What is Best in Life

Wolverine really seems like a pretty simple character at first glance.  I mean, he can heal really fast and has extendable claws, how complicated can that be?  As it turns out, pretty complicated.  Like any film plot involving time travel, the more you think about this guy, the less sense he makes.

I know this post is treading dangerously close to the realm of “fan-science”, but I’ve swam those dark waters before, so I guess I won’t worry about it too much.  Because, really, I have too many nerd questions about Wolverine that desperately need to be answered to not write this post! (more…)

I have to say that Mexican is probably my second favorite food of all time (right after any thai dish featuring basil and garlic as the two main ingredients.  Thus, it should be no surprise that I’ve got a few ideas on how to properly cook your Mexican food.  Today I’ll be focusing on Tacos and Burritos, though, to be fair, the only real difference between the two for me is that one sometimes has beans and is wrapped in a soft shell.

Still, there is nothing more satisfying than making up an entire plate of tacos and slowly demolishing them despite your stomach’s protests of “enough!”   So, let’s start with the filling shall we? (more…)

It is astonishing how different Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night is from Murnau’s classic silent horror film considering it is an almost scene for scene remake.  To be sure, both versions share the fixation with the natural world, the inhumanity of Dracula, and the underlying sense of terror and dread.  But Herzog’s version of Dracula (the true heart of both films) is painted as more of a lost, forgotten sad spirit than the creeping juggernaut of evil and destruction that was Murnau’s version of Dracula.  He is not human, but some part of him longs for those things humanity has which are denied to him.  While this arguably makes him less terrifying overall, it also adds a welcome degree of complexity to his character. (more…)

Silent films get a bad rap.  Even among film snobs there is the attitude that “yes, they are important, but come on…wouldn’t you rather watch something a bit more polished?” However, while the acting is not as naturalistic as we are used to (a style developed due to the lack of sound), the silent films from the end of the period (late 1920’s) like Napoleon, The Docks of New York, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Pandora’s Box and many more were not just artistic, but technical marvels that rival anything that has been produced since.  The best silent films were daring and innovative, they took chances that seem ahead of their time even today.  And F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror is undoubtedly one of the best of all silent films (and also quite early for one of the “great silent films” as it was made in 1922). (more…)

Here are some two sentence reviews of the movies I watched in April.

Stats

• Movies watched – 39
• Movies that were new to me – 27
• Supposed classics I’d never seen that were just ok - 7
• Monthly Masterpieces - Cabin in the Sky, The Godfather II, Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror, Nosferatu, Phantom of the Night

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