Dodge Challenger meets retro tv car

Whenever I’m heading home, I have a few roads to choose from to finish out my commute. Driving down one of them, I often pass a slick black Dodge Challenger parked to the left or right. I never saw it while it was running, the owner getting ready to leave or just coming back. That is, until recently. Engine on, this muscle car also featured a row of small red lights in a side-to-side pattern up on the hood. I thought, Oh, cool, KITT car! As a kid, I was a huge fan of the 80’s television series “Knight Rider” because of its high-tech ride.

I’d love to get a quick video of the Dodge Challenger, with its KITT-like lights on if I see the owner outside sometime. Although it would be a random encounter, we could talk cars for a few moments. There have been a few instances when I was approached about whether or not I was going to sell my Camaro. If I am able to take a quick video, I won’t be able to post it on here as I don’t have a paid version of my blog for now. So, I’ll share info on which social platform I post it to. In the meantime, here’s a photo of another Dodge Challenger spotted at a local car show. The “Fast & Furious” movie character reference was a cool surprise!

Are good movies still being made, Halloween edition

A recent Facebook memory status update inspired this particular blog post and in the spirit of Halloween, I thought I’d elaborate with
creature features. The old memory was about an undergraduate class I took, called World of Film. Other students and I had a mid-term
focusing on the same theme: are good movies still being made and why we do or don’t believe so. Just for a short, sweet answer on Facebook, I wrote that yes, very good ones come along each year.

When I saw that memory show up for re-share, I did so using favorite classic monsters. Despite numerous remakes, they could easily build up
an opposing answer. Some may feel that the film industry is running out of ideas. However, there are always new movies released that are
amazing; they’re well-acted, have strong plots, engage our emotions, etc. Although I favor originals of many cinematic works, I also love
certain remakes or reboots. A perfect example, especially for this frightful time of year, is “The Wolfman” (2010) starring Benicio Del Toro in the beastly title role. It had creepy scenes of an old English manor and a misty nighttime forest, a storyline set in / around Victorian era. So, maybe it was a tribute to old horror movies with that atmospheric look in which monsters lurk. Yet modern also suits vampires and werewolves for “Twilight,” its young audience relating to 21st century high school life. Of course, having a heartthrob element, the franchise couldn’t go wrong. Team Edward or Team Jacob, right? If I were part of the age group that had crushes on either guy, I’d go more for Robert Pattinson from the start. His character’s brooding demeanor would’ve drawn me to Team Edward.

What are your thoughts about whether or not we still see good movies being made?

Also, with two onscreen vampires in this post, which actor is your favorite as the classic monster?

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!

Movies still to see in 2019

The majority of these picks are from a list of 2019’s most anticipated movies, which I saw in an article on CBS News. At this point, I’ve missed most of them on the big screen and haven’t yet picked up my own copies on
DVD/Blu-Ray. But I have another option for catching movies – my local gym has a cinema! Each month, a different round of movies is on the calendar and they include both new releases and old favorites. So far, I haven’t watched a movie in full at the gym. I just have to plan my schedule to be there early enough before a class or personal training sessions. Anyway, here are a few that have caught my interest this year.

“Avengers: Endgame”

I have to re-watch the previous installment in this franchise, but I know I’ll enjoy this for the amazing special effects and action scenes. Within the overall superhero genre, I have to catch up on the “Iron Man” movies and I still haven’t seen “Thor: Ragnarok.”

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters”

I’ve always been a fan of the giant creature movies, so this was among the must-see works for me. I caught part of it at the theater in the
gym I go to, although my timing was off and I saw it in this order: last 20 minutes, first 20, another 10 in the middle. Despite catching
it in an odd manner, I was impressed. But it’s not just oversized lizards and apes; it’s those more-than-pesky insects as well. My favorite big bug flicks include “Tarantula” and “Them” of the 1950s. With new Godzilla and King Kong movies made over the years, I wonder if those giant spiders and ants will get remakes. Not that I’m in favor of remakes and reboots for everything. I’m just curious about what they’d be like, how much of an audience they would draw in to theaters.

“The Addams Family”

The movies starring Angelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci have always brought laughs with the humor reflecting creepy lives. I saw a Broadway play of this spooky family on a college bus trip to New York City. I know I’ll also enjoy an animated film
version, as I have several other favorites in that genre. One perfect example is the “Hotel Transylvania” franchise, with its own comical
family of monsters.

“Terminator: Dark Fate”

One of the franchises I grew up with, this makes me curious about how the story of humans against cyborgs will play out. I wasn’t too much a fan of “Terminator Salvation” (2009), but I think sometimes there’s a least favorite installment in one franchise or another. A re-watch could help me get more into it because as of now, I don’t remember
much of this one.

“Men in Black International”

The original with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones was one of my alien-themed favorites. In recent years, I’ve become a fan of Chris
Hemsworth, whether he is Thor or stars in action, thriller or comedy movies.

“Hobbs and Shaw”

Action sequences in the trailer are jaw-dropping and frenemy humor between Hobbs and Shaw continues from “The Fast and the Furious” franchise. I’m also looking forward to the next installment of the overall
action-packed films. I caught 20 minutes of this one in the theater at my local gym; that timeframe included the scene when the title
characters are trying to get security clearance. Shaw is pressing a guard’s face up to the facial recognition screen, while Hobbs remains
humorously unimpressed and bored.

“Little Women”

I will enjoy this as a fan of book-to-film works, as well as for the elaborate historical time period costumes. The settings of such movies
are always romantic and even inspire me to visit locations used in filming.

“Booksmart”

Much like with other teen movies, I think my best friend and I will watch this and find something we relate to in it. We enjoy watching
“The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles,” from our generation, along with “The Edge of Seventeen” (2016). There’s always that teen crush element and an embarrassing moment, whether or not it has to do with those feelings.

“Ford v Ferrari”

I love cars and as far as somewhat recent racing movies, I thought the 2013 movie “Rush” was awesome! That starred Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as Niki Lauda, real-life names of the Formula 1 racing scene. As soon as I first caught a trailer for “Ford v
Ferrari,” featuring two acting favorites, Matt Damon and Christian Bale, it had me hooked. I can’t wait to see this one! Another movie of
this genre that I’d recommend is “Le Mans” (1971), because it stars classic Hollywood actor Steve McQueen.

“Charlie’s Angels”

Despite often seeing e-news about the latest movie and television remakes and reboots, I missed anything about this one in the works.
But it looks pretty cool. I like one of the trailers for it, focusing on Kristen Stewart and stating in a new way. It’s always interesting to me seeing an actor or actress in something considered totally different role compared to previous ones. Also, Elizabeth Banks is starring as Bosley, for a female twist on a character that was male in past versions of the movie and earlier TV series.

Any thoughts on these?

Catching the 35th anniversary of Karate Kid on the big screen

I love when the movies I grew up with have anniversary theater showtimes and “The Karate Kid” is playing today and April 2. During a recent visit with my best friend, we were talking about favorites on the big screen and celeb crushes. We didn’t know each other at the time when Ralph Macchio first played bullied new kid, Daniel LaRusso, turned Karate student with Mr. Miyagi’s (Pat Morita) wisdom. Yet Macchio was a first movie star crush for both of us. So, after finding out that the film’s 35th anniversary would be celebrated with limited showtimes in theaters, I had to get tickets.

Besides the nostalgia this and many other 80s movies have for my generation, there is another reason I want to see them on the big screen. When they were first released, my friends and I didn’t go out to the theater to enjoy them. We were still under 12 for most of these teen flicks and none of us would’ve wanted our parents tagging along as chaperones. It wasn’t until I was 13 that my then best friend and I first went shopping together at a local mall, minus adults. One of our parents dropped us off so we could enjoy our day in the stores for a few hours.

So, given the delay in movie outings to catch teen tales of our time, we awaited their release on VHS. Compared to these days with such quick DVD availability, it seemed to take forever before we could get our hands on a copy. Or, we opted to rent from Blockbuster Video for a couple of days, making sure to rewind the tape prior to returning it. Although that process feels like a lifetime ago and makes me thankful for today’s movie-watching choices, it brings on nostalgia as well.

Back to “The Karate Kid” for a moment. I love all of the installments to this franchise, although I rarely see the third and fourth ones airing on television. I never had the entire set on VHS, as the DVD format grew in popularity. Now, with the anniversary of Daniel’s journey into Karate, I’ll be looking around to buy them all together.

Skipping award season 2019

As award season approaches, I usually follow the nominations and share my favorites while awaiting the ceremony broadcasts. This year, however, it snuck up on me and next thing I knew, I’d missed some nominee announcements and shows. Although 2018 had a handful of movies I wanted to see, I only caught two, both impressive blockbusters – “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” and “Aquaman.” I’m working on a post about the overall Jurassic franchise, one that I wanted to catch up on in my blogging over recent months. It’s not the only movie franchise I plan to blog about, either by individual installment or as a summary; another is “Fast and Furious.”

While on the subject of those popular car action-packed movies, I spotted two look-a-likes of cast members in my area. One was a guy driving a slick black Dodge Challenger. The cool muscle car caught my attention first. Before passing him from the opposite direction, I got a decent glimpse of the driver; he looked like Vin Diesel. Then, at a local grocery store, I saw a young guy who resembled Ludacris. Well, they say everyone has a twin out there in the world.

Until getting around to franchise-related posts and other movies, a write-up about “Aquaman” is next. But as for award season, I’m taking a break on sharing my favorites to win this time around. Like with previous years, there were so many great films to check out and I wish I could’ve kept up with them. So, now I look forward to more outings to catch cinematic works on the big screen throughout 2019.