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So, I've done what I said I wouldn't do. I have become completely obsessed with Blu-Ray movies. I have bought hundreds of DVDs over the years and can't imagine replacing them all with Blu-Ray copies. I still think that DVD quality is good enough, but as I watch more and more movies on Blu-Ray, I become more and more blown away.
When DVD came out, I said I couldn't imagine much better. Then TVs got bigger, digital technology began seeping into the mainstream and as Americans, we want the biggest and the best.
I will not say that I can't imagine anything better than Blu-Ray because as soon as I do something more amazing will be developed (3-D home systems anyone?). But instead, this time around, I am just as excited about the quality of Blu-Ray DVDs as I am about the promise they hold for future technology.
I think what blows me away the most about Blu-Ray DVDs is that they take the movies you don't think would benifit from the Blu-Ray treatment and truly make them an all new experience.
So with that in mind, I bought Lawrence Kasdan's directorial debut "Body Heat" on Blu-Ray. Not a big special effects movie or shot with digital cameras, but it was a movie I saw years ago on VHS and I remember really liking it at the time, but it wasn't something that ever stayed with me.
This time it was different. This time I noticed what a visually striking movie it really is. It's really beautifully shot. And all the fog and smoke (everyone smokes and I love it!) and how Kathleen Turner looks in that white dress or how she looks naked or just how she looks all the time in this movie... wow, what a movie.
I LOVED this movie this time around. Kasdan is somebody I really let slip by me over the years. His writing on 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' are way better than those movies needed to succeed. He took them from really good movies to great movies that are true classics. And those were really my biggest experiences with Kasdan's work. But then I saw this movie and it really opened my eyes. I love his dialouge. He really needs to write more.
Immediately after watching 'Body Heat,' I DVRed 'Grand Canyon' on TV. I sat down and watched it last night and this one blew me away too. It's another one I saw years ago and didn't remember much about. The screenplay is so sharp and the cast is so perfect. It is like 'Crash' only a decade before and with a bigger heart. I loved it. Also, Danny Glover steals every scene he has and that is a huge accomplishment considering the cast. How is this guy so underused these days? How did he not get nominated for this?
Immediatlely after watching 'Grand Canyon,' I went and put as much of Kasdan's stuff on my Blockbuster queue. I can't wait to devour the rest of his stuff.
So now I am a Blu-Ray and a Kasdan junky. This movie did it. Up until now I had stuck mainly to newer movies shot digitally or big special effect movies that would really benefit. Not anymore. I am on the hunt for anything on Blu-Ray. I am really excited about seeing 'The Godfather' Blu-Ray that was recently released.
Buying 'Body Heat' was the best 15 bucks I have spent in a long time.
I remember growing up with a sense of wonder. Imagining how big the world was outside of my backyard was a true pasttime for me. I grew up surrounded by a vast number of friends, but still found time for imaginary ones as well. I remember at a very young age having an imaginary girlfriend who also happened to be a princess that I had to often rescue from some peril or another. Stupid now? Yes. Real friends have taken over, but sometimes I still miss being the hero. Even if it was just in my mind.
I think most of you will agree that as you get older it becomes harder and harder to imagine magical lands where the good guys always win and words like 'fair' and 'just' are words with true meaning.
This past week my buddy from LA came back home for a short visit. He asked me one night if I had ever heard anything about a movie called 'The Fall' that David Fincher ("Fight Club", "Zodiac") and Spike Jonze ("Adaptation") were trying to save from obscurity. Director Tarsem Singh ("The Cell") spent four years shooting the movie and never got a proper opening in the States. He shot it in 18 countries and 26 locations and it made something like 2 million in the box office. I had somehow missed this movie. It had slipped through the cracks and I HAD to see it.
Strangely enough, my local blockbuster had it. On Blu-Ray no less! So I grabbed it and we sat down and watched it. I'm not even going to summarize the movie or give you opinions on it. It is truly something you have to discover for yourself. If I denounce it, then you may miss something that you might truly love and cherish. If I praise it, I may bulid it up too much for you to truly enjoy it. Either way, it's the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen.
I did realized one thing during this movie which I will share with you. I may not have the imagination I once did, but I can still recognize true, inspired imagination. Somewhere deep down it is still apart of me.
September 25th 2008 16:49
Well, we once again find me posting about the Muppets. The last post I did about them was more or less all about Beaker (one of, if not the best, Muppets ever). Turns out that video that I posted a link to was just the start of a huge viral marketing campaign to bring the Muppets back into the public eye. Disney bought the Muppets a while back, but have been having somet trouble figuring out what to do with them, but they have not given up and seem to working hard to recapture the magic that Jim Henson was able to create with them. Let's all cross our fingers.
Here, read this NY Times Muppet Article and tell me you aren't a little excited?
I think my favorite thing about this is that they are being very careful about the sensibilities of the older Muppet fans, like myself. They have hired the guys behind "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" to write the next Muppet movie and I really, really like this idea. I remember back when "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was coming out and reading about Jason Segal (star and writer of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall") and his love for the Muppets (which if you have seen "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" you will know his love for them is very deep) and thinking about how much this sounded like something I wanted to see happen. I grew up watching and loving the Muppets and have been very sad over the last decade of so in how they have been used and slowly disappearing from pop culture.
Segal is close to my age and probably has the same fond, magical memories of the Muppets that I have. The fact that Disney has hired Segal really shows me that they are trying to keep in touch with the generations that grew up watching "The Muppet Show," all the Muppet movies, Fraggle Rock, etc... while still trying to make a younger (the "new" generation) audience discover and fall in love with them. Segal doesn't seem like an obvious choice, but I think he is close to perfect for this. His nostalgia will make it great.
Well, that's enough for now. I have seen so many movies over the past week that I need to write something about (Blu-Ray "Robocop", "My Kid Could Paint That", the documentary "I Think We're Alone Now" that showed at Fantastic Fest, "Lakeview Terrace") so I will be back shortly with some ideas about each.
But while you wait enjoy this classic "Muppet Show" clip!!!
September 17th 2008 22:19
My fascinationation with filmmaker David Cronenberg begin a few years ago after I watched his film 'Existenz.' It was strange, yet highly entertaining. I wasn't sure what exactly happened during the movie and after multiple viewings, I am still just as uncertain
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September 13th 2008 19:08
It's Saturday, which means I am occupied with watching college football and making sure my fantasy football teams are ready for tomorrow. But that doesn't mean I don't have a few minutes to give you a few thoughts.
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September 10th 2008 15:26
Do you love Beaker? Sure we all do. But, If by some chance you have lived under a rock your whole life, please watch THIS video. Even if he is your favorite muppet of all time (like he is mine) watch THIS video. It is pure gold and really shows why people love the muppets so much
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Football is here and I'm afraid that means some of the time that I would normally use for updates is going to be cut short. Fantasy Football is really a vice and addiction of mine and, well, I'm really not strong enough to live without it. Plus I will be spending many Saturdays in Norman, OK watching my Sooners decimate other teams. I'm really a simple man and I just need my football. Just be understanding and don't argue.
I did, however, take the time Friday night to go see 'Traitor
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'In the end, Mr. Cole, we all get cured of our sentiments. Those whom life doesn't cure, death will.'
- Miriam Colon in All the Pretty Horses
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this is it. the first post. the beginning. the genesis. and you are all here for it my friends. so let's get down to the brass tacks, shall we?
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Comment by Matt Moody
on The Muppets Movie Poster Collection