They don’t make them like they used to!
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
THIS IS THE NIGHT
This is a pretty good movie about what it is like in a close-knit Italian neighborhood. It ain't Brooklyn but it is Staten Island. Which is where all of the wops in Brooklyn moved to over the Guinea Gangplank.
Worth checking out on Netflicks. Just sayn' you mooks.
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Netflix Scores!
I watched this last night at my brother's. Lately, when my brother and I hang out and watch TV, we've been going retro and reliving some aspect of our childhood, much to my S-I-L's chagrin. She gets left out of all the inside stuff. But we all enjoyed this one! That being said, it's astonishing that Netflix would show anything which vilified certain protected species and actually garnered sympathy for an officially hated species. Purposely being obscure here so not to spoil
And the means justify the ending!
P.S. Dianne Wiest gets the best line.
Friday, January 1, 2021
A movie to watch tonight......Feast Of The Seven Fishes
A little late but the perfect holiday movie. It was a real nostalgia trip for me. It's all about an Italian family preparing the Feast of the Seven Fishes. They were workers in the coal mines in Penns but it is just like the longshoreman in Brooklyn. It hits all the right notes.
Check it out I know you will like it.
Friday, July 3, 2020
Everything I know about Father Serra I learned from a movie with Jeffrey Hunter and Rita Moreno as Aztecs! In Technicolor!
With Anthony Quinn and Michael Rennie. This is a really fun movie. Made when movies were movies. A big cup of cheese. All they needed was Charlton Heston and it would have been perfect.
This is where I got my history of the California missions and the life of St Junipero Serra. History the way you should learn it.
From the movies.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
The Fire Stick is the Bomb!
So we got a new Firestick from Amazon and it is amazing. It is a cheat device that lets you get all of the latest movies and tv shows for free. That's right. Bootleg copies of the latest films are available at no charge to you. HBO, Showtime any of the premium channels and all of their programing. All you need is a code that everyone seems to have. You program it and you can see first run movies.
Last weekend we went out to see the Freddy Mercury movie. It was pretty good. Of course the tickets were $15 a piece when now I can see it for free. In any event I recommend the movie if you are a music fan. It is pretty good.
Get the Firestick if you can. You can cut the cord with cable and get everything you want to see without paying for cable. I don't know why Amazon sells it. It cuts their own throat since you won't pay to buy videos from them. I think they want to get everyone addicted to it and then they will do something so you have to pay them. Still for now it is a real bargain.
Last weekend we went out to see the Freddy Mercury movie. It was pretty good. Of course the tickets were $15 a piece when now I can see it for free. In any event I recommend the movie if you are a music fan. It is pretty good.
Get the Firestick if you can. You can cut the cord with cable and get everything you want to see without paying for cable. I don't know why Amazon sells it. It cuts their own throat since you won't pay to buy videos from them. I think they want to get everyone addicted to it and then they will do something so you have to pay them. Still for now it is a real bargain.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Rex Reed's 10 best movies of 2017
Let's do informal personality profiles. If you could only watch three of these, which would they be? And which one do you have the least interest interest in watching?
THE 10 BEST MOVIES OF 2017
Meryl Streep in ‘The Post.’ 20th Century Fox
The Post. At a critical time for the future of journalistic integrity, Steven Spielberg’s polished plea for the vital importance and protection of freedom of the press as guaranteed by the United States Constitution in a Democratic process couldn’t be more relevant. Meryl Streep as creative publisher Kay Graham and Tom Hanks as passionate editor Ben Bradlee, who defied the law to publish the Pentagon Papers, head a perfect ensemble cast to recreate a historic chapter in the life of the great Washington Post that led to Watergate, the impeachment of a second-rate president, and the kind of truth in journalism that changed the course of American history. In the same vein as All the President’s Men, this is an exemplary film that blends facts, suspense, and entertainment value into not only the best film of the year, but one of the best films ever made.
Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet in ‘Call Me by Your Name.’ Sony Pictures Classics
Call Me By Your Name. Tender, heartbreaking study of first love by Luca Guadagnino about a sensitive, inexperienced teenager’s passionate crush on an older college graduate student who is spending a six-week summer apprenticeship with the boy’s archaeologist father at the family’s villa in Northern Italy. Lush, nuanced, emotionally believable and filled with wisdom and passion, it’s a rare film about feelings instead of action, devoid of cliches and dumb dialogue.
Saoirse Ronan shines in ‘Lady Bird.’ A24
Lady Bird. Actress Greta Gerwig’s hit debut as writer-director chronicles the keenly observed semi-autobiographical details in the painful coming-of-age years of a confused and desperate California teen with sharp insight and a fresh wit rarely found in American movies. Sealed with extraordinary performances by Saoirse Ronan as the girl who escapes the mundane by calling herself “Lady Bird,” Broadway’s Laurie Metcalf as her mother, Pulitzer-winning playwright Tracy Letts as her weak, sympathetic father, and Lucas Hedges and Call Me By Your Name breakout performer Timothee Chalamet as her boyfriend, this is a triumph on several levels at once.
Gemma Arterton as Catrin Cole in ‘Their Finest.’ STX Entertainment
Their Finest. Skillfully directed, marvelously written and acted without a trace of artificial period self-consciousness, and a real eye-opener about how women were recruited to keep the British film industry alive during the London Blitz in World War Two, this exemplary film opened too early in the year to draw the proper attention and suffered the fate of being criminally overlooked. Too bad. It’s a much better film about the war than Dunkirk, including action sequences in the same setting that are better staged.
Ben Stiller in ‘Brad’s Status.’ Movieclips Trailer/Youtube
Brad’s Status. Not much rewarding jingle of coins at the box office, but this carefully written, directed and acted film about mid-life crisis showcased the most fully realized performance of Ben Stiller’s career as a Sacramento businessman who seems like a pillar of success until he tries to get his son into an Ivy League college, then sees the roads he didn’t take. Shuttling between rejections at Harvard, Williams, Amherst and Tufts, he begins to think he’s not the role model his family thinks he is. At the end of a long, frustrating weekend, it’s his son who teaches him about his true status in life, and Brad discovers he’s luckier than the peer group he envies for all the wrong reasons. Writer-director Mike White is a big but subtle talent. His film really says something important about modern American life, and Stiller’s range and experience pay off handsomely in a performance of unexpected sweetness, naturalism and charm.
Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding in ‘I, Tonya.’ Neon
I, Tonya. Margot Robbie’s career-transforming performance as disgraced champion skater Tonya Harding is honest, poignant, vulgar, two-fisted and laugh-out-loud funny. There is never a wasted moment in this headline-grabbing tale of American fame-chasing desperation on the ice, and the real facts behind the notorious case are riveting. Sebastian Stan as Tonya’s larcenous husband and especially a volcanic eruption called Allison Janney as the profane, chain-smoking white trash mother from Hell add vitriol and violence to a film as fascinating as a tabloid scandal.
Mary J. Blige and Carey Mulligan in ‘Mudbound.’ Steve Dietl/Netflix
Mudbound. The hardscrabble lives of two families of Delta sharecroppers—one white, one black—are interwoven through lean decades of poverty, challenge and farming barren land, while connecting the dots of racism, war, religion, adultery and murder. It’s a saga with an abundance of over-ripe narrative, but the firm hand and clear vision of writer-director Dee Rees gives the labyrinthine plot a balanced coherence that never flags.
Annette Bening in ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.’ Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. The final tragic days of faded glamour girl and Oscar winning actress Gloria Grahame, dying of cancer in the care of a British family that took her in to protect her from the cruel scrutiny of Hollywood and give her peace and dignity at the end. A tremendous centerpiece display of vulnerability, disclosure and radiance by Annette Bening lifts a sad film above the status of a three-hankie tearjerker and leaves the viewer feeling moved and benevolent.
Melissa Leo in ‘Novitiate.’ Sony Pictures Classics
Novitiate. An enlightening and intelligently balanced study of life in a convent that is nothing less than boot camp for nuns, where one modern girl clashes with the harshness of antiquated Roman Catholic doctrine. It investigates with soulful searching and self-doubt the changing ideologies of the church, experienced by bewildered but dedicated postulants on the verge of womanhood struggling daily with spirituality under stress. A great performance by Melissa Leo as a stern, manipulative Mother Superior shattered and eventually disillusioned by the changing values of nuns who abandon their traditional roles as brides of Christ in favor of radical feminism.
Patty O’Neil, Jake Gyllenhaal and Miranda Richardson in Stronger. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions
Stronger. Another solid, detailed character study in the ever-evolving career of Jake Gyllenhaal, about the sober, gimlet-eyed tragedy of Jeff Bauman, the 28-year-old blue-collar Costco employee who lost both legs in the terrorist bombing at the 2013 Boston marathon. I liked it because it was not so much about the actual event as the aftermath, which shows how an innocent victim fought back with physical and spiritual strengths he didn’t know he had in order to survive, the life-changing effects on the lives of the friends and family who loved him, and how he became a reluctant symbol of heroism, dignity and hope. I’m a sucker for these survival stories that show the best side of man’s humanity, and Mr. Gyllenhaal makes Stronger a stronger achievement than most.
And honorable mentions to Phantom Thread, Breathe, Victoria and Abdul, Wonder Wheel, Maudie, and Wind River.
THE 10 WORST MOVIES OF 2017 need no additional comments, therefore I won’t make any. They are:
THE 10 BEST MOVIES OF 2017
Meryl Streep in ‘The Post.’ 20th Century Fox
The Post. At a critical time for the future of journalistic integrity, Steven Spielberg’s polished plea for the vital importance and protection of freedom of the press as guaranteed by the United States Constitution in a Democratic process couldn’t be more relevant. Meryl Streep as creative publisher Kay Graham and Tom Hanks as passionate editor Ben Bradlee, who defied the law to publish the Pentagon Papers, head a perfect ensemble cast to recreate a historic chapter in the life of the great Washington Post that led to Watergate, the impeachment of a second-rate president, and the kind of truth in journalism that changed the course of American history. In the same vein as All the President’s Men, this is an exemplary film that blends facts, suspense, and entertainment value into not only the best film of the year, but one of the best films ever made.
Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet in ‘Call Me by Your Name.’ Sony Pictures Classics
Call Me By Your Name. Tender, heartbreaking study of first love by Luca Guadagnino about a sensitive, inexperienced teenager’s passionate crush on an older college graduate student who is spending a six-week summer apprenticeship with the boy’s archaeologist father at the family’s villa in Northern Italy. Lush, nuanced, emotionally believable and filled with wisdom and passion, it’s a rare film about feelings instead of action, devoid of cliches and dumb dialogue.
Saoirse Ronan shines in ‘Lady Bird.’ A24
Lady Bird. Actress Greta Gerwig’s hit debut as writer-director chronicles the keenly observed semi-autobiographical details in the painful coming-of-age years of a confused and desperate California teen with sharp insight and a fresh wit rarely found in American movies. Sealed with extraordinary performances by Saoirse Ronan as the girl who escapes the mundane by calling herself “Lady Bird,” Broadway’s Laurie Metcalf as her mother, Pulitzer-winning playwright Tracy Letts as her weak, sympathetic father, and Lucas Hedges and Call Me By Your Name breakout performer Timothee Chalamet as her boyfriend, this is a triumph on several levels at once.
Gemma Arterton as Catrin Cole in ‘Their Finest.’ STX Entertainment
Their Finest. Skillfully directed, marvelously written and acted without a trace of artificial period self-consciousness, and a real eye-opener about how women were recruited to keep the British film industry alive during the London Blitz in World War Two, this exemplary film opened too early in the year to draw the proper attention and suffered the fate of being criminally overlooked. Too bad. It’s a much better film about the war than Dunkirk, including action sequences in the same setting that are better staged.
Ben Stiller in ‘Brad’s Status.’ Movieclips Trailer/Youtube
Brad’s Status. Not much rewarding jingle of coins at the box office, but this carefully written, directed and acted film about mid-life crisis showcased the most fully realized performance of Ben Stiller’s career as a Sacramento businessman who seems like a pillar of success until he tries to get his son into an Ivy League college, then sees the roads he didn’t take. Shuttling between rejections at Harvard, Williams, Amherst and Tufts, he begins to think he’s not the role model his family thinks he is. At the end of a long, frustrating weekend, it’s his son who teaches him about his true status in life, and Brad discovers he’s luckier than the peer group he envies for all the wrong reasons. Writer-director Mike White is a big but subtle talent. His film really says something important about modern American life, and Stiller’s range and experience pay off handsomely in a performance of unexpected sweetness, naturalism and charm.
Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding in ‘I, Tonya.’ Neon
I, Tonya. Margot Robbie’s career-transforming performance as disgraced champion skater Tonya Harding is honest, poignant, vulgar, two-fisted and laugh-out-loud funny. There is never a wasted moment in this headline-grabbing tale of American fame-chasing desperation on the ice, and the real facts behind the notorious case are riveting. Sebastian Stan as Tonya’s larcenous husband and especially a volcanic eruption called Allison Janney as the profane, chain-smoking white trash mother from Hell add vitriol and violence to a film as fascinating as a tabloid scandal.
Mary J. Blige and Carey Mulligan in ‘Mudbound.’ Steve Dietl/Netflix
Mudbound. The hardscrabble lives of two families of Delta sharecroppers—one white, one black—are interwoven through lean decades of poverty, challenge and farming barren land, while connecting the dots of racism, war, religion, adultery and murder. It’s a saga with an abundance of over-ripe narrative, but the firm hand and clear vision of writer-director Dee Rees gives the labyrinthine plot a balanced coherence that never flags.
Annette Bening in ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.’ Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. The final tragic days of faded glamour girl and Oscar winning actress Gloria Grahame, dying of cancer in the care of a British family that took her in to protect her from the cruel scrutiny of Hollywood and give her peace and dignity at the end. A tremendous centerpiece display of vulnerability, disclosure and radiance by Annette Bening lifts a sad film above the status of a three-hankie tearjerker and leaves the viewer feeling moved and benevolent.
Melissa Leo in ‘Novitiate.’ Sony Pictures Classics
Novitiate. An enlightening and intelligently balanced study of life in a convent that is nothing less than boot camp for nuns, where one modern girl clashes with the harshness of antiquated Roman Catholic doctrine. It investigates with soulful searching and self-doubt the changing ideologies of the church, experienced by bewildered but dedicated postulants on the verge of womanhood struggling daily with spirituality under stress. A great performance by Melissa Leo as a stern, manipulative Mother Superior shattered and eventually disillusioned by the changing values of nuns who abandon their traditional roles as brides of Christ in favor of radical feminism.
Patty O’Neil, Jake Gyllenhaal and Miranda Richardson in Stronger. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions
Stronger. Another solid, detailed character study in the ever-evolving career of Jake Gyllenhaal, about the sober, gimlet-eyed tragedy of Jeff Bauman, the 28-year-old blue-collar Costco employee who lost both legs in the terrorist bombing at the 2013 Boston marathon. I liked it because it was not so much about the actual event as the aftermath, which shows how an innocent victim fought back with physical and spiritual strengths he didn’t know he had in order to survive, the life-changing effects on the lives of the friends and family who loved him, and how he became a reluctant symbol of heroism, dignity and hope. I’m a sucker for these survival stories that show the best side of man’s humanity, and Mr. Gyllenhaal makes Stronger a stronger achievement than most.
And honorable mentions to Phantom Thread, Breathe, Victoria and Abdul, Wonder Wheel, Maudie, and Wind River.
THE 10 WORST MOVIES OF 2017 need no additional comments, therefore I won’t make any. They are:
Thursday, December 7, 2017
"The Hero"......a complete fail.
When I heard that there was a new movie with Sam Elliott who is one of my favorite actors I was pretty excited. He was in many of my favorite Westerns from the last few decades. Tombstone. The Hi Lo Country. The Sacketts. Conhager. The Rough Riders. Gettysburg. You Know My Name. Other cool movies like The Big Lebowski. Once an Eagle. Roadhouse. So when there was a new movie starring him I was pretty enthused.
What a let down. It is a dreary sad piece of work. Full of elispes and scenes of him staring into the ocean. Boring stupid shit. A total waste of time. I waited until it was on Hulu since I wouldn't spend any money on it. Not worth the effort.
I think I will just download The Sacketts again. Co-starring Tom Selleck, Ben Johnson and Glenn Ford. Based on two Louie Lamour novels. A classic.
That's the ticket.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
"Cinemas are seducing movie-lovers with gourmet food and booze"
Via Drudge: All the Raisinets in the world aren’t enough to sugarcoat this fact: In recent months, the Hollywood box office has been a disaster. In terms of attendance, Tinseltown just wrapped up its worst summer at the box office in nearly a quarter-century.
That means theaters now have to fight harder than ever to get butts in seats. “For a very long time, movie theaters were not overly focused on pleasing the consumer,” says Eric Handler, a media analyst at MKM Partners.
But in recent years, he says, theater owners have wised up to a novel idea: making the theater experience enjoyable beyond the screen.
First it was comfier seats, and now it’s all about tossing aside the stale popcorn for mouthwatering gourmet options. “Movie theaters are really stepping up to distinguish themselves from each other,” says Daniel Loria, editorial director of BoxOffice Media. “Every theater is building its identity.”
New boutique-style venues are offering everything from dine-in table service to full bars. That competition’s a good thing, says Loria, and it hints at a sustainable future. “So many theaters wouldn’t be opening if there were heavy clouds in the forecast,” he says.
That means theaters now have to fight harder than ever to get butts in seats. “For a very long time, movie theaters were not overly focused on pleasing the consumer,” says Eric Handler, a media analyst at MKM Partners.
But in recent years, he says, theater owners have wised up to a novel idea: making the theater experience enjoyable beyond the screen.
First it was comfier seats, and now it’s all about tossing aside the stale popcorn for mouthwatering gourmet options. “Movie theaters are really stepping up to distinguish themselves from each other,” says Daniel Loria, editorial director of BoxOffice Media. “Every theater is building its identity.”
New boutique-style venues are offering everything from dine-in table service to full bars. That competition’s a good thing, says Loria, and it hints at a sustainable future. “So many theaters wouldn’t be opening if there were heavy clouds in the forecast,” he says.
(Link to more)
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Monday, August 29, 2016
Pure Imagination
"Random fact. The tune that Wonka plays to open the door to the edible room was in fact the Marriage of Figaro. Mrs. Teevee claims it's Rachmaninoff. Additionally, the kids in the movie were really seeing all of that for the first time, and a lot of the room really was edible. Additionally, the 'buttercup' that Wonka eats was made of wax, tasted awful, and he immediately spat it out off camera."
Sunday, May 29, 2016
A great movie to watch this Memorial Day Weekend!
I always love to watch movies on a long holiday weekend. I am not much of a movie guy because I much prefer episodic television. I don't want to invest the time in a crappy movie. Unless it is an old favorite that I watch over and over again. I have a bunch I love on Memorial Day and I watch at least two of them every year. "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." "Fort Apache." "The Dirty Dozen." "The Devils Brigade." "The Fighting Kentuckian." "The Alamo." "Go Tell the Spartans." "The Longest Day." "They Died With Their Boots On." "A Bridge To Far." "The Guns of Navarone." They are all available somewhere. On demand. Netflicks. Amazon. Hulu.
But this weekend I saw a movie that was just great and I highly highly recommend it for this weekend. It is about the most overlooked of the Armed Services. The Coast Guard.
It is called "The Finest Hours." I know it On Demand on most cable services. It stars Chris Pine the New Captain Kirk as well as Casey Affleck and Eric Bana. It chronicles the rescue of the sailors on the USS Pendleton off the coast of New England in 1952.
I love everything about this movie. It is set in my favorite era the 1950's. It shows the heroism of a much neglected service the Coast Guard. I don't know if you have ever had any experience with the Coast Guard. The are terrific and unsung heroes. They have to go out in the worst most dangerous weather to rescue idiots who don't know jack about the sea. When I was a kid my uncle forced my cousins and me to take a Coast Guard safety course. It was run by a crusty old salt who had a lot of hilarious stories about idiots in the Atlantic and the Sound. This movie shows what these guys do and it is both inspiring and moving.
The story is incredible and I won't spoil it for you. But take it from me if you are going to rent a movie in the next few weeks this it one to see. Especially on Memorial day.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Trump as movie villain
The parallels between Donald Trump and these movie villains are uncanny (via @decider)https://t.co/tHr2e0NkD6— New York Post (@nypost) May 17, 2016
Sunday, April 24, 2016
"Zoolander 2 Is Too Offensive for Students, University Shows Deadpool Instead"
Claremont McKenna College's student programming board cancelled a planned screening of Zoolander 2 because the film's humor is inappropriate and comes "at the expense of individuals of marginalized identities." The college ultimately decided to show Deadpool instead.
Of course, many people would probably find the R-rated Deadpool a whole lot more offensive than the PG-13 rated Zoolander 2. I've seen Deadpool. It's incredibly violent, graphically sexual, and contains plenty of offensive humor of its own. (It's also a great film.)
The difference, it seems, is that Zoolander 2 offends "marginalized identities."The Rotten Tomatoes rating for Zoolander 2 is 24%. That's not good. Why can't offensive movies be any good? Is it too much to ask?
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Friday, April 1, 2016
Which actor played the villain a little TOO well?
Reddit best answers...
Rosamund Pike was an absolute monster in Gone Girl and I can never look at her the same way again...
Rosamund Pike was an absolute monster in Gone Girl and I can never look at her the same way again...
Kathy Bates in Misery.
Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched
Malcolm McDowell - A Clockwork Orange
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
What "fake" thing that happens in movies pisses you off?
When they pull the fire alarm and every single fire sprinkler head goes off spraying water everywhere.
Chloroform won't knock you out in seconds, it takes about 5 minutes of huffing on a soaked rag
When their cups are empty. How hard would it be to put something, anything, into those damn cups?!
Living happily ever after in scary movies. Sure the protagonist defeated the evil spirit, but that same evil spirit killed all of his/her friends or family. You cannot tell me the police will believe that an evil spirit was the cause of a building full of dead teens.
I have been in the HVAC industry for over a decade and it makes me crazy when people crawl through ductwork in movies and then just pop out of a grille (that has hinges for some dumb reason) and then they're in another room. Ductwork is full of razor sharp rib pins, itchy ass insulation and tons of screws that we use to suspend it. Oh and there is no mysterious blue illumination in ductwork...its dark as a tomb in there. fucking Die Hard...
Anything to remotely do with electricity, people see it as this whole, it's uncontrollable and if you cut a wire sparks will fly and it'll do whatever the fuck it wants when the truth is, nowadays the worst thing that happens is you'll trip the RCD or breaker.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
The 2016 Razzie nominations are here
From New Republic
Fantastic Four
Fifty Shades of Grey
Jupiter Ascending
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2
Pixels
Worst Actor
Johnny Depp, Mortdecai
Jamie Dornan, Fifty Shades of Grey
Kevin James, Paul Blart Mall Cop 2
Adam Sandler, The Cobbler and Pixels
Channing Tatum, Jupiter Ascending
Worst Actress
Katherine Heigl, Home Sweet Hell
Dakota Johnson, Fifty Shades of Grey
Mila Kunis, Jupiter Ascending
Jennifer Lopez, The Boy Next Door
Gwyneth Paltrow, Mortdecai
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
"Back To The Future films will never seem dated."
"BACK TO THE FUTURE IS NOW ALL BACK AND NO FUTURE" ... (excerpt)
What strikes me about this trilogy now, during the final week of the final year of the saga's Hill Valley narrative, is the way the individual movies, unlike their characters and town, have improbably escaped the ravages of time.
Once we got about twenty years out from the first film, their 1985 scenes became "period," too, like the 1955 scenes. I showed the trilogy to my son and daughter not too long ago, and they laughed as hard at Marty's once-hip ski vest and feathered hair as audiences during my era laughed at the 1950s signifiers. My daughter, who is a lot older than my son and is studying film history and sociology in college now, was intrigued to see how a trilogy conceived and filmed in the '80s viewed life in the '50s, and what it said about 1980s life without meaning to.
The sense of cultural superiority seemed more palpable to me when I watched the series with my kids than when I watched it during its original run, or when I revisited it in the '90s as a college film student. I was 16 when the original "Future" came out. The eighties were my adolescent decade. Few teenagers have the self-awareness and humility to recognize that the time they live in is not, in fact, the most technologically and culturally advanced time that the human race will ever experience, and that snickering at the past (as depicted in movies or history texts) makes the laughing person seem clueless and arrogant; I was no exception. I'm humbler about that sort of thing now because I'm in my forties and seen a few decades turn over. When I watch the "Future" films today, I am not just watching the films, I am watching myself—or I should say, I am thinking about who I was when the films came out, and cringing a little bit at how much I thought I knew, and how much I didn't know that I didn't know. When I was in high school, I laughed during the diner scene (along with everyone else in the theater) because Marty ordered a Pepsi Free and the counterman thought he was demanding a Pepsi for free. Now I laugh because the Pepsi Free name was discontinued in 1987, two years after the first "Future" came out. The joke is not about the obliviousness of the '50s adult, it's about the arrogance of the '80s teenager.
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