Pop Culture Roundup – What My Eyeballs Have Been Watching

In my ongoing effort to not have to read books or visit art museums, I’ve been continuing to revisit some of my favorite movies because local theaters keep deciding to show them on the big screen. I’m a sucker for this gimmick.

There’s also been a few things that I hadn’t seen before that I enjoyed. So, without further ado, here’s what I saw in the last week or two:

Things I Hadn’t Seen Before:

1. Army of Darkness – I loved this movie. I had seen the first two Evil Dead movies, but not this one. So, at first, in the theater, I was surprised to hear that someone had brought their approx. 10 year old kid with them. Then, I realized, this movie is perfect for 10-12 year old boys, which is also pretty much my maturity level. Bruce Campbell is the awesome. It’s silly and snarky and not too gory.

2. West Side Story – I somehow had managed to not see this movie before now. It was a special Fathom Events release celebrating the movie’s 50th anniversary/Blu Ray release. Fun facts: Russ Tamblyn, who plays Riff, played Dr. Jacobi on Twin Peaks – that blew my mind. And, he’s Amber Tamlyn’s dad (she’s from Joan of Arcadia – just for reference, I didn’t watch that show). Also, I really want Maria’s stain-glass french doors:

3. Attack the Block – (Saw this one on DVD) Aliens invade London and a street gang has to defend their turf. Edgar Wright, who directed Shaun of the Dead, produced the movie, and Nick Frost, who starred in Shaun of the Dead, is also in it. As I love Shaun of the Dead, I figured I would like this movie, too. I did (not as much as Shaun, but that would be extremely hard to do). The aliens are visually interesting. I had a dream about them. My brain completely ripped off the movie to make it.

Things I Had Seen Before:

1. The Great Muppet Caper – I wrote about going to see the first one. Last weekend was The Great Muppet Caper, this weekend will be Muppets Take Manhattan.This movie is funny. It’s so, so great.  Here’s one of my favorite scenes:

2. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure – I love this movie. Tim Burton’s first feature-length film. I saw this movie in the theater when it came out. Large Marge truly startled me when she went bug eyed – it’s so silly now, but back then I jumped in my seat. This movie is about a boy (ok, man-child) and his bike. There’s pretty much nothing about this movie I don’t like. It’s funny, it’s from the 80s, AND it’s retro within that time frame – perfect. And, it has one of the best scenes ever about responsibility, life, getting shit done, and being a good person. How many of us have searched for their own basement in The Alamo only to find out it doesn’t exist?

The big difference with seeing this movie in the theater the first time and now is that this time I got to drink a Margarita while I watched it this time. Nice.

Anybody else seen something for the first time they liked or revisited a favorite movie lately?