To Visit the Olympics

Once again, the Olympic games are upon us.

Once again, I'm not there.

As I've said in many other forums, while I'm not a sports guy, I've always held a fascination with the Olympics.  Is it the pageantry?  Is it the hype?  Is it the stories of those who've sweated for years just to make it or break it in this one moment?   Or is it the ideal of the entire world deciding to chill for a couple of weeks, get together, and just play a few games?

I'm trying to remember when my fascination began.  You might think it was the Winter Olympics in Calgary, back in 1988.  Truth be told, I don't remember the games themselves that much.  I remember watching the opening ceremonies on TV with my parents.  I remember the endless TV commercials for the Olympic glasses from Petro-Canada.  And I remember, no matter what you did, the song "Winter Games" was constantly playing.






The first time I actually remember following the Olympics, devouring everything I could about them, was the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehamer.  I watched as much of the coverage as I could.  I read every article I could in the paper.  I remember the Edmonton Journal did this huge pictorial on all the Olympic venues, with very detailed and colourful graphics showing their interior layouts.  Did you know that the hockey rink for those Olympics was built in a hollowed-out mountain?  I have yet to see another pictorial like that in a newspaper.

And I remember being haunted by a news report pointing out how, just 10 short years earlier, the Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo.  A city that, in 1994, had become a literal war zone when Communism fell and the area referred to at the time as "the former Yugoslavia" fell into civil war.  That bit of journalism stuck with me.  The following Rememberance Day, the class assignment in English was to just write something for November 11.  I wrote an essay about how the Olympic ideals could be quickly forgotten in times of war, using the Sarajevo games as my example.  I got good marks on it.  Got to present it to the entire school during the Rememberance Day assembly.  My teacher got it published in the Edmonton Journal. 

Four years after than...Nagano 1998.  I was in college at that time.  The TV in the common lounge in the dorm was always on the Olympics.  I remember that was going to be Team Canada's year in hockey.  It was the first year professional NHL players were allowed to compete.  The drought was going to end, and Team Canada would come home with the gold in hockey.  Team Canada placed fourth.  I remember watching the bronze medal game on TV.  You could see it in the players' faces...they lost the will to win.  They just didn't care any more.  With the gold out of site, they no longer saw the point.  It was very disappointing. 

Four years after that...I arrive in Japan to begin my year as an ESL teacher.  I went out to my city of Kumagaya on the Nagano bullet train line.  I was gob-smacked.  Would I really be that close to the place I saw on TV so many times so many years ago?  And the answer was yes.  Nagano was just a short two-hour trip away on the bullet train.  I started making loose plans to head up to Nagano on some long weekend to visit the Olympic sites.  Sadly, though, with my work schedule, long weekends were few and far between.

For my Christmas vacation in Japan, I headed up north to the city of Sapporo to visit my best friend, who was also an ESL teacher.  Only when I started flipping through the guide books did I learn that Sapporo was the host of the 1972 Winter Olympics.  My plans for the Christmas holiday were set.  I'd try to visit as many of the Sapporo Olympic sites as I could.  Sadly, though, this being the middle of Christmas vacation, most of the Olympic sites - most of everything, in fact - was closed, so my sightseeing consisted of walking up to the locked doors and looking inside.  Fortunatley, though, on my second-last day, Sapporo's shiny new Winter Sports Museum, dedicated mainly to the 1972 Winter Olympics, was open again, so I was able to check that out before I left.  Even paid my money and took a ride to the top of the ski jump to enjoy the view.

Here's an old picture on my hard drive...this is the view from the top of the ski jump, looking down. 

Even though Tokyo was just a 1-hour train ride away, and I spent many a weekend touring Tokyo, I never did any explicit Olympic sightseeing in the host city for the 1964 Summer Olympics.  Closest I got was, one day, I was wandering around Harajuku with some friends and a buddy said, "Hey, Mark, you like the Olympics, right?  That building over there is the pool where they had all the aquatic events."

When my time in Japan came to an end, I knew it was now or never to finally see Nagano.  I set aside two weeks to do a lazy loop through central Japan and see all the sights I'd missed, and Nagano was going to take up a big portion of that.  When I stepped off the train at the Nagano station, and was greeted with this large mural of the Nagano Olympics' logo, I felt this great sense of completion to my time in Japan.  Once I got settled at the youth hostel, I started plotting my trip.

I must have spent about four or five days in Nagano.  I got to know the clerks in the tourist information centre on a first name basis, as I started every day by stopping in and asking, "So how do I get to this venue?"  To help me out, they even dug around in the back room and found one of the old tourist maps that were printed for the 1998 Games to answer just those questions.  I went to Big Hat, which was the hockey rink.  There was actually an event going on that day so I got to go inside and stand at center ice.  I visited Aqua Wing, which was a figure skating venue for the games, but had since been converted into a swimming pool.  Had I brought my trunks, I would have gone in for a dip.  I visited the Olympic Stadium, which has since become the stadium for Nagano's baseball team.  Saw their baseball team doing laps around the Olympic park.  On one day, I took a bus trip outside of town to the ski hills and ski jump.  Once again, paid my money to ride to the top.  Sat at the bottom of the jump and had a lunch of cold soba while I saw some future Olympians practicing.  It was a very good day.

I ended my time in Nagano at M-Wave, which was where most of the speed skating was held.  Also inside they house a museum dedicated to the games.  There was some soccer match going on inside today, so I watched the game for a bit.  As I was leaving the facility, I whipped out my cellphone and called my friend up in Sapporo.  I knew, when his time was done, he'd be going home to Vancouver.  I called and asked, "Hey, isn't Vancouver putting a bid together for the 2010 Winter Olympics?  Do you know how well that's going?"  Right then and there, I extorted an invitation to crash on his couch if Vancouver got the games so I could go see them.

Vancouver was announced as the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics that following autumn, and I knew that I would be going.  I mean, it would be in my figurative back yard, there would be no excuse to not go.  Except for, of course, my chosen profession.

The Torino 2006 Games were going on near the end of my "Great Year of Unemployment."  For those new to the blog, the "Great Year of Unemployment" is what a call the year stretching from April of 2005 (when I graduated from NAIT) to April of 2006 (when I finally got a radio gig).  It was a tireless year of pounding the pavement begging for a job.  I had an interview during the 2006 Winter Olympics, and the interviewer asked why my future goals were.  "To see the Olympics some day," I said.  The interviewer rolled his eyes, let out a disgusted sigh, and said, "You're only saying because it's in the news right now."  I had no desire to expound a lot of energy convincing him otherwise, so I kept my mouth shut. 

As I blogged two years ago, during the Vancouver 2010 games, as much as I love working in radio, it's not a job that lets you do something like save up for a dream vacation.  My opportunities to see the games on home soil came and went, and I was stuck watching it on TV like most others.  But another opportunity might still arise.  Toronto has long longed to host the Summer Olympics.  They lost bids to host the 1996 and 2000 Games, and from what I gather, they're getting ready to try again.  While we've all heard that Quebec City is building a new hockey rink to try to lure back an NHL franchise, the big picture is that Quebec City wants a new hockey rink and an NHL franchise to strengthen a future bid for the Winter Olympics.  It's long been said that building the Saddledome and getting the Flames is what put Calgary's bid over the top, and the IOC has already said they would welcome another bid from Quebec City.

And of course, I could always go to one of the games held every two years overseas...it'll just be a whole lot more expensive.

But, for the time being, I'll have to content myself with Olympic sightseeing in my homeland.  Head out to Montreal, and see the Olympic Stadium before it's officially declared an eyesore and torn down.  My buddy still lives in Vancouver, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I crashed on his couch for a few days to see the Olympic sights.  But for a very attainable goal, I'll settle for going to Calgary when things are actually open.

Seriously, Canada Olympic Park, what's your fucking problem?  Every time  I go to Calgary, your Olympic Museum and Canada's Olympic Hall of Fame is closed.  Would it kill you to post some fucking hours?

 
Here I am on my last trip to Calgary, three years ago.  Once again, everything at Canada Olympic Park was closed, so I was stuck on the outside looking in.  I'm standing on the #2 spot on the podium instead of #1 as a symbol of my profound disappointment.  And as I'm sure you can tell, I'm still bitter. 

\But I must take that disappointment.  I must take that bitterness.  And I must channel it.  I need to make a plan, and start saving.  It is possible.  I will be there, someday, to enjoy the show.  To partake in the whole world getting together to chill out and play some games.

Some day, I will no longer be on the outside, looking in.

The Dark Knight Rises Review

So, my The Dark Knight Rises review is online!

Head on over to my main site and give it a read!

Bat Day

So, there's a new Batman movie in theatres.  I figured I should go see it as soon as I can, so today, I was off to the city to do just that.

Before I departed, I made the serious debate as to whether to see the film in IMAX or not.  Normally, such a thing wouldn't matter...I'd just save the extra money and go see it in a regular theatre.  But, with The Dark Knight Rises, most of the major action scenes were filmed with IMAX cameras and designed and optimized for the IMAX format.  A trend that director Christopher Nolan himself started with The Dark Knight four years ago.  Ultimately I figured, "What the hey?" and I was off to the IMAX at West Edmonton Mall.

And I learned a very painful lesson.  The last time I went out of my way to see a film in IMAX was Avatar three years ago.  (Again, director James Cameron filmed most of the film with IMAX cameras and designed the film to be shown in that format.)  West Edmonton Mall's IMAX theatre has changed in the past three years.  It's now assigned seating.  That means it's all like in a stadium now, where your ticket tells you where your seat is.  Had I known that, I would have bought my tickets online a couple of days ago so I could pick some really good seats.  My seat was good, but not great, but now I know for next time.

Going into The Dark Knight Rises, I was really excited.  It was like Christopher Nolan read my mind when it came to villains for this sequel.  After The Dark Knight, when most of my friends and I were debating with villain we'd like to see in the sequel, many scoffed when I said I'd like to see Bane.  But, for the more realistic take that Nolan was bringing to the Batman films, Bane was a perfect choice.  I could see them taking a similar approach to The Animated Series, where Bane was portrayed as a super-strong and super-smart South American hitman, brought in my Gotham's organized crime to take care of this Batman problem once and for all.  Just replace his strength-enhancing drug Venom with plane ol' steroids, and you'd be set. 

And of course, Catwoman was high on my short list of villains, too, if only because Catwoman deserves better than that Halle Berry movie from a few years ago.

But I was cautious as well.  If there's one thing I've learned from film trilogies, the third one is always the trickiest, as the director struggles to bring things to a satisfying conclusion.

So.  The film takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight.  In order to become "the hero that Gotham deserves" and make a martyr out of Harvey Dent, Bruce Wayne retired from being Batman.  This seems to have worked, as Gotham City soon passed a new tough-on-crime bill known as "The Dent Act" and crime in Gotham is at all-time low.  Things aren't good for Bruce Wayne, though.  Still mourning the loss of his lady love Rachael Dawes, Bruce Wayne has become a recluse in Wayne Manor.  But then, one night, Bruce Wayne stumbles across a cat burglar named Selina Kyle breaking into his vault and stealing the Wayne family jewels.  A young cop named John Blake then swings by the manor, to report that Commissioner Gordon has been attacked by a ruthless mercenary named Bane, who has set up shop in Gotham City.  All of this is enough to shake Bruce Wayne out of his funk, and soon, Batman is patrolling the streets once again.  What is Bane's master plan?  Will Batman be able to rise to the challenge and once again be the hero that Gotham deserves?

I really liked this film.  It's not as good as The Dark Knight, but it's a good end to this trilogy.  In a way, it's more like a sequel to Batman Begins, as it mainly focuses on and addresses the loose ends from that film.  I know some are upset that the Joker wasn't even acknowledged in this film.  But let's be honest.  Any mention of the Joker would bring up awkward questions as to where he is and what became of him, so the filmmakers took the easy way and chose to ignore him completely.

This portrayal of Bane was really good.  I see there's been this desire to create an "anti-Batman" in the comics...a character with a similar origin, but winds up on the wrong side of the law.  It really seems like they tried to make Bane into an "anti-Batman," and it works.  His master plan is highly unique, and in seeing it play out, I think their main inspiration this time out was the classic Batman arc No Man's Land.  And in the final sound mix, Bane ends up sounding quite a bit like Destro from the old G.I. Joe cartoon.

Anne Hathaway made a really good Catwoman.  She knows how slink and sex it up, but also knows when it's time to turn off the charm and be ruthless.  I should also mention that, while they never refer to her as "Catwoman" in the film, there's always an extra emphasis that she's a "cat" burglar.

A friend of mine texted me on the drive home to ask if there were any good surprises in the film.  Sadly, I read one too many spoilers online.  That, and couple with a lot of knowledge about the Batman universe, I saw all the surprises coming.  But still, there's one surprise in the film, the filmmakers double-backed and triple-backed on it enough that it did catch me off guard when they revealed it.

And I am so glad I paid the extra to see it in IMAX.  That bigger screen really puts you in the middle of all the action scenes...a lot better than 3D.

When all is said and done, I give it 3.5 nibs.  I'll have a review on the main site in a day or so.

That's not all I did in the city today.  Had to buy a few treats.  As you know, I'm a huge fan of Kevin Smith's, but I really haven't bought much of his comic books.  Truth be told, I'm starting to get a little burnt out on Smith.  He does a billion podcasts and a dozen or so web series now...I'm just overwhelmed with the guy.  That being said though, since I was seeing The Dark Knight Rises today, and Smith has written a couple of Batman books, I decided to grab them from Chapters on my way out of the city.  So, over the next few days, I'll be sitting down to read Cacophony and The Widening Gyre. 

And, since it's just not a trip to the city without buying a DVD, I bought the brand-new Blu-Ray edition of Smokey and the Bandit.  I know!  You're probably thinking, "That really doesn't seem like you're kind of movie, Mark."  For some reason, I remember this movie being on TV a lot when I was a kid.  Hell, my earliest conscious memory of begging my parents to buy me a toy was getting my Dad to buy me the Hot Wheels 2-pack of the Bandit's Trans-Am and Smokey's police car.  This is Universal Studio's 100th anniversary, and lots of their films are getting 100th anniversary Blu-Rays.  And when I heard that the 100th Anniversary edition of Smokey and the Bandit came out, I just thought, "I want this."  And at the bargain bin price of $15, how could I say no?  I'll probably spend a lazy Sunday afternoon watching it tomorrow.

And, had to take one last swing by the Apple Store and gaze longingly at the iPhones.  If you're my friend on Facebook, then you've already heard my tale of woe.  My cellphone contract officially runs out at the end of this month, and when I signed into that contract three years ago, I said, "When the contract's done, it'll be time to upgrade!"  I've enjoyed my BlackBerry, but I've had my heart set on an iPhone for quite some time.  I've been diligently pinching my pennies throughout the year, saving my money for an iPhone.

And then, that wonderfully mysterious "service engine soon" light came on in my car back on Tuesday.  And along with it, it disabled my remote starter.  Rather than fret about it, I made the appointment with the mechanic to have a look at it.  The problem is in the pollution control system, and requires a replacement part.  And paying to get this fixed will wipe out my iPhone fund.

I'm pretty bummed out about that.  I know, as someone pointed out on Facebook, I shouldn't be here bitching about my first world problems.  But then, to quote that great philosopher of our time, Ally McBeal, "These problems are important because they happen to me."

All in all, not a bad day.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Back to the Future Trilogy

 Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I just go off on one of the DVDs I own in my collection.  This week, one of my all time favourite franchises, The Back to the Future trilogy.  No doubt I'll revisit this in the future and look at each film individually.  But until them, just some bullet points on why I like it.  This entry is originally dated March 6, 2011. 

First Request

So, in my day job, I do a request show.  For a while now, whenever I play the first request of the show, I've been thinking, "I should play that clip from The Empire Strikes Back.  You know...the smug admiral who says 'Our first catch of the day.'" 







So, I know they've got some pretty good sound boards over at the official Star Wars website.  In my free time this afternoon, I went by those sound boards, seeing if they had that clip.  And lo and behold, they did!

And a few clips more.

So I went a little overboard, threw in some music, and made this clip.




First Request by Mark Cappis


I don't know if I'll actually use it on the air, but man, it makes me laugh.  Besides, if I use it, I'll need something for the last request of the day, and they don't have the clip I want for that.

Han Solo:  "You're all clear kid, now let's blow this thing and go home."

Man of Steel Teasers

Confession time.  Despite its flaws, I kind of like Superman Returns.  When all is said and done, I feel it's a movie that needed to be made.  The Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve Superman films just became so iconic, that if any kind of reboot were to be made, they would have had to have been acknowledged and referenced and been the basis for the films.

Let's be honest.  For most superhero films, writers usually go to the best-known storylines in the public consciousness.  And, with Superman, the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve films are the best-known storylines.

So, Superman Returns had to be made.  Now that all the homage, tribute and expected follow-up is out of our collective systems, we can do a proper reboot.

But the lesson we can take away from Superman Returns is that a lot of writers these days find Superman to be a tricky character to write.  I mean...a near-omnipotent being with a strict moral code.  In our grim and gritty anti-hero society, people find him tough to get a handle on.  Which is why it's kind of weird that Man of Steel, (aka the Superman reboot) comes to us from those who have really popularized the grim and gritty anti-hero superhero films...Christopher Nolan and the makers of The Dark Knight trilogy.

As the legend goes, shortly after the release of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer were sitting around brainstorming ideas for the film that would eventually become The Dark Knight Rises.  In their brainstorming sessions, Goyer said one day, "Too bad we're not doing Superman.  I have a great idea for Superman."  Nolan said, "Really?  Let's here it."  Goyer told Nolan his idea, and Nolan said, "That...is...AWESOME!!"  They went and pitched it to the bosses at Warner Brothers, and of course, Warner Brothers said, "The guys in charge of our biggest superhero franchise want to do another superhero franchise?  SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!"   (Money in this case being a green light.)

Nolan, however, wasn't took keen to direct, so after a talent search throughout Hollywood, they finally hired a director in Zack Snyder.  Snyder, of course, has his comic book cred, having directed 300 and Watchmen.  The interesting trivia bit is Snyder turned down the chance to direct Superman Returns, citing he just didn't know how to make Superman relevant in this day and age.  So this script, apparently, made Superman relevant to a guy who wrote off the character.

Time for the cast, and once again The Dark Knight crew decided to fill their cast with well-known character actors.  For Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El, they chose Henry Cavill, probably still best known as one of the stars of The Tudors.  For his legendary lady love, intrepid reporter Lois Lane, they went with one of my top celebrity crushes, Amy Adams.  Laurence Fishburne will be playing Clark Kent's boss, Perry White.  Christopher Meloni, fresh off his time on Law & Order: SVU, plays an Army general wary of this Kryptonian.  Richard Schiff from The West Wing plays one of Superman's friends-turned-enemies, Dr. Emil Hamilton.  Superman's Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara, are being played by Russel Crowe and Ayelet Zurer, and his human parents on Earth, Johnathon and Martha Kent, and being played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.  

For a villain in this piece, they skipped Lex Luthor!  That's one thing about The Dark Knight trilogy that I liked, and I like to see that they're trying to emulate.  Save the best-known arch-enemy for the sequel, so that way in the first one, you're completely free to focus on the origin story.  The villain in this one is General Zod, to be played by Michael Shannon. 

The first teaser hit theatres this weekend in front of The Dark Knight Rises.  There are two versions of this first teaser.  The first has a narration spoken by Costner as Johnathon Kent.





The second has a narration spoken by Crowe as Jor-El.




Upon looking at these trailers, all I can say is I'm very underwhelmed.  This doesn't look like a Superman movie.  They are sleepy.  They are boring.  They lack the iconography that we've come to associate with Superman.  Seriously.  Why is Superman on a fishing boat?

I guess we'll have to find out on June 14, 2013, when Man of Steel hits theatres.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the many DVDs in my collection, and then rant about it.  We get to the first TV show in this series.  I never really figured out how to do TV shows.  Should I binge watch the entire series?  Just watch a handful of my favourite episodes?  It's something I'm still figuring out.  For our first series, we get to some of Aaron Sorkin's work, his short-lived series about working on a TV series...Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.  This article is originally dated February 16, 2011.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Doctor Who: The Movie

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I just rant about a DVD in my collection.  This started as a feature for my podcast, and I wrote several dozen reviews before I abandoned it, so I've been posting my old notes to this here blog.  Today, we get to something very special.  I've become a Doctor Who fan in my old age, and I was able to acquire my first-ever exposure to Doctor Who; the 1996 American-made TV movie known simply as Doctor Who: The Movie.  This review is originally dated February 14, 2011.

Reflections on my birthday

So it was my birthday this past weekend.  Well, Saturday was my birthday, but I couldn't do much on Saturday because I was working.  However, my parents did come up to buy me dinner, which was really nice.  They brought me a really neat present.  Apparently, there's a this little comic book and collectable shop in Jasper now, and whenever they're in Jasper they see it and think of me.  In their latest trip, they brought me this.

It's a tin sign, featuring a very classic looking Wolverine.  I came to the X-Men party kind of late, so when it comes to art of Wolverine, I'm used to things like highly detailed Alex Ross prints and the like.  So, to see some good ol' 1980s-era promo art for Wolverine is kinda cool.  Still figuring out a good place to hang it.

On Sunday, I was able to head off into the city and go through with my annual birthday tradition.  Ever since my 11th birthday, I've gone to see a movie on my birthday.  So this year, I was off to see The Amazing Spider-Man.

I really liked The Amazing Spider-Man.  What really sold it for me was the Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy romance.  It just seemed so much more real and genuine than the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson stuff in the other trilogy.  And it was really neat how they re-told the origin of Spider-Man.  Like a lot of folks, I was kind of upset that they were going to be re-telling the origin story so soon after the last movie.  So you start looking to how they're going to re-tell it...what they'll be focusing on this time, and omitting.  And I really like how they retold it.  It was such a different take on it, that I actually got a little bit misty-eyed when ol' Uncle Ben bit the dust.

That being said, though, with all this emphasis on character, I don't think we really got to know Dr. Curt Connors as our villains.  It would have been nice to have spent a little more time with him before he turned into the Lizard.  And, as I'm sure you can tell by the commercials, they're really playing up this whole "mystery of Peter Parker's parents" to be our over-reaching arc for this new batch of films.  It's kind of forgotten early in the film, then brought back again for the now-requisite post-credits sequence.  It seems extraneous at this point.  Ya know, it's still fine to make a film franchise where the films mostly stand alone.

With the other Spider-Man films out there, I'd put it a shade below Spider-Man 2, but with the reboot coming this soon, you just can't shake the feeling that you've seen it all before.  I give it 3.5 out of 4 nibs.

I've got my complete review over on my main site, so check it out if you so please.

Then it was off to HMV.  I'd resolved to spend a little birthday money on a Blu-Ray I'd been denying myself for a long time:  the original 1933 edition of King Kong.  I've been looking at this one in HMV for 2 freakin' years, but for some reason, I'd always fret about it being too expensive or some BS like that, and so I finally said, "Fuck it.  Let's get it."

And then, because it was on sale, I also bought the 2005 Peter Jackson remake of King Kong.  Now, as I've blogged many times before, I'm in no rush to upgrade my DVDs to Blu-Ray, because I still don't have an HDTV to fully enjoy them on.  But, I have enjoyed Peter Jackson's King Kong remake enough to be curious enough about it's extended version.  Yes, like his Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson did an extended version of King Kong.  And when I saw that the Blu-Ray contained both the original theatrical version and the extended edition, and it was on sale for just $15, I figured "Why not?"  It's going to make an interesting double-feature next weekend.

And then I had to swing by the Apple Store.  Three years ago, when I bought my BlackBerry, I signed for the three year contract and said, "Yeah, after three years it'll be time to upgrade."  Well, my three year contract runs out at the end of the month.  And I really want to upgrade to an iPhone.  But I'm starting to get cold feet.

Because, dude, iPhones are expensive.

Right now, I'm looking at the iPhone 4s with the 32G memory, because it's the top of the line for iPhone's right now, and I figure I might need a bit bigger memory with all the messing around I'd be doing with it.  Right now, that goes for ~$260.

And I'm certain that if I did my shopping around, I could probably find a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Google Android with most of the same features for around $50.

But...but...iPhone!

So I'm still figuring out what to do on that front.

But all in all, the birthday weekend wasn't too bad.  I've been too busy to go into the usual spiral of depression it usually brings.  I'm still waiting for that moment where I officially become a grown-up.  If anything, the words of Dr. Johnny Fever describing the radio announcer lifestyle grow more and more accurate every day:  "Pushing 40 and still living like a college kid." 

And here's what I've been listening to while writing this.  Jazz covers of Studio Ghibli music.  SO AWESOME.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Inception

It's time for Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I rant about one of the many DVDs in my collection!  I've been going though a stretch of movies related to Christmas 2010.  Here, we get to the last one I bought with my gift cards...one of the biggest movies of 2010, Inception.  My notes on this one are originally dated January 28, 2011.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - The A-Team

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch an old movie from my DVD collection and rant about it.  I originally started doing this around 2 years ago as a bit for my podcast, but I stopped because that became too labour-intensive.  But, rather than my old notes go to wasted, and I've started posting it here on my blog.  My notes are currently winding through Christmas 2010/New Years 2011, which is why all the talking about Christmas.  Today, we get to a film I blew my gift cards on that year, The A-Team.  This review is originally dated January 23, 2011.

The World's Biggest Fast Food Restaurant

Because I love my greasy fast food, I'm always fascinated by stuff like this.

In order to meet the hungry tourists descending on London for the 2012 Olympics, McDonald's UK is getting ready to open up the world's largest fast food restaurant.

3000 square feet in size...two stories high...designed to serve 1200 people an hour.  McDonald's is bringing in 500 elite McDonald's employees from all across the UK to staff it, and 200 people will be on staff at all times.

McDonald's has been an official Olympic sponsor since 1968, when Team USA complained about the lack of cheeseburgers at the games in Grenoble, France, so McDonald's flew a bunch of cheeseburgers to them. 

This world's largest McDonald's has 20 tills and 1500 seats.  The expect to sell 1.79 million meals during the course of the Olympics and the Paralympics.  Apparently, 10% of all food sold during the Olympics will be McDonald's meals.

But what really blows my mind is, it's temporary.  It will have its grand opening the day after the opening ceremonies; July 29.  And then, on September 9, the day after the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic games, they close the doors and tear it down. 

Tales like this inspire me to some day write my book about the McBarge.  The McBarge was the temporary, floating McDonald's that McDonald's set up on the Vancouver waterfront for Expo 86.  It still stands as the busiest fast food restaurant in the history of ever.  Designed not just to feed the hungry tourists, but to showcase the latest and greatest in fast food technologies circa 1986.  And after Expo 86, just cast off, and left to rust in an inlet. 

But yeah.  I find this fascinating.

Here's the original article, where I got the pics and facts.

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! 


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