Thursday Movie Picks:TV Edition- Home/ Lifestyle Shows

 

Can I say...I love this TV theme even though I prefer the shows from before than the newbies. The newbies seem to all be about buying a home, flipping this or that or painting everything grey..I think that's the "in" colour right now. Oh yes, and let's buy an old home and paint the beautiful wood white (FFF#%#@!!!). I have to admit, it is usually the women who want to paint the wood and this is where I want to throttle their little karen necks. To showcase colour, the design twits have to put in a stupid bowl of green apples, limes or lemons in there. I don't know about you but, unless I am Julia Child, I will never go through that many limes or lemons.  Wandering through the Shelves picked a good one this week because it might bring out our guilty pleasures. Here are 3 that I loved watching and would watch them again if they came out in repeats.

1. DEBBIE TRAVIS’ PAINTED HOUSE-1995-2002

This is a great Canadian TV show that put Debbie Travis on the map. When someone does not have a lot of money to spend re-doing everything, she showed what we could do with paint and made things colourful instead of basic blah. Now, mind you, I think she did paint some beautiful wood which is when I wanted to get my shotgun out but, overall, I enjoyed this show. I even have a couple of her books. I love the Tuscan walls she creates (mind you...it is probably the off screen elves who create the walls).

2. CLEAN SWEEP-2003-2005

I thought this show was on a lot longer than just 2 years but this was the time when things were changing in the home shows, going from what to do with something small to spending thousands on a blah look. ( "Oh look honey, white blah with a bowl of limes for colour” ). This show had the hostess talk to a family that have a room overtaken with stuff... I mean full of crap. They take it all out and put it on the lawn where the people have to make 3 piles: one to keep, one for trash and one to sell. Guess which had the most stuff on? Enter an organizer who tells the dweebs how much they must reduce their crap by making a game out of it. Next comes hunky he-man who builds something for their crap they wish to keep. In the end we see the finished look and see how much less the dweebs truly need. Honestly, I would love to visit these people 2 years later and see if they kept in great order...probably not.

3.  COLOR CONFIDENTIAL-2005-2010 (It should be Colour)

This is another Canadian show with Interior designer, Jane Lockhart (who has also painted wood which just pisses me off plus she does get on my nerves a bit, but I can live with that) helping a person or a couple who wish to have a room done, usually it’s a bedroom or living room/dining room. Jane finds out what they like and then brings in a colour wheel but not just any colour wheel...it’s geared to what the person or couple love. If the person loves music, she will create a wheel showcasing all the colours but through their interests. So gold might be represented by a small sax and cream might be from guitar picks etc... it’s pretty cool how she gets the people motivated  by just picking colours they love. She explains how each colour will look and guides them to something they like (maybe, who knows when the cameras are not rolling). This is a full episode based on Christmas. It's not a fav of mine but it gives you the idea how she works. What is nice is she will not do something you don't want her to touch or do unlike some other shows that used to burn my britches. 

Do you watch any home shows?

Happy Birthday to My Hubby-The Big 65!

 

My Hubby's Birthday is today and I can't believe he is, officially, a senior citizen. He has to almost always show his ID to prove that he is actually as old as he is, because he looks much, much younger. He has hardly any grey hairs on his head and does have a full head of hair. I was going to ask him his 3 favourite songs but, I will do that another day so, I am focusing on the top 3 songs of 1957. I have to show his Kaspar since he adores this pussy cat. Here they are...

1. ALL SHOOK UP SUNG BY ELVIS

I have to say, I love Elvis...hubby, not so much but Elvis was getting really big at this time. This song was written by Otis Blackwell and Elvis took this song to the top spot for 8 weeks. It's a great song no matter if you like this early Rock "n Roll or not. 

2. LOVE LETTERS IN THE SAND SUNG BY PAT BOONE

I am not a Pat Boone fan and neither is my hubby but this song was all the rage around our birthdays back in the day. It was actually written by J. Fred Coots (music) and Nick and Charles Kenny back in 1931. Pat Boone made this song the most famous back in the day with his plastic hair and white plastic shoes. Gosh, he was so clean cut that you just wish some evil lass came up to him and showed him a thing or 3 in the bedroom to tousle that hair of his. This was another huge hit back in the day (not his sex life but the song).

3. LITTLE DARLIN' SUNG BY THE DIAMONDS

This song was written by Maurice Williams and introduced by The Gladiolas but it became famous by the Diamonds, a Canadian 4 man group that made it big with this rendition which also became huge right around our birthdays.  

We went early Rock N Roll, 1957, for my hubby. Happy Birthday To You.

By the way.....Welcome Harley!

Thursday Movie Picks-Mazes

 

I love mazes but have only been in sad little mazes like one at Niagara Falls. I’d love to be in a big maze like one in "The Shining" but don't know any in my area. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves who chose a fun theme this week which is all about the Maze. Nope, I decided not to go with the most famous one, the aforementioned Shining but picked 3 I think you may like.

1. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI-1947

This stars the husband and wife team of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, nicknamed "Beauty and The Brain" by the press but, by this time, they were not happily married and it shows in this film because Welles decided to have Hayworth's beautiful auburn locks cut and died platinum blonde. She also seems quite hard in this film as the femme fatale. In this movie, Hayworth is married to an old coot who hires Irish( hahaaa) Orson Welles to help out on their yacht. There is much duplicity going on including a couple of murders where it culminates in an excellent climax in a mirrored maze. That climax is justifiablely famous

2. LABYRINTH-1986

I haven’t seen this film in decades and want to watch it again. I remember seeing it in the theatre and thought it was quite excellent for its beautiful dream-like world inside this labyrinth ruled over by the goblin king, played by David Bowie. Jennifer Connelly plays a beautiful 16 yr old who has to take care of her baby brother and, in a fit of anger, wishes the baby be taken by the goblin king. As soon as she wishes this, it happens and she must find a way out of the labyrinth in order to save her baby brother. Along the way, she meets up with some characters who become her friends and vice versa. The sets and costumes are truly quite beautiful and this movie deserves its cult status.

3. IN THE NAME OF THE ROSE-1986

This is another film I saw in the theatre and also love because of the beautiful labyrinth of the secret library held in a mysterious monastery. Sean Connery plays a Friar(no, not Tuck) who, along with his assistant( Christian Slater) come to this monastery to investigate the strange death of a monk. It is a whodunit set in the 1300s when the inquisition was around as well as disease, poverty and religious fervour. I love Connery’s character, a sort of early Sherlock Holmes, who loves the written word but also loves solving a good mystery. I found this film quite ...fun and engaging. It’s worth a watch.

I feel guilty not choosing "The Shining" ...which films would you choose?

Which One Won the Oscar 1957

 

It’s a month full of birthdays...7 including a new one, my hubby’s niece gave birth to a baby girl on May 7th, named Molly Olivia. My hubby’s birthday is on May 25th and he will be ....65!! He is officially a senior citizen but only in age, not in his heart. I decided to choose 1957, hubby’s birth year to choose  3 songs from the movies- one that won the Oscar, one that was nominated and one that missed out on both. Let’s see if you can guess which is which.

1. ALL THE WAY SUNG BY FRANK SINATRA

This song is from the film, “ The Joker  Is Wild”  starring Frank Sinatra which turned into one of his bigger hits. This song was written by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

2. AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER SUNG BY VIC DAMONE

I know the movie very well and even the music but I didn’t know, or remember, the lyrics. I guess it’s because the song was heard at the very beginning and then sung by Marni Nixon who always subbed for Deborah Kerr. ( among others). This song was composed by  Harry Warren with lyrics by Leo McCarey and Harold Adamson.

3. LOVING YOU SUNG BY ELVIS

Elvis is Elvis we don’t even have to say his last name and we know who it is. He starred in the film with the same name. This is a really nice song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

So which song won the Oscar, which was nominated and which song lostnon both counts?

Thursday Movie Picks-Actors who are a Real Life Family Playong Same Family Role in Movies

 

That title must be one of the longest:) I was thinking about families and, to be honest, came up blank. I didn't want to do anything about kids or kids and parents so I thought of real life romances. There are plenty out there but I wanted the real passionate relationship  and I think Wandering Through The Shelves would Like. Here are my 3...

1. FLESH AND THE DEVIL- 1927

I actually like this movie, I don't love it but there is something mesmerizing between John Gilbert and Greta Garbo. The film is about 2 lifelong German friends who end up meeting a Count and Countess. When John Gilbert has his first look at Garbo, his mouth drops open. This is not faked and Gilbert never returned home to his wife,  Leatrice Joy. With the Countess's encouragement, they begin an affair which ends up with Gilbert shooting her husband in a duel. Since he is in the army, Gilbert is sent to Africa for 3 years but when he returns, his best friend is now married to the Countess. Gilbert and Garbo's passionate love was caught on screen. When the 2 make out on a couch  the director ended the scene without yelling "cut" and they all left so the 2 stars could get acquainted in the biblical sense. Gilbert was the biggest star back then, not Garbo, but he helped her. When she did not show up to their wedding( it was a double wedding)  L. B. Mayers  head of MGM,  told him " Screw her, don't marry her". Gilbert decked him. From that moment you see his career decline. He died in Marlene Dietrich's bed from a heart attack brought on by his alcoholism. In 1936, he was only 38.

2. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT- 1944

This is a fun film starring Humphrey Bogart as a captain of a small touring boat on the island of Martinique during WW2. He doesn't want to get involved in the war but events lead him right into it. Lauren Bacall plays "Slim", the young gal who decides to get under Bogie's skin especially when she tells him how to whistle. Bogart and Bacall met on the set of this film and, despite him being married ( to an alcoholic nutjob who tried to kill him) and 24 years older, they fell for one another. The thoughts were that it would never last, but they stayed together until Bogie died in 1957. They had 2 children and, even though Bacall married again( to Jason Robards) she always said Bogie was the love of her life.

3. BUGSY-1991

Warren Beatty stars as Bugsy Malone, the real life mobster ( who hated his nickname) who brought Las Vegas from a small, no nothing town to the mega casino Sodom & Gamorah that we know it today. Well, today it has huge fountains, rides and a throw up of tackiness but back in the 50s to the 80s, it was the hobnob of gamblers, the Rat Pack and Wayne Newton. Annette Benning plays Virginia, the gal that wins his heart. This film is a more glamourized account of Bugsy and Virginia  but tongues were wagging when the rumours came out that Beatty and Benning were playing footsies. No one expected this to last because Beatty was notorious for his womanizing ways but, they proved everyone wrong because he married her! They are still happily married and have 4 kids. Warren found the woman he wanted to be with forever but it took a long while...and many women.

Which family in real life are in the movies that you saw?

A beautiful Week

 

Our Cherry blossom tree is starting to show off in the most delightful way. What a better way than to showcase flowers especially since the first song I picked has been in my head for a week now.

1. IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO SUNG BYSCOTT MCKENZIE-1967

This was written by John Phillips ( from the Mama's and the Papa's) at the heyday of flower power and peace out, smoke a doobie, far out etc... I always think of that famous Life Magazine photo of this blond mam putting daisies into the head of the rifles that were pointed ag him and others. 

2. HONEYSUCKLE ROSE SUNG BY LENA HORNE-1943

I always loved how Lena Horne sang this song when I first heard it from a movie that was just a showcase for the MGM stars. The sad thing is she could be clipped out of the film when it was shown in the South. Disgusting but true and this is often how Lena was shown in films  except for films like Stormy Weather, you couldn't see her much which was a shame. This song was written by Fats Waller in 1929.

3. DESERT ROSE SUNG BY STING-2000

I never cared for The Police and that one song, " Roxanne" really grates on my nerves but I do like this song by Sting with the Algerian Rai  singer Mami creating an Arabic touch to this song that Sting also wrote.

For fun, I had to put this clip in from a musical I still have to see  Watching Bobby Van bounce like Tigger  all around the neighborhood just leaves me  speechless. I tried doing this once and only did 3 jumps. I was not feeling well after that because just look at where he places his legs..all the way back...thus made my mouth drop open.

Feeling like spring is in the air by seeing all the pretty flowers? What songs grab you?

What I watched in April

 

I didn’t watch nearly as much as last month but I still saw some so here we go....

1. HACKSAW RIDGE-201

Yes, this is a Mel Gibson film but, although I never cared for the man ever since I saw him interviewed by Barbara Walters way back in the 1980s, I do believe he makes some really good movies and this is one of them. I would say it is an excellent film. It is violent but that is what war is and, I believe, it is not gratuitous. This is a true story about a man that, due to his religious belief, he refuses to carry a gun but wants to be in World War 2. he faces many uphill battles from his own side to begin with but, boy does he prove his worth. If you read about the actual man, Desmond Doss, he enters the war as a conscientious objector medic who saved over 75 men (many say it was more) during a key battle and was the first conscientous objector to be awarded the medal of honour. 

2. TITANIC-1997

Yup, I watched this drivel (Dribble? Drivle?) of a flick because there was not much else on TV and I wanted to slum it. I was hoping I would change my mind about it but...nope...It's the Love Boat sinking. The costumes are excellent and the detail that went into the decor and how it showed the ship at the bottom slowly come alive as it used to be is impressive, even the acting is good but the writing and directing by that ego inflated goon, James Cameron falls into a pit of crap. He went all cutesy teenage love story where the kids fall in love and poor slob, Leo, gets invited to first class engaging the rich people to listen to what he has to say... Yeah, and I have an Oligarch yacht I want to sell you. Rose and Jack go in and out of that freezing water so many times I am surprised they didn't become prized ice sculptures surrounded by caviar. Never mind the true stories that are much more interesting than Jack and Rose, let's centre on a story that would never, I repeat, never happen in this manner. Besides, I don't care if old Rose is 100, I would bitch slap that old broad for throwing over that honking, tacky blue diamond into the sea. She hated that thing so why would she keep it all these years? Didn't her grandkids need to go to school? Where did she hide it all those years from her husband? You mean, she loved Jack more after knowing him for 3 bleeping days than her husband that she was with for probably 50?  Ughhh

3. GOON-2011

I happened across this fun flick and laughed my ass off. It is brutal, stupid (maybe moronic) and many F bombs but I laughed and laughed. It is not for many since you do see a lot of blood splatters  but I just couldn't help laughing. Obviously, the men who wrote this must have loved Slapshot (starred Paul Newman and that is a much better film) and wanted to make another hockey film. It stars Seann William Scott as a dumb bouncer who finds his dream job on the ice as an enforcer for some minor hockey league. We also have Liev Schreiber as an experienced enforcer who is adored by man fans. It is  loosely based on a man named Douglas Smith who co-wrote a book, with Adam Frattasio, about his exploits on the ice.

4. MINORITY REPORT-2002

This film stars Tom Cruise as a cop, haunted by the disappearance of his son, who captures criminals before they commit murder. Yes, it is sci-fi mixed in with thriller and a conspiracy story deftly handled by Steven Spielberg. You see there are these pre-cogs-2 men, twin brothers and a woman, who seem to spend their life in this water connected to some tv where their minds show what will happen. The problem is that is it true or can it be manipulated? Well, you have to watch the film to find out. It is well acted and I thought the story was quite original.

5. Grace Quigly-1985

This is quite a good movie bringing a hint back of the old screwball comedy but on a much darker side. Katherine Hepburn place Grace, who lives in a slumlord building and is ready to be kicked out of her apartment by the a-hole landlord when she witnesses his murder by a hitman, Nick Nolte. She follows him and decides to hire him to kill her. He is a bit put out by this request but she will not take no for an answer especially when she gives him all her life's savings-$2,000. When he meets her again, she has told a few of her old cronies that live in the same building and they want to be done in too. Before you know it, it becomes quite the business venture but not in all the ways you expect it to be. The 2 of them start forming a bond like only a demented mom and son could be. It is not a great film but it is funny and quite engaging.

TV SHOWS

1. TEMPLE-2019- PRESENT

I love Mark Strong, who usually plays a villain, but in this show, he is a doctor who does questionable services for people who wish not to have it known they need a doctor. His base of operations is in the bowels of the subway where he has a trusty sidekick who helps him and, soon, brings in a fellow doctor/scientist to help cure his wife who is in a coma. It goes on from there where he seems to sink lower and lower all for the love of his wife. It's well acted and I love the drama punched in with some good comedic bits that are played out dryly but with good effect.

2. HISTORY'S GREATEST MYSTERIES-2020-PRESENT

I love a good mystery and, when I was young, my mom always bought me books on unsolved mysteries whether they be true or fanciful or a novel...I love them. This is one show that looks deeper into some of the most famous but does not take a tacky look at things but more of a research style which is what I love. I just watched one about the famous Amber room that was looted by the Nazis  from the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg. Of course, they tackled D. B. Cooper, the convicts that escaped from Alcatraz and the Titanic but they also talk about the 5 Sodder kids that supposedly died in a fire and the Dyatlov Pass Incident. Pretty cool.

3. SECRETS OF PLAYBOY-2022

I came across this and didn't think much about it. To be honest, I rolled my eyes  thinking that it was going to be about these playboy women in fake tans, boobs and all bashing an asshole now that he's dead. Well, Hugh Hefner was an asshole and he is dead (I never liked this creepy bastard), but I was very wrong about these women and am readily admitting to it because I judged them. They stayed with him and on his place, they were in the magazine, frolicked by the pool so why didn't they just leave? Well, when you watch this, you find out how horrible this was and it is too difficult to explain in a few short sentences. These women were terrified, abused, gaslighted, drugged up and slowly stripped of their power. I always remember seeing Hefner on Larry King with Holly Madison and a couple of others and I remember a few of her looks that disturbed me. I felt she was uncomfortable and very unhappy but I didn't know what was going on. Before ye judge, watch this show. 

What did you watch this past month?