SCUBA Diving, Running, Horseback Riding, Swimming, Movies (good ones), Live Music, Performing Arts, Hiking, Shooting Sports, Photography (Check out the links below! I took these in Palau.)
"Fate fell short this time...""I heard from someone you're still pretty..."
lyrics - the green fields o ...P.M. Dawn, Third Eye Blind, Lightning Seeds, Chieftains, Moby, Naughty by Nature, House of Pain, Chet Baker, Diana Krall, Matchbox 20, Warsaw, Eminem, Public Enemy, Blackmore's Night, Blink 182, Angels and Airwaves, Traditional Irish, Anything with Lyrics that make me think or feel.
I am a huge fan of movies. They combine just about every form of art. Here is a random sample, and why I like them.300. This is a modern re-telling of the Battle of Thermopylae, as interpereted through Frank Miller's Graphic Novel. The movie never states it is based on true events and it is not entirely historically accurate, but it was not meant to be a history. The film was visually stunning and kept with the spirit of the true events, incorporating some historically documented quotes from the main characters. Awesome... What happened at the "Gates of Fire" was truly amazing, and I'm glad the story was re-told in a way that made it accessible to young people who might not otherwise ever care.Dune, by Frank Herbert, is the "Lord of the Rings" for Science Fiction. A phenomenal book, the film version was directed by David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet).
Tron stands alone as the first movie to use any form of extended computer-generated sequence. The movie is celebrated as a ground breaking milestone of computer animation. Renowned French artist Jean Giraud (also known as Moebius) was the main set and costume designer for the film.
Many of the effects that look like computer graphics were created using "backlit animation," an immensely labor-intesnsive process never used again in any feature film.
Ironically, in 1982 the Motion Picture Academy refused to nominate Tron for an "Oscar" because the use of computers to create effects was not recognized as legitimate. Since technology has matured, never before and never again will there be another film like Tron.I couldn't find a trailer, but this poingnant scene between Sandra Oh (Gray's Anatomy) and Kristin Bauer (Seinfeld) is from one of my favorite movies - Dancing at the Blue Iguana. Directed by Michael Radford (Il Postino) this film about the women who work in an exotic dance club started out as a black hole improv project (you drama geeks know what I mean). It is fantastic, tragic, well written, and filled with beautiful women.
Couldn't find a trailer, but the song is "Marooned Without You," the theme from Joe Versus the Volcano. This existential adventure romantic comedy was the first film Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan starred in together. There is a scene between the now departed Ossie Davis and Hanks that I think about every time I'm a little unsure about who I am.
I loved Stranger Than Fiction. Directed by Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland), anyone who expects Talledega Nights will be disappointed. It's not that kind of Will Ferrell comedy. Roger Ebert's review stated: "'Stranger Than Fiction' is a meditation on life, art and romance, and on the kinds of responsibility we have. Such an uncommonly intelligent film does not often get made." Even the last names of many characters are the last names of famous modern scientists and mathematicians.Serenity is a special movie that by all rights should never have even been made. It is continuation of Joss Whedon's "Firefly", a series that was cancelled by Fox after only 11 episodes had aired. Fan, cast, and crew love of "Firefly" ressurected the story, and it became a cult movie phenomenon, winning numerous science fiction writing awards and critical acclaim. Whedon is best known as the creative writing force behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." Cancelled TV shows NEVER become feature films. Serenity is a special exception, born of the love of devoted artists and fans.
Clash of the Titans is a 1981 fantasy movie based on the Greek myth of the boast of Cassiopeia. This was the last film of the legendary "Stop Motion" animator Ray Harryhausen. Although the time-intensive process is still used infrequently today, computer generated special effects have replaced this form of animation. It is a dying art.
Winning numerous independent film awards, and #34 on Bravo's Top 100 Funniest movies listing, Rushmore was written and directed by Wes Anderson (Life Aquatic..., Royal Tenenbaums) and co-written by Owen Wilson. It is a high school coming of age story probably equaled only by Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
The film is widely credited with introducing a new side of Bill Murray, who shifted from being a comedic actor to an actor known for tragicomic portrayals of men who have been beaten down into detached and mournfully wistful characters as in the later Lost in Translation.Written and Directed by Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers), this is about a solitary hitman who finds structure and peace in the ancient "Way of the Samaurai." Hagakure's teachings are beautifully anachronistic, and sadly the world has moved on to easier things. I especially like the portrayal of the dysfunctional mob family unworthy of Ghost Dog's loyalty. Most masters are not worthy.
I have always been drawn to films about contract killers. Maybe because (in a sense) that's what I am. Niether a hitman nor a soldier are required to hate the people they kill. They just have to do it. Shadowboxer is a fantastic film about loyalties, and what happens when you don't do what you are ordered to do. Starring two Oscar winners, it daringly explores complex relationships between contract killers in a disturbing and beautiful way.
Via: VideoSiftThis is the movie trailer for "Dark City," an Alex Proyas film (The Crow). Although a little too ecclectic to be widely popular, Roger Ebert called it the best film of 1998. It is one of my all time favorites.
YouTube Video via BestOfYT.comThis is a tribute trailer of "Dark City". Pretty intense.Dark City, Rushmore, Aliens, Joe vs. the Volcano, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, Playing by Heart, Love Actually, Savior, Mr. Roberts, Meet Joe Black, The Matrix, Sixth Sense, Angus, A Knight's Tale, The Last Starfighter, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Glory, Big Trouble in Little China, Real Genius, Skin Deep, Dune, Ghostbusters, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Daily Show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, X Files, Werewolf (the series - reaching way back to the early days of FOX)... but back in the day I watched these as a kid after school...
Starship Troopers, Prison Planet, 101 Famous Poems, The Alchemist, The Prophet, Manual of the Warrior of the Light, By the River Piedra I sat Down and Wept, Dune, Red Storm Rising, Without Remorse, The Terrible Hours, Cycle of the Werewolf, The Art of War
My Two Brothers