Movies & Other Diversions
My weekly schedule has "filled up." Although I leave Friday-Sunday flexible, I now have the following regularly-scheduled events:
The Pink Panther 2: I saw this one in the theater with friends after the Monday poker tournament. I remember the "original" movie (i.e. the first one with Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau) being funnier than expected, so I wasn't sure what to expect of this one. There were some great one-liners (approximate quote: "You fly to Tokyo in the morning." "But sir, I cannot fly!") as well as good slapstick, though the ending was, in some sense, similar to the ending of the original. If you liked the original, I suspect you'll like this one.
Idiocracy: I saw this movie and the next two last Friday as part of a "movies you should see" DVD marathon. I suppose the basic premise of the movie is made more plausible by these observations (though it's hard to imagine complex society surviving such changes), but even that particular "gimmick" did get a bit tiresome. Fortunately, there were other recurring themes, and the movie maintained its funniness. The ending was far better than what was expected and quite satisfying. Still, this movie requires a particular sense of humor to appreciate, so be careful.
The [Original] Manchurian Candidate: This is definitely not a comedy. I had seen the more recent movie and found myself surprised at the number of similarities. Still, there were some differences, and IMO they are in favor of the 2004 movie. The 1962 version seemed a bit sillier and some plot points didn't make much sense, whereas these issues seemed to be largely absent in the 2004 movie (I guess they had time to fix whatever hadn't quite worked before). The suspense was maintained nicely until the very end, and the ending made more sense than some other aspects of the movie.
Dude, Where's My Car?: This is quite possibly the most random movie I've ever seen. There were some remarkably clever scenes ("'Sweet!' What about mine?" "'Dude!' What does mine say?" "'Sweet! What about mine?" "'Dude! What does mine say?" ...), but the ending, though very amusing, didn't really answer all the questions that the rest of the movie raised. Still, if one accepts that not everything will be explained, this is quite a funny movie, though also requiring a particular sense of humor.
Coraline: I saw this one in the theater with terra_lily. The animation was quite realistic (if not surrealistic), and the plot was engaging, if seemingly random at times. I can't think of anything really concrete to say about this movie; just check it out and enjoy the fantasy.
- Monday: There's a freeroll poker tournament (Texas hold'em) at work. I've only attended it once so far (the snow day got in the way of my intended second participation), but it's apparently a regular occurrence at least for a little while longer. Peculiarly, one can get extra chips by buying food and/or drinks; I guess this is one way that the event is sponsored, though there seems to be other funding as well. I didn't do particularly well my first time, though I did survive longer than one of my friends due to some fairly odd play by my opponents in one hand. In desperation (I was automatically all-in on any hand I chose to play), I went all-in with Ace-rag and got three callers. The board never helped my hand, and one of my opponents bet enough to force the others out. Since eliminating players (such as me) is big in tournaments, such a play would normally mean that that opponent felt he had a lock on the hand; why else give me a chance to survive? Surprisingly, he had a worse Ace-rag and had completely missed; neither rag played and we split the pot with Ace-high. Nonetheless, I didn't survive much longer, though one of my other friends finished in sixth place (out of ~ 70 players). A particularly amusing hand occurred early on at my table, in which one player had Ace-rag and one had two face cards (I think). Someone was all-in, and the flop came with the other three Aces! Wish me luck next time!
- Tuesday: On Tuesdays, several of us have been checking out the trivia at Frisco Grille & Cantina. Normally I don't know many answers, though this past week was something of an exception. Songs are played while teams are deliberating, and the songs are often meant as clues of the punny variety, so even when I have no clue, I can sometimes guess based on my knowledge of the song (though it should be noted that occasionally the songs are downright deceptive). Indeed, the songs are where I have generally made my biggest contribution, though I'm normally not the one with the greatest song knowledge at the table! The trivia starts at 8:30PM, so any of you out here are welcome to join us!
- Wednesday: On Wednesdays there's the regular game night, hosted by Jared at his place. "Random" games are played; among our favorites are Fluxx, Tsuro, Chrononauts, Apples to Apples, and Pig Pile (played with house rules), and Guillotine. Other games include Puerto Rico, San Juan, Blokus, Dominion, and Tribune. When we play, we have the following rules:
- Don't let Jared win.
- It's Marc's turn (when in doubt).
- Thursday: Thursdays involve some combination of chess club and/or karaoke (these are both just down the street from where I live). I think these are both self-explanatory, so no need to go into them.
The Pink Panther 2: I saw this one in the theater with friends after the Monday poker tournament. I remember the "original" movie (i.e. the first one with Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau) being funnier than expected, so I wasn't sure what to expect of this one. There were some great one-liners (approximate quote: "You fly to Tokyo in the morning." "But sir, I cannot fly!") as well as good slapstick, though the ending was, in some sense, similar to the ending of the original. If you liked the original, I suspect you'll like this one.
Idiocracy: I saw this movie and the next two last Friday as part of a "movies you should see" DVD marathon. I suppose the basic premise of the movie is made more plausible by these observations (though it's hard to imagine complex society surviving such changes), but even that particular "gimmick" did get a bit tiresome. Fortunately, there were other recurring themes, and the movie maintained its funniness. The ending was far better than what was expected and quite satisfying. Still, this movie requires a particular sense of humor to appreciate, so be careful.
The [Original] Manchurian Candidate: This is definitely not a comedy. I had seen the more recent movie and found myself surprised at the number of similarities. Still, there were some differences, and IMO they are in favor of the 2004 movie. The 1962 version seemed a bit sillier and some plot points didn't make much sense, whereas these issues seemed to be largely absent in the 2004 movie (I guess they had time to fix whatever hadn't quite worked before). The suspense was maintained nicely until the very end, and the ending made more sense than some other aspects of the movie.
Dude, Where's My Car?: This is quite possibly the most random movie I've ever seen. There were some remarkably clever scenes ("'Sweet!' What about mine?" "'Dude!' What does mine say?" "'Sweet! What about mine?" "'Dude! What does mine say?" ...), but the ending, though very amusing, didn't really answer all the questions that the rest of the movie raised. Still, if one accepts that not everything will be explained, this is quite a funny movie, though also requiring a particular sense of humor.
Coraline: I saw this one in the theater with terra_lily. The animation was quite realistic (if not surrealistic), and the plot was engaging, if seemingly random at times. I can't think of anything really concrete to say about this movie; just check it out and enjoy the fantasy.