Weird films I remember… Xtro, oh, and some ancient Rome.

Does anyone remember this film? What I remember is that as a kid, it made me uncomfortable when I watched it. That didn’t stop me from renting it again and again. The film was creepy, that’s for sure. I don’t know why I was so entranced with it. Even now I don’t get it. Maybe it was one of the first films I had seen where the people you love and care for are no longer who they used to be. I then checked out Roger Ebert’s review of it, and even though it was a scathing review, it was spot-on. Here’s what he had to say:

“Xtro” is an ugly, mean-spirited and despairing thriller that left me thoroughly depressed. Why was this movie made? What vision filled the filmmakers with a desire to share this work with an audience? I am not expecting a great movie when I walk in to see something named “Xtro,” but I do hope the movie will contain some humor, or style, or excitement. “Xtro” is the work of incompetent cynics.

Haha! He wrote this review in 1983. Roger Ebert was so good.

Ancient Rome

Before Julius Caesar, the Ancient Romans used a lunar calendar. This comprised a 355 day year. Every two to three years, they added a leap month in to keep the calendar in sync with the seasons.

Julius Caesar instituted the calendar reform in the year 45 B.C.E. This became a solar calendar. The year was 365 days long and every four years, a leap day was added.

Note: Initially, the leap day was every three years. Augustus Caesar had it changed to every four years once the calculation error was realized.

This is the calendar used today in most of the Western world. The month of July comes from his name, and the month August comes from the name of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus.

Now enjoy this meme: