Movie talk...

This topic was started by Troy and followed up by John...so I thought I would give it a shot...

What is the first film you ever saw?

The first film I ever remember was RETURN OF THE JEDI. I don't remember a whole lot of the experience...I do remember the lightsaber fight between the green Skywalker blade and the red Vader blade clashing and making the entire auditorium light up like crazy. It is a priceless memory...maybe that's why I feel like my mind was raped by George Lucas and his ATTEMPT to make the "new" trilogy.

What is your favorite film of all time?

This is a tough question...I will have to say STAR WARS (Episode IV: A New Hope). There is something magical about the way that first movie is. I know that EMPIRE is better made, but you feel the magic with the first one more than any of the others.

What is your favorite line in a film?

"I could make a better sex-ed film with my mom!" - GIRL NEXT DOOR

What film made you realize that film was an art?

SCHINDLER'S LIST...I never watched black and white movies when I was younger because they weren't in COLOR. I remember watching SL and being in awe of what was being done with the camera work and the coloring of the little girl's coat.

What movie do you consider your guilty pleasure?

VARSITY BLUES...the performances aren't great the script even less so...but Van Der Beek's monologue at the end of the movie is a great one for any sports movie...I DON'T WANT YOUR LIFE...

Who is your favorite movie character of all time?

Han Solo (pre-Special Edition)...there's nothing better than a bad ass ready to shoot first and ask questions later...and when his character turns around for the better it actually means something. Without him you wouldn't have Malcolm Reynolds...and he's a bad ass the world of cinema and television shouldn't be without. It's obvious what I watched most when I was growing up isn't it...

What is your favorite movie snack food?

Popcorn...hands down, it's not the same without some kettle popped corn. Microwave and air popped be damned...

Who is your favorite director of all time?

James Cameron...he is not the best but the question is FAVORITE. I will see any movie of his and have seen all but PIRANHA II. All of his movies do everything I want a good director to accomplish in a movie...on top of that, they are fun films to see. TERMINATOR 2 is my most seen film...ever.

Who is the most impressive filmmaker working today?

Christopher Nolan...all of his movies have a "real" feel and most of the time have a great story to go along with it. I hope he sticks to his guns and doesn't let anyone ever dictate his films for him.

What quality do the best directors share?

An ability to make the characters and the world in the film come to life. It isn't just their doing either...the editor makes a lot of difference to. I can remember watching SUPERMAN RETURNS and the movie is good (not great...not even the best of the series) but the airplane scene is the best of the entire film. I was watching it on IMAX (my 3rd time seeing the movie in the theatre) in 3D, and feeling the music bringing me up and down with what was happening on screen. Bryan Singer uses John Ottman as his editor and film composer, which I think is brilliant. He must be somewhat composing the movie while he is editing it. A lot of good directors to the same thing while filming...the are already thinking of how they are going to edit the film together.

Who is your favorite actor/actress of all time?

I will replace favorite actor of all time with my most liked actor...Tom Hanks. He is enjoyable to watch in everything, my favorite is when he is in a comedy...THAT'S GOOD ADVICE!

Who is your favorite actor/actress working today?

Gary Oldman always disappears when taking on a role. He takes acting to another level...I still don't know what that man looks like in real life. Second for me...Leonardo DiCaprio.

Who would you cast in a film about your life?

People say I look like Seth Rogan...and he is funny enough to pull off a Jason Maier...so why not...

Finish these sentences:

If you could remake one movie...I would remake a lot of them...mostly sequels that raped my memories of the originals. T3, T4, Episodes I, II & III...I could go on but you see my point...

I never wanna watch a movie with...people who aren't there for the experience. But hey, I watched SCREAM 2 on opening night at Eastgate...just for the crowd...

The perfect movie is...one that takes you on a ride of emotions with the character(s) in the film...

My own personal question to add is...

What director is the biggest disappointment?

M. Night Shyamalan...I loved THE SIXTH SENSE but have either just liked or extremely hated every other film he's made. You spend 6 or 7 years fine tuning a script and make a breakthrough hit...then everything else is just crap comparatively...take 6 or 7 more years off and see where THAT script can get you.

The suckwad that is Hollywood...

has produced another HORRIBLE sequel to a GOOD franchise (I would have said GREAT, but T3 was already made).

I have seen not too many bad comments about the pile of crap that is SALVATION, yet nobody is saying it's a "good" movie. I keep hearing, "the effects were good" (which they were...for the most part) and "what did you expect from a Terminator movie?"

I'm sorry...the first 2 films (both done by James Cameron) actually had some emotion and realism to them. I constantly find myself going back to discussions I have had with my brother Michael, about movie staying REAL in their own realm. No time travel and man sized killer machines DON'T exist, but Cameron's films gave you the feeling of them possibly existing. I watch this turd of a movie and think of how ridiculous some of the story line (what little there is of one) is. You feel NO EMOTION for anyone (including John Connor) at any point in the film.

The other part that kills me is Hollywood. Yes, it's a business and they want to pack the auditoriums...but you hear a lot of actors (Christian Bale) and directors (McG) talk about it being art. Some people have theories that SUMMER movies aren't art but just cash cows...this is one of the movies that proves that point true. Look at last year...THE DARK KNIGHT, IRON MAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK...summer movies that could be considered art but at least they were fun. TERMINATOR: SALVATION was the worst summer movie I have seen this year as of now(and I won't be surprised if I still say that at the end of the summer) and I would put it up with one of the biggest disappointments of the last couple of summers (Indy 4 is also up there).

The last thing that has been bugging me about T4 is the one particular scene (no spoilers here). At some point Hollywood thought it would be a GREAT idea for one "accident" to become 8 more "accidents" and then ending up helping out the main character...this isn't good or clever writing, especially when it is so predictable...

I am a main stream movie goer that loves working at the art house for the atmosphere...maybe I should learn to LOVE the product we show at my theatre...oh wait, I saw that piece of crap T4 at my theatre...

A good weekend with friends...

For Letha's LAST birthday present of this year...I got her friends (from L to R) Cara, Matt, Baker and Deb to come out and hang with us at our Grandparent's house on Cape Cod. We went to Provincetown and climbed the Pilgrim Mounment. This was the first place the Pilgrims landed in North America.

This is what the stairwell to the top looks like from the bottom.

This is the view from the top of the monument.

It was a good couple of days relaxing. Thanks to all that came to celebrate Letha's birthday, I know her and I had a lot of fun and I hope you did to. We don't get to hang out with a whole lot of friends here in Massachusetts and it was good to have some chill time with some close friends. I wish more people could have come but there is only 1.5 bathrooms at the house.

To Letha, till next year...Happy Birthday!!!

Art from our cruise...

These are the 4 oil paintings we got while we were on our cruise...

I told Letha to buy whatever she wanted to. She first purchased the framed pic of Venice...she said she loved the way the colors danced on the canvas. Then came the black and white pictures of France. Letha spent 9 months teaching English as a 2nd language in France. The really cool thing about these paintings is the 3D effect the oil has. It had been painted with a knife to give hard rigid edges and deep cuts in the thick paint. They are some good looking pieces...plus we got one of them free from a raffle that was thrown.

And just for Mike...

It's been a while since I have posted any new pics of Drake and Kaylee...so here you are Mike!

Wakefield wins 2...

with the Maier's in attendance...

While in Florida after our cruise my wife suggested we go to the Red Sox versus Rays game. We both enjoy watching ball games, especially when one of (if not both) our teams are playing...and decided when we go on vacation we should see if the local team of our locale is playing.

So Tim Wakefield was pitching in Tampa Bay while we were in Florida (and was the only win from the series). It was cool to be a visitor for a sporting event again...the cool thing about Tropicana Field is they have a HITTERS HALL OF FAME named after the BEST hitter in all of baseball TED WILLIAMS.

Then we also had tickets 5 days later for a game at Fenway, that Wakefield pitched again. 2 starts in a row, both attended by Letha and me, 2 wins for Wake...maybe were his good luck charm or something... :-)

Great Vacation...

the first of many for Letha and I out of the country...was to the Bahamas (only for 9 hours).

We got on the ship in Florida, sailed all night and got to the Bahamas around 8 AM. We went snorkeling and then did a little bit of shopping and sailed back to Florida at 5 PM. It was a really good and well deserved vacation.

Only 9 more REGULAR days...

until Letha and I are on vaction. The Bahamas, Florida and another trip to Universal Studios...I'm so freakin' excited. This will be Letha and I's first vacation since our wedding. Of course, I'm not counting the trips to Indiana for weddings or quick trips to New Hampshire...but I think it very well deserved.

On another note...I have lost 23.6 pounds since February 24th. I have been getting my body in shape to go to the beach...of course I still another 18 pounds to go before I am at my goal weight, which is the lowest I have weighed in my adult life. But little steps will get me there...

I'll make sure to post pictures of our vacation when we get back...

Some people are CRAZY...

but these guys are NUTZ!

On Thursday I got a call from a manager in the city that told me about this movie. Letha had read a RUNNER'S WORLD article about one of these guys. It sounded crazy when she told me about it, but it was nuts to watch the movie about their journey. We only saw 90 minutes of their journey...but it was awe inspiring. To see what they saw (even small portions) was amazing.

They had planned to run 80 days and averging 2 marathons a day...I have done 2 half-marathons (a year apart) and I don't want to do another one EVER. But to do 4 times the amount I did...a day for 2 and a half months? Then we you start the journey...it ends up taking an extra 31 days. They averaged a 9-10 minute mile for 4300 miles through 6 countries.

It was a very inspiring film to watch and I don't run. Letha found it a lot more inspiring and has decided that she wants to do another marathon at some point down the road.

Here's the trailer to the film:

Chicks and Lightsabers?

Can you do this...

I know I can't...

Cuteness...overload...

And no...that's not Kaylee in the pictures...

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...

So I'm driving to work this morning and listening to the radio when I heard about this situation, I'm surprised I didn't run across this on Mike's blog.

Now...I am all for coming to this country to find a better way of life, LEGALLY. If you are an illegal you have no civil rights in this country. Here's a patriot of our country doing what is right, trying to get the vermin to stay out of this country. "...he began rounding up illegal immigrants after they started to vandalize his property...he said the immigrants tore up water pumps, killed calves, destroyed fences and gates, stole trucks and broke into his home..."

Now he has been found guilty of crimes against people who were trespassing on his property...this country is so idiotic. Next thing you know we'll be able to sue for spilling hot coffee on ourselves...or sue for cutting ourselves while breaking and entering...oh wait, those have already happened.

We deserve everything that is coming our way...because a lot of people in this country are looking for handouts and not using common sense.

A puppy...in Halo 3...

Thundercats...HOOOOOO!!!

It's been a while since I've blogged about anything...but this is a pretty damn cool trailer using other movies as the basis...

Wonder Who?

So I was surfing around and found this...

it is a hoax and a pretty good one at that. If you go to the guy's website that did this he explains why. It reminds me of this posting I did a while ago.

I have to admit the guy's reasoning for picking Megan Fox is right on par with how Hollywood thinks. If they had a good director they might be able to get a real performance out of her. The good news is that she is young enough to make a trilogy for WB/DC. I would be on board with watching a Wonder Woman movie...I watch every other book/comic interpretation on screen why not this one. I just wish Joss Whedon was still on this project...

So, have you ever...

run 26.2 miles before? Well, I know I haven't, but I am married to someone who has.

This past Sunday, November 2nd, 2008, my wife, Letha Maier, ran the ING New York City marathon.

The trip started on Friday (Halloween) when we packed up the car, loaded the dogs and drove 3 1/2 hours to NYC. We got there and hung out with McNear and his roommates (thanks for letting us stay with you guys) until about 3 in the morning. . .

Doesn't Drake look like he could use a beer?

Woke up on Saturday and then headed to The Javits Center (convention center) for Letha to pick up her number and chip. We then headed to lunch at Chevy's and then came home for an evening of relaxing.

Then comes 3:45 am on Sunday morning. We decided I would drive Letha down to the library, then park the car close to the finish line and head back for a nap. I got back to the apartment around 6 am and took the dogs to the dog park (to run off some energy). We then headed down to mile 8 of the race, to see Letha for the first of 3 visits along the course.





She came running up to us, with the biggest smile and jumped on me while giving me a huge hug. After giving her orange slices (and getting a quick kiss), she was off and we were going to mile 18 to see her for the second time.



At mile 18 we saw her again, this time we gave her a bag of mini Oreos and a flat Coke. This is where McNear jumped in the race to help her get thru the parts that were the slowest and most boring. McNear ran six miles with her and then jumped out before going into Central Park. She only had a little over 2 miles left to go on her own.

I will admit while I was watching people finish the race, I was worried. I saw so much pain in some of the runner's faces that it would have been unbearable to watch Letha in that much pain. I had seen her in such good spirits before, I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Then after seeing COW MAN...



(people wear some weird stuff...there were even Ghostbusters out that day), Letha came across the 26 mile mark. I could see she was in the best of sprits and I was so happy.

I haven't been proud of a whole lot of people in my life (yet). But watching Letha complete a marathon was one of the most amazing things to witness and was very inspirational. She finished almost 12 to 13 minutes faster than she was planning. I know if she would have really pushed herself she could have beaten it by 40 minutes or even an hour. But her goal was to finish...and that she did.

I love you Letha and am so proud of what you accomplished.

I'm not for either...

of our candidates. I am sick and tired of hearing some people act like Obama is going to save our way of life. Reality check people...it's going to get a LOT worse before it even thinks about getting better.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081030/ap_on_el_ge/fact_check_obama_ad

I haven't done a whole lot of digging on either candidate and I am not sure I'll be voting for either of them (Mickey Mouse would be better in my opinion).

Obama says we need change but doesn't really explain how that change is going to happen (see link above to see how much CHANGE is going to cost us).

McCain keeps saying he's been seasoned for the job with the tough job he's done in Washington. Yet he supports what we are doing in Iraq. Sorry, McCain we shouldn't be trying to force democracy down people's throat...no matter how much we want to. Vietnam didn't work and this won't either.

We started the mess in Iraq, we just need to stay there long enough to get something in place so we can leave and it not be taken over by radicals. I don't even care if it's a democracy or not.

I am sick of politics, both our candidates and the downfall of our great country because a few people are just THAT stupid.

The president can't to anything all by himself, he's needs other people in Washington and Washington has sold us down river without a paddle...

Animal the Speedster?

My wife made me laugh a bunch this morning by forwarding on this blog about a crazy muppet...

http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2008/10/german-police-seek-speeding-british.html

A return to form...

I can remember being little and watching Clint Eastwood movies. KELLY'S HEROES, numerous westerns, the DIRTY HARRY movies and one of my personal favorites of his HEARTBREAK RIDGE.

He has only gotten better (as a director and actor) since I've grown into a real movie fan. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA is one of the best war movies...one of the best MOVIES period.

I had heard his latest movie was being kept under close wraps, that is until the trailer came out in the last couple of days.

It looks like old Clint is back...

Enjoy!