CMT - Blade Runner

Classic Movie Trailers: “Blade Runner” (1982)

If, as an adult, you were made aware that you had four more years to live, what would you do? You could savor every moment of life and accomplish more, in your four years, than the average person does in forty-five. Or, you could rally, war, maim and kill, for a chance to delay your ultimate fate….

What impresses me most about Blade Runner, is how well it holds up today. When you watch the film, you’re engrossed in a 1982 vision of the future. While inside of this world, you never have a moment of disillusionment, and that’s because everything you see on screen is real. Models were used, for futuristic buildings and vehicles, and there are no CG characters or stuntmen; all the players are being depicted by real, flesh and blood people.

But what about that question I posed, at the beginning? Would you accept your end, or would you end a life to extend yours? Whatever answer you'd give, would be “More Human Than Human”.

@ChannelSeals

http://youtu.be/iYhJ7Mf2Oxs

CMT - Goldfinger

As time passes and actors age, the job of portraying popular characters naturally changes hands. This may also be due, to changes in ownership of the film rights, or a new creative direction. Whatever the case, as long as there is a demand for a character to appear in film, different versions of that character will continue to accrue. Eventually, people will have a debate regarding which performance is the definitive one.

Classic Movie Trailers - Goldfinger (1964)

So, which James Bond is the best one? No matter how you look at it, that's a subjective question, that will produce a subjective answer. However, you can look at certain facts that lead to those opinions. For example, your choice for the best Bond might also be the first performer, that you saw play that role.

That actor doesn't necessarily, have to be the first one to portray the character. He may just be the first that you had seen. So, there is a familiarity and an attachment and an immediate association, that other actors will never replace. If a significant amount of time has passed since that interpretation, nostalgia plays a role as well.

It's also possible, that you've read the books that have inspired the movies. In that case, you may choose your definitive version based on how closely the actor looks, to the image that you have created in your head. That image, would be based on the book's description of the character and possibly the illustrations. Alternatively, it may be that the actor's behavior in the role, closely matches how the character would behave, according to the evidence present in those books.

That actually leads to another point. Your favorite James Bond, may have nothing to do with the actor whatsoever. It may have a lot more to do, with the quality of the production that they're in. Quality is, of course, subjective, and interestingly, your idea of quality may be, the interpretation farthest away from the original source material.

Your favorite Bond, or Batman, or Holmes, or Superman, is your favorite for objective reasons, which shape your subjective opinion. No single portrayal, is undoubtedly the clear winner, so doubt persists and debates return obstinately. As fans, we are extremely fortunate because of this. No answer is right, or wrong, so the discussion and the fun never ends.

@ChannelSeals

http://youtu.be/94UpZMvUvEk

CMT - Castle In The Sky

Classic Movie Trailers - “Castle in The Sky” (1986) [Not Recommended]

It’s much easier to pick out flaws and failures in a piece of art, than it is to create that art yourself. Criticism, when done professionally, is a craft of it’s own and there is merit to it. With so much entertainment available, someone has to guide consumers on how to best spend their hard-earned dollars. Still, storytellers and artists must be held in a higher regard, since their goals are so much harder to achieve and what they create is so much more valuable.

I respect the time and the Herculean effort put into animated films and “Castle in the Sky”, in particular. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t provide me with a good experience. The film’s length was my biggest issue; at 126 minutes, it felt like it was just over three hours. When you’re constantly checking your watch and waiting for the credits to roll, you are not having a good time watching a film and I wasn’t, when I revisited this part of my massive DVD collection.

The movie seemed to be too long, because there wasn’t enough story to justify the running time. The created world that this film presents is fantastic; the atmosphere, as shot is gorgeous and there are a lot of enjoyable moments with the characters. However, there was too much atmosphere, too many cute scenes and not enough plot. It’s like three servings of cotton candy, without the meat and potatoes. 

It also seemed to me, that the tone of the picture was somewhat confused. One villain seemed way too evil and malicious for the film as a whole. In one scene he actually made me cringe, by terrorizing a young girl with a loaded pistol. That's something I wouldn't expect to see in a film that, in many ways, reminds me of a Disney epic

I want to state clearly, that I am no movie critic. I started this feature as a vehicle, to share trailers of older movies my friends might enjoy and to practice writing. Given the nature of what I’m doing however, everything I say about these movies can’t be positive; that would be dishonest. Currently though, this film sits at 94% fresh, at rottentomatoes.com so hey, take what I’m telling you with a pinch of salt. 


Just don’t get salty!

@ChannelSeals

http://youtu.be/McM0_YHDm5A

CMT - Alien Nation

Birds of a feather, flock together... for better, or for worse.

Classic Movie Trailers  - “Alien Nation” (1988)

People tend to group together with others like themselves. Look at your circle of close friends; you’ll probably find, that the majority of them share certain characteristics with you. Those similarities may be religious or racial, political or economic. There are dangers however, if you disregard or shun people because they are different. Bigotry and the stereotypes used to keep it alive, can only survive in a state of ignorance.

The more you learn about a group a people, the harder it will be to adhere to preconceived notions about them. You can say any one statement about people, in any particular category and it will be true for some. However, as you continue to look at more and yet more of them, that statement is much less likely to apply. This is a simple fact that many of us don’t understand yet.

It is in dealing with others that we learn about ourselves and about life, in general. I’m going to submit to you the idea, that if you choose to converse with and keep an open mind regarding those that have very little in common with you, that learning process is faster, easier and more meaningful.




@ChannelSeals

http://youtu.be/q9Y8-EF4qAU

CMT - Magnum Force

The power of emotion can't be overstated. With that in mind, we must take extra care to check our emotions to the best of our abilities. Irrationality is a dangerous state to succumb to; it's infectious and it's incurable, but it is, ultimately voluntary. If we allow fear to justify the continuing of unsafe practices, we have no one else to blame but ourselves.

Classic Movie Trailers: Magnum Force - (1973)

Paranoia is an effective tool. If you can recognize it and give voice to it, you can convince people to use it as an excuse to disregard reason and common sense. Others will simply take up the flag and repeat the mantra, over and over again for personal gain. That gain may be political, or it may just be the ability to hold on to a weapon, that shouldn't be in a civil society.

It's not for "protection" and it's not for hunting; it's cool and it's theirs and they'd resent not having it. Why should a mass murderer, or three, ruin the fun for decent, law-abiding gun owners? Why should they give an inch, when reformists obviously want to take a mile? Well, the answer to those questions is our payments in lives, a consequence you may ignore, until one of your loved ones is murdered.

How many people actually believe, that one day a group of crooked cops will drive up to kill them? How many envision a race war, or a coming apocalypse? How many live in fear of descending black helicopters? Well, I'd bet the farm on that number being a very small one.

The rest of them are just being unreasonable.

@ChannelSeals

http://youtu.be/qVk8NhLhZMk

CMT - Blade

I’ve heard it said, that the best way to live life is by focusing on the present moment. Little thought should be given to the future and though we’re dependent on the past, to teach us our lessons, we should never spend time dwelling on it. Well, if I was at all capable of doing that, I’d probably agree. It looks good on paper though, doesn’t it?

Classic Movie Trailers: Blade (1998)

Before he could walk, before he even spoke his first words, Blade was victimized. He was changed in such a way, that he is necessarily apart from his fellow human beings. As a result he hates himself, but he survives because he directs his anger towards the cause of his torment. That malefactor and the demons of his past are actually demons, and the monsters of his dreams are real. So Blade straps on his weapons in heroic fashion and he fights, in order to slay them.

The rest of us don’t have that luxury. Since we live in a civil society, we have to combat the past in a different way. We’re armed with the knowledge that time heals all wounds, provided that we survive the wrongs committed against us. In order to live to see better times, we lock our skeletons in the closet, turn away and ignore the sounds of them scratching at the door.

It takes a strong will, to get out of bed and continue with daily life, when the horrors of yesterday are still fresh in the mind. Doing so is admirable however, and it is immeasurably more heroic, than running the past through with a sword. 


@ChannelSeals 


http://youtu.be/V4SZcaP_PMI

CMT - Return Of Swamp Thing

You know, it never fails. Whenever you’re up late, there never seems to be anything good on TV. You don’t get to see 'The Dark Knight Rises” at 2:00 am and there’s no “Casino Royale” at that time of night either. All you can find is some B-films and some bad horror movies and if that’s the case, you could do a lot worse than this.

Classic Movie Trailers: “The Return Of Swamp Thing” (1989)

This movie isn't pretentious. In fact, it’s intentionally lighthearted. I’m sure that the director, Jim Wynorski, knew that he didn’t have a blockbuster on his hands. There’s some really bad acting in here, a few cheesy and dated special effects and the dialogue isn’t brilliant.

But, you know what? The dialogue is funny. The effects are funny. The bad acting is really funny and the movie takes full advantage of that.

Now don’t get me wrong, the movie has some good performances. Sara Douglas (Superman II's “Ursa”) does well. Louis Jordan and the kids do a good job and there's Heather Locklear, who is charming in spite of her dialogue. She knew full well that she wasn't in “Gone With The Wind” and she just shrugged, laughed and had a good time with it and that's what this movie is, a good time.

So if you're up at 2 am. and you're flicking through the channels like you've got ADHD, I doubt you'll turn away from this. It’s just weird enough, just silly enough, just funny enough, to be really entertaining and as tired as you are at that time, you won’t fall asleep.

@ChannelSeals

http://youtu.be/z51Aobb2trg