dual personalities

Tag: movies

December 19, 2022

Ding dong! Merrily on high

by chuckofish

Well, we are into the holiday swing of things here in flyover country. The tree is up, thanks to the boy coming over and putting it in the stand and daughter #1 coming home to help decorate it. We are cooking with gas, as they say.

I went to see Lottie’s ‘Holiday Show’ put on by the dance studio where she takes lessons.

As always, she was front and center and knew all the moves and words to the song. Her brother, watching from the sidelines, pronounced it a “Nice job!” at the end.

On Saturday the OM, daughter #1 and I got up and dressed in our warmest gear so that we could go to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to put wreaths on veterans’ graves as part of the Wreaths Across America event which coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad. My DAR chapter is a sponsor, so I volunteered to participate and the OM and daughter #1 gallantly offered to go along. However, the traffic down in Lemay was insane, backed up onto the highway, and after making a wrong turn into No Man’s Land, we cut bait and headed home. I felt bad until the DAR lady who coordinated our group replied to my email telling her that we were baling by saying she had been stuck in traffic for over an hour herself. The next day she followed up to say that she had been in a traffic line for over an hour and a half just waiting to pick up the wreaths! Zut alors. The best laid plans and all that.

(KSDK.com photo)

So we went home and decorated the tree and then I took a nap.

This weekend we also watched Home Alone (1990) which never fails to entertain…

…and Hatari (1962), Howard Hawks’s wonderful movie about a diverse group of fun-loving adventurers who capture exotic animals in Africa to export to zoos all over the world.

All the actors did their own stunts and, although they thought they might die any day, they all looked like they were having a terrific time. And Henry Mancini wrote the score.

Meanwhile the wee dog is becoming acclimated to car rides and short stays at our house, not to mention watching John Wayne movies.

This is a good thing because he will be moving in with us very soon. He is a happy little fella.

At church I noticed that I am finally able to sing without setting off a coughing fit. Finally. But both daughters are sick as is precious Katiebelle who I hear is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas on demand. “More Snoopy!”

We all have our coping mechanisms.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

–Edward Mote, 1834

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December 8, 2022

“We never know how high we are. Till we are called to rise.”*

by chuckofish

Last week I watched about twenty minutes of an old movie about the racehorse Seabiscuit, which starred Shirley Temple and Lon McAllister. It was pretty bad, but it reminded me of the newer movie about Seabiscuit, which was a big hit in 2003, and so I watched it.

It was very good.

Although only twenty years has passed, it seems Hollywood has forgotten how to make a movie like this in the interim. Seabiscuit tells the story of an undersized, formerly mistreated Depression-era racehorse whose unlikely victories raised the spirits of the entire nation. It is about working hard and overcoming setbacks. Yes, bad things happen to everyone–the rich and the poor–but you don’t give up, you persevere. That’s the American way, remember?

“You know, you don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause he’s banged up a little,” says the trainer Tom Smith at one point. No you don’t. But what an old fashioned idea.

You may remember that this movie was nominated for a whole bunch of Academy Awards, but won none. (That was the year that The Return of the King ran away with almost everything.) C’est la vie. It is a wonderful, inspiring movie and I heartily recommend watching it, especially if you need a little boost. And who doesn’t?

We also watched the 1951 A Christmas Carol, which I contend is the definitive version.

Really excellent in every way and true to the original Dickens story, which certainly deserves a yearly viewing/reading.

I also ran across this ludicrous Sight & Sound poll of the 100 greatest films of all time. Granted it includes all movies, not just American films, but c’mon. No Lubitsch, no Wyler, and no Hawks! I admit I have not seen the #1 film “Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.”  But #2 is Vertigo and that invalidates the whole list in my opinion.

Well, you can’t watch A Charlie Brown Christmas on network TV anymore. “Farewell, Charlie Brown Christmas. You found out the true meaning of Christmas and shared it as long as you could. May we do the same,” writes Denny Burk. I have the DVD and I’ll watch it with my grandkids.

We must also note that yesterday was, of course, the 81st anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

A toast to all the Americans who were there and in particular to the 16 men who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the attack–11 posthumously. You can read about these men here. They came from all corners of the U.S. including Missouri (Lt. Commander Samuel G. Fuqua from Laddonia, MO, population 520). Lest we forget.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15: 13

*Emily Dickinson

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November 14, 2022

A Sunday matinee

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was a quiet one, despite the fact that daughter #1 was home. She was busy with Monon Bell festivities (DePauw vs. Wabash) on Saturday. On Sunday we went to the early service at church because we had tickets to see To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) on the big screen in the afternoon…so we didn’t see the wee twins or have brunch at our house.

It is always a good idea to see a classic movie on the big screen, because–wow–what a difference! I was too young to go see it at the movies when it came out in 1962. My mother took my older brother and I remember they both raved about it when they came home. I saw it a few years later on TV with my younger sister. We were still pretty young to see it, and as I recall, we were home alone on a stormy night. It was scary! But we understood it. It had quite an impact. Soon after that, I read the book and loved it. I think I was in the seventh grade.

Since then I have seen it many times on the small screen as it is one of my favorite movies. It is a rare movie where every aspect of it clicks. The screenplay, the casting/acting, the music. To Kill a Mockingbird is a miracle of moviemaking. Black and white, no special effects, no histrionics–just real people and a great story. But, wow, it was great to see it as it was meant to be seen on a big theatrical screen with the sound just right.

1962 was a great year for movies. The top money-makers were:

Other movies released that year included The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How the West Was Won, The Days of Wine and Roses, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Miracle Worker, State Fair, and three Elvis Presley movies!

That’s a lot of good movies. Can you imagine?

Well, I do not go to the movies anymore except to see classics like this on the big screen. A good policy in my opinion.

Lottie drew a picture of going to the movies–she even got the red leather recliner seats right!

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November 11, 2022

Dog-faced soldiers in dirty-shirt blue*

by chuckofish

Today is Veterans Day. Originally known as Armistice Day, it is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11 when we honor military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. In typical fashion, I like to show my respect by watching a war movie. Here are fourteen good suggestions. (I have limited my choices to American movies dealing with American soldiers.)

Back to Bataan (1945) Directed by Edward Dmytryk. With John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi, Fely Franquelli. In 1942, after the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese, U.S. Army Col. Joseph Madden stays behind to organize the local resistance against the Japanese invaders.

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949 Directed by Allan Dwan and starring Oscar-nominated John Wayne, the film follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Also featuring John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker, it was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant.

Air Force (1943) The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.  Directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, and Harry Carey. 

They Were Expendable ((1945) Directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 book by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42) in World War II .

Twelve O’Clock High (1949) Directed by Henry King, this movie tells the story of a hard-as-nails general (Oscar-nominated Gregory Peck) who takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.

Objective Burma (1945) Starring Errol Flynn and directed by Raoul Walsh, this movie is about a platoon of special ops who are ordered to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station. Getting out isn’t easy.

Run Silent Run Deep (1958) A U.S. sub commander (Clark Gable), obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer (Burt Lancaster) and crew. Directed by Robert Wise.

The Great Escape (1963) Loosely based on the true story of an ambitious escape by Allied prisoners of war during World War II, the film is directed by John Sturges and stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and a large international cast.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Andrew Garfield stars as Seventh-day Adventist WWII hero Desmond T. Doss, who saved 75 men at the Battle of Okinawa without ever firing a weapon. Directed by Mel Gibson.

And if you are not in the mood for a WWII movie, here are a few more suggestions:

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and the rest of the Ford crew, it is the second film in Ford’s “Cavalry Trilogy,” along with Fort Apache (1948) and Rio Grande (1950).

The Horse Soldiers (1958) Set during the American Civil War, this fact-based story about a Union mission to destroy a railroad junction deep within Confederate territory is directed by John Ford and stars John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers.

The Sand Pebbles (1966) tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy machinist’s mate, first class, aboard the fictional river gunboat USS San Pablo, on Yangtze Patrol in 1920s China. Directed by Robert Wise and stars Oscar-nominated Steve McQueen.

Glory (1989) Directed by Edward Zwick, this film is about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army ‘s earliest African-American regiments in the American Civil War. Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Andre Braugher star.

American Sniper (2014) Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind. Directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Oscar-nominated Bradley Cooper.

There are lots of other good choices–these are just my favorites. How will you celebrate our brave veterans? What movie will you watch?

*”So here they are: the dog-faced soldiers, the regulars, the fifty-cents-a-day professionals… riding the outposts of a nation. From Fort Reno to Fort Apache – from Sheridan to Startle – they were all the same: men in dirty-shirt blue and only a cold page in the history books to mark their passing. But wherever they rode – and whatever they fought for – that place became the United States.” (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)

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November 1, 2022

Come again, ye children of men

by chuckofish

November is here and the quick slide to the holidays commences. Good grief. I have a lot of catching up to do.

You may have heard that a special one-night-only benefit concert featuring some of Eastern Kentucky’s biggest names in music was held in Lexington on October 11. Ricky Skaggs had a big hand in organizing the event and it raised over 2.5 million for flood relief. The event featured performances by Chris Stapleton, Dwight Yoakam and Tyler Childers. And this one with Chris and lovely Patty Loveless was pretty great…

This is a good thing to remember.

Today we toast Lyle Lovett (born on this day in 1957) whom we have seen in concert several times and would gladly see again. He is a proud Texan, growing up in Klein where his family has ranched for five generations.

Here’s a new song about his twins that I really like:

All I have I gladly give them
All I am they will exceed
And one thing I know for sure
If they improve the likes of me
They make a better man of me

So to my father and my mother
And to our fathers long before
There are those who walk above us
Who’ll remember that we were
They will remember that we were

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of our pater, ANC III, and of my great friend Dick (aka WWII Guy). It might be time to watch She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) in their memory.

LORD, thou hast been our refuge, *
    from one generation to another.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever the earth and the world were made, *
    thou art God from everlasting, and the world without end.
Thou turnest man to destruction; *
    again thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday
                                when it is past, *
    and as a watch in the night.
As soon as thou scatterest them they are even as a sleep, *
    and fade away suddenly like the grass.
In the morning it is green, and groweth up; *
    but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and withered.
For we consume away in thy displeasure, *
    and are afraid at thy wrathful indignation.
Thou hast set our misdeeds before thee, *
    and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

–Psalm 90

Grace and peace to you today, my friends.

3 Comments
October 31, 2022

His mercy is more/stronger than darkness, new ev’ry morn

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? I have been sick since Thursday and quite under the weather. I didn’t go to my Bible study group and I even stayed home from church. (Daughter #1 convinced me it wasn’t kosher to go to church these days when you are coughing and have laryngitis.)

But I enjoyed vicariously Katie’s Halloween party she hosted for some of her wee compadres…

Quelle wild bunch!

Daughter #1 came home and watched Signs (2002) with me and we really enjoyed it. In my book it is not a horror movie; it is a story about a man regaining his faith.

The twins came over for brunch after they went to church. The OM had made shepherd’s pie and the kids ate leftover Chick-fil-A tenders. We had a special Halloween torte from Cosco that was a winner. There were jelly beans in a bowl. It was kind of a free-for-all, as usual, but c’est la vie.

And the OM wore special socks…

But don’t forget that the real reason to celebrate has nothing to do with witches and scary monsters.

Since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by scripture and plain reason–I do not accept the authority of popes and councils for they have contradicted each other–my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise, God help me.

–Martin Luther

Have a good Monday! Smile

4 Comments
October 13, 2022

The way is clear

by chuckofish

Well, we finally got some rain after about a month without any and the storm was quite a whopper! But much needed and appreciated.

In other news, a 2,554-pound pumpkin won the record as the heaviest pumpkin in U.S. history! The super squash was grown near Buffalo, New York, this year. But wait! Just one week later, a new pumpkin king was crowned. A 2,560-pound pumpkin won a contest in Northern California, beating the first squash by six pounds. Who knew the competition was so fierce?

This article about the sin of contempt is very pertinent these days. It is a sin I grapple with daily. “But contempt is the silent killer of Christian charity. It has no place in the heart of a follower of Jesus.”

I had lunch the other day with two friends who are 93 and 82. We jokingly agreed that we are all very thankful to wake up every morning and know what day it is. But a lot of people forget that God commands us to be thankful: give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) As Darryl Dash writes, “To refuse to give thanks to God is, in some sense, the essence of sin, one of the greatest problems plaguing humanity (Romans 1: 21). Acknowledging God and giving thanks to him is no trifling matter.”

So may the Lord make me truly thankful for the big things (family, health, home, church) and for the smaller things, such as:

  • a house full of books and movies…
  • the internet, which can be a blessing. I stumbled upon this on the desiringGod website…
  • our memories

And a poem by Wendell Berry:

And, finally, a toast to Angela Lansbury who has died at age 96. I think I’ll watch either The World of Henry Orient (1964) or The Court Jester (1955)–both great favorites of mine in which she appeared.

(The pumpkin photo is from the WORLD News Group.)

4 Comments
October 11, 2022

Dry bones rattlin’

by chuckofish

It is that time of year when we take a backward look at the bygone days of our youth when Halloween mattered…This annual glance was initiated by my looking for the witch costume that my mother made in 1986 for daughter #1 who was two at the time. It was her first Halloween costume and she wore it for many years…

Eventually daughter #2 inherited it and wore it multiple times…

(The politically-incorrect Indian costume was also made by my mother, but for me in 1962 to wear in a Peter Pan play at school.)

Our hope is that wee Katiebelle will wear the witch costume this year. It would please her great-grandmother. (Adorable pictures to follow, since–glory be–I found the costume!…)

In other news, we watched The Birds (1963) and Rear Window (1954), two Alfred Hitchcock movies suitable for October viewing. We enjoyed them both despite having seen them many times. It is kind of easy (and amusing) to make fun of them while watching, but they are classics, nevertheless, well made and suspenseful. And, of course, The Simpsons take-off of The Birds (and The Great Escape) in “A Streetcar Named Marge” is also a classic.

The author of this article makes a good analogy comparing daily Bible reading to the ongoing painting of the Golden Gate Bridge. “Does this persistent act of painting our hearts and minds rest solely with us? Does our perseverance in studying the word of God come about merely through our own willpower? As the apostle Paul often says, ‘By no means!’ It is a joint endeavor between God as the Master Painter and us.”

This was part of my daily Bible reading assignment yesterday–always a mood changer:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

–Philippians 4: 4-9

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October 4, 2022

“Time bends. Space is boundless. It squashes a man’s ego. I feel lonely. That’s about it. “*

by chuckofish

Today we celebrate the birthday of movie actor Charlton Heston (1923-2008). Heston was made for the movies. With his fantastic 6′ 5″ physique and imposing persona, he was best playing historical (or biblical) characters or adventurers, especially ones who wore skimpy costumes. It was definitely a plus if he could take his shirt off.

Ben Hur
The Ten Commandments
Planet of the Apes

He was also great in The Naked Jungle (1954)–although he is never naked–and The Secret of the Incas (1954) where he served as the prototype for Indiana Jones.

He was good in westerns too, such as The Big Country (1957) where he is naked.

There are plenty of good movies to choose from–and bad ones too…

Earthquake
Major Dundee

I leave that to you to choose.

*George Taylor in Planet of the Apes (1968)

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October 3, 2022

“O hushed October morning mild”*

by chuckofish

My weekend was a nice quiet one. The weather was beautiful. I went to a DAR meeting and to Target for the first time in a couple of years to buy a second car seat. On Saturday afternoon the OM and I attempted to install it, along with our other car seat in the SUV, but failed. Seriously you need an engineering degree and the strength of Hercules to do this. I accept that I lack these things, but it frustrates the OM mightily when he is unable to do such tasks easily. We had to ask the boy to come over and use his man strength and general know-how to accomplish this not-so-simple chore. C’est la vie.

I needed the two car seats because I wanted to pick up the wee twins and take them to church on Sunday so they wouldn’t miss again when their Dad was working. This I did. And all by myself since the OM went to the baseball game–the last home game of the season**. He would have benefited from hearing the sermon which was on the third commandment:

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

–Exodus 20:7

There was a lot of blaspheming during the carseat installation incident on Saturday.

Anyway, the twins were great and I got them in and out of their carseats (another engineering feat) and home safe and sound. Lottie filled me in on all the gossip.

It is October so I am beginning to watch some of my favorite Halloween-ish movies, i.e. ones dealing with the supernatural. First up was The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) directed by Joseph Mankiewicz.

Rex Harrison stars as the ghost of a sea captain who appears to Gene Tierney’s young widow Lucy Muir when she moves into his Gull Cottage and dictates his “memoirs” to her. George Sanders is the children’s author who temporarily steals Mrs. Muir’s heart. Edna Best is Lucy’s devoted maid and Natalie Wood plays her daughter. It is a wonderful, subtle and genuinely haunting movie, beautifully photographed by Charles Lang. The score by Bernard Herrmann is perfection. Every time I see it, I like it more. This time I was struck by how much Gene Tierney reminded me of my friend Nicki, who died in January. This made me even more sad, but the OM had left during the opening credits, so I was free to weep throughout the movie.

Here’s the soundtrack suite from the movie. According to Wikipedia it was Bernard Herrmann’s personal favorite.

So watch The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, forebear to swear, and enjoy the lovely fall weather (if the hurricane missed you.)

Thanks, Mommy, but I prefer Toll House to these organic, gluten-free cookies

*”October” by Robert Frost–read it here.

**In his final Busch Stadium at-bat, Albert Pujols hit homerun #702 to tie Babe Ruth on MLB all-time RBI list. And the crowd went wild.

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