One thing I have enjoyed during my time off is that I have time to watch a few movies. It started while I was in the hospital. The last morning I was there the movie channel ran the classic The Night The World Exploded (Mining has exposed a material from the earth’s core that explodes when exposed to air causing massive earthquakes. The solution: flood all the mine shafts, but what about Nevada?) What? You never heard of it? Neither had I but I have a fondness for bad science fiction from the ’50s. Then this morning I caught part of Creature with the Atom Brain (Ex Nazi scientist makes atomic powered zombies and lets a gangster use them for revenge). I wasn’t quite sure if the atom brain was in the creature or a reference to the Nazi, but it was a bit of silly fun.

This week has been especially good for watching videos.  First fall is here. It’s been POURING every day. Hard rain, light rain, downpours of tiny droplets, scattered raindrops the size of non-dairy creamers, we’ve had it all so staying inside was a good thing. Also, it’s premier week and Marsha is catching all the new episodes of her favourite murder and mayhem shows, Murdoch Mysteries, Bones, Castle, Psych, NCIS, CSI, Elementary, Hawaii Five-O, and a few others I think. She also usually has a game or two on at the same time as her shows, The Twins, Vikings, Gophers, BC Lions, etc. AND she’s also usually reading a book. She’s an amazing person in many ways. In any event all of this activity has made it a good week for me to pull out a few DVDs.

Anyway, I started with Chased by Dinosaurs. This is sort of a, kinda like a, documentary sort of thing. The premise is that Naturalist Nigel Marvin goes back to see actual dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are done by the same team that did Walking With Dinosaurs so the science and CGI animals are very good. It’s enjoyable, if a bit silly at times. I mean really, at one point he’s scuba diving with things that make a Great White look like a minnow.

Then I pulled out my all time favourite holiday film. The Nightmare Before Christmas. I really like everything about the film. Usually I play it on a double bill with Corpse Bride. Miracle on 34th Street and Wonderful Life do nothing for me but these two films never fail to put me in the proper holiday spirit. OK, I admit it I’m weird.

Following that the movie channel here ran Hitchcock’s The Birds. Now I’ve seen The Birds several times. This time though I noticed something that I had never caught before. Everyone but Geoff is an idiot. What do I mean? For example, in the diner when Geoff and Melanie are trying to tell everyone about what’s going on with the birds, nobody believes them. This is fine, given the circumstances I would have been doubtful too. Then the man across the street is attacked while fuelling his car. Geoff and several others run out of the diner, but Geoff seems to be the only one that actually helps the driver. Apparently the others just went out to be bird food. Then Melanie leaves the diner. Why? When the birds go for her, does she turn around and go back inside? The door is right there after all. No, she runs across and takes shelter in a phone booth. Cinematically it makes for a great scene of birds smashing into the glass and the birds attacking the people trying to fight the fire, but running across the lot to the phone booth made no sense. The fire? Oh yes, why didn’t anyone that ran out of the diner and across the street think to turn off the gas pump? Then later on Melanie, Geoff and company are taking shelter in the house. Melanie wakes and hears a noise upstairs. She goes up to investigate. Peaking through the door she sees the birds have ripped a hole in the roof of one of the bedrooms and dozens of the little feathered monsters are in the room. What does she do? Does she close the door and go back downstairs like any sane person would? No, she goes into the room so the mass of crows can attack her. The film is full of these oddities that the writer in me picked up on. Oh, don’t get me wrong I still like the film. But I liked Them, and The Thing as well. The Birds is special in one way. Now we know that birds are really dinosaurs who want their world back. It's kind of a prequel to Jurassic Park.

But then Friday I pulled out one of my all time favourite films. Altered States. Maybe it’s the quality of the writing, Paddy Chayefsky got the dialogue and feel of young academics and that time period perfectly. Maybe it’s the acting, William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, and Charles Haid all put their best into this piece. Maybe it’s the scenes shot in the basement. They nailed the feel of a University sub basement perfectly. I swear, I’ve been in identical rooms and hallways at the University of Minnesota and the University of Oregon. I also love the cinematography. The scene near the end where Emily, Arthur, and Mason are arguing about Jessup's latest trip is breathtaking. The lighting captures the tint of the early morning sun just thinking of coming up perfectly. Putting the camera outside the house and following the characters from window to window as they wander from room to room is brilliant. I just love this film.

So what’s up for this week? Defiantly have to complete the double feature with Corpse Bride, otherwise it just wouldn’t be Christmas after all. I have Howell’s Moving Castle, queued up along with The Emperor’s New Groove. Or maybe I’ll dig out a classic like Vincent Price in The Last Man On Earth (which was remade with Charlton Heston as Omega Man, and then with Will Smith as I Am Legend).

Good Times.

Doug & Marsha.
PIX: The Damp