10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Apollo Moon Landings

If you check out 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Apollo Moon Landings, you’ll learn…

  • Why all the American flags left on the moon are now colorless.
  • Which Apollo astronaut conduced unauthorized ESP experiments.
  • Which Apollo astronaut cried while on the moon and why.
  • Which Apollo astronaut violated NASA rules and celebrated communion on the moon.
  • What the first words spoken on the moon may have been… and it wasn’t “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
  • What the moon smells like.
  • The records set by Apollo 11.
  • Which lunar module pilot actually got to pilot the lunar module.
  • What sculpture was left on the moon and why it was left.
  • Why a geologist was finally sent to the moon.

 

Source: Listverse.

Thunderburp Gun & 30 Caliber Machine Gun Toys for Kids

I’m too young to have seen this commercial when it first aired in the 1950’s, but I sure remember ones like it, being a child of the 60’s.  I can’t begin to tell you the number of toy guns, pistols, rifles, and machine guns I owned growing up.

Of course it was a different world then.  As you can see from the commercial below, us kids had to be on guard against a takeover of the world by the saucermen!

New “Godzilla” Poster and Trailer!

I’ve never been a big Godzilla fan.  Sure, I’ve seen the original with Perry Mason Raymond Burr in the starring role.

No, Burr didn’t play Godzilla.  Okay, Burr in the co-starring role then.

I’ve seen the many sequels.  The one I liked best was the 1998 version with Matthew Broderick and Leon Jean Reno. That one was okay.

So I wasn’t expecting much from the latest Godzilla remake.  Boy, could I be wrong.  Check out the trailer below.  This version of Godzilla has potential.

Z-View: “The Mechanic” (2011)

The Pitch: “Hey, We could remake “The Mechanic”  with Jason Statham in the Charles Bronson role and Ben Foster in the Jan-Michael Vincent role.”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “Someone has to fix the problems.” [Where was this person when this remake was made?]

The Overview:  Jason Statham is Author Bishop aka The Mechanic.  Bishop is a hit man — the best in the business and able to kill without leaving a clue.  Often his hits look like fatal accidents.  Bishop works alone, is precise, methodical and logical.  When Bishop’s mentor is killed, Bishop takes on the mentor’s son as an apprentice.  This will lead to the death of many including one or both of them.

*** Beware – minor spoilers can be found below ***

The Good:

  • The original Charles Bronson version.
  • Ben Foster’s fight scene with a huge guy.

The Bad:

  • Statham and Foster lacked chemistry.
  • It seemed out-of-place that Statham would take on a partner.
  • You know you’re in trouble when the best fight in the movie doesn’t involve the star [who is known for fighting].
  • A black water swimming pool?  Swimming underwater below the guy you just killed, moving his arms to make it appear he is alive and swimming?

The Ugly:

  • Remaking a classic and falling this short.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Jerry Gaylord and Rambo

Jerry Gaylord aka The Franchize makes his fourth, but not his last appearance in my Stallone Sketch Gallery with his take on Sly as John Rambo.

I highly recommend Jerry to all sketch collectors. He quickly responds to e-mails, his turnaround time is quick and he packages the art to ensure it arrives safely.

To check out more of Jerry’s art, head here. – Craig

“Homefront” / Z-View

The Pitch: “Hey, Sly has a great action screenplay that he was gonna use for Rambo available.  It’s based on a book by Chuck Hogan.  Sly says Jason Statham is up for the lead.”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “How far would you go to protect your home?”

The Overview:  Jason Statham plays Phil Broker, a retired under-cover DEA agent who moved to rural Louisiana to raise his 9 year old daughter after the death of his wife.  When his daughter bloodies the nose of a class bully (who happens the be the child of the local meth dealer) things quickly escalate and Statham’s past as a DEA agent becomes known. Soon an outlaw motorcycle gang and local thugs are both looking for revenge.

*** Beware – minor spoilers can be found below ***

The Good:

  • The cast.  Kate Bosworth kills in her role as, Cassie Bodine Klum, a redneck, methhead who is used to getting her way thanks to her brother being the local “Walter White.”  James Franco as “Gator” Bodine is surprisingly effective in a role that wouldn’t at first seem to fit him.  Winona Ryder, Clancy Brown and Chuck Zito all make welcome appearances.  Jason Statham is of course Jason Statham (that’s good).
  • Broker does his best to avoid trouble, but there is a line he won’t cross and God help you if you cross it!
  • The fight scenes and the fact that they avoided Statham giving “wise-cracks.”
  • Broker mistakenly thinks that Jimmy Klum is behind the threats to him.

The Bad:

  • What happens when you don’t let Broker finish filling his tank.
  • When you are a friend of Broker’s and go to pick up his horses.
  • If you’re the class bully and you decide to pick on Broker’s daughter.
  • Being married to Cassie Bodine Klum.

The Ugly:

  • One of Gator Bodine’s thugs ankles after Broker has had enough.
  • When you raise your gun towards dozens of cops who are armed, hyped up and have warned you to drop it.
  • That Homefront is doing better at the box office.

Rating: 4 out of 5

(Re)Discovering Hitchcock’s Rope

When movie fans talk about the films of Alfred Hitchock the first ones mentioned are usually, Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest, and Rear Window.  Often the list goes on a bit more before Rope is mentioned.  And that’s too bad because many folks never get around to seeing it.

Rope stars Jimmy Stewart in Hitchock’s adaptation of a play based on the infamous Leopold-Loeb murder case.  (Another excellent movie based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case is Compulsion starring Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman.)  It’s interesting to note that Hitchcock filmed Rope as if it was done with one continuous shot to keep the feel of a stage play!