WML2020: Back to the Future Trilogy

We come to the first boxed set of Watch My Library, which is a part of the excuse for this last big lag in activity. I may not have been posting much, but I assure you I’ve been slamming through B titles as quickly as possible.

I’m very nervous about this one because what can I possibly write that hasn’t already been covered by a zillion other bloggers? If you’ve heard the one about a white dude stealing Chuck Berry’s legacy once, you’ve heard it a thousand times. So many think-pieces written just a few years ago when we hit October 21. 2015, and now the whole of the franchise exists in the past, but it seems ever-present in the pop culture conversation nonetheless.

Oh, well. Just gotta bang it out.

WML2020: American Idiot

I suspect you all can tell when I’m not excited about the next title on deck by how many days it takes me to get around to posting about it. And so it goes with this little gem, debatably the weirdest DVD I own. Also, I knew it was probably going to require some additional homework beyond just re-watching to do this one properly.

What even IS this?

Is it a recording of the Green Day Broadway musical? No. That would actually make sense. *

No, this is far stranger. It’s basically just a bunch talking heads indulging in a track-by-track analysis of the titular album padded out with a little bit of the band’s overall history. It bills itself as a “critical review,” but it’s basically just a big love fest. To give you an idea of the level of discourse at play, this is part of a series called The World’s Greatest Albums. ** Keep in mind that this documentary (to use the term very loosely) came out just 13 months after Green Day released American Idiot. Even to a fan like me, that seems a tad fast.

The random assortment of expert reviewers includes the host (a seemingly prolific Scottish actor unknown to me), a couple of UK musicians I’ve never heard of, the owner of a studio where Green Day recorded, the author of a Green Day biography, and a music journalist who hasn’t written for any publication I recognize but at least does have a Wikipedia page.

WML2020: Amelie

Now is the time for Amelie. Right now.

It is a film entirely about the effects of loneliness, the consolation a vivid imagination can bring, and both the effort and rewards involved with reaching out for connection in the midst of isolation. TBS should be playing it on repeat like A Christmas Story.

WML2020: Aladdin

This is the first time I’ve ever popped this disc in a player. It would still be in shrink wrap if I hadn’t cracked it open when I first bought it to get the digital download code loaded onto my computer before it expired. Which I also have never bothered to watch.

I purchased this in 2015, y’all. I know that because the previews before the movie advertise Inside Out on home video and The Good Dinosaur coming soon to a theater near you. Evidently I bought this the same year the Cinderella live-action remake came out (which was only the third one of those in the modern collection, mind you), and I still managed to see Will Smith’s Genie hit the screen before I fired this up.

Clearly money well spent.

Happy Halloweekend 2017

Disney has re-released The Nightmare Before Christmas for a limited engagement at Regal Cinemas just for this weekend through Halloween. Even though I consider it really more of a Christmas movie, I still decided to make this my primary Halloween celebration this year. Below are some random thoughts:

Perhaps my favorite scene in the movie

• There are much more memorable tunes and visuals throughout the film, but what I love about “Poor Jack” is that you almost think that Jack will actually learn something from putting everyone through this massive ordeal, but NOPE! As the lyrics continue, you realize he’s learned NOTHING, and it’s amazing.
• I’ve watched it on television a thousand times, but it took re-visiting it on the big screen to realize that Zero’s glowing nose is actually a light-up jack-o-lantern. Huh. Neat.
• The whole Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo and just all of that recent business really casts a new light on Sally’s relationship with Dr. Finkelstein.

Yikes.

• A few years ago I went to Disneyland in October, and I felt chagrined to discover that the Haunted Mansion ride had been given a Nightmare Before Christmas makeover. Make no mistake:  If this movie had its own ride, I’d be the first in line. But the whole point of the trip was to get drenched in nostalgia, so I felt bitterly disappointed that I couldn’t experience the Haunted Mansion of my childhood.
• Only one sobbing, terrified child at my screening. I had estimated there would be about three.

Treehouse of Horror Roundup 26-27

Like most other Americans, I spent the last couple of days consumed with a different sort of nightmarish joke. But life and the days of November march on, and now that it’s ten days past Halloween, we need to wrap this up.

It felt good to laugh and get one last sweet taste of Halloween for the year. I even ate some candy — gummy bears — to mark the occasion. And The Simpsons managed to let me end on happy note by providing two mostly solid episodes. I’m glad I took this ride with you all.

Treehouse of Horror Roundup 19-21

It only just occurred to me tonight (10 and a half hours into this roundup) that I could have made things interesting by collecting and crunching some Simpsons data as I watched. What percentage of Halloween segments focus on each character? How often are Kang and Kudos central to a plot rather than mere background? How many times does each character actually die onscreen? What a missed opportunity!

Well, I guess I could just start over.

…

Yeah, no.

Treehouse of Horror Roundup 17-18

Just a shorty tonight, I’m afraid. Two episodes only. I needed a bit of a break from non-stop binge watching or I would wind up like Homer here.

You still love me, right?

Treehouse of Horror Roundup 11-16

We’ve hit a bit of a rough patch. What say you, Groundskeeper Willie?

We’re wasting more energy than Ricky Martin’s girlfriend.

Harsh, but probably accurate. This was not a great group of episodes, although it wasn’t a complete comedic dead space.

Treehouse of Horror Roundup 7-10

A shorter batch tonight. My stamina is already waning. And yet so far I feel really engaged with this exercise. This is fun. This group reminded me that for such a topical show, The Simpsons can also feel extraordinarily fresh and relevant even two decades later. I tend to roll my eyes a little when people say stuff like that because I’ve never been quite the Simpsons devotee that many other people are. But sometimes a particular joke will reach out and shake you by the throat until you acknowledge the truth.

Not a single chuckle-worthy tombstone or framing device to be found tonight. I guess those are well and truly dead.