In June of this year, I left the hallowed halls of Lansdale (PA) School of Business (LSB). Turns out that it would take six months to finish my Associate Degree when I could attend DeVry and get my Bachelors Degree in a year (I miss the whacked out people at LSB, but I'm enjoying DeVry just as much).
After dropping an online MS Excel course (I need to be in the classroom for that one), I am taking a Humanities 422 course (Film as Literature). I've been having a ball learning to watch movies from a new point of view (I've always been a movie critic of sorts, but now I can understand more of what they look for). Also, anyone who has known me for more than two minutes knows how much I enjoy all genres of the film experience from anywhere in the world. That was explained in an earlier post in this blog.
So, with no more inane entries about The Middle Aged Education of Tony Minich, here are some more movie recommendations (one from the movie course and one from elsewhere) that I've found recently:
1. Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925) - directed by Scott Pembroke
Prior to Laurel & Hardy (L&H), Stan Laurel had already achieved fame on his own. This short film (20 minutes) is an absolute pleasure to watch. It is a hilarious satire on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. Dr. Pyckle is a revered British scientist who, after ingesting a formula, become Mr. Pryde, a man who terrorizes London pulling practical jokes on people.
As you watch this, the extent of Stan Laurel's genius becomes evident. Having watched many L&H movies, I had heard that Laurel wrote and created a lot of the team's comedy, but never truly understood how great he really was. NOW I KNOW!
Even if you don't enjoy non-talking movies (again, as before, movies were never really silent), try this out for size. At worst, it will only be twenty minutes wasted. Ideally, though, it will be the most enjoyable time you've spent in a while.
2. Memento (2001) - directed by Christopher Nolan
This movie was the first one that we watched in HUM422 at DeVry. I had avoided it for 9 years because it sounded TOO strange, massively weird, and sounded like it would be a waste of time.
Once again, as my beloved bride loves to tell me, I WAS WRONG! This movie is FANTASTIC! It is the story of a man whose wife was brutally raped and murdered. In the process of trying to save her, he sustains an injury that causes him to have no short-term memory.
The movie starts at the end and works its way back to the beginning. It's a throwback to the 1940's film noir (in an interview, Chris Nolan compared this movie with one of my personal favorites DOUBLE INDEMNITY). By the time you get to the end of the movie (which, technically, is the beginning), you will wonder how you got to that point, which means you will have to watch it a second time.
So much for now. More to come (but you already knew that).
