Friday, November 21, 2008
Rough Seas
http://www.break.com/index/are-we-having-fun-yet1.html
In a rush? Skip to the highlights:
1:30- 2:15 - it starts in earnest here
5:00 - the real fun begins
5:58 - watch for the guy in the bottom left corner
6:10 - watch him slide back!
6:35 - Watch everyone flee to, well, another part of the ship....?
I'm sure this was terrible for the poor folks on this boat, but it's so insane to watch now, I expected to see a truck load of muppets and herd of cows come flying through there at any minute.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A Van Damme Movie You May ACTUALLY Want to SEE?
And then something happens like Prop 8 PASSING in California (what the hell, California?) Or, Van Damme making a movie that somewhat parodies his life, but actually looks really entertaining.
Check out the US trailer below for "JCVD":
If this pans out half as well as the trailer suggests it might, JC might have found a way to re-invigorate his career.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Best Halloween Costume Ever...for a dog?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Just Because: "Goonies 'R' Good Enough"
Which brings me to Cyndi Lauper's Goonies theme song, "Goonies 'R' Good Enough", which I present to you via YouTube without further ado:
I had forgotten how silly and fun "professional" wrestling was by the mid-80's. Roddy Piper, Iron Shiek, Ivan Dragoff(?) - these guys are a riot. Why'd wrestling need to go and get all "Undertaker/Goldberg" serious in the 90's?
Goonies takes the daring adventure of a lifetime that every kid (every boy at least) wanted to have, combines it with a mildly retarded strongman with an animatronic ear and sets it all against some fun pop music; Produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Dick "Superman" & "Lethal Weapon" Donner and written by Chris Columbus. It has all the hallmarks of a great 80's film.
This video was apparently shown in two parts on MTV around the time The Goonies was released, but for some reason I just don't remember ever seeing it. The Goonies DVD that came out a few years back has this full-length video on it, as well as some behind the scenes footage.
To be sure, Cyndi's video has a lot more of the "quirkiness" that probably went along more with Ms. Lauper's 1980's image more so than the movie this video was shot for. The pro wrestlers want to open up a sushi bar? (Is this a backlash against 80's yuppie culture?); Cyndi's 'terrified" reactions to pirate skeletons; Andre the Giant showing up out of thin air at the end (why didn't Cyndi just do this at the beginning?) I also love when the video suddenly cuts to Steven Spielberg sounding more lost that he ever has on-camera.
But the real reason to love this is for the song and the nostalgic feelings it so imminently brings back. In fact, I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me want to leave work right now and go hunt for treasure out in the parking lot.
As a fan of 80's comedies, if you've never seen the "Goonies Vacation" fanfilm, click that link and watch it now. It's the best (and only?) mash up of Goonies and Vacation you've ever seen watching two Goonies die hards make a roadtrip pilgrimage from California to the Goonies filming locations in Oregon.
I don't know about you readers or Rowdy Roddy Piper, but Cyndi, Mom & Pop, Dave, Wendy, and Andre the Giant lived happily ever after!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Bigfoot caught?
UPDATE- Nope.
I doubt it. HIGHLY doubt it. Just because the New York Times runs this story doesn't account for much validity. And the guys in the picture below don't do instill alot of faith in me as to the veracity of their story.
Hit the link for a picture of what's inside that freezer coffin next to those guys. (No, it's not a bunch of beers.)
Monday, August 11, 2008
New Transformer 2 Images?
Is this the "new" Jazz??
Wait untilt he fanboys get a load of the new RODIMUS PRIME!!
Has Bay decided to include Inferno in the sequel?
Could this be a new Decepticon? ?
A new Autobot? (Brawn, perhaps?)
Looks like only time will tell.....
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Fried Food Bonanza at the OC Fair
A "doughnut chicken sandwich"? Really? You know, the City of Los Angeles just banned fast food restaurants in low-income areas. Does this mean they now have to travel to County fairs just to get their fill of unhealthiness?
At least you get honey AND raspberry sauce for the delectable "sandwich" above. And you can enjoy a "Totally Fried" Pop Tart for dessert!
Monday, July 28, 2008
WATCHMEN:The Trailer is the Beginning is the End
Simply put, the trailer is great. It delivers exactly what I hoped and would have expected to see from Snyder's production. So far just about everything I've seen from this production has captured the look and feel of the source material almost EXACTLY.
Sure, bitch about Ozymandias' costume or less than hunky stature; bitch that the 1985 Comedian isn't pudgy enough; bitch that you already know Snyder's ending will be different than the comic. But there's so much other stuff in the details that IS right, it more than makes up for it.
Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, New York - 1985, the drop of blood on the Smiley Face, Rorschach, Nite Owl's vehicle breaking out of the East River, Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan's crystalline structure rising up on Mars (yes, I know it looks subtley different from the comic, but is it germaine? No.)
I love that the music they selected for the trailer (which works very, very well for this trailer) was part of the soundtrack for Batman & Robin, the fourth and final movie that drove the stake into in the original Batman movie series (thank you WB and Joel Schumacher!) Ironic that they decided on music from one of the most laughable, often considered the most cartoonish and overblown superhero movies in modern cinema (the only Batman movie that didn't even make it's production budget back in gross domestic box office receipts,) in a trailer for a movie that essentially turns the "comic book superhero" notion on its head.
Snyder, you done right so far. Don't let us down.
Friday the 13th Poster
Read some amusing talkback reactions here on Ain't It Cool.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
WATCHMEN: Official Trailer
Monday, June 23, 2008
George Carlin - Rest In Peace
There is no one today that is really a direct successor to George Carlin's brand of humor. Sure, the guy waned a bit in his twilight years, but so do most of the greats. For almost his entire career he was way out in front of the "edge" of popular comedy. His insights and use of language (both "dirty" and not) were incomparable among stand-ups contemporaries. Only in the later 90's did America start seeing increasing numbers of comedians who took their humor to "the edge", making it more "raw" and covering topics or using language that was previously considered "socially extreme". Now everybody does it. But when you go back and watch Carlin's older stuff (I'm most familiar with his 80's stuff and the early 90's gem, Jammin in New York) you see just how far he sails above all of today's comics.
George Carlin, you've given this world a great many laughs, often to tears. And now, we shed a collective tear back to you for all the laughs you gave us.
Rest In Peace, you funny fucker.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Just Because / Music To Live By: Gremlins Movie Score
I couldn't really decide whether this fell into the category of a random YouTube link for you guys to enjoy (Just Because), which is what I originally intended this post to be. Or if this is more of a score review (Music To Live By). It turned out to be something of both.
Gremlins: The Score
One of the playlists I listened to several times last week was Jerry Goldsmith's great score for Gremlins, the 1984 movie written by Chris Columbus, directed by Joe Dante, and executive produced by Spielberg. What a team! Special thanks to YouTuber Aldabarran for uploading this hard-to-find and out of print score to the Internet.
What I really like about Goldsmith's score - besides how instantly it brings back the fun of the movie it was written for - is how it captures both the film's lighter and darker tones. Goldsmith uses an interesting synth sound for some parts of the score used when the Gremlins are running amok. A combination of this synth music and some skillful violin work bring uniquely identifiable and eery cues for scenes with the Gremlins. He also does a great job of weaving in some lighter, holiday themed cues with Gizmo's theme throughout as the score threads between its heros and Gremlins.
You may also find it interesting to know that Goldsmith's violin based Gremlins theme didn't actually make its first appearance in the titular movie. Movie score fans will know that Goldsmith scored the Twilight Zone movie from the early 80's, which cmainly onsisted of 4 separate stories. One of those stories was about a man (played by John Lithgow) who sees a monster on the wing of the airplane he is flying on. During this story, the monster is referred to as a "gremlin", one of those little monsters that cause mechanical things to go wrong and break down, but that people never see. If you listen to the track for "Nightmare at 20,000 feet" on the Twilight Zone score, you'll hear a familiar violin theme when the Gremlin appears at about 3:20.
Or, you can hear part of the music in the first minute of this clip, especially from 00:47 - 1:03:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwEclI_ffOA
Come to think of it, this segment of this film a) is really well done, and b) really left an impression on me when I saw it as a kid.
Steven Spielberg directed one of the four stories in the Twilight Zone movie, so it's no coincidence at all that Goldsmith was chosen to score Gremlins when it came along.
Here's some random trivia for you:
- This original TZ episode starred William Shatner. Shatner starred in Star Trek.
- Jerry Goldsmith scored the original Star Trek movie.
- Goldsmith also scored this segment of the Twilight Zone movie that was executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Goldsmith also scored Gremlins, which was also exec produced by Spielberg. Not coincidentally, the Gremlins movie features very similar "gremlin" music for the little green monsters as the little bit of violin music you hear when Lithgow sees the monster on the wing of the plane.
- Spielberg also exec produced The Goonies, which was directed by Dick Donner.
- Dick Donner directed this original TZ episode of Nightmare at 10,000 feet.
Gremlins: The Movie
I watched this movie recently for the first time in a number of years and darn it if it still isn't enjoyable! As a kid I always remembered the movie being funny, but sometimes scary. Watching it again now, I see a much greater dichotomy between the film's comedic moments and the moments that are downright horror-like. One minute Gremlins are popping out at a character for a cheap scare, then their killing an old lady mischeivously, but then you get a whole 60 second scene with nothing but Gremlins hanging out in a bar, dancing to 80's disco wearing a Flashdance outfit, beating each other up with cartoon sound effects in the background, and a Gremlin flasher who exposes, well, nothing underneath his mini, Gremlin-sized trenchcoat.
Some might cite all these things as evidence of just how uneven the film's tone is. However, I think these guys knew exactly what they were doing. They wanted it to be a little scary, a little funny, and a little heartwarming. In fact, I think it's a pretty rare breed of movie that can pull off that kind of combination HALF as successfully as Gremlins does.
Anyway, enjoy listening to Gremlins!
Gizmo, ka-ka!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Sweep the Leg!
Written and directed by Johnny himself, William Zabka and his Cobra Kai buddies (yes, they reassembled his close gang of Cobra Kais 20 years leater) sit around their trailer watching Karate Kid over and over until Johnny's old mentor comes back and Johnny sets out to right the wrong done to him by Larusso's crane kick many years ago. The guy who played Principal Belding on Saved By The Bell also makes a cameo appearance in the beginning and I'm pretty sure that's Ralph Macchio there at the end.
"Get him a body bag, Johnny! Yeeeaaaaahhh!"
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Indy IV Score Samples on Amazon
30-second samples of the tracks on the score for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull showed up on Amazon.com recently.
Do Beware of SPOILERS in reading the track titles. I know, I know - if it's on published material, is it really still a "spoiler"? I say "no", but as this is the first Indy movie anyone's had in almost 20 years, some of the fan community on the web has become uptight about this kind of thing.
I like what little I can hear so far. A little of it reminds me of Williams' work on the Star Wars prequel scores, work I personally enjoyed (in some ways more than the movies themselves.)
I really dig that part of "The Map Room" theme from Raiders shows up in the track called "The Spell of the Skull" and "Marion's Theme" also makes an appearance on this CD in the last cue (if not elsewhere that we can't hear yet!)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Indyfans and the Quest for Fortune and Glory
The Raider.net picked up my article on GoSightSee.com and mentioned it in their Indyfans article on their site today. Too cool!
I went to the "premiere" of Brandon Kleyla's new Indiana Jones fanumentary on April 28 in Newport Beach. Check out my synopsis over at the GoSightSee Travel Blog.
I didn't know it at the time, but apparently the Girls Next Door came to the premiere in Indy fedoras, too.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Just Because: EG Daily
In honor of Summer movie season starting this weekend, I give you E.G. Daily's "One Way Love (Better Off Dead)"
(PS- Sorry your Mom blew up, Ricky.)
Friday, April 18, 2008
And Now This Important Announcement
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
KOTCS score drops on May 20!
The Amazon site now has the CD cover and tracklisting, too. Beware minor spoliers on those tracklistings, though.
The Raider.net posted a blurb that notes the release date of John Williams' forthcoming score for Indy IV. I cannot wait!
Amazon is already taking pre-orders for the new CD.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Brandon Hardesty goes to Hollywood
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Hey Hollywood, why not remake THIS?
My suggestion to Hollywood? See below, and remember that the low-fi effects are an important component of the film. No CGI, asswipes!
And if you liked that one, try this one on for size:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Just Because: TAKE ON ME
Of course, if the original is too "80's" for you, perhaps, you'll dig the cover by Reel Big Fish more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO7sTntruzg
Friday, March 28, 2008
WEIRD TRAVELS: LAS VEGAS - Janet Airlines
There are alot (oh MAN are there alot) of stories about this place, as most people have heard by now. In fact most of us have been hearing about it on and off since the very early 90's when Bob Lazar went to the media about his alleged and contested experiences there.
Enthusiasts, truthseekers, and others just curious have dared to venture through the desert to the place some call "Dreamland" and report encountering many of the same things: conspicuously blunt signage, armed "camo dudes" in Jeeps and sunglasses, "mailboxes" in the middle of nowhere,", and a whole bunch of other oddities.
No doubt, some people dedicate alot of time to watching Area 51.
And then there was me while I was in Las Vegas the other week. I guess I'd list myself under the category of "curious". I pulled up alongside a "private" terminal reported to be the highly secure terminal for the "JANET" aircraft which alleged shuttle people from Las Vegas McCarran Airport to the "Area 51" base at Groom Lake and the Tonopah Test Site further north.
There's alot more details on JANET here, here, and here.
I can't tell you much more than what I already read on these sites, but I did observe that the arrival and departure times people note still seem fairly accurate. I showed up just after 3pm on a Tuesday (3/4/08) and caught the last few people getting off a "JANET" plane about the same time the one in my picture below taxied down the runway for take-off. As those people hit the parking lot, it was like a sudden rush hour. Those cars started streaming out of the secure lot onto Haven St and turning right onto Four Seasons Drive behind me to head to the Freeway. Likewise, I saw them stream in the next afternoon about 45 minutes before another JANET plane took off.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
BEARDS!
Now, I can't even get into the specificities of this blog, because, frankly, I haven't read that much of it since I stumbled onto it just 8 minutes ago, but suffice it to say:
Monday, March 24, 2008
Wanna see a Peeps Show?!
Peeps Show II here.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
New Tiki in the house!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Bill Peet interview
There's a great (old) interview over at Hogan's Alley with animator and former Disney cartoonisist Bill Peet. It's a great read and the gruff old guy has some intersting insights and oft-unheard stories from his time at Disney.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Where is March going? Spend it at the FUNPLEX!
Phoenix was uneventful, except for stopping by Trader Vic's in Scottsdale for dinner and a tropical libation. Tried to make a Spring training game in Peoria, but the timing just didn't work before my flight out to Vegas.
While I've been working I've been listening to Aldabarran's YouTube channels alot, as well as the new B-52's song, Funplex. Why isn't this new jam getting more air time?
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Marchin' into March
How did we get to March already? Whatever the cause of this rapidly increasing passage of time, I will be out on business travel almost all of this coming week inspecting properties in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
In lieu of reading any new posts from me, I offer up a fantastic YouTube page by "Aldabarran", a mysterious Brit with impeccable film score taste: Aldabarran's videos
Here you will find 30+ popular film score he has generously uploaded to the Interweb, many of which are hard sought by collectors and score enthusiasts. I've been listening to this guy's selections almost all week and loving all the new playlists I've made for a bunch of them.
Highlights include The Goonies, Temple of Doom, The 'Burbs (the recently released Varese Sarabande version), Big trouble In Little China, Gremlins, The Fog, Ghostbusters (Varese Sarabande version), Alien/Aliens, and all three Back to The Future films.
Go ahead and indulge already!
I'll see you the week of 3/10.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Afro-flakes: the Cereal!
Ok, not really, but it appears one company has decided to target African-Americans with their cereal product. If this works, I suppose "Afro Puffs" can't be far behind. Which, I'd actually buy by the crateful if they're any good.
Read more over at The Breakfast Bowl blog.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Five Second Movies
Check out the ones below for Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi. If you enjoy these, head over to YouTube to see more. I linked to a few of my favorites at the bottom.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH0Y5_CWgLM
Ghostbusters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8rbqyNYTaU
Back To The Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-LilDePLhk
Amadeus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iYXi7HmGSE
The Goonies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaWY0-R8ypU
Beetlejuice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxrbqIibqsI
Karate Kid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ4vp4e3MX4
Others you should look for include Three Amigos, The Godfather, Jurassic Park, and Home Alone.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
INDIANA JONES TRAILER
http://www.indianajones.com/site/index.html
Go check it out. It seems to match the descriptions "leaked" a few weeks back on Aint It Cool, but it's still awesome to finalyl get the trailer...even if they do have the "age" jokes we all suspected they would do.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
GI Joe movie continues to cast questionably
With the recent rumored casting of Arnold "the Mummy" Vosloo as Zartan and Dennis Quaid as General Hawk, I can say there's now at least two things I think casting has nailed. As a potential third, I'll throw out the no-name guy rumored to be cast as Destro, too. (It's not the Cowardly Lion. That would have brought things UP a notch.)
I'm neutral on Ray "Darth Maul" Park as Snake Eyes as well as the guys who will play Breaker and Heavy Duty. But those last two are gimmes that don't make or break the casting. They could have cast Peter Dinklage as Heavy Duty and it wouldn't have shattered the story of GI Joe (in fact, it would have made not only a great bit of ironic casting for that role, but added some addtional interest on my behalf!)
But the rest of the abominable vomitfest of casting and the fact that the GI Joe mythology has been completely jettisoned to make it a EUROPEAN-based force seems like an overt signal that this production is turning out to be "GI Joe-in-name-only". Channing Tatum is way too young and too much of a "pretty boy" to be Duke (reported here) and Marlon Wayans just shouldn't be here at all. (I saw a clip of Dungeons & Dragons.) At this rate, the film is sounding worse than the name of the new forthcoming Bond flick.
Although I generally like Joseph Gordon-Levitt's work, if Stephen Sommers casts him as a lead villain, I won't be surprised. Hopefully he'll end up as another Joe, but at this point, does it really even matter?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
It's No Joke: Heath Ledger is Dead!
Tragic news coming less than a week after the death of Brad Renfro. My thoughts and deepest sympathies to Heath's friends and loved ones.
2/15/08: I "<3" Indiana Jones!
Also, be sure to check out the new video on the official site for a behind the scenes look at Indy's house.
* Ok, it's still technically rumor as the Official Site has made no mention of it and the only "confirmation" comes from an entertainment tabloid show, but I'm getting my hopes up anyway.
Friday, January 11, 2008
BrandedInThe80s.com
I have very vivid memories of this one. Funny that Mr. T always ends up next to the Smurfs.
I don't remember this one with "Pryor's Place", but Richard's face looks like he was just subjected to listening to Howie Mandel do "Baby Animal's" voice for an hour straight.
Saturday Supercade kicked ass!