Movies from every state day 46- California

"The Golden State" has been the official nickname of California since 1968, but the third biggest and by far the most populated state first became known as golden during the 1848 rush for nuggets and I'm not talkin' McNuggets. The title "Golden" also results from the fields of golden poppies seen throughout the state each spring.
For tonight we are not only going to California. We are not only going to watch the best of a trilogy.
We are going to 12417 E. Philadelphia St. Whittier, Ca. Home of Richard Nixon's and Marty McFly's high school, Whittier High and Hill Valley High respectively. Just so happens my sister Sue and her family reside there too, in the city not the school. "Back to the Future" may have had II and III, but nothing beats the original for me. Not only did Doc build a time machine out of a Delorean, but Karrie "drove" the front half of it used it filming when we visited Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park. I love when the Pinheads audition for the "Battle of the Bands" playing "The Power of Love" for the judges, one of them being none other than Huey Lewis, who proclaims them as being "Just to darn loud!". Never again will 88 miles per hour be the same since we've now seen "Serious Shit" happen at it. As one who worked at a "Full Service" gas station in the late 60's, when gas was .25 a gal , I like the four attendants at the Texico. I think it might be some what safe now to say, I my have used the wheels of my dear sister's roller skates to make my first skate board. It probably wasn't me if it's still an issue. The look on Marty's face when he runs into his dad, in the past, is priceless. Then he finds out his dad is a Peeping Tom. One bit of trivia: Time travel, in the movie,  occurs on Oct. 26, 1985, but the film actually premiered on July 5, 1985, so that audiences were actually seeing the "Future".
Have fun watching this and just to be safe, keep it at 87mph or less.

Movies from every state day 45- Washington

Washington "The Evergreen State" The west side may get quite a bit of rain, but heck, that's why it's ever green. In 1889 it became the 42nd state and it is the only state named after a president.
We have four options in our collection for this state, we just don't have any choice! It has to be
"Sleepless in Seattle". Among other places we get to visit Alki Beach and my personal favorite, Pike Place Market where they toss fish and have tons of fantastic flowers, people from every walk of life from ever corner of the world. The areas around Seattle that have house boat neighborhoods are fun to walk around too. This is a movie that we'll watch many more times. It stars Ross Malinger as Jonah. He's backed up by somewhat known Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Rosie O'Donnell is even good in this one. I can relate with the scene of celebrating New Years when the ball drops in New York. I rarely make it to midnight. He pulls out his rolodex to call a possible date as the background music is "Back in the Saddle Again". Poor guy doesn't have a chance after his son calls the late night shrink talk show. My spell check doesn't even recognize Rolodex in this day of black berries, pda's and smart phones who even has one. Oh wait, I have on on my desk, but then again I don't have any of the others. Sleepless doesn't seem that old to me, but wired phones, green computer screen print, no gps navigation, and actual mail and they're even Google-less.
Since all the women in this are all crying over "An Affair to Remember".
I guess I better watch it too. I'm a sucker for good old fashion happy endings!

Movies from every state day 44- Oregon

We have a pretty good selection to pick from to represent Oregon "The Beaver State" to celebrate nature's engineers for their dam building skills that are important to water flow and erosion control. I just love watching the little buggers around work as the state DOT guys try to remove the dams and the next morning sticks and mud back as they start a new one. In a few weeks there are several acres of wet land habitat and they are left alone for few months only to start the battle again. Just for our niece Stephanie we had planed to watch a favorite of ours "The Goonies", but we couldn't wait and watched it last week. So, we like the Columbia River Gorge and Beacon Rock, which Karrie has climbed. Those two are both in our next movie and lead to "Maverick". I really like this one, and not just because of James Gardner, Mel Gibson or Jodie Foster. Well, yes I guess it is. The humor, the scenery, the river and river boats are just dandy too!

Movies from every state day 43- Wyoming

Alphabetically the last state, but it's better know as " The Equality State". It seems this state had some very forward thinkers and in 1869 Gov. Campbell signed the Suffrage Act into law extending the right to vote to women for the first time in the US. Wyoming was also the first state to have women on juries, first female court bailiff, Justice of the Peace and Governor. Wyoming is also known as "The Cowboy State", but the equality thing is a pretty tough act to follow. Awhile after they got the vote the women and men of Wyoming got to be acquainted with a couple of good lookin' guys (at least in the movies) that hung out in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County in Northern Wyoming at Hole in the Wall. I believe we've watched "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" a few times, since it seems Karrie can recite all the lines. The number of awards and the number of times it's listed in Top 100 of all time categories is amazing. Paul Newman started and ran "The Hole in the Wall Gang" camp for seriously ill children and Redford among other things started the Sundance Film Festival. On the charts of 100 years-100 songs #23 goes to "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head. If you haven't seen this one, what planet are you from. If you have you'll recognize a few famous quotes like "Well that outa do it" followed by "Think you used enough dynamite Butch" or "Who are these guys"or "Banks don't move" You've got to watch it or watch it again Redford and Newman along with Katharine Ross make this a great classic from back in the day. 1969 to be exact.

Movies from every state day 42 - Nevada

The Silver State, for it's large silver mine industries or the Sagebrush State which makes sense too. Take your pick, they both work for me. We have several good movies for Nevada. All the "Oceans", Vegas Vacation, Sister Act(s), What Happens in Vegas, Pay it Forward, Miss Congeniality,
Top Gun ........., but we (I) choose to watch an example of dang good entertainment. Lots of noise and well known actors, nice cars and trucks and we get to visit the Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. We get to be witness as a young mans dreams come true. When his first car picks him. A classic yellow w/black racing stripes camaro. Little does he know that it's going to transform  his life.  It just so happens the car helps save the world and his non-existent love life. The car even picks the right music to motivate him. The girl thinks he's the strangest boy she's ever met, but she had the guts to get into the car. She does wonder why "If it's suppose to be this super advanced robot why does it turn into this piece of s--t car". Being the very sensitive robot it runs off only to come back as a brand new Bubblebee camaro and brings his friends along too. Family history links Sam to the "Transformers" (tonight's movie) and the car brings it all together. Bad "Mojo" the families bejeweled, leg in a cast, chihuahua just about ruins everything by leaking lubricants on the Autobots. Witwicky, Sam Witwicky holds the key to earths survival. The end of earth might be near, but the humor is really good too.
Computer animation has really come a long ways to bring 1980 toys to the big screen.
Long live Optimus Prime !!

Movies from every state Day 41- Idaho

I always thought Idaho was the Famous Potato. It's actually the "Gem State" and even better yet it's because the 1863 Congress designated the Idaho Territory thinking it was a Shoshone word meaning Gem of the Mountain ( It's not ). What better movie to celebrate this inept'ness than, I can't believe I'm even saying this,  Napoleon Dynamite. This is not the Dumbest movie I've every watched, but it's really, really close. This movie was entirely filmed in Idaho and the State actually created a "Day". The movie and the town of Preston have cult followings. It's no wonder this show was made for $400,000, although that even seems steep, what is amazing is that within the first year it grossed $45,000,000. I've got to be honest, I just don't know what to say. Napoleon's secret weapon dance moves, Pedro's hair, Uncle Rico and the Bust Must +,
Notable lines like "I caught you a delicious bass", "Do you want to play me", "I see you're drinking 1%. Is that 'cause you think you're fat? 'Cause you're not. You could be drinking whole if you wanted to", "Well, you have a sweet bike. And you're really good at hooking up with chicks. Plus you're like the only guy at school who has a mustache" There are many more memorable quotes from this blockbuster, but I just don't have it in me to pretend this was worth watching. Since we are only using our own video library to travel the USA, the only other choice we had was to skip Idaho. Too late now!
Damn, Now I can't get JJ, Good Times, 1970s, "Dyno-MITE!" out of my head!!

Movies from every state Day 40- Kansas

Day 40!
40 down 10 to go.
Kansas. I guess it's officially called "The Sunflower State" as a reminder of the wild flowers that grow across the state. "Midway State" because the geographic center of the country is located in Kansas, would be my choice.
Two brothers, one a college free spirit the other a doctor and both bikers, fight through a tough family history along with a genetic decease. One of them is very sick, but which one? This film is shot in several states, but tonight we're going to a restaurant in McPherson, KS and to watch a parade in Lindsborg. When the brothers go riding with Eddie for wind sprints, the younger brother gets schooled. Interesting training technique, with motivation. The training and work required to bike with the big boys is incredible. I can hardly breath just watching the "Stress Test" on the treadmill. I like the training center managers son as he tries to convince his dad he's not into sweat and if has to choose a sport, it's bowling. The movie moves to the Colorado Rockies for The Hell of the West, wait till you see these crazy people race the Rockies on bicycles! American Flyers is another that shows, to reach a goal you've got to be willing to put everything into it. We have our own race here it Toutle Country called " Tour de Blast" The riders leave Toutle at 600ft elevation and in 42 miles, climb to 3800 ft, down to 2500 and up to 4300 ft at Johnston Ridge Observatory and Mount Saint Helens. Then they get to turn around and do it all over again on the return trip.
I was busted by Jen Whicker. The movie is "American Flyer".

Movies from every state Day 39- Mississippi

Well, I thought our collection had been stumped on "The Magnolia State", but we finally stumbled on one forgotten and misfiled . The official nickname for Mississippi is the Magnolia state because of the flowers and trees. I don't know it just seems unimaginative to me.  Since it's my Blog it's my choice and I'm going for one of the unofficial nicknames. I'm going for the " Mud-Cat State " for the large cat fish that wander in the swamps and rivers.
Matthew McConaughey has really nailed a bunch of great parts and he does again as a struggling southern lawyer in "A Time to Kill". Toss in Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, along with Donald and Kiefer Sutherland and you get one hell of a cast. This one is tough to watch at times for a couple of reasons. The topic and the knowledge that there are still people who feel this way. It wasn't just hard to watch, but to write about too. Knowing that there are those that hate this much and not just about black and white or color at all. Some hate for gender, religion, nationality others just hate. The South doesn't and never did hold the monopoly on prejudice.
There will always be one absolute truth, that being, I'll never be able to spell any state faster without thinking about it than.
Mi ss i ss i pp i.

Movies from every state Day 38- Utah

When Brigham Young and his followers got to the Great Salt Lake Basin he and his Elders drafted a petition to create "The Territory of  Deseret " from the Book of Mormon, meaning Honeybee. They were very ambitious, for it was to encompass most of present day Utah, Nevada and large parts of California, Arizona along with some of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon. It was never recognized by the US. The current state of Utah was admitted to the Union in 1896 and became "The Beehive State" to honor the industrious and for the virtues of thrift and perseverance.
Can you guess this movie? No skipping to the bottom!
It was filmed in part at Arches National Park and Moab, Utah, however filming was also done in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, England, Italy, Spain, Germany and Jordan.
It's budget was $48,000,000 and has so far grossed over $500,000,000.
Guess yet?
It had two pretty good actors in it and one was named Junior. The other one was named Dad.
They travel all over the place saving things that belong in a museum and to save the world from the Holy Grail. It's full of a lots of great action, before action got so unbelievably computer generated, and timely humor. Never underestimate the power of the umbrella.
These two actors really worked well with each other.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Harrison Ford and Sean Connery is my favorite of the series.
I also am not fond of snakes or rats, so other than a few million dollars and world wide recognition, I'm a lot like these two guys.

Movies from every state Day 37- Arizona

Arizona is a pretty prolific state movie wise and we have 9 of them. We're kind of in a silly mood, so our choice tonight fits right in. Arizona's most famous nickname comes from that big long hole in the ground and is the reason behind "The Grand Canyon State". "Copper State" is also recognized as an option. In tonight's film we'll see part of the Coronado National Forest and Old Tucson.
We'll meet three naively brave, out of work actors.
Lucky Day (Steve Martin) Dusty Bottom (Chevy Chase) Ned Nederlander (Martin Short) are " The Three Amigos". They think they are being hired to put on their famous show only to find out the bad guys are real and have real bullets. Silly, yes, but they do end up finding their courage and help a small town triumph over evil. I'm not sure who came up with the idea for this one, but they most definitely were on some kind of medication. I just notice it was directed by John Landis, who also did Animal House. That explains it.

Movies from every state day 36- Oklahoma

OMG, I was having trouble with this state, how did I miss this movie. We've watched it several times and it's a good one. My memory is coming to me later rather than sooner. What a coincidence, we're in "The Sooner State" tonight. OK was nicknamed for cheaters. Yes, it was! In 1889, the Indian Territory was open to settlers. Thousands of people lined up on the border and, when the signal was given, they raced into the territory to claim their land. Some people went in early to claim theirs. They became known as Sooners.
We get to visit a phone booth in Cogar, a Big 8 Motel in El Reno and shots in Guthrie, Hilton and Oklahoma City all of which are located in Oklahoma. Tom Cruise definitely, definitely, definitely gets the roses, well he also gets the 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible with a Straight Fireball 8 and an unknown brother that can really count spilled tooth pics and more importantly for his brother Charlie Babbit he can really, really count cards. Raymond better get Charlie to buy up all the underwear at KMart while there are still a few stores open. The Rain Man is an amazing story of a totally selfish guy who ends up learning how to be a decent human being. Tom Cruise plays his part well, but I can't imagine how Dustin Hoffman was able to play his part as an Autistic Savant.

Movies from every state day 35- Colorado

Since we are only using movies that we own we are experiencing a little difficulty with a few states, but we're working on the ones we have for now. Some states we have more than one choice and if that's the case, as it is tonight, we're taking turns picking. Tonight we visit several sites in Colorado " The Centennial State" so named because ( guess now ) give up? Because it became a state in 1876, 100 years after the signing of our nations Declaration of Independence. I'm overdue a dose of the Duke. We're watching the 1969 version of True Grit. I do like the Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon in the remake, but it's hard to beat John Wayne. The two young girls that play Mattie Ross in each movie do a great job. It's a tough call, but I might like the actress that does the second one better. I'll have to watch it again.
In 1968/9 they filmed at several spots in CO including Buckskin Joe Frontier Town and Railway. Owl Creek Pass and Castle Rock to name a few. It would be entertaining and well worth your while to watch both versions, if you haven't already done so and they are as much fun the second time around.

Movies from every state day 34- New Mexico

 New Mexico " The Land of Enchantment". The nickname is to celebrate the beauty and it's rich history of the state. It was placed on license plates in 1941, but wasn't adopted as the official name until 1999. It's a good name, however "The Cactus State" was good one too and I'd personally vote for " The Hot Air Balloon State", if they'd be willing to change it, for their huge annual Balloon festival. We get to visit many locations in New Mexico, even though they say during the movie that they are in Texas. Don't believe it, they filmed at White Sands, Espanola, Dunkin' Donuts in Santa Fe and at State Penitentiary all located in New Mexico. This is another in our collection that embraces the idea of not giving up on your dreams. Not even if "The Man" is trying to squash them. I wish the youth of today could experience the World holding it's breath waiting for one man to be the first to step onto the surface of our moon. I believe that is the last time the entire world dreamed as one.  It was truly an amazing time in history. My Sister just commented and wants to know what the movie is. I'm either getting sloppy or it was a test to see if anyone actually is paying attention. It was none other than Billy Bob in "The Astronaut Farmer".