Muscle Cars

Tonight a few friends and I were talking about muscle cars. There were lots of possibilities thrown around, but my dream muscle car was an easy choice… a shiny black 1967 Camaro SS (as seen on Better Off Dead). It’s the perfect combination of size, design, and muscle. When my dad uses the term “boss”, this immediately comes to mind.

What’s your favorite muscle car?

**UPDATE**

1. Looking at that picture makes me wish I knew what a carburetor was.

2. What constitutes a muscle car?

Filed under: Cars, Chevrolet, John Cusack, Muscle Cars

Movie Reviews

Days of Thunder — I have a hard time believing that I’ve never seen this movie before. But looking at my last 30 reviews, I could say that a lot. This felt like a serious version of Talledega Nights. It even starred one of the same actors. The story was good, and the action scenes were great. I really love Robert Duvall. This movie wouldn’t have been half the movie it was without Bob. Oh, and Cole Trickle. Hehe. Gotta believe Will Ferrell would’ve used that name had it not already been taken.

Finding Neverland — Phase one in the chick-flick category. I think I liked it better than Tonia coincidentally. I really liked the way they took an old story and put a fresh spin on it. And the deeper story was awesome as well. The whole infidelity angle was a little depressing, but otherwise I really liked this movie. Johnny Depp has a great collection of films don’t you think?

Must Love Dogs — Phase two in the chick-flick category. Neither one of us liked this one very much. I threw it in the rotation for the simple fact that it starred John Cusack. While I enjoyed the scenes he was in for the most part, the whole movie was cheesy—even for chick-flick standards. Makes me weary of checking out Serendipity. For the record You’ve Got Mail is far superior to this similar plot-line.

Dogma — Yeah. Uh… Not my cup of tea. Sure there were some funny one-liners, and great religion jokes. I just didn’t appreciate the movie as a whole. Not much more I can say here, except that I really really didn’t like Alanis Morrisette. She should really just stick to female angst and covering other peoples songs. Seriously.

Antitrust — Never heard of this one before Jason brought it in and told me to watch it. It was alright. It was focused on technology, so that’s what really held my interest. It sort of got me pumped about being a Geek 2.0. Not a fan of Tim Robbins in this one however. The one thing that struck me about this movie is how it dates itself immediately. It makes a big deal about certain technologies that will eventually be outdated in real life, making it a silly premise. I wonder if they considered that before making it.

Filed under: Alanis Morissette, Culture, John Cusack, Movies, Reviews, Robert Duvall, Tom Cruise, Will Ferrell

Movie Reviews

*Getting a little backed up in reviews, so these will be brief.

High Fidelity — Working my way through the Cusack collection. Loved this one. Good music, good story, and Jack Black was great.

Blades of Glory — Saw this one twice. Good fun here. Unfortunately I won’t be able to look at Pam the same anymore though.

Platoon — Oliver Stone is the man. He goes to Vietnam, comes home and uses his expertise to portray what he experienced. Well done.

Tombstone — Very good western flick. Val Kilmer was touted as awesome in this movie, and those touts weren’t wrong. I also loved the Billy Bob Thorton character.

Four Brothers — Not so much. I haven’t seen all of Mark Wahlbergs movies, but this has to be his worst to date.

Hot Fuzz — A must own! It was the perfect combination of humor, drama, thriller, and action. Simon Pegg at his best.

Donnie Darko — Good movie here. Jake Gyllenhaal did an amazing job in this role. Love movies with depth like this one. However, of all the movies here, probably the worst language.

Filed under: Culture, Hot Fuzz, John Cusack, Movies, Oliver Stone, Reviews, Simon Pegg

Quick Hits

Better Off Dead – While I was watching this one I kept thinking how cheesy it was. It was pure eighties, but cheesy. But I’m a big Cusack fan and now I keep laughing when I think about it—and who wouldn’t like those Asian brothers who liked to race. I was taken back with how much I liked that Camaro. Apparently I’m not the only one. They have the original trailer on YouTube. And for those that have seen the movie, here’s a funny spoof trailer.

Ratatouille – I really liked this movie. Tanner and I went to see this one Friday night. I didn’t come out of it saying it was a must own, and Tanner kept asking when it would be over, but it had a good story-line and the animation was great.

The Godfather III – Although Jason said I’d hate this one, I actually enjoyed this finale. Again there were tons of plot-lines to keep up with, but the struggle to get legit, and the involvement with the Vatican were done well.

The Royal Tenenbaums – Best movie of the five here. Wes Anderson and his loyal cast did a great job once again. The thing that kept hitting me in the face with this movie was how quickly we want to forgive people if they’re truly contrite. I felt myself rooting for Royal to gain favor with his family. Great story. Can’t wait for the new Wes Anderson coming out soon.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail – Yeah. Completely lost on me. The flesh wound, the killer rabbit, the knights who say nee. Not getting it done for me. I’d honestly rather have a heart to heart with my brother on the merits of Ann Coulter than watch this again. Perhaps this is what Tanner will be saying about Napoleon Dynamite in 20 years. I did enjoy the ending however.

Filed under: 80's, Culture, John Cusack, Monty Python, Pixar, The Godfather, Wes Anderson

Recommendations?

I’ve mentioned before that I’m trying to catch up on culture missed through movies, and to date you guys are 2-for-2 on your recommendations. So I’m thinking that taking your advice isn’t such a bad idea.

Yesterday Conner from Worship City recommended Better Off Dead, and that will be the next on my list.

What are your recommendations of must see movies?

Filed under: 80's, Culture, Eighties, John Cusack, Movies