I'm just gonna speak briefly about movies, and the Expendables, just to show you where my head is at on this thing.
Often if I say I have seen a movie 28 times, it may be an approximation, but it's not an exaggeration. People who know me, know how this works. No matter how many times I saw it in the theater, once or four (*cough* Sherlock) or seven (*cough* Transformers) I'll continue to see this movie after it's released on DVD. I see bunches of movies repeatedly this way, all the time. Since like, 6th grade. My dad used to even bring me certain flicks that I'd watch repeatedly (he does the exact same thing with movies he likes, maybe I inherited it!), which is how I ended up memorizing the first Indiana Jones movie.
Around me, movies will be watched, all the time. Sometimes we make an event out of it, others I just enjoy it enough to let it run in the background while I'm doing other stuff. This is how I came to be able to narrate many films, almost word for word. Aliens and Tropic Thunder, for example are the current gems stuck in my head.
Some of us are serious hardcore film fan geekheads, and don't just watch movies, we read them, like favorite books. I absorb everything I love about a movie, from the body language of the actors, the dialogue, to the costumes, the music, production design, all of it. The way that actor tilted his head when he said that one word...the way that actress narrowed her eyes when that thing happened...the way the music hits on the same note every time THIS happens in the scene.... If it's a movie I'm really into, I will notice all of these types of things. It doesn't have to be some grand cinematic high-brow period drama either. The Iron Mans, the Pirates of the Caribbean, and Kick-Ass, for example, covers all of the aforementioned awesomely.
When you enjoy something this much, you don't have a problem seeing it again and again. You'll even go as far as often rearranging your schedules and people, so that you can all enjoy spending time enjoying fun stuff! I know several people who can't really watch a movie more than once. Others who don't even really care to go the theater that often. I totally don't understand these people. LOLBut thats' okay! I think we all experience things differently. Another example, I love art. Yet when I show someone a book I got at ComicCon, and all he has to say after quickly flipping through is, 'hmm, cool stuff'. I just wanna grab him by the lapels and shake him and be all " 'Cool stuff'?? Why do you not SEE how epic-ly AMAZING THIS IS?!"
So...getting back to this point, we all experience things differently, so I can totally understand how someone could not understand how I could have seen Die Hard and Terminator 2 well over 50 times.
Let's talk about The Expendables....
Let's start with the first teaser trailer I saw when we were sitting in the midnight release of Iron Man 2.We were sitting there and the trailer came up and all these familiar faces started being scrolled across the screen. I thought for a second that we were still in movie ads or something, until I realized it was a movie trailer.
I sat there in my seat, immobile. I felt like I was waiting for the punchline. Cause what I'd just seen was so ridiculous and impossible, I knew it must be a joke...a parody...something. The first words out of my mouth, to no one in particular, were:
"Am I in the Matrix???" ...
I heard a few chuckles from people around me, but I was actually looking for an answer. Was I? Had I not actually woken up for that day...and was just having one of my wacky, over the top, epically awesome dreams again??? Cause that would be the only way to describe what I was seeing....And then the title and came up. And approx. release time. And the person next to me leaned over and whispered excitedly, "That's The Expendables!!"
And my whole face fell off.
This is what disbelief feels like. I still don't really believe it. Every time we drove by an Expendables ad in LA (awesome, btw), I was all "Is this happening??"
Why? Well, take what you already know about me and movies, read above there. And lemme add how fun action flicks have an equally special place in my heart as many other flims. Especially if they're also funny (I'm looking at you, Tropic Thunder) I have the ability to be a fan of something for years, just as much as the first time I saw it.
Over the years of my movie watching and rewatching, few people have collectively risen to the top of my all time favorite rewatching lists as the cast of The Expendables. This is crazy, pipe-dream, next level fanboy/girl type fantasy fanfic type casting. I couldn't have written this cast. I wouldn't have even thought it, because it would have been too ridiculous.
To be honest, I could take or leave the others, but Bruce, Arnold, Sylvester, Jet, Mickey, and Dolph...these boys are at the tops of my all time favorite classic action-flick/pop culture fun, and have been front and center of many movie good times for pretty much my whole life. I never saw most of their stuff at the time it came out because I either wasn't born yet or wasn't old enough to go the movies, but I made up for all sort of lost time via sweet vids!
Would briefly like to do a shout out to:
Bruce Willis. the Die Hards. Fifth Element. 16 Blocks. Hostage. Unbreakable. Sin City. 12 Monkeys. The Last Boyscout.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator. T2. Twins. Kindergarten Cop. Last Action Hero (faved) Eraser. TRUE LIES. Total Recall. PREDATOR.
Sylvester Stallone. Um, First Blood??? (This is my only Rambo movie) Rockys. Get Carter. Cobra. TANGO & CASH! Demolition Man. Judge Dredd.
Dolph Lundgren. Universal Soldier, Punisher, I COME IN PEACE (so classic!!) Dude, we JUST watched Rocky IV like, a month ago. Twice. (Someone keeps tapping me about Master of the Universe, but I honestly don't remember that movie.) I had copies of I Come In Peace that I watched for the first time sometime after getting copies of Rocky IV and have been a fan of those since!
Mickey Rourke. Crazy, crazy ass Mickey Rourke. That's enough said really. But I will throw in Iron Man 2 and Sin City as two of my favs. Oh, and his performance in Get Carter.
Jet Li Wow, thank you Jet Li, for existing. Lethal Weapon4. Romeo Must Die. The One. (This is one of my favs..cause basically Jet said, 'I'm so awesome and unbeatable, I have fought and conquered everyone else. So the next logical step, is to fight myself.) KISS OF THE DRAGON. Hero!!
Seriously never thought I'd live long enough to see such a thing. Jet Li standing next to Mickey Rourke. What?? Dolph Lundgren standing next to Bruce Willis. Who's standing next Stallone, who's talking to Schwarzanegger. What?!?I'm someone who really appreciates the effort put into entertaining me, and I do love being entertained. It's just too fun.
And this recent bit of convo I had sums it up:
=Well, who directed it?
+Dunno!
=What's it about?
+Dunno!
=You don't know the plot?
+Nope. Doesn't even matter.
=Do you think it's gonna be good though?
+It already is.
=You're gonna love this movie no matter what, aren't you?
+You know that's right. (done in my best 'Gus voice')
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