Out and About in San Diego: Raiders vs Chargers

One of the advantages living in California is that there is no shortage of sports. Whether it’s professional or collegiate I could theoretically go to a sporting event every day. You’ve seen me at The Coliseum earlier but that was more of a tour and not an actual thing was occurring there. So I decided to go to a football game all the way down to San Diego. Mostly because it is the closest of the major, NFL teams in the area (until the team moving to Inglewood happens) but also I always wanted to visit the town named ‘Whale Vagina’ in German. So below are a series of post of my, and friends who came along, experience going to a Raiders/Chargers game. Enjoy.

25 Favorite Films: Aladdin (1992)

There is one thing that is always constant when you are a kid: You watch A LOT of movies. Now most of those movies are garbage and are only made to keep kids barely entertained. (But also around to give our parents some kind of breather) Disney always seems to be the master of delivering both legitimately entertaining films but also mind-numbing experiences. At the time when Aladdin came out Disney was in the middle of their 2nd Golden Age what with The Little Mermaid & Beast and the Beast coming before. Who would have thought that a film like Aladdin would have struck a cord with so many people? More importantly: How many times can a kid watch a single film?

A story: When Aladdin came out in 1992 I was only three years old. But I can vividly remember the moment where a movie became a film and not just a series old loud noises & colors. It is kinda obvious which scene that would be:

I want to somehow be in that room back when this was recorded and see the delight in the animators eyes as Robin Williams was performing this song. Cause they must have INSTANTLY knew this was going to be a huge success based on that song alone. (Apparently it was the first completed scene for the film so, again, they must have known immediately this was going to work) Everything about this song is so amazing that it might be the the most perfect sequence of animation put on screen. The constant transformations by the Genie, to the colors that pop on screen, to how the animation itself flows with the song itself. It is no wonder me, my sister, and my Mother at the time literally had our jaws open while it happened. Thank goodness they added an ‘applause’ sign at the end cause it was deserved every single time we saw this.

And that’s where the story ends with the admission of this: I saw this film three times in theaters. A feat I have yet to do since this film came out. It might have just been because we wanted to see ‘Friend Like Me’ played again and at that point there was no internet to find it online (if you can believe it millennials). This movie as a whole though is wildly entertaining and not just because of Robin Williams. I mean the dude is probably responsible for the majority of it because it is the best thing he’s ever done. But the animation still holds up, the other songs are incredibly well done, and the performances by the rest of the cast is solid. Honestly this is one of those films where, if/when I have a kid, I want to make sure my child sees it and has the same reaction I do. Let’s just hope he or she wants to see it multiple times like I did all those years ago.

Out and About in LA: Thanksgiving

It came to my realization that this will be my first Thanksgiving AWAY from family. That is a major bummer especially since I’m missing out on some amazing cooking back at home. But luckily I have connections here in Los Angeles and a friend from my college days invited me to his new place up in NoHo. I just wanted to share the hospitality of my friends and how much fun I had this year. Enjoy.

Out and About in Venice: Hot Nights

I gotta admit you guys: I’m running out of things to do. Not because there ISN’T stuff I haven’t hit yet in this big city. But with changes coming up in my professional life and the holidays it is hard to find free time. So when I have a day off I find myself going back to places I’ve ventured before. This time I decided to go back to Venice but mostly once the sun was setting. Now I am not a beach person and honestly a beach at night seems utterly pointless. But my god: The views. Don’t believe me? Check below:

Out and About in Santa Monica

It may come as a surprise to many but there are many beaches of Los Angeles I have yet to travel to. Malibu, Hermosa, Long Beach; almost any you can think of sans Venice I haven’t crossed. So on my day off from work I decided to visit one of these shores everyone gushes about. I went to the second closest beach to me: Santa Monica. Let me tell you something before you see these photos: Santa Monica Beach is gorgeous. Go to Venice for the interesting pieces of humanity but walk further to Santa Monica to enjoy the gorgeous scenery. I’m not even a beach guy and I wanna keep coming back to this place. So enjoy the beauty that is:

25 Favorite Films: No Country For Old Men (2007)

This article could go a bunch of different ways. I could go on how the Coens created a gorgeous crime epic or how Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh became a classic villain overnight. What ultimately drives this movie though is not Bardem or even Josh Brolin. This movie is subtly all about Tommy Lee Jones’s Sheriff character and you only realize it by the very end of the film. I remember watching this originally and found it so strange we end this on Jones considering what happens beforehand. A lot of scenes involving shootouts, chases, and Woody Harrelson in a cowboy hat somehow doesn’t translate to an ending where an old man contemplates a dream. But, again, it bares to repeat that this is HIS movie despite the focus never really being on him.

Out and About in LA: The Coliseum

So I went to a pretty small college in the grand scheme of things. I tried to shoot myself to the moon when it comes to attending a major film school though. But I learned that I didn’t quite have the funds, nor the means, to attend the prestigious USC. It was a shame too because such major players of film have been hear including Walter Murch, John Carpenter, and the most notable alumni of them all with George Lucas. It’s 2015 now and I never did attend this college; but now I live in Los Angeles and I can walk around the campus as much as I want. So I at least won in the end didn’t I?

For the first part of my tour of USC, which many will come eventually, I walked around possibly the biggest arena in the country. The Coliseum: Home to the USC Trojans. It’s a gorgeous building and I can see why teams like the Dodgers and Raiders decided to call this home at various points. If you never attended USC but wanna see one aspect of the facility or even marvel at why you love this college to begin with….Well enjoy what’s below:

25 Favorite Films: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

So this is going to take some time to explain if you are under seventy years old…

Why do I, a man who is too young to see any of these stars when they were at their peak, love this movie so much? Mad World (will call it that to not clutter up the article with the long title) has basically every kind of joke in the book. You got slapstick, double entendres, falls, body humor, wits, twists, physical acting, and overall a clever script. Yes, you may have never heard of people like Milton Berle or Ethel Merman but you will want to find out more about them through YouTube once you see this film. When I saw this as a little kid I was convinced this was a cartoon and not real people doing these crazy things. Now it is obvious most of these were done by stunt people…but we’ll get to that.

Basically this movie starts off wild and never lets up. The plot is overtly simple and its kinda like Mad Max: Fury Road in that we are just watching these people go from point A to point B with many obstacles along the way. So whether it is Jonathan Winters going through trying to murder Phil Silvers repeatedly or Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney flying a doomed plane it has to be stressed again this film never stops for a break. But there are seriously some fantastic performances in this on all spectrum’s. Let me give you my three favorite performers in no particular order:

Phil Silvers

Smooth talking all the way, there isn’t a scene that doesn’t amaze from Phil Silvers. He is essentially playing the same type of character he plays in ANYTHING. But he just gels with the entire cast whether it is conning Jonathan Winters, Don Knotts, or the reversal with the little kid halfway through. Him sinking his car in the river is still one of the best line readings I’ve seen in a film. Speaking of bests: The one shown above involving Mr. Knotts is my absolute favorite comedic scene in a movie. These two are just amazing together and it makes me wish Knotts had a bigger role to play.

Jonathan Winters

The ultimate hero of the film. From a cast full of amazing, and polished talent, this was Winters first outing as an actor. But you wouldn’t know he was so ‘green’ as a performer in film with this. He is basically a man child in this; but one that has a weird since of honor and a code. If we had to remake today (and hopefully that never happens) I could see him played by Zach Galifianakis. He does many scenes involving destruction and him going to town in this gas station is probably the one best remembered of this film. But, as mentioned earlier, you can easily tell when the stunt people come in and that makes it funnier for some reason.

Dick Shawn

The dark horse of this whole feature this film made me aware of how gifted of a performer Dick Shawn was. Here’s a guy who plays the ultimate, insane mama’s boy. He is constantly screaming and overreacting way too much. But he also has the best introduction to anyone in film ever with that incredible dance shown above. He left us at a pretty young age and with this and The Producers he didn’t leave much to work with. But what he did do was just magic and I’ll always remember him as good old Sylvester.

I could go on and on about what makes this film great. I could also go through the typical route of referencing all the cameos of this movie which is pretty much the big hook of the thing. (The true standout in cameos though go to Jim Backus playing a proto-Mitt Romney) But this more about cameos from starts you dear reader probably have no idea who they are. Heck, in today’s day and age I bet you didn’t even know there was a ‘Golden Age of Television’ before the age of Breaking Bad and the like. Do yourself a favor though and pick this film up, especially the Criterion Collection version which is newly restored. You might not recognize any of the people thrown about for the almost three hour run-time but you don’t have to recognize superb talent when you see it.

Out and About in LA: Meltdown Comics and Nerdmelt

I have previously covered Meltdown Comics way back when I first moved to Los Angeles. But I felt like I didn’t give them their due especially considering I am a comic book nerd myself. So the other day I went down the the Chris Hardwick runned facility and toured around the whole building. If you are a fans of comics then you’ll love it! If not, well it’s still a pretty cool place to go regardless and you’ll see why by the end. So here is your look at West Hollywood’s gem:

25 Favorite Films: The Incredibles (2004)

We all know we have hit a peak when it comes to the superhero genre in film. In fact some will say we have started a downward trend after this year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. While it is still too hard to tell whether it is on a downward trend many can easily point out historically where the trend started. Iron Man started not only the cinematic universe for Marvel but also the onslaught of pictures that eventually became a commentary in itself in Oscar winner Birdman. But they would be wrong. Iron Man did not start the superhero trend, or at least in my eyes anyways, it would be Brad Bird’s excellent Pixar feature in The Incredibles.