Babbleocity 33: Freeze Frame

Dorian Gray reversed, in a way ...

One and Three Quarters Men - On the heels of my grousing about re-runs of TV's top comedy lacking variety, comes the news that Charlie Sheen wants out. Why? It seems he wants to focus on movies, or wants more than his current $900,000 per episode, according to speculation. Alternatively, you have to wonder if Mr. Sheen might want to bow out gracefully before being forced into hiatus due to incarceration, courtesy of the state of Colorado. But my money's on vanity. Instead of 'Two and a Half Men', Chuck Lorre's masterpiece is turning into 'Two Grumpy Old Men and a Teen'. Both Sheen and costar Jon Cryer have aged noticeably over the seasons, and the cute kid has become an awkward teenager. Maybe Charlie would rather quit before the comparisons between now and a few years ago get too embarrassing. Or maybe it is just the money.

Blade Runner on Pandora? - Just yesterday I caught 1982's 'Blade Runner' on the tube. I saw that movie when it was in theaters, and later on VHS and DVD, in both theatrical and director's cut versions. It's one movie I never tire of watching, but it's impact carries a bit of poignancy now it didn't before. Viewing again Harrison Ford's pitch-perfect performance, in Ridley Scott's masterful adaptation of Phillip K. Dick, I couldn't help but think how much we've lost our cinematic way. Will there ever be a better science fiction film? Spielberg came close but not quite with 'Minority Report', and, if 'Avatar' is the new model, then the answer is 'No'. I wonder if Harrison Ford watches Runner from time to time, and dreams of Deckard?

Me, Forever - While musing on what it might be like to grow old while your younger self is playing weekly in reruns (Charlie Sheen), or is fixed in history as a goal you may never again reach (Harrison Ford), a package arrived in the mail for me. It was a DVD of the short film in which I, a silent extra, can be seen for a brief moment. Now I will be able to grow ancient while a younger me lives on in film, mocking.

Move over Charlie and Harry, I know how you feel ...