Since I no longer have the opportunity to post as frequently as I would like, my posts will therefore be on the lengthy side. If this is a problem for you, I suggest you visit TMZ.com, where you short attention span, ADD mind and voyeristic pleasures will be satisfied. If thats not a problem, please continue reading.
It was a sad day in Hollywood, neigh America when we lost beloved actor Patrick Swayze. He was one of the first male action stars/sex symbol as we know them today. Without Swayze there would be no Shia LeBouf's, Hugh Jackman's, Gerald Butler's or that dude from the Transporter movies. Swayze starred in one of my favorite "good bad movies" of all time "Point Break" in which he played iconic surfer Bode/Ronald Reagan as part of the ex-presidents bank robbing crew. While we all know who he is, we of the younger generation may not be familiar with his work. So here are Swayze's top 5 career moments in my opinion.
5. "Dirty Dancing"- Although I've never seen this movie, I think its one of those where if your girlfriend makes you watch it on movie night, that you will be rewarded afterwards for sitting through it.
4. "Ghost"- Sure its a little cheesy and romantic, but it's a performance for the ages (and probably the one Swayze movie everyone has seen). Admit it, if you had a pottery wheel and were dating Demi Moore and had a money Motown song playing in the background, you would definitely re-enact that scene (think about it Ashton).
3. "Roadhouse"- Total guy flick if there ever was one. Swayze plays a bouncer trying to clean up a dirty bar. Its full of bar fights, awesome one liners and Swayze. Enough said.
2. "Point Break"- Do yourself a favor and rent this if you haven't seen it, you will not be disappointed. As I mentioned earlier Swayze is a surfer who moonlights as a bank robber, with a crew wearing masks of ex-presidents. Amazing. More on this later.
1. "SNL-Chippendale's"- It might be SNL greatest sketch. Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze have a dance-off tryout to become a Chippendale's dancer. See your yourself.
In the past I have mentioned the term "good bad movie" before. It's a term that the one and only Pasquale was the first to coin, at least amongst my friends. To be more clear its a movie that you enjoy watching over and over, but will never be mentioned with the Citizen Kane's and Gone With the Wind's of the world. These movies usually have terrible dialouge including one liners that make you think the writers were either high or stupid or both. They also usually have an actor in the movie that is only there because of his looks or their bargain salary and not his acting ability. The more of these quality actors and the higher the percentage that your making a "good bad movie".
Which leads me again to Point Break. Two of the three main actors are Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey. That right there makes it one of the best good bad movies of all time. Neither of them have the ability to perform more then 3 lines of dialouge at a time, hence the cheesey one liners. But if you've seen the movie, then you will probably agree its very entertaining. It also led me to think about a remake. It's all the rage in Hollywood these days. Take an old cartoon or movie and remake it, 21st century style. So I came up with a few choices that I think should be remade and who I would want to star in them.
Point Break- I'd get someone like Jerry Brockheimer or Michael Bay to direct it so that it has that "Bad Boys 2/Transformers" feel to it. Fast, intense and moderately over the top. For the role of Johnny Utah, the ex-college football player now undercover FBI agent posing as a surfer (played by Keanu Reeves) I would choose Chris Pine. He starred in the new Star Trek movie and brings that young, cockiness that the character needs. For the role of Bode, the thrill seeking, epitome of a surfer in search for the perfect wave/bank robber I would choose Brad Pitt. Bring him back to his Fight Club/Snatch days as the cool, tough bad guy. He's got the right sense of humor and action background to pull if off. For the role of Agent Pappas, the older FBI agent who's been on the case for a few years but has been a laughing stock (played by Gary Busey) I would choose Bruce Willis. I want to make this role more respectable and he brings enough comedic prowess as well as the intensity for the role. Instead of the character being a joke with Busey, it now has some elderly respect with Willis (You'd be surprised how long it took me to pick these 3 actors). For the love interest (played by Lori Petty) you can really pick any hot young actress. So im going with Kate Mara. Just because.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels- There's a good chance that not only have you never seen this movie, but that you've also never heard of this movie. If that's the case throw it on you Netflix queque. It stars a young Steve Martin and an ageless Michael Caine as con men competing over a woman. Caine is the established pro who can hustle/con anyone and Martin is the young, hotshot con man trying to upstage Caine. It's a very funnny movie but it needs an update. To play the role of Caine I would choose Bill Murray. He hasn't made a funny movie in a very long time and his dry humor and ability to get into a character would be perfect. When he has been at his funniest he plays a sarcastic, conniving, slightly dirtbag of a character, which is perfect for this role. To replace Steve Martin I would choose Andy Samberg. He's a perfect fit because he is goofy and can play many different "characters" as he cons the girl from various angles. And to play the girl that these two are competing over I would choose Jessica Biehl. You need a smokeshow girl that seems innocent, and you have to believe that the guys would make a huge wager to get with her. I know I would do some ridiculous things for her.
The Great Outdoors- This is a comedy classic in my opinion, and despite my adoring feelings toward this movie, I think it would be a great remake. Johny Candy and Dan Akroyd star as in-laws who seek a nice family vacation in a quiet lake town, only to find out Akroyd and his family decided to come along too. Great phsysical comedy here and plenty of room for great interplay between the two stars. To play the family man role that John Candy played, I would choose Paul Rudd. It was between him and Will Ferrell, but I think Ferrell makes this a different kind of a movie. Rudd gives it the innocent, ready to explode with surpressed anger that makes him ideal. For the role of the uninvited brother in law played by Dan Akroyd I choose, Vince Vaughn. If you've seen this movie then you know Akroyd's character wasn't as funny as Candy's. I think Vaughn could make it very funny and actually alter the role from a supporting side character, to main character. I would like to see those two do a movie, and this is a fantastic idea.
Why do I feel like studio executives do exactly what I just did when thinking of movies? Doesn't seem like a hard job. Anyway that's it for this edition, keep an eye out for the next ETC ETC ETC because it could come at anytime. Until next time....Stay Sweet
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Lord Helmet and some Basterds
Its a rather slow Wednesday and I got some time to check in with ETC nation (if anyone has a better name, please let me know). A few random thoughts to start out this edition...
1. I've been working my first real "office" job for a month now and I must give some much deserved credit to Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld (mostly David, because this seems like his kind of thing). While working for the Yankees, Costanza comes up with an ingenious way to make other people think he is busy/hard at work; looking annoyed. He would roll his eyes, shake his head and look very frustrated. I've been experimenting with this strategy and the early returns have been nothing but positive. My office-mate said "You OK? you been working away for hours over there". I was checking my fantasy team.
2. Speaking of Larry David, the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm starts September 20th on HBO and I can't wait. This season features a "reunion" of the Seinfeld cast and so far the previews look hysterical. That also makes Sunday night a great night of television once again with Curb, Hung, and Entourage.
3. I saw Inglorious Basterds this past weekend and I was really impressed. If you have read my blogs in the past then you know I find Tarantino to be a bit overrated (I stand by my assessment that Pulp Fiction is the most overrated movie of all time. I think its a good movie, has its legendary moments, but not as good as every one makes it out to be). I did enjoy Kill Bill II and thought it was one of his better movies. But Basterds was terrific. Colonel Landa is one of the best characters I've seen in a long time. He is incredibly terrifying and hysterical at the same time. He goes from a cold hearted killer to poignant comic in seconds. And the actor that played him was able to seamlessly transition 4 languages in the film, an amazing accomplishment on its own. While Tarantino will be the first to admit that he completely butchered history, the historical inaccuracies actually play to the movie's advantage. It's also one of Brad Pitt's best performances as Aldo Raine, the Tennessee soldier who is the leader of the Basterds. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it already. It's eerie and chilling at times and very funny at others. And as expected the violence is at a high. Beware though, most of the movie is in subtitles, but it doesn't detract from the movie. In fact it adds some realism to it. Most WWII movies have Germans speaking with a British accent, or speaking English with a German accent. The Cage Movie Review system is temporarily down, as my rating picture is saved on a different computer. But I give it 4 and half Cages out of 5.
(I'm also hoping this will provoke Steamin' Willie Beamen to respond to my Pulp Fiction claim, as that is one of his favorite movies of all time)
Pulse of the Nation
It's been a while since we checked in with our Capital Hill correspondent, Yahtzee. There's a lot to catch up on, but from now on this section will be known as......
Pulse of the Rockies
I give you Mr. Yahtzee...
Hello, ETC. ETC. ETC. fans. The anointed one has asked that I check-in and give an update. Much has changed since I last contributed - Pulse of the Nation has become Pulse of the Rockies.
That's right - no longer will you hear tales of Washington Nationals games with Bernanke or the emotional reaction to DC's loss of Senator Kennedy. I've moved on to bigger and better in Denver, CO - like Giambi mustache sightings (he walked with the bases loaded in his first at-bat as a Rockie) and watching underrated movie scenes (explanation below).
Last week, I was flipping through the channels and came across The Sandlot. While Cazalet has made it crystal clear how great this movie is, I'd like to talk about a single scene - Benny realizes he must retrieve the autographed Babe Ruth baseball from the neighboring yard and the foot-chase scene that ensues. There's no better foot-chase scene Why, you ask?
1. The setting of the scene - "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
2. The standoff between "Benny and The Beast" rising to the climactic chase
3. The following chase scene - it doesn't get any better than throwing trashcans or running across picnic tables
I challenge you to find one; You won't.
Yahtzee
Photo(s) of the Day
Instead of the video of the day, I've decided to go with the Photo(s) of the Day. It's actually a photo comparison, due to the ludicrous nature of it. This was sent to me by the Pauper and it deserves publishing. I must stress that the photo on the left is not photo-shopped, it is a real photo.
The similarities are remarkable....
Well Ladies and Gentleman, that concludes our broadcast day. I hope you enjoyed it and stick around for the next edition of ETC. ETC. ETC. Until next time...STAY SWEET!
1. I've been working my first real "office" job for a month now and I must give some much deserved credit to Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld (mostly David, because this seems like his kind of thing). While working for the Yankees, Costanza comes up with an ingenious way to make other people think he is busy/hard at work; looking annoyed. He would roll his eyes, shake his head and look very frustrated. I've been experimenting with this strategy and the early returns have been nothing but positive. My office-mate said "You OK? you been working away for hours over there". I was checking my fantasy team.
2. Speaking of Larry David, the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm starts September 20th on HBO and I can't wait. This season features a "reunion" of the Seinfeld cast and so far the previews look hysterical. That also makes Sunday night a great night of television once again with Curb, Hung, and Entourage.
3. I saw Inglorious Basterds this past weekend and I was really impressed. If you have read my blogs in the past then you know I find Tarantino to be a bit overrated (I stand by my assessment that Pulp Fiction is the most overrated movie of all time. I think its a good movie, has its legendary moments, but not as good as every one makes it out to be). I did enjoy Kill Bill II and thought it was one of his better movies. But Basterds was terrific. Colonel Landa is one of the best characters I've seen in a long time. He is incredibly terrifying and hysterical at the same time. He goes from a cold hearted killer to poignant comic in seconds. And the actor that played him was able to seamlessly transition 4 languages in the film, an amazing accomplishment on its own. While Tarantino will be the first to admit that he completely butchered history, the historical inaccuracies actually play to the movie's advantage. It's also one of Brad Pitt's best performances as Aldo Raine, the Tennessee soldier who is the leader of the Basterds. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it already. It's eerie and chilling at times and very funny at others. And as expected the violence is at a high. Beware though, most of the movie is in subtitles, but it doesn't detract from the movie. In fact it adds some realism to it. Most WWII movies have Germans speaking with a British accent, or speaking English with a German accent. The Cage Movie Review system is temporarily down, as my rating picture is saved on a different computer. But I give it 4 and half Cages out of 5.
(I'm also hoping this will provoke Steamin' Willie Beamen to respond to my Pulp Fiction claim, as that is one of his favorite movies of all time)
Pulse of the Nation
It's been a while since we checked in with our Capital Hill correspondent, Yahtzee. There's a lot to catch up on, but from now on this section will be known as......
Pulse of the Rockies
I give you Mr. Yahtzee...
Hello, ETC. ETC. ETC. fans. The anointed one has asked that I check-in and give an update. Much has changed since I last contributed - Pulse of the Nation has become Pulse of the Rockies.
That's right - no longer will you hear tales of Washington Nationals games with Bernanke or the emotional reaction to DC's loss of Senator Kennedy. I've moved on to bigger and better in Denver, CO - like Giambi mustache sightings (he walked with the bases loaded in his first at-bat as a Rockie) and watching underrated movie scenes (explanation below).
Last week, I was flipping through the channels and came across The Sandlot. While Cazalet has made it crystal clear how great this movie is, I'd like to talk about a single scene - Benny realizes he must retrieve the autographed Babe Ruth baseball from the neighboring yard and the foot-chase scene that ensues. There's no better foot-chase scene Why, you ask?
1. The setting of the scene - "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
2. The standoff between "Benny and The Beast" rising to the climactic chase
3. The following chase scene - it doesn't get any better than throwing trashcans or running across picnic tables
I challenge you to find one; You won't.
Yahtzee
Photo(s) of the Day
Instead of the video of the day, I've decided to go with the Photo(s) of the Day. It's actually a photo comparison, due to the ludicrous nature of it. This was sent to me by the Pauper and it deserves publishing. I must stress that the photo on the left is not photo-shopped, it is a real photo.
The similarities are remarkable....
Well Ladies and Gentleman, that concludes our broadcast day. I hope you enjoyed it and stick around for the next edition of ETC. ETC. ETC. Until next time...STAY SWEET!
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