The Answer Is: 42!

Fans of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy know what 42 is: it's the answer to the "Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything."

Deep, huh? Hey -- just don't forget to bring a towel!

But for me, in addition to being the answer to all that exists ... 42 is the age I've become. Yes, I'm now more than well acquainted with being in my 40s. Wow! Can't believe I've been on this planet for so long. I wonder how much longer I'll be here, and what comes next?

Exciting to find out!

But in the meantime, I'll keep on enjoying life here on Earth. The above photo was a self portrait I took on my previous birthday last year. It was right before I was set to fly off to Morocco for a week. One of the best trips I've taken, in addition to this one I already blogged about of course. I'll write up my Morocco trip report soon here, so stay tuned for that.

Anyway, fast forward to this year and now I'm one year older. Which is fine, I don't mind. I still consider myself young anyway. I certainly feel it!

I ended up spending the evening at a quite excellent Turkish restaurant in Kip's Bay. Wow! It was such a great dinner, and best yet -- I got baklava for dessert. Yum!!!

Afterward, we went to a nearby theater to see the latest Spike Lee joint: BlacKkKlansmen. I was super impressed with this movie. It's so good! I'm currently trying to recommend it to everyone. You should check it out, too, if you get the chance.

Overall it was a pretty good way to turn 42. Before heading out to dinner, I took my annual self portrait for posterity:

The 12 Nights of Christmas-Not Flims

Now then, this is the time of year I look forward to the most! No, not so much because of the holidays, although those are nice. No, the real cause for my excitement is the fact that I usually take the last two weeks off from work, thus commencing a long stretch of doing absolutely NOTHING! Call it a harken back to the days when I was just a school kid and we used to get 3-week recesses, I suppose. My brain is just hard-wired to taking half the month of December off after having done it for most of my life. You know how it is.

For the most part I tend to use this time off to relax. In addition to shunning the office job, I also take a break from my daily workouts and refrain from the pursuit of any task or situation that will cause me stress. So in other words, I basically watch a lot of tv, play a lot of video games, eat a lot of (bad) food I don't normally allow myself to eat during the rest of the year -- and devise movie marathons. 

Oh yeah!!!

This is probably what I associate most with this time of year, watching movies. And not just movies that are out in theaters at the end of the year, although I do make it a point to catch all the Oscar-bait films currently out. I'm talking about home theater viewing, you see? One year I had a Lord of the Rings marathon that took all day and into the wee hours of morning to slog through. But it was so much fun! Another staycation, I binged on Spaghetti Westerns. See what I mean? Oh what fun!

This year, however, I had a different idea for the season's movie marathon. This year I decided to screen, every night of Christmas, a single movie which was released in theaters on or near the holidays. More accurately, these would be movies that I personally saw during the holidays in past years. I stress this part because, as with some of the movies on the list I'm about to provide below, a few titles were released back in October or November of their associated years, but which I didn't get around to catching in theaters until--yup, you guessed it!--my annual end-of-year staycation. In addition to said criteria, these are also movies that were considered really big box office draws at the time. Some of them were even the holiday centerpieces of the year, if you will. The biggest grossing movies ever! And, then, some were only modest successes, but which played big in both my memory and in my heart. Regardless, they all had a hand in capturing the holiday season for me, resonating with me in a major way, and representing some of the best carefree movie "escape" experiences of the season. And for that, I am forever beholden to them.

Goodbye, Jim!

As I posted a while back here, I've started watching the blu-rays of the original 1960s Star Trek show which I received for Christmas. I'm on season 2 and have finally come across one of my favorite episodes from that series -- "Amok Time," where Spock returns to his home world of Vulcan in order to participate in an ancient marriage ritual hearkening back to his people's violent past.

Yes, this is the episode where Spock and Captain Kirk FIGHT! Not only was this episode brilliantly written, but it contains some of the most iconic music this show is known for. Especially during the scene where the two good friends must battle each other for their lives:





However, watching this scene invariably reminds me of the famous Jim Carrey parody included in one of my favorite dark comedies of the 90s, The Cable Guy. In it, he and Matthew Broderick go to Medieval Times and Carrey's character bribes the show operators to allow him and his "best buddy" onto the arena floor for a memorable match--unfortunately to the surprise of Broderick's character. Hilarity ensues, especially if you watch the above clip from Star Trek first, then followed by the one below.

I mean, this is fucking HILARIOUS by a Warp Factor of 11! :)





Tell me you are not amused.

Kraam! Where are duh too snakes faycing each udder?

I've been cracking up all afternoon to Youtube videos of pop culture movies and video games being placed to musical renditions. This one, based on the John Milius "Conan the Barbarian" movie from the 80s, is my fave so far! It's set to the melody of Basil Poledouris's moving soundtrack to the film. And oh damn, it's HILARIOUS! Especially the fake Ahh-nuld accent:





"AND HEAR THE LAMENTATION OF THE WOMEN!!!"  LOL! I can't get enough of that. :)

Granted, it's funnier if you've watched the movie before. And even more so if, like me, you've seen it like a bajillion times.

I have a short work week, so my weekend begins tomorrow. Enjoy yourselves!

In Which I Get My Man Card Revoked

My wife, Lisa, and I just watched this movie (again) tonight, apropos of the season upon us.

I know I risk my masculinity by admitting this . . . but Love, Actually is one of the best Christmas movies of all time! Definitely my favorite romantic comedy bar none. That's right, you heard me. I watch romantic comedies on occasion. Sue me. Of course, I have Lisa to thank for this, as I'd probably want to stab myself in the eye were I single and all angsty about love and what-not. But as it stands, I like a well made romantic comedy. Don't you? And Love, Actually is the most heart-whelming and funniest of them all, in my opinion.

Anyway, watching this film for the umpteenth time now I've decided to officially crack open my special Xmas playlist on the ole iPod. I only ever listen to this playlist in December, before closing it again for yet another year. But I had to listen to Mariah Carey's song "All I Want For Christmas" twice, because honestly it is just that awesome! Click on the link to see her official video of the song. Like Love, Actually is to romantic movies for me, I strongly feel that this is the best Christmas tune of the modern age. Seriously, how can you not get into the holiday spirit after listening to that? It is sublime perfection, I tell ya!

Also, that Mariah sure can sing her heart out! It's only fitting that the song was featured so prominently in the movie, then. And, with that being said, I leave you now with the perfect scene from that movie to set the mood off. This little girl does an impressive cover of the song in question:





And how cute is that little boy with his puppy-love crush? Ah, young love! Where have you gone? (ha, ha)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Attack Of The 80s Movies!!!

Well, apparently I was having a Very Brady 80s weekend or something, because I suddenly got all nostalgic and decided to raid the ol' DVD library to re-watch some timeless classics.

I watched American Ninja II, Karate Kid II, Rocky II, and The Last Dragon.

Sensing a theme here?

Movie Trailers That OWNed Me, Big Time!

So, if you are big into genre movies like I am, no doubt you've already heard the hooplah surrounding the new trailer for Marvel's The Avengers movie. It was just released earlier this week and geeks are going batshit crazy over it. And I'm one of 'em! The film releases next May and will showcase some of the big blockbuster names in the Marvel universe who have already had their own standalone movies prior to now: Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Captain America. Now imagine all that bad-assery teamed together in one flick. What do you get? A kick ass-o-pacalypse, that's what!!!!

So, yes, I'm am very geeked out at the moment. And if you want to check out the trailer and see what all the fuss is about for yourself, click here. May 2012 can't come fast enough!

But it got me to reminiscing about other movie trailers in the past that got me seriously amped up. Now, I'm not talking good movie trailers -- or even great ones. No, I'm talking FUCKING great movie trailers! These are the promos that, before I even really new what the movies were truly about, had me literally tingling from head to toe with excitement. Yeah, I know it sounds like hyperbole and all, but trust me--this really was my reaction to each and every one of these!

I'm going to embed clips of each movie's trailer below, followed by a brief explanation of why they--more than most--stand out to this day as key defining moments in my movie going experience. By now, of course, those of you who know me should know that I'm a huge movie buff. I own close to 800 DVDs and Blu-rays at home! It's positively SICK, I tell ya! But before they arrived on my shelves, I first had to have seen the movies in theaters. And before even that, first came the promotional trailers. This is what I wish to focus on here. These things can be works of art, I tell ya.

And so, here we go:

If You Loved Him As Khal Drogo . . .

Perhaps you'll love Jason Momoa as this summer's Conan: The Barbarian?

Yup, they went and rebooted the Conan film franchise. You knew they would one of these days, though, right? I mean, really nothing is sacred in Hollywood anymore.

But you know what? As much as the fanboys of the original Arnie film from the early 80s are bitching over this . . . I have to say this upcoming version of Conan feels more like the source material to me. Well, hell, let me show you guys the trailer so you can see what I mean:





See, to me, this world looks and feels more like Robert E. Howard's Hyboria than the John Milius movie did. The Conan I know and love always had this Lovecraftian feel to it, which this trailer definitely evokes. And Momoa's take on Conan seems a lot more true to the original pulp stories than Arnie's could ever dream of matching.

Of, course all I've seen so far are trailers and tv spots, so it's quite likely this movie could end up being nothing like REH's Conan and more like the Arnie flick than I realize. But for now I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt that the filmmakers were smarter than to try and rip off Milius's movie.

I loved the 80s Conan films, don't get me wrong. But I'm not going to pretend I'm not interested in a new take. Yes, the effects look kinda like SyFy channel budget effects -- but I'm still going to be there in the theaters for this. Yes indeed.

Anyone else there with me?

Jammin' To Bollywood

Despite the implication of this entry I wrote a few days ago, I *do* listen to music frequently and throughout the day. Mostly when I'm at work and need something to distract me from the brain-numbing boredom of it all. As such, I was rocking out on this fine day to some very awesome tunes from the sub-continent. Yes, that's India to some of you!

Now, despite the title of this post, it's not really fair to call it "Bollywood" music. True, most of the music does in fact come from Indian cinema, or filmi . . . but they're not technically Bollywood movies since some of them were filmed in other locations other than Mumbai, and in languages other than Hindi. Which is why I use the term "Indian filmi music" to represent my playlist.

Actually, this particular playlist today at work revolved specifically around the compositions of one A. R. Rahman. He's one of my all-time favorite composers/musicians still working today -- and not just in India, but all over the world! I don't know if anyone who reads this blog listens to world music, or Indian music (either traditional or cinematic, or both) in particular, but if you don't you might want to check out some of his work.

Really, though, this post is just my excuse for pimping out one of my numerous Apple iTunes playlists once more, as I did back in this blog entry in January. Still, I hope that maybe some of you will find the means and the time to sample some of these tracks if you haven't already. This is some seriously cool music!

Anyway, here is my filmi playlist courtesy of A. R. Rahman (movie titles are italicized):

"Chanchan" -- from Water
"Dheeme Dheeme" -- from Zubeidaa
"Rasika" -- from Star 
"Narumugaiye"* -- from Iruvar
"Maargazhi"* -- from Sangamam
"Uyire Uyire" -- from Bombay
"Shyam Rang Bhar Do"-- from Water
"Anbendra" -- from Minsara Kanavu
"Chinna Chinna Aasai" -- from Roja
"Usilampatti Penkutti" -- from Gentlemen
"Kannaalaney"** -- from Bombay
"Naina Neer Baha"-- from Water
"Kannodu" -- from Jeans
"Kannamuchi" -- from Kandukondain Kandukondain
"Yaro Yarodi" -- from Alaipayuthey
"Poraalae" -- from Karuththamma
"Piya Ho"*-- from Water
"Evano Oruvan"* -- from Alaipayuthey

*this is one of my favorite tracks.
**this is my most favorite track.

And if you would like a little taste of one of these songs, below is the music video for "Kannaalaney" as it appeared in the filmi Bombay:





Despite all the colors and joyous dancing, this is not necessarily a happy movie. It's a "Romeo & Juliet" type of story between a Hindu man who falls hopelessly in love with a young Muslim woman during a time when rising tensions between both religious factions comes to an explosive head in the city of Mumbai.

Because of this song in particular, Chitra is my favorite singer! I think she has the prettiest voice out of all the filmi singers, and a range like you wouldn't believe. That's her voice you hear in the clip, but Manisha Koirala is the actress going though the motions. She's fantastic, too, btw. I've seen a few of her movies now and absolutely love this actress!

What music have you been jammin' to this week?

Wow! This Is David Hyde Pierce Like I Never Thought I'd See Him

I always liked David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Crane's wacky little brother, Niles, on the hit tv show "Frasier." But never in a million years would I have ever pegged him for being the perfect replacement for Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter. No, he's not playing that iconic role in his latest upcoming movie, The Perfect Host -- but damn if he doesn't display the glimmer of a Tony Hopkins-esque functional psychopath here. Watch the film's excellent trailer below and tell me you don't see it:





What do you think? Couldn't he totally be Hannibal Lecter if they were to make another movie in that series? Not that I think they should, mind you. But wow, DHP, I'm impressed. And what an intriguing premise! I'm now completely psyched to catch this thriller. How about you?

It's Been A Long Time . . .

Since I did one of these, that is. For those of you not prepared, get ready to set your eyes on my hideous visage and atrocious-sounding voice as I subject you once again to the horror known as . . . my VLOG!!!!

It runs at nearly 15 minutes long, though, so don't say I didn't warn you:





Are you still alive? Are your eyes not blinded, and are you able to continue reading? Phew, good! I was worried there for a second. For some reason the finished video turned out even darker than it looked to me while I was recording it. So I apologize for that Two-Face effect I had going on where half my face was in the light, while the other half in shadow. Spooky!

Oh, and if you're having trouble viewing the above embedded video, or if it's not running smoothly, click on this link to view it directly on Vimeo.

And, as promised, below are the links to the books I recommended in the Vlog. Check them out and see if you might not be interested in one or more of these. Of course, for the ones that are sequels, maybe you'll be interested enough to read the first books in the series? I hope so!

God's War, by Kameron Hurley.

The Broken Kingdoms, by N. K. Jemisin.

The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss.

We'll see what I decided to discuss next time I do one of these. Unless, of course, you beg me in the comments not to. But it's going to have to be a LOT of you to convince me otherwise. Good luck with that!

3-Word Movie Descriptions

One of my Facebook friends twittered some 3-word movie descriptions today.

Here were some of his examples:

Rosebud The Sled. -- Citizen Kane

*I'm* Your Father. -- Empire Strikes Back


To which I chimed in with my own:

Head In Box. -- Se7en.


Heh, heh . . . FUN, right? So, yes, of course I had to go think up a few more of my own. Then, voilà!, I thought: why not put this up on the blog? And now the fun has been passed on to you!

I decided to make a sort-of quiz for movie buffs based around the concept. Below are several 3-word movie descriptions. The answers are hidden to the right of each description. If you think you figured it out, simply highlight over the blank box with your mouse to reveal the correct answer.

Got it? Good. Let's get started:


1)  Alien Cockroach King (1997). -- Men In Black             


2)  Lotion or Hose? (1991). -- Silence of the Lambs         


3)  Save the Clocktower! (1985) -- Back to the Future         


4)  Global Warming's COLD! (2004) -- The Day After Tomorrow     


5)  Dances With Smurfs (2010). -- Avatar                             


6)  Damn Dirty Primates! (1968) -- Planet of the Apes          


7)  Archer's Now American (1991). -- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves


8)  Robot Finds Love (2008). -- Wall-E                                   


9)  Hobo's A God (2008). -- Hancock                        


10) Vigilante Scuba Gear (2010). -- Kick-Ass!                            


11) Accountant Escapes Prison (1994). -- The Shawshank Redemption


12) Dad's My Son (1988). -- Big                                          


13) The Red Pill (1999). -- The Matrix                          


14) These Fifteen Commandments! (1981) -- History of the World: Part I  


15) Ditto To You. (1990) -- Ghost                                  


So, tell me: how well did you do? In the comments below, tell me which ones, if any, you couldn't figure out.


EDIT: I just did a Google search and found out that a website, Sporcle.com, already beat me to this. Click on this link to try their own quiz, which is better than mine. I've scored 16 out of 20 on theirs. See, mine doesn't have a time limit. Darn! I went back and added their technique of putting the year of the movie's release after each one, though, so as to make this just a little bit easier. You can thank Sporcle for that, class.

My Top 5 Favorite Super Bowl Ads of 2011 -- Plus, The First Avenger!

Personally, I find the whole concept of the million-dollar Super Bowl commercial spot way overblown. I mean, they're good . . . but they're not that good. Still, every year I do something very un-Batista like when I'm watching the big Sunday game, and that's: not using the Tivo buffer to fast-forward past all the commercials. Fast-forwarding through the commercials is a time-honored tradition in the Batista household. It's been going on since we got our first Tivo box back in 2001. This is up there as one of the best inventions of all time! And ever since I've been unable to watch normal, un-DVR'd tv again.

But on Super Bowl Sunday I revert back to the prehistoric agony of the 1990s. I actually force myself to watch every single commercial break. Like I said, it's not because I think that Super Bowl ads are God's gift to television or anything. No, I do it just so I can stay abreast and relevant of pop culture. Because, invariably, some of these commercials will be the talk of the office for the next week or so.

Now, with all that in mind then, allow me to present what I personally thought were the Top 5 commercials that aired last night. That's 5 out of a whopping 68 unique commercial spots! Some of these aired for the first time in America, while others were leaked onto the Net a few days prior. The top spot, for instance, was released an entire week before the big game. Wow, talk about impatient! Or maybe they just knew they had hit a home run out the park with this one, and realized that it wouldn't hurt to generate a little pre-game buzz?

Whatever the case may be, listed below in descending order from great to superior are my Top 5 picks.

Blu-ray Haul, Week Of 2/1/11

I don't usually buy movies anymore, unless the title in question is a movie I *really* like, or if the film comes highly recommended. I got a little of both worlds when I went to check out Tuesday's new releases today, Wednesday. Yes, despite that all new media releases on a Tuesday here in the U.S., I usually wait an extra day to go when the crowds have already dissipated and the store has finished shelving all the stock in the back room. Works out better this way.

But you didn't come here to read about all that. Below are the (count 'em!) four Blu-ray titles I felt worthy of my hard-earned cash this week. Perhaps you see one you like but didn't know was out? If so, let me know in the comments section below. I'm always interested in what other people's movie likes are.


ALICE IN WONDERLAND
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Confession time: I'm not a big fan of the live-action Tim Burton version that released in theaters last year. For me, it was an overblown and muddled mess. For having some of my favorite stars in it--Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter--the acting was merely "okay." And being forced to watch it in 3D only made it worse. I was never a huge, frothing fan of the Lewis Carroll novel even after reading it twice (first as a pre-teen; second while at college). But for me this 1951 Disney animated classic has always been the definitive Alice story. I know that's blasphemy considering the liberties ole Walt took in making the tale more presentable to a larger family audience, but this movie is an indelible slice of my childhood. And as with all the classic Disney movies currently in my collection, this was also a must-buy. We used to have all the Disney classic cartoons on VHS when I was 9, which was about as good as animation got for us. Having Alice in Wonderland in the glorious vibrancy of the Blu-ray format now is like reliving the first moment we ever set eyes on this movie at grandma's house. I can smell the cookies baking in the oven already!



LET ME IN
----------------------------------------

I saw the original Swedish film, Let The Right One In, of which this movie is a by-the-numbers remake, back in 2009. At the time, I thought it was a damn-near perfect little horror tale. But, call me crazy -- I think the 2010 American version is even better! Well, at least, it's a damn-near perfect little horror tale in its own way. Let Me In is just a tad more compact, better produced, and arguably better acted film than the foreign version. And, trust me: as someone who is a huge cinephile of subtitled flicks, I don't make this claim lightly. I guess the main selling point for me is, in fact, the acting of the two young leads, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Moretz. Their maturity and creepy chemistry onscreen is spellbinding to say the least. Their obvious heart-felt dedication to the material bolsters the entire project and elevates it just a touch above the careful, tightly-wound narrative cues of the original version. Moretz in particular is awesome as the mysterious little girl lonely Owen befriends in his apartment complex one fateful night. Having seen her only months earlier as the potty-mouthed "Hit Girl" in Matt Vaughn's Kick-Ass, I left Let Me In of the impression that this young lady has quite the promising acting career ahead of her. Of all the movies I've purchased this week, this is the one I recommend highest to all my friends.



NIGHT CATCHES US
-------------------------------------------

I had to pick this up simply on the strength of word-of-mouth alone. But, actually, I already knew a little bit about this indie flick thanks to the efforts of my best friend, Tarrell Childs, who tried to get me to go with him for the all of 2 seconds this movie was screened here in NYC, but who I ultimately had to turn down because of how damn busy I was over the holiday break. Which sucked for me. But now I get to right that wrong this week! It surprises me that this is already out on video so quickly, but I guess films of this nature get very limited theater time, and only in the major cities. All that I know of Night Catches Us is that it stars one of my favorite new actresses, Kerry Washington, and that it takes place in the year of my birth (1976) in Philly, PA. I also know it has something to do with the Black Panther party, but more importantly with the relationship between a black man and woman during this iconic and tumultuous time for both the Movement and the plight of African American civil liberties in general. I'm certain I'm going to enjoy this flick. In fact, I'm highly looking forward to checking it out when I get some down time this weekend. I have intelligent friends with great tastes in movies, so it's a no-brainer for me. If anyone else has seen this, please chime in below in the comments section with your impressions.



A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP
----------------------------------------------

Again, this is a movie I didn't get to see before its release this week, but which I've been hearing strong word-of-mouth about over the Interwebs. And, since it's directed by one of my all-time favorite Chinese film directors, Zhang Yimou, I knew I would have to check it out on principle alone. After all, this is the man who's films I dissected in my senior thesis paper back in college. Ah, those were the good ole days! And unlike apparently 95% of the Internet, it seems only I can remember Zhang's cinematic efforts before Hero and House of Flying Daggers--he did already have a name made for himself before these movies, people! Anyway, this latest film of his appears to be a reworking of the 1984 Coen brothers' directorial debut, Blood Simple -- except way more of a screwball comedy this time around. Which is saying a lot if you've been following the zany career of the Coens over the past 25 years. A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop seems to involve all those elements present in the title, but with the added randomness of being set in the desert regions of Gansu province, circa the late 19th century. At the very least, I imagine this film will be rather, ah . . . different from its predecessor set in contemporary Texas. Again, let me know if you've seen this fun-looking flick. I'd like to compare notes.


And that about wraps it up for this week in new Blu-rays. It was a robust offering this time around, and I can't claim my wallet survived the experience all that well. But hey, what can I say? I *love* movies! Case in point, my DVD and Blu-ray collection conveniently listed over on DVD Aficionado. Check it out if you care to see the direction my eclectic home video interests run.

So It's Only, Like, About Damn Time!

FINALLY!

As you can see above, we're finally getting Blu-ray releases of El Mariachi, Desperado, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico -- the films that were Robert Rodriguez's own take on "The Man With No Name" trilogy. This time, though, the gunslinger is a mariachi . . . and he's in modern-day Mexico!

Of course, I have no idea why the hell the first two movies are being packaged together on the same disc, while the third film is being sold separately. All three will be hitting shelves on Jan. 4, though, so we have less than two weeks for awesome greatness!

Well, only Desperado was awesome. The other two are "meh" at best. I think they knew this, which is why Desperado is not being sold alone. Heh, heh . . . smart, Sony. Smart. Even smarter would have been to release all 3 together in one nice trilogy box set. But then, what do I know about video marketing?

Anyway, click here and here if you want to read the one-sheets.

Sci-Fi Friday Movie Trailers

No, this is not the start of a new series of blog entries. It's just that, for some reason, I seemed to have woke up this morning and found not one, not two . . . but THREE new sci-fi movie trailers for films coming out next year.

My Favorite Sword Duels At The Movies

Swords. Let's not deny it, we all have a weird fascination with the bladed weapons--a romance, let's say--that you simply cannot get from kicks and punches, or even guns. Sword duels in particular capture our imaginations in the media like no other form of personalized combat. Unlike gun fights in Westerns, swords by their very design require the combatants to face off in close proximity to one another like real men (or women). You know that the victor of a sword fight will not make it out alive by sheer luck. Swords require real skill and years upon years of vigorous training to master. Yet, in Hollywood at least, the good sword duel is hard to come by these days. Back in the time of Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks movies, sure, the swashbuckling tales were a dime a dozen. But that era has been long gone. While cowboy and pugilistic genres have risen and fallen only to rise again in Hollywood, the sword movie has never recovered its true heyday of old.

Which is why, when a film does come along and display not only a competent sword duel on the big screen, but one that's a true crowd pleaser at that, I for one take notice. You might not concern yourself with such matters, but rest assured I *live* for these types of films. Without fail, if you were to look at a list of movies that influenced me the most since childhood, more often that not you're seeing a list that contains movies where sword fighting plays, at the very least, a marginal role in society.

Highlander, Star Wars, The Hunted, Excalibur, Dune, Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, etc . . . . Need I go on? So what better way to celebrate the more subtle art form of good movie combat than for me to create yet another "Top 10" list? Below you'll find my list in descending order from best to BESTEST of my favorite sword moments in film. As with my other lists, these choices won't necessarily represent *your* favorite scenes. But then you can just write up your own list now, can't you? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Without further ado, I give you my Top 10 sword duels at the movies . . . after the jump.

Enough With This Black Friday Crap!

Lisa and I spent a very quiet Thanksgiving yesterday. No family. No friends. Just the two of us, alone in our apartment, catching up on tv shows we missed last week and ordering in. We checked out two British shows that I Tivo'd off the BBC America channel -- Luther, starring Idris Elba and Indira Varma (yummy!), and Law & Order U.K., starring among other people Jamie Bamber, "Apollo" of Battlestar Galactica fame. It also co-stars Freema Agyeman, an actress I've never seen before, but whom I shall be taking a special interest in henceforth.

Freema Agyeman . . . she's staring into your SOUL!

She's been in a few other British shows, most notably Doctor Who and Torchwood. She's of Persian (Iranian mother) and African (Ghanaian father) ethnicity, which I'm pretty sure accounts for her immense attractiveness. It's the eyes, for me. It's all about the eyes! :)

Anyway, both shows are fantastic so far. Luther is absolutely brilliant! The writing and acting are of the highest caliber. Law & Order UK is serviceable at this time. Good, but not as well written or edited as the various U.S. versions. At least, not so far. But I'll give it time to catch up. Too bad the theme music sucks, though. I mean, it's really awful! Personally, I also believe the title should be "London" rather than "U.K." After all, the new American show set in Los Angeles is called "L.A.", not "California" or "West Coast" or, worse, "U.S."

But I'm nitpicking. Suffice to say, I recommend these shows to anyone with access to BBC, BBC America, or a good download site. Luther, I believe, was just released on DVD this past week. The first season (or "series" as they're called across the pond) is only six 60-minute episodes long, but you get a lot for your buck. Law & Order UK is already on its fourth series, although the show only just premiered last year. So I'm sure some of the seasons are already available on DVD as well (I haven't checked).

As for today, Black Friday . . . please don't bring it up. I'm so sick and tired of hearing about it. Seriously, the way the news media have been shoving it down our throats has made me so disgusted with capitalistic greed. I know I sound like a dirty socialist now, or worse -- a commie! -- but all this talk about consumers rushing out and spending tons of money on crap no one really needs has only made my wallet curl up in the fetal position and refuse to open. I'm so not in the consumerist spirit right now, although I am generally ebullient about the holidays being upon us.

No, this day -- once again -- will be about me and my wife spending quality time together. We're heading downtown to watch some movies, eat some popcorn, and then have a nice lovely dinner together while the mall crowds shop themselves silly around us. I have a tremendous ability to be the calm port in the middle of a stormy sea, so none of the craziness should affect me.

And what movies will we be checking out? I haven't quite decided yet (and yes, I'm usually the one that has to make these decisions for the both of us), but I think we will check out the new Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson film, Faster, as well as that new Disney animated flick, Tangled. Click on the titles of each movie to watch the trailers.

So, I hope you all had a wonderful T-Day if you're in the States, and a wonderful, eh . . . Thursday if you're not. And don't listen to all the downers out there who told you not to over indulge on the feasting this holiday -- that's what Thanksgiving is for, you fuckers!

Movie Trailer Deja Vu.

Fast on the heels of the Back to the Future blog entry I wrote just two posts below comes news that Spike TV will be airing an almost shot-by-shot remake of the original BttF teaser trailer for their Scream Awards next Tuesday. What's so cool about this is that they were able to get Michael J. Fox to reprise the footage -- 25 years after he filmed the first one. WOW!

For your edification, here's the original teaser trailer from 1985:



My god, you can tell this is from the 80s, eh? LOL! Anyway, here's the Spike TV promo. It's remarkable just how close to the original they got it:



And just a reminder that the Blu-ray boxset of the BttF trilogy is coming out on Oct. 26 to commemorate the first film's 25th Anniversary.

I can't even believe it's been that long -- WTF?

I Know What I'll Be Watching In Theaters On Xmas Day . . .

True Grit.

Yes, it's a Western. Yes, it's a remake of the 1969 movie starring John Wayne. And, yes, it's directed by the Coen brothers.

But, honestly, that last factoid should say it all. Can I name one Coen brothers' movie I've watched and NOT like? Hmmm . . .  nope, guess not! Off the top of my head, here are some of my favorites:

No Country for Old Men
Raising Arizona
The Man Who Wasn't There
O Brother, Where Art Thou
The Big Lebowski
Fargo
The Lady Killers
Burn After Reading
A Serious Man

In fact, I think The Lady Killers and that one small segment they wrote and directed for the collaborative film experiment Paris, je t'aime, was the only time I could say they faltered just a wee bit. I still liked both those efforts, though, don't get me wrong. Ever since my brother and I first watched Raising Arizona on HBO back in the late 80s, I've always found their writing and directing style quirky yet no less entertaining. And they're no one trick pony, this sibling movie-making team. Each of their movies are different from one another to such a degree that if you didn't know better, you'd swear they were made by different directors.

This time around, they're tackling the Western genre. As someone who only reluctantly watches a select few movies in this genre--but who has been vastly impressed by the recent slate of Westerns released in the last decade (e.g., Open Range; Seraphim Falls; 3:10 to Yuma)--I have to admit that True Grit is looking to own this year in movies for me.

The film stars Jeff Bridges as Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn in the role originally played by Wayne. He's hired by a young girl to track down and apprehend one Tom Chaney (played by Josh Brolin), a hired hand who killed her father and fled into the lawless tribal lands of the Indian Nations. Along the way, the unlikely duo are joined by a Texas Ranger named "La Boeuf" (Matt Damon) who has his own reasons for getting his hands on Chaney.

Already sounds like a truly gripping story in the making right there, no?

In fact, True Grit is less of a remake of the original movie than it is a re-adaptation of the Charles Portis novel which both films are based on. As such, I wish that die-hard fans of the 1969 version (and there are quite a few out there) would just calm down and realize that this current film is not out to replace their cherished forty year old memories. I, for one, hold no allegiance to the original since John Wayne is not exactly my symbol of the gritty old West archetype. For that you would have to look no further than my man Clint (Eastwood, to you), whom I feel embodies the quintessential Western hero.

Regardless, I dare anyone to view the following new trailer and tell me it doesn't speak to all levels of friggin AWESOME! And with the Coens behind the helm, I already know I'll be in for quite the treat.

Enjoy!