LawrenceA

1955 Il Bidone, Federico Fellini, Italy Death of a Cyclist, Juan Antonio Bardem, Spain Le Amiche, Michelangelo Antonioni, Italy French Cancan, Jean Renoir, France I also saw: La Pointe Courte, Agnes Varda, France

I can't think of any at the moment, but I will take this opportunity to say that I finally watched Brewster McCloud for the first time this past weekend, and loved it. I'd rank it in my top ten of that year.

The later films work better if you don't try to compare them with the original cast films, as they're too different in style and temperament. If you're familiar with the characters from The Next Generation series, and have watched a lot of the episodes, then the later films are enjoyable to varying degrees. First Contact is one of the best films of the series, even though it's not without its faults. Insurrection feels like a feature-length episode of TNG. Generations is pretty bad, though, and the fate of Kirk is handled very poorly, in my opinion. And Nemesis is just a complete misfire. As for the New Trek, J.J. Abrams-era films, I'm not a fan, but I seem to be in the minority in that.

I've read multiple articles praising Zellweger's performance, calling it the best of her career and arguably the best of the year by anyone. The movie, on the other hand, hasn't been as well received, but it wouldn't be the first time that a terrific performance was mired in a lackluster or even bad film. I was one of those who previously posted about not caring to see another movie about Judy Garland, but the praise for Zellweger's performance has changed my mind about seeing the film.

You're probably aware of this, Joe, but Cast a Deadly Spell had a follow-up in 1994's Witch Hunt. Dennis Hopper replaced Fred Ward as Lovecraft, and the cast included Penelope Ann Miller, Eric Bogosian, Julian Sands, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. It's an allegorical take on the commie red scare. I liked the first one more, but Hopper is always worth seeing.

Any or all of the above. You know people with that mindset...anyone unlike themselves are "those people". As for the rain starting where you are at the same time as it did in the movie, I would guess that you have latent weather-manipulating psychic abilities that manifested themselves on a subconscious level.

1953 White Mane, Albert Lamorisse, France - This story of a poor boy and his bond with a wild horse runs a scant 47 minutes long, so it could be considered a short, although IMDb does not. It's also widely available in an English-dubbed version, although I watched the French-language version. 1954 Twenty-Four Eyes, Keisuke Kinoshita, Japan - Inspirational teacher tale set against the backdrop of rapidly-changing Japanese culture in the early twentieth century.

I'll probably get around to seeing this eventually, but yeah, after reading what it was about, I declined to watch it a couple of months ago. Bergman is one of my favorite filmmakers, but all of his films that I have not seen yet sound like things that I would not enjoy very much.

I get phone calls all the time from "Apple tech support" telling me that there are problems with my Apple computer. The callers, speaking from a call center based on the background noise, always have names like "Tom", "Bill" or "Mary", yet they sound as if they just started speaking English yesterday. These calls are especially amusing since I not only do not have an Apple computer or other device, but I've never owned an Apple product. Of course these calls fall in line with the "IRS" calls, the "warranty department" calls, the "credit card services" (no actual company name) calls, and the latest, calls from "Windows rebate department", informing me that my Windows anti-virus protection has been discontinued and that I am owed a rebate, so just give them some info for the transaction to be complete... I have a landline, and I get literally 25-30 calls a week like this, for the past 5 or so years.

Stanley Kubrick Martin Scorsese Akira Kurosawa

The Hollywood Strangler... was part of a set with a few other Steckler films, some of which had Joe Bob Briggs commentary tracks. I also had a disc of an obscure horror flick called Warlock Moon with Joe Spano that had a pretty funny Briggs audio track. They were all part of a Guilty Pleasures imprint of releases from Media Blasters/Shriek Show.

The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher (1979), written and directed by Ray Dennis Steckler, with optional audio commentary from Joe Bob Briggs. Enough said.

1952 The Life of Oharu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan - 8/10 The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice, Yasujiro Ozu, Japan Casque d'Or, Jacques Becker, France Fanfan la Tulipe, Christian-Jaque, France Le Plaisir, Max Ophuls, France

Yeah, I try to see many of the newer films, but seldom in the theater anymore. The Irishman is my most anticipated, as Scorsese is my favorite filmmaker and De Niro my favorite actor, but I'm prepared for the movie to be disappointing, as well. I can't really say why, just a feeling I have that it won't measure up to their earlier collaborations at all. I'm also looking forward to The Joker, Knives Out, The Laundromat, Ad Astra, Marriage Story, Zombieland 2, Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse, Motherless Brooklyn, Doctor Sleep, and Ford vs. Ferrari.

The schedule is set through December. I wonder how much of it was done in conjunction with Stewart's input, or if the previously scheduled films will change. Here are the titles beginning with her debut on the 15th. September Two Arabian Knights (1927), Dir: Lewis Milestone - September 15 The Racket (1928), Dir: Lewis Milestone - September 22 Cleopatra (1912), Dir: Charles L. Gaskill - September 29 October The Symbol of the Unconquered (1921), Dir: Oscar Micheaux - October 6 Faust (1926), Dir: F.W. Murnau - October 13 The Phantom Carriage (1921), Dir: Victor Sjostrom - October 20 The Haunted Hotel (1907), Dir: J. Stuart Blackton - October 27 November Master of the House (1925), Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer - November 3 The Pagan (1929), Dir: W.S. Van Dyke - November 10 Tokyo Chorus (1931), Dir: Yasujiro Ozu - November 17 The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927), Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer - November 24 December The Smart Set (1928), Dir: Jack Conway - December 1 Within Our Gates (1920), Dir: Oscar Micheaux - December 8 Beauty's Worth (1922), Dir: Robert G. Vignola - December 15 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), Dir: Fred Niblo - December 22 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), Dir: Rex Ingram - December 29

1951 Early Summer, Yasujiro Ozu, Japan - 8/10 La Poison, Sacha Guitry, France Summer Interlude, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden

December Big Trouble in Little China (1986) December 3 Candy (2006) December 3 The Anne Bancroft Collection December 10 Set includes: Don't Bother to Knock (1952) The Miracle Worker (1962) The Pumpkin Eater (1964) The Graduate (1967) Fatso (1980) To Be or Not to Be (1983) Agnes of God (1985) 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) December 10 The Fly Collection December 10 Set includes: The Fly (1958) The Return of the Fly (1959) Curse of the Fly (1965) The Fly (1986) The Fly II (1989) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) December 17 Silver Bullet (1985) December 17 To the Devil...A Daughter (1976) December 17 Universal Horror Collection: Volume 3 December 17 Set includes: Tower of London (1939) The Black Cat (1941) Horror Island (1941) Man-Made Monster (1941)

They just started selling Tillamook cheese at my local grocery in the past month or so. I like it. 🧀

I loved it. One of the top ten of that year for me.

Why do you call Tom Waits "the late great"? Tom Waits is still alive.

CW Plans New “Dark Shadows” Series Fifteen years after a pilot for a remake failed to take off at The WB back in 2004, the network’s current incarnation The CW is having another shot at reviving iconic gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” which ran for over 1,200 episodes from 1966 to 1971. “Dark Shadows: Reincarnation” is dubbed a modern-day continuation of the strange and sexy saga of the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine – a mysterious, influential, publicity-shy group who have lived for four centuries under a curse that bedevils their blueblood with every imaginable supernatural creature and horror. Mark B. Perry is attached to write and executive produce the one-hour drama while Tracy and Cathy Curtis will also executive produce along with Michael Helfant, Bradley Gallo, and Tracy Mercer. Warner Bros. Television will produce. The original soap was briefly revived on NBC in the early 1990s, The WB did a pilot in 2004 which starred Alec Newman as Barnabas Collins along with Jessica Chastain, Kelly Hu, Martin Donovan, Matt Czuchry and Jenna Dewan. Tim Burton directed a 2012 feature adaptation with a more comedic tone and starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas. http://www.darkhorizons.com/cw-plans-new-dark-shadows-series/

I don't know that I've ever seen someone cite part 6 as their favorite. It's usually part 2, and the occasional person says part 4 (the Trek movie for people who don't normally like Trek or science fiction in general), and a rare few who say the first one was their favorite. The best of the series for me was Wrath of Khan, while Nemesis is the worst, although Star Trek Beyond and The Final Frontier are very close behind.

I'm assuming the 1925 version, since mention is made of "the original silent filming", and the '25 version had a partial talkie version released in 1930.

I've seen them all, including the honorable mentions. I was happy to see Dead Presidents included, a good film that has been somewhat forgotten already. I can't say that I disliked any of the movies he listed.

I recall reading a few criticisms when The Hurt Locker came out about some procedural inaccuracies and other things that stretched the film's credibility too far, in the view of some military vets who served during the same time and place. I don't recall specifics, though.