DVD Bonus Features

One thing I seem to always get asked is, people will come up to me and say "Regis... what's the greatest DVD bonus feature of all-time?". And my answer in this imagined scenario is always the same: the "Memento" DVD feature that allows you to watch the whole movie in chronological order.

But a possible rival to that feature has emerged. I'm really late to finding this out but I was recently re-watching "Apollo 13" and was stunned to see a second commentary track with commentary by Astronaut Jim Lovell and his wife Marilyn Lovell.

Such a commentary track could potentially rival the movie itself. The only thing that could be better than a movie about a real astronaut going to space is hearing from the man who lived it.

Is it the NEW greatest bonus feature of all-time? Well, no. The thing I most want from space travel is an indication of what it's like - the sights, the sounds, the feeling. Lovell isn't a touchy, feely guy though, as an astronaut from the 60s, he's very technical and stoic. So you get a lot of talk about "at this point I had to decrease the rate of ascent or we might not make it" and comments about the capsule rather than a first-hand account of the experience.

Still, one of the things I always wonder about movies based on true stories is how true they really are. And Jim and Marilyn's commentary is great for that aspect. He's very good about saying what things really happened, what was poetic license, what was generally true but with some details changed, etc. And it turns out, "Apollo 13" is even more accurate than I had thought. Even things I guessed were made up for the movie turned out to be real.

So is it the best bonus feature ever? No, but I'll give it second place. And re-watching "Apollo 13" is something I would recommend people do anyway.

If you're like me and want a movie about the experience of going into space, you HAVE to see "In the Shadow of the Moon" (2007). It gives me chills just thinking about it.

Tonight Show - Re-Axe

I really don't know what to say and can barely comment.



They know that lightning can strike twice, they're so clearly begging for it to happen... I'm sure Jimmy know about the original... How does he not have a joke prepared for the situation? In fact, don't even make a joke, just repeat Carson's.



There's no reason to be throwing axes with Jennifer Lawrence and it isn't a coincidence that the boards and cowboy drawing are exactly the same. They're trying to win the lottery, it completely pays off and they didn't bother to plan for what comes next.

I'm maybe being overly critical, perhaps my mood is affecting my judgement.... The only thing I can say for sure is I just don't understand.

Conan - Jordan Schlansky Star Wars vs. Star Trek

Jordan Schlansky briefly explains the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek (and why Star Wars is superior).

Mini-Golf Championship of 1961

In an earlier post, I bemoaned the fact that the "Putt Putt" championship was played on a course without all the signature mini-golf trappings. There's no ferris wheel, no windmill, no waterfall, nothing.

But if you go all the way back to 1961, things change ever so slightly. If you go all the way back to the 1961 PPA "Parade of Champions" and get to Hole 7, it has a barn with doors that periodically swing open and shut.

And it's all in glorious grey.

In later holes, there's a loop-de-loop hole, a ramp hole and a pipe hole. Finally. Thank You. Now that's a sport.

And speaking of sports, when we get to Hole 14, professional putter Frank Holt decides it's time to really 60s it up and lights up a cigarette during the match.

Athletes! Classic.

Other than the different styles and mannerisms of a different era, the 1961 Putting Championship broadcast is largely the same format as the 1985 edition. One notable difference is that in 1961, they refer to a diagram to show the layout for every hole.

Look at that style. They even have a pointer to refer to it. Here's Hole 11.

Remember I told you about the loop-de-loop hole? Here's what that looks like in brilliant abstraction.

Man, Wes Anderson, eat your heart out.

Good Game - Episode 1

I went into this show with no expectations but it's actually pretty funny. It's not perfect but it really only suffers from the same problems that every other comedy made today suffer from.

Due mainly to Dan's delivery, enough jokes land to make it worth watching.

Late Show - First Episode

It was 24 years ago today that the Late Show with David Letterman first premiered.

I remember seeing the commercials leading up to the first episode that "Dave" was "coming to CBS" but didn't really know what that meant at the time. My mom was a Dave fan but would never in a million years have let me stay up to watch it in 1993.



Having not seen it at the time - and watching it now - I'm not filled with nostalgia, but rather something much weirder - excitement. In this first episode, it really seems like the dawn of a brand new era. A seismic shift has occurred and the world will be better from now on because of it. Very strange to be excited for a future that's already past. Very strange indeed.

Now all we need to do is bring the Paul Newman "shoot point" back into common usage.