thunderbird 6

the year: 1968

the plot: The International Rescue team is faced with one of its toughest challenges yet, as the revolutionary lighter-than-air craft Skyship One is hijacked while on her maiden voyage around the world. Against backdrops including the Statue of Liberty and the Sphinx, Lady Penelope, Parker, Alan and Tin-Tin fight the hijackers from on-board, while the rest of the team tries to stop the airship crashing into a missile silo.

don't miss: the Wistle Stop Inn.  Miniatures with miniatures.  Boy, it must have been fun working on this movie!

did you know: the "Ball Room" set on Sky Ship 1 included over 600 painted ping pong balls. The set caught fire under the hot studio lights and had to be completely rebuilt.

listen for: "Now, let's have a rundown on the International Rescue craft. So far, there are five. Thunderbird 1: sleek, first and fast. Thunderbird 2: giant transporter. Carries all the rescue gear to the danger zone. Thunderbird 3: designed for space rescue. Thunderbird 4: capable of withstanding the pressure of the depths. Thunderbird 5: space monitor. Capable of receiving or intercepting distress calls from any part of the world. And I'm telling you, Brains, in no uncertain terms, that we now need a Thunderbird 6.

extra bonus points: if you know why it's funny when Virgil says, "I've got a tiger in my tank."

I stumbled across this one Saturday morning in the not too distant past, and it was so strangely bizarre...well, I just couldn't turn away.  By the time it was over, I was a fan.  How have I missed this?!?   I guess there was a tv show and at least one other full-length movie.  Miss Penelope's pink car is pretty impressive. 

in time

the year: 2011

the genre: sci-fi


the cast: Justin Timberlake (Will Salas); Amanda Seyfried (Sylvia Weis); Cillian Murphy (Raymond Leon); Olivia Wilde (Rachel Salas); Matt Bomer (Henry Hamilton); Alex Pettyfer (Fortis)


the plot: In a future where people stop aging at 25, and are engineered to live only one more year (unless they can buy their way out of it), Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of his war against the system.


don't miss: Will's car. Ooh. Pretty!


listen for: "I didn't mean to shoot him, I meant to scare him." "I think you did both."


did you know: While the movie was about people who would look 25 years old until they die, Amanda Seyfried is actually the only significant character who was 25 during filming.


extra bonus points: if you know the significance of many of the main character names.


also listen for: "Is it stealing if it's already stolen?"


disclaimer: there is a bit of violence. (not so much blood and guts, but quite a bit of shoot 'em up) and one makeout scene.

twister

the year: 1996

the genre: disater, I guess.

the cast: Helen Hunt (Dr. Jo Harding); Bill Paxton (Bill Harding); Cary Elwes (Dr. Jonas Miller); Jami Gertz (Dr. Melissa Reeves); Philip Seymour Hoffman (Dustin Davis)


the plot: TV weatherman Bill Harding is trying to get his tornado-hunter wife, Jo, to sign divorce papers so he can marry his girlfriend Melissa. But Mother Nature, in the form of a series of intense storms sweeping across Oklahoma, has other plans. Soon the three have joined the team of stormchasers as they attempt to insert a revolutionary measuring device into the very heart of several extremely violent tornados.


don't miss: Cary Elwes as the bad guy. GOOD bad guy. I hated his guts.


listen for: "He really is in love with himself. I thought it was just a summer thing."


did you know: I found the tornado in The Wizard of Oz scarier than any in this movie. Good thing there were flying cows.


extra bonus points: if you know what they used for the sound of the tornado.

the fantastic four

the year: 2005

the genre: action


the cast: Ioan Gruffudd (Reed Richards); Jessica Alba (Sue Storm); Chris Evans (Johnny Storm); michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm); Julian McMahone (Victor von Doom)

the plot: A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom.


did you know: For most of the shoot, Michael Chiklis was terribly uncomfortable in the hot Thing suit. The final street battle, however, was filmed in Vancouver in December, leaving him as the only comfortable one of the four (the rest were in the skintight blue uniforms).


listen for: "Oh yeah Ben, few days in space, it'll be great, what's the worst that could happen?"


did you also know: Ioan Gruffudd was very excited about showing his Welsh parents that he was working on a major Hollywood production. Unfortunately, the day they came to visit him on set, he was filming an elevator scene.


extra bonus points: if you know how Michael Chiklis got used to the prosthetic teeth used in his costume for The Thing.


also listen for: "Ladies, I'm gonna need to borrow your car." "The transmission sticks." "Not gonna be a problem."

night at the museum 2: battle of the smithsonian

the year: 2009

the genre: action/comedy


the cast: Ben Stiller (Larry Daley); Amy Adams (Amelia Earhart); Owen Wilson (Jedediah); Hank Azairia (Kahmunrah); Robin Williams (Teddy Roosevelt); Christopher Guest (Ivan the Terrible); Ricky Gervais (Dr. McPhee); Steve Coogan (Octavius)


the plot: When the Museum of Natural History is closed for upgrades and renovations, the museum pieces are moved into federal storage at the famous Washington Museums. After stealing a security guard's ID badge, Larry slips into the Archives of the Smithsonian, where Kahmunrah, an evil Pharaoh has taken the magic tablet and come to life. Also come to life are the old exhibits (i.e. Theodore Roosevelt and Dexter) and new exhibits (i.e. General Custer and Al Capone) and chaos quickly ensues. Larry enlists the help of Amelia Earheart, and together they try to put everything back in order and get the tablet away from Kahmunrah.


don't miss: the difference between a tunic and a dress.


did you know: this was the first movie ever filmed at the Smilthsonian Institution.


listen for: [to Darth Vader] "Is that you breathing? Because I can't hear myself think! There's too much going on here; you're asthmatic, you're a robot. And why the cape? Are we going to the opera? I don't think so."


did you also know: Hank Azaria screen tested Kahmunrah with various accents including American Southerner (from Alabama) and English Cockney, before settling on an "upper crust British accent" with a "humorous lisp" - a tribute to Boris Karloff's The Mummy.


extra bonus points: if you know which two additional characters Hank Azairia provided the voice for.


also listen for: "Would you stop narrating everything we do? Just live in the moment!"

trilogy: the bourne movies

Another of my favorite trilogies is the Bourne movies.

The Bourne Identity (2002)


On a stormy night, a young man is pulled out of the sea by the crew of a fishing boat. He has two bullets in his back and a miniature laser device in his hip, which contains a Swiss bank account number. After recovering, and traveling to bank in Zurich, the young man finds a stack of passports, all with his picture, and a huge pile of cash. Armed with the contents of his bank box, and with his new friend Marie by his side, he scours Paris for clues about his identity and past life... and finds himself in the middle of two assassination plots masterminded by the CIA.

Watch the trailer here.



The Bourne Supremacy (2004)


Jason Bourne and his girlfriend Marie begin a new life, living under assumed names. But when an assassination attempt on Bourne goes horribly wrong, he must re-enter the life he wanted to leave behind, in order to find out why he's still being chased.

Watch the trailer here.


The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)


Bourne is once again brought out of hiding, this time inadvertently by London-based reporter Simon Ross who is trying to unveil Operation Blackbriar--an upgrade to Project Treadstone--in a series of newspaper columns. Information from the reporter stirs a new set of memories, and Bourne must finally, ultimately, uncover his dark past whilst dodging the CIA's best efforts in trying to eradicate him.

Watch the trailer here.

night at the museum

the year: 2006

the genre: comedy / action


the cast: Ben Stiller (Larry Daley); Carla Gugino (Rebecca); Dick Van Dyke (Cecil); Mickey Rooney (Gus); Bill Cobbs (Reginald); Ricky Gervais (Dr. McPhee); Robin Williams (Teddy Roosevelt)


the plot: When unemployed, divorced father Larry Daley is hired as night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, he soon discovers that an ancient curse brings all the exhibits to life after the sun sets. Suddenly, Larry finds himself face-to-face with a frisky T-Rex skeleton, tiny (competing) armies of Romans and cowboys, and a mischievous monkey who taunts him to the breaking point. But with the help of President Teddy Roosevelt, Larry may just figure out a way to control the chaos and become a hero in his son's eyes.


did you know: Larry's inability to remember Christopher Columbus' name is a wink and a nod to producer Chris Columbus.


listen for: Gus's tough talk:
"Listen up, Lunch Box!"
"Sleep tight, hotshot."
"Do you want the job or not, snack shack?"
"Sweet dreams, cupcake."
"Keep a lid on it, butterscotch."
"Do you want to dance, hot dog?"
"Are you crackin' wise? I oughta punch you in the nose, Hopscotch."


did you also know: while filming, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson only had one day that they saw each other. Stiller talked to a toothpick for the Jedediah scenes, then three months later Wilson came in and filmed all of his parts.


extra bonus points: if you know what's important about the lady who played the woman in the employment office.


watch for: signs on the wall of the elevator and in the lobby, with titles paralleling what is happening to Larry at that point in the movie, including: "Spineless" and "Weathering the Storm".


also listen for: "Let's all laugh at me, the comedy night guard. No is the answer. Sarcasm back at you, with your humor box. I wasn't laughing. I was pretending to laugh, if that's what you want, some sort of battle of humor. Do you?"


don't miss: how Larry brings Atilla the Hun to tears.