6 More Weeks of Winter.
Meteorology at its finest.
Welcome back everybody!
Just a quick breakdown of the blog for any new readers:
I ramble for a bit and give an update on my life and what I’m thinking about this week
I talk about the movies I watched recently (usually in the last week but I’m still catching up)
I do some rankings, ask some hypothetical questions (ex: what are the chances my dad cries while watching this movie?), and then I give my no frills, no jokes review
We ignore grammar errors here at the blog. Give me a break.
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Hello, hello, hello.
How’re we doing?
Good, I hope.
Not much of note is going on in my life at the moment, so I’m gonna rewind a couple of weeks for this intro. I hope that’s alright with everyone. If it isn’t, then I hate to be the one to inform you, but all of the movies you’ve been reading about for the last year have been “rewinds.” I’ve still got movies I watched in January of 2024 that I’m hoping to get to eventually (Jason Bourne series). We’re getting close, though; don’t worry. If I keep this pace up, which is no certain thing, I’ll be caught up in a couple of months.
Ok, let’s go back in time.
A couple of weeks ago, the fires, which, as of yesterday, have finally been 100% controlled and taken out, were raging in Los Angeles. Thankfully, my area wasn’t in immediate danger, but that didn’t stop me from making the decision to evacuate to Newport Beach with some friends for a couple of days. It was good to get out of the craziness, but it was a short trip, and I was back in WeHo on Friday night, unsure of what to do next.
After a conversation with my parents and with my friends, I decided to say fuck it, pack my car, and hit the road for the second time in 6 months. The plan was simple:
Hit 8 national parks and 5 states in 9 days.
Easy as pie.
Well, easy if you consider driving 8 hours a day, staying in the worst motels in the Southwest, and not doing any research on how cold the desert gets at night as easy.
But these are all first-world problems. At the end of the day, I couldn't be more lucky to have the opportunity to travel again. Sure, it gets lonely, but when you’ve got people checking in along the way, you don’t feel lonely for long. Thanks to everyone who called me while I was on the road and to all the people who checked in with me for proof of life.
Here is my overall review of the trip:
Day 1: Los Angeles, CA - Joshua Tree National Park - Blythe, CA
My eyes were bigger than my stomach (this will not be the last time I say this). I thought I could make it to Phoenix, but my stop at Joshua Tree took longer than expected. A very solid National Park that I will be returning to with friends in the future, hopefully to camp out.
Day 2: Blythe, CA - Saguaro National Park - Tucson, AZ
Made a lot more progress today, thanks to the long planning session I had the night before. I knew I had to make it to Tucson before the Washington game started, so I was motivated to get on the road early. Saguaro National Park was cool if only because I saw more cacti than I’ve ever seen in my life. There's not a ton else to report, but it certainly was an amazing sight. Plus the Commanders won that day, so it was one of the best on the drive.
Day 3: Tucson, AZ - Van Horn, TX
Again, a lot of progress was made today. The thing about a drive like this is that you have to split it up with fun and unique stops along the way because everything else is just desert. And when you’re alone like I was, it’s very easy to go insane and get the desire to pull a Thelma and Louise and drive off the nearest canyon. Stops on this day included a giant chile pepper and the words “Fraggle Rock” painted on a big rock on the highway. Hey, I never said they were the best stops. Overall, this day kind of blew. To cap it all off, my dinner was a pack of peanut butter crackers and a thing of Velveeta microwave hamburger mac and cheese. Living it up.
Day 4: Van Horn, TX - Big Bend National Park - Van Horn, TX
This was the first time on either trip that I stayed in the same motel for 2 nights in a row. That’s because Big Bend National Park is in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, so it made the most sense to stay in a town that was 4 hours away. I could’ve stayed closer, but this made the most sense for the rest of the drive, Believe me, I’m a master road trip planner at this point. So, today was a 6 am wake-up followed by a 4-hour drive, but then I was in Big Bend, doing a 6-mile hike up a mountain. I couldn’t have been happier. Big Bend is a national park that deserves multiple days to fully explore, but I made the most of my day there. Finished the day with a 4-hour drive back to the motel, an actual dinner from an actual restaurant (I swear), and then bed.
Cause here’s the thing: I would’ve loved to have written some blogs while I was on the road. Hell, I told myself I would. The thing I forgot, is that driving for that long is draining as hell. Combine that with hiking and not a ton of food and you get an exhausted Will, which leads to no movies being watched, no late nights, and no blogs being written. So I didn’t get behind on movies and I didn’t catch up on writing blogs while I was on the road. I’ll take net neutral any day.
For the sake of this intro not being 1000s of words, I’m gonna do the rest of the drive in the intro for this week’s second blog. That’s called a cliffhanger for anyone wondering.
Will I make it out of Van Horn?
Who knows?
Alright, let’s move on.
Mea Culpa. Translation: I Fucked Up
The section where I hold myself accountable.
What I messed up last week: Thank you, Dad, for pointing out my mistakes. You’re a very astute reader.
When I recommended All the President’s Men, I mentioned Robert Redford and Paul Newman’s chemistry. That is incorrect. I meant to say Dustin Hoffman. Apologies to Mr. Hoffman, my brain immediately goes to Paul Newman when I think of Robert Redford duos cause of The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
I said that the budget for The Brutalist was $10. I meant to say $10 million. Apologies to all the fine people who did not get paid to make that movie. It was very good.
Keep pointing out my errors. It means you’re actually reading.
And as always, go check out The Vault if you need something to watch. It’s got everything I’ve watched since 2018 on there with my reviews.
Alright, on to the blog.
Movies count for the year: 20
Doc count for the year: 2
Running It Back
In honor of the holiday.
Groundhog Day (1993)
AKA: Be a good person.
It was February 2nd on Sunday, which meant only one thing:
I watched Groundhog Day.
I haven’t done this in a while, but I’m here to talk about a movie I just rewatched. And frankly, it’s one of my favorite movies ever. I don’t remember exactly when I first saw Groundhog Day, but I’m pretty sure it was during a family movie night back in the day. I can’t thank my parents enough for showing me and my sister movies like this when we were younger. There’s no way they would have known that 10 years later I’d be writing a blog about it and that I’d be in Hollywood trying to work in the film industry, but here we are.
Long-time readers know of my affinity for Bill Murray. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer in my book (and most people’s books), and I think he’s had one of the best careers for a comedian/actor of anyone. He’s got more range than he’s given credit for, and he made the switch from comedy to drama better than every one of his contemporaries. On top of all that, he completely cornered the market on groundhog adjacent movies. Never has there been an actor (or actress) who has had better chemistry with an animal. The fact that he’s got Caddyshack AND Groundhog Day is unbelievable. I like to think that Harold Ramis and the casting director thought of Bill Murray right away based on his performance as Carl Spackler.
Finally, can we just talk about Groundhog Day for a second?
What in the world are we doing?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for believing that a groundhog decides whether we have an early spring or 6 more weeks of winter, (we support all religions here at the blog), but what makes it so amazing is that it is clearly a holdover from a different era that is still alive and well in today’s modern world.
*Welcome to Will’s History Corner*
Some quick facts about Groundhog Day:
It is thought to come from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, it will go back to hibernate for another 6 weeks
The first ceremony at Punxsutawney, PA was in 1887 at Gobbler’s Knob
In the early years, the ceremony was a combination of festival/hunt/feast where they’d hunt for groundhog and eat what they killed (we used to be a proper country)
Thankfully, this fell out of fashion because it wasn’t very popular
The groundhog wasn’t named Phil until 1961, potentially because of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (I don’t see much resemblance)
Today, crowds on February 2nd can be as big as 40,000 (8x the population of Punxsutawney)
Punxsutawney Phil is a supercentenarian (110 or older) and has been doing this since 1887. This makes him at least 138 years old. That’s awesome.
Phil has reported an early only 20 times in history, with the last time being in 2024.
Old, harmless traditions like this are the best.
Ranking of Holiday Animal Mascots:
Punxsutawney Phil (Groundhog Day)
The holiday is named after him and he’s got his own movie, also called Groundhog Day. There was never another option for #1.
Turkey (Thanksgiving)
The only holiday where we eat the mascot. For that reason alone I had to give it #2. A little high? Maybe. But I pity the poor bird.
Bald Eagle (4th of July)
A potentially controversial pick here at #3, but I can’t, in good faith, put the bald eagle any lower. I’m hard-pressed to think of a more patriotic thing in the world.
Bunny/Chick (Easter)
This one always confuses me. The Easter Bunny gives out easter eggs, but we all know that bunnies don’t lay eggs, which is where the chicks come in. Regardless of the biological questions, they’re well deserving of this 4 spot, because the Easter Bunny is the Santa of Easter.
Reindeer (Christmas)
I wanted to make this specifically Rudolph, but that would unfairly boost this entry’s ranking. You might argue that when you take all 9 reindeer together, their stock rises, but you can’t tell me that there aren’t some deer on that roster dragging them down. Dancer and Vixen, I’m looking at you.
Black Cat (Halloween)
A universal symbol of bad luck and misfortune that has truly tanked the stock of black cats everywhere. Their low ranking on this list isn’t going to help matters, but let’s give black cats a chance. They just have the misfortune of being the 10th mascot off the bench for Halloween so they can’t be ranked any higher.
Dove (Valentine’s Day)
Boo. Lame as fuck. Am I deflecting because I have no plans for Valentine’s Day? Potentially.
Do They Say the Title of the Movie In the Movie: Many, many times.
Is this movie hornier than Nosferatu?: The scenes between Murray and the groundhog are close, but no.
Chance My Dad Cries While Watching This: 33%
No, But Really: This is one of my favorite movies, full stop. I’ve seen it a million times, and I’ll see it another million times in my life. It hits all of the beats, it hits all of the emotions, and I couldn’t recommend it more. In basketball terms, Bill Murray goes 20/20 from the field, makes 8 threes, and is absolutely lights out the entire time. Will it make you think about life? Yes. Will it make you become a better person? Maybe it should. Everyone should watch this movie.
Movies at Home
Inching ever closer to having no life. Slowly but surely catching up on 2024.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
AKA: Breakups are hard.
This is one of those movies that, as a film major and supposed “film guy,” I get crucified for never having seen. I should make a list of every movie like this, but for a while, the number 1 on this list for me was La La Land. I swear, if you tell a film person that you haven’t seen La La Land, they’ll kill your firstborn child. As I slowly but surely cross movies like these off my list, a weight is lifted off my shoulders. Not to be dramatic, but, like Atlas carrying the Earth, I carry the weight of having to see every movie ever made. This is not a task I gave to myself, but rather, something that is expected of me by everyone in my life (or at least my brain makes it seem that way). With every movie I watch that “I have to see,” I can feel the slander, hate, and bodily harm that would befall me by my so-called “friends and family” fall away. All jokes aside, keep giving me recommendations everyone, I add everything to my watchlist (it’s up to 200+ right now but I swear I’ll get to them all eventually).
Jim Carrey man.
I know I just wrote about Bill Murray and how he made the jump from comedy to drama better than any of his contemporaries, but Jim Carrey, though in a younger generation, gives Murray a run for his money. Could anyone have predicted that this would happen? I wasn’t alive in 1994, but did anyone have a future bet that Jim Carrey would be one of the better dramatic actors of the late 1990s and early 2000s when he chose to be? If you happened to be a person who thought this, I hate to break it to you, but you’re a liar. No way you watched Jim Carrey star in Dumb & Dumber, The Mask, AND, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in 1994 and say to yourself, “Hmm, I really think that guy is gonna get snubbed by the Oscars in a few years for a movie about a guy who’s life is a tv show. And then I bet he’ll get snubbed again a few years later for a movie about a guy who wants to forget his ex-girlfriend.” You know why I wouldn’t believe you? Because it sounds insane when you put it like that.
There will be more Jim Carrey discussion in a couple of weeks when I finally write about the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy that I’ve watched in the last couple of months, but I need to shout out his 1994. It’s been the subject of countless articles, but his 1994 is, simply put, one of the best years an actor has ever had.
February 4: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: ($107.2 million at the box office)
July 29: The Mask: ($351.5 million at the box office)
December 5: Dumb and Dumber: ($247.3 million at the box office)
We may never see output and performance like this ever again. 3 $100 million movies in one year is outrageous. Round of applause for Mr. Carrey.
Do They Say the Title of the Movie In the Movie: I couldn’t believe it when they did. I was not aware that it was a line from a 1717 poem.
Is this movie hornier than Nosferatu?: No, but this movie is scarier than Nosferatu.
Chance My Dad Cries While Watching This: 73%
No, But Really: This movie is on every film student’s top 10 list and I can see why. It’s not on my top 10 list personally, but I can see the argument behind it. It’s one of the most creative movies I’ve ever seen and Jim Carrey gives a lights-out performance. This is also a movie that is so relatable. If you’ve ever been in love and have gone through a breakup before you’ll be able to see yourself in this movie. It’s heartbreaking, funny, sweet, and hopeful all at the same time.
Philadelphia (1993)
AKA: Everyone deserves a chance.
What compelled me to watch this movie on a random weeknight in November, I do not know. What I do know is that I was running low on podcasts to listen to and there was a Rewatchables episode about this movie waiting there for me to listen to it. Did that help my decision? Yes. Am I happy that it did? Also yes. In all seriousness, this movie had been on my watchlist for a little while and it was a combination of factors that led to me picking it that random weeknight in November.
Now, for anyone who knows what this movie is about, it’s pretty heavy stuff for me to talk about in the blog, so I’m gonna let you watch this movie, and if you want to talk about the heavy stuff another time, we can. Instead of doing that, I’m gonna talk about Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.
In 2024, I watched 195 movies. Of those 195 movies, 9 of them included Denzel, Hanks, or both. That’s just about 5% of the movies I watched last year. Sure, that seems like a low number (and I may have miscounted), but I’ve got to assume (I don’t want to check) that that is the highest number for any actor(s) for the year. I’m aware that this is bad research on my part, but it’s almost 2:00 am, and I want to get this blog finished before the sun comes up. All I’m trying to say is that I love Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.
I’ve written before about how Tom Hanks needs to come back to being America’s dad and that he needs to stop doing all this weird shit he’s been doing for a few years now cause I know he’s still got it. Denzel, on the other hand? He’s definitely still got it. He was the best part of Gladiator II earlier in 2024, and he can keep making Equalizer movies for as long as he wants to and is able to because I will definitely be seeing every single one of them. Equalizer 2 and 3 are two more movies from 2024 that I will definitely write about eventually. Seriously, I swear.
Ranking of movies that are just a city name based on how good the movie is and how much I’d like to travel there:
I’m not sure if this ranking works at all or makes any sense, but here we go.
Chinatown (1974)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 100%
I live in LA now so this had to have the #1 spot. It also helps that it’s one of the best movies of all time.
Casablanca (1942)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 90%
Let’s be honest, this being one of the best movies of all time bumps its spot up by a couple notches. Morocco seems like a really cool place though.
Amsterdam (2022)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 5%
This movie was so disappointing and sucks pretty bad, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’d really like to travel to Amsterdam.
Dunkirk (2017)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 75%
As a history nerd like myself, Dunkirk would be a pretty cool place to check out, but I’d be lying if the movie wasn’t doing most of the heavy lifting here.
Belfast (2021)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 50%
This is where we start losing steam on this list. I didn’t have a strong desire to visit Belfast before seeing this movie and I don’t have a strong desire to visit there now that I’ve seen it. I wouldn’t be opposed though.
Philadelphia (1993)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 50%
I’ve been here already so I don’t have much to say. I’m also a certified Philly hater this week so I can’t put it higher than 6.
Fargo (1996)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 99%
Fargo looks like the coldest and most boring place on Earth. Apologies to all of my Minnesota and North Dakota readers (shoutout Sander and Mr. Luksik) but this is not high on my travel list. And before you point out my error Dad, I know Fargo is a city in North Dakota. The movie takes place in Minnesota. So there.
Tombstone (1993)
How much does the quality of this movie influence my desire to go: 99%
Tombstone looks like the hottest and most boring place on Earth. I could’ve stopped there on my latest road trip but I passed it up for better things. I’d definitely stop by during the Wild West days though.
Honorable Mentions cause I haven’t seen them: Nashville, Chicago, “New York, New York,” “Paris, Texas,” Munich
Do They Say the Title of the Movie In the Movie: This Springsteen song fucking hits.
Is this movie hornier than Nosferatu?: Nope.
Chance My Dad Cries While Watching This: 85%
No, But Really: When you get Denzel and Tom Hanks at or near their peaks it’s hard to fuck it up. Both leads’ performances are spectacular. This movie pulls at the heartstrings, makes you hate the people in charge, and is a combination of triumphant and devastating. At the end of the day, it’s a great movie about humanity.
-Comment a film recommendation. Seriously!
—Winter for me is 70 and sunny, I guess.
—-I don’t want to watch the Super Bowl.
——Will I get a 2nd blog out this week? Only time will tell.
Duel (1971)