I’m trying out a new look for my blog. The header image is one I took this weekend at our local Fox Theater. It was built in the 1920s and restored in the 2000s, that image is of the ceiling inside the theater. Anyway, I thought it was time for a change. Let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions. Thanks!
Every movie fan has been annoyed by inconsiderate people in the audience. Worst of all might be the people who check their phone during the movie, not caring about the bright screen that’s hugely distracting. Every theater has some sort of pre-show behavior warning, though some are better than others. (We’ve come a long way since the days where “no smoking” was the most important warning that theaters had to give.) Here’s one, from the famous Alamo Drafthouse, which has a very strict etiquette policy.
That’s Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller Continue reading
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
After last week’s super-sized Friday Favorite, today’s will be a bit simpler. For some reason, I absolutely love this joke. It might be my favorite part of the whole movie. Take a look and then read on:
Generally speaking, I’m not big into arts and crafts. Writing is my creative outlet, and my hands shake too much for most kinds of artwork. However, cross-stitch is something I can do, and it’s something relaxing and fun that can be done while watching a movie or TV show in the evenings. However, I often get bored with most cross-stitch designs, because there’s not a lot out there that interests me. So I set out to see if I could find one based on the TV show Firefly. (I previously did one based on the Dick Tracy poster, which I might post sometime in the future.) Continue reading
At the end of my D23 movie news roundup from yesterday I mentioned Tomorrowland. I didn’t want to go into the film there because I feel like it needs a bit more explanation, especially considering how little we still know of the film. You have to go back to last year for the earliest reports of the film. Brad Bird, who wrote and directed The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Disney/Pixar was announced as the director for a new film for Disney, bumping his rumored project with Pixar about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. People immediately began speculating that Bird was returning to Disney for a sequel to The Incredibles (something, incidentally, that needs to happen).
That wasn’t the case, however, as the title for his new film was revealed to be 1952. Continue reading
If RED and RED 2 were supposed to be “James Bond with senior citizens”, then Last Vegas is “The Hangover with senior citizens.” Take a look and read on for my thoughts:
This year’s D23, a conference every two years exclusively for members of the D23 fan club, was full of news about upcoming projects, but unfortunately it wasn’t the news that people were expecting to hear. There was no Star Wars casting announcement, no surprises from Marvel or Pixar, no Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. What there was, however, was lots of smaller casting announcements, plus an in-depth look at some films which we previously only knew the title of. I’m a D23 member, but I wasn’t at the conference this year, but read on for the highlights of what was announced and shown, along with some of my opinions. Continue reading
Wow, I’m actually shocked. Jean from Culture Composition nominated me for The Liebster Award! The award is handed down by a blogger to other fellow bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It’s a great way to discover new blogs and learn more about other creative writers in your community! I’m shocked because I always assume that I’m just shouting into the abyss. As much as I like to think people are reading, I don’t have the confidence to actually believe it. Jean’s blog is great, covering a wide variety of pop culture related topics. You should definitely give her a read and a follow, and she also is a freelance writer for the Daily Beast!
1. List 11 facts about myself
2. Nominate 11 bloggers for the award (YAY!)
3. Let them know about the nomination
4. Answer the 11 questions I was asked when nominated
5. Ask 11 questions for the new award winners to answer.
1. In high school, my Ultimate (Frisbee) team was ranked the #1 junior team in North America.
2. I played trumpet for 8 years, but gave it up after high school because my band teacher completely killed my enjoyment of it.
3. I’ve been known to perform Bill Cosby’s dentist routine on stage from time to time.
4. In addition to this blog, I’m working on a novel (the third one I’ve started) and have written some poetry and short stories. You can read one of my short stories here.
5. “The Love Pirate” was my nickname in college. It was fitting because with my long hair and beard I looked like a pirate, and I have a fascination with the idealized form of pirates, though I’m a big softy. “Love Pirate” actually came from a shirt that Big Kenny of the band Big & Rich used to wear, which I liked and therefore stole.
6. My grandmother lived about 20 minutes from Walt Disney World in FL. I spent many vacations at her house, and we would always make time to go to Disney. In many ways, Disney World feels more like home to me than any other place I’ve ever been. Part of that is feeling like I grew up there, but it goes much deeper than that as I feel like I belong there much more as an adult than I ever did as a kid.
7. The only pets that my wife and I own are two bunny rabbits, named Hutch and Smokey.
8. I originally went to college planning on being an aerospace engineer.
9. My best friend and I have known each other since we were in diapers. How many people can say that they’re still best friends with someone after all that time?
10. I consider myself to be a feminist. It’s the reason I’m drawn to certain writers, shows and movies. I’ve seen too often the way that women are mistreated and degraded, even in ways that most people wouldn’t even consider. It’s one of the causes I’m most passionate about.
11. My wife is everything to me. She’s my reason for living, and not a day goes by that I’m not thankful to have her in my life.
2. Mickey Math
3. Socially Minded Life/When the Lights Go Down (she has two blogs)
1. Would you rather be a sloth or a llama and why?
Definitely a sloth. For starters, they’re not domesticated, so I wouldn’t be stuck hauling people’s stuff around for them. Plus, they’re adorable, and I could make Kristen Bell completely freak out!
2. What was one of the most bad-ass things you did as a kid?
I was most definitely not a badass in any way, in fact I was bullied a lot as a kid. One time however, on a class trip, we were having a bonfire in a field and one of my bullies used a styrofoam cup to scoop of some cow crap he had found in the field. He came towards me with all of his buddies behind him, holding the cup out and saying he was going to throw it all over me. I don’t know what possessed me, but I kicked it out of his hand and it flew into the air and rained down all over the group. They were seriously pissed but they left me alone for a day or so after that. I think maybe they thought I knew karate or something.
3. What was something you did in 2013 that made you proud?
I haven’t done a lot that was pride worthy in 2013. I guess if I had to pick something it would be committing to blogging more regularly. I used to have a Livejournal site, but it was languishing, so I decided to copy it all over to WordPress and try to write more often. I’ve kept with it thus far, so I guess I’m proud of that.
4. What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?
My favorite show as a kid was Fraggle Rock, but if I have to pick a cartoon it’d probably be Darkwing Duck.
5. If you could travel to one city tomorrow, what would it be?
Lake Buena Vista, FL. That’s where Walt Disney World is.
6. What’s the quirkiest thing your best friend has done?
I don’t know if I could pick just one quirky thing. She spends her free time watching and blogging about science fiction TV shows while surrounded by her 6 cats, despite the fact that back in high school she once told me, “All science fiction is shallow.” (Actually, the quirkiest thing she’s done today is argue with me about the definition of quirky.)
7. How addicted are you to your phone on a scale of one to ten?
I’m about a 7. I really enjoy having access to “the entire sum of human knowledge” on a device I can carry in my pocket, but I know when to put it down and enjoy other things.
8. What TV show are you obsessed with right now?
If “right now” means only shows that are currently airing new episodes then the only show that I’m watching is “Whose Line is it Anyway?” If “right now” means anything that is an active show on TV throughout the year, then it’s the upcoming “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”. If it means what show I’m watching the most, it’d be “Dollhouse” on DVD. Is that enough answers?
9. What’s one food item or dish that you find irresistible?
Lexington style barbecue.
10. What’s your astrological sign and the best characteristic of it?
Cancer. I’m very emotional, so that fits pretty well, and I’m also fiercely protective of those I care about. (I don’t generally do astrology, so I had to look up its characteristics.)
11. If you could put one song on repeat, what would it be?
“Caoineadh Cu Chulainn (Lament)” from the Riverdance soundtrack
1. Do you play any musical instruments? If so, what? If not, what do you wish you could play?
2. Who is your favorite actor or actress and why?
3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
4. If you could go into space, would you?
5. What’s your favorite charitable organization?
6. What’s the first movie you remember that made you cry?
7. How many countries have you visited, if any?
8. Here’s a cliche one: if you could have one superpower, what would it be?
9. What one cause are you most passionate about?
10. What book are you currently reading?
11. What Hogwarts house would you be in?
This was an interesting experience for me. I’m still fairly surprised about all this. Thanks again to Jean from Culture Composition!
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
For today’s Friday Favorite I’m going to do something a little different. I just finished another rewatch of the James Bond series (minus 1967’s Casino Royale and the Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again) in order, with the exception that I started with Skyfall and ended with Quantum of Solace. So for today’s Friday Favorite I’ll be highlighting and listing some of my favorite, and least favorite, things from 50 years of James Bond movies. And at the end, I’ll list all of the films based on my preference. (Maybe I should start calling them “favourites” for this post?)
It’s interesting as you rewatch the films in order and in a short amount of time how the bad moments fade away and the good moments stick with you. It’s like a sensory overload of Bond, and your brain can only hold so much so it picks the good stuff. Continue reading
I really hadn’t planned on writing any more about The Lone Ranger, but a series of news articles and quotes that have been floating around this week, along with countless commentary, have me feeling like I should weigh in. First, Disney has projected that it will lose $160-190 million on The Lone Ranger. At the same time, or possibly in response to this, several people behind the film have piped up to blame the critics for the box office failure of their film. Continue reading
