Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Day #22,503

Walk km 14,365-14,375: a variety of parks in North Vancouver

Lynn Creek widens out into a pool
approx km 14,372 Lynn Canyon Park

Movie #2327: Vixen! (1968, Russ Meyer)

This is an odd one. The action takes place in British Columbia but the plot concerns racism, imperialism and communism (not a normal Russ Meyer concerns). It's just a regular romp in the woods until we learn the Vixen (the lead character) is a rabid racist and that her brother's friend is a draft dodger. Then a communist enters the picture and trys to hijack the little Cesna to Havana! The communist turns out to a baddie and the draft dodger is thinking only of himself but the racism subplot is just left hanging there.
I think Vixen would have been a big hit with Nixon!

Book #463: Fake I.D. (2000, Jason Starr)

In the tradition of Lou Ford from "The Killer Inside Me", we have a first person narrative by Tommy who appears to be kind of an asshole. Of course, that's just at first. As the story goes on we learn that he's a first class socioparth, a total idiot and a guy who constantly feels sorry for himself. What a winner!
Haven't read anything by Starr before but this is top-notch (although you will feel like taking a shower after you've read it). 

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Day #22,502

Walk km 14,353-14,365: Musqueam Park to Marine Drive Station

Meetup walkers checking out the horses
approx km 14,356 Southlands

Movie rewatch: Vanishing Point (1971, Richard C Sarafian)

This is from a new website called VIOOZ. It appears to be illegal (they don't charge for their movies) so it probably won't last long. They make their money from popup ads. Each time you go to another page on their site, another ad pops up. However, once you start watching the movie, they leave you alone.
Now to the movie: of course, this is one of the all-time classics. But this version seems a little different. Was that night hitchhiker in the versions I've seen before? Where's all the cosmic crap from the end? Here, they just show him running into the bulldozers and that's it. I thought the other versions reprised the vanishing act from the start of the movie.
This ain't exactly the greatest movie ever. A lot of the music is crap. The flashbacks are crap. But whenever the star of the movie (the 1970 white Dodge Challenger) is on screen, it's great.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Day #22,501

Walk km 14,341-14,353: Tynehead Park to King George Station


Movie #2326: Maigret Voit Rouge (1963, Gilles Grangier)

This was a nice change. Not one of those classic French movies of the new wave variety but a police procedural with Jean Gabin as Inspector Maigret. Probably the kind of movie the rank and file French cinemagoer would likely take in on a Tuesday night. Godard? Who's he?

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Day #22,500

Walk km 14,329-14,341(8162 to go): Commercial-Broadway Station to Marine Drive
some Meetup walkers
approx km 14,335 37th Avenue

Movie #2325: The Burglar (1957, Paul Wendkos)

Director Wendkos goes totally crazy throwing every trick in the book at this one. Script by David Goodis from his novel. So "noir" that it's almost pitch black. A classic.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Day #22,499

Walk km 14,308-14,320: Kensington @ Hastings to Production Way Station

Viking coming over the hill
approx km 14,308 Kensington Ave Burnaby

Friday, July 26, 2013

Day #22,498

Walk km 14,297-14,308: UBC to Quilchenla Park

Movie #2324: Shaun Of The Dead (2004, Edgar Wright)

Comedy remake of Night Of The Living Dead. Lots of laughs to be had as assorted English nitwits take on a plague of zombies.

Book #462: Of Long Memory (1994, Adam Nossiter)

A murder of Medgar Evers and the whole background story of Mississippi racism. Nossiter is able to tell the story without creating any heroes or villans. Nobody comes off as 100% good or bad except maybe Beckwith (the murderer).

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Day #22,496-497

Walk km 14,284-14,292: Braid Station to Boulevard Casino
Walk km 14,292-14,297: Drummond's Walk (west part)

approx km 14,295 oil storage tanks
between Drummond's Walk and Burrard Inlet

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Day #22,495

OK, I give up. I'm back on blogspot.

Walk km 14,280-14,284: to Safeway

Movie #2323: Carnage (2011, Roman Polanski)

My kind of movie. Four people get together in a room and yak yak yak. However, I couldn't really believe these characters or what they didn't do (they didn't just leave). Still, it was entertaining.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Moving to Twitter!

I think this was more of a twitter thing than a blog thing anyway.
Tweets are at @FerencLt
If I have trouble posting on Twitter, I shall return.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Day #22,475

Walk km 14,154-14,157: from bus to Golden Nugget

Movie #2307: Donovan's Brain (1953, Felix Feist)

My last night in Vegas so my last chance to watch a USA Netflix movie. Picked this one because I've seen some interesting movies by Feist. This one is good too. Brain is removed from dead guy and kept alive. Then it starts taking over other people's minds. Far fetched hokum is fun.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Day #22,471-474

Walk km 14,143-14,154: various walks to various casinos

Movie #2304: Boys On The Run (2010, Daisuke Miura)

Not very exiting sex comedy/romance. However, I have to admit that the ending was OK and unexpected.
Just read the only comment left on IMDB: he didn't understand the movie because it didn't have a Hollywood ending. #clueless

Movie #2305: Otaku (1995, Bastide & Beineix)

Documentary about Japanese "otaku" which is their name for "couch potatoes". However the items do not all apply to otaku (like army games in the countryside). Interesting for it's content but the film itself is just a hodgepodge.
I just looked at IMDB and it appears that Netflix has cut this movie in half. Was 168 minutes but Netflix shows only 77 minutes. 

Movie #2306: Attack Of The Puppet People (1958, Bert I Gordon)

They are not puppet people and they don't attack anything. Kind of a cutesy mad scientist movie about turning people into dolls. The mad scientist does this because his wife left him and he's lonely. Aaaah.