The Self Preservation Society...

Sometimes a remake of a movie is better than the original. Not in the case of the "Italian Job." The original was great. If you haven't seen it, make sure you do (the original)...and watch the extras on the DVD.

Anyway, the cliffhanger has been solved...40 years later...

...but don't watch this clip if you haven't seen the movie yet!

SouthDakota2008: North By Northwest?

What would any visit to Rapid City be without watching "North by Northwest"?

Time for a true story. Years ago, back in the early 1980's Paul's father taped "North by Northwest" off the local PBS station. Later Paul was rummaging through the betamax tapes (if you remember those) and came across the taped movie. Since he never seen North by Northwest (but already being a Archibald Leach fan), he popped it in the VCR. Just when the fast paced movie hit a climax (one of many) in a dusty cornfield of Indiana...the screen went blank. The timer had been set wrong when taping and stopped far to early. Back then it was near to impossible to get North by Northwest on a video tape so Paul had to wait literally five years to see the end to the movie.

So in preparation for our big trip this year, Paul bought North by Northwest on DVD. We watched it together one night in Rapid City...ahead of when we would go visit Mount Rushmore. It's a great movie and definitely worth watching if you are an Alfred Hitchcock fan...or if you are going to be in Rapid City.

Here's some clips we found on YouTube...the first is the opening sequence from North by Northwest (done by famous graphic designer Saul Bass) and the second is the trailer for it.

The opening sequence from North by Northwest...




Hitchcock's trailer for North by Northwest...

Back by Request...

It looks like Indiana Jones is doing well at the box office. Michele really liked this photo from our Indy Jones marathon last weekend and thought we ought to put it on the web too...so back by popular request...

"Minnesota Sam"

"Minnesota Sam" and the Basement of Bonbons...

Warning: Contains Spoilers!

This past weekend we had an Indiana Jones marathon. In one day we watched all three movies and then went to the cinema to see the latest one. Jessica and Johanna joined us for this monumental event. Surprisingly, our two year old Sam intently watched all three movies with us. We bought just about every kind of movie candy you can think of...and really didn't eat any of them (just popcorn). Anybody want a box of Milk Duds?

For the day, our basement became...
the "Basement of Bonbons"...
(recognize the scene on the TV?)
...notice the "treasure" on the TV stand...

In his guise as a little boy, our Sammy seems the average child...

Until he saw Raiders of the Lost Ark,
upon which he donned his fedora,
and became "Minnesota Sam"...

"Minnesota Sam"...
...and his father...
...eat your heart out Sean Connery...

Sammy snuggles with Jessica during a tense scene...

Usually wearing your hat in a theater might cause some to complain...
...but with the stadium seating we had, it was no problem for Johanna...

"Minnesota Sam" successfully raided the bowl of popcorn...

...only to be leveled by a booby-trapped bouncing ball...

This is Sparta!

We really haven't found a baby sitter yet. We truly enjoy spending our time together as a family with Sammy. But finding a babysitter is something on our to-do list. One thing we have missed over the last year is the opportunity to go and see a movie together as a couple. So today while Sammy was in day care (Michele only works 2 days this week) we went with our friend Johanna to an afternoon showing of "The 300."

The movie was pretty good, though not nearly as good as "Gladiator." The visual effects were excellent. There was an over abundance of gore though. We've seen there is some debate about the historical accuracy of this movie (which is about a real event). The one thing that amazed us was the size of Leonidas' mouth in the movie. It was HUGE! Who cares about whether or not Xerxes was really 15 feet tall as in the movie...what we want to know is was the mouth of the king of Sparta that large or is it just a myth?

A Movie Date...

Well, sort of. While Sammy was in day care today, Michele and Paul took the opportunity to see an afternoon movie together. So off we went to see the latest installment of our favorite Italian pugilist. Actually, the movie was pretty good, much better than the previous movie in the series. It was really something to see this sexagenarian actor who is in better shape than Paul was decades ago (don't even mention now). We were expecting Rocky to be using a walker as Rocky V was made over 15 years ago.

A real conversation whispered between Michele and Paul during the movie:

Michele: Where is Apollo Creed in this movie?
Paul: Dead.
Michele: Carl Weathers is dead?
Paul: No, Apollo Creed died.
Michele: Oh, how sad.
Paul: He was killed in a fight by Captain Drago in Rocky IV.
Michele: Uh-huh.
Paul: And Mickey died in Rocky III.
Michele: Uh-huh.
Paul: Yeah, his ticker gave out while Clubber Lang was beating Rocky.
Michele: Uh-huh.
Paul: And Adrian died sometime between Rocky V and Rocky VI.
Michele: Hush now, Paul, your beginning to scare me.

ROCK-Y....ROCK-Y....ROCK-Y....