Regarding My Favourite Movie: I Am Torn

I'm not experiencing indecision on the identity of my favourite movie...it is and will likely always be "Harold & Maude". I absolutely adored it from my very first viewing (in 1997) and have loved it ever since.


It is beautiful & brilliant in every conceivable way...story, writing, performances, cinematography, music...everything is perfection!

It's the music I want to address.

All of the songs on the soundtrack are by Cat Stevens (this film came out in '71, so he was still "Cat" back then).


My favourite song is "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" which was written especially for the movie and can be interpreted as the unofficial "theme" song of the film. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me dance & it inspires me--it's that good!

Recently, I realized that its formerly feline songwriter/performer, now known as Yusuf Islam, had given T-Mobile the rights to "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" to use in a commercial.

ARGH!

And therein lies my dilemma.

I don't even care about the whole "selling out" aspect, that's not what bothers me.

What I simply cannot reconcile is as follows:

On one hand, every time it comes on, it makes me happy...I sing along enthusiastically! I smile!

On the other hand, a generation (or two) are only going to know this fantastic ditty as the theme to a T-Mobile commercial and that is heart-breaking!

I can't believe that a Cat Stevens-related trauma is causing me such distress.

Movie Crushes from the 80s III

This is one of the movies from the 80s that I remember seeing at the theatre and it had a HUGE effect on me....it was like one of those perfect confluences of experiences..(bad) music, (bad) fashion and (bad) timing.

And I loved it all (at the time).

And it's apropos because I hear they're producing a re-make (Editorial Aside: Leave the classics alone, fuckers!):

FOOTLOOSE!

Omigod.

I think I was in grade 5 or 6 when it came out...the soundtrack was beyond awesome at the time.

I remember our grade 5/6 3-day camping trip..we had a ghetto blaster and plenty of batteries and a Footloose soundtrack...we played it over and over and over and over...

I distinctly remember arguing with one of the guys, because he just wanted to play "Footloose" (Track 1) over and over and I had to negotiate with him just so we could at least hear "Let's Hear It For the Boy" (Track 2) at least a couple of times (never mind the whole album).

We finally got to see the movie and I was blown away...

I lived in a small, cloistered town..

I imagined myself in the environment from the movie, meeting Kevin Bacon (REN!) and beating the redneck townsfolk and their racist, pedestrian, closed-minded ways...oh, it was a glorious, divine fantasy for a 12 year old. :)

I am torn about the news that they're thinking of remaking this film...

On one hand, if they could formulate a modern version of this movie, with its elan, modern kids would likely respond to it the way I did, when I was their age: As an inspiration for them, something that speaks to them.

On the other hand, it's almost sacrilegious, to sully the name of such a classic flick!

I pray the filmmakers show due reverence in the new version. ;)

More Movie Characters from the '80s

JD, Heathers

If you remember seeing "Heathers" when it was first released, I can almost guarantee that you came out of the 80s with a huge crush on Christian Slater--regardless of your gender or your sexual preference--you had to be crushin' on JD, at least a little bit.

This was a guy who oooozed suave. He was the epitome of cool. And if you happened to be mired in the cesspool of high school in the '80s, he was a HERO!

Sure, he was a sociopath. Completely & utterly insane. But, somehow, still incredibly appealing! Even in his psychopathy! (perhaps that was part of the appeal?)

Anyway.

He didn't just *denounce* the populariate. He didn't just put down the otherwise indefatigable "popular crowd" with cleverly-crafted insults: He took them out of commission entirely. FOREVER!!

It didn't hurt that Christian Slater was dead sexy, either.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
J.D.: Greetings and salutations... you a Heather?
Veronica Sawyer: No, I'm a Veronica... Sawyer

Veronica Sawyer: That knife is filthy.
J.D.: What do you think I'm going to do with it, take out her tonsils?
Veronica Sawyer: Excuse me, I think I know Heather a little bit better than you do. If she were going to slit her wrists, the knife would be spotless..

J.D.: [lying on the ground with Veronica under his jacket] I thank you. That was my first game of strip croquet...

Movie Characters from the 80s

Coming of age in the '80s.

Quite an experience, as those of us familiar with the era can (painfully) attest.

Those of us who lived through it can now--hopefully--look back fondly and nostalgically reminisce about the appalling clothing (that we were convinced was *amazing* at the time), the horrendous music (that I will STILL rock out to, any ol' time) and the frightening lack of cellular technology.

And we can also think back in dreamy-eyed revelry and ponder the movie characters (mullets, terrycloth headbands, spandex and all) whom we grew up admiring.

This is going to be a series. How many parts? I have no idea. But I haven't posted anything lately and my fan is growing anxious.

Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything...

This whole film is really well done, and the character of Lloyd is irresistible, almost mirage-like.

I remember watching this movie and wistfully thinking, "If only people like him actually existed in real life..."

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."

"She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart..and she gave me a pen."

"What I really want to do with my life - what I want to do for a living - is I want to be with your daughter. I'm good at it."

Anyway, if you've seen this film, you're lying to yourself if you claim you didn't fall absolutely, 100%, head-over-heels in love with Lloyd Dobler/John Cusack...

Particularly as he stood outside Diane Court's house with the jukebox over his head (ostensibly) blaring "In Your Eyes"...*sigh*...

Marley & Me (the movie): Utter (Dog) Crap

I had the misfortune of attending "Marley & Me" at the Cineplex this past weekend.

In hindsight, I would have rather rolled around in doggie doodoo than sat through that piece of shit.

God (Or should I say "Dog"?), what a horrific experience!

Normally, this film would NEVER appear on a list of movies I would have any desire to see. Not only does the whole thing SCREAM lowest-common-denominator-catering, syrupy, family-oriented, pap-filled monstrosity (not my proverbial cup o' tea) [see poster above..cutesy, right?]. But it stars not just one but TWO of the most annoying personalities in all of Hollywood--the loathsome Jennifer Aniston and the inexplicably famous, utterly charm-free Owen Wilson. Oy!

However, last week, as I was sunning myself in the Dominican, I had the opportunity to read the book on which this movie was based. And I found it to be thoroughly entertaining--heart-warming, tear-jerking (and not in an entirely nauseatingly cloying & manipulative way, which I despise) and hilarious.

And this weekend, when I was scanning the paltry selection of movies available for my viewing "pleasure", I couldn't find a single one in which I was interested--at least not playing at my local theatre--so, after perusing the various reviews, we chose "Marley & Me"...I was looking for light, comedic fare, the reviews had been generally positive and I had enjoyed the book, so how bad could it be?

I think, from my general tone thus far, you can accurately deduce just "how bad" it could be (and was).

It was so bad, about 20 minutes in, the gentleman seated next to me frightened (and, subsequently, amused) me with his seat-shaking snores.

And it wasn't *just* bad, as compared to the book. I know, "The book's always better than the movie!" However, in this case, I think it's doubly true..

One, because it's just not a good movie. It's boring and a waste of time. Aniston & Wilson did nothing to alter my negative opinion(s) of them--in fact, I wanted to smack them both, soundly, several times, throughout the film (but I see someone's already beaten me to it).

If you haven't read the book (and you're in full possession of your faculties, of course) you're still going to think it's a pedestrian, occasionally amusing, pointless story, about a bunch of jejune people about whom you can't be bothered to give two shits.

Two, because it's not just a watered-down, poorly translated version of the book, that suffers because of running-time-related content edits.

If you have read the book, you'll recognize that the WHOLE POINT of the book has been eschewed. The book, basically a compilation of newspaper columns by the the author, relays the touching tale of a crazy, irascible, incorrigible dog, with a bottomless pit for a stomach and an even bigger heart, and how this dog affects the people with whom he comes in contact. The book tells the story of Marley's human family on the periphery of the story about Marley himself.

The movie, unsurprisingly, is standard, chronological, bland Hollywood storytelling and focuses almost entirely on the human family--who aren't all that unique or interesting, simply an average family living their lives--and the dog just happens to be a part of it. That's not what I had anticipated and it was very disappointing.

For example, the book describes an event, late one night, when they hear screaming from their neighbour's yard--the man takes the dog and goes to investigate and instructs his wife to call the police. Once outside, they find their teenage neighbour has been stabbed--he and the dog comfort her and stay with her until help arrives. Marley's dedication in this scene as written is beautiful & touching.

In the movie, however, they don't even show Marley in the scene, other than by implication--the event is simply used as a catalytic plot-device aka the reason the family decides to move from that 'hood. Cheap! Cheap, I tells ya! Boo!

Oh well, the popcorn was good. And I was happy to get home and play with Kuda afterwards and appreciate the fact that she almost never consumes appliances in my absence. :)


Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend the book, if you're into that kind of thing (doggy-centric memoirs), but I seriously caution you not to waste your time or money on the movie version.

Oh, and, did I mention (kudos to whoever did this and to the folks who are featuring it on their site..much appreciated...):

Strange Things Are Afoot at the Circle-K

That's blatant lie. We don't even have Circle-Ks in Toronto. But ever since "Be Excellent to Each Other" left the lexicon at the dawn of the 1990s, I so rarely get the opportunity to pepper my speech with Bill- and/or Ted-isms, I thought we'd all get a nostalgic kick out of titling my post thusly.

Regardless, there are strange things afoot, just not at the Circle-K. Actually, that might be an inadvertent untruth, too. There may very well be strange things afoot at a Circle-K, somewhere in the world, so I really shouldn't be spreading any "all is well" rumours unless I receive some on-the-scene witness verification on that. I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, the oddities to which I'm referring are taking place in High Park.

Yesterday, I started my walk home, entering the park from the northeastern tip of the park, near the Keele Subway station. As I entered the "woodsy" area, something shiny caught my eye. Much like a brand-new puppy, I'm easily distracted by shiny objects and I scampered over to investigate.

There was a piece of jewellery hanging on the lower limb of a pine tree. It was quite a pretty necklace, one I'd actually wear. I kept walking by the tree and noticed ANOTHER necklace hanging on another branch--accompanied by a lovely pair of earrings! Then I realized there was a third, incredibly tacky necklace, adorning yet another branch!

Obviously, these discoveries were perplexing. Typically, when you happen upon something in the park that's not normally found in nature, it's garbage..coffee cups, cigarette butts etc. (Yes, despite the fact that there are plenty of receptacles conveniently located through the park, it is still perpetually littered with trash). So to see several pieces of jewellery hanging on a tree puzzled me immeasurably!

I came up with several possible explanations, none of which seem plausible...

—A local family can't wait to begin Christmas celebrations. Their tyrant father won't allow any Yuletide talk until December 10th. As such, they've chosen to decorate a tree in the park, with inauspicious trinkets that they were able to remove from the home without arousing any suspicion.

—These pieces of jewellery were found in the park, inadvertently lost and/or left behind by previous visitors. Benevolent hikers happened upon the jewellery and hung it on the universally known "Lost Jewellery Tree". Though not publicized, this particular tree is known to one and all as the park's "Lost and Found" area. If you ever lose something in the park, check the tree!

—A secret admirer of mine is trying to get my attention. Every day he/she hangs a new piece of jewellery on the tree, hoping to catch my attention, whilst lurking in the bushes, surreptitiously spying on me as I walk home. Should I one day take the shiny bait, he/she plans to jump out of the bushes declaring their love/lust in hopes that we'll live happily ever after.

I dunno. I heard there was a movie shooting in High Park yesterday, so perhaps it was related to the production.

Anyone else have any ideas?