FRANKI'S FAVORITE FILMS movie review 1: MEGAMIND

i love superhero-type movies, but hate the infallable, sing-minded corniness of movie-makers' portrayal of the heroes. i have always related more to the villains. not because i embrace evil, or whatever else the sheep of the world accuse me of, but because they are simply more interesting -- and human -- and i can see a lot of myself in them than any hero.

i am glad to see i am not the only one who thinks this; congratulations, Dreamworks productions! you have succeeded in creating not only a movie of current design i actually like, but a definite new favorite, which i will add to my profile list as soon as i publish this. i speak, of course, of "Megamind", the story of a classic villain in his persuit of besting the classic hero.

(there are NO actual spoiler alerts following, although, there very well may be in future posts of this nature; today's post is merely a teaser + behind the scenes stuff, to which i am personally addicted.... enjoy!)

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like every classic hero/villain story, despite the extreame genius of the villain's trap, the hero always manages to win at the very last second. (what is with that? granted, most of those villains are incompotent and babble their plans away, allowing the hero to learn exactly how to defeat them.... but why always the VERY LAST SECOND? surely, if you are so "super", you can get in and out with time to spare, allowing the "damsal in distress" to avoid getting, you know, too distressed... anyway, i digress...) it becomes completely routine, and no one expects any different. but what if, thanks to some freak mistake that works out in your favor, you can actually defeat the hero? what then?

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that's what happens here, to the wonderfully-flawed (starting with childhood; growing up in a prison and treated like a villain all his life -- see asch's theory of extreme environmentalism), bright blue, gangly, egotistical, maniacal (what more can a girl ask for in a man?) villain, modestly named Megamind.

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once Metro Man (a hero with no real morals or a personality to speak of) is precieved dead after Megamind's evil invention actually works, Megamind is left to run the city, playing with it as he may. unfortunately, as plotting vengance and defeat were is only hobbies, he is now stuck, a rebel without a cause, or even a clue as to how to go on.

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that is, until rarely-distressed damsel reporter Roxanne Ritchi (a leading lady who is tough, sarcastic, witty, and with a short, sassy haircut that is almost never heard of in a stereotypical superhero movie) unknowingly gives Megamind the answer to his problems.

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what happens from there is for me (and everyone who has seen the movie, whether legally or no) to know, and everyone else to find out.

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the message of this movie: it's not where you come from, but where you are going. simple, easy to remember.

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the oddness of this movie makes me very happy; an endearing supervillain, a fearless "damsal in distress", a vapid hero, and the villain gets the girl.... it's all such a strange concept, even though it's a story i'd been imagining for, literally, my entire life! there's no way i COULDN'T love it! plus some pretty good music, awesome animation, and a 3D presentation that did not go overboard, which is the folly of so many 3D films these days (seriously, some of them, i just wanna punch the producers in the head).

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Megamind is voiced by Will Ferrell, who is not really my favorite actor, but he picks some pretty good parts, and i think that says alot about an actor's character. Brad Pitt does Metro Man, and Roxanne Ritchi is voiced by Tina Fey.

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Megamind is a freakin' awesome movie, and fully encourage my blogger-buddies to see it, laugh at it, and smile when thinking about it days later. also, if either of you finds a Megamind lunchbox, buy it for your franki, and i will fully pay you back, tax and interest and hug included.

flattering profile of a maniac

when i say the word "maniac" what do you think? more often than not, one thinks of some scary, dangerous person. not so, my dear, not so! that is maniacal stereotyping, and i resent it! now, i like a maniacal villain as much, if not more, than the next weirdo, and granted, a fair chunk of the scary dangerous people in the (real) world are maniacs, but only a very few from the maniacal community actually are scary or dangerous.

but what makes a maniac? how can you tell if someone, even yourself, is a maniac? here i have for you simply a generic profile to follow and apply, keeping in mind that every individual is... well, individual, which makes the profile subjective. but look anyway, and decide for yourself if you, or someone you know, could be a maniac. if the subject in mind fits over half the criteria... possibly, darling, possibly!

when it comes to appearance, maniacs tend to look a fair deal like most everyone else, with maybe a few slight deviations (a different dress code, hairstyle, maniacal glint in the eye...). appearance-driven, maniacs can be broken into two groups: those who try to hide their mania and strive to fit in, and those who embrace the mania and rebuke the mainstream. it is usually one extream or the other, nothing in between.

behaviors are the first things to look at when pinpointing a maniac. the ones who strive to fit in (submissive maniacs) are never the first to offer a suggestion or idea to a group, however, if you were to catch them when they were alone, they would prove to have ideas and opinions so strong, it seems amazing that they would deviate for anything, especially social standard. they adopt the personas of whoever is around, and seem to change identities from group to group. again, if you were to watch them when they were alone, the personality that shows throught would appear to be a completely different person than the one you see in public. (hint: many famous politicians are submissive maniacs.)

as for the ones who strive to stand out (dominant maniacs), they show a behavior that is completely specific to their own character, each with one specific constant of their own design. their passions are evident, and it is almost impossible to get a dominant maniac to refuse them. (any type of radical extreamist is a dominant maniac.)

known to non-maniacs as "obsessions," every maniac has a specific passion that could range over a series of things. for example, one maniac's passion could be their one favorite necklace, while another maniac's passion could be for all jewelry. passions could be for places, animals, emotions, and people. no matter the passion, you can bet that, somewhere (whether in a closet, in a book, or just in their head) there is bound to be a sort of shrine built to their one specific passion -- this is a maniac staple.

in submissive maniacs, their passion is always kept secret, even if it poses no threat to their secret identity. dominant maniacs, surprisingly, while are more inclined to share their passions than the sumbissives, also tend to keep their passion quiet, in the mindset that, should they let it be known, something would either be done to themselves or their passion (especially if the passion is an animal, emotional object, or a person) that would be ultimately unfavorable.

the final contributer that is universal to almost all maniacs is what i like to call an "underdog complex". this requires the complexor to believe that the majority of the people in their surroundings are, in some way, against them. if it simply stopped there, it would be called the "high school complex", but the part that makes it an "underdog complex" is that, despite the precieved hostility, they strive to survive, and even succeed against the pain. for submissives, this means becoming the top of the socail totem pole, few true friends, but lots of substance. for dominants, this means finding a meaningful cause, clinging to it, and basically saying "screw you" to anyone who would oppose the cause. this also gets them few friends, but lots of excitement.

so, as a recap, here's a condenced profile of a maniac:

• slight to large deviation from the norm in appearance
• (submissive) agrees with the croud, seems to have no opinions of their own
• (dominant) declairs opinions loudly and emotionally
• secret "shrine" to passion
• underdog complex

now that you have learned, take this question from a writer who is, herself, a happily dominant maniac: how maniacal are you? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (that, my dear, was a maniacal laugh, war-cry of all the greatest maniacs)

50 questions

so here's a list of questions. answer them in your head, or, if you care, leave a comment answering a couple. i'm just filling up my time with something interesting to do.

1. what is the color of the inside of your eyelids?


2. why must we all scream for ice cream? why not whisper? why not just one or two of us?


3. who is that dastardly creature dancing through your ears at night?


4. have you ever had a reversed emotions dream (you like someone you hate, vice-versa, were killing someone you loved and were proud of it, etc.) that really screwed with your head once you woke up?


5. does the pelvic thrust really drive them insay-ay-ay-ay-ane?


6. why do villains get such a bad rep, when most of them are worlds more compelling than the so-called "protagonists"?


7. an-cay ou-yay eak-spay ig-pay atin-lay?


8. why are there no more silent films? and why are the silent films of olde being chucked left and right by people who refuse to read during a movie? what kind of monsters are they?!


9. who do you blame for screwing you up?


10. what does this look like to you?
11. tell me what you want, what you really, really want.
12. why must we prove ourselves worthy to enjoy a klondike bar?
13. what is the exact definition of the word "word"?
14. where the hell do all these cuts and bruises on my arms and legs come from, and why do they only hurt after i discover they're there?!
15. why am i repulsed by normal, even "attractive" guys, but the weird-looking ones always make me wish i were wearing a cape and mask and belting out opera, while holding a daggar to the throat of any possible competition?
16. explain that last question.
17. how would marco polo feel about his name being turned into a game that is, essentially, just an excuse to grope someone in a pool?
18. how much is that dog in the window? more importantly, has he had his shots?
19. why is "bollocks" a bad thing, but "the dog's bollocks" a very, very good thing?
20. oh, yeah?!
21. what ever became of the three mini-ballerinas whose noses i bloodied in dance class when i was a wee one?
22. what is the opposite of tuesday?
23. why do i enjoy to sniff old books?
24. who are you people?!
25. who's dumb idea was it to put braille and an earphone port on the drive-up atm?
26. what part of you says BA-BOOM!?
27. if you were being asked to lick some non-edible thing, what would it be?
28. do smurfs poop blue?
29. where do marshmellows come from?
30. are you the lemon?
31. why does bugs bunny never, ever, take that right turn at alberquerque?
32. can you smell fear, or is it just me?
33. what language do german dogs speak?
34. shall we dance? (ye be warned....)
35. who most desserves a smack on the bum at this moment?
36. do you giggle at the word "bum"?
37. what is more southerly than antarctica?
38. how much wood could a woodchuk chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
39. can you burp on command?
40. why does some champagne sparkle, while others bubble?
41. what is the longest you've gone without peeing?
42. how did vikings get their name?
43. why do mindless, evil automotons such as the jonas brothers, mylie cyrus, and that girl, justin beiber, continue to live while so many great artist are dying? can't they just break a leg, for real, or cever their vocal cords? (on second thought, cevering their vocal cords won't do much good if they're not really up on stage singing...)
44. if you were being stalked by someone you're pretty sure you'd like a lot, what would you do?
45. what perils does your future bring?
46. what perils does my future bring?
47. who invented the sock monkey, and how can i honor them?
48. why are goth-black lips banned, where slut-red lips are encouraged?
49. would you ever allow yourself to be rocked to sleep by a bouncer in a gorilla costume?
50. why am i stopping at fifty?

happy randomness

every holliday season, i look forward to watching "how the grinch stole christmas" -- not the newish one starring jim carey, although it is hillarious. no, i'm talking the dr. seuss/chuck jones cartoon where the grinch was voiced by the ledgendary borris karloff. it makes me happy, and i get quite upset when i miss out on it.

i long for the days when the meaning of "stress" was "school" and i was easy-going and free.

when i was once an old man, i could polka with the best of them, but this evil little girl and her cat stole my artificial hip, and i could polka no more...

you remind me of the babe. (what babe?) the babe with the power. (what power?) the power of voodoo. (who do?) you do! (do what?) remind me of the babe. (what babe?) the babe with the power. (what power?) the power of voodoo. (who do?) you do! (do what?) remind me of the babe.....

i love the muppets. kermit was cool, and gonzo was funny. miss piggie was an awesome sexy screwup. but my favorite always was, and always will be, sweetums, the tall, hairy troll-type monster guy who made his debut in jim hensen's "the frog prince", where he would always fall asleep after hearing his lullabye, "sweetums lay your ugly head down upon your wretched bed; bunnykins is sweet and cute, go to sleep you stupid brute." (nighty-niiiiiigght....)

i desperately wish i could play an instrument. any instrument. i have several. i got an acustic guitar, but was only taught a C chord, and it's been so long, i think i even forgot that. on piano, i can plink out single-note songs with the best of them ("ode to joy", "the addams family theme", "joy to the world", "jerimiah was a bull frog"...) but can not make it sound like i actually play. i can play a mean penny-whistle (irish flute) but that's about it. i want to play bagpipes, but in a punk rock way. ooh! or the organ! that would rock... i'd probably need to play piano first, though...

when i was just becoming a teen (like, twelve, thirteen, fourteen), and my parents were bracing themselves for the teenage rebellion (piercings, tats, hormone-induced fights, screamo played loudly), they got one, but not the one they were expecting (anti-social, weird costumes, journals documenting people's behavior, opera played loudly). i think i turned out okay.

i absolutely love sock monkeys. hint to all.

i was asked about my "dream man" the other day. it got me thinking. this is what i came up with: he must be as odd as me, or agree to let me transform him into an oddity. he has to be willing to wear a cape in public, often. he must not have too high hopes for me when it comes to dancing (or wear steel-toe shoes and football equipment when we do). it wouldn't hurt if there was hair on his chest.

i quite adore hats of just about any kind. i have over thirty of my own, and am always on the lookout for more.

for those in the know: afooglie!!!