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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 17, 2016 9:27:31 GMT -5
Prince Hal did a fine job on Thursday talking about the many virtues of today’s entry, so I won’t try to top him. Besides, it earned its spot on my list not on the basis of quality but on the role it played in my own life. I’ve written elsewhere about my love for the original “Thimble Theater” strip by Elzie Segar, and of how I first got into it while in college. But that’s not the whole story behind today’s entry: #8. Popeye Growing up in the ‘60s, I was naturally familiar with the spinach-eating sailor man’s cartoons, but they never grabbed me the way those of Hanna-Barbera, Warner Brothers, or Jay Ward did. It wasn’t until 1979, when one of the Seattle-area stations began running a half-hour of the original black-and-white Fleischer cartoons, that I first became the huge Popeye fan I remain today. So addicted did we become to these hilarious shorts that my roommate and I started scheduling our afternoon classes around the show. For his birthday that year, I made a big color poster of Our Hero for my roommate, a poster I’m proud to say still hangs in his home some 35 years later. And we drove our fellow dormies to distraction quoting the great Jack Mercer’s best asides. Not long ago, occasional CCF poster Dr. Cyclops (another former roommate, though not from my collegiate days) loaned me his box set of Fleischer Popeye DVDs. They still hold up—I laughed my ass off watching them again—but it’s the nostalgia factor that earned them their place in my heart. Cei-U! Pardon me fer bein’ so repulskive! |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 17, 2016 9:49:13 GMT -5
#8 Smallville 2001-2011 I was totally hooked on this show . From the soap opera type Spider-man angst , to the young Kent learning to be a hero. In many ways Superman is my favorite hero for one reason- he does what’s right without repayment and he has a moral high standard to help others. But in this weekly tale, we are witness to Clarks powers slowly unfolding while trying to live a life as a teen in Kansas. Kristin Kreuk plays an absolute babelicious Lana Lang who is the primary love interest for the first 5 years or so and is just one part of an excellent cast for this show. Clark played by Tom Welling is perfectly cast and has a smile that inspires confidence and goodness. Cast as his friend and eventual enemy is Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor and you see the friendship deteriorate like a shakesperian tragedy as the show goes on. later on in the series, they have Lex’s father Played by excellent actor John Glover and the show only gets better. Another plus , was the great soundtrack of modern songs that became part of the landscape of the show. Available on Itunes, natch. The show loses it’s luster for me as the last 4 years or so become “ superhero guest star of the week”. I liked it simple.  The producers vowed that there would never be capes or tights but the very last scene in the last episode has him ripping open his white shirt to reveal the world famous “S”. Ahhh, that’s the stuff.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 17, 2016 9:54:01 GMT -5
#8. Pryde of the X-Men (1989)
This is a pure nostalgia vote for me. I had just gotten into the X-Men in 1990 when my friend first showed me this direct-to-video VHS. While I grew up on superheroes, I generally first experienced them in multimedia and licensed products and then went back to read the comics. But, at the impressionable age of ten, Pryde of the X-Men was the first time characters I knew and cared about from comics made their way onto the screen. There was a tremendous excitement in that, especially as Pryde captured my favorite incarnation of the team (the odd addition of Dazzler aside).
Let's be clear: this is not a good cartoon in most respects. It absolutely misses the point of the X-Men on so many levels, and the later X-Men Animated Series understood that, correcting so many things that went wrong here (most notably the complete lack of social allegory after the first few minutes and a sense of the X-Men team being stable/unchanging), but from a sheer nostalgia standpoint, here's where the X-Men first came alive for me -- and my favorite line-up to boot.
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 17, 2016 9:58:46 GMT -5
Nostalgia is an important part of these Classic Comic Christmas'. Good Memories are a blessing.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 10:18:25 GMT -5
Day 5... The Crow Because goth and tortured soul and avenging angel appealed to just about any girl entering the very early pre-teen age of adolescence. At least in my posse of angry girls. The soundtrack was bloody awesome too. Love, love love Burn by the Cure.... |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 17, 2016 10:19:40 GMT -5
Day 5... The CrowBecause goth and tortured soul and avenging angel appealed to just about any girl entering the age of adolescence. At least in my posse of angry girls. The soundtrack was bloody awesome too. Love, love love Burn by the Cure.... I adored both the film and the soundtrack when they first came out. Time has not been kind to the film, but the soundtrack just keeps getting better. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 17, 2016 10:24:41 GMT -5
The Crow is another film I haven't seen. Maybe I'll put together a tally of all the films and shows that I have never watched.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Dec 17, 2016 10:43:59 GMT -5
#8: 300 (2006)  My number 8 pick is Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's 300. Roquefort Raider already did a great job of describing what exactly it is that is so great about this film on the fourth day of this event. I can only echo his sentiments that, as ridiculously over-the-top as this might be, as a pure, action-packed spectacle it's thoroughly engrossing. Historically, it takes a LOT of liberties, but it hardly matters, since, early on, the film clearly establishes itself as historical fantasy, rather than historical fiction (yes, there is a difference). The artificial looking and heavily stylised CGI effects that everything from the action sequences to the background scenery is drenched in serves to give this film a dream-like (or nightmare-like, on occasion) quality, making it feel as if you're watching some half remembered fantasy. I took a girl I really had the hots for on a date to see this movie, which may've been a mistake – hey babe, look at all these incredibly buff guys, while I try to woo you with my puny physique.  And even though I totally failed to get off with her, I still love the hell out of this film. It's pure escapism, dressed up in eye-popping special effects. No more, no less.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 11:19:52 GMT -5
The Crow is another film I haven't seen. Maybe I'll put together a tally of all the films and shows that I have never watched. The first one with Brandon Lee is the best of the lot...the sequels are awful though. There's also a tv show which is worth a look. A Crow reboot is supposed to be in the works. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 17, 2016 12:19:32 GMT -5
A Crow reboot is supposed to be in the works. Last I heard, it was dead in the water. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 17, 2016 12:24:39 GMT -5
A Crow reboot is supposed to be in the works. Last I heard, it was dead in the water. So to speak... |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 17, 2016 12:33:27 GMT -5
Day 5 brings Captain America, The First Avenger.  After 3 live attempts, somebody (Joe Johnston) finally got it right. This is Captain America, for all the ages. It has Simon & Kirby, Stan & Jack, Engelhart & Busceme, Byrne and Sterne; you name a classic Cap run and the spirit is there. It's also got the fantastic Peggy Carter, who Hayley Atwell raised from love interest to hero in her own right. It's got the Howling Commandos, minus Nick Fury (plus Union Jack). It's got the Red Skull. The film is exciting, yet never loses sight of Steve Rogers, the man. He is given a real personality, before he is given muscles. You root for the skinny little target of bullies, who just won't stay down. You cheer when you see a tired Cap leading a a crowd of freed prisoners, after being told that a rescue isn't feasible. You chant F@#$ yeah, as Cap takes out Nazis left and right. My only quibble is that the second act crams a lot of cool stuff into a montage, and the third act feels a bit rushed. If it were up to me, the film would have ended in WW2 and the sequel would pick up the story and end with his final mission. But, the studio had to get to Avengers quickly, since no one can wait for things anymore. For my money, this is the height of the Marvel films. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 13:32:40 GMT -5
On the fifth day of Christmas, we're going to save the universe...  The original Flash Gordon serial featuring Buster Crabbe as Flash and...  This wasn't my first encounter with Flash (that is later in the list) but it was one that had special memories because of my dad (again). My dad knew I was into Flash and talked about watching the old serials as a kid in the theatre and reading the Sunday pages. Sometime circa 1980-1981, he discovered our local PBS station was playing thee on Sunday late afternoon/early evenings and we sat down and watched as many of the episodes we could manage (we missed a few). My dad wasn't into the comics an d sci-fi like I was, but there were rare crossover (Flash Gordon, Tarzan and the Phantom primarily) where out interests met and these were things we shared together, so have become important parts of the fabric of my love for the medium. I re-wathced this serial a few months back, and it is still as fan and as enjoyable experience as the first time I saw it, thus cementing its place among my favorites. -M |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 17, 2016 14:54:17 GMT -5
On the 5th Day of Christmas, the Russos gave to me 12 superheroes, 2 super-villains, and a really cool airport fight scene 8. Captain America: Civil War (2016) I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I could have put half its films on this list. But I'm not. I only made room for one. Iron Man was a great film. I loved it more than I've ever loved the Iron Man comic. Robert Downey Jr. created an iconic character. The Avengers was perhaps the best pure-fun rollercoaster blockbuster I had yet seen. The movie didn't capture for me anything much of what I love about Avengers. But it didn't matter. It was such a nonstop thrill ride. I laughed and gasped at every moment it wanted me to. I was completely under its spell. And Guardians of the Galaxy... is a movie whose existence made me so ridiculously happy. I consider this film released earlier in the year to be the height of the MCU. At least so far. I think Cei-U! was generous in allowing us to include films from up to this year. Including 2017 films might have been pushing it. But I'm already pretty convinced that Spider-Man: Homecoming is my favorite superhero film of all time. Superhero action. I just hadn't yet been that impressed with the films. Some hints of cool powers seen in a couple X-Men films, as I mentioned before. But this is what I was looking for. An all-out brawl where people are using their powers. I wanted Ant-Man riding Hawkeye's arrow and getting inside Iron Man's circuits. I wanted Spider-Man grabbing Captain America's shield with his webbing and quipping during the fight to the annoyance of others. I wanted Ant-Man to become Giant Man. I love that airport fight scene.  And then the climax. About 95% of superhero movie climaxes disappoint me. But the pathos of the final battle between Captain America and Iron Man. Those actors exuded the emotion of the moment. I felt every blow. I felt like a saw a friendship crack further with every blow.  And, as alluded to, that was Spider-Man. My favorite superhero. Perfectly captured on the screen. This was it. This was the superhero movie I wanted. For now. I expect the MCU to top it several times yet. Tomorrow's entry is a film I have a history with. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 17, 2016 14:58:28 GMT -5
#8. Pryde of the X-Men (1989) I had never heard of the X-Men prior to watching this film. |
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And even though I totally failed to get off with her, I still love the hell out of this film. It's pure escapism, dressed up in eye-popping special effects. No more, no less.
