Top 250: #8

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Synopsis: When a theoretically sane man comes to the crazy house, will he change them before they change him? (Answer: No)

In casual conversation I mentioned to my friend Niki that I had never seen this movie (“Have you ever seen this movie?” “No.”), so she rented it and we watched it. Probably the easiest movie to find so far, except for the one I bought without knowing it was on my list.


Someone’s playing the saw!

It’s an early R&B group washing the floors in the hall.

He’s not a large man. And that guy he’s carrying on his back isn’t that big either. What? It’s only one guy? Oh.

I just ate a watermelon ‘flavoured’ candy just now. Tasty.

He said the ‘f’ word. He 'fights' too much. What were you thinking?

The cute young nurse is leading calisthenics, including chest thrusts. That’s the best part of these guys’ days.

That man has enough room for a racoon in his beard.

Holy crap, that man’s crazy...oh wait, they’re in the crazy ward. Never mind.

Christopher Lloyd is crazy. And then they put him in this movie.

“Your hand is staining my window.” She’s totally into him.

I think I saw a small family of Cubans hiding in that beard.

They fight like they’re brothers. I miss you Scott!

Maybe they’re not an R&B group. Maybe they work in a soda shoppe.

“Which one of you nuts has got any guts?”

It’s shameless how they flirt.

Maybe it’s a colony of squirrels.

I’m pretty sure that was a buttocks.

He just stole a bus full of crazy men.

Most people don’t smell fish by shoving it into their noses.

They are putting small, already dead fish on their hooks so they can go fishing. I bet they had to have the SPCA, or PETA, or Greenpeace, or loonies for the apocalypse, on set making sure no animals were hurt.

That man has big nostrils, according to Niki.

I can’t get out until you say I’m sane...and you don’t like me...crud.

He’s holding an entire dinette set on consignment in there. Place settings too.

Holy crap that’s Danny Devito.

I went to the psych ward and a wrestling match broke out.

Popeye’s in the crazy house!

“Ah, Juicy Fruit.”

He may have been able to convince me he was sane, but his hair has proved otherwise.

More chest thrusts.

I think Danny DeVito got harrier as he aged...more...more hairy...more harrier!

NIPPLES!

If I was the type to make fun of names, I would definitely tell you that guy’s name is Turkle. But I’m kinder than that, so I wouldn’t ever say it.

Danny DeVito’s hiding in there.

Decorate the crazy old wheelchair dude.

“I must be crazy to be in a looney bin like this.”

Danny DeVito should wear more clothes. Always. Even in the shower.

This is gonna end poorly for someone. Besides Turkle.

Hi mom.

I’m just waiting for these guards to break into a doo-wop song.

He’s the cool guard. “Riiiight.”

BUTTOCKS!

Christopher Lloyd is creepy.

I think he was filmed in fast motion.

Oh no, she’s turning into a cyborg!

I think the big guy ate Danny DeVito!

And then he hid in the beard!

What’s the point of strapping him in if you leave his arms free?

The lobotomy turned him into a bobblehead doll.

The saw player returned.

Heh. Turkle.

Nitzche did the music. He’s branching out from doing philosophy and being dead.


I liked it. Christopher Lloyd is creepy. Danny DeVito has never been very tall. And lobotomies were never okay.

Vacation

Due to vacation time, I will not be updating Nettle for the next two weeks.

Start the same, end differently

Mark Whalberg starred in a movie a couple of years ago called Shooter. He played a military trained sniper who gets set up for the attempted assassination of the president. The movie was pretty entertaining, with plenty of suspense and intrigue and action. I was right with the story up until the end. The last ten or fifteen minutes made me sit back and go "Really? That's how you decided to end the story?" The ending did not fit the rest of the movie. It was almost as though the writer got bored and just ended the movie so he could go for nachos. It left me dissatisfied.
I think that the ending is the hardest part of any story and is often the reason that a movie or book falls flat, especially with suspense or horror. Throughout the story everything is being set up and if the movie is good (up to that point) then the solution must be equally clever, and often it is not. Sometimes I think the story just became so convoluted and complex that there was no solution that would be satisfying. Other times I think the writer just gives up. In the case of Shooter I tend to think it is the latter - there had to have been a better way to end the movie that tied up all of the loose ends and meted out the proper justice for those involved. It's not even that the ending is bad; I enjoyed the idea of the ending. It is more that the ending was on the wrong movie. For the ending they filmed to have worked they would have needed to have told the story differently. It did not mesh with the rest of the film.
But in the end, is love not all we have left?

It's been a weird week of dreams for me

Mark Whalberg starred in a movie a couple of years ago called Shooter. He played a military trained sniper who gets set up for the attempted assassination of the president. The movie was pretty entertaining, with plenty of suspense and intrigue and action. I was right with the story up until the end. The last ten or fifteen minutes made me sit back and go "Really? That's how you decided to end the story?" The ending did not fit the rest of the movie. It was almost as though the writer got bored and just ended the movie so he could go for nachos. It left me dissatisfied.
Last night I had a dream that was very cinematic in scope and feel. I'm not sure anymore if I was a character in the story, or if I was merely observing the action. I'm also hazy on the details. What I remember is that there was a group of people involved, and the action, such as it was, revolved around these people and their lives during a period of time. One member of the group was having a rough time - he was struggling socially with girls, specifically another member of the group, and was becoming increasingly distraught to the point that there was concern that he would kill himself. The whole tone was very serious, like a dramatic movie with no element of the supernatural or the fantastic.
Suddenly the setting and tone changed. The movie had taken place in the midst of a city, largely downtown, moving from tall apartment building to skyscraper office and back. But now people were sitting around on patio chairs, holding drinks and looking very relaxed. Now I know I was definitely watching the action because I was watching what looked to be a home video. The people being taped were the same people who had been in the earlier part of the dream, and there was a voice off camera (might have been me, come to think of it) asking questions. One of the questions asked was "so who died anyway?" and the girl who was sitting nearest the camera casually said "Oh, Joshua."
The problem with this is that Josh was the least likely person to have died. The implication in the question and answer was that Josh had killed himself, but no reason why was given. I woke up thinking "that was it?" I was very dissatisfied with how the dream ended.
Just like I was with Shooter.

Almost done.

I have two shifts left at the church. I am so happy to be (almost) done that job. I need a vacation.
Luckily, I'm getting one. Yay. I get to visit Ontario for a few days, though I'm not sure how I feel about going from plus ten to minus thirty, but I'll survive.
Nettle.

Yes. Yes it does.

I just watched Kung Fu Panda, which is an extremely funny movie that I recommend highly, and I couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was a little something going on between Monkey and Viper. I totally think those two were sweet on each other.
Does that make me weird?

No wonder I'm tired

Last night I dreamt that I worked for the angel of death. I had to tell a rather young guy that it was now his time to die. He was understandably upset, but I explained to him that if he did not die now then he would be dead in the next two years anyway of liver disease and his death would be extremely painful and would completely crush his family. I was offering him a peaceful death, one that would not hurt him physically (except for the whole being dead thing) and his family would not be as devastated.
Then a woman I did not know came along and started painting a very vivid picture of how life would be terrible for him if he lived, but how much better things would be if he died now; not for him but for his family and friends (like a reverse It's A Beautiful Life). I was entranced by this woman and extremely grateful for her help. And then the area suddenly became crowded so we had to leave. I'm not sure if I ever killed the guy.
Just to be clear, I wasn't the angel of death myself. I just killed guys that needed an explanation and were relatively easy. The angel kept the tough jobs for himself. How weird was that?
Nettle

Pon and Zi, not ponzi

I like comics. I think they are an art form. I read a large number of comics every day. Recently, I came across one that I like and I'm not sure why. It is two characters called Pon and Zi. It is not really a comic strip per se, more of a bunch of comics done by a guy and posted on his Deviant Art page, which has now apparently been taken down. I don't think he did it regularly or ever got them published, and I'm not even sure if he is a he. I know nothing about these comics or the creator.
That being said, I like them. I read these comics and it just touches me somehow. Every one makes me smile. They aren't laugh out loud funny...in many ways they aren't really very funny at all. Yet they still make me smile.
I think my favourite quote is "I may not look like much, but I'm pro at pretending to be a ninja." That is the entire comic, but it's all I need.
I feel like I shouldn't like this one, but I do. I wish there were more. I think I just really enjoy the drawing. It's a cute sort of innocence I guess.
Ah well.

Sometimes, I get bored

Do we really need pillows? If I sleep on my back, it seems unnecessary. It only raises my head and bends my neck, however slightly. Is that good?
But maybe, just maybe, sleeping completely flat is actually bad for our necks and we need that bit of elevation to maintain a healthy neck.
Or have we just become spoiled by pillows and mattresses and duvets (which are French tire covers, right?). Is man meant to sleep on the ground, covered by nothing but the cool night air, the twinkling stars, and our horrible, horrible shame?
I dunno.

Grasp the Nettle

Oh right, the alternator

A car needs a name. When you buy a car, spend some time getting to know it and then give it a good name. A car without a name will not perform as well as a car with a name*. My cars have been named, in no particular order, Pips, Vannessa, Green Meanie, and Freddie. My Cadillac was not with me long enough to have a name. It's the same as with boats - all boats have names, and all cars have names.

With that in mind, meet Thor:
Thor is my newest car. Freddie, my Honda, decided that a clutch is an entirely optional part. He was wrong, and now he is waiting for me to send it away to the Kidney foundation, or the something else that will take it away, which is too bad. I liked Freddie, but he let me down.
Thor, however, I have great hopes for. He is a newer car (1992, so only 16 years old...my newest car yet!) and has had alot of work done to it, so hopefully it will last a long time for me, or at least until the end of January. He is a front wheel drive six cylinder Pontiac Grand Prix and is much larger than my Honda. The man I bought it from (Rod Remin) was reportedly a little concerned at first that it might be too large ("Can he handle a car that big?"), but I have had a Crown Victoria, an Impala, a Cadillac DeVille, and a Comet, so big cars are nothing unusual for me, and Thor is not quite that big.
And with a name like Thor how can it go wrong?

*Do not, under any circumstances, name your car Eddie, or anything rhyming with Eddie, such as Freddie. Stupid car.

No Title

Updated Grasp the Nettle again.

Top 250: #204

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

Overview: An alien comes to Earth with his pet robot? Can the Earth be saved? More importantly, can the Earth be saved without Keannu Reaves’ help? Well Klaatu Barada Nikto, dude.

I can’t remember exactly where I bought this movie. Over a period of two days I bought something like ten movies and four discs containing a total of sixteen episodes of “One Step Beyond”, a Twi-light Zone type of show for about 20 bucks. This movie was in there somewhere. I didn’t even remember that it was on the list.

The Movie:
Excuse me, someone forgot to turn on the colour. Hello, anyone?

A UFO is circling the Earth. I hope it isn’t going around backwards else time will reverse and they’ll be stuck in a loop...unless that is what is happening!

Look ma, a glowing frisbee! Come back everyone, it’s only six inches wide!

And, as usual, the police are sent to stand around, scratching their heads and wondering what to do.

Why are the guys in the tank pulling out handguns? Don’t they have a larger gun available? Perhaps the TANK!

Oh good. Someone comes out of the ship that is technologically advanced enough to travel across the galaxy. Let’s shoot him and make him and his people angry at us. That can’t backfire.

Unless a giant, angry robot shows up.

Which it does.

Cool, it’s actually Cyclops from the X-Men in a robot suit. And he’s melting tanks!

Okay, take the bleeding alien to the hospital. Make sure to film the doctor’s reactions for next season’s Candid Camera.

The alien looks 35, but is actually 78, and his people have a life expectancy of 150 or more. When asked how this could be, the doctor replies: “He told me their medicine was that much more advanced than ours,” as he lights a cigarette and hands a second one to his colleague. I wonder if that was on purpose, or if the past fifty years have simply made that scene fascinatingly ironic.

The officer is in an office labelled “Officer of the Day”. They’re letting contest winners run the army now?

“There’s nothing strange about Washington.” LIES!

I think I’d like to see the Lincoln Memorial someday. Of course, knowing my luck, it would be the day that all giant statues came to life and started stepping on people.

“Atomic Power - Not Just For Bombs.” This message brought to you by the Three Mile Island power plant, the world’s safest power source!

That can’t be the scientific super genius - he has no facial hair! No impressive moustache, no crazy beard, nothing. He does have the crazy hair on his head, though, so that’s at least something.

Level New York City or sink the Rock of Gibralter? Those are your ideas for getting the world’s attention? I say yes to the first and meh to the second.

Scientist: “Could you perform a demonstration that the world would notice? I don’t want you to harm anything.”
Klaatu: “Why don’t you leave it to me?”
Scientist: “Because your previous suggestions involved destroying a major city and sinking a small island!”

I have seen many movies where a mysterious force stops the power around the world, or even just around a certain city. Lights go out, trains stop moving, laundry machines shut off, cars stop in the middle of the road. Usually this is shown to be a rather peaceful and harmless demonstration of power. But they never deal with the fact that planes in the air don’t glide so well. They just kind of fall. There is never any talk about the planes around the world that have plummeted to the ground in a ball of fire.

Of course, this movie does mention that the hospitals and planes in flight were spared the power outage, but most movies don’t!

“If my giant robot starts to go on a killer rampage, I need you to go talk to him. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

“Hey look, it’s the woman who was with the alien. Get her!”
“Ah, don’t bother. She’s only a woman. It’s not worth the trouble.”
The fifties were a different time.

Wait, am I supposed to be cheering for the giant, angry robot to go on a bit of a destructive rampage? Even just a little one?

Cuz I am.

I guess that’s one way to pick up a woman. Ba-da-dum.

Last time we hurt the alien just a little, his big robot started melting tanks. Now we’ve killed him. I can’t see any problem with that.

Unless a giant, angry robot shows up.

Which it does.

From IMDB: “One of the reasons that Michael Rennie was cast as Klaatu was because he...would be more readily accepted as an "alien" than a more recognizable actor.” I think that’s the same reason they hired Keanu Reeves for the remake.

Conclusion: I enjoyed this movie. I recently saw the remake starring Keanu Reaves and after seeing both, I have to say that I liked both of them. They are very much each a product of their times. In the original, the alien is from Mars (never said, but implied by the distance he said he travelled) and is part of a vast interstellar group of planets. In the remake, Klaatu is from somewhere farther off than Mars and there are far less inhabited planets. In the original, the alien wants to stop aggression and nuclear power, two major concerns in the world at the time. In the remake, the alien wants to stop the ecological destruction of the planet because there are only a select few number of planets that can support life and the galaxy can’t afford to lose one.
The original movie was much better than many of the sci-fi movies of the time. The makers obviously believed in their message and wanted to present it well. I enjoyed seeing how life was different back in the fifties - the way everyone is shown reacting to the space ship is much different than how it would be handled today. There seemed to be more of a wonder about people, even as they were suspicious and scared of the unknown. These days it seems like all we have is the suspicion and fear of the unknown.
A word about the remake: I don’t know how the majority of people have reacted to the Reevs version, but I have to say that I enjoyed it, and what’s more, I think it is one of the more faithful adaptations/remakes I have seen in a long while. It gets the essence of the original, the societal and cultural feel. The movie focussed on the worry of the day, the major topic that was on everyone’s mind. The new one does the same, building from that to the logical conclusion. They both do a good job of showing the period in which they were filmed.
Plus, it is funny to imagine Bill and Ted saying “Klaatu Barata Nikto, dude!”

What day is it?

How messed up is it that I have spent the entire day thinking it was Sunday simply because I did not have to go to work and the only day I ever get off is Sunday? I am so ready to be down to one job and five days a week.
It will give me more time to update Grasp the Nettle.
Did married couples in the fifties actually sleep in separate beds or was that just a TV thing?