New Weekly Series: Never Heard of It

You might be asking yourself why I've just posted five pictures of Hollywood's most handsome actor. The answer is simple. These five faces are the rating scale for my new weekly series:

Never Heard of It

In an attempt to broaden my movie watching habits, I'll be watching one film a week that I've never heard of before. No films on my "To Watch" lists. No "I've been meaning to watch that" movies. Not even any "My Grandma begged me to watch this right before she died" movies. Those will have have wait. This series is only about films that I'm completely ignorant of.

Also, to up the ante, I'm not going to read the plot description, check out Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB, read other reviews, or even turn the DVD box over for hints as to what the movie's about. Then I'll watch it, scribble down some live feed notes, write a review, throw up some screencaps, and slap a Danny DeVito face on show if the film's worth watching. Seems simple enough.

I'll have my first review up tomorrow!

Someone at Fox loves Dr. T

If you've been sleeping under a rock or a really fat guy then you may missed my earlier posts concerning one of the best blogs on the internet: Natsukashi. It's all about nostalgia through film. A few weeks ago, I recorded an episode with Rob about a movie from my childhood called The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T which is the only live-action film ever written by Dr. Seuss.

While recording the episode, Rob made a major connection Dr. T and The Simpsons. It took me a while to track down video clips of both. Apart from Bart's first name and Sideshow Bob's last name, one of the best Dr. T references comes in the form of "See My Vest," a song where Mr. Burns shows off his elaborate wardrobe. Want to see what they're refering to? Watch the following videos. Thanks for educating me on one of my favorite movies, Rob.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T - Do-Mi-Do Duds



The Simpsons - See My Vest

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Reading is FUN

This following feature is incredible. Check it out. I woke up this morning and started down the list of new posts. Decided to share with you some of my favorite posts as of late. Check them out too.

What I Watch Last Night's Speed Racer

[Actually, this was a post for the My Best Post Blog-a-Thon that I forgot to post. Oops. Sorry about that Ross. Thanks for participating. Awesome contribution.]

Film Experience's Nick and Nora's National Coming Out Day

Cinema Styles' Evil, Pure and Simple

DVD Panache's The Kid's Got Potential

Pluck You Too's Schlocktoberfest #9: Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors



The Film Fiend's News: I Done Been Quoted

Stale Popcorn's Black & White Friday: Open Range

1,416 and Counting's Reader's Choice: Worst Movies Ever

Natsukashi's Episode XXIII - Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors


Cinexcellence's Gates of Heaven

Lazy Eye Theatre's Current State of Horror Roundtable 2

Top 7 I Want to See

Looking back at my last Top 7 I want to See post, I realized that I still have work to do. The only two I've watched in the last three months are Teeth and My Blueberry Nights which I didn't love or hate. Both fell somewhere in the middle. The rest of my list, Paranoid Park, In Bruges, The Visitor, Funny Games, and The Wackness, have been moved up my Netflix queue. Will they ever get watched? I'm sure some of them eventually will. But in this age of newer is better, I've already found seven more movies that I need to watch. Have you guys seen any of these? What did you think?

Three Scenes I Love: Tearjerkers

When Crash was released, bloggers treated the film like cinematic cancer; an impressive disease, but a disease nonetheless. They especially didn't enjoy when Crash won Best Picture, beating out Munich, Good Night and Good Luck, Capote, and Brokeback Mountain. I'm not here to defend the film as a whole. Actually, I'm not here to defend it at all. That's not part of the "Three Scenes" series.

When a certain scene, specific moment, musical note, color, or verbal phrasing hits you in just the right way, it sticks in your brain. This scene from stuck in my mind. Sure, the film hits you over the head (with a ton of bricks, over and over again) but on the day I watched Crash, I didn't mind. My sockets actually leaked a little due to theatre dust levels, of course. That's what this week's post is all about: scenes that make your sockets leak.

Crash

Here's the YouTube link.

In America

Here's the YouTube link.

Okay, you heartless bastards. If you're still bitching about Crash or couldn't care less about a little girls dreams of owning an alien lifeform, then pay close attention. The film is The Neverending Story. If this one doesn't expell liquids from your ducts, screw you thrice.

The Swamp of Sadness senses your negative thoughts. The more depressed you get -- the deeper you sink. This is a kids movie, mind you. On this specific day, Atreyu crosses the swamp with his faithful steed, Atrax.

Apparently, the gallant stallion was experiencing an off day. Despite the frantic and heartbreaking screams of the warrior child, in the fictional words of Dwight D. Eisenhower: That muthafuckin' horse is goin' down.

The screen fades to black. Surely, Atreyu figured out how to cheer up his mammoth mammal. Nope. Just like his thoughts on the Korean War cease-fire, Eisenhower was right. And just like the last preteen boy to figure out deodarant...

...the kid sits alone.

You're the Best Around!

Hey everyone. I wanted to thank all the writers who participated in the My Best Post blog-a-thon. The turnout was twice the size that I hoped for and the articles you sent in were really great. A day off is in order, but I'll be back tomorrow with the next Three Scenes I Love installment. Again, thanks for heading over He Shot Cyrus. What I want from you today is some feedback.

How can I improve the site? What would you like to see when the page loads? More movies reviews? Regular features? Celebrity gossip? Anything? Please let me know.

Gringo

My Best Post Blog-a-Thon: Day Three

DAY THREE:

Dylan at Blog Cabins is one of the most innovative bloggers around. His site features lots of great series, TGITDNMAR, Stained Glass Cinema, Fletch's Favored Five, Familiar Face - Unknown Name, and Imagining Sequels that will Never Happen (a personal favorite of mine) just to name five. He's won a handful of LAMMYs too. And who can forget CageFest, the Fest completely dedicated to BEST ACTOR (?) Nicolas Cage. If none of this intrigues you, go read Perez Hilton's shit because quality blogs are not for you.
Here's Dylan's best post: Scouring Depths of Suburban Cinema

Daniel G. at Getafilm is the man to know. Not only is he one of He Shot Cyrus' most frequent commenters, he's also one of our most articulate. His own site is one of my daily visit locations. I'm still waiting for a second installment of his Reel Life series in which Daniel pulls real-life news stories and rates them as potential movie adaptations. Another great thing about Getafilm is the amount of comments left by his readers. They all respond to each other and it's clear that that discussion isn't over the second Daniel presses "Publish Post." I've been looking forward to see which post he would choose as his "best" and today I got the link. As it turns out, he and I have a lot in common when it comes to music. Those who haven't checked out Ozomatli yet, do. I'd recommend their first album (back when Chali 2na and Cut Chemist (of Jurassic 5) were still in the group).
Here's Daniel's best post: 2007 in Music: The Soundtrack That Wasn't.

RJ at The Rural Juror just made me laugh. This is the first post I've read of RJ's and it didn't disappoint. Are The Oscars a lot like high school? Yep, I'm convinced. A quick look at the rest of his site left me feeling pretty good. Lots of great movie quotes and a fantastic bunch of movies for Piper's meme. I would pay 10 bucks to watch The China Syndrome and The Conversation. That reminds me of the excellent double feature I saw once at the Castro Theatre: Network and The Taking of Pelham 123, that was a good day.
Here's RJ's best post: Ladies and Gentlemen: The Class of 2008

Jim at The Moviezzz Blog run in the same circles, read all the same blogs, but found each other's blog very recently. He also got my hopes up about finding my new favorite movie. I'm going to warn you ahead of time so you don't share the same deep pain that I experienced by reading the end of his best post. This fantastic-looking movie is HARD TO FIND. The movie he writes about looked so good that I clicked over to Netflix even before finishing the entire post. They didn't have it. Then I finished reading and found out that, even on DVD, it's near-impossible to find. But eveyrone should read about T.A.G.: The Assassination Game and track me down a copy!
Here's Jim's best post: Forgotten Film: T.A.G.: The Assassination Game

J.J. at As Little as Possible is a rule breaker who's forcing me to see the big picture. Back in July of '07, J.J. began a series called "The Triple Crowners." For those that don't know, a Triple Crowner is an entertainer who has won an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Tony. While my instructions were to send a link to your best post, he send me a link to the series. After looking it over, I decided that it's such a good series that all the posts are worth reading. In a sense, the series is about the "best of the best."

Here's J.J.'s best post(s): The Triple Crowners

Nathaniel at Film Experience is famous. I guess that's what happens when you have talent and you write thousands of posts. He actually has written thousands of posts. He narrowed it down to fewer than I would have been able to. Then...THEN he took my blog-a-thon banner and turned it into one of Nathaniel's Ltd. Ed. Edited Pics! Want to see it?

Sure, I caused the owner of my Firefox default homepage pain, agony, and grief but in small time blog writer terms, I MADE IT! Don't believe me? Maybe you didn't notice the picture.
Here's Nathaniel's best post(s): My Best Post: A Sisyphian Riddle

Nayana at The Center Seat is passionate about movies. You can tell she is just by reading her posts. She's also protective of those she cares about. Her "Friends Won't Let Friends See..." series has saved my my $7.50 on multiple occasions. She send me a link to her best post and I'll agree that it's one of the best she's written. AND...it happens to be her first post. Go read her declaration of movie love.
Here's Nayana's best post: So Here's the Plan

Erich at Acidemic appreciates the classics. As you dive into his archives, you realize that Erich knows more about classic film than a lot of bloggers (and maybe some of your professors). His best post was a very interesting read. Click the link to watch Erich pull something from yesteryear and something out of today's headlines together.
Here's Erich's best post: Lindsay Lohan, The Rev. Laurence T. Shannon of Our Time

Joseph at Cinema Fist barely made the cut. Haha, just kidding. He's one of the reason's I extended the deadline for the blog-a-thon. I've been reading the Fist since it's opening and although I always seemed to miss his deadlines, I loved his idea of a weekly Film-a-Thon. Sadly, we're all waiting for the resurrection of that one. Joseph is also always willing to participate in other people's events and experiments. His best post is actually part of Lazy Eye Theatre's 12 Movie Meme.
Here's Joseph's best post: The Lazy Eye Theatre New Beverly Cinema 12 Movies Meme

Joseph at Cinexcellence hosted one of my favorite blog-a-thons, the Sight Unseen blog-a-thon which prompted us writers to go buy a DVD (you're welcome economy) that we had never seen before and type up our results, opinions, and experiences. I chose Fatal Attraction. I didn't love Fatal Attraction but I am glad I finally watched it. Joseph's movie reviews are also some of my favorite to read. This morning, I read his Umberto D. review and it captures what makes Umberto important in film history.
Here's Joseph's best post: Marley & Me: Effective Previews 101

J.D. at Valley Dreamin' turned his post in on time. I know because I read it a few days ago! My bad. Another thing J.D. is is fifteen years old. Another thing about J.D., he's a lot smarter than I was at his age. When I was 15, my world revolved around 10 Things I Hate About You. He's watching Annie Hall and I was wondering if Julia Styles was ever going to put aside her tough exterior and finally except her love for the sexy Austrailian also known as The Joker. J.D.'s years ahead of his peers when it comes to love of movies, both old and new, commercial and art house, good and bad. Bookmark his site and begin to worry about this Baby Genius taking your job from you someday.
Here's J.D.'s best post: Taylor Momsen Makes Me Feel Old

Keith at The Kinetoscope Parlor is a funny motherfucker. Not one post goes by without making me crack up. Have I ever heard of the movies he's writing about? About 25% of the time. Not bad for as much time as I've spent not in Asia. You should also read his posts on Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom. Gross. And if you haven't answered Keith's 31 Horror Movies in 31 Days challenge: fuck you.
Here's Keith best post: The Other Kurosawa

Whitney at Dear Jesus is funnier than you. It's okay, she's funnier than me too. When she's not watching any horror movie she can get her hands on, she's educating me on films made pre-Technicolor. In fact, we're watching Monsieur Verdoux right now. The moment she heard about The Kinetoscope Parlor's 31 Horror Movies in 31 Days challenge was the moment she decided life was worth living. As for her best post, it's really good. How do I know? Because I helped her write part of it. She was nice enough to give me credit too. Ask her sometime for her Top 10 list, she'll drop an education bomb on your face!

Here's Whitney's best post: Batman Their Way

Scott at He Shot Cyrus is me. A couple months ago, Scott thought it might be fun to start a blog. School was ending and he wanted to keep writintg about film. Since then, he's found a great selection of writers who keep him entertained, 24 hours a day. Wanting to gain mainstream notoriety, fame, and popularity, he entertained the idea of hosting a blog-a-thon. One night, the perfect topic struck him: an event where Scott's favorite bloggers could show off their best work. The goal was for everyone to find at least one great blog they'd never read before. Blogs would be bookmarked. Comments would be left. The community would get that much bigger. Scott hopes everyone had fun and urges you to read each other's best posts. Thanks.
Here's Scott's best post: Top 5 Movies I Don't Ever Want to Watch: Pride & Prejudice

Thank you to everyone's who's participated in my blog-a-thon.
We broke my 20 entries goal and then some.

I just wanted to let everyone know that while the blog-a-thon ends today,
I will still be accepting entries for the NEXT TWO DAYS!

The poll question results came back 12-1 so my inbox is still waiting for your entries.

Keep reading each other's posts and leave each other lots of comments!
Thank you.