# 16 - Watch a cancelled TV show that is on DVD

So, I'm beginning to put together a list of possibilities for this item on my list.  I have (as of right now) the leading contenders for the choice, and I was wondering what thought people have on them.  These are all shows I have had an interest in seeing at one point or another.  If I had to start this tomorrow, I would not know which to pick.

I look forward to all comments and suggestions!

Oh, and I'd like my choice to be something which lasted for more than three seasons... does not seem worth it to watch anything shorter.

Farscape - 2
Macguyver
The West Wing
Highlander

Leave Huck Finn Alone!!!!!

Huck Finn Word Replacement

So, I'm sitting here enjoying a quiet evening watching Hawaii Five-O, when I received a phone call from my mother, who had a piece of information.  Apparently, some Twain scholar decided that race needed to be expressed differently in the 21st century.  As such, he has taken it upon himself to change the 200+ 'n' words with 'slave', and to take out the word 'injun' as well.  Really?  Are we as a culture really that screwed up that we need to have things sugar coated for us?  I think not.  With proper discussions in classes you can still teach to the original un-modified text.  Explain to your students about the context of the words, and the period that it was written in.  Huck Finn is a timeless piece of work, that does not deserve to be messed with.  Really, what's next?  Changing Winston Zedemore's line in Ghostubsters: "I've seen shit that will turn you white." to "I've seen shit that will turn you paler than your base skin tone?"

People in this country ( or any country ) that advocate the banning or editing the books that offend them, need to get the stick out of their asses.  You want to ban or edit a book?  Take a look at the Bible.

P.S.  I don't mean any disrespect to the Bible; it was just the best analogy I had.

Black Swan (2010)

So, I went to see Black Swan.  My wife wanted to see it, and lets be honest, shes gone to plenty of movies I've chosen, so it was only fair.  And I was mildly interested in the film.  Looked interesting, I've always been a fan of Natalie Portman.  So I was expecting to enjoy it on a moderate level.

This movie was WEIRD.  Not that it was bad, but the execution of the movie was weird.  I know I'll be repeating myself, but I can't think of any other way to describe it.  I really did not find it to be a bad movie per se, but something about it.... I can't describe it.  I was never sold on the plot. I had a solution to the key issue of the movie about 20 min in.  It was a case of if the characters thought for a moment, there would have been no conflict, and hence no movie.

And then, finally it all made sense.  Its directed by Darren Aronofsky.  You know, they guy who made Pi.  The film that ends with the main character drilling a hole in his head.  I'm 0-2 on his films.  I want to see The Wrestler, but now I'm a bit leery about doing so.

I dunno, my wife liked it.  But then again, she wanted to see Swimfan.

Tron: Legacy (2010)

This is by far, one of the most beautiful movies I have ever had the pleasure of watching.  It left me speechless.

I've never watched TRON.  Does that mean I have to turn in my geek card?  Maybe.  But this is not a movie where one had to watch the original to fully enjoy the sequel.  There is enough exposition in the beginning of the movie to make the plot understandable.  And exposition is where parts of the film fall apart.  Towards the end, the movie gets a bit wordy, but the final battle makes up for it.

I was expecting more battle scenes.  Once Sam Flynn made it to the Grid,  they got disc and light cycle battles out of the way rather quickly.  Which was VERY disappointing.  I thought the light cycle battle was AMAZING.  But way too short.

The music was excellent.  Not a tune out of place.  Even 'Separate Ways' and 'Sweet Dreams' fit in the places they are used.

That's all I've got.  I tried to write a longer review.  But this movie is beyond description.  As much as I like it, I don't think it would be the same movie in 2D, hence no future viewing of it for me.  And I'm OK with that.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

As the first entry on my 20 films off of the AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies, I chose 'The Deer Hunter'.  This has always been on my list of movies to see, but given its length its one I've always put off.  Clocking in at just under 3 hours, this is not a quick venture.

The running time is something I'd like to address first.  The first 50 minutes or so consist of a wedding scene.  Do I understand why the scene was there?  Yes.  It was meant to show the relationships of the characters prior to their departure for service in the Vietnam War.  However, they showed the relationships clearly in the first 20 minuets of the wedding scene, and the shorter hunting sequence, so we can cut about 30 minutes off the running time right there.

From here, we jump right to Vietnam.  This starts the ascent to one of the three peaks of the film.  One thing this film is known for was its depiction of Russian Roulette.  The first sequence has the stars of the film (De Niro, Walken, Savage) as prisoners of the North Vietnam forces where they are forced to play Russian Roulette. You can start to see at this point how the war changed the three friends.  Mike (De Niro) convinces Nick (Walken) to play each other, with three bullets in the gun.  They escape, but when they are being rescued by US forces, Steven (Savage) falls out, and De Niro goes after him.  Nick recovers in Saigon, thinking that his friends are dead, and you can see the huge toll this takes on him mentally.  The last we see of Nick for some time, he is running after disrupting a Russian Roulette game in a shady locale.  Mike yells after him, but Nick does not hear.

From here we return to the home of Mike, Nick and Steve.  Mike seems to be the most... 'normal' of the friends.  Steven is in a VA hospital, having lost his legs.  From a conversation with Steven, Mike learns that Nick is alive and in Saigon.  Mike travels to Saigon, on a mission to bring Nick home.  Mike finds Nick in the same gambling den, playing Russian Roulette, and strung out on heroin.  Nick has no idea who Mike is.  Mike fixes it so he plays Nick in a game of Russian Roulette.  As the game progresses, Nick finally realizes who he is playing.  With one last flash of recognition, Nick pulls the trigger, and the game ends.

The movie ends with Mike fulfilling his promise of bringing Nick home.

I know this was a bit rambling, but I could not review it with out some sort of recap.  I really enjoyed it.  Will I see it again?  Probably not.  Am I glad that I finally watched it?  Yes.