Thursday, August 19, 2010

Random Ramblings of Connect the Dots

Yesterday I received the rest of my derby gear via UPS. All I can think about is skating. Now that I have the major items, I want the minor items. Like shoelaces, toe guards, carrying case, etc. etc. I’m really obsessed about finding the perfect carrying case for my stuff that it even led me to a new craving…V! No, I’m not talking True Blood V but V as in V for Vendetta, one of my favorite movies. Ok, you might be thinking how I got from thinking derby to V. Well it started off with wanting to decorate my future derby case. I’m such a lover of movies I was thinking of decorating it with favorite movie quotes. One that came to mind was from a very under appreciated movie called Little Nicky. If you haven’t seen it, below is a picture of Little Nicky.

Best two lines from this movie are: “Popeye's chicken is fuckin' awesome!” and “Can I wash my winky in your kitchen sinky?” Little Nicky came out in 2000 and still to this day whenever my husband and I have Popeye’s we have to say out loud and in our best Little Nicky voice how fuckin’ awesome it is. The second quote just makes me laugh. My husband says I’m easily entertained and I can’t really fight him on that charge based on the evidence provided here.

So I Google Little Nicky hoping to find a decent image from the movie with high quality resolution for reproducing purposes and I didn’t find anything. Well, not anything I liked. So it got me thinking…what movie do I love that is also under appreciated that I know I can find images online, as well as find merchandise, the answer…V for Vendetta!

Now where do I begin with V for Vendetta? It is unfathomable to me when I converse with friends about this movie and they say “it was alright.” Alright!?! Alright!?! I don’t understand. I suppose if your one of those people that only like comedies and fluffy movies, then I can understand this isn’t your thing. I can also understand if you’ve read the graphic novel and didn’t like the changes that were made; I’m a stickler too when it comes to books I love that turn into movies. But if you went to this movie and claim you like all genres and haven’t read the graphic novel, what wasn’t too love? As I look and read memorable quotes from this movie on imdb.com I’m so inspired to sit down and commit to watching this 131 minute movie for the twentieth time.

So what is so great about it? I think I should start off with stating how much I enjoy watching movies where society needs to rebuild. It could be in the form of a zombie apocalypse, nuclear warfare or in this case a totalitarian government that forms after world wide chaos. I just enjoy watching movies where the circumstances are so extreme I can’t help but think “Would I survive this?” “Would I stand up for what I thought was right?” Right away, this movie has an edge because I specifically favor this type of film.

But when I jump into the film, I find it clever. I like the imagery that ties to actual historic events. I like the inspiration from books such as 1984. The wit of V in his everyday speech is amazing. I have even watched the movie with subtitles so I could literally read and appreciate each word that was spoken. In my first viewings, some of the dialog got lost to me either due to how fast he talks (cause it can be really fast) or it was because sometimes I got caught up without having lips to watch. V wears a Guy Fawkes mask throughout the film, so his lips never move. I didn’t realize how much I actually stare at lips while listening and how much it helps me understand what is being said.

The best part to me, is the message throughout the film that ideas are bulletproof. I liked that he was just a man in a mask with an idea. You’re able to watch this movie where the hero eventually dies and yet it is not a sad movie. He is successful. He may have died but not before making his idea known and rallying support behind it. I think the message “Ideas are Bulletproof” is great for paying it forward. This movie inspires me that maybe my next idea is the next great revolution! (Ok, that’s a stretch but go with it.)

So that ends the connect the dots…derby gear to Little Nicky to V for Vendetta. In the words of Gus Portokalos from My Big Fat Greek Wedding “There you go!”