The influential 80s

**This has a couple of minor spoilers, so if you haven't seen Stranger Things, read at your own risk.

I'm sort of hit and miss when it comes to jumping on a popular TV show bandwagon. Case in point:  I still haven't seen any episodes of either The Sopranos or Breaking Bad. Yup. Let that sink in. 

I do think that Netflix and Amazon have made me less reluctant to adopt new shows because I can binge watch. I guess I like immediate gratification.

When Stranger Things became all the rage, I was a tiny bit reluctant to watch. Did I want a new show to obsess over? Did it sound too scary (I've become a big wimp in my old age)? Could I manage a whole show with Winona Ryder?? But I did it. And I'm super glad I did.

I really enjoyed this show. The 1980s immersion is amazing. The writing is really good. The acting is wonderful - particularly the kids. So impressive.

The Duffer Brothers are the creative force behind this. They are just babies, though, so I imagine their love of the 80's comes from their parents (like my love of Gene Kelly). I can just hear their parents saying, "You HAVE to watch E.T.  We watched it when we were kids!" This is only their second big project - if they continue in this trajectory I think we can expect great things from these twins.

I was reading some articles about the show and I came across the movies that inspired them, which I thought was interesting. They said they asked the kids to watch Stand By Me, The Goonies and Poltergeist. They asked their writers to watch The Thing, E.T. and A Nightmare on Elm St.

I would wager there was heavy inspiration from Alien and Firestarter as well. I mean, Eleven has some total "Drew Barrymore as Charlie" moments when she's inflicting her will on people and the fact that we only get glimpses of the monster throughout the show has Ridley Scott written all over it. Good stuff.

So for my post I thought I'd watch some of the aforementioned inspirational movies. I picked one from each category. I thought about watching The Thing (80's version) because it's been YEARS since I've seen it but I didn't have it in me this weekend. Oddly, this showed up in my FB feed this week and it's really brilliant. It's a stop motion "claymation" version of The Thing and it's worth your time. Trust me.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds4fqgwp4Ig

What I discovered in my quest to be one with the Duffer Brothers influences is that their tribute to the 80s is a bit less of an homage and cozies right up to being plagiarism. I mean - they REALLY lifted stuff from these films. If they were writing a term paper, the teacher would have totally called them out on this shit. Let's examine.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - released in 1982

This is like the Who's Who of 1980s movies.

Directed by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. Written by Melissa Mathison (Mrs. Harrison Ford for 21 years...until he met the stick figure). Music by John Williams. It's like Hollywood royalty.

I wasn't sure how I was going to react to seeing this movie again. I honestly think I've only maybe seen it once since the first time at the Century Theatre in San Jose when I was 18 years old. I remember being so affected by it then, I was practically sobbing in the theatre. And I hate crying in public. That stinkin' Spielberg really knows how to access the feels.

Well it happened again. I was a blubbery mess and not only at the "I'll be right here" forehead-tapping moment. I started tearing up at the Phone Home part. And don't even get me started about the part when everyone thinks he died. Now that I have a bit of life experience behind me, I realize that a big part of this film's emotional pull for me is that no matter how much Elliott loves him, E.T. will always be an outsider and it will never work. I know this hit me on a visceral level when I was younger, too. I don't know why this theme affects me like it does (well, maybe I have an inkling), but there you have it. I'm leaving this piece of emotional baggage in the trunk for now, thanks.

Say what you will about old Steven S, but I think he's a darn good director. I had never noticed this before (maybe it was obvious to others) but for the first 3/4 of the movie - an hour and a half - the only adult face you see is Elliott's mom. Elliott's teacher, the guy with the keys, all the government folks - anonymous. This is a movie about kids handling shit. I thought it was a great touch. Also, there is mist and fog and atmosphere all over this movie. Nice touch when conveying that nothing in life or relationships is black and white, right? It was so reminiscent of a Ridley Scott film, actually.

In this movie, the kids are great actors. Each one actually gives a nuanced performance. And that little Drew Barrymore could not be more adorable.

Elements of plagiarism:

• Like Stranger Things, the gang of boys is playing Dungeons and Dragons at the beginning and the D&D verbiage comes up a couple times in the film.
• Boys on bikes - specifically racing away from the government vans.
• Precocious younger sister - Elliott has Gert, Michael of Stranger Things has Holly.
• Eleven is sequestered in Michael's basement.  E.T. is sequestered in Elliott's room. Unbelievably, at no time do the parents clue in. (this would never have happened in my house)
• The Keys guy in E.T. (Peter Coyote) and the head scientist in Stranger Things (Matthew Modine) look a lot alike.

Central casting - get me a scary scientist type STAT!

And seriously, what could be more iconic than this?

(My drink pairing:  E.T. gets himself and Elliott drunk off of a couple of beers in cans. So you know your mission.)

The Goonies - released in 1985

Hey, youuuuuu guuuuys!!

I will admit I was a bit older when I first saw this than the demographic of Goonies lovers. So I like the movie. I think I'm about 10 years too old for "love". It's a really fun film - like a roller coaster ride. Non-stop action, lovable characters. It's not like these character have depth or anything silly like that but they are easy to relate to.

This is another film that has the Spielberg/Kennedy dream team as producers. Richard Donner directed (also of Christopher Reeves Superman fame).

I got a bit tired of the nonstop kid "yelling as acting" style. I was frankly shocked that poor little Short Round (okay, he's called Data here but I couldn't get beyond his Indiana Jones character) didn't lose his voice while they were filming this. I know this is how kids actually interact, but still. The kids are also super affectionate with each other, which is sweet, but not how I think a group of boys typically behave. Short Round and Sean Astin skip arm in arm A LOT in this movie. Skipping. Hugging. Weird.

Chris Columbus (Harry Potter, Mrs. Doubtfire) wrote this. As I've established in this blog, I'm not a big fan of his but I will say I probably enjoy his writing more than his directing. This movie is a good time, without a doubt. 

Elements of plagiarism:

• Dustin in Stranger Things is pretty much Chunk although Dustin has more street cred. Chunk is pretty one note in his quest for food (at one point he's drinking water out of a cooler in the gross, dirty, abandoned restaurant they are in and I was so worried it wasn't potable that I got distracted from the plot - I'm using the word "plot" loosely, btw) while Dustin seems to have a few other interests (not that food isn't important).
• Barb in Stranger Things is almost a direct lift of the Martha Plimpton character - not only looks-wise but the fact that she is clearly the perennial wing woman to Nancy/Andi. Martha makes it to the end, though. Sorry Barb.

Come on!  Same-same, right?

Finally, the Sloth element of this movie is pretty darn fucked up. I don't think anyone could get away with a character like that anymore in our PC world. His mother dropped him on his head several times which is a joke in the film? Yowch.  And his ears are constantly moving. Why? Why do they move??  Chunk loves him, though, and tells him multiple times, so there's that.

(My drink pairing with this is a Cape Cod. Cuz even though it's Astoria, OR - it reminds me of the East Coast. Plus vodka and cranberry juice - yum!)

My takeaways:

#1 - Time marches on.

E.T. cast - Thirty years later!

The Goonies cast - Twenty five years later!

#2 - Here's the best though:

WTF!

xoxo...hastagSueslife

Snippets

I’ve been reminded recently that taking care of a kitten is a shit ton of work.  There is an extra mouth to feed (which has to happen separately because Cosmo will eat ALL the things) and then there is the dedicated time to wearing out the kitten each night.  Layer that with giving Cosmo tons of extra attention and being ever vigilant on where the kitten is and what he’s getting into.

Seriously, it’s like a full time job.  On top of my super busy full time job.

All that to say that again my movie viewing has been sporadic at best.

Beth recently posted something on FB about what movies folks will always stop on when channel surfing.  What will you pick up at any point and watch?  This was a great post; it’s so interesting to see what people have watched enough times to make it a “keeper".

Well, that has pretty much been my life for the last couple weeks…although the films I watched needed to also have the added criteria of being dispensable at any moment.

So I thought for this post, I’d take you through some of the films that I will almost always stop on and the snippets I got to see.

National Treasure - released in 2004

This movie is on all the fucking time.  Seriously. Almost every hour of every day you can find this movie on some channel or another.  And I’m not saying this because I mind.  I enjoy this movie completely.  I just find it astonishing.

I think this film has such staying power because it’s really fun and because you can drop in, watch a bit, then blink out pretty easily.  Nicholas Cage is charming and he and Justin Bartha (Riley) have great chemistry.  Honestly, I can take or leave Diane Kruger.  She leaves me kind of cold.

This time I popped in on National Treasure when they were at the dad’s house with the Declaration of Independence.  They had just stolen it and were looking to check the back of it for secret messages using lemon juice and a blow dryer (like you do).  Jon Voight plays the dad…I’m never sure what to think about him and sadly that’s largely due to his daughter.  She acts circles around him, without a doubt, but what kind of dad are you to raise such a wing nut in the first place? (We can all pretend Angelina is this benevolent, artistic activist but we can’t forget that she practically MADE OUT with her brother at an awards show. Blick.)  I popped back out when the authorities started to chase them.  Honestly, I probably would have hung in longer, because I can get totally sucked into this movie, but I’m pretty sure Finn had knocked something over that I had to deal with (this will become a theme in today’s post).

(My drink pairing for this movie is always a Sam Adams. Because, come on!)

Enchanted - released in 2007

I love this movie.  I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched it.  It’s got all the elements I enjoy - Cinderella-esque, musical numbers, animation. Trifecta of good.

When I worked on Madagascar (the first) we were working with this world-renowned animator, James Baxter.  He had worked at Disney for years (on the biggies: Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Lion King) and all our animators revered him.  He’s like an animation celebrity.  I don’t think he was having the best time working on our film (he wasn’t a huge fan of working on computer animation at the time) and left DW to start his own company, doing hand animation, toward the end of production.  The first film his company worked on:  Enchanted.

Enchanted uses both 2D and 3D animation.  James’ company worked on the 2D stuff.  The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, so naturally the design is pure Disney and beautiful.  The 3d is also lovely and charming.  

I picked up this movie toward the end…Giselle is a 2D girl come to life in the real world.  She is engaged to a prince in the 2D world but meets someone (Patrick Dempsey) in the real world and falls in love.  My snippet comes when her 2D prince has followed her to the real world, takes her on a “date” (which never happens in the animated world - they just meet and get married the next day), then they go to a ball, where Patrick is.  There is a super romantic dance scene, then the Wicked Witch (Susan Sarandon, who is always awesome) turns into a computer animated Dragon and creates havoc.  This is where I had to leave it, because Finn knocked something over and I had to deal with it (See? A theme.).

(My drink pairing for this is a Pina Colada or something equally sweet and fruity.  The kind of drink that you suck down then realize you are hammered.)

The Mummy - released in1999

This is another movie I love.  Again, it has so many elements I require in multiple viewings - a re-vamp of a classic monster movie, funny, special effects.

This was maybe the last time I think poor Brendan Fraser looked good in a film.  He was already starting to deteriorate in The Mummy Returns, poor guy.  Plus, I think he just hasn’t chosen good roles for himself since this film.  Rachel Weisz has done much better, obviously, and I include her marriages in this.  She clearly married Darren Aronofsky to prove she is a deep thinker and possibly a bit bleak…like his films.  Then she married Daniel Craig because she had enough of deep thinking and wanted a hot body.  I can’t blame her.

I dropped in on this film right after they fight the Mummy the first time.  They are back in Cairo and Fraser is trying to get Weisz to go back to England.  She doesn’t want to be treated like a weak woman, so she’s fighting him every step of the way.  The Mummy comes to call on her, but a cat confronts him and makes him dissolve into a whirlwind of sand.  Nice effect, especially for the time.  I will admit, this film is ALL about the particle animation, though.  They use it a BUNCH.  I’m not judging…just saying.

The moment I watched had the added bonus of one of the American archeologists being sucked dry from the inside out by the Mummy.  Excellent!  Then…Finn knocked something over and I had to deal with it.

(My drink pairing for this film is a Pimm’s Cup. It’s British, which this film sometimes pretends to be.  Perfect.)

My takeaways:

#1 - I’d love to hear what movies you guys pop in and out of when they’re on TV.   Leave me comments!

#2 - This photo depicts what my life is like right now.  Surprisingly, this did not result in a “knocked over” situation!

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Everybody loves a ginger!

I haven’t watched any movies (or really much of anything) for the last two weeks.  This is 100% due to the fact that I obtained something much more entertaining…a kitten.  

Finn is his name.  He is ridiculous and adorable and ginger.  He just turned 3 months old and is as small as can be.  I am totally in love.

I had forgotten, because it’s been awhile since Cosmo was tiny, but when there is a kitten in your house it’s pretty much all you want to watch.  So no movies.  Because this:

What I thought I’d do instead, is highlight some excellent performances by ginger cats in films.

Jonesy 

Alien - released in 1979

Jonesy is the resident cat on the Nostromo - the commercial hauler that was sent out into deep space to answer an SOS.  And I can guarantee, if Jonesy had been captain of that ship, there was no way in hell they would have responded to that call. He knew that was a suicide mission from the moment he woke up from hypersleep.

An example - Jones was having NONE OF IT when Harry Dean Stanton was trying to get him to come out of his hidey-hole.  “Um, HDS,” Jonesy mews, “there is a big mean motherfucker behind you and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna eat you.”  Harry Dean didn’t respond (he is SO not a multitasker) so Jonesy slinks back into the safe place and Harry bites the big one.  “Told you.”  Jonesy thinks. “Idiot."

Jonesy makes it off the Nostromo presumably in one piece (I think after the first film there was speculation that the alien had impregnated him...but no way - he’s a badass cat!), off to live another day and chase holographic mice.

(My drink pairing is a huge glass of milk.  If you don’t know why, go watch the movie immediately.)

Cat

Breakfast at Tiffany’s - released in 1961

Cat is the quintessential ginger tabby.  He’s big and handsome, mellow and independent.  He and Holly (Audrey Hepburn) have the perfect relationship…they lead totally independent lives together.

In reading about Cat today, this was a little gem I found and thought was spot on:  The simply named “Cat” endures all sorts of horrors as the pet of Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly, not the least of which being Mickey Rooney’s racist depiction of Yunioshi.

Heh.

I wouldn’t really call what he endured “horrors” per se (well, the Mickey Rooney performance to be sure).  He lived through some wild 1960's parties, some petting and a gooey smooch scene at the end.  He’s all mashed in between Audrey and George Peppard.  I’m sure he’s thinking, “Get. The fuck. Off me.”

Cat (real name: Orangey.  Seriously, person who named this cat?  That was the best you could do??) was quite the actor, apparently.  He was in The Incredible Shrinking Man and the Mission: Impossible television show.

He won a PATSY (animal equivalent of an Academy Award) for his work in this film.

(My drink pairing for this is a gin martini with a lemon twist.  Classy.)

Crookshanks

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - released in 2004

There are all sorts of theories about Crookshanks, apparently.  Originally owned by Lily Potter.  Is actually Regulus Black.  I love when people have a TON of time on their hands.

Crookshanks is another great ginger cat!  He takes care of business in the Harry Potter books and films.  He knows Scabbers is a big fake.  He is a friend of Padfoot (Sirius Black).  He’s kind of always a dick to Ron. 

Crookshanks is played by a cat named Crackerjack, and I read that the trainers had to collect all the hair he shed, ball it up and clip it back on to him to get his ratty, unkempt look.  Poor method-actor Crackerjack!  Plus, I have this picture in my mind of Crackerjack doing all his stunts, perfectly and in one take, but thinking “Jesus CHRIST it’s hot in here.  Can someone turn on a goddamn fan?”  In a British accent.

Okay, maybe not.

(Duh.  Drink Butterbeer.)

Puss in Boots

Shrek 2 - released in 2004

Well, come on.  You knew I was gonna add this one, right?

This was the first animated movie I worked on when I started at Dreamworks.  I remember sitting in animation dailies and our animator was creating the shot where Puss uses his sword to mark the tree with a P.  I couldn’t believe how stinkin’ adorable he was!  And then to hear Antonio Banderas’ super sexy voice coming out of him?  I thought “oh shit, this is gonna be big.”  I mean, what cat lady WOULDN’T want her adorable tomcat to sound like Antonio Banderas?  That’s like a win-win, right ladies?

Puss is the ultimate ladies cat, but loves his bros as well.  Once he meets Shrek and Donkey, they are bosom buddies and he’s loyal to the end.  Maybe not so cat-like, actually, but hey - it’s a cartoon.

Working on this film was a fantastic introduction to working at Dreamworks Animation.  I had a dream boss (lookin' at you, Dahlman!), the animators were not only top in their field but also so nice, and hilarious directors.  Then, it became the highest grossing animated film, holding that title until this year, I think.  What a way to start a new job, huh?

Puss arguably steals the movie.  He has SO many good lines, one of my favorite being when he's getting arrested and they find a little baggie in his boot.  "Catnip!" the guard cries.  "Um...that's not mine" says a sheepish Puss.  God love that little stoned cat!

(My drink pairing would be my (well deserved and certainly abused) drink of choice during those years...Margarita, on the rocks, no salt.)

My takeaways:

#1 - I helped rescue a ginger kitten when I was about 24 years old.  He grew into a fine cat and I've wanted one ever since.

#2 - I didn't mean to slight any other cat actors (cactors?).  Siamese, Persians, etc, have made their mark (figuratively) on the silver screen.  

#3 - If anyone is in a shitty mood, come visit me.  You can't stay grumpy when you watch a kitten play.  It's a law.

xoxo...hashtagSueslife