To Count Or Not To Count

Hmmm, I know that one of the stipulations that I had for the 150 movies over the course of the year is that they were movies that I hadn't seen yet. Whether or not they were at the theater, on dvd, or on satellite didn't seem to matter. However, one thing I hadn't taken into consideration was how they were released. I'm wondering, do I count made for TV movies? I'm curious because this weekend I can either count 4 movies, or 1 depending on how the vote swings. However, the one that definitely counts is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
When I was growing up, it was in a small town with very little in the way of culture. I believe the bowling alley was probably the mecca of civilization. So, I tried to, in essence, "collect" as many different experiences as I could. I tried to venture to Pittsburgh as often as I could to help me out in my quest. This continued right up until college, actually, it hasn't ever really stopped, but my freshman year in college I was exposed to so many different items at different levels it felt like culture shock. One of the things that sticks out vividly in my mind was almost a fluke. My junior year of high school they decided to begin doing musicals. Outside of The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, and The Sound of Music, I wasn't really acquainted with musicals. So, I sort of dove in headfirst. But, until my freshman year of college all I had exposure to were the "normal" musicals. Then, a dramat (drama major) on my floor gave me tickets to Sweeney Todd. I was hooked. At that point, I realized that just like everything else in the world, musicals could be twisted and outside the norm. I had the soundtrack within a week and to this day it's still one of my favorite musicals. However, given it's graphic nature it doesn't get many runs in the traditional sense. So, when it came to Pittsburgh earlier this year, I was there. So, I've seen two very different stage versions and had every intention of seeing the movie when it came out. Of course, with a three year old, making it to the theater for an R rated movie. So, it passed out of the theaters and I almost missed my chance. Then I noticed that one of the cheap theaters in the area picked it up. So, yesterday, we headed down to the 1:15 show thinking that maybe Gage would nap through most of it. Since the theater was also showing The Bee Movie, Terri opted to take him to see that while I went to see Sweeney Todd. I'm glad I went. Johnny Depp did not diappoint. From the minute the score started pumping through the surround sound, I knew it was going to be a good movie. I'd definitely see it again in the theater given the chance. I will be picking up the soundtrack for the movie, even though they shortened or cut some of the songs. I'll also be picking up the DVD when it comes out.
After taking the assessment of made for tv movies, I'll update the counter on the right.
Oh, and today Gage and I got to see the Pens flatten the Flyers 7-1. Gotta love it. That brings the season series a little closer.

14 Years...

of moneymaking, media and pop culture dominance, introducing a mystical world into an otherwise drab "muggle" one, etc. etc.
I am, of course, speaking of Harry Potter and his creator JK Rowling. Although her history with Harry spans much further back, (in fact, another 7 years for 21 total...what is it with this woman and 7's?), the first Harry Potter book was offered to the world at large in 1997. And, rumors confirmed today that the seventh Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be split into two parts for a film adaptation with part 1 hitting in November of 2010 and part 2 hitting in May of 2011 (hence the 14 years from '97). The article can be found here for further reading. Contrary to the cynics who are claiming a pure money driven motive, I'm actually glad that it's being split. I like seeing film versions be as true as possible. Hopefully, with the extra film, they'll come close to keeping the plot mostly intact, as opposed to some of the other movies. Honestly, I'm hoping for someone truly ambitious, connected, and wealthy actually goes back at some point 25 or 50 years in the future and remakes all 7 books keeping sub-plots, timelines, and characters intact. The chances of that happening are slim to none because Warner Brothers isn't going to give up a cash franchise that easily unless they have some sort of major stake in the new one. I figure that 25-30 years is going to put some kid who was maybe 7 or 8 when this hoopla started at about just the right age itching to see it done better. (As an aside, I'm at work [didn't want to lose the narrative thread I had in my head] and while listening to the next album up in line, the song 7 Days comes on. Maybe I should go play triple 7's for tonight since I didn't win the Powerball yesterday). Seriously, most of the stuff getting remade nowadays comes from people of our generation who grew up and cut our teeth on this stuff and don't want to see it fade. Why else do we see remakes like Dukes of Hazzard, Bionic Woman, Dallas, Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Willie Wonka, etc. Hell, I think the only show they haven't touched is The Waltons and who wants to see that again? Good-Night John Boy. Anyway, done correctly, with a consistent vision (hello gap between 2 and 3, did we hire Trading Spaces to come in and redecorate?) and keeping the books intact, I think it would be good. The 7 or 8 year old with the nostalgia for "his" franchise (because like we owned Star Wars, this kid owns Potter) would be hitting his mid-to late 40s and looking back on what once was. It could happen. Maybe, it should happen. I guess that will have to wait until Christmas of 2011 when the super deluxe special edition of all 7 movies hits shelves just in time for holiday cheer.

"I'll Take The Rapists For $200 Alex"

"That's therapists, not the rapists."
Yes, certainly Sean Connery has his favorite categories on Celebrity Jeopardy. And, an old episode of Cheers had Cliff see his stacked board on the game show. Yesterday, for the first time in a while, I managed to get a chance to sit down and watch Jeopardy. It was a pretty normal game til they announced the categories for
Double Jeopardy. One of the categories was something to the effect of, Quotes from Bruce Willis movies. Terri started laughing and remarked that it was my dream category. And, I did go 5 for 5 on the answers of, "Look Who's Talking," "The Sixth Sense," "The Siege," "12 Monkeys," and "Armageddon."
So, that's 1 out of 11 categories for my dream Jeopardy game. Although I would have used quotes from "Striking Distance," "Hudson Hawk," and the Die Hard movies.
I'm currently watching the Penguins crush the Buffalo Sabres. The score now is 7-3 in favor of the Pens. Gage must be loving the scoring. I'm sure Mommy is getting a ton of high-fives. I was doing some quick figuring on the 150 movies and realized that my movie watching would certainly pick up after hockey season. Hopefully, hockey season for the Penguins will drag on til June. I'll take that.

It's Been A While

Well, of course, I blame work. That lovely catch-all. But enough about a crappy subject. So, I hit several milestones on the lists. I got the first season of TV out of the way, I finished my first novel, and hit 10 movies. All in all, slow progress for it being at the beginning of the third month. But I still have 9 months for 14 more novels, 140 more movies, and 4 more seasons of TV. I have started the next novel and the next season. If all goes well with the seasons of television, I will complete two series with the 5 seasons. Two seasons of F-Troop and 3 seasons of Arrested Development. I would like to finish The Baby Whisperer (book 2) and then head into the 7 Dark Tower books, the Mumia Abu Jamal book Tom gave me for Christmas, and then fill in with 5 other books I've been meaning to read. Although that list fluctuates a lot more. I'd also like to pull several more movies out of my collection to finish as well, but I haven't gotten there. I'm guessing I'll have more television/movie watching time once hockey season is over.
Speaking of hockey, interesting trades. We'll have to see how everything works out. Right now, the Penguins are atop the Eastern Conference. If the playoffs started today, we'd be matched up against the Flyers. Ick. Perhaps the Flyers will lose a few more and fall out of contention all together. Anyway, Crosby is back, Fleury is back, all we need to see now is a healthy Hossa and perhaps Gary Roberts. Hopefully they can ride March into a great playoff match-up and we'll see how deep they go. Oh, and if anyone knows any good girl names, we'll certainly take them under consideration. But they have to be better than Snowball and Broomhilda.