joy magnetism: Welcome to THE ROCK




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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Welcome to THE ROCK

Magnet #110 - Alcatraz

I've been to San Francisco only twice - once when I was a baby, and then a few years ago for fly-in/fly-out hand-delivery for a new business pitch.

I've not been to Alcatraz. My sister brought this back for me on a trip out to SFO earlier this year, because she knows I have a thing for The Rock.

And, here's where I unapologetically admit something that boys can't understand, and girls just think I'm weird.

I loved The Rock - it's one of my favorite movies of all time. FFS, I own the Criterion Collection version of it!

Yes. The Michael Bay film. Yes. With Nic Cage. Yes. With Sean Connery. Yes. With Ed Harris.

Yes. The silly movie where Ed Harris leads a group of renegade special forces to take over Alcatraz and point rockets full of gas at San Fran, holding the city hostage to force the government to release the secret funds to help the families of lost black ops soliders, and the only people who can save them are desk-jockey FBI agent Nic Cage and disappeared former agent badass Sean Connery, the only man to successfully escape Alcatraz. Whew.

Why do I love it? First. It's Sean Connery AND Ed Harris. Second. I love Michael Bay popcorn flicks. Third. I loved the Hans Zimmer score...this was just before every action score sounded like a Hans Zimmer action score. Fourth. Hello. Boys. In Uniform. With Guns. Fifth. Don't ever watch with me, I can still recite the darn thing backwards and forwards.

This movie's so damn quotable, it's ridiculous.

My favorite? When the tour guide and his group get locked up in the cell, and the man yells through the bars, "What kinda F**KED UP TOUR is this?"

Gets me - every time.


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4 comments:

Kevinpars said...

A little trivia about 'the Rock'. One of the tech podcasts i listen to weekly had a guy on who actually worked with the rangers on the island to setup their own website/podcast software. As a treat, they took him down to the special cells below ground (where a lot of the movie took place) and actually put him in the solitary confinement room and closed the cell and then closed the other door and left him in darkness so he could feel what prisoners felt when it happened for real.

Also, the rangers told him that in the 70's an episode of "Streets of San Francisco" was filmed on the Rock, and some members of the film crew did a little freelance work and actually filmed a gay porn movie in the cells and tunnels below the prison. Probably more than you want to know about the Rock, but there you go.

joy said...

Ewww, dirrty shenanigans goin' on at the Rock.

I don't think I could do that going into the cell. I'd be superafraid. Though, i suppose it wouldn't be unlike being in my apartment. Heh.

The Geek said...

I lived in San Francisco for 6 years and have never visited Alcatraz... Been around a lot of the city, just never made it out to the Rock. I think it's actually the boat ride out there that's stopping me.

And I'm with you on the loving-The-Rock thing. It's a fabulous movie! The first time I ever saw it (ie. the first time I fell in love with it) was when my dad took me as a 15 year old to shop for a home theater system with him, and The Rock was the sample movie you could watch in their showroom. It was awesome.

I also love David Morse... And my favorite quote is "How... in the name of ZEUS' BUTTHOLE did you get out of your cell?"

GG

joy said...

Hah! I was gonna call out David Morse, but only a few people I know would have known who I was talking about!

And I love your favorite quote, too!

It's been playing on cable recently, and every time I see it, I end up watching it. Can't help it.