Pop Planet

When I was a young soul, my family would play this game called get lost in the country. We would drive out onto the gravel roads and my dad would start asking my brother, sister, and me which direction to turn. Inevitably, we would end up in a corn field or in Derby or Humeston or some other dinky Iowa town. It was great fun all the way around.

Now, one of my favorite websites is the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com). On this site, you can look up any movie, actor, director, etc. and find out instantly the information you were looking for. An example of how I use this site. I'm watching an animated film and I think I recognize one of the voices, but I can't quite place it. Navigate to IMDb.com; type in Charlotte's Web; and boom, Andre Benjaman (aka Andre 3000) is the voice of that crow.

I also like to click on actor's bios to see what other films they have been in. I just watched Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian and I, of course, recognized Clint Howard. Now Clint Howard has been in more films than Britney Spears has been in other men's beds. I was pretty sure he had played the same character in another movie. But I couldn't remember 1)If I was right and 2)What movie. So off to IMDb and, voila, "Oh, yeah he was in Apollo 13." I'm so smart.

This website is also a tremendous help in training for Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

So now merging these two things together I present Get Lost in IMDb. The rules are simple. Type in an actor's name or movie title. Then start clicking. Here's a recent journey of mine.

Self: "Crap, what's that kid's name from Juno?"
Juno
Michael Cera
Arrested Development
Portia de Rossi
Dead & Breakfast
David Carradine - *side note: Does anyone have more appearances credited as himself?
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Quentin Tarantino
Inglorious Bastards

Now off the apple.com to see if they have a trailer up for Inglorious Bastards.

Cool Cat

This is the second installment in a Monday series.

AFI is an acronym for American Film Institute. Here is a link to their site. They are famous for their "greatest" lists of American Cinema. One of their compilation lists consists of ten films ranked in each of ten categories. Thus comprising a list of 100 films. Not necessarily the greatest 100 films, there's another list for that.

Every Monday on this blog, I will review a category.
The second category to undergo review is:

Fantasy

AFI defines “fantasy” as a genre where live-action characters inhabit imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world.
By presenting dreamlike realms where fairies flourish, witches scheme and pigs fly, fantasy demands that audiences believe in magic and hope for wishes to come true. (Courtesy AFI)

10. Big (1988)
"I wish I were big." Tom Hanks as a big kid. This movie works on so many levels. Outstanding cast. The scene in the toy store where they play "Chopsticks" on the giant keyboard is a great scene. This is the second greatest film in the genre of hero makes a wish and deals with unintended consequences.

9. The Thief of Baghdad (1924)
This is a film I have not seen. It's the only silent film on any of the lists. I'm not even sure I know how to find it if I want to watch it. It goes on my list of films I need to watch.

8. Groundhog Day (1993)
"I got you babe." This film is hilarious, heart warming, and heart wrenching all at the same time. Bill Murray at his absolute best. Did I mention I almost got to meet Bill Murray on my honeymoon? A tale for another time...

7. Harvey (1950)
"Well, thank you Harvey! I prefer you too. " Jimmy Stewart. An imaginary bunny. That's about all I know. I have never seen the entire film. It's on my list.

6. Field of Dreams (1989)
"Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa." This movie has some of the greatest quotes. The soliloquy at the end by James Earl Jones is a great moment. "Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom.... "
This is hard one to watch without tearing up, at least for me.

5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
"Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to." Santa on trial. Imagine, there was cynicism in the 40's. I thought it was a modern invention. I believe in Santa Claus.

4. King Kong (1933)
"It was beauty killed the beast." Even with cheesy special effects, it holds up. The story is timeless. This is a common theme with great movies. Regardless of what's going on around the characters, the human (or ape) interaction could take place in any time or location.

3. It's a Wonderful Life(1947)
"Attaboy, Clarence." The greatest Christmas movie. It also spawned one of my favorite SNL parodies of all time. Often imitated, never duplicated. The greatest film in the genre of hero makes a wish and deals with unintended consequences.

2. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
"One ring to rule them all." I could watch this trilogy every week and never get tired of it. Formula for success: 1. Start with the greatest fantasy series 2. Go to New Zealand with unbelievable scenery 3. Get great acting 4. Find a visionary director. 5. Start filming.
I'm not sure this is even the best film of the trilogy. You could get an argument for The Return of the King, it did win 11 Oscars after all.

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
"I'm Melting." I recently went to the Smithsonian. One of the items I had to see was the ruby slippers. Those flying monkeys still give me nightmares.

Omissions:
Since I haven't seen The Thief of Baghdad, it's probably not fair to say it shouldn't be on the list. However, it shouldn't be on the list. If I go to a movie and have to read, I'm ticked. I'm a fan of Big, but there are films better on the omission list. The problem with Twelve Monkeys(1995) is that I don't know which category it would fit under. How you can make a list of the best fantasy films of all time and exclude The Princess Bride(1987) is beyond belief. Come on, it has Andre the Giant for goodness sake. Others I would consider: The Green Mile(1999), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory(1971), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(2004).

I've noticed a trend in Hollywood. Perhaps you have too. It seems they have started to run out of ideas. The result? Remakes. Sometimes the names are changed to protect the innocent. News broke last November of a planned remake of The Karate Kid.

To me, it's a disturbing trend. A remake typically has no chance to be as good as the original. Legions of fans will remember the first movie and compare everything in the new film to the old film. Rarely does the remake hold up. At best, it can hope to be as good as it's predecessor.

There are two directions to take when remaking a film.

1. A shot for shot remake, paying homage to the original. Example Bad News Bears. To quote my least favorite American Idol judge, Kara: "I have two words: Awful."
2. A completely different creative take using the same story, but changing it up cinematically. I actually respect this more. At least the director is allowed to use some creativity. Example: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Are there any good remakes? Well it turns out that there are. Check out these guys' list of the top remakes of all time.

What makes an remake successful then? Here are my rules for when and where a remake is justified:

The original film is a foreign film.
This is an easy one. If the intended audience doesn't know of the original film and doesn't speak the language it was filmed in? Green Light.

Examples:
The Departed: based on a Cantonese film.
Victor/Victoria: based on a German film.
The Ring: based on a Japanese film.

At least 40 years has passed since the original and you are updating the story to make it modern.
Scarface(1983) is a perfect example. When 40 years have passed, many may not even remember the original film. In fact, I would guess there are a lot of films, you wouldn't even know are remakes.
Examples:
Ben Hur: 1959-1907
Father of the Bride: 1991-1950
I am Legend: 2007-1964

Special effects have advanced to a point that they enhance the film cinematically.
I could only find one example.
Little Shop of Horrors

The film is not an iconic film. Films that should never be remade:
Citizen Kane
The Wizard of Oz: Oops, too late.
The Godfather
Casablanca
Gone With the Wind

Congratulations to Kris Allen.

I called it, of course. I hope that Kris isn't burdened by having to sing the Kara single.

I have to say that I'm quite disappointed in people trying to turn the competition into another battle in the culture war. Kris did not win because Adam is gay. People who are saying so either A) Have an agenda or B) Are looking for an excuse. Both Kris and Adam were very gracious.

Unfortunately, I screwed up and didn't get the DVR set. Ergo, I missed the finale. But I did catch the announcement of the winner at Applebee's. It sounds like it was an interesting show.

Thank goodness for YouTube. What did we ever do without modern technology?

Are you a super-recognizer or do you have prosopagnosia? Most likely you are somewhere in between.

This article explains what these terms mean.

I now have a name for my social condition. This quote from the article describes me perfectly.

"Super-recognizers recognize other people far more often than they are recognized. So they often compensate by pretending not to recognize someone they met in passing, so as to avoid appearing to attribute undue importance to a fleeting encounter, Russell said. "

Now some might say I got this condition genetically. My dad is always telling us how he recognizes some guy on the street. We generally make jokes, invoking the "guy in the corduroy jacket," a guy whom my dad recognized from the multitude of little kid wrestling tournaments that we frequented when I was younger. It turns out, the guy in the corduroy jacket is a real guy.

In my case, I often recognize someone but cannot place a name with the face. This becomes even more awkward when they recognize me and come up and talk to me like we are long lost friends. Ask my wife, this happens quite a bit.

Then there is the question of introducing them to my wife. This is usually out of the question as I have forgotten their name. I just pray that they don't introduce me to their significant other. If they do, I'm usually SOL. Sometimes in this introduction I will get a clue to their identity.

Recognized Stranger: "Honey, this is Art Vandelay. He and I went to school together."

At this point, the synapses will sometimes begin to fire and I will be fortunate enough to come up with a name. This will allow me to reciprocate the introduction. Far too often, however, I got nothing. So do I ask, "What's your name again?" No. Perhaps nothing would mortify me more. I just shake hands with the stranger's spouse, talk for a moment longer, make up a prior engagement and slink away.

It has become more difficult to do this inconspicuously. My children will ask me as soon as we have taken two steps, "Who was that Daddy?" To which I respond by whisking them out of earshot and replying, "I have no idea."

Quick recap

Adam is good, Kris is better.
Kara sucks as a song writer.
I couldn't tell if Paula was on or off her meds tonight.
Simon was unusually restrained during the last critique. I'm surprised he didn't take a couple swipes at the song.
Maybe it's because I'm old and tend to listen to adult contemporary, which I think means talented artists, but I can see myself purchasing a Kris Allen album. Adam? Not so much. Kris more than held his own tonight and I think that's all he needed to do.

Prediction:
Your new American Idol, Kris Allen. The first single is a dud, if it's that craptacular song that Kara wrote. As the wife said, "It took three people to write that?"

First a definition:
A viral video is a video clip that gains widespread popularity via the Internets. It is usually shared by email, blogs (like yours truly), Facebook, etc. Those that don't spend a lot of time on the interweb, may be unaware of the video.

Watch this and try to get this song out of your head anytime soon.

At the Red House...

For the uninitiated, AFI is an acronym for American Film Institute. Here is a link to their site. They are famous for their "greatest" lists of American Cinema. One of their compilation lists consists of ten films ranked in each of ten categories. Thus comprising a list of 100 films. Not necessarily the greatest 100 films, there's another list for that.

The ten categories are as follows:

Animation
Fantasy
Gangster
Science Fiction
Western
Sports
Mystery
Romantic Comedy
Courtroom Drama
Epic


Every Monday on this blog, I will review a category. This is really an excuse for me to watch all these movies that I've had on my list for a while to watch. Now, you are forcing me to watch and review all of these films. The newest film on the list is from 2001, the oldest is from 1924 (silent film)
The first category to undergo review is:

Animation
This is the only category that I have seen every film. If you have children, you know why. Some of these films are classics and were watched by most adults when we were children. After looking at this list you realize what an impact on American culture Disney, and most recently Pixar, have had.

List
#10 Finding Nemo (2003)
A father is overprotective. A son is testing the limits. Son gets in trouble. Father has to bail him out. It's a coming of age story and a story of learning to let go.
#9 Cinderella (1950)
Girl is picked upon by step sisters and step mom. Girl hears voices, specifically mice voices. The glass slipper. The prince saves the day. They live happily ever after. What's not to love?
#8 Shrek (2001)
Classic fairy tale that skewers the fairy tale. Very well written and very satirical in nature.
#7 Beauty and the Beast (1991)
I hear the musical is fabulous. A movie that features the voice talents of The Old Meddler (Angela Lansbury) and Robby Benson is an instant classic.
#6 Toy Story (1995)
This was Pixar's first full feature film. Set the bar for future animation. Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are spectacular.
#5 Fantasia (1942)
Set the early bar for animation.
#4 The Lion King (1994)
I still tear up when Darth Vader Mufasa dies.
#3 Bambi (1942)
Yawn.
#2 Pinocchio (1940)
"When you wish upon a star." That musical number alone puts this into the top 3.
#1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Hi Ho. Hi Ho. Snow white living with 7 men at once? Hi Ho indeed.

Omissions
Probably because of the timing of the list, Wall⋅e is the most glaring omission. As with most of these lists "greatness" is skewed to nostalgia or innovation. To me if all of these films are graded on the same rubric, the current crop of animation is clearly superior to the classics.
I'm not a big fan of Fantasia, probably something about it not having a plot or a story line. Jungle Book is one of my all-time favorites, I could easily replace Fantasia or...I also can't say that I'm a big fan of Bambi, but I understand why it's on the list. Others I would consider: Lady and the Tramp, Roger Rabbit, The Jetsons meet the Flinstones.

Every week, I will bring you a phrase that has its origins in pop culture. The entry this week is "jump the shark."

jump the shark- \'jəmp 'the 'shärk\
Function: verb
Origin: Happy Days

This phrase is used to describe when a TV show starts to run out of ideas and begins to use questionable story lines. It references this episode of Happy Days, when Fonzie is waterskiing, in his leather jacket no less, and jumps over a shark.

If you are wondering if your favorite show has jumped the shark, check here.

Judges' choice

Danny
Dance Little Sister - Terrence Trent D'Arby (chosen by Paula Abdul)
Come on Paula. Perhaps you could have chosen a song by Kajagoogoo or Flock of Seagulls. Danny was handed a turd sandwich and he managed not to throw it back up. That's about all I can say.

Kris
Apologize - One Republic
Uncharacteristically for Kris, this was very much a sound-alike version of the original. I thought he more than held his own.

Adam
One - U2
I firmly believe that the judges have conspired to give Adam a huge advantage. Adam obviously was up to the task.
We have subdued Adam.
We have screechy Adam.
We have subdued Adam.
The middle was a little irritating, but the front and back ends of the song were wonderful. He has unreal range.

Artists' choice

Danny
You are so beautiful - Joe Cocker
I absolutely love this song. Danny does a beautiful version. Danny definitely has the best vocal control of the three remaining contestants.

Kris
Heartless - Kanye West
He definitely put his own spin on the original. It reminded me a little of Phish's version of Gin and Juice. Kris is a brilliant artist. If he can write his own songs, he may have a great career.

Adam
Crying - Aerosmith
The background singer was too loud through the beginning of the song. It's American IDOL, not American backup singer. I believe that this is the genre that Adam will need to be successful in. He needs a band.

---

The judges are starting to detract from the show. Get rid of one or more of the judges. Kara adds nothing, Paula is batshit crazy, Randy is played and Simon is bored.

It's really too hard to predict who's going to be around next week for the finale. I will be fine with whatever combination wins out. We can be sure of one thing, the results show will be a long drawn out affair.

This weekend my three sons were supposed to be cleaning the downstairs. As I trudged down the stairs after working diligently on the upstairs, I heard "All we got on this team are a buncha Jews, spics, niggers, pansies, and a booger-eatin' moron!" Now, I remember watching the Bad News Bears when I was a child and somehow, I don't remember the film being quite so politically incorrect or containing the amount of swearing that I heard while rewatching bits and pieces of it this weekend.
Now, at this point, you can probably see me telling the boys to shut off the movie and get up and finish cleaning. "Help me make the day special for your mom," you might imagine me saying. Hey who am I to ruin your fantasy. So let's just say that I learned the following lessons while I watched, off and on, the original Bad News Bears (1976). I refuse to acknowledge that a remake has been made.

1. Drinking and driving didn't have the stigma in the '70s that it does today. Buttermaker is cleaning pools, drinking martinis, and drinking a six-pack, all the while driving his little league team around.

2. I remember thinking Tatum O'Neal was a babe. Now it's kind of creepy.

3. The southern California chapter of the Little League didn't have pitch counts. I think Amanda pitched just about every inning of every game they played once she joined the team.

4. Walter Matthau is comic gold. I already knew this, but it's good to refresh your memory from time to time. Who else could play this part with the right amount of grumpiness and yet still be an endearing character that you care about by the end of the film?

5. Four-year-olds are mimics. I heard mine chanting god-damn bat, god-damn bat, ....

6. Total tally for swearing

• Shit - 9
• Crud-10
• Crap-6
• Ass-12

7. The Bears don't win the championship. I totally forgot that the movie doesn't have the typical "Hollywood ending."

8. Chico's Bail Bonds is the ultimate sponsor. That makes me laugh just thinking about it.

9. Hitting your kid in front of everyone on the baseball field is wrong. Thanks for teaching me one of life's lessons.

Zach Braff's time on Scrubs appears to be at an end. With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite JD Moments.


10. What's so hard about riding bareback?
9. Cranking the Toto
8. What's the deal with Q-Tips
7. Sometime's you just gotta say what the fudge.
6. Brickhouse!
5. We're gonna go with Boobs!
4. I'll kill you b@tc#s
3. That's my mermaid!
2. Pimp Walking
1. Guy Love

My crazy has a first name, it's P A U L A.
My crazy has a last name, it's A B D U L.

I wonder why they kept the lights low and never zoomed in anywhere near Paula's face? She couldn't have possibly been lip-synching! Say it ain't so!

No Doubt performs a half-assed, half-interested "I'm just a girl."

Daughtry brings it and shows why winning it all isn't as important as building a fan base.

The results are in, and.....

It's a sausage party. Allison's hitting the road. Off to obscurity.

I heard she's already got a gig, from this dude.

It does look like Jenna Maroney has competition to play the lead in Sing Them Blues, White Girl: The Jackie Jormp-Jomp Story.

Tonight is Rock night. Slash is the guest coach. Without further ado, here we go.


Adam
"Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zepplin

Big risk with song choice. To me it was a Vegas version of Led Zepplin. Adam could star in the Cirque du Soleil version of Led Zepplin. Adam does way too much shrieking/screeching. I really like him when he is more controlled and subdued. Listen to Zepplin's version and get back to me.

Adam how about some White Stripes? You could have really done a better job and not risked being compared as much with the original artist.

Kara just put Nine Inch Nails and glam rock in the same sentence. Seriously? I got two words for you, shut up! Judges are trying really hard to get Adam out of the bottom two and into the finals. This is as shamelessly as I have seen them pull for a contestant.

Adam loves the Zepplin.

My suggestion: "Seven Nation Army"- White Stripes

Allison
"Cry Baby"- Janis Joplin

Great song choice for Allison. Fits her rasp perfectly. Adam has a hair girl? Who knew?

Great performance. Very bluesy and soulful. After "critique" by judges, she shoots a little sass towards Simon. Probably earned some votes there.

My Suggestion: Can't really find fault with her choice. Maybe "Me and Bobby McGee."

Kris
"Come Together"- Beatles

Nice job. Kris is the best artist remaining. He puts his spin on every song he does. In my opinion, he did a better job with the Beatles than Adam did with Zepplin.

Suggestion: Definitely made the right choice by choosing the softer side of rock.

Danny
"Dream On" - Aerosmith

Full disclosure: Danny is my favorite coming in.

Bad song choice. Rock really isn't his genre, so a difficult spot to be in. The scream at the end was a little rough. He was better in the duet. He definitely belongs in the final two.

My suggestion: "Outshined"- Soundgarden or "With or Without You" - U2

Duets.

I like the idea. It's a good way to compare singers side by side.

Danny and Kris
"Renegade" - Rush

Don't know who picked the song, but it definitely favors Danny. Danny blows Kris away on this song.

Allison/Adam
"Slow Ride" - Foghat

Weak. Boring. Wasn't feeling it dawg.
I really had higher expections.
Randy says it was the bomb. I say it was a stink bomb.

My suggestion: "The Mess We're In" - PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke (probably not well known enough, but they could have knocked this one out of the park.)


My predictions:

1. Adam
2. Danny
3. Allison
4. Kris

It's retro time. Time to bring back a TV show from yesteryear and see how it would hold up today. We will start with a sitcom from 1987.

My Two Dads






When Marcy Bradford dies, she leaves her teen-age daughter Nicole in the custody of a father she has never met; or rather, two fathers - Michael, a straight and formal man; and Joey, a wild artist. Both were Marcy's former boyfriends, and together, they provide a unique balance of parenting skills for young Nicole. Written by Phil Fernando


Hey careful with throwing around the term straight in this context, Phil. Seriously, look at Joey. Is there any question where his loyalties lie, if you know what I mean?


Now for the rewrites of the plot to make it current.

1. My Two Dads
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Network: Logo

When Marcy Bradford dies, she leaves her teen-age daughter Nicole in the custody of a father she has never met, Michael, a not-so-straight and formal man; Michael was Marcy's former boyfriend, before announcing to the world that he was gay and in love with Joey, a wild artist. Together, they cope with the stress of adding a teenage daughter to their marriage.

2. My Two Dads
Location: Maury Povich Show
Network: Fox

When Marcy Bradford dies, she leaves her teen-age daughter Nicole in the custody of Maury Povich with a mission to find the father she has never met. Maury treks all over the country before deciding on two potential candidates. Michael, a hedge-fund operator; and Joey, a wild artist. Both were Marcy's former boyfriends. Together, they tried to avoid being saddled with a positive paternity test.

Which sounds like the better show, make sure to vote in the poll?