Tag Archives: movies

Thoughts

The Simpsons me

I read a post over at Dawn Armfield’s blog today that resonated with me. It’s about one’s online identity, and whether you’re comfortable enough to be yourself even when you can be someone else. If you read my blog regularly, I think you pretty much know where I stand on that. I write in first person, my photo’s everywhere, I’m not shy about expressing my opinions, etc. I would ask where you stand on that, but it might be a moot point. I get the feeling that the people uncomfortable revealing their identity online, for whatever reason, won’t reply. I’ll only get comments from the ones like me.

Something fun did come out of it though, and I wanted to share that with you as well. Dawn built a Simpsons avatar for herself (you can see hers in her blog post) and inspired me to do the same. I headed over to the Simpsons Movie site, which is where you can partake in this fun little experience, and built one for myself. It was a bit difficult to find the bits and pieces that would make the character look like me, but in the end, I arrived at a reasonable facsimile. Have a look below. Ligia got a kick out of it. She said she liked it, and that it was really funny.

I don’t think I’ll be using this as my online avatar, but it’s fun to look at it. For example, I had no idea that I would like a hippie if I wore certain clothes. What do you think? And by all means, if you want to chime in on how you identify yourself online, please do so as well.

The Simpsons Me
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Reviews

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

James and the Giant Peach (1996)Last night was the first time Ligia and I saw this delightful movie (IMDB). I regret not seeing it earlier. I remember the ads on TV back when it came out. I hadn’t read the book by Roald Dahl, nor did I know the story was written by him until I watched the featurette included in the special features on the DVD. I might have known it though.

All his stories weave scary elements into whimsical storytelling with wonderful plotlines and happy endings that remain with you. It makes for such vivid characters and happenings! I still treasure “The BFG” (1989, IMDB), more than 15 years after seeing it. I taped it when it ran on TV, and I still have the tape somewhere — although it’s probably so demagnetized by now that I wouldn’t be able to watch it.

Boy, those aunts of James’ were sure scary! If I were still a child, I might have had nightmares about them. The sets were great. You could tell right away they were sets, but that didn’t detract from their atmosphere at all — in fact, it added to it. I wondered why, and then I saw Tim Burton’s name as Co-Producer. I might have known that as well. The sets had the same feel as “Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993, IMDB) and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005, IMDB).

Parents have already picked up on what makes the movie wonderful for children, so I’m only going to mention it in passing: it’s the uplifting message it carries, of course, picked up from the book. James, a child mistreated by his aunts to the point of abuse, hangs on to his imagination and the kindness that his parents instill in him, and proves to be a hero loved by the insects he saves, and by his adopted city, New York. It’s the sort of story that you’ll want to read to your children over and over, and the sort of story they’ll want to listen to over and over and over.

I thought the movie was very well done and highly watchable. I always have a healthy amount of respect for the people that work on these stop-motion animation movies. It takes years to get them done. It took three years for this movie. There are 24 frames per second, which means that each scene had to be rearranged for each frame, 24 times per second and 1,440 times for a full minute of action. That’s a herculean effort, and one has to respect that. When you add in the fact that the finished product looks great, it’s really a wonderful achievement.

Loved it!

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Places

An evening at home

Ligia and I relaxed at home tonight, and we watched “The Awful Truth” again. I think this was the third or fourth time I saw it, and I love it more and more each time. I can’t help it, the acting’s so good, the screenplay’s amazing, the filming is fantastic, and the direction is just what the story needs! If ever this movie gets remade properly, I’d love to be in it. Seriously.

Here are a few photos that remind me of the love between Jerry and Lucy in this movie, the sort of love that can’t be broken even by intrigue or jealousy — a love that survives in spite of themselves.

Peaceful

Fresh

Petals

Brought my love a flower

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Reviews

Re-makes aren't as good as the originals

My Favorite Wife (1940) Move Over, Darling (1963)

Just finished watching “My Favorite Wife” (1940), and found it so much better than its remake, “Move Over, Darling” (1963). The thing is, I watched the 1963 version first, so I wasn’t prejudiced against it by the original. Yet after watching the original tonight, there is no doubt that I prefer it. Ligia and I were laughing out loud virtually through the entire movie. The gags, the lines, the acting, the action — everything was fresher and funnier. By contrast, I found the acting flat and the jokes overworked in the 1963 version.

Cary Grant and Irene Dunn shined again in this movie. They were a fantastic pairing in The Awful Truth (1937), and they put on a similar bedroom routine at the end of this movie, except this one’s absolutely hilarious. If you have a chance, pick up “My Favorite Wife“. They don’t make them like that anymore, and it’s really worth watching, if only for the comedy!

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Reviews

Ratatouille (2007)

Ratatouille (2007)We saw Ratatouille (2007, IMDB listing) last week, and it was so highly watchable that Ligia and I were tempted to go see it again right away. But you didn’t need me to tell you that — everyone and their mother is raving about this movie.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Brad Bird, the director/writer, along with Pixar and Disney, really hit the sweet spot with Ratatouille. It appeals to everyone who watches it. While children will love it for the characters and the action, adults will love it for the plotline and the dialog. Let’s not forget the little touches, the refinements in animation that endear the movie to those of us who notice them. Take for example the little curls in movement at the end of an action, the natural fluidity of characters and objects, the camera-like effects such as aperture and movement blur, the beautiful, glossy look of textures — oh, I could just advance the movie frame by frame and go on and on…

We know the movie ends well — it’s a Disney movie, after all — so we know the little rat is going to make it somehow. Ah, but getting there is all the fun here. Just how he makes it makes the movie! What thrills, what delights, what explosions of animated flavor, oh it makes me smile when I think about them! 😀

You’ve got to see this movie. I plan on renting it from Netflix when it gets out and watching it over and over again, savoring it like a rare, aged piece of Brie. Talk about age — Peter O’Toole just gets better and better with time. His portrayal of Anton Ego was spot on, just right, couldn’t be improved. Can’t wait to see it again!

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