Going Hollywood!

 

If I was sitting behind that irritating cloud, out would come my scissors!

I'm all about Hollywood and, of course, I watched the Oscars. First, I picked 3 songs that just work for me and I am adding this to the Monday Music Moves Me post. Here are 3 songs I hope you enjoy...

1. GOING HOLLYWOOD-1933

This was the first song that popped into my head and I had to use Der Bingle's version. This was from. The 1933 film of the same name written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown.

2. HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD-1937

This was written by Johnny Mercer ( lyrics) and Richard Whiting (music). The lyrics have some slang and other things in it that we may not know but I do like that the one lyrics makes it a fact that a hatcheck girl can be a star if she does more than just act. The casting couch was already around for decades...sadly. This is sung by Frances Langford and Johnny Davis.

3. HOLLYWOOD OR BUST- 1956

I hope this is the song....This is also from a movie of the same name starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis when they wouldn't even talk to each other. It was the last film they made together. The song was written by Sammy Fain( music) and Paul Francis Webster ( lyrics). Dean always sings so well ...I do like his voice.

THE OSCARS...

Of course,  I watched the whole thing and it went rather swiftly kn 3.5 hours...lol. I thought Jimmy Kimmel was quite good but would have loved to have seen Ricky Gervais there. I'm so happy Michelle Yeoh won (Michelle Williams looked less enthusiastic with her sad clapping) as well as Ke Huy Quon who I last saw as a kid, with Harrison Ford, in the 2nd Indiana Jones movie. Funny, Kimmel was right, 2 stars from the movie, "Encino Man" won Oscars- Ke Huy Quon and Brendan Fraser. Angela Bassett looked pissed not winning the Golden calf, um , I mean the Oscar, Jamie Lee Curtis did and others seemed....hungry. 

2 bad things- Hugh Grant is a scrotum for being condescending, rude and obnoxious to the interviewer, plus size model Ashley Graham, who is not a professional at this. He was an ass! The second was the In Memorium part where they gave more to dumbass Lenny Kravitz singing with sunglasses on, than to the people who deserved more than a split 2nd on the screen. They gave Irene Cara some love but Angela Lansbury just a quick picture? Really? Here are the people they missed and I'm just mentioning some of the actors: Marsha Hunt, Stella Stevens, Nehemiah Persoff, Robert Blake, Anne Heche, Tom Sizemore, Leslie Jordan, Paul Sorvino, Charlbi Dean ( she was in Triangle Of Sadness which was up for 3 Oscars), Pat Carroll, Barbara Walters ( she did all those Oscar interview specials for years), Bo Hopkins, L. Q. Jones, Sacheen Littlefeather, Robert Morse, Virginia Patton, Andrew Prine, Henry Silva, Sylvia Syms, Topol, Jean Louis Trintignant, David Warner, plus more..add if you want.

Now, I got 19 oscar guesses right! That's pretty good if I say so myself. I missed with Best Score whom, I think, should have gone to Babylon. That music still resonates with me where the others don't. 

Now, to bore you even more I'm choosing 5 best and 5 worst outfits. There were a lot more blecchhs out there than wow, that's beautiful but I tried my best.

BEST DRESSED

Malala Yousafzai

Andie McDowell

Salma Hayek

Angela Bassett 

Jessica Chastain 

Yes, I love glitter...sue me. I didn't choose some others because I didn't like their attitude on the carpet. 

WORST DRESSED

Florence Pugh- Spanx + Bedsheets

Jessie Buckley- Evil Queen dressed badly

Tems- got caught in a cloud of shame

Melissa McCarthy- she farted red

Leslie Petersen- Barbie has an off day

OK.. ...2 more 1 good and 1 bad, Gorgon Star Trek Bad

Kerry Condon 

Janet Yang in Shimmer Gorgon look from Star Trek.

Which is your favourite and which is your worst? Watch any of it? Think of any Hollywood songs?

Thursday Movie Picks- Movies Loosely Based on Books

 

Wandering Through The Shelves  picked an interesting theme which put my thinking cap on. I believe I chose some good movies that work so here are my 3...

1. KISS ME KATE-1953

This fun musical stars Katherine Grayson and Howard Keel as a divorced  couple who play opposite one another in a musical version of the "Taming of the Shrew". The problem  is that these 2 bicker just like their Shakespearian counterparts. This is a funny, fun and musically gifted film with Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Bob Fosse, and Keenan Wynn rounding out the cast.

2. THE NUTTY PROFESSOR-1963

I decided to choose this original  film version rather than the remake with Eddie Murphy because this was Jerry Lewis’s baby. I am not a huge fan of Lewis and, to be Frank ( or Ralph or Archie), I found this character annoying... both the nerd and Buddy Love. I can't help but think Jerry Lewis was closer to his Buddy Love character. Anyway....nerdy scientist decides to take a potion which turns him into a suave, handsome man about town but who is rude and obnoxious. The object of the dual Lewis is nerdy scientist teacher's student played by Stella Stevens ( she recently died). Unfortunately, the potion wears off at the most inopportune times. This movie is based on Stevenson's, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

3. APOCALYPSE NOW-1979

This is an excellent film where the back story on the making of this film is just ad crazy. This film is based on the Joseph Conrad book, Heart of Darkness but, instead of the Congo, the film takes place duringbthe Vietnam War. Martin Sheen ( who suffered a heart attack while making the film) is required to go deep into the jungle and kill insane soldier, played my Marlon Brando. You join in with Sheen as he travels up the river  to kill Kurtz. I get mesmerized by many scenes and the music is excellent. This is a true classic.

So...what films can you piece together from a book  you have read?

I Am In Charge of a 4 Day Festival!

 

So, I can’t resist. Monday Music Moves Me that I find over at Curious As A Cathy, suggested that you have the ability to create a 4 day concert of music with people, living or dead ( in the case of the Rolling Stones…the Undead) to be part of your musical festival. I have to participate so this is lengthy but, you might like it…appreciate it? Oh well, I love it so, so there🤪.

DAY 1

ABBA ( well, duh!)

FERNANDO-1975

This was one of the very first songs I heard from this group I love so much. 

ABBA-THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO-1980

I think ABBA could create a song that, sounds, almost, classical. I think of my best friend, Loretta, when I hear this song. We are THE best of friends.

DAY 2

THE MOODY BLUES

DAWN IS A FEELING-1967

From their iconic album, “ Days of Future Passed”, I find this piece haunting.

THE MOODY BLUES-NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN-1967

This is also from the same album and, maybe, their most famous song, understandably so. I love this s well as the lament.

DAY 3

ARTHUR FIEDLER AND THE BOSTON POPS-JALOUSIE-1956

I was a weird child as this guy was one I really wanted to see. I loved watching him on PBS especially when he conducted his famous symphony( due to him) during the July 4th celebrations. To me, he is one of the best conductors ever.

ARTHUR FIEDLER AND THE BOSTON POPS- 1812 OVERTURE-1976

Yes, lengthy but Tchaikovsky never sounded so good….I hope

DAY 4

ANDRE RIEU AND HIS ORCHESTRA- OH FORTUNA

I love Andre Rieu and his beautiful orchestra where the men are dressed in their best penguin attire and the women look like princessessesss. My mom loved him and we saw him twice and…I will be seeing him in Toronto with my mom’s best friend…who doesn’t know that yet, late Christmas and birthday present. Carl Orff’s music never sounded so good.

ANDRE RIEU AND HIS ORCHESTRA- AND THE WALTZ GOES ON-2011

Guess who wrote this beautiful piece? He was 19 years old when he wrote this waltz in 1964 but was too scared to ever have it performed until his wife sent it to Andre Rieu who decided to premiere it with this man in the audience. Who is this man? Yup, Anthony Hopkins, that’s who. 

Who would you have perform at your 4 day music fest?

Star of the Month

 

JEAN HARLOW

BIRTH: March 3, 1911

DEATH: June 7, 1937

AGED: 26 yrs old

DIED FROM: Cerebral Edema caused by uremic poisoning due to Kidney failure

REAL NAME: Harlean Carpenter

NICKNAME: Baby-she thought that was her real name until she went to school. Sis but only by Clark Gable. The Blonde Bombshell; The Platinum Blonde

MARRIAGES: 3-a rich playboy, Charles McGraw(1927-1928), Producer, Paul Bern (1932), Harold Rosson (1933-1934)

AFFAIRS: Abner Zwillman, notorious mobster; Max Baer, a famous boxer.

ENGAGED: William Powell

TALENT: Knew how to make sex OK before and during the censorship stronghold. 

KNOWN FOR: Being Godmother to Bugsy Siegel’s daughter. Cradled the famous dog, Rin Tin Tin when he was dying of old age. She was known for her peroxide, bleached hair and extreme, penciled in eyebrows. Wearing a lot of white gowns and, no underwear so had to, apparently, dye her pubic hair platinum. Took ice cubes to her nipples so they would stick out from the outfits she wore. 

This is one famous, classic film star that Marilyn Monroe idolized and where that term, blonde bombshell, was coined( by Howard Hughes). She was pretty free-spirited even though she and her mom were extremely close. Her mom credited herself for making “Baby” famous when, in fact, she and her mobster husband, often took advantage of their daughter’s fame and money.  When Harlow married Paul Bern, an MGM Producer, married, no one expected he was to die 2 months later leaving behind a note ending it with, “Remember, last night was only a comedy.”  The suicide by gunshot still stands but I don’t buy it nor do I buy that he had underdeveloped genitalia because, simply, this gal would never have  been with him as she loved sex, in my humble opinion. I believe, like a book I read ( I can’t think of it now…Maybe, it’s called “Deadly Illusion.”) that he was still married to his first wife whom he had institutionalized and never told anyone. She escaped and he had to tell his “new” wife about his actual wife but asked Jean to leave so he could talk to his first wife. This first wife shot and killed Paul Bern with MGM execs covering up the fact that their star was involved with a bigamist. His first wife was found a few days later, drowned and, it seems, she jumped off a bridge into the river. Jean Harlow never talked about it.  She married her 3rd husband, with his understanding, since they were good friends, to ward off unwanted publicity from her affair with the boxer, Max Baer because his wife was going to name Harlow in the divorce proceedings. 

She met and fell hard for William Powell who was quite a bit older than her, but they seemed to be quite happy until she started to get weaker. People commented on how she looked ashen and bloated but, when she saw a doctor, he misdiagnosed her. She was making her last film, Saratoga Trunk with her friend and oft-filmed companion, Clark Gable when she collapsed on set. When Gable went to visit her,  he could smell urine on her breath but, by this time, it was too late and, she died at only 26. For decades and, in many of my books, it was written that Her mother, Mama Jean, a devout Christian Scientist, refused to have her looked at by a doctor, but that seems to be debunked and, let’s face it, MGM would never let one of their stars languish like this without a doctor because she was too much of a commodity for them.

She was actually too young to die.

FILMS

1. Hell’s Angels-1930

2. Public Enemy-1931

3. Platinum Blonde-1931

4. Red-Headed Woman-1932

5. Red Dust- 1932

6. Dinner At Eight-1932

7. Bombshell-1933

8. China Seas-1935

9. Wife Vs Secretary-1936

10. Libeled Lady-1936

What I Watched in February

 

I feel, and know, I watched more than what I post but I already talked about it or I came across it and didn’t see the whole thing, so I don’t talk about those missteps. I also watch animal shows and the news and, sometimes, I find the animals are more humane than what I see on the news. So let’s get going and I am going to try to limit how much I gab…

MOVIES

1. GLORY-1989

Excellent and true film about a young Col. Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick, who commands the first African-American regiment with expert performances by Denzel Washington(he won the Oscar for this role), Morgan Freeman and Andre Braugher( equally excellent) as some of the soldiers. Cary Elwes plays 2nd in command and Shaw’s best friend. Stirring, sad, excellent. The one time I can say Broderick deserved to be nominated for his role.

2. EVEN MONEY-2006

A sad sack of people who gamble and lose more than just their money. Kim Bassinger, the wife of nice guy Ray Liotta, gambles instead of writing her novel. Danny DeVito is a hasbeen magician and Kelsey Grammar is a rough PI trying to figure out a murder. A good movie but not one I'll see for a while.

3. ANTMAN AND THE WASP- 2018

Stupid, but I didn't expect much so it was fun and parts were funny. Take it with a grain of salt. Oh, the Ghost gal was just plain irritating.

4. TAR - 2022

It's a film that takes place in the world of classical music with references to Gustav Mahler. I enjoyed it but people may find it a shlog. I liked the film  and Cate rules every scene as a neurotic, caustic, brilliant conductor of the Berlin symphony. It's...a bit batshit crazy to be honest but it was worth watching. 

5. THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US- 2017

Kate Winslet and Idris Alba are on a small plane when the pilot has a heart attack and crashes the plane up in the mountains. They survive with the pilot's dog. Should they stay or should they go? They go and feel each other up on the way down. It's ok with more of a romance than I expected. 

TV

1. WHO'S LINE IS IT ANYWAY- 1998-PRESENT

I may have spoken about this before but it's so funny and the guys are hilarious! 

2. THE SALVAGE KINGS- 2019- PRESENT

Ted Finch leads his team to derelict places ready to be torn down where he grabs whatever he can from great wood beams to some neat finds that he can sell in his shop. I love that he saves as much as he can and sees more than the average Joe.

3. STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS- 2022

This series predates Capt. Kirk...well, kind of, since he appears in a later episode but it's about Capt. Pike and his crew which includes Spock, Uhura and #1. I enjoyed watching this series with some compelling episodes. We  have to dedicate an episode to Pike's hair. 

What did you watch?

Thursday Film Picks- A Lamb or a Lion?

 

This week it’s just me continuing on with a movie theme and I am still thinking …is March coming in like a lion or like a lamb which is why  I have chosen these 3 films. Wandering through the Shelves will be back next week. 

1. BABE-1995

I love this sweet film about a young piglet who escapes the fate of becoming bacon and ends up on a very pretty farm that seems to come from a fairy tale which is what this f8lm is…a fairy tale. The pig can talk with the other animals and vice versa with the female sheep dog feeling badly for the lonely piggie and takes Babe under her wing. The farmer also loves the little pig while his wife does too…for future bacon. Babe goes with his doggie mom and her partner, who dislikes Babe, to work the sheep but doesn’t like how the dogs treat the sheep. Babe becomes friends with the sheep and the farmer, played by James Cromwell, notices this and begins to train the pig to be a sheep dog for the annual competition as to who is the best in sheep herding. When the sheep are attacked and some are killed, the farmer thinks it’s Babe and  now Babe faces the knife but can the gentle farmer carry this out? I love the gentleness of this film that didn’t shy away from meanness but you just love the animals and the unique way they made it look like they talked. I loved the mice that  were the small( Haha) chorus that United one scene with the other. Ac5ually I loved these mice so much that I dreamed they were singing and I asked if I could join them which I did and we all sang that song arm in arm. The next morning my ex asked me what I was dreaming about and when I told him he knew what I was singing because I was singing out loud while dreaming. Apparently, I still sing that because my hubby, now, has heard That song.

2. THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS-1996

This is, apparently, based on a true story about 2 male, maneless lions who took a liking to human flesh and killed a number of Indian and African labourers who were building a bridge, for the British, in 1898. The skulls and stuffed lions are actually in the Natural History Museum in Chicago. This film stars Val Kilmer as Patterson, a British officer sent to Africa to take care of these animals and meets up with Michael Douglas, an American hunter who also tries to kill the animals ( Douglas’s character is completely fictional). It is a scary movie, to me anyways and one that makes me think why the cats worked in tandem and did not give up on their taste for human flesh. Now, it has been panned by many critics but I think it is quite a good movie and one that is freaky.

3. SECONDHAND LIONS-2003

This stars Haley Joel Osment before he turned into a creepy, pudgy adult, as a young boy sent by his derelict mom, to go live with his great uncles, played by Michael Caine and Robert Duvall. At firs5 the 2 old men don’t want the kid around but they realize the kid is more like them than their greedy relatives and other public who are convinced the 2 old bears have a fortune hidden on their farm. The boy learns valuable lessons from the 2 and gains a friend in a gentle old lion that the 2 codgers buy thinking they can try their hand in  big game hunting. When they get the lion they soon realize the lion is old and from a circus who is gentle and a sweetheart. The lion thinks the corn field is his jungle and stays in there. This is another fairy tale type film that includes a sweet lamb like lion.

What kind of lion or lamb films can you think of?

Is It Snow, Is It Rain, Is It Ice? No! It’s Canada!!

 

There is Harley, Kaspar and hubby’s legs all vegging in front of the tele…they love their daddy-I love their daddy too. We have been having  a curious bag of typical Canadian weather with a major storm every week that starts off as snow becoming freezing rain before venturing to rain before going back to snow, or it could be the other way around….who the hell cares! It’s March 1st and I say I am seeing the lion instead of the lamb. I am joining up again with the Monday Music Moves Me that I always check out at Curious As A Cathy, which is a great blog. Here are my festive choices.

1. HAZY SHADE OF WINTER SUNG BY SIMON AND GARFUNKEL-1966

I always liked this song by this great duo who don’t really like each other but, boy, can they harmonize so well. I know it should say “Snow” in the title but, I don’t like rules and winter is finally coming to visit in my neck of the woods.

2. COLD AS ICE SUNG BY FOREIGNER-1977

This  was the first song that popped into my head and I remember when it came out enjoying the song knowing that it’s about a bad woman who took the man’s heart to the cleaners. I’m not sure what that says about my 14 year old self, but I loved this song and still do.

3. HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN SUNG BY THE EURYTHEMICS-1983

I love this group and have their greatest hits album because…I love their best hits which were many. I loved dancing to so many of their songs. This one was more just to listen to and watch their video which was…interesting. 

What type of songs would you choose for your weather?