Five Frames
Images Taken With Sony Mavica CD on 09/30/2015.
These images and many many more can be found on my Flickr account.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Cinema Cycle - Back To The Future
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE VIEWED: 09/30/2015
TITLE: Back To The Future
FORMAT: LaserDisc
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 57 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 26 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2918 miles
SYNOPSIS: A young small town boy goes back in time to repair the past to justify his own existence in the future.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: An updated Capra-Esque film about doing the right thing before insurmountable odds and having your good work pay off in the end. The first of the big Hollywood trilogies
PROS AND CONS: While I have seen snippets of this film since its release (it has almost become a metaphor for American culture) this is probably the first time that I have seen it all the way through since I originally saw it in a theater.
It holds up well, but it is a different film because these are different times. The focus of the humor in this film is the differences in lifestyles and perceptions in 1985 compared to the same locale in 1955. What is unexpected is that 1985 now looks somewhat dated as we move through the second decade of the next century.
Since the story and the plot lines are already well known, what I found myself doing more and more during this viewing was picking up the hundreds of clues and tie-ins that are placed throughout the film, even in the opening credits.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Five Frames - 9/29/2015
Five Frames
Images Taken With A Lytro Illum on 09/29/2015.
These images and many many more can be found on my Flickr account.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Cinema Cycle - It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE VIEWED: 09/28/2015
FORMAT: DVD
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 34 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 36.1 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2892 miles
SYNOPSIS: Four carloads of random motorists on a remote highway learn of a hidden treasure, and all race to get to it first.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Greedy, frustrated, lovers, haters, family, fast talkers and simpletons all have a place in the world, and they are all in this over-the-top slapstick comedy.
PROS AND CONS: Cinerama in all its glory, although even this letterbox version is a bit cropped.
Even though I have seen this film several times, it is still funny and holds up well as time goes by. Viewed now with the hindsight of a cinematic life watching films, it appears dated but in the old family album and warm memories of a slower simpler time sort of way.
Slapstick of this magnitude is no longer produced in Hollywood and in fact, it could not be. We have moved on as a society to to a plane of romantic comedy and sarcasm. All the more reason to watch this as an historical document of cinema….ow and you will laugh.
(P.S. here is the longest video review I have done to date, almost 7 minutes)
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Five Frames - 09/28/2015
Five Frames
Images Taken With A Lytro Graphite on 09/28/2015.
These images and many many more can be found on my Flickr account.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Five Frames - 9/25/2015
Five Frames
Images Taken With A Droid Maxx on 09/25/2015.
These images and many many more can be found on my Flickr account.
Cinema Cycle - Gustav Mahler / Ruckert Lieder
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE VIEWED: 09/25/2015
TITLE: Gustav Mahler / Ruckert Lieder
FORMAT: LaserDisc
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 15 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 20.7 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2855.9 miles
SYNOPSIS: Concert film of poetry set to music, performed in German.
- Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! (Do not look at my songs!) – 14 June 1901
- Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft (I breathed a gentle fragrance) – July 1901
- Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to the world) – 16 August 1901
- Um Mitternacht (At midnight) – Summer 1901
- Liebst du um Schönheit (If you love for beauty) – August 1902
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The expansion of the concept of media and entertainment near the turn of the century.
PROS AND CONS: And now for something completely different. Not a film that is most folks cup of tea but an interesting work in the historical sense.
In order to move the concept of classical music forward, various composers try to expand the envelope in new ways. Back at the turn of the century, one of these ways was to set popular poetry to music. While it has had limited success over the years many great composers have dabbled in the art, including Gustav Mahler.
I would not fault Leonard Bernstein or the soloist in this work. The production value of the video is good, but not astounding.
Unless you speak German and are aware of the work being performed here, it would really help to have subtitles for the songs. This concept didn’t come along until DVDs were developed so they are lacking on this LaserDisc, although the libretto (in 3 different languages) is included with the disk for viewer reading.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Five Frames - 9/24/2015
Five Frames
Images Taken With Lytro Illum on 09/24/2015.
These images and many many more can be found on my Flickr account.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Five Frames - 09/23/2015
Five Frames
Images Taken With Google Glass on 09/23/2015.“
These images and many many more can be found on my Flickr account.
Cinema Cycle - Her
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE VIEWED: 09/24/2015
FORMAT: BluRay
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 6 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 30.1 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2835.2 miles
SYNOPSIS: A divorced man in the near future develops a relationship with an artificial intelligence program.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The difference between a physical relationship and an emotional relationship. What is love and can we as a culture develop intelligence that is equal to our own?
PROS AND CONS: I didn’t know what to expect from this film, but assumed it would be interesting. It was much better than I expected.
This is science fiction in the subtle sense. It deals with the concept of how technology affects our lives and our perceptions. I love films like this, especially when they are so spot on as this one. The most unnerving thing about this film is how accurate it is and how it shows the viewer the future that is almost upon us.
While I am comfortable with technology, more so than most, not as much as others, I have seen this type of scenario developing through the use of Google Glass and other devices. While the overall message is one of hope and moving forward, it does show that there can be a dark side with any major shift / advancement in society / technology.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Where Is All Of My Ad Revenue?
I suppose that the younger generation is more ‘attuned’ to the whole streaming video world than most of us baby boomers. I have been slow to pick up on it, but I have been making more and more in-roads into the realm as time goes by.
For those that only ‘glance’ or scroll through the Internet, you might be surprised that there is a whole bunch more to what you can do on the net. Selling stuff on Etsy, Amazon and eBay, writing editorials and fiction in the form of blogs on Blogger and WordPress and creating your own television station on YouTube.
Thats right, television. Ever thought what you could do with your own public access channel? Well you can have one and put ‘almost’ anything on it you want. Stuff you create or stuff you steal or borrow. YouTube (Google) will also supposedly give you ad revenue, since they stick little ads in almost every video that you might post.
While doing a little cleanup on my YouTube channel I was checking the analytic to see what the view counts were. The results are listed below. This is for the last 12 months as of 9/22/2015.
Much to my surprise, I have a new leader in the pack. It has been a dark horse for some time, but is now coming on strong. It is the rug making video that my wife had me put together about two years ago when she was into her rug making craft phase. (she has since moved on and now only does them for special occasions).
The previous leader in the race was an edited videotape that I digitized for a friend who was on the Price Is Right (with Bob Barker!). I edited out all the extraneous stuff and the video only shows Vern being picked and then winning big in the Grand Prize Showcase. It is humorous to watch. If you know Vern, you would now understand why he is called Mr. Hollywood after his turn before the cameras. If you want to see his 15 minutes of fame, there it is. Much to my surprise, videos of old game shows are big on YouTube. Who knew?
The rest of the top 10 list for last year is taken up by some movie trailers from old LaserDiscs that I posted and some of the Lost Memory 8mm film project which I have been working on for several years.
Surprisingly enough, none of my awesome 100+ Cinema Cycle reviews have cracked the top 10 (except for Kenny Loggins there at the bottom). But I am patient. It took Rug Making 101 two years to rise to the top. I am sure I have more diamonds on the rough out there waiting to be discovered.
Top 10 Videos
Browse all content
Video
|
Views
 |
Estimated minutes watched
 |
Likes*
 |
5,836 (69%)
|
25,973 (89%)
|
24
| |
339 (4.0%)
|
433 (1.5%)
|
0
| |
336 (3.9%)
|
190 (0.7%)
|
0
| |
235 (2.8%)
|
220 (0.8%)
|
0
| |
96 (1.1%)
|
81 (0.3%)
|
0
| |
95 (1.1%)
|
122 (0.4%)
|
0
| |
93 (1.1%)
|
156 (0.5%)
|
0
| |
83 (1.0%)
|
83 (0.3%)
|
0
| |
77 (0.9%)
|
86 (0.3%)
|
-1
| |
62 (0.7%)
|
101 (0.3%)
|
0
|
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