30 Movies turning 30 Years Old

So in an effort to make us all feel old....The other night I was watching "Sixteen Candles" on tv and realized in 2014, this movie would be 30 years old. So I went to IMDB and checked out the year 1984 and was astonished at the amount of memorable movies that were going to be turning 30 this year. I felt old so I thought I would pass on that feeling to all of you. Sure this is more of a Buzzfeed post but I know where my loyalties lie. They'll probably rip it off anyway.

Anyhow, 29 movies turning 30 plus "Sixteen Candles"-there are some definite classic here:

1) Gremlins

2) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doon

3) The Neverending Story

4) Ghostbusters

5) The Terminator

6) Beverly Hills Cop

7) Police Academy

8) Sixteen Candles

9) Splash

10) The Karate Kid

11) Red Dawn

12) A Nightmare On Elm Street

13) Dune

14) Footloose

15) This Is Spinal Tap

16) Revenge Of The Nerds

17) Romancing The Stone

18) Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

19) Children Of The Corn

20) Conan The Destroyer

21) Top Secret!

22) Blood Simple

23) Body Double

24) Bachelor Party

25) Firestarter

26) The Last Starfighter

27) The Muppets Take Manhattan

28) Purple Rain

29) Repo Man

30) Night Of The Comet

A few bonus:

Breakin'

Dreamscape

The Ice Pirates

The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

                                                                        Starman

                                                                         All Of Me

                                                                        Streets Of Fire

-Kevin

Pat's Twitter Reviews: 50 movies/25 books - Part 1

Yooooooo! It's your boy Perspicacious P aka White Ghost aka Positive P da BO$$ aka Middle Aged Thunderclapper.

Well, Three tha Hard Way has now turned into an exceptional podcast, but did you know it started as a blog? We used to write articles and everything! Well, today I am going to bring it back to its post-analog roots. Every year, I read 25 books I haven't read and watch 50 movies I haven't seen. I have to do this otherwise I would just fuck around on 4Chan all day, and that's not good for anyone.

This is what happens when you have nothing to live for.

ANYWAY, this is going to be three or four parts. All reviews are 140 characters or less. Today we'll do 25 movies. Away we go:

Movies:

1. The Surrogacy Trap: Lifetime movie that preyed on mothers' fears. I saw the crazy lady on an episode of Psych in December, completing the circle of life.

2. Zero Dark Thirty: This seems to have receded a bit from public consciousness, but it was damn good. Jessica Chastian with a great performance.

3. Django Unchained: A little too subtle for my taste.

4. Defiance: Slept-on movie about Polish Jews surviving in the forest during World War II. I'm surprised it wasn't more talked about when it came out.

5. Looper: Time travel fight! JGL is one of the best actors in Hollywood, act like you know.

 6. End of Watch: Great cop movie with Donnie Darko and Michael Pena. The end was over-the-top, but I suppose that's life as a cop to an extent.

7. Dredd: This was actually a fun movie to watch. Ridiculously violent with dubious moral overtones, but Spock played Dredd!

8. Snitch: The Rock taking on a drama and doing OK! Still, it was weird to see him get beaten up since he's always the biggest guy in the scene.

9. Olympus Has Fallen: One of two "White House Gets Attacked" movies, but this one didn't have Jamie Foxx. Decent action flick but I am dumber for watching it.

10. G.I. Joe: Retaliation: I am definitely dumber for watching this. I literally have no recollection of any details of the movie, except Channing Tatum dies.

11. The French Connection: A classic cop movie that showed how shitty New York was in the 70s (garbage burning in the streets, etc). Gene Hackman stole the show.

12. Never Back Down: Coming-of-age story that is like the Karate Kid but with MMA. Djimon Hounsou is great even in this cheesy shit. Fun movie.

13. Oblivion: Sneaky good sci-fi movie with two gorgeous actresses. I still really enjoy watching Tom Cruise. Andrea Riseborough please marry me.

14. Pain and Gain: Marky Mark + the Rock + Michael Bay = a movie that was a little too intellectual for me.

15. 42: This was a bit of a dud in a lot of people's eyes, but Harrison Ford did a great job as Branch Rickey. Or maybe it was just the fake nose.

16. Iron Man 3: I actually biked to a drive-in and watched part of this, but didn't get any sound. Still, first time I went to a drive-in! Didn't make out with anyone though.

17. The Croods: Basically a modern take on the Flintstones, just with fewer bowling scenes and no cars without floors. So yeah, it was pretty good.

18. 6Fast6Furious: MOVIE OF THE YEAR RIP PAUL WALKER

19. Star Trek into Darkness: I loved the first JJ Abrams Star Trek but was disappointed here. It felt flat and lacked the energy of the first one. Dredd played Spock!

20. The Wild One: Early Brando B-movie and corny as fuck. This is why I don't watch films that were made before 1980.

21. This Is the End: Decent, if overrated comedy. Still, I can't hate on anything with James Franco.

22. World War Z: I don't like the zombie thing at all, and this was much-maligned, but I really enjoyed it. Maybe I'm just a contrarian?

23. Battleship: Rhianna had the best line of the movie: "MAHALO MOTHERF" but couldn't finish it to keep it PG-13. This was funnier than Anchorman 2.

24. Identity Thief: Zany physical comedy with Melissa McCarthy. Didn't hate it, but not nearly as good as The Heat.

25. The Heat: The best comedy of 2014. Melissa McCarthy is a comedic force. Great chemistry with Sandra Bullock. I hope they make a sequel.

There's Part 1. Please enjoy in moderation. -P

Podcast Episode 3 - 6Fast 6Furiuos

ZOMG!!! It's that podcast you've always wanted -- 40 minutes talking about the latest installment of the sublime Fast and Furious franchise! Matt talks about losing his Fast and Furious virginity, Kevin discusses his favorite characters and the role of women in the films, and Pat says why the Fast and Furious universe represents his version of utopia. CAUTION: MEGA SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3ThaHardWay Podcast - Episode 2

Welcome to episode 2 of the 3ThaHardWay podcast! On today's episode, the gang talks about singers we can't stand, bad movies we love and the first CDs we owned. Get ready for lots of talk on Point Break, Pearl Jam and how Matt offended his mom with Quentin Tarantino.

3ThaHardWay Inaugural Podcast!

This was part of our plan from the jump, and it only took us three years to get here, so here's our first podcast! We're hoping to make it a weekly event to enlighten, enrage and enrapture. Please enjoy the high production values as you hear about why Kevin doesn't like people who don't like Justin Bieber, Matt laments the demise of CDs and Pat talks about what Bright Eyes and Tribe Called Quest have in common.


 

R.I.P. Roger Ebert

Ever since yesterday when I learned of Roger Ebert's passing I have been thinking of what I wanted to say about him. I mean there are better written tributes going on all over the place. For better or worse, depending on your point of view, if you are interested in movies at all you have run into Roger Ebert. I think I could say without exaggeration that the two people who most influenced my love of movies were my Dad and Roger Ebert, and it's funny because they two seemed so entwined for so long. I remember Saturday nights, I forget if it was right before or right after The Muppet Show, my Dad would always catch whatever iteration of Siskel and Ebert was on, and he would write down on a yellow legal pad whatever movies they were talking about and he would two columns: one for Siskel and one for Ebert down the middle of the pad. And as they gave the thumbs up or thumbs down, he would write Yes or No. I wonder if he still has those legal pads anywhere? He really kept track of these things back in the day, much to my detriment sometimes so he actually knew about stuff and I would have to sneak things I know hew would disapprove of but that's for another time. I remember though that my Dad always trusted Ebert's opinion more, the well spoken, everyman critic that was the absolute best at conveying his love of film, both high and low. It was funny because I felt like my Dad thought Siskel (r.i.p.) was this uppity Ivy Leaguer and Ebert was waaaay more down to Earth, which was probably true. I know for a fact that in other ways they would have disagreed, especially on politics, but he always trusted him the most, just like a lot of us did.

Almost to a person, particularly people that have become actual, professional movie critics, they always point Roger Ebert's old movie guides as being a singular influence for them and I have to agree. This was a regular gift under the Christmas tree for me as he updated them every year. I mean, not only was Ebert accessible while still being really smart, but it was through his movie guides (which I read and re-read) where he introduced you stuff that you would never come in contact with, particularly at that age, where he would write about like The Floating Weeds or La Dolce Vita, or Aguirre, The Wrath Of God, just stuff that was SO beyond my canon. He opened up all these new worlds that would have never just been available to a kid living in Westerly, RI. His writing was beautiful but accessible, and so was his enthusiasm for film, he was there holding our hands as budding film buffs. Plus I mean you hardly come across someone who was in actuality an actual good person. I highly recommend, obviously, reading any of his stuff, his "Great Movies" or even his awesome autobiography. We'll definitely miss you, Roger.



-Kevin

The Concert Series - Part VIII: Sigur Ros

If one were to ever ask me what the first concert I ever went to was, I’d have to say it was a Phil Collins show sometime during the summer of 1990.  However, if you were to allow me to count a show I was at in utero, then my answer would change to Jackson Browne in early September, 1977.  Now doctors may say that a fetus in the womb cannot hear until about 18 weeks into pregnancy meaning I most likely did not hear anything during this show since I was about two months away from being developed enough to detect any sort of sound waves that may have made their way to my premature ears.  I still think it’s kinda cool to say that was my first show, but in all actuality, there was probably no part of my being that could detect anything that was going on that night.  I highly doubt that was the case for the baby-in-waiting that my friends Taylor and Clark are expecting in the next few weeks during last night’s blisteringly beautiful live performance put on by Iceland’s own Sigur Ros.  And lucky for her, she was treated to a phenomenal show.

I have known of Sigur Ros for about 13 years now and have been a fan since the get go.  I was first introduced to them by my friend Pat sometime around my senior year of college.  Most of the band’s songs are sung in either their native Icelandic language or a made up language called “Hopelandic” which supposedly is a combination of Icelandic and English.  However you want to look at it, their lyrics and song titles are pretty much indecipherable and singing along with the band is near impossible.  You basically just have to focus on making the same vowel sounds as lead singer, Jonsi does and you may come up with something similar. 

Along with the unfamiliar languages they sing in, what sets them apart from most other bands includes the hauntingly crisp, beautiful, and flawless falsetto in which Jonsi sings and the consistent use of a bow he uses on his electric guitar that produces either a delicate and sustained background noise or a boisterous and all-encompassing wall of sound that feels like it’s going to bring the walls of your house down if he doesn’t let up on it.  In today’s wide range of bands, musicians, and artists, I’ve still yet to hear anyone who sounds like these guys.  They’re one of the most unique acts I’ve ever heard.

The band does not tour a whole lot and when they do they only hit select cities throughout the world.  As a result, I had only seen them once before and that was only because they played Bonnaroo in 2008.  So when I saw they were coming to the D.C. area, I was all about getting tickets.  I asked around and not many people were interested in joining me, though when I broached the subject with Taylor Clark, they pretty much bought in right away.  But Taylor was (and still is) pregnant and her due date was just a few weeks after the show was to go down.  I have no idea what it’s like to be pregnant, but I’ve been told it can be quite the taxing undertaking and can wreak havoc on one’s body and emotional state.  So I was a little concerned for Taylor and wondered if she would be in the right state (physically and emotionally) to go to such a concert.  Much to all of our delight, she is doing just fine and was just as or even more excited than Clark or I was to see them.

We arrived at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia around 7:45 and as we entered the arena, we could hear some ambient sounds coming from the stage.  Our initial thought was that the band had already started, but by the time we got to our seats it was clear they were not out there.  However, the arena was dark and there was blue lighting on the stage along with a large white/opaque sheet that hung over the front of the stage.  There was also some sort of music coming from the stage.  Honestly, I did not think it was an opening act until the music stopped and the lights came up.  I later looked it up and found out it was a musician by the name of Tim Hecker.  There was not much melody in his music and seemed to be just long sustaining notes played by some sort of synthesizer.  It sounded fine and all, but maybe I would have paid more attention had I realized it was an actual opening act and not just a roadie doing a sound check like I thought.

The band finally came out around 8:30 and that big opaque sheet was still hanging in front of them.  There were a number of lights projecting from behind them that were cast on the sheet which made for a very aesthetically pleasing stage the first song and a half.  They opened with a new song which concluded with Jonsi powerfully bowing away at his guitar to create an overwhelming sound.  What made it even cooler was that they cast a bright light behind him which was angled at such that the shadow it cast on the sheet was about twenty feet tall.  It looked like a gigantic monster going ape shit on a guitar and was all kinds of bad ass.  Their second song, “Ny batteri” which is one of my favorites from their first album, is a perfect example of what they do so well.  It’s a song that starts off very minimally and softly that eventually rises to a cacophonous and raucous full band entrance.  When it finally kicked in fortissimo, the sheet dropped and there was now nothing that separated the band from the audience.  It was great.

The show lasted around and hour and 45 minutes and they did a great job of mixing their material up.  They played mostly songs from their first three albums (which I really enjoyed because those are my favorites) and their new upcoming album to be released in June which also sounded great.  They also did an excellent job of mixing up their sound going from one soft, melodic, and beautiful song to another that built up to a full crescendo and rocked the place out.  The band not only consists of the three main members, but with a number of other multi-instrumentalists and what amounts to nothing short of a small orchestra behind them complete with string, brass, and woodwind sections.  If there ever was a true meeting of classical music and rock music, you’d be hard pressed to find a better representation.

I was also amazed at how quite and attentive the crowd was.  There are a number of times throughout their songs where the music is softer and slowed down and it would totally ruin it if you had people talking or making noise around you.  That was hardly ever the case and the crowd was quite amenable to giving their full attention at all times, even when the music was so soft it was nearly impossible to hear.  Midway through the show between songs and after the applause died down, some dude yelled out “THAT WAS GREAT!!!” and it was literally the only thing anyone heard in that moment.  Though the dude was seeking some cheap and easy attention, he was not wrong at all, and it garnered a chuckle throughout the crowd.

Though our seats were towards the back and it was hard to see the band close up, it was great to see the drummer positioned where he was; up front and to the right of the stage.  He was facing the left side of the stage so we were able to see his drumming clearly from his profile which was great because he would go absolutely crazy on those drums throughout the evening.  It was also cool to see the lighting spectacle from afar as the lighting changes were plentiful and at times frantic as they complimented the music.  Many of the lights came from behind the band and were cast out into the crowd which at times blinded and confused you.  If you easily get headaches or are prone to seizures, this is not the show for you.  At one point the lighting was so chaotic that I thought there should be some sort of warning for people like they do at amusement parks for expectant mothers and people with heart conditions. 

The band came out for an encore and they started playing the final track off their second major album which is my favorite of theirs.  They did not play it at Bonnaroo when I first saw them much to my disappointment then.  No song better encapsulates both the soft melodic beauty as well as the all out emphatic and raucous crescendo they are capable of.  It does an amazing job of building and keeps you hanging on each part for a number of minutes before it kicks into the next level.  At nearly 12 minutes in the album form and 14 in the live form it’s one of their longer tracks and there are several times when you think they’re going to kick it in to the next part, but they don’t.  They just hang there a little longer blowing you away with their ferocity and refusal to let you go.  The lights flash all over the place and end up confusing the bejesus out of you.  When they finally do come to the finale of the song you wonder how they got there from someplace so much different than where you ended up.  To see them perform it live is nothing less than mesmerizing.  When it finished, Taylor turned to me and said she was sweating just from listening.  I knew exactly how she felt.  If you have 15 minutes to kill, this is as good as it gets to seeing it live.

With that, the band and their fellow musicians left the stage to a standing ovation.  They came back out for a final curtain call which was pretty cool to see.  Though I’d still call them a relatively unknown band, it was great to see them play a larger venue like this to a near sold out crowd.  They seemed like they really appreciated everyone being there just as much as we appreciated them coming to our area. 

Taylor and Clark had pretty much the same reactions I did and I was happy to share this experience with them.  This is probably the last concert they will ever go to before parenthood hits them.  Taylor made the comment that several times throughout the show, she could feel her soon-to-be daughter kicking and reacting to the sounds that consumed the arena.  I’ve heard that your taste in music in some part is formed while you are in your mother’s womb taking in the sounds that are around you and her.  I hope that’s the case for Taylor and Clark’s daughter because if a performance like this ends up being one of her barometers and baselines for all other music to come, she is going to be one hip chick.  I like to think I have really good taste in music and if my barometer is Jackson Browne which eventually led me to a band like Sigur Ros, just imagine where Sigur Ros will lead her.  Clearly, the sky is the limit. 

-M