I - Inconceivable!

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

"Inconceivable!" I'm guessing most people who read this will know exactly what movie that quote is from. By all rights, that movie should be terrible and pathetic. No budget, terrible special effects, a combination of big-name actors playing ridiculous parts and no-name actors playing similarly ridiculous parts. The story line is cliched and severely melodramatic. People in rat suits? A six-fingered man? Andre the Giant acting?! Seriously, this movie has everything it needs to be a complete failure. And yet, I don't know anyone who doesn't rank this movie high in their list of favorites. I don't know how many times I've seen it, and it still hasn't gotten old. I watch it at least once a year. It's imminently quotable and enchantingly ridiculous. Enchantingly ridiculous? "I do not think it means what you think it means."

No one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley.

I - I Love This Movie

Welcome to day nine of the A to Z Challenge. If you're here for the first time or if you've forgotten already, this year's theme is movies! I am posting a quote, a character or two, and a brief synopsis of a movie for each letter. You then get to guess the movie in the comments. Answers will be revealed in the following day's post.

Answer to H: Heartbreak Ridge

Today we're doing the letter I. We're going back to the SciFi genre for this one because, let's face it, that's my type of movie. This one should be a little easier than yesterday, so here goes.

Quote

Give me a scotch. I'm starving. - Robert Downey, Jr.

Character

Happy Hogan - A great character brilliantly understated by actor/director Jon Favreau. While not in many scenes, he makes the most of his screen time with just the right comment delivered in just the right way. Favreau was perfectly cast for the role.

Synopsis

The movie that began a dynasty and changed the way superhero movies are made and perceived forever. No silliness, no reliance on gimmicks over story. This movie put the characters and the story up front and gave the special effects a supporting role. That's a demanding task for a superhero movie. Casting was perfect, story was strong, acting was top notch. One of my favorite movies of all time.

Bet a few of you can guess this one pretty quick. See you tomorrow.

I - I Believe I Heard Rock n Roll

It's day nine of the A to Z Challenge. That means we're up to letter I. As you may have noticed lately, for some of these letters it's hard to come up with just one song or artist. Well today, I've narrowed it down to two that I love. Will it be "I Love Rock n Roll" by Joan Jett or "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister? It's a close one this time. Who could it be? How can I possibly choose between these two? Who will be crowned the king of "Rock" songs I love (for the letter I)? Scroll down to see.





Love
Imperial March (Star Wars) - We have a spoiler! While both songs are great and deserving of being very high on my list, they just aren't intergalactic. Only one song makes you fear for the safety of the entire planet whenever it plays. Will he blow it up with a Death Star? Will he freeze a loved one in carbonite? C'mon it's Darth Vader's theme song. How can it possibly get any cooler than that?

Hate
I Believe I Can Fly (R. Kelly) - I believe you can shut up and go away! Enough said.

Love to Hate
I Heard it Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye) - Sorry, Mom, but this song is terrible. OK, maybe not terrible, but it is awfully annoying. Maybe it's just because it was overused in all the California Raisin commercials back in the 80's or 90's or whenever it was. I don't think it bothered me until I heard it all the time.

What do you think? Is Darth Vader the king of theme songs? Or the Dark Lord of theme songs? Do dancing raisins make you want to burn Marvin Gaye records in protest? Let me know in the comments.

I - Indy and Brandy

Indy and Brandy are my dogs. They are not entirely sane. But that's OK. Sanity is overrated in dogs.

Indy is, of course, short for Indiana Jones. When we first got her as a 7 week old puppy, she was curious about everything and completely fearless, just like Indiana Jones. Her fearlessness changed when she got hit by a car when she was a year old. We thought she was going to die for sure. Instead, she healed and became the fastest dog I've ever seen. She once saw a rabbit running away from her when she was 50 yards away from it. By the time the rabbit ran 75 yards, she was on its heels. It hid under a stack of pallets or it would have been dog chow. She hates rabbits as much as I do. :)

Brandy is Indy's opposite. She was afraid of everything as a puppy and always wanted someone to hold her. To this day, she loves to give kisses. Thus the name; she was always a light brown licker. She's never been as quick as Indy and never will be. Probably because she's about twice her weight. Mostly muscle, but I think she may be getting the bigger half of dinner most of the time, if you know what I mean.

The dogs love to amuse themselves by chewing on each other, licking each other, and laying on each other. Legs and faces are particularly popular choices. Chewing on someone's face doesn't sound like a good hobby to me, but I'm not a dog. And I'm sane. Which is often overrated.