Movies

$20,000 In Legal Fees


Day 1 of our 2018 Jumbo Road Trip.

Aiken, SC to Birmingham, AL. In our continuing effort of never having to drive in Atlanta, our first day’s drive across Georgia included a back road route that took us more than 30 miles south of that megalopolis. We were barreling along GA16 about 10 miles west of Monticello when we blew by a convenience store with the rather odd name of Sack-O-Suds. I thought to myself that it sounded familiar. Then it hit me, the movie My Cousin Vinny. This was the place that our two “heroes” shoplift a can of tuna from and it lands them in jail for murder. By now we are a couple miles down the road and I think to myself out loud, “Should have taken a picture.” My co-pilot says, “Well, turn around.”

Not too far from crossing into Alabama the Lady Bug flies past the 20,000 mile mark.

Jesus Christ Superstar


Got a double dose of JCS for this Easter Weekend. Not only did I watch my favorite 1973 version, but Sunday night Donna and I watched the 2018 John Legend live version on NBC, actually enjoyed both.

The 1973 one will always be my “go to” version for holiday watching, because it comes with the voices I am most familiar with. Probably because several of the movie cast reprise their roles from the 1971 concept album that was my first exposure to the work. But the 2018 one was actually pretty good, the single stage with simple sets reminded me more of the stage play I saw in high school and have to admit that as much as I liked Josh Mostel’s King Herrod in the movie, Alice Cooper’s version was kick-ass.

Oh what a pity if it’s all a lie.
Still, I’m sure that you can rock the cynics if you tried.
So, you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ.
Prove to me that you’re no fool; walk across my swimming pool.
If you do that for me, then I’ll let you go free.

I wonder if NBC will re-run the live version next Easter?

WWJD


From the song “Trial Before Pilate” on the soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar:
-Pontius Pilate-
Don’t let me stop your great self-destruction.
Die if you want to, you misguided martyr.
I wash my hands of your demolition.
Die if you want to you innocent puppet!

Friday I watched Jesus Christ Superstar on the TV in the living room. Donna poked in a couple of times as she like the music, but doesn’t really care for the movie. Last year I watched the movie on the laptop and the video quality was not that great, but my rip of the 720p resolution DVD which in of itself was made from the 1973 movie film really looks fuzzy only 9 feet away from a 52″ TV. I’ve read there is a blu ray version of the flick available, but I have also read it wasn’t remastered in any way so I’m not to keen on buying it. There is probably a torrent out there of it. What Would Jesus Do? Would he download the torrent to see if it worth maybe buying it?

Today we watched the totally forgettable movie The Intern. From the title I thought it was that stupid Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson thing, but the trailer had Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway and it seemed kind of fun. And it was, but at 2 hours it was about 15-20 minutes too long. We didn’t need the interns Ocean’s Eleven side trip, Ben at the kid’s birthday party and we didn’t really need the whole infidelity sub plot.

In between we had breakfast out with a small contingent of the MMC, lunch out with a friend, a three mile walk in Hitchcock Woods and plenty of screened porch time. The 3-day holiday weekend is winding down and tomorrow it will be back to work for me and back to the grind of retirement for Donna.

Happy Easter

JCS Tour Bus

In an almost Easter weekend tradition, we watched Jesus Christ Superstar this afternoon. I connect with this movie on several levels, the 2-album rock opera was probably included in my 12 albums for a penny introductory package from the Columbia House Music Club in 1971, I made a field trip to New York with my high school Current Events class to see the stage play on Broadway in 1972 and if I had any musical or dance talent I probably could have been any one of those background players (I know I dressed the part in 1973.)

Started down, went up, back down, back up, still up.
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The Martian Part III

So, I’m excited about this Martian movie and it got me thinking, who do I know that might like the book. So I turn around and ask my cubical neighbor and fellow Clone Club member, “Are you a book reader?”

He: Not really, I do listen to audio books when I commute though.
Me: So what kind of books?
He: It varies…
Me: Autobiographies? Mysteries? Non-Fiction? Hard Science Fiction?
He: Well right now I’m listening to sort of a survival story. It is about a guy left behind on Mars…
Me: Unbelievable. That is exactly where I was going…Where are you in the book?

I’ve got a couple more ideas on who to try next week.

The Martian Part II

Got two pieces of news about the thing that might actually drag me into a physical movie theater for the first time since 2012. They have moved up the release date for The Martian from November 25th to October 2nd. And the trailer dropped.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI

Now I’m still psyched to see this thing, but I’m not real happy about the marketing. The teaser viral thingie from the other day was perfect, but the trailer and then the poster kind of spoil a plot point that held a lot of suspense for the book reader.

I’m sure there was a different way to do the trailer so that the whole will he or won’t he be rescued in time could have been left a little more open. I fully understand why they’re going this way, ‘Muricans love a happy ending, plus my way would have little time to show all those other actors faces. And just maybe it is me, it doesn’t show him actually being saved.

Anyway, we knew how Apollo 13 turned out and it still made a heck of a movie.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
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The Martian

Ask anyone who has had a favorite book turned into a TV show or movie if it was as good as the book (don’t get me started on Jack Reacher) and if more than one of your first million friends says yes I’ll be shocked.

The best scifi book I’ve read since I was a wide-eyed 12 year old is being turned into a movie. So I clearly had low expectations, until now. Here is the trailer:

If you like hard science fiction and tales of survival garnished with humor, go read the book, its only six bucks for the Kindle – The Martian by Andy Weir, so now that you too can be impatiently waiting for November 25th.

Started up, went down, went up, still up.
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