Emptyeye

So, some things about the topics of conversation: One of the things I love about Nic Cage is that there's not really such a thing as "A half-ass Nic Cage performance". He's going to fucking go for it in everything he's in. Now, don't get me wrong, it doesn't always work, but when he's good, he's legitimately great, and when he's bad, he specifically is at least spectacularly watchable in the badness, almost regardless of the rest of the movie. On cartoon crushes: Elementary School Age Emptyeye had Penny Gadget to thank for a lot of his, uh, present-day fascinations, sexual and otherwise. As I understand it, I am far from alone in this in my age bracket.

Thoughts on Spa v. Gym: I recall reading (I want to say it was on Jack LaLanne's Wikipedia page, although the current version doesn't make mention of it) that what we now think of as "gyms" were called "Health Spas" once upon a time, which would explain June's confusion. I would've figured, though, that went away by the 80s, as they've always been "gyms" to me (Born in '83). When I heard the title, I think I had something closer to "Death Sauna" in mind as a result, this being a method of [attempted] murder in various media (I specifically remember one unsuccessful attempt to trap Jessica Fletcher in a Sauna of Doom in an episode of Murder...She Wrote). Listening to the episode, it DOES sound like that was used at some point in the movie. Anyway, unrelated to the movie, if you don't know who Jack LaLanne is, I highly recommend reading about him--he essentially laid the foundation for everything we think of as modern-day fitness, at least in the US.

As a huge Rush fan, I'm glad I finally got around to listening to this. And on behalf of Rush fans everywhere, I can say thanks for "I prefer PEE-rt!", and Craig's knowledge of Rush in particular. "I printed out a setlist for you right here!" I kind of want to go back and, if I can, listen to Eban's piano playing to see if I can pick out any Rush now.

So among its many other problems, it does seem like the movie was a victim of bad timing/waiting a bit too long to cash in by the time it was finally released. I was born in 1983, but I was never really "into" He-Man at all (I actually watched more She-Ra than He-Man, as a result of it being on immediately before re-runs of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on USA IIRC) despite that. So if 1986-1987 is the point where you think I'd first be really aware of toy trends, I was apparently a bit too late for He-Man, and I imagine it was, if not dead, on its way out by the time of the movie.

Hmmm. I suppose there are really two possible answers. My very first post was in a "HDTGM Movies You Liked?" thread, in which I answered "Mortal Kombat". So I supposed you could say that, indirectly, got me on the forums. The movie where I really began to post (And I still don't do it very often, true) and feel like a part of the community, though, was TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze. Which is weird, as that's the one in the trilogy I never actually watched as a kid, although I did read both the novelization and the comic adaptation of it.

I'm down, although I won't have anything C&O worthy, and I suspect people actually know how to say this one thanks to Dinosaur Comics. But hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

Dohoho icwutudidthar! More seriously, okay, I think I see where you're coming from regarding MK: Annihiliation. The volume of stuff it gets completely wrong in regards to the source material (Kind of like Street Fighter: The Movie actually--I'll spare you the geeking out regarding that though.) is noteworthy, in addition to the badness of the movie on its own merits. I wonder if I still remember enough of the early MK lore to, uh, appreciate the movie on that level (I feel like that's what I'd need to get me through it at this point). More importantly, I wonder if the HDTGM crew (Or whatever guest they'd get) could do so.

Despite my incorrect memory of the motorcycle, I'm 100% sure that's it (I did also recall the kids on the bus singing). Searching for "Chuck Norris Pico" came up empty, maybe because the guy's name wasn't Pico, I dunno. Thanks! Clearly my Google skills need work.

Okay, a few things here: 1. The eagerness for the gang to do MK: Annihilation just baffles me. I mean, love the podcast, I'm sure it'd make for a great episode, but not due to the movie itself--I recall seeing about 5 minutes of it on TV and turning it off, going "NOPE I'M DONE HERE." Like, it didn't strike me as so-bad-it's-good, just....So Bad, and not in an enjoyable way. Maybe I just watched the wrong 5 minutes or something. NOTE: I did enjoy the first MK movie, though I have no idea how I'd feel if I were to see it again today. 2. I'll throw this out there in the hopes that someone can help me. Also on TV years and years ago, I saw a snippet of something Chuck Norris was in, and I've always been curious what it was. What I remember from it (All of which may be completely wrong, mind you): Chuck Norris was riding a motorcycle. Some Evil Badguy type had attached a time bomb to the side of a school bus. Chuck Norris on a motorcycle rode up to the (Also moving) school bus, detached the bomb, caught up to the Badguys, attached the bomb to their car, and rode away as the bomb exploded. I want to say the next scene was in a bar, where one of Norris's companions/partners/whatever congratulated him on taking out the Badguy (Whose name might have been Pico?), to which Chuck Norris was all "Yeah whatever". So what was that? Chuck Norris Movie That Wasn't Sidekicks? Episode of Walker: Texas Ranger? Or some crazy fever dream I had and this piece of Norrisabilia doesn't actually exist? Help me, denizens of these forums!

I have to agree that this is up there, though I acknowledge that part of this is ~13-year-old me watching it when it came out and thinking "This is the best video game movie ever!" (Which was probably true given its competition at that time.) I went into this a bit more here.

I took a Better Business Writing class not long ago. One of the points it made, that was nonetheless an "a-ha!" moment for me when I heard it, was "E-mail (The class mainly focused on e-mail) is not the same thing as spoken communication; don't e-mail like you speak." Anyway. Movie. Tom Selleck AND Gene Simmons? Never heard of "Runaway" other than the Bon Jovi song, but I'm down for this. Gene Simmons actually tried to make a go of acting in the 80s, didn't he? He was also in this, uh, movie, among many other credits to his name.

Hey, you came to the same conclusion as the guy hired to write a song about the first movie, which is (Again) a totally reasonable one given what the first two movies show (I don't remember enough about the third, which sounds like a blessing from what people here have said). I can't blame you for that. As Entering the Bone Zone said (Or at least implied), I'm not sure he really does much leading in the cartoon either. He's more of the "straight man" for all the other wacky Turtle personalities to bounce off of from what I remember, which is admittedly not a lot. Hey, incorrect identification of the leader of the group notwithstanding, that song is legit. Also, I just want to point out that Partners in Kryme recently (As in probably the last year or so) put out a new TMNT song. Yes, really. I have not listened to it, nor do I think I want to. I'll keep the good memories of Turtle Power, thanks.

"Raphael! He's the leader of the group!" -Partners in Kryme, "Turtle Power" A couple people have mentioned this song already. I've read a couple things that Partners in Kryme have said elsewhere, and I can honestly see how this mistake would get made (In the cartoon, Leonardo is clearly the leader. They even mention it in the theme song! I'll admit ignorance of the comics and whether they have an established "leader" in them.). Their basic story is that they were more or less told "Here's this movie, go write a song about it". And if you've only seen the first movie, thinking Raphael is the leader is a pretty reasonable conclusion to draw--he's the first Turtle we meet in the first movie, and in as much as there's a viewpoint or "main" turtle in both of the first two movies, Raph is it. The two problems here are that 1. I find it almost impossible to believe someone wouldn't have at least known of the cartoon at the time of the first movie, and 2. There's a line (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100758/quotes?item=qt0352402) in the first movie where Raph, albeit sarcastically, refers to Leo as "A great leader".

I remember 12-year-old me thinking Mortal Kombat was legitimately the best video game movie that had ever been done to that point (Look at its competition). It had pretty much everything I would've wanted in a Mortal Kombat movie, and didn't try to be more than that. I was shocked when the gang didn't recommend it, but I can see why when I think about it--it's probably not good enough to be worth watching if you aren't a fan of the games, nor is it bad enough to be the type of so-bad-it's-good that makes for classic HDTGM fodder. Annihilation, on the other hand, is just bad, bad, bad. I watched about 5 minutes of it on TV and said "NOPE".