I'm a Dapper Dan man!
Yeah, so, remember that time I was going just "come in late," because I was going to go pick up an iPhone 4 before work? Yeah, around hour four, I gave up on ever actually making it into the office. Seven hours in line for that little fucker. NEVER AGAIN.
I was glad I did it this once though.. I've never done the big release day thing for anything.. I usually just pre-order the thing, or wait a bit for it, or whatever. So I just wanted to try it this one time, and kind of had fun, in an odd little way. There was a really cool vibe to the whole thing.. everyone was in a good mood and cheerful about the wait, chatting with their line neighbors, and holding each other's spots for restroom breaks and such. And Apple kept every one in drinks and snacks, coming around with big bottles of Smart Water, full size bags of M&Ms and Skittles, Tootsie Pops, and (more frequently) a variety of fun-size bars all day long, with Caribou coffee & doughnuts, and Orange Julius smoothies in the morning, and pizzas and Dairy Queen sundays around the lunch hour. Everytime someone walked out of the store with their hard-earned iPhone, everyone would cheer for them.
I also got to read an entire book while I was waiting, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and next to me, there was a boy, maybe 10 or 12 years old, waiting with his mom (for his first ever phone of his own!), and they had both just read it too, so we chatted about that, and he would check in with me at various points to see what I thought about this part and that part. That book is awesome, by the way. I went straight to Barnes & Noble afterwards and got the sequel. When I ran out of book, I watched some Veronica Mars on my (old) iPhone (as the concentration of people actively using theirs in the vicinity kind of slowed the 3G down to a halt). And then it was finally my turn..
And OMG. I love it. I don't know what the swing is between the 3GS and the 4, but going from my regular 3G to the 4 was huge. The screen is the crispest, most shiny, pretty thing ever. The processing speed is much faster. The camera quality is stunning. The video quality almost, kind of, in an I-hate-to-admit-it sort of way, is so good that it maybe renders my HD Flip a little redundant at this point. And on top of all that, it's a little bit smaller, and a lot lighter. I noticed the difference right away when I swapped it out in my pocket. It is a wonderful, wonderful toy. And again, while I am never, ever, ever, waiting in a seven hour line again, as lines go, this one was pretty swell, and the prize at the end was worth it.
And that is my story.
So, alright, guys. Are you ready? It's time for the 30 Days of Movie Meme speed round!
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure
Horror movies. Not all horror movies are guilty pleasures, mind you, because there are some most excellent ones out there, and good movies are good movies, and there's no guilt there. But I love a good/bad scary movies just as much, and give them a heck of a lot more leeway than any other genre. As a for instance: I am deeply excited for Piranha 3-D.
Day 14 - A film that disappointed you
This one is hard, because there are too many good movies to spend a lot of time reminiscing on the bad ones, you know? But I guess one that does stand out is The Half-Blood Prince.. That was one of my favourites of the books, and in particular, contained one of my favourite (for lack of a better expression) scenes, and both that scene, and a very powerful sequence that followed, were omitted (or scaled back to the point where they may as well have been) from the film. While generally, I expect a certain amount of that in any book-to-film translation, to me, this felt like, say, yanking The Battle of Helm's Deep from The Two Towers. It was the one and only thing that I was really looking forward to seeing in any of the films. So while there was a lot of good to the film, I guess I did leave feeling pretty disappointed.
Day 15 - Favourite film sequel
This is rough. Because, I mean, while we're on the subject of The Two Towers, that would probably be it, in terms of second movies. But if we learned anything from Scream 2, it's that parts of planned trilogies don't count as sequels. I think it might actually have to be Terminator: 2.
Day 16 - Favourite film character
Uh, if you have to ask, I want you to go sit in the corner for no less than five minutes and think about what you've done.
The Dude, man. You know?
Day 17 - Favourite film quote
This is a terrible question. Hard enough to pick one character, but one quote? In all of moviedom? Seriously? So, I'm just going to put down the first one I thought of and leave it be as one of many:
"Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere! " - Ulysses Evertt McGill, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
L.A. Confidential, for reasons that should be self-evident. Recently, however, Inglourious Basterds gave it a serious run for its significant money.
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
I hate to say something so recent, but it may well be a tie between The Hangover. That kind of set the gold standard last year, and while I know there are movies that have, in the past, also made me laugh mightily, it kind of eclipsed all else for the time being. I can get to giggling just thinking about it, and it was like that from start to finish.
Day 20 - A moving (emotional) scene
This is so inspecific.. I think I'm just going to go with, say, all of Brokeback Mountain and leave it at that.
Day 21 - Favourite film from your favourite actor/actress
Gwyneth Paltrow - Proof
George Clooney - O Brother, Where Art Thou? Also, The Perfect Storm. And Out of Sight. And From Dusk til Dawn.
Russell Crowe - L.A. Confidential
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Beach
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
James McAvoy - Last King of Scotland
Day 22 - Favourite Academy Award acceptance speech Favourite Horror Movie
I'm nixing the Academy Award one, because seriously, who cares? I love the Oscars. The Oscars are my Superbowl. I start watching Oscar coverage at 11am the day of. The one year I joined an Oscar pool, I won, and this was against my film class. Let it be known that I love the Oscars. Haters to the left, etc. That said, the acceptance speeches, by and large, are the most boring part, and even the good ones aren't particularly memorable. So instead, I wish to talk about something that is memorable. Namely, nightmare inducing works of art.
We've established that I have a weak spot for bad horror.. your Turistas, your Texas Chainsaw Massacre remakes, etc., but what I really love are the good ones. Zombies in the masterful hand of Danny frictin' Boyle. Near flawless renditions of existing works like 30 Days of Night, The Ruins, Bram Stoker's Dracula. The créme de la bloody créme from the B-Movie masters, like The Fog, Prince of Darkness, & Scream. But my number one favourite, the tip top of the gory crop, is The Descent. My review from my now-defunct pre-lj blog is here.
Day 23 - A character who you can relate to the most
Peter Klaven in I Love You, Man. (Hush, you. :P)
Day 01 - Favourite foreign language film
Day 02 - A film that is underrated
Day 03 - A film that brings you unadulterated happiness
Day 04 - A film cliché that you love
Day 05 - Favourite love story in a film
Day 06 - Favourite actor/actress
Day 07 - The most surprising plot twist/ending
Day 08 - The best opening/closing credits
Day 09 - The best soundtrack/score to a film
Day 10 - Favourite classic film
Day 11 - Favourite black-and-white film
Day 12 - A film that permanently altered your point-of-view
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A film that disappointed you
Day 15 - Favourite film sequel
Day 16 - Favourite film character
Day 17 - Favourite film quote
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
Day 20 - A moving (emotional) scene
Day 21 - Favourite film from your favourite actor/actress
Day 22 - Favourite Academy Award acceptance speech
Day 23 - A character who you can relate to the most
Day 24 - The best page-to-screen film adaptation
Day 25 - Favourite film villain
Day 26 - Favourite film poster
Day 27 - A film that you wish you had seen in theaters
Day 28 - Favourite film from your favourite director
Day 29 - A piece of trivia from a favourite film
Day 30 - Your favourite film of all time
Aaaaand, I'm caught up. :)
I was glad I did it this once though.. I've never done the big release day thing for anything.. I usually just pre-order the thing, or wait a bit for it, or whatever. So I just wanted to try it this one time, and kind of had fun, in an odd little way. There was a really cool vibe to the whole thing.. everyone was in a good mood and cheerful about the wait, chatting with their line neighbors, and holding each other's spots for restroom breaks and such. And Apple kept every one in drinks and snacks, coming around with big bottles of Smart Water, full size bags of M&Ms and Skittles, Tootsie Pops, and (more frequently) a variety of fun-size bars all day long, with Caribou coffee & doughnuts, and Orange Julius smoothies in the morning, and pizzas and Dairy Queen sundays around the lunch hour. Everytime someone walked out of the store with their hard-earned iPhone, everyone would cheer for them.
I also got to read an entire book while I was waiting, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and next to me, there was a boy, maybe 10 or 12 years old, waiting with his mom (for his first ever phone of his own!), and they had both just read it too, so we chatted about that, and he would check in with me at various points to see what I thought about this part and that part. That book is awesome, by the way. I went straight to Barnes & Noble afterwards and got the sequel. When I ran out of book, I watched some Veronica Mars on my (old) iPhone (as the concentration of people actively using theirs in the vicinity kind of slowed the 3G down to a halt). And then it was finally my turn..
And OMG. I love it. I don't know what the swing is between the 3GS and the 4, but going from my regular 3G to the 4 was huge. The screen is the crispest, most shiny, pretty thing ever. The processing speed is much faster. The camera quality is stunning. The video quality almost, kind of, in an I-hate-to-admit-it sort of way, is so good that it maybe renders my HD Flip a little redundant at this point. And on top of all that, it's a little bit smaller, and a lot lighter. I noticed the difference right away when I swapped it out in my pocket. It is a wonderful, wonderful toy. And again, while I am never, ever, ever, waiting in a seven hour line again, as lines go, this one was pretty swell, and the prize at the end was worth it.
And that is my story.
So, alright, guys. Are you ready? It's time for the 30 Days of Movie Meme speed round!
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure
Horror movies. Not all horror movies are guilty pleasures, mind you, because there are some most excellent ones out there, and good movies are good movies, and there's no guilt there. But I love a good/bad scary movies just as much, and give them a heck of a lot more leeway than any other genre. As a for instance: I am deeply excited for Piranha 3-D.
Day 14 - A film that disappointed you
This one is hard, because there are too many good movies to spend a lot of time reminiscing on the bad ones, you know? But I guess one that does stand out is The Half-Blood Prince.. That was one of my favourites of the books, and in particular, contained one of my favourite (for lack of a better expression) scenes, and both that scene, and a very powerful sequence that followed, were omitted (or scaled back to the point where they may as well have been) from the film. While generally, I expect a certain amount of that in any book-to-film translation, to me, this felt like, say, yanking The Battle of Helm's Deep from The Two Towers. It was the one and only thing that I was really looking forward to seeing in any of the films. So while there was a lot of good to the film, I guess I did leave feeling pretty disappointed.
Day 15 - Favourite film sequel
This is rough. Because, I mean, while we're on the subject of The Two Towers, that would probably be it, in terms of second movies. But if we learned anything from Scream 2, it's that parts of planned trilogies don't count as sequels. I think it might actually have to be Terminator: 2.
Day 16 - Favourite film character
Uh, if you have to ask, I want you to go sit in the corner for no less than five minutes and think about what you've done.
The Dude, man. You know?
Day 17 - Favourite film quote
This is a terrible question. Hard enough to pick one character, but one quote? In all of moviedom? Seriously? So, I'm just going to put down the first one I thought of and leave it be as one of many:
"Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere! " - Ulysses Evertt McGill, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
L.A. Confidential, for reasons that should be self-evident. Recently, however, Inglourious Basterds gave it a serious run for its significant money.
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
I hate to say something so recent, but it may well be a tie between The Hangover. That kind of set the gold standard last year, and while I know there are movies that have, in the past, also made me laugh mightily, it kind of eclipsed all else for the time being. I can get to giggling just thinking about it, and it was like that from start to finish.
Day 20 - A moving (emotional) scene
This is so inspecific.. I think I'm just going to go with, say, all of Brokeback Mountain and leave it at that.
Day 21 - Favourite film from your favourite actor/actress
Gwyneth Paltrow - Proof
George Clooney - O Brother, Where Art Thou? Also, The Perfect Storm. And Out of Sight. And From Dusk til Dawn.
Russell Crowe - L.A. Confidential
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Beach
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
James McAvoy - Last King of Scotland
Day 22 - Favourite Academy Award acceptance speech Favourite Horror Movie
I'm nixing the Academy Award one, because seriously, who cares? I love the Oscars. The Oscars are my Superbowl. I start watching Oscar coverage at 11am the day of. The one year I joined an Oscar pool, I won, and this was against my film class. Let it be known that I love the Oscars. Haters to the left, etc. That said, the acceptance speeches, by and large, are the most boring part, and even the good ones aren't particularly memorable. So instead, I wish to talk about something that is memorable. Namely, nightmare inducing works of art.
We've established that I have a weak spot for bad horror.. your Turistas, your Texas Chainsaw Massacre remakes, etc., but what I really love are the good ones. Zombies in the masterful hand of Danny frictin' Boyle. Near flawless renditions of existing works like 30 Days of Night, The Ruins, Bram Stoker's Dracula. The créme de la bloody créme from the B-Movie masters, like The Fog, Prince of Darkness, & Scream. But my number one favourite, the tip top of the gory crop, is The Descent. My review from my now-defunct pre-lj blog is here.
Day 23 - A character who you can relate to the most
Peter Klaven in I Love You, Man. (Hush, you. :P)
Day 01 - Favourite foreign language film
Day 02 - A film that is underrated
Day 03 - A film that brings you unadulterated happiness
Day 04 - A film cliché that you love
Day 05 - Favourite love story in a film
Day 06 - Favourite actor/actress
Day 07 - The most surprising plot twist/ending
Day 08 - The best opening/closing credits
Day 09 - The best soundtrack/score to a film
Day 10 - Favourite classic film
Day 11 - Favourite black-and-white film
Day 12 - A film that permanently altered your point-of-view
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A film that disappointed you
Day 15 - Favourite film sequel
Day 16 - Favourite film character
Day 17 - Favourite film quote
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
Day 20 - A moving (emotional) scene
Day 21 - Favourite film from your favourite actor/actress
Day 22 - Favourite Academy Award acceptance speech
Day 23 - A character who you can relate to the most
Day 24 - The best page-to-screen film adaptation
Day 25 - Favourite film villain
Day 26 - Favourite film poster
Day 27 - A film that you wish you had seen in theaters
Day 28 - Favourite film from your favourite director
Day 29 - A piece of trivia from a favourite film
Day 30 - Your favourite film of all time
Aaaaand, I'm caught up. :)