I wouldn’t recommend the habit of channel surfing when it comes to selecting an evening’s movie. Jumping into the middle of even a great movie and catching a few seconds of dialogue out of context can look mighty odd. It’s something that doesn’t happen with TV, which is often designed for people to jump in at any moment. I liken the sensation to listening to a random 30 second clip of a song on Amazon and believing you’ve got a full sense of what that track sounds like or how it is they got to that weird, minor key transition.
Regardless, I did not have control of the remote Friday night, and it’s amazing what you can pick up when you’re dividing your attention between an iPad and the TV.
Our family was fortunate enough to turn on the TV right as the ’50s diner scene of “Pulp Fiction” was starting. I commented that Buddy Holly was actually Steve Buscemi, and the DVR confirmed it. John Travolta asked what a $5 milkshake tastes like, and although AMC dubbed it to a “freaking” good shake, it prompted our own ice cream run. Tarantino’s movie is one you can jump into at any moment, and we would’ve remained there were it not for the dubbed swears and commercial breaks.
The next stop was the original “Superman” on HBO. My sister commented that Christopher Reeve is not as attractive as Henry Cavill by a mile, but I noticed that even the cheesy effects as the Fortress of Solitude grew and erupted out of the North Pole looked cooler, prettier and more compelling than the ugly gray shades permeating every moment of “Man of Steel.” Then Marlon Brando showed up as Jor-El and I knew that I was watching a real classic. Will Zack Snyder’s film have the same watchability 30 years from now?
Starting at just about the same time was the original “Lethal Weapon,” and we watched that up until the point that Danny Glover unironically said “I’m getting too old for this shit.” It’s hard to believe there was a time when these cliches seemed less egregious. It was at least interesting to see Mel Gibson in his prime. Too often I’ve caught one of the “Lethal Weapon” sequels on TNT and rolled my eyes at Joe Pesci being irritating or Glover sitting on a toilet rigged to explode. Continue reading “Friday Night Channel Surfing”