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Thursday, October 03, 2013

The Lunch Hour Confessional

For this edition of the Thursday Diary entry, I've come up with a unique idea.  

And, just to clear up any confusion, I've postdated the entry that is going to be featured in today's blog.  The date says October 3, but I actually wrote it October 2.

And, I have a confession to make.  I wrote this blog entry during my lunch hour at work.



You see...I've always loved lunch hour.  It's probably one of my favourite times of my entire work day.  And it's not necessarily because I love to eat and hate to work, though I'll also be the first to admit that there are days in which this absolutely happens.  It's because the lunch hour allows me to have some time to myself to do with whatever I like.  It's a time in which I can be free with my thoughts and choose who I want to spend time with.

Though, I'll be the first one to admit that lately I have been spending my lunch hours seated by myself.  And while a few years ago, I would have felt like I was unloved or unwanted...now I choose to eat by myself because I want to.  It allows me to sit down and think about what I want to write about in this space.

Today, I thought about challenging myself.  I can usually come up with a topic and have an entire blog written about the subject within a time frame of six hours.  

But could I write an entire blog entry in the space of time it takes to eat my lunch at work?

Well, here it is.  I grabbed my little notebook, jotted down paragraphs and sentences, and here's the finished result, completely scanned in.  I hope you enjoy it!  It's not really edited for spelling and grammar, but I hope you'll forgive me.  







Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Misery



All right, so today is Whatever Wednesday, and that means it's time to break out the “Clue” cards to see what subject we will be discussing this week. As always, I will be providing the list of what each card means at the beginning of every Whatever Wednesday post.

MISS SCARLET: Sunday Jukebox
COLONEL MUSTARD: Monday Matinee
MRS. WHITE: Saturday Smorgasbord (weeks 3-5)
MR. GREEN: Saturday Smorgasbord (weeks 1-2)
MRS. PEACOCK: Friday Night in the TV Guide
PROFESSOR PLUM: Thursday Diary

So, let's see which character we will be looking at today.



Oh...it seems as though when I was grabbing in the bag, I happened to take two cards by mistake. One happens to be the Colonel Mustard card, and the other was the Mrs. White card. Since I can only choose one card at a time, I'll go with the Mustard card.

Although, I suppose if I really wanted to stretch it out, the Mrs. White card could also be played. After all, today's blog subject happens to be a movie that was based on a best-selling novel.

And to keep with the theme of October, I thought I'd make it a scary movie.





How do you like the new Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life Halloween logo? I made it myself...as if you couldn't tell already.

Anyway, this week's Whatever Wednesday deals with the subject of fame.  Almost everybody that I knew growing up had some dreams of achieving super stardom.  Some wanted to become the next Madonna or Michael Jackson.  Some wanted to win an Academy Award for acting or directing.  And some people strive to be the next award winning author (which admittedly is a dream of mine).

Of course, there are many perks to being famous.  The more famous you are, the better chance you have of taking home a hefty pay day for your work.  You get to rub shoulders with other successful people and potentially network your way to better projects and opportunities.  And there's a good chance that you could live a life of luxury filled with expensive dinners, luxurious living spaces, and fancy cars.

(Well...that is if you like those sorts of things.  I would be completely out of my element in high luxury.  I much prefer a bacon double cheeseburger for comfort food over a jar of caviar.)

But there are some major downsides to being famous.  I would imagine that it would be quite unnerving to have to deal with the paparazzi and overeager photographers at every step of the way (which prompted actresses Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner to take action over the last couple of months).  I would imagine that it wouldn't be easy to see your entire life splashed on the front covers of tabloid magazines and featured on "Entertainment Tonight".

And, while I'm sure that most famous people are absolutely grateful towards their fans, and would happily sign autographs for them, pose for pictures at fan events, or even offer them backstage passes at their concerts, there are some fans who seem to take it to extremes.  And some people end up crossing that line between harmless fan and psycho stalker and never look back.




Just ask Annie Wilkes.

Now on the surface, Annie Wilkes may appear to be your everyday woman with a heart of gold.  She lives a quiet existence, she works as a nurse, and one of the activities that she enjoys the most is reading books by one of her favourite authors.  But when an opportunity comes for her to get up close and personal with the one man she idolizes more than anything in the world, it all goes to hell in a handbasket.

In fact, as author Paul Sheldon quickly figures out, coming face to face with his number one fan can become an absolute "Misery".




Yes, we're going to be taking a look at the 1990 film "Misery", which in itself was the film adaptation of the 1987 Stephen King novel of the same name.

(I am a HUGE Stephen King fan, admittedly.  Not huge enough to do some of the things that Annie Wilkes did to Paul Sheldon, mind you, but I do respect his works of literature very much.)

As far as box office success goes, it didn't raise as much money as it probably should have, though it certainly wasn't because the movie was bad.  It was absolutely phenomenal.  Even Stephen King admitted that the film adaptation (directed by former "Meathead" Rob Reiner) was very well done.  If anything, the only thing that prevented it from topping the box office when it was released in November 1990 was that it was competing against the wildly successful "Home Alone".  But you know, for a movie to make three times its budget...I would still consider that a success.




I mean, the film did star James Caan and Kathy Bates, who in my opinion are two of Hollywood's modern greats.  What could be better than that?

Now, I've read the book and seen the movie, and I'll be the first to admit that the movie actually does stay true to the book.  Mind you, the film was made a lot less gory, and some of the scenes in the book were modified so that they wouldn't be as grotesque.  I seem to recall a scene in the book that involved the amputation of a foot that was modified in the film version so that instead of amputation, the character's ankles were merely broken.  William Goldman, the man who wrote the screenplay for "Misery" actually wanted to have the foot amputation scene included in the final film, but Reiner decided against it.

Which is just as well, because the film worked better without it.  I for one would get kind of disgusted if I saw an amputation scene played out on a film.  It's one reason why I can't sit through "Saving Private Ryan" or any of the "Saw" movies.

Anyway, back to "Misery".




No...not THAT "Misery".




Anyway, Paul Sheldon (Caan) has gotten famous by writing a series of books starring heroine Misery Chastain.  Just as J.K. Rowling had with Harry Potter and Stephanie Meyer had done with the Twilight crew, Paul Sheldon's character of Misery helped him land on the best-sellers list more than once.  But there comes a time in every author's life when he/she decides that they want to try something new.  In Sheldon's case, while he acknowledged the fact that Misery helped get his name out there in the literary world, he has already begun work on another manuscript that has no mention of Misery Chastain at all.  In fact, to make sure that Sheldon never uses the character of Misery again, he has the character killed off in his latest book, "Misery's Child".

At the start of the movie, Paul is currently staying in Colorado working on his new manuscript, but has to depart back to Los Angeles to get in touch with his publishing agent Marcia Sindell (Lauren Bacall).  However, on the way to Los Angeles, a blizzard strikes, and poor Paul loses control of his car and ends up careening off the road.  The end result is that Paul survives the crash, but with two broken legs and a dislocated shoulder, Paul cannot go very far.

At first, Paul thinks his time is up.  But then he sees hope coming in the form of nurse Annie Wilkes, and he feels great relief over seeing someone willing to help him get out of the car, bring him back to her own home and have her nurse him back to full health.




This feeling of relief lasts all of twelve minutes, might I add.

Paul, at first, is flattered by Annie's devotion to him.  Annie constantly showers Paul with praise, telling him that she is his number one fan, and that she goes on and on about how much she loves his books, as well as the character of Misery Chastain.  Touched, Paul decides to give Annie an exclusive look at the new manuscript he is working on.  Annie leafs through the manuscript and shows the first sign that all is not right in her world when she comments about how she dislikes the use of profanity in the manuscript.  She also grows concerned when there's no mention of Misery at all within the novel. 




So when Annie goes to the store to buy "Misery's Child" and she discovers that her favourite author has killed off her favourite character, she goes absolutely postal.  And, I don't mean postal as in mailing a Christmas card, Mr. Man, I mean she goes absolutely cockadoodie postal!  To add insult to injury, Annie reveals to Paul that she has purposely made it so that nobody knows where he is and that nobody will come looking for him.

But Annie also reveals that there might be a way in which Paul can live to see another day.  She happens to have a typewriter stashed away inside her home, and she happens to also have endless reams of paper scattered around.  After forcing Paul to set his other manuscript on fire, she forces him to write a new novel entitled "Misery's Return", in which her beloved Misery is brought back from the dead.  It's a project that ensures that Paul's life remains a living, breathing misery itself.  But when your choices are life and death, it's amazing how fast those creative juices start flowing, isn't it?




Unfortunately, the trade-off is having Annie constantly at your side at every given moment.  That would be annoying for me as a writer myself to have people constantly bothering you.  I don't know about many writers out there, but I like to write without being disturbed by anything.  A little music playing in the background is fine, but I tend to tune everything else out.  But again, when your only choices are life and death, you essentially have to bite the bullet and work, work, work.

Mind you, this doesn't stop Paul from finding ways to escape captivity.  Once his legs heal up enough for him to be able to get around, he manages to locate a way out of the bedroom.  As well, he manages to come up with many excuses for Annie to leave the house (running out of paper, or an ink ribbon for the typewriter), and he uses that opportunity to try and find a way out of his predicament.




It is on one of these opportunities that Paul discovers that Annie is not as saintly as she believes she is in her own mind.  Through a series of newspaper clippings that are glued inside a scrapbook, Paul discovers to his horror that Annie was suspected and tried for the deaths of several toddler aged children while working as a registered nurse in various hospitals.  Escape for Paul Sheldon has never been more important.  But before he can get his bearings together, Annie puts two and two together and deduces that Paul has been sneaking out of his room - which leads to the ankle breaking scene (which is NOT for the faint of heart, might I add).  




So, with Paul being completely immobile and forced to finish the manuscript, it seems that all hope is lost.  Or is it?  A snooping sheriff (Richard Farnsworth) tries to find out the truth.  And just because Paul's legs won't work didn't mean that Paul's brain was damaged as well.  In fact, it is Paul's brain that keeps him sane throughout his entire ordeal, as he has to rely on it for one final confrontation with Annie Wilkes.  I will not spoil the ending, but I will say that it is probably one of the most satisfying endings for a psychological thriller that I have ever seen.

Now here's some trivia for all of you.

James Caan was clearly not the first choice for Paul Sheldon.  The following actors turned down the part; Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Warren Beatty, and William Hurt...twice!

Anjelica Huston was offered the role of Annie Wilkes, and very much wanted to be a part of the project, but unfortunately had to drop out as she was committed to "The Grifters".  Amusingly enough, Bette Midler was also offered the role, but she turned it down.

In the movie, the typewriter that James Caan uses has a broken "N" key.  Stephen King's first typewriter also had the same problem!

This would not be the first time that Kathy Bates would star in a production based on a Stephen King novel.  She played the main role in "Dolores Claiborne", and she had a bit part in the television miniseries adaptation of "The Stand".

Kathy Bates won an Academy Award for her performance as Annie Wilkes in 1991 - the first woman to win the Best Actress award for a horror/thriller film.  This film was also the only Stephen King film adaptation to WIN an Academy Award.

Stephen King once fought a battle against substance abuse, and it was his pain with trying to overcome it that inspired him to write "Misery".  Let's just say that painkillers play a role in the movie adaptation as well as the book.

In the "strange, but true files", "Misery" was originally intended to become a Broadway play with...get this...Julia Roberts as Annie Wilkes.  Yeah, can you see why it would not have worked?

There was actually a scene planned where Annie Wilkes kills a police officer by repeatedly running over him with a lawn mower, but the scene was cut as Reiner felt that it would be too humourous.  I could see his point because of the fact that death by lawn mower sounds like it would be in one of those "Scary Movie" parody films.  Bates was disappointed that the scene was cut.

And that wraps up our discussion on "Misery".  A book and film which exposes the dark side of fame in the worst way possible.



Tuesday, October 01, 2013

October 1, 1992

Hello everybody, and welcome to October! I hope you're really excited about October, because I have a lot planned for this month. October is all about carving pumpkins, gobbling down turkey and cranberry sauce (well, in Canada at least), and dressing up in goofy and scary costumes as you go door to door in the quest for lollipops, peanut butter cups and Jolly Ranchers.

October is certainly a month that will be filled with all those things and more. While not all of the topics will be spooky in nature this month, a good portion of them will be.

You see, Tuesday Timelines are hard. As much as I would want to make every single entry as scary and spooky as possible, I can only go by what happens throughout history. And if nothing really scary happened on this date, well, I'm gonna have to improvise.

Such is the case of this, the first Tuesday Timeline in October. And just what exactly happened on October first? Have a look!

1795 – Belgium is conquered by France

1811 – The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi docks in New Orleans, Louisiana

1829 – South African College is founded in Cape Town, South Africa

1843 – “The News Of The World” first begins publication in London, England

1880 – John Philip Sousa becomes the leader of the United States Marine Band

1890 – Yosemite National Park is established by United States Congress

1891 – Stanford University opens up its doors

1908 – Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a cost of $825

1910 – Twenty-one people are killed when a bomb destroys the offices of the Los Angeles Times

1920 – Actor Walter Matthau (d. 2000) is born in New York City

1927 – Actor Tom Bosley (d. 2010) is born in Chicago, Illinois

1930 – Actor Richard Harris (d. 2002) is born in Limerick City, Republic of Ireland

1931 – The George Washington Bridge opens up in New York City, linking New York and New Jersey

1940 – The opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to motorists

1946 – Nazi leaders are sentenced at the Nuremberg trials

1949 – The People's Republic of China is first established

1957 – The words “In God We Trust” first begins appearing on American currency

1958 – NASA is established to replace NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics)

1962 – First broadcast of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” is shown on NBC

1971 – Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opens its doors to the public

1982 – EPCOT Center opens up within Walt Disney World on the park's eleventh anniversary on the same day that the first compact disc player is launched by Sony

1985 – Author E.B. White of “Charlotte's Web” fame dies at the age of 86 in North Brooklin, Maine

1989 – Denmark introduces “registered partnership”, allowing legalized same-sex civil unions

2012 – A ferry collision off the coast of Hong Kong kills 38 and injures 102

And, celebrating a birthday on October 1 are Jimmy Carter, Julie Andrews, Stella Stevens, Geoffrey Whitehead, Stephen Collins, Andre Rieu, Randy Quaid, Esai Morales, Mark McGwire, Harry Hill, Christopher Titus, Ted King, Cindy Margolis, Jay Underwood, Zach Galifanakis, Andrew O'Keefe, Keith Duffy (Boyzone), Sherri Saum, and Jurnee Smollett.

Okay, so what date are we going to flash back in time to today? Well, get ready for this. I've spookified the logo for the next month.



We're going back twenty-one years in the past to October 1, 1992!




Are we frightened yet? No? Well, regardless, we're going back in time to 1992 for the launch of a particular American cable channel.  And, sadly I have to admit that it's a channel that we never ended up getting through our cable dial.  I would imagine that had we owned a satellite dish (which back in 1992 were approximately the size of an alien spaceship), we could have picked it up, but alas it wasn't meant to be.

Of course, we had several Canadian versions of American cable channels.  Instead of CNN, we had CBC News World.  Instead of MTV, we had MuchMusic.

And in Canada, if we wanted a cartoon fix, we could either tune into YTV, TeleToon, or TeleToon Retro.  Meanwhile in the United States, Americans could watch Nickelodeon or this cartoon network, which celebrates its twenty-first birthday today!




Happy birthday, Cartoon Network!  This post is all about you!

Now, some of you may be surprised to know this, but the creation of the Cartoon Network actually began its journey years before its October 1, 1992 debut transmission.  




The story began in the summer of 1986, when MGM/United Artists was bought by Ted Turner from Kirk Kerkorian because of concerns over Kerkorian's debt load.  But just two and a half months after the deal was made, Turner was forced to sell MGM back to Kerkorian.  But it wasn't as if Turner didn't get anything out of one of the shortest deals in television ownership history.  He still kept much of MGM's film and television library that was recorded before May 1986, and used this collection to form another company - Turner Entertainment.

This allowed the creation of the TNT network in 1988, and the profits earned by the network (in addition to the already created TBS network) allowed Turner to purchase Hanna-Barbera to the tune of $320 million!

But with the acquisition of Hanna-Barbera, as well as the various cartoon library that Turner got out of the MGM deal, Turner had dozens of animated programs on his hands.  In addition to the entire Hanna-Barbera line-up (which included Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo), he also held the rights to some of the older Merrie Melodies cartoon shorts.  What better way to show them off than by creating a network solely dedicated to animated programming?

Hence the February 1992 announcement by Ted Turner himself that he would create a brand new network which would feature his extensive library of animated programming.

What sort of shows would be featured on the network?  Well, this video clip might shed some light.




And, here's an official promo for the Cartoon Network prior to its October 1, 1992 debut.



I will say this about the debut of the Cartoon Network though.  The way they went about it was genius.  The debut was hosted by MGM cartoon creation Droopy Dog in a variety of segments known as "Droopy's Guide To The Cartoon Network".  What better way to promote Looney Tune cartoons, Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and Popeye cartoons than having one of the representatives of the cartoon block host the debut?

TRIVIA:  Do you know what the very first cartoon ever shown on The Cartoon Network was?  I'll give you a hint.  It involved that "wascally wabbit" Bugs Bunny!



It was the 1946 classic "Rhapsody Rabbit".  I wish I could find a clip of it to show you, but I came up empty.  I would imagine that most of you have likely seen it anyway.

Now, Cartoon Network started off very slowly.  When it debuted in 1992, cable providers in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. only carried the network.  By 1995, it was available nationwide.  Hard to believe that in three short years, a network could become so successful so fast.

What was especially great about Cartoon Netwok shows were the fact that some of them were also simulcast on TBS and TNT, so even those who did not subscribe to Cartoon Network could still watch shows like "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest", "SWAT Kids", and "2 Stupid Dogs".  



Cartoon Network would also begin producing their own television programs beginning in 1994, with one of the more successful programs being "Space Ghost Coast to Coast".  It was a unique program in that the show was made up of mostly recycled animated cels from the Hanna-Barbera archives, with the format similar to that of a parody of a talk show.  The animated characters would interview live-action B-list celebrities and poked fun at itself by constantly pointing out that it was as low budget as you could get!  The show seemed to work though, as young adults fell in love with it from the get-go.

Another popular show that emerged was the show entitled "What A Cartoon", which premiered in 1995.  The series was essentially the network's attempt to return to the classic days of animation, which saw the production of original animated shorts by both Hanna-Barbera and independent cartoon production houses.  What was interesting about "What A Cartoon" was that it spawned several cartoon shows that would become Cartoon Network classics in their own right.  Have you ever heard of "Dexter's Laboratory", "The Powerpuff Girls", "Johnny Bravo", "Cow and Chicken", "I Am Weasel", and "Courage the Cowardly Dog"?  All of those shows originated on "What A Cartoon", making it one of the only shows to launch six separate spin-offs!

Not even CSI can boast that achievement!




In 1996, TBS merged with Time-Warner, allowing Warner Brothers to air their Kids WB cartoon block on Cartoon Network as well.  In 1997, the network created the Toonami block, which allowed anime programs like "Sailor Moon" and "Gundam Wing" to be broadcast on the network.  And, beginning in 2000, Cartoon Network would launch the sister channel "Boomerang", which exclusively aired cartoons that aired during the 1980s and earlier (a channel that itself spun off from a Cartoon Network programming block).  Adult Swim was created for the network shortly thereafter in September 2001, which aired programming that were more suitable for adult audiences.  And in 2005, not wanting to exclude preschool audiences, the network launched the "Tickle U" block of programming which specifically targeted preschool aged children.  Unfortunately, it was not well received by viewers, and the "Tickle U" block was cancelled months later.  And in 2007, the network began importing Canadian made shows (that originally aired on TeleToon) into their line-up, consisting of shows like "6teen", "Total Drama Island", "Atomic Betty", and "Chaotic".

Of course, the network has seen a little bit of controversy during its history.  Not much, mind you, given the target audience of the network.  When "Toonami" was first brought to the network, many of the shows were heavily edited to meet the standards of the network, however some shows made it impossible to do so, causing some parents to complain.  A compromise was later made to air the more violent programs in later time slots to try and appease everyone.

The Cartoon Network also planned to host a 49-hour long Looney Tune marathon which promised to show every single Bugs Bunny cartoon ever made in one sitting.  Sounds like a dream come true, right?  Well, apparently they didn't count on the fact that so many people would complain about "The Merrie Melodies Dirty Dozen".  Of the hundreds of cartoon shorts that were made, twelve of them were not exactly politically correct.  In fact, they could be considered downright racist.  The decision was originally made to air the twelve cartoons in their entirety after midnight, but at the last minute was overturned, and the "Dirty Dozen" were omitted from the schedule.

But here's the thing.  People called Cartoon Network to complain, but not about the fact that the network DID air them...more along the lines of "why did you NOT show these".  Eventually, a compromise was made by the network.  They would feature a series of documentaries which would feature clips of the "Dirty Dozen" within the pieces.  It was later seen as a positive moment by the network for willing to confront and expose the not-so-nice moments in animation past.

And of course, many people are now complaining that Cartoon Network has changed completely and that the programming they now air is sub-par compared to what it once was.  But, is it really the case, or have we been spoiled by classic animation?  Or, it is simply because we've all grown older and have outgrown today's cartoons?  It's hard to say.

The only thing I know is that Cartoon Network is broadcast in approximately 100 million homes throughout America, and as long as there are children who are willing to watch the cartoons, I see Cartoon Network sticking around for a very long time.

Happy 21st birthday, Cartoon Network! 

Monday, September 30, 2013

Kindergarten Cop

Before I go ahead with today's Monday Matinee, I want to inform you of a recent purchase that I made,  One that will definitely impact any future Monday Matinees in this particular blog.

When I first started this blog, the inspiration behind what movies I featured in this space came from a variety of sources.  In most cases, the films were among some of my favourite movies, and I absolutely wanted to talk about them because I loved them so much.  Sometimes, I'd do a feature on a Sunday Jukebox single which happened to be a part of a soundtrack from a film - which would set the stage for the following Monday Matinee.

But the common thread behind all of my Monday Matinee choices were that I had to have seen the movie at least once in my life.

Well, as it so happens, I was getting a bit nervous because I was beginning to run out of ideas for movies that I could talk about.  I wanted to keep the feature going, as everybody loves watching movies, but at the same time, I didn't want to do a feature on a movie that I haven't seen.  I didn't want to do the film a disservice by trying to engage a discussion on a movie that I haven't watched.

Fortunately, my solution was found at the one place that I never expected it to be.  The electronics department at my workplace!

Up until recently, my only DVD player was the one that was included in my Sony PlayStation 2.  And for nearly seven years, it did what it was supposed to do...play some of my favourite video games and movies.

But over time, the mechanisms in the PS2 began to fade, and while it still plays video games okay, the DVD function quit working.  Sure, the machine would start to play discs, but after five minutes, it would shut off and restart, which made watching a standard 90 minute film impossible to watch.



I knew that I needed to get a brand new DVD player at some point.  Fortunately, as luck would have it, they had Sony DVD players on sale for $35, and I thought...why not?

CONFESSION:  I actually had my eye on the Sony Blu-Ray players which were on for $68, but they were out of stock when I had the money to buy one, so I settled for the DVD Player.  I can go Blu-Ray another time.

So, where am I going with this story?  Well, I'm getting to that.



You see, DVD Players aren't the only things that you can buy in my department.  There is an entire section devoted to multi-movie features.  You know, those ones that have two to four feature films inside one case?  Most of those are quite inexpensive.  As well, there's a five dollar movie bin that has hundreds of films available for purchase for...say it with me...five.  Five dollar.  Five dollar footlongs...ah, erm...movies.

So, let's see.  Inexpensive DVD player...cheap movies...you see where this is leading?

I thought that what I would do is just select a random movie from the five dollar bin, buy it (it's only five bucks, so what am I going to lose other than two hours of my time and five bucks), and then talk about it in the Monday Matinee!  At best, I introduce myself to a movie that I end up enjoying enough to add to my movie collection.

I'm also contemplating having contests where I take a Monday Matinee movie, review it, and offer the movie as a contest prize.  If this is something you would be interested in, let me know!  I've been wanting to do something to increase viewership here, and if offering free DVD's (well, slightly used ones, that is) as a prize will do the trick, then I'll try anything once!

Besides, the holiday season is coming up...and holidays are all about giving, right?

So anyway, today's featured selection happens to be one of the movies that I dug out of the five dollar movie bin!  And, no, I won't be offering up this movie as a prize because I actually kind of dig it...but again, let me know if you want to see me offer free swag on this blog.  I'm good for it!  Really!

I have to say, I don't really have too many memories of kindergarten.  All I remember from that time period is doing connect the dots puzzles with crayons, playing the Statue game in class, and dumping all of the jigsaw puzzles into the sandbox.

(I'll admit it.  I was a bratty, bratty child back then.)

Though I will readily admit that if my teacher were a six foot tall undercover police officer with an Austrian accent...well, I probably would have thought twice about misbehaving in class.  I most certainly would not have tried to bury every single jigsaw puzzle in the sand!



I mean, think about it.  Would YOU want to get on the wrong side of Arnold Schwarzenegger?



As you probably have guessed, we're going to be doing a feature on the 1990 film "Kindergarten Cop", directed by Ivan Reitman.  The film also starred Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt, Richard Tyson, Carroll Baker, and Penelope Ann Miller.

Now, the film itself unfortunately was not as well-received as the producers and directors believed that it would be.  I mean, yes, financially, the film made over two hundred million at the box office.  But when you look at some of the reviews for the film, some critics didn't find it funny, while other people called the film contrived.

Whatever though.  Those are just what a few critics have said.  I myself found the film good.  Although, part of me also feels old knowing that all of the kids who played the kindergarten aged children are between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-two nowadays!

Anyway, "Kindergarten Cop" might seem like a bit of an oxymoron to you.  The closest thing that we had to a kindergarten cop in my classroom was the hall monitor who made sure that we all had our jackets, hats, and outdoor shoes on before we went outside to play.

But then again, Detective John Kimble (Schwarzenegger) never expected to be going undercover at an elementary school.



As the film opens up though, we understand how this unlikely scenario unfolded.  Prior to the events of the film, Kimble has been on the hunt for drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Tyson) for several years.  Kimble finally feels as though he has his break for finally taking Crisp down as he is wanted for first degree murder.  Crisp shot and killed an informant after he gave Crisp information on the whereabouts of his wife, Rachel and his son, Cullen Crisp Jr.  Although there was a witness present when the murder went down, she also happens to be the girlfriend of the informant who happens to also be battling an addiction to serious drugs.  In short, there's no way that she could possibly testify in court and be believed.  As far as Kimble was concerned, the only way to put Crisp behind bars was to find Rachel and get her to testify against her ex-husband.



With the help of his partner, Detective Phoebe O'Hara (Reed), they manage to track down Rachel to a small town in Oregon named Astoria.  They reason that Rachel and her son are in a lot of danger not only because of the murder investigation, but because they suspect that Rachel actually stole a small fortune from Crisp before fleeing Los Angeles, and that she used the money to change the names of herself and her son and set up a new life in Astoria.  And since there's only one elementary school in Astoria, it stood to reason that Rachel would have enrolled her son in the school.  The original plan was for Phoebe to go undercover as a teacher at the school while Kimble did some research on where Rachel could possibly be.

But when Phoebe ended up getting sick and therefore unable to go to the school, Kimble is forced to take on the undercover job himself...which is the last thing that he wanted to do.

And, well...needless to say, his first introduction to the classroom full of kindergarten students didn't exactly go as planned.



No wonder the school principal (Hunt) was very suspicious of Kimble when he walked through the doors of Astoria Elementary School!



Fortunately, as time passed, Kimble began to grow into his new role.  Although some of the lessons he taught were specifically designed so that Kimble could find out more about who Rachel's child really was (i.e., the what does your mommy or daddy do for a living question), he found that he had a lot of fun teaching the kids everything that he knew.  He played with them, he introduced the class to his pet ferret which happened to become the class mascot, and he learned a valuable lesson in biology from one of his students.



Wisdom from the mouths of babes, huh?

If anything, he even gets the seal of approval from the principal of the school when he personally takes care of the abusive parent of one of his students...Kimble style.



I'll bet it felt awesome to hit that...well...you know.



Anyway, while Kimble eventually develops a strong bond with his students by participating in their gym classes, blowing his police whistle, and reading them stories, there's one kid who piques his interest from the get-go.  Dominic Palmieri (Christian and Joseph Cousins in a dual role) seems to have developed a close bond with Kimble, likely spawned by the fact that Dominic's mother Joyce (Miller) happens to also be developing a closeness with Kimble.

But Kimble suspects that not everything is as it appears.  For one, Kimble notices that Joyce also works at the school as a teacher, and that she is particularly protective of Dominic.  For another, Joyce absolutely refuses to talk about her ex-husband or her previous life prior to moving to Astoria.  And lastly, Joyce can manage to afford a huge house outside of town for her and Dominic to live in while only taking home a teacher's salary (which from what I've heard isn't a whole lot in the United States...at least, that was the case in 1990 anyway).



Kimble starts to put two and two together, and comes up with the conclusion that Joyce and Dominic are really Rachel and Cullen Crisp Jr.  And although Joyce is resistant to tell Kimble anything, she gradually reveals the whole story.  She was in an abusive relationship with Cullen Crisp and she didn't want to expose Dominic to Cullen's crimes.  She fled from the relationship and settled in Astoria - the home she lives in belonged to an old friend who told her she could live there in exchange for taking care of the home in their absence.  The only thing that Kimble was wrong about was that she did not take a penny from Crisp.  It was a lie that he purposely told in order to get his minions in the underworld to locate both of them easily.  Once Kimble learns the truth about Joyce/Rachel, he vows to protect them.  And Phoebe (who by now has recovered from her illness) is filled in on the story and she too also decides to keep a lookout to protect both of them from Cullen.

But when Cullen's mother Eleanor (Baker) murders the only other witness in the murder case, the case is overturned, and Cullen is set free.  He and his mother immediately descend on the community of Astoria, determined to grab Dominic and take care of Joyce once and for all.  By sneaking into the school under the guise of a parent who wishes to enroll a child at Astoria Elementary, he sets a small fire in the school library to get the ball rolling.  And amidst the chaos of shattering lights and sprinklers going off, Cullen successfully grabs his son and disappears into a school bathroom.  While all this is going on, Phoebe - who is trying to get inside the school - is hit by a car driven by Eleanor which temporarily knocks her out cold.

Luckily, John Kimble is still inside the school and he searches the entire area looking for Dominic.  But what happens when Kimble and Crisp come face to face...I'm not telling!

That's the story of how a police officer became a kindergarten teacher...and as the principal said it best, she didn't know what kind of a police officer he was, but he makes a good teacher.  And, one thing I will say about the final scene is that Kimble's final choices will tie everything together again, and show that deep down inside, the most hardened and jaded of police officers can be wooed by a simple hug, or the sound of laughter from a child.

Anyway, I found some trivia bits about this movie - some of which actually surprised me!

1 - Arnold Schwarzenegger was not the first choice for the lead role in Kindergarten Cop.  Patrick Swayze was approached, but turned it down as he was filming "Ghost" at the time.  Bill Murray was also considered for the role as was...wait for it...Danny DeVito!  Somehow, I don't think DeVito would have worked, even though I do love his acting.

2 - You may recognize some of the kids in Kimble's class.  One of them is Miko Hughes, who later went on to play the recurring role of Aaron Bailey in "Full House", and the twins are played by Tiffany and Krystle Mataras, who also featured in "Problem Child 2".

3 - The scene in which Kimble is speaking German as he carries someone into a house is somewhat naughty - translating the words into English reveals a couple of swears!

4 - Ivan Reitman's son Jason has a cameo in the movie.  Look for him during the fire scenes.

5 - Reitman also inserted a reference from one of his previous films in one of the scenes from "Kindergarten Cop".  Dominic's bedspread are "Ghostbusters" themed.

6 - This was the film debut of actress Odette Annable, who was just five years old at the time this film was released.  She played the role of Rosa, one of Kimble's students.

7 - Did you know that owning a pet ferret in California is illegal?  So, when Kimble was still living in California before relocating to Oregon, he was actually breaking the law!  In a twist of irony, Schwarzenegger actually supported the ferret ban while he was still Governor of California!

8 - Most of the film was filmed at real places within Astoria, Oregon.

9 - This is the first of two movies that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pamela Reed would star in together.  Reed also featured in the 1994 film "Junior", but her role was a lot smaller.

10 - Angela Bassett has a cameo role as a flight attendant in the film.



Sunday, September 29, 2013

Remember The Time

All right. I know that I promised you all that every Sunday in September would feature a one-hit-wonder. But, for the final Sunday in September, I am going to be changing the rules, because as it so happens, the story that I really want to tell is going to be linked to a song that is anything but a one-hit-wonder.

Don't worry though. When you read my story for today, I think you'll understand.

Over the years, I've had many people come and go in my life. Some of them were just passing through, while others are people who I wish I had never crossed paths with in the first place.

And sometimes there are people who have made a huge impression in your life, disappeared for at least a decade or two, and as fate would have it, a situation arose in which you were reconnected with each other and it's like no time passed at all.

Allow me to show you some visual proof that such an event can happen.



The date was September 27, 2013. The time was 11:30 in the evening. The place was a little pub and grill called “The Barley Mow”, where the live music was playing, the eats were delicious, and the conversation flowed seamlessly. And up above, you will see a photo of myself and two of my friends from grade school. From left to right is Sarah, Orijit, and myself. And right off the bat, I can say three things about this photograph.

Number one...I have one humongous noggin! Seriously, I now understand why people in class always wanted me to sit in the back row! But in my defense, I am built just like my maternal grandfather. I guess the body structure skips a generation.

Number two...you might notice that I seem to be somewhat winking in the shot. It's a combination of a bright flash bulb from the mobile phone that snapped the photo (taken by Sarah's boyfriend James, who also joined us) and the fact that it was quite late when the picture was taken.

Number three...as you can see, we all had a blast!

Now, because I have been told by my pals that I apparently have a great memory, I want to share with you how I met both of these fine people.

In regards to Orijit, we've been friends for a quarter of a century. He transferred to our elementary school midway through our first grade year from Montreal, but I don't think it was until maybe the fourth grade that we started to become friends. We would always go off by ourselves over by the bleachers in our school playground and just chat about anything and everything that came through our heads during recess. After eighth grade graduation, we went to different high schools, and midway through high school he moved to a town that was a considerable distance away. As if by fate, we reconnected in university and resumed our friendship for two more years before I was the one who moved away. But we've remained friends ever since, and we still talk twenty-five years later.

Sarah, I believe moved to our school during second grade. And, again, it probably took some time before we really got to know each other (all three of us were sort of shy back in those days). I think that by sixth grade, our friendship was cemented. In fact, I have a confession. Sarah taught me how to slow dance at one of the first sixth grade dances we attended! Now, Sarah and I also attended different high schools after graduation, but in recent years, I have reconnected with her as well. Given that she has a job working at the town shopping mall, I tend to bump into her quite a bit!

In fact, we're actually making plans for next year to get back together again. And this time we're going to see if we can get a lot more of our former classmates together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the beginning of our eighth grade year.

(Holy hell...has it been twenty years already? Yikes!)



Seriously though, I think that it would be a hoot to get together with my elementary school classmates. I've always said that I would never, ever go to a high school reunion, and I still stand by that opinion even now, even though I would love to pull a "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" rant on some of the people there and tell them that they had "ugly hearts and that I didn't give a flying CENSORED what they thought.



But an elementary school class reunion? I'm so there.

The truth is that at the time we were all in elementary school, we were all stupid kids back then. We were all still trying to feel out what was right and what was wrong. We all made academic and social mistakes and learned from them, and we all became better adults for it.

(Well...most of us did, anyway.)

I certainly hope that the mini Class of 1995 reunion is a go, because I think we've all grown and changed so much. And I also think that we are all at an age where we can let bygones be bygones and just talk about the good memories and the good times.

So for today's blog entry, I decided to do a song that focused on the joy of remembering the good times, but was recorded during a time in which we were still in elementary school.



And, well...while none of us really did fall in love in elementary school...the song does kind of fit. So, without further adieu, let's hear it for the late Michael Jackson.



ARTIST: Michael Jackson
SONG: Remember The Time
ALBUM: Dangerous
DATE RELEASED: January 14, 1992
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #3

And yes...I was a Michael Jackson fan when I was in grade school. Still am actually, four years after his death in June 2009.

Now, I know that back in the days in which Michael Jackson was in his prime, he would have some of the most elaborate music videos of all time. In the case of this song, it certainly rings true, as the music video clocks in at just over nine minutes in length. You try finding a music video released within the last five years that matches that amount of time! But if you really just want to hear the song, just skip ahead to the three and a half minute mark.



(Well, unless you really want to see Eddie Murphy and Iman act in the role of Egyptian pharoah and bride, that is.)

Anyway, just to give you an indication as to how well the song performed globally, you already know that it peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts, but it also went #1 on the R&B charts in 1992. The song also peaked at #1 in New Zealand, and charted within the Top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. And, it was the nineteeth most requested song in 1992. I'd say that classifies as a hit, wouldn't you?

The song certainly fits in a high school or grade school reunion setting. After all, the song's main theme is remembering the good times. Remembering your first love. Remembering the good times that were shared. Remembering everything that made you friends in the first place.

And as it turns out, there was a lot of speculation over whom (if anyone) Michael Jackson wrote the song about.



Many believed that the song was about Debbie Rowe. If that name doesn't sound familiar to you, I'll refresh your memory. She is the mother of Michael Jackson's two eldest children, Prince and Paris, and she was Jackson's second wife, the two tying the knot in 1996 and splitting up three years later. It was speculated that Michael Jackson kicked off his relationship with Rowe right around the time that Jackson was recording his “Dangerous” album. It certainly was an interesting theory, but it was disproven by song co-writer Teddy Reilly, who explained on Twitter in 2011 that Debbie Rowe was not who the song was written for.



Well, how about Michael Jackson's first wife, Lisa Marie Presley? The two shocked people everywhere when they not only announced that they were in love, but tied the knot on May 18, 1994. The marriage certainly didn't last very long, but Lisa Marie did make a memorable appearance in Jackson's “You Are Not Alone” video. Alas, the song is not about Lisa Marie either, as Jackson and Presley were not together during the filming of this video.



Interestingly enough, when “Remember The Time” was released in January 1992, Jackson dedicated the single “with love” to Diana Ross, the lead singer of “Diana Ross and The Supremes” and a longtime friend of Jackson. To confirm this as truth, Jackson's brother Jermaine explained in his book “You Are Not Alone: Michael: Through a Brother's Eyes” that Michael told him that the song was “written for Diana Ross in mind; the one great love that, as far as he was concerned, escaped him”.

So according to Jermaine Jackson, Michael had a thing for the lead Supreme. Now, whether or not it is exactly the truth, or whether Jermaine was flat out embellishing the truth, I can't say. However, I do admit that I have to take some stock in it, given how close he was to Ross.

Though, by that logic, the song could very well be about Brooke Shields, or Elizabeth Taylor, or even Bubbles the chimp.

We may never know the real truth about who Michael Jackson wrote the song for (if anybody), but one thing you cannot deny. It is a fantastic song that still holds up some two decades later.

TRIVIA: It also happens to be one of the few Michael Jackson songs to chart during two different time periods in the United Kingdom. It did very well in the UK when it first debuted in 1992, but when Jackson passed away in 2009, the song re-charted on the UK charts that summer, peaking at #81.

I suppose it makes sense. Michael Jackson's music was huge during my childhood, and he was a big part of my life soundtrack. I never really did learn how to Moonwalk, nor could I mimic the zombie dance in the “Thriller” video, but I did like him a lot. Even through the allegations of child abuse and his bizarre way of living (which I attribute to the fact that he never really did have a childhood growing up), I still respected him for what he was first and foremost...a gifted musical artist, a talented dancer, and extraordinary songwriter. As far as I'm concerned, he earned his “King of Pop” title.

And, I think that's why I'm so grateful that I did have the opportunity to have a childhood. Was everything Brady Bunch like? Absolutely not. There were some really dark times in my childhood history that I would rather not relive. But there were some very good memories about it as well.

And some of those memories were shared two nights ago with two childhood friends at a little place known as the Barley Mow.

Whether we choose to admit it or not, our childhood memories shaped us into the people we all became. As children some of us were more emotional than other children (this DEFINITELY held true for me), but as adults we learn to figure things out and adapt. As children, some of us are stronger than others, but as adults, we take our strengths and we use them to our advantage so that we can help other people find theirs. And as adults, sometimes holding on to the good memories that we had with each other as kids is all we have to hold onto when life decides to throw a curveball towards us.

Even if those memories involve riding on a Tilt-A-Whirl at the Great Balloon Rodeo in the pouring rain, calling a teacher by his first name and getting detention for it, getting kicked out of gym class for defending yourself to a less than understanding gym teacher, or working together on class projects to create something extraordinary...those are the memories that made us...well...us.


Do you remember the time?