Stick Shifts and Video Rentals

Wrapping up loose ends for the week...

Haha, the below video is great. This could happen at a supermarket parking lot much less an Indy car race. I love Danica Patrick's innocent reactions ("what are you doing?!?" and "what the hell?!?) and how she gets the towel thrown at her not once but twice. The pit crew wisely block Danica out at the end of the video...good stuff.

Caught up on some movie rentals the past week. You can read my review of Batman a couple of posts below but here are some others that piqued my interest. If my wife watched it, I'll give you her quick thoughts on it for any ladies who check this out.

1.) Before the Devil Knows Your Dead - Starring Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Marisa Tomei. Other than seeing Marisa Tomei naked in several different scenes of the movie and having a pivitol scene filmed in the Bayside Bay Terrace shopping center (where I used to live), this movie is just too long. Its one of the more depressing movies but that's not the point. The movie is very slow paced to the point where you feel happy that everything goes wrong in the end just so the credits start to roll. Not recommended until they put out a version that's 30 minutes shorter (or you like seeing Marisa Tomei naked)
Did my wife like it?: She thought it was dark and depressing. Plus, in exchange for seeing Marisa Tomei naked, she gets to see Philip Seymour Hoffman naked. That's like a guy watching a movie where Brad Pitt get it on with the old lady from Titanic.

2.) Vantage Point - Starring Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, Matthew Fox (from Lost), and Forest Whitaker (his lazy eye in solid lazy eye form). Not a bad rental. It moves quickly and it shows a crime taking place from four different points of views aka. "vantage points". Some little twists held my interest. Recommended if all the hot movies are rented out and you still are lookingfor something to rent.
Did my wife like it? : She said it actually wasn't too bad and mentioned it was a good enough movie to pass 90 minutes. It wasn't a chick flick by any means though.

3.) I Am Legend - Starring Will Smith, a german shepard, and a ton of CGI creatures. I held off renting this one for a bit do to the mixed reviews but I have to say that I really liked this movie. The first half is pretty creepy and even when the computer generated bad guys show up (not as fake looking as I thought they'd be) it gets pretty intense. I definitely recommend this movie but there's no love story involved if you're looking for a date movie.
Did my wife like it?: She passed on this one and didn't watch it. Knowing the movies she likes, that was probably a wise idea.

4.) Mr. Brooks - Starring Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Dane Cook, and Demi Moore. With that cast you'd think it would be a laugh out loud comedy (although I despise Dane Cook). However, its a very interesting crime drama about a serial killer (Costner) who's lives a normal life. Its when his blood thirsty alter ego (Hurt) comes around when things get interesting. Not as violent as it sounds though it gets a little crazy at the end, its one of those underrated movies that quietly passed through the movie theaters into the video store that make a great rental. Recommended as much as I Am Legend for it being a different type of movie. Dane Cook actually plays a serious role so I was able to tolerate him for once...barely.
Did my wife like it?: She thought it was pretty good although a little downbeat. Afterwards, she wanted to watch something uplifting for a few minutes on TV...her choice? The Most Dangerous Catch.

Movies To Make You Cry...IN FEAR

First things first....I removed the dumb restriction that says you need to register with Google before being able to comment. Now you can comment away if you want.

Back on topic...growing up I was a major wussy when it came to scary parts in family type movies. Here are five that although they don't scare me anymore, I'll never forget the total fear watching them for the first time.

5.) E.T.

Basic Plot - Alien arrives on earth, meets young boy, gets drunk, eats lots of candy, almost dies, and then goes back home his planet thanks to a Speak and Spell.

Parts that made me cry - 1.) When E.T. makes his first appearance by jumping out the bushes. The shriek alone he makes scared me. 2.) E.T. is as white as a sheet nearly dead in a ditch. I wasn't crying because I thought he was dead, I was crying because he looked so freaky. 3.) E.T. says goodbye to Elliott...very sad. Oddly enough, I had a calendar of that shot where E.T. and Elliott are hugging and E.T. face is looking down with his eyes closed. I would have nightmares about that picture where E.T.'s eyes would open, he'd look at me, and then sneer (see above).

Nights I spent on my parents bedroom floor - 2 (out of a maximum 5 since they'd kick me out after a week)

4.) Transformers The Movie

Basic Plot - A giant planet (Unicron) arrives to eat every planet in its path. Meanwhile the Decepticons and Autobots fight against each other before realizing that the bigger issue is the planet itself.

Parts that made me cry - 1.) The opening music when Unicron first arrives is just the darkest music you'll ever hear in a film. 2.) The scene where Megatron ambushes the autobot ship and blows away four autobots in 30 seconds...when the smoke comes out of Prowl's eyes (as if it was blood), I couldn't beleive what I was watching. 3.) Optimus Prime dying.

Nights spent on my parents floor - 3 nights

3.) Back To The Future

Basic Plot - Teenager accidently goes back in time, meets his parents, almost screws up his own existence, and invents the Van Halen style of guitar playing.

Parts that made me cry - 1.) Towards the end, trying to make his parents kiss, when Marty starts fading away. The music they play while he slumps to the ground and that evil laugh that one guy gives did it for me. 2.) The scene where Doc Brown is on the top of the clock tower trying to plug in the power source thingee and comes across the gargoyle that looks like a panther (shades of Manimal?). When the lightening flashes and and Doc Brown screams upon seeing it, I knew it was a night on the floor for me. I hate gargoyles to this very day but I felt impressed to know what a gargoyle was when I was 7 years old.

Nights spent on my parents floor - 3

2.) The Neverending Story

Basic Plot - Boy reads a book, realizes the book is being played out in another dimension full of wolves, dragons, and bad 1980's makeup.

Parts that made me cry. Whoa baby...1.) The wolf head falling out of the closet while the boy is reading the book. 2.) The first appearance of Falcor (which looked like a giant white furry turd). 3.) The horse sinking into the swamp and the look on its face...best acting ever by a horse. 4.) The turtle type creature's voice. 5.) The statue's who's eyes would open up and blow away the horse riding guy. 6.) The wolf type creature who fights the hero of the story when his eyes only appeared in the dark. I need to see this movie again.

Nights spent on my parents floor - 4

1.) Ghostbusters

Basic Plot - Ghosts start taking over the city forcing four scientists to becomes Ghostbusters. Even though I was 5 when this came out, I knew Rick Moranis was going to be very annoying.

Parts that made me cry: Only one here...but its a doozy. The part where Sigorney Weaver's character, Dana, sits in her chair and then the monster hands come out of the chair and drag her away. That one scene mentioned here that still freaks me out a bit because it comes out of nowhere and happens so fast. The rest of the movie's goofy horrorness didn't faze me and I still use the line "There is no Dana, only Zuel" on anybody that knows somebody named Dana.

Nights spent on the floor - 5 (I hate gargoyles)

Honorable Mentions - Gremlins (Stripe melting at the end), G.I. Joe (Duke nearly dies), Rocky III (Paulie breaks the pinball machine), Rocky IV (Apollo dies), Cloak and Dagger (scene where the old lady pulls her glove off to reveal a missing finger).

Feel free to share your scary movie moments.