movies | dual personalities

March 28, 2013

Rend your hearts, and not your garments

by chuckofish

I regret to say that as Lent comes to a close I haven’t blogged about or even mentioned my usual Lenten movie watching traditions, because, alas, I haven’t watched any of my favorite Lenten movies! Last year I wrote about them here and here and of course here.

Indeed, it hasn’t been a typical Lent. In fact, the only thing I gave up for Lent was going to church! Sigh. Well, anyway, I will definitely watch Ben Hur on Good Friday.

Earlier in March I did try to watch The Bible, the television miniseries produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett on the History Channel, but I really couldn’t watch more than 15 minutes. Myeh.

Perhaps this weekend I will watch some of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth, the miniseries first aired in 1977 which I like very much. It has a wonderful script by Anthony Burgess and I like Robert Powell as the unblinking Jesus.

Also memorable are Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus, my girl Claudia Cardinale as the Adulteress, Ralph Richardson as Simeon, and Ian McShane as Judas. James Farentino (!) as Peter and Ann Bancroft as Mary Magdalene, prove that, although it helps, you don’t have to be British to star in a biblical film. They are both wonderful.

Speaking of favorite biblical miniseries–I love Peter and Paul, a 1981 biblical drama starring Anthony Hopkins as Paul of Tarsus.

Ever since first watching it in 1981, whenever I read the words of Paul, I hear them spoken in Hopkins’ Welsh accent.

What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

“For thy sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8: 31-39

Well, we all worship in our own way.

3 Comments

March 25, 2013

This and that

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? After an eventful and busy week at work, I was hoping for a quiet weekend, and due in large part to Mother Nature, I was successful.

On Saturday I went to a couple of estate sales and was able to pick up a few things which I will give as presents to daughters # 1 and 2 this year. I picked up a few Captain Alatriste books for myself.

After estate saling I got my hair cut and my hairdresser gave me spiritual advice about looking for another church after I confessed to her that I was unhappy with my church and, dare I say, my denomination. “Stay and pray,” she said, which I thought was very good advice and I will try to follow it.

All week we were warned by our various flyover weather pundits about a snow storm that was bound to hit on Sunday.

For once, they were spot on and I spent the day puttering around my house. As you know, there is nothing I like better. I also love to sit and watch it snow, so I did a lot of that.

I finished The Age of Doubt, a good mystery by Andrea Camilleri about my favorite Italian detective, Inspector Montalbano. I also received the April issue of Garden & Gun on Friday so I caught up on all things southern-hipster.

I also watched Time Bandits (1981), Terry Gilliam’s charming fantasy about a clever but “untidy” boy (Kevin) who joins a group of dwarves who have stolen a map from the Supreme Being. They jump from time period to time period looking for treasure to steal.

That’s God on the left.

This movie is a wonderful discourse about good and evil wherein we are reminded that “God does not care about technology” and that the existence of evil “has something to do with free will.” And Ralph Richardson in a three piece suit is and always shall be my perfect image of the Supreme Being.

…and more snow!

We ended up with 12.4″–our biggest snow since the huge snow of 1982! No school today.

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March 6, 2013

Absent Friends

by chuckofish

Last week we mentioned how appalled we were with the Academy Award presentations’s handling of (among so many other things) its “In Memoriam” tribute. They left out so many people!

Here is the TCM annual video, which is much better, and as you can see, includes many worthy people left out of the Oscar version.

However, they also appear to have left out Harry Carey, Jr.

What gives? Was he a Republican? Since he died at the tail end of the year, perhaps they had already finished their review, but is that really an excuse?

He appeared in over 90 films, including several classics directed by John Ford. Shame on you. I hope they remember him next year.

6 Comments

February 27, 2013

A cheerful heart

by chuckofish

A while ago I posted about the positive effects of a good cry. Well today we’ll consider the importance of being cheerful.

Every day I get an email from the Anglican monks of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. Yesterday’s message from Br. Mark Brown was about “Hilarity”. You can read the whole thing here.

“Perhaps we could think of cheerfulness,” he writes, “a gentle good cheer, as a spiritual practice, or, at least, as a spiritual good—as a way of being compassionate to those we live with (as Paul’s words suggest). A way of bringing the light of Christ, the gracious light of Christ into the lives of others. Cheerfulness can’t be an all day/every day thing. But if we’re between the storms of life and in a comparatively neutral zone, we might be more intentional about returning to a kind of emotional baseline of gentle good cheer. Rather than merely neutral, perhaps a baseline of gentle good cheer.”

I like to think of cheerfulness as a spiritual practice. One of the affirmative laws of the Boy Scouts, as you know, is “A scout is cheerful”–in fact he “smiles and whistles”. As we also know, practice makes perfect. Sometimes that means smiling when we don’t feel like it. This sign in my kitchen reminds all who enter to do so.

The writer of the Book of Proverbs says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine”, which is so true. We all know people whose cheerfulness is contagious and makes proximity to them a definite benefit. Likewise a smile from a stranger can greatly improve your day. So go ahead and smile! Think of it as your Lenten spiritual practice and do it intentionally!

If you are having a hard time smiling, it is a good spiritual practice to watch a funny movie. But why is it that I have a harder time thinking of movies that make me laugh than ones that make me cry? Anyway, here are some funny ones: Ball of Fire (1941), Best in Show (2000), Ghostbusters (1984), Heaven Can Wait (1978), The Producers (1968), The Pink Panther (1963), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Annie Hall (1977), A Run for Your Money (1949), The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain (1995). What have I forgotten?

And if all else fails, try this:

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February 26, 2013

Hooray for Hollywood?

by chuckofish

Not.

The Oscars were more about the dresses and the ‘messy up-dos’ than the actual movies.

The host was obviously picked for being irreverent and vulgar, but the audience, which prides itself on being liberal and edgy, seemed shocked when he was just that. Clearly Seth MacFarlane knew this might happen and he and his writers even worked the joke into his opening monologue with William Shatner as Captain Kirk telecommuting from the future to warn MacFarlane that he was about to ruin the Oscars and be branded the worst Oscar host ever.

But none of it was funny really, and it all fell flat. All those self-satisfied celebrity “actors” wanted to do was pat themselves on the back. Politics is taboo. All that’s left is: Kiss kiss, you look wonderful! It was a big PC muddle. And the awards (no surprises) were all over the proverbial map. Something for everyone and no one stood out. Do you remember anything anyone said?

I think daughter #1 and friends look every bit as “sophisticated” as many of the Hollywood wannabees, don’t you?

I’ll just say what everyone is thinking: Why can’t Billy Crystal just do the Oscars forever–like Bob Hope used to do? And remember Johnny Carson? Back when the Academy Award Show had some class.

Sorry. No class.

I was glad that Ang Lee won for Best Director and Daniel Day-Lewis deserved his Oscar. But I wish I had those 4 hours back. I could have scrubbed the shower. Or watched Sunset Boulevard.

“I’m ready for my close-uo, Mr. DeMille!”

The highlight for me was “drunk-texting” with daughter #1 and daughter #2–although I was drinking ginger ale and no one was actually drunk.

We had fun, although perhaps if we had indeed been drunk, it would have seemed funnier. But it was a school night after all.

Okay, I just have to say one more thing. Renee Zellweger, whom I have always despised, looked liked she rolled out of bed to drive carpool and mistakenly threw on a shiny gold dress.

(via Huffpost.com)

They even screwed up the In Memoriam section by padding it with marketing executives. Well, onward and upward.

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February 22, 2013

Things happen

by chuckofish

One of the best things about being the Boss Lady is that I get to call a snow day every once in awhile. Well, yesterday was one of those days. It wasn’t Snowmageddon, but for our flyover state it was significant white stuff.

We started with sleet in the morning.

And continued as snow throughout the day.

I hunkered down with my little home version of a potbelly stove:

I read more of The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather and munched on Valentine’s candy.

I watched Stagecoach on TCM.

Ringo: I used to be a good cowhand. But things happen.
Dallas: Yes. Things happen.

What a great movie! What a great day!

Unfortunately, although I called a snow day for our students today, I have to go in myself. C’est la vie!

4 Comments

February 5, 2013

“Here’s to the sunny slopes of long ago.”

by chuckofish

It snowed in our flyover town over the weekend!

As an antidote to the cold winter weather (and because I had no real interest in the Super Bowl), I watched Lonesome Dove (1989) on Netflix Watch Instantly on Sunday and Monday nights. I had not seen it in a very long time. I read the book about two retired Texas Rangers who decide to take a herd of cattle on a 3,000-mile trek north to Montana in 1876 when it came out in paperback back in 1988 and loved it. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985. (Various sequels and prequels by Larry McMurtry are, in my humble opinion, unequal to the original, due to their being way over the top in grossness and violence. But the original LD got it just right.)

The miniseries I associate with the year after my mother died when solace in any form was welcome and hard-to-come-by.

Gus McCrae and Captain Call were a balm to me–at least for the four days in February 1989 the series aired. Gus was even a bit of a philosopher, handing out good advice right and left, such as this:

Lorie darlin’, life in San Francisco, you see, is still just life. If you want any one thing too badly, it’s likely to turn out to be a disappointment. The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things, like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk, or a feisty gentleman like myself.

Thank you, Gus and Woodrow. And thank you, Pea and Dish and Deets and Newt and July and Roscoe and Lorena and all the rest. It was nice to see you again.

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February 4, 2013

As Valentine’s Day approaches…

by chuckofish

I recently saw a post on another blog about the best screen kisses. This got me thinking, because, of course, I didn’t agree with the ones they had chosen. I won’t get into that, but I did think it was a good idea for a post, especially with Valentine’s Day fast approaching. You’ll want to line up your DVD viewing for February.

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara about to lock lips in “The Quiet Man”.

So here are the best screen kisses (in my opinion):

“The Adventures of Robin Hood”

The BEST: Errol Flynn and Olivia de Haviland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). When Robin challenges Marian, “Then you do love me, don’t you? Don’t you?” we are right there with her answering, “You know I do.” It’s been 75 years since this great movie was made, and nothing surpasses it for its romance and handsome leading man and lady! Captain Blood (1935)–also with Errol and Olivia–is equally wonderful, but they only kiss once and she slaps him!

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in “The Quiet Man”

The Quiet Man (1952) actually features several world-class kissing scenes, but John Wayne and Maureen in the rain is pretty special. You can tell they really enjoy kissing each other. John and Maureen were always a good fit.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

Another kissing-in-the-rain scene, this time with Audrey, George and Cat. Eat your heart out, Ryan Gosling.

“Philadelphia Story”

Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1940). Who knew that Jimmy Stewart would steal the sexy-show from co-star Cary Grant? I remember my mother pointed this out to me many years ago–something about his hands and what he was doing with them. Hmmm. It’s always the quiet ones, right?

Honorable mention:

“North By Northwest”

Okay, we’ll give Cary Grant a hat tip for North By Northwest (1959) with Eva Marie Saint. He doesn’t look too uncomfortable in this one.

“Gone With the Wind”

And even though Gone With the Wind (1939) is not one of my favorite movies, who can deny that Clark Gable knew how to kiss? Atlanta is burning and he is parting with Scarlett on the bridge–wow. Back then they really knew how to set up the scene and stage the actors to optimal effect. He looms over her, powerful and manly; they kiss. And then he leaves!

Best acting while kissing:

“Pillow Talk”

Rock Hudson, God love him, and Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959) go away for the weekend–so risque, so great. And then she finds out who he really is. Ooooooh!

So what have I left out?

Because I felt like I should have something since 1961, but nothing came to mind, I decided to check out one of the kisses that was mentioned several times in the comment section of the other blog. The blogger had asked for readers’ suggestions, and several people mentioned North and South. I did some checking and discovered it is a BBC four-part adaption of the 19th century novel by Elizabeth Gaskell (not the Civil War soap opera from the 1980s). I watched it last weekend (4 episodes) and, boy oh boy, what a find!

Hello, Richard Armitage!

Let’s just say he is totally wasted as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.

In conclusion, I give you the famous Montage of Kissing Scenes from the wonderful Cinema Paradiso (1988), which includes Errol and Olivia at least twice!

10 Comments

January 28, 2013

Weekend update

by chuckofish

This past weekend I spent some time perusing the “Watch Instantly” section of Netflix.com. Friday night I settled on an old chestnut called Secret of the Incas (1954) starring Charlton Heston, Robert Young and Thomas Mitchell. It is notable mostly for having been filmed in part at Machu Picchu and the town of Cusco in Peru which at the time were extremely remote locations.

The plot involves an Inca legend and a gold and bejeweled starburst that several people are trying to find. Nicole Maurey plays a mysterious Romanian beauty with a distinctly French accent with whom Heston and Young form a love triangle. Pretty standard stuff with the exception of Yma Sumac, a Peruvian singer with a 4 1/2 octave range, who intermittently launches into creepy performances of “Virgin of the Sun Gods” and the like.

Charlton Heston is very convincing as the slightly seedy adventurer out to make money. We forget how sexy he was back in the day. He is well suited to his clothes in this film.

Clearly Steven Spielberg thought so too as Heston as Harry Steele has got to be what everyone had in mind when they were dreaming up Indiana Jones in their typical derivative way. And there is all that archaeological stuff to boot!

I remember watching this movie as a child and enjoying it immensely. I’m sure it was one of the reasons why my sister (and dual personality) wanted to be an archaeologist from an early age. She no doubt was taken with Robert Young and his sartorial splendor. Don’t all archaeologists wear jodhpurs and riding boots and smoke a pipe? Aren’t they all charmingly shy and tongue-tied around women and fall head over heels in love with inappropriate ones whose naked shoulders they are called upon to bandage? Don’t they all propose marriage (spoiler alert!) the next day?!

No photos from the waist done could be found, but perhaps you can use your imagination. He had a pipe as well.

Nothing from the waist done was available, but perhaps you can use your imagination. He had a pipe as well.

Anyway, it was a good few hours spent. Since I had started down the pre-Columbian road, I continued the next day with another family favorite, Kings of the Sun (1963) with the inimitable Yul Brynner and who cares who else. Clearly this film was an excuse for Yul to walk around half naked (and at times nearly naked)–not a bad excuse.

The plot here, such as it is, has to do with a Mayan king (George Chakiris of the amazing hair) who escapes ferocious invaders by boat (with his people, including Richard Basehart, Shirley Anne Field and Brad Dexter) to a new land, where he meets up with Black Eagle (Yul Brynner), a Native American. Uh huh.

Suspending disbelief, this movie is quite entertaining. Filmed on the Yukatan, there are many attractive sun-burned people in this film, foremost among them, of course, our hero, Yul Brynner. Quiet, peace-loving, handsome George Chakiris seems way out of his league and knowing it, hands over the scenery for Yul to chew. We appreciate his sacrifice.

Also over the weekend I read The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, which I had picked up at an estate sale for 50-cents a few weeks ago. I had never read it before. Published in 1961, it tells the story of a little boy names Milo, who has many adventures in his search for Rhyme and Reason. It is frequently compared to Alice in Wonderland, but it reminded me of The Wizard of Oz. I enjoyed it. It is always worthwhile being reminded to pay attention and that there is much to be learned, even in your own backyard.

“Carry this with you on your journey,” he said softly. “for there is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye. Through it you can see everything from the tender moss in the sidewalk crack to the glow of the farthest star–and, most important of all, you can see things as they really are, not just as they seem to be. It’s my gift to you.”

What did you read/watch this weekend?

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January 8, 2013

Happy birthday to the King

by chuckofish

As if you didn’t know, Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer, actor and cultural icon. Today is his birthday, so I thought I ought to give him a shout out.

Elvis in a green shirt

Because we had a tendency to laugh at practically everything when I was growing up, we laughed at Elvis. But my mother (of all people) always defended him and gave him credit for really being able to sing. She was also, truth be told, kind of fond of his movies, as am I. If there was an Elvis movie on TV, you better believe we watched it. My favorite is Viva Las Vegas with Ann-Margret, his perfect (if you ask me) partner.

Over the years I have come to appreciate Elvis as a cultural icon/entertainer and I would never laugh at him now. Back in the 1990s when the boy’s junior choir went to sing in Memphis, our family went along as “chaperones”–mostly so we could go to Graceland, which is really a very nice home (atrociously decorated).

When I worked at a private school in Richmond, Va in 1979, I had an occasion to go to a party at the boarding department secretary’s home. She and her husband were big Elvis fans and had turned one room into something like a shrine to their hero. (Remember–this was just two years after Elvis had died.) They were perfectly serious and the wound was fresh. I would never have laughed at them.

Anyway, some years after that I saw the classic episode about Elvis on Designing Women, where the ladies, talked into going by Charlene, make the trek to Graceland and Julia hears a sad story from a trucker named Vern. It reminded me of the Charlene-like secretary.

I know now that Elvis was just a broken human being like the rest of us, who liked to sing hymns and eat peanut butter sandwiches and who was awfully good-looking and had amazing hair. And, by the way, E.P. phone home!

TCM is showing Elvis movies all day today, including the aforementioned Viva Las Vegas at 1:15. Unfortunately, I will be at work, but maybe I’ll manage to see a little of Love Me Tender when I get home. The schedule is here.

P.S. Roll, Tide, roll!

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