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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.” 

Movies Geeky, house, iron man, Movies, Rant, spider-man

Fred with Bear in Montgomery, MI

I learned that Colombian tradition places a lot of emphasis on Christmas Eve.

Last night, after eating tamales and playing Wii at Michael’s, Yeni’s family and I returned to the house, ate more tamales with friends, and then opened presents. I received some excellent presents this year, including Spider-man trinkets and a new Harley outfit for the bear.

We crashed very late and woke up to find much of Ann Arbor closed. The snow had let up and the roads, although icy, were mostly clear — so Yeni and I loaded up the family in the truck and headed outside the house.

Earlier in the year, Yeni and I stumbled upon a great little area called Chelsea (during one of the Harley rides we could take before riding the Harley would result in severe frost pain). We thought it would be great to show everyone this quaint little town and took the very long way through some Michigan side roads. After detouring through Saline and Montgomery, we arrived in Chelsea. We played in the snow for a while, looked at the Jiffy Mix factory, and headed back to Ann Arbor.

Yeni playing Wii

Back in town, I introduced Yeni’s family to my family’s Christmas traditions — and headed to Great Lakes Chinese Restaurant. We sat at the last available table and it was standing room only for those unlucky soles who arrived just minutes after us. The place was packed, and after finishing our delicious meal, we headed back to Michael’s for some more Wii action.

A lovely day.

Family, Harley-Davidson, Yeni Ann Arbor, Christmas, cold, Family, Fred Posner, Harley-Davidson, snow, spider-man, Yeni

Ricardo was a great friend.

Normally, I look forward to celebrating 2 days every year — my birthday and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a religious event for me. The combination of family and friends gathered to celebrate thanks brings me more satisfaction than any other time of the year. Normally I reflect on the past year and use those thoughts to write a special “Thanksgiving Message.” It truly is my favorite day of the year.

Followed closely to Thanksgiving, but for completely selfish reasons, is my birthday. I just love to selfishly enjoy 1 day a year where I can eat what I want, go where I want, and truly put the priority on me. Sometimes, the celebrations provide amazing memories. Others are filled with different emotions. Typically, I would head down to South Florida and enjoy Paglia e Fieno with my parents — my favorite meal cooked by my favorite chef (aka Dad). With Ricardo’s passing, this year would be one of those “different” days.

After feeling (for obvious reasons) very, very down for a few days, I rented a big ol’ 6×12 trailer from U-Haul and had my good buddy Joe help me load the King Size mattress into the rather tight accommodations (let’s just be thankful there were no cameras). I headed north Saturday morning and was a little nervous about pulling the trailer through the mountains. Surprisingly, I averaged more than 13 mpg the entire trip and the truck handled very well. I do like my truck. The speed was slow, and other than spending a few minutes catching up with Patrick (at a gas station in Tennessee), the trip was uneventful.

Sunday morning, Mikey came over and helped Yeni and me unload the truck. It went very quickly, but OMFG it is beyond cold here for October. The sleeveless shirt I was wearing in Florida became entirely inappropriate in Michigan. We celebrated my birthday at a Chinese buffet and enjoyed a great cookie-cake that Yeni had gotten for me (complete with a frosted spider-man riding a frosted Harley).

Monday witnessed me getting an oil change where the mechanic had to do a double-take on my engine coolant (apparently he had never seen non-winter engine coolant). A quick coolant flush later, and I was on my way.

It feels great to be here. I’m hoping to have about another week or so left on the Harley before I have to winterize her… and that’s all I have to say about that.

Truck and trailer in Tenn

Family, Harley-Davidson, Yeni Ann Arbor, Fred Posner, Harley-Davidson, road trip, spider-man, Yeni

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 more…

Movies, Rant Geeky, iron man, Movies, Rant, spider-man

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.

Movies Geeky, spider-man

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.

Movies Geeky, spider-man

Not since the final Star Wars film or perhaps even Spider-man had I been this excited to see a film. For the entire day, the thought of seeing Superman Returns has kept me in a great mood. Maybe it was too great of expectations, or perhaps it was an amazingly high pedestal that I could never allow a movie to reach; but in the end it comes down to one thing. I didn’t love Superman Returns.

Don’t get me wrong, here. I liked it. And when I break it down, I have to wonder why I didn’t love the movie. I thought Kevin Spacey was awesome-simply awesome. I thought that this movie had the best Lois Lane ever. Superman himself looked and felt like what Superman should be. The acting was great; the humor was there, but in the end… I just didn’t love this movie.

The first time I saw Superman on the big screen was with my mom in 1978. Even though I was a young boy, the movie so amazed me that I still vividly remember watching the film in the theater. I can recall the feeling I had when the toddler Clark lifted the Kent’s truck and smiled… or when Clark caught the bullet from the mugging… or even watching Superman return the little girl’s cat from the tree (and the smack afterwards). To me, Superman was real. This wasn’t special effects; this was the real adventures of a Superhero caught on film.

In almost 20 years of time, we’ve seen an amazing amount of movie magic. Thin about it… when they made Superman in ‘78, there were no blue screens to help Superman fly. So, when Superman Returns debuted tonight I expected magic. I expected to feel the same way I had all those years ago in a small New York movie theater. And even with the great performances, I came away with the feeling that I just didn’t love this movie.

Am I being too hard? I don’t know. Spider-man is my favorite super-hero of all time. And when Tobey Maguire put on the Spidey suit I had enormous expectations– Huge, Colossal, Gigantic expectations. Even knowing that one of my favorite aspects of the hero had been changed (his web shooting), I still had almost entered the movie theater as if with a dare… in a way daring this new Spider-man to impress me. I walked out of the theater with the biggest smile on my face and saw the movie two more times that same weekend. This film took my dare and shoved it in my face. The movie not only lived up to my expectations; it surpassed them.

I expected nothing less from Superman. Was it a good film? Sure. But, I thought some of the coolest new effects of the movie I had already seen in the trailer (Superman being shot, etc.). And even though the performances were great, my favorite part of the movie was a trailer… and that trailer is for Spider-man 3.

Movies Geeky, spider-man

Yes, I’m psyched that Superman opens tomorrow… but did you know that Spider-man 3 has a new trailer out? And we all know that Fred’s number one favorite super-hero is the web-head himself… (followed closely of course by Captain Marvel).

Download The New Trailer

Movies Geeky, spider-man