Christmas 2010

Hi all,

Christmas was very good this year.  Much better than last year when my Dad lost his dog and I lost my oldest cat.  It was a Doctor Who Christmas for me -- a good friend got me the DW TARDIS Mobile Phone (cell ph) charm, which lights up and spins when a call comes in and a miniature die-cast metal 3-d TARDIS keychain - it's hollow and can be used to hide an "Emergency Fund", tho' I'm going to just have it on my desk.  Mom and Dad got me the TARDIS Cookie Jar I wanted! Yeah!  And Season 5 of DW - which I was expecting, and the same Mobile Ph charm, which is fine since I kinda' wanted two.  Mom also got me a nice warm burgundy track suit to wear in the house and slippers.  Dad got me a very nice Renaissance-style Madonna this year (he gets me one every year).  My brother and sister-in-law got me a $25-gift card to Amazon.com, which will come in handy.  I try not to get upset at my sister-in-law considering how much time and money I spent on the family (I don't really mind, especially the kids -- but I spend between $100.00 and $200.00 a year for Christmas on the four of them, it would be nice to get something nice back, but on well, you can't argue with people who are cheap).
Dad was pleasantly surprised with the $50.00 gift card I got to Amazon for him -- he insisted it was too much.  Mom really liked the Nook and accessories.  I hope it works for her -- I had a bit of trouble getting it set-up.  The kids seemed to enjoy their toys, esp. my nephew, tho' neither seemed excited about the books.  My sister-in-law said she liked "Settlers of Catan" because they used to have a copy but lost or gave it away, but then she didn't even offer to play a game that afternoon after the big dinner.  So, who knows?
We did have a big dinner at my sister-in-law's -- no turkey or Kielbasa, but we might do that at home today or next weekend (I have another 3-day weekend with much less to do).
I did get to top off yesterday by watching the Doctor Who Christmas special, "A Christmas Carol" which was very enjoyable - I still haven't quite warmed up to Matt Smith though.
Anyway - Hope everyone had a Happy Holiday.

--Olivia

PS -- Movie review should be coming tonight, I ended-up not having a lot of extra time over the last two days with all the holiday stuff I had to do.

DVD Review: Adv's of Buckaroo Banzai

Some how I completely forgot to post this!  Original review was posted on my blog (my Movie Project blog)  on Tuesday 21 December 2010.

• Title:  The Adventures of  Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension
• Director:  W.D. Richter
• Date:  1984
• Studio:  MGM / Sherwood Productions
• Cast:  Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum, Rosalind Cash, Robert Ito, Clancy Brown, Vincent Schiavelli, Carl Lumbly
• Genre:  SF, Adventure, Comedy
• Format:  Color
• DVD Formats:  Anamorphic Widescreen, R1, NTSC

 "Remember, no matter where you go - there you are."  -- Buckaroo Banzai
"History is made at night, Character is what you are in the dark."  -- Lord John Worphin

This is a movie where I actually owned a copy on pro VHS tape.  However, it is amazing just how good the DVD looks, especially the anamorphic widescreen.  It is, without a doubt, one of my absolutely favorite movies.  I have seen in many times, and have several of  the best lines memorized.

Buckaroo Banzai comes at you all at once and never slows down, producing a wild ride, filled with great lines and snappy dialogue.  However, it also quickly establishes it's characters so we come to care about them as people as the film zips along at warp speed and then some.  If  you have never seen this movie before - I highly, highly recommend watching it at least twice in order to figure out what is going on.

The crawl at the beginning of  the film attempts to explain part of what's going on and introduces some of  the humor of the movie, mentioning that Buckaroo, with an American father and Japanese mother -- was "brought into life the way he was destined to live it - going several directions at once."  It also mentions those "hard rocking scientists - the Hong Kong Cavaliers", Buckaroo's friends who have just sort of drifted into his circle.  And in the movie - he picks up a couple of  new followers.

The opening of  the film attempts to introduce the many sides of Buckaroo -- brilliant neuro-surgeon (Jeff Goldblum gets some great lines in that scene so watch closely), experimental scientist and physicist, head of a rock band, and founder of the Banzai Institute.  He's also an incredibly sensitive man, able to pick out a girl crying in a crowded audience while on stage playing jazzy rock music.

However, the majority of  the plot involves the 1938 Radio Broadcast of  "War of the Worlds" by Orson Welles - the one that panicked the country, when people believed it was real.  This movie posits - What if  it was real?  But the aliens weren't from Mars, but rather trapped in a prison called the 8th Dimension, an inter-spatial place between the tiny particles of matter.  That is, matter is mostly empty space, so Banzai is attempting to prove it is possible to cross inside it.  An earlier experiment into the 8th Dimension had released several aliens from this prison.  When Banzai's experiment opens the Dimension again, more aliens from the Planet 10 arrive to cause World War III if  Whorfin (formerly imprisoned in the 8th Dimension) isn't stopped.

But that really simplifies this brilliant movie.  There are many extremely likable aspects to the film -- a brilliant cast; the idea that the film treats it's audience as intelligent and just drops one into the middle of events, trusting the audience can figure it out without spoon-feeding information; some truly brilliant, funny lines; a rip-roaring, fast-moving fun plot; great characters.  In many ways, it has everything.

By the bye - the sound design in this film is also notable.  Pay attention to the background announcements in the scene when Whorfin escapes from a mental hospital (Whorfin is inhabiting the body of  Dr. Emilio Lazardo) or in the scenes at YoYoDyne Propulsion Systems.

Recommendation:  Run don't walk to the nearest rental store or Netflix and get a copy of the film.
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Adventures of  Robin Hood, The

Movie Project Review: Advs of Robin Hood

And here is today's movie review!

• Title:  The Adventures of  Robin Hood
• Directors:  Michael Curtiz & William Keighley
• Date:  1938
• Studio:  Warner Brothers
• Stars:  Errol Flynn, Olivia deHavilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Raines, Alan Hale
• Genre:  Adventure, Classic
• Format:  Technicolor, Standard (4 x 3)
• DVD Format:  NTSC, Region 1
• DVD Notes:  2-disc Special Edition

 Another of my favorite films.  The Technicolor process results in very bright jewel tones, that add to the storybook quality of  this movie - as does shooting much of the movie on location.  For once the "this is obviously Southern California" look is a positive thing because the bright sun (even in day-for-night shots) adds to the storybook feel.

Errol  Flynn  is excellent as Robin, smiling and laughing his way through the film, tho' he delivers his speech rousing the men of  Sherwood and Loxley well.  But this is definitely a lighter edged Robin Hood - which is fine, it's part of what makes it work in, again, a very storybook fashion.  Also, Flynn is brilliant in the sword-fighting scenes -- and his derring-do works well for the character of  Robin Hood.

Olivia de Havilland is quite feisty as Lady Marian, in this version of  the story a Royal ward of  King Richard (the Lionheart) who's been living under the thumb of Prince John (Raines) - though she really has no clue what he's doing to the country.  Once Robin makes things clear to her - she jumps sides and also falls in love with Robin.  But it's nice to see in a movie from 1938 such a feisty, intelligent, independent Lady Marian.  I also liked that her maid falls for one of Robin's men.

The  plot covers many of the familiar legends of Robin Hood in almost episodic style -- meeting Little John and Friar Tuck, challenging Prince John -- by stalking into a party carrying a Royal deer and plopping it in the middle of the table, the archery contest (that results in Robin being captured by Bad Prince John), and finally King Richard showing up and he and Robin over-throwing John and the Sheriff of  Nottingham and the king not merely knighting Robin but declaring him an Baron and an Earl and marrying him to Marian.

It's a fun movie with lots of sword-fighting and adventure.  And Flynn is brilliant at sword fighting as I said -- the finale with the fight between Robin and Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Rathbone) is brilliant, including both a fight on a curved stair and a shadow play  fight.  Marian is also quite feisty and well-played by deHavilland.

I have the 2-disc special edition, which includes a plethora of special features including:

• Welcome to Sherwood:  The Story of  The Adventures of  Robin Hood
• Deleted scenes, and bloopers
• Robin Hood through the Ages
• A Journey to Sherwood Forest (home movies)
• Classic Cartoons:  "Rabbit Hood" and "Robin Hood Daffy" (NOT to be missed - they are brilliant!)
• Vintage shorts (one on archery and another interviewing Flynn)
• Splitting the Arrow -- Art, Costume Design, Drawings, photos, publicity materials
• Audio-Only Extras:  Robin Hood Radio Show, Korngold Piano Session
• Glorious Technicolor - Angela Lansbury narrates a documentary explaining the tri-color (and base b/w) film process that results in Technicolor (Another do NOT miss extra)
• Feature-length Commentary with Rudy Behlmer, Warner's Film Historian
• Warner Night at the Movies hosted by Leonard Martin (Trailer, newsreel, short, & cartoon)
• Errol Flynn Trailer Gallery

Recommendation:  See it!  Add the Special Edition DVD your collection!  Show this movie to your kids or neices & nephews.
Rating:  5 of 5 stars
Next Film:  Airplane!