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I recently filled out one of these circulating lists, asking me to mark each movie on the list I had seen. Apparently if you had seen more than 85 films, “you had no life.” Out of 243 on the list, I had seen… (wait for it)… 167 (or just shy of 2x no life).

I love movies. I am the guy that buys a dvd rather than rent. I’ve taken my collection and put it into a database so I can find movies more easily and to help prevent me from buying duplicates (which has sadly happened). Although, this probably falls more into the “Fred is a geek” category than “Fred loves movies.” (Hopefully the Harley counters it)

Anyway, the title here reflects something I’ve spent way too much time contemplating. When you ask most of my friends who their favorite actor is, the most common answer is either Al Pacino or Robert De Niro. Me? I have a hard time answering with just one. I’d most likely give a list of my top three — Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, and Al Pacino. Read the rest of this entry »

Fred saw Iron Man in 2008

I’ve said it before — I love movies. I simply love movies. Sure, not all movies receive my love; horror films and I never got along (except I did like Scream). And sadly, my sister and I have our movie senses switched as I like a good chick flick and she likes the scary ones. But as usual, I digress…

Back in 2002, when I was first posting rants online, I posted a little mini-rant about seeing movies in the theater (the site’s been through so many changes since then that I reposted back in 2007). When I was a kid, and even through high school, seeing movies in the theater brought great joy — even the bad ones. The bad ones? Yes Virginia, even seeing a bad movie in the theater was once a fun thing to do (I remember very well a loud, applauding standing ovation given to the movie Warlock when it ended; wow that was a bad movie). Anyway, I don’t know if it’s getting older, or adding commercials, or even changes in culture, but at this point, I’d much rather wait a few months, pop the film into the DVD, and watch it at home.

Maybe it’s because since 2002 I’ve had big wide-screen TV’s… or maybe it’s because in 2003 I bought that Bose system I always wanted… but nonetheless, if I could choose between watching a film at the house on my couch or going to see one in the theaters, 9 times out of 10 I’ll choose the house. Now I have made exceptions… I absolutely wanted to see the Star Wars films on the big, big screen… and Spider-man… and well most comic book films.

Which brings us back (thank God) to the point of this post… the movies I’ve seen in 2008.

Out of all the films that came out in 2008 (here’s the highest grossing 400 of them), I only saw a whopping four (4) of them. How sad is that? I’ve only seen 4 of the movies that came out in 2008. And out of those four, I saw only one of them in the theater (Iron Man). 

There were many more I’d like to have seen (and still would) such as Hancock, Indiana Jones, Dark Knight, WALL-E, Quantum of Solace, etc. But as of this post, these are the four I’ve seen, along with my patent pending 10 word or less review:

• 27 Dresses
  Chick Flick complete with typical bar song singalong. Ok.
  Yeni says: “It was good. I liked it. Girly movie.” 
   
• 21
  A little slow and long, but good nonetheless.
  Yeni says: “I slept through that movie.” 
   
• Iron Man
  Excellent film. Must stay until after the credits.
  Yeni says: “Good. Fred loves it. I just like it.” 
   
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
  What? Really? How? Well, I saw it in Spanish.
  Yeni says: “Overacted. Like they don’t know how to act.” 

Yesterday, we woke up at 5am and headed through the snow to take me to the airport. Even after spending 5 hours on the tarmac (and being de-iced from a de-icer named Fred), I still have to say I love American Airlines.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not like flying. I hate almost everything about it… From taking off your shoes to the airline reps behind the counter (has anyone ever had a positive experience with a gate agent??), from flight attendants to busy crowds, flying today for me is a last option. I’d much rather drive than fly on any given day, and, if time isn’t a factor (like Thanksgiving), it’s exactly what I do. I remember once being excited about flying and loving going to Airports, flying in airplanes, and just traveling by air. Loved it. Much like my hair, those days are gone.

But, I digress. So, if I have to fly, I like American Airlines. Let’s put it this way. When I’ve missed connecting flights from other airlines, getting a new flight was a hassle. Hassle and drama, drama, drama. With American, by the time I got off the plane, they had already reserved me a seat on one flight and put me on standby for another. (I ended up getting the standby ).

Anyway, I made it to San Francisco and had a great dinner with my sister, Scott, my parents, Tovah, David, and Scott’s mother and father. We were celebrating Scott’s graduation from college and was a great reason to see so many people that I love.

On plan for today? Dim Sum with the family and then throwing a duck into the ocean in remembrance of Forrest (today’s the 2nd anniversary). Also, it’s the first anniversary of Shadow’s passing.

See also:

• Lyrics to Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett (hence the title of this post)

You have to love technology today. My Blackberry can take video, pictures, and play MP3’s. Plus, unlike my iPhone, my calls don’t drop. Granted I’ve only had the phone 2 days, but I’m very impressed so far.

This video is taken from my Blackberry while taxiing out to the runway at Detroit’s DTW airport. Sadly, we didn’t take off for another 3 hours.

New Star Trek trailer posted today. I’m starting to get excited about this movie.

Star Trek coming May 2009

The WB network is relaunching online. While many people may not care, knowing that Buffy the Vampire Slayer can be viewed online is quite exciting for me. In fact, I’m just sitting here saying Woo Hoo.

We all know that I’m quite a fan of the Buffy show and this is good news for people looking to not work on their computers. The WB apparently is relaunching as an online-only network. Neat idea.

Anyway, I signed up for the beta program… so who knows? Maybe Anya will be coming to my desktop in the near future.

If you know me at all, you know I love movies. I mean, I REALLY love movies. But that aside, I no longer enjoy going to the movies. Maybe it’s me getting older… maybe it’s because I love my big-mama tv… or maybe it’s because I’m just a grumpy stubborn man, but it’s rare for me to want to go to the movies rather than see it at the house.

To get me out of the house and paying 11 bucks for a movie… it has to be a movie that excites me (like Iron Man, but let’s talk about that later). I mean after-all, for just 3 bucks more than a ticket price, I can sit in the comfort of my own home, have the ability to pause (rewind, etc), and more importantly – not deal with people.

I truly cannot remember the last time I was at a movie when someone didn’t use their cellphone. Ugh. But at least I know it’s a common problem, because now after some of the movie commercials, you get those director PSAs reminding you to shut off your cellphone. Normally, I always see Sydney Pollack… but today I saw Martin Scorsese’s version (I truly love Scorsese).

Read the rest of this entry »

So, Patrick and I have been making these chats on voip, called (or as Patrick would say Interestingly enough called) VoipTechChat. We’ve even made a website for it called… wait for it… VoipTechChat.com.

We enjoy it. We talk on regular voip “lines” and record the chat on a regular off the shelf PC I picked up at Wal-mart.

Anyway, we post the chats on the site in mp3 format, or you can even pick it up on iTunes.

Wanna hear the latest chat? Check it out here. This week is mostly movie talk, very little voip.

It’s that time of year in Gainesville… the time where the gators play the gators in the ultimate fight over alumni donations.

But, the great thing about Orange and Blue weekend, is that usually a good ol’ friendly alumni comes to town. This year, it was The Egan’s who graced our lovely town with their beautiful baby Grace.

Had a great time smelling the flowers, eating a burger at Cafe Gardens, and hanging out with great friends.

The rest of the weekend I spent catching up on films I never saw in the theater; which means I can scratch Dan in Real Life, The Dewey Cox Story, and No Reservations off my list.

My favorite of them? Clearly the chick flick was going to win.

For more pictures of the weekend, check out my photos at Picasa:

Fred’s Picasaweb Gallery

If I’m curt with you it’s because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast, and I need you to guys to act fast if you wanna get out of this. So pretty please, with sugar on top, clean the fuckin’ car.

You gotta love Mr. Tarantino. (sp?)

In an homage to My Cousin Vinny, please allow me to reflect on some of the more asinine and actual exchanges from the courtroom (all props to “Disorder in the Court”):

Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A: Oral.

Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male or a female?

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?”
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.

Q: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
A: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
Q: OK. Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.
Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

Selected quotes… for no apparent reason:

In certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy it is necessary to act outside the law – to pursue natural justice. This is not vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it’s an emotional response. No, not vengeance. Punishment. -The Punisher

Yes. Well, I-I don’t know. Sometimes it would stop raining long enough for the stars to come out… and then it was nice. It was like just before the sun goes to bed down on the bayou. There was always a million sparkles on the water… like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny, it looked like there were two skies one on top of the other. And then in the desert, when the sun comes up, I couldn’t tell where heaven stopped and the earth began. It’s so beautiful. -Forrest Gump

I had power over *nothing*. And that’s when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that’s what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I’m back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass… And I’ve lost her all over again. I’m so sad that I don’t have Kelly. But I’m so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring? -Castaway

I admit it — I love movies. Whether it’s quoting dialogue, mentioning an obscure reference, or just general film trivia, I love talking about movies. To make things worse, the only thing I tend to talk about more than movies is my dog.

So where am I going with this?

Lately, there’s something about going to the movies that just irks me… it’s not the main gripes that most people have, such as ticket prices, audience behavior, or theatre quality. Actually, I think those issues are fine — ticket prices match inflation, I can’t remember the last time I heard a cell phone in the theatre, and with stadium seating who can complain?

What lights a fire for me are the commercials shown before a movie. Not the previews… everyone knows I love the previews… I’m talking about the product commercials that we are forced to sit through before getting to view the featured presentation.

Even though I’m not angry about the price of a movie ticket, I am bothered at the thought of paying to see a commercial – or in most cases, several commercials. Whether its Tiger Woods pushing the newest SUV or images of those M&M candies, there is no reason for me to watch advertisements in a movie theatre.

If I were King, I would make it simple… for each commercial shown before the movie, your ticket price is reduced by a buck fifty. At this rate, I would have been paid almost 2 dollars to see Harry Potter (which, by the way, is a great movie).

As a Spider-fan, there was only requirement of me this weekend… See Spider-man 3.

There’s going to be a lot of people who won’t love this movie– but I won’t be one of them. Was it my favorite of the three? No, not at all… but it was better than 95% of the movies I’ve seen and if they make a forth, I’ll see that opening weekend as well.

I’m a huge Gwen Stacy fan… always have been. And to have her and the Captain on the screen was great… just great. The movie had the humor of a Spider-man comic and even though it wasn’t my favorite… was still money well spent.

Well, I missed the midnight showing… but with fucking Gwen Stacy listed as a character there’s no way in hell I’m missing this movie’s opening weekend.

So in a comic book moment, here’s my favorite line from Kill Bill:

An essential characteristic of the superhero mythology is, there’s the superhero, and there’s the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When he wakes up in the morning, he’s Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic that Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he’s Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red S, that’s the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that’s the costume. That’s the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He’s weak, he’s unsure of himself… he’s a coward. Clark Kent is Superman’s critique on the whole human race. Sort of like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plympton.

Oh, and when it says that Spider-man fans disagree on who Peter’s true love is? I’m one that votes Gwen.