Daily moviefilm

It's Chrimma time! This means that most of the movies and dvds we are watching are holiday movies and specials. Rudolph, Charlie Brown, George Bailey, Clark W. Griswold, Ralphie and a plethora of other friendly faces have been taking up the screen. We are okay with that.

I've also been re-watching LOST from the beginning in preparation for the final season, which I am excited and sad about. I can't wait to see what the boys have in store for us as they wrap up one of the best shows ever, but the thought of not having any more new episodes EVER? So, so sad.

This is also little Ocho's first Christmas (outside the womb), so it will be extra special. Life is good. :)

Yikes! It's been awhile!

Yesterday I watched two movies I had not yet seen: The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Star Trek. One was cheese, the other excellent. However, I really like cheese (being from Wisconsin and all), and New Moon was a pleasant way to spend a Monday afternoon. No judgement - I read all the books and I enjoy the whole ridiculousness the way many people enjoy professional wrestling or bad reality t.v. It amuses me that the same people who made the second Transformers movie the number 9 box office movie of all time are ripping on a teenage vampire romance. Whatever.

I need to re-watch Star Trek, however, because as enjoyable as I found it, I also found myself falling asleep at the end because the day had just been too exhausting (as well as the night before when I took my celebration of becoming a SAHM just a bit too far).

Review to come.

Daily DVD

Ali: The second DVD in the collection that I had not yet seen. Why had I not yet viewed Ali, you ask? That is an excellent question. First, it is a boxing movie. The only movies about boxing I have ever really enjoyed are: Raging Bull, because it's amazing; and the Champ, because I was 6 and in LOVE with Ricky Schroeder. Second, it was released in December of 2001, and I am pretty sure I was having a nervous breakdown right around that time, and didn't have much interest in watching movies or being around AMC in general at that time. Third, it stars Will Smith, and even though he does end up doing a terrific job portraying the titular titlist, he doesn't do much for my personal box office, if you catch my drift.

I won't go into a plot breakdown (as usual), but I will touch on a few highlights. Michael Mann's direction is typically amazing, and I really like that there is virtually no exposition and you have to come to the film with some prior knowledge of Ali, Malcom X, boxing and the late Sixties/early Seventies in order to follow along. I also enjoy the fact that it's not really all that easy to like Muhammad Ali after watching the movie, even though Ali comes across as a generally affable fellow in interviews and clips and things. All in all, it was a very well-done film, but Michael Mann is the clear winner in this case. I'm glad I got to see it during this interesting experiment, as I would never watch it on my own accord. This is also one I probably won't seek out to watch again, but I wouldn't turn it off if it was already on or someone else wanted to watch it.

Daily DVD

Aladdin: One of my favorite Disney movies! Yes, I like Disney movies. I like Walt Disney World, too. No, I don't care that Disney is an evil conglomeration that wants to take over the world. Nope, don't care that Walt was an alleged communist, fascist, racist and anti-Semite. I don't think he was any of those things, but more likely an opportunist who would do whatever he could to make some money, by whatever means necessary.

ANYWAY....I believe Aladdin was one of the best animated films to come out of the mouse's house in at least 10 years when I saw it in the theater back in 1992 (I was not a big fan of the Little Mermaid). I believe Mermaid jump-started the animation house into a new era, and Aladdin cemented Disney's return. Both were overshadowed by the Lion King, which to this day remains their crowning jewel of traditional animation (at least in my opinion). Aladdin works for me because the genie is iconic, the songs are catchy as hell, the animation is gorgeous, and Aladdin & Princess Jasmine are hot. That's all I need for a heck of a good time - and it holds up remarkably well - 17 years....waitaminute - it's been 17 FREAKING years? Damn, I'm old.

D:

Daily DVD

Akira: One of the first DVDs in the collection that I had not seen yet. Not being a huge anime fanatic, I wasn't totally looking forward to it, but I was intrigued. It is a genre I need to get to know better. I've dabbled, however (the Cat Returns is off the chain) but it is a little daunting to start to immerse oneself in. I had a few preconceptions of the movie due to just looking at the cover - I was thinking pure action because of the slick bike and the red/blue tones, as well as the lone figure wearing biking gear. Could not have been more mistaken. Sure, there is action, but is overshadowed by the science fiction. This is sci-fi, and it is FUCKING WEIRD. Really, really, really strange. In fact, I'm not going to break it down for you, because you either know all about it, or you know nothing about it and will go watch it now because I have proclaimed it's weirdness. The most disappointing thing about it was finding out that it came out in 1988, and would've been an excellent addition to my litany of drug movies I watched during my high school/college years, had I only known about it. Sadly, these days are behind me, but the movies are a fun reminder of the days when I could explore the farthest corners of my brain. Sigh.

Daily DVD

Akeelah and the Bee: Oh, Akeelah. Such a good movie, such a great cast, such an amazing premise. Why did I dread watching you again? Perhaps it wasn't dread so much as apathy - I've seen this movie many more times than the actual one viewing I had last year. You see, I've seen Stand and Deliver a few times already, as well as Bad News Bears, Educating Rita...blah blah blah. Local girl beats the odds and rises above her station in life by using that noggin she's been blessed with, just doesn't know how to use just yet. What saves it? An amazing cast and great acting. Fishburne and Bassett, even though Bassett's character was narrow and frustrating. It's a good movie, just really formulaic and predictable. Oh - did I mention that the community comes together to help her and root her on? Yeah - even the gang leader that is poaching her big brother for fun and profit. Seriously?

Daily moviefilm

Helvetica: I loved this movie. Another little-known documentary, and quite a niche work at that. This is an homage to the ubiquitous font, ye olde Helvetica. The doc is mainly for the graphic design set, but anyone who is interested in words, fonts, or just good design in general will find it fascinating. It starts with showing how the font is used everywhere (seriously...EVERYWHERE), and how it was a refreshing change in the advertising world in the sixties from the old messy script styles used in cheesy ads back in the day. I remember ads from the seventies using a nice helvetica and a period for emphasis.

Like:

The new Volkswagen Rabbit.

Hop to it.

Or something to that effect....except that example has to be in Arial, the shitty Microsoft bastardization of the real deal. I fucking hate Microsoft. So...anyway...the film goes on to follow the inevitable backlash against the type - it is used by American Airlines and other large, evil corporations, hence it is bad. The font stands for all that is wrong with the world, and must be destroyed. And here come the saviors! The 90's grunge designers who use dirty, diffused and chaotic lettering for everything...until the backlash experiences its own backlash, and the new millennium is dedicated to honoring the font, wallowing in the 'retro-ness' of it all, and finding it cute and anti-establishment yet again. Confused? Yeah, me too. At any rate, I love the font, and loved the doc.