A non-film related post that my wife said I should write

Or as my pal Darren said: “The Lion, The Witch, and WTF?”

Catching up

To the four of you clicking here to visit lately, my apologies for such a quiet blog.  Other writing endeavors have been keeping me busy from updating filmchris.  However, I’m currently on a flight to JFK and hanging onto a slight Maker’s Mark buzz, which affords me a bit of time to say a few things on some of the films I’ve viewed in the last several months.

Sunday’s List: Babe, I’m leavin’.

Don’t worry, this won’t be a Styx post…

I tried to make this work, I really did.  You’re great (at least that’s what they say), and I acknowledge that it’s not you, it’s me.  Unfortunately, this coupling just didn’t work out.

And it’s time for us both to acknowledge this and move on.

Without further ado, here are the five “great” modern films that I’ve tried to love but just can’t.

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Here are two sort-of anecdotes to start this one off.

1. If you know me personally (I am now apparently speaking exclusively to my wife), you know that I’m a big fan of the so-called Sports Guy on ESPN.com.  His blend of sports knowledge and pop culture references, many of which are common to us both, makes for pretty engaging reading.  Case in point: his most recent mailbag column raised a very good question regarding fantasy drafts and movie directors.  More specifically, if one were to draft directors based on their film credits the way one drafts for a fantasy football team, how would the draft go down?

Almost immediately, my number one draft pick sprang to mind: Quentin Tarantino.

2. A recent discussion about Inglorious Basterds with my friend Dan included the following exchange:

Dan: What’s it like?

Me: Well, it’s long, tense exchanges between characters punctuated by sudden outbursts of violence.

Dan: Soooooo, it’s like every other film Tarantino’s made.

Me: Um, yeah.

What can I tell you?  I dig the cat.  And I really dug Inglorious Basterds.  Not without reservations, mind you, but it’s another big QT winner in my book.

Sunday’s List (a day late): Death is cool

No really, it is!  Especially my internet death, as I’ve been up ‘n gone for going on a month now.  I’ve actually seen some flicks (not enough, quite frankly) and love my new Roku box.  I can watch Die Hard every night rather than whatever dubbed flick Telemundo is showing.

Honestly, I can attribute the most blame for my blogging lapse to Synechdoche, New York, a film very much about dying.  I really, really loved the movie, and have been perplexed by the fact that I don’t know what to say about it.  I’m flummoxed about writing anything beyond “It ruled, and I didn’t really get a lot of it, especially the bit about the burning house.  But it’s a certain purchase in the future.”

And it has a number of  death scenes-  gutwrenching, you-squirm-but-you-can’t-look-away last breaths.  Watching Synechdoche, New York got me thinking about such moments.  Then, along comes this list.  I encourage you to check it out (and uh, seeing as it’s a list of “Best” Movie Death Scenes, there’s probably some SPOILERS contained therein), and see if you agree with me that said list is a failure.  I mean come on, their number one death of all time isn’t even the best death in the Kill Bill films!!!

You can bet your arse that the best death scene in those flicks will be in my list.  Oh, and BEWARE OF SPOILERS BELOW.

Up (2009) and Sunday’s List

In no particular order, here are the five ways in which the experience of viewing Pixar’s Up was nearly ruined for me.

Sunday’s List: For Dad

It’s still Sunday where I am, anyway…

I did this for my mom, and it’d just be sad if I didn’t for my father as well.  Happy Father’s Day, dad, and here are my 5 favorite cinematic pops.

Sunday’s List: 5 Flicks…

…that I’ve seen recently and about which I need to clear out my thoughtsicles.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, The Proposition, Slumdog Millionaire, Northfork, and JCVD.

EXIT Stage Left- Live!

Most of the writing I do here revolves around films that I’ve seen (hence the early name of this blog- Some Film I Just Saw).  Obviously, that ain’t all that I watch, although I’ve been a little reluctant to spend any time viewing web programming.  That’s all changed in the last year or so, as I’ve been discovering that there’s a lot of good stuff out there on the interweb tubes.

Case in point- EXIT Stage Left, a webseries detailing the behind the scenes shenanigans at a struggling theater company.  Using a combination of script and improv, the show is a nice mix of drama and humor that gets just a bit bawdy (perfect for my tastes).  Thus far, they’ve produced 12 episodes (which you can watch at Koldcast.tv) detailing the professional, personal, and sexual politics of a cast and crew trying to hold everything together until opening night.

The season finale debuts on June 25, but with a twist- it’ll be performed for a live audience and simultaneously streamed online.  It’s a pretty bold idea (can’t remember the last time I saw live, scripted TV), but series creator Sinohui Hinojosa and his cast and crew should be more than capable of pulling off something special.

Me, I’m hoping for a live Terri Nichols costume malfunction as a follow-up to her little outfit in episode 12, but I’ll be watching no matter what.  Check out the story thus far (each ep runs about ten minutes, so they’re easy to knock out), and then give the live finale a chance on the 25th.  Also, if you’re in the Bay Area, you can actually join the studio audience (see the show’s website for more details).

Terminator Salvation (2009)

Let’s start with this thought: Terminator Salvation redefines the term “craptacular.”