Thursday Movie Picks-Folk/Urban Legend

 

Wandering Through The Shelves picked one of my favourites because I love folk legends whether it be Dracula, Werewolves or, my favourite, Fairy Tales especially the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. They were 2 German brothers who went all over Europe, mainly Germany and Austria, picking up the old folk tales from the people who kept the oral history going. I bet there is some basis of truth in each tale especially the way the bad witches were dealt with like being burned at the stake or wearing red hot iron shoes to dance at Snow White's wedding (I read that when I was a kid and thought, "Good, she was bad."). I love the original Cinderella name was actually Cinderslut. So here are my 3...

1. LA BELLE ET LA BETTE-1946

OK, I know, I know, I picked this more than once but I had to choose it again because it just fits so beautifully. This IS the best rendition of Beauty and the Beast even though I like the animated one but, let's face it, it is Disneyfied. The Story goes that a merchant, losing his ships, is coming home bereft when he remembers that all his youngest daughter wants is a rose. He plucks a rose only for a beast to come forth demanding the man be killed. The man begs for his life and the only thing the Beast will do is accept on condition he send his youngest daughter to him. The man accepts and when he gets home he tells his daughters of the travels. The 2 older daughters are spoiled and idiotic but the youngest is beautiful both inside and out. When she learns what her father promised, she goes to the beast despite her father pleading not to. From that night she arrives onward, the beast asks her the same question, "Will you marry me?" To say Jean Cocteau, the director and core to this film, created a classic is an understatement. The whole picture feels dream like yet sumptuous from the beautiful chateau (Chateau De La Roche Courbon), the food and the fashion which was created by the fashion houses in Paris like Cardin. I just love this film...can ya tell?

2. THE BROTHERS' GRIMM-2005

I do love Terry Gillium movies (I could have done all of his films here, oh well, next time) and this is one that is not considered one of his best but I enjoy it and have watched it more than once. It stars Matt Damon and the great Heath Ledger (I still miss him) as the 2 brothers who are charlatans preying on the ignorant townsfolk who believe in fairy tales. The brothers create the bad demon and then come in a save the day...for money of course. When they come to another town, they notice there are not that many children around and soon learn that not all seems to be ...real, or is it? They decide to find the children and come to the centre of the forest where just about every Grimm Fairy Tale comes into play in this film. I love the banter between the 2  brothers, the make up and the story line even if it misses here and there. It is not really scary even if it has parts that make you sit on the edge. It is worth having a look.

3. HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS-2013

OK, this is stupid. I will say that right now..it is dumb but, for some reason, I found it enjoyable despite cutting heads off, stake burnings and all the other fun inquisition stuff.  I watched it just in the past year because, well, nothing better was on and I thought I would give it a go. Hansel and Gretel are a kick ass brother and sister team who kill witches and are damn good at it. In the day and age of  the middle ages, Gretel wears some form fitting leather outfit and Hansel (Hansel??...Hansel??) looks quite cool because he is played by Jeremy Renner after all (be still my heart). They speak like we do today (hahahaaa) and have machine guns(WTF?). Despite this, I enjoyed the banter, the good witch vs bad witch and the look of the film. It is not that scary at all even though there is some good make up with the bad witches oh, and the decapitations. 

Hopefully, my surgery went well and I will be coming home today with some good pain pills and a nice comfy spot to watch TV, read and walk around every day to gain strength. I hope this is the end  of our surgeries but to add a cherry on the top, Saturday our washing machine broke down. Thankfully, we have a great place that will come to fix it. 

Which 3 folk or Urban legend movies can you come up with and they don't have to be scary. 

For your amusement...

Weekly Song Challenge

 

Well, I should be in the hospital recuperating now and...maybe....I can look at my blog. I hope so and i hope I have good pain killers:). The week Jingle, Jangle, Jungle has chosen 3 good themes and here they are:

A SONG ABOUT A CHEATER OR CHEATING

A SONG WITH KISS IN THE TITLE

A SONG WITH FATHER OR DAD IN THE TITLE

1. WHY DON'T YOU DO RIGHT SUNG BY JULIE LONDON-1961

I remember Julie London from the TV show "Emergency" and had no clue about her great musical history and what a vixen she was. She exudes sexy allure without it being slutty unlike Marilyn Monroe, for example. I think this guy is cheating her out of money by gambling and that is a form of cheating in my book. This song was written in 1936 by "Kansas Joe" McCoy and Herb Morand.

2. KISS SUNG BY MARILYN MONROE-1953

Oh Marilyn and your shenanigans! This is from the campy, but great, film "Niagara" filmed right at Niagara Falls where Marilyn plays a bad girl married to an unstable Joseph Cotton but getting her kicks with some other chap. She and her paramour decide to off her hapless husband under the noses of a newlywed couple who can't seem to get away from these 2 nuts. To drive her husband crazy, Marilyn saunters into this fun group and starts singing "Kiss". It does drive men wild:) This song was written for the movie by Haven Gillespie and Lionel Newman.

3. MY HEART BELONGS TO DADDY SUNG BY EARTHA KITT-1953

This song was written by Col Porter back in 1938 and made famous by Mary Martin (Larry Hagman's mom) as she does a little strip tease. This has nothing to do with sweet dad or father but everything to do with a sugar daddy like we see in many Hollywood marriages(um..Dick Van Dyke, Tony Randall). I immediately thought of Eartha Kitt who is brilliant at singing these types of songs without it making it sound cheap and lurid. I love it. 

So which 3 would you choose?

Wandering Through The Shelves: Halloween Edition-School

 

October is upon us and it is still warm outside and we have yet to put the heat on! Hubby is done with his surgeries and mine is coming this Tuesday right after our Canadian Thanksgiving. To be honest I am glad September is over and done with. 

To me, school has always been horrifying:) I never liked school because of being severely bullied but I was never an A student. I still shudder when I see Back To School commercials or hear about tests...blecch. It is not beyond reason that many horror movies were made at school, with many, too stupid to watch. We all know the teens that all get together in one form or another only to be picked off one by one. The horny cheerleader and her football dumbnut, having sex somewhere, get it first followed by a goof you can't wait to get bludgeoned. You have the nerd who often dies as well followed by the token African American. This leaves sensible girl and guy, who is a nice guy, to survive. Sometimes the guy bites the dust before the girl flees and runs, on the main road, crying and screaming and tripping. The murderer wears some mask and is so slow that a turtle can fly past him but not the gal. Oh I do go on....anyway, Wandering Through The Shelves is the host of this weekly series and you should check it out and see all the other choices. Here are my 3...

1. I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF-1957

I tried to find a regular clip using blog youtube but I only found the clip above. It's still pretty cool and shows Michael Landon before Bonanza and Little House On The Prairie. This is a fun flick, one of many done in the 1950s and a bit better than many. I found the special effects pretty cool and those teeth! Michael Landon plays a misunderstood teen (a la James Dean) who gets more than he bargained for when he is bitten by a werewolf and now he becomes one himself. He terrorizes the school but not before you see him in class, gym and listening to the hip songs. 

2. SATAN'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS-1973

I couldn't upload a video and there are not that many I could find anyway. I haven't seen this since I was a young girl of 10 or so. There were some good and some campy movies that came out back in the day and this is a good, campy film that also stars Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd who were on Charlie's Angels. The actual star is Pamela Franklin who does not believe her sister committed suicide and wants to get to the bottom of this. She finds out her sister's sorority is not the squeaky clean image it portrays to be but no one seems to believe her not even the super nice teacher. It is creepy to say the least and I have to watch this again one day.

3. FRIGHT NIGHT-1985

This is a great comedy horror film and much better than the remake. Of course, most of these actors belong to "What the hell happened to them" spot but they are great in their roles. William Ragsdale is a high school student who loves his girlfriend, played by Amanda Bearse(she was on Married With Children) or would love to get into her pants. He also loves watching the campy horror show "Fright Night" with its host, Peter Vincent, introducing the campy movies. Vincent is played hilariously by the great Roddy McDowell who must have watched a few Roger Corman horror films plus the Dracula flicks starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing so he could get his part done just right. Well, good ole Charley Brewster (Ragsdale)gets sidetracked by what he sees next door. He soon learns that all is not right when Jerry Dandridge, played by the sexy Chris Sarandon, and his manservant move in and seem to be moving bodies out. When Charley notices fangs on Jerry who is ready to sink his teeth into a girl, Charley knows he is facing trouble. With Amy and his nerdy sidekick Eddy, he tries to prove Jerry is a vampire even bringing Peter Vincent into his scheme. They go along with him but Peter has a change of heart when he notices Jerry casts no reflection. Very funny but also scary with some great make-up that stands the test of time. It truly is worthy to see. 

So which Halloween school flicks would you choose? 

 

Weekly Song Challenge

 

Late again...story of my life. The good news is that Hubby had his stint taken out on Monday and he is done with his surgeries. He is still peeing out small kidney stones but that is a good thing plus he has no more pain or blood. He is taking it easy...well, for him but I have been telling him not to lift things. His hernia is healing and he is a fast healer which is great. One thing, for all you guys out there...he was not given any anaesthetic when they took the stint out. He asked the doctor how bad the pain level is between 1 to 10 and the doctor replied about a 3. Well, it only was a few seconds but, hubby said he actually went blind for a few seconds...literally. He thinks he was close to passing out from the  pain  when they yanked the stint out from his wee wee. Yuck.

On a brighter note...let's talk music and Jingle, Jangle, Jungle has 3 new themes for this week. I enjoy reading all your comments and love the picks you choose and I do my best to listen to all of them but I am sorry I have not replied. I went for my pre-op yesterday and soon will be my operation. Now, here are the 3 themes:

A SONG WITH LOVE IN THE TITLE

A SONG WITH EYE OR EYES IN THE TITLE

A SONG WITH RIDE IN THE TITLE

1. LOVE IS IN THE AIR SUNG BY JOHN PAUL YOUNG-1978

I think this is just a nice song..a bit Disco, but much better than most of the dreck that comes out today. This song was written by George E Young (no relation to the singer) and Harry Vanda (who knew?!)  It's the first song that popped into my head and that song is what we need right now.

2. ANGEL EYES SUNG BY ABBA-1978

Of course, I will choose ABBA this week because it is a great song that was on their Voulez-Vous album and tour. Beware this man's eyes because they will betray you. We've all been there where we think they are great only to be betrayed by the a-hole. It happens to men too..many times. I still wished I could have seen ABBA on their Voulez-Vous tour.

3. RIDE MY SEE-SAW SUNG BY THE MOODY BLUES-1968

Of course, I will choose The Moody Blues whenever I get a chance. I need to choose from my favourites this week and this is a good one. I have this album and this song, written by John Lodge,  was a big hit back in the day. 

I plan to have my posts written up for at least the next 2 weeks since I will be recuperating. Have a great day!

Thursday Movie Picks: TV Edition-Non-English

 

Ughh...not liking this theme, to be frank as I have no clue...sorry. I will check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see what everyone else has chosen and, I bet, there will be a lot of Japanese anime, Just so you know. Hubby has had his 2 operations and is now resting as best as he can. On Monday he gets the sting removed, the next day I go for my pre-op and then comes mine. Anyhoo, I had fun this week with my own twist on this theme...

1 "FRIENDS" (1994-2004) IN GERMAN

2. "FRIENDS" IN ITALIAN

3. "FRIENDS" IN FRENCH

When I was in Europe some shows came on, dubbed, in the language of the country we were in, and it was always fun watching these shows. My favourite was watching Bonanza in German which is a hoot which is why Benny Hill parodied it so well. Unfortunately, I can't find it on Youtube but it is hilarious. ("Was Ist Los, Pa" Hoss (Benny) speaking to Ben Cartwright).

So, tell me, which language (not English) would you prefer to listen to when watching Friends?

Weekly Song Challenge

 

I know, I'm late again but I have to contact Employment Insurance, the plumbers, I saw a friend, which was really nice, take care of my husband who was dealing with the pain from his kidney stone surgery, talk to a nurse for my own pre-op and bring my husband for his hernia surgery which was yesterday. His surgery went well and he is now convalescing. It is very difficult to keep a man with severe ADHD from doing anything. I have to write these up way ahead of time and I plan on doing that. Now on with the show..er...music.

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle has given us 3 more themes to find some great music.

 A SONG WITH PLEASE IN THE TITLE

A PROTEST SONG

A SONG WITH FALL IN THE TITLE

1. PLEASE, PLEASE ME SUNG BY THE BEATLES-1963

Of course, this was the first song that came into my head and it's a good early song by the Beatles who became a huge sensation around this time before coming to North America. I believe this was the name of their first album, but correct me if I am wrong.

2. THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND SUNG BY PETER, PAUL AND MARY-1963

This is the version I first heard from this great trio who harmonize so well. It was written by Woody Guthrie back in 1940 because he was sick of hearing Kate Smith belt out "America The Beautiful." Obviously this song got a life of its own as it was written just before the States entered WW2 plus had just been through the great depression so Woody, seeing the plight of the average Joe and Joanie, decided to make his own mark. 

3. LET'S DO IT, LET'S FALL IN LOVE SUNG BY PEGGY LEE-1941

I know, it does not start with "birds do it" or "Bees do it" but the original, very offensive lyrics at the beginning at a time when it was thought it was OK to say these words. Take it as a history lesson and realize Peggy Lee and many others would be offended by the lyrics later...hell, I bet Cole Porter, who wrote the song, would have liked the changes done later. I know it more with the birds and bees but I am a stickler for history, good and bad...and this is bad but I hate censorship because, how can we learn what is right and what is wrong if we censor? Porter wrote this song in 1928 for the Broadway hit called "Paris". It has been sung by many, many others over the years but I like Peggy Lee's performance. 

Sorry, again, for being late. Which songs come to your mind?

Thursday Movie Picks-Femme Fatales

 

Hi Everyone, I was late with my music post yesterday because I am lost and a bit down. I read all your posts last week and my heart brims with the concern, comments and uplifting comments you all gave. I can't retire because I am not getting a ton of money. 2 years ago, I had to be "laid off" from my Regional Niagara job so I could be hired by the Toronto agency. At that time, I thought I would get a large amount only to find out that, since they are a non profit agency, there was a cap so I got the same as everyone else(2 others). I am getting almost the same amount as I got 2 years ago and with the surgeries coming up, especially mine, I just signed the forms. Anger and resentment does not help in any situation especially ones' own health. If my hubby could work and was not on a pension, I was not going for surgery, I may have fought for more but, in the end, after speaking to a lawyer, the cost of the lawyer would take the bulk of it so...I need to move forward.

Oh, hubby had his kidney stone operation and he is good. When he pees it feels like glass shards but that is lessening plus he is relaxing and resting! Next Tuesday is his hernia operation... also day surgery(wow!) and I know he will be more incapacitated with this one. Now let's talk movies...

This is another biggie because there are loads of Femme Fatales out there (Actually my Gun Crazy gal, Peggy Cummins would have been perfect as a Femme Fatale). I had a tough time choosing 3 so it will be interesting what Wandering Through The Shelves, the guru,  and everyone else will pick. Here are my 3...

1. SCARLET STREET-1945

Joan Bennett played the Femme Fatale in a unique way, she never portrayed herself as a true lady but as the slovenly, high-maintenance broad that the poor helpless hack, played by Edward G Robinson, falls in love with. He has worked as a trusted bank clerk for over 25 years receiving a nice banquet and watch from his employers and employees before running into this sexy bitch. He is nagged and unloved by his wife, but his one escape is his painting. He paints at the apartment he sets up for Miss. Priss and when someone sees the painting, her real boyfriend, says that Kitty painted it. Sad Sack Robinson goes along with it but how long can this go on? Fritz lang(The director) paints(hahahaa) a great film forever changing Ms. Bennett's acting from blonde innocent to the exact opposite. Poor Joan was in a major scandal herself when her director/producer husband, Walter Wanger, shot her agent, Jennings Lang, in the nuts because he thought they were having an affair. Her career was really hurt by this unfortunately. 

2. THE KILLERS-1946

Who could stay away from Ava Gardener? Talk about a Femme Fatale who drove her husband, Frank Sinatra, to try to commit suicide to having many lovers including Howard Hughes and many Spanish matadors. She was a free spirit and she is one of my favs to be honest. Ok, on to the movie...this is the film debut of Burt Lancaster who is known as The Swede, an ex-boxer, who gets embroiled in the double dealings of mob people and, yes, good ole Ava. Gosh, her name is also "Kitty" and, when Burt sees her, thinking with the wrong head, promptly dumps his good girlfriend to hook up with this cooing meanie in a sleek black satin dress. No film Noir would be right without plot twists galore. It is taught, well acted and established Lancaster as a major actor. Well worth seeing and one that Ernest Hemingway, who wrote the short story,  was quite happy with. He generally hated the Hollywood interpretations of his written works but he loved Ava Gardner and found her the perfect Hemingway heroine.

3. OUT OF THE PAST-1947

There was a remake done in the 1980s with Jeff Bridges, James Woods and Rachel Ward called, "Against All Odds"..forget that one (except the song is good by Phil Collins..not my fav, but good) and stick with this original. Jane Greer plays the Femme Fatale (she was in the remake too but not the Femme Fatale as that would be too weird). Robert Mitchum plays the sad sack who has started over in a small town and has a wonderful girlfriend but his past comes out and he explains, in a backstory, what went on in his life. He was asked to find this rich dude's girlfriend. The rich dude is Kirk Douglas in only his second film and was not well known. of course, this bad gal makes Mitchum's head do a double take (think which head I am talking about) and he goes with her, the money she stole and double crosses her boyfriend. Now cut to present day, Mitchum knows he is going into a trap, but he must see things through. This is a great Noir film with many twists and turns leaving you wanting more. It is well worth a look. 

Which Femme Fatale films would you choose and for fun...whom would you abscond with (if you had no loving wife/girlfriend with you). Hey even the women can get in on this. I would choose Ava. 

                                                         Joan Bennett                                             

Ava Gardner

Jane Greer