Sunday, December 31, 2006

2006 Movie Archive

Total Films Watched in 2006: (161)

New (106) [noted with *]
vs.
Re-watched (55)

[Navigation Note: Each title here will take you to my blog post where the film was mentioned. Within the blog post, the film's title is linked to the imdb entry for that particular film.]

[FYI: this list goes from the end of the year 2006 (at the top) to the beginning of the year (at the bottom)]



The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) *
The Nativity Story (2006) *
Band of Brothers (2001)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Cars (2006)
End of the Spear (2005) *
V for Vendetta (2005) *
The Interpreter (2005) *
The Island (2005) *
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) *
Snatch (2000) *
Fame (1980) *
Panic Room (2002)
Hulk (2003)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
A Fish Called Wanda (1989) *
Raging Bull (1980) *
Sergeant York (1941) *
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2004)
Crash (2004)
Adaptation (2002) *
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Back to the Future (1985)
Cast Away (2000)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Contact (1997)
Zardoz (1974) *
Cimarron (1931) *
Frances (1982) *
The Great Escape (1963) *
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Jerk (1979) *
The Hidden Fortress (1958) *
American Beauty (1999)
Moulin Rouge (2001)
My Friend Flicka (1943) *
Garden State (2004)
Beyond the Gates of Spendor (2002) *
Mogambo (1953) *
The Dirty Dozen (1967) *
Snakes on a Plane (2006) *
The Family Stone (2005)
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) *
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) *
The Family Stone (2005) *
Underworld (2003) *
Mighty Joe Young (1949) *
The Squid and the Whale (2005) *
Toy Story (1995)
Black Hawk Down (2001)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) *
Zatôichi (2003) *
Fever Pitch (2005) *
Midnight Cowboy (1969) *
Cars (2006)
Downfall (2004) *
Superman Returns (2006) *
Minority Report (2002)
Stalag 17 (1953) *
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) *
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Sin City (2005)
Cars (2006) *
A Prairie Home Companion (2006) *
Karate Kid III (1989)
Karate Kid II (1986)
Man on Fire (2004) *
Saboteur (1942) *
The Trouble With Harry (1955) *
The Birds (1963) *
Vertigo (1958) *
Blade Runner (1982)
Bill Cosby: Himself (1984)
Pride & Prejudice (2005) *
Eraserhead (1977) *
Brokeback Mountain (2005) *
Serenity (2005) *
Bruce Almighty (2003) *
Howl's Moving Castle (2004) *
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) *
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
LOTR: The Two Towers (2002)
LOTR: The Return of the King (2003)
Chicken Little (2005) *
Bringing Up Baby (1938) *
A Lot Like Love (2005) *
The Unsaid (2001) *
Hoodwinked (2006)
The Towering Inferno (1974)
Billy Graham: God's Ambassador (2006) *
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) *
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Veronica Guerin (2003) *
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) *
Wild Strawberries (1957) *
Mississippi Burning (1988) *
Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) *
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) *
The Wild Bunch (1969) *
Sabrina (1954) *
Enchanted April (1992) *
Batman Forever (1995)
Batman Returns (1992)
Phone Booth (2002) *
Beau Geste (1939) *
Elizabethtown (2005) *
Seven Years in Tibet (1997) *
A Man Called Peter (1955) *
Mona Lisa Smile (2003) *
Lost Horizon (1937) *
Ice Princess (2005) *
Heaven Can Wait (1943) *
Envy (2004) *
Traffic (2000)
West Side Story (1961)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Batman (1989)
Murderball (2005) *
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Walk the Line (2005) *
12 Angry Men (1957)
Giant (1956) *
East of Eden (1955) *
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) *
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) *
The Seventh Seal (1957) *
Sense and Sensibility (1995) *
Top Hat (1935) *
The Fly (1986) *
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Batman Begins (2005)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) *
The Polar Express (2004)
The Philadelphia Story (1940) *
Toy Story 2 (1999)
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Cold Mountain (2004) *
First Blood (1982)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) *
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) *
Ed Wood (1994) *
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Chinatown (1974) *
On the Waterfront (1954) *
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
King Kong (2005)
Hoodwinked (2005) *
Rashômon (1950) *
Daredevil (2003) *
Elektra (2005) *
Goodfellas (1990) *
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) *
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
A Clockwork Orange (1971) *
A Place in the Sun (1951) *
Double Indemnity (1944) *
The Spiral Staircase (1946) *
King Kong (1933) *

Thursday, December 28, 2006

SPC - Red - #4

OK -- I'm shamelessly using this post to show off my newborn son, Harrison, to my SPC friends.



As you can see, he IS wearing red, and I AM in the picture (that's my arm on the bottom left and my fingers on the bottom right).

Harrison was born 12-21 and he and Mommy are both doing great. We're quite the proud parents.

For those interested, go to my main page for more news and pictures of my Boy.

Finally, at year's end -- thanks to all you SPC folks for your comments and support each and every week. SPC is a unique and eclectic community here on the world-wide-web and I'm grateful for it and its participants.

Happy New Year to you all!

Saturday, December 23, 2006

O Holy Zombie

And now, for some non-baby related, but valuable, nonetheless, information:

Undoubtedly, you've already heard what has got to be simply the worst recording of "O Holy Night" EVER.

If you haven't, here's your chance:

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, you haven't heard it -- see above.

If you have, here is a flash version of the song with some animated video, courtesy of "Just Add Zombies."

via the sneeze:

Click here!

Films Recently Watched:

We actually managed to get to the theater a couple of times before Harrison arrived:

The Nativity Story (2006) dir. by Catherine Hardwicke
We enjoyed this. Not too many surprises, here, but well done, overall. There is some wonderful photography in this. This was definitely a good way to get our Christmas season started.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) dir. by Gabriele Muccino
Based on a true story, this is a touching story. Will Smith really does a good job in this, as does his son.

I also got a craving to re-watch HBO's excellent mini-series,
Band of Brothers (2001) Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg ; dir. by Various
If you've never seen this, you simply must. This is excellent film-making. For local folks, I'd happily loan it, just let me know if you're interested.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) dir. by George Seaton
Besides The Nativity Story, this one may have been the only 'Christmas movie' I got around to watching this year. It's not that I didn't want to get through some of the other Holiday classics, but time just didn't allow. Christy had never seen this from beginning to end until this time, so we watched this one together. Of those classics, this is worthy of being on the short list. It absolutely retains its rewatchability, year after year.

Cars (2006) dir. by John Lasseter & Joe Ranft

End of the Spear (2005) dir. by Jim Hanon
I was hoping for more from this. If I were you, I would pass on this and just watch the documentary, Beyond the Gates of Splendor. It tells the story better than this re-creation of these historical events.

V for Vendetta (2005) dir. by James McTeigue
Again, I was hoping for more from this. I'd heard really good things and watched it with far too high expectations. It was well-done, but not life-changing.

Home

Home, Sweet HomeWe arrived home from the hospital early this afternoon. We are grateful to Christy's mom, Carol who came from Michigan to help with Harrison and ended up taking care of Hannah while we were at the hospital, too. We sure missed Hannah while we were away from her. She was able to come to the hospital a couple of times, but it's great to be home with the whole family.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Thursday, December 21, 2006

It's a boy!

Harrison William Stockwell arrived December 21, 2006 (that's 12-21 -- a palindromic birthday!!) at 10:22am.

Mother and Baby are doing fine.

Harrison was 8lb 12oz in weight and 20 inches in length.

I'll get a few pictures up here as soon as I'm able. Check back there for additional details in the coming days.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Photo Friday - 'Ambushed'

I didn't get anything up again last week for "Fresh." Wow -- some odd themes recently over at Photo Friday. I wasn't sure about this week either ('Ambushed'), until I remembered I had this one that might work:

Swung

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

For Posterity...

As you may have noticed from my sidebar, I love movies. All kinds of movies. But if I had to choose one piece of film to have with me on a deserted island, this video would at least be on the short list.

My Dad taped this little bit of goodness off of a television program over 10 years ago. It may have been the Montreal Comedy Festival, but I wouldn't swear to it. Regardless, I got a copy of it to take with me to college and I've got to tell you, it was a real blessing. Just about any time I, or one of my friends was feeling down a bit, we'd just put this on and enjoy.

His name is Peter Gaulke and he's bizarre, funny and just plain weird at times, but he helped a few of us through college.

Ryan Prinkey was kind enough a couple of months ago to provide two links to a couple of Peter Gaulke stand-up bits that are available on youtube. According to his IMDb profile, he has done and still does a bit of writing for television and movies -- other than that, he's relatively obscure, which just makes it even funnier!

For posterity, I've transcribed the video word for word in its entirety. The full version can be found HERE. Below are a few excerpts:

**********************************************

---PETER GAULKE---
Oh thank you -- MORE!
Oh thank you
Oh thank you
One more time, for me!
Oh thank you
Oh thank you
[begins playing with pants]
Oh thank you
Oh, yes!
Oh thank you
Oh, I'm very popular here tonight
[continues playing with pants]
It's very nice to be here this evening
I'm very proud to be here; very honored
I'm very proud and honored
I'm very excited
'Excited' is the word I'm looking for -- I'm very excited.
I Love You
You know how much fun it is doing this in front of a lot of people? Ha-Ha!
You're standing on the corner; you see some old guys pants doing this; he's
not even touching them? Whoa!
Dog pops his head up? Woof!
Pants are a a man's best friend

My name's Peter Gaulke, and I'm popular!

I'm very popular -- because -- I love music,
yeah!
I once played in a five-piece rock band.
We weren't very good, though, because we all played bass.
We had a tambourine player for a while, we were kickin' ass!
He left an all-tambourine band -- they suck!
We were the best
[imitates playing bass]
Bip - BipBip - BipBipBipBip - Bip - Bip - Bip
Hit it Bob! [continues bass playing]
Bip - BipBip - Bip

[Checks belt] I put it on '4'

The most defenseless animal in the world would have to be a jellyfish --- on
dry land -- with a stick in him,
Whoa!
How many have ever been to the beach and seen jellyfish just lying there?
Right?
Just big hunks of jelly.
Just running up the beach with those big tree-trunk legs -- just snort,
snort

No -- they don't have legs -- they have little faces, though
You ever lift up that jelly? Just -- HEY!!
No -- I just made that up. That'd be great if they did, though -- little
moustache -- WHY NOT!

I think when God made jellyfish, He just went Achoo! [imitates sneezing on
hand]
[imitates flinging hands] There goes a jellyfish right there.
There goes another one -- I like that -- I made that - I make everything
around here, as a matter of fact.


He makes everything
He made my Dad --
What a mess!

Actually, my Dad taught me -- Magic! Oooooh!
[unbuttons two top buttons of shirt to reveal chest and raises collar]
[pulls small towel from prop-bag]
That's right, magic: one of the most important things you can ever learn
[pulls pants up -- higher than normal]
[puts towel in front of pants, then reveals that pants have dropped to normal
position]
[gives 'astounded' look]
No -- OK, settle down -- OK, back to your seats, OK, that's it, OK, settle
down, now
My Dad's favorite magic trick:
[imitates magic show music and theatrics]
[raises towel in front of extended arm]
[towel drops to reveal missing arm (obviously pulled inside
shirt)]
Hey!!! [astounded by 'missing' arm] [Bows to cheers]
Thank you!
Oh thank you!
Oh thank you!
I'm very popular here tonight

I'm very popular in Peru
In Peru, they consider me -- a genius
In Guatemala, reactions are rather mixed
But in Peru, they say the Guatemalans don't know what they're talking about.
In Peru, they always say, "Peter Gaulke es grande pendejo" -- Mr. Big Popular!
Because "grande" means 'Big' -- So "pendejo" must mean 'Popular!'
Oh thank you!

You know -- the reason I think I am so popular is - because -- I fear nothing
I once went skydiving
It was great! [pulls chair over]
They took me up in the airplane, preparing for my jump -- about 60,000 feet
[seemingly reacting to a scoff from audience]
That too high??
I was in the Space Shuttle! They loved me up there!
On reentry, my pants burst into flame the heat was so
intense
By
the time I hit the ground, all that was left of me was my finger
[wiggles finger and looks longingly at it]
Boy, those were the days.
It was great
[positions himself over a chair to simulate free-falling]
I was falling faster than normal because I had a chair strapped to my chest
I knew it was really gonna hurt when I landed too, because I noticed the chair
was missing those little rubber feet on the bottoms of the legs.
[stands back
up]
Actually, my parachute didn't even open -- but I was OK!
Because I landed right here [indicates shoulder/neck area, and shows
'bouncing' on that area]
See that spring action? That saved my life -- very grateful for that.

Actually, my one ambition in life is to live forever. Ya know what? So far --
So good! Yeah!
Thank you -- 100% success rate.

Actually, the one thing I've noticed that different between us and
animals...
Actually, there are a lot of differences -- like, thousands of them -- pretty
much blows my whole theory.
The one I'VE noticed -- is that animals don't care how they look.
You know, like we get a little piece of food stuck in our teeth - it's like -
"Ewww"
You know, nobody ever tells you have food in your teeth, either
Half of you probably have food in your teeth right now.
Your
friends are going -- "Don't tell them -- make them smile -- Yuk-Yuk-Yuk"
You ever get a big hunk of meat rammed in there? [points at teeth] -- just a
big hunk of beef just packed right in there - just - pork fat hanging off
right there - big pork rib bone hanging up right here [simulates feeling
curved bone sticking from teeth] Where? Here? Here? Oh no! Rib
Bone!
I had a sunflower seed - just rammed right in there - big fat one - just
honkin' bang - nobody told me it was there for like a month - just rammed
right in there
I had a big sprout coming out of it, too - right here - big sunflower right on
the end of that thing -- In the morning that thing had turned toward the sun
and just twist my neck around. Very annoying.
[simulates twisting and popping neck w/ loud cracking sound]
[imitates having a hurt neck]
No -- it's just this [shows noise-maker in hand used to make cracking sound in
mic]
Boy -- that would hurt though if that was my neck! Ha!
Big bone popping out -- what the hell? Hang a hat on that thing - WHY NOT!
Oh thank you


I've been working out -- I don't know if you can tell
[begins showing off Adam's apple] I want this to get that big

Actually, I can eat anything and not gain weight -- thank you
See, what I do is: before I eat a really huge meal, I just swallow a Hefty
trashcan liner - when I'm through eating, I just yank that thing out of there
-- You can't gain weight like that -- I'm a GENIUS!!

OK - let's start snapping those fingers now

[sets brisk tempo - snapping]
Come on, let's go
Here we go
Come on, everybody
Come on, way in the back there.
Hit It!
[music begins at slower tempo]
[stops and adjusts to music]
Sorry [continues snapping]
To the music, now - come on, everybody - yeah
I wrote this song [simple boogie-woogie piano bass line]
It goes on like this for an hour and a half
It's beautiful
OK - here we go -- ready? -- Everybody! [instructing - continues snapping with
arms in funny position]
Yeah - come on - let's go - just like this - come on everybody [audience
follows instructions]
OK - ready? Here we go now [instructing - snapping in funnier position]
Yeah! [a few audience members continue following instructions]
Look - they're doing it -- they're stupid! Look!
[instructs to one section] Yeah, just you guys, do this! [pokes self in eye]
Oww!

[Music
continues and picks up tempo]
[turns away from audience -- slips trousers down below waist, nearly to bottom
of extra-long shirt, giving the
appearance
of a very long torso and short legs]
[begins to dance to music]
Hi! I'm Torso-Man!!

**********************************************

Again, the above bits are only excerpts from the whole. Click HERE for more.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

SPC - Red - #1

Well, even though I ridiculed some who chose to sit out of the 'imperfection' theme in October, I then turned around and sat out the November theme, 'glam.' All I'm going to say is that an imperfection that I failed to mention in October is hypocrisy.

Regardless, November's 'glam' theme is finally over and December's theme, just in time for the Christmas holiday, is "RED RED RED."

Speaking of the Christmas holiday, sometime between now and then (hopefully), my wife, Christy, and I will experience the birth of our second child. Since the event is likely to be close to the 25th, we figured that between the Holiday-Visitors and New-Baby-Visitors, we will likely have some company along the way. Besides the unexpected visitors, Christy's mom will probably come from Michigan to stay for a little while to help out with the new baby, plus, Christy's Brother and his family are flying in from California on the evening of Christmas and will be staying here (on and off) for a few weeks. We've been doing what we can to prepare for these various visits. We've been doing various redecorating, reorganizing, cleaning, painting, installing, etc. Besides that, we had most of our Christmas shopping done before December arrived!

We received a gift certificate from a good friend to My Girlfriend's Kitchen as a Christmas gift. If you're not familiar with the concept (trust me, I wasn't), you choose 12 (or 6) meals from their menu for the month, then you go and prepare the meals using ingredients they make available, already cut, chopped, etc. using their utensils and they do the cleaning for you. You leave with your meals in baggies or pans, ready to freeze.

Christy went in November with her friend who gave her the gift certificate. We decided we would go ahead and do December too so that we would have some ready-to-make meals when baby arrives or for when we have company. This past Saturday, I went with Christy and we made our December meals together. Detailed instructions are provided at each station where each meal is assembled. Don't like an ingredient? Leave it out. Add a bit extra of something else you do like. In just a little over two hours, we had prepared our 12 meals, some split into half for smaller portions, all ready to freeze, thaw overnight, cook (again, detailed instructions are provided for preparation at home) and eat. We had a good time preparing everything together. I had a good time even though they spelled my name wrong:


More SPC here

Friday, December 01, 2006

Decisions, Decisions...

Check out my friend Randy's revival of a clever game he started a while back: This or That

As he says,

Two choices. Zero context. Infinite fun!

Don't forget to check back daily there!

This or That

Photo Friday - Stillness

Didn't get anything at all up for last week's theme, 'immature.' So there!

Finally, I'm back today with 'stillness.'

I believe I'll be participating in Self Portrait Challenge in December again, too, as time allows. Stay tuned!