So Much Fun, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         The best laid film plans went awry this weekend.  First, I was all set to have us watch the A-list 1957 adaptation of "Peyton Place," with Lana Turner and Hope Lange!  Dinner plans curtailed that for Saturday, so we decided to watch it on Sunday evening.  With Baby Gojira and Kerwyn present.  But, as it turned out, only 26 minutes of the 157-minute film were actually recorded.

                                            So, we had no choice but to watch the planned alternative, 1977's "The Turning Point," with Anne Bancroft and Shirley Maclaine.  The year 1977 was a strong year for films, and while this was nominated for 11 Oscars, and in a lesser year may have picked up a few, it was completely shut out.

                                              Not that it can't be enjoyed.  This may not be the masterwork that "The Red Shoes" is but there is much pleasure to derive from it.

                                                 Having not seen it for so long, I had forgotten my favorite Anne Bancroft line.  After bitchy company director Adelaide (Martha Scott) suggests to Emma (Bancroft) that she could "stage" "Sleeping Beauty" next season, Bancroft slowly rises, and blithely says, "I really must do something about my face!"

                                                     Oh, girls, how many times have we used that one?  And how many times was it the truth???????????????

                                                      Then there is Lesley Brown's (as Shrley Maclaine's daughter Emilia) drunk scene, which is hilarious.

                                                        Capped off by the catfight of all catfights atop the roof of the ballet theater.  I love it, and so do all us queens!  Because even Bancroft and Maclaine could not keep a straight face during the filming of it!!!!!!!!!!  I love when Bancroft throws her purse at Maclaine, yelling "You bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                            Sure, some serious topics are tackled--the world of dance versus the world of reality, the sacrifices one must make for art, the need to be driven, relationships between parents and children, friends and rivals, and Antoinette Sibley just steals the show as Sevilla!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                              "The Turning Point" is hilarious, artistic fun!  Who steals the show from whom in this one, hum, darlings?????????????????????????????????

                                                                Now, if you will excuse me, "I really must do soemthing about my face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                              

She Has Some "Clouds In Her Coffee, Clouds In Her Coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                           No, girls, Carly Simon is still alive, thank God, but she is facing, at 83, some horrible situations.

                           She has been diagnosed with and under care for Parkinson's Disease, as well as undergoing surgery for basal cell carcinoma on her face, both ills leaving her to lead a now reclusive lifestyle.

                          Oh, Carly, thank you for getting us all through broken relationships by recording "You're So Vain," which acted as a catharsis to many of us during those times.

                            This is a sad day for those of us fond of Carly, but Carly is determined to deal with everything as strong as she can.  The creative energy she once put into her music is being put into her health.  Which could bring Carly back to the music.

                                So, let's all send out our special get well wishes to Carly Simon.

                               "Nobody Does It Better," darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Tokyo Story" Is Beautiful And Haunting, But Not The Devastating Experience I Was Expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Among cineastes, it is fairly common knowledge that this film's director, Yasujiro Ozu, was inspired by Leo McCarey's 1937 Hollywood film, "Make Way For Tomorrow."  I saw that film when young, and to this day could never view it again.  For years, when I heard "Tokyo Story" was a Japanese version of the McCarey film, I avoided it all these years.

                                       But, inspired by age to catch up on films I am embarrassed not to have seen, I watched "Tokyo Story" yesterday, and was surprised to find that I would gladly view this film again, if given the opportunity to see it on the big screen.

                                         An elderly couple living in a distant suburb outside Tokyo, decide to travel to the big city to see their children, who never come to see them.  That, and the indecision about what to do with their parents once they are there, call up comparisons to "Make Way For Tomorrow."  However, the children in this film, while self-absorbed, are not the selfish, cruel monsters they are in "Make Way For Tomorrow."    They even send the parents on a trip to a gorgeous spa, where a walk along a wall results not only in a beautiful camera shot, but the foreshadowing to come.

                                          The separation in "Make Way For Tomorrow" was forced on the couple by their children, when the only daughter living on the West Coast, agrees to take the father.  When the couple part at the train station, the viewer knows, sadly they're seeing each other for the last time.  Death is more present in "Tokyo Story," when the mother dies, but does so with all her children around them and given a beautiful memorial service.

                                             The film, through the parents, talk about parent and child expectations, or the lack thereof, how the elderly become invisible with change, and how the cinematography uses recurring images of smoking sky high tower chimneys, ancient pagodas, and trains recurrently passing over the tracks to highlight social change.   Imagery is key in foreign films, and these plus the geometric patterns and panels of business buildings and personal residences give the film a visual beauty unique to its nation's culture.

                                              The parents are played by So Yamamura and Cheiko Higashiyama.  They are moving and touching, and so is Setsuko Hara as daughter-in-law Noriko, widow of their dead son, and the only really kind person to them, though as the father says, "not even a blood relative."

                                                So, yes, "Tokyo Story" is a form of "Make Way For Tomorrow," but if I may be so bold as to state it, America is still cruel toward the aged, while the Japanese revere them in a more loving way.

                                                 I urge you to see "Tokyo Story." It is warm and moving, but not emotionally crippling.

                                                  And what does that say about cultural differences?????????????????

                                                

Don't Let This Movie Make A Monkey Out Of You, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    My equally movie knowledgeable friend Chris, and I, talked about seeing this in the theater.  Chris, dear, I am here to tell you how lucky we were that we did not.

                                       Because we got home late from our dinner, which was an experience in itself, we could not watch the movie I had planned on viewing.  That film will be screened tonight and written about in the forthcoming week.

                                        So last night, because it was short enough to be on time to watch The Eleven O' Clock News on Channel 2, we watched "Primate."

                                          Now, older viewers will remember the name Ben used for the lethal rat in both 1971's "Willard," and its sequel.  I will not even TALK about the 2003 remake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           What "Primate" actually turns out to be is a feature length expansion of the sequence in Disney's "Old Yeller," where Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran had to shoot the beloved pet they once loved, who is now a rabid monster.

                                             Ben is turned into a rabid monster, when he is bitten by a mongoose, in Hawaii, yet, but without the build-up of warmth and love that made so many of us cry at the climax of "Old Yeller."  I was so done with this movie before it ended, girls, that, much as I love animals, I could not wait to see the monkey get beaten over the head.  Or electrocuted. Or anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                Besides, Old Yeller was a real dog.  So was Toto.  Ben here is just some CGI manufactured thing, so who cares?

                                                 He becomes rabid within minutes and goes on a rampage.  I was fascinated for his fascination in wanting to pull people's faces apart by removing the jawline and their mouths!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Perhaps he was overdue for a dental appointment.

                                                  The problem with "Primate" is that it took itself too seriously.  I was hoping for a delicious camp romp that would make me laugh.  Instead, my mouth hung open at the sheer stupidity.

                                                   Troy Kotsur, who played the deaf father in the 2021 A list film "CODA," here is cast as a deaf scientist.  He is barely in the film, and his role is thankless, but when one is a deaf actor, I suppose you have to take what is out there.

                                                     Rumor has it that both Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep turned this one down!  I do not blame them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                      Monkey see, monkey do!  Do NOT watch "Primate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                    

Charles Dickens Created Scrooge!!!!!!!!!!!!! But Did Anyone Really Ever Name A Child Ebenezer??????????????????????????

                                                                               

                                The first picture is a Victorian representation of the Alaistair Sim Scrooge, from 1951, still the best live action version of the story.  The second is "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol," which is truly second best!

                                    But that first name--Ebenezer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Where, beside this story, have you heard the name?  Certainly not in this day and age, and when grade school kids are old enough to catch on, anyone with the name would endure merciless teasing.  

                                     I am beginning to wonder if the first name was also created by Charles Dickens.  Having read my way through his works, the Brontes, George Eliot and Jane Austen, I cannot find the name anywhere else.  Nor in Thomas Hardy or Henry James.

                                      So, I have come to accept the name Ebenezer as a dramatic conceit.

                                      If anyone can show further example, then come forward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

                                      And remember, in Winter, to take your gruel, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                

For Darren McGavin And Carl Kolchak Fans Only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Really, darlings, if you have never seen it, or are fans of the above there is no other reason to tune in to "Svengoolie's" screening of the 1972 film "The Night Stalker."

                                            David and I had planned to watch something else, which I was saving as a surprise, but now, with questionable dinner plans in play, that takes care of that.  Oh, David said we could watch tomorrow, but, as Baby Gojira will be the first to tell you, without our Saturday movie the weeknight is just not the same!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             Besides, we saw this the last time it was shown and once was quite enough for me.  We may even have seen the follow up, "The Night Strangler."

                                               I am happy this did something for Darren McGavin's career, but it did absolutely nothing for me.

                                               Still, I almost would trade it in for the questionable dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watching Fellini's "8 1/2" Is Like Staring At A Renaissance Master Painting In Motion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                

                          The beauty of this film cannot be overestimated.  Let us start with the color white and how it is used--in the fabric of women's garments, the tables and chairs in the nightclub scenes, the pure cleanness of the spa, with its crucifix like cross to remind us that this is definitely a Catholic film, but one that dares to question the very nature of Catholicism.

                             And the women--Claudia Cardinale, Anouke Aimee, Barbara Steele--yes! --and Eddra Gale, who, as prostitute by the sea Saraghina, steals the show!  The whole question of the morality of the boys visiting her just to dance, with the ocean as a stunning backdrop asks the question of Catholicism how something so innocent and beautiful could be so immoral.  I have to hand it to Fellini for taking on these issues.

                             One surprise of the film is that the viewer gains insight into the type of film Guido (Marcello at his most Mastroianni) is going to make--a dystopian sci-fi epic with a launching pad set worthy of a surreal production of Sondheim's "Company."

                               It comes as no surprise that Piero Gheradi's costumes won the Oscar for Best Black And White Costume Design for 1963.   And the film won Best Foreign Film.

                               To think when I was a child such films were considered "dirty."  The visuals, and Fellin's use of geometrics and textures is inspired, as is his use of women--not just anorexic looking models, but plus sized, curvy ones.

                                While there are some sad moments--Guido and Lusa, Guido and his parents--the film literally ends as a circular celebration of life.  I cannot wait to see this on the screen.

                                    Those having never seen it at all, like me, it is time you did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!