Fool's Views (11/16 – 11/30)

Who is this Chuck Norris person and does he have a flashlight?

Howdy, folks!

Racing toward the 2019 finish line, but still need to recap the magic that was November! In addition to wrapping up our (perhaps ill-advised) Chuck Norris marathon, we also participated in our 15th annual Turkey Day with the good folks over at Kitley’s Krypt. FIFTEEN YEARS OF TURKEY, SUCKAHSSSS….

In all seriousness, I feel extraordinarily grateful to have been there from the beginning (or at least when Jon decided to start sharing the pain after two years of enduring it alone), watching the event evolve from a couple of dudes watching flicks and eating Thanksgiving leftovers to a glorious cavalcade of questionable cinematic adventures and delicious gourmet pizzas! There were 17 different varieties this year, including Miso, Paneer, Chili Dog, Crab Rangoon, Breakfast (meat or veggie), Rueben, The Drunken Billy (spaghetti pizza), Jalapeno Popper, Spinach/Artichoke, Italian Beef, Chorizo/Egg, Huevos Rancheros, Poblano/Corn, Mac and Cheese, Biscuits and Gravy, and Western (BBQ w/ sausage, bacon, onion). Many thanks to the rotating repertory of regulars for making the shared ride so enjoyable, and especially to the Kitleys for indulging our vast appetites for a decade and a half.

In other news, my Code of Silence viewing earlier in the month prompted me to dig deeper into director Andrew Davis’ C.V., splitting time between revisits (The Fugitive, Under Siege) and  previously unviewed fare (Holes, The Guardian). For some reason, he seems to have stopped directing since 2006 – not sure what the story is there since the dude was riding pretty high. Love to have him get back in the chair sooner than later.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

Fool's Views (11/1 – 11/15)

"Eleven #$%@&% Chuck Norris movies??? Are you out of your mind, boyo??????"

Well, with the crush of Scare-A-Thon 2019 behind us, the past two weeks have felt nearly luxurious. And by luxurious, of course, I mean we got to watch more movies! In addition to polishing off the handful of first-time views I’d grabbed as potential October Challenge selections, I finally got around to seeing Avengers: Endgame, had a Robert Pattinson double feature, and (drum roll please), embarked upon my first – and probably only – Chuck Norris film festival… affectionately dubbed Chucktober.™

You see, back in June, my buddy Dan Kiggins and I got together for a little movie day and randomly pulled The Octagon off his creaking video shelves. The wave of ’80s nostalgia sparked viewings of Invasion USA and Lone Wolf McQuade later that week, as well as the dawning realization that I hadn’t seen a majority of The Man Who Would Be Walker: Texas Ranger’s cinematic efforts, despite the fact that he cranked out at least a movie a year for over a decade before launching his nine-year television run.

It took a few months to work up the nerve, but the first weekend in November, I took the plunge into the pool of bad hair, dodgy fight scenes, and dodgier plotlines as a means of revisiting my youth (when His Blondeness was the spin-kicking champion for pre-teens across the country) as well as attempting to understand how someone with such limited screen presence and acting ability somehow managed to will himself into the realm of movie stardom. 14 films later (with another 5-6 still to go), I’m not sure I’m any closer to an answer, but it’s been an interesting journey to be sure.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!