The Irish Thug

That is all.

It all started last Saturday when I returned to Boston after a wonderful Christmas. I went online to catch up on the internet and stopped over at Netflix to see what movie would be coming next. To my great dismay, I saw that a large number of movies in my watch instantly queue would be expiring on the first of the year. This left me with no choice, I must watch them now. On Sunday the work began. Five days later, I had streamed 12 movies from Netflix. In addition, I watched two movies the old fashioned way. I then went home for the weekend and watched two more movies on Saturday. Seven days, 16 movies, let’s get started.

SUNDAY
The Legend of Drunken Master
This film is the non-sequel to Drunken Master as there is not much that links the two beyond the fact that it stars Jackie Chan and he does drunken boxing. I liked Drunken Master better as it is more of a pure martial arts film. Legend had much stronger action movie influences and does more group battles than one-on-one fights.

Dazed and Confused
All around awesome movie. Has a lot of actors in it before they got big. Tells a number of good stories about kids growing up in the 70s.

The TV Set
The story of writer/director trying to film his TV pilot and get it picked up by the network. It is a story of creativity, deaspiration and compromise.

MONDAY
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Good story of a woman who married for the wrong reason and is now looking for a way out. I wonder how this will turn out?

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
LOUD NOISES!! But seriously, it’s a really good adaptation of the play were a two couples spend an evening making each other feel extremely awkward and pissed off. Interesting note: When the play opened, people said they thought writer had purposely tried to write something that would be so offensive and lewd that it could not be filmed. The film was extremely faithful to the play and kept almost all of the original dialogue.

Eyes Wide Shut
An interesting journey through sexual exploration and guilt.

TUESDAY
Point Blank
A simple story but done very well. Walker is a thief who is double crossed by his partner and left for dead. While the world thinks he did, Walker did not die and is now on a mission to get his money.

Chariots of Fire
You’ve all heard the song, now you can see where it came from. While it was well done, the story did not grab me that strongly. It was only 2 hours but it felt longer. Also, the 1924 Olympics only had running events, there was no need for athletes in other disciplines.

Get Carter
Point Blank, but British. Instead of money, Jack Carter has returned home to investigate the events that lead to his brother’s death. While, Get Carter is less of an action movie than Point Blank, it leads with mystery of not knowing where this information will lead Carter once he finds it.

WEDNESDAY
Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion
“I hate celebrities, all of them. I think that’s the poison … in this country is celebrita. [pause] I know the irony in saying that when there are five cameras on me.”

Good Night, and Good Luck
I had actually already seen this movie, but forgot. This is more of a comment on how many movies I watch and not the quality of the movie.

Ronin
The Italian Job except the double cross doesn’t happen at the beginning and Jean Reno is in it.

THURSDAY
The Karate Kid II
Just a fun film to watch despite the fact that there are no surprises throughout the plot. There were some really nice landscape shot after Mr. Miyagi’s dad dies. It’s kind of sad that Ali turned into a huge bitch between the end of the tournament and the start of the prom.

Up
I’m still amazed that Pixar had the balls to do what they did in the first 10 minutes of the movie. I saw it in 3D in theaters and Squirrel! …really enjoyed how they used it just to add depth and not as a gimmick. I think this helped a lot in making it still look phenomenal in 2d. I just realized that Russell is Asian.

FRIDAY
I drove to New Jersey and took the day off.

SATURDAY
This is Spinal Tap
You don’t need to do more than see the tag line to completely understand this movie. ‘Does for rock and roll what “The Sound of Music” did for hills.’

Avatar
Complaints: 1) The planet is called Pandora. 2) The mineral is called Unobtanium. You waited 10 years to start making the film and you couldn’t spend another 5 minutes to find something more subtle? Beyond that, I really enjoyed the movie. The plot is just Fern Gully plus Pocahontas, but the point of the film was not the plot. The opening scene where they are coming out of cryogenic sleep does a great job of setting the tone for live action 3D in cinematic setting.

Just watched the Battlestar Galactic mini series that leads into the first season. I was immediately happy with my decision to watch a four season show that I knew very little about, with the exception of nobody every saying something bad about it.

Stylistically it reminds me a lot of Firefly. Though, Firefly is more aggressive with the flares and un-steady-cam. They also both do a lot of space flying that utilizes zooming in on ships after they come on to screen. Other than that the shows are completely different as Battlestar stays very close to the space scifi feel and Firefly is all about the comedy and melding of genres and cultures.

I’ve been quite lately, but I’ve been keeping busy. Today I crossed over the quarter way mark in my quest to watch all 1001 movies. That’s right I called it a quest. Also, my name is Patrick and my favorite color is green. In just over 13 months I watched 137 movies from the list. That’s a movie from the list every 3.17 days. It kind of gets crazy when you acknowledge the fact that I have also watched a number of movies that weren’t on the list. Adding those in would likely bring the number below a movie every 2.5 days. The following is the list of movies from the list that I have watch with the year they were released. As I have seen over half of these within the last year, feel free to ask me about a movie and I will do my best to give you my take on it.

12 Angry Men (1957)
1900 (1976)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
39 Steps, The (1935)
400 Blows, The (1959)
42nd Street (1933)
8 1/2 (1963)
A Christmas Story (1983)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
A Dog’s Life (1962)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
A Man Escaped (1956)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
A One and a Two (2000)
A Passage to India (1984)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
A Room with a View (1986)
A Star Is Born (1954)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
A Touch of Zen (1969)
A Trip to the Moon (1902)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Accidental Tourist, The (1988)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Adam’s Rib (1949)
Adventure, The (1960)
Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
Age Of Gold, The (1930)
Age of Innocence, The (1993)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992)
Airplane! (1980)
Akira (1988)
Alice (1988)
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
All That Jazz (1979)
All the President’s Men (1976)
Alphaville (1965)
Amadeus (1984)
Amelie (2001)
American Beauty (1999)
American Graffiti (1973)
Amores Perros (2000)
An Affair to Remember (1957)
An American in Paris (1951)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Animal Farm (1954)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Audition (1999)
Babe (1995)
Back to the Future (1985)
Bad and the Beautiful, The (1952)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Badlands (1973)
Bank Dick, The (1940)
Barren Lives (1963)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Batman (1989)
Battle of Algiers, The (1965)
Battle of San Pietro, The (1945)
Battleship Potemkin, The (1925)
Beat the Devil (1953)
Beau Travail (1999)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Being There (1979)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Big (1988)
Big Sleep, The (1946)
Bird with The Crystal Plumage, The (1970)
Birds, The (1963)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blair Witch Project, The (1999)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blowup (1966)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Boyz ‘n the Hood (1991)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Braveheart (1995)
Brazil (1985)
Breakfast Club, The (1985)
Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
Candy Man (1992)
Carrie (1976)
Casablanca (1942)
Casino (1995)
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
City of God (2002)
Clerks (1994)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Clueless (1995)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Crumb (1994)
Crying Game, The (1992)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)
Deer Hunter, The (1978)
Deliverance (1972)
Die Hard (1988)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Dracula (1931)
Duck Soup (1933)
Dumbo (1941)
E.T.: The Extra-Terestrial (1982)
Easy Rider (1969)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Elephant Man, The (1980)
Eraserhead (1977)
Evil Dead, The (1982)
Exorcist, The (1973)
Fantasia (1940)
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Fargo (1996)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1981)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Fight Club (1999)
Fly, The (1986)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Funny Games (1997)
Gandhi (1982)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Gimme Shelter (1970)
Gladiator (2000)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Glory (1989)
Godfather Part II, The (1974)
Godfather, The (1972)
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The (1966)
Goodfellas (1990)
Graduate, The (1967)
Great Escape, The (1963)
Great Train Robbery, The (1903)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Halloween (1978)
Happiness (1998)
Independence Day (1996)
Jaws (1975)
Jungle Book, The (1967)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Life of Brian (1979)
Lion King, The (1994)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)
M (1931)
M*A*S*H (1970)
Mad Max (1979)
Magnolia (1999)
Man Bites Dog (1992)
Man Who Fell to Earth, The (1976)
Matrix, The (1999)
Meet the Parents (2000)
Memento (2000)
Metropolis (1927)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Muppet Movie, The (1979)
Naked Gun, The (1988)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
North by Northwest (1959)
Nosferatu, A Symphony of Terror(1922)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Once Upon a Time in America (1983)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Patton (1970)
Philadelphia (1993)
Pi (1998)
Pinocchio (1940)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Platoon (1986)
Pretty Woman (1990)
Princess Bride, The (1987)
Producers, The (1968)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Rain Man (1988)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Rashomon (1950)
Rear Window (1954)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Ring (1998)
Rocky (1976)
Rocky Horror Picture Show, The (1975)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Royal Tenenbaums, The (2001)
Rushmore (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Scarface (1983)
Scarface: The Shame Of A Nation (1932)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Serpico (1973)
Seven (1995)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Seven Samurai, The (1954)
Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
Shining, The (1980)
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Sixth Sense, The (1999)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Sound of Music, The (1965)
Spirited Away (2001)
Star Wars (1977)
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (1974)
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Thing, The (1982)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Three Kings (1999)
Titanic (1997)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Top Gun (1986)
Toy Story (1995)
Traffic (2000)
Trainspotting (1996)
Unforgiven (1992)
Usual Suspects, The (1995)
Vertigo (1958)
West Side Story (1961)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
Young Frankenstein (1974)

• Off
• Hey, can you turn on the air.
• Dude, I said turn on the air, I’m hot.
• About time, but can you turn it down a little.
• Can’t … move … too … much … wind. OOONNNN!!

The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. – Flannery O’Connor

On Saturday I saw Incubus for the third time. Despite the fact that this tour is for a greatest hits album and not a new one, the show still rocked. Maybe more so, as they were not tied down to play all the new tracks.

Pardon Me
Nice to Know You
Anna Molly
Stellar
Megalomaniac
Circles
Love Hurts
Just a Phase
Drive – acoustic
Make Yourself – acoustic
Dig – remix
Redefine
A Certain Shade of Green
Oil and Water
Quicksand
Kiss to Send Us Off
Wish You Were Here
Aqueous Transmission

Encore:
Are You In?
Warning
Lets Go Crazy

If you check that list, there is a whole lot of Morning View in there, which is a good thing because it is my favorite album (right now). I loved the acoustic break. Live shows give the artist an opportunity to add some wrinkles to their songs and that is what they did. To be fair, these are wrinkles that have been well tested, but it was still a nice interlude.

Once again Mike that he is really good at guitar. I’ve said it before, but I will say it again. He is very good soloing and the groove that Incubus has gotten into with their studio songs doesn’t let him show it fully. When you seem him in concert, he surprises you.

Continuing with that last thought, we have to talk about Let’s Go Crazy. This song is a cover of Prince and they actually recorded the track for the album. That being said, I had never heard this song before. So when I was bouncing my head to it, it was a new feeling and I was always trying to figure out what was coming next. What was coming next was an amazing guitar solo. As we were walking out, I said that the solo “melted my face off:” That’s how shocking, awesome and amazing it was. If you want to listen to it, find the live video as the studio version does not have the same emotion to it.

I would have liked to hear Sick Sad Little World again because of the amazing solo or Vitamin with the drum session interlude. But I’ve experienced those already, so I don’t mind getting something different. Especially since we got Warning, one of their best songs ever.

Been kind of slacking on my movie list. I’ve slipped to a movie every 3.13, I was at about 3 even in May. But I still am making progress and am at 216. Most recently I watched All the President’s Men and Cool Hand Luke. Both were good, the latter being very much so. I’ve got Rosemary’s Baby and A Night at the Opera here from Netflix, so hopefully I get through both this weekend.

Tonight I watched Primer a second time, I still don’t know how everything pieces together quite yet. However, some one has documented it. Don’t read through it if you haven’t seen it, but you can look to confirm it’s confusing-ness. It’s very well done and the actors are the people actually making the movie too.

In other news, work is going well. The thing I’m working on is very likely about to become much larger and will keep me very busy. While working I’m making some good progress on my For Review folder of music. However most of the progress has been bands I’ve decided not to keep around. One of the non-ill-fated bands is Ozomatli. Think Flobots, but take the string instruments and replace them with Latin influences. I also have a place to live for the next year, so that’s good

But he didn’t say goodbye. In a way, it almost works because he gave me so much that he will always be with be. With the exception of my parents, Evan is the one person who had the most influence on who I am as a person. From my interest in poker, to my love for movies, to development of my sense of humor, he effected me greatly. However, the one area that is most easily quantifiable is music. Growing up, I didn’t really listen to much music. While I had started liking some bands before I met him, Evan turned me on to so many more.

Bands That I Would Not be Listening to Now If It Wasn’t For Evan
Nine Inch Nails (My favorite band who we saw together live)
The Beatles (Arguably the best band ever)
Radiohead (His favorite band)
A Perfect Circle
Beck
Bjork
Fiona Apple
Flobots
My Bloody Valentine
Outkast
Pavement
The Pixies
Smashing Pumpkins
The Strokes
Tool

Honorable mention to Spoon. I only had their two most recent albums and didn’t know they had more and he only had their first two and hadn’t heard the new songs.

Those 16 bands make up exactly 25% of the albums I listen to and the percentage is slightly higher if you do it by number of songs. Take that and the fact that I listen to at least 40 hours of music a week to understand how frequently I am given a reminder.

Evan, you will always be with me despite the fact that you are not here.