Blood-Sucking Bond & Other Such Mussings

Okay, I know it's tough to follow a blog when that particular blog is seldom updated. I still haven't been able to replace my computer, and without daily internet access it is tough to check my e-mail, let alone blog. I'll try to do it as often as I can but until I can get a new computer, it might prove difficult.

Well what's been going on in the world of popular culture? Plenty by my watch. last week I went out to see the new James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace".

I had high hopes for it because I enjoyed "Casino Royale" so much, also I was one of the few that found the title interesting and intriguing. I mean you have the word "Quantum" which makes me think of the excellent late 80's TV show 'Quantum Leap' starring Scott Bakula as a time-traveling-body-shifting do-gooder (I have mentioned in past posts my affinity for anything involving entertainment and time-travel).

And then you also have "Solace" which to me makes me think of both the Russian sci-fi Tarkovsky film "Solaris" (they made us watch it in film school) and Superman's 'Fortress of Solitude' up at the north pole (I wonder how Superman and Santa Claus get along?).


So how was "Quantum of Solace"? I'd give it three stars. The action set pieces were really fun, but it lacked a polished story and the character development that made the last James Bond film so much fun. Big action set pieces with little story come out all the time, but James Bond is supposed to be different, the gold standard for all other action movies. I did, however, like the little wink to Bond fans with the Bond girl called "Fields" (in the credits she is listed as "Strawberry Fields"). Fields, a female agent, is killed and left on a hotel room bed covered completely in oil. The scene was an obvious homage to the famous Sean Connery Bond film "Goldfinger". I always appreciate when the new films reference the ones that came before it.

All in all, this new one is just okay. Of course James Bond has often faultered, with many of the later Bronson and Moore Bond movies being especially bland ("View to a Kill" and "Die Another Day" always seemed especially sad--with an exception being the "View to a Kill" theme song by Duran Duran--it's an 80's classic).










It has been requested that I blog about the Twilight phenomenom. To be honest I don't have a lot to say other than no matter what the teenyboppers of today think, there will never be a better teenage vampire movie than "The Lost Boys". I mean, this British heartrobe that plays Edward could really never hold a candle to the gravely gothic performance of a young Kiefer Sutherland as the ultimate bad-boy teenage vampire. Something tells me that if Kiefer's vampire met pretty-boy Edward there would be only one left standing. Heck, if Edward even came up against the teenage Frog Brothers (wannabe vampire hunters) he wouldn't stand a chance (Note: Contrary to poular belief, only one of the "Coreys" was a Frog Brother--it was Feldman)

I think I was one watching a late-night monster movie-fest on cable where they were showing "The Lost Boys". The host explained that the main theme of the film was essentially "How far would you go to sleep with Jamie Gertz?" Would you drink blood and become a vampire? I think the answer for most of us back then was a resonding 'yes'. And there's the real heart of the movie, and that heart is way cooler than anything the "Twilight" gang can come up with. I mean, even "The Lost Boys" tag line "Sleep all day, party all night...it's fun to be a vampire" is much better than "When you can live forever, what do you live for?" from the "Twilight" promotional materials. I hope to blog again soon. I've been itching to get to another "What's Raf listening to this week" post. I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waiters.

P.S. Fun Fact: Regarding my love of time travel entertainment, and to show you how eveything in the pop-cutlure universe is connected--Did you know that Alex Winter who played Bill in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" is also one of the teenage vampires in "The Lost Boys". It's true! He's the first one to get killed by the Frog brothers! Now if only I can remember whatever happened to Ted.

Dammit Jim, I'm A Doctor Not A Blogger.

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of my blog. It's been difficult to blog lately as I have yet to find a less than expensive way to replace my busted computer. In any case, I will try and do better with post in the future.

So whats new with me and more importantly in the world of popular culture? Well I returned from Florida with hours of TV to watch, but more importantly I found the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly in my mailbox. Check it out.

That's right! Star Trek is back and it is time to start getting excited. This latest incarnation is a prequel movie about the young, just out of the Starfleet Academy Kirk and Spock. I think it is part of the prequel rage that started with George Lucas and his pre-Star Wars series about Darth Vader as a troubled teen.

Ever since then it seems like every possible film franchise possibility has launched a 'prequel' to the character or story the audience is already familiar with. We had"Batman Begins" about the early days of the Capped Crusader, "Hannibal Rising" about a young Hannibal Lector, and even "Casino Royale" was a re-imagined relaunch of a younger James Bond, just starting out.

The Star Trek prequel should be fun because it is about the original crew, which in my opinion were always the best characters (Sorry Worf). Also, the idea of a young, brash Captain Kirk is great. We Star Trek fans were always teased with hints of Kirk's past, specifically the mention of Kirk's involvement with fixing the "Kobayashi Maru" test while he was at Starfleet Academy (See "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"---No seriously, go see it--It's awesome!). Did I just out myself as a total cosmic Trekker? Oh well. In any case that young/arrogant Kirk was the one I always wanted to learn more about, and I'm hoping in this new film we may get to see it.

The story of the new 'Star Trek' film is pretty top secret, but I have heard rumors that the plot will somehow involve time-travel and feature the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. Time travel AND Nimoy! Now count me in.

Another cool thing about this re-imagining of the Star Trek universe is that the one and only Simon Pegg will be playing Scotty (As in "Beam me up, Scotty"). I have long been a fan of Pegg since seeing the most terrific romantic comedy with zombies "Shawn of the Dead". The idea of having this guy be the comic relief on the Enterprise ship just sounds great. I mean, this is the same guy who almost stole 'Mission Impossible III" away from Tom Cruise.

If you enjoy the latest prequel rage you're in luck. Hugh Jackman is making an "X-Men" prequel about his character Wolverine and there are rumors of a Will Smith prequel to his movie "I Am Legend". I guess prequels are the only choices for sequels when you kill off your main character at the end of a film.

I have so much more to discuss, but that might be it for now. In the next weeks maybe we can discuss the new 'Lost' season five promo, as well as the upcoming '24' TV movie coming to FOX in November.

Here, There, And Everywhere

Hey Dr. Jones, no time for blogs. I just can't stop being busy. I spent last week in Moab, and this week I bounced around various locations, eventually spending several days in the middle of the rattle-snake infested desert near Green River (and don't get me statred on the bugs).
I was there working again on a series of commercials. The one at Green River was a spcae-exploration themed spot, with the rocky desert standing in for a martian planet. It was a cool little shoot. Here are some photographic highlights from the entire production.

I wrapped up that job on Friday, and on Saturday I ended up in Orlando, Florida so I can more fully explore the magic kingdom. It should be fun!

Now if I could only get around to the sixteen hours of backlogged television we would really have something fun to talk about on this blog. Hopefully I'll find the time in the coming weeks.

Let's Do The Time-Warp Again

That's right. I've been busy this week. It wasn't enough to pack up all my belongings into boxes and move them into a new house, I had to go and take a job that would keep me busy all week. I was able to live in my new house for a whopping one day (and two nights) before I quickly accepted a job on some commercials that took me down to Moab, Utah for a week.

I had never been to Moab before, and despite the bad timing right after the move (or the good timing if you're looking at it from a finacial standpoint) I really enjoyed being down there and seeing the sights.

I've always wanted to work on a western, and so far this commercial about a runaway stagecoach is the closest thing to that I've done. In fact, surrounded by the red-rock vistas of Moab, I thought it was really funny how our trucks and vehicles seemed out of place, yet the horses and the stagecoach seemed to fit right in to the surroundings.

It is actually a series of three commercials we are doing. One is western themed, one is filled with swash bucklers and the other is a sci-fi alien thing. They should be fun but I know I have another busy week in front of me. Since I'm working on these, I may not be able to blog regularly for a little bit.

It also seems like my millions of little projects in the new house may be put on hold for a little while as well. I do, however, always have time to talk TV.

I did get a chance to catch the premiere this week of the Amercain version of 'Life On Mars' and I would have to say it was pretty good. The episode I saw stayed very true to the original show, yet gave it a fun rough Amercan-cop sensibility. The addition of Harvey Kietel as the police captain in the 70's was actually a really good fit, although the same can not be said of 'Cosby Show' alum Lisa Bonet.

It has long been a dream of mine to have the majority of television shows on the air deal in some way directly or indirectly with time travel. With the addition of 'Life On Mars' I feel like I am on the way to seeing that goal realized. At current count I can think of six, 'Lost', 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles', 'Heroes', 'Battlestar Galatica' 'Eureka' and now 'Life On Mars'. It's a good start, although last year we also had the 'Quantum Leap' inspired 'Journeyman' and the 'Highlander' rip off 'New Amsterdam'. But I do think this year we're well on our way to conquering the airways with time travel!

All I can say is check out 'Life On Mars' this week if you haven't already.


I'll try and blog whenever I have time, but it's going to prove difficult because somehow in the move my computer decided to die. It's making a horrible clicking sound, which is basically telling me the enitre hard-drive is dead. It's sad to think of all the lost photos, music and programs I may have to deal with, but it is even worse to think about coming up with money to by a new computer. My computer dying right after getting into a new house, bad timing.

I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet

That's right kids, it's moving week.  I won't have a lot of free time for the next couple days so my blog posts may feel a little thin for a while.  In any case, for those of you helping with the move here are some helpful hints:

It's A Pity To Waste A Whole Monte Cristo

I don't have a lot of time to blog this week as I am getting ready for the big move.  I would however like to point out that two of my three TV picks for this season will be debuting this week.  'Life' will premiere on Monday followed by another episode on Friday, and 'Pushing Daisies' will be on Wednesday night.

As for that ever-allusive third pick, well it turns out my third choice for a new show that really is an old show coming back for a second season has gained the awful "mid-season-replacement" status, so I feel I still have time to eventually blog about it.  But here's a hint: It involves a hardware store and the devil.

Many have heard that Paul Newman passed away over the weekend at the age of 83.  He was a very talented actor and gave many great performances over his long career.  So here they are, my top five picks of my favorite Paul Newman movies.

5.  Road To Perdition (2002)

One of the last film preformances I saw Newman give, it was good to see that her still had the stuff. Plus, it's always great when an actor who normally plays nice guys gets to be a cold-blooded killer. And in this film, we get both Paul Newman and Tom Hanks as ethics-defying mobsters.

4.  Hud (1963)

This is worth seeing if only for James Howe's Academy Award winning black and white cinematography. A classic american western, some say it was the last of its kind.

3.  The Sting (1973)

I love con-men movies.  Anytime I can get sucked into the wild world of grifters I consider myself lucky.  'The Sting' is really the grand-daddy of all modern confidence-game films.  From 'The Spanish Prisoner' to 'Matchstick Men' all the way to 'House of Games', they all took a page from this original, which always made the criminals fun and endearing.

2. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Probably my favorite Coen Brother's film.  Newman is great as Sidney Mussburger, a greedy business man who promotes an idiot (a proxy) in an attempt to lower the company's value so he can stage a corporate take-over.  This type of dry comedy always served Newman well, as is evident in my number one pick:

1.  Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

I know it's kind of a cliched pick, but I've always loved this movie.  The friendship and chemistry between Newman and Redford set the tone for who knows how many buddy pictures. 

A special performance of note, not on the list because Paul Newman doesn't actually appear on screen, is his 2006 role as Doc Hudson in the Pixar movie 'Cars'. 

He is the heart of that whole film (well him and the entire Route 66 highway).  He infused a cartoon with feeling and depth just with his voice.  All in all, a great talent with a great career.

An Important Public Service Announcement

Save the clock tower! Save the clock tower! As you may have heard, Mayor Wilson is sponsoring an initiative to replace our clock. Thirty years ago, lightning struck the clock tower and the clock hasn't run since. As a representative of the Hill Valley Preservation Society, I think it should be preserved exactly the way it is as part of our history and heritage.

Don't forget to take a flyer. You never know when it might come in handy!

Donations to The Hill Valley Preservation Society can be made at any time, and don't forget to support our local libraries. Thank you.