Tag: Pop Culture

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:

These doors are pretty, oh so pretty

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?

 

Name Ideas for the Duggars

The Duggars, Michelle and Jim Bob, are expecting their 20th child. All the rest of their kids’ names start with a J, so I’m sure this one will as well. I bet at this point it’s hard to come up with new J names. Here’s 20 suggestions, in case they want to change any of their current children’s names.

1. Joker
2. Jigglypuff (girl)
3. J-name
4. Just forget it, we won’t remember it anyway
5. Jesus-Sue (girl)
6. Jesus-Bob (boy)
7. Jellybean
8. Jor-El
9. Justin Old Fashioned Love Song
10. Jamiroquai
11. Just Do It (Both your and Nike’s slogan)
12. Junkyard Dog
13. Jean Genie
14.Jacques Cousteau-Ray
15. Jolly Roger
16. Jristopher
17. Job (just to mess with him if it’s a boy)
18. Jabberwocky
19. Jager Meister
20. Jagger-Moves Like (it’s trendy and now)

What else?

 

I Need to be More Like The Muppets

You know those days when you wake up, and the sun is shining, and it’s November, and it’s not too hot and it’s not too cold, and you decide to check your e-mail on your phone from the comfort of your warm bed – and there’s a turd of an e-mail sitting in your inbox. And that e-mail says, in coded language, “I just woke up, being the sour person I am everyday, and decided to take it out on you.” And then, another person responds to that e-mail and says, in coded language, “Yeah, and I’m going to back them up because I’m also quite the pill.” And then that once promising day turns into a rage/depression combo day. That was yesterday.

The day before yesterday, Tom and I went to see The Muppet Movie (not the new one, the first one in 1979) at a movie theater on the big screen. It was so great – I’ve seen the movie several times, but was too young to see it in the theater when it came out. As with many people from my generation, The Muppets are very important to me, and so was Jim Henson.

The Muppets are amazing. They are genuine. They are quirky and unique. The weird ones embrace their weirdness, and the less weird ones appreciate the weird ones with affection and true friendship. They apologize to each other. They are not petty and vindictive – their flaws are human and forgivable. But, it isn’t all about “lessons” – there are jokes, they don’t take everything overly seriously, and other than the fabulous Miss Piggy, it’s never “all about them.” Then, like a cherry on top, they actually have two characters whose sole existence is to ridicule them (Statler and Waldorf). To someone who abhors over-sentimentality, this combination is absolutely perfect.

The Muppet Movie can have one of the sincerest songs ever written, “The Rainbow Connection,” which, if sung by a human, would be sappy and hippie dippy, but when sung by a frog in a swamp with the voice of Jim Henson, makes me want to cry just thinking about it…

And, it can have Steve Martin waiting on a frog an a pig on a date.

Basically, the best of both worlds.

I remember where I was when I found out Jim Henson died. I was in a mini van with my family in Ahoskie, N.C. – where my dad was from, visiting my grandma. Jim Henson had actually been in Ahoskie – a very, very small, obscure town – about a week before, visiting his father and step mother. When you find out that Jim Henson was in the tiny town your dad grew up, visiting his own dad, the world seems a little smaller, and the world of The Muppets a little more possible, even with the loss of their creator.

What The Muppets do so well, and what I need to do better, is they don’t deny that there’s crap in the world, or even that an e-mail can make a day go off its rails. They live in a world of true setbacks, and even some genuine assholes (the villain doesn’t come around to their point of view), but they also don’t let those things dictate the kind of day they’re going to have (but they let themselves feel bummed, too), because ultimately they are the ones who control whether to make the best of something or let it get them down. And, then, just before everything gets too sunshines and friendship, you hear:

Statler: Hey look, Waldorf, it’s a frog and a pig.

Waldorf: Yeah, looks like they’re in love.

Statler: Yeah.

Waldorf: Kind of makes you sick, doesn’t it?

Both: HAHAHAHAHAHA!

In conclusion, I love you, Muppets. And I hope to God your new movie is good and does you justice.

Saturday Morning Ridiculousness – Super Friends S1 Ep8

This is part of my weekly Saturday Morning installment dedicated to archiving and commenting on the wonderful “what else can we put in here to make it an hour” ridiculousness that is the cartoon series, Super Friends.

Season 1 – Episode 8: “The Androids”

Airdate was October 27, 1973.

The Super Friends consist of Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, and Robin. Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog are the “Junior Super Friends.” They haven’t made partner yet. They also have no super powers other than Wonder Dog’s ability to almost speak.
Short Synopsis: Some astronauts try to take off to the moon but fail and crash, mysteriously survive and leave the rocket, and Dr. Rebos has left a recorded message that this is a demonstration of his impressive skills (so, the standard nonsensical grandstanding). He demands that all space exploration end, because he thinks we have enough problems to focus on here on earth. Basically, the played out don’t-agree-with-space-travel-so-you-build-androids-to-look-like-other-people-and-sabatoge-the-space-program scheme. There were a lot more actual jokes in this episode than previous ones.

First Acknowledgement of an Alter-Ego

Clark Kent is assigned to cover the next space trip which is good because Superman can also keep tabs. Here he is invading everyone’s privacy while in the company of an awesomely 70s scientist.

Aquaman has Friends, and Don’t You Forget it.
“Aquaman sends out telepathic waves to his undersea world. A school of fish, ALL OF WHOM ARE HIS FRIENDS, stop foraging for food, and, following Aquaman’s instructions, begin gathering seaweed.” – Narrator

WTF Screenshots:
Even sea creatures couldn’t get away from macramé in the 1970s. This is a swordfish weaving with seaweed:

Ok, see if you can follow – this is a screenshot of the villain, pretending to be a reporter, getting a picture taken with Wonder Dog, to whom he has bestowed the fake and prestigious “Dog of the Year” award, but receives a “Cat of the Year” plaque, because that’s all the store had:

Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog, who, you may want to sit down for this, ended up stuck with the villain, are “held prisoner” in the villain’s PLAYROOM:

“Slides and swings? That Rebos must think we’re six years old.” – Marvin

Shut Up, Batman

“Is the chicken soup fresh?” – Batman, ordering a snack from the disguised villains.

Superman Never Has Thin Eyelashes at Home

“I’ve got to glue on these eyelashes real tight, that trip to Mars is a long way.” – Dr. Rebos, while gluing fake eyelashes onto Android Superman. Because, after all your hard work building an entire life-like android of Superman, you don’t want this to happen:

“Are you kidding? That thing wasn’t Superman. Did you SEE his eyelashes? There was no volume, and we all know Superman is the king of butterfly kisses. More like Schmuperman.”

No Comment.
“I think I’ll just hold on to you, double, until you run out of juice.” – Superman, to himself.

Last week, a reader sent me this great link. It’s a defense of Aquaman in song form. Pretty great: Aquaman’s Lament.

If you would like to witness these shenanigans in all their glory, the first season of Super Friends is available on DVD.