Sepiatone

"Ebony and Ivory" was a Wonder/McCartney collaboration. It makes for a weak arguement to find any mediocrity produced by anyone who otherwise creates wonderful art and use it to "prove" that the artist in question is not worthy of praise. "Ebony and Ivory" aside, Wonder has given us too many true gems to simply dismiss him because one song doesn't cut it. You're overlooking "As", "Sunshine of My Life", "Too High". "For The City" and a veritable cornucopia of outstanding compositions. And regarding McCartney, he too, has created a bumper crop of marvelous compositions, both while with The Beatles and after. But he also gave us "The Doggone Girl is Mine", "Silly Love Songs" and a few other sub par offerings. Would it be fair to judge LAURENCE OLIVIER'S entire career on *The Prince and The Showgirl* ? Or BRANDO'S on *The Countess From Hong Kong* ? I sure don't think so. Sepiatone

OK, so is this a thread about OFF TOPIC theads, or about Barbara Stanwyck? I usually try to title MY "Off Topic" threads with "OT". Unless you're referring to HIGHJACKED threads, which in any forum I belong to is par for the course. I think it goes without fanfare to assume any post by any member is THEIR opinion, unless they're quoting an opinion made by another, or others. Announcing so is needless. What's MORE needless is the DERISION of another's opinion. We're each entitled to our own, and the suggestion for a preceding apology when in disagreement with one is a good one. While each having a right to an opinion, we also have a right to DISAGREE. But no matter how stupid one might think the opinion they disagree with is, to take relish in stating how stupid they think it is shows a lack of compassion, and is needlessly provacative. Thus, eventually leads to lockdowns, viscious PM's and admonishment from the Administrator. One wish for the new year in these forums, is a renewed sense of civility and maturity. Sepiatone

I'll try my BEST, Mark! And to the rest of you, I hope recovering for you all isn't too difficult. I hope that if you didn't arrange for a designated driver, you at least carried plenty of BAIL money with you. Sepiatone

One of the hardest questions to answer is, "What's you favorite *Twilight Zone* episode?" No sooner do you name ONE, another pops into your head! I'm not even gonna try. I'll just sit back, relax and enjoy. Sepiatone

I don't celebrate Kwanzaa either. For the same reason I don't acknowledge Cinco De Mayo. Neither has anything to do with me. Sepiatone

McConaughey is one of the saddest parts of this movie. This film was made back in the days when young Matt flexed his serious acting chops, before his descent into the *The Wedding Planner/Failure To Launch* realm of film roles. And who could miss the profundity of Hopkins, as John Quincey Adams stating "...If it leads to civil war, then let it come. Hopefully, it will be the last battle of the American revolution." Sepiatone

Yeah, EXCEPT for the inclusion of the classic, "Unchanged Melody" on the list there! It stands to reason, Dargo, that if the melody "changed", it would be a different song. The same might happen if you were to "unchain" it, and it goes in another direction. Sepiatone Edited by: Sepiatone on Dec 31, 2012 3:38 PM

Happy New Year to all on the boards, and don't forget to put your change out( for any Eastern Europeans here). Sepiatone

I usually try, and I think I've been successful at it, to keep my insults limited to a specific actor or actress. Now, THAT might offend someone here who is a big fan. But some regretfully take it personal. It is not. For example, one of my oldest and closest friends is a huge fan of a rock group I really can't stand. Whenever I say anything derogatory about this group, he simply smiles and says, "Hey, it's YOUR ears!" and leaves it at that. He knows I'm not insulting HIM. On the other end of the spectrum, I also have an old "friend" of over 40 years who refuses to have anything more to do with me because I once said something unflattering about George W. Bush! It had NOTHING to do with HIM, but he's obdurate in his ostricism. I will only resort to insult of another forum member as retort to MY being insulted by said forum member. It's equally immature, I know, but I'll try to limit it to one response. If I fail at this, I rely on others here to promptly point it out. And I'll apologize now for any instances in the past where I've clearly done this. Sepiatone

I remember Meeker in the films you all mentioned, and a couple I forget the titles of. However, I don't recall him in anything after he made *The St. Valentine's day Massacre* . He WAS very good, and woefully underused. Sepiatone

Doesn't TCM display that MPAA rating just BEFORE the movie begins, anyway? This one HAD to have had an "R" rating. That should have told the OP SOMETHING. Sepiatone

There are those from this beautiful state who take umbrage at the term "Michiganders". They however are in the minority. The Detroit Free Press columnist, the late BOB TALBERT took an "informal" poll in his column and "Michiganders" wound up on top. I really don't care. I suppose the term "Michiganders" started as a "slam" of sorts to Michigan residents sometime way back. But it seemed Michigan residents sapped the wind out of the sails of the detractors by embracing it. Nothing defuses a provocation more than not reacting in kind. Anyway, it wasn't until I was nearly 30 when I first heard "Michiganians" used. By then, I was too accustomed to the other. I, TOO, grew up in the old "black and white TV" days. And yes, commercial interruptions were all we knew in watching movies on the tube. Yes AGAIN, they seemed shorter. And it seemed someone had the wherewithall to place those commercial breaks during parts of the movie where some pause might naturally be, as to not jar the flow of the story.( like during a fade-out before another scene). Fortunately, I didn't watch the NBC broadcast of *It's A Wonderful Life* , as I have it on DVD, and could easily avoid the "slash and gash" the network did on it. Sepiatone Edited by: Sepiatone on Dec 29, 2012 9:59 PM

"How many times have you heard this song; "If I had what he had, my blues would be gone"? But I still got the blues; Nothin' but the blues for you!" -Chuck Berry- At any rate... It's not always a case of "overplaying" a song. I mean, I STILL like "Mrs, Robinson" in spite of how overplayed IT got. Sometimes, the song just SUCKS. To respond to another replyer(sorry, I forgot who), no, I'm NOT really highly musically trained. But I've been hacking away at the guitar for 45 years, and have been in a few bands with other members who WERE, that I picked up on SOME of the lingo. And after years of an "informal" music education, meaning LISTENING to a lot of great music from Beethoven to Brubeck, Goodman to Marvin gaye, and everthing between Amram and Zappa, I like to think I've come to recognize what a well written song SOUNDS like. And I have too strong a tendancy to use it all as a yadstick. TIKI! You play a THREREMIN?? MAN, would I love to get my hands on( or rather, NEAR) one of THOSE! I could do magic with one. Why, I'll bet after FIVE MINUTES with a Theremin, all my neighbors would set upon my house with PITCHFORKS!! Sepiatone

What a great movie! What a terrible business plan! I don't know if Crosby WAS a "thug who beat up his kids" or not. With only one kid seemingly doing all the complaining, it's hard to give much creedence. But one thing is clear...THIS movie is a GEM. I suppose these days the Holiday Inn would be doing better, as there are more holidays for which it can open. Sepiatone

How could anyone object to the offereings of someone who shows the CLASS to NOT mention names? You're not being cryptic, your showing MATURITY. A little more of that from some in here( including ME from time to time) would be a breath of fresh air. Far as I can tell, this is a PUBLIC MESSAGE BOARD, NOT a country club. Let the "Mrs. Drysdales" of these forums leave if they wish to be elitists. They could follow YOUR friend's lead, and start up their OWN website, where the only people allowed are those THEY find have something that interests THEM. I think the administrator only made his suggestion in an effort to avoid this all blowing out of proportion. But if he DIDN'T contact any of the others involved, he DOES have some "'splanin' to do". This thread already generated two pages of members offering 100% support for you and begging you NOT to leave. I for one, am joining their ranks. While I may not have agreed with everything you posted in here, I never read anything disinteresting or offensive to ME, and I fail to discern what problem that particular person has. Sepiatone

While watching *Wolf* with Jack Nicholson on ENCORE the other night, my wife asked, "Who is that young actor?" I told her it was JAMES SPADER. She then said, "Oh, yeah. HIM. He always reminded me of being ROBERT REDFORD'S "love child". I thought, "Well, OK." THEN I thought that there were other young actors or actresses today that remind me of actors from days gone by. Some at the age where they possibly COULD be someone's "love child". Can't think of his name now, but there's an actor who did a cop show on TV a few years ago that looked like he could be STEVE McQUEEN'S "love child". Others escape me now, but maybe some of you might have noticed this and your suggestions might jog my memory. Can you think of any others? Sepiatone

I'll say this much more than agree to disagree. Mostly because I like you, MissW. I didn't TIRE of those songs. I didn't LIKE them enough to LISTEN to them enough to GET tired of them. "Dancing In The Dark" was as plastic as a rocker like Springsteen could get. "I'm On Fire"? He'd kind of wore out that "fire" analogy by that point. What remained were songs done in a key his voice wasn't comfortable with, or chord patterns that were both uninspired and uninspiring. The only exception I'll concede is "My Hometown", as the whole country at the time was going through the same situation the song addresses. AND it's construction was over and above the rest of the album. But getting back to PHIL COLLINS, I never COULD hear why everyone thought "In The Air" was so great. Sepiatone

Ha ha! There's a movie( I forgot the title) where CAMERON DIAZ and KATE WINSLET trade homes during one Christmas season. Winslet makes friends with one of Diaz's neighbors, an old "golden age" movie screen writer( played by Eli Wallach) and at one point says to him, "I NEED corny in my life right now!" Sepiatone

This is only meant to INFORM, and kindly at that. It's NOT a retort: It's MICHIGANDERS, finance. Sepiatone

MissW, as a Springsteen listener since "BORN TO RUN", I found the ENTIRE "Born In The U.S.A." LP to be disappointing. But thankfully, much of his efforts since then have redeemed him. So there's THAT. But like him as I do, I still can't get behind the idea of him being all that GREAT. Sepiatone Edited by: Sepiatone on Dec 28, 2012 4:11 PM

Well, NOW I'll have to try and see *Christmas in Connecticut* to make that comparison. but for now, I'll take you at your word. Not only would you have to be a stone NOT to choke a bit at the "Dutch girl" scene, but also to dislike this movie at all. It's a well written story regardless the incarnation, and there's been quite a few. The 1990's version with Mara Wilson isn't too bad, either. Oh, some of the names of certain characters might have been changed, for some reason( Dylan McDermott, in JOHN PAYNE'S role, is given the name "Bedford" instead of "Gaily"), and the legal manuever that wins the case is changed, but equally clever. And the Dutch girl is changed to a deaf-mute girl, and Kris, communicating with her in "sign" is just as touching. While RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH as Kris is no EDMUND GWENN, his Kringle is still likeable. As many who were involved in the original had a hand in THIS remake, it couldn't really go wrong. As for the original, kudos to the suit who hired THELMA RITTER. As a kid, I fell in love with her in *Rear Window* and have been a fan ever since. Sepiatone Edited by: Sepiatone on Dec 28, 2012 4:02 PM

I just got here from YOUR post, Janet. This is NOT in reply to your post. I'd like to address a few earlier responses. First, to SWITHIN: Do you mena the song "JEAN" by OLIVER? That one is equally appalling. WAYNE: I'm with you on the Webber thing. A woman I knew once was going on about her "night on the town" and mentioned, "Then we went to see 'The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber' ", to which I could only reply, "Well, that sure beats the HELL out of HEARING it!" KIM DABB: What I hated about the *Chariots of Fire* theme( and yes, they count) was that everyone who got "caught up" with it went around claming that VANGELIS was some kind of "electronic music" genius! After years of listening to Wendy(nee Walter) Carlos, Beaver and Krause, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Tomita, it wasn't hard for me to realize Vangelis was nowhere NEAR their level of talent. And I too, got tired of "Against All Odds" REAL quick! As far as GENESIS alumni goes, I never really cared a whole lot for Peter Gabriel, but at least he didn't WIMP OUT like Phil Collins! So far, you're all doing a bang-up job on this thread. The amount of terrible songs from movies is scary, to say the least. I've yet to read a post with which I can find anything to disagree. Springsteen overrated? Yep. And I'm a Springsteen FAN. Of sorts. I've always felt his WORST LP was the one everyone hails as his BEST. That God-awful, anemically plastic "BORN IN THE U.S.A."! Sepiatone Edited by: Sepiatone on Dec 28, 2012 3:38 PM

Many popular songs came from movies over the years. Some really good, many simply AWFUL. I thought of this after hearing "Take My Breath Away" on the radio recently. Some of you might LIKE this song. And as popular music goes, there ARE worse. But THIS tune won an ACADEMY AWARD! OVER a much better song, lyrically and musically, like "Somewhere Out There". Yeah, it's kind of schmaltzy and syrupy. But movie songs usually are. But "Take My Breath Away" came from the oh-so-loved movie *Top Gun* , a movie that garnered such public adoration for reasons I've yet to discern. But I digress... I'm sure the good people here can come up with some tunes that culled high regard in spite of them being just AWFUL. For me, the short list is: "RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD" from *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* "WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND" from *The Thomas Crown Affair* (1968) "IT'S HARD OUT HERE FOR A PIMP" from...Who cares? "WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT" from the same titled movie I'm just trying to prime the pump here. What else can anyone come up with? Sepiatone

Raquel, you need to take a chill pill. I was responding to Whyaduck. I honestly don't KNOW how Izzcutter got into the mix. And I'm glad YOU know who I'm "reticent to address", because I have NO fu**in' idea who it would be. Perhaps you could tell me what I had for breakfast. I'm not telling anybody to "lay off" giving their opinions. The "lay off Andy Hardy, willya" was meant tongue-in-cheek. Ever hear of it? I suggest, SUGGEST, mind you, NOT telling you, to try having a sense of humor, if any OTHER kind of sense escapes you. Playing the condescending "school marm" isn't very becoming, Raquel. I don't appreciate being scolded like a 1st grade schoolboy because you seem to take things out of context. If we were to desist using any form of sarcasm or good natured ribbing every now and then in these forums, it would make these message boards kind of dry and boring, don't you think? Or, DON'T you? Sepiatone

Colorful stuff, tea. Black tea, orange peako, Earl Grey, green tea. Why NOT pink? Sepiatone