Sunday, February 14, 2016
Valentine's Day: Epilogue
That alien is not a reliable source of information. And that's the problem with aliens.
Rad Roundup '16
Well, it's Valentine's Day so let's take a look at what's happening in the world of "Rad"...
Bill Allen, star of the movie Rad, has a new-ish BMX movie, "Heroes of Dirt". Well, well, well, looks like the local boy thinks he's a pro.
Right from the start, the connections are apparent. There's a kid who loves BMX and dreams of competing in the Big Show with the professionals. The opening scenes show him trying to evade a police officer who, as it turns out, really cares for him. Oh, and his parents don't really approve of this BMX stuff either. Bill Allen plays the father.
But that's largely where the similarities end. This movie isn't intended to be a remake or reboot, but a movie of its own. It's actually a little surprising how little the plot really revolves around BMX - it's really more about kids stuck in a life of crime and it strangely turns into a kind of a heist thriller.
The part that was the biggest surprise to me is that the film takes place in Allentown, Penna. (Allentown? More like Bill Allentown.) I had vaguely heard of it for a few years but I didn't know it was being shot locally. I'm honored to have just been in the same state as Bill Allen, even if I was never aware it was happening. At one point someone goes to jail and the "jail" that he gets sent to is clearly Eastern State Penitentiary. That kid is going to do some hard time.
This is one of those low budget movies where they really do a pretty good job of hiding the fact that it's low budget even though it's inescapable. In particular, there are some weak acting moments. The cinematography is pretty excellent. Overall, it kind of constantly rides that line of good/bad so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. I give it a pass though, I think you gotta take what you can get or you're screwed.
"Turbo Kid" is also a low-budget movie and also a movie that came out last year but, unlike "Heroes of Dirt" has no direct connection to the movie Rad. But the opening scene is a kid riding on a BMX bike to the song "Thunder in Your Heart" and we know what that's about....
"Turbo Kid" is a unique movie concept. It came out last year (as I said) but it's in the style of a post-apocalyptic 80s film set in the distant future of 1997. The style is an 80s era projection of what the future would look like. Think "Mad Max" but with a kid on a bike instead of a car.... and also with a sense of fun and some clever, comedic elements.
The movie strikes the perfect balance between paying homage to all those classic 80s hits and also not falling into the one-trick-pony "remember the 80s?" schtick. This is a smart movie with a nice sense of fun and really likable characters. It's got "heart". It's got heart AND it's got Michael Ironside with an eye patch.
But the real star of the movie, for me, is the completely synthesized score. The movie SOUNDS great.
I highly recommend seeing "Turbo Kid" but not to everyone. It's the kind of movie that you have to "get". You have to be on the same wavelength, but if you are, it's pretty great.
“If Bill Allen was hanging from a cliff and I was holding him with one arm, and I was holding my girlfriend with the other, and I had enough strength to save them both, I would let go of my girlfriend just so I could make sure that I had a really good grip on Bill.” - Daniel Tosh
So says the promotional website for Bill Allen's new book. It also has a positive quote from the screenwriter of "Rad". "RAD" HAD A WRITER?!
Bill Allen has a new book out. It's an autobiography in which he talks about the making of "Rad", how he was cast and his days (apparently) hanging out with Brad Pitt and Brandon Lee. I haven't read it and I don't know that I ever will but I can't help but be curious.
Official Website.
Heroes of Dirt
Bill Allen, star of the movie Rad, has a new-ish BMX movie, "Heroes of Dirt". Well, well, well, looks like the local boy thinks he's a pro.
Right from the start, the connections are apparent. There's a kid who loves BMX and dreams of competing in the Big Show with the professionals. The opening scenes show him trying to evade a police officer who, as it turns out, really cares for him. Oh, and his parents don't really approve of this BMX stuff either. Bill Allen plays the father.
But that's largely where the similarities end. This movie isn't intended to be a remake or reboot, but a movie of its own. It's actually a little surprising how little the plot really revolves around BMX - it's really more about kids stuck in a life of crime and it strangely turns into a kind of a heist thriller.
The part that was the biggest surprise to me is that the film takes place in Allentown, Penna. (Allentown? More like Bill Allentown.) I had vaguely heard of it for a few years but I didn't know it was being shot locally. I'm honored to have just been in the same state as Bill Allen, even if I was never aware it was happening. At one point someone goes to jail and the "jail" that he gets sent to is clearly Eastern State Penitentiary. That kid is going to do some hard time.
This is one of those low budget movies where they really do a pretty good job of hiding the fact that it's low budget even though it's inescapable. In particular, there are some weak acting moments. The cinematography is pretty excellent. Overall, it kind of constantly rides that line of good/bad so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. I give it a pass though, I think you gotta take what you can get or you're screwed.
Turbo Kid
"Turbo Kid" is also a low-budget movie and also a movie that came out last year but, unlike "Heroes of Dirt" has no direct connection to the movie Rad. But the opening scene is a kid riding on a BMX bike to the song "Thunder in Your Heart" and we know what that's about....
"Turbo Kid" is a unique movie concept. It came out last year (as I said) but it's in the style of a post-apocalyptic 80s film set in the distant future of 1997. The style is an 80s era projection of what the future would look like. Think "Mad Max" but with a kid on a bike instead of a car.... and also with a sense of fun and some clever, comedic elements.
The movie strikes the perfect balance between paying homage to all those classic 80s hits and also not falling into the one-trick-pony "remember the 80s?" schtick. This is a smart movie with a nice sense of fun and really likable characters. It's got "heart". It's got heart AND it's got Michael Ironside with an eye patch.
But the real star of the movie, for me, is the completely synthesized score. The movie SOUNDS great.
I highly recommend seeing "Turbo Kid" but not to everyone. It's the kind of movie that you have to "get". You have to be on the same wavelength, but if you are, it's pretty great.
My Rad Career
“If Bill Allen was hanging from a cliff and I was holding him with one arm, and I was holding my girlfriend with the other, and I had enough strength to save them both, I would let go of my girlfriend just so I could make sure that I had a really good grip on Bill.” - Daniel Tosh
So says the promotional website for Bill Allen's new book. It also has a positive quote from the screenwriter of "Rad". "RAD" HAD A WRITER?!
Bill Allen has a new book out. It's an autobiography in which he talks about the making of "Rad", how he was cast and his days (apparently) hanging out with Brad Pitt and Brandon Lee. I haven't read it and I don't know that I ever will but I can't help but be curious.
Official Website.
Friday, February 12, 2016
The Most Satisfying Video in the World
Awwww yeah, it's time to take it down real low and feast your eyes on the most satisfying video in the world. Just kick back, relax, because this is the video where everything's cool, no one's getting uptight, no baggage or hangups, just keep things mellow, you do your thing and they do theirs.
This one's an all-skate.... All-Skate.
I once spent a good portion of the day watching the industrial egg seperator on a loop...
This one's an all-skate.... All-Skate.
I once spent a good portion of the day watching the industrial egg seperator on a loop...
Monday, February 8, 2016
The Super Bowl of Schlock / Super Bulls
This post is part of a continuing mission to boycott every Super Bowl in which I don't have a rooting interest and replace the watching of it with various very non-Super-Bowlish activities.
(Pre-2011, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).
This year was kind of an off year. Firstly, I didn't really plan too much ahead of time - due to problems at work, I wasn't really fertile with imagination. Then, when the day came, I was stuck in bed, feeling the physical and psychological effects of some tainted ice cream I had eaten the day before.
In such a lowly state, the order of the day was simply finding something fun, something easy to watch, something low-key; finding the entertainment that best compliments a warm blanket and hot soup. For that purpose, what could be better than plowing through a "Best of the Worst" marathon on youtube?
In "Best of the Worst" the "gang" from RedLetterMedia watches three B-Movies (usually on VHS), discusses each one, analyzes them, breaks them down and then decides which movie is "Best of the Worst". If any movie is determined to be especially egregious, it will be destroyed in some creative manner.
In this episode, the gang watches movies from the dinosaur craze of the mid-nineties. This episode features Academy Award Winner Whoopi Goldberg and Academy Award Watcher Denise Richards.
There is also a sub-genre of "Best of the Worst" called "Wheel of the Worst". In "Wheel of the Worst", the guys put even worse and more bizarre VHS tapes on a wheel and spins it three times. The three movies that the wheel lands on are the three that they must watch.
This episode features the classic VHS "How Can I Tell if I'm Really in Love?" which stars Justine Bateman, Jason Bateman, Ted Danson and a step ladder. Or is there a step ladder? Either way, it's a star-studded affair. But even with that level of star power, it may not be enough to match "The Osteoporosis Dance" which features no stars (unless you count Tay Zonday) but does feature old people flailing about semi-randomly.
Feeling slightly better, I was ready to take on some amount of excitement. So I watched Game 1 of the 1990-91 NBA Finals: Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls vs. Magic Johnson and the Lakers. Sometimes you just gotta relive the Michael Jordan glory days. Also the Marv Albert glory days, as he calls the game.
One of the great "bonus add-ons" that you get with this era is reliving the Chicago intro that featured "Sirius". From my memory, I thought the intro stopped at "Sirius" but I could have sworn I heard it transition fully into "Eye in the Sky" on this particular occasion. I THINK that's what I heard, I could be wrong.
The music fun didn't stop there. You know what music seriously dates the game? When "Hangin' Tough" played during a timeout. Man, oh man.
But then there were a lot of ways that 1992 has started to really look old. There were a large number of men in the crowd wearing pink shirts, for one. And the arena had a large banner ad for Winston Cigarettes. I wonder if those even exist anymore. Also, the cheerleaders were wearing the old-fashioned pleated cheerleader skirts that no one wears anymore. NBA cheerleaders these days wear... wait, what do they wear?
As for the game itself, it's a pretty good game. It was close, exciting till the end but the Lakers won. Oh well, the Bulls will hopefully bounce back. Game 2 takes place in a few days / 25 years ago.
And that was the Super Bowl for me.
(Pre-2011, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).
This year was kind of an off year. Firstly, I didn't really plan too much ahead of time - due to problems at work, I wasn't really fertile with imagination. Then, when the day came, I was stuck in bed, feeling the physical and psychological effects of some tainted ice cream I had eaten the day before.
In such a lowly state, the order of the day was simply finding something fun, something easy to watch, something low-key; finding the entertainment that best compliments a warm blanket and hot soup. For that purpose, what could be better than plowing through a "Best of the Worst" marathon on youtube?
In "Best of the Worst" the "gang" from RedLetterMedia watches three B-Movies (usually on VHS), discusses each one, analyzes them, breaks them down and then decides which movie is "Best of the Worst". If any movie is determined to be especially egregious, it will be destroyed in some creative manner.
In this episode, the gang watches movies from the dinosaur craze of the mid-nineties. This episode features Academy Award Winner Whoopi Goldberg and Academy Award Watcher Denise Richards.
There is also a sub-genre of "Best of the Worst" called "Wheel of the Worst". In "Wheel of the Worst", the guys put even worse and more bizarre VHS tapes on a wheel and spins it three times. The three movies that the wheel lands on are the three that they must watch.
This episode features the classic VHS "How Can I Tell if I'm Really in Love?" which stars Justine Bateman, Jason Bateman, Ted Danson and a step ladder. Or is there a step ladder? Either way, it's a star-studded affair. But even with that level of star power, it may not be enough to match "The Osteoporosis Dance" which features no stars (unless you count Tay Zonday) but does feature old people flailing about semi-randomly.
Part 2
Feeling slightly better, I was ready to take on some amount of excitement. So I watched Game 1 of the 1990-91 NBA Finals: Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls vs. Magic Johnson and the Lakers. Sometimes you just gotta relive the Michael Jordan glory days. Also the Marv Albert glory days, as he calls the game.
One of the great "bonus add-ons" that you get with this era is reliving the Chicago intro that featured "Sirius". From my memory, I thought the intro stopped at "Sirius" but I could have sworn I heard it transition fully into "Eye in the Sky" on this particular occasion. I THINK that's what I heard, I could be wrong.
The music fun didn't stop there. You know what music seriously dates the game? When "Hangin' Tough" played during a timeout. Man, oh man.
But then there were a lot of ways that 1992 has started to really look old. There were a large number of men in the crowd wearing pink shirts, for one. And the arena had a large banner ad for Winston Cigarettes. I wonder if those even exist anymore. Also, the cheerleaders were wearing the old-fashioned pleated cheerleader skirts that no one wears anymore. NBA cheerleaders these days wear... wait, what do they wear?
As for the game itself, it's a pretty good game. It was close, exciting till the end but the Lakers won. Oh well, the Bulls will hopefully bounce back. Game 2 takes place in a few days / 25 years ago.
And that was the Super Bowl for me.
Friday, February 5, 2016
Conan Reviews Video Games - Doom
Conan gets a few NFL players together to play Doom on the XBox One. That old chestnut.
Tonight Show - Puppies Predict the Super Bowl
Not so much funny as it is a chilling portent of things to come... In this segment of the Tonight Show, puppies predict the winner of Super Bowl 50.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
