Quick Movie Review – Fried Green Tomatoes

Funny how I’d never watched this movie. I had avoided it because I always thought it was some kind of Thelma and Louise chick flick. Perhaps it is a chick flick, but it’s nothing like what I thought.

It’s a wonderful story about the memories of an old lady in a nursing home. The movie switched back and forth between the present where a woman is dealing with a midlife crisis while trying to save her marriage, and the story being told by the old lady who she visits in a nursing home. 

It’s basically a period piece from sometime around the 1920s about two young women. One fleeing her abusive husband, and the other just getting along in life.

It’s not super girly, so don’t let that scare you. I was pleasantly surprised and would easily mark this as a must-see movie, even if you’re a macho dude. If you like a good story, you won’t be disappointed. It’s on Netflix right now. Watch it tonight. It’s worthy. It has little to do with the tomatoes.

Quick Movie Review – Carol for Another Christmas

I just finished watching an old movie from 1964. Carol for Another Christmas. Of course, it was a version of the classic story of The Christmas Carol. A story made to make you feel bad about yourself. This one works too.

Spoilers ahead, but you won’t watch it anyway so, read on.

Set shortly after WWII, an older man grieves the loss of his son (Marley) in the war. The ghosts appear and show him the past, present and future. In the future, the world was destroyed by global thermonuclear war and the few people left think only of themselves and seek to destroy any “others” who just want the same thing they have.

In the end, the man wakes up, forgives his nephew for their argument and goes into the kitchen with his servants to have coffee but doesn’t invite the servants to drink with him. Weird. Well, it was 1964. One didn’t drink coffee with one’s servants back then.

Even though it was strange, the movie did have the intended effect on me. The future with all the “Me” people is, and has always been, just like we are now and will ever be. Did that sentence make sense? You know what I mean. It’s pretty much human nature. What are we supposed to do to help those in need? There are too many. You would overload and eventually just shut it all out and live in your little bubble as best as you can. Sound familiar? I would think that if there were far fewer people, there would be a lot less overload, and a lot more equality and satisfaction. It’s just too much for humanity to deal with unless somebody steps up, takes over, and just makes things right. New World Order? Could be a good thing.

It is good to at least put things in perspective once in a while and remember how good it might be if you are one of the lucky ones. And to remember how lucky you are to be one of them. It really sucks to be one of the “others” and I hope that something can be done to help them even though nobody really has any answers. 

I’m not sure if this came out right. Some things sound better in your head and not so good in print. You know what I’m trying to say, even if I sound like some kind of ignorant asshat. I feel bad. Unfortunately, that bad feeling only makes me want to harden my bubble even more. 

Miracle on 34th street

Can you believe it? I’m 55 years old, and I’ve never seen “Miracle on 34th street.” I decided now was as good a time as any.

I love old movies set in the early 1900s. I spend more time appreciating the settings than the movies themselves. I love the simplicity of life back then. People simply went to work, then went home to their loving families. No extra, unnecessary shit that we deal with today.

I love that there was so little technology back then. You had cars and telephones and that was all you needed. Women were women and men were men. Women were pretty. Men were handsome. Everyone did their best to be classy. It all reminds me of a better time before the world went completely insane. If I had a time machine, I think the 40s would be my favorite place.

This isn’t exactly a movie review. Just more of an appreciation of better times gone by. I’m jealous of my parents, who grew up during this time. They were 17 at the time of this movie in 1947.

If we could go back to living like that, the world would be a better place.

Quick Anime Movie Review – Tokyo Godfathers

I do love Anime, and somehow I missed this one from 2003. Tokyo Godfathers is a wonderful piece of work.

There’s a lot of anime out there, and the majority of it is based on violence and fighting. That bores me. I’ve gotten to where I fast-forward though lengthy fight scenes in any movie. I’m like, “Get on with it!”

I like movies with interesting characters and a thoughtful plot. I almost didn’t watch this because the word Godfather usually conjures up the mob and violence. In this case, Godfather is used in the actual term of being a godfather for a child.

Tokyo Godfathers follows three homeless people who find a baby in a dumpster then have to figure out what to do with it while dealing with their own problems, delving into the stories of how they became homeless and the story of how the child came to be discarded. The characters are interesting and loveable. If you haven’t seen this anime movie, track it down. It’s worth watching.

Quick Movie Review – Christine (1983)

I’m not a big fan of horror films. They usually involve murder, and I really just don’t care about murder stuff. It bores me.

Surprisingly, I’ve never seen Christine before. I was 15 when this movie came out. Now I’m 55, and I’m watching it for the first time. I didn’t really find much horror in this movie. I thought it was a pretty nice story. Spoilers ahead.

A major dork, Arnie, buys a beat up old 1958 Plymouth Fury and sets to work restoring it. (Sounds vaguely familiar.) Unbeknownst to him, three people had died in the car before he bought it and is therefore possessed. The dork loves the car and the car loves him. He slowly becomes very cool. He even has a girlfriend who is jealous of the car.

For some reason that I seem to have missed, three guys break into the garage and destroy Christine. Christine repairs herself and has her revenge, killing all three guys and anyone else who does her wrong, as it should be.

I don’t know. It seems like a pretty damn good thing to me to have a car that loves you and will destroy your enemies for you. What more could you want? The only horror in this movie is the end, when Arnie is killed and Christine is smashed and crushed beyond the ability to repair herself. I wanted to cry for her.

I would not consider his a horror movie. It’s more of a love/tragedy kind of thing. Oh, well. It’s a pretty good movie anyway. I recommend it.

Quick Movie Review – Rebel Without a Cause

I had never seen a James Dean movie before. Of course, everyone has heard of “Rebel without a cause.” I just never had the opportunity to watch it. I happened to notice it on the guide on TCM, so I recorded it.

I have to say that it wasn’t at all what I expected. I really thought it was the movie where they said, “What are you rebelling against?” “What do you got?” Turns out that was a Marlin Brando movie, “The Wild One”. I’ll have to watch that next.

Rebel Without a Cause was James Dean’s last movie. He died in an auto wreck in his Porsche 550 Spyder the same year as the movie came out. It’s always weird to see someone in a movie just before they died. Another interesting tidbit, he was the same age as my Mom. Born in 1931. (She was born in 1930, but same difference.) Hard to wrap my head around it since she just died at age 93. Old movies are like time travel.

This movie was supposed to be about teenage angst in the 50s. There was some of that. The ending seemed strange to me. I would have written it much differently. I didn’t experience any teenage angst myself. I had a hard time understanding what he was feeling at first.

It has been the same with kids throughout time. They worry so much about things that just aren’t important at all. Today’s kids are just the same. 10 years in the future, they’ll look back and laugh about how stupid they acted in high school, as if any of that mattered even one little bit. If only there was a way to get them to understand that and not have to go through such a bad mental time. I guess I got away without it because I had no social life and didn’t know what I might have been missing.

An interview with Richard Dreyfuss before the movie indicated that it was about a “lost generation.” I would like to know more about that.

The movie was kind of tame by today’s standards. There was violence, but it was almost comedic and silly. I think it might be a good candidate for a modern remake. The basic principles still apply to today’s society but multiplied times a lot. Funny how things change, and not for the better.

2022 is the year of Soylent Green!

I just finished watching Soylent Green. I’ve seen it before many many years ago but I was young and didn’t really know what I was looking at.

Now it’s the year 2022. The setting for the movie. Made in 1973, it looks forward, perhaps prophetically, to 2022 and seems to have predicted things pretty well.

What has come true? Let’s make a list. I love lists.

1. The ocean is dying.
2. Food is scarce and expensive.
3. Only rich people can afford houses.
4. The planet is over populated.
5. People are wearing masks.
6. Global warming causes perpetual heat waves.
7. Energy is unaffordable.
8. Water is scarce and must be conserved.

Wow! We either already have all that or we are only a few years away from it. There’s even an actual product called Soylent. As far as we know, It’s not made of people. Yet.

Quick Movie Review – Paddleton

I stumbled onto this great movie on Netflix. If you’ve ever thought about cancer and death then you will want to watch this one.

Ray Romano plays Andy (with a bad haircut) who is BFFs with his downstairs apartment neighbor Michael. After many years of friendship, Michael is diagnosed with terminal cancer and is given a prescription for some drugs that will give him a dignified exit. The movie follows how close friends deal with the issue. It’s hard to not cry.

This movie is especially pertinent to me as I have seen my neighbor die of sudden pancreatic cancer. I have another acquaintance who doesn’t have long to live. I have yet another closer friend who was supposed to have died a year ago but is still going on with stage 4 prostate cancer. I also watched my cat die of cancer last year.

The whole idea has been washing around in my brain so it’s not a new story for me. It’s bad enough having to deal with the untimely deaths of people you know and love. But what if it was me? These people had no idea until it was too late. Even if you knew in time, would you want to fight it?

There are a few states in the US that provide for dignified deaths with doctor assistance. It amazes me that such a thing is not available everywhere for all the people who are suffering and want a better way out. I suppose I could travel to a state or country where I have an option. Of course, there are DIY methods as well.

Either way, I would much prefer the dignified option for both myself and those who might care about me. At this point, the best option is to hope for my continued health so it never becomes an issue but one never knows what curveball is heading one’s way. One should be prepared.

Don’t miss this movie. It’s totally worth watching. I wish you good health to the end.

Remember Me

I’ve made it a tradition to watch “Coco” on November 1st. The Mexican celebration of The Day of the Dead. I’m not Mexican but as a generic white man, I have no cultures and traditions. I just exist.

Every time I watch it I seem to become more and more emotional. Tears run down my cheeks. I’m not sure why it affects me so much. There are so many things in this movie that do affect me on many levels. Let’s see if I can break it down and understand.

1. Lost childhood. Seeing a picture of Coco when she was a girl and now she’s old and feeble. That’s just wrong and immensely sad. I have pictures of myself as a baby and now I’m old. That’s just fucked up.
2. As a musician myself, watching someone play anything is special and most people will never know that.
3. Being forgotten. I have no descendents. When I die, nobody will remember me.
4. The importance of family and that special bond that I will never know.
5. Culture and traditions that bring whole societies together. I’ve got nothing.
6. A lost father. That I know very well. He died when I was 9. He was also a musician.
7. Someone to hug. I don’t get much of that.
8. Belief in life after death. I don’t believe that but wouldn’t it be nice if it was so? I’m not sure.
9. Someone who loves you enought to be concerned about you.

I don’t expect that I’m the only one who reacts like this. Surely there are others out there who are like me. Right? Right? Tell me I’m right. If you’ve never watched it, then you should check it out. It’s definitely something special even for Disney.

I do hate crying. I can’t breathe through my nose for a long time. It does feel good though to feel SOMETHING once in a while. I’ve conditioned myself to be stoic like a Vulcan in order to ease the pain. That’s good in general because it totally helps but sometimes you need to feel.

I recently found out that my choice of retirement property is only 4 miles from where my Great Great Grandparents built their first home in 1852 when they arrived here from Germany. Their graves are in a small graveyard right on what used to be part of their property. I think I will be planning to be buried there as well. That’s at least something better than being buried nowhere in particular. I think I’ll have “Remember Me” written on my tombstone. I had planned on maybe being cremated but I guess you might as well leave something behind at least for a while.

My Father’s side of the family came from Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 1774. I recently found that out. I know nothing of that culture so I think I’ll make it my mission to find out if there are any traditions to learn about.

Blah blah blah. I know you don’t care. Nobody will even read this except me. Sebastion will like it but I’m not sure he actually reads it. It felt good to talk about it anyway. My nose is starting to clear and I can breathe again. I should maybe try to be less dramatic?

What are your thoughts on the movie? Does it affect you in any way? Give me some words.

Star Wars – A New Appreciation

I was nine years old in 1977 when Star Wars Episode 4 hit the theaters. It was the perfect age to be at the perfect time.

As a little boy, Star Wars was BIG! Not only was it an epic story told in an epic way, it was the first movie of it’s kind to have special effects that were completely amazing. The music of John Williams put it over the top.

My friends and I drew X-Wings, Tie Fighters, and Death Stars. We had two more movies to look forward to. There were video games and all sorts of marketing. Life was good back then.

After the trilogy concluded in 1983, I was 18 and graduating from high school. The movies were done and I was older and off to join the working zombie masses. We had no idea that there were more movies to come in the distant future of 1999.

16 years later, I was 34, and Episodes 1, 2, and 3 were appearing on the big screens. By that time I was pretty much, “Meh.” The world was disappointed with what we saw. Having grown up with Star Wars, the new movies were primarily political in nature. We were not impressed.

Suddenly, I was 50 and Disney bought out George Lucas and more and more Star Wars regurgitated from the Marketing Machine making something that was special even more banal. There were animated series that even yet, seem to be nothing but entertainment for the unthinking. Either that or they are genius and I haven’t figured them out yet.

Now I’m 54 and retired so I decided it was time to give the complete Star Wars another chance by watching the movies in chronological order. Unless you are familiar with politics and the rise of dictatorships, you may not know what’s going on in Episodes 1-3. It has taken multiple viewings to make sense of it. Finally, this time it clicked, and I figured out how the Republic became the Empire. I’ve been trying to figure that out for years but nobody could explain it to me properly. After that, I had a whole new view of the movies. The apparent attempt of Donald Trump to stack the Judicial and Legislative branches in his favor, surrounding himself with Yes-Men, and to try to stay in power after losing the election through lies and fake news made the story even more thought-provoking. (It could happen!)

I continued on through Solo and Rogue One which set up the transition to the original 1977 Episode 4. They did a pretty good job setting up the continuity and I watched the old Episodes 4-6 with new interest. It wasn’t just about lasers, ships, and battles. It was not just Space Cowboys.

There are approximately 27 hours of movies to watch it all. You can include the animated series(es) if you have a month of spare time but as far as I can tell, they don’t add much to the story.

In the end, I’ve decided that I am more of an Empire man rather than on the side of the Rebel Scum. As an old, crotchety, lonely, angry man, I would much rather see the human race under the control of a Fascist Dictator. People need to be told what to do and what not to do or they get into trouble. I would have supported the Emperor and the Sith to rule the galaxy with an iron hand. Law and order are good things. Free thinking is a waste of time and only causes trouble. I would like to watch other people suffer as much as I have. Maybe Trump was on to something.

If you watch Star Wars for the action, you might want to pay closer attention because there is a much deeper story in there that you may be missing. Going to that level is not for the weak-minded. Pay attention to the parallels with the world we are currently living in. This Epic Saga that started 44 years ago might have been surprisingly predictive. Either that or maybe Fascism is inevitable. What if the Nazis had won? What if Trump had succeeded? I wish I could visit alternate realities.