Saw a Tarzan marathon yesterday with Johnny Weismiller. (sp) Those movies are so much fun. Little known fact:Cheeta passed away only last year.
Saw a Tarzan marathon yesterday with Johnny Weismiller. (sp) Those movies are so much fun. Little known fact:Cheeta passed away only last year.
Cruising the Seas... Looking for the Pearl
Unfortunately, the Cheeta that died a couple years ago is unlikely to have ever been in a Tarzan movie. For one thing, it would mean he lived about 20 years longer than the oldest documented Chimp in captivity.
Hmmm. That's interesting because on the marathon they indicated that it was the same Cheeta. I wonder if was the one from the Tarzan TV series with Ron Ely.
Cruising the Seas... Looking for the Pearl
Oh, it was widely reported that it was the same Cheeta, and the owners quite likely believed it to be the case.
There's just no evidence of it beyond the claim and several points that argue against it. Some of the issues:
There were several Chimps who played Cheeta and the main ones are already accounted for when they died
This chimpanzee would be much older than the oldest known
No one is aware of Weismuller actually ever owning a Chimpanzee himself that his estate could have given it to them.
Weismuller was involved in a water park in Florida that had a gorilla/chimp named Cheeta (you can see a picture here, from a flyer in which it refers to him as a chimp but is a picture of a young gorilla)
They say they got him from the Weismuller estate in Ocala but Weismuller didn't live in Ocala, he lived in Ft. Lauderdale.
There have been other similar claims over the years but they've all proven equally unfounded.
But the initial claim was so widely reported that I'm sure it is still taken as certain truth by many and I'm sure whoever is writing bumper copy for a movie marathon is not exactly viewing it as a journalistic endeavor.
I saw Source Code this past weekend. I thought it was really good - better than I expected. It took a few moments to realize what was going on - and the premise of the movie itself, but after about the first 15 minutes, it grabbed my attention and kept it for the duration.
The search function is like the Force. It may take practice, but the more you use it, the more control you will have over it!
Source Code was certainly an interesting movie but for me personally, one of those movies that I had to work a little too hard at "getting it". Movies should tell stories, even clever stories that keep the audience thinking or guessing, but those movies that attempt to outwit the audience by being vague or not laying all their cards out on the table tend to be more frustrating than fun and enjoyable. But that's just me. Not good when walking out of a theater and you're thinking to yourself "what the h*** did I just see?" I think the director was shooting for something like the thought provoking mind-benders of Inception or Momento and ended up with something more like, as Peter Travers put it, "Groundhog Day morphing from comedy to a thriller".Originally Posted by GusMan
Writing about all things Disney, a couple of paragraphs at a time.
http://disneylandtraveler.blogspot.com/
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"Total Recall" - I liked the film ok. I think I liked it better than the first version. Other than one particular move that I'm not sure whether to blame the director or the director of photography for, I thought it was generally a good/fun movie. I had issues with the first film, partly because of the casting, and partly because of some internal logic story points, so I was iffy when I heard the film was being redone. I'd meant to go back and read the original story before seeing this version, but I didn't get a chance to.
El Dorado. Nothing like a good John Wayne movie on a Sat afternoon.
Cruising the Seas... Looking for the Pearl
That's funny. In a life that now crosses several decades, I have never seen a John Wayne movie from beginning to end. At one time that was looked on as being un-American. On the other hand....
I wasn't going to see it for personal reasons but I did end up going to see The Dark Knight Rises yesterday. Maybe the 107 degree temperatures and the need to suck up someone else' air-conditioning for awhile had something to do with it. The quick review - The Dark Knight Rises is long, plodding, dark, and violent. Not that it isn't interesting or have it's moments but in the end, there is something unappealing about its bleakness. Glad I saw it. I will probably rent it when it comes to home video, but after that, I will quickly put it to rest and forget about it
Writing about all things Disney, a couple of paragraphs at a time.
http://disneylandtraveler.blogspot.com/
48000 page views and counting
Oh, good. Maybe you can explain something to me. I'm a pretty smart guy but....They don't really (to my recollection) explain how it's possible in their story universe.
And I recently saw the remake of Arthur. I went into it expecting it to be a crass, obnoxious retelling of the original film, but was pleasantly surprised. It was amusing without being too over the top (as both Brand and Hollywood comedies about alcoholics tend to be) and it had some heart (mostly provided by Helen Mirren).
God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
Galaxy Quest. This is just an all around outstanding sci-fi comedy. And being a member of the sci-fi convention community, they really studied their source material. I'll always stop and watch if it's on. On a sad note, I just found out that the actor that played Tommy Weber/Lt. Larado, was in an almost fatal motorcycle accident a few years ago and is now paralyzed. That is so tragic.
Cruising the Seas... Looking for the Pearl
I love Galaxy Quest. It is a must watch for us as well.
Have you watched it with the alternate available language, I think is Thurmian? We could only stand a few minutes of it before we had to stop, but it was hilarious.
I loved the casting of Alan Rickman. Perfect.
The Lorax
Admittedly I'm not a Dr. Suess fan (oops sorrry) but I liked this movie a lot. And has there ever been a movie more ready-made for a stage show than this? The music has such a Broadway-esqueness to it. Each of the half dozen or so times my kids watched it on our recent road trip I listened along with the music and could see the Broadway play with dancers/singers in my head. One of the songs reminds me every time of the Genie at Hyperion in DCA singing "You aint never had a friend like me" - something about the cadence or the way it's sung.
Your attention, please. The Disneyland Limited now leaving for a grand circle tour of the Magic Kingdom. Aboaaard!
I sat through the entire movie in Thurmian. Was absolutely hysterical! It was at a party and we were all determined to make it through. By the end it was just one huge laugh fest!
Last edited by BlkPearlCptn; 08-17-2012 at 11:45 AM.
Cruising the Seas... Looking for the Pearl
Im going to have another 80s movie marathon this weekend, allready watched
Cant Buy Me Love 8/10
Just one of the Guys 7/10
Secret Admirer 8/10
Lost Boys 10/10
16 Candles 11/10
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Hope Springs. Very funny. Also made my cry. I wasn't prepared for that. Tommy Lee Kones was a riot!
The Hunger Games. Good. But I didn't cry, like some were. Perhaps it was because I wasn't drunk.
There are 10 kinds of people in this world... Those who know binary and those who don't.
Did anything explode? Did Meryl Streep turn out to be a cyborg? No? I'm trying to figure out why anyone would be theater prices to see movies like these otherwise
I came into ParaNorman with a sense of cautious optimism. I absolutely adore stop motion animation, and I genuinely fell in love with Coraline, LAIKA's previous effort, but the trailers for the film didn't capture my interest in the story in the way I hoped they would and this film also didn't have the benefit of being helmed by the brilliant Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, Coraline). That being said, I am extremely happy to report that ParaNorman absolutely delivers on every level you could hope for.
ParaNorman tells a story about a young boy named Norman who has the unusual ability to see and talk to the dead, an ability which has led him to be ostracized by the other members of his community, including his own family. The New England town in which he lives is famous for a historic witch execution, along with the legend of a curse that the witch put upon those who sentenced her to death. It turns out that the legend of the curse is true, and that Norman, with his ability to talk to the dead, is the only one who can prevent the curse from raising the dead. Unfortunately, Norman is unable to act fast enough and the Witch's curse begins to wreak havoc on the town.
ParaNorman is a film with many strengths. Stop motion animation is always a beautiful and fascinating process, and with new technological advances the filmmakers have been able to bring it to a level of detail and expression that are simply astounding. While the scope of the story may be smaller than something like Coraline or Nightmare Before Christmas, the scale of the stop motion sets for this town are truly incredible. They film absolutely immerses you in this world that feels like a living, breathing, place. As beautiful as the animation in Brave was, ParaNorman is easily the most visually impressive film I have seen this year.
As beautiful as the film is, it never falls into the trap of so many other animated films by simply being visual spectacle with no narrative soul. The story of the film is fun, intelligent, and heartfelt, and is supported by a great cast of characters. The odd kid who is misunderstood is a common trope in kids' movies, but what makes Norman stand out is that he's never mopey about it. He is ostracized, bullied, and rejected, but he's come to a kind of acceptance about the whole thing. He's certainly not happy about it, but at this point he's not trying to fit in, he's really just trying to keep his head down and get through the daily grind. This is part of what makes his relationship with the other characters in the film work so well. For instance Niel genuinely accepts Norman for who he is and it's obvious that this throws Norman for a loop and he doesn't really know how to interact with someone who "gets him." This is never spoken, but it plays out naturally through the performances of the characters.
As the narrative progresses it takes some really interesting turns, and at times is genuinely surprising and emotional. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that a large part of the narrative revolves around assumptions and misunderstanding, and it brilliantly uses the audience's assumptions and expectations about the genre and its conventions against them.
It's also worth mentioning that this is one of the rare films which decidedly benefits from the addition of 3D. There's some fun play with perspective, and being able to see the dimension that exists in these sets adds a lot to the experience.
I genuinely loved ParaNorman and it's easily one of my favorite films this year. It's not a movie for everyone, but if any of the trailers gave you even a glimmer of interest I would definitely recommend checking this one out. LAIKA is certainly beginning to make a name for themselves in the animation scene and I'm really looking forward to whatever their next project will be. I think I still prefer Coraline which definitely benefitted from the combination of Niel Gaiman's fantastic story and Henry Selick's experienced hand, but ParaNorman is a truly fantastic film and it's definitely worth a look.
A-
No explosions. No cyborgs. Good plot & dialog.Did anything explode? Did Meryl Streep turn out to be a cyborg? No? I'm trying to figure out why anyone would be theater prices to see movies like these otherwise
There are 10 kinds of people in this world... Those who know binary and those who don't.
Just finished watching Wall-E. I had forgotten how much I loved this movie. That little trash machine sure does have a lot of love in him
Carrie 10/10 - this is the only movie that really scares me, especially the Prom scene
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Carrie and the Shining, at too young of an age, is why I still have nightmares at 41, and I don't like horror movies.
I was in college for Nightmare on Elm Street and I had nightmares after that, too!
There are 10 kinds of people in this world... Those who know binary and those who don't.
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