France Gall - Computer Nr 3

Movie: Harvey

Ok, I realize I am really asking a lot out of you with this next movie recommendation. It's an old black-and-white that follows a man who happens to have a 6'8" tall rabbit as a friend. Oh, and he is invisible to everybody else. Wait! Don't go! What if I told you the guy the movie follows is Jimmy Stewart?!?! Yeah, thats right, the guy from It's a Wonderful Life! Is that enticing enough for you to at least hear me out? How about the fact that it is currently #157 in the Internet Movie Database's Top 250 movies? Please stay and find out about one of cinema's greats.

First the plot. I hate when movie reviewers spend four paragraphs describing the plot of the movie. So, I'll just give you the brief description that Yahoo! Movies gives:

Elwood is a good-natured, slightly sloshed man whose faithful companion is a 6-foot 3-1/2 inch rabbit that only he can see. When his sister Veta tries to have him committed, she's taken in instead. It's up to Elwood and Harvey to straighten out the mess.

Jimmy Stewart's Elwood P. Dowd is one of film's greatest characters. In fact, Stewart said that Elwood was the character he was most proud of. Not Jefferson Smith, not George Bailey, and certainly not Wylie Burp (American Tail: Fieval Goes West people, geez...). I challenge anyone to tell me they don't want to be a little like Elwood after watching this. Sure he's a loner and a little off at first glance, but dammit you can't help but like the guy. He's friendly to every single person he comes across, often giving them his card and inviting them to dine at his house. And his peculiar ways allows him to be more upfront with people than they are normally used to, always with positive results. He's that good.

Now having said all this, the movie does take some time to get used to. The first twenty minutes or so will be somewhat of a test. I blame this on culture over time. This film, if produced today, would be panned as too feel-good, unrealistic, etc. My best advice is to just ignore this, but you don't really have to do this. Why? Because James Stewart creates such a likeable character you cannot just write him off in such a way. At first, I found myself disturbed by how idealistic the movie was, but Stewart pulls you in. He's that good.


I had a friend say to me a couple of days ago that new movie plots seem to be a rarity these days. I agree, to some extent. The mainstream films that studios are pouring out week after week have a little bit of a hackneyed streak going on right now. My advice to him (and to you) is to go back. If you are sick of the ho-hum movies that have been coming out this year, rent that one movie classic that you never got around to watch. Believe me, you will feel so much more fulfilled than watching whatever came out on DVD this Tuesday (Scary Movie 4???) or whatever hits theaters this Friday (Snakes on a Plane???) It blows my mind how many people say they don't have that much time to watch movies, but when they do they watch crap like Final Destination 3, just because its the latest thing out.

Sorry for that little rant, but it has to with Harvey, I swear. Other than the feel-good the movie put me in afterwards ("I want be just like Elwood. I want to be friends with everyone."), I also found myself thinking how unique the plot was. There isn't anything quite like it. Now it is up to you whether or not that that is a good thing. My only fear is the inevitable remake that should be coming soon.

Pick up this great, great cinema treasure before you see a really crappy version of it will someone of the likes of Will Ferrell in a couple of years.

I hope you like...

Harvey

Article: Clarett's Night of Despiration

Quickie today...

If you haven't heard yet, Maurice Clarett was arrested again. This time for driving with 4 concealed weapons and a flak suit. It took two spike strips and a helicopter to stop him. But, you may not have heard about this. ESPN sportswriter Tom Friend recieved a call from the former OSU runningback two hours before Clarett was arrested. Evidently Clarett called a list of people, thanking them for trying to get his life straight. He was scared. You can also learn what Clarett has been doing since being dropped from OSU (if you don't know already). But, the article is very good by itself and is another great read.

I hope you like...

ESPN: Clarett's Night of Despiration

Article: Baby, Give Me a Kiss

I'm sure anybody reading this knows what Girls Gone Wild is. But, not many people know that it is run by one of the biggest douchebags ever: Joe Francis. This guy should not have money. He thinks he's this huge entrepreneur who's great at marketing material to horny guys. The man did not even entirely come up with the idea of Girls Gone Wild. He was a producer for Real TV and just happened to find out that many guys were attracted to their annual "Spring Break Edition" of the show. He took the idea, made his own company, and now everybody knows about it.

Since then many have come forward saying they were too drunk and did not really want to be filmed. Joe doesn't care. Some girls have been proven to be minors caught on tape. Joe doesn't care. Some girls have came forward saying the crew, including Francis, have been participating in extracurriculars. Joe doesn't care. Well thats not entirely true, as you will see in the article. He has a bazillion lawyers to protect his ass if such charges see the light of day. He's become that powerful.

But, enough about my bitter hatred for the man. This is about LA Times reporter Claire Hoffman's feature piece about Francis. It follows him and his crew as they stop in nightclubs and lure drunk girls to the back of their buses. No, it's not one of those stories. This article paints Francis in a bad light. And here's the kicker, I don't think Hoffman went there with the intent to bring the guy down. It just kind of was thrown at her. Or...as you will read, she was thrown by him.

I took a narrative non-fiction class my senior year that dealt with stories kind of like this. Narrative non-fiction is essentially real stories that are written in a novel-esque style. We read books like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and Tracy Kidder's House. We also read several articles such as this. One of the things you really are not supposed to do is put yourself in the story. It happens occasionally, but you just aren't supposed to. Here, Hoffman sort of has to include herself. Hoffman does a great job of painting Francis as a creepy, aggressive, and unfortuantely powerful young man who seems to elude any attempt to prosecute him. The article may be a little long (hey, it's a feature), but its a mighty good read.

I hope you like...

"Baby, Give Me a Kiss"

Video: The Snowball Effect- Sportscast Style

Meet Matt Lorch. He was a sportscaster for Channel 7 News in Quincy, IL. This is a cringeworthy video of one hell of a live newscast. I feel really bad for the guy because all hell breaks loose around him, but he somehow maintains his composure for the most part. I would think that most people would ask to cut to commercial or something, but he keeps rollin' with the punches.

I almost described why I think this is funny, but after reading it I thought it was a little self-explainatory and I didn't want to ruin this treasure for you. Just watch this train wreak and be observant. Try to catch the little things like the right scores and his rushed sign off at the end of the original broadcast.

Now, this clip is a little dated (if you can't tell when he covers Jordan and Pippen on the Bulls), but it still is great. It is also a little long for an average YouTube clip, clocking in at 7:27. Sorry, but I think it is worth it. I hope you do as well. And no, he did not get fired for this. Evidently, he is now working as an investigative reporter for the station now.

I hope you like...

"Let's go...if we could to...NBA?...........................OK! we're going back to Palmaria Ladies"


BONUS: Please realize that Lorch was really not at fault for the mishaps in the previous clip. Sure he might have stumbled over his words a few times, but after some outside interference wrecked his composure. Here we have the direct opposite. Meet Brian Collins. Unlike Lorch, Collins is broadcast on a college station. Even so, I don't think any school would just throw some kid up in the booth like Ball State did. Remember when I said Lorch's newscast was cringeworthy? He's got nothing on this kid. I dare you to watch all of this with a straight face. It's that bad.


"Boom! Goes the dynamite!"

Movie: One Last Thing

You might have walked past this 2005 movie at your local Blockbuster, saw the cover, and moved on, thinking it was just another teen sex comedy. It is nothing of the sort. I haven't been this pissed off at a movie's marketing strategy since 2000's "The Family Man" with Nic Cage. Both movies are wrongfully labeled comedies. ("The Family Man" even worse though, with a quote from UPN-TV in big bold letters on the cover reading "Hilarious!")


To quote IMDB's summary: One Last Thing..., "is the funny and heartbreaking story of Dylan and his mother, Carol, as they struggle with the boy's terminal illness. Invited onto local television by an organization that grants last wishes to dying children, Dylan surprises everyone by making an eyebrow-raising request. As Dylan gleefully prepares to have his final wish fulfilled, Carol struggles with the idea of losing the most precious thing in her life." Hilarious! Lets slab a half naked Sunny Mabrey on there and get this baby on the shelf. -sigh-

This movie is a real heart-tugger, with many people having to do with terminally ill Dylan's upcoming death including his mother, his friends, and even himself. You will also see that the Nikki (Mabrey) character is a much stronger person in the inside than the supermodel celebrity that she is on the outside...which is what the film company decided to focus on when choosing the cover art. It's like Magnolia Pictures didn't even watch the movie. Ughhh....but I've already mention that. It's just that it pisses me off so much. Last time I'll mention it, I swear...

Michael Angarano does a great job as the dying Dylan. You really get his character by the end of the movie. He's going to do anything he wants on his way out and doesn't care what obstacles are in his way. He'll make headlines embarrassing the Make-A-Wish foundation just to go on a date with a supermodel. He'll take his friends to NYC in search of Nikki and even hit a private club in the process. You have to remember that in the end he is still a kid. It just so happens this kid is dying, but he's trying to fulfill some of his last dreams before he is gone.

Now, some people have claimed this movie is a little anti-religious. I don't see it that way. Sure Dylan was bashing Christianity in the beginning of the movie, but by the end he sorta comes full circle. He goes from saying there is no heaven or hell to hoping that a certain place is his heaven, which it turns out to be. I think it is a little too trite to pass the whole movie off as a religion bash-fest. But, then again that is in the eye of the beholder.

One last thing (get it?), you may want to note Wyclef Jean's song "Heaven in NY" during the end credits. I hadn't thought a song was so perfectly placed since Gary Jules' version of "Mad World" in Donnie Darko. I was half-tempted to do a whole post on this song alone. And by no means am I a Wyclef fan. I can only name a few of his songs and none of them were necessarily great. However, this one is both catchy and meaningful, a double whammy if you will. You can't get the song anywhere yet, BUT I did manage to find, after much searching, an MP3 of it. You can e-mail me if you want it.

But, the main thing I want you to do is watch this movie. Don't just pass it up the next time you are in the video store. Hopefully this next time you will be a little more educated.

I hope you like...

Website: Out of 5

Alright, for the very special first mediation, I am going to introduce you to Out of 5. Why does this get the coveted spot? Easy, its the best kept secret on the web. Yeah, I know, that was SO cliché... Anyways those that like music may really enjoy this.

Out of 5 is a group of ten bloggers who have diverse music collections. (Where'd that five come from?...Who knows???) Each week a theme is given and each member adds a song that coincides with the theme. So those of us that are good at math realize that that means ten free mp3s a week! Although most songs are pretty obscure, there have been some that were fairly mainstream. Unfortunately, there is no archive, so you have to visit the site every week and see what the new theme is.

Themes? What do you mean by themes? Past themes include, "Songs without Words," "Songs About Prison," "Songs with Weird Instruments," "Great Songs by Artists You Generally Hate," and "Songs About--but not Appearing in-- Movies." The bloggers are pretty creative with their selections too. For the beforementioned "Songs without Words" theme, one member chose "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by skat singer Shooby Taylor. Its just a bunch of nonsense put to the sound of an organ. You can here it here:

Lift Every Voice and Sing MP3

Now, please don't judge Out of 5 by this song alone (although it gets strangely better over time.) Go to their website and download this week's theme: Woo Mix. They are basically songs about having a crush on someone. The bloggers usually do their weekly update on Sunday (sometimes Monday).

I hope you like...

Out of 5

First Post! Woohoo!!!

Welcome! Perhaps you stumbled onto this blog by accident or, more likely, are one of my facebook friends/AIM buddies. Either way, you may wonder what the hell this blog is. Where most blogs tend to be daily journals about one's life, I am going to be a little different and do something a little more, um... me. I don't really do journals, so thats why past blogs never lasted a few weeks.

I do however love to recommend things to my friends. This may seem weird to some, but I recieve great satisfaction when I suggest a movie, a book, a website to a friend and they turn out to love it. Now, I don't mean to brag or anything, but I have a vast amount of knowledge in pop culture. (VH1's World Series of Pop Culture has nothing on me.) I like to think that I know a lot about movies, music, tv, etc. and therefore have reason to make such suggestions.

By doing this I hope to recommend things to those close to me on a larger scale. It may be movies, it may be websites, it might be something funny on YouTube. Who knows??? All I can tell you is that everything I tack on here is something I think you will enjoy. Yes, you...