There And Back Again, A Chicago Workers Tale

Chicago is a really cool place to work, especially when you are right downtown in the center of it all. However getting to and from work is quite a tale of its own. In the six block walk I encounter all sorts of things....

When boarding the train I need to find a place to sit. This has a very 'new kid at lunch' feel to it, because you don't want to sit by anyone, but there are never any open seats. Now, we Yankees aren't too keen on talking to, let alone sitting next to strangers. This is a feat I accomplish every day. Once I've acquired my seat, it's time for some people watching. There are all sorts of characters on the train that you need to watch out for because they are priceless. There is "woman who talks too loudly about personal information"..the woman said that she had a hysterectomy, lupus, and hepatitis C...I moved seats after hearing that conversation.

Next is "looks like a murderer businessman", the guy looks like Mickey Rourke, only not as effed up. He's got a big tattoo down an arm and makes everyone in his crew on the train laugh. They are sitting at the "cool kid" table.

After getting off the train and on my walk to work there are several more characters everyone walks by without even noticing them..

First there is "crazy guy that yells at his reflection", he stands right outside the train station. Next I encounter "guy that sits on a plastic crate with a cane" he sits there every day rain or shine. He has a cane and several copies of the FREE newspaper that, I can only assume, he tries to sell to people. See I don't know for certain because he doesn't talk, he just sits there silently staring at everyone.

When I get out of work I always see "looks like skinny Elvis" guy. I don't usually listen to his ramblings because I have music blasting on my iPod, but I'm sure he's an "end of the world" preacher.

Back at the train I always get stuck with "way too cocky conductor" on the train. He tries to bring style to punching tickets everyday, and impress the ladies I would imagine, by flipping the hole puncher around like a cowboy with his pistol, and making change from the coin holder on his belt with a bartender's grace.

Then I'm back home and ready to do it all again the next day. This journey I make everyday isn't as exciting or deadly as Frodo's or Bilbo's but it sure is entertaining.

Movie Of the Week

Sorry everyone, my internet went wonky last night and wouldn't let me post the movie of the week. We'll try again tonight.

Last Post

Could this be my last post?

Maybe.

Why?

CERN fired up the LHC, who knows you might be reading this blog and a black hole could absorb your computer.

Should I still check back and read?

Of course, movie of the week is being posted tonight instead of Sunday.

Fulci Lives

Well, his work does at least. Last night I watched "City Of The Living Dead", this is one of the early films in his big 4 of zombie films. (Zombi, City Of The Living Dead, House By The Cemetery, and his masterpiece, The Beyond) As you watch each film you can see how he progresses toward better editing, quicker paced story telling and just how far he can push the actors. Even the soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi sounds identical to "The Beyond".

"City Of The Living Dead" open with a priest hanging himself in a cemetery in Dunwich (former place of the Salem witch trails), thus opening the gates of hell. A woman holding a seance sees this and dies of fright...or so we think.

A reporter investigating myserious deaths throughout town is moseying through the cemetary when he hears our dead psychic screaming from inside her coffin. He breaks her out and they then begin to investigate.

People in Dunwich are dying very greusomely right after they see the dead priest flash before their eyes.

I wont spoil the whole movie for you but know that this does come with some excellent acting...Katherine McColl, Michael Soavi, and Lucio Fulci himself are all in the film. A definite must watch for any who are in love with the seedy underbelly of horror.

So for all of you curious, I moved to Chicago. Why, you ask...well because I got myself a job. That's right 6 months of unemployment finally paid off with this job. It's a sales job, and I'm still getting my feet wet with it, but I really like it so far. The fact that it is in Chicago makes it even better because I get to ride the train (Metra) and see all the crazy sights. I seriously work right downtown. There are a ton of homeless people around here, and I feel awful for them...then they go and yell at their reflection in a window and I chuckle to myself. I mean c'mon how can you not? You don't wanna laugh at them too much or ignore them too much, I read this news report in the paper I read on the train in the morning and 2 homeless people beat up this lady and knocked like 14 of her teeth out. That's insane.

Enough homeless, I'm sure you're all asking yourself "but how is the city". Answer...excellent! Thats all you need to know for now. If you do come here just dont talk on your cell phone while driving downtown...you'll get a mondo ticket. I live on the outskirts of Chiacgo in a studio apt, pretty small, but perfect for my needs. So now you see why Movie Of The Week has been a tad neglected lately. Work and also because I get up at 4.45 every day of the week.

It was so refreshing to get out of Detroit. That is one big pit of depression...and the news reminds you every single half hour. Chicago may have similar problems but thankfully they aren't up on their high horse about it. Also, there is always room in sales. I like doing it so far, but then again I'm only like 7 days in. Not much else has been going on lately, I'm still getting my bearings here in Chicago...oh I did find George Halas' masoleum..that's in the cemetery right near my house. Wiki him if you don't know who he is...and if you live in Chicago and don't know who he is...shame on you!

Well I hope that everyone is well...and promise I will try and keep up on the Movie of the Week postings!

Movie Of The Week - 8

I know that the last two weeks have been foreign films...so I'll jump back to some domestic stuff...or at least stuff in English. I will be putting lots of foreign films up on these posts...espcially Asian films, mostly from South Korea. They have really mastered the art of storytelling. Sure their films can be a little more slow, but the payoff is tenfold at the end. Onto this weeks movie.

This weeks movie is...
I don't care what he does now, or what he calls himself...Schwarzenegger is a Total Badass. From Conan to True Lies, there are not many bad films that he has made. This is one of my all time personal favorites. I especially like it now, with all the Mars stuff going on, we found water...maybe we will unmars (I feel the term unearth is inappropriate here) a similar alien machine. Plus I mean there is some chick in this movie with 3 boobies.

Synopsis:
The year is 2084. Douglas Quaid is a construction worker, every night Doug has been having horrible nightmares about the planet Mars and it has become very obsessive for Doug. Doug goes to "Rekall INC" a company that sales false memories of ideal holidays. When Doug has a false memory of a holiday on Mars implanted, it all goes terribly wrong. Doug has lost his memory and he is being chased by a group of assassins and his beautiful wife Lori is a agent who claims his whole life is a fake and he isn't who he is. After discovering he is Hauser, a former Mars Intelligence agent, Quaid goes to the colony on Mars, in hoping of finding answers. Where he meets a woman named Melina who is working for rebels and the assassins are working for Vilos Cohaggen, the colony's corrupt administrator. As Doug sets out to discover who he is and why Cohaagen is after him, Doug not only is finding answers, he also begins to question reality. Is the events of Rekall INC, being chased by assassins and going to Mars really happening? Or Is it all a dream?

Directed by:
Paul Verhoeven

Cast:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sharon Stone
Michael Ironside

Some Interesting Trivia:

David Cronenberg was set to direct and even wrote a few drafts of the script before Paul Verhoeven took over.

Over 40 drafts of the script were written, some of which depicted Quaid as a mild-mannered accountant (instead of a construction worker). According to Paul Verhoeven, although there were many changes made to each of the scripts, the final draft of the script was very similar to the first draft.

Johnnycab whistles the Norwegian national anthem.

References to "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy " include the annoyingly polite robot (Johnnycab), wrapping a towel around your head to avoid being found, and the triple-breasted whore.

Robert Picardo was voice of and facial model for the "Johnnycab" robot.

The original cut of the movie was given an X-rating by the MPAA for excessive violence. Some violence was trimmed and different camera angles were used in some of the more over the top scenes and the movie was then re-rated R.


Patrick Swayze was signed to play Quaid when the movie began preproduction in Australia with Bruce Beresford as the director. However, early in preproduction, Dino De Laurentiis' company went bankrupt. After Arnold Schwarzenegger heard about this, he persuaded Carolco to buy the script for him.


All of the crew fell ill due to food poisoning during production, with the exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Shusett. Schwarzenegger escaped because he always had his food catered from the US. This was because three years earlier, he had fallen ill due to drinking tap water in Mexico during production of Predator (1987). As for Shusett, he took extreme health precautions (such as only brushing his teeth with boiled water) which where mocked by the crew until they all got sick.

The miniatures used for shots showing Martian geography were based on Martian photographs.

One of the early versions of digital rendering of real-life objects was used in the scene where Quaid removes the fat lady mask.

One of the heavily re-edited scenes to get an R-rating was the escalator shootout where Quaid uses a human body to shield himself from bullets.

Body count: 77

Kurtwood Smith was offered the role of Richter, but he turned it down because he felt the role was too similar to his character in RoboCop


Christopher Reeve was offered, but turned down, the role of Douglas Quaid.

Trailer:

Movie Of The Week - 7

Many apologies for not posting the movies of the week. I was getting settled with the new job and learning the ropes. Plus I have to be up at 5am everyday to catch the 6.30 train to be able to start work by 7.30 then I get home about 7.30 at night. So posting isn't top priority right. Ok so enough of my schedule lets get into the films, its Labor Day and you're bored.

This weeks movie is...

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is the third movie in Park Chan-wook's (Chan-wook Park in the states, over in Asia last name is spoken and written first)"vengeance" series along with "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" and "Oldboy". These films are brutal, heart wrenching, and not to be taken lightly.

Synopsis:
After thirteen and half years in prison for kidnapping and murdering the boy Park Won-mo, Geum-ja Lee is released and tries to fix her life. She finds a job in a bakery; she orders the manufacturing of a special weapon; she reunites with her daughter, who was adopted by an Australian family; and she plots revenge against the real killer of Won-mo, the English teacher Mr. Baek. With the support of former inmates from prison, Geum-ja seeks an unattained redemption with her vengeance.

Directed by:
Park Chan-wook

Cast:
Yeong-ae Lee
Min-sik Choi

Some Interesting Trivia:

The snow at the ending is not real. They brought two trucks of salt, scattered it all over the street and finally adjusted the scene using computer graphics.

The bakery that Geumja works in is called "Naruse", which is the name of the Japanese director Mikio Naruse.

The two hired assassins are played by Ha-kyun Shin and Kang-ho Song. They played the two main protagonists of Boksuneun naui geot (2002), the first film in the vengeance trilogy, in which Song's character reaps vengeance on Shin's.

Trailer: