Three truths and a lie...
Three of these following statements are true about Matt.
1) His is the apex of human evolution.
2) He his the example of male masculinity
3) His intelligence is on par with the greatest minds (i.e., Aquinas and Einstein)
4) He beat Jordan in a game of horse with his arms tied behind his back.
[I did the research trust me three of these are true and yes I am a leading Blogest].
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Top 10
Sorry I cannot believe that it has been this long for a post, I am sorry for my business with things. But you know it is about that time for midterms and what is more important, keeping you at home happy or doing well in school? Well clearly keeping the reader happy because I am posting right now.
Some readers were not satisfied about the fact that I broke down my favorite movies into separate categories and did not give a top list of all time, so I am going to keep the post short and do so right now with a follow up tomorrow about my favorite actresses. Drum Roll please…
1. Casablanca: what can I say? It is too good to be not on the top of my all-time list. The number three best actor of all time on my list and a top actress for me in Bergman (foreshadowing), plus the narrative, plus… I could go on and on.
2. Citizen Kane: well it did not even make the top movie in its genre, but it would have if it weren’t for Casablanca. Orson Wells is amazing in the movie and the many things that he makes that movie fantastic.
3. Sunrise: yes I told you this movie is GREAT. See it, there is nothing more that I can say about it.
4. Ben-Hur: yeah it slides this high. Some may find it surprising but this movie is great and doesn’t get enough credit. Now I wish the price for it on DVD would come down so that I can get it for less than $30.
5. El Dorado: childhood and still young adult classic. Don’t know why but when I think Western I think this movie. You wont find it on anyone else’s top 10 list, or top 100 for that matter, but I like so that’s why its on here.
6. The Kid: also not on the greatest movie in its genre from below. But the movie is great. It has the Charlie Chaplin humor, mixed with the pathos that only Chaplin can deliver on celluloid. Plus not to mention a young Jackie Coogan as ‘the kid.’
7. Sound of Music: great film, great songs. However has anyone ever wondered how much better looking Julie Andrews is than the real Maria? Look for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_von_Trapp
8. Searchers: another Western. John Wayne delivers a great performance in this non-traditional style western. It has some of the usual characteristics, but there is something different making it more of a hybrid…
9. Raiders of the Lost Arc: action movie that I could watch over and over again.
10. Star Wars Episode IV: to round out the top 10. I just wonder how some people rate the top 100 picking 10 was hard enough.
Some readers were not satisfied about the fact that I broke down my favorite movies into separate categories and did not give a top list of all time, so I am going to keep the post short and do so right now with a follow up tomorrow about my favorite actresses. Drum Roll please…
1. Casablanca: what can I say? It is too good to be not on the top of my all-time list. The number three best actor of all time on my list and a top actress for me in Bergman (foreshadowing), plus the narrative, plus… I could go on and on.
2. Citizen Kane: well it did not even make the top movie in its genre, but it would have if it weren’t for Casablanca. Orson Wells is amazing in the movie and the many things that he makes that movie fantastic.
3. Sunrise: yes I told you this movie is GREAT. See it, there is nothing more that I can say about it.
4. Ben-Hur: yeah it slides this high. Some may find it surprising but this movie is great and doesn’t get enough credit. Now I wish the price for it on DVD would come down so that I can get it for less than $30.
5. El Dorado: childhood and still young adult classic. Don’t know why but when I think Western I think this movie. You wont find it on anyone else’s top 10 list, or top 100 for that matter, but I like so that’s why its on here.
6. The Kid: also not on the greatest movie in its genre from below. But the movie is great. It has the Charlie Chaplin humor, mixed with the pathos that only Chaplin can deliver on celluloid. Plus not to mention a young Jackie Coogan as ‘the kid.’
7. Sound of Music: great film, great songs. However has anyone ever wondered how much better looking Julie Andrews is than the real Maria? Look for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_von_Trapp
8. Searchers: another Western. John Wayne delivers a great performance in this non-traditional style western. It has some of the usual characteristics, but there is something different making it more of a hybrid…
9. Raiders of the Lost Arc: action movie that I could watch over and over again.
10. Star Wars Episode IV: to round out the top 10. I just wonder how some people rate the top 100 picking 10 was hard enough.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Favorite Actors
There has been a request for me to include who my favorite actors are in the discussion of my favorite films so that will be today’s topic. Now when thinking about who my favorite are it did not take very long to think of a few that I really like. For instance Charlie Chaplin. As mentioned before I am a huge fan of his and for anyone that says that they do not like silent movies pick up a copy of City Lights or The Kid and tell me that they aren’t 
fantastic movies. The reason I mention him first, mostly cause he is the oldest on my list, is because he had less to work with without synchronized dialogue. As a result he had to keep you entertained by his motions on screen and his facial expressions. Without these he could not have succeeded in making some many silent comedic films because he used his actions so well. Not only could he make you laugh, but he also could make you cry. Again he really hit a nerve when his character went from happy (which the Tramp often was) to sad.
Another great actor that came to mind was Humphrey Bogart (one academy award). He came from humble begins as non-leads then some leads in many B-films. Then when he did climb to the A-films he was generally the non-lead. He finally made it because he took his job seriously and was good at it. He made some classics and you can’t deny that he is one of the most recognized faces in movie history.
You also can’t argue with Brando (two academy awards, numerous years apart), haven’t really seen many of his films (at least as many as the previous two) but he was good with Kazan and he was good with Francis Ford Coppola. He was an inspiration for other great actors (Dean, who was great and could have been the greatest if it wasn’t for his early death) plus he was avid civil rights supporter, which made him more than an actor. You cannot argue with the range in his awards, meaning that his acting style was able to transcend time, something that many actors aren’t able to do, plus he was nominated numerous other times for the award.
Well where would we be without John Wayne (one academy award), the face of the West.
He also had humble beginnings. He made his way through the westerns but he also diversified making him more than just a western man (although he won his AA for true grit, a western). He also appeared in the Quiet Man and some war movies which expanded his horizons.
It brings us to the modern age of movies and lets be honest you do not have to be the greatest of actors to gain fame. However it’s not to say that we do not have great actors now. Connery (old I know) is the man, and I like the roles that he selects. Depp also makes good decisions and chooses roles that I think fit him the best although sometimes they do not result in spectacular movies. Damon also comes to mind as a good actor and shows versatility in his ability to do action films (Bourne series), while also having the ability to make dramas (Good Will Hunting).
Which brings you to the moment you all have been waiting for, and that’s my ranking of my favorite actors.
1. Charlie Chaplin
1.John Wayne
3.Bogart
4. Brando
5. Connery
6. Dean
I know a little bit of cop-out by not choosing an overall number one, but what can I say it’s too hard to pick one over the other. Some of you are probably wondering where the rest of the big shots are (Tracy, Cooper, Hoffman, Hanks, Nicholson etc) they are good actors, but just not my favorite.
[Note: only men on this list, actresses I will address later].
fantastic movies. The reason I mention him first, mostly cause he is the oldest on my list, is because he had less to work with without synchronized dialogue. As a result he had to keep you entertained by his motions on screen and his facial expressions. Without these he could not have succeeded in making some many silent comedic films because he used his actions so well. Not only could he make you laugh, but he also could make you cry. Again he really hit a nerve when his character went from happy (which the Tramp often was) to sad.Another great actor that came to mind was Humphrey Bogart (one academy award). He came from humble begins as non-leads then some leads in many B-films. Then when he did climb to the A-films he was generally the non-lead. He finally made it because he took his job seriously and was good at it. He made some classics and you can’t deny that he is one of the most recognized faces in movie history.
You also can’t argue with Brando (two academy awards, numerous years apart), haven’t really seen many of his films (at least as many as the previous two) but he was good with Kazan and he was good with Francis Ford Coppola. He was an inspiration for other great actors (Dean, who was great and could have been the greatest if it wasn’t for his early death) plus he was avid civil rights supporter, which made him more than an actor. You cannot argue with the range in his awards, meaning that his acting style was able to transcend time, something that many actors aren’t able to do, plus he was nominated numerous other times for the award.
Well where would we be without John Wayne (one academy award), the face of the West.
He also had humble beginnings. He made his way through the westerns but he also diversified making him more than just a western man (although he won his AA for true grit, a western). He also appeared in the Quiet Man and some war movies which expanded his horizons.It brings us to the modern age of movies and lets be honest you do not have to be the greatest of actors to gain fame. However it’s not to say that we do not have great actors now. Connery (old I know) is the man, and I like the roles that he selects. Depp also makes good decisions and chooses roles that I think fit him the best although sometimes they do not result in spectacular movies. Damon also comes to mind as a good actor and shows versatility in his ability to do action films (Bourne series), while also having the ability to make dramas (Good Will Hunting).
Which brings you to the moment you all have been waiting for, and that’s my ranking of my favorite actors.
1. Charlie Chaplin
1.John Wayne
3.Bogart
4. Brando
5. Connery
6. Dean
I know a little bit of cop-out by not choosing an overall number one, but what can I say it’s too hard to pick one over the other. Some of you are probably wondering where the rest of the big shots are (Tracy, Cooper, Hoffman, Hanks, Nicholson etc) they are good actors, but just not my favorite.
[Note: only men on this list, actresses I will address later].
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Favorite Films
People ask me sometimes what my favorite movie? Sounds like a fair question however it really isn’t. How many movies have I seen? Too many to count so I simply do not give a response, or I change what movie I say to different people. The other thing I do is tell them that I could probably pick a favorite movie from each genre, if there was one in particular they were thinking of. It makes it a much easier question to answer.
So here we go I will try and select from the basic categories (and ones that I add) of my favorite movies:
Action: lot of movies to go with here, and I would consider myself an action movie fan, but nothing is as classic and good as Die Hard (all of them are good). Its timeless has good one-liners (like an action movie should) and the lead actor can actually speak English (not taking away from Arnold or Stallone).
Adventure: Easy choice for me. The Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones is the man and the fact that I could probably watch this film over and over again only adds to its appeal.
Comedy: this is a tough choice because as some of you may know I do not like comedy that much, but when I do like a comedy it sticks with me. I am going to have to go with The Life of Brian. I selected it over Holy Grail, Bill and Ted, Dr Strangelove and Young Frankenstein, which would make up my hierarchy of best comedies.
Crime/Gangster: Another easy choice, Goodfellas. The Godfather, in my opinion, is overrated so I cannot pick it. Goodfellas is a great movie and any of you who haven’t seen it I highly recommend it.
Drama: another tough choice here (looks like they either come easy or hard) but Casablanca is just too good to ignore because Bogart and Bergman (hot) are just too good.
Not to mention the scene that takes place in Rick’s Café Americana when the Nazis begin to sing ‘Die Wacht am Rhein’ and then in response the French (I know they are French) sing ‘La Marseillaise.’ The Germans then stop singing and it leaves the French alone singing their national anthem. The scene gives me the chills. Citizen Kane comes in second with story told through flashbacks not to mention the new innovations that Orson Wells used in the film made it cinematographically fantastic.
Epic/Historical: some are probably questioning this as a genre, but it is. Ben-Hur slides into this slot. A young Charlton Heston, Jesus, revenge… what more could you ask for. It is long, but it’s an epic.
Foreign: another that does not seem like a genre, but it fills a void where great movies (not commonly seen by us Americans) need their credit. Grand Illusion is a fantastic film, which could slide into the War genre, about escaping from WWII prisoners of war camps. Amélie is a second place finisher.
Horror: Evil Dead. Not really my genre but it has emerged as one of the biggest genres in America (just look at all the damn Saw movies). Evil Dead is a low budget horror flick that is creepy and gruesome. The plot of the movie is coherent and just does not set the film up for scary scenes but they seem to go hand and hand (directed by Sam Raimi).
Musical: Sound of Music comes right ahead of Signing in the Rain. What tipped the scales you ask? Well it has one of those scenes that gives me the chills. The scene when the Von Trapp Family is singing at the festival. They sing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and then the Captain sings ‘Edelweiss’ with all of his fellow Austrians joining in at the end. The Nazis (I hate these guys) who are present then get the sense of nationalism in Austria will not be broken as easily as they thought. Just fantastic.
Science Fiction: Star Wars Episode IV. The original, the best… enough said.
Silent: I am a HUGE Chaplin fan (City Lights, The Kid, etc.) but when I saw Sunrise I never looked at silent cinema the same again. The movie is a story of a man having an affair with a woman,
who tells him to kill her and run away with her. The man is about to go through with it but she gets away and runs to the city. He finally catches her and he cannot act on his passion because he is in a public place. They then run into the café that they met in and they begin to remember the great times that they had and they spend the day together falling in love all over again. I’ll leave it here, you want to see what happens (great ending) watch it.
War: A Bridge Too Far. It has lots of stars (Caine, Caan, Connery, Hackman, Hopkins, Redford, to name a few), a good plot line (story of Operation Market-Garden) and war.
Western: El Dorado. My dad and I use to watch this movie all the time. Wayne, Caan, and Mitchum star in the film. It’s basically a classic western, but the childhood memories add to its status on my list. The Searchers, Stagecoach (both Wayne) are also great movies.
Well there you have it, my favorite movie in each genre.
So here we go I will try and select from the basic categories (and ones that I add) of my favorite movies:
Action: lot of movies to go with here, and I would consider myself an action movie fan, but nothing is as classic and good as Die Hard (all of them are good). Its timeless has good one-liners (like an action movie should) and the lead actor can actually speak English (not taking away from Arnold or Stallone).
Adventure: Easy choice for me. The Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones is the man and the fact that I could probably watch this film over and over again only adds to its appeal.
Comedy: this is a tough choice because as some of you may know I do not like comedy that much, but when I do like a comedy it sticks with me. I am going to have to go with The Life of Brian. I selected it over Holy Grail, Bill and Ted, Dr Strangelove and Young Frankenstein, which would make up my hierarchy of best comedies.
Crime/Gangster: Another easy choice, Goodfellas. The Godfather, in my opinion, is overrated so I cannot pick it. Goodfellas is a great movie and any of you who haven’t seen it I highly recommend it.
Drama: another tough choice here (looks like they either come easy or hard) but Casablanca is just too good to ignore because Bogart and Bergman (hot) are just too good.
Not to mention the scene that takes place in Rick’s Café Americana when the Nazis begin to sing ‘Die Wacht am Rhein’ and then in response the French (I know they are French) sing ‘La Marseillaise.’ The Germans then stop singing and it leaves the French alone singing their national anthem. The scene gives me the chills. Citizen Kane comes in second with story told through flashbacks not to mention the new innovations that Orson Wells used in the film made it cinematographically fantastic.Epic/Historical: some are probably questioning this as a genre, but it is. Ben-Hur slides into this slot. A young Charlton Heston, Jesus, revenge… what more could you ask for. It is long, but it’s an epic.
Foreign: another that does not seem like a genre, but it fills a void where great movies (not commonly seen by us Americans) need their credit. Grand Illusion is a fantastic film, which could slide into the War genre, about escaping from WWII prisoners of war camps. Amélie is a second place finisher.
Horror: Evil Dead. Not really my genre but it has emerged as one of the biggest genres in America (just look at all the damn Saw movies). Evil Dead is a low budget horror flick that is creepy and gruesome. The plot of the movie is coherent and just does not set the film up for scary scenes but they seem to go hand and hand (directed by Sam Raimi).
Musical: Sound of Music comes right ahead of Signing in the Rain. What tipped the scales you ask? Well it has one of those scenes that gives me the chills. The scene when the Von Trapp Family is singing at the festival. They sing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and then the Captain sings ‘Edelweiss’ with all of his fellow Austrians joining in at the end. The Nazis (I hate these guys) who are present then get the sense of nationalism in Austria will not be broken as easily as they thought. Just fantastic.
Science Fiction: Star Wars Episode IV. The original, the best… enough said.
Silent: I am a HUGE Chaplin fan (City Lights, The Kid, etc.) but when I saw Sunrise I never looked at silent cinema the same again. The movie is a story of a man having an affair with a woman,
who tells him to kill her and run away with her. The man is about to go through with it but she gets away and runs to the city. He finally catches her and he cannot act on his passion because he is in a public place. They then run into the café that they met in and they begin to remember the great times that they had and they spend the day together falling in love all over again. I’ll leave it here, you want to see what happens (great ending) watch it.War: A Bridge Too Far. It has lots of stars (Caine, Caan, Connery, Hackman, Hopkins, Redford, to name a few), a good plot line (story of Operation Market-Garden) and war.
Western: El Dorado. My dad and I use to watch this movie all the time. Wayne, Caan, and Mitchum star in the film. It’s basically a classic western, but the childhood memories add to its status on my list. The Searchers, Stagecoach (both Wayne) are also great movies.
Well there you have it, my favorite movie in each genre.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Nintendo NES
What is it about old video games that makes them fun to play?… Nintendo (I am talking about original NES), made god knows how long ago (released in 1983), has been the way that I have been passing some of my free time lately. The graphics are bad, the game play limited to essentially two dimensions (up and down; left and right movement) and essentially linear (or no) plot lines. But this system has two things going for it.
First the games are classic, mostly cause its hard to remember everything about games made 15 years ago, but they are still ingrained in my memory. The Mario Series, Techmo Super Bowl, Battletoads, Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego?, the original Metal Gear (impossible game), Duck Hunt, Track & Field (with the pad of course)…
need I say more… Excitebike, Blades of Steel, Magic Johnson’s Fast Break, TMNT… ok I am done. But this proves the point, new systems have to sell the buyer on a new plot, game play, system, while NES already is ingrained and no matter what I probably will not forget how to play these games… Sorry I forgot about Megaman.
Secondly since we were children when we played these games, we create a fantasy that the games are better than they are. Lets be honest I remember when I was five or six and struggled getting far in Duck Hunt, I mean those God damn ducks sure know how to fly. But just this last week I sat down and got to level 17 on the first try… had I ever gotten to that level before? It is tough to say but obviously not with the same ease as I did the other day. Just today I sat down and played Techmo Bowl again, and I forgot how limited the play selection is compared to the 100-page (exaggeration) playbook of the Madden games. But that simplicity adds also something to the game that kids of the post NES generation do not understand.
So how good is Nintendo? Amazing and it will always stay that way no matter what kind of video games are coming out next.
First the games are classic, mostly cause its hard to remember everything about games made 15 years ago, but they are still ingrained in my memory. The Mario Series, Techmo Super Bowl, Battletoads, Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego?, the original Metal Gear (impossible game), Duck Hunt, Track & Field (with the pad of course)…
need I say more… Excitebike, Blades of Steel, Magic Johnson’s Fast Break, TMNT… ok I am done. But this proves the point, new systems have to sell the buyer on a new plot, game play, system, while NES already is ingrained and no matter what I probably will not forget how to play these games… Sorry I forgot about Megaman.Secondly since we were children when we played these games, we create a fantasy that the games are better than they are. Lets be honest I remember when I was five or six and struggled getting far in Duck Hunt, I mean those God damn ducks sure know how to fly. But just this last week I sat down and got to level 17 on the first try… had I ever gotten to that level before? It is tough to say but obviously not with the same ease as I did the other day. Just today I sat down and played Techmo Bowl again, and I forgot how limited the play selection is compared to the 100-page (exaggeration) playbook of the Madden games. But that simplicity adds also something to the game that kids of the post NES generation do not understand.
So how good is Nintendo? Amazing and it will always stay that way no matter what kind of video games are coming out next.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
The Life Clock
The last couple of days have been hectic and I am sorry for the lack of quality posts. I hope to more quality posts starting with this one…
On Friday I was fascinated with an idea of the Time Clock. Cites that predict how long you are going to live. Well I imputed my data into a few of the cites that I found when searching on Yahoo. They predicted that I would live to 2065, 2067, and 2059. To be honest I can hardly say that these cites were reliable for predicting how long I am going to live, as they asked very few questions. However I was impressed that they all came within 8 years of my predicted death.
But really for the reason for the post was not to call into question the validity of the cites, instead it is to call into question how long I want to live… I mean do I really want to make it to 80+ years old. Not really. I think I would rather die at a younger age, when I still have some life in these legs and not have to ask someone to help me take a piss.
I feel that if I had to choose an age for death, 60 would seem to be the prefect age. I would have lived a nice long life and seeing people at this age, they do still have some life left and are not simply shadows of their former selves. In fact I do not mind going earlier as long as when I do go, I have lived life to the fullest.
And since I have already picked the age of death, I might as well as pick the type of death that I want… I hope to go quickly and quietly. I do not want to drown or burn and I do not want to die in a struggle of any sort.
But I guess I can’t play God and I will go when the good man says I will, but if I have to predict I have 14,575 days, 7 hours, 52 minutes and 14 seconds… 13…12…11…10…9…
On Friday I was fascinated with an idea of the Time Clock. Cites that predict how long you are going to live. Well I imputed my data into a few of the cites that I found when searching on Yahoo. They predicted that I would live to 2065, 2067, and 2059. To be honest I can hardly say that these cites were reliable for predicting how long I am going to live, as they asked very few questions. However I was impressed that they all came within 8 years of my predicted death.
But really for the reason for the post was not to call into question the validity of the cites, instead it is to call into question how long I want to live… I mean do I really want to make it to 80+ years old. Not really. I think I would rather die at a younger age, when I still have some life in these legs and not have to ask someone to help me take a piss.
I feel that if I had to choose an age for death, 60 would seem to be the prefect age. I would have lived a nice long life and seeing people at this age, they do still have some life left and are not simply shadows of their former selves. In fact I do not mind going earlier as long as when I do go, I have lived life to the fullest.
And since I have already picked the age of death, I might as well as pick the type of death that I want… I hope to go quickly and quietly. I do not want to drown or burn and I do not want to die in a struggle of any sort.
But I guess I can’t play God and I will go when the good man says I will, but if I have to predict I have 14,575 days, 7 hours, 52 minutes and 14 seconds… 13…12…11…10…9…
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