Call me a softie, but I have always enjoyed this little romantic comedy. Yup, Sorkin is a lefty and his movie is replete with liberalism. This movie was the launching pad for The West Wing, another liberal media-blast that I found interesting.
Anyhow, I love this little monologue even if I do not concur on all points. I was reminded of it the other evening when Obama stated:
It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care. It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.
Whenever the movie is on I say the lines along with Michael Douglas, much to Gert’s consternation.
Most geocachers I suspect have seen the 2004 Nicolas Cage movie National Treasure. More a letterboxing adventure of sorts, Cage and his team seek a bevy of treasure following clues Freemasons left. Prominent in that hunt is a pair of eyeglasses found hidden in the bell tower of Independence Hall as well as following the shadow, I believe, cast through a turret of the tower. In that tower once sat the Liberty Bell.
Fritz and I were all over historic Philadelphia yesterday. I shared the plot of this movie with my one-year-old, hoping he will enjoy the adventure as he grows as his old man does.
Hmmm, all this talk of the movie has me wanting to see it. Perhaps I will rent it this evening. (more…)
Evil Chicken laments that the Wildwood movie theater he first saw Star Wars in is now a condominium:
I mean really – condos? The theater closed in the late eighties and became a “Laser Tag” arena where players would run around shooting each other while people played sniper shooting at the players from the sidelines. The summer tourist attraction was originally located close to the “Jack Rabbit” roller coaster and “Dracula’s Castle”, both of which are now gone – just like the theater.
I know that theater well. It is where I saw RockyII. I was thirteen, I think and it wasn’t playing in Cape May. One had to go to the metropolis of Wildwood in order to see the big movie that summer. The only way to get there was a parent driving and my folks eschewed the tourist attractions, particularly during the hight of the season. Yet, their little boy really wanted to see the hot movie.
My dad came to the rescue. Foreshadowing a later event, Dad drove me to Wildwood that busy night. I suspect he went to play bridge afterwards, but frankly do not recall. He was in a wheelchair and avoided movie theaters, particularly at that time. I recall him pulling up and me jumping out. I paid and entered alone. Dear reader, it was 1979 . . . times were different.
The trailers were playing. Woody Woodpecker may have even been on as I recall cartoons before the movies. Anyhow, the theater was packed, the lights were out, and I had just come in from the bright sunny resort. Being blind, an usher escorted me down. He had a little flashlight. He took me pretty far up. He motioned to one particular aisle and said there was an empty seat in the middle.
The opening of the movie was on, folks were geared up, and I was trying to find this seat. I couldn’t see a thing! I sat on at least one person’s lap. I eventually found my seat and refused to leave for fear of never finding my way back.
I was a boy in the shadows of Philadelphia. I was the target audience for Rocky. What a rush!
How I got home, is all lost at this point. Dad probably picked me up. He made certain his little boy got to see the movie he really wanted to. That’s how Dad was.
Evil Chicken mentioned the nearby Dracula’s Castle. This was always in the shadow of the much better Brigatine Castle, but fun nonetheless. I have fond memories of the castle. Later, I even knew a couple folks who worked it. Anyhow, I too recently drove by this area. It’s neat seeing the boards getting ready for the season. So many memories . . .
As for Star Wars, I had a much different experience than most. Released in 1977, I did not attend. I am not a science fiction fan, and despite the hoopla, I had no interest in seeing this movie. The movie was re-released a year-and-a-half later. It was then that I saw it in a theater (Beach Theater, Cape May). I was most impressed. It really was a good movie.
Despite enjoying it and having seen the other two originals, I never made it through the “new” prequels. I tried. I even like Natalie Portman. I just couldn’t make it through. I still don’t like science fiction much.
I was never the fan of The Planet of the Apes that all my friends were . . . sci fi et al. But I think there is enough in Heston’s back catalogue to keep one busy: Macbeth, A Man for All Seasons, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Mister Roberts, The Greatest Show on Earth, Ben-Hur, and Soylent Green.
We have been talking to Beetle about Easter. We explained that Jesus died on Good Friday and rose on Easter. She asked how he died. “Mean people,” Gert explained. “Oh, no!” was my daughter’s response. “That is not good.”
But whenever we speak about Easter, she raises her hands above her head and exclaims, “He’s alive!”
It reminds me of the commercial years ago for the movie of the same name. Ominous music played as a voiceover explained:
Some people are just a little bit frightened when they have their first baby. The Davis’s are terrified. You see there’s only one thing wrong with the Davis baby. It’s Alive!
All the while a baby carriage spun around. At the end of the commercial, someone came on with a high-pitched voice to announce the rating of PG. I used to chuckle aloud whenever it came on the television.
