Movies | dual personalities

September 26, 2016

Grant us strength and courage*

by chuckofish

⁶Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; ⁸but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

¹¹But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.¹²Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

There was a lot of uncomfortable scripture in Sunday’s lectionary starting with the “Alas for those at ease in Zion” cautionary speech from Amos, continuing with Paul’s strong words to Timothy, and concluding with the difficult parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Our rector soft-peddled most of it, urging us to “see in love” and to notice the needy etc. All very well and good, but Amos, Paul and Jesus would have rolled their eyes.

During the Prayers of the People one of the acolytes fainted/had a seizure. Since I sit up front on the epistle side of the church, I had a birds-eye view of the whole thing and it was pretty unsettling. I was unsettled to begin with, because I had just heard that three members of the vestry had resigned, including one person who is a regular pillar of the church.

On the one hand, I was happy that I am so out of it that I had no inkling of any drama going on, but it was unsettling nonetheless. I really hate drama at church.

Our U-verse was out on Friday night, so I was forced to watch a DVD and put Longmire off until we were back online the next day. I watched I’m Not There (2007)–or “Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician’s life.”

Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, among others, play the different Bobs. It was interesting, but seemed overly gimmick-y. The best thing about it was the real Dylan playing on the soundtrack.

The boy came over on Saturday and we watched the Cards–Cubs game which was fun.

We won 10-4 so that was especially good too.

And I saw these on Etsy:

Now it is Monday and a very busy work week looms. All will be well, right?

*BCP, Post-communion Prayer

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September 23, 2016

“It seemed to be a good idea at the time.”*

by chuckofish

The reboot of The Magnificent Seven opens today, but you will not catch me going to see this remake of a remake. Please. I mean look at these guys.

Of course, they have changed the story so the bad guy is an industrialist. Of course he is. Bandits are so yesterday. Robber Barons–big time bandits–clever.

Also, you can bet that this new version is 100 times more violent than either of the earlier movies.

So no, I prefer to dust off the original, The Seven Samurai (1954), directed by Akira Kurosawa

and starring Toshiro Mifune as one of the seven.

Or I could watch the original American remake, The Magnificent Seven (1960) starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen et al.

I could go either way. You do what you want. You will not hurt my feelings.

Meanwhile the boy and daughter #3 came over for dinner last night. I figured the boy would like to get out of the house since he is still recuperating. (He gets his staples out next week.)

So that was nice. And he looks pretty good, right?

The dining room is looking pretty good too!

Have a super weekend!

*Steve McQueen as Vin in The Magnificent Seven (1960)

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September 22, 2016

This and that

by chuckofish

Well, did you hear that Curtis Hanson died? This makes me sad, because he was one of the few directors who made movies that I have actually admired in the last twenty years. Seriously, there are so few. But I liked L.A. Confidential (1997), Wonder Boys (2000), In Her Shoes (2005), and Lucky You (2006). And I am a big fan of 8 Mile (2002)

which starred Eminem, who said, “Curtis Hanson believed in me and our crazy idea to make a rap battle movie set in Detroit. He basically made me into an actor for ‘8 Mile.’ I’m lucky I got to know him.”

So tonight I will toast Curtis Hanson and this weekend I will try to watch one of his movies.

In other news, while the world goes to hell in a hand-basket, my flyover town is all in a tizzy about the new “improved” mascot of the local Jesuit university.

New Billiken

Old Billiken

I hear that the Billiken’s new look is a hot topic in the twitter-sphere.

Anyway, I found this whole kerfuffle amusing.

Meanwhile the Cards are still in the race for the wild card spot. And we have the best mascot ever.

God’s grace abounds.

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September 9, 2016

This and that

by chuckofish

The weekend is upon us once more. Huzzah! It is raining now and that’s okay–the temperatures have cooled off.

If you missed Bells Are Ringing (1960) a few weeks ago, you can catch it again on TCM today at 5:45 p.m. It is not one of the great musicals of all time, but it is fun and the performance of the great Judy Holliday is worth watching. And Dean Martin is Dean Martin.

Personally, I have a soft spot in my heart for Bells Are Ringing because I remember going to go see the “Troubadours” production of it at Country Day in 1971. I was in the ninth grade and my friend and I were dropped off at the school to see it. I felt pretty grown up. It’s funny how experiences like that loom large in one’s memory. Not that my life has been all that exciting–so maybe it’s understandable.

Someone left the entire Masterpiece Theatre DVD set of I, Claudius (1976) in our giveaway basket at work, so I brought it home and I am watching it now.

Again, I remember watching it with my parents back in the day and how much they enjoyed it. It is excellent and some of the performances–Sian Phillips as Livia in particular–are pretty great.

All this nostalgic TV viewing makes me wonder what my children will look back on fondly. Back in the day, watching something like I, Claudius was such an event. You watched an episode and then you had to wait a whole week to see the next installment. Also, if you missed it for some reason, there was no DVR or VHS, so–drama! Schedules had to be re-arranged, dates turned down, priorities set.

We are spoiled now. There is no such thing as delayed gratification anymore.

Not that I’m complaining exactly. Here I go sounding like an old lady again. Mea culpa.

Anyway, this weekend I will be immersed in Ancient Roman political intrigue. How about you?

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August 31, 2016

R.I.P. Gene Wilder

by chuckofish

We bid adieu this week to Gene Wilder. You know how I felt about him. He was one of those funny, funny people with sad, sad eyes. The Chaplin film “City Lights,” he said, had “made the biggest impression on me as an actor; it was funny, then sad, then both at the same time.”

On Monday I went to a funeral of an old friend who died on Saturday. According to Jewish law, the body must be interred as soon as practical from the time of death, so his funeral was on Monday. The temple was packed. The funeral consisted of prayers, a eulogy by the rabbi, and testimony from all of the deceased man’s grandchildren, who all clearly idolized and loved their “Boppa”. The cantor sang Psalm 23. Since there is no explicit afterlife in Judaism, the focus was on what a great life he had (he was rich as Croesus), how his family loved him, and how he loved learning (he did). He was a generous man.

I thought of Gene Wilder, whose funeral will no doubt be similar.

May the prayers and supplications

of all Israel

be accepted by their Father who is in Heaven; and say, Amen

Later in the day, I went to my friend’s penthouse to sit shiva with his family and friends. I spoke to his children and told them how much I would miss their father. He was a gentleman of the old school–polite, humble, curious, and detached.

I thought of Gene Wilder. I will miss him too.

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August 30, 2016

“Ya vas lyublyu. What’s it mean?”*

by chuckofish

Last Saturday night the OM and I were home watching the baseball game on the telly. During the commercials I was clicking back and forth to The Great Escape (1963) on TCM. During segments with Steve McQueen we watched for extended periods–we were losing the game–and we saw quite a bit of this really good movie which I have probably seen a million times.

This time I noticed how really terrific the music by Elmer Bernstein is–and not just the famous theme music–but the incidental music, which, we all know, can make or break a film.

The music is quite reminiscent of Bernstein’s score to The Magnificent Seven (1960). In fact most of his scores are reminiscent of each other and that is okay. There are repeated themes and his orchestrations are similar. I mean, watch To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and you will see what I mean. His music was clearly influenced by Aaron Copland who encouraged him in his early musical studies. This also is a good thing.

Bernstein was nominated fourteen times for an Academy Award, but only won once for the mediocre Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). What a travesty! But by now we are used to such things. His scores for The Magnificent Seven and To Kill a Mockingbird were ranked by the American Film Institute as the eighth and seventeenth greatest American film scores of all time, respectively, on the list of AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores**. But some of his lesser known scores from lesser know movies are favorites of mine: The World of Henry Orient (1964) foremost among them.

Anyway, Elmer Bernstein deserves to be up there in the pantheon of best all-time film composers: Alfred Newman, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, Jerome Moross, Maurice Jarre, Miklos Rozsa…

What is your favorite movie score by Elmer Bernstein? Discuss among yourselves.

*Sedgwick in “The Great Escape”

**This list is so flawed! I mean they have a film score as #1 that is totally derivative (and intentionally so)–please!

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July 27, 2016

“[T]hen all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago.”

by chuckofish

Today is the birthday of George Levick Street, III (July 27, 1913 – February 26, 2000) who was a submariner in the U.S. Navy. He received the Medal of Honor during WWII.

You can read all about him and his illustrious naval career here.

Interesting (to me anyway) is the fact that Street’s Executive Officer on the submarine Tirante on her first patrol was Edward L. Beach, who modeled his first novel, Run Silent, Run Deep (1955), on his wartime experiences. This novel was made into a movie, also titled Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), and I think it is the best of the submarine genre–at least until Das Boot (1981) was made.

Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster are in top form as the dueling Commander and Executive Officer. In fact, Gable was at his very best as the manly Commander who is coming off desk duty after losing his submarine. He is bent on revenge and obsessed with a Japanese destroyer that has sunk three US submarines in the Bungo Straits, including his previous command. Who can forget his order to “Dive! Dive!”? The supporting cast includes Jack Warden, Brad Dexter and a young Don Rickles. The movie is tense and dramatic and filled with details that feel very real–and probably are, considering who wrote the original story.

Anyway, I think I will watch Run Silent, Run Deep tonight and toast George Street on his birthday. And while I’m at it, I’ll toast Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. (April 20, 1918 – December 1, 2002) who participated in the Battle of Midway and 12 combat patrols, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross. After the war, he served as the naval aide to the President of the U.S., Dwight D. Eisenhower, and commanded the first submerged circumnavigation. Wow.

*Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

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July 21, 2016

Another flyover first

by chuckofish

Today is the 151st anniversary of the Wild Bill Hickok–Davis Tutt shootout in the town square of Springfield, Missouri (July 21, 1865). It is reputedly the first and one of the few recorded instances in the Old West of a one-on-one pistol quick-draw duel in a public place.

Wild Bill Hickok threatens the friend of Davis Tutt after defeating Tutt in a duel, in an illustration from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, February 1867.

What began as an argument over gambling debts, turned deadly when Tutt took a prize watch of Wild Bill’s as collateral. Warned against wearing the watch in public to humiliate Wild Bill, Tutt appeared on the square on July 21, prominently wearing the watch. The two men then unsuccessfully negotiated the debt and the watch’s return. Hickok returned to the square at 6 p.m. to find Tutt once again displaying his watch. Wild Bill gave Tutt his final warning. “Don’t you come around here with that watch.” Tutt answered by placing his hand on his pistol.

Tutt was killed and Hickok was arrested and eventually brought to trial. The judge gave the jury two apparently contradictory instructions. He first instructed the jury that a conviction was its only option under the law. He then instructed them that they could apply the unwritten law of the “fair fight” and acquit, an action known as jury nullification which allows a jury to make a finding contrary to the law. The trial ended in acquittal on August 6, 1865, after the jury deliberated for “an hour or two” before reaching a verdict of not guilty, which was not popular at the time. (Wikipedia)

There’s a marker now on the street in Springfield where it all took place. Although the boy went to college in Springfield for a few years, I was unaware of (or had forgotten) this fun fact.

According to IMDB.com, Wild Bill Hickok has been portrayed on screen over 70 times by actors including William S. Hart, Gary Cooper, Bill Elliott, Richard Dix, Forest Tucker, Howard Keel, Guy Madison, Adam West, Robert Culp, Lloyd Bridges, Don Murray, Charles Bronson, Richard Farnsworth, Frederic Forrest, Josh Brolin, Sam Elliott, Sam Shepard, and Keith Carradine.

My favorite is probably Gary Cooper in The Plainsman (1936), but you have to love Charles Bronson as Wild Bill in White Buffalo (1877)–at least I do. Since I recently watched part of The Plainsman on TCM, I will watch White Buffalo (which we own!) tonight and toast Wild Bill Hickock one more time.

In case you’ve forgotten, White Buffalo is a Dino de Laurentis “disaster film/monster movie” from the 1970s–pretty darn terrible, especially the special effects–but it has its moments. Wild Bill gets to say things like,

“In the first place, the Great Spirit did not give you these hills. You took this land by force. You took it from the Cheyenne, the Shoshoni, and the Arapaho. You took it with the lance and tomahawk. Now the white man makes war on you. What’s the difference?”

and his mountain man friend, played by Jack Warden gets to say,

“Probably heard about the white buff on the moccasin telegraph.”

Political correctness had not been invented yet.

Speaking of Charles Bronson, I recently watched Red Sun (1971)–a western with an international cast: Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon, Ursula Andress, and Capucine playing a Mexican named “Pepita”.

After a train robbery, Bronson and Mifune (the Japanese ambassador’s bodyguard) team up to find Alain Delon and get back the stolen money and a Japanese sword. “2 Desperados … 1 Hellcat … and a Samurai”–well, you can imagine. Luckily Bronson and Mifune are awesome together and Alain Delon is really handsome, so it is hardly a waste of your time. And it’s definitely more enlightening/entertaining than watching either the Republican or Democrat conventions.

And then there’s this:

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July 18, 2016

“Let the trees of the forest sing”*

by chuckofish

When I got to church on Sunday I saw that two huge oak trees had been blown down in last Wednesday’s big storm. The branches had been moved out of the driveway, but the huge trunk with its root ball still remained.

During the announcements our rector told us that the pastor of the St. Louis Family Church, a very large evangelical church in west county, had called him the next day and said he would send people out to move the downed trees asap. This is part of their emergency storm relief mission. Our rector said, “Thank you!” The motto of this church is “Honor God. Help people.” I was surprised, impressed and the news made me feel very happy. This must be a very busy week for those volunteers.

I did quite a lot of work in our own yard on Saturday–cleaning up from the storm. I filled five bags with detritus.

The boy came over with some loppers and he and the OM cut up the big branches and filled a bag too. What a storm! I was actually driving home when it hit and it was very scary indeed. I was afraid a tree would fall on my little car and I would be squished. Zut alors! was I glad to get home.

In other news, we celebrated the OM’s birthday with the boy and daughter #3 at a restaurant down in Lafayette Square in the city–We are so adventurous!

I couldn’t be in this picture, because I didn’t get the memo about wearing blue!

Also, the boy got his first penalty in a hockey game and also made his first shot on goal. Onward and upward.

We watched a terrible movie: Hail, Caesar! (2016), the Coen brothers send-up of Hollywood in the 1950’s. Even Channing Tatum couldn’t salvage this mess. Totally not funny.

I finished The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, the 17th installment of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith. Although I find these books mildly irritating, I am a loyal reader and always ultimately enjoy them. Precious Romotswe is a great character after all.

[Clovis Anderson] wrote: Do not allow the profession of which you are a member to induce you to take a bleak view of humanity. You will encounter all sorts of bad behavior but do not judge everybody by the standards of the lowest. If you did that, he pointed out, you would misjudge humanity in general and that would be fatal to discerning judgement. If everybody is a villain, then nobody is a villain, he wrote. That simple expression had intrigued her, even if it was some time before its full meaning–and the wisdom that lay behind it–became apparent.

Wise words to ponder this week. Discuss among yourselves.

*1 Chronicles 16:33

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July 6, 2016

You don’t say!

by chuckofish

As you know, Olivia de Havilland turned 100 last week.

Of course, you know that she is a two-time Oscar winner, but did you know that she is a devout Episcopalian and a lay reader to boot? Well, she is. Just like me.

She attends the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris (aka the American Cathedral in Paris).

Here is an interesting article about Olivia and how she feels about lay reading–and within it a link to another, longer article.

I completely agree with Olivia, of course. Can you imagine having Olivia de Havilland as a lay reader in your church?

By the way, Olivia de Havilland is the Star of the Month on TCM, so they will be showing her movies every Friday in the month of July. Here’s the schedule.

In other news: TCM is “Presenting Shane and 100 other westerns” this month on Tuesday and Wednesday nights! Check out the schedule here.

SO many good movies!

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