Sniff
One of the perils of watching a film on your commuter train is the risk of unwanted tears. Face it, no manly man worth his salt wants to be seen sniffing away tears by his fellow, anonymous commuters. Which is why I'm kind of bummed that I saw The Iron Giant for the first time on the train. Talk about the hype being worth it - what a beautiful, poetic, moving film. The moment that got to me the most, oddly enough, was when the Iron Giant flies for the first time, and Hogarth tells him to put his arms in front of him, like Superman. When he does? Killed me. I've read in many places of Brad Bird's genius, but having seen only The Incredibles I wasn't really able to grasp what people were talking about. Now I do. I was also surprised by how beautifully animated it is - sad, isn't it, that in such a short time I've kind of forgotten how great traditional animation can be?
Until Whenever
6 comments:
I LOVE that movie. But I think I've only seen one movie on a train, and it was some action/adventure movie I don't even remember.
I really liked The Iron Giant also. It's just a great story. My children would watch it over and over again.
I'm really enjoying your blog...
Seems like this might be in your area of interest. If you're looking at the credits, you'll see Pete Townshend is listed as an executive producer. That's because he's owned the movie rights for years. Back in 1989, he produced Iron Man: A Musical (wiki) with Entwhistle and Daltrey, as well as John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, and some other names I don't recognize. It's ok, with a handful of decent songs.
Searching Amazon, there's a remastered version with extra tracks.
If you're unfamiliar with this, I can pop up a couple tracks on my vox site this weekend. If there's a couple you'd like to hear, just list them.
Roger - As a commuter with a laptop, I see a TON of movies and TV shows on the train.
lori - thanks; after seeing it I am very eager to show it to my three-year twins!
bill - I've had that CD for years. I agree - it's not the greatest, but it has its charms, and a few pretty nice songs. I didn't remember Nina Simone being on it - I'll have to grab the iPod and check it out.
Ha! Doesn't surprise me. Simone sings "Fast Food." Back when I did a college radio show in the early-mid 90s, I'd always group that song along with Richard Thompson's "Fast Food" (Mirror Blue) and Andrei Codrescu's "The Difference" from his spoken word CD No Tacos For Saddam. Here's the essay.
Codrescu ends with Perhaps the time has come for animals to get paid for what they do. Perhaps the time has come for us to eat our children. Or maybe we should just tear down the Burger Kings. Then I'd come in with the Richard Thompson with no gap and cranked:
Small Mac, Big Mac, burger and fries
Shove `em in boxes all the same size
Easy on the mustard, heavy on the sauce
Double for the fat boy, he eats like a horse
Didn't mean anything by it--just enjoyed both and they all played well together. If I was working an afternoon shift, most likely I was eating a Whopper between songs.
Who would have thought that Vin Diesel would have made a movie that elicited a genuine emotional response from a large group of people?
I too really enjoy this movie.
Post a Comment