Burned out
I'm tired. So tired. Sorry about the delay in blog posting, but lots has been going on this holiday season. Once January rolls around, perhaps I'll have some amusing anecdotes to share. Until then, GHOST TOWN.
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I'm tired. So tired. Sorry about the delay in blog posting, but lots has been going on this holiday season. Once January rolls around, perhaps I'll have some amusing anecdotes to share. Until then, GHOST TOWN.
So, Espella Humanzee, my "Unreal Tournament" lunchtime adversary thinks I'm weak and heavy footed from my holiday indulgences? I'll have you know last week's Christmas vacation wasn't all fun and games! I had to exert much physical force to aid my parents in their move from current residence. No walk in the park, my friend!
There's a movie being released on Christmas day, and while I don't encourage anyone to use a holiday like Christmas to be watching movies in a theater, I do however, encourage you to watch The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Though I haven't seen Wes Anderson's first two films, I did see The Royal Tenenbaums and liked it immensely. No, it is not for everyone, but it is a masterfully filmed and very well made movie. The Life Aquatic should be no less good. The trailer exibits much of the dry humor present in Tenenbaums. Some folks just don't get this type of humor. Their loss.
Baby step to Friday after work... Baby step to Friday after work... Baby step to Friday after work!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King - Extended Edition. Over 40 minutes of extra footage! I had better train my eyes to prepare for the awesome spectacle of this behemoth of a trilogy! What a way to end one of the most substantial movie trilogies ever assembled. Not only did J.R.R. Tolkien create a vast, fantastical world with his beloved books, but also has Peter Jackson and his team created a huge world that is completely believeable. Not once did I ever get the feeling I was watching a "movie". It all felt so real, like I was looking into the past at real events, albeit geared toward fantasy. The amount of detail and hard work put into these movies makes every detail an important one. Every emotion comes to fruition with the events of this, the final film in the Rings trilogy. The addition of some key scenes should make this cut of the film all the more satisfying. These films will forever be ingrained into the fabric of our imaginations. These are the great films, which truly belong to the vault which houses the most memorable films in existence.
December is home to the most important Holiday of the year: Christmas. It is a time when families come together, friends fellowship, and Santa brings that new Red Ryder home! This month's classic movie is none other than A Christmas Story. This is one of my favorite films and is truly one of the top 5 best holiday films in American History. I would say it’s the best, but I’m sure many people think It’s A Wonderful Life, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas is better. Whatever floats your boat. It deals with a period in American History much desired by those living in the now. A time where walking to school did not involve worrying if your kid would be snatched up by a kidnapper, or involved in a sniper’s shooting spree. A much quieter, gentler time when the radio was your idiot box, and television was still a few years away.
I watched the made-for-tv movie Duel the other night. It’s been a while. I am very glad it is now out on DVD. This was the directorial debut of a then unknown filmmaker by the name of Steven Spielberg. It’s amazing just how many of his little tells are present in this movie. What do I mean by that? There is always a way to know you’re watching a Spielberg movie. Many of the well known Spielbergian movie moments began life in Duel. Like Jaws, this film deals with a seemingly invincible enemy that never stops its pursuit. An everyman by the name of David Mann (oddly enough) takes a small business trip through the Californian desert and encounters a big rig going very slow. After passing the rig, he finds his deed was somehow the worst decision he ever made, as the driver of this mean-looking rig pursues Mann to no end, endangering his life and that of his measly little red car. Though a little tame by today’s standards, this thriller will make you think twice before you attempt to pass a slow moving rig! During this cat and mouse chase, a shot from David’s point of view shows the big rig in his driver’s side mirror as it closes in behind him. You can see this shot mirrored almost exactly in Jurassic Park, as the Tyrannosaurus chases down the main characters in the Jeep at night, a similarly harrowing experience, albeit a little impossible, seeing as how dinosaurs haven’t been cloned just yet! Also, there were little sound effects that were re-used in Jaws, and other Spielberg pictures.
Now here’s a fun game! Over the Thanksgiving weekend, my Uncle bought a foosball table for his house, in preparation for the Christmas holiday, in which all 5 of his children are going to be there. His three sons are veterans when it comes to foosball, having learned their fair share in college game rooms. Personally, I haven’t played a foosball game in over 13 years. I remember the time our 8th grade class went to the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina. This was around 1991. I was a wee 14 years old. There was a foosball table in the game room and we put it through its paces. I really enjoyed the game, and was more than happy to play it again.