s w i m m i n g t o c a s a b l a n c a
It is somewhere between 350 and 400 nautical miles from the southern most
tip of Spain to Casablanca. Starting in the Strait of Gibraltar, it would
be like swimming from Cuba to Florida, and back to Cuba, twice. Please let
me know if you attempt it. I'll support you by waiting at Rick's Café
sipping on a scotch and soda listening to Sam play it again.
Swimming is just one form of exercise known to produce a euphoric state by
releasing hormones known as endorphins. Endorphins are also produced by
any pleasurable experience, such as watching a great film. Have you ever
heard of a "feel-good" movie?
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Because this webpage is devoted to two of my passions, swimming and film,
my rating system is based on swimming-related terms and endorphins.
Endorphins, when released from the brain, are known to have a morphine-like
effect on the body. Since beta-endorphins are a type known to give the
highest euphoric pleasure, the best films are rated with "beta-endorphin."
The other endorphin ratings decrease by the amount of amino acid residues
each one is known to produce. This doesn't necessarily mean that an
alpha-endorphin is worse than a gamma-endorphin.
(Click here if you are interested in
learning
more about endorphins.)
The worst films have a
"sunk" rating. In the table on the right, you can see a list of the
ratings in order from top to bottom.
This website includes nearly 12,000 films and TV series that I have seen
since 1978, which also happens to be the same time I returned to swimming.
From
BAMBI MEETS GODZILLA
to
BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ,
each film will have a list of credits. If you are
looking for more detailed credits, please visit the
Internet Movie Database.
I am also including what I call a
"sprint" review.
It is a brief, personal
review of the film, which sometimes includes a swimming, or water-related
comment. Most of the reviews do not reveal important plot points; however,
do be aware that some might reveal minor plot points just to make a point.
I usually will warn the reader with a SPOILER ALERT in the
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31 amino acid residues. The endorphin that is supposedly the greatest "high."
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27 amino acid residues.
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17 amino acid residues.
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The least amount of amino acid residues with 16.
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Beginner stroke for many novice swimmers. Not really recommended. It has some good
moments. For example, the acting might be superb, but the story is weak.
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The wall lane is usually the lane you don't want to be in when doing a pool workout.
The film is not recommended.
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Did you ever take a breath in the water and swallow water instead. It is even worse
when you are swimming in choppy open water. You gag and feel like you might sink.
If you grab the boat you are disqualified (DQ).
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The ultimate bummer. Hope you have filled out a will.
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text. My
reviews are like blogs, but since blog wasn’t even in the techie dictionary
when I started the s2c website, I’ll continue to refer to them as “sprint”
reviews. If you are looking for more detailed reviews, many of the listed
films have a link you can click on to navigate to another review on the
web.
I have recently added several
television series
to s2c because, as
Dustin Hoffman has recently said, television is surpassing film in
quality. When it comes to story and character development, I tend
to agree. Add to the mixture, the brilliant concept of “binging,”
where you no longer have to wait a week for the next episode, and
no commercials on premium stations, I am hooked. It is no
coincidence why major actors, directors, and screenwriters are
making the leap back to TV. If you would like to see the credits
for
TV series
on s2c, click one of the links in this paragraph. You can also enter the word
“series”
in the search box.
You will see a list of nearly 40 shows.
I am also an avid documentary fan. There is now a
Documentary
button on
the homepage, on which you can click to show a list of over 500
documentaries on s2c.
This website is always a work in progress and more reviews will be added
when I can find the time when I'm not in the pool, lake, ocean or movie
theatre. Most of all have fun with it. Please
email me
, Ed, with any of
your endorphin experiences viewing a particular film, or any general
feedback. Or, maybe I'll just see you in the wall lane at the local pool
with other "aquaholics."
All endorphin photographs and images courtesy of Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University.
Please visit their
Molecular Expressions site.
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