BAB Firsts (Karen's 1st 5X to Love post): Five Films to Love

This post was originally published on August 3 2009

Hi, Karen here, picking up where Doug left off with my five films to love. To be honest, I don’t have a top 10 list or anything like that. It would be difficult for me to narrow down my favorites in any kind of list, as I find my tastes seem to change like my moods. But there are many films that I will, as Doug says, stop and watch when I see them, regardless of how many times I may have seen them before. So without any further ado, here are five films that I have enjoyed and would recommend to anyone.

1. The Great Escape, 1963.

So much has been said about this film already, I don’t know what I can add to it. It features wonderful actors, like Steve McQueen, James Garner, Donald Pleasance, and Charles Bronson. It has an involving, suspenseful plot, and exciting action sequences.

My thoughts on the film are always colored by my initial viewing, which was with my father. I was in my late teens and we sat up one Saturday night and watched it together. I went in to it dubious about whether I would like it or not. But I came out loving it. I think part of the appeal is the fact that while some of the soldiers do escape from the German camp, many do not, and this realism, this honesty, was appreciated.

2. The Blues Brothers, 1980.

When I first saw this film, I thought it was a mess. I still do, but now it is an entertaining mess. It’s funny as hell, chock full of people you will recognize, and filled with wonderful music. And did I mention car crashes? It has lines that I’ve never forgotten, like “I hate Illinois Nazis”. It’s also one of the best films John Belushi did in his unfortunately short life.

It’s hard to explain to younger people now what Belushi meant to those of us who grew up with him. Sure, he was a comedian, but even more, he was a symbol of rebelliousness and anarchy that teenagers always gravitate towards. The other thing about Belushi was that he was not a good-looking movie star type – in fact he was a fat slob. But he was still cool. That gave all of us a little hope.

3. The Thing, 1982.

I have to preface this by saying that I love the original Howard Hawks film. However, John Carpenter’s version had more staying power for me because of the ability of the alien to assume, or even take over, the identity of others. This results in Carpenter’s version topping out on the paranoia-meter. Kurt Russell and a small army of character actors (including loveable ol’ curmudgeon Wilford Brimley) give very realistic performances. Probably my favorite scene is when Russell’s character tests the humanity of his fellows by putting a hot wire in samples of their blood. When we finally get to the camouflaged alien, the ensuing chaos is truly frightening. Adding to that are the special effects, which even today I find disturbing.

4. The Three Musketeers, 1973.

This is just a flat-out fun movie, directed by Richard Lester of “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help” fame. The film succeeds as both a rousing adventure and a slapstick comedy, with more than a hint of bawdiness thrown in. I think I see something new every time I watch it. It has wonderful stars as well: the dashing Michael York, gorgeous Raquel Welch, grim Oliver Reed, the delightful Frank Finlay, as well as Christopher Lee, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, and Spike Milligan as Welch’s poor husband. Truly a pleasure to watch – just don’t worry about the plot too much.

5. Excalibur, 1981.

This is another mess of a film, yet one that I find irresistible. Before this film came out, every depiction I had seen or read of King Arthur and his knights was one that showed them as gleaming, pristine saints. This film takes Arthur and company and throws them in the mud. It’s full of lust, violence, betrayal, and pettiness – and yet, we still see in Arthur (and also Percival) the very best in mankind. There’s also a distinctly other-worldly feel to it, particularly in the sequences with Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, and “the Dragon’s breath”. As Merlin states, the old world, the world of magic, is fading away as “the one god” grows in strength. Yet Merlin accepts this, as Arthur and his men represent a necessary change. Still, one can’t help but feel a bit sad for the loss of that world.

Another pleasure of viewing this film is seeing both Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson before they hit the big time. And Carmina Burana never sounded better.

BAB Firsts (Doug's 1st 5X to Love Post): 5 Films to Love

This post was originally published on July 27 2009

I'd like to start a revolving series of posts where Karen and I shoot your way our opinions of multi-media pop culture. Today I'll start with five movies I really, really like -- they won't necessarily be my "top 5 of all time" or anything like that. But these are movies I'll stop and watch when I see them on the telly, or even fire up the DVD player with them on occasion. So, in no particular order...

1. Planet of the Apes, 1968.

I've previously discussed not only this film, but the entire franchise (though not in exhaustive detail -- you can see my musings here: http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2009/06/get-your-hands-off-me-you-damned-dirty.html). As I commented at the end of the aforementioned post, I caught a few of these films last weekend on the Fox Movie Channel; I also spied the Tim Burton remake on FX just last evening. I started to watch it, and while there is much to love about it (time has been kind in regard to special effects, make-up, etc.), the general story and execution just doesn't do it for me. I think, although grossly different from Pierre Boulle's novel, that the folks at 20th Century Fox created a classic, a masterpiece, back in '68. Heston's melodramatics, Roddy McDowell's coolness, and the emotional acting of Kim Hunter really carry the story -- a morality play in a time when apocalypse in one form or another was (or maybe should have been) on the movie-going public's minds. As I said earlier, Planet of the Apes had a tremendous sense of adventure and even scariness for me as a child that is still there, but to which has been added a sense of appreciation for the larger stereotypes, social mores, and general ecological warnings that have jumped to meet my adult mind.

2. Logan's Run, 1976.

I think I first saw this on network television in the late '70's, although it could have been a bit earlier on HBO. I've only seen the film all the way through once, but have often caught bits and pieces on the various cable movie channels. What I remember is that sense of futuristic wonder at the cityscape and the terror of the premise that everyone had to die at the age of 30. When I first saw the movie, that didn't seem so bad; at the ripe old age of 43, however...

I recall that Michael York as Logan-5 was just studly enough to carry his part, and his range of emotions was strong. Jenny Agutter was of course beautiful as the VERY scantily-clad Jessica-6, as was Farrah Fawcett (lord, how I loved Charlie's Angels!!) as Holly. The scenes in Washington DC evoked the ending of Planet of the Apes, and further cemented in my mind that we all could be going to hell sooner than later.

3. Jaws, 1975

Wow. I don't even care to swim all that much and this movie scared me to death. Perhaps my lasting memory of the movie comes from a trip to Florida when I was 12; trust me, I didn't venture too far out into the ocean! As the film was huge that summer of '75, the various companies that bring book orders into the schools filled it up with books about sharks, shark attacks, ocean adventures, etc. I bought a book called Sharks: Attacks on Man. I read it until the pages came out. I recall that there were some photos in that book, mostly of chewed-up surfboards and people with mouth-shaped stitches on their sides and appendages -- ugh...

Steven Spielberg just did a fantastic job with this film. The characterization is wonderful, and the suspense created by the score is virtually without peer. Think how long it is until you see the shark -- but you know, you just know that it is a beast to be reckoned with. Spielberg got more out of a few notes on a piano... The film also has its memorable one-liners, and my favorite is Martin Brody's subtle announcement that, "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

4. The Empire Strikes Back, 1980.

A few weeks ago Karen wrote of her love of Star Trek. For whatever reason, and I don't have a good excuse to offer, I never got into Star Trek. I can't figure out why -- it was syndicated on television when I was a kid, and while I loved reruns of Batman, Wild Wild West, and the various Japanese imports like Ultra Man and Space Giants, I never watched too much Star Trek. However, when Star Wars Episode Four: A New Hope came out I was hooked!!

The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite in the 6-film Star Wars franchise. From the opening scene with the AT-AT Walkers to the ending scenes on the Cloud City, the film is just a whirlwind of amazing sets, new machines and characters, and growing characterization. George Lucas really made the Star Wars Universe with this film. He showed that his story was an incredibly dense tale that really did occupy a galaxy far, far away. The film ended with a feeling of darkness that left this young viewer yearning for the next installment. Three years would be a long time to wait!

Just as a last note -- I am one who really didn't care for the additional footage that Lucas added to his first trilogy of films when they first were pressed onto DVDs. I felt in some way that it was unfair to those who'd seen the movies at the theater, and although they were released theatrically in their updated versions, it still just smacked of money-grubbing. They should have left it alone -- it certainly wasn't broke!

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the "funnest" films I've ever seen! The chemistry between Paul Newman and Robert Redford is out of sight -- the banter, the physical acting, their facial expressions are just perfect. I know I've heard, as you perhaps have as well, that other actors at one time considered included Steve McQueen and Jack Lemmon. I think they made the right choices.

I think my favorite scene in the film is the battle to see who will become leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang -- just classic Newman! Of course the last scene is great, too -- that on-screen chemistry lasted 'til the end.

So that's five for now -- and I haven't even gotten to Rollerball, Animal House, or Caddyshack!

BAB Classic: 5 Perfect Albums to Love

NOTE:  This post was originally published on 27 January 2010.

Karen:  In the days of vinyl, and even when CDs were the newest format for music recordings, the concept of the album meant much more than it does today. Now music can be bought and sold ala carte; songs can be purchased and downloaded separately. You can make playlists that conveniently omit songs that are less worthy. But there was a time when you really had to take a chance and plop down your hard-earned bucks on a whole album. Oh sure, you might be able to buy a single off the album, but in general you were stuck buying the whole thing, mostly sight unseen. If you were lucky, you might have heard two, maybe even three, songs off of said album. Hopefully they were representative of the entire work. But often, this would not be the case. I don’t know how many times I got burned by purchasing an album after only hearing one or two tracks. I’d get home only to discover that those were the only songs I liked off the whole thing! Most of the time, an album might have three really good songs, then maybe another 3 that were ok, and the rest would be filler or stinkers. I would estimate that the vast majority of albums I have bought have had about 33% junk.

But then every once in awhile, the stars align, and you get that rarest of things: the perfect album. This is an album with no filler, no garbage – an album that hangs together and is worth playing all the way through. Sure, some songs are better than others, but even your least favorite ones are still very listenable. I’d like to share below five of my favorite perfect albums.

1. Lust for Life by Iggy Pop. Like a strange, scary butterfly bursting from his mouldering cocoon, Iggy re-invents himself on this album and creates a classic. Many will point to the involvement of David Bowie on the album and claim that this is the reason for such a brilliant work, but let’s give the Ig some credit too. Although I am annoyed with the cruise line commercials that utilize the title song (how come they never play the part that talks about “of course I’ve had it in the ear before” ?), this album is as fresh as ever, alive and vibrant. Songs like Lust for Life, The Passenger, Some Weird Sin, and Neighborhood Threat all have an aura of genuineness. Iggy’s emotional ups and downs are spread for all to see. The band features the Sales brothers as the rhythm section (who would go on to work again with Bowie as Tin Machine) and the sound is full and bouncy. Iggy’s lyrics are probably the most inspired of his career.

      2. Back in Black by AC/DC. Of course, anyone with any rock acumen knows that this was the first AC/DC album produced after the death of original frontman Bon Scott. Thank god the boys did not decide to pack it in with his death! Back in Black is a monster of an album, all meat, no filler. Brian Johnson stepped into the "singer" role -hey, so he can't sing, who cares, neither could Scott - and the band created some of their best songs, including Back In Black, You Shook Me All Night Long, Have A Drink on Me, and Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution. After many years this album is like that really comfortable pair of old worn jeans that you love to pull out of the closet and put on. It may not look pretty but damn it feels good.

3. Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet. "Who?" you are probably asking. I'll admit that Matthew Sweet is a more obscure artist, but that doesn't diminish his gift for crafting perfect power-pop songs. Girlfriend, with its Tuesday Weld album cover, was his big break back in 1991. It was also helped by an early anime video on MTV. But the music on this album is what's important, and every song on this album is just perfect. From rockers like Girlfriend to melancholy beauties like Winona, there's just not a wrong step on this album. The musicians, particularly guitarists Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd, are superb. Sweet's voice is, well, sweet - haunting, angry, mournful - a very expressive instrument. I can't recommend this album enough.


4. Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses. I don't think I'm the only person who thought, upon first hearing this album, that these guys were the next great rock and roll band. I still think they could have been, if drugs and personalities hadn't gotten in the way. This is just a tour de force album; it grabs you by the throat with the opening track, Welcome to the Jungle, and never lets go. Personally, I always liked that track, as well as Mr. Brownstone and It's So Easy, best of all. Because of the massive airplay of both Paradise City and Sweet Child O' Mine, I was sick of them for a number of years, but have recently begun to enjoy them again. I just still shake my head in disbelief over how the band disintegrated -and how ugly it was- whenever I hear their music. But this album just sounds better and better as time goes on, and makes one wonder, "what if?"


5. IV by Led Zeppelin. I refuse to call this 'Zoso'! This fourth album by what I personally consider the greatest rock band of all time only has eight songs, but what an amazing set of songs they are. The song I would consider the weakest, The Battle of Evermore, is still a fine tune, if a bit airy-fairy for me. But this is the album that gave us such monsters as Stairway to Heaven, Rock and Roll, Misty Mountain Hop - I used to play this disc over and over. And all these years later, I still love it. It's Zeppelin showcasing all their skills; they can rock with the best of them (Rock and Roll, Black Dog), get bluesy (When the Levee Breaks), and do sweet ballads (Going to California) all on one album, and do them better than anyone else. Zeppelin at the peak of their powers -nuff said.

5 "Coulda Been" Avengers Movie Villains to Love

Doug:  So about this Thanos fellow.  It sounds to me like everyone is pretty excited about his potential storyline unfolding in Avengers 2, what with the Infinity Gauntlet already having been shown in Odin's trophy room in Thor.  But what of some other super-baddies Joss Wheedon could have chosen?  There were certainly other possibilities.  Let's take a look at five marquis names that I don't think we'd have hated:

Kang the Conqueror.  Seems like I've moved from a purple-faced guy to a blue-faced guy.  For my money, Kang's the Avengers #1 enemy.  Of course, a fellow we'll get to in just a bit is 1A, but let's stick with Kang for right now.  With CGI, the possibilities for stories across time and space are endless.  And wouldn't we all get a kick out of seeing Thor on the big screen with the Two-Gun Kid??  Heck yeah!  I also thought some of the scenes out of the "Celestial Madonna", particularly the labyrinth under the castle of Immortus would play well onscreen.  You know, it's funny -- my older son is a Marvel fan, primarily because of the films as well as action figures.  He reads the occasional tpb, but doesn't by any means have a comic collection.  So when he saw the movie he was under the impression that the big reveal at the end of the film was Kang.  I decided to accept the spoiler and let him tell me -- I was pretty juiced about it, but when we went to see it together and I told him that it was Thanos we were still excited.  But I am a bit surprised that they didn't choose Kang.


Ultron.  Here he is -- 1A.  This adamantium maniac might have been harder to pull off, simply because there would have to be quite a bit of backstory squeezed into a 2 1/2 hour film.  But the possibilities of having the Pyms and of course the Vision join up are goose-bumping.  And you know what?  With a pic like the Avengers, where the cast is already pretty large, I'm not sure subsequent installments in the franchise will suffer from the busy-ness that the latter two Schumacher Batman films and Spider-Man 3 fell into.  Really, in the Avengers situation, the more the merrier!  I'd make one request for this character, however -- don't fall into the recent traps of making an army of Ultrons.  We've seen this overused recently in the comics as well as the DisneyXD cartoon.  He is big and bad enough on his own.  "Bride of Ultron", anyone?  Yeah, he had his nasty on in that story.

Dr. Doom.  What a golden opportunity for a reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise!  I'd re-do all five of the main characters from that movie.  It's not that I totally hated those two pictures, but let's face it -- they are quickly falling down the care-o-meter for superhero flicks.  The good Doctor just oozes silver screen appeal.  Think JR Ewing meets Amon Goeth meets Darth Vader.  Man...  Again, the castle motif comes to mind, as does the potential for time travel.  And you can't beat the visual of a Thing/Hulk slugfest somewhere along the line!

Baron Zemo.  This one might be a stretch, given the narrow Red Skull-focus of the Cap film.  But, we don't know what they have in store for Captain America 2 (do we?).  The possibilities of also introducing a Masters of Evil makes Zemo an attractive choice.  Again, you might walk the line of too many characters, but that classic line-up with the Black Knight, Radioactive Man, and the Enchantress and Executioner (see?  Thor tie-in!) would be a blast. 

Mandarin.  We know he's the do-badder in Iron Man 3, so why not extend him over into the greater Avengers?  Seriously -- was there a better Bronze Age reprint comic than Giant-Size Avengers #5?  Yeah, I know it was an encore of Avengers King-Size Special #1, but I didn't grasp that at the time.  So many heroes, and so many bad guys!  Who among you wouldn't think it was cool to see the Swordsman and Hawkeye square off?  Power Man vs. Cap?  I picture the Mandarin like some dark crime lord, behind the scenes but pulling all of the strings.  He could work out just fine.

5 Albums to Love: The Sounds of 76

Karen: For me, there's a certain year that always brings up a very specific group of albums when I think of it. The year was 1976, the bicentennial, and for a variety of reasons, it was a year that generated a lot of strong memories for me, particularly about music. I turned 12 that year, and was becoming much more interested in music and different artists. For the first time, I was really aware of what was popular. There were certain albums and artists that just seemed to be constantly played on the radio (no MTV yet!) and they define that year for me more than any other. Let me say that these are not necessarily albums I love -in some cases, I don't even like them! But they evoke a warm fuzzy feeling for me because they are associated with a particularly good time in my life. In no particular order, and in keeping with our 'five' rule, here they are.

1. Fleetwood Mac, by Fleetwood Mac. Yes, this album did come out the year before, 1975, but it hit number one on the charts in 1976, and you could not escape it anywhere! Rihannon, Over My Head, and Say You Love Me were huge hits. Personally, I always preferred Christie McVie's singing over self-absorbed flower-child Stevie Nicks, but I thought Nicks' song Landslide was actually the best song on this album.






2. Frampton Comes Alive, by Peter Frampton. Holy cow, was this huge! I had no idea who Frampton was, where he had come from, but just about everyone owned this album. I can specifically recall a summer night cruising around with my older brother and his friends, and this album playing. It's amazing that a live performance from a little-known English guitarist could take off the way it did. It probably didn't hurt that Frampton was a pretty boy either. I saw him on TV recently, and sadly, he has lost his long curly blond locks. But he's still playing guitar.




3. Rocks, by Aerosmith. One of the first albums I ever bought myself, back from when Aerosmith was actually good, and not just cranking out drippy power ballads. Last Child seemed to be on constant rotation on the radio for months, and Back in the Saddle and Sick as a Dog really kicked some a** too. The band really seemed like they were the the American answer to the Rolling Stones back in 1976. Too bad they wouldn't be able to maintain it.





4. Fly Like An Eagle, by the Steve Miller Band. OK, not a fan here at all, but damn if Fly Like An Eagle and Take The Money and Run weren't catchy tunes. Another couple of songs that were simply inescapable that year.








5. Boston, by Boston. OK, here's an album I really have no interest in, but I swear, every time I hear More Than A Feeling, I'm swept up in a huge wave of nostalgia. Although this came out late in 1976, when it hit, it hit big. For the most part, its success did (and still does) elude me. It just doesn't do a lot for me. But again, it was everywhere that year, with "Peace of Mind" also playing all the time it seemed.



Now I can hear you saying: where's Hotel California? Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? The Pretender? Well, those all came out pretty late in '76, so they're not tied to that year for me. Another album that I listened to in 1976 was Presence by Led Zeppelin, but sadly, Presence had little presence, although I love Achilles' Last Stand. Albums from 76 that I discovered later in life include the Ramones' debut album, and AC/DC's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. But when I think back to this year, the albums above instantly come to mind.

5 Songs to (or For!) Love

Doug: Hey, kids -- it's been a looonngggg time since we've done one of our "5 X to Love" posts. Over the weekend I paid a visit to my son, who is away at college. During the 6-hour roundtrip I had my iPod set on shuffle (you can hear 96 songs in that timeframe, in case you were wondering). The songs I heard were quite varied, and covered around 40 years of popular music. I heard upbeat pop tunes, hard rockers, deep cuts, ballads on various topics, etc. But what stuck with me were five really great love songs that, well... really encouraged that "physical" expression of one's love. Let's have a look, in chronological order:

1. Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye (reached #1 in the United States in 1973). Is there a more aggressively sensual love song than this one? Maybe, and for that you'll have to see below. This is funky, sexy, and truly leaves no doubt to the imagination as to what's being requested. Good stuff.

2. Tonight's the Night by Rod Stewart (#1 in the USA in 1976). "Kick off your shoes and sit right down". Yeah. Then what? "Loosen up that pretty French gown" and "Let me pour you a good long drink". Uh huh. The website Songfacts reports that this tune was never released in the UK due to the quite suggestive lyric, "Spread your wings and let me come inside." However, a commenter later down the page suggests that the song charted at #5 in Britain.

So far any of you having flashbacks to going parking with one of your first loves?

3. We're All Alone by Rita Coolidge (reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977). My lasting memory of this one is my first slow dance at a junior high sock hop. I was not an attractive 7th grader, but was most grateful to one of my longtime friends (we are actually co-workers now, and have known each other for 35 years - egad!) for taking the Sadie Hawkins route and actually asking me to dance! Yep, I was a pudgy little wallflower. Enjoy the karaoke video below!

Outside the rain begins and it may never end
So cry no more on the shore
A dream will take us out to sea
Forever more forever more
Close your eyes and dream
And and you can be with me
'Neath the waves through the caves of hours
Long forgotten now
We're all alone
We're all alone

Close the window
Calm the light
And it will be alright
No need to bother now
Let it out
Let it all begin
Learn how to pretend

4. We've Got Tonite by Bob Seger (reached #13 in the USA in 1978). I love this song. It's a departure from Seger's usual rock-tinged output, and a great ballad. Here is the second verse:

Deep in my soul, I've been so lonely
All of my hopes, fading away
I've longed for love, like everyone else does
I know I'll keep searching, even after today
So there it is girl, I've said it all now
And here we are babe, what do you say?
We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow?
We've got tonight babe
Why don't you stay?

Very tender -- a quite honest love song.

5. Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye (reached #3 on the US Pop Singles chart in 1982). So I asked above, is there a more sensual love song than Let's Get It On? How about this gem?

Hey, to close this out, do any of you recall when Marvin Gaye set our National Anthem to this beat and performed it at the 1983 NBA All-Star game? I couldn't believe he did it, but it worked. One of my favorite "creative license" jobs on the Star-Spangled Banner.

5 Iron Man Armors to Love

Karen: With 'Iron Man 2' less than a week away, I thought it would be fun to list some of my favorite Iron Man armors. Old Shellhead has gone through nearly as many costume changes as the Wasp! Some of these armors were designed for very specific tasks, and were only worn briefly. But regardless, fans seem to enjoy the variety of suits Mr. Stark has worn over the years. It looks like the new movie will give us at least three different versions. (Although I doubt we'll see a Hulkbuster or Undersea armor). Without further adieu, here are five of my favorites:
1. The original Iron Man armor. It's clunky and has a funky skirt...but it's still cool. It actually looks like a suit of armor, unlike later iterations, which were more in line with the typical 'skin-tight' costume look. It reminds me of a robot from an old sci-fi movie. And it looked pretty awesome in the Iron Man film!

Doug: It's funny how in both the comics and the first film they only kept him in this can for one appearance. I rather like it, and prefer the look to the gold suit that followed. One of the details that was especially cool (since Iron Man was powered by "transistors") is the antenna on the left shoulder. The helmet here evokes Ferro Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes.






2. Iron Man 'classic'. Ah, the classic red and gold look. Less bulky than the original, more streamlined than the previous pointy-helmet version...this was the look Iron Man sported from the late 60s til the early 80s.

Doug: What did you think of the "pointy-masked" variation? I guess I don't know why they went with that motif, but I didn't dislike it. This is of course the version that most of us grew up with, and as you said -- it remains the classic. When I think of Iron Man, this is what my mind sees.

Karen: Same here. This is "my" Iron Man, although I admit I like the way he looks now too. But this is pure nostalgia for me.

3. The Stealth Armor. Introduced in issue 152, this sleek black armor was used by Tony on missions where he wished to avoid detection. Of course, this issue came out at the time that Stealth technology in aerospace had become known to the public and was the cutting edge of engineering. And it looks really cool too.

Doug: Yep, the Stealth bomber. I remember the first time I saw it on the news. Wow. Only stands to reason that Tony Stark would know all there was to know about that technology, and make it his own.

Karen: Bob Layton and David Micheline really made you feel like Stark could exist in the real world. They brought much more real tech (or nearly real tech) into the title. I think the movies owe them a big debt.

4.Thorbuster armor. From issue 64 of volume 3, when Thor went power-mad and needed to be stopped. Utilizing a mystical Asgardian crystal as its power source, it also looked a heck of a lot like the Destroyer, which gives it instant coolness points.

Doug: Not too much to add here -- I wholeheartedly agree that anything resembling the Destroyer has to be cool!










5. Extremis Armor. Artist Adi Granov's fantastic work has redefined Iron Man and now he really looks like a guy wearing armor, instead of just another hero in a skin-tight suit. I love the metallic appearance of this suit. Obviously, this was a huge inspiration for the Iron Man films.

Doug: To me, the best thing about recent evolutions of the armor is it seems so much more true to movement -- any of the above suits would not allow the dynamism that is human movement. The special effects guys in the films have understood this, and in an effort to bring this great-looking costume to a sometimes-novice public they've crossed the bounds of unbelievability to make the casual observer at least say, "Hmmm....".

Karen: I think that's one of the reasons no one questions the "costume" for the movies - hey, he's just a guy in a suit -it could happen! people are willing to believe in it.




Honorable Mention: The Nose. Ah yes, you gotta love the strange sudden appearance of a nose on Iron Man's helmet in the mid-70s. All because an artist misunderstood a comment from Stan Lee. The nose is so goofy, but such a part of Iron Man history, you can't ignore it.

Doug: Short-lived, but oh so practical! This was the Iron Man that was appearing in the pages of The Avengers when I started collecting comics. And you couldn't have picked a more ridiculous panel to make your point!!

Doug: And if I could be so bold as to add another honorable mention, I'd like to offer the above-mentioned Hulkbuster armor, simply on the grounds of its sheer bulk. How powerful would the "transistors" in this baby have to be just to stand in it??

Karen: This was a close runner-up for me - I just liked the Thorbuster outfit a wee bit more. What has he got on his shoulders? hub caps??

5 Ray Harryhausen Movies to Love

With the remake of that 80s Ray Harryhausen classic "Clash of the Titans" set to come out in a month, I thought I might rank some of my favorite Harryhausen flicks. Much like comics and Star Trek, Harryhausen was a huge influence on my childhood, particularly his films with a mythological theme. Those movies had everything - monsters, heroes, wizards, gods! For a kid who loved to read the ancient myths, they were thrilling beyond belief. My only wish is that Harryhausen had made a film based on Norse myths. That would have been fantastic to see Thor and Odin, storm giants, trolls, and dragons. Ah to dream...

I'm going to present these in sort of a reverse order. Actually, except for #1, on any given day of the week I might rank them differently! All of them are highly entertaining, as are most of Harryhausen's movies. My only exception/disappointment would be First Men in the Moon, mostly because it takes so long to get going, and secondly, because of the low budget, which forced them to use kids in costumes to supplement Ray's stop-motion work with the Selenites. But I digress. Without any further ado, and presented in the miracle of Dynarama, here they are:



#5: Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). This is a very solid Sinbad entry, except for one thing: the miscasting of Patrick Wayne as Sinbad. Yes, that's American Western hero John Wayne's son up there, fighting giant walruses and giving Jane Seymour the eye. Nothing against Wayne but he just doesn't have the right spirit for the role (come to think of it, neither did Kerwin Matthews!). But who cares - Harryhausen again gives us our money's worth with such creations as Trog, the Minoton, and that funky chess-playing baboon! I think this flick gets a lower rating from me not only for Wayne, but because many of the creatures in it are simply versions of actual animals: the baboon, the walrus, the giant wasp, the sabertooth tiger. Just not quite as exciting as some of the other creations seen in other Harryhausen films. Oh, and for those so inclined , there is the lovely Ms. Seymour and Taryn Powers, daughter of Tyrone Powers. A solid fantasy flick.





#4: Clash of the Titans (1981). A wonderful tale of Greek mythology with Harry Hamlin as the hero Perseus, Burgess Meredith (AKA the Penguin from TV's Batman) as his wise counselor, Ammon, and an assortment of well-known stars in the roles of the greek pantheon. Really, how did they get Laurence Olivier to play Zeus? Hamlin is rather bland but nice to look at. There are some great moments -and monsters - in this movie; Perseus' confrontation with Medusa is thrilling and suspenseful. I'll never forget that tail rattle! The appearance of the Kraken, rising hundreds of feet above the ocean waves, is just amazing. The remake has a lot to live up to.





#3: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974). aka Groovy 70s Sinbad. That's John Phillip Law as the very cool Sinbad in this film - you might recall him from Barbarella (or maybe not). In any case, he's my favorite Sinbad and seems to have a good time with the role. The rest of the cast is pretty good too. I always dug the masked Vizier, who, not unlike Dr. Doom or Darth Vader, had a horribly-scarred face hidden beneath his mask of gold. However the Vizier was a good guy. Scream-queen Caroline Munroe plays a girl with a mysterious tattoo, and is Sinbad's love interest. And Tom Baker -that's right, Dr. Who himself - does a great turn here as the evil wizard Koura. But who cares, let's talk about monsters! The battle with the many-armed Kali is definitely a highlight of this film. Although Harryhausen comments that he was unhappy with the full-sized statue in the excellent book, Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life, the sequence is still dazzling. We also get a terrific battle between a brutish, giant one -eyed centaur and a griffon near the end. Although it is not a Harryhausen effect, I always liked the Oracle that appears in a sheet of flames; that seemed conjured right out of my dreams. But that's the beauty of these films: they are like dreams come to life.



#2: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). I've got three words for you: Cyclops versus Dragon! Perhaps the most spectacular monster throw-down in any Harryhausen film, these two creatures elevate this film to a high position, despite the general blandness of Kerwin Matthews as Sinbad and Kathryn Grant as the princess. You also have to get past the kid genie, who becomes pretty grating after awhile. On the other hand, my favorite evil wizard of all time is here: the menacing Torin Thatcher as Sokura, who just dominates when he is on-screen. But let's talk creatures. This film is chock-full of 'em. We get the cyclops (actually there's two of them, they're just never shown together), one of Harryhausen's most dynamic and expressive beasts. I love the scenes where he's going to roast Sinbad and his crew! Next up is the Roc, a vicious, giant, two-headed bird, and its baby, who is so fluffy and cute, he should be in a toilet paper commercial. There's a sword-wielding skeleton, and a dancing snake-woman too. But the show-stealer is the dragon, huge, sinuous, and breathing flame. I recall as a kid being fascinated by watching the dragon's sides move in and out as it breathed. It almost made me think it was real!




#1: Jason and the Argonauts (1963). The king-daddy of fantasy flicks. I re-watched (for probably the 50th time) this film just recently to refresh my memory, and there wasn't a dull moment. This film is just a thrill to watch from beginning to end. Our hero Jason is caught in a game of the gods, as he tries to regain his father's throne by recovering the mythical Golden Fleece. Along the way, he encounters the colossal bronze warrior Talos, the vicious Harpies, a gigantic sea-god, the 8-headed hydra, and the famous skeleton warriors. To top it all off, there's a wonderful score by Bernard Herrmann. Seriously, go buy the soundtrack -it'll make you want to go out and fight monsters!

My two favorite parts of the film are the sequences with Talos and the skeleton fight at the end. When the giant Talos climbs slowly down from atop the stone store-room he has been guarding, you hear his metal body creaking. Even Hercules runs in fear from this titan. Talos chases after those who have stolen from the gods (Hercules steals a giant knitting needle, of all things) and in a spectacular scene, straddles the bay, grabbing Jason's ship the Argo as the sailors frantically try to row away from him! He tosses the ship like a toy, and the sailors go flying into the water. When they reach the shore, the giant greets them, and Jason manages to exploit his weak spot, a screw in his heel. When Jason springs this, Talos' molten blood comes gushing out, and the giant dies, pitifully clutching at his throat. This was Harryhausen at his finest, giving an emotional depth to a character of extremely limited facial expression. Towards the end of the film, as Jason and his men make off with the Fleece, he is confronted by a group of skeleton warriors conjured from the teeth of the Hydra. The scenes of Jason and his men sword-fighting with the skeletal terrors are fantastic examples of the high degree of skill that Harryhausen had to employ to make such scenes look real. Yet they do - for every stroke there is a parry, for every blow received, a reaction. It's a thrilling sequence, and probably inspired many a Dungeons and Dragons game.

Harryhausen not only made some classic films: he inspired entire generations of film-makers and special effects artists. He is truly one of the titans of film effects, and all modern fantasy films owe a great debt to his genius.

5 Turn-it-Up! Songs to Love

Today we discuss five songs that, when they come on the radio or my iTouch, I turn 'em up loud enough that no one can tell I can't carry a tune. But when you're at the heart of your rock-star-wannabe glory, who cares?

Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin

What's better here? The head banging intro., Robert Plant's vocals (gotta love that Tarzan-like yell), or just the general gutteral growl of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones? How about all of the above? Shoot, I don't even know the words here -- I just move, man. People must think I'm an idiot...

Roll With the Changes by REO Speedwagon

One of the best bridges ever. Ever. Neal Doughty's organ followed by Gary Richrath's guitar. And don't forget Doughty on piano, either. I loved this one the first time I ever heard it, as the lead track on the album at right, You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish. And if that isn't one of the best names for an album, ever, I don't know what is.

So if you're tired of the same old story,Turn some pages.

Yeah!

Just the Same Way by Journey

Ah, yes, back in the days before Steve Perry had completely taken over lead vocals -- and don't get me wrong -- he has a phenomenal voice and to me embodies Journey. But Gregg Rolie is featured here, as he was on two of the band's other hits, Feelin' That Way and Anytime. What works for me here is the mixture of their vocals -- different pitch, style, but sounding great together. Sort of like the Reese's of '70's rock!

I like Jonathan Cain on keyboards, but Rolie's vocals gave Journey an additional resource.

Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC

Just when you think it's about over, it gets better. Fast, then slow, then fast again. A rocker worthy of stadium play, and in fact, I do play it when doing the PA at my sons' high school baseball games. Hey, I'm not interested in their music; folks on the fence have to listen to my music! Brian Johnson's vocals are great on this track.

Rosalita by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Doesn't the Boss just paint you a picture with a lot of his songs? None more so than here. The scenery, the characters, the situations... Clarence Clemons is great on that sax as usual, and the rest of the band meshes well, also as usual. Another tune that reaches a stopping point, but heads right into a crescendo that takes it home the rest of the way. Fun, fun, fun!

BONUS track --

Never Been Any Reason by Head East

The first time I heard this song I thought it was Emerson, Lake, and Palmer -- the synthesizer is reminiscent of ELP's Lucky Man. Head East hails from my native Illinois, originally forming at the University of Illinois. They never really had another hit, but this one's lasting -- sounds great everytime I turn it up!

5 Female Voices from the 1970's-'80's to Love

To say this is a varied list would be an understatement. Sappy AM radio material to electropop to hard rock -- I think I have it covered here. The following is a list, as usual in no particular order, of female vocalists who I really appreciate. Oh, yeah -- and I'm going to discuss 6 vocalists to love, because I couldn't pare down my list. Sue me...

1. Karen Carpenter, the Carpenters.

What's that you say? Did I hear a snicker out there? Shame on you and go dig out your mom's old LP's and check out this lovely lady who met such an untimely end. Whether it's Rainy Days and Mondays or Superstar, or the honey-dripping Yesterday Once More and Close to You, Karen Carpenter's vocals epitomized the new easy listening style of the early to mid-1970's. She was tailor-made for the diversion of AM and FM radio, maintaining a presence on what would become the "older" frequency, seemingly left behind by rock's progression into experimentation.

2. Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac.

I'll bet more people identify Stevie Nicks with the band than they do Christine McVie. And that's fine -- it was Nicks and then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham who made Fleetwood Mac the commercial success they became in the 1970's and on into the next decade. But McVie was there first, and continued to produce hits. Her voice was quite different from Nicks, and really fit the personality of the songs on which she sang lead vocals. Don't Stop, Little Lies, Everywhere, Hold Me, Over My Head, and You Make Loving Fun are all standards for the band, and for those who listened to Top 40 radio during the Bronze Age of Comics.

3. Alison Moyet, Yazoo.

College rock, my friends. Don't Go alone puts her on this list. Situation is no slouch, either. Wow -- what a voice. Big, powerful... she is truly gifted. Now I would not say I'm a Yaz (as they are known in the States) fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I could never forget some of their songs that we listened to on 12" singles, at frat parties, etc. Good stuff!

4. Chrissie Hynde, the Pretenders.

The Pretenders have been a lasting act, first hitting it big in the US in 1980 with the catchy Brass in Pocket. Middle of the Road and Back on the Chain Gang got huge radio play in the mid-'80's as well. Hynde's punky, sometimes bluesy vocals are often sassy -- appropriate for the sound of the band. A side note on Hynde -- although the Pretenders were formed in the UK, she originally hails from Akron, Ohio and was a student at Kent State in 1970 during the infamous Kent State killings.

5. Pat Benatar.

Seriously -- you can't forget the intro. to Heartbreaker, Benatar's breakthrough hit. Although she slipped into video "say what?!" with her crazy dancing performance in Love is a Battlefield I'll forgive her. And despite her diminutive size (she's what, five feet tall?), her voice is impressive.

6. Ann Wilson, Heart

Here's your bonus -- how could I leave the Wilson sisters off the list? Straight On, Dreamboat Annie, Barracuda, Magic Man, Even it Up, and on and on. Rockers, hit makers, and let's face it -- Nancy's held up pretty well over the years. But it has always been Ann's driving, even loud, vocals that symbolize the band's sound. When I think of Heart, it's Ann Wilson that I hear first -- not any trademark musical sound.