Double feature at the Egyptian

I couldn't resist heading to the Egyptian theater in Hollywood last night to catch a double feature:  The Wild Bunch and The Dirty Dozen.  The latter, of course, is one of my top five movies of all time, but I've never been able to see it on the big screen.  That has been remedied... sort of.  These are playing as part of a tribute to Ernest Borgnine.  They've had several other movies I've really wanted to go see this past week, but alas, have to pick and choose, and I chose my favorites over seeing some new movies.

It was a pretty nice 35 mm print of The Wild Bunch.  It's actually the first time I've seen William Holden in color on the big screen, and boy, that was nice.  His blue eyes are gorgeous on television, but on the big screen?  Wow.  And Pike Bishop is my favorite character he plays, so it was really neat to see it big screen, for so many reasons.  Great experience, with a large audience that was quite vocal and appreciative.

The Dirty Dozen was not a film print, it was apparently a projected blu ray, and... that was disappointing.  It didn't seem to fit the screen right, and it just lacked that natural big screen feel that Wild Bunch had.  Nonetheless, it was still The Dirty Dozen on the big screen, and I still loved every minute of it.  And I had that new problem of what to look at on screen?  After seeing the film 50-60 times small screen, suddenly, I had to choose where to direct my eyes.  Ack!  Who to focus on in a scene?  It so made me wish it was playing again, as I'd go right back again to watch different things.  Mostly, I chose to watch my favorite character in the film, Franko, played by John Cassavetes.  But yeah, I still saw new things, read those signs in the corners, picked up on details you just can't see on DVD.  It was great.

It was two long movies that didn't start until after 7:30 pm, and I did not get home until after 2 in the morning, but it was totally worth it. 

The strange phenomenon of multiple theatrical viewings

It is a rather unique joy, seeing the same movie multiple times in the theater.  Not on television or on DVD, but on the big screen, during a movie's initial run, where there are no interruptions (hopefully), everything is bigger (and louder) than life, you can't pause it, you can't leave without missing something, and you have to pick and choose what to focus your gaze on, up there on that big screen.

My family did this so much growing up, we had a name for it, and two thresholds.  We call it borching (from a book we had growing up on Boontling, a little local Northern California language, where "to borch" meant to take in an entertainment repeatedly.  Perfect, no?).  Reaching six viewings gave you a "Borch."  Reaching and passing eight gave you a "True Borch."  Why?  Because after eight times, the movie viewing experience changes a bit.

After eight viewings, you're in a whole 'nother ballpark.  Oddly enough, you can start to have "bad" viewings after eight.  "Bad" is a relative term, of course, because no viewing of a movie you've chosen to see this many times is ever bad.  But because you're no longer just watching the movie at this point -- you're catching new things all the time, you're watching what actors are doing off to the side, you're watching what the extras are doing, you're paying attention to set decoration, you're memorizing the music, you're reading stuff on computer monitors and signs, you're counting how many bad guys Iron Man flattens when he bulldozes through them.  You end up going into the movie saying, "I want to make sure I catch X, Y, and Z."  Then you look at something else at that moment and miss it.  Oddly, the more times you see a movie, the more likely it is to miss stuff you're actually watching for.  Until you get to about twelve viewings, in which case you've finally caught just about everything you wanted to see and you relax again.  Now you've finally learned just about every note of music, including which parts are in the movie that aren't on the album (always frustrating, because invariably, one of those non-album moments is one of your favorite bits).  You have large swathes of dialogue memorized without even trying.  After eight viewings, I usually spend each new viewing focused solely on a different character.  It's great fun to watch what the actors are doing things when they're not the main center of attention in a scene with multiple people, but you really can't start seeing that kind of stuff until you've seen it a bunch of times because initially, you don't want to miss something by looking off to the sidelines. 

And the most amazing thing to me is that my family doesn't tire of movies seeing them multiple times.  In fact, the more times we see it, the more we want to see it again on top of that.  It builds on itself and you can't wait to see it again, even if you just saw it.  Especially if you just saw it.

Once the movie leaves the theater, then the mad, delightful urgency to see it as many times as you can slowly fades.  Life becomes normal, boring, ordinary again.  Life shrinks.  You have to be content with memories and dreams (and acquired merchandise).  And you despair of ever finding another film worthy of that much of your thoughts, money, and time.

I'm looking forward to the DVD coming out, and I'll buy it right away, but I doubt I'll watch it for awhile.  I won't be able to bear to see it on the small screen.  It will be too depressing for words.  But at least, for now, I've memorized what it looks like BIG, so I can close my eyes and expand it back to its real size in my mind. 

Publishing news!

Rogues in Hell is now out in Kindle form.  Trade paperback and other versions to follow in a few days!  This is the next volume of the Heroes in Hell series and includes my latest short story, "A Hatful of Dynamite."  This story continues the adventures of Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp in the fictional Hell realm known as New Bodie.  Where my first Masterson/Earp story, in the Lawyers in Hell anthology was more about a moral dilemma, "A Hatful of Dynamite" is suspense/action-oriented. 

Check it out!

Ernest Borgnine

It was with great sadness that I pulled up my blog reading list this morning and saw in the first subject line, Ernest Borgnine (January 24, 1917 - July 8, 2012). Took a half second for that to sink in. Then I burst into tears.  I haven't really stopped crying.

Sometimes it's not the actors we name our favorites who affect us the most.  Sometimes it's the other guys, the ones who star with our favorite actors, the ones without whom, the entire movie would fall apart.  They're so good, you almost take them for granted.  They make any movie they're in better.  Ernest Borgnine is one of those guys.  I've been watching him as long as William Holden, longer perhaps.  And it's not William Holden who has three movies in my top ten films of all time list -- two in my top five.  It's Ernest Borgnine.  Add in his appearances in so many of my other beloved movies, and I'm pretty sure his name would come out on top if you added up how many appearances he makes in movies I love.

I had the privilege of meeting him last year, and I'm sure that memory only adds to be heartbreak now.  He was so full of life, so full of laughter.

RIP, Mr. Borgnine, and thank you for so many years of amazing, wonderful, awesome performances.  You will be sorely missed.

July 2012

Happy belated Independence Day! I celebrated by going to see The Avengers again.  The film keeps getting better and better with each viewing.  It's been as near a perfect movie as I could ever ask for since the first time I saw it, and, at the moment, I can't actually think of another movie I've seen in the theater since Raiders of the Lost Ark about which I can say the same thing.  I usually have some complaint about plot or pacing or characters or dialogue or music, but not in this one.  It's 2+ hours of sheer pleasure.  And yes, that means I need to re-do my favorite movie list, because this one is in the top ten, if not the top five.

One of the problems with seeing a movie so many times, though, is you get stuck seeing the same previews over and over.  Where the movie may be fantastic, the previews can be downright lousy.  So, it was with great delight that yesterday I found I no longer had to sit through the horrid new Spiderman preview because the movie had finally opened!  Oh, what a relief.  The last few times I've seen Avengers I've just closed my eyes through it.  I was still stuck with the Batman one, though, but at least it's a much better preview.  Given how many movies they keep making about both, I'm clearly in the minority, but those are my two least favorite superheroes, right there.  Zero appeal.  I don't think you could pay me to see either of those movies.

I still have not watched any other movies.  But, where movies disrupt my mood, television (oddly) does not, so I've been watching episodes of Johnny Staccato (1959).  I really love those half hour dramatic television series in the 1950s/60s.  They packed so much in back then!  No wasted time.  So far, I'm thoroughly enjoying this series.  I love John Cassavetes, love the Elmer Bernstein score, love the noir feel of the show.  Reminds me a fair bit of Peter Gunn.  I'll review some of the episodes after I've seen a few more.

Nothing new

Well, I'm afraid I have nothing exciting to report.  Still catching The Avengers in the theater.  Still in an Avengers mood.  Still not remotely in the mood for anything else.  But it's very pleasant to have something new to obsess over for awhile.  Although, musically, I've been mostly listening  to the score to Warning Shot (1967) by Jerry Goldsmith.  What a relief this score is to me right now.  I had been listening to Alan Silvestri's score for Avengers pretty much non-stop, which I honestly do enjoy and still crave, but other than when the theme kicks into gear and the helicarrier cue, there's not much else to hang onto musically or sing to yourself.  The score works great in the movie and there's some very nice parts to some of the cues, and really, I am truly and utterly thankful Avengers was scored by somebody competent who understands what a score is supposed to do.  But I was randomizing my iTunes the other day and some Goldsmith and Bernstein cues came on, and the difference musically between those older scores and even the entertaining and solid Avengers score is night and day.

And I mourned all over again a world where I can't look forward to a new movie coming out this summer with a Goldsmith score.  With great orchestration and melodies to spare. 

But at least, there are still some older movies I'm not familiar with whose scores are still being released, and Warning Shot is one of those.  I'm extremely fond of Goldsmith's 1960's scores, and the main theme of Warning Shot reminds me of his music for the Flint films which is some of my all-time favorite listening material, so I've been really enjoying this score as a change of pace.  And as a reminder of how brilliantly talented the man was.  I can't even express in words how I miss him, how his death eight years ago still hurts, how that hole can never be filled.  But he left behind a legacy of some of the best music ever written, and that's what I'm enjoying tonight.

The Avengers and Don Giovanni

Well, my classic movie watching of late has been side-railed by two things:  The Avengers and Don Giovanni.  Yes, I really loved The Avengers movie.  I’ve never read the comic books, and I haven’t seen all the movies that led up to it (though I’ve seen most of them), but this movie was just the kind of movie I’ve been waiting for.  Just the right mix of serious and humor, with not too much humor.  The right mix of action.  Almost no bouncing camera!  Hooray and hallelujah!  Maybe that trend is finally going away???  Great dialogue.  Lots of good-looking actors.  All-in-all, it was a thoroughly entertaining way to spend two hours.  I’ve already seen it three times and will probably go a couple more times before it leaves the theater.  For anyone who knows me well and has seen the movie, then it's pretty obvious that Agent Barton/Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner) is my favorite of the Avengers.  Who else would I relate to/love?  LOL!



As for Don Giovanni, I attended a performance at the Disney Concert Hall last Friday with the LA Phil.  The orchestra was good, the singers were good, the production was terrible.  The set looked like someone had crumpled giant wads of paper all around, which in and of itself wouldn’t have been too bad – if they’d let the singers act out the story that goes with what they’re singing.  But nooooo.  Very little of what they did on stage seemed to have anything to do with the story.  Even worse, they moved in super-slow-motion or stood around frozen in place, or randomly lay down for entire scenes.  Okay, folks.  Don Giovanni is a long opera.  Do not make it bloody interminable by deliberately slowing the action down even more.  I mean I know the opera, I know the story, and I know a fair bit of the libretto.  It’s the one Mozart opera I’m rather fond of because it has action – murder, a couple assaults, an avenging statue, very funny exchanges between characters, and the lead character goes to Hell in the end.  And when I’m bored, you know the artsy and ridiculously static production ain’t working.  And I wasn’t alone in that opinion apparently, as after act one ended, quite a lot of seats were empty for act two.  People were bailing out while the getting was good.  Unfortunate, because the singers really were good.  But opera is neither just music nor just story – it’s both and more, and it all has to work together.  I don’t mind operas updated to modern or different time periods, but this was something else entirely.

(yes, please, sit around on boxes doing nothing.  And why are so many characters dressed in white on a white stage?  Are they supposed to blend in and vanish? Grrr.)

But, it put the music back in my head, so I’ve been listening to my Simon Keenlyside recording and watching better versions on youtube.  And when opera is stuck in my head, I have a hard time watching movies.  Although The Avengers is oddly compatible with Don Giovanni, so this combo has been working for me.  I alternate listening to Alan Silvestri's score for the movie, and then listening to my favorite scenes from the opera... Yeah, it's pretty weird, but it works.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)

This is my favorite Sherlock Holmes film to date, with my favorite portrayal of Holmes.  Why?  Easy. Because of the outstanding script by Nicolas Meyer and the brilliant performances by Nicol Williamson as Holmes and Alan Arkin as Sigmund Freud. The rest of the cast is big name:  Robert Duvall plays Watson, Vanessa Redgrave plays the lady in distress, and Lawrence Olivier puts in a turn as Moriarty.


Nicolas Meyer is also responsible for the script to Time After Time (on my top 25 films list), as well as my two favorite movies in the Star Trek series, II (Wrath of Khan) and VI (The Undiscovered Country).  I don't think I've seen anything written (or directed) by Nicolas Meyer that I did not like.  Both Time After Time and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution deal with a mix of characters.  In Time After Time, it's H.G. Wells and Jack the Ripper, in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, it's Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a darker entry into the Holmes film, in that it deals with Holmes's cocaine addiction.  The plot concerns Watson and Holme's brother, Mycroft, concocting a scheme to get Holmes to Vienna, where he can be treated for his addiction by Freud, who has successfully helped others, including himself, overcome the addiction.  As Holmes fights to kick the habit, he takes on a case regarding a missing woman, with Freud stepping up to the sleuthing plate, every bit as brilliant in his own way as Holmes is.  It makes for a fabulous, entertaining partnership.  The first half of the film deals more with the addiction, the second half deals more of the action of solving the mystery, though both are well-balanced, and the film has always engaged me the entire way.  It makes particularly interesting use of Moriarty as well, not as the villain, but as a mathematics tutor from Holmes's childhood involved in a tragic incident.  I've never seen Moriarty as anything but the evil mastermind, and this different kind of nemesis is very refreshing.

The depth of Williamson's portrayal as Holmes never ceases to amaze me.  From the manic, obsessed-with-Moriarty, drug-addicted Holmes, to the recovered, calm and decisive Holmes, Williamson moves smoothly, brilliantly, and without a misstep between the disparate facets of the character.  He was a first-class actor who really got to shine here.  And, as usual with a Nicolas Meyer script, there's also real meat to the characters that an actor can dig into.


Alan Arkin is equally awesome as Freud, committed to helping Sherlock Holmes recover.  As they get more embroiled in the mystery aspects, it always makes me smile as the intelligence of both men both clashes and meshes.  I can never decide which character and performance is my favorite, Arkin as Freud, or Williamson as Holmes.  They're both perfect.


There's plenty of action too, from a duel between Freud and a German baron -- fought on a tennis court! -- to the big train chase finale, which includes a sword fight on top of the moving train.  The train chase across the European countryside is definitely my favorite part of the film.  It's perfectly paced to keep you on the edge of your seat, and satisfy a viewer with each step along the way to the conclusion.


I think this might have been the first film I saw Robert Duvall in, isn't that odd?  He is a credible Watson, worried and steadfast.  He doesn't have that much to do, compared to Holmes and Freud.  It is a bit weird to hear him with a (admittedly) bad British accent.  It doesn't detract from the film for me, though, just sounds weird!

I love John Addison's score to this film as well.  I've seen other films with his scores, but none stuck in my head like this one.  I think he exactly nailed the right emotional tone this movie required, and I'm particularly fond of the train chase music.

This movie comes very close to making my top 25 favorite film list; in fact, it used to be on it, but alas, something has to drop off the list when new movies come along!  This movie isn't for everyone because of the drug addiction, but it's one of which I never tire.

Without a Clue (1988)

Wow, did this movie really come out that long ago?  I've been thinking a bit about Sherlock Holmes lately, and over the weekend watched two of my favorite Holmes movies that I own on DVD.  This is one of them.  This movie is such a delight.  It stars Michael Caine as Holmes and Ben Kingsley as Watson... only this story runs with the idea that Watson is really the detective. But because he was a doctor looking for a good position, he couldn't very well use his own name in all those stories he was publishing, so he created the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes.  When the stories become a gigantic success, he is forced to hire an out-of-work, drunken actor, Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine), to play Holmes for the public.  When Watson attempts to dispose of the actor and announce to the public that he's the true detective, he finds that it's too late: Sherlock Holmes is the only one the public will accept.  So he brings Holmes back for one more case, involving a counterfeit money scheme Moriarty (played by Paul Freeman) is attempting to pull off.

This movie could not have been more perfectly cast.  Oscar-winners Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley make this movie.  Caine is thoroughly wonderful as the amiable, but inept actor forced to memorize myriad clues and info every day in order to pull the role of Holmes.  Kingsley is just as wonderful as the real brain, with little patience for the antics of the actor he's hired. Of course, they end up helping each other, and, of course, Michael Caine will have to step up to the plate and attempt some real sleuthing... with hilarious and satisfying results. I can't imagine anyone playing this version of Holmes better than Michael Caine.

It's well-known I'm not so big on comedy, but this one plays just right for me.  The natural humor comes from the situations the characters get into and their personalities, which always works better.  The dialogue is smart and funny and doesn't get old, no matter how many times I see this movie.  There's some physical humor too, but it's not overdone.  It's quite an old-fashioned film, really, and I love it.

Meme-ish things - the letter M

via Rabia Gale:

How to Play: Comment to this entry and I’ll give you a letter. List ten things that you love that begin with that letter and then post that list on your journal.

My List: Ten Things I Love That Begin With The Letter M

(I'm leaving off Movies and Music here, because those kind of go without saying)

1. Mario Cavaradossi (my all-time favorite opera character)

2. Maps (reading them, studying them, memorizing them, making them)

3. Masada (the score by Jerry Goldsmith, that is)

4. Meteorites (looking at them, holding them, hunting them...)

5. Milnes, Sherill (my favorite baritone, what a voice)

6. Memories (what is life, but a series of?)

7. Mountains (I'm most alive and at home in the mountains, particularly the Sierra Nevada)

8. Maximus (my Husky)

9. Musketeers (particularly that Athos guy)

10. Mythology (I think I have more books on mythology than just about any other subject except submarines)

25 All-time favorite movies

I haven't ever posted a list of my favorite movies here.  It's probably about time.  My list will probably surprise a lot of people, as despite the sheer quantity of classic movies I love, they don't actually tend to make my favorites list.  There are reasons for that.

I think that word “favorite” means different things to different people.  What makes a favorite movie to me is something above and beyond what makes me simply love a movie.  There are many movies I absolutely love and adore (and I’ve seen them enough times you’d think they were favorites) – but they don’t actually make the favorites cut.  Why?  Well, it’s actually easy to explain:

For me, “favorite movie” means:

1) a film with which I have a special, emotional bond.  Favorite movies move me emotionally in ways movies I simply love have not.  I am passionate about them, and quite a few of them have changed my life in various ways.

2) a film I have seen many many times, often in the theater.  This is why quite a few of my favorites are newer films – I bonded with them over repeat viewings in the movie theater when they came out.

3) a movie with a score that matters deeply to me.  This may seem odd, but the musical element is almost more important than any other piece.  The score is part of what forms that emotional bond with a film.  The soundtrack alone is often the difference between a well-loved movie and a favorite movie, and is one of the primary reasons many of the older 1940's films I love don't make the favorites list.  I simply don't love their music the way I do other films.  With only one exception (and that's only because the CD is currently out of print), I own the scores to every film on this list. I sing the scores, I listen to the scores, I hum them, I live and breathe them.  Many of the scores to the movies listed below rank among my top favorite music of all time.  So yeah, music really is one of the most important things in my life, and that applies absolutely to movies.

On this list, the top seven movies haven't changed in years. Nothing really displaces those films, particularly the top three, which I don't think will ever budge.  The rest of the movies change order depending on my mood.

1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

2. The Dirty Dozen (1967)

3. Big Jake (1971)

4. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

5. The Thirteenth Warrior (1999)

6. The Wind and the Lion (1975)

7. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

8. Ben-Hur (1959)

9. The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

10. The Wild Bunch (1969)

11. Aliens (1986)

12. The Hunt for Red October (1990)

13. Galaxy Quest (1999)

14. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

15. Star Wars (1977)

16. The Mask of Zorro (1998)

17. The Untouchables (1987)

18. Avatar (2009)

19. The Vikings (1958)

20. Time After Time (1979)

21. Where Eagles Dare (1968)

22. South Pacific (1958)

23. The Shadow (1994)

24. Ride the High Country (1962)

25. Diamonds are Forever (1965)

Seriously?

I found bloggers's old dashboard is toast as of today, and I'm stuck with this new and not streamlined, not easier to use interface.  This is the second time this week that what used to be a lovely webpage has been totally changed. The other is USGS's recent earthquake page, the changes to which vex me far more than the changes here.  They've made their site damn near unusable compared to what it used to be.  This looks like just a pain to re-learn and find where everything went.  Like so far, I haven't located where they moved all the blogs I follow.  I'm sure it's here.  I just need to poke and click on everything until I find it.  I work for a software company, so I know why software changes... but that doesn't mean I like it.  Not one bit. 

Yeah, frustrated.