Airplane the movie slot machine

Coolest theme for a slot machine.

Singles movie apartment address

As promised, I visited the co-star of the movie Singles.  I saw the apartment building where the characters lived.  It is at 1820 East Thomas Street in Seattle.  It's a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be.  It's in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, not far from touristy downtown.  It is definitely worth a glimpse for the true Singles fan.

The infamous up-and-down garage doors from the end of the movie.

Front of building around the corner.

Coryell Court (alternate name for a Korean strip mall?)

Cliff's apartment.

Debbie Hunt's apartment.

Fellow Singles fans in the car to the right.  I thought I was the only weirdo.  No wonder the shutters on all the units' apartments are sealed like Fort Knox.

The musicians and soundtrack in Singles the movie (1992)

(I'm going to meet a co-star of this movie later this week.  Guess who it is.)

I'm a bit ashamed, but Cameron Crowe's syrupy sweet romantic comedy Singles is one of my favorite movies of all time.  It's about a group of hip and attractive 20 somethings who live in Seattle and hang out at a coffee shop.  Sound familiar?  It was the basis for the TV show Friends.

What's not to like?  It's got all the stars of the early 90s.  Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Matt Dillon, Kyra Sedgwick, and Campbell Scott are in it.  And the future stars of the 00s are in it too-- like Jeremy "I was bald in 1992 so how come I've got a full head of hair in 2010?" Piven and Paul "I will only be known for Sideways" Giamatti.

The cars are pretty cool too.  Dillon drives an old Ford delivery truck, Campbell an old Saab, and Fonda a Mark I Scirocco (see below).

But the music made the movie truly great.  It introduced the rest of the country, and the world, to grunge music, which, in my opinion, is the music genre of Generation X.  My vast collection of flannel shirts in college can only be explained with one word: Grunge.

The movie soundtrack contains a who's who of Seattle sound, circa 1991.  And many of those musicians had roles in the movie.

Here is Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.  He and his band played members of Dillon's band called Citizen Dick.    Vedder definitely has a future in acting.

Chris Cornell of Soundgarden makes a brief appearance in this scene involving the infamous VW.  For those of you who don't know Cornell, he sung "You Know My Name," the title song to the James Bond movie Casino Royale.

We've also got Alice In Chains, another one of my favorites:

Predictably, Nirvana was too-cool-for-school and refused to be involved in the project.

(Hint to question raised above: The star I am meeting is in one of the Youtube clips above.)

Restrepo movie trailer

I went into the theater today to see Agora, but I should have seen this documentary about our attempt to secure the Korangal Valley in Afghanistan instead.  Here is an article about our failed and futile efforts there.  All I have to say after watching this trailer is that we need to at least quintuple the resources we put into providing mental health care for our veterans.

The Girl Who Played With Fire BMW car movie poster

I was at the movie theater today and saw this poster.  I have no idea what the movie is about but that is a cool shot of an E32 7 series.  Which reminds me, how is Edvin's project going?

Steinbeck's The Wayward Bus movie (1957)

I'm not a big fan of fiction but I am fascinated by John Steinbeck.  I've read about half of his books.  I just started The Wayward Bus, thinking it was going to be about a bus trip involving farmers, vagabonds, and ne'er-do-wells from Salinas.

Innocent-looking cover

Was I in for a shock.  It reads like a steamy romance novel.  Here is the movie trailer, starring Jayne Mansfield and Joan Collins.

Crossing the Line movie (American defector in North Korea)

I just watched this documentary last night.  It's a fascinating look into the mind of an American GI who defected to North Korea in the 1960s.  I am surprised at how much leeway the North Korean government allowed in interviewing and following this guy throughout Pyongyang.  It is more about the man and what makes him tick than politics and ideology.  James Dresnok had a rough childhood in Virginia.  He was in foster homes and dropped out of high school.  He deserted when his marriage failed.  He was lauded as a hero in North Korea but tried to defect again by approaching the Soviet embassy (he failed).  He has a blond haired adult son with a kidnapped Romanian woman (who passed away).  He is now married and has a young son with the illegitimate daughter of a Korean woman and Togolese diplomat.  The story is strange and I've barely touched on the truly bizarre parts.

Holden Sandman video

I'm watching Mad Max right now.  His Holden Sandman makes me want to go car camping.

Asian guy in the movie Fargo

"You're such a super lady!"

Terrific acting, writing, and directing.  The eyes of the actors alone convey their thoughts, feelings, motives, and reactions.

A-Team movie trailer and A-Team TV show intro

If there's anything I shun more than blockbuster movies, it's remakes of classic TV shows.  The Brady Bunch, Starsky & Hutch, The Transformers.  Pass.

However, I must see the new A-Team movie this weekend.  The trailer is not exactly awe inspiring, but I'm drawn to it.

It's good to see the GMC van back.  In the 80s, you could go to Universal Studios' theme park in LA and there was an ultra light 1:1 replica of the van.  The driver's side wheels were bolted and hinged to the ground.  Kids, like me, could go on the passenger side and lift the van up with our superhuman strength and have our proud parents take pictures.  Good times.

Credit

I wonder if Face's original Corvette with the round taillights will make a cameo.

Here is the TV show's trailer.  I've always been bugged by the scene where BA Baracus is in the convertible's driver's seat and turns around.  Have you noticed how his right elbow bumps into the seatback, thus making his turning motion kind of stuttered?  I've always asked myself, even as a kid, couldn't they do another take so that the motion looked smoother?

Bond 23 update and other James Bond 007 news

It appears that the next James Bond movie, the 23rd, is on hold indefinitely because of MGM's financial problems.  Insiders predict that it will come out in 2012, at the earliest.  Sam Mendes is in contention for the director role.

In other "news", Daniel Craig was seen kissing a dude at a bar in Venice Beach.  *Snore*

While we wait for the next movie, here is the Aston Martin V8 Oscar India chase from The Living Daylights.

Babies movie trailer

I just saw Babies.  Pretty sweet movie about four babies in Namibia, Japan, San Francisco, and Mongolia.

When will Kazakhstan export a good movie?

Nomad co-stars Mark Dacascos, the dude from Iron Chef America.

Kazakhstani movies shown in the United States are hard to come by.  So far, I've only seen three feature length films from the Central Asian republic.  Mongol was overdone.  Gift to Stalin was mediocre.  And Nomad was unwatchable.  The young nation's even younger film industry has plenty of petrodollar funding, but is seriously lacking in plot lines, screenwriting, and independence.  To a certain extent, the movies all seem to be mouthpieces for the Nazarbayev government.  These are the themes I've picked up, Cliffs' Notes style:

• Our vast steppes are beautiful.
• We hate our recent Russian conquerors.
• We despise the Chinese and must remain vigilant of their aggressions.
• Our vast oil and gas reserves make us strong.
• In order to succeed, individual Kazakhs must set aside our differences and stick together (as in abandon differing political philosophies and any opposition to the government?).
• Our Kazakh supreme leader is just and wise, and we are truly blessed to have him guide our nation.

I demand a low-budget, well-made, independent Kazakh film about contemporary, realistic characters.  No more preachy epics please.

In conclusion, this Tupac homage is still the best.

Love the Beast movie: Eric Bana's obsession with his 1974 Ford XB Falcon

I'm working on an interview about Australian car culture. One of the nuggets of gold I was given is this documentary. Stay tuned for the interview.

Separated at birth: F1's Mika Hakkinen and The Hurt Locker's Brian Geraghty

Miss Stinnes Motors Round the World

This is an interesting 90 minute German movie about the first person (who happens to be a woman) to drive around the globe in a car (1927-29). Astoundingly, the entire trip was filmed. Actors play out the conversations that may have taken place. It is pretty incredible.

The movie will be shown again State-side next weekend (March 6) at the German Gems film festival in Point Arena.

2nd Generation Camaro And Firebird Trans Am CHP Police Cars In The Junkman Movie

I rarely mention Jalopnik because I assume all of you are regular visitors to that site. Today's post about the epic Camarobird collection may be the most Jalop post of them all. I looked into second generation Camaro police cars and I found this movie called The Junkman. Why have I never heard of this movie? It looks awesome.

Top 10 Songs Videos About Cars

I am going to be incommunicado for at least a few days. In the mean time, enjoy my favorite songs/videos about cars.

10. You're Gonna Get Yours, Public Enemy: I was a huge PE fan growing up. This song about an Oldsmobile 98 was in their debut album Yo! Bum Rush the Show.

9. You Might Think, The Cars: This is one of the first videos I remember watching on MTV. The special effects were insane.

8. Millennium, Robbie Williams: The James Bond spoof with the Aston Martin DB5 is a shoo-in on my list.

7. Low Rider, War: Old school.

6. Fast Car, Tracy Chapman: Artistically, easily the best song of this lot.

5. Let Me Ride, Dr. Dre: Light years better than today's hip-hop.

4. All I Want, Toad the Wet Sprockets: This has nothing to do with cars per se, but it reminds me of a road trip I took to Santa Barbara via the Pacific Coast Highway.

3. Alfa Romeo 159 Ad, Artist Unknown: I found this ad a few weeks ago and I can't get it out of my head.

2. Sabotage, Beastie Boys: SA-bo-TAGE!

1. East Bound And Down, Jerry Reed: I can't believe my favorite song is a country and western song.

Carspotting (29): Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II

Today, we look at a Roller I found parked at a gas station. It's a Silver Wraith II, which I have never heard of. Apparently, it's a long wheelbased version of the Silver Shadow and came with an Everflex roof. It also came with different wheels and an optional opera window, which this example did not have.

I really dig this style because of Jamie Farr's Silver Shadow in the greatest movie of all time: Cannonball Run.

Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie's Car Is A VW Phaeton?!

While 2 million other blogs this coming week will talk about how Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be splitting, this blog will ask the boldest and most relevant question for weird car fanatics (I meant fans of weird cars, not weird fans who like cars)-- Do they own a VW Phaeton? Of course, this may just be a photo of the family walking down a parking lot. But could it be that they just got out of that black Phaeton with privacy-ensuring tinted windows? Enquiring minds want to know. I want to know.

Update 1: Yes, it's true, according to random posts on the net. How did I miss this when I was researching the Phaeton?