Monthnotes 16 Mar 2024

We haven't had a lot of snowfall this winter. I was able to get the above photo of a coyote which made it a great choice for this post's masthead considering that as I post this it's pretty cold and wet out. Not cold enough to snow, but we're still feeling winter.

I obviously skipped my post for February. That was primarily due to travel. My mom visited Phoenix, so my wife and I stayed there a few days to show her around town. And then I had a work trip to Philadelphia for a week.

Outside of that, I had a close friend visit and showed him the sights. The following photo wasn't from my being a tour guide for him, but I really liked this one from a hike my wife and I did the week before he came out.

And just earlier today, we attended the renaming ceremony for a petroglyph site that's really fascinating and close to us. It had been named V-bar-V Ranch, which was very confusing.

In coordination with the surrounding American Indian tribes, it was renamed to The Crane Petroglyph Heritage Site at V-bar-V Ranch. It gets its name from the number of cranes depicted in the petroglyphs which is a rare depiction and thus makes this site stand out. The overall site is a bit mind-blowing and I hope it brings in more visitors.

Movies

While this is two months of viewing, I did make an effort to catch up with some films on my watch list that popped up on Tubi. Lots of great classic films on there. While they do show ads, they rarely appear and the breaks are short. I can sometimes see an entire film after an ad without interruption.

• The Lair (2022) Neil Marshall's early films like Dog Soldiers and The Descent made me a fan, but his more recent films honestly have not been so great. This one's got some decent scenes, but the script is lacking.
• The Lake (2022) This is a cool looking creature in it, but the film is really boring in the non-monster scenes.
• The Artist & The Shaman was filmed locally in Sedona where I live. Likely more relevant if you're familiar with the area. Was mostly interesting due to seeing it with the folks in the actual film who were seeing it again ten to fifteen years after making it.

• Coma (2019) tries to be Inception but falls short. Imagine if you're in a coma, you actually travel to a Limbo where reality is bended around your memories.
• Argylle gets a bit of hate, but I enjoyed it. Maybe it was because the Kingsmen films set my expectations.
• How to Save Us (2014) is by the creator of The FP, which I love. This one has some interesting ideas, but feels longer than its short running time.
• Bob Marley: One Love, I thought, was going to be more of a biography than it was. It really focuses on him after he achieved his fame, and even then, seems like the cliff notes version of his later years. Still a worthy film whether you are a fan or not.
• Willy's Wonderland (2021) is noteworthy purely because Nicolas Cage owns this film, and he doesn't speak a single word of dialog throughout the entire runtime. But even he can't really save this snorefest.
• Marguerite's Theorem was good. The titular character lives for nothing but her relentless pursuit of solving a math problem that's captivated her since she was young. When her dream is derailed, she finally learns to live. And in living and experiencing things, maybe that's what she was missing all along.
• All Superheroes Must Die (2011) Another film from the creator of The FP, this one is a mix of superheroes and the Saw films. Sounds more exciting than it ends up being.
• All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016) changes tone from the first film. This one is a mockumentary of sorts. To be honest, I kind of zoned out during it and didn't pay much attention after a while.

• Robert Shields: My Life as a Robot debuted at The Sedona International Film Festival. If you're as old as me, you'll remember Shields & Yarnell who were well known for their robot characters. He's a local here where he sells his art, having long stepped off the stage. However, as shown in the excellent documentary, the animatronic dancers of today still look at his past work as inspiration for their craft. Even if you aren't familiar with his past work, this is a worthy watch.

• Tokyo Cowboy is nice little film about a Japanese salesman whose company owns a ranch in Montana. Instead of selling the property to developers, he convinces them to fly him to the states to see if they can switch to Wagyu beef in order to turn a profit. Fish out of water film with a heart.
• Bottoms made me laugh. A lot. Reminded me of the series Popular which I loved that aired I think in the early 2000's. Vulgar and funny.
• Dune: Part II is certainly stellar, epic filmmaking. I did like this one better than the first film, but I still think it diverges enough from the book that something just feels off about it to me.

Reelhouse Foundation Films

While I did miss a film in the series, we're now on a bi-weekly schedule rather than a weekly one now, so that's cutting the films posted here by half of what they were.

• North Dallas Forty (1979) is kind of about the Dallas Cowboys without calling the team that. For a film about football, however, there's very little of it on display. It's primarily about the behind-the-scenes reality of drug use, injury and owners treating the players like property.

• Action Jackson (1988) was in honor of the passing away of Carl Weathers. This film should have been his launch into stardom. The film is still a fun film, but I remembered it being better than it really was. Still fun.
• Once Upon a Crime (1992) was in honor of comedian Richard Lewis who also recently passed away. One of his few films, he basically plays a version of himself. The film is also Eugene Levy's only directorial effort.