Pigs vs. Dolphins

Once upon a time, not long ago, in the mystical, far away land of Seba Beach School, there was a little boy.  He was a quiet, studious sort, who never really figured out how to socialize.  He'd spend his lunch hours in the library, quietly reading, or in the science lab, where the science teacher would let him fire up the TV used for presentations and watch The Flintstones. 

Also, there was a princess, who was the angriest person in the land.  She rarely smiled, and only spoke in insults.  When she did smile, it was because she had just made a cruel joke at someone's expense.  Not even the boy, who worked hard to keep to himself, was spared from her wrath.  Her default insult for the boy was "the pig," as he did well in his classes, and therefore was "hogging" all the good grades to himself.  To her, good grades were a commodity that teachers handed out in small amounts, and truly "the pig" had more than his fair share.

But, if there was one thing the princess loved, it was dolphins.  Her eyes lit up when she spoke of those majestic creatures of the sea.  She occasionally had books on marine biology hidden between issues of Cosmo and YM, and did let slip once in a while her goal of becoming a marine biologist. 

One day, in a math class, the teacher was returning the latest exam.  As always, the boy had done very well on it.  As always, the princess had not.  She glanced over the boy's shoulder, saw his high grade, and muttered, "You're such a pig."

But something different happened that day.  The quiet boy was not quiet.  Instead, he decided to say something.  In one of those quiet lunch hours in the library, he had learned some new knowledge, and decided to share it with the princess.

"You know," he said.  "Some new studies show that pigs actually have higher intelligence than dolphins."  He narrowed his eyes to best steely gaze he could muster.  "Better a pig than a dolphin any day." 

A look of horror flashed across the face of the princess.  This was, quite frankly, the worst thing anyone could have said to her.  She gasped in astonishment at what was said, and stormed out of the classroom. 

It was the only time the boy ever stood up to the princess. 

They skirmished a few more times before high school was done, most notably when the princess led the charge to have the boy banned from graduation ceremonies.  She did achieve her dream of having a graduation ceremony without the boy, though, as she failed to get enough credits and had to graduate a year after the boy.

Time marched on, and this tale soon faded away, as most acts of high school bullying eventually do.  The boy is doing pretty good for himself.  The boy has no idea what the princess is up to, but hopes she finally let go of that anger and learned to be happy.

"OK, cut this crap, Cappis," you're probably saying right now.  "Obviously, you're the boy and this princes is some chick who spoke smack about you back in high school.  Be a man and get over it already!"  Well, for the most part, I am over it, but I was reminded of it the other day as I was surfing ye olde Internet. 

Thanks to this legal kerfuffle that's currently making headlines, I have finally discovered the web comic The Oatmeal.  And while I was perusing the archives, I stumbled across two very awesome comics that helped to make the boy's argument all those years ago.

So if you have a moment, I ask you to check out these two comics:

5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Face

5 Reasons Pigs Are More Awesome Than You

Hotel Transylvania Trailers

I wanted to blog about this when the first trailer came out back in the spring, but things got busy and I put it off too much.  The second trailer just came out, and that seems to be as good an opportunity to sit down and blog about Hotel Transylvania.

At the outset, the premise seems OK.  Dracula, tired of him and his fellow monsters always being hunted and persecuted by humankind, builds a luxury resort deep with in the mountains of Transylvania where he and his fellow monsters can just chill and relax without any humans bugging them.  Then, one day, one lost American backpacking across Europe stumbles into this hotel, and Dracula has to hide this human from all the other monsters lest he cause a panic among his guests.

I'm mildly curious about this one because the director is Genndy Tartakovsky.  Tartakovsky, of course, is the renowned animator who brought us such Cartoon Network classics as Dexter's Lab, Samurai Jack, and the original Clone Wars cartoon.  He's been working to get into movies for a while, now.  For a long time, he was working on developing a sequel to The Dark Crystal, and as a fun little side project, he storyboarded the action scenes in Iron Man 2.  This is his feature film directing debut.

Here's the first trailer.  I still want to show this one because I do love the shillouettes of the monsters packing up and leaving for the titular hotel.  The artwork is very Tartakovsky-esque.






The animation house behind this one is Sony Pictures Animation, which seems to be just bubbling under the surface when it comes to making good stuff.  I was pleasantly surprised with Surf's Up  and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, but I have to bring myself to see The Smurfs.

Even though the film is not one of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison productions, a lot of the Happy Madison gang shows up in the film.  Sandler himself voices Dracula, David Spade is the Invisible Man, Kevin James is Frankie (aka Frankenstein's monster), Steve Buscemi as Wayne (the wolfman) and Molly Shannon as his wife.  Andy Samburg is Johnathon, that average backpackers who stumbles into the place, and Disney kid Selena Gomez is Dracula's daughter Mavis.

Here's the second trailer which just came out, in which we get more of the plot, such as Johnathon and Mavis falling for each other.






Hotel Transylvania hits theatres on September 28.

Brave Review

So I saw Brave yesterday.  I had my doubts about doing it, having run into the city just last week to see Prometheus, but I'm about to enter another busy stretch at work that'll eat up my weekends, so I figured there was no time like the present.

After the powerhouse that was Toy Story 3, and the cash-in that was Cars 2, I was really looking forward to Pixar getting back on track with something new and original.  For a while now, I'd been reading about how different this was going to be for Pixar...their first fairy tale, their first period piece, and in our heroine, Merida, Pixar's first female protagonist.  I was reading online about a few hiccups in production (original director Brenda Chapman was bumped from the project a year or so ago), but Ratatouille had similar hiccups and it turned out pretty damn good.  My heart did sink a bit, though, as more and more trailers came out, and it started looking like more and more Disney princess cliches started creeping into the film. 

So Princess Merida is growing at odds with her mother.  The Queen keeps training Merida in the ways of being a princess in order to be a kind and benevolent ruler some day, but Merida would rather be out and about kicking ass and taking names with her bow and arrow.  That's an attitude she takes into the traditional tournament for suitors to win her hand in marriage, but she makes a spectacle of the whole thing, leading to a permanent rift between mother and daughter.  While Merida is out in the woods running it off, she happens upon an old witch who offers to cast a spell to change Merida's fate.  But the spell takes the form of a terrible curse placed upon Merida's mother, and now mother and daughter must put aside their difficulties in order to break the curse.

So, there is a lot of good in the film.  Since it is Pixar, the animation is gorgeous.  The music is good, the voice acting is good, and it does go to some dark places.  The climactic battle is brutal. 

That being said, though, the plot is a little weak.  There's a couple of great ideas for subplots that never get past the idea stage.  And I understand what some critics are saying when the film can't settle on a tone.  One moment we're having high drama between the mother and the daughter, then we're having wacky slapstick comedy.  The scenes with the witch border on having come out of Shrek.  The film switches from silly to serious at the drop of a hat. 

However, I did feel a little something by the film's end.  It wasn't quite the emotional wallop of Toy Story 3, but there was something. 

Check out my entire review at the main site. 

Fishing in the Discount Bin - G.I. Joe: The Movie

It's time for this week's edition of Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I go through all the old notes of a segment I was working on for my podcast, and post them to the blog so they don't gather digital dust.  We're into the last of a trio of films that a co-worker gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago, and it just happens to be one of my childhood favourites...G.I. Joe: The Movie.  This review is originally dated January 15, 2011.

Monsters University Trailer

The one trend I've hated over the past 10 years is how animated films have become franchises.  It used to be just the one film, and that was it.  But now, as with any other film, if an animated film is a hit, they pump out sequel after sequel after sequel.  For examples, take a look at the Shrek and Madagascar films.  But, for this trend, I have no one to blame but my beloved Pixar, because they started the whole thing when they released Toy Story 2 in 1999.

For a while there, it looked like Toy Story 2 was going to be an anomaly, but then, when Disney bought out Pixar around 5 years ago or so, the Pixar sequel machine ramped up.  We got Toy Story 3, which turned out to be amazingly good.  We got Cars 2, which many wrote off as Pixar's first weak film.  And the trend continues next year, when we get the Monsters, Inc. prequel, Monsters University.

Not much is known about it so far.  The official plot synopsis says that it takes place around 10 years before Monsters, Inc., and it tells the tale of how Mike and Sully first met in college and became the life long friends we know them as.

I like that it's a prequel, so that way they don't have to deal with Boo.  See, on the running commentary for Monsters, Inc., the filmmakers say they were adamant that Sully never see Boo again after she's returned home.  But in test screenings, the audience was demanding it.  So, the filmmakers came up with the ending that we know as the compromise.  Sully sees Boo again, but the audience does not.  So, yeah.  The prequel will be Boo-free.

For the voice cast, John Goodman and Billy Crystal are back as Sully and Mike.  Steve Buscemi is back as the villanous Randal Boggs.  New voice cast members include former  Kid in the Hall and Pixar vet Dave Foley, and Pat itself Julia Sweeny.  And, since it is a Pixar film, John Ratzenburger is back as the Abominable Snowman.

Behind the camera, veteran Pixar animator and story man Dan Scanlon is directing it.

As is Pixar tradition, the first trailer will be in front of their next film, Brave, which comes out this Friday.  But the trailer went online today.





I should note that there are actually four different trailers out there.  The only difference between the four is the line that Mike mumbles in his sleep when Sully pulls back the covers.  Scanlon has said in interviews that they did this because, when they were recording the audio for the trailer, Billy Crystal starting tossing out so many great lines that they couldn't decide which one to use.  So they narrowed it down to four. 

Monsters University hits theatres on June 21, 2013. 

Superman vs. the Elite Review

Well, DC Comics and Warner Brothers have pumped out another straight-to-DVD animated movie.  Is it just me, or is the straight-to-DVD animated movie market starting to wind down?  There aren't as many Disney sequels as there used to be, Marvel has stopped doing it...it's like DC is the only one left in town.  Anyway, I got my copy, so it's time to take a look at....

Superman vs. the Elite

Directed by Michael Chang

Starring the voices of George Newburn, Pauley Perrette, Robin Atkin Downes, Dee Bradley Baker, Catero Colbert, Melissa Disney, and Andrew Kishino.

Backstory:  The latest installment of Warner Brothers and DC's franchise of direct-to-DVD animated films seems to be a little more low-key than some of their previous releases.  The usual celebrity-filled voice cast seems to have been ditched for some hard working voice actors, save for Pauley Perrette, best know as the perky goth forensic scientist on NCIS.  I haven't seen as much coverage on this one as I have on the others in the past, and I completely forgot it was coming out until I was scanning last Tuesday's new DVD releases and saw it there.  When I saw it in the city, I knew, though, that I had to pick it up and add it to my collection.

Plot:  Taking its inspiration from the famous Superman story What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?, the story follows with a new group of superheroes arriving on the scene calling themselves the Elite, led by the charismatic Manchester Black.  At first, Superman is appreciative of this new group of heroes, and the Elite seem to reciprocate by appreciating Superman's training and guidance.  But soon, the cracks start to show.  The Elite show no second thoughts about using lethal force and killing the wrongdoers.  As the people and the media begin to glorify these new, lethal heroes for making sure the villains stay down, Superman begins to wonder if his brand of justice has grown passe.  But, as the body count at the hands of the Elite begins to rise, tensions begin to build between Superman and the Elite, and a showdown is inevitable.  Who will win when Superman faces off against the Elite?  Or will Superman become one of this new bread of lethal hero that the people seem to be clamoring for?

What I Liked:  The voice acting is top-notch.  George Newburn, who voiced Superman on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, is a welcome return to the role of Superman.  The aforementioned Perrette makes a pretty good Lois Lane, too.  The plot does reach some neat philisophical and dramatic points as Superman wonders if he's still the hero the world needs, and the Elite truly are a different kind of villain that what we usually see in these.  And when the showdown occurs, there are some great action sequences.  And the music!  They recycle Superman's theme from the first film in this franchise, Superman/Doomsday, and it provides a neat little bit of continuity.

What I Didn't Like:  The animation style does take some getting used to in the one.  It's a little more cartoonish...Superman has a chin like the the Tick's.  And this franchise has gone on long enough that a formula is starting to appear.

Final Verdict:  I found it rather enjoyable and a good addition to the franchise.

3 Nibs

Bonus Features:  For bonus features on the Blu-Ray, you get a featurette on Superman's morality, a featurette on the Elite, a running commentary with the original writers of What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?, a digital comic version of What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?, two bonus episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, a collection of photos for The Dark Knight Rises, and a sneak peak at the next one in the franchise, The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1.  I still can't believe they're going to attempt The Dark Knight Returns in this franchise.  It's such a good book, I can't help but worry they're going to mess it up on some level.

Oh, and I should also mention that I treated myself to the Best Buy exclusive version of the Blu-Ray, which comes with a little Manchester Black action figure. 

Prometheus Review

My review for Prometheus is up!

Head on over to my movie reviews to check it out!

Another Day, Another Blown Paycheck

Well, I went off to the city today for a day of adventure and checking out the movies, but as I always do, I spent too much money, so it's time to recount my purchases!

First up, I never feel guilty about spending too much money in the city if I buy something I need.  So, first up, I bought another of those hard-to-find filters for my vacuum cleaner.  You might remember my last excursion to the city when I hoped to stock up on those filters, but only found one.  So today I was finally able to buy a second.  I think vacuum cleaner filters will replace socks as my go-to for my "thing I actually need that I must buy so I don't feel guilty spending a lot of money."

From there, it was off to Best Buy, to do what I always do in Best Buy:  stare longingly at HDTVs until the day I can afford one.  And while I was there, I also managed to pick up the latest DC Comics straight-to-DVD animated film, Superman vs. the Elite.  I hope to spend my lazy Sunday watching it, and as I always do, I'll review it for the blog, so watch for that in the next couple of days.  I usually avoid buying the Best Buy exclusives, because it's usually an extra $2 for some trinket that just gathers dust, but this time out, I thought, "Eh, screw it."  The exclusive you get at Best Buy is an action figure of Manchester Black, the villain of the piece.

Then I slipped next door to Michael's, the gigantic crafts and framing store.  I figured today would be the day that I'd finally bite the bullet and do something I'd been wanting to do for a long time.  I have a few movie posters that I'd always wanted to frame and hang up because, you know, I'm an adult now, so Scotch-taping them to the wall is probably not the mature way to display them.  And as I was browsing in Michael's, I saw that the gigantic poster-sized frames were on sale. 

First thing I did when I got home tonight was make sure the frames would work, and I framed some posters.

How can you tell I went to college in the 1990s?  Got the requisite poster of a 1990s indie film.  Last year, Kevin Smith had a big blowout sale at his online merchandise store, so I got the Chasing Amy poster for dirt cheap...probably still Smith's best film.  I swore, though, I wouldn't hang it up until I got the frame so I could show it off properly.  Now, whenever folks come to visit, Joey Lauren Adams will be staring at them.

Hands down, the teaser poster for Return of the Jedi is my favourite of the Star Wars movie posters.  Once upon a time, not long ago, there was a lovely little poster store in West Edmonton Mall called The Poster Centre.  I was browsing one day, and lo and behold, there it was, the teaser poster for Return of the Jedi.  So, I quickly snatched it up.  I was still in college at the time, so it hung in my dorm room.  It was hanging on my wall, stuck up with Scotch-tape, and I knew I wanted to get it in a frame some day while it was still worth framing.  So there it is.

Once that was taken care of, it's off to West Edmonton Mall, and a browse through HMV. 

Now, if you're my friend on Facebook, you'll see I've run into a bit of a routine.  Whenever I see the gigantic Blu-Ray set of The Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions for around $50, I post the link and say, "Ooo, that's a good price," and begin debating whether to get it or not.

And while I was in HMV today...ooo, that's a good price.

So I got it.  Seriously, that's the cheapest I've seen it outside of an Amazon.com one-day sale.  As for the films, I think they're good, but not great.  I've always been on the fence about getting the extended editions.  I mean, I've never been able to power through the books because they're so long and boring.  That's why I like the theatrical versions of the films...they've cut out the boring stuff.  I figure for the extended editions, all they did was put the boring stuff back in.  And, as I've blogged before, I'm not in a big rush to upgrade my DVDs to Blu-Rays because I don't have an HDTV to fully enjoy Blu-Ray.

But dude...the cheapest I've ever seen it.  So I got it.  Not sure yet if I'll spend my entire Sunday watching the trilogy, but I'm thinking about it. 

And then, it was off to the movies!  The movie I was after today, Prometheus, the big Alien prequel-spinoff thingee.  I'm starting to see what some trekkies are saying in that it's a bit of a ripoff of Star Trek V.  That being said, it's nice and spooky where it needs to be.  It does get rather gory in some places.  And there's still quite a few unanswered questions about the film.  It tries to tackle some big ideas, but doesn't quite pull it off.  I found it enjoyable nonetheless.  As always, there'll probably be a full review on my main site in the next day or so.

And that was my day in the city.  I didn't quite blow my whole paycheck, but I spent a little more than I wanted to.  

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Highlander

Here we go again with Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the many movies in my DVD library, and I just rant about them.  We`re into a spate of movies I got for Christmas back in 2010 from a friend of mine, hence the occasional reference I make to Christmas.  Today, we get to the cult classic Highlander.  This entry is originally dated January 8, 2011.

My Hot Wheels Toys

I was cleaning out my dwelling on Sunday when I stumbled across these.

A couple years ago, for Christmas, in lieu of a present, my parents said they'd help me out in getting a new set of tires for my car.  But still, for the thrill of finding something under the tree, they wrapped up this Hot Wheels gift pack and put it under the tree.

As I continued cleaning up the place, I did find a couple other Hot Wheels that found their way into my action figure collection.

I've blogged before that I'm one of the 12 people on the planet that think that Speed Racer is an amazing movie.  A lot of that film's merchandise was Hot Wheels-based.  So of course I had to get Speed Racer's trademark car, the Mach 5.

The original Batmobile?  And only 99 cents at Field's?  Yes, please!

I've got a couple more, too, but they're in storage.  (i.e. my parents' basement.)  The company Johnny Lightening once got the license to make a series of Monopoly-inspired cars, and I have the "Boardwalk Dodge Viper."  And being a Disney geek, Johnny Lightening also managed to do a Herbie the Love Bug that I also have. 

News of the Weekend

I spent my Friday night and Saturday night watching TMNT and Astro Boy for upcoming installments of Fishing in the Discount Bin.  Yeah, now that I'm posting the old entries on the blog, I've started doing it again.  I'm pretty much working three months ahead at this point.

Anyway, I thought it'd be neat to do TMNT and Astro Boy back-to-back because they were both made by an animation studio called Imagi Studios.  Imagi went under shortly after Astro Boy came out.  It was neat.  When it comes to superhero adaptations, they did one so right and one so wrong...I had fun writing those two entries.

Before they went under, Imagi Studios was looking to do a movie version of Gatchaman for their third animated film.  Gatchaman is the classic anime/manga franchise that was dubbed for North America under the name Battle of the Planets.  I'm not as madly nostalgic for this property as Ninja Turtles or Astro Boy.  My earliest conscious memories of Saturday morning cartoons involve Battle of the Planets, but my memories of the show are fuzzy at best.

Imagi's Gatchaman movie did have a good pedigree going into it.  Kevin Monroe, who directed TMNT, was slated to direct.  Legendary comic book and animation writer Paul Dini was hired to script.  But, when Imagi went belly-up, the project died.

But, before they went under, Imagi did produce a couple of trailers/animation tests.  And I finally found them on YouTube.

Trailer #1:






Trailer #2:






Ah, what might have been.

---

So here's what the geeks were geeking out about last week.

The one TV show that is not on DVD yet that the majority of geeks are demanding is the 1960s Batman starring Adam West.  As much as people want it on DVD, it's not available yet.  The most widely-accepted reason as to why it's not on DVD is because the series used so much pop music from the era, and with all the celebrity villains, and all the celebrities who poked their heads out the windows, and much more stuff like that, there's literally thousands of royalty deals that need to be worked out.

 Another popular theory is that 20th Century Fox, who made and own the show, and Warner Brothers, who currently own every aspect of the franchise, are just locked in some kind of epic pissing match.

Anyway, if you haven't clicked on the link above, it was announced last week that 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers finally made a deal that will allow Warner Brothers to start merchandising the heck out of the old Batman show.

Many are hoping this is a positive first step in finally getting Batman on DVD.  But for the time being, we`ll have to settle for Adam-West-as-Batman action figures. 

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Forbidden Planet

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the many movies in my DVD collection, and, in the words of my best friend, "go off on it."  I started this on my podcast many years ago, and gave up because it was so labour-intensive.  So, I started recycling the notes here on my blog!

I give that preamble because we're into a spate of movies that I watched from Christmas 2010 through New Years 2011, hence all the references to Christmas and New Years.  We're into a trio of films that a friend of mine gave me for Christmas at that time.  And first up, the classic sci-fi, Forbidden Planet.

These notes are originally dated January 7, 2011.

Sunday Afternoon Odds and Ends

As I blogged a few days ago, I got my complete, uncut version of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture soundtrack.  However, I just finished listening to disc 2.  Disc 2 is the digitally-remastered version of a little piece of Star Trek kitsch called Inside Star Trek.  This album was originally released in 1976.  It consists of recordings of Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi convention appearances in the mid-1970s, along with Roddenberry's thoughts and musings on making Star Trek.  Roddenberry also interviews Issac Asimov about sci-fi, William Shatner about playing Captain Kirk, DeForrest Kelly about playing Dr. McCoy, and a very awkward piece where Roddenberry interviews Mark Lenard, in character as Sarek, Spock's father, about Spock.

The fact that Leonard Nimoy wasn't interviewed about Spock shines a very interesting light on Star Trek lore.  I love hearing Leonard Nimoy's stories about Gene Roddenberry.  Nimoy's stories tend to take the piss out of everything.  See, most everyone associated with Star Trek will tell you about Gene Roddenberry:  the visionary science-fiction author with an optimistic view of humanity.  Nimoy, however, tends to tell stories about Gene Roddenberry:  the Hollywood producer who only had one big hit and set out to milk it for all it was worth.  Everything I've ever read about Star Trek says there was a lot of friction between Nimoy and Roddenberry, especially when it became the cult item it did throughout the 1970s.  Some say it came down to money...others say it came down to Nimoy simply wanting recognition for what he brought to the character of Spock.

My favourite story, though, about Roddenberry, the producer in it for the money, doesn't involve Nimoy.  It involves Alexander Courage, who wrote the classic Star Trek theme we all knew and love.  Well, what Roddenberry did, was he went behind Courage's back, and he wrote lyrics to the Star Trek theme.  That way, Roddenberry could claim 50% writer's credit on the Star Trek theme, and forever be entitled to the royalties.  Courage confronted Roddenberry about this, and Roddenberry reportedly said, "Oh, come on.  Let me have this, cuz I sure as hell ain't gonna make any money off this show."

But the tales of Roddenberry only being in it for the money...well, they humanize Roddenberry to me.  As I've learned in my short life, everybody has a different story about certain things.  Some folks will tell you that a certain person is the nicest person in the world...others will say that person is the devil incarnate.  Some folks will say that a certain vacation destination is the greatest place in the world...some will say it's a hellhole.

Some where, in between those two extremes, lies the truth.

---

The Baily Theatre is an icon of the City of Camrose.  It has stood for...I don't know how long.  My father tells me tales of my grandparents going to movies at the Baily when they were dating.  When I was going to college, it was the only movie theatre in Camrose at the time, so it's where I spent many an evening catching a movie instead of studying.

I was enraptured with the Baily as a movie theatre because it was the first movie theatre I'd ever been to in my life that had a balcony.  I was starting to think that balconies in movie theatres were a thing of the past, something that I would never see, but here was one.  Whenever me and my friends would go see a movie, I'd implore them that we sit up in the balcony, but most times, I'd be out-voted.

The Baily's days came to a close during my time at Augustana.  It was Christmas of 1997 when Camrose got its nice, shiny new 5-screen cineplex.  I dabbled a little bit in writing for the school paper, and my best friend was the editor of the paper, so shortly after the new cineplex opened, we did a news story on the new cineplex and what it might mean for the Baily.  As my best friend and I chatted, we knew that this probably meant the end for the Baily.  I still remember the last movie I saw in the Baily...spring of 1998.  On the last day of classes, me and my best friend went to see Lost in Space.  I came back in the fall of '98 to begin my final year, and the Baily was closed.

 But the Baily has been undergoing a transformation over the past few years.  New owners have acquired it, and they've been working to restore the Baily to its 1940s, art deco appearance.  They've turned it back into the multipurpose theatre it originally was, capable of all manner of live entertainment and movies.  I discovered this a few months ago, when an old college friend that I follow on Twitter tweeted that he was off the the Baily to see the legendary classic Citizen Kane.  I tweeted back, "If they ever do the original King Kong, I'm there."

I just found out they're showing the original King Kong TOMORROW NIGHT!!!!  Gosh darn it, I'm going to miss it.

I finally found the Baily's website and I see that, a couple of weeks ago, I missed the Beatles classic A Hard Day's Night.  Aw, man, that's another one I'd love to see on the big screen!

I've now got the Baily's website bookmarked.  I'll be keeping an eye on it...a road trip might be in my future.

Here's the Baily's website.

Be a fan on Facebook.

Follow them on Twitter.

I keep thinking that if I ever win the lottery, I might buy an old movie theatre and turn it into a revival house.  For those who don't know the lingo, a "revival house" is a movie theatre that specializes in showing older and classic movies.  There are many older films that I would love to see on the big screen.  Say what you will about home theatres and such today, but I still think there's something about the theatrical experience that can't be replicated at home.  And I'm not talking about 3D and vibrating seats.

"When you go see a movie, you're sitting in the dark for two hours with a bunch of strangers."  I had a co-worker who used that phrase to describe movies as being a lesser form of entertainment.  I read an interview with a director in which he used that phrase to describe movies as being a magical experience.  I'll let you decide what it describes.  

---

2012 is going to be a good year for Spielberg fans, as many of his classic films are coming to Blu-Ray this year.  It's been previously announced that the entire Indiana Jones films are coming to Blu-Ray this fall.  As part of their 100th anniversary celebrations, Universal announced a few months back that Jaws is finally hitting Blu-Ray this August.  And it was announced a week or two ago that E.T. will be hitting Blu-Ray this October. 

Of course, the first question everyone had was, "Will E.T. be the original theatrical version or the 2002 special edition?"  Well, we can rest assured that it will be the original theatrical edition.  It's kind of weird...in many interviews, Spielberg seems almost embarrassed that he made the special edition of E.T.  When asked about which version of the film is his "definitive" version of E.T., he's always quick to say the original theatrical version.  I do kind of hope the Blu-Ray includes the 2002 special edition...for historical completeness and all. 

I might wind up picking up Jaws, too, when it comes out.  I don't think I've ever seen Jaws from beginning to end...I always come in in the middle when its on basic cable.  But I do understand its historical significance.  It really was the first summer blockbuster.  The production model, the distribution model, every big event picture that we have today took its model from Jaws. 

It's also notable in that the Jaws Blu-Ray is also going to include the documentary The Shark is Still Working.  This documentary has become a legend in its own right.  A documentary about the making of Jaws, made and funded by die-hard fans, and they managed to interview absolutely everyone who was even remotely connected to the making of Jaws.  They say it's one of the most comprehensive documentaries about a film ever made. 

That's one thing I don't understand about Jaws.  It has a massive fandom.  It doesn't seem like the kind of movie that would have a fandom.  It doesn't have spaceships, it doesn't have dragons, it doesn't have the massive, developed internal universe that films with massive fandoms typically have.  But, there it is.  

And then there's Indy...not so sure yet about picking up the Indiana Jones Blu-Rays.  As I've blogged before, I'm not in a big rush to upgrade a lot of my favourite movies to Blu-Ray because I don't have the HDTV yet to fully enjoy them in hi-def.  But if you want to kick a few bucks my way to help my fund, I won't say no. 

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Titanic

Welcome to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my old podcast bit that I decided to resurrect on my blog because I didn't want my notes to go to waste.  As I've mentioned, this bit of notes came in the holiday season, so there's a lot of Christmas movies.  And now, we come to my arbitrary, completely-made-up, New Years tradition:  I watch Titanic.

This review is originally dated January 2, 2011.

Music is for Sharing

Probably the best/worst thing I discovered was the various music labels that specialize in rare and obscure film scores.  I've spent a little too much money tracking down soundtracks that I thought I'd never get my hands on.  And of course, I went into Trekkie nirvana a couple of years ago when I noticed that many of these record labels had begun producing the complete, uncut soundtracks to the various Star Trek films.

Thanks to these various labels, I currently have the uncut soundtracks for The Wrath of Khan through The Undiscovered Country.  I also managed to snag the one for the 2009 film.  The fact that I didn't have the uncut The Motion Picture was starting to bother me, though.  Without it, it was like I had a gaping hole in my collection.  I couldn't let the entire original series films be an incomplete set.

The original, uncut The Motion Picture actually came out way back in 1999, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the film.  That was back before I had gotten as in to film scores as I currently am.  I saw it on the shelves at HMV back in the day, always thought about picking it up, but never did.  And now, here we are, 13 years later.  And I wanted it.  I wanted it bad.  Poking around online, I found I could still get from Amazon.com out of the States.  So I decided to go for it.

That caused some...frustration.  As you may recall from my recent blog entry about trying to pick up vacuum cleaner filters out of the States, Amazon.com switched to couriers instead of Canada Post in the wake of the postal strike last year.  And my last purchase from Amazon.com was returned to sender because I was never home to sign for the package.  This time around, though, I was clever.  I decided to have it shipped to work instead of home.  I'd be there to pick up the package, and all would be right.

The thing about a job like radio is it's tough to hide from people.  Doing the request show today, I got a call from the courier that he was in town, and he wanted to know if he should deliver it to my house or the station.  "The station," I said.  Because after all, that's the address I put on the label.  Courier said, "Great!  I'll be there this afternoon."  Crap.  I don't work in the afternoon!  The station is closed in the afternoon!  So much for clever.

I started fretting quite a bit, but it turned out to be for naught, because he did show up before I went home at 12.  We chatted for a bit, and I finally got my complete, uncut Star Trek: The Motion Picture!

And now at the very least, I can re-construct Star Trek: The Astral Symphony as a playlist on MP3 player.  Star Trek: The Astral Symphony was the official 25th anniversary album for Star Trek.  Released in 1991, it was a compilation of music from The Motion Picture through The Final Frontier.  I had it on cassette.  Pretty much wore it out listening to it non-stop throughout high school.  And now I can re-assemble it, all digitally re-mastered!

In a way, though, I regret buying it.  Mainly because, shortly after I placed my order, one of my obscure film score record labels announced that they'd be releasing a brand-new version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Complete, uncut, and even containing the original, rejected score!

Yes, it's something that happens quite a bit, sadly.  The composer will sit down and write the music for the movie, the director will listen to the score, decide he wants to take things in a different direction, and order a new score be written.

They get into it a little bit on DVD bonus features for Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  In the featurettes, director Robert Wise describes listening to Jerry Goldsmith's score, and it just wasn't sounding right to him.  Wise was having difficulty articulating what was wrong with it.  Finally, he blurted out, "There's no Star Trek theme!"  Goldsmith nodded in agreement.  His score was lacking a main theme.

So Goldsmith went back to his piano and wrote the theme we all know and love.








That's not all, I got.  Thank you, Amazon, for training me to buy just enough to qualify for free shipping.  I also finally broke down and bought an album from the Puppini Sisters.  I discovered their music during the Michael Buble Christmas special.  If you picked up Buble's Christmas album, the Puppini Sisters join him to do Jingle Bells.  I saw them on that special and instantly fell in love.  Helped that they sing good, too.

The Puppini Sisters are what Wikipedia describes as a "close harmony group."  Probably the best-known example of such a group is the Andrews Sisters from the 1940s.  (If you were raised on Disney like me, you'll probably know the Andrews Sisters as they contributed to music to a couple Disney shorts from that era.)  Their main gimmick is to take many well-known songs and then do them in that classic, retro, close harmony style.

I picked up their most recent album, Hollywood, in which they cover many classic songs from the Golden Age of musicals.







I'll probably pick up more of their stuff before all is said and done...seeking out more of their stuff on YouTube, I kind of fell in love with their rendition of the Blondie classic Heart of Glass.





Now, as it is such a nice day, time to load this into the MP3 player, head outside, and enjoy the sunshine!

Targity Targ Targ Targ

It's that time of year again, isn't it?  U62: The Targ is going to get all spotty as I get all busy.

Anyway, found some time to squeeze out Episode 5.22: 1D Action.  In this one, we ponder why G.I. Joe: Retaliation got pushed back to March, offer my thoughts on the House finale, and wonder if this would be a good end point for my annual summer hiatus.

Give it a spin! 


Click here to go download it!


Head here to subscribe in iTunes!


Be a fan in Facebook! 

Grown-Up Adventures

I was looking at my calendar, and noticed that I'd be putting in overtime over the next couple of weekends, so this was going to be me my last free weekend for a while.  I pondered what to do...go for and adventure, or do laundry.

An adventure it was!

Normally, my adventures culminate in going to see a movie.  But, there's not much out there I want to see right now.  Granted, I am a Tim Burton fan, but Dark Shadows just isn't grabbing me.  Same with Men in Black 3, not just capturing my attention.  So I knew seeing a film would not be my goal.

And then, it hit me.  I was going to go in search of a fabled treasure I hadn't been able to find for a while.  I was going to find...the new filter I needed for my vacuum cleaner!

Now, you're probably thinking, "Wait a minute, Mark.  I'm your Facebook friend.  A month or so ago, weren't you bragging that you broke down and bought the filters online and you were patting yourself on the back for your cleverness?"  Well, yes.  But there was a flaw in that plan.  See, with the big Canada Post strike last year, a lot of online retailers switched from using Canada Post to couriers.  One day, a few weeks ago, I came home from work to find a note on my door from the courier saying that I was never home when they tried to deliver the package, so my new vacuum filters were returned to sender.  Son of a....  Got a full refund, though.  But still, no filters.

So today I vowed that I would not be coming home until I had a new filter for my vacuum cleaner!  With various parts numbers in hand, I went off to the city.

And promptly found it at Wal-Mart.  Since I had such a tough time finding these filters, I was hoping to buy several and stock up, but Wal-Mart only had one left on the shelf.  One is better than none, so I promptly snatched it up and lamented that my quest was over so quickly and easily.  So I got to browsing through Wal-Mart, and getting upset at myself for spending so much money.

I have such a weird body shape - big round belly and short, stubby legs - that I have a tough time finding pants in my size.  So I tend to go a little overboard when I find pants that fit.  And because of that big round belly, it's even tougher to find shorts when summertime comes around.  But they had pants and shorts and I went nuts.  So those who hoping to see me bottomless this summer, prepare to be disappointed!

From there, it was down the road to Best Buy, a store that frequently makes me weep because I want so many nice, fancy, new gadgets like flatscreen TVs and such, but I just can't afford them.  However, it's still a pretty affordable place for DVDs, and I heard that The Secret World of Arrietty is out.  I saw it when it hit theatres back in February, and I wanted to pick it up.  If you never read my original review, it's from the famous Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.  Ghibli's most-famous director, Hayao Miyazaki, didn't direct it, but he did write the screenplay and storyboard it.  It's an adaptation of the classic British children's book The Borrowers.  It's a somewhat melancholy film, very unusual for an animated film, but I really liked it.  So it's now a proud addition to my Blu-Ray collection.

I almost picked up Whispers of the Heart, too.  I blogged about this many years ago when I bought, watched and reviewed every Hayao Miyazaki film.  Much like The Secret World of Arrietty, it was written and storyboarded by Miyazaki, but he didn't direct it.  I've been very tempted to buy it and check it out, and it's been all remastered in hi-def and released on Blu-Ray, piggybacking on the The Secret World of Arrietty hype.  So close to picking it up, but for some reason, it was significantly more than The Secret World of Arrietty.  And after having bought the filter and all the clothes, I was starting to fret about spending too much money.  So Whispers of the Heart will have to wait for another day.

From here, my adventure took me to the most adventuresome place of all...West Edmonton Mall!  You should follow me on Twitter, because whenever I hit West Edmonton Mall, I love to tweet my observations about the mall.  I was walking around Professor Wem's Adventure Golf when I sent out this tweet:  "I've never played mini-golf in West Edmonton Mall.  Must add it to the bucket list."  It's true.  Out of all of West Edmonton Mall's attractions, I have yet to play a round of mini-golf.  But I know the history of the mini-golf course.  It used to be called Pebble Beach Mini-Golf, and was meant to be a mini-golf version of the legendary golf course of the same name.  But, in the early 1990s, after the whole Fantasyland lawsuit, they decided to switch the theme of the golf course to their Professor Wem character.

After that, I tweeted, "Also for the bucket list:  get better goals than play mini-golf at West Edmonton Mall."

I then wandered by Zeller's, and was shocked to see that Zeller's was having a huge closing-out sale.  I was wondering why Zeller's would be closing down, and then I remembered.  Zeller's - and it's parent company the Bay - were bought out by American super-chain Target a year or two ago.  And it was announced shortly after the buyout that all Zeller's stores would be re-branded as Targets.  I do know for a fact that the one in West Ed is scheduled to be re-branded as a Target.  So, it'll be closed for the rest of the year most likely, and re-open next year as a Target.

So I went bargain hunting in Zeller's.  It's weird.  I started reflecting on how we're losing all our iconic Canadian department stores.  The end began in the early-1990s, when Wal-Mart bought up all the Woolco's and turned them into Wal-Marts.  Then the Bay bought out Woodward's.  Then Eaton's went bankrupt.  The Bay is pretty much the only one left.  The Zeller's location in West Ed is reflective of that.  The Zeller's location used to be the Eaton's in West Edmonton Mall.  But then, after the bankruptcy, Zeller's moved into the location.  And now it's going to become a Target.

While browsing in the electronics section, I finally picked up The Muppets:  The Green Album.  I'd been tempted to pick this up for a while.  About a year ago, as part of the hype for The Muppets, Disney produced this album which consisted of modern rock acts covering classic Muppet songs.  I'm sure you heard of it, because the first single was OK Go covering The Muppet Show Theme, and like all OK Go videos, it briefly went viral.





And then I bought NERF darts.  There was a Cracked.com article not too long ago that pointed out the quirky things that "cool workplaces" are supposed to have and one of them was that everyone has NERF guns and NERF wars break out at any moment.  There was a guy at the station a few years ago who wanted to turn the station into the stereotypical "cool workplace" and bought everyone a NERF gun.  Despite his best efforts, NERF wars never broke out.  I'm the only one left who has a NERF gun, and all I use it for is occasionally pestering the news guy by firing it at the glass of the news booth while he's reading the news.  However, a few darts have disappeared over the years by falling down furnace vents and such, so it's nice to get fully loaded once again.  Thanks to Zeller's closing out sale, got a pack of 45 darts for $5. 

After that, I think I had enough adventure, so it was time to go home.  As I returned to my car, I opened up my copy of The Green Album, popped it into the CD player in my car, and reflected on how much technology has changed.  When I was a kid, I would by nothing but cassettes, but my parents' car didn't have a cassette player, so I couldn't listen to them on the drive home.  By the time my parents did get a vehicle with a cassette player, I had upgraded to CDs, so I still couldn't listen to them on the drive home.  And now I have a car with a CD player...and I primarily buy digital downloads. 

And that was my day in the city.  Tomorrow's going to be laundry day.  And now that I have a new filter for my vacuum, I can really give my carpets a good vacuuming.

*sigh*  If buying a new vacuum cleaner filter is an adventure, then I guess I must be a grown-up.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

Welcome to this week's edition of Fishing in the Discount Bin, the ol' bit on my podcast that I resurrected here on my blog.  Reviewing my notes, we're into a spate of Christmas movies, and as I mention in this entry, December is a very special time in Japanese cinema...that's when the new Godzilla movies come out!  So now, it's the Godzilla movie I actually saw in the theatres during my time in Japan:  Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.  This review is originally dated December 19, 2010.

Skyfall: Trailer, Poster, and What We Know

Didja hear?  There's a new James Bond film coming out this holiday season!

It's been four years since we last saw 007 on the big screen!  That's tied with the four years between Die Another Day and Casino Royale as the second-longest gap between James Bond films.  (The longest is still the 6 years between License to Kill and GoldenEye).  The delay was because, as has been widely reported elsewhere, MGM Studios (the folks who own James Bond) had some bankruptcy woes and had to do all kinds of financial restructuring to get back on track.  The same delay also affected the production of The Hobbit.  But anyway, things are cleared up, 007 is returning to theatres, and James Bond will return in Skyfall.

Of course, Daniel Craig is back for his third outing as James Bond, and Judi Dench is back as M.  And they finally re-introduce Q!  Q is going to be played by Ben Whishaw.  Javier Bardem, introduced to American audiences as the bad guy in No Country for Old Men, is the villain in this one, Raoul Silva.  Lord Voldemort himself, Ralph Fiennes, is a government agent who oversees MI6, and Naomie Harris, Calypso in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, is the newest Bond girl, Eve.

The official plot description was released as this:  "James Bond's loyalty to M is challenged over secrets from her past. When MI6 is attacked, it falls to Bond to seek out and eliminate the threat regardless of the cost to himself."

What really makes this Bond film unusual is the behind-the-scenes talent.  The director is Sam Mendes, director of such legendary Oscar-bait as American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, and Away We Go.  This is his first, big-budget, Hollywood action film.  I'm kind of sad, because this will be the first James Bond film since Golden Eye that doesn't have music by David Arnold.  Instead, Mendes decided to bring on his longtime collaberator Thomas Newman.

We got a poster late last week.

 

And the trailer went online over the weekend.

Skyfall hits theatres this fall.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Sound of Music

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I dig through my old notes for a bit I used to do on my podcast, and post it here on the blog.  As I mentioned last week, my old notes are currently dated December 2010, so we're into a spate of Christmas movies.  We now get to a film that seems to be on TV every Christmas, The Sound of Music.  This review is originally dated December 18, 2010.

Failure to Agree

For the first time ever, I feel I must start a blog entry with these words.

This blog is the property of Mark Cappis.  The views expressed are his and his alone.  This blog does not reflect the views of 94.1 the River or Newcap Radio.

Now then.

Last night I was out for a drive, enjoying this late spring/early summer weather, when I got a call on my cellphone.  It was my colleague, the news reporter down at the radio station.  I was in a bad area, so I couldn't quite hear him on the phone.  Eventually I heard, "Just come down to the station when you get back in town!"

I got back into town and swung by the station, and the news reporter was behind himself.  It's the third Tuesday of the month, which means it was Athabasca town council night.  Having started here as the news reporter myself, I knew council started at 7PM.  It was around 7:20...far too early for a council meeting to end.  That's when our news reporter started telling the tale.

The town council meeting was only 15 minutes long.  It was canceled after 15 minutes, because council could not agree on the agenda.

I was flabbergasted.  How could such a thing happen?  Our news reporter then went into detail.  The meeting started with the usual pleasantries...a cheque presentation, the announcement of some new staff members, the usual photo op stuff.  Then it came time to approve the agenda, a fairly routine procedure in meetings of all kinds.  There were some last minute additions to the agenda, also a routine procedure in meetings.  With the newly amended agenda, it was time for the agenda to be approved and the meeting to begin.

One councilor was absent, so council was down to six members.  Three voted for it, three voted against it.

Hmm...this was a problem.  So, in the interests of moving things along, the new agenda items were removed, and the agenda was once again put to a vote.

Three voted for it, three voted against it.  Deadlock.  Again.

Council turned to the chief administrative officer for a ruling.  The CAO simply pointed out that they can't have a meeting without an agenda.

So the meeting ended.  After 15 minutes.  Because, quite frankly, they couldn't agree what the meeting should be about.

I finally had to ask...what were those last minute agenda items?  What items were so contentious that they brought Athabasca town council to a halt?

There were three last minute additions, the news reporter said.  The first two are in-camera items.  As that's the stuff that's done in private, we have no idea what those matters were about.  But the third one had to do with the procedure for adding last minute agenda items.

Let me make that clear:  the government was brought down because they couldn't agree on a last minute agenda item on the procedure for adding last minute agenda items.

I burst out laughing at the absurdity of that statement.  And our news reporter just stood their shaking his head.  The stories he tells about town council...the things that don't make the news.  This is a council that has become very wrapped up in proper procedure.  This is a town council that has grown to love its red tape.  There was an issue between the town council and the local paper not too long ago.  An artist's rendering of a new bridge under construction was handed out in the agenda package, and the newspaper printed it.  It turns out the newspaper wasn't supposed to do that, as the artist's rendering is not supposed to be public knowledge yet.  Now, most agenda items begin with a lengthy discussion as to whether the item at hand is public knowledge or not.

Late last year, one town councilor was upset because one of his blustery speeches never made it into the official record, because it never got a seconder.  So, in the name of speeding things up, this councilor began the movement to do away with seconding motions.  It passed.  And rather than speed things up, this seems to have double the length of meetings.

Our news reporter constantly tells tales of a council that has grown obsessed with nitpicking procedure rather than getting business done, and I can't help but laugh at the absurdity.  Sitting around nitpicking procedure is something I've seen bring down many a high school club, but never a municipal government.

Word on the street has been for a while now that our town council has grown very dysfunctional.  I was rather blind to this until I attended the all-candidates forum for our by-election back in February and the council's dysfunction and failure to agree on most topics was the most common topic there.  I didn't quite understand it myself until this incident tonight.

The agenda is what says what a meeting is about.  Town council can't even agree on what they're meetings should be about.

I almost say council should take a sitcom approach to things.  They should all be locked in a room and not let out until they've resolved their differences.  Thing is, councils all across the country do that.  They call it a retreat.  But when our new mayor came to power a year and a half ago, he did away with retreats, saying that they were just expensive vacations on the taxpayer's dime.

Shortly after retreats were abolished, town council then increased travel allowances for councilors so they could start attending conferences out-of-province.  I remember making the joke at the time that the honeymoon was over for council, as they'd be taking separate vacations this year.

Turns out I wasn't joking.  Our town council is a very dysfunctional marriage.  It's falling apart.  There were three delegations at town council last night.  Three groups looking for support from their leaders to improve this community.  And they were sent home without being able to present their cases, because council determined their issues weren't as important as a last minute agenda item on last minute agenda items.

This town can be great.  The people can do great things.  But they can't, because our leaders are too busy bickering about how to dot the i's and cross the t's.   

UPDATE:  I see out local paper already has an article up about it.  Click here to read all the sordid details. 

Mermaid Sex

As I've stated, I don't know how many more radio experiments I'm going to be posting, as I purged the hard drive a few years ago and most of my experiments got lost in the shuffle.

I was seriously debating whether to post this one or not, but then I remembered I did put it in one of the earlier episodes of my podcast, so it's already out there in the public consciousness.

We've all reached a point in our life where the curiosity gets the better of us, and we go behind the beaded curtain into that backroom of the video store.  Or we finally venture into one of those shops where the windows are all blacked out.

This is the tale of when I succumbed to such curiosity...and the Disney classic it forever tainted.



Mermaid Sex by Mark Cappis

YouTube Videos from the Athabasca Outdoor Show

I made YouTube videos!  I don't do it as much as I used to, but occasionally I do feel some inspiration and give it a shot.

This past weekend was the 4th annual Athabasca Outdoor Show.  I was live on location for the whole show, but I did get a few moments to wander the grounds and check it out.  And since the station's booth was right next to the stage, I was also able to catch the big performances.  We had Access Hip Hop do some dancing, and the Big River Band also performed a few songs.

So check out the Athabasca Outdoor Show!






But wait! There's more. A deleted scene!

One vendor was there selling toys and had one of these.  I remember these from my youth.  It seems that just about every small town department store had one of these and I would be mesmerized by them.  Almost bought one, but I figured that just filming it would be just as enjoyable.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Die Hard

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, the resurrection of my old podcast bit where I'd ramble about a favourite movie of mine that I own on DVD.   Going through my old notes, I've reached December of 2010, so we're about to get into a whole spate of Christmas movies, followed by the movies I got for Christmas, ending with the blockbusters of 2010 that I blew my gift cards on.  Today we get into what's always referred to as "the Christmas movie for guys," Die Hard.  This review is originally dated December 17, 2010.

Thank You

The first thing they tell you at NAIT is that the money in radio isn't very good.  "You'll never get rich in radio," they said.  "The only way you'll ever make any money is if you work in sales, and if that's your goal, you're better off switching your major from broadcasting to marketing."  It's a reality I've faced for the past few years.  I'm constantly fretting about my finances.

Back in the fall, the fretting got so bad that I finally took a second job.  I enjoyed it, even though it ate up a lot of my spare time, and with summer on the horizon, things are about to get very busy at the radio station.  I knew it would be a matter of time before my second job started eating into the time for my first job.  So, two weeks ago, I gave my notice at the grocery store.

I worked my last shift at the grocery store last night.  As I was filling up a bucket with soap and water so I could get to work scrubbing the slime out of the lettuce cooler, my second boss turned to me and said, "I really hoped you'd choose us over the radio station.  Why are you going to work in radio?"

I put the bucket down and looked at her.  "Because being on the radio is all I ever wanted to do since I was 10 years old."

"Say no more," she said.

I know that I fret too much about the money.  I know that some times, I let an angry caller get under my skin.  I know that, some days, my colleagues get on my nerves.

But when all is said and done, I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

So if I haven't said it before, let me say it now.

To those who happen to listen to me everyday

To those I work with every day to help me be my best

To those who propped me up when I was pounding the pavement looking for that first gig

To those who talked me out of dropping out of NAIT when days were at their darkest

To those who humoured my requests to stop in at CLCR whenever I visited Augustana

To those who listened to me at Augustana who started convincing me I might be able to make a living at this

To those who humoured a 10-year old who was playing with a tape recorder in his room.

Thank you.  Thank you for your love, kindness, and support in this crazy career I've chosen.

And I'll probably be hitting you up for money real soon.

Mystery Pack #2

So, a few weeks ago, doing this "posting old radio experiments" thing, I shared a little something called Mystery Pack #1.  This was an attempt to do something a friend of mine suggested...come with a really short podcast (under 5 min long) to provide a tasty surprise for folks when they set their MP3 players to "shuffle."

I thought I only made the one episode as a "proof of concept."  Turns out I made a second.

As I said last time, my big problem with this was coming up with engaging content.  This is actually an excerpt from my podcast.  I remember when I initially recorded it, I was like, "Ooo!  That's awesome!  Gotta save it for a mystery pack!"  And I did.

I'm glad I saved the original audio for doing this.  Any attempt at re-creating it would drain it of its energy.

Anyway, for this second mystery pack, it's the story behind this photo.

This is the story of the greatest day of my life.



The Second Mystery Pack by Mark Cappis

Targ Time!

Alrighty, gang, trying to get back into some kind of normal schedule here, so that means it's time to bust out a new episode of U62: The Targ! 

In Episode 5.21: Stuffy Nose, I battle this springtime cold to share my thoughts on The Avengers (did you hear?  I've seen it!), muse about the recently-announced plans to privatize the hot springs in our national parks, and I finally check out series 2 of Sherlock. 


Click here to go download it!


Head here to subscribe in iTunes!


Be a fan in Facebook! 

New Amazing Spider-Man Trailer

There was a recent episode of ItsJustSomeRandomGuy which made a subtle joke that's really quite accurate.  With all the fuss between The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, people are kind of forgetting about the Spider-Man reboot.






But yeah, a new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man also went online this week, what between The Avengers being released and the new Dark Knight Rises trailer.






I do like what I'm seeing in this Spider-Man reboot.  As many have pointed out, it's great seeing Spidey taunt that robber like that.  Wisecracking Spidey was something that we didn't see much of in the Sam Raimi films. 

It looks like they're finally trying to distance this from Twilight.  The first two trailers really made it look all Twilight-y.  And I'm really interested to see where they're going with this whole "mystery of Peter Parker's parents" thing.  And we're still not getting really good shots of the Lizard!

Oh, well.  July 3 is when it hits theatres, and I'll still be checking it out. 

The Avengers Review

In the mid-2000s, Marvel Comics secured a financing deal that would allow them to start producing their own movies based on their properties.  The first products that they produced on their own was in the summer of 2008, with the pretty good 1-2 punch of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.  Buoyed by that success, Marvel announced a grand scheme for their film franchise.  The slate was Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, all leading up to the supergroup where they all join forces, The Avengers.

Well, the endgame has hit theatres.  The Avengers is upon us.  To produce this meshing of the heroes, Marvel called on Joss Whedon.  Whedon is a talent that I mostly like.  Despite insistence from my friends that I would love it, never got into Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I was late to the Firefly party, but by the time I got around to it, I enjoyed the heck out of it.  I did have a friend who once dismissed Whedon as "a geek who writes for geeks," but when you're doing one of the biggest superhero teams in comic history, seems to me that's the kind of guy you'd want doing it.

The film opens with SHIELD doing some experiments on the Tesseract (aka the Cosmic Cube, last seen at the end of Captain America), when something goes haywire, and it opens up a portal, bringing forth Loki, last seen at the end of Thor tumbling off into the cosmic abyss.  Loki proceeds to swipe the Tesseract, and begins to go about his evil plot.  SHIELD director Nick Fury figures it's time to assemble...some help.  As the Tesseract began emitting an unusual gamma radiation signature before it was stolen, he enlists the world's foremost expert on gamma radiation, Dr. Bruce Banner, to help track it down.  To battle the immediate threat of Loki, he calls Steve Rogers back into action.  To help put the final pieces of the puzzle together, he calls in SHIELD's consultant, Tony Stark.  Thor eventually shows up, seeking to bring his brother Loki to justice and reclaim the Tesseract for Aasgard's vault.  With back-up being provided by top SHIELD agents Black Widow and Hawkeye, Loki's plot soon comes to light.  Loki seeks to lead an army of invading aliens, known as the Chutauri, to conquer the Earth.  With this broad band of heroes before him, Fury figures it's time to dust off a scrapped SHIELD program known as the Avengers Initiative.  Can this group of heroes put aside their differences, become the Avengers, and save the planet?

One thing I've lamented about the dearth of superhero films over the past 12 years or so is they're so darn serious...they just don't have the sense of fun that I've long associated with comics.  What can I say?  I'm a Silver Age guy.  That's one of the few reasons why I enjoyed the Fantastic Four films...they have that sense of fun.  Well, I'm very glad to say that The Avengers is FUN.  It is very fun.  It is fun in spades.  It knows when it needs to be serious, and when it needs to be lighthearted.  A proper balance is achieved.  Not just fun, but funny.  The quips and superhero one-liners will have you busting a gut.

And the Hulk...oh my God, the Hulk steals the show.  Every time that Bruce Banner hulks out, it is magical.  Again, with the character of the Hulk, the temptation is to show him as nothing but rage unleashed.  But in this film, the Hulk is having fun smashing.  It's nice to see a fun Hulk.  And I do agree that Mark Ruffalo is probably the best Bruce Banner we've seen to date.  This is a man whom, thanks to his condition, has a full handle on his emotions without being emotionless.

Robert Downey Jr, as always, is awesome is Tony Stark/Iron Man.  He and Steve Rogers/Captain America take an instant dislike to each other, as Stark is so flippant and Rogers still has World War II "golly gee wilikers" earnestness to him.  Stark, however, takes an instant liking to Banner, as he realizes that Banner is probably the only guy who can successfully challenge him to the title "smartest guy in the room."

I loved Captain America  last year, and it was good to see the Cap pretty much the same, but as he frets in the film, his 1940s attitudes are a little out of place.  (He has one very politically incorrect scene with Nick Fury that made my jaw hit the floor.)  Black Widow's interrogation of Loki is a great scene...really, every hero gets a wonderful little character moment, from Thor trying to reason with his brother Loki, to Black Widow and Hawkeye lamenting their assassin/mercenary pasts.

Really, I'm struggling to come with things I didn't like about this film.  Perhaps Tony Stark does get a little too irreverent in some scenes, bordering on grating.  Things do kind of slow down in the exposition scenes, and you really want to see the heroes go back to punching each other or the bad guys.

This is just an amazing, fun, and mindblowing superhero film.  And I really hope the sequel promised by the post-credits scene comes to pass.

4 Nibs

Click here to read my review over on my main site.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Godzilla (The 1998 American Film)

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin!  For those just joining us, this was something I used to do on my podcast, but I grew tired of doing it.  But I wrote so many reviews before growing tired of it, that I decided to start posting them on the blog, rather than having them stagnate on my hard drive.  Today, we do a movie that I loved bunches when it first hit theatres, but has since become regarded as one of the worst summer blockbusters ever made:  the American Godzilla.

This review is originally dated December 3, 2010.

Yes, You Do Use It

I've blogged it before, and I'll blog it again.

When people learn I have a math degree, they sometimes come to me and say, "Oh my gosh!  I have this incredibly hard math problem because I'm (usually they're renovating their house) and only a guy with a math degree can solve it!"

When I take a look at the problem, it usually boils down to a Grade 5 word problem that they could easily solve themselves if they didn't waste Grade 5 math class sassing their teacher about how they'd never need it when they grew up.  

Third Dark Knight Rises Trailer

Three big superhero movies coming this summer.  The world's all nuts for The Avengers right now, but right behind it, The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan's third and final Batman movie.

I made this observation a few years ago...don't know if I blogged it.  When it comes to the superhero trilogies of the past 10 years, it tends to play out like this:

Movie the first - The origin story shoehorned in with the best known storyline.

Movie the second - Free of the constrains of the origin story, the creators cut loose, explore the heroes as best they can, and invariably create the best of the franchise.

Movie the third - Since all the actors are signed to a trilogy, the attitude is, "Fuck it, this is the last one, let's throw in all the cool shit that the fans want to see." 

But Christopher Nolan and his Batman films, he's kind of thrown this model out the window.  For the first movie, he ditched the best known storyline and focused purely on the origin story.  For the second film, that's when he brought in the arch-enemy, really pushing the hero to its limits.  So for the third...well, I have no idea.

As I mentioned with the previous trailer, it's really neat that they are bringing this trilogy to a definite end.  Comic books aren't designed to end, which is why they've been running since the 1940s.  When it comes to a superhero's end, everyone's got their own idea of what it should be.  For Batman, it's pretty much agreed that the best telling of "The End of Batman" is The Dark Knight Returns.

So a cinematic end to Batman.  The mind boggles.

Reminder of what we know....  It takes places 8 years after The Dark Knight.  Christian Bale is back as Bruce Wayne/Batman.  Michael Caine is back as Alfred.  Morgan Freeman is back as Lucious Fox.  For the new characters, Tom Hardy is Bane, Anne Hathaway is Catwoman, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a Gotham City cop.

Trailer!






My thoughts: I'm digging Anne Hathaway's Catwoman. That line at the end, "My mother warned me...." seems very Catwoman-esque. Really glad they cleaned up the sound issues with Bane's mask and we can actually hear him.  And Bane tossing aside Batman's mask like that?  Does he "break the Bat?" 

I can hardly wait to find out!  July 20 is when it hits theatres!

The Targ Is Back! At Last!

Holy moly!  It's been darn near a month since I've had a chance to sit down and record a new episode of U62: The Targ!  But I found the time, and for I've got Episode 5.20: Backed Up.

First topic is explaining what the heck happened to me this past month, followed by a desperate plea to you, my listeners.  We then go through some epic comic book crossovers that are coming up, and then work though my podcast prep file, which includes tidbits on Titanic 3D, McDonald's in France, and the richest duck in the world.


Click here to go download it!


Head here to subscribe in iTunes!


Be a fan in Facebook! 

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Avatar

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, the ol' segment that I used to do on my podcast that I decided to resurrect on my blog because I didn't want my old notes to go to waste, and it's nice to always have content.  I think, with this one, we finally run out of the ones that I actually produced for my podcast, and get into the ones that were gathering cyber-dust on my hard drive.  And it's too bad, because we finally get to the #1 movie of all time, Avatar.

This review is originally dated November 21, 2010.