Sunday Funny - Terminus

This week, I am spotlighting a weekly online comic I just found, thanks to Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness.

Terminus by Dan White is my kind of comic! Weird, creepy, strange and unusual, there is so much oddness here to enjoy!



Bizarre yet hilarious. Love it!

Dan White's site, Milk the Cat, also has categories for published and unpublished work.

I am going to be reading this one every week.

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?

Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version

Thanks to The Daily What for this:



Now that is funny stuff.

Click on the video to go to YouTube and check out more Literal Videos.

Theme Thursday - Suitcase

This week at Theme Thursday: Suitcase!

After the theme of "vacation" last week, I was a bit 'at sea' as to where to go with a theme of "suitcase" so quickly.

Here is what I came up with:

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First, I thought of the thing that always pops into my head when I hear "suitcase" (and I am not kidding).

This video:



Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", my favorite song from this great artist. I loved this video when it was released, waaaay back when I was 13. The song is so good, such a well written, emotional masterpiece. A classic now.

And the video was great, as well. Her character was so interesting to me, hopeful and sad at the same time. And by the end, all alone.

I always think of this in regards to suitcases, because of the odd assortment Cyndi had; a huge (for her size) duffel bag, a round hat box thing, and a metal lunch box. Definitely unique.

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Next, I thought of George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life". George has such big dreams of leaving Bedford Falls and traveling the world. But life keeps getting in his way.

Here he is demonstrating how big of a suitcase he wants for all his travels:



George wanted it to have room for lots of stickers, from around the world. Something like this:



We know that by the end of the movie, George has learned that it doesn't matter where you go or what possessions you have. All that is important is who you love and are loved by. That is what makes a "wonderful life".

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Then, I thought of this scene, from "Evita" with Madonna.



I think Madonna was pretty damn good in this film. Her acting has always been less then stellar, but here, with the acting and singing working together, I think she did her best film work.

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Oddly, I remembered this scene, from the pilot episode of "Mork & Mindy":



Mindy had still be skeptical of Mork's claim that he is an alien. Until a knock at the door finds a floating egg in the hallway, there to deliver Mork's lost luggage. She is a little more willing to believe his strange claims after this!

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Lastly, I recalled the classic episode of "I Love Lucy" called "The Passports", which originally aired way back in 1955.

In this episode, Lucy is unable to locate her birth certificate, which she needs for a passport for their European trip. She gets one of her bright ideas, thinking she can hide in Fred and Ethel's old steamer trunk. Of course, she gets locked inside.

Here is a replica of the trunk used in the show:



Strangely, this is a light-activated cookie jar. Not sure how that bit of merchandising came to be, but it is kind of cool, nonetheless.

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I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane.

And hey, no suitcases were lost on this journey!

Top Ten TV Characters

Top Ten Favorite TV Characters

Over at Michael May's Adventureblog was this great meme. I loved it, and some of his choices, so I decided to give it a go myself.

Two things: 1) I did my list in chronological order, from when the characters first appeared on TV. I just had too hard a time ranking them from 10 down to 1. So, it is enough that they are in the top 10 for me.

2) This could change next month, or next week, or even tomorrow. That is one of the fun things about lists like these!

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Samantha Stephens (Bewitched)



Wow. What can I say? Sam was so not like any housewives or mothers my little boy brain knew back in the 70s. Magic aside, she was something else, almost otherworldly. And the fact that she was head-over-heels in love with a nerd like Darrin gave hope to a generation.

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Col. Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man)



He was my idol as a kid. Totally screwed up in a major accident, he has some amazing surgeries and comes back even better. Dealing with leg issues myself since birth, I had a sort of affinity towards Steve. He gave me hope. And he was always cool, yet still a good guy.

And he was in love with ...

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Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman)



I debated whether or not to add Jaime, as I already had one bionic person on this list. But Jaime meant a lot to me, as well, and in different ways. She was kind, caring and beautiful, yet she was also dealing with her bionic replacement parts. She wasn't always comfortable being "different" and that resonated with me in a big way.

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Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote)



Time and again, people look at me like I am crazy when I mention my fondness for this show. But I don't care, I love it.

Jessica was always fair, always open-minded and always caring. And smart. You couldn't pull the wool over her eyes for very long, and if you did something wrong, from a lie to premeditated murder, she would call you on it. No matter what, she was hopeful. Hopeful that not only would her latest trip go without a hitch (yeah, right!), but hopeful in the goodness of people. Even if she was sometimes sadly mistaken.

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Ryan Dallion (Friday the 13th: The Series)



I could really include any of the three leads from this show. Micki (played by Louise Robey) and Jack (played by Chris Wiggins) were great characters, and as an ensemble, the trio clicked better than most I have seen. But Ryan was the one I liked best, the one I associated with the most.

He was just a few years older than I was, and the character was so similar to myself. He was a comic book geek, a bit arty, total father issues and a family that had collapsed around him. But he was optimistic, always looking for the bright side, the good in people. He was responsible and brave, even if he sometimes surprised himself. When the character was written out of the show, I felt the loss keenly. Might be totally nerdy to say so, but there it is.

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Fox Mulder (The X-Files)



Many fans of "Friday the 13th: The Series" see lots of similarities in that show and "The X-Files". I see them too, and not the least of which is in the resemblance of Ryan Dallion to Agent Fox Mulder. Mulder is like a grown-up Ryan, in a "real" job.

Mulder, however, is his own character altogether. The nerd who believes in the "out there" stuff, he was always outside of the "cool" group. You don't get a nickname like Spooky for nothing. But Mulder was always ready to believe the unbelievable, ready to let his mind go where common sense would tell him otherwise. I think the character was more complete with Agent Dana Scully (played by Gillian Anderson), as the two completed and contrasted each other in such perfect ways. Mulder wasn't perfect, but he knew it. And he was okay with it.

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Phoebe Buffay (Friends)



Phoebe was the most obscure, most original of the "Friends" cast. She was the one who shouldn't have belonged to the group, but did. She had a huge heart, but she was also not one to pull punches where truth was concerned. She called things like she saw them.

But she was always there for her friends, even when all they could talk about were themselves. And she remained true to herself, no matter what. Whether it was her musical "talent" or her views on just how the world worked, she was always herself.

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Adrian Monk (Monk)



This one I wavered on, more than once. And I can see myself changing my mind soon, replacing Monk with Charlie Crews from "Life" or Patrick Jane from "The Mentalist". But, as of right now, I am sticking with this choice.

Monk is like the Sherlock Holmes of modern TV, the detective who can spot the clues all the other detectives overlook. Played with a level of pure sadness by Tony Shaloub, Monk knows he has more flaws than he can deal with, but he still gets up and out there each day, partly in tribute to his murdered wife, Trudy, and partly to (he hopes) catch who it was that killed her. I think one thing that makes me less a die hard fan is the fact that Monk doesn't ever seem to grow or improve. I know it is done to keep the character the way viewers enjoy him, but it can be a bit frustrating after all this time.

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Dexter Morgan (Dexter)



Played with such conviction by Michael C. Hall, Dexter is the villain you forget is a villain, a serial killer. Taught by his step-father to hide his true self, Dexter lives a life of normalcy that seems real to all around him. But Dex reminds us, time and again, that it is all an act to keep the true man inside him hidden and safe.

Sort of like an anti-hero Batman, who is more at peace being the Batman and using his true identity as Bruce Wayne as a cover to keep Batman safe, Dexter the killer is the real deal. And it can be scary to find yourself seeing logic in some of the immoral choices Dexter makes.

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Olive Snook (Pushing Daisies)



All of the characters on this show were great, quirky and fun. It is a show that should have had a good long run. But, that won't be the case.

Olive was the most fun, for me. She was vivacious, charming, sweet, caring ... just a blast. She was the "outsider" among the group, kept out of all their secrets, yet called upon time and again to help them out. And she did so, even though it hurt her a bit to be included only so far into their circle. Truly a great character, they should spin Olive off into a show of her own. And if that can't be, then someone else should get the wonderful Kristen Chenoweth into a show of her own. She is too awesome to just fade away.

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So, what are your Top Ten TV Characters?

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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Sunday Funny - Geek Carnival

An awesome online comic I have come to love is "Geek Carnival" by the wonderful Rebecca Whitaker. She posts these panels periodically at her blog, No Smoking in the Skullcave, (awesome blog, too!)

Here is her latest, a Star Trek panel of fun:


Click to Starship-size!

The comic is great fun, with a serious love for pop culture. I also love Becca's art style, which is quirky and cool.

You can check out Becca's portfolio blog here, her beautiful sketches here, her Wink Studios Photography here, Finished Color Art here and great Photoshop Art here.

Lots of links, but all are worth browsing to, as I am sure you will find things to love, as I did. Enjoy!

And thanks to Becca for giving me the "o.k." to post her work.

Theme Thursday - Vacation

Theme Thursday - Vacation

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Many "Theme Thursday" participants are probably sharing happy vacation memories.

I wanted to show what happens when vacationers take that one wrong turn into terror.

Hope you enjoy the trip! :)

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Friday the 13th (1980)



Okay, so the young people here weren't so much on vacation as they were working to set up a summer camp. That said, they were out in the woods, at a lake, trying to have a good time. And we know how that went!

Jason's mom was the big "party pooper" in this flick, making these kids pay for the lack of attention given to her son by previous counselors. She was one angry mama, and this was NOT a good trip to the lake!

Pamela Voorhees was dealt with very early on in the recent remake, Friday the 13th (2009). Here, the kids WERE in the woods just for a good time, not to work at a camp. Yet again, they were thwarted.

Jason makes damn sure that, by the time the credits role, no one has a had a good trip!

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Jaws (1975)



Set in the beautiful resort town of Amity Island, this film is the one that still scares people off beaches to this day.

When a great white shark wanders too far north, his presence doesn't mix well with the many swimmers out in the waters around the island community.

This one hit close to home for me, as I grew up in New England and knew places that looked a lot like Amity. Made it all-too-real for me, and many kids I knew.

The first sequel was okay, but things sank quickly in Part III (set in SeaWorld) and Part IV (when a shark comes back for revenge).

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The Hills Have Eyes (1977)



This film is about a family on a road trip. Breaking down in the desert, they are soon hunted by sadistic, mutated, inbred cannibals. Bad, bad things happen. And they involve the very creepy looking Michael Berryman as the maniac Pluto, pictured on the poster above.

This is the polar opposite of "National Lampoon's Vacation". No memories made here are suitable for scrapbooking.

Remade in 2006 (still called The Hills Have Eyes), the plot is basically the same, yet the terror and horror are ratcheted up. A good remake, still a bad trip.

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Deliverance (1972)



A young Burt Reynolds takes his friends on a rafting trip, a last-hurrah vacation before the river becomes a big lake.

Well, we all know how this trip goes, don't we?

Again, hillbillies clash with the vacationers, in a really horrific way. This trip will NOT be fondly remembered, by the rafters or the viewers. Yeeeesh...

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Hostel (2005)



Three young men, backpacking through Europe, are enticed to a Slovakian hostel, their minds looking forward to carnal pleasures.

Unfortunately, there are rich people who also vacation in the area, at a special "club" which fulfills their darkest fantasies.

Soon enough, our backpackers find out where the supplies (as in humans) are found for this club. I cannot imagine this movie was looked at favorably by the Slovakian tourist bureau.

A bit gory for my taste, this film is one of the many in the "torture porn" horror sub-genre.

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Open Water (2003)



This film is an unnerving look at how quickly a trip can go wrong.

Based on a true story, this movie centers on a couple, out on a scuba-diving trip, who are inadvertently left behind by their tour group.

Suddenly finding themselves alone in the middle of the ocean, their struggle for survival is fraught with despair. You can't help but wonder while watching what you would do if you were in their place.

This film was followed by a sequel, of sorts. Open Water 2: Adrift (2006), is supposedly also based on true events.

A group of friends set out on a cruise on a borrowed yacht. At sea, they soon are enjoying a swim off of the boat. But a fun day turns to terror when they realize they forgot to lower the ladder and cannot get back on board the ship. To make matters worse, the baby of one of the couples is now alone on board the boat.

More a thriller than a horror film, it is at least entertaining.

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The Descent (2005)



A group of women meet in the Appalachian Mountains to go on a trip exploring caves in the mountain. Soon enough, they find that they are not alone in these dark caves, encountering some bizarre creatures.

A very well-made, scary flick, this one will make you think twice about what is waiting in the dark!

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So, what did we learn from all this?

Never go anywhere. Ever.

Of course, I could find a bunch of horror movies where the characters never even leave their front porch, yet things still go seriously bad. But, I will save that for another day.

Have a great week and Bon Voyage!

Movie Monday - Creepy Cupids, Boring Bigfoots & Mega Monsters!

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Valentine (2001)

[Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton, Jessica Capshaw]

I saw this horror flick a few years back, and it had only made a vague impression on me then, so I decided to rewatch it.

The movie isn't really 'scary'. It has an okay mystery, as to "who is the killer?" But it also has some sort of subtext about women and the crappy men they deal with. Of course, the movie is FILLED with jerk males, so I am unsure if they actually knew how to express whatever point it is they were trying to make.

As for the horror aspects, I wasn't thrilled. There were some different kills here, but I was more bored than scared. Might be a better flick for a casual horror movie fan than for someone who sees a lot of these types of films.

Not awesome, but not totally crap either. More like a 'nothing-else-good-is-on-let's-watch-this' type of movie.

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Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch (2005) (also known as The Unknown)

[Dylan Purcell, Brandon Henschel, Miles O'Keeffe]

I was eager to watch this, mainly because I was all pumped up after viewing the trailer for "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus". I guess I needed a good "cheesy monster flick" fix, and this seemed to fit the bill.

Nope. I was sadly mistaken. This was bad, and not in a good way. It plays more like a "young adult" version of a Bigfoot story. The monster is only barely seen until the end, and the characters here are all just stereotypes. There is the smart yet unpopular teen, the jock who is an ass, a "wise" Native American who 'knows' things about the Sasquatch, and the ignorant rednecks who shoot first and don't care why.

I knew I was watching crud when this line was spoken, and I quote: "We may be dumb, but we ain't stupid."

Well, your movie is both. Avoid it.

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The Incredible Hulk (2008)

[Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt]

So, I have never seen Ang Lee's Hulk, so I cannot compare that one to this updated version. That said, this version was good. It fulfills what it sets out to be, and that is a mega comic book movie.

All four leads are great in their roles, truly bringing the characters to life. I also loved the homages to the 70s "Incredible Hulk" television show, which was my favorite version of the character.

Also liked all the nods to other Marvel-universe characters or story, especially the end scene. Very cool, and definitely a good way to keep your core-fans happy. Marvel sure as heck knows their fan base.

Good movie, if you like comic books or action flicks.

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Sunday Funny - Rubes

A new comic for you to enjoy:

Rubes by Leigh Rubin.

This comic is very reminiscent of Gary Larson's "Far Side", and not just due to the single-panel style. The humor is off-beat, in a great way.


Click to enlarge.

At the main 'Rubes' site you can find more information about the creator, Leigh Rubin, a color gallery, an online store with collections of the comic and a contact page for Mr. Rubin.

Hope you enjoy the comic!

Frankenstein, Aquaman & Plastic Canvas

Serendipity, that's what I say. And here is why:

I was planning on doing a quick post today, showing off the Aquaman tissue topper I had finished last night. I had also recently mailed off to England a small Frankenstein's monster 'trading card' I had made, for an ongoing project on the web. Lo and behold, I received an email from the man running the project, and he posted my piece to his site today! So now this is a two-part blog:

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1)

Coop, over in the U.K. has been running a blog project called 'A Patchwork of Flesh'.

He is creating "a gallery of Frankenstein Monster artist trading cards", which is online now and growing, and will possibly be featured in an exhibition in a real gallery at some point.

Here is my submission, from Gallery 23:



Coop sent a very nice email upon receiving my piece, and I thank him for his kind words!

He is welcoming any and all artists to submit their own pieces, in their own styles and mediums, to his gallery. His one stipulation is that the size of the card is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches (standard artist trading card size) and that each card has name, date, title and anything else you care to add on the back.

I have loved seeing the new cards come in, with the different takes on the character.

You can view more submissions, project information and the address to send your card to at his site: A Patchwork of Flesh.

So, join in and submit something!

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2)

I realized, with all the tissue toppers I have made, I had neglected to make one for my own tissue box. So, I dug out my old "DC Comics Super Heroes" plastic canvas pattern book, to use the pattern for the Aquaman "A".

Here is the finished product, which Aquaman was kind enough to play 'game show model' for:





I like how it turned out, if I do say so myself. :)

And hey, if anyone is at all interested in one of these, let me know. The pattern book has logos for DC, Justice League, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, Flash, Shazam!, Hawkman and, of course, Aquaman. Will be happy to put one together for you. Here is the front and back covers to the book:

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To view more of my plastic canvas items, check out my shop:

Plastic Canvas Crafts by Wings1295

Thanks!

Theme Thursday - (Wh)oops!

Theme Thursday - (Wh)oops!

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Decided to get back to horror films with this week's theme, and one of the biggest 'whoops!' in horror movies has to be the incident at the heart of "The Fly".

The basic premise, if you don't know, is that a scientist has created a machine that can disintegrate something and reintegrate it in a different place, basically like the transporters from "Star Trek".

But the 'whoops' comes when he attempts to transport himself from one pod to the other. He steps in and closes the door, unaware that a tiny housefly has entered the pod with him.

Depending on the version of the story, the fly and himself appear at the other end with some parts mixed up, or the machine combines them both into one new man/fly entity.

Either way - WHOOPS!

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The short story was originally written by George Langelaan, and was published in the June, 1957 issue of Playboy magazine.



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It was made into a movie in 1958, The Fly starring Vincent Price, Al Hedison, Patricia Owens and Herbert Marshall. Price didn't play the ill-fated scientist, but instead played the role of his brother, who must trick his sister-in-law into telling him the story of what happened.



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This film was followed by Return of the Fly (with Vincent Price reprising his role) in 1959 and Curse of the Fly in 1965.



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In 1986, David Cronenberg did a remake of the movie, also calling it "The Fly". This film starred Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. The improved effects of the time made for a more believable, albeit nasty looking, man/fly hybrid.



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This film was a success, and spawned a sequel as well, "The Fly II", in 1989, starring Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zuniga.



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In 2008, Howard Shore's The Fly: The Opera premiered in Paris, France, loosely based on the 1986 David Cronenberg film. Interesting, to say the least.



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Given Hollywood's current love of remakes, I am sure a new version of "The Fly" will be hitting theaters soon!

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Here is the very cool trailer for the original 1958 film:



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Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus - Yeah, You Heard Me...

Calvin over in his Canadian Cave of Coolness brought this movie to my attention:

Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus



It looks so bad. So, so bad. Yet, I am intrigued.

A Mega Shark, a Giant Octopus, explosions, screaming, death, destruction, Lorenzo Lamas AND Deborah Gibson?!?! I know it won't live up to the sheer awesomeness of it's parts, but really, could anything live up to all that?

Johnny Boots did a post about 'guilty pleasure horror movies' today at his Freddy in Space blog. I tossed in my two cents for my choice, the mother of all "sub-par animal vengeance flicks", Jaws: The Revenge. I guess whatever flaw in my brain draws me to that movie also finds something, however small, in this new movie.

We shall see. Or at least, I know I will see.

Masochist. A movie masochist, that's what I am.

...help me...

Movie Monday - now with more freaks, mutants and bog monsters!

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Carny (2009)

[Lou Diamond Phillips, Alan C. Peterson, Simone-Elise Girard]

Okay, first off, I went in hoping for the best with this movie. Horror? Good. Carnival/sideshow 'freaks'? Good. This movie? Not so good.

This film centers around a carnival that comes to a small town, bringing with it the freakiest freak of them all. When it breaks free, freakin' chaos ensues.

The plot is pretty much that, and it is weak. The characters are either bland or stereotypes and the carnival atmosphere and denizens are, other than their 'look', unrealistic. Just blah, blah, blah.

I must be masochistic. I see these movies on SciFi and always dive in, eager to find a new guilty pleasure. Sometimes, I come across something great like "Splinter". Most times, I find something like "Carny". And yet, when they kept airing ads for an upcoming flick, "Bottom Feeder", I was intrigued. You would think the name was ironic, and it may be, but it doesn't deter me. Off to check the channel guide...

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Blowup (1966)

[David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles]

A photographer in 60s England takes some spur of the moment shots of a couple in a park. But the woman soon wants the negatives back, desperately. What he sees when he blows up the photos surprises him.

This is definitely a movie from it's time. Slowly paced, it is very laid back, a groovy mystery of sorts. Not something I really enjoyed, but I guess it is good if you take it as a metaphor for perception and that what we think we see or know may not be what is. I guess. Maybe.

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

[Hugh Jackman. Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins]

Saw this film with two of my kids (ages 13 and 11) and a friend and his son (age 15). We all enjoyed it for what it is, a comic book action flick.

Hugh Jackman is great as Wolverine, as usual. This movie starts from when he was a boy and ends in his pre-X-Men days. The story is pretty much his struggle to live with his "inner animal". Not bad, like I said, for what it is.

The 15- and 13-year-olds really loved it, but my 11-year-old wasn't as thrilled. Then again, Wolverine isn't a favorite of his.

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MST3K: Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (1999);
original film (1985)

[Charles B. Pierce, Chuck Pierce, Cindy Butler, Serene Hedin]

Wow, this movie is bad. Really, really bad. I mean, was anyone really eagerly anticipating a follow-up to the first "Boggy Creek" movie? And if they were, they were sadly disappointed in this. But I guess they were disappointed in the FIRST "Boggy Creek 2" flick, since they call this one "part 2", too. My head hurts.

Charles B. Pierce pulls an Ed Wood here, writing, directing and producing. And he could have used a lot of help. The plot is thin and boring and I can't imagine watching this MST3K-free.

And that, in turn, makes it a wonderful flick for the folks at MST3K. Very funny commentary, as they suffered along with us. Some of the skits in-between are weak, Pearl being less funny for me that Dr. Forrester was. But good enough.

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Sunday Funny - Speed Bump

Another fun comic to make you chuckle:

Speed Bump by Dave Coverly.


Click to Enlarge.

A wry sense of humor marks a unique Far Side-esque daily comic. Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, it is at least always good for a smile.

The Creators.com site has an archive section and author information. The Cartoonist Group site has Merchandise. And the SpeedBump.com site has links to books.

Theme Thursday - Wind

Theme Thursday - Wind

Was lost with this week's theme... "in the wind", so to speak.

Until I thought of the great song "Colors of the Wind", which was performed beautifully by Vanessa Williams:



Have a great day!

Movie Monday

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Gone Baby Gone (2007)

[Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris]

Huh. Much better than I expected it to be. I have no idea why I thought this was some action movie. It has some action, but is so much more than that.

A private detective and his partner/girlfriend are hired to help aid in the search for a missing girl in Boston. Soon, a tangled web of lies and ulterior motives muddy already dirty waters.

Very interesting and though-provoking film. I was impressed by the acting, and the directing. Ben Affleck has some talent, as a director and writer, at least.

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Eastern Promises (2007)

[Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen]

DVR'd this one on the recommendation of another blogger (Jason the Bone Breaker, maybe?), and I am glad I did. It is a great, albeit dark and sad, film.

This film, set in London, deals with the Russian mob and a nurse who comes into possession of a very incriminating diary. Very good film, I think this may now be my favorite by David Cronenberg. The acting is superb, as well, from all involved.

Highly recommended.

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War (2007)

[Jet Li, Jason Statham]

FBI Agent becomes obsessed with finding the assassin known as 'Rogue', a man who murdered his partner and his partner's family. But Rogue has an agenda all his own, and he seems unstoppable.

An intense, action-packed, super-violent ride of a movie, it is not for everyone. But I liked it, and if you like Jet Li or Jason Statham flicks, then you won't be disappointed.

Of course, after this and the last two movies I have seen this week, I need something really light, happy and inane. Sheesh!

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Sunday Funny - Cracked Like An Egg

A new, just-beginning online comic for you to check out:

Cracked Like An Egg by my son, Dave! Yes, that's right, my youngest has started his own comic. As you can see, he has a very unique sense of humor.

Here is one of his strips:


Click to enlarge.

He is off to an interesting start!

Check out some of his other strips in his archives, but remember, he is just beginning!