misswonderly3
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Posts posted by misswonderly3
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Well, it sure wasn't *On Moonlight Bay*. Doris and the rest of the cast are pleasant enough, but I found it to be a dopey little film with lame songs and two-dimensional characaters. Yes, I know it's meant to be a comfort food movie, that is, it doesn't pretend to offer anything more than a very light fluffy love story and cutesy family situations. And sometimes I like that - *Meet Me in St. Louis* comes to mind. But *Moonlight Bay* seems like a wan imitation of that film, but with even more pastel and even cutsier kids. Interesting to see Doris and Gordon so young, though.
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Good choices, gagman. I agree, let's give some of those fine silent films a little prime time love once in a while.
You appear to be a Doris Day fan; with that in mind, I suggest we replace *On Moonlight Bay* with The *Pajama Game*. I just saw the former this morning, and found it pleasant but extremely silly, plot and character - wise. Nothing wrong with that, but it had the kind of silliness that I find annoying, ie, people behaving in a way that they probably wouldn't , just for the purposes of manipulating the plot. Too many dumb misunderstandings. And I thought most of the songs were lame. Sorry.
However, *The Pajama Game* is a much better film in every way. Doris is at her best here, great songs and exuberant, well-choreographed dance numbers, and an original story (at least, more original than that of *On Moonlight Bay*.) This too overlooked musical offers a lot of fun, a nice little love story, and unforgettable music and dancing. (IBetter costumes, too. I got a little pastelled-out with all Doris' girly frilly outfits in *Moonlight Bay*.)
Edited by: misswonderly on Jan 2, 2011 2:26 PM
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Tommy Lee Jones
Patricia Clarkson
Sean Penn
Laura Linney (spelling probably wrong)
Aaron Eckhart
Lots more.There are many good actors around today. Why do so many people assume that everything film related now is rubbish?
Edited by: misswonderly on Jan 2, 2011 2:16 PM
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*HARVEY and HARVEY*
It was always rumoured that Martin Scorsese had filmed a follow-up to this 1950 classic, and now the great filmmaker has revealed the truth. He plans to release *Harvey and Harvey* sometime in 2011. According to Scorsese, the story involves a rivalry between James Stewart's mysterious giant rabbit and Harvey Keitel, both forces to be reckoned with. The film supposedly explores tropes such as reality vs imagination, madness, and the benefits of rabbit stew. Since both Haveys represent formidable but very different powers, an ultimate confrontation is inevitable. Unfortunately, James Stewart was unavailable for a reprise at time of filming.
"I cannot imagine a tougher Harvey than you, my friend."
"I will lay all challenging Harveys to waste, no question about it."
Slated for the following year: *Harvey vs the Donny Darko Rabbit*.
Edited by: misswonderly on Jan 2, 2011 12:51 PM
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Maybe it's *Sorry, Wrong Number*.
Or *Bells Are Ringing.*
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Elvis looks very sexy in his black leather jacket.
I've always thought this is a perfect song for New Year's Day; The Chairman of the Board is optimistic that The Best is Yet to Come:
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Here she is, in all her glory. I thought I'd give you a super duper quadruple vision of the Queen (maysheliveforever) modelling just a few of her chapeaux. Very inspirational for the New Year.
Hope you drank a sufficient number of White Russians. Perhaps a discreet glass or two of sherry or port would be a more appropriate choice to honour Her Majesty (maysheliveforever).
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Ok, just possibly Charles Baudelaire. (I'd figured that out before your very obvious hints
)Edited by: misswonderly on Dec 31, 2010 2:56 PM
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> {quote:title=C.Bogle wrote:}{quote}
> .... I'll be coy for once and just say
> it was written by another C.B.
Cilla Black?
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Oh, I almost forgot..I plan to post a link here to the Queen's New Year's speech, I know how anxious you'll all be to hear it. Such a fine lady, and such elegant head wear. Happy New Year to the Queen (maysheliveforever.) !
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I'll have to think about that. First I guess I should know what I'm talking about. C.Bogle added a French verse to his pic of Vera:
Si le ciel et la mer sont noirs comme de l'encre,
Nos coeurs que tu connais sont remplis de rayons!
If the sky and the sea are black as ink
Our hearts that you know are filled with sunshine.
But I think that's an incorrect translation, awkward at best. C.B., where does that quote come from? Not *The Wages of Fear*, I"ll wager.
Edited by: misswonderly on Dec 31, 2010 12:17 PM
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Vera Clouzot !
Vera Clouzot !
Charming in braids
She cannot lose-zoe (t) !
("Clouzot" is definitely more challenging than "Clouzet". )
Edited by: misswonderly on Dec 31, 2010 12:18 PM
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cujas, I'm afraid I'm not a big fan of Barry Manilow; although there is something to be said for "Her Name was Lola, She was a Show Gal" or whatever it's called.
I may post a Gordon Lightfoot tune here in 2011 (pronounced, twenty-eleven, can we now get past the "two thousand" business? Nobody in the past century said "Nineteen hundred and ninety", much less "one thousand, nine hundred and ninety" or whatever year it was in the 20th century. I think we can all accept that we're in a new millenium now, without adding unnecessary extra syllables to the year whenever we speak its name. Sorry, big digression, but it's a trivial yet very annoying thing that -well, annoys me. )
Well, I cannot resist going with the obvious today. There are many versions of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?". I wanted to go with King Curits' soulful instrumental sax rendition, the best in my opinion (best version of the song.) But it was nowhere to be found on youtube. So , since we've been discussing Canadian musicians recently, I thought Diana Krall might be acceptable. This version is slower and moodier than some, but it's nice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU_BBNeumLI&feature=related
Happy New Year, tout le monde !
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C.B., yes, that is exactly what I said a few posts down. Only you said it better and more concisely.
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> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}
> I was going to mention weeks ago that Gordon Lightfoot was a Canadian, but I thought you'd be embarrassed.
Why would I embarrassed? Mr.Lightfoot has written some great songs.
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Cathy Downs played the Clifton Webb character's wife in *Dark Corner*. As you probably recall, he'd married her because she so closely resembled the beautiful young woman in a painting he'd become obsessed with. (Shades of *Laura* - a man becomes enamoured with a painting.) And although the young wife couldn't help her much older husband's almost pathological passion for her/her idealized likeness, she clearly did not return his affection, and should not have married him in the first place.(Perhaps he's the ideal incarnation of a sugar daddy.)
Mari Cathcart may be the unwitting or perhaps unwilling recipient of Webb's obsessive love for her, but she is not completely passive in this story. She enters into an affair with Cathcart's associate without a hint of guilt or remorse or pity for her husband, and is, as I recall, scheming to meet with her lover and run away with him ( although I've seen the film several times - I love it ! - I can't recall the details of this part of the plot.) In any case, the only reason she married the Webb character was for his wealth, and she deliberately betrays and deceives him, so I would say that she is not the same kind of passive "B" type semi-femme fatale as Laura or Joan Bennett in *Woman in the Window*. In fact, it is Mari who shoots and kills her husband in the end.
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I saw the Coen brothers' *True Grit* last night. I thought it was very good, but then, I almost always like the Coen brothers' work, they rarely let me down.
I can barely remember the original film version of this, saw it once a long time ago (although still long after it came out) and never really cared to see it again. I do recall being somewhat unimpressed with Glen Campbell, and I found the girl who played Mattie dislikeable.
In fact, even more than the Rooster Cogburn character, I'd say that much of the success of a film version of *True Grit* would depend on how the character of Mattie is played, she is central to the story. The actress in the new version, Hailee Steinfeld, is superb, perfect for the part. She has the right combination of seriousness, "grit", and vulnerability.
I also thought Jeff Bridges did a great job as Cogburn, but then, I'm a fan of Bridges'. I don't always like every film he's in (the abysmal *Men Who Watch Goats* comes to mind as one of his less successful efforts), but I generally enjoy watching him. He was excellent in last year's *Crazy Heart*.
Matt Damon made a much better LeBoef than did Glen Campbell. In fact, the entire cast of this version was, I thought, flawless.
I also really enjoyed the production values, as they say, the cinematography, the dialogue, and pretty much everything about this picture. The Coen brothers can usually be counted on to be beautifully cinematic, and they came through once again in *True Grit*. There is a scene, very close to the end of the film, in which two riders on one horse are galloping across a bleak plain at night. The plain is vast, the sky is enormous and filled with stars, and the figures are sillouetted against this huge and majestic landscape. This is what I love about movies - those kinds of images that only movies can create, and which stay in your mind like a song.
I'd say the fantastic Coen brothers have done it again.
Edited by: misswonderly on Dec 30, 2010 6:55 PM
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Kind of appropriate, Dino singing about someone with a ruddy coloured nose.
Sarah McLachlan is often associated with "adult easy listening", an arbitrary label that I dislike (both the label, and the kind of music to which it usually refers.) I'm not very familiar with much of her work, but I always liked this, perfect for this time of year. A little jingoism again: Sarah McLachlan is Canadian, and so is the man who wrote this beautiful song, Gordon Lightfoot.
I tried to pick a video that didn't have cheesey images. It was very difficult - there's something about this song that attracts cheesey images. However, I settled for one that wasn't too bad. Anyway, it is a lovely tune, perfect for snowy wintertime. "Song for a Winter's Night" :
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> {quote:title=JonnyGeetar wrote:}{quote}
> I believe Goin' Coconuts is the one Osmond feature. It costars Ted "Lurch" Cassidy in his final role.
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> For the record, I'd take it over Sex and the Single Girl again...
TCM could have a "Coconut" theme, with said Marie Osmond film to warm up with, followed by the Marx Brothers' *Coconuts*, and winding up with that Joel McCrea thing where he's in some tropical paradise and eats coconuts with his lovely Polynesian girlfriend -*Bird of Paradise* or something.
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> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}
> As many times as I have seen THE LAVENDER Hill MOB, I still have trouble following the details of the plot. Is it me, or is it the film?
It's you, finance, baby. I always found it fairly easy to follow, and I am one who sometimes does get confused by complicated plots. Maybe it's those English accents that get in your way.
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Vera Clouzet !
Vera Clouzet !
Contemplating
A roll in the hay!
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I'm still not sure I agree with you guys about this. There should at the very least then, be a " sub" femme fatale category, the main one, in which the woman deliberately plans to take what she can from a man who is obsessed with her, and this other, unintentional femme category of which you and tracey speak, in which the female character unconsciously "destroys" the male character, even if it is without knowledge or intent on her part.
Ok, if you go by that, Laura is a "B" femme fatale. Of sorts. Now, can we think of any others?There must be quite a few, but offhand I can bring none to mind.
Edited by: misswonderly on Dec 30, 2010 2:07 PM
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I don't understand how the way people choose to prepare fried eggs has anything to do with a classic film website. This is a more appropriate topic for those who work in diners.
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'S'Ok, infinite1, I was kidding too. I kind of like the Canada jokes, it's like being teased by a big brother or something.
As for your original idea, I'm kind of surprised there are so many responses to it that more or less go like this: "It's a good idea, BUT..."
Many seem to think it would interfere with the option to watch a movie "straight", the usual way. What I took from your original post was that a) this event would be advertised in advance, clearly communicating the " commentary" aspect of it
The movies chosen would be ones most people have already seen; perhaps a film that would be aired several times earlier in the month, so viewers would already be familiar with it andc) as you said, once a week or maybe once a month (the latter, if there's a time issue for the hosts) does not seem to be asking too much for such a programme.
We might have to drop the "Twister" feature, though.
)
The movies chosen would be ones most people have already seen; perhaps a film that would be aired several times earlier in the month, so viewers would already be familiar with it and
Robert Mitchum and The Big Steal
in Films and Filmmakers
Posted
TheCid wrote of *The Big Steal*:
"...one of best movies ever made."
Not, "one of Mitchum's best movies", one of the best movies, ever. I like *The Big Steal,* but I wouldn't go so far as that. I wouldn't even say it's one of Mitchum's best.
However, I do really enjoy it, and I agree with your comments about it. (except for the above.) If we were to compile a list of film noirs that flirt with comedy, I'd have to put T*he Big Steal* right up there.