Wandering Through The Shelves-Domestic Thrillers

 

September is here already and the days are getting shorter. To be honest I cant wait for cooler weather and I don't care much about the evenings getting shorter in daylight but I don't like getting up in the morning when it is still dark. Oh well, I wouldn't trade where I live...scratch that, yes, if I could live in an Alpine village, I would go there but other than that, I love Canada. This week is much easier because it is all about domestic thrillers and, no, I am not talking about toothless Bertha and her hubby/cousin Bubba belching beer, eating roadkill a la carte shooting off one of their 6 guns, misquoting the bible and thinking that hoarders was how to style their shack, but about non-marital bliss. Wandering Through The Shelves picked a good one for this week(well, almost always, they are good picks) I don't think I can keep it to 3 so here are my chosen not so few.

1. SUSPICION-1941

A classic Alfred Hitchcock film starring Joan Fontaine as the suspicious wife and Cary Grant as the, possibly, murderous husband. Young, rich Joan meets this man, Cary, who sweeps her off her feet and they marry and move into a home that has "rich" written all over it. Cary is always into some scheme or another and has a good friend, played by the likeable Nigel Bruce(of Dr. Watson fame from Sherlock Holmes movies of the same time period) who is with him on his schemes. Soon Joan begins to suspect all is not what it seems with her dashing husband and when she becomes ill and he brings her some milk, she is not sure how to get around to not drinking it. This is quite the uneasy film because you don't know what is true and what isn't. I love how Hitchcock made the milk light up to make it look more ominous. It is worth taking a look at this gem.

2. LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN-1945

I did speak about this film quite a while ago but it is worth a revisit. Cornel Wilde plays a writer who falls for the mysterious but very beautiful Ellen, played by the very beautiful Gene Tierney. She has a mom and sister but Ellen was always daddy's girl, where nobody could come between them. Well, the hapless writer marries Ellen who loves him to the exclusion of everyone. She can't abide anyone sharing his love with someone else so his much younger brother, who is disabled, must be dealt with. When Ellen finds out she is pregnant and realizes the baby will take attention away from her, she will not abide this. The writer soon finds out he is not married to a hapless waif. This is an excellent film that makes you shudder at the depths this girl will go to to keep attention on her. Gene Tierney gave one of her best performances in this role and it is worth watching.

3. DIAL M FOR MURDER-1954

Grace Kelly, in her first Hitchcock film, plays the wife of  a tennis player, played by Ray Milland. Good ole Ray has decided to want out of his marriage and arranges for her to be killed but he doesn't think that his wife is good with scissors. Grace is often called the ideal Hitchcock lady and he loved working with her and vice versa. This is actually a film done in 3D and you can see where some of the images were to be put to this effect but it does not distract from the story. Good ole Grace, who loved loving her leading men had quite the affair with Ray Milland to the point where Milland's wife used Grace's name with the lawyers but, the affair cooled and Milland went back to his wife. 

4. BLACK WIDOW-1987

This is a gem if you can find it because it is a real cat and mouse game with the women playing the strong parts and the men the hapless victims. We meet Theresa Russell(where is she now??) as Catherine newly married to an older, rich man(Dennis Hopper) who dies and not by accident. We soon realize that Catherine is a killer of men after she marries them for their money. An FBI agent, played by Debra Winger, knows this women will kill again and goes on the hunt for her and tries to outsmart this sexy evil bitch. This is a real cat and mouse game with the women in power, rare to find in film.

5. DOUBLE JEOPARDY-1999

Ashley Judd is happily married to a wealthy man and has a young son with him. One eve, they take out their small boat even though he does not know how to handle the boat but believes in his wife. After a night of passion(or 10 minutes), she falls into a deep sleep and when she wakes up she  finds blood everywhere. She is promptly arrested, tried and found guilty in the death of her husband. In prison, scared, she soon starts to make friends with the other women and one day, when she calls her best friend so she can speak to her son, she hears her her son call out, "Daddy!" Can we say PISSED! She finds out she can't be charged twice for the murder of her husband since he is, supposedly, dead. She gets out after 6 years for good behaviour and meets her parole officer, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Little does he know she is on a mission to find her husband so, when she breaks her parole, Tommy is hot on her trail. This is quite a fun flick with one strong woman in Ashley Judd and Bruce Greenwood, who is such a good actor, plays her slimy husband. 

I could have written more but there are my 5.  Which would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks:TV Edition-Prequels

 

I am in total disbelief that we will soon be in September and this post about TV prequels sucks, to be honest because I have seen few and far between...very, very few as you will see. It will be interesting to see what everyone will choose over at Wandering Through The Shelves but I bet a few zombies, bad people etc... will be walking around. Here are my 3...

1. STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE-2001-2005

This is the only one I watched all the way through and it was not up to par with the rest of the Star Trek shows but I still enjoyed it. It takes place way before Kirk was a baby when going to warp speed was still young and people had grudges with the Vulcans. Scott Bakula plays the captain who can bring his pet dog, a beagle, on board. You have a southern jack ass who loves women but not the sexy vulcan gal on board(but that later changes). The doctor is a fun alien who likes to hang around the humans. One thing I like about this show, aside from Scott(hubba hubba) is that they brought in those loveable blue people, the Andorians, who like to be mean. 

2. GOTHAM-2014-2019

I watched this the first year abd a bit of the second but soon grew bored with it. It just seem to be always dark and rainy..meh. This takes place when Commissioner Gordon was a young cop and Batman was just a kid. We start seeing how all the mean villains take shape and how Batman becomes who he is...whatever.

3. Star Trek: Discovery-2017

Yeah...I would rather talk about The Orville but here we go so this show, as I like to call it, STD, takes place a few years before Kirk and his gang come on board. It is everything gene Roddenberry would have hated with dark depressing sets, military style captain and that one lead half vulcan girl being so annoying that I wanted someone to vaporize her. I was so looking forward to this show especially that Michelle Yeoh was in it only for her to die in the first half hour. I think she is back..I don't care. I hate this show. 

Which 3 would you choose?

Against The Crowd Blogathon 2020

 

I am here for the last day of  this blogathon, hosted by the filmaholic Dell On Movies, which is always fun to read up what people choose. You pick a film that everyone loves but you dislike and another that you love that everyone hates plus you must go by the Rotten Tomato score(there is a website showcasing films that use tomatoes as the score instead of Stars). Without further adieu here are my 2  starting with a film I dislike but everyone seems to love. 

1. THELMA AND LOUISE-1991

This film received an 84% from the audience and an 82% from this site in the "like" category. This film is well acted by everyone especially Susan Sarandon who has to keep a tight reign on, too stupid for words, Geena Davis. It is directed by Ridley Scott and it co-stars Harvey Keitel and, in his breakthrough role, Brad Pitt, as the tool(get my drift...wink, wink). Geena is  married to a no good bum who likes to beat her up and treat her with disdain. Her friend, Susan suggests they go for a weekend away, just the girls, to enjoy a time without men. Of course, things get out of hand with numbnut Geena who decides to not listen to her friend regarding an a-hole in a bar and almost gets raped. Susan quickly deals with the a-hole by pumping him full of lead. They proceed to wreak havoc across the land by dealing with male a-holes in a very bad way...unless they are Brad Pitt. This is supposed to be a Women's picture because they are having a great time but end up killing a man and blowing up another guy's truck because the guys are a-holes. In the end, thegals hold hands, smile and(spoiler alert! so don't read further if you want to see this flick) drive off a cliff. What a fun ending...NOT! I have dealt with a-holes as most women have and I have been in a precarious position where luck saved my ass but I am not into bashing men using them because the guys are stupid and good-looking. My best friend and I had a great time driving around without getting ourselves into a bad situation, blowing up things and...wait...driving off a cliff. Ughh....there are better films about women empowerment than this one.

2. 3000 MILES TO GRACELAND-2001

This film tanked getting 46% from Audience and only 14% from the website tomatometer but it is one that I love. First you have Kurt Russell(who once played Elvis in a TV Movie where he did his own singing), Kevin Costner, Christian Slater and Courtney Cox in a film where a bunch of thieves decide to rob a Las Vegas Casino while impersonating the King of Rock N' Roll. Kevin Costner plays one mean bad ass Mother F&%#$ whom you never want to cross. It is violent to say the least and the characters are not all that likeable. Courtney Cox, still a "Friend" at this time, plays one slutty hoe who gets under the skin of Kurt Russell. I love the comedy, didn't mind the violence and love the music. I know there is even a music video with Kurt Russell singing (I think) showing parts of this film. It is tasteless fun and it's never to be taken seriously.

Thursday Movie Picks-Female Buddy Movies

 

Female Buddy movies are not as popular as male buddies but they are gaining in strength which is great. Now, I have a feeling Thelma and Louise will be popular this week but I am just not a fan of this flick( hmmm, I just had a lightbulb go off for another post). Wandering through the Shelves always comes through with some great themes so, without further adieu, here are my 3...

1. STAGE DOOR-1937

I finally watched this film a couple of years ago and enjoyed it which had a, primarily, all female cast. Katherine Hepburn plays a well to do, wanna be actress  who wants to be a star. She stays in this large boarding house filled with other actresses who don’t take kindly to Ms. Hepburn’s snooty airs and make it very well known. Ginger Rogers is her biggest critic along with others like the wonderful  Eve Arden (who often plays the friend of the star). Eve Arden is readily known with her unique voice and who gets the best quips. This is a really good film about a bunch of ladies all trying to make a living in the vicious world of the Theatre. You will see a young Lucille Ball in this film as well.

2. MILDRED PIERCE-1945

Joan Crawford, who could cut logs with those shoulders, stars as the ever forgiving, wonderful mom( hit the laughter button) to a truly evil, mean bitch of a daughter. It starts with a dying man's last words-  “Mildred” and cuts to the ever glamorous Crawford in a police station  being questioned by the cops. She goes back to when she was married with 2 daughters, one nice and the other, well, you know. Her marriage crumbles and Mildred must get a job and finds one in a restaurant. There her boss, and eventual friend, Eve Arden, meet and Ms. Pierce learns the ropes of the restaurant business. Mildred opens up her own restaurant and soon has a whole slew of them with her trusty friend beside her. Of course, her brat of a daughter feels she deserves everything  including her mom’s new husband. Eve Arden has one of the best lines when she says something like, “Crocodiles have the right idea, they eat their young.”

3. TEA FOR TWO-1950

Sorry Shady, this is a musical with the ever jubilant  Doris Day and Gordon MacCrea in the lead roles.  I haven’t seen this in years but from what I remember, Doris finds out her fiancée is being a no good for nuttin' two timer after she believes he will make her a star on Broadway. She gets the financial backing from her Uncle to do the show, but he won't give it to her unless she can say "no" to every question for the next 24 hours. When she meets the nice Gordon MacCrea, she is doing her best to say no. Eve Arden plays her friend who helps her  through the times. It’s fun and sweet with some old fashioned tunes.  Of course you can tell I decided to do a theme within a theme by choosing films where Eve Arden plays the best friend of the leads or semi lead. She is better know as Principal McGee from Grease and from the TV show, "Our Miss. Brooks", which I never did see. I think she always made any movie better because of her wit and style.

Maybe I stretched things a bit here because the films are not solely based on being buddies but I still think it works. So, which 3 would you choose?

The Wondrous Eve Arden

Thursday Movie Picks:Schools

 

In about a months time it is back to school which still makes me have a sinking feeling because I hated school. Never mind the brutal bullying I dealt with for years but that I had a hard time in math, science  (I really sucked in science) and French. At least I got B's in English and Phys-Ed(believe it or not). I am pretty certain I have some learning issue which I don’t mean in a derogatory way, I'm just realistic. I think each person learns in a different way but the problem is how to teach kids in all these different ways..practically impossible but please feel free to disagree and tell me why. So, I feel bad for the kids having to go back this September with COVID19  all around, they are dealing with a lot more, never mind the teachers who have other miseries to contend with this year. Wandering Through The Shelves chose school and we all know there are many films that take place in or at school. so, without further adieu, here are my 3...

1. GOODBYE MR. CHIPS-1939

This is a very quiet film that holds your attention because it is romantic, not just the romance the young Mr. Chips has with a young lady that becomes his wife and not only because of the boarding school students he teaches but in how this school teacher views the world and the young men he teaches. He uses a calm but firm hand and has his door always open to help the kids meet their future. Robert Donat, a forgotten star who died too young, from asthma (some say a stroke) at 53, plays this teacher to perfection and nabbed the Oscar away from Clark Gable(playing Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind). It is a school professor I wish I had. 

2. LADY IN WHITE-1988

I saw this movie in the theatre and rented it soon after and have not seen it since and I want to own it. It is considered a horror film but I consider it a thriller with some ghosts thrown in for good measure. In 1962, this young kid is thrown into the closet by a couple of bullies, after school and leave. The young lad falls asleep only to wake seeing a young girl, also in the closet, who is scared and disappears. The boy sees a figure open up a grate and tries to retrieve something but notices the lad and the evil man opens the closet and almost chokes him to death. The lad wakes up in the hospital, having been found by his janitor dad and you soon find out there is a serial killer afoot who killed many young children over the years. Once better, the boy goes back to school and opens up the grate finding little "souvenirs" including a class ring. I am not going to give anything more away but it is a great ghost story and thriller rolled into one from the eyes of a child. I think it is a must see.

3. SIMON BIRCH-1998

This film starts with Jim Carrey standing over the grave of Simon Birch before you go back in time to when he was a kid and friends with Simon Birch, a dwarf who is picked on in school. The kids are actually best friends and The boy's mom, played by Ashley Judd, welcomes Simon Birch with open arms when many others are scared of him because of his deformity. Simon believes he is placed on earth for a special reason and his best friend just humours him.  The young kid wants to know whom his dad is but his mom refuses to tell so they both try to figure it out. This film is quite funny but also very sad and hopeful all at once. This is another film that I think is excellent even though it didn't get much love when it came out. 

Now which 3 would you choose? 

Thursday Movie Picks: Seven Deadly Sins-Pride

Wandering through the Shelves chose this seven deadly sin for the last- Pride and I found this tough. I am writing this late and still need to watch the rest of that horrid Star Wars Christmas special(chosen by Ted at Just A Cineast for last week's theme) because it is soooooo bad it is hilarious. I totally forgot about all the guest stars. Anyway here are my 3 for Pride gone too far...

1. CITIZEN KANE-1941

This is the granddaddy of all films even if it is not one of my favourites and talk about Pride! Good ole Charlie dies and now the news is trying to figure out what Rosebud means. The reporter visits all the people who knew him and you start to form a picture of a man who started out with nothing but by his own feeling of his self grandeur, he starts a newspaper business and grows from there losing his soul in the process. Orson Welles plays the title role and pissed off William Randolph Hearst in the process to the point where Hearst and Louis B. Mayer tried to buy the negatives from RKO Studios to burn it. Thankfully RKO refused. This is a brilliant film with some stunning cinematography by the great Gregg Toland.

2. GASLIGHT-1944

I had to read what Pride means and we all have pride, in our job, the way we dress, the way we create something but too much pride can convert people into believing they are the best thing on earth (orange man anyone). Too much pride makes people become narcissistic and I am actually shocked by how many narcissistic people are out there. Many people are or have been married to these types who believe they are just the bees knees in every aspect and will start to gaslight people because they love to manipulate. In fact the term gaslight comes from the book where this film is based on. Ingrid Bergman plays a beautiful woman married to the great lover, Charles Boyer, and they move into her Aunt’s mansion. Soon, the poor lass is noticing strange things happening but her husband tells her she must be unwell slowly convincing her that she is a nutcase. Little does she know he is looking for something...but what?? Ingrid won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal and she does this character brilliantly as does Boyer.

3. A FISH CALLED WANDA-1988

This is a very funny comedy starring Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin with Kline winning the Best Supporting Oscar as Otto a very stupid  thief who feels he can do no wrong. Lee, Kline and Palin plus Tom Georgeson are jewel thieves who  pull off a heist. Lee and Kline are in cahoots to rip off the other 2 while also playing footsies. Georgeson is arrested but not before hiding the goods. Lee wants to secretly two time everyone and nab it all for herself but  suddenly   realizes the barrister she was trying to seduce she actually falls in love with. This is so funny especially Palin as the animal loving stutterer who really hates Otto who thinks he is God’s gift to everyone but is as dumb as a door knob.

Which 3 would you choose?

Cards are Fun

Color Throwdown-Red, Pink, Bright Median Blue, White-CTD605

Sparkles Monthly-Red, White & Blue

I am back to work but had such a fun time and could create some cards in the process. There was another challenge that I missed to create 2 seasons on one card so I thought of Summer and Winter when rain turns to snow and how I wish for snow. Yeah, yell at me all you want but I prefer that over this dreaded heat. I tried  out my perfect pearls on the blue cardstock and it didn't turn out half bad. The stamp is pretty and the pearl dust adheres well to the versamark stamp. I cut it out in squares using red and the blue and placed it on the nice white card stock. I took sticker pieces, marking them up in blue and putting them down to show rain. I had some snowflake stickers followed by the 2 border stickers that I coloured in blue and red. I finished it off with some small gems.

Tic, Tac, Toe Challenge-used the middle row-Blue, Square,Flower tttc075

Crafty Creations- Anything Goes

The Flower Challenge- Add Some Sparkle

This was a quick card for a birthday. I had used the embossing folder at a session I took a couple of years back and never used it until today. I took a blue inkpad and gently swept the color over the raised areas to colour the flowers in blue. I took my exacto knife and cut out the centre. I had used alcohol inks in blues, one being a pearl to create the background and glued it in place with just the centre and outer edges showing. I had a remnant piece of purple and blue colour bursts that I tried on paper and placed the flower sticker over top and cut it out and placed that on the centre. I took my lovely stickles and placed that around the borders. For a final touch I used diamond crystals for the flower centres.

CCAYR-Use Fall/Autumn Colours

Christmas Craft Creations-Xmas Characters

Santa is always a bit of a character isn't he? He breaks into you home through the dirtiest way possible and leaves presents but does demand cookies and milk. I wonder if he wouldn't mind some Baileys in that milk because he must get cold swooshing through the sky in an open sleigh. I used green and orange cardstock for the background. I had this Santa stamp for a while but never used it until now. I stamped him in apricot brown and coloured him in using the distress inks with water. I edged the sides (after using a die cut to create the shape) with different coloured  distress inks to give that distress look. The poinsettia and leaves were cut using the sizzex and a punch. I glued that in place with a green gem for the centre. 

 

Christmas Card Throwdown-Sketch Challenge

Simon Says-Your Favourite Tool(stickles)

CHNC-Reindeer

Stamping Sensations- Make It Masculine

These are the reindeer that didn't make the cut-Rex, Gottlob, Beatrice and Gaylord. After stamping these 4, I used a shotglass to circle and cut them out. I coloured them with my gismo pencils and set them aside. I had fun using distress inks to create a terra cotta look and placed it in a holly embossing folder and put it through my cuddlebug to get that design. I cut out the black shimmer paper and glued all in place trying to emulate the design from Christmas Card Throwdown. I coloured the stickers in red, orange and brown to try to create a similar colour and placed this on the card. All done! This colour combo was actually for Color Throwdown from last week but I missed the deadline which is typical of me. I love stickles and gems and you see them often on my cards.

Have a great day everyone!