Day #23,022

Walk km 18,527-18,539: walk from Renfrew to downtown

the docks
approx km 18,533 from CRAB Park

Day #23,020-021

Walk km 18,505-18,515: to Marine Drive Station
Walk km 18,515-18,527: to 41st @ Dunbar

Book #521: Lights Out (2006, Jason Starr)

Another tale of NYC idiocy. All characters are morons who always manage to turn a bad situation into a total fucked up mess. In this novel the characters appear to be a little less morally corrupt than in the other two Starr novels I've read. However, they all  end up in the same place: either dead or wishing they were.

Movie #2630: Naked Prey (1965, Cornel Wilde)

Wasn't aware that Netflix had this one. Famous film as actor Cornel Wilde went to Africa to film this and came back with a gorgeous looking film. However, the plot leaves a lot to be desired. We're supposed to believe that a European hunter would be able to elude a whole village of natives.Every time the natives are near and they start running, Cornel always speeds way ahead and has plenty of time to arrange an ambush. 

Day #23,019

Walk km 18,495-18,505: Meetup walk downtown from 16th Avenue

False Creek shoreline
approx km 18,502 from the Granville Bridge

Movie #2629: Old Enough (1984, Marisa Silver)

A lot of the scenes don't really ring true but they're close enough that they keep you interested in the characters all the way through. Kudos to Sarah Boyd who played the 11 year old. It looked like she'd have a great career in film. Well, she does have a career in film except that it's as an editor and not as an actress. 

Day #23,017-018

Walk km 18,488-18,491: to Christmas dinner
Walk km 14,491-14,495: to Safeway

Movie #2628: Doomsday County (2010, various)

Well what do you know, Troma (the company famous for such 80s classics as The Toxic Avenger and Surf Nazis Must Die) is still with us. And they're still up to their old tricks. Zombies, vampires and aliens from outer space all converge on the title county. Appears to be a film school project as the film is made of various shorter films stitched together. In all it took 5 screenwriters and 4 directors to complete this total waste of time. I guess stooopid just isn't as funny as it was 30 years ago. 

Day #23,015-016

Walk km 18,471-18,475: to T&T and Safeway
Walk km 18,475-18,488: Meetup Burnaby Lake walk

river or lake?
approx km 18,481 where Brunette River and Burnaby Lake meet


Movie #2627: Mr Nice Guy (1997, Sammo Ham-Bo Hung)

80 minutes of cartoon violence in live action. The whole thing is done with fun in mind - nothing serious at all to slow it down. These 80 minutes must have taken an endless amount of time to film and edit.

Day #23,014

Walk km 18,466-18,471: to T&T via Main Street

Movie #2527: Little Rita Of The West (1967, Ferdinando Baldi)

It's a spaghetti western and the Rita in question is Rita Pavone! In case you don't know Rita, just imagine an Italian version of Lulu. And she's the fastest shootin' and hardest punchin' little pipsqueak in the west. Lots of tunes as well. A lot of fun poked at "real" spaghetti westerns and done with great style. A delight from beginning to end.
Also, this YouTube version clocks in at 97 minutes whereas IMDB says 90. Supposedly a lot of the musical numbers were removed by the producers for the American version (all the songs are sung in Italian). 

Day #23,013

Walk km 18,453-18,466: Meetup walk to 3rd Beach

Meetup walkers with horse statues
approx km 18,454 nearing Georgia Ave

Movie #2626: Whistling In The Dark (1933, Elliott Nugent)

Surprisingly good early comedy. No WC Fields or Marx Bros here, just Ernest Truex. No, I don't know this guy either but he has a nice flair for comedy. And Edward Arnold plays the villain (easy one there). Fun.
Found on the internet: Apparently Truex and Arnold played these roles on Broadway so they had plenty of time to get them down pat.

Day #23,012

Walk km 18,449-18,453: to birthday meal

Movie #2625: The 27th Day (1957, William Asher)

Not your usual 1950s scifi movie. Five people from 5 countries (USA, USSR, UK, China, Germany) are given a super bomb by space aliens. The test is to see if they can remain peaceful for 27 days (not use the bomb). Of course, the Russians are intent on using it right away (after all this was 1957). Interesting,

Movie rewatch: Artists And Models (1955, Frank Tashlin)

Style. This one's got it in spades.   

Day #23,010-011

Walk km 18,434-18,438: to T&T via Crab Park
Walk km 18,438-18,441: to the library
Walk km 18,441-18,449 (4561 to go): Meetup Christmas lights walk 

Book #520: Nothing Personal (1998, Jason Starr)

The characters in a Starr novel sure are disgusting. But it's not the revolting and idiotic things that they do that make for an enjoyable read. It's their thought processes. No matter how obnoxious their behavior, they always manage to find a way to blame someone else.

Day #23,008-009

Walk km 18,416-18,434: 11 city walk

a boundary
approx km 18,425 between Richmond (left side) and New Westminster (right side)

Movie rewatch: Tattooed Stranger (1950, Edward Montagne)

It may not be great shakes as a police procedural but it's got one big thing going for it: instead of being shot on Hollywood backlots, this was shot on the streets of Brooklyn. Loved the look of it. 

Movie #2624: Corner Gas: The Movie (2014, David Storey)

One last shot at making a few bucks from Corner Gas. The movie is just like a longer episode of the TV show. Some of the cast members are beginning to look their age. Could have done without this. IMDB rating is 81?

Day #23,007

Movie #2623: Traffic (1971, Jacques Tati)

Tati tries to drag the 1920s style of comedy into the 70s. There's a ton of wimsy and a whole lot of sight gags. Akin to watching paint dry. Watch only if you are looking to cure your insomnia.

Day #22,006

Walk km 18,406-18,416: Meetup walk in Pacific Spirit Park

almost finished my rice/corn/fish meal
km 18,416 Bubble Waffle Cafe

Day #22,005

Walk km 18,395-18,399: to Safeway
Walk km 18,399-18,406: to the library and T&T

Movie #2622: Curse Of The Undead (1959, Edward Dein)

From Edward Dein who brought you "Shack Out On 101" comes the first vampire western. It's a religious battle as the devil posssesed vampire fights it out with the town's preacher. So goofy that you won't believe what you're seeing. A classic.

Day #23,003-004

Walk km 18,383-13,395: around downtown Vancouver

an airport scene
km 18,383 SeaTac Airport

Book #519: The Japanese Corpse (1977, Janwillem Van De Wetering)

The most offbeat police procedural novel series? At one point, the two main detectives try and play Bach on a drum kit and flute at the cop shop. And succeed. Very oddball which adds to the enjoyment of reading but slows down the page turning as the plot takes a backseat to more sublime pursuits by our detectives.

Movie rewatch: The Big Lebowski (1998, Coen brothers)

Proves that all movies watched on a plane are not wrecked by the awful surroundings. At least it's not if the movie happens to be the greatest comedy ever filmed.

Movie #2621: Good Ol' Freda (2013, Ryan White)

Do I hear the bottom of the barrel being scraped? A documentary about the Beatles first secretary. Freda ran the Beatles Fan Club. Due to the subject matter I enjoyed this one despite that scrapping noise.

Day #23,002

Walk km 18,379-18,383: to McDonald's

Movie #2620: Who Done It (1942, Erle C Kenton)

An Abbott & Costello movie. Not very funny. Mostly just Costello acting very stupid.
Just goes to show how far comedy has come since the 40s (Adam Sandler excepted)

Day #23,001

Walk km 18,368-18,379: over the river, into the park, up the hill (Prague)

some sorta big church
approx km 18,374 Prague

Movie #2619:  The Teacher (1974, Howard Avedis)

Better than I thought it would be. This was made by Crown International which was the king of the teen exploitation movie during the 70s. This one is also a teen sexploitation movie but as an added extra attraction they also include a psycho on the loose subplot. This psycho just keeps popping up everywhere until he finally acts like psycho should in the final scenes.   
Angel Tompkins is kinda bland as the sex crazy teacher. Jay "Denis The Menace" North is surprisingly good as the horny teen. But Anthony James gets the plum role: the psycho.

Day #23,000

Walk km 18,357-18,362: test walk to the Prague Hilton
Walk km 18,362-18,368: to EPT Prague

Movie #2618: Thunderbirds Are GO (1966, David Lane)

It's all so F.A.B.! Did you love playing with toys as a kid? If so, you're gonna love this movie. All the actors are puppets but the real stars are the toy spaceships and cars. Amazing amount of work was put into this to recreate the world in miniature although I did see a few cheats where real live action was inserted.
The plot is pretty crappy - Thunderbirds save mission to Mars at takeoff and re-entry with a dream sequence plopped in between. The dream sequence is kinda useless except for the puppet version of Cliff Richard & The Shadows. FAB.

Day #22,998-999

Walk km 18,343-18,346: Utrecht & Prague
Walk km 18,346-18,353: downtown Prague
Walk km 18,353-18,357: downtown Prague (evening)

holiday shoppers
approx km 18,348 Na Kipoke street Prague

christmas tree
approx 18,355 Staromestska Prague


Movie #2614: The Unbelievers (2013, Gus Holwerda)
Not really a documentary - just a hodgepodge. Some scenes of them talking. Some pop tunes. Some scenes of cars on a highway. A lazy man's documentary. I assume the 7.2 on IMDB is for the opinions expressed in the film and not for the film itself.

Movie #2615: Invasion Of The Saucer Men (1957, Edward L Cahn)

The usual competent job done by Mr Cahn. This one starts out as a comedy but then turns serious with only a few comedy scenes. Fun time waster.

Movie #2617: Hand Of Death (1962, Gene Nelson)

What a debut for director Nelson. Who could have known that within just a few years he'd have sunk so low that they had him directing Elvis movies (including his alltime #1 stinker, Harum Scarum).
Actually the biggest kudos should go to the guy in charge of the music: Sonny Burke. Lots of spooky theramin but the rest of the music was great too.
An unknown gem.

Maarssen

Day #22,997
Walk km 18,332-18,343: Utrecht to Maarssen

2nd class car on Sprinter train
approx km 18,343 Maarssen Station

Book reread: The Doomsters (1958, Ross MacDonald)

One of the later MacDonald's that doesn't use the plot device of the dead man who is still alive but using another identity. Or maybe this is the last without it - he started that in the late 50s.
Not as good as I remember it from the 1970s but how could it be.

Day #22,995-996

Walk km18,317-18,332: Hardenbroek to Culemborg

Movie #2612: Il Sorpasso (1962, Dino Risi)

A chance meeting between an extreme introvert and an extreme extrovert. Vittorio Gassman talks Jean-Louis Trintignant into coming along with him to a restaurant he knows that has good food. A few days later Jean-Louis has shed his introvert ways and is howling at the moon just like his friend Vittorio. But, sometimes if you fly too close to the sun........
Excellent. Available for a limited time on VIOOZ.

Movie #2613: The Killer Inside Me (2010, Michael Winterbottom)

A remake of the Jim Thompson story. It's just way too slick. Does this look like 1950s Texas? Does any of this look like what's going on inside Lou Ford's brain? Nope and nope. What's left? Just a regular crime film.

TV episode #135: Hazel (pilot) (1961,???)

When you're a kid and there's only 1 channel on TV, you'll watch dang near anything. Exhibit "A".

Day #22,994

Walk km 18,302-18,317: Bunnik to Hardenbroek

Sterkenburg castle
approx km 18,313 corner of Zuwe and Langbroekerdijk

Utrecht

Day #22,993
Walk km 18,291-18,302: Utrecht to Bunnik

starting out early
approx km 18,291 Utrecht