I Just Watched...

[Bogie56]

I wouldn't be a true blue Americano if I didn't watch at least one

war film during the holiday weekend. Went with Bataan. Partly

because the 2 to 4 showing fit into my schedule and partly

because I haven't seen it in ages and needed a little refresher

and lastly, sheer inertia. Good flick. But I couldn't help but notice

that a lot of these guys were pretty stupid and it cost them big

time. You're behind your defenses and the enemy is out there,

so instead of hunkering down, why not stand up and stretch and

made some comment and ping, get killed. Then there's the dude

who shots down a Japanese airplane with a machine gun. Does

he then run for cover? Nope, just stands there so the next plane

can strafe his *** to pieces. Duh. Not that the Japanese were any

smarter. At the end of the picture Robert Taylor is the last man

left (Bob you're the star of the movie. That means you're the last

guy to die. Okayyyy). Anyhow, Bob's manning a machine gun.

What do the Japanese do? They run at him and he mows 'em

down like so much grass. Why not just toss a few grenades at

ol' Bob? Whatever. Despite that, still an entertaining film and an

obvious morale booster. Things will work out fine, it will just take

a while.

The enemy was no smarter at times.  I recall that in many Combat television episodes the boys would be shooting back and forth at some undercover 'kraut.'  And this would go on and on and I guess the only way to resolve all this was then to have the German come out of hiding for no good reason and get killed.

[Bogie56]

That seems to happen quite often in war movies. Soldiers will suddenly stand

up out in the open for no good reson and ping, they are shot. In Bataan there

is the possibility of snipers up in the trees. So Taylor sends one of his men up

into a tree. He gets to the top, gives the okay signal, and is shot a few seconds

later. At least Bob didn't send a second guy up.

Like the security detail who beam down with Captain Kirk.  After a year in space it must have been pretty hard to get volunteers for those missions.

[Dargo]

The enemy was no smarter at times.  I recall that in many Combat television episodes the boys would be shooting back and forth at some undercover 'kraut.'  And this would go on and on and I guess the only way to resolve all this was then to have the German come out of hiding for no good reason and get killed.

 

LOL

 

So true, Bogie, AND, which reminds me of all the times my father(a WWII veteran) and I were watching first run "Combat" episodes together back in the '60s, and when that would happen on the show he would occasionally mutter, "If only the Germans WERE that stupid, I could've been home YEARS earlier!"

[Bogie56]

LOL

 

So true, Bogie, AND, which reminds me of all the times my father(a WWII veteran) and I were watching first run "Combat" episodes together back in the '60s, and when that would happen on the show he would occasionally mutter, "If only the Germans WERE that stupid, I could've been home YEARS earlier!"

That quote sounds incredibly familiar.  I used to watch the show with my dad too!!

[Dargo]

Wasn't there an urban legend that if they were wearing a certain

color of uniform top they weren't coming back to the Enterprise?

I got a kick out of the one where they changed people into

something that looked like large laundry cubes. Can't recall the

details, but I laughed every time I saw it. Don't throw him into

the washer.

 

Well, how are ya gonna wash your Tribble then???

[darkblue]

Like the security detail who beam down with Captain Kirk.  After a year in space it must have been pretty hard to get volunteers for those missions.

 

Like that cartoon I saw once (might've been Family Guy),

 

Kirk: Allright, we're going down - you're with me Spock, Bones, Uhura, Scotty, Ensign Ricky.

 

Ensign Ricky: Ah, crap.

[HoldenIsHere]

I just saw RETURN TO OZ for the first time yesterday.

It features Fairuza Balk as Dorothy and is a very well-made fantasy that held my interest from beginning to end.

Piper Laurie plays Aunt Em, and Jean Marsh plays the evil Mombi in Oz (in Kansas her character is a nurse who works with a doctor who wants to use an electrical device to wipe out Dorothy's memories of Oz).

I loved the talking chicken and Jack Pumpkinhead.   

 

[fxreyman]

Was watching a doc on You tube about the Bismarck vs. the Hood. I then decided to watch 1960's Sink the Bismarck. Great film based on actual events, and the funny thing is this:

 

Even though the movie has a lot of miniature work, the models of the ships are very detailed.

[Kid Dabb]

Wasn't there an urban legend that if they were wearing a certain

color of uniform top they weren't coming back to the Enterprise?

I got a kick out of the one where they changed people into

something that looked like large laundry cubes. Can't recall the

details, but I laughed every time I saw it. Don't throw him into

the washer.

Yeah. Anyone beaming down in a red top was pretty much toast. When two or more "reds" went, at least one was a goner. Scotty wasn't immune, either! He was killed several times.

 

Here's that "large laundry cubes" episode

It's By Any Other Name - a second season episode of the original series, first broadcast February 23, 1968 and repeated May 31, 1968. It is episode #51.

[Dargo]

I can't remember here, Kid. Is there a reason why Warren there is crushing one of those poor ill-fated (used to be) red top ensigns there?

 

(...and don't tell me it's 'cause HIS washing machine gets clogged up if he doesn't)

[Kid Dabb]

He was just demonstrating.. like the vacuum cleaner salesmen of olden days: When one is crushed, it cannot be returned to it's original form - gone forever. He then quickly pulls out his handy-dandy-ṣpic-and-spandy vacuum cleaner to demonstrate to Kirk how well it works, even on another planet.

 

It's all quite simple, really.

[Richard Kimble]

Yeah. Anyone beaming down in a red top was pretty much toast. When two or more "reds" went, at least one was a goner. 

 

Star Trek wasn't the only show with "redshirts". In the last few months I've been watching a lot of Rawhide episodes. Whenever you see a new drover around the campfire, you just know he's bound to get caught in a stampede.

[Richard Kimble]

I can't remember here, Kid. Is there a reason why Warren there is crushing one of those poor ill-fated (used to be) red top ensigns there?

 

 

IIRC the cube he crushed was the redshrt played by Lee J. Cobb's cute daughter Julie, so we never saw her again 

 

  

[Kid Dabb]

Star Trek wasn't the only show with "redshirts". In the last few months I've been watching a lot of Rawhide episodes. Whenever you see a new drover around the campfire, you just know he's bound to get caught in a stampede.

It's gotten to where we can spot 'em a mile away

Here's Julia Cobb. She figured prominently - better than most red-shirts.

[Dargo]

He was just demonstrating.. like the vacuum cleaner salesmen of olden days: When one is crushed, it cannot be returned to it's original form - gone forever. He then quickly pulls out his handy-dandy-ṣpic-and-spandy vacuum cleaner to demonstrate to Kirk how well it works, even on another planet.

 

It's all quite simple, really.

 

LOL

 

(...sorry, but as I mentioned earlier somewhere today, I've used up all my allotment of "Likes" today already)

[Dargo]

 

 

IIRC the cube he crushed was the redshrt played by Lee J. Cobb's cute daughter Julie, so we never saw her again 

 

  

 

 

Wow! Not bad for a daughter of Lee J. Cobb!

 

(...must've taken after her mother)

[scsu1975]

I just watched The Stranger last night. Damned if I could find any gay subtext, except for maybe those college boys chasing each other in the woods.

[fxreyman]

It is most definitely NOT the movies, but on YouTube I have found a channel showing the first three seasons of Have Gun - Will Travel. I don't think I have ever seen any of these. Richard Boone was so good as Paladin.

[Kid Dabb]

Wow! Not bad for a daughter of Lee J. Cobb!

 

(...must've taken after her mother)

With a daughter like that,  I  would have taken after her mother!

 

Honk! Honk!

woogedawoogedawoogeda

[jamesjazzguitar]

With a daughter like that,  I  would have taken after her mother!

 

Honk! Honk!

 

So is Cobb's daughter only 2 years younger than he is?

[scsu1975]

Wow! Not bad for a daughter of Lee J. Cobb!

 

(...must've taken after her mother)

So when Lee ranted "lousy kids, you work your heart out ...," he was complaining that his son became his daughter?

[Kid Dabb]

So is Cobb's daughter only 2 years younger than he is?

That conjures up some interesting scenarios.

 

I was figuring, Lee's daughter is so attractive, and since she probably got all of it from mom..

mom must be way gorgeous (I haven't seen her yet). 

 

Wait.. I found this. Julie's mother is indeed quite beautiful. How fortunate; Lee.

[Arturo]

Earlier today, on one of the Spanish language movie channels.I get.through Directv, they aired EL.NORTE, without commercials. It had been a few years since I've seen this classic, and enjoyed if all over again. As timely as ever, it has some great writing and an excellent cast, including a great turn by the recently deceased Lupe Ontiveros.

[speedracer5]

I'll admit I haven't watched many new to me films in the last couple of days-- right now I'm watching episodes of Alton Brown's Good Eats on Netflix.  I'm trying to decide what to watch now that I've finished eating and have learned how you use a pie bird.  Thanks to Alton Brown, now I know. 

 

Anyway.

 

Yesterday I watched "Tangled," a cute animated film from Disney.  I loved this movie.  It is the story of Rapunzel, a princess with magic hair that has the ability to heal.  Rapunzel was kidnapped as a child by an old woman who wanted to stay young.  She kept Rapunzel captive in a tower in the middle of nowhere, where the two of them lived for 18 years.  When the old woman would start experiencing the effects of aging, she'd ask Rapunzel to sing a special song while she brushed Rapunzel's hair.  Rapunzel had to sing the same song each time to activate her special powers.  Every year on Rapunzel's birthday, her parents, the King and Queen, release two lighted lanterns into the sky, hoping that Rapunzel would see them and come home.  Eventually everyone in the kingdom began releasing the lanterns, creating a beautiful "starry" sky.  Rapunzel sees these glowing lights every year and wants to see the display in person.  Enter Flynn Rider.  Rider, a criminal, stumbles across Rapunzel's tower while on the run.  He manages to climb inside the tower.  Eventually after Rapunzel is understandably freaked out, she makes a deal with Rider: He must take her to the castle to see the lanterns released, and she will give back his satchel (that she's stolen and hidden) that contains the items he has stolen.  Inevitably, the two fall in love and Rapunzel's "mother" is upset that Rapunzel is gone and seeks out to find her. 

 

This was a great movie with fun characters and fun songs.  My favorite part was when Flynn takes Rapunzel on a romantic boat ride so she can view the annual lantern display from the best spot in town.  The scene is so gorgeous, accompanied by a romantic song.  I'm a sucker for sweet romantic stories.  Plus, Flynn Rider was super hot, which throws me into a dilemma: I used to maintain that Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty was the hottest Disney prince, but Rider gives him a run for his money.  (Yes I realize they're cartoon characters). 

 

Anyway. 

 

Throughout all my fangirl swooning over the animated Flynn Rider, I have settled upon watching Days of Wine and Roses with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick.  So far, so good with that movie.  In about two hours I'll know if it'll end up in my "Waste of DVR space" thread or this one. 

[misswonderly3]

 

... I have settled upon watching Days of Wine and Roses with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick.  So far, so good with that movie.  In about two hours I'll know if it'll end up in my "Waste of DVR space" thread or this one. 

 

It's a very powerful movie. Heartbreaking, beautifully acted, poignant.  I imagine it will end up here (as opposed to the "Waste of Space" one.)