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THOUGHTS AT THREE A.M. by editor … I forgot my name On DVDs and
good movies…thoughts on the next issue…jobs and more.
My wife and I bought a DVD player as an advance Christmas gift. I can't tell you how much fun this has been! To start ourselves off, we bought "The Mummy", "The Matrix" and "Saving Private Ryan". What's really cool are the bonus features, such as the commentary by the director of the Mummy; it runs behind the whole movie and tells you how various scenes were done. The Mummy's probably the best action-adventure movie I've seen in a long time, since at least "The Mask of Zorro". For those of you who haven't seen it, The Mummy debuted the week before "Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace" and is infinitely better. The Matrix probably doesn't need any hype, but most everyone I know talks about the special effects. They are wonderful, but I think it's amazing that a blockbuster action pic also features mythical and philosophical elements (including a heavy dose of Platonism as defined by Plato's "The Cave") and poses some heavy philosophical questions, such as: "Would you rather live in reality where you eat flavorless gruel or in a fantasy where pleasures exist but you know they're not real?" Saving Private Ryan also doesn't need any introduction. But if you haven't seen it, I may as well echo everyone else that it's one of the finest movies ever made. And as my best friend Brian said, it'll make you feel like a bum. (One nice thing about Private Ryan which will interest DC fans: the Sgt. Rock movie treatment which has languished for a decade and a half is being looked at again.) The DVD I'm really looking forward to is coming out in just a few days. Only two weeks ago, I went to a second run theater with Melinda and I finally got to see the movie which is probably one of the best of the year. The Iron Giant! This movie was WAY better than anything Disney's done recently, and the filmmakers bravely eschewed both musical numbers and talking animals. One thing I liked about it is that, while the filmmakers use the 1957 setting to satirize the Cold War paranoia of the time, the military is treated pretty fairly and there isn't a heavy-handed preachiness to it. I encourage everyone who's missed this film to see it if you can. If you want to buy it on DVD or VHS videotape, I'll provide a link to it. In fact, I'll make links to all the movies I discussed. All videotapes are widescreen version.
For next month, I'm working on a Sgt. Rock and Gravedigger crossover set during the final days of the Battle of the Bulge (Christmas 1944). In pursuing some Sgt. Rock information on Chuck Dixon's web site, I found out he already did a Christmas 1944 story in the DCU Holiday Bash #2. Oh well, it is only fan fiction…and in the many decades that Sgt. Rock has had stories, I'm betting he's fought World War II five times over! Last month, I switched from my old dial-up access and got a cable Web connection via MediaOne. I LOVE being connected to the web constantly, and uploading each issue is a cinch. It's made it a lot easier for me to revamp the site. In changing my e-mail address in the many, many (you wouldn't believe how many) places it exists, I updated my resume on Headhunter.net. I've been getting a call a day ever since. Wow! I wish I was interested in switching jobs at the moment, but at least I know there are possibilities! Speaking of my job, the eBedroom.com site design is nearing completion. We hope to debut the site in February of 2000. Hooray! I'll be sure to let you know when it's up. The results of last month's Quizlet: Q: I want to see an
animated cartoon of… This column is © 1999 Michael
Hutchison.
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