Might as well end the A to Z with a killer! Sorry, I know that’s bad but what can I say? 🤪 Zodiac is about the serial killer from the 60s and 70s and how a cartoonist became obsessed with this killer and catching him...which never happened unfortunately. It’s based on a true story where the killer loves to torment by sending letters to this newspaper but the letters could not be deciphered. It gets deciphered by a retired couple who love puzzles and thus cat and mouse game ensues.
It’s a bit long and could have been shortened but it is enlivened by Robert Downey Jnr as a reporter. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the obsessed cartoonist. The lawyer, played by Brian Cox, is Melvin Belli who was famous for one of the worst Star Trek Episodes, “And The Children Shall Lead.” He played Gorgan an angel to the kids but was an evil entity actually. Well, he is a lawyer...
A rom-com starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, before she Effed up her face and now looks like some freaky clown, has the 2 of them falling in love. Oops there is more to it, he runs a big chain bookstore and she owns a children’s bookstore that her mom began. They dislike each other because his big store is killing her small store and she can’t abide these box stores that hire people with no knowledge of books. Of course, they are falling in love through email. Remember when email was the only way to correspond through the computer? Hey, I remember just writing regular mail to send via the postman. He finds out early on that she is the one he is falling for but keeps it quiet so we see the antics. It’s a remake of the Ernst Lubitsch comedy, The Shop Around The Corner, which stars my favourite, James Stewart and which I still have to see!
Meg Ryan was so done, by this point, making these romantic comedies and wanted to make more serious roles which she did but....well, she is not in too many movies now. Tom Hanks likes to collect old typewriters which is the same as his character in the film.
First there were the comic books, then an animated Cartoon which I enjoyed watching so it was inevitable that a live action film and this was a huge hit that produced many sequels. Good mutants fight the bad mutants who want to destroy the fearful regular humans.
A great cast led by Patrick Stewart, Ian McLellan with Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Romijn and Halle Berry as mutants who must try to convince humans that they are not dangerous but they also fight amongst each other. It’s fun and well done and many men, boys and even some women were in ga-ga land with Rebecca Romijn who played Mystic, a blue mutant who had only her body with a few scales covering what needed to be covered. One day, Rebecca brought tequila to the set and many partook of the dangerous drink but enjoyed every moment. When Rebecca did a scene with Hugh Jackman, she threw up blue barf all over him because the blue stuff that was used to cover her body soaked into her skin..yikes!
I want to apologize for not responding to your comments but once the A to Z is finished I will have more time...famous last words. So since we are at the last Thursday of the month, it is all about TV and this is about 1 season shows. I love Freaks and Geeks but I think it will be popular this week so I chose 3 others. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to find out what the others have chosen. Here are my 3....
1. THE PRISONER-1967-1968
This is an excellent science fiction(?), cat and mouse, prison tv show starring Patrick McGoohan as #6. He was a secret agent who wanted to quit which resulted in him being sent to “the Village”, a quaint place where everything is given to the people who live there except their freedom. He can trust no one and is determined to attain his freedom despite the rogue...a big bouncy white ball that comes out of the sea and subdues anyone who tries to escape. He often matches wits with #2 a fellow inmate that changes people in most shows and has the information as to why #6 is in the village. A brilliantly written show and well acted that has gained a huge cult following with many people feeling it is Patrick McGoohan’s character from Secret Agent-another tv show he starred in and was quite successful. One quirk is that Patrick McGoohan had it written in his contract, and stopped any plots, involving a romantic interest.
2. ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR.-1993-1994
I love Bruce Campbell so, when this show came on, I had to watch and I loved it. It is a very quirky western with Sci-Fi elements placed in and just when it was getting interesting, they pulled the plug. Brisco is hired to apprehend a gang who happened to kill his famous dad. He is aided by a former rival and together they encounter strange people including some albino freak and an orb from another planet. It was a funny show, with tongue in cheek style and very fun. I would love to see this series again because it was, again, well written, nicely acted and the music was great.
3. FOREVER-2014-2015
There are some people who hated this show but I really liked it. It is about a coroner for the police dept. who helps solve cases since he has a vast knowledge of just about everything. The reason for this incredible knowledge is because he is over 200 years old and can’t die. Every time he is killed he ends up in the water naked and must get back to his place before he is found out...sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t. You learn about his past with the only person knowing about his issue is his son who is now older than he is..well, you know what I mean. I found this show engaging without the heavy handed dark plots of so many shows. I enjoyed the other characters from his geeky helper in the lab to the vivacious lead cop whom he helps and her partner-a tough jock type but who I thought was quite funny. Despite people writing in to save this show, it was yanked.
I’d be surprised if someone has not seen this delightful film made during the best year ever for movies. It’s about a young girl with her dog running away from home because of a bitch who wants Dorothy’s dog destroyed. A tornado has her come home but she gets knocked out and has one psychedelic adventure in colour! The bitch is now a witch, there are munchkins, a talking scarecrow, a tin man and a scene stealing lion. Let’s not forget opium induced sleep, a yellow brick road, a green city, flying monkeys....talk about an LSD trip. It is a brilliant film filled with great songs and a great cast that made Judy Garland a star and is seen every year, it used to be around Easter time but now, I think they play it at Christmas.
All sorts of antics happened on the set from the munchkins running amok (a movie was made about them starring Chevy Chase), Margaret Hamilton suffering severe burns when she “disappears” as the witch, Buddy Ebson almost dying from the silver dust placed on him and being replaced by Jack Haley to Judy Garland being introduced to uppers and downers so she could continue working. Oh and that snow falling in the poppy field is asbestos.
Fun anecdote- Frank Morgan, who played the great Oz, was given a coat to wear for his character by the costume dept. An employee in this dept. found the coat in a second hand store. When Frank Morgan looked inside he noticed, on the lapel, hand written was Frank L. Baum, who happened to write the books....this was Baum's actual coat!
Yes, I know it is actually National Lampoon's Vacation but I wanted to talk about this film and we all just say the vacation movies anyways. This is the first of 4 with the last one (I don't mean the remake dreck) taking place in Vegas being the weakest, in my humble opinion. Good ole Clark Griswald wants to take his family on a vacation to Wally World which he does with a few mishaps along the way..dog, Cousin Eddie, Aunt Edna.
It is low brow humour and I love every minute of it! I find it hilarious with great comic timing by Chevy Chase, Randy "Nutso" Quaid and Imogene Coca as Aunt Edna. A great cameo by John Candy near the end of the film is perfect. By the way, most of the cast members got sick from riding the roller coasters since they had to do it many times...yuck.
A huge hit when it came out with Sean Connery winning an Oscar for his portrayal of an aging cop. It's the famous true battle between Treasury Agent, Eliot Ness trying to take down bad boy Al Capone during the 1920's prohibition(what a mistake) era. In typical Hollywood fashion, many inaccuracies, but Eliot Ness really did try to bring down Al Capone.
I watched this film many years later and thought it was ok but nothing spectacular and was just waiting for certain people to die because it just seemed typical. The big scene in the train station was heralded at the time and the director said he was influenced by the famous scene in Battleship Potemkin. I watched Police Squad first and laughed but I laughed even harder when i watched the scene in The Untouchables movie. I know...I'm a sick puppy.
"I will find you, and I will kill you." A nice man, who just wants to see his daughter (who now lives in a mansion with her bitchy mom and very rich step dad), is taken advantage of by spoiled daughter and bitchy ex so daughter can go to Europe. Oh, the man is an ex-CIA operative and the daughter and her friend are promptly kidnapped by nasty men who want to sell them off into the sex slave trade. Daddy is not happy and goes after them.
Liam Neesom (hubba hubba) stars as the ex CIA operative who is not a man one wants to meet if he is not happy with you. He took this role as a fun flick so he could spend time in Paris and take up karate. He never expected it to be a hit or to be another kick ass action star. This is a film that, once the girls are taken (her friend), never lets up and you are on the edge of your seat. It is fun to watch even with the body count. It produced 2 more sequels which are ok but not as good as the first which is typical.
A man with a disturbing past, takes on the role of the caretaker with his freaky wife and disturbed son at a hotel that shuts down during the winter. It’s just the 3 of them with the wife checking on the hotel, the redrum kid travelling on his big wheel through the halls and the man writing his novel. He becomes anything but a dull boy when he starts seeing spirits who want him to come to the dark side. The kid keeps running into those spooky twins and the wife is oblivious to everything until the blood hits the elevator.
I was scared out of my booties as soon as those devil girls showed up and had to turn the channel. I finally did see it and it is a great film with so much imagery. The actors really carried the film although I felt so bad for good ole Scatman Crothers who travels to the hotel only to......see the film.
I can’t do a film series without mentioning John Wayne who stars in this fun western as a Sheriff who comes to town to make sure a nasty villain gets his due justice. He has to deal with his old friend (Dean Martin) as the drunken deputy sheriff, an old coot with no teeth, a limp and a lot of gumption (Walter Brennan), a young kid who wants to help (Ricky Nelson) and a saloon gal with nice legs but talks way too much (Angie Dickinson). If you like a western, or even don’t but like fun camaraderie, you’ll love this movie.
This was John Wayne’s and Howard Hawks’s (director) answer to High Noon because they thought it was stupid that a sheriff would ask for help so in this film, the hero doesn’t ask but gets help anyway. Oh and as a prank and an initiation, Wayne and Brennan got a pile of manure and threw Ricky Nelson into it. I love the musical interlude and hope you'll have a listen...
We all have had meltdowns some time in our lives, some serious and many others, over something stupid(put the toothpaste cap back on will ya!). These 3 picks I have chosen are a bit more serious but still great to watch. head on over to Wandering Through the Shelves to see what the others have chosen.
1. WHITE HEAT-1949
A brilliant film with an outstanding performance by James Cagney who should have won the Oscar. He plays a clever but psychopathic leader of a gang who is married but is way too dependent on his mom. The cops send a man undercover to break their operation and gain Cagney's trust. There is a prison scene where Cagney's character has a huge meltdown after hearing some news which makes you almost feel bad for the guy. The ending is a true blow out!
2. THE CAINE MUTINY-1954
Humphrey Bogart leads a great cast as the captain of a ship during World War 2. His antics makes many men on board the ship question if their captain is truly sane. It all comes to a head and a trial ensues but one still questions the sanity of the captain. Bogart's acting is stellar and you are left wondering if he was right or if he was nuts or both. A film worth seeing for sure especially when Bogart is on the witness stand.
3. FALLING DOWN-1993
An every day man, waiting in his car in a traffic jam just leaves his car and goes for a walk but along the way he creates much mayhem with gangsters, a convenience store owner and his ex-wife. Michael Douglas is the main man who we see fall down that well of anger and frustration and takes it to a whole new level. Another superb performance that, I think, was overlooked. I did not expect to truly like it all that much but I do and it keeps your hold for sure.
A woman with a grudge rides into the town called Redemption that is ruled by meanie Gene Hackman. He holds a contest about who is the quickest draw. You have a bunch of idiots combating for the prize and most get shot to death. Hahahaaaa.....pretty stupid flick but I enjoy watching it because it’s stupid as F#*&. This stars Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio and in his American film debut, Russell Crowe as a preacher but was a former henchman for Hackman.
Sharon Stone was big back then and demanded Leo and paid his fee personally so she could have him in the film and she also fought for Russell Crowe to be in the film. On the other hand, her pants were so tight she couldn’t sit down but when her stand in got more whistles from the crew, she fired her.
2 men are magicians and friends until the wife of one is killed during a performance. The one blames the other and they become bitter rivals each trying to outdo the other. It stars Christian Bale and Hugh, be still my heart, Jackman as the 2 magicians who hate each other. Scarlett Johanssen is the girl between both and Michael Caine as the trusty partner of Jackman...not Bale’s butler:). It was up for a couple a Oscars and is considered an excellent film about one-upmanship, magic, mystery and David Bowie. Yes, David Bowie, who didn’t want to do this movie until the director, Christopher Nolan, talked him into it playing Nicholas Tesla-brilliantly, I might add.
A young, very pregnant woman gives birth to a boy in a workhouse and dies. The boy grows up in that horrible place and, one day, asks for more gruel and is punished. He escapes and ends up on the streets of London where he is taken in by Fagin, the head of child thieves. The Artful Dodger takes Oliver under his wing to teach him the fine ways of being a pickpocket.
This is the best, in my opinion of all the versions I have seen (we shall not mention that musical) and it is a book I still must read. Have any of you read this book? Alec Guinness created his Fagin look by using the illustrations in the first edition of the book which caused much consternation among the Jewish community for being too anti-Semitic. David O’ Selznick lunged at Guinness when he saw him at some party. Both Israel and Egypt banned the film.....Israel was upset by how anti-Semitic it was but Egypt said it was not strong enough...ya can never win.
A divorced, pitiful wreck of a man finally gets a job as a night watchman at the Natural History Museum in New York City. Little does he know that a special Egyptian artifact lets all the objects, animals and cavemen come alive at night.
This is the best of the bunch and it’s quite funny even though some people would love to punch Ben Stiller in the face...I’m not one of them but my hubby...insert eye roll. I love Robin Williams...who doesn’t and I don’t want to know if you don't like him. When the 3 old guys ran up the stairs, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs needed a double but Dick Van Dyke did it himself.
This was the film Jane Fonda chose to make her comeback because she knew people would see it since the other star is Jennifer Lopez....yup Fonda chose this flick! It also stars Michael (who??) Vartan, known for the tv show, Alias, and the very funny Wanda Sykes and it's my guilty pleasure. This is not a great movie by any means but for some reason, I can watch it over and over again and laugh. I have to commend J-Lo for making herself look bad in one scene since she always has to give the “sexy pout” look in every photo and event you see her in.
A hobbit who has a wizard friend embarks on a journey with his best friend Sam and 2 mischievous hobbits, to bring the ring, that everyone covets, back to Mordor and throw that thing, the ring, not Gollum, back into the volcano from where it originated.
This stars Sir Ian McLellan, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo (be still my heart) Mortensen, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, talking trees, a few thousand orcs, a butterfly, a huge bird and one bad ass jerk who wants that ring.
I love these films that few thought could ever be filmed, but Peter Jackson made that possible and directed a great trilogy that won tons of Oscars but only a ton in the final instalment. Personally, "May It Be", the song sung by Enya, in the first film, should have won. Christopher Lee was the unofficial expert on the film because he read the books every year since they came out and was friends with the author, Tolkien. I also love the fact that Peter Jackson owns one of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cars and drove some of the actors around the set in New Zealand.
I am juggling the A to Z challenge, which is fun by the way and Wandering Through The Shelves about the weekly movie theme which is movies about movies. There are actually so many to choose from that I went with a classic and 2 from the 1970's. I hope you can check out what the other film people have chosen. If you want to ever do the A to Z Challenge, check it out and maybe, you can aim for next year:) Here are my 3 picks...
1. SUNSET BOULEVARD-1950
This is the film about movies and everyone should see this film at least once. If you know film history you can relate to this film even better but don't let that stop you from seeing the great Gloria Swanson give it her all as the faded, former great silent film star, Norma Desmond. I know I chose this film before but I love it so...so there:) Joe Gillis, an arrogant, penniless scriptwriter is being chased, literally, by the repo men who want to take his car. Joe ducks into a hidden driveway into a dilapidated garage and walks into a nightmare that his weak soul doesn't want to leave. He meets Norma Desmond who still lives in this old mansion and when she finds out he is a writer, she gives him a script about Salome where she will play the lead. He thinks he is using her but who is using who? There are so many great moments from the dead chimp that was her pet(hey, one famous silent star would walk down the main drag with a cheetah on a leash) to the waxworks (poor Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nielsen and H.B. Warner who were huge stars in their day). The music, especially at the end, takes your breath away...at least it does mine. Cecil B. DeMille has a guest shot in this film and he directed Swanson many times and did actually call her Little fella. I love Mae Murray's quote after seeing this film, "None of us floozies was ever that nuts."
2. THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER-1975
There were quite a few films about movies done in the 70's and this is an above average film based on the stunt pilots that flooded the film sets after the Great War. Robert Redford plays Waldo who is itching to get back to flying since the First World War ended. He teams up with an old friend of his, played by Bo Svenson and, together, they create a show for the townsfolk all around the midwest. They become Barnstormers (because these actual nuts would fly through barns) and sell tickets to see their feats of flying. Soon they pick up a gal, Susan Sarandon, to look pretty while standing out on the wing of the plane. Hollywood beckons and Redford makes a B-line for this land of plenty. This is a fun film with tragedy placed in, all done with a nostalgic air. They even create a scene with a former German pilot who now works for a film studio..which happened. Redford and Svenson did their own stunts on the planes without the benefit of any wires etc...-they were nuts!
3. NICKELODEON-1976
This tanked at the box office and I don't know why because I found it thoroughly entertaining. Peter Bogdonavich used many old anecdotes from 2 silent film directors who were around when the motion picture business began-Allan Dwan and Raoul Walsh. I love how funny it is but kept true to what really happened in those early days when Edison had his patent and didn't want anyone else to make films. The outright arson, beatings, threats etc.. that were made against other film companies, was one of the main reasons the companies went out west. When they landed in sunny California, the old film people knew they made it because they had sun, beach, mountains, snow, desert- all close. Ryan O'Neal plays one such director who takes off to California to make movies and get away from the patent men. He brings his leading man (Burt Reynolds) with him along with a smart ass kid (Tatum O-Neal) and they set up shop. Brian Keith and John Ritter also star in this little gem.
A bunch of baddies come to a hotel during a hurricane and terrorize the crippled owner, his daughter and a drifter.
The final pairing of Bogie and Bacall and Bogie and Robinson (Edward G.) since Bogie and Robinson actually made 5 films together. The film also stars Claire Trevor, who won an Oscar for her performance, and Lionel Barrymore who suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis at this time. When the actor gets up from his wheelchair and falls, I cringed knowing how much pain he must have been in and my heart went out to him as well.
An excellent film Noir with great actors, excellently directed by John Huston and filmed (Karl Freund).
Some nut with tons of money, decides to open a theme park with real cloned dinosaurs and is shocked when things don’t work out right. The palaeontologists he asked to come to the island to see his disaster in the making, get stuck out there with the nasty meat eaters along with his own grand kids. Pssst.....the lawyer bites the dust, literally.
It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Richard Attenborough and a funny Jeff Goldbloom round out the cast but the real stars are the rugged action stars with one thing on their mind, dinner. The effects are mind blowing and this movie scared the hell out of me. Spielberg gave the cast an autographed velociraptor and Laura Dern, being a sweet mommy, placed it in her kid's room near his crib. Needless to say the kid screamed...I wonder why??
A widowed man with 2 kids is trying to grow corn amid the drought, storms and crap that comes from global warming. He is also a former NASA pilot who is asked to partake in an experiment to find a habitable planet since Earth is dying. He leaves with a group much to his daughter’s angry chagrin and we learn about time, survival and a possible ghost.
This intelligent film stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Jessica Chastain and Matt Damon in a film that made me go “Whaaaaaa???” I need to watch it again because it raises many questions and because I felt like a dumb dumb. I did like the scene when they landed on a lake because I was expecting Charlton Heston fighting off some damm dirty apes.
Oh those 3 kids are back for more adventure, meeting a nice professor on the train and meeting the Dementors who are not very nice. A prisoner has escaped who killed Harry’s parents among others....or did he?? Many people love this film above the others in this series and I can understand why because it introduces Lupin (David Thewlis) and Sirius (Gary Oldman) plus those eerie Dementors and that great Petronus charm.
Gary Oldman gave Daniel Radcliffe a bass guitar and helped teach him to play since Oldman plays the guitar
3 freaky, geeky scientists, who love the paranormal, start up a business and must deal with a pencil neck, tons of ghosts, a nerdy accountant and a lovely lass who has Zuul in her fridge.
This is a very funny comedy starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver with many of the cast ad-libbing most of the lines (Dogs and cats sleeping together..Mass hysteria!) that still makes me laugh out loud. Bill Murray didn’t take any money for this role because he wanted financing to do a remake of The Razor’s Edge.
A loser husband has his rich wife kidnaped by 2 deadly but dumbass jerks, one who talks way too much and the other rarely talks. They end up in Fargo where a very pregnant cop is hot on their trail.
It won 2 Oscars for Screenplay and best actress for Frances McDormand( who won this year too) and should have won more but that is typical isn’t it? It also stars the great William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi who shines as the too talkative co-kidnapper. There was hardly any snow so they had to do a lot of filming in North Dakota and Canada and they still had to make snow.
I could have interpreted in many ways but I took it literally and went the subway route...nyuck, nyuck. I missed last week because I had Nadda but I am back on track and am writing here and my A to Z challenge which is also about movies. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to find out how the others interpreted this week’s theme. Here are my 3...
1. THE INCIDENT-1967
This is quite an engaging thriller which speaks about people’s characters and that not much has changed in 51 years. You have a couple with a young child, an older couple, a young man who is homosexual, a couple of soldiers, an African American couple and so on, who all board a subway unbeknownst that 2 hooligans will board a train and cause much havoc and fear. You watch dumbfounded yet riveted by the action and, all I can say, is the ending makes you just shake your head considering the police of today.
2. SHORT WALK TO DAYLIGHT-1972
I couldn’t remember the title of this TV movie and had to search for it for an hour because I haven’t seen it since the 1970’s. I really want to see this again because I found it scary since it takes place underground after, I think, an earthquake but I seem to recall a bomb also. James Brolin heads the cast of people on a subway car that must find a way out. I remember being freaked out by the people trying to stay away from one rail or they would be electrocuted. It was tense and well done from what I can remember.
3. TAKING OF PELHAM, ONE, TWO, THREE-1974
Screw the remake even if Denzel Washington stars in it because it is not as well done as the original. This film is very tense with the great Robert Shaw as the non emotional head of a robbery gang who take hostages on a subway demanding money. Walter Matthau plays a Transit Authority Policeman who talks to Shaw hoping to keep the hostages alive. I love this film because it’s gritty, dirty and the people are not beautiful but average. The hostage takers are not young thugs but middle aged men. A great film worth seeing and the music is excellent in creating tension.
Uther Pendragon is killed but not before he sticks his sword Excalibur into a rock. A young King Arthur is able to take the sword out and so begins the legend of King Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Morgan Le Fey and the knights of the round table into one great soap opera of fun.
I think this is the best of all the Arthur films, nominated for an Oscar for Cinematography, it features Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne in their first film roles although they are not the leads. Liam Neeson met Helen Mirren (Morgan Le Fey) on the set and they ended up living together for 4 years. Oh, the director, John Boorman, used his daughter as the wife of Uther and you see her...um...nude getting pregnant by “Uther” who didn’t even take off his armour. If I had a dad ask me to do that scene, I would have told my dad is a freaky creep.
