Great Moments in Movie History Using Stick Figures: 2001: A Space Odyssey

In full disclosure, I’ve already done a Great Moments in Movie History for today’s film- 2001: A Space Odyssey. But that version was admittedly a bit of a cop-out. To atone for my error, I’ve decided to re-visit the film with stick figures. This version stays true to (part of) the heart of the film- namely that a sentient murderous space ship is a legitimate threat to the passengers it’s carrying. Here is 2001: A Space Odyssey using stick figures.

The New Year’s Resolutions: Update #1

At the end of last year, I made a lot of movie-related New Year’s resolutions. Adding them all up, my goal comes out to approximately 125 specific films to watch this year. January is almost in the books, which means it’s time for my first update. What kind of progress have I made this month?

2001: A Re-Viewing Odyssey

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I’ve had several awkward conversations over the last five years during my metamorphosis into a film nerd. Many of those awkward conversations revolve around one film- 2001: A Space Odyssey. I watched it in the early stages of metamorphosis, and found the film wildly inaccessible. I’ve since had it explained to me countless times… and each time, my reaction has been “How the hell was I supposed to get that from that film?!?!” But I’ve learned to concede the incredible visuals of the film. And I’d also learned to concede that one day, I would re-watch it, and would most likely have a kinder opinion of it after a second viewing. As it turns out, “one day” was today. Like the evolving monkeys and astronauts in the film, did I adapt?

10 Dirty Secrets That I Keep

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No, not THAT dirty. Just dirty movie secrets I keep- things that I generally don’t say out loud because I know it’ll make someone else angry. It’s much like Peter Griffin’s confession on Family Guy that he didn’t like The Godfather. Even if you really do think that The Godfather “insists upon itself” and you preferred The Money Pit, you’d be wise to not bring it up very often. There’s also the notion that it’s better to keep some things to yourself for fear of how you’ll be viewed among your peers. I’m hoping that there are at least a few people out there who agree with me on these. I also hope that half my readership doesn’t view me as some sort of angry ogre after finishing this article. So without further adieu, here are 10 Dirty Secrets That I Keep.

1. I like Kevin Smith, and I like his movies
This puts me in peril of losing a lot of credibility with a lot of people who take films very seriously. You know what? I don’t care. Clearly, his movies (other than maybe Clerks) aren’t beacons of cinematic accomplishment. But they make me laugh. I even liked Cop Out. Hell, I liked it quite a bit. His schtick about being an outsider who broke the system gets a little tiresome, but I’m not going to hold that against his films. And he seems to be a genuinely good human being (if you don’t mind the vulgarity and crass topics, which I clearly do not).

12 Great Moments in Movie History, Using Stick Figures

Here are 12 Great Moments in Movie History, using stick figures. In short, I’ve used Adobe Illustrator in the exact wrong way it’s intended to be used. I’ve used it to try to replicate the childlike stupidity and simplicity of MS Paint drawings. You can click on any of these to get a version with higher resolution. Enjoy!

The Nine Best Uses of Songs in Movies

I’ve been watching too much “Prime Nine” on the MLB Network. In reality, my list of candidates for this entry amounted to something like 25 songs in various movies. Note that when I say “Best”, I really mean “my favorite”. So if you don’t see “I Like Changing Myself For the Woman I Love” from “Love is Nice” starring Julia Roberts or whatever, well… it’s because I don’t watch that shit. Feel free to add ’em in the comments section, though.