At the Movies

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    Big screen guilty pleasures …

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    So, this is my second post about guilty pleasures. I’ve talked about television already, so let’s look at the movies.

    Of course, I’ve seen all the James Bond movies too many times to count and am eagerly looking forward to the next one in November (eight months and counting down!). Hopefully, it will rock as much as Casino Royale did. Fingers crossed! 

    But there are also lots of other movies I’ll watch any time they’re on, no matter how many times I’ve seen them already — or how well I can quote the dialogue. One of my favorites that FX has been running incessantly is The Italian Job with Mark Wahlberg and Jason Stratham. I love heist movies, and this is one of my favorites, along with The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.

    I’m also fond of action movies, like Die Hard, The Fugitive, and The Negotiator, and I’ll watch anything Clint Eastwood is in. I’ve seen The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and the rest of that movie trilogy way more than is healthy.

    I also love the Star Wars movies. The original trilogy – not the new ones, which frankly, suck out loud. I’m probably far too excited that there’s another Indiana Jones movie coming out, and I wish the Pirates of the Caribbean folks had stopped after the first, perfect movie.

    And, of course, no movie list of mine would be complete without the one film I probably quote the most — The Princess Bride. Inconceivable!

    So those are some of my movie obsessions. What are some of yours?

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    If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right …

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    They’re making an A-Team movie! It is sad how insanely happy this makes me. The movie will probably be terrible, as so many of the television show movie remakes have been in recent years (The Dukes of Hazzard, anyone?), but I’ll be one of the first people in line to see it.

    Which brings me to my topic of the day — guilty pleasures.

    We all have them. Books and movies and television shows that we love, even if they’re not considered hip and cool by other folks. I thought I’d share some of mine in the next few posts, starting with television shows.

    Now, you know of my love of The A-Team. I also have to admit that I’m a Matlock junkie. I’ll watch it anytime it’s on — even if I’ve seen the episode before. I just love trying to figure out who the killer is before the end. I’ll also watch Murder, She Wrote and the Perry Mason television movies on occasion, but I like Matlock much better. Probably because it’s set in the South. And Andy Griffith is a lot funnier than Angela Lansbury and Raymond Burr.

    I usually catch Matlock on Sunday afternoons, during the Hallmark Channel’s Crimetime Sunday marathons, which I am also becoming addicted to. Murder mysteries and crime shows. All. Day. Long!

    I also like Walker, Texas Ranger (also shown on the Hallmark Channel, curiously enough). Sure, it’s a cheesy action show, and Chuck Norris basically has one expression. But hey — I love me some cheesy action. It’s kind of fun when the dialogue is so cliched you can quote it before the character does. :rolleyes:

    And I will always watch the Project Runway marathons on Bravo, no matter how many times I’ve seen the episodes already. It’s a sickness, I know. But I also love me some fashion throwdowns.

    What about you? Got a guilty pleasure or television show you love? Share in the comments.

  • Oh, James …

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    According to an Associated Press story I saw, the title for the next James Bond film is … drumroll please … Quantum of Solace.

    According to the AP story, the title is the name of a Bond short story written by Ian Fleming.

    Interesting, but that doesn’t make it suck any less. Quantum of Solace? What is that even supposed to mean?

    Titles are important, especially when it comes to books and movies. Catchy titles make people want to read the book or watch the movie.

    Most of the Bond titles are awesome — The Spy who Loved Me, Casino Royale, The World is not Enough, You Only Live Twice, From Russia, With Love.

    Some are merely average — License to Kill, The Living Daylights, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

    And some make no sense at all — Thunderball, Moonraker, Goldfinger, Octopussy.

    But Quantum of Solace? I think that’s one of the worst titles I’ve ever heard. It’s hard to just say. It definitely doesn’t trip lightly off the tongue. And I’d be very interested in knowing how a musician can work those words into the theme song. Have you ever heard the word solace in a song? 

    I really, really, really hope the producers change the title. How about something like Cold Solace? Or something, anything but Quantum of Solace. Ugh.

    On the bright side, the movie is set for a Nov. 7 release. Less than 10 months away. Yeah! 😎

    What about you? What do you think of the title?

  • ‘Bourne’ again …

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    Saw The Bourne Ultimatum this weekend.

    And loved it. I’m a total sucker for spy movies, and I’ve enjoyed the first two Bourne movies. They’ll never replace my rabid, fangirl love of the James Bond franchise, but they’re darn good action movies. And, it’s rare that a movie series maintains such quality from film to film, without dissolving into a muddled mess. But Bourne manages to do it. Unlike, say, Pirates of the Caribbean.

    Matt Damon is back as Jason Bourne – a man of few words, but many punches, car chases, narrow escapes, and moody flashbacks. This time, he’s determined to get to the heart of the matter and find the guy who created the shady spy organization called Treadstone — and ultimately, Jason Bourne himself. The action picks up right where the second film left off, sometimes even jumping back in time to the second film. But those scenes were used seamlessly and actually added to the story, filling in the gaps, as they were.

    There’s a really intense cat-and-mouse scene where Bourne chases a bad guy who’s chasing Julia Stiles through the streets. Another great scene is Bourne giving a reporter instructions via a cell phone on how to avoid surveillance.

    I always enjoy little details, throwbacks to older movies that the audience can pick up on. There were plenty of those in Bourne. There are a couple of scenes that eerily mirror those in previous movies, like when Julia Stiles cuts and colors her hair in order to go on the run. She looks so much like Marie from the first movie, it’s scary. You wonder if Jason picked Marie in the first movie because she looked like Julia, or if he didn’t kill Julia before because she looked like Marie. Add that to the fact that Julia hints that she and Bourne had a relationship before he got amnesia, and things get really interesting regarding the Bourne-Marie-Julia love triangle.

    The only thing I had an issue with was the apparent ease at which Bourne breaks into CIA headquarters and steals classified documents. He basically uses a stairwell, and bada-bing, bada-boom, he’s inside. In real life, I imagine it would be a little more difficult than that. At least, I hope it would be.

    I also wanted one more scene at the end between Matt Damon and Julia Stiles — a reconciliation scene were they run off into the sunset together. Sadly, I did not get it, but given how much money the movie made this weekend, I’m hoping they’ll do a fourth one. Fingers crossed. 😎

    Bourne is definitely the best movie I’ve seen all year. Although, that’s not saying much, since I’ve only been to the theater three times so far. 🙄

    What about you? What’s the best thing you’ve watched this year? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • So-so Thirteen …

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    Saw Ocean’s Thirteen last weekend, which sadly is the first movie I’ve seen all summer. Too much work, too little time. Shaking head.

    Anyway, George, Brad, Matt, and the rest of the gang are back to swindle Al Pacino out of $500 million after he muscles Reuben (Elliot Gould’s character) out of his share of a new casino. The movie is basically one long gag and con after another. Some nice visuals and cool, snazzy Vegas music add to the atmosphere.

    The verdict: Better than Ocean’s Twelve, not nearly as good as Ocean’s Eleven. But a pleasant enough way to kill two hours.

    What about you? What movies have you seen this summer? Inquiring minds want to know …