Part Of My Weekend Plans Are Set…

Posted on May 2, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, yeah, yeah… TCM shows this a few times a year, but sometimes it’s just nice to own a movie if you happen to not want to rely on a channel (or worse, a streaming video service) to deliver the goods. There’s just something lovely and delicious about popping a disc into a player, sitting back and letting the film in question do its stuff and Bava’s horror classic certainly has PLENTY of stuff. I just find it amusing that as absolutely gorgeous as Barbara Steele was (and is, as she’s still with us, last I checked), in a number of her films, she’s buried under makeup that makes her look pretty horrific. But hey, that’s one reason she’s loved by many fans of classic horror flicks I guess.

As for Raiders, it was $2.50 new, I needed another copy and didn’t care if it was on Blu-Ray or not. I actually hadn’t seen it in a while and HATE watching it on AMC because of all those dumb interruptions and the picture quality is terrible to my eyes. One actually needs NO excuse to own this film, as it’s something you can pop on and loop all day as background noise while you’re doing stuff around the house. “I dunno, I’m making this up as I go!” may become your mantra after a day of this film, that’s for sure…

Terminator 2: Judgment Day “Dressing For Success”: Writers, Here’s How To Introduce Your Hero (#4 Of A Bunch)…

Posted on May 2, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, cromptonog1!)

This intro made and STILL makes me laugh a lot for a few reasons, chiefly the fact that James Cameron cheated himself a chance to make this a LOT funnier. How so? Well, he shortcuts Arnold into landing just EXACTLY where he needed to in order to deck himself out with spiffy leather togs (which is a great thing, don’t get me wrong). But ask yourself, folks… what would have happened if that formerly killer now nice-guy Terminator landed near a senior citizen’s home, a golf course, prison, or some other place where finding awesome clothing and a handy hot hog would have been next to impossible? That would have made for a definitely more amusing opening for sure, although yes, NO way as classic as this one is. Of course, if someone ever shows this post to Cameron, I’d bet I’m in for an earful and I’d sit there and take it, too. I think he’s got enough of a sense of humor to realize I’m just kidding around (heh).

And NO, kids… I didn’t forget Sarah Connor’s equally awesome introduction at all. I wanted to do her first, but couldn’t find a suitable clip on YouTube to use in the time I have today. I’ll get to her (and yes, other heroic ladies) as part of this series soon enough as I’d planned out to include ladies here from the get-go.

Doctor Jones, I Presume? Writers, Here’s How To Introduce Your Hero (#3 Of A Bunch)…

Posted on May 2, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, jackpmoore!)

Thanks to George Lucas, Philp Kaufman and Lawrence Kasdan with a grand assist from director Steven Spielberg (and of course, the great Harrison Ford’s performance), this one’s easy to fall into and get hooked on right from the moment the Paramount logo fades into that mountain and a big grin spreads on your face. I also find this intro hilarious because those old serials the film was derived from were divided into chapters only a few minutes long, so this would have never been allowed. Anyway, this is one of the most perfect film openings that sets the tone for what’s to come a few minutes later in that trap-packed cave and later, the wilder globe-hopping adventure to come that’s still one of the most re-watchable films ever. I saw Raiders on day one of its release here in NYC and many times since because while it’s far from flawless, it just never fails to entertain in every respect. That’s one part of what makes a true classic movie hero, I’d say…

John Ford’s Stagecoach: Writers, Here’s How To Introduce Your Hero (#2 Of A Bunch)…

Posted on May 1, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, ThePiemmebi!)

What can I say about John Ford that hasn’t been better said by a load of other (and far better) writers? Not much, other than even if you hate westerns, his 1939 classic, Stagecoach was and still is a quite phenomenal film from a year where there were dozens of them popping into theaters throughout the year. That famous first shot of John Wayne as Ringo is brilliant and thrilling because it immediately introduces a character that adds to the story in many ways. Without seeing the rest of the film, this clip sets up Ringo as someone who’s liked and hated, a friend, yet a stranger and some sort of outlaw. He’s not giving up his Winchester at all, and yes, that stubbornness comes in very handy soon enough as things get dangerous and his skills are required.

I haven’t seen this one in a while, but if it’s on soon (TCM, of course! I missed the John Wayne flicks they ran last month) and I’m up, I’ll be watching and cheering those great stunts and oohing at that stunning Monument Valley setting once again…

Oops. One Tiny Mistake There, TCM. Otherwise, Both Thumbs Up!

Posted on April 25, 2014 by geelw

While it’s wonderful to see William Friedkin’s 1977 film SORCERER getting some much needed love at TCM’s yearly film festival (held this year at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood), I’ll admit to my eyebrow shooting up at the word “The” in that video title.

(thanks again, robatsea2009!)

Eek. Yeah, it’s a minor mistake that can easily be corrected with a few keystrokes, but I’d never heard of “the City Lights” “The Ben Hur”, “The Frankenstein”, or “The King Kong” in my film studies. So that sort of thing is a bit pesky to me. Anyway, perhaps the person who posted this video was thinking of the film Friedkin’s is based off of, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s brilliant 1953 action/drama The Wages of Fear. Hmmm… now I want to see both films pop up on TCM soon. Or even better, FINALLY see Friedkin’s film make a decent Blu-Ray appearance, as it’s one that’s LONG due.

Random Film of the Week(end): Nights of Cabiria

Posted on April 12, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, TrailerItaliano!)

The first time I saw Nights of Cabiria, I was wide awake and it was the middle of the afternoon, but I was so wrapped up in watching Giulietta Masina’s spectacular performance that I’d stopped reading the subtitles and missed a chink of the story. Of course, this being a Fellini film, the visuals and expressive acting spelled out most of what happened and Masina’s work as a happy go lucky hooker with a head of stone and dreams of finding love kept me entranced until the ending.

I’ve seen the film quite a few times since and have introduced it to friends with no explanation because how do you properly describe a film about prostitutes that manages to be funny and sad and human all at the same time without getting wrapped up in someone’s “Uh, so… it’s a movie about what?” eyebrow. Granted, you can always take the easy way out and make it a double feature night with Fellini’s La Strada first, as like this film, it won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and has Giulietta Masina giving another performance for the ages. That SHOULD wipe away any smudgy thoughts about pedigree and content.

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?able Humor: Get Me Re(re)write!

Posted on March 23, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, frankpilarski!)

So, today I was bad, bad, bad. Well, just bad, but I think I tend to over-magnify stuff for excess emphasis. Anyway, I needed to go over some older posts and start the process of re-writing or re-rewriting them so some can be used as parts of a few upcoming blogathons I’m participating in. Some of the older posts are a wee bit on the short side and need a bit of expanding, so that’s what’s going on. Or WAS supposed to be going on.

Anyway, I was going over a few posts and then got distracted with a movie I’d wanted to see, so that was that for productivity for most of the afternoon. Yeah, it happens. NO, it wasn’t Star Crash, I was sidetracked by (Oh, hell nope!). That’s just to show my desire to stop time for long enough to do all the crap I need to do and feel HAPPY at the end of each day. Eh, I’ll figure this all out eventually. I still want a damn time machine, though.

As I update the older posts, I guess I’ll tweet them out (which means they’ll pop up on facebook as well). Keep an eye peeled…

Random Film of the Week(end): Zardoz

Posted on March 22, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, tubesoda!)

How amusing that I had a dream about Zardoz and TCM (Turner Classic Movies) just so happens to be showing it this evening (EDIT: Okay, at 2am Sunday). John Boorman’s wonderfully gorgeous and ~~somewhat~~, okay, EXTREMELY bizarre follow up to the 1972 smash Deliverance was and is a weird mix of science fiction, black comedy and violence that baffled many critics and moviegoers of the time and while it’s a more popular cult film today with a loyal following, still has a polarizing effect on a few fronts. If anything, the film’s oddball mix of impressive and cheap visual effects and some stunning cinematography go a long way in holding one’s interest as the plot zooms all over the landscape.

From the killer opening sequence with a floating stone head issuing marching orders (“The GUN is GOOD! The PENIS is EVIL!”) to some well-armed men (well, the stone head is the one arming them with PILES of firearms), to one of those well-armed men (Sean Connery!) sneaking aboard that head to do a bit of surprising disposal work (how do you kill a “god”? Here’s one way if you need a hint!), Zardoz continually surprises, even when it’s getting too meta for its own good. Then again, that seems to be what Boorman wanted to do with this film. This is one of those experimental flicks that does an excellent job of making you pay attention right from the start and slowly draws you deeper into its odd characters and world. Granted, your suspension of disbelief is being kidney punched the entire way through, but such is art and films such as this one… Continue reading →

Turner Classic Movies Finally Gets With The Program on YouTube

Posted on March 21, 2014 by geelw

Like many of you out there, I love Turner Classic Movies quite a lot, although the popular classic movie site isn’t without its issues. I’m still waiting to see more imports (where are Cul De Sac, {The Mad Adventures of} Rabbi Jacob, The Tall Blonde Man With One Black Shoe and other intriguing foreign films that deserve a wider American audience?) and a more stable Underground (I can be the host, as I have a LOAD of ideas to make it better and more accessible to new viewers to the weird and strange!), but overall I’m happy with most of what they do. That said, they’re finally using YouTube a lot more effectively, posting videos for current programming for the day during the week, which goes a long way towards making folks like me see what’s coming on during the day without having to check the cable guide or just turn the channel on when we crawl home and hope we’ll see something we haven’t yet. Yeah, the frequent rebroadcasts need to be worked on a bit, but for now, I have one LESS thing to gripe about…

Random Film of the Week(end), Too: SHIVERS (They Came From Within)

Posted on March 15, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, kxkwarriorv!)

SHIVERS (or They Came From Within) is NOT a very good date movie. At all. David Cronenberg’s absolutely unsettling and increasingly relentless genre classic may make you fear all of the following (in no order) sex, sexually transmitted diseases, parasites, scalpels, Canada, quirky (but sexy) Canadians, somewhat secluded apartment complexes, swimming, bathing, kitchen sinks, liquids in general, elevators, upset stomachs, children and doctors with strange hobbies (plus a few other things major and minor).

That said, the film excels at what it intends so well that it’s absolutely required viewing even though if you DO make it a date night flick. Just don’t be surprised to feel your butt muscles getting a workout as they slowly ambulate you sideways away from that sweetie sitting next to you (and his or her butt will be doing the same thing, by the way). On the other hand, this may be a film that brings you closer if only to get in some cuddle time afterwards. “No sex, please… we’re now both as scared as s#!t!”

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