Whispers from the Myth Teller

Finally caught Superman Returns last night. It was indeed a great movie, for I feared a cheese fest. There were great little tributes to the Christopher Reeves movies and other references to the comic books and other films.

And yes, the character Superman is definitely written as a Christ figure. The Jor-El dialogue is very deliberately written to infer that. Get over it.

The spit curl was a bit much though. In one frame, his hair would be mussed and then in the next, the spit curl snaps into place. And yes, I already recognize the irony of me having no problem with a guy hopping around in blue pajamas, but the spit curl is the thing that bothers me. I'm quirky that way.

One of my favourite moments in the film is when Jimmy and Clark are having a beer in the bar and they are chatting with the bartender. It doesn't sound like much of a scene, but it's significant when you consider that the actor playing the bartender is the *original* Jimmy Olsen from the Superman television series staring George Reeves. It's a meeting of the eras when the two "Jimmys" hug after Supes does his super stuff.

I really didn't like the Luthor character. It was too reminiscent of the Gene Hackman portrayal in the first Superman movie. I guess I've just gotten used to the Clancy Brown version from the animated series. On the other hand, reusing the Brando scenes for Jor-El was brilliantly nostalgic.

So... Impressed I am. I am especially happy how the film turned out considering what it MIGHT have been if Nicky Cage had been cast as Clark Kent in the failed Superman Lives project. If you've got a few minutes to spare, take a listen to what Kevin Smith had to say about Jon Peters (the producer) when he was approached to write the script for that movie.

I don't get enough sleep (sarahcarotte has made me aware of this). I've started taking hour-long naps in the car while at work. It's not a good sign. There's just so much I need to do/want to do during the waking hours that the sleeping hours have had to take a budget cut. I've tried to resolve to go to bed by 10pm (giving me the recommended 8 hours sleep), but so far, something has always come up. Consequently... *yawn*

Watching Serenity at the Equality Now charity event was great fun, except that the guy sitting next to me apparently suffered from ADD. He kept fidgeting and bumping around in his chair, which in turn, would make my chair vibrate. Everytime I turned around to tell him to stop, he'd stop. He did this for the first part of the film and then calmed down for the second part (or I was too engrossed to notice).

As an added bonus, I got to see some old friends from my Toon Boom days who showed up for the screening. I really miss working/hanging out with those guys.

Am I going to bed early tonight? Not really since it's Friday pool, followed by poker. Oh well... I'll sleep when I'm 70 years old (which is only 30 years away.. *shudder*).

Actor Pat Morita Dies at 73

LOS ANGELES - Actor
Pat Morita, whose portrayal of the wise and dry-witted Mr. Miyagi in "The Karate Kid" earned him an Oscar nomination, has died. He was 73.

Read the Yahoo News article

Okay, maybe screen legend is too much, but I've seen Pat Morita do some really fantastic work during his 40 year career in Hollywood. When he played serious roles, he was outstanding.

Gimme some sugar baby.


Which B-Movie Badass Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I remember back when screensavers were all the rage. The coolest screensavers were made by AfterDark, made famous by their flying toasters (anybody remember those?). Back in 1993, I had an AfterDark Star Trek screensaver with a multitude of settings like Spock blasting away at the screen with a phaser, Star Trek trivia, and tribbles falling from the top of the monitor.

Since then, quality screensavers have been difficult to come by.

But then I was walking by a co-worker's office and I was delighted to see his screensaver. Visit the Must Love Dogs website and try out their screensavers. Mediocre movie (even with Christopher Plummer and John Cusack), but cool download.

Still... I wish I could get my hands on the Star Trek edition of AfterDark. I loved watching Spock walk across my screen.

Gleamed from  talyesin[Unknown site tag]: Tal's list stopped where I hit 62, but since I was only 8 movies short of being a movie whore, and I noticed that some of my fav movies weren't in the original list, I added more. I do so want to have the words "movie whore" in red ink next to my name in Tal's little black book.Who am I kidding? When Tal sees the new list, he'll have seen all these extra movies, making him a superior movie whore to me.

I tire of Tal beating me in everything. *sigh*

Here's my list:

(1) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(2) Grease
(3) Pirates of the Caribbean
(4) Boondock Saints
(5) The Mexican
(6) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(7) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(8) Airplane!
(9) The Princess Bride
( ) Young Frankenstien
( ) AnchorMan: The Legend of Ron Burgandy
(10) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Saw
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
() Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
( ) Jason X
() Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
(11) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
(12) Harry Potter
(13) Harry Potter 2
(14) Harry Potter 3
( ) Resident Evil
( ) Resident Evil 2
( ) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(15) The Village
( ) Donnie Darko
(16) Lilo & Stitch
(17) Finding Nemo
(18) Finding Neverland
( ) 13 Ghosts
(19) Signs
(20) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) Thirteen Going on 30
(21) I, Robot
(22) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(23) Universal Soldier
(24) A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(25) Deep Impact
( ) Kingpin
( ) Never Been Kissed
( ) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(26) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumb & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(27) Practical Magic
(28) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(29) From Hell
(30) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(31) Sixteen Candles
( ) Coach Carter
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Seven
(32) Oceans Eleven
(33) Oceans Twelve
( ) Identity
(34) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
(35) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(36) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss's Daughter
(37) Maid in Manhattan
( ) Frailty
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(38) Mars Attacks!
( ) Event Horizon
(39) Ever After
(40) Forrest Gump
(41) Big Trouble in Little China
(42) X-Men
(43) X-2: X-Men United
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(44) Catch Me If You Can
(45) The Others
(46) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) The Hot Chick
( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle
( ) Old School
( ) Ray
( ) The Notebook
(47) K-Pax
(48) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(49) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(50) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Boogeyman
( ) Hitch
(51) The Fifth Element
(52) Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace
(53) Star Wars Episode II Attack of The Clones
(54) Star Wars Episode III Revenge of The Sith
(55) Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope
(56) Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
(57) Star Wars Episode VI Return of The Jedi...
( ) Troop Beverly Hills
( ) Swimming with Sharks
(58) Air Force One
( ) For Richer or Poorer
(59) Trainspotting
( ) People Under the Stairs
( ) Blue Velvet
(60) Sound of Music
( ) Parent Trap 1
( ) Parent Trap 2
( ) The Burbs
(61) The Terminator
( ) Empire Records
( ) SLC Punk
(62) Meet Joe Black
(64) The Dresser
(65) Spider-man I
(66) Spider-man II
(67) Evil Dead I
(68) Evil Dead II
(69) Army of Darkness
(70) M*A*S*H
(71) Flatliners
(72) Lost Boys
(73) Princess Mononoke
(74) Thin Red Line
(75) Independance Day
(76) Dark Crystal
(77) Labyrinth
(78) Braveheart
(79) Rob Roy
(80) Batman
(81) Batman Returns
(82) Batman Forever
(83) Batman Begins
( ) Batman and Robin
( ) Desperado
(84) Once Upon a Time in Mexico
(85) Men with Brooms
(86) Amelie
(87) Shrek I
(88) Shrek II
(89) Titan A.E.
(90) Toy Story I
(91) Toy Story II
(92) Bug's Life
(93) Alladin
(94) Real Genius
(95) Name of the Rose
(96) Dr. No (1962)
( ) From Russia With Love (1963)
(97) Goldfinger (1964)
(98) Thunderball (1965)
(99) You Only Live Twice (1967)
( ) On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
(100) Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
(101) Live and Let Die (1973)
(102) The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) (Unfortunately -- blech)
( ) The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
(103) Moonraker (1979)
(104) For Your Eyes Only (1981)
(105) Octopussy (1983)
(106) A View to a Kill (1985)
(107) The Living Daylights (1987)
(108) Licence to Kill (1989)
(109) GoldenEye (1995)
(110) Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
(111) The World Is Not Enough (1999)
(112) Die Another Day (2002)

Enough!