You're Telling Me (1934) is my new favorite W.C. Fields movie - it isn't so much better than the others I've seen, but it's one I hadn't seen, so it was fresh.
Fields is a drunk, awkward inventor (what else?) whose wife is ashamed of him and whose daughter is in love with a rich man's son (Buster Crabbe!). He loses his greatest invention, bullet proof tires, just when he's about to make his fortune. On his way home on the train he decides to drink iodine and die. At this low point in his life, he meets a real-life princess and thinks he talks her out of killing herself.
So of course, she shows up at his house and exerts her social influence. He thinks she's just a con artist, and takes it all in stride. But what a fairy princess. Think of it, if you are an old drunk failure ("if", hah!) and a beautiful rich woman takes you under her wing. It's a sweet thought - maybe what I liked most, the touch of a feminine sweetness to counteract all of Fields' misfortune.
It all ends up with the golf routine that he's done in so many other movies. So maybe not all that fresh, but wonderful for all of that.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
By Popular Quest
I watched The Quest because of Film Sack podcast. I'm not trying to shift the blame or anything. If anything, I have to admit that I was warned.
Basically, Jean Claude van Damme plays a white-face mime and stilt walker in 1920s Paris. Wait, what? Don't worry, it is all made clear. No, wait again, it isn't. Anyway, his old pal Roger Moore (yes, that one) takes him to go to Thailand, where he is sold into slavery in a Muay Thai village (possibly a village called Muay Thai, the dubbing wasn't that clear). From there, he decides to enter the worldwide martial arts Tenka Ichi Budo Kai (wait, that's Dragonball...) and win the golden dragon so that he can save the orphanage (no, that's Blues Brothers. Wait, I checked the podcast, it's this movie too).
This is where it really gets good. We get a variety of opponents in their national styles: bare knuckle American, flamenco fighting Spaniards, sumo style Japanese, capoeira dancing Brazilians, and a kung fu Chinese. Did I miss the high-kicking Frenchman, or did they? I forget.
Really, I forget a lot of this movie. Aside from the WTF-ness and the forgetableness, this is a pretty well-made silly action movie. Since JCvD wrote and directed as well as starred, kudos to him.
Basically, Jean Claude van Damme plays a white-face mime and stilt walker in 1920s Paris. Wait, what? Don't worry, it is all made clear. No, wait again, it isn't. Anyway, his old pal Roger Moore (yes, that one) takes him to go to Thailand, where he is sold into slavery in a Muay Thai village (possibly a village called Muay Thai, the dubbing wasn't that clear). From there, he decides to enter the worldwide martial arts Tenka Ichi Budo Kai (wait, that's Dragonball...) and win the golden dragon so that he can save the orphanage (no, that's Blues Brothers. Wait, I checked the podcast, it's this movie too).
This is where it really gets good. We get a variety of opponents in their national styles: bare knuckle American, flamenco fighting Spaniards, sumo style Japanese, capoeira dancing Brazilians, and a kung fu Chinese. Did I miss the high-kicking Frenchman, or did they? I forget.
Really, I forget a lot of this movie. Aside from the WTF-ness and the forgetableness, this is a pretty well-made silly action movie. Since JCvD wrote and directed as well as starred, kudos to him.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Evil Dead Cabin
Ms. Spenser popped over from Florida for a weekend in Tahoe, like any gad-about socialite. While she was home, we watched one of the girly movies she likes: The Cabin in the Woods (2011). I was pretty hesitant - what if I got scared? Would it give me nightmares? But she really wanted to see it (again - she has seen it in FL), so I gave it a shot.
Basically, it is the story of 5 teens who go to a spooky cabin in the woods out beyond civilization and cellphone reception. If they get into trouble, no one will ever know - except the shadowy, sarcastic government bureaucrats who are spying on their every move.
Not only is this a tribute to scary cabin movies, it is also a parody, and it is also damn scary. I don't watch a lot of horror, but this reminds me a lot of The Evil Dead. About the same amount (and type) of humor, of self-awareness and, of course, scariness.
And... about here I'm going to stop writing because I don't want to be too spoilery, even though everyone who is going to watch this probably already has. Also, the "secret" isn't really that important to the film (I'm not even sure it's a very good secret). But still, there's not much more I can say without giving stuff away, so I'll just fade out here.
I'm not the best audience for this, I suppose, since I haven't watched enough horror to get all the meta stuff. But I thought it was great.
Basically, it is the story of 5 teens who go to a spooky cabin in the woods out beyond civilization and cellphone reception. If they get into trouble, no one will ever know - except the shadowy, sarcastic government bureaucrats who are spying on their every move.
Not only is this a tribute to scary cabin movies, it is also a parody, and it is also damn scary. I don't watch a lot of horror, but this reminds me a lot of The Evil Dead. About the same amount (and type) of humor, of self-awareness and, of course, scariness.
And... about here I'm going to stop writing because I don't want to be too spoilery, even though everyone who is going to watch this probably already has. Also, the "secret" isn't really that important to the film (I'm not even sure it's a very good secret). But still, there's not much more I can say without giving stuff away, so I'll just fade out here.
I'm not the best audience for this, I suppose, since I haven't watched enough horror to get all the meta stuff. But I thought it was great.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Raw Hyde
Hyde Park Corner (1935) is a funny sort of movie, a British time-travel romance mystery comedy. Once you realize that it is built around it's two stars, it makes a little more sense.
One star is Gordon Harker, who plays two comic policemen. The first is a "peeler", one of John Peel's Bow Street Runner's in Victorian London. He is staking out a gambling house by Hyde Park when the owner loses the deed to his house over a crooked deck. The other star is Binnie Hale, playing a popular singer visiting the house.
After the raid, we jump to the modern (1930s) day, where Binnie is a shoplifter and Harker is the copper who nabs her. Somehow (there's a lot of "somehow" in this movie), they wind up back at the same London house in Hyde Park. There's another crooked card game, etc, etc.
Once you stop paying attention to what's going on and just accept that it's a framework to allow Harker to be a cop and Binnie Hale to be a cockney, it all works out fine. Harker is pretty standard as a "What's all this then?" comic copper, but I enjoyed him. Hale is interesting as a comedian, not as pretty as you might expect, a little older and coarser. She makes a fun shoplifter.
I can't believe it, but I've queued up another film they made together, Phantom Light. I'll probably never get around to watching it, though.
One star is Gordon Harker, who plays two comic policemen. The first is a "peeler", one of John Peel's Bow Street Runner's in Victorian London. He is staking out a gambling house by Hyde Park when the owner loses the deed to his house over a crooked deck. The other star is Binnie Hale, playing a popular singer visiting the house.
After the raid, we jump to the modern (1930s) day, where Binnie is a shoplifter and Harker is the copper who nabs her. Somehow (there's a lot of "somehow" in this movie), they wind up back at the same London house in Hyde Park. There's another crooked card game, etc, etc.
Once you stop paying attention to what's going on and just accept that it's a framework to allow Harker to be a cop and Binnie Hale to be a cockney, it all works out fine. Harker is pretty standard as a "What's all this then?" comic copper, but I enjoyed him. Hale is interesting as a comedian, not as pretty as you might expect, a little older and coarser. She makes a fun shoplifter.
I can't believe it, but I've queued up another film they made together, Phantom Light. I'll probably never get around to watching it, though.
Lavender Skies
In another in a series of twee drinks based on the Aviation First, this recipe calls for Tincture of Lavender:- Steep lavender blossoms, mostly petals, in vodka to cover for 1-2 days and strain
Proceed to mix an Aviation, using half tincture, half gin.
Lavender Aviation
- 1 oz Gin (Junipero for ex)
- 1 oz Tincture of Lavender
- 1/2 oz Marascino
- 1/2 oz Creme de Violette
- Juice 1/2 lime
Strain into a cocktail glass, or have it on the rocks, in front of the TV.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
I, Ronsky!
If I told you that Iron Sky was a tribute to and parody of sci-fi war movies, featuring Nazis on the Moon, you'd form one picture in your head. Now, if I say that it is also about the re-election of President Palin, does that change the image you have at all?
It did for me. I had heard of it as a fan-backed, fan-sourced low budget parody tribute with great respect for the B-Movie that it is trashing. Adding in Palin, which inevitably leads to the first African American on the moon (Christopher Kirby) being a model chosen because he looked good on President Palin's re-election poster. They seemed to emphasize the re-, just to make the image more revolting. And insulting, since this is Europeans, for the most part, making fun of America. Well, I can't say we don't deserve it.
In some ways, it was a lot sillier than I was expecting, like when the mad scientist Tilo Prueckner Aryanizes Kirby, turning him pale and blonde. The mad scientist has a beautiful daughter, of course, Julia Dietze. That puts us on pretty familiar ground, as does her handsome but evil Nazi boyfriend Goetz Otto.
But what about the space battles? The ridiculous miniatures, the fx shots looped over and over to pad the scene, the space rays? Don't you, you'll get a some of that too.
So, in the end it was mostly made by Finns, which explains the extent to which a cell phone (brand is not mentioned) is key to the plans.
In some ways, it was a lot sillier than I was expecting, like when the mad scientist Tilo Prueckner Aryanizes Kirby, turning him pale and blonde. The mad scientist has a beautiful daughter, of course, Julia Dietze. That puts us on pretty familiar ground, as does her handsome but evil Nazi boyfriend Goetz Otto.
But what about the space battles? The ridiculous miniatures, the fx shots looped over and over to pad the scene, the space rays? Don't you, you'll get a some of that too.
So, in the end it was mostly made by Finns, which explains the extent to which a cell phone (brand is not mentioned) is key to the plans.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Touched by an Angel
Luc Besson's Angel-A (2005) is a strange duck. It's all in black and white, and has a plot that Frank Capra could have written, but it does't come across as old-fashioned.
It's about American in Paris, but he isn't an artist or dancer. He's a small-time criminal of Moroccan descent, played by Jamel Debbouze, who owes money to everyone, and is probably going to die over it. As he is getting ready to jump off a quaint Parisian bridge into the Seine, he meets a girl who is jumping too, and saves her life - and forgets to kill himself.
The girl is Rie Rassmussen, an unbelievably leggy blonde in a tiny minidress, who is so grateful to be saved, she promises to do anything for Debbouze. So what does a funny looking little North African want from a blonde about a foot taller than him? Money, of course, but he didn't expect her to turn tricks to get it!
Debbouze has a great face for comedy, a little Cantinflas, but always worried, always serious. He's a fast talking loser, and nothing ever works out for him. Rasmussen, his angel, tells him that it is because he is always lying. She never has that kind of problem, possibly because she is a tall, cool chick with serious martial arts skills and no qualms.
Ok, except for the hooking in the club toilets, this actually is pretty old-fashioned, especially the ending. And Paris looks beautiful, even the dumps - Thierry Arbogast at the camera. I kept expecting them to pop into color when they got to Oz, but I guess it isn't that kind of old-fashioned movie.
It's about American in Paris, but he isn't an artist or dancer. He's a small-time criminal of Moroccan descent, played by Jamel Debbouze, who owes money to everyone, and is probably going to die over it. As he is getting ready to jump off a quaint Parisian bridge into the Seine, he meets a girl who is jumping too, and saves her life - and forgets to kill himself.
The girl is Rie Rassmussen, an unbelievably leggy blonde in a tiny minidress, who is so grateful to be saved, she promises to do anything for Debbouze. So what does a funny looking little North African want from a blonde about a foot taller than him? Money, of course, but he didn't expect her to turn tricks to get it!
Debbouze has a great face for comedy, a little Cantinflas, but always worried, always serious. He's a fast talking loser, and nothing ever works out for him. Rasmussen, his angel, tells him that it is because he is always lying. She never has that kind of problem, possibly because she is a tall, cool chick with serious martial arts skills and no qualms.
Ok, except for the hooking in the club toilets, this actually is pretty old-fashioned, especially the ending. And Paris looks beautiful, even the dumps - Thierry Arbogast at the camera. I kept expecting them to pop into color when they got to Oz, but I guess it isn't that kind of old-fashioned movie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)