Movie and Television Posters on Display

Coming as no surprise to anyone, I really love movie posters.  I really enjoy being reminded of some of my favorite, and not so favorite if it has a really cool poster, movies by seeing screenshots, or artwork, from the movies.  

 

Unfortunately, and mostly for monetary and logistical reasons, most of my posters are reproductions and most of them are smaller, window card sized posters.  Again, these are much cheaper for people on a budget, aka me, and also, it means that I can display a lot more posters in the small space available to me, as my wife does not like movie posters hanging up all over the place.  Below is a video I threw together of most of the posters hanging up around my home office (man cave).

 

Many of my posters are horror or sci-fi themed.  This is for two reasons.  The first is that I really, really like horror and sci-fi movies.  The second reason is that all of the small posters in plastic cases were purchased at Worcester’s own Rock and Shock Horror Convention that has been running every year in October since 2004.  It is an awesome event that I have been lucky enough to attend every year and I buy too many posters each time.  Two of the posters (Aliens and B.P.R.D.) were free posters from That’s Entertainment!, the best store in Worcester, hands down.  Sandwiched between those two posters is a poster for the yet unreleased The Cabin in the Woods.  If you look closely, you will notice that is lists February 5, 2010, which it has missed by a wide margin.  This was a free promotional poster from Rock and Shock.

You will also notice three cardboard standups from Star Wars, which is because I really like Star Wars, although Padme is mostly there because of Natalie Portman, not Star Wars. 

I also have three full sized posters, two of which are actually collectible, original one-sheets.  The first is the poster shown above, the original Friday the 13^th Part VIII:  Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) dir. Rob Hedden.  While this is quite possibly the worst movie in the series, it is rare because New York City never gave their permission for the I <3 NYC logo, and as such, the poster was quickly recalled.  While it is not in the picture above, my copy is also autographed by Jason himself, Kane Hodder.  The second is the one-sheet from The Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Rings (2001) dir. Peter Jackson, which is my favorite movie of the trilogy.  I am a huge Tolkien fan, and really enjoyed the movies and this poster, so it was definitely worth paying the extra money to get the original one-sheet.  The final one, at the bottom of the post, is a retail sized poster, but it is just a standard reproduction.  It is the iconic poster for Jaws (1975) dir. Steven Spielberg, one of my all-time favorite movies, and no home (apartment) is complete without it.

 

Here is the list of movies and TV shows that were featured in the video clip.  They are listed in the order they appear in the clip and some have a few notes to go along with them.

• Aliens (promo for a comic series)

• Better off Dead (1985) dir. Savage Steve Holland

• The Goonies (1985) dir. Richard Donner

• The Empire Strikes Back (1980) dir. Irvin Kershner (in my top 10 favorites)(my favorite Star Wars movie)(Japanese)

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) dir. Steven Spielberg (my favorite Indiana Jones movie [I know Raiders is better])(Japanese)

• Thunderball (1965) dir. Terence Young (Goldfinger is my favorite James Bond movie)

• Son of Godzilla (1967) dir. Jun Fukuda (Japanese)

• The Big Lebowski (1998) dir. The Coen Brothers (in my top 10 favorites)

• Firefly (2002) created by Joss Whedon (my favorite TV show)

• The Cabin in the Woods (2012) dir. Drew Goddard

• The Lost Boys (1987) dir. Joel Schumacher (my wife and I started dating after watching this movie together for the first time)(Japanese)

• Army of Darkness (1993) dir. Sam Raimi (Japanese)(Crazy)

• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3:  Dream Warriors (1987) dir. Chuck Russell (one of the few installments of the series that I like)

• Dawn of the Dead (1978) dir. George Romero (in my top 10 favorites)

• Friday the 13^th (1980) dir. Sean Cunningham (not my favorite from my favorite horror franchise)

• Halloween (1978) dir. John Carpenter (favorite movie ever)

• The Terminator (1984) dir. James Cameron (in my top 10 favorites)

• Jaws 2 (1978) dir. Jeannot Szwarc

• B.P.R.D (promo for a comic series)(Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense)

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) dir. Jim Sharman (I loved this movie even before I knew about the callbacks)

• Enter the Dragon (1973) dir. Robert Clouse

• The Crow (1994) dir. Alex Proyas (RIP Brandon Lee)(I dressed as The Crow for Halloween one year)(Japanese)

• The Thing (1982) dir. John Carpenter (best remake ever?)(Japanese)

• Big Trouble in Little China (1986) dir. John Carpenter (Japanese)

• Escape from New York (1981) dir. John Carpenter (Italian)

• Watchmen (2009) dir. Zack Snyder

• Ghostbusters (1984) dir. Ivan Reitman

• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) dir. Wes Craven (British)

• Fantasia (1940) dir. Multiple (French)

• From Dusk till Dawn (1996) dir. Robert Rodriguez (one of the best movie watching experiences is watching this movie with people who know nothing about it, and then watching their reactions when everything gets crazy)

• Halloween III (1982) dir. Tommy Lee Wallace (awesome movie, it just gets a lot of crap because it does not feature Michael Myers nor does it have anything to do with the story of the rest of the series.  Once you get past that, it is really enjoyable)

• Hellsing (2001-2002), dir. Umanosuke Iida (an cool anime series, this was a free poster from Suncoast Video)

• Little Shop of Horrors (1986) dir. Frank Oz (the lyricist for this, Howard Ashman [RIP], also was the lyricist for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and parts of Aladdin)

• Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale (promotional poster for this fine, seasonal, ale)(one of my favorite beers)

• Pumpkinhead (1988) dir. Stan Winston

• Return of the Living Dead (1985) dir. Dan O’Bannon (custom poster for 35mm screening on 30 October 2010 that my wife and I went to see for our 1 Year Wedding Anniversary, 1 November 2010)

• Rock and Shock 2010 (commemorative poster for the 2010 convention)

• Shark Night 3D (2011) dir. David Ellis (free poster from Rock and Shock, I have actually not seen the movie)

• Spaceballs (1987) dir. Mel Brooks

• The Deadites (local Worcester band that performed at the first two Rock and Shocks)(signed by the band)

• The Drew Carey Show (1995-2004)(Cleveland rocks!)

• The Fog (1980) dir. John Carpenter

• They Live (1988) dir. John Carpenter

• Boba Fett

• Chewbacca

• Padme/Queen Amidala

• George Washington

• Terminator 2:  Judgment Day Endoskull

  

I hoped you enjoyed this topic and it inspires you to pick up a few posters.  In the comments, feel free to talk about any of the posters you saw that you liked, but more importantly, discuss posters that you have hanging up or wish you had hanging up.

Bonus Section:

Also, I have been pretty busy in the TV viewing front as of late, some of which will be reflected by future blog posts.  I watched the entirety of Parks and Recreations (all 53 currently aired episodes) over the course of a few days (Wednesday evening through Saturday morning) and it was great.  Ron Swanson is obviously a god, but the other characters are really fun too.  I enjoy that, for the most part, the characters stay fairly similar throughout the series, meaning they do not devolve into caricature for the most part (Kenneth from 30 Rock is a good example of this, and should be removed from that show).

The wife and I also finished watching Star Trek:  The Next Generation from start to finish, a journey we began in July.  We are definitely big fans of the show, although based on the trend of current shows, it would have been nice if there was more continuity between shows, and that each one (for the most part) was not its own stand-alone endeavor.  I hope to write a blog entry on the show in the next week or two.

Also, over the weekend I watched Game of Thrones for the third time, and it just keeps getting better and better.  The second season cannot come soon enough!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Ok, finally on to the movies.  I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) dir. by Edgar Wright, last week (don’t worry, it was nowhere near the first time) and it just keeps getting better.  Every time I watch it there is something new to discover and enjoy.  For instance, in the final battle pitting Knives, Ramona, and Scott against Gideon, when the combatants are being injured, they flash red in relation to how much damage they would be taking, very similar to old “beat ‘em up” video games.  Neat little details and references like this are not always noticed on the first go around, and really add to the experience of repeat viewings.  

As I do not have any experience in writing movie reviews, the first couple (at least) movies that I discuss will more or less be limited to what I liked and disliked about the film in question.  I might also add in a recommendation about whether or not to buy, rent, stream, or skip the movie (to spare you the suspense, you should definitely own Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).

To start, here are some of the many things I like about Scott Pilgrim.  First things first, the awesome 8-Bit Universal logo opener really lets you know right off the bat what sort of movie you are about to watch and what sort of references/humor you can expect.  This is followed shortly by the amazing title sequence (a prime example of catching more and more on repeat viewings), that introduces us to the music of Sex Bob-omb.  Not only does it look and sound great, but upon closer inspection, the animation used for each actor is specific to their character (even though you would not know it if you are first watching the movie and have never read the source comics).  

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World also has a wonderful ensemble cast.  While Michael Cera does fine as Scott, and I certainly never agreed with any backlash against him, it is really some of the supporting players that shine and standout.  Kieran Culkin steals the show every time he is on screen as Wallace Wells, Scott’s roommate.  His relationship with Scott, a surrogate parent of sorts, part of the time, is very funny to watch, especially when it involves a phone or the single bed that they share.  Chris Evans plays a great member of the League of Evil Exes, expressing overconfidence and doucheyness in a way that is still somehow likeable.  My favorite Evil Exe though, by far, is Brandon Routh, the vegan super-powered, bass playing, Todd Ingram.  In this universe, being vegan gives you psychic powers, and it gives Routh a great way to riff on his most famous role, Superman.  The fight between Scott and Todd, with all of the psychic destruction, jokes (“tell it to the cleaning lady on Monday”), and bass battle is possibly my favorite scene of the film.  The resolution to the fight scene throws it even more over the top.  

The songs and score for the movie also work very well.  While the Beck penned songs of Sex Bob-omb are not the sort of music that I would normally listen to on my own, they fit the story well and work within the universe that has been created.  I also enjoy hearing the other licensed songs for the movie that helped inspire Bryan Lee O’Malley (writer of the comic series that the movie is based on) to create these characters.  The score, on the other hand, is something that I do enjoy listening to, even without the movie to go along with it.  It adds a great layer to the fight scenes and the quiet, romantic scenes equally well.  

While I could keep going on about things that I like about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (such as the inspiring editing), for brevities sake, there are things that I do not like about the movie.  As mentioned above, the movie is based on a series of graphic novels (mostly, the movie was in production before the sixth and final volume was published), and while I have grown out of the knee jerk “the book was better” line, the comic medium obviously has the length available to better develop the characters.  The other members of Sex Bob-omb are particularly short changed, especially drummer Kim Pine (my favorite character from the graphic novels).  Even Young Neil, who does not have too much to do in either version, has a big personal moment in both versions that is pretty much blown in the movie adaptation.  

Another problem with the movie is that they do not really handle all of Gideon that well.  SPOILERS  In the books, he is more than just a record exec, hipster, creep.  He has power over subspace (the routes that Ramona uses to get around quickly), and also created The Glow, which is how he is able to “control” Ramona.  He turns into more of a Bond villain in the end.  In the movie, they only touch on this very, very briefly by having Ramona point to a chip on her neck that she claims allows Gideon to enslave her.  Adding this scene in such a throw away manner and then never expanding upon it makes it jarring.  It really does not seem to fit that well in the universe as is, and should either have been explained better or removed entirely.  END SPOILERS  

My biggest problem with the movie, and this is an issue for the graphic novels too, is the ending.  SPOILERS AGAIN  I do not like Scott ending up with Ramona.  In the movies, Knives seems like such a better choice (Kim Pine is the better choice in the books; the movie just made Knives her stand-in).  END SPOILERS

Related to the above, I do not like the character of Ramona Flowers.  And having the main love interest/female character be an (in my opinion) unlikable character is not a good decision.  She even says herself, she has dabbled in being a bitch.  While Knives is younger than Scott (at an age when the difference is more meaningful), there does not seem to be a huge reason for Scott to ditch her for Ramona in the beginning.  While I agree that seeing someone in your “dreams” and then again in real life would be persuasive, and that she is cute, throughout the movie, there is never really a point where I feel convinced that she is worth everything that Scott has to go through.  

Issues aside, this a great movie, graphic novel series, score/soundtrack, and video game.  I am happy to say that I own it all and wholeheartedly suggest that you do the same.

Wild Wedding Weekend!

Ok, so you know how I said that this blog is mostly about movies that I watch and are important to me…this is not really one of those posts.  I did give you fair warning and say that some of these posts would be autobiographical, and this post falls into that category.

Why mess with the movie format so soon you ask?  Simple, I went to a wedding this past weekend.  And not just any wedding, but the wedding of AJ and Ann.  AJ is my best friend from high school and was also my Best Man when I got married.  Coincidentally, I was his Best Man, so while everyone had an awesome weekend, not a lot of movies or television shows were watched.  Unless of course you count us watching the Heavy Metal (1981, dir. Gerald Potterton) inspired South Park episode (Major Boobage, Episode 3, Season 12) while drinking champagne.  Yep, we are a classy group when the occasion calls for it.

Now I have been to weddings before, in addition to my own of course, but this is the first wedding I was at where I had major responsibilities (again, not counting my wedding).  As the Best Man I had to do some minimal organizing of different things for the groomsmen (all 8 of us, yep you heard that right, 16 person wedding party!), organize a bachelor party (we went to Mohegan Sun), and the part that I was possibly dreading the most, writing a speech.  I am not afraid of public speaking or anything, especially not in front of friends, but AJ did an awesome job when he spoke for me, and many people who heard that speech would be hearing this one.  I wanted to make sure I could hold my own against a superior orator while also saying something meaningful and true.  I had been thinking of ideas off and on for a month or two, but nothing had been put to paper come wedding weekend.  No problem, the wedding was not until 1700 and I was not required to be anywhere until 1530.  Oh wait, we need to go out to breakfast as a group (and getting 13 people organized for breakfast is not a quick process), Men’s Warehouse messed up AJ’s tuxedo, so we had to make a 2-hour round trip drive to get a new one, and then all of a sudden it is 1400 and I still do not have a finished speech in hand.  To shorten an already long story, I think I did a good job on the speech, but admit that I might be biased.  

And before you say wait a minute, why is he talking about a speech when he mentioned a bachelor party at the start of that rambling paragraph?  Well, that event was prior to this blog being created, so people’s secrets are safe with me.  I will just say that we all had a rebirth of sorts and are now counting years in A.D.E.D. instead of A.D.

While the wedding was awesome, it even had an extended, surprise firework break, for me, the best part was seeing all of the friends that I do not get to see often (say for instance since my wedding two years ago), seeing all of my friends together (which does not happen often because we don’t all live in the same town anymore), and seeing lots of new friends.  

For those interested, my friends and I just met the last three on the right (and I am all the way on the left)

As I am sure you can guess, the above picture took place during the rehearsal.  After that we had a great rehearsal dinner back at the father of the bride’s house.  There was pulled-pork, beer, and a camp fire complete with songs and skits.  From there we went back to the awesome cottages that were set aside for us and partook in the aforementioned champagne and South Park night of “debauchery”.  

The next day was the wedding itself, which, as mentioned, was amazing.  They both said “I do”, there was free flavored vodka, I had steak and shrimp, and then there was dancing and a real after party.

And of course, the fireworks!

So yeah, the wild wedding weekend was a blast. 

Action!

My name is Jake and welcome to My Continuous Film.  As far back as I can remember, movies have played an important part in my life.  For better or worse, one of my favorite ways to spend time has always been to sit back and throw in a favorite movie, or a movie I was hoping to add to my list of favorites.  Through movies and television shows, I have been able to explore different worlds, visit far reaching corners of the globe, listen to stories as told by some of the greatest visionaries of our time, and see things that would be impossible to replicate in real life.      

It was rare, even from an early age, that a day would go by when I did not watch a movie, cartoon, or television show.  As I grew older, luckily, this trend continued and carried me through high school, college, and even my current married life.  My love of film has helped shape my group of friends, my interests outside of the realm of motion pictures, my outlook on life, and someday might even influence my career.  I love all genre of film, but tend to gravitate towards horror, action, fantasy, science fiction, and comedy.  Seeing these stories unfold before me has brought countless hours of joy to my life and through this blog I hope to share that joy with you.

The goal of this blog is not only to share (and hopefully review) what I am watching, but to foster discussion about different movies, get suggestions about new (or new to me) movies/television shows to watch, and build a community of like-minded people who want to enjoy motion pictures along with me.  As time moves on, I might also write the occasional non-film related post or update you on a neat event/change going on in my life, but the focus will remain largely on what I am watching at the moment and what is fresh in my mind.

I hope to have an active comment section where people can offer their thoughts on my reviews, share their own experiences, and really just have a friendly discussion about the movies that we love (or at times love to hate).  With that in mind, here are some facts and feats to help introduce you to me and provide you with ideas for discussion.

• Favorite Movie:  Halloween (1978) dir. John Carpenter   

• Favorite Television Show:  Firefly (2002) created by Joss Whedon

• I once watched Big (1988) dir. Penny Marshall, 6 times in a single day

• On 17 December 2003 (opening day), I watched The Return of the King (2003) dir. Peter Jackson, 3 times (at 0001, 1530, and 2000) 

• Between 1100 on 31 October 2008 and 0315 on 1 November 2008, I watched Friday the 13th parts 1-10, approximately 16 hours of continuous viewing pleasure (well 16 hours regardless)

So once again, welcome, enjoy, share, and hopefully we will hear from each other soon!

Thanks for reading,
Jake