Thursday Movie Picks: Spoofs/Satires/Mockumentaries

So this week is a fun one and I could have gone in so many directions but I went with Mocumentaries. If you head over to Wandering Through The Shelves, you can find out what others have chosen. Here are my 3...

1. A HARD DAY’S NIGHT-1964

This is a great film that everyone should see because it’s as much a mockumentary as a documentary on the, arguably, the best band called The Beatles. We watch these fab 4 deal with their crazy fans, each other, and Paul's nutty grandfather all while listening to some great music. I find this one gem of a film with the Fab 4 not bad in acting at all.

2. BEST IN SHOW-2000

I love this mockumentary starring a cast of great comedians like Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Jane Lynch, Harry Shearer and the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge. You meet a bunch of couples who each own their own dog that they are bringing to the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show to win Best in Show. You get to see the very uptight  couple, the uber gay couple, the sportsman, the gold digger married to a very old man, and the married couple where she keeps meeting old lovers but she only has eyes for her husband who, literally, has 2 left feet. If you have ever watched a dog show, you know they have this dog show stuff down pat. Sometimes, we even look like our dogs except I hope I don’t look like my Wallace. First, he is a boy and second, he is kind of...lumpy and I don’t think I am lumpy..not much anyway.

3.  A MIGHTY WIND-2003

This stars the exact same group of people as Best in Show and they pulled it off again with it being just as funny as Best In Show except, this time, they are hitting a home run with the folk singers from the 1960s who decide to come together after the death of their friend. Guess what? They actually can all sing. Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean are in This is Spinal Tap(I have not seen this yet) and would appear on Saturday Night Live as folk singers. Anyways, we listen to their trials and tribulations as well as wonder if the loving team (played by Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara) who fell apart years ago with her marrying someone else and he ending up in a sanitarium, will be able to play their big hit from back in the day(whoo-long sentence there..it's the German in me). Eugene Levy was excellent in his role and so funny yet you feel for him in this very funny film. By the way, even though Best in Show was co-written by Eugene Levy and Christopher Guest (who also directed and wrote the songs), the films were mostly improvised.

Which 3 would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks:Seven Deadly Sins-Gluttony

The next deadly sin...gluttony, which we are all guilty of when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner and chocolate. Ok, maybe I am the chocolate glutton which is why I try not to have chocolate in the house. I have to admit I had a tough time this week since I already used Henry the 8th, played by Charles Laughton and Tom Jones with Albert Finney but I think I chose 3 that work. It will be interesting to see what the others will choose over at the brainchild, Wandering Through The Shelves. Here are my 3...

1. WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY-1971

Forget the Johnny Depp creepy flick and enjoy this one despite the creepy oompa-loompas. I had read that the studio thought the Oompa-Loompas were going to be a hit with kids so they put out dolls etc... only for it to tank..because they were creepy. Ok, a sweet kid, who is poor but happy, would love to get one of 5 tickets hidden in the chocolate bars placed all around the country. When the 5 lucky kids have the golden ticket they get a tour of the Willy Wonka factory. 4 of the kids are mean, entitled, nasty brats who love to eat whatever they can get their hands on. Well, the sweet boy gets a ticket and asks his granddad to go with him to the factory. There they meet the very odd Willy Wonka, played perfectly by Gene Wilder, and they, with the 4 brats and their parents, embark on a tour of the factory where each kid can’t help but gorge on sweets leading to unhappy events. It’s a weird movie that I haven’t seen in years and it’s not a favourite of mine but I will give it another chance to see if I like it better now even though I love Gene Wilder.

2. MONTY PYTHON AND THE MEANING OF LIFE-1983

Oh how I love Monty Python because, to me, they are brilliant in their absurdity. There is intelligence  to everything they do and this is one I found hilarious when I saw it in the theatre starting with the Song,”Every Sperm is Sacred” while the Catholic couple keep pushing out kids. This film has a series of skits trying to explain the meaning of life from the skit I just mentioned to Death coming to fetch people who ate bad fish( except one who didn’t but death told her to be quiet). The most famous scene and, most disgusting, is the Mr. Creosote skit. This skit is my least favourite but it fits the bill for gluttony. Mr. Creosote is an immensely obese, rude, disgusting man who comes to a restaurant and proceeds to eat and vomit (bring me a bucket!). When he is finally asked if he wants a "wafer thin mint", he accepts and promptly explodes. I love this film except for this scene even though it is the most famous.

3. CHOCOLAT-2000

This is a really nice film that takes place in a small French village run by a very uptight mayor and the citizens seem unhappy until a young woman and her daughter come to town. This lady opens up a chocolate store and she seems to know exactly what each person needs in her chocolate choices. This decadence does not go over with the mayor who tries to do everything he can to close up her shop. Little does she know that he wishes to gorge himself on her chocolate. This is a nice little gem of a film that makes you forget the nasty days out there.

Which 3 would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks:TV Edition-Romance

Oh, I am not into gushy-ooshy romance but this is the final end before we embark into March. Wandering through the Shelves decided to end this month with romance on TV. I have picked 3 I think are pretty good and here they are....

1. BRIDGET LOVES BERNIE- 1972-1973

Probably most of you don’t even know this show at all but it was and is the only top rated tv show to be cancelled despite the top ratings. Why? Major controversy from the, believe it or not, the Jewish sects who took a major affront to this tv show to the point where bomb threats were made on the show. The show was about a Catholic upper crust woman, who is a teacher, meets a working class cabbie, played by David Birney, who is Jewish. They fall in love and marry but to the disdain of both parents who don’t want to see that their kid's love seems to conquer all. Alas, the network capitulated and cancelled the show. Romantically, David Birney and Meredith Baxter fell in love and married after the show ended, had 3 Children and starred on other shows like Family Ties starring Meredith Baxter Birney. Oh...then they split up, she came out to say he physically and emotionally abused her which he has vehemently denied. She is now very happy living with her current partner, coming out as gay.... who knew? And good for her.

2. MOONLIGHTING-1985-1989

I love this show..love and wish it would come back in reruns because it was smart, witty, original, funny and sophisticated often paying homage to the great films of yesteryear. It stars Cybill Shepherd as a down on her luck former top model who only has this detective agency left. She is persuaded by the detective to come in and help run it only to find out that they often bicker. The detective in question was Bruce Willis when he still had some hair and thought he could sing. Their witty repartee was so much fun to watch as they traded barbs even as they were falling for each other, reluctantly. It lost a little heat nearer the end but it still is gold in my books. It work quite well because Willis and Shepherd didn’t care for each other because Shepherd thought she was the next Sarah Bernhardt and felt she was a big star...so did Willis for that matter.

3. AS TIME GOES BY-1992-2005

I love this British TV Show that starred Dame Judy Dench and Geoffrey Palmer as 2 older people who happen to meet up again quite by accident after 40 years. You find out that, during the Korean War when she was a nurse and he was a soldier, they had a steamy love affair only to part due to letters not being delivered. They each carried on their own life with Palmer marrying, living in Kenya and then divorcing his wife. Dench married, had a daughter and became a widow only to start a secretary business. This show had a first run of a few years and then a few specials only to have a couple more seasons later on. You love how these 2 people become reacquainted and fall in love all over again being surrounded by her daughter, the head secretary and the millionaire book publisher of Lionel’s book about Kenya. You meet Lionel’s kooky dad and his girlfriend as well as Jean's sister in law and her spaced out dentist husband. This is a gem of a show and worth watching.

What are your 3?

Thursday Movie Picks-Love in the Tech Age

Love is all around from music, books, film and real life but there are so many versions of love that it’s hard to figure them all out. This week, at Wandering Through The Shelves, it is about Love in the Tech Age and I had to think about this one for a while but I think I chose 3 that work and here they are...

1.  STAR WARS-1977

Friends can love each other deeply and nothing speaks love of friendship in the tech age than R2D2 and C3PO. It is with little wonder that George Lucas was inspired by the great friendship team of Laurel & Hardy( my dad’s favourite comedy duo). Laurel & Hardy were tied to the hip and Hardy would always complain and blame Laurel...sound familiar? These 2 robots almost stole the picture because they were funny, endearing and loving as only 2 dear friends could be.  We know the plot of this great film but no one thinks that the best love story is between these 2 robots.

2. YOU’VE GOT MAIL-1998

Oh, this tech love story sounds like a relic nowadays but it still fits since this involves computers. This is a remake of The Shop Around The Corner with James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan and In The Good Ole Summertime, a musical remake with Judy Garland and Van Johnson. This film stars Tom Hanks as a big chain bookstore owner who is despised by a small children’s bookstore owner played by Meg Ryan and they often argue. Unbeknownst to both, they are “pen pals”  who discuss their problems specifically with the jerk/jerkess that is irritating the hell out of them. It’s a nice little romance movie made better by the acting of Hanks and Ryan even though I found her annoying in this flick. I prefer the original and the musical over this one.

3. A. I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-2001

This is an under-rated gem of a film with a heartbreaking performance by Haley Joel Osment as a young robot who can feel love and only wants to be loved. He is with human parents whose son is not expected to ever come out of his coma. The mother enacts the human emotion from her robot son who loves to have a mom. This is cut short when their human son regains consciousness and comes home only to become jealous of his robot brother. He makes sure the robot brother is blamed for something the human son instigated and the parents agree to send the robot boy away to be demolished only the mother can’t do it so she lets robotboy off in the woods and leaves. The robot boy wants to become human and goes in search of the blue fairy to make him human going on an adventure that is equally thrilling and dangerous. It was not widely received when it came out but I thought it was brilliant and shows how much a boy just wants to be loved.

Which 3 films would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks-Meet Cute

Ahhh, cute, you either go awwwww or ewwwww and it depends on what each like as cute. Personally, seeing a baby full of cake all over its face, is messy and gross, not cute. Parents thinking their kids taking a dump is cute, is not cute. If that was cute, we would be gooing over grandpa taking a dump when we visit him in the old folks home and we don’t....at least I hope not. I have to say it will be a fun week to see what everyone will choose as cute for this week’s theme over at Wandering Through The Shelves. Here are my 3...

1. THE LITTLE PRINCESS-1939

I had to choose a Shirley Temple film because she is the epitome of cuteness and was THE biggest star in the 1930s ahead of Gable, Garbo, Tracy, Grant...all of them and she was exceptionally talented who could recite lines, dance, sing and was one kid that did not turn up dead or rotten like so many others. She actually became the ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia during the 1970s and early 1990s. Ok, back to the film, she plays cute as a button daughter to a captain who is off to fight in the Boer War. He leaves her in a private girl’s school paying for all she wishes. When a letter comes that he has died, the matron of the school, realizing there will be no more money from her dad, decides to keep her on but to live in a cold attic room with the other girl and work as a servant. Temple is bullied by a couple of snots(she doesn’t put up with it) and does her best to be positive all while visiting the hospitals since she believes her dad is still alive. It is a very sweet film that showcases her cuteness best but she doesn’t take much guff either.

2. BABE- 1995

I love this film and found it such a sweet fairy tale from the thatched farmhouse to the cute as button little pig named Babe. Babe is bought by a farmer, played by James Cromwell, and brought to his farm to be fattened up but Babe meets all the other animals and wins their hearts except for the surly old male dog and the nasty cat. The farmer sees something in this pig and realizes this pig can communicate quite well with the sheep and decides to bring Babe to the fair to win the cup of best dog to round up the sheep. It is sweet, touching and even scary, well, kind of scary and, except for some CGI to have the animals talk, real animals were used (Not like the total CGI dog in the new film version of Call of the Wild, one of my favourite books). I actually had a dream that I asked the mice if I could sing with them and they said sure so I got right in the middle of them and sang the song. The next morning, my husband (at that time), asked me what the hell I was dreaming about. After I told him he said, “That’s it! You woke me up from your singing and I couldn’t place the song now I know!” Yes, I have very wonky dreams.

3. FRENCH KISS-1995

Meg Ryan was considered one of the cutest actresses from all the romantic comedies she made and this is one of the best. She plays a Canadian, engaged to an American doctor who is flying to Paris for some conference. She is too phobic to fly so he leaves much to her regret, when she gets a call from him one night saying he met this “goddess” and can’t marry her. She overcomes her phobia to get on a plane to win him back only to sit next to a Frenchman, played by the great Kevin Kline. He is carefree where she is not and, unbeknownst to her, he drops a stolen necklace into her bag. Let’s just say the necklace is lost, they become attached to the hip for various reasons as they travel from Paris to the south of France to meet up with her ex-fiancée. It is a real gem of a film and one of the best romantic comedies. Meg Ryan looks great which is way before she screwed up her face with all these Botox, surgeries, cheek fills etc...

Which 3 would you choose?

Oscars 2020

Another Oscar telecast is done and it was a big surprise that Parasite won both International ( instead of Foreign film) and The Best Picture..I was Voting for 1917. I always enjoy the Oscars and, this time, a friend of mine, with her daughter and yours truly, went to a restored movie theatre to watch The Oscars.  Now I always have my own questions about the Oscars and I answered them. It would be great if you give your 2 cents worth:).

1.  BEST SPEECH- I have to give it to Laura Dern who was concise yet heartfelt when she gave her honours to her parents, Diane Lane and Bruce Dern. Taika Waititi, who wrote JoJo Rabbit was quite funny. Speaking about funny, I loved Steve Martin and Chris Rock’s introduction, along with Maya Rudolph and Kristin Wiig’s introduction....more about them later.

2. WORST SPEECH-None were really bad but Rene Zellweger’s speech was pretty blecchhh. See below about her though. Joaquin Phoenix went on a bit long. I’m  supposed to love his speech because  he was political etc.. but blah, blah, blah.

3. Whom Do I love that Won- The Neighbour’s Window. I watched the Short Films on YouTube on Saturday and this film was very heartfelt and really touched me. I have to say I also loved Nefta Football Club that made me laugh and that little kid is hilarious. If you have a chance, watch those 2 and I bet you will like both.

4. Who Do I Hate That Won- The Best Score for Joker. Yeah I know many will disagree with me but I don’t care because I don't even remember the score at all. It meant nothing to me when I watched this horrid little film. That’s right, not a fan of this film. I was watching Phoenix play the Joker and kept thinking how he did a lot for this role, like losing all the weight but I never got swept into him being the joker the way I was with Heath Ledger. Ok back to the score, to me this was the worst of the 5. I thought 1917 was excellent but I thought John Williams would win for Star Wars since he is in his 80s now.

5. BEST PART OF THE SHOW- I loved the opening musical number of the show and Steve Martin and Chris Rock. I thought Maya and Kristin were hilarious and so were Julia Louise Dreyfus and Will Farrell but I give it to James Corbin and Rebel Wilson who dressed as cats to present best special effects. When they started hitting the mike like cats would do, the theatre erupted in laughter.

6. WORST PART OF THE SHOW- Can you guess?? M & M’s rap performance with his pants falling off his ass. I don’t care that he appeared at the awards show when he wasn’t around when this song won the Oscar. I just dislike rap for the most part although the one guy who did a summary of who won in rap style, blew me away. M & M just needs a slap. I am with Billie Eilish’s look and Martin Scorsese who looked like he dropped off for a few minutes. I did laugh at all the white people trying to sing along to the rap song..they are just too white and un-hip.

7. MOST BORING- Andre Buckland’s speech for winning Ford Vs Ferrari. Snore, belch, snore

8. WHAT DRUG WERE THEY ON- Renée Zellweger...ughh did she go on and on. She wanted to sound passionate about the world like Phoenix did but she just sounded like she took too many little blue pills and she runneth over. Hey, Renee, when you start saying Um and have pauses, time to leave the stage.

9.  BEST DRESSED- OK, I am going to do something different and show a few outfits and you let me know which one is your favourite.

Brie Larson looked so great in this outfit and I loved that cape shoulder thingy-Really looked good from behind.

Regina King looked so elegant and I am not a pink person but this is my favourite

Mindy Kaling in bright yellow looked so pretty and thank God necklaces are finally in. I hated the bare necks all the time.

Yes, I chose Rebel Wilson who looked so pretty in this gold gown. 

I LOVE this green Gown Sigourney Weaver wore. This is so beautiful but Where the F*^% is a necklace? Not a huge one but a nice elegant emerald necklace would have worked.

10.  WORST DRESSED-So Janelle Monae is always weird but I really liked this crystal gown she wore even though she looked like she just came off the Romulan ship. It has something like 168,000 swarovski crystals and took 600 hours to make. It is still see through mind you and she could hardly walk in it..imagine the weight. Now let's hope the sell this dress and help some animals who have been abused.

Billie Eilish thinks she knows all..she is what? 20 something. One thing, how does she wipe her butt with those frikken nails of hers.

Maya Rudolph...so smart but when it comes to fashion, she must have gone to the nearest fabricland, bought a huge amount of orange sequinned  fabric, cut a hole at top and just let it hang. 

Side boob held up by flesh coloured mesh with a bib on top, a flap at the bottom and some red ruffles out to the side that makes me think of lasagna, sea cucumber, some bird ready to mate...ughhh

I love Gal Godot but this confection is a travesy of ripped pink fabrick all tied up with some black lace on top...nope

Saorise Ronan knew how to dress, she has a dust pan in front that will catch all the food that drops from her lips plus it also acts as a food tray.

Caitriona Balfe took a nice black gown and covered it in this pink window crap with a bow no less.

Sandra Oh..Oh, oh no...Carmen Miranda must be saying, "Where's the colour?" This is just not very nice.. too poofy  with too much fabric. I was expecting her to bring out some maracas.

Disagree? Did anyone watch the awards?  From my list here, who is your best and worst...if ya care:)

Thursday Movie Picks: Seven Deadly Sins Edition-Lust

I noticed that when I check out a blog, it asks me if I want to continue or not, an extra step...WTF?? This is annoying but I don’t think I can do anything about it. My pain seems to be a bit better and I actually could sleep until 7am yesterday instead of crawling out at 5am. I have to go for xrays, ultrasounds and another test to see what is going on. I think it is my bursitis that got irritated but we shall see. Unfortunately, not much lust is going on in my neck of the woods but that doesn’t mean lust isn’t around and kicking. A good lust in the dust ( not with Divine...ewwww) is always fun and this is a deadly sin which Wandering Through The Shelves has decided to showcase for this week’s theme. I decided to go with 3 films that, I believe, show Lust well( no, I’m not talking about Raquel Welch from Bedazzled).  Here are my 3...

1. PANDORA’S BOX-1929

Oh yes, nothing says lust like a Silent German film unless it stars the luminous Louise Brooks. She is one actress that I think most of you would love to read about and she was an excellent writer herself about old Hollywood who did not pull any punches about ole Hollywoodland. Louise gave the finger to her studio and hightailed it to Europe where she made 2 great films in Germany and one in France, this being one of them( the first of the 3 and in Germany). She stars as Lulu, a beautiful woman who knows what she does to men and women especially a Countess who can’t stop being with her. This Countess may be the first time a Lesbian is shown on film( not including porn) that will do whatever she can for Lulu. Lulu uses and leaves but each time she descends further into the underbelly of society. You never know who might finally make Lulu feel sensuality for the first time but this may not be a good thing. Well directed by G. W. Pabst with sensual camera effects, costumes and the face of Louise Brooks, it’s a film that is a must see.

2. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE-1946

Lana Turner is at her sexy, platinum blond best as a duplicitous wife of a nice old, daft man who believe his wife is happy running their diner in a dusty, hot U.S. town. Enter John Garfield( died too young and a victim of the communist witch hunts) as a smoking hot hunka,  hunka burning loins who comes to the diner and is hired to help out. He proceeds to help himself to Lana and she is more than willing. Their lusty trips down sex aisle leads them to kill her daft husband so they can be together and it seems to work but not for long. This is a much better film than the one with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. I hope you get to see it one day.

3. LOLITA-1962

I have seen the very good remake with Jeremy Irons but my heart belongs to Daddy..Er...wrong way...my heart belongs to this version directed by Stanley Kubrick. This stars James Mason as Humbert, Humbert, a professor who becomes in lust with a 14 year old daughter of his landlady. What's he supposed to do but marry the mom whom he is repulsed by. When mom finds out what he thinks of her and her daughter she runs right into a car a dies. Humbert ventures off to Lolita's school and eventually tells her about mom. The gal knows what's going on and uses her charms seducing the perv and relegating him to colouring her toe nails. You know he is going down a path of lustful degeneration but you can't help but watch. Lolita was played by Sue Lyon who was only 14 years old at the time but carried the film quite well given her naivity.

Which 3 films would you choose?