laffite
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Posts posted by laffite
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Call of the Wild
THE WILD ONE or WILDE
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A Christmas Carol
murky
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Since I was in the hood, I thought I would drop in and see if there any hot...oops, I mean, uh, nice photos of you-know-who around, heh heh.
Not that I meant to do any ogling or anything.
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*...okay here's the one you NEED to see! i think you will love it!! The Little Minister (1975). i love it love it love it!! its one of my favorites from helen on TV. she got me talking Scottish/Shakespearean at the same time with that movie. heehee! she is so gorgeous in it too. this is actually a rare case in which i love the remake...*
*yay!!! i cant wait to hear how you liked it...or didnt like it? i really would like an opinion on it.
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So here is Babbie, the wily lass, tricking the poor unsuspecting minister into blowing the horn that will wake the town. Oh you girls, always using your batting eye lashes or puppy dog pouts or just looking wild in the wind like ole Maddie here to wrap the guys around your little pinkies. Boy, you girls are something else. But here we can forgive her because she is doing good in getting him to blow that horn and warning the town of approaching redcoats. (She tried to do it herself but couldn?t because, after all, she?s just a girl)
Still, you goils are a wily bunch all the while. No wonder we here this:
Innity finnity fickety faeg
A diddae dolmansaeg
Lipperty birky raven?s croak
Into hell and let her smoke
?a curse on our Babbie by the young son of Rob Dow because tis the Minister that cured Rob Dow of drink, and now the minister is being ?corrupted? by that bad ?Gypsy? woman and ole Rob is back in his cups, and so continues the kiddo:
?O woman, will you no? gang awa?
When my faither?s wild wi? the drink?
I have to sleep in the field at night
And it?s terrible cold.?
So yes, I loved ?The Little Minister.? (Can you tell?) Positively. I watched it twice. Of course you?ve seen but let me share a few highlights that are especially to my liking. BTW, I wouldn?t exactly call this a remake, per se, since this is the BBC and not Hollywood again who did it, still it?s the same story, and interesting to discover that it was written by J. M. Barrie, first as a novel and then an adaptation for the stage, interesting because J. M. Barrie also wrote the famed, ?Peter Pan.?
Some beautiful and comic scenes, i.e., in Nanny Webster?s cottage where Nanny relates the story of the rose that mortifies the minister, a great scene where Nanny keeps the surprises coming and our Helen almost falls off the chair for excess of mirth (and she so very funny in the doing). The minister is wonderfully played by that actor, the name escapes, but he was perfect. At the end of this scene Babbie calls him a ?boy.? Haha, Helen called Gino a boy too, remember? But Gino couldn?t write a poem like this:
*Her Boy Am I*
I would I were the favored wind
That fans her cheeks so fair
O let me be a thread to bind
The glories of her hair
O, ask me not to count the cost
My Babbie?s arms to fly
The man who hesitates is lost
And so her boy am I
Whoa, what a poem! And how about that minister writin? such a poem as that. In another good scene, the poem is discovered by board members of the ?kirk? (thinking it?s for the prayer meeting) and one of them, after hearing it read, says oh so gravely, ?Does every line begin with a capital letter?,? and when the reader provides the awful answer, the other in turn affirms the dour conclusion, ?Then it?s poetry.? And, of course, Heaven forefend, a minister engaging in the art of poetry when he is suppose to be writing sermons. Tsk!
That line, ?The man who hesitates is lost? refers to that earlier conversation in the woods, where she all but tells him that he has to be strong. (His reaction was to slink away to end the scene, but he gets better
I wonder, is this the original source of this famous line?And Babbie also says this to him in that scene: ?If I love him, it?s got to be that he has shown me what love is. If I have a soul, he has to find it for me. He must compel me somehow to think. He must be my master.?
Yes, her master, but not in the Gino sense in the other movie, no where is there a sense that the minister would ?shake? Babbie as Gino did Lilia. It?s more gentle here, do you agree? A woman in this parochial setting does, in fact, need a man who is stronger than she, because it?s the way of their little world and provides a necessary and positive security for both parties. And there is no sense that a husband will lord over his wife in a cruel way. (And we need to remember Babbie?s actual station in life, so it applies there as well, as she is the one speaking the lines).
And how about that French maid? Sheer joy! What a classic little sequence! Talk a about a sappy wappy. She can still ?jump? for Francois after all these years (??but maybe not so much any more? she concedes, a little ruefully) even though he is married and old now and with a bunch of kids. That was all very cute with the French maid. Mon Dieu, qu?elle aime cette idea de sauter!
(parce que ca signifie l?amour, bien entendu!)(So when will Butterscotchgreer meet her match and jump. Boy, I can see those eye lashes abattin? and that puppy dog pout ?apoutin.
)I think there is another scene or two particularly good, but my memory is failing me now. When the minister high tails to free the ?Gypsy? woman and all that follows on to conclusion is just excellent. There was so much good stuff in this. I liked the language too, it was fun having the closed captions, reading and listening.
Helen showed some range here too. She appears comfortable doing all than cutesy business as a Gypsy and very believable. All the acting is just superb, something that one can nearly always count on with the BBC.
Spoiler
Interesting that the playwright actually takes up the possibility that Babbie might not be happy living in a parochial village life setting as a dutiful minister?s wife, for remember, her actual origins are quite worldly in comparison. Her father brings this up to her and she says, ?I am worried,? but she remains hopeful. Instead of having the expected terminally sappy ending, they throw a little reality in the mix. Did you notice how all the women seem to have it over the men? The women are clever and wily (even that Nanny Webster) while the men get duped. Babbie?s father and his right hand man, what?s his name, the guy who was purportedly in line for Babbie, they are all made to appear foolish. And the Church Board, they seem rather stuffy while the ladies are down to earth and don?t mince words. (Remember, the village woman saying, ?You mean they?re gonna get married!?) I tell ya, you gals are the smart ones, we?re no match for you.
Anyway, I loved it. I have not seen the movie with Kate, but I doubt it could match this, not to may taste anyway.
*when i first watched The Philanthropist, i thought the beginning was good when they were altogether talking in that apartment over the most random things and helen and that guy looked like a cute couple, until the party ended and both of them got into trouble with one another and the rest of it was about them talking about why they were engaged and how they ever got together in the first place....he was a people pleaser and she thought that was cute, but then realized what she really wanted. she wanted a stronger man. i didnt like how it ended, but i loved listening to their perceptions on each other. it was sort of silly, but interesting to watch. i thought she was really pretty in it, but it wasnt my favorite....if you watch it, tell me what you think... you may like it more than i did.*
Well, I tell you, there is more here than I probably got, the relationship between Phillip and Celia being quite a bit more clearer than maybe some of the other stuff. I wanted to watch ?The Philanthopist? a second time but opted to return the disc to Netflix before the weekend thereby averting a long delay for a replacement.
The long opening scene had some great confab and I liked especially when the old novelist listened patiently to Phillip saying something positive about him (or explaining one of his anagrams, was it?) and then the old novelist saying, ?Very interesting, now perhaps you?ll oblige us with a ****.? I laughed so hard I had to put the damn play on pause. So there I am with the play on pause, slapping my knee over and over, guffawing like a schooler. Just like a guy, right, with that word. But at least there was a meaning. Part of Phillip?s ?people pleasing? expressed itself in his nevertheless genuine propensity to see the good in people, the trouble being when he compliments these people, he is not believed and gets treated with a vulgar, sarcastic remark like that. Just like Phillip tried to tell the playwright in the opening scene that he liked parts of the play. The playwright did not believe him. The key though is that Phillip is being sincere. At least that?s how I see it. Our modern sense of people pleasing is thought of as arising out of some sort of insecurity and a semi-desperate need to be accepted. Not true, I think, with Phillip. He is who he is but when he sees the good in others and tries to tell them, the others think that Phillip is merely putting them on. Hence, he is a ?philanthropist? though an unrequited one, so to speak, or maybe a would-be philanthropist. Does this make sense? I wisht I had seen this a second time. There is more here than a first and only viewing will cover, at least for me.
Yes, Phillip and Celia make a ?cute couple? but they are, in fact, quite different. He has a friendly and pleasing personality (it seems to me) but deep down he has an academic mind and is immersed in a discipline that everybody else seems to think is boring, i.e., philology. He seems to be apart from the rest. And here is Celia, young and vivacious, and very intelligent, yes, but maybe not too terribly academic minded in the same vein as Phillip, and clearly connected to the real world in a way that Phillip isn?t and with that foxy mod hairdo, to boot. It?s a wonder they were ever together, but that?s just me. Depending on what this production wanted us to believe about that, the casting is sure interesting because, Philip, on the surface anyway, does not come across as a really stuffy type.
Care to recommend another from your Helen Mirren at the BBC boxed set, darlin?, you sure are a good recommender.
This is Laffite on the lookout for another recommendation from ButterScotchGreer, who sure knows how to pick?em.
tafn
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The Piano Teacher (Haneke)
dump truck
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*laffite wrote:*
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*Did anyone ever tell you, mon cher laffite, that you have beautiful eyes?
*Mais non...malheureusement...car ils sont toujours en mouvement
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*i want smithy....or darcy....or gary...im still deciding, i just hope laffite doesnt catch me. heehee!*
Laffite, the "catcher" and who misses nothing
I thought it was just between darcy and gary...now we've got smithy in the mix. Boy, you have some decision making to do!
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Yep, that sure looks like it.
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*Cinesage discussed the idea as well that Godard was actually trying to create friction between himself and his viewers. His focus was to make us actually feel "contempt" for him and drive us out of theaters! I'd like to quote him accurately, but I can't find the original thread! Hopefully, he will drop in and discuss it.*
I can't find it either but I do remember he responded to a post of mine on a Contempt thread where he affirmed the notion of Godard wanting to "drive us out of theater!" And he mentioned the concept of "Performance Art" and made a connection between that and the movie. The usual definitions of PA make it seem not likely that a full-scale motion picture like Contempt would fall under this category (PA consists of small ensemble acts, usually) but I believe *CineSage* was referring more specifically to an idea of PA that attempts to challenge conventional notions of the audience and in an unforgiving way that would, in effect, anger the audience. *Cinesage* did not elaborate on this, in fact, the number of words he wrote in that post does not equal what I have written here so far, it was just a short paragraph. I hope that *Cinesage* does not mind my referencing him here and I too would like hear from him on this subject.
I confess I cannot fully understand that Godard would want to send us up the aisle but I can know that those of The New Wave were, of course, rebels and resisted the old order, etc. and certainly Contempt, as fine as this film is, would not have probably appealed to the normal, anti-intellectual, mainstream audience of that time, or any time for that matter...in fact, I can almost hear them sighing warily at some elements of the movie. But where Godard pushes the buttons that makes one actually rise from their seat and exit is another story. Or maybe we are to take this skedaddle idea in a figurative sense. Or maybe not.
*Contempt is a film of astonishing depth and while I love the movie and have watched it several times, I'll be the first to admit I have barely begun to mine its treasures. I took notes the last time I watched and ended up with five pages of scrawl--front and back!*
I have not been able to put it all together, at least to my satisfaction. But sometimes I ask too much. I like movies that resolve (more or less) at the end, and maybe this one does, but no doubt Godard has given us many straws to grasp at and it's for us to do with it as we will. I really like this movie and I may never tire of viewing it again, and yet again.
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Dark Victory
nw : doodle
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*20*
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Five Easy Pieces
bellwether
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Damage
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sweet sandra dee
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Do you mean *tumultuous* ?
If so, then: The Ten Commandments (red sea)
( Nom de Dieu, Mlle Fatale , so unlike you to misspell a word.)
nw: convocation
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*Oh, I should have clarified that I only get the cramps waking up from sleep in the morning, or if I doze off in the evening. Heavens, the thought of them striking in the middle of the day is indeed too horrific to contemplate!*
Indeed, indeed. So happy to hear that they don't come during the day, per se.
*I know the feelings of helplessness and anxiety you go through with these cramps, laffite, and it's very scary. I too have morbid thoughts but these I won't share because it'll just make you more nervous, and I certainly don't want that.*
Thank you. I was probably insensitive when I expressed such a (morbid) thought below. If so, sorry.
*Is there a reason why you can't reach down and massage the leg?*
I can t reach that far, unless I raise by upper torso and support with one arm. Or try to bend my knee, (which is out of the question). Remember, it ALWAYS occurs below the knee with me, so far. I haven t dared to try any movements like that because the only strategy I know is to remain completely still until it passes. I feel if I move at all, I'm prolonging it. Sometimes I think it s over and move to soon and it starts all over again. So I just don t move.
*I just automatically keep massaging and massaging and pray it goes away, which it usually does in about five minutes or so but YES, these are the LONGEST times, and I feel as if I'll die from it. I can't get up from the bed or sofa so I sit there with my leg down and start rubbing to get the blood flowing. Or sometimes I can hobble to the bathroom and pop two aspirins or an Advil.*
Wow, that's interesting. I ll try some things next time, for instance, trying to maneuver in a position to message. That hobbling about is amazing. How long, may I ask, have you been bothered with the cramping?
*Many times I like to stretch out like a cat and do what I call "yawning" my body, including my legs, and this creates a stiffening of the toes and the calf. But it only affects one leg. I never get the cramping in both, thank goodness. You too?*
No, not at the same time, but there s nothing to keep that from happening if I move both legs at the same time, theoretically at least. I used to like to some fairly strenuous stretching while still in bed just prior to getting up but I cannot do that anymore, my legs will surely cramp.
*Try the two 6 oz. glasses of V-8 juice every day, or eat a banana (or two) Drink a lot of water during the day to increase circulation throughout your body. Do deep breathing exercises and try to remain calm.*
I'm pretty good at remaining calm because I feel that's my best way out. Worrisome thoughts can intrude though, here and there, especially when the cramps last so long. (they don't all last a long time though).
*It's good to know we can commiserate on this literally painful subject.*
Absolutely. I'm glad I fell upon your comments and look forward to anything you or anyone else has to relate about it, and I ll do the same. I ll get some of that v-8 and eat more bananas (and heed *MissG's* advice as well)
*I only hope when I start cramping again, my channels will be on TCM, lol.*
Keep that clicker close to you. And get some aspirin and Advil for your coffee table and night stand. That hobblin doesn t sound like much fun.
//
Message was edited by: laffite
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*CineMaven*: Sorry if my corrective on who started the thread came across a little sharp or accusatory. I didn't mean it. I hope you know I wouldn't take a pop shot at you. My apologies.
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*Lafitte: The glucosomine/chondroiton I mentioned to you isn't medicine, they're supplements*
*like vitamins or minerals and any drug store or vitamin shop sells them. I'd ask your doctor*
*next time you see him/her.*
I shall in all my best obey you, Chere Deese
Merci!
ps And you are a ballet dancer! Zounds! I wish you would talk about that some time.
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*Thanks, laffite, but CineMaven is a good egg!*
Oh, you don't have to tell me that
The Mave
is a Fave
Of Laffite
And she knows it...
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*laffite, thanks for sharing your own leg cramp experiences. Aren't they one of the worst pains? I get them from the knee to the ankle as well.*
*Sometimes they come on me as I'm lying on my couch in the living room or my bedroom watching television. I foolishly exercise without shoes in my apartment because my feet always get too hot. A few days ago the muscles seized up as I was trying to change the t.v. channel from Sci-Fi toTCM, but I couldn't even do that, as I was frantically trying to massage the agony away. As I'm doing this, THE PUPPETMASTER VERSUS DEMON TOYS comes on, as if I didn't have enough pain. (but Corey Feldman was amusing)*
Ouch, you mean they occur in the daytime for you? Do they happen when you're out and about, say at the Supermarket? Gosh, I hope not! For me, only upon waking and my thought is because the muscles are still relaxed from sleep they are not ready to be used and movement brings on the cramps. Having them occur during normal daily activities is something else again, yike!
A few further thoughts:
The key for me is to keep perfectly still and let it run its course. I can't reach to message so I don't even know if that works. My leg has to be anchored, either on my other leg or on the bed, if it's not and I try to hold it _perfectly_ still, which I cannot, then, theoretically (so goes my morbid thoughts), it could go on indefinitely. So I have to bite the bullet and move the leg where it will be still and that means more pain. I have this horrific fear (but thankfully an irrational one, I hope) that the muscles will get stuck and the pain simply won't go away. How''s that for a nightmare scenario!
And yes, it's one of the "worst pains." Not to over dramatize but sometimes I think, oh, so this is what it's like to be tortured, haha. Sometimes they last as long as five minutes, but usually only maybe one to three. Sometime only the slightest twitch in the ankle will bring them on. It does require, at least, _some_ movement, they don't just occur spontaneously, I hope that's the case with you too, otherwise double the horror.
I hope I haven't gone to on and on about this but I hope, *Bronxgirl*, you'll share your thoughts by and by anything you care to. You have a new listener. This hasn't been going on very long with me, just the last few months.
Yes, Corey might be "amusing," but there are limits on what he can do.
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*Cinemaven:* But this is Bronxgirl's thread...and a simple name change for the thread would be an idea
*MissGoddess*: Thanks for the recommendation, but thankfully no need for medicine...yet!
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*I read that San Diego has the best climate on the West Coast; it's touted as being about 75 degrees all the time, always sunny, but no humidity.*
As usual, the touters are in error. Average temperature during the summer is below 75 degrees and it is not always sunny. There are many overcast days. But the general statement about best climate in the West might be true. What makes it so good here is that there are no wild extremes. I like to think that there are two general seasons, warm and cool. With maybe a few hot days in the warm season but without any really cold days in the cool season. And there weather here is always balmy---always.
*I'm getting more leg cramps here in Florida than I ever did before...;*
Couldn't over look this, especially considering that this has become a problem of late, so I hope you don't mind a comment. It's to the point now where when I wake up in the morning I cannot move my legs without cramping. I must get up and walk around for at least two minutes to "wake up" my legs. Then I can get back in bed to rest some more before rising. Otherwise, these still-relaxed muscles, especially from the knee to the ankle, cannot withstand any movement without cramping. I can't believe how painful these things can be. I haven't researched this yet, so I don't know if it's mineral or vitamin deficiency...or just getting old.
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RO's intro to Playtime surprised me. First, he erroneously stated that the film to be seen was the original 145 minute version, but it wasn't.
More important, he said that the movie represented a "version and vision of a future Paris, a city with all kinds of modern marvels, buildings made of glass and steel, everything very mechanical and efficient." The trouble is that he said this without a hint of irony and it comes across as if Tati's "vision" is some kind of utopia. But actually this was a soon-to-be Paris that Tati deplores. When the troop of tourists are filing in the Trade Show, Barbara positions the swinging door so that it shows a reflection of the Eiffel Tower. This happens two or three times during the film. Tati is winking at us, saying that this what tourists should really be interested in, the old traditional landmarks, not some newfangled modern Trade Show where they might buy some silly wastepaper basket based on a Greek theme.
It's a good thing that whoever wrote that intro stopped right there. Otherwise, he might have gone to say that the movie shows the ideal way a restaurant should be run.
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The Sting
nw : preview
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