Sunday Showdown: AFI vs. IMDb #85

This week's movie showdown:  AFI's A Night at the Opera vs. IMDb's Full Metal Jacket 

Everybody might want to mark this day on their calendar.  I actually enjoyed a Stanley Kubrick film. Okay, maybe “enjoy” is too strong a word. But I was very pleasantly surprised by Full Metal Jacket.

I liked it better than The Marx Brothers’ A Night at the Opera . I am not a Marx Bros fan, and A Night at the Opera is not nearly as good Duck Soup anyway.

But moreover, to compare apples to apples, I enjoyed Full Metal Jacket more than last week’s Platoon.  I had never really watched either of them before – too young when they came out in the movie theater in the mid-80s, too apathetic all the years after. War movies aren’t my favorite.

I liked Platoon, but was mildly irritated that the real fighting and betrayal was between the U.S. soldiers. (Although I get it: that was the point.. we are our own enemy). I thought the story was fine, acting was fine, everything was fine.

Scary Crazy.

But there was nothing even close to Vincent D’Onofrio going absolutely nuts like he did in Full Metal Jacket.  It was so painful to watch but impossible to turn away.  Plus Adam Baldwin (not a Baldwin brother, for those of you not in the know) was in it, looking exactly the same as he did in Firefly – my Jayne hasn’t changed much over 20 years.

Still the same.

Kubrick makes it onto the lists seven times – more than any other director (Spielberg and Chris Nolan both come close with five apiece). So I guess I might as well make my peace with him.

	AFI’s Top 100	IMDB’s Top 100 (as of 1/1/12)
#85	A Night at the Opera (1935)	Full Metal Jacket (1987)
#86	Platoon (1986)	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
#87	12 Angry Men (1957)	Inglorious Basterds (2009)
#88	Bringing Up Baby (1938)	The Great Dictator (1940)
#89	Sixth Sense (1999)	Braveheart (1995)
#90	Swing Time (1936)	The Bicycle Thief (1948)
#91	Sophie’s Choice (1982)	The Apartment (1960)
#92	Up (2009)	Goodfellas (1990)
#93	The French Connection (1971)	Downfall (2004)
#94	Pulp Fiction (1994)	Gran Torino (2008)
#95	The Last Picture Show (1971)	Metropolis (1927)
#96	Do The Right Thing (1989)	The Sting (1973)
#97	Blade Runner (1982)	Gladiator (2000)
#98	Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)	The Maltese Falcon (1941)
#99	Toy Story (1995)	Unforgiven (1992)
#100	Ben Hur (1959)	The Elephant Man (1980)

Next week is Easy Rider (AFI) v. The Green Mile (IMDb).  Believe it or not, haven’t seen either.

Makes Me Laugh: Running Edition

I wanted to win the lottery, but I kind of didn't want to win. Am I crazy? 

Well,  (as I've mentioned before) I'm talking about a lottery to run a marathon, so either way the answer is: yes, I am crazy. Yesterday I found out I was not picked for the 2012 NYC Marathon  lottery.  It’s not terribly sad considering the NYC Marathon is November 4, and I am scheduled to run a 200-mile relay race in Nevada on November 8-9.   

 
But I was still a little sad. The thought of missing out on: blisters, running hours at a time in the middle of summer, losing toenails, embarrassing chafing skin issues, the fact that all my friends and family think I'm just stupid... well, I had to shed a couple tears.

Good news: this is my strike two in the “Three Strikes, You’re In” policy which has since been eliminated, but I was grandfathered in under. Now I am guaranteed to run the NYC Marathon either in 2013 or 2014. Gonna check that sucker off my Bucket List eventually.

But in light of being rejected by a race, I’ve decided to have a Makes Me Laugh: Running Edition.  Just silliness about running.

To end, thoughts marathon runners have. Alas, I won't be having these thoughts in 2012 while running through NYC...

And the funniest (yet most true) thing I've ever seen depicting how normal people react to marathon training and "that running person" ("You ran 15 miles on purpose?") ("Your legs cramp up very badly and you cannot walk in a straight line for days. You  should try it!"):

Dumping the Peanut and Moving On

A few people have asked where my boot camp book word counter has gone. (The actual question was, “Where did that crazy looking peanut thing that counted your book go?”) Remember him?

Well, I retired him. First, he was obnoxious. Second, I kept forgetting to update him so he was never very accurate in terms of my writing “mood,” although the word count was usually correct. And third, I have moved on to another writing project for the time being. I promise I am not being flighty. Although I will fully admit I am a stronger starter than I am finisher, I do plan to come back to Love and Other Stunts soon.

I was writing Love and Other Stunts for a particular reason but not because it was really the book I wanted to write as my sophomore effort. 

Later this week I'll discuss how the "trying to get published" process (with a large publisher) works for a newbie writer. Let's just suffice it to say it's a difficult process and the response time from editors is long. Like 6-9 months just to hear back about a one-page query letter.

So when a big-name romance publisher was having a “fast-track” submission opportunity, I jumped on it. The editors were calling for new writers to send them 1) A query letter, 2) A synopsis of the book, 3) The first chapter. Writers did not need to have the manuscript completed in order to send. The program closed on April 23.

The greatest thing about the “fast-track” program – the publisher promised to respond to all queries by May 18. A three week turnaround!  Much better than the 6-9 months I may have to wait to hear about my first submission: Unbreak My Heart.

The “fast-track” program was the sole reason I was writing Love and Other Stunts. It was a story I hoped would fit that publisher’s niche and word count. So I took April and got through about half of Stunts, and figured out where the rest of the book was going. From there, I was able to write the synopsis, polish the first chapter and sent it off to the fast track program.

But I’ve decided that unless the publisher likes it and wants me to send them a manuscript, it’s not the story I want to really tell right now and put all my effort into. So I’m going to put it aside for a little while.  

Instead, one of the many stories in my head has caught my attention.  About a girl. And a guy. And a murderer. Fun stuff.  So I’ve started a word counter for the new work in progress (WIP) I’m calling See No Evil (although I’m sure that won’t be the final title), so I can keep track and you can peek at the numbers if you’re into that sort of stuff. I am hoping to have it finished by the end of the summer, but don’t have an anticipated number of words yet, so although I’m starting the counter goal at 50,000, that will change.

And so project #3 begins… with project #4 (a non-fiction book about running that a friend pitched to me yesterday) hovering in the wings.

Four open projects. It’s like having four children; each with their own needs, developments, and personalities…

Good thing I have a little experience with that.

Sunday Showdown: AFI vs IMDb #86

Last week I made an error.  I said #86 in the showdown would be: Full Metal Jacket vs. 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Me got confused. #86 was Platoon not Full Metal Jacket. So at least I was saved from having to watch two Kubrick movies in one week.

I can keep this pretty short. I’d seen Platoon before. I’m not a big fan of Ollie Stone. Too rough around the edges for me. But at least it is a complete story, unlike anything Kubrick I’ve seen so far. Plus, the lead singer guy from In Living Color was in Platoon. Plus+, it offers one of the most iconic film images from the 80s, if not all time.

2001:A Space Odyssey.  Sigh. I know I am supposed to like this movie, but I really don’t. I will give you that it had some special effects pretty advanced for its time (1968). And it influenced some of those whom I highly respect (Spielberg, Lucas, Scott).  But that’s pretty much all I’ll give you.

The movie is boring, and without the use of psychedelic drugs, almost impossible to get through. Much less take seriously.  Unfortunately I think Kubrick is the reason why so many “normal” people say they aren’t science-fiction fans. They saw 2001, said “WTH?” and never tried another sci-fi movie again. My mother is one of those people.

(But, as an aside, if you have a newer iPhone, ask Siri to “open the pod bay doors.”  She’ll harass you, but it’s fun.)

So my pick for this week is Platoon. Never thought I would pick a war movie over a sci-fi. 2001: A Space Odyssey shows back up as #15 (#15?! Oh, for heaven’s sake) on the AFI list. It’s against Goodfellas.  I like Goodfellas, but it definitely would not be my #15. Oh course, neither would 2001.

	AFI’s Top 100	IMDB’s Top 100 (as of 1/1/12)
#86	Platoon (1986)	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
#87	12 Angry Men (1957)	Inglorious Basterds (2009)
#88	Bringing Up Baby (1938)	The Great Dictator (1940)
#89	Sixth Sense (1999)	Braveheart (1995)
#90	Swing Time (1936)	The Bicycle Thief (1948)
#91	Sophie’s Choice (1982)	The Apartment (1960)
#92	Up (2009)	Goodfellas (1990)
#93	The French Connection (1971)	Downfall (2004)
#94	Pulp Fiction (1994)	Gran Torino (2008)
#95	The Last Picture Show (1971)	Metropolis (1927)
#96	Do The Right Thing (1989)	The Sting (1973)
#97	Blade Runner (1982)	Gladiator (2000)
#98	Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)	The Maltese Falcon (1941)
#99	Toy Story (1995)	Unforgiven (1992)
#100	Ben Hur (1959)	The Elephant Man (1980)

Next week: AFI’s A Night at the Opera (Marx Brothers) vs. IMDb’s Full Metal Jacket (basically Platoon from Kubrick’s POV).   Haven’t seen either.  Can’t see how this is possibly going to be an easy match-up.