Thursday Movie Picks-TV-Non English Shows

Ya....I got nuttin! This is one I just don’t have unless I count Benny Hill as Hoss Cartwright from Bonanza, speaking German, which is quite funny. I have also seen some fleeting moments of some Spanish soap operas which looked funny. Since it is Easter and I have been absent in visiting( sorry Pat, Jo, Rick, and everyone else:)), this little clip is for all of you and I hope you watch this:) I am still writing my quick posts for the A to Z challenge which is about ....movies.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Thursday Movie Picks- Nostalgia

I have picked 3 newer films for once...ok newer in my book. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see what nostalgia films they chose. Here are my 3...

1. PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM- 1972

I am not a huge Woody Allen fan especially since his private life has been made public but I am looking at the film, not the person even though I believe we see his issues played out on screen. Woody plays a loser with women who is literally haunted by his ex wife who continues to harass him.  He gets his strength from the ghost of Humphrey Bogart who is dressed like the character from Casablanca, Allen's favourite film. He strikes out with women on a regular basis and can only let his guard down with the wife of his best friend (played by his then paramour Diane Keaton) and soon realizes he loves her. The film is funny, full of the normal Woody Allen anxiety but before he became insufferable and Allen plays loving tribute not only to Bogart but to one of the best films ever made, Casablanca. I do recommend this film despite Allen.

2.  PLEASANTVILLE-1998

A beautiful film which uses black and white and colour to amazing effect. A young goofy kid loves to watch this old 1950s tv show which reminds me of Ozzie and Harriet and, one day, is given the chance to truly visit this place with the help of Don Knotts. He enters this place along with his popular sister who doesn’t care at all about studying. At first, the young man is so happy being there but soon he notices that it is unrealistic and quite bland. Through his eyes, others become open to more than just Gee Whiz  thinking which creates a much darker side to happy America. An excellent story on prejudice, love, awakening, race, and hate. Truly worth seeing

3. THE ARTIST-2011

Many people seemed to dislike this film and I just don’t understand why because I find it beautiful, sad and a worthy homage to the silent era when it was changing to sound. A man, who is a huge star, meets an up and coming starlet whom he helps attain stardom. Like the films,  A Star is Born, as her star shines, his lessens and he soon loses almost everything except for his agent and his trusty dog. This dog reminds me of that famous dog of the 1930s - Asta. Asta could do anything just like this dog who almost stole this film and one understands why, when one watches this movie. I love the scene when he has a nightmare and hears all the sounds but I also love the ending. I think it speaks beautifully to the classic silent era and the hard times many stars suffered when sound came in.

What are your 3?

What Am I doing??

I was himming and hawing whether to participate in this challenge since I seem to be having a tough time keeping up now, but I am going for it. This is actually a fun challenge where you can write about anything you wish, keeping it short since many people join in. One day I will break with film...but not yet. My reveal theme is...big surprise...movies! I am certain you might be already bored with it but I will try to create something new. I was thinking about writing about my mom and dad but I am too emotional still. I hope I keep up because I only have my I Pad for home. Why? My hubby spilled coffee all over the lap top and killed it! Thankfully the hard drive is ok but before I could say, see if it will dry out, he threw the laptop out! He is never touching my Ipad!! The bad part is the the blog does not work on my I pad so I have to make my posts at work (Shhh). The A to Z challenge is just that...a big challenge but it is fun to read what everyone is interested in and see who enjoyed my little scribblings.

Thursday Movie Picks- Childhood Favourites

This is a fun week since I love movies ( no kiddin') but, when I was young, we had to wait for a movie to come on TV or go to see a film in the theatre. It was a great time because old movies were always shown on TV. I grew up with "Movies for a Sunday Afternoon" and, the great Canadian, Elwy Yost who hosted "Saturday Night at the Movies". Elwy showed 2 movies on a Saturday night and in between he interviewed some very famous people in the industry...I miss him and that show. This is not about Saturday morning cartoons so no cartoons for me..um...animated films. Wandering Through The Shelves is a great blog to check out and who hosts this weekly event. I’m a really weird nut and chose Movies I watched first with my dad who loved movies. My dad would be 105 as of March 14th so this is for my dad who developed my love for film.

1. KING KONG-1933

This film started it all when it comes to a big hairy ape and I am not talking about Harvey Weinstein. Sorry for insulting Mr. Kong because this ape didn’t deserve to be taken back to the big apple. My dad had us all sit down on the couch on a Sunday at noon to watch King Kong since he was 20 when this movie came out and it must have blown his mind the way we were blown away with Jurassic Park. From that beginning, I was hooked on movies because it scared the hell out of me. We know the plot where a starving actress during the Great Depression is told she will be made a star by a director known for his exotic locale films. He takes her on board ship where she is considered bad luck by the crew but they venture to Skull Island. They find the natives who love the golden haired gal and decide to take her to be the new bride of Kong. Instead of eating her, Kong falls for her and takes her to his lair with the men in hot pursuit. I loved her outfit on the ship when she first screamed her heart out and Fay Wray became famous for her scream (Love the Winnipeg, Canadian native). I was enthralled by the fight between Kong and the dinosaur and was freaked out by the giant spider in the gorge. Funny, I remember that scene so well, yet I have read that this scene is considered lost. I remember feeling sad for Kong at the end.

2. MAYTIME-1937

My dad loved Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy films and, unbelievably, they were huge stars in their day and I can see why. I doubt most of you would ever want to see their films, which is a shame, because they were big in their day and this film is considered their best. She plays an old lady who tells a young girl about when she was young and fell in love. Due to ambition and loyalty, she leaves her true love and marries the jerk only to be reunited with her one true love on the Opera stage years later. As a very young girl, needing to escape my reality of my life of abuse and bullying (school, never home), these films made me forget and I loved them and still do. My dad and I would watch and he would answer all my questions about the stars. The music is great and, yes, it is opera/operetta but how I loved the costumes, the singing and the ending which made me sigh..and I am not into typical romance flicks. My dad was a true blue Lumberman but, only later, did it strike me that this tall, rough and tough man loved the sentimental/schmaltzy films.

3. IT STARTED WITH EVE-1941

I was quite sick, with a high fever, and hallucinating so my mom had a hard time calming me down. I thought people were watching me so my dad sat beside me, made sure I was under the blankets and turned on Saturday night at the Movies. There, on the screen, was this film starring Deanna Durbin, another Winnipeg Native with a fantastic operatic voice. A young man’s father lay dying but wants to meet his son’s fiancée before he dies. The young man’s fiancée is out of town so he asks the hat check girl to play his fiancée for an hour and she agrees. No one expects that the old man, played so well by Charles Laughton, would get better so now she must continue being the young man's fiancée. It’s a sweet, funny screwball comedy showing Deanna was more than just a singing voice. I calmed down while watching this movie asking the same questions I always asked my dad about the actors.

Bonus...

4. THE GOLD RUSH-1925

I believe I talked about this film before but I have to include it since speaking with my brother, who remembered our dad laughing with tears coming down his face during the very funny cabin scene. I was laughing right along with my dad. So Charlie Chaplin plays, of course, a tramp who heads to the Yukon Gold rush. He befriends a big man and they decide to work together to strike it rich. Throw in a cabin on the edge of a cliff, starvation(the shoe eating scene) and a gal the tramp falls for and you have a very funny comedy. Yes, it is silent but you could watch this movie with your own music and just laugh at the antics.

I had my dad for 23 years before he died of cancer and he has been gone for 30 years come April 30th but the length of time doesn't matter, only the quality. This blog post is for him and he would have loved to be part of this. Just think, my dad would have seen The Gold Rush in the movie house, as he used to call it, since he was 12 years old at that time.

Thursday Movie Picks-One Day

So I am assuming the events take place in One day or evening so I went with that assumption and decided to take a disastrous route. Head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to find out what the other people chose. Now, onto my 3...

1. AIRPORT-1970

I love these disaster movies especially the ones from the 1970s because they were star studded extravaganzas and often quite hilarious. This was the first Airport film that began a series with big name actors...and George Kennedy who was in all the Airport films. This film stars Burt Lancaster on the ground trying to deal with the knowledge that a nut with a bomb is on an airplane. Dean Martin is the lead pilot and Jacqueline Bassett plays the stewardess and his love interest who are told there is a madman with a bomb on the plane and he is sitting beside a nice little old lady played by Helen Hayes who won an Oscar for her role(believe it or not). I love the music and the fun plot which heralded in the disaster movies that were big in the 70s.

2. THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE-1972

Forget the remake and watch this instead with a great cast lead by a very angry priest played by Gene Hackman...yeah...Gene Hackman..as a priest..hahahaaa. All these people are venturing from New York to Greece celebrating New Year’s on this boat and listening to Carol Lynley lip synch to a song that, I think, won best Oscar. A rogue wave comes right after midnight killing off Leslie Nielsen as the ship’s captain and turning the boat upside down. People survive but not for long since most decide to stay while a few decide to climb a Christmas tree and make their way to the engine room which is now above the water. We watch as these survivors must get through one hurdle after another.  I love watching Shelley Winters swim and save the day.

3. THE TOWERING INFERNO-1974

I hope I didn’t use the movie before but, if I did, I don’t remember so it’s new to me to use it here..um...ok then. This is one star studded nut fest with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen (sorry Steve that I gave you second billing to Paul) leading the pack. Paul Newman is the architect of this huge skyscraper who comes back from a lengthy vacation to find his building basically done. His father in law is William Holden and Holden’s daughter is played by Faye Dunaway and they are all at a huge party on the top floor, of course. Richard Chamberlain plays the jerk who decided to cut corners which leads to a fire. This fire could have easily been put out by OJ Simpson (yes, that O.J.)  but he disappears for a while just for the fire to get out of control. In enters the fire chief played by Steve McQueen who tries to save the day. Let’s see if they all make it..you know they won’t and I have to admit I love the flaming Robert Wagner and his lover bite the dust.  Hmmm, makes me sound like a bad gal.

So, what films would you pick?

So...I have a confession to make...I love fashion and all that goes with it. My friend, Marni and I, decided to have a blog about it and we began our new blog with the Oscars. You don't have to visit but if you want to, it is called https://twofriendswithapassionforfashion.blogspot.ca

The Oscars

The 2018 Oscars are now history and, as per norm, they were long but I wasn't as bored as I thought I would be. I may have been mesmerized by the beautiful Oscar set that reminded me of Art Nouveau to an undersea kingdom. It was not at all tacky like so many were in the past...which I miss because the Oscars are supposed to be tacky so they, obviously, didn't get the memo. I thought some of the presenters were great like Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Selma Hayek. They were eloquent, without being nasty, and positive yet they showed emotion from what they had to deal with in the past. Rita Moreno wore the same skirt that she wore back in 1962 when she won her Oscar... she should have kept it in the closet and Sandra Bullock decided to ruin her face with cheek implants and black eye make-up that made her eyes look like 2 pissholes in the snow. The best presenters were Maya Rudolph and Tiffany Hadish who were laugh out loud funny. By the way, the In Memorium segment missed Nanette Fabray  which I think was a crime. Without further adieu, here are my answers to the questions I raised on Friday's post but I will do the first 2 questions last.

1.  What Drug Were They On?- Roger Deakins for Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049. This man has been nominated something like 13 times before finally winning and glad he won but, it is not so much what he said but how he was on stage that made me think he just sniffed a line of coke. I might get blasted for this but he was fidgety, touching his nose often...made me think of some of the clients I see. A runner up is Frances McDormand who is being heralded for a great acceptance speech but her nervous laughter and talking made me think she keeps a big knife in her purse-cue the Psycho music.

2. Worst Win?-Remember Me song from Coco. Now, none of these songs really were that great when you think of previous songs that were nominated and won, but this song was a bit of a drag. I would have either gone for This Is Me from The Greatest Showman or Mighty River from Mudbound.

3. Best Win? -I know some will disagree but I am so happy that Gary Oldman won for his tour de force performance as Winston Churchill. He  played Churchill so well showing, not only the man's strength but the depression that often plagued the man.

4.  Best Acceptance Speech?- I almost went with Allison Janney because her first sentence was great but I went with James Ivory who I thought was eloquent and gave a touching nod to his former mate, Ismail Merchant. Oh, he won for best adapted screenplay, "Call Me By Your Name."

5. Worst Acceptance Speech?  Ya know, I can't think of anyone in particular because no one dragged on or made snide comments so overall, they were boring thanking people.

6. Who Deserved a Punch in the Face?-I hate to say this because he is Canadian, but Shane Vieau, who was part of the trio who won for Best production design for Shape of Water, is an idiot. The moron purposely had his tux made with short arms, he wore running shoes and stupid sunglasses. Take the frikken sunglasses off you Jack Nicholson wanna be. He seemed to take pleasure in showcasing his assholeness on the podium and even backstage. Not impressed!

7. Whom Do You Wish Would Win/Lose?- I was hoping for Gary Oldman to win and I got my wish and I was praying that Dunkirk would lose in the big awards area and I also got my wish. Maybe I am a bit of the old guard but I found Dunkirk overdone  and "splashy". I also thought they made a big goof when I saw a new glass building and pretty pastel coloured buildings in the background on the beach in a couple of scenes. I was ecstatic that it did not win for best score! It was loud and irritating and took away from the film in my humble opinion.

8. Rate the Host- Jimmy Kimmell did a good job overall with making jokes about all the big news of the day(s) from Trump to his turnstile staff to the sex abuse scandal that has rocked Hollywood. I could have done without him taking some of the stars across the street to surprise an audience watching a movie. Overall he was good but nothing amazing. I can also say that if I was the host, I would have stared blankly at the camera, peed myself and, feeling like I was in some horrid dream, crawl towards the exit.  Now on to fun...

9. Best Dressed- There were some that were quite stunning like Allison Janney, Ashley Judd, Octavia Spencer, Greta Gerwig and Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther and a man) but I have to give it to Jennifer Garner who looked ravishing in this dress.

I would love to wear this dress.

10. Worst Dressed-There are so many to choose from that I could not choose the worst so I need your input and will put the 3 worst here and you choose which makes you want to wretch.

I was wondering what happened to my 1991 drapes. For any who care, her name is Andra Day

Maya Randolph and Tiffany Hadish killed it as presenters-they were hilarious but Maya's outfit looked like she came prepared in case Harvey Weinstein wanted to try to grope her-I call this the chastity dress.

Her name is St. Vincent....um...yup. I have to find out what her real name actually is, maybe it's lady Bird:). Anyway, it looks like she just came from David Copperfield's show and she is trying to hide the Bird cage but one can see where she is hiding it...ghastly!

Male Honour

Adam Rippon-male figure skater decided to go all S & M on us and then forgot to put on his socks and proper shoes as they look like just nice slippers. I mean really! WTF?!

So your thoughts? How did you like Maya & Tiffany? Did anyone think Jennifer Lawrence layered on the makeup too much? Did anyone else think Jane Fonda was going to elbow Helen Mirren out of the way? Which nut would you pick as your worst dressed? Sorry for the lengthy blog post:)

Mt. Rushmore of Movies & Oscar Questions

As I peruse Blogs I follow, I came across this new blog, 2 Dollar Cinema, who, in honour of President's Day, you choose the top four of anything cinematic and explain why you chose that these 4 should be carved into some mountain, hill, sand dune, whatever... You can choose any topic from best 4 Marvel people, best fantasy character, worst stars ever, best character adapted from a book to the screen...whatever you like. Here are the rules:

And of course, the business end of this thing I'm not paying you for:

1. I'd like to have all posts done by Friday, March 2nd (where I'll create a master list, linking back to all of your, er, both of your sites), but it's cool if you finish way before that. Or later. I honestly don't mind.
2. Send me a heads up/steamy nude pic on twitter @twodollarcinema , reply in the comments below, text me, e-mail me (twodollarcinema@gmail.com), fart in my general direction, whatever you want, when you've finished, okay? That would be mighty kind of you.
3. In your post, please use the rad banner my wife designed when she should have been working.
4. Share the announcement with every single person you've ever met. Or being that we're all bloggers, you're digital friends.
5. Be awesome. And if you're here, already know that you are anyway.

Sorry for the black and white..I just copied the rules and pasted them.

Since the Oscars are on this Sunday, I decided to pick the top 4  film people who never won an Oscar and getting an Oscar before you die doesn't count:)

1. ALFRED HITCHCOCK

Yup, the Master of Suspense, considered one of the best directors ever and copied many times over, has never won an Oscar. We all know the rotund profile of this man from his great tv series and his voice which is unmistakable when you hear it. He has directed such classics as Rebecca, Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, North By Northwest, Psycho...yup no win for this brilliant man.

2. CARY GRANT

He was suave, sophisticated, well-dressed with another great voice that many mimic. He has starred in many great films that could not have succeeded if not for his nuanced performances. He could do comedy, like Arsenic and Old Lace, to drama like None but the Lonely Heart and Penny Serenade and created great, if not complex characters. It looked easy for him to move about the screen and he had no problem looking goofy probably from his days in the circus. The problem is that he was never taken seriously as an actor because of his self-effacing charm and that is a shame.

3.  DEBORAH KERR

Always a bridesmaid in a horrid sea green taffeta dress and never a white meringue. This regal lady was often nominated but never won and she lent an air of sophistication but with a lot of layers hidden on that patrician face of hers. She could also display her fiery red hair hotness when it called for from the great film Black Narcissus where she was not even nominated to Heaven Knows Mr. Alison displaying hidden emotions of love and lust with her frequent co-star, Robert Mitchum...did I tell you she plays a nun in both films. For Pete's sake, she lost to Elizabeth Taylor who won for a wretched flick called Butterfield 8 (Liz even hated this movie) because Liz almost died of pneumonia. We know Ms. Kerr best for The King and I and An Affair To Remember.

4. BARBARA STANWYCK

Talk about sass and not giving a rat's ass! This is one dame who loved acting, never had any airs and would rather talk to the camera guys and grips than her fellow actors. She gave such solid performances in films like Stella Dallas, The Lady Eve, Ball of Fire and Double Indemnity but never won a thing. She could go from an outright tear jerker to screwball comedy to a nasty femme fatale. She was never a timid gal but could showcase her soft side equally with her killer look at the man she was about to devour. Heck, she made that horrid wig look good in Double Indemnity and who could forget how she exuded sex just with an anklet with the hapless twit falling for her at that moment.

Now comes my Oscar list, which I make every year, because many people always try to predict who  will win so I take a different slant. I know many of you will not watch the Oscars this Sunday but if you catch a glimpse, give me some feedback. Actually, some of these questions can be answered now. I also would like to know which film or who you think was snubbed.

1. Who was best Dressed?
2. Who was worst dressed?
3. What drug were they on?
4. What is the worst film/person to have won?
5. What or who are you happiest that they won?
6. Best Acceptance Speech?
7. Worst Acceptance Speech?
8. Who did you want to punch in the face?
9. Who do you wish will win..or lose?
10. Rate the host

Love to know what you think. Any Mt. Rushmore ideas? Watching the Oscars at all? Have a great weekend!

Thursday Movie Picks- Movies that should have won the Oscar

Since we are only a few days before the Oscars and this date was open to suggestion, I chose this theme this week I am proud to say. It will be fun to see which years people choose and which film they think should have won. Head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to find out what the other film nuts have decided should have won. Here are my choices.

1. 1941- my Winner-CITIZEN KANE

The winner was How Green Was My Valley and the other nominees were Blossoms in the Dust, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Hold Back The Dawn, The Little Foxes, The Maltese Falcon, One Foot in Heaven, Sergeant York, Suspicion.  Ok now I love How Green in my Valley but, seriously, over Citizen Kane!!?? The Maltese Falcon is better and so is The Little Foxes and High Sierra and The Lady Eve were not even nominated! I can say that Citizen Kane is not one of my personal favourites but I must recognize the importance of this film from every angle from the cinematography by the great Gregg Toland to the writing by Welles and Mankiewicz. It is somewhat based on William Randolph Hearst who was so angry that he tried, with the help of L. B. Mayor, to have all prints burned. The movie starts with the death of a great newspaper magnate who whispers “rosebud” and the newsman trying to find out what the importance is about this word. He speaks to all the man’s old colleagues and former friends and you find out about how this man rose to power but at the cost of losing his soul.

2. 1952-My Winner-SINGING IN THE RAIN

The winner was The Greatest Show on Earth( blecchhh) which I consider the worst winner ever! The other nominees being High Noon, Ivanhoe, Moulin Rouge, The Quiet Man.  Yes, I chose a film that was not even nominated and it should have won. Now, mind you, if High Noon or The Quiet Man would have won, I would be ok with that because these are excellent films in my book. In fact, I almost chose The Quiet Man because it is a true classic and hold up well even today with this romantic comedy starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara but Singing wins because it is not only a Great musical but it is a great comedy. It is a wicked satire on the Hollywood of yesteryear when Sound films were taking over the silents. Gene Kelly plays a famous star, part of a duo with his leading lady played brilliantly by Jean Hagen. Their films are all the rage but they must now make a sound film and they flounders in the most hilarious way. Even though this is a musical, I bet even Shady would like this movie especially when Cyd Charisse makes her leggy entrance. By the way, the way sound films were first filmed is accurately portrayed in this film.

3. 1994-My winner-SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

The winner was Forrest Gump with the other nominees being Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, and my winner. Forrest is ok and sweet and blah, blah but it is no where near as great as Shawshank but the title of this film hurt its chances of winning or being seen until video made it known to the average Joe. In fact, I love Ed Wood and Pricilla, Queen of the Desert more than Forrest Gump. In my humble opinion, Forrest is nice but is one of the stupid wins as every other movie mentioned is better. Pulp Fiction is not for everybody but it has more originality than Forrest. Shawshank is about an innocent man sentenced to life in prison for the killing of his wife and her lover. In prison, he meets fellow inmates with Red, played by Morgan Freeman, becoming his closest friend. The corruption and injustice he must endure is frustrating to say the least but you become enthralled with his quiet reserve. Tim Robbins should have won the Oscar over Tom Hanks but he wasn’t even nominated...a true crime in my opinion.

So which films do you feel should have won and what year did it come out? Actually which film do you feel is sorely neglected.