Boots' Best - Microcosmos

A little back story -

I love the soundtrack to CORALINE by Bruno Coulais. I did a quick NETFLIX search to see what other films he scored and came up with this documentary.

MICROCOSMOS takes us up close and personal to some of the tinier creatures of the animal kingdom. The filmmakers used specialized cameras and microphones to capture a variety of insects in their natural habitats.

Some of the highlights for me -

An Ant drinking from a gelatinous looking droplet of water.

Ladybugs doing the horizontal mmm-bop.

An ant kicking the shit out of a ladybug and then pushing it off of a twig.

Snails waxing and taxing it.


Ants dragging and carrying things way larger and heavier than themselves across the sand.

A beetle with the curse of Sisyphus.

Rain - exploding on the ground and water! Frickin' awesome!

An ant getting pelted in the head by multiple raindrops then looking up as if saying, "WTF?!?!?"

The whole film is a visual and aural drug.

If you're the least bit interested in nature - watch this film!

Lingering Lost Questions

Less than a week to go!

Amongst all the myriad questions that still remain to be answered in the final 18 hours, here are the five that I want to see answered more than any others (and really, it's a lot of little questions grouped into five different categories).

Oops!

What happens when dim-witted David plays poker with the Devil?

Find out in Adam Pankratz's freshly completed short film, Oops!

There are two parts. Be sure to watch part 1 followed by part 2.

boots~

Awesome New Lost Trailer

 With the premiere of Lost's sixth and final season a little more than a week away, excitement is reaching a fever pitch amongst Lost fans.

Retro Review: Lisa's Substitute

Or the One Where: Lisa crushes on her substitute teacher while Bart runs for class president.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

On Wednesday, I jumped over to Peter David's blog and read -

Cowboy Pete Visits “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”

See this film.

More below.

See this film. See this film. See this film. Oh my God, see this film. See it. See it now. Stop reading this. Just go see it. Still reading this? What the hell is wrong with you? Go. Go now. Don’t wait for DVD. Don’t wait for cable. See this film. See it while it’s still in a theater near you. If it’s not in a theater near you, then move. See it. See this film. Go. Go see it. Go see this film. You know some films you should not see? This would be the opposite. Go see this film. Best Gilliam since “Munchausen.” See this film. Must see it. Must see this film. See it. See it now. CGI has finally caught up with Gilliam’s imagination. See it now. Good Christ, you’re STILL HERE? GO! Go, dammit! Go see this film! Now. Must be now. Do not wait because it might be gone soon. Go now. Go see it. See this film.

PAD

PS–See this film.

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So. I was going to go see The Fantastic Fox for the third time today but instead followed Mr. David's advice.

I have to say, people -

SEE THIS MOVIE! NOW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! WHATEVER IT IS, STOP IT AND GO SEE THIS MOVIE! SERIOUSLY PEOPLE! GO SEE THIS FILM!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassas is to cinema just as Jesus is to Christians


Self importance is to Atheists


Flatulence is to eproctopheliacs



Why are you still reading this? GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

I don't understand why no one is talking about this film! Every critic and pop culture magazine should be singing the praises of this picture. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN! OVER THE TREES AND EVERYWHERE!

If I had to attempt to describe it I'd say -

Faust II - Beetleguice in Wonderland (With a nod to the Bible)

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

Fuck James Cameron and his blue smurfy-cats. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

Heath Ledgers performance in this movie is just as good as his Joker! Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrel all play the same character seemlessly!

With Heath Ledgers death, this film has a supernatural undertone that could easily be a message from God (especially the way his character is introduced)!

Terry Gilliam is a Genius!

SEE THIS MOVIE!

X-amining X-Men 31

"We Must Destroy...the Cobalt Man!"
April 1967

Good as Gold Editing by Stan Lee
Solid Silver Scripting by Roy Thomas
Platinum Plated Pencilling by Werner Roth
Iridium-bright Inking by John Tartaglione
Lead Lined Lettering by Sam Rosen

Plot: Following a training session in the Danger Room, Professor X announces that Angel is back to full strength. In light of the recent lack of Factor Three activity, Professor X gives the X-men a few days off. Beast and Iceman immediately depart for dates at the Coffee-A-Go-Go. Professor X asks Cyclops to return some books to Jean, and Angel agrees to drive him.

Boots' Best - Julie & Julia

Amy Adams gives me impure thoughts.

Julie & Julia is about delving into creativity and disciplining yourself into realizing your abilities while pursuing a dream.

Without Ms. Adams, I don't think I would have even considered watching it.

In this film, she seems to have been given a "girl next door" treatment by the makeup and hairdo departments that accentuate her hotness. Watching her kept me enthralled.

I guess Meryl Streep did an acceptable job as Julia Child if you're into "good total immersion" acting.

As far as the film itself, there is a lobster scene with Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads playing in the background that had me smiling from the inside out.

The true test of any art is how much it inspires.

This movie made me want to cook. This movie made me want to write. This movie made me want to live.

Bon appetit.

A Few Thoughts on the Golden Globes

X-amining X-Men #30

The Warlock Wakes!
March 1967

Editor: Stan Lee
Scripter: Roy Thomas
Designer: Jack Sparling
Delineator: John Tartaglione
Letterer: Artie Simek
Manicurist: Irv Forbush

Plot: While training in the Danger Room, a giant hand suddenly materializes, drawing Marvel Girl, and to a lesser extent, the other X-Men, with it. A funnel is formed, and when Jean emerges on the other side, she discovers a stunned Professor X, drawn to the place before her. Their captor reveals himself: a mutant with tremendous power who calls himself Warlock. While using his power to null Xavier's, and with Jean in a trance, the three climb aboard winged horses and fly into a large cavern, inside which is Warlock's castle, adorned with modern weaponry and goons with machine guns dressed in chivalric armor.

20 Years Ago Today...

Retro Reviews: Brush With Greatness

Or the One Where: Marge paints Mr. Burns in the nude.

The Setup: After getting stuck in a water slide, Homer resolves to lose weight. His discovery of some of Marge's old paintings in the attic while looking for exercise equipment leads to Marge rekindling her talents.

Musings of a Palindrome

New blogs are cropping up left and right! The latest is from another longtime reader of this blog, and the other member of my writing group (along with Falen), Your Friendly Neighborhood Palindrome (I just call her Palindrome for short).

Check out her new blog, Musings of a Palindrome. Palindrome shares our love of leisure, and firmly believes that heart was the lamest of all the Planeteers' powers.

Boots' Best - THE SALTON SEA

In his best role since Doc Holiday in Tombstone, Val Kilmer plays Danny Parker or Tom Van Allen - It's up to the viewer to decide who he is.

Danny Parker is a tweaker.

Tom Van Allen is a trumpet player.

Peter Sarsgaard is a buddy named Jimmy.

An Asian guy wears a cowboy hat and talks with a cliche Western accent.

Vincent D'Onofrio plays Pooh Bear - a drug dealer with a fake nose like Humpty Hump from Digital Underground.

R. Lee Ermey and Meat Loaf have cameos.

There's a recreation of the Zapruder film with pigeons and radio controlled cars.

There's a heist plot to steal a celebrities . . . um . . . "something" in order to sell it on ebay.

Luis Guzman is angry.

There's a badger named Captain Stuey.

Needless to say THE SALTON SEA is unlike most movies. There are layers and depths my teasers above don't reveal. It's hauntingly beautiful and captivating.

Right now the film is available to watch instantly on NETFLIX. I saw it when it was first released back in 2002 and thankfully it still entertained and tickled my brain after multiple viewings.

If you haven't seen it, do!

X-amining X-Men #29

"When Titans Clash"
February 1967

Editor: Stan Lee
Scripter: Roy Thomas
Artist: Werner Roth
Inker: John Tartaglione
Letterer: Sam Rosen
Skating Instructor: Irving Forbush

Plot: The X-Men are enjoying an afternoon of ice skating when Cyclops unknowingly revives the Super Adaptoid android. The Super Adaptoid remembers a secondary command programmed into him by his creators, A.I.M: to create other adaptoids and use them to rule the world. He follows the X-Men back to the mansion to determine if they will make fitting subjects for his first transformations.

The ABCs of Awesome

I cribbed this meme from Michael May's Adventureblog.

Falen Formulates Fiction

Frequent commenter Falen recently jumped head first into the tumultuous waters of blogging with her new blog, Falen Formulates Fiction.

Head over and check it out, where you'll discover her love of writing, cool steampunk hats and the violent dismemberment of evil zombie hoards.

Boots' Best - BORN INTO BROTHELS

There is beauty in truth. This film is TRUTH.

Born Into Brothels follows Zana Briski, a photographer who lives in Calcutta’s red-light district, as she teaches a group of children photography. The children’s mothers are all prostitutes and there is little hope for the young artists to escape the same fate.

Heartbreaking yet beautiful, the documentary won the Academy Award back in 2005 and should be seen by everyone. Unfortunately, some people would rather stay in their comfort zone than empathize with other people’s dire situation.

Give the film a chance and hopefully be changed forever for the better.