Nerd Pride Radio

Adventerous! Good early Technicolor fun.

Pete's Top 36 36 Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai #5


There two in the collection that are focused on Fuji itself and the other is on its way. What is fails in giving us in ethnography of 19th century Japanese culture, it makes up by being DRAMATIC! Until I read up on it, I thought this was a volcanic eruption, with the slashes being lava flows, but the title says it's a thunderstorm... either way it rocks!

I like it because it's different. But the other paintings weren't really about Fuji- and that's why I liked them. This is cool, but I like the culturally informative ones better.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #99:
Speed, directed by Jan de Bont, 1994

Quite exciting!

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #98:
Blood Simple, directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, 1984

I have to watch Blood Simple. It's time I filled in the gaps in my Coen Bros experience.

Blood simple was pretty good. But it was rough around the edges.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #97:
Safety Last!, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor, 1923

Did I mention last time a Harold Lloyd film was on here that he's a secret hunk

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #96:
Blue Velvet, David Lynch, 1986

Lloyd looks nerdy and meek from afar, but he's really a Hollywood nerd. He's Clark Kent, just take off those glasses you aren't fooling me

I have played a score for Safety Last. It's a fun movie. I imagine there's going to be some Buster Keaton on this list, too.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #95:
Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1987

Hmmm. While I think this is a good movie, I'd never call it "thrilling." Weird choice.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #94:
The China Syndrome, directed by James Bridges, 1979

Never seen it. But its pretty well regarded.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #93:
Night of the Living Dead, directed by George A. Romero, 1968

Trees, ranked. #80 out of 80. Walnut.

Walnut trees suck. They smell bad and produce a nasty, dry, bitter-tasting nut that nobody wants to eat when offered preferable alternatives like the cashew or pecan. Walnut dust gets everywhere very easily just from having the dry nuts sitting around. The leaves are thin and unattractive. The tree itself tends toward leggy branches and an unappealing lack of fullness or symmetry. The bark is heavily and deeply striated, such that you couldn't climb it without discomfort, but why would you want to climb a tree that usually has branches so thoroughly inhospitable for climbing?

Walnut trees can be good only in this one way: cut it down and turn it into wood. That's it.

Awesome, though I like candied walnuts, yes please. A thoughts: can you provide a photo with these, I'm bad at identifying trees.

Pete's Top 36 Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai #4



I dunno what he's making but he sure is making it nice. Once again working hard as Fuji looks on. As we know he doesn't do well when it comes to skin and bones, but I think he gets it here, or at least his awkward semi-grotesque style works best here. Love how the loop creates a second frame of Fuji. Perfect placement of everything. Ace meis en scene.

Bath?

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #92:
Body Heat, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, 1981

Full body massage?

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #91:
Braveheart, directed by Mel Gibson, 1995

Hmm. Thriller? I guess the question is: What's a thriller? Blood Simple? For sure. China Syndrome? Yeah, from what I understand. Night of the Living Dead? Uh... kind of? But Braveheart? A thriller?

AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills is a list of the top 100 most exciting movies in American cinema.

Criteria:

• Feature-Length Fiction Film: The film must be in narrative format, typically more than 60 minutes long.
• American Film: The film must be in the English language with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States.
• Thrills: Regardless of genre, the total adrenaline-inducing impact of a film’s artistry and craft must create an experience that engages our bodies as well as our minds.
• Legacy: Films whose "thrills" have enlivened and enriched America’s film heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #90:
The Poseidon Adventure, directed by Ronald Neame, 1972

When talking to other film nerds about the AFI lists, if they ever do it again, the top rule that should go is that they should be in the English language. How quaint. How 1790s to 1990s. But anyway, dismissing out-right American made films from American filmmakers who happen to speak say a Native language, should never have been a rule.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #89:
The Guns of Navarone, directed by J. Lee Thompson, 1961

Trees, ranked. #79. Russian olive.

Who are we kidding here? This is not an olive tree. This is a weed. I used to like these trees when I was a kid because I enjoyed their silvery green color. I said we should plant one. I don't recall all the words my elders said in response but many choice words were offered to support the overall theme: this is a weed, not a tree! Plus old wise age has revealed that it's an ugly tree. You see a lot of them along the highway in remote locations where nobody could be bothered to extract the damn things, and invariably they are bent and twisted by the wind, not in the interesting way that gives unusual trees character, but in a way that makes you wonder if it's just a huge nasty tumbleweed stuck there. This tree is not good for much. Maybe we can burn it for fuel. Apparently in Iran they make some mild analgesic medicine from it. Good luck with that; I'll keep taking Advil. It's not the fault of Russian people that this tree bears their name, but it should be a symbol of the overly aggressive, noxious Russian military effort.

*poke*

Trees, rated. #78 of 80. Butternut

The Butternut tree is ... a walnut tree. Yet another hoax. Oh, this walnut is "white" and "buttery" so it's a different walnut? No. There are a lot of delicious things in this world that taste nothing remotely like walnuts and you know what one of them is? Butter. Get outta here with this tree!

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #88:
12 Angry Men, directed by Sidney Lumet, 1957

Good morning!

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #87:
The Thing from Another World, directed by Christian Nyby, 1951

What is this sci-fi garbage? Take it back to that classic thriller, 12 Angry Men. The gold standard to which all modern thrillers aspire.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #86:
The Picture of Dorian Gray, directed by Albert Lewin, 1945

12 guys sitting in a room being grumps? A film where I assume everyone sits around an looks at a painting? Yawn!

Trees, ranked. #77. Sycamore

From here on out we're dealing with pretty decent trees or completely awesome trees. The trees of lower rank fall short in different ways, but are significantly mitigated by other goodness. After all, they're all trees and trees are something we need more of.

But if you're looking to plant a tree because you think we need more of them, maybe don't plant this one? Yes, it might get huge in the time of your children and your children's children and your children's children's children, and a host of creatures might take up residence inside some hollow trunk or limb. But this should be a sign to you that you don't really want it near your house, and it's prone to pests and diseases of various kinds, and it's kind of ugly in leaf and overall appearance. Some may find the bark fascinating and attractive but the fact is that the bark can't stretch so it falls off or just hangs there looking like dead skin that you desperately wish you had a giant hand to pluck away. As my mom always says, sycamore trees are named that because they look sick, and if my mom dislikes a tree then it can't go any higher than this on the list.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #85:
Dracula, directed by Tod Browning, 1931

Trees, ranked. #76. Pin Oak.

This is a pretty bad tree - weak, susceptible to a host of problems and mineral deficiencies, horribly overplanted - in short, it's a check you write for ultra-expensive tree removal that someone might end up cashing to their great chagrin. However, having grown up with a yard dominated by a pinoak, by far the tallest tree for blocks around, it was impressive and awe-inspiring. It was like the Sears Tower of the squirrel kingdom, full of acorns the loved. The grass beneath the pinoak for some reason was the softest and densest in the yard. The first time I mounted a bicycle, I rode it across the grass and slammed straight into the gigantic trunk of the pinoak as if it had been a magnet, yet in the strange nighttime dreams of childhood I used to sense it was a protection from evils that would otherwise be lurking in the yard. Still, it's #76. Don't plant them. Pick something else. I can't find a good photo because the ones online look ragged and scrubby. The ones I see and have known were ramrod straight with branches going around like spokes. Almost like some species of pine except with elongated oak leaves and a small green acorn.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #84:
Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hooper, 1982

Getting closer.

"Directed" by Tobe Hooper. Mmmm hmmm.

I definitely have a #1 tree, but wouldn't be able to rank the rest.

Also the pictures are helpful thanks! Though I do wonder if it's a bit like how there can't be an anti-war war film because war films in their nature have to play-up sacrifice and courage. In that way, it's hard to take a picture of a living tree and make it look anything but pretty.

My #1 tree: Red Oak. I planted one of these in my back yard and it's grown so beautifully.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #83:
The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Rupert Julian, 1925

Trees, ranked. #75. Cottonwood.

Pros: The leaves make a lovely rustling sound in the wind and they are great for situations where land might become flooded and you need to stop erosion of good soil.

Cons: Mess. Not very pretty. Blah.

Pete's Top 36 36 Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai #3



Epic standalone print of Fuji. This is the popular favorite in Japan, probably because it's awesome. And that's red from sunrise and white scragles from snow but I like to think of it as beyond hot with lava. See this is why you don't get close to gods, it's dangerous! It's a f'in monster

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #82:
The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by Robert Wise, 1951

Tahlvin wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:37 pm AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, #83:
The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Rupert Julian, 1925

Um, this movie is terrible. Lon Cheney, yes. This movie? No.

I mean, when we last performed this movie, the presenter had to basically warn the audience. Yes, this is Phantom of the Opera, but it's not a good movie...so watch out for these good parts and know that there's going to be a bunch of not good parts.

The Day the Earth Stood Still isn't a thriller. Its a philosophical stage play that's been filmed. Its one of those, "Here's the mystery and then a bunch of men are going to sit in a room and explain it to the audience and then, in case you didn't get it, another character is going to openly explain what the movie is a metaphor for." I understand there was a place for this in early science fiction (read anything by Philip K Dick), but its definitely not a thriller.