Dinner and a movie (2006)

Well, we did it. We got through the class without destroying any property or killing someone (or ourselves). Thursday, ye shall be rewarded with great treasures, AKA pizza. As Mike said in the email, any requests for toppings, beverages, etc, are welcomed, as well as movie suggestions.

Thank you all for sticking it out. We had a great time!

Good luck with finals!

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

CGI Wolves and
Weather are the antago-
nists in this movie.

The Day After Tomorrow:global warming::Twister:tornadoes - everybody's a freakin' expert after watching it. Every day that is +/- 5 degrees F from the average is due to global warming. Every increase in severe weather is due to global warming. Every timberwolve that tries to eat me is due to global warming. Oh, wait. That's just becuase I'm retarded and my girlfriend is a goshdarned baby-saving martyr.

Anyway, Thursday night. Be there or drown (or freeze, whichever comes first).

Here's some links:
- The Day After Tomorrow facts
- More global warming info.
- Maybe global warming isn’t all that bad…
- Al Roker and global warming - the movie as seen by strictly a weather-based view.

PS - We'll also discuss what's happening the last class, so if you care, be there.
PPS - Josh, we hope your senior recital was awesome!

Twister (1996)

Chasing Tornados
Is that what the kids call it?
Make-out party! Woo!

And we begin the final stretch of the semester - the weather-related disasters. Twister was written by Michael Crichton (warming up for State of Fear, I suppose) and stars a few big names and some flying cows. Oh, wait - I think that was the same cow.

Before we twist the night away, here's some links:
Sciency explanation (with fun animations)
FEMA does tornadoes. Hmmm...
News and video of the twister that ripped through my hometown last year.

PS - Okay, okay, I know we've sucked the last couple of weeks. Mike's been sick and Sarah's been swamped at work. But at least I get to keep my big toe...

See you next week for The Day After Tomorrow!!

Armageddon (1998)

Why didn't it work?
Buscemi goes crazy AND
Jerry Bruckheimer!

It's the Big One: Armageddon. Orignally we were going to do this over two classes due to its length, but it will probably be less painful to take it all at once. This is a definitive disaster film: All-star cast, an end of the world scenario, a love story, and an Aerosmith soundtrack. Well, that last one isn't really a criterion but it helps set the tone of the film.

Ooo, and here's some interesting links:

Intuitor's Physics Review of Armageddon. Good thing we aren't in a coastal area.

Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy The first thing the film got right: Asteroids do exist.

Are we in danger? Chicken Little may have been right...


See you all Thursday!

No Class November 2nd

Just a reminder that there will not be a film screening this week. We will be back in full swing next Thursday with Armageddon.

See you then!

Them! (1954)

Ants are attacking
In the 1950's. Eek!
Get out your bug spray.

This week's film: Them!. Not to bias anyone, but this is probably the best film that we will be watching this semester (and film reviewers at IMDB would probably agree).

Here are some articles for some background:

The Biology of B-Movie Monsters No dissections are planned at this time.

A collection of articles about Them!

Wikipedia: Resizing Fiction Because you want to connect the dots between Them! and Honey I Blew Up the Kid.

Improtant Note: There will be some tweeking of the schedule/syllabus for the second half of the semester. We'll talk about it in class on Thursday.

See ya!

Happy Fall Break!

We hope everyone is having a great (and safe) break! We miss you!

-Sarah and Mike