the last movie i saw

When I first thought about starting a blog, I envisioned a screening log of sorts. I would chronicle the movies I saw, and through that include little anecdotes about my life as it happens. With bad lighting, I've decided to go broader with entries about whatever strikes me. I still want to include this feature, which will provide a brief musing on films (current and otherwise) as I see them.
It's Saturday morning (afternoon by now, but it still feels like morning) and fall is here. Crisp to the skin, fallen leaves, the smell of cold air, etc. I've missed this ... LA, as we all know, doesn't have seasons. And, actually, September is the hot month there; it's a lot like August everywhere else (read: gross and unforgiving). For years now, I have felt that Saturday morning movies are the best, the equivalent of great cartoons growing up (I remember loving Garfield, Muppet Babies and Pee-Wee's Playhouse which, though live-action, was certainly cartoon-ish).

So this morning, feeling nostalgic, I watched Back to the Future (1985, dir. Robert Zemekis), which is one of the great 80s pop movies. Since then Zemekis has gone on to be a hack-master of schlock (Forrest Gump fans should never read this blog), but this one is pure fun. As a kid, I always preferred the sequel, which finds Michael J. Fox thrust into the future, rife with flying cars, books without dust jackets and yet another Jaws sequel, this one with a hologram shark. The original sends Fox (at the hands of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd) flying back to the fifties to ensure that his parents will meet and fall in love. It's a solid concept, and the result is easily the best "80s slacker time-traveling comedy" (sorry Bill and Ted).