Jack Flacco

I Hated Zombies, Too

Posted on March 30, 2015April 1, 2015 by Jack Flacco

I’ve related several times on this site that as a kid I never really liked zombies. In fact, if anything, I hated them. I thought they were slow, easy to beat and in some way, a comedy waiting to happen. How could I have loved them? They just weren’t cool. But once I saw 28 Days Later, that all changed. I couldn’t get enough of them. They were fast. Frightening. And unbeatable. One bite and you’re one of them.

Zombies everywhere [Photo Credit: el-grimlock]

For today’s Monday Mayhem, I would like to talk a bit about my experience with zombies, what I like about them and their appeal to my sense of adventure.

Through cartoons is how I remember zombies. I didn’t take them seriously since they were slow and not very bright. I remember how the heroes could outrun and outfox them at every turn. I even remember how with one wallop zombies fell to the floor without much trouble.

Early this decade I had my first zombie encounter with 28 Days Later. The scene with the lone survivor walking the streets of London instantly captured my imagination. I could relate to him. Who couldn’t? Imagine waking up and finding your world turned into a massive garbage dump complete with a built-in threat that you’re not sure how it got that way. The movie introduced me to fast zombies and a genre teeming with films I once had ignored in the video store.

After binge watching 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later back to back, I couldn’t get enough of the undead. To me, they were like roaches. The more you killed the more they infested every facet of your life. I quickly watched Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead in one sitting. Dawn of the Dead especially left me wanting to watch it again. And I did. The story was not altogether unique, but the delivery of the plot came as a surprise. The rooftop scene brought me to tears from the laughter. It surprised me and shocked me.

During this time, The Walking Dead caught my attention.

Whatever I’ve learned from the other zombie movies came full circle with The Walking Dead. I had gone from not liking slow zombies to loving fast zombies to appreciating slow zombies. The Walking Dead featured slow zombies called walkers. Not only were they lethal, as in one bite will kill you lethal, but whenever they attacked, they attacked as a massive horde. I grew to love the walkers. They are what zombies should have been when I was growing up.

Then, with the movie World War Z, the crowd of zombies burned tread marks on the highway. They looked like vampires amped up on speed. The film raised my imagination and kept me busy consuming any and all stories in the zombie genre.

How far has my love for the undead gone? Today, I write about zombies.

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What initially sparked your interest in zombies? What do you find the most appealing thing about them?

My Childhood

Posted on March 27, 2015May 9, 2017 by Jack Flacco

When I was twelve, I looked forward to Friday nights. I lived in Toronto’s Little Italy where our neighborhood featured markets, shops and cafés specializing in Italian goods and cuisine. Our neighborhood also had a theater featuring movies shipped directly from the old country. It was there my dad would take me every Friday night to enjoy some one on one time away from the family. I believe it is also there my fondness for films emerged.

For today’s Freedom Friday, allow me the liberty to tell you about this part of my life.

Before the age of ten, I grew up in some of the roughest neighborhoods in the city. The school I went to was once voted the worst school in all of Toronto by a group of concerned citizens. My family eventually moved out of there and took up residence in Little Italy. It was a great place to live, school nearby, lots of places to play, and I had plenty of friends.

My dad made it a habit to build traditions in our family as a means to bond us to certain times of the year. Saturday nights were big at our house. It was Hockey Night in Canada night and should there have been a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens, God forbid, it would have been the most epic night of the week.

The other big night was Friday night. My favorite. My mom would make something quick for us to eat—typically a soup, a plate of sandwich meats and bread, or simply a bowl of pasta—so that we could leave as soon as we finished eating. The theater was down the street from us and it took about fifteen minutes to walk there.

My mom always made sure I brought a sweater; even if it was during the hot summer months. She always said it would get cold in the theater. She was right. I still remember that to this day where I sometimes bring a sweater with me to the theater—yes, even in the sweltering months of summer.

I loved the walk there with my dad. We talked about silly things a nosey kid like me liked talking about. A thing like where we would sit when we got there was a hot topic. I wanted to sit to the side and he wanted to sit in the middle. So imagine where we sat. Nowadays, I love the middle. It’s the best seat in the theater.

Once we arrived, we’d check the movie posters. If any of them were a spaghetti western, I’d be jumping on the spot with excitement. It wasn’t hard for him to figure out which one we’d see.

From there, the other events are a blur. I remember the popcorn he’d buy me, the seats we sat in and the waiting in anticipation. Sometimes the theater would have a cartoon showing before the movie, which made the evening even more exciting.

After the film, and having found our way outside, the fresh air that hit my face was incredible. I can never forget the sensation of walking back home with gunslingers on my mind. My dad always got a kick from seeing me excited talking about the best parts of the film. How can I forget such a memorable evening?

I suppose I should have given this article a title like, “My Dad,” or “Movie Night,” but in actuality, calling it anything else other than “My Childhood” wouldn’t have made sense to me. Although it’s a snippet in time, I think you get a good idea of what my early life was like reading this.

I was an ordinary kid with my whole life ahead of me. Isn’t that the way childhood should be?

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Do you have fond memories of your childhood you’d like to share?

Wednesday Warriors

The Big Lebowski

Posted on March 25, 2015March 27, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Mistaken identity. Urination on a rug. Plot negligible. Hadn’t the title given it away, a fan would have certainly picked up on the cues. I’m talking about Jeff Bridges as Jeff Lebowski who references himself in the third person as The Dude. He has a problem with a soiled rug, bowls with fascinating people, and meets a richer version of himself.

Every so often, a movie comes out to blow away audience expectation of what a film should deliver. The Big Lebowski is a cult classic because of its ability to go beyond expectation. For today’s Wednesday Warriors, Jeff Lebowski takes center stage as The Dude who falls into a plot to pay a ransom for a kidnapped heiress.

Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Julianne Moore, Tara Reid, Sam Elliott and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman make the cast to this offbeat film a treat to watch.

Before continuing, this 1998 Coen brothers movie possesses very little plot. Other than The Dude’s penchant for wanting compensation for a stained rug, and his cravings for White Russians, he doesn’t have a job, no prospects for employment and he carries on as a 1990’s hippie. But you know what? It works.

If I were to summarize the movie in a quick one-sentence review, I would say this: It’s about a bunch of guys talking about life and hanging out. If anyone’s attempting to find meaning in the film, there isn’t any. It’s simply about guys doing what they do best—being guys.

Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi and John Goodman in The Big Lebowski

However, that isn’t to say I haven’t found meaning in the movie. To me, The Dude represents someone who has figured things out. He knows himself well and understands his limitations. He has a way of communicating that, although others may find annoying, given he’s too laidback for his own good, brings everyone he speaks to into his world.

As many times as The Dude finds himself bound, kidnapped, drugged and lost, he always maintains a strong presence in his relationships with his friends. He may lose his mind every now and then, but he knows who his friends are. He never loses sight of those people who matter to him.

I enjoy watching The Dude react to every changing situation, whether it’s from a terrible bowling score or a car wasted on a bad bet. In all of The Dude’s dealings, he keeps one thing in mind—he keeps it real.

Jeff (The Dude) Lebowski is Wednesday Warriors’ down-to-earth character spotlight.

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Have you seen The Big Lebowski? What do you think of Jeff Bridge’s interpretation of The Dude?

Monday Mayhem

Why Do We Fall?

Posted on March 23, 2015March 25, 2015 by Jack Flacco

One of the tracks from the film The Dark Knight Rises composed by Hans Zimmer goes by the title Why Do We Fall? Not only does the title serve as a great prompt for this week’s Monday Mayhem article, but also provides a perfect lead-in to promoting the film. If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises, what are you waiting for? I recommend it without a quibble.

Getting back to the question, why do we fall? I’ve watched many zombie movies while asking the same question, always scratching my head wondering why none of the film characters listens to that still small voice in each of them that tells them not to do something they shouldn’t.

Reason #1: Stupidity/Ignorance

A good example is in the film 28 Days Later. The audience wants the zombie apocalypse to happen, yet they cringe whenever they see it happen due to human frailty. The audience repeats the telltale phrases: Leave the monkeys alone. Don’t touch the cages. Don’t open them; you don’t know what you’re doing. In spite of common sense screaming at the characters to do the right thing, and the audience tossing verbal insults at them as well, they ignore the obvious and do the worst.

Reason #2: Accidents/Fear

Another example happens in countless other zombie movies, especially the ones where viruses are the focus and scientists are working in a lab. One of the workers always shatters a vial tainted with an unknown disease, breaks protocol and infects others by not reporting it. The other side of the spectrum happens when all the lab’s fail-safes collapse and releases the pathogen into the atmosphere unintentionally producing another undead abomination.

Reason #3: Malice/Rebellion

The last example is my favorite because it has nothing to do with humanity’s ignorance or accident-prone traits. It is the defeat of the heart.

The Walking Dead is great when it comes to showing this. Throughout the series, we meet leaders of groups who think society would be better off following their direction. Only, their direction is—most often than not—twisted. They serve themselves and judge others as rebels who do not follow their lead. One so-called leader kept trophies of his victims’ heads in glass tanks to view at his leisure.

Conclusion

Why do we fall? Can it be we humans have a proclivity to annihilate each other regardless of our incredible potential? Or is it we’re so daft in not realizing whatever action we take has an equal and opposite reaction? Or is the human heart so cunning as to even fool us into believing what we do, no matter how well-intentioned, will always result in good things?

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Why do you think civilizations are prone to failing miserably?

Freedom Friday, Photo Opportunities

Experiencing the Moment

Posted on March 20, 2015May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

I love playing with my camera. My camera has served me well over the years. During the past eleven years, since the time I’d purchase my first digital camera, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph some of the most beautiful places I’ve had the privilege to visit. From Niagara Falls all the way to Nova Scotia, I have an archive full of memories I’d love to share with you this Freedom Friday.

To start—I’ve learned a lesson. The lesson I’ve learned is this: To enjoy what I’m doing while I’m doing it. What I mean by that has a lot more to do with experiencing the moment than it is to relive the moment. Photography has a way of capturing a photographer’s imagination to the point where the subject becomes just that—the subject. I had that happen to me where I did what I could to capture the subject that I’d forgotten to capture one thing. I’d forgotten to live the moment.

Nowadays, I’m careful to put my camera away and take a deep breath to look at what’s going on around me. It’s amazing what I see when I do that. Gone is the worry of thinking I’d miss a shot if I don’t have my camera readily available. Now I see an event for what it is—an experience. And because it’s an experience, I enjoy myself more knowing it’s there to capture not with the camera, but with my heart.

Pretty sentimental stuff, eh?

Okay, I have a whole lot of photos I want to share with you, so I think I’ll start with a few of my favorites from the East Coast. My wife’s family comes from Nova Scotia. Every time I’m there, I end up taking a gazillion photos of the area. One of my favorite places happens to be Citadel Hill in Halifax. The first time I’d visited there, the clouds hung low and gray, and my family and I were afraid of a thunderstorm catching us unaware. Luckily, subsequent years provided a different experience. Here, have a peek:

Path leading to Citadel Hill (Fort George), Halifax, Nova Scotia

Soldiers march in Citadel Hill, Nova Scotia

Next up, Niagara Falls. I love this place. It’s one of my favorite places on earth. Since it takes less than a couple of hours to get there from where we live, we end up going there quite often. You can read about some of our trips I’d written from past posts. Whenever we go to Niagara Falls it’s a mini vacation with lots to do and plenty of restaurants to visit during our stay.

Niagara Falls' Canadian Midway — Niagara Falls’ Canadian Midway

Lastly, here is a collection of some of my favorite photos I’ve had hanging around collecting dust (not really). Some are random shots I’d taken in the heat of the moment, and some I’ve planned. Try to guess which is which, ’cause honestly, I can’t remember.

My view on the train one day coming back from the city.

On the set of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.

The story of the stationary Canadian quarter. This actually happened.

I hope you enjoyed this little slideshow of memories. Granted, they are my memories, but it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them, too. Nevertheless, they are but a glimpse into my life and why I think experiences are special to have and to hold as captured moments of time to relive forever.

[Author’s note: In celebration of spring, I’ve changed the header color to reflect the season. I hope you like it!]

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Do you like photography? Have you taken many pictures that remind you of the memories?

Wednesday Warriors

Rocky Balboa

Posted on March 18, 2015March 20, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Rocky Balboa is one of the most recognizable movie characters in cinema history. Released in 1976, the movie Rocky pits Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the reigning boxing champ, with an unknown contender for a title shot at the World Heavyweight Championship of the World. The film also made a star out of Sylvester Stallone and propelled his career to new heights.

Today’s Wednesday Warriors series looks at Rocky Balboa, his trials, his successes and his life lessons.

If anyone were to describe Rocky, the first thing to pop out of anyone’s mouth would be, “Yo, Adrian.” But there is more to the character Rocky than the punchy delivery of lines and his often-slurred speech. Rocky is a symbol of perseverance. No matter how bad things get, he always seems to have that extra ounce of energy tucked away to use at the last moment when all things appear hopeless. It’s that will to never surrender that makes Rocky all the more imitable. His slight slowness does not deter him to see what’s in front of him. He knows the stakes to his battles. He knows the risk he takes every time he walks into that ring.

His record speaks for itself:

Apollo Creed—defeated.
Clubber Lang—defeated.
Ivan Drago—defeated.
Tommy Gunn—defeated.
Mason Dixon—defeated.

That list does not include the myriad of other contenders vying to overthrow him as the World Heavyweight champ, which he has also defeated.

Mickey (Burgess Meredith), his no-nonsense trainer believes in the clichéd school of hard knocks. To press Rocky for speed, he releases a chicken in an alley and tells Rocky to go fetch. Naturally, Rocky feels like a Kentucky Fried Idiot when he can’t catch it. Yet, he finds the time to laugh and carry on when he traps the quick-footed poultry in his grasp to raise it in the air in victory.

The other aspect in Rocky’s life is Adrian (Talia Shire). She’s the ugly duckling no one wants. He sees something in her no one else had seen. He sees her inner beauty. He sees her tender heart. And he see her strong and sensible mindset that keeps him anchored in reality. Their story is a familiar one. He visits her at the pet shop where she works, tells a few jokes and they go out for the first time skating. He walks her home. They become a couple.

Adrian is the only one who can give Rocky the reason to keep fighting. Without her, he’s nothing. She gives him the will to press harder than before. And with her help, he’s able to conquer his deepest fears.

Most of all, Rocky represents an unwavering belief in fighting for what’s right. In every fight, he sets his mind at winning. On the other hand, his opponent represents oppression. If anything, Rocky will do everything in his power to fight oppression. Have a look at Rocky IV. The film seeps in opposing countries working together to come to an amicable resolution.

Overall, Rocky may be the butt of jokes for reviewers, but he has proven no matter how powerful the competition, he manages to fight and win—even if the audience expects otherwise.

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Have you watched any of the Rocky movies? What do you think of the character?

Monday Mayhem

Why I Love Zombies

Posted on March 16, 2015March 20, 2015 by Jack Flacco

It’s spring break here in Canada, so I thought I’d give you a treat today. Rather than a laborious tome of sorts you have to work through, I’m going to give you something different to chew on (‘scuse the pun).

Toronto Zombie Walk 2014 [Photo credit: Igor Baranov, SolarWorksArt.com]

For today’s Monday Mayhem article, I’m going to scrawl a list of reasons why I think zombies are cool. A single list. No elaborate references. No major theories—although that would be cool, too.

Here we go:

There are fast zombies for some of us and there are slow zombies for some of us.
They’re Horror’s biological Terminators.
Once they see something they want, they never surrender pursuing it.
The genre is always changing.
A virus that can turn people into the undead is a pretty scary thing.
A shotgun is the weapon of choice for many zombie slayers.
Zombies make great crash test dummies.
Zombies can’t swim.
Zombies can’t fly either, unless you throw them off a cliff. But even then…
A Louisville Slugger, popcorn and a horde of zombies make for a fun evening staying in.
A lot of thought goes into pulling off a memorable zombie kill.
A narrow alley, a truck and a crowd of undead proves you don’t need a shotgun to kill them.
Sharks and zombies share many similarities.
Throwing a zombie from a plane still doesn’t prove they can fly.
Zombies vs. Skunks. I still say skunks would win.
They’ll keep pounding on the door no matter how many chairs you put in front of it.
They don’t take no for an answer.
Running up a tree doesn’t guarantee your safety. You’ll eventually have to come down.
If the undead is slow, you can outrun them in a field. Inside a building, you are dead.
A chain-linked fence provides a great deterrent against the undead.
A woman with a samurai sword rocks.
A woman with a shotgun rocks even harder.
A zombie bite does not make you a vampire.
Zombies never have to use a restroom.
They aren’t very smart even though they know how to open a door.
Much like wolves, the undead hunt in packs.
They have an acute sense of hearing.
Zombies don’t eat hamburger. Seriously, they don’t!

That’s all there is to it. These are the reasons I love zombies. Now it’s your turn.

[Thank you Igor Baranov for granting JackFlacco.com the use of your 2014 Toronto Zombie Walk photography for this article.]

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Why do you love zombies?

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