Breaking Bad has been on my mind, since Sharon decided that she wants to watch it. I'm watching it with her -- rewatching it, in my case.
Anyway, I thought it was a great show -- I still do. But there are some things they did wrong.
Take, for example, the death of Gus Fring (shown below):
Plotwise, it was excellent. But what bothers me is the way they had Gus walk out of the room after the explosion, and die in the hallway. Given the extent of his injuries, there's no way he would have been able to walk out of the room and adjust his tie.
There are other places in the series where they got the science wrong, but this was simply cartoonish. Sort of like Daffy Duck. Which wouldn;t be basd, except that BB wasn't supposed to be a cartoon.
Session: Christmas Themed Creepiness, Week 4 Movie: Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) Directed by Theodore Gershuny As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL Plot:
Jeffrey Butler returns to rural New England, ready to sell the house he inherited decades before. Little does he know that the house and the whole town have some secrets that just may get out. Hilarity ensues.
Background and Reaction:
This movie proved that you don't need a big budget to make a good film. This came in for under $300K, but was really good and creepy. In fact, in some ways the lower budget ended up helping this out. The nighttime exteriors (including the driving scenes) are haunting in their bleakness. I can't help but feel that a major studio with a major budget would have ruined these scenes.
Relatedly, this movie fell into the public domain immediately upon release*, so it was never properly cleaned up for the DVD issue. Again, the fact that these night scenes weren't cleaned up actually worked well in giving the movie its feel. And that feel? It was cold and bleak. Disturbing. It really got under my skin.
This was especially true of the sections late in the movie where there are a lot of sepia-toned stills and sequences showing the former patients of the inherited house -- when it was a makeshift mental hospital.
There was some really good misdirection -- scenes where you're sure that things will go one way, and they go another. In the scene where Diane meets Jeffrey, I was sure that he was going to attack her (once he earned her trust). Wrong. There were all sorts of other places where I was sure I knew what would happen, and I was just wrong.
The town leaders are all weird in that "can't put my finger on it, but something's wrong" kind of way. Especially the guy with the bell. And the reveal makes it all just plain weird.
There were some drawbacks -- somehow I had a bit of a hard time keeping up with who was whom. But ultimately that didn;t matter.
Ratings:
Me:9
Dave: 9.7 - 9.8
Ethan: 7
Joe: 10
Scott: 8.5 - 9.0
Sean: 1 out of 4
Bechdel: Silent Night, Bloody Night fails the Bechdel test.
As someone pointed out, I was wrong. SNBN passes the Bechdel test. Barely.
Bonus line from the conversation that I'll present without context:
"You mean the weird shit like putting cereal in your ass?"
*This has something to do with identification cards. I don't really understand the legal issues.
Ethan made this chateaubriand, starting with
a center-cut filet mignon roast from Sun Fed
One of the highlights of the week for me is Sunday mornings when Ethan and I head off to the farmer's market in Jackson Heights. At the market, one of our highlights is Sun Fed Beef.
Ethan loves steak, but he's picky. And that pickiness is both a potential problem for me and its own solution. The problem is that Ethan won't cook himself just any steak. He wants Sun Fed. And he likes expensive cuts. And with his appetite, if I bought him the quantity of beef he wants, I'd go broke.
Fortunately, he's picky enough that I don't end up buying a whole lot of steak. Last weekend was a good example.
Mike, the guy who works the Sun Fed booth, knows us by now. He and Ethan spend a lot of time discussing the relative qualities of various cuts of meat, and how to prepare them. So he knows what's coming. Ethan asked about thick-cut ribeyes. And thick-cut porterhouses. And filet mignon. And prime ribs. Brisket flats. And a bunch of others. Of course, they all have to be grass-fed -- Ethan doesn't feel that grain fed beef tastes beefy enough.
Mike had some of some of them. I don't really remember which he had and didn't have. Ethan examined the offerings, This one has a nerve in it. That one isn't marbled properly. The seal had popped on another. In the end, all we ended up with was a brisket (which will be the basis for a family dinner) and a small shoulder tender steak. So, fortunately, it wasn't a terribly expensive trip.
And one of the best parts of this is that I see Ethan learning that we don't just buy stuff in order to buy stuff. The meat has to be what he wants. Honestly, though, I would have bought and enjoyed a whole lot of those pieces that he rejected.
At our second meeting, one of the members (who happens to be my neighbor)
discusses her garden
I am seeking advice. Can my loyal reader offer any thoughts.
By way of background: this summer a group of residents of the neighborhood formed the Jamaica Estates Association Gardening Club. It's under the auspices of the Jamaica Estates Association (JEA), which is a local community advocacy and support group*.
In the summer and fall we had three meetings. I blogged about them here and here. The third meeting was in a member's house. At that meeting we agreed to a target schedule for future meetings, generally the first Sunday of each month, with exceptions of December and February, which are cold weather months. At the time, we thought that we would have access to one of the local private schools, as one of the gardening club members is a member representing that school.
But it turns out that we can only use the school on school days, so Sundays are out. I am hesitant about suggesting that we move the meetings to a weeknight, because for working people (myself included), that comes with an extra layer of uncertainty.
As of now, we don't have a location for our next meeting, which is scheduled for January 7. The president of the JEA is a member of the gardening club (though I don't know if it's because he has an interest in gardening or because the club is part of the JEA). He has suggested that we might be able to use an empty room in one of the dorm buildings that St. John's University has in the area. He has reached out to them, but won;t hear back until January 2 at the earliest.
There has been talk about other possibilities, but there are serious drawbacks to each of them. We can continue meeting at members' houses, as we informally take turns volunteering our space. But we really need to have indoors as an option during the winter and in case of rain. The last meeting was indoors, in a member's living room. While we did fit, it was clear that if the group grows any more, we may have a problem fitting. I thought of offering my living room, which is slightly larger than where we met last time. But, still, if we grow too much, it's the same problem. Also, while I don't mind having my home be one of the regular locations, I don't want it to be the default where we just figure -- "oh, we'll just have it at Marc and Blair's place." QUite aside from that issue, even backyards may become a problem if we grow too much; who has unlimited folding chairs, tables and space for a big group?
One person suggested to me that we could meet at one of the local churches or synagogues. But scheduling would be a problem -- churches are generally being used on Sundays. And, of course, they would probably charge a fee. We don't want to have to pay a fee. It was also suggested that we may want to meet at a local restaurant -- that a restaurant may be OK with our meeting if we have food. But I just don't see a meeting working at a restaurant. Cunningham Park would be possible as an outdoor venue, except that we need an indoor space as a rain or cold location.
As of now, I am trying to schedule a meeting with the leadership of the gardening** club so we can discuss what to do. The meeting will be this week, but we haven't pinned down which day.
I am open to thoughts. *The JEA is not an HOA. **As an aside, we had quite the lively debate about whether to be the "garden" club or the "gardening" club.
Session: Christmas Themed Creepiness, Week 3 Movie: Black Christmas (1974) Directed by Bob Clark As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL Plot:
As the residents of Pi Kappa Sigma sorority are preparing for winter break, they keep disappearing. Hilarity ensues.
Background and Reaction:
Long story short? This movie didn't really grab me. It took way too long to build up its momentum. The last half hour or so was actually pretty exciting, but by the time we got there, I had already checked out. And that's kind of a shame since I really wanted to like this, being that it was, in some ways, one of the blueprints for what would become the slasher genre.
Of course, I'm not really into the slasher horror movies, what with all the jump scares. So that may be part of it. Also, there were some plot elements that seem hackneyed. I've seen the whole "the call is coming from inside the house!" thing many times before. On the other hand, it was noted in the class discussion that this may have been the first movie to employ that particular trope. Hey, you can't blame Shakespeare for the fact that his devices became cliche.
So I came around to the end of the film with kind of mixed feelings, and was all prepared to give it a 7.5. But then the end came. The cameras were drifting back away from the sorority house, and we realized the movie was over. But the story hadn't been resolved. I felt cheated. Immediately, my rating of the film went down by three.
But at least it gave us the classic line, "Ho. Ho. Ho. Fuck."
Ratings:
Me:4.5
Christina: 8.7
Dave: 8.5
Ethan: 7
Joe: 7
Scott: 5
Sean: 3 out of 4
Sharon: 6
Session: Christmas Themed Creepiness, Week 2 Movie: Santa Claus (1959) Directed by Rene Cardona (English Direction by Ken Smith) As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL Plot:
Santa Claus is preparing for his annual trip to earth (you know, to deliver presents). But the devil is trying to tempt those kids into being bad. Hilarity ensues.
Background and Reaction:
This was a Mexican movie until K. Gordon Murray bought the rights to it, dubbed it in English (and added narration), and took it on tour of the US as a children's Christmas movie. This should not have been marketed as a kids' movie because there's a whole lot of disturbing imagery. In fact, Keith told us that he was once making a library presentation on Christmas movies and showed clips from this. One woman in the audience told him that it gave her severe nightmares. But the marketing material made it look like a kids' film, so parents dropped their kids off at the theatres. And this was before cellphones, so the kids had no choice but to stay for the whole thing.
It's hard to know where to start with this acid trip of a movie. Oh, Lord, it's so bad and there's so much wrong with it.
There's the seven minute musical sequence at the beginning where kids from all over the world perform songs of their native lands in order to entertain Santa (who, himself, is a bit maniacal). And it's a sequence that doesn't serve any purpose other than to take up time. Then there's our first meeting with the devil (actually, Pitch, who is Lucifer's indigestion-suffering chief demon). It kind of plays like a cross between Lost in Space and the old movie musicals. And the strange just keeps on coming. Lupita's dream sequence (which is supposed to show giant dolls come to life, except the dolls look more like corpses). The disembodied ear on a fan. The giant mouth on the wall in Santa's workshop (looking more like a vulva than a mouth, but it does talk). The creepy spying eye. The mechanical reindeer...
And aside from things like that, the story is a muddle. WTF is Merlin doing working in Santa's workshop? And why does he hop like a bunny when he moves? Actually, I assume that that was to make him look old. He was supposed to shuffle but it ended up being a hop. Oy.
The movie feels like an odd cross between Peewee's Playhouse and a high school PSA. The latter is due in large part to Ken Smith's* narration. "Lupita isn't thinking of stealing that doll! Is she? No, No, Lupita! You shouldn't steal! Put it back!" In fact, though, it's a big morality story. Actually, three morality stories. Pitch represents temptation, as he keeps appearing next to kids and encuraging them to do bad things -- like kidnapping Santa and keeping his toys. While Santa, who can read kids' thoughts, is trying to encourage them to be good. And one of the stories features parents who ignore their kids. Until Santa gives them a drink that will burn their throats if they don;t have enough love in their hearts.
Through all this, the movie feels disjointed, and it can be hard to understand just what is going on at any point. So it's really an awful movie.
That said, we in the class had a grand old time watching it. I was laughing up a storm at the sheer stupidity of it. There were only three of us, as Ethan, Sean and Joe each had to miss class. But Dave, Scott and I turned it into our version of MST3K. And, while we're on the subject, this was the movie featured in MST3K #521. I think the phrase "so bad it's good" is way overused. But this was a case where it fits.
Ratings:
Me:1
Dave: 5 (but 7.5-8 for the overall experience)
Scott: 1 (but 8 for the overall experience)
Bechdel: Santa Claus fails the Bechdel test.
*"Ken Smith" was a pseudonym for K. Gordon Murray.
This is the first in what may or may not (depending on how I feel) be a semi-regular feature on free food that is available to me but that I don't eat because I am trying to lose weight. Yes, I know, first world problems.
Yesterday I took Ethan to the shoe store. His hiking boots are wearing out and he needed new ones. And I learned something about the shoe store we go to. On Sundays they have a little cart, and offer hot dogs to their customers. As always, they have a little fridge with beverages that the customers can take. So, I guess, I could have had free lunch -- hot dogs and soda.
Lest you get the wrong idea, I'm not a GG Allin fan. But I do find him fascinating. And, to my surprise, I finally learned that he could actually write a decent song when he tried.
After a session of Keith's class in which we talked about GG (I don't remember why), I went home and was reading up on him. Apparently, he once recorded a "serious" country album called Carnival of Excess. This I had to hear. And, thanks to the magic of the intertubes, I could.
OK, the album sucks. For the most part, anyway.
But there is one good song on it. "Outskirts of Life" is a decent confessional. The production isn't polished in any meaningful way, but that contributes to the rough feel.
The song reminds me a lot of the outlaw country music of the 1960s and 1970s, though its sound is a bit angrier. What really gets me here are some very clever turns of phrase:
Live from state to state. Living day to day The only paycheck that I know is what I steal today.
Listen to me closely. Do exactly what I say Give me what I want from you or I'll take it anyway.
It's actually quite the musical treat. WHich isn't to deny that GG Allin was whack. He was totally whack. But he was also a reasonably smart guy. And he could write a decent tune when he wanted to.
UPDATE: I've listened to a bunch of covers of this on Youtube. There's a line in the song "In my world I'm living by the laws of who does who." In the video above, it starts at 2:24. That's a great line. But in the covers, everyone changes it to "...the laws of who knows who." That's not nearly as powerful a line. I wonder why everyone seems to have made the same change.
A couple weeks or so ago, I was having lunch with some people at work. As we were leaving, one of the guys wished me a merry Christmas. He then got a horrified look on his face and hemmed and hawed an addendum. "Oh, wait...you don;t celebrate Christmas. You do...Chanukah! Happy Channukah."
Why can't people calm the frick down? If he had left it at Merry Christmas it would have been fine.
But these days it can seem like you can't be too careful; if you give the wrong greeting you risk the incurring the wrath of someone with too thin a skin.
That said, I think people overestimate the chances of getting in trouble for the wrong greeting. Most folks are reasonable, aren't they?
Seriously, though, I (and, I presume, most people) won't take offense at any seasonal greeting that's intended in a friendly spirit. That's just common decency.
Session: Christmas Themed Creepiness, week 1 Movie: The Silent Partner (1978) Directed by Daryl Duke As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL Plot: A mild-mannered bank teller realizes that the bank will be robbed, and figure out how to get most of the take. Hilarity ensues. Background and Reaction: This movie may have evoked the sharpest split reaction we've ever had. Joe, who has rarely rated anything below a 9, gave it a 3. I, on the other had, gave it a solid 9. This schism can be attributed to two words -- "romantic comedy." I'm OK with a decent rom com, while Joe hates the things. And The Silent Partner seemed at times to be a romcom -- specifically a romcom with occasional diversions into violence and tension. The rom-commy parts didn't really bother me. Maybe it was a bit slower and contained a bit less humor than When Harry Met Sally, but I did find myself caring about Miles and Julie, and wondering if they would end up together. But I can understand Joe's perspective as one who doesn't like romcoms. Christopher Plummer Is incredible in this role. His steely, threatening gaze is the perfect contrast to Elliot Gould's everyman goofiness. And, even if you don't like the slow-moving sections, the tense scenes with Plummer are incredible. Joe, in giving this movie a 3 noted that it only got that much because of Christopher Plummer. Ratings: Joe: 3 Dave: 9.2 - 9.3
Sean: This movie transcends simple numerical ratings. Scott: 5 Me: 9 Ethan: 7 Bechdel: The Silent Partner passes the Bechdel test (barely) Extras: So, the day after we saw this movie, I was playing QuizGeek. One question I had showed a picture and asked who was the Canadian actor pictured. Had I gotten this question on Wednesday (i.e., before this class), I would have had to guess. But having seen the movie and done a little reading up on Christopher Plummer, I recognized him right away. Eat it, JimL451!
Session: Supernatural Martial Arts, week 4 Movie: Shogun Assassin (1980) Directed by Robert Houston As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL Plot: After his wife is killed, a Shogun goes on the lam with his young son. He tries to evade the Ninjas who were sent to kill him, and hires himself out as an assassin. Hilarity ensues. Background and Reaction: One of my ongoing (read: "slowoing") projects is a screenplay titled Bleed Me a River. The first treatment I came up with had the shortcoming of a very weak plot. I was reminded of it during Shogun Assassin because that had a similarly weak plot. I shouldn't be surprised by that. Keith explained that the movie was actially stitched together using footage from two other films. It kind of makes sense to me that a movie whose script is limited by the footage available would be limited. That said, there were some cool things here. The innocent child as killer was quite amusing, and that buggy made him seem like some kind of James Bond. The narration (provided by Sandra Bernhard) worked better than I would have thought. But the plot just didn't manage to catch me. Ratings: Joe: 6 Dave: 9.3 - 9.4 Scott: 8.5 Me: 7.2 Ethan: 6 Bechdel: Shogun Assassin fails the Bechdel test. Extras: We, the guys in class, had been having an email discussion about killer devices. It kind of jumped off from Joe mentioning that he watched The Lift, which is about a killer elevator. At any rate, I mentioned an idea I had for a horror short, which reminded Joe of an episode of Monsters, a cheesy late 1980's horror anthology TV series. Joe, in turn, brought in that episode for us to watch after the main event.
