June 02, 2008

Digital Graffiti

This video is pretty amazing.

It's titled MUTO, a wall-painted animation by blu.

Not sure if this is traditional animation created by a series of photos or if these are digital effects laced on an existing graffiti-laced wall.

It's just a tad over seven minutes but worth watching.

March 30, 2008

Oconomowoc

One of our beloved classic movies premiered in a somewhat obscure city in the midwest before opening in the major markets.

On Aug. 12, 1939, "The Wizard of Oz" premiered at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc, Wis.  A few days later it was shown at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollowood followed by Loew's Capitol Theater in New York.

The movie opened nationally on Aug. 25, but it was those few lucky people in tiny Oconomowoc who first laid their eyes on Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, the Lion and the Scarecrow.

For Oconomowoc residents, there's no place like home.

February 12, 2008

So Long, Roy Scheider

In the summer of '75, there was no bigger movie than "Jaws."

It was the classic definition of a summer blockbuster, and the only movie to this date that sold out while I waited in line.

Roy Scheider, who, ironically, passed away at 75 on Sunday, will be best known for his role as the logical yet paranoid police chief Martin Brody, who was forced into a crash course on the dining routine of the Great White Shark.

If there's an ocean in heaven, we're gonna need a bigger boat.

October 11, 2007

Top 5 Christopher Walken Movies

Walken170The guy's a freak, in the nicest sense.

When Christopher Walken leaves his imprint on celluloid, it's a unique smudge.

Here are the five essential Walken movies:

5. King of New York
Emulates supreme power with restraint amid violence.

4. Blast from the Past
Quirky dad establishes family values under ground.

3. The Dead Zone
Stellar performance in pristine Stephen King adaptation.

2. Nick of Time
Brilliant and creepy in a classic nail-biter.

1. Suicide Kings
A venemous performance, a man among boys.

September 28, 2007

The Everlasting Gobstopper

Gobstopper370

When you return the gobstopper, good things can happen.

June 25, 2007

Terror Down the Drain

Clown370

Is there any scarier scene in a movie than when the clown appears in the sewer in Stephen King's "It"?

I can't think of one.

Creepy.

Hard to believe that's Tim Curry.

June 04, 2007

A Star is Born

Judy Garland was just 12 when she and her two older sisters sang at the World's Fair, held in Chicago in 1934.

What's significant about this is that vaudeville emcee George Jessel changed the sisters' last name from Gumm to Garland when he introduced the siblings during their performance at the fair. Judy, whose real name was Frances Ethel, had been known as "Baby Gumm" up until this point.

Frances Garland wouldn't have had the same impact.

And who knows? We may never have been introduced to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

March 27, 2007

First Kiss

Irwinkiss The first kiss in a movie was William Heise's silent film "The Kiss," released in 1896.

When May Irwin and John C. Rice locked lips, Chicago publisher Herbert S. Stone called the 47-second film "absolutely disgusting," and called for "police interference."

And slowly through the 1900s, America normalized through, what social scientists call, "the creeping cycle of desensitization."

In other words, little by little, we "get over it."

February 23, 2007

Want Fries With That?

It's funny how movies can have an impact on your life. Not just talking an emotional high or fodder for Sunday morning conversation, but a tangible impact.

Yes, "Rocky" made me feel like I could do anything. And "Schindler's List" gave me inspiration to research the Holocaust and it's horrifying place in history. "Beyond the Sea" tugged at my wallet to buy some Bobby Darin music.

But it was "Super Size Me" that has had the greatest impact.

I have not bought fries at McDonald's since seeing this more than two years ago. And I used to love McDonald's fries.

That's tangible impact.

February 02, 2007

I Got You Babe

Ned: Phil? Phil Connors? Phil Connors, I thought that was you!

Phil: Hi, thanks for watching.

Ned: Hey now, don't you tell me you don't remember me 'cause I sure as heckfire remember you.

Phil: Not a chance.

Ned: Ned... Ryerson. Needlenose Ned? Ned the Head? C'mon, buddy. Case Western High. I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing. Ned Ryerson, got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn't graduate? Bing, again. Ned Ryerson, I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple of times until you told me not to anymore? Well?

Phil: Ned Ryerson?

Ned: BING!

Phil: Bing.