and the Giant Gondor. Now, that's 10 monsters, in one film, and it's the 10th Godzilla film. Serendipity!

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5)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)



This tenth film in the Star Trek franchise is the fourth one to feature the Next Generation cast. It ended up being the final film before the "reboot" movie "Star Trek", due out this May.

This is the film that some cite as the "burnout" of the Star Trek franchise. It is an okay film, more so maybe for Trek fans that non-fans. It also has an ending I didn't especially care for.

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6)

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945)



Sherlock Holmes is the most filmed fictional character, with nearly 200 appearances to date, including a new film due out late this year with Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear is the tenth film of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series. Rathbone's Holmes and Bruce's Dr. Watson are considered by many to be the quintessential portrayals of the characters.

This film, based on "The Five Orange Pips" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is sort of in the vein of "10 Little Indians", in that the murders keep occurring and Holmes must deduce the culprit.

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7)

Blondie Goes to College (1942)



Never saw any of the films in the "Blondie" series. I am sure they are a fun watch, if you like oldies or comedies. This film is the tenth in the series, of course, out of a total of 28 films - wow!

In this movie, Dagwood wants to go to college and Blondie wants another baby. A young Lloyd Bridges has a role as a college student.

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8)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)



This is the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as bond. Many fans of the series consider this one of the best entries.

In this one, the villain Stromberg wants to destroy the world and build his own undersea civilization. I have never been a major Bond fan, but Moore was always my favorite 007, mainly due to the fact that he was the one I grew up with.

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9)

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989)



This is the tenth film of the 30 TV movies that reunited the "Perry Mason" cast from the classic show. These came out around the same time "Murder, She Wrote" and "Matlock" were popular shows.

Speaking of "Perry Mason", there is a television station in Portland, Oregon that has been playing the show almost non-stop in the noon timeslot since 1966. Calls come in if, for any reason, the channel pre-empts the show. Talk about devotion!

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10)

The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)



This is the tenth entry in the (as of 2007) 13 movie-strong series about the dinosaur Littlefoot and his friends.

My daughter was a fan of these movies when she was really little, but she outgrew them awhile ago.

This entry also features the voices of James Garner, Bernadette Peters and Kiefer Sutherland.

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I only did 10 movies here (keeping with the theme), so if you know of others, let me know.