What classics did you see last week, June 13 to June 19?

Not much at all.

Repeat viewings:

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) 6/10

Maverick (1994) 8/10

First viewings:

To Dance with the White Dog (1993) 8/10

The Black Scorpion (1957) 4/10

“A Quiet Place Part II”   Distributed by Paramount Pictures, 97 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released May 28, 2021:

Within its first five minutes, “A Quiet Place Part II” manages to kick the pegs out from under the audience. And each time the viewer begins to scramble to his feet and regain his balance, the movie pushes him back down and keeps him disoriented and alarmed for most of its 97-minute running time.

Only toward the end of the picture does the audience fully realize that by combining suspense, terrific storytelling, deafening silence, and a kind of visceral horror, the film has effectively created one continuous and sustained jump-scare, a likely prototype for the next decade’s worth of movie thrillers and horror extravaganzas.

By sacrificing traditional horror convention, “A Quiet Place” in 2018 scored a direct hit with discerning audiences. With the audacity to establish its horror cred by killing off not one but two of its central characters (one of them a small child), the original film also employed silence to craft overwhelming levels of suspense...both on the screen and off. After the first 20 minutes or so, viewers who rustled popcorn, crinkled a candy wrapper, or slurped a slushie risked retribution from a nervous audience swept up in the picture and anxious to maintain silence in the name of self-preservation.

Less a sequel than a continuation of the 2018 original, in “A Quiet Place Part II” the hapless Abbott family continues its baleful barefoot odyssey through the ruins of middle class American society in search of safety or civilization. The family moves along quietly, eluding the sightless alien conquerors who hunt with an augmented and lethally-acute sense of hearing. In this brave new world, silence equals survival.

Eventually the Abbotts--widowed mom Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and her newborn baby, hearing-impaired teenage daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and adolescent son Marcus (Noah Jupe)--wander into the vicinity of an abandoned factory now populated by hardened survivor Emmett (Cillian Murphy). Once a close friend of Evelyn’s late husband Lee, Emmett since the death of his wife and family has abandoned hope and embraced feral despair.

But daughter Regan has found a reason for hope: Regan’s other senses--and her survivor instincts--have been sharpened by her hearing impairment. By using a radio to create deafening audio feedback as a weapon against the sensitive ears of the alien marauders, Regan has also discovered a signal from a distant radio transmitter--a signal that cryptically transmits a continuous broadcast of the popular 1950s song “Beyond the Sea.” Regan has pinpointed the source of the transmission, and resolves to learn who’s sending it.


Written and directed by John Krasinski, by now well beyond his original fame as an actor on TV’s long-running comedy “The Office,” “A Quiet Place Part II” demonstrates how Krasinski has matured as a filmmaker since the first picture. He not only orchestrates the contributions of his cast, but cuts between multiple storylines and transitions seamlessly from the hushed existence of the Abbotts and the stone-silent world of the teenage daughter (in scenes depicted from Regan’s perspective, all sound is jarringly removed from the picture’s audio track).

The highest praise for “A Quiet Place Part II” is that the film is worthy of its predecessor. Reuniting the film’s original cast and most of its creative staff, “Part II” uses the first picture’s foundation to not only continue its effect but build upon it, and in the process adds more thrills and chills to the modern horror lexicon. The movie does presume the viewer has seen “A Quiet Place,” but viewer attendance records seem to make that presumption a safe bet.

By creating a persuasive continuum to the terrific 2018 film, “A Quiet Place Part II” also becomes possibly the very first horror classic of the post-pandemic era. Produced prior to the Covid-19 breakout and lockdown, “A Quiet Place Part II” premiered at New York’s Lincoln Center on March 8, 2020. But the film’s distribution was rescheduled at least four times by continuing Covid concerns before the general release was finally set for May 28, over fourteen months after the picture’s original opening. Those months contained the global pandemic.

But the film’s numerous delays possibly had an unexpected benefit: In the picture’s notions of people defying their individual weaknesses to achieve collective strength, embracing uncertainty and finding courage, and looking beyond their worst fears to forge ultimate strength and hope, it’s natural to wonder whether the events of the past year haven’t tempered us to be especially receptive to the picture’s theme, and its moral.

Maybe the traumatic worldwide events which occurred in the interim between the premiere and the wide release of “A Quiet Place Part II” somehow matured the audience in such a way that it’s grown into the sequel...even more than the original 2018 hit inadvertently helped to condition its audience for the troubled times and unspeakable tragedies which still lay ahead at the time of its original release. We’ll never know.

“A Quiet Place Part II” is rated PG-13 for terror, violence, and disturbing images.


“Cruella”   Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 134 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released May 28, 2021:

(Review Contains Spoilers)

If polled on a possible breakout character in the animated Walt Disney classic “101 Dalmatians,” audiences in 1961 would likely have rated villain Cruella DeVil toward the bottom of a list which also contained a bloodhound named Old Towser and a cat named Sergeant Tibbs. In a movie about cute and lovable baby Dalmatians, Cruella DeVil was the maniacal society maven who longed to use their hides to craft a fur coat to match her black and white hair.

But tastes changed over the years. And much like Maleficent, the evil witch who cursed Princess Aurora in 1959’s “Sleeping Beauty,” Cruella DeVil (catch that spelling?) has been transformed into one of Disney’s most popular characters, a means for the studio to reach out and touch Generations X, Y, and Z. Audiences now root for antiheroes like Cruella and Maleficent with the same enthusiasm as some viewers root for Hannibal Lecter, or applaud the antics of Michael Myers in the “Halloween” pictures.

Now portrayed by bona fide A-List Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone, in the new “101 Dalmatians” prequel “Cruella” little Estella (played during the opening scenes by pint-sized Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) can’t catch a break to save her life. Born with a keen intellect, causticly chipper personality, natural fashion sensibilities, and hair that’s snow white on one half of her scalp and midnight black on the other, little Estella is bullied and ostracized at school, leading the child to develop a marked streak of cruelty in her demeanor.

After Estella is expelled from school because of her penchant for retribution, her single mother decides to move the family to the more worldly environment of London. But mother insists on stopping en route at a palatial country estate to ask for a loan from an affluent former acquaintance, leading to her death at the hands of the mysterious woman. Now a homeless and penniless orphan, little Estella flees to London and befriends street urchins Horace and Jasper, who tutor the child in the ways of petty thievery…with Estella eventually designing the gang’s disguises.

Ten years pass, and the three street thieves are still practicing their illegal trade...and Estella (now played by Emma Stone) is growing more sophisticated in her talent for designing intricate disguises. Knowing that their friend’s destiny lies not in petty thievery but in the design of fashion, the girl’s surrogate brothers use subterfuge to secure for her an entry-level position at London’s posh and pricey Liberty Department Store--as a janitor.

But when a tippling Estella one night creates an original fashion display in one of the store’s windows, her instinctive flair for insurgent design attracts the attention of Baroness von Hellman, the cruel and heartless owner of a renowned house of haute couture, who quickly hires Estella as a junior-level fashion designer But when the baroness begins to steal credit for Estella’s original designs, and Estella recognizes her as the murderer of her mother, the haunted young girl invents an alter ego for herself as a means of avenging her late mother...and herself.

Part “Batman” and part “All About Eve,” plainly inspired by actor Joachin Phoenix’ Academy Award-winning turn as the title character in Todd Phillips’ 2019 “Joker,” director Craig Gillespie (“I, Tonya”) and writers Dana Fox and Tony McNamara craft in “Cruella” a fevered dream of a gothic comic book fantasy, a sort of diva masterpiece. Add to the dynamic the infinite creative resources of the legendary Walt Disney Studios devoting themselves to taking cynical aim and blasting away at the worlds of both haute couture and cafe society and...well, what’s not to love?

In the role of Cruella, Emma Stone creates a waspish but refined answer to Margot Robbie’s earthy R-rated Harley Quinn, in a freewheeling storyline containing the frenetic pacing of a Keystone Comedy. With Emma Thompson at her bitchy best as Baroness von Hellman, the very best parts of “Cruella” feature the two Academy Award-winning actresses in a vastly entertaining game of prima donna one-upsmanship, trading the most acidic insults and barbs possible in the most sourly civil demeanor they can muster. Stone and Thompson are plainly having a ball, and the fun is infectious.

The picture also includes frequent sight gags and plot elements anticipating “101 Dalmatians.” Set during the Swinging London period of the 1960s and 70s--the era in which the city transitioned from the world capital of pop music to the birthplace of the punk rock movement--the film contains an eclectic, and surprising, selection of popular music from that era. Who would ever have expected to hear Mick and the Stones warble “Sympathy for the Devil” in a family-oriented Disney feature?

Also featuring Paul Walter Hauser and Joel Fry as petty thieves Horace and Jasper, Mark Strong as the baroness’ observant valet John, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Kayvan Novak prequeling the “101 Dalmatians” characters Anita and Roger, a splendid--if caustic--time is guaranteed for all. Except the Dalmatians.

“Cruella” is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some violence.



“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” 112 Minutes, Rated R, Released June 04, 2021:

Ed and Lorraine Warren must`ve had an interesting marriage. Weird, but interesting.

Self-described paranormal investigators and real-life Ghostbusters, the Vatican-certified demonologist Ed and the clairvoyant Lorraine claimed to have personally investigated dozens of prominent alleged hauntings and demonic possessions.

The Warrens’ exploits inspired the enormously successful 2013 movie “The Conjuring,” a low-budget sleeper hit that ultimately earned enough money at the box office to spawn a cottage industry of two sequels and five peripheral movies, including the three “Annabelle” pictures, 2018’s “The Nun” and 2019’s “The Curse of La Llorona.” Every single one of the pictures in the “Conjuring” universe has practically minted money at the box office.

Appropriately subtitled “The Devil Made Me Do It,” in the latest “The Conjuring” sequel Ed and Lorraine are participating in the exorcism of a demon from 8-year-old David Glatzel, a ceremony also attended by the boy’s parents, their twentysomething daughter, and her boyfriend Arne. With the help of the local parish priest, the Warrens manage to successfully evict the devil from the little boy...but unbeknownst to the others in the room, the footloose demon quickly takes up residence in the soul of boyfriend Arne.

And that’s especially bad news for Arne. A few weeks later the demon-addled young man murders his landlord, stabbing the man some twenty-two times in an act of perceived self-defense. And despite all the evidence pointing directly at Arme, the Warrens persuade the young man’s attorney to plead him not guilty by reason of demonic possession--a first in the history of American jurisprudence. “The court accepts the existence of God every time a witness swears to tell the truth,” reasons Ed, “it's about time they accept the existence of the devil.” Still, the Warrens are going to have a devil of a time proving it.

Directed by Michael Chaves (“The Curse of La Llorona”) from a script by “The Conjuring 2” veteran David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and adapted from the real-life events surrounding the 1981 Connecticut murder trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, “The Devil Made Me Do It” kicks off with a pre-title sequence that not only rips off 1973’s “The Exorcist” but also manages to condense that film’s entire narrative into a “greatest hits” collection of iconic images. But despite the fairly effective opening, the picture quickly descends into a 112-minute labyrinth of standard creepshow components.

If “The Devil Made Me Do It” has a saving grace it’s the performances by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens. In their fifth “Conjuring”-related outing together (in addition to the three “Conjuring” pictures, Wilson and Farmiga made in-character appearances in 2018’s “The Nun” and 2019’s “Annabelle Comes Home”), the two have grown into their roles enough to be naturally persuasive together as a couple. And because they seem to be genuinely invested in the preposterous situations they find themselves in, the viewer has little choice other than to follow along.

Wilson and Farmiga, both of whom have thriving careers outside the “Conjuring” pictures (the two also appeared in the 2018 action thriller “The Commuter,” but not as the Warrens) also seem to be comfortable enough in “The Devil Made Me Do It” to inject a touch of much-needed humor into the film. When the clairvoyant Lorraine is asked by a skeptical cop whether she’s ever met Elvis and answers that she has, the bemused officer presses, “Before or after he died?” Farmiga’s Lorraine pauses, considers the question, and replies, “Both.”

“The Devil Made Me Do It” contains a handful of sufficiently effective setpieces which place the diligent Warrens into a series of spooky locations, including a morgue, the rat-infested crawlspace beneath a haunted house, and the chamber of horrors basement of a church rectory. But it’s all held together by a plotline that’s by turns muddled, confusing, complicated, and contrived. Filled with the usual jump-scares and now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t glimpses of horrifying images, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” might scratch your itch for summertime horror...but you might well be scratching your head later.

Actress Sterling Jerins has appeared as the Warrens’ daughter Judy in all three “Conjuring” pictures, although the role was played in 2019’s “Annabelle Comes Home” by Mckenna Grace. Viewers who stick around for the closing credits are treated to clips from the real-life Warrens’ December 1978 interview with host Tom Snyder on television’s late night “Tomorrow” show, as well as actual audio recordings of the exorcism of David Glatzel.

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” is rated R for disturbing images, including a blood shower and impossible physical contortions during an exorcism.


“Dream Horse”   Distributed by Bleecker Street Films, 113 Minutes, Rated PG, Released May 21, 2021:

When thoroughbred trainer Federico Tesio observed “A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character,” he might’ve been referring to Dream Alliance, the championship racehorse whose meteoric career forms the basis of “Dream Horse,” the new movie from Bleecker Street Films now playing in limited release in select area theaters.

Set during the early 2000s, in “Dream Horse” the residents of a tiny town in Wales dream big. Mired in listlessness and apathy since the collapse of the local coal mining industry, the townspeople are inspired by a local bartender (Toni Collette) to pool their little available money and invest in the breeding and training of a thoroughbred racehorse. Their impossible dream--to win the annual Grand National horse race.

Despite its roots in fairly recent real life events, “Dream Horse” unfortunately begins to trot through a familiar course almost as soon as the movie leaves the gate. Directed by Welsh filmmaker Euros Lyn from a script from Neil McKay, the movie reframes a virtual glossary of cliches from every sports picture you’ve ever seen, from 1949’s “The Great Dan Patch” to 2003’s “Seabiscuit.” Also the subject of the 2015 documentary “Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance,” some prior knowledge of the story might actually enhance the viewer’s enjoyment of “Dream Horse.” That’s not good.

Colorful characterizations help the film along part of the way, but muddled filmmaking and pedestrian storytelling often make important scenes and plot points unclear and confusing. During race sequences when Dream Alliance appears as one brown horse among a field of brown horses, the viewer often needs to rely on the racehorses’ identification numbers to augment the drama of the competition. And that becomes a real problem when individual shots are seemingly framed to omit them.

Still, in a picture filled to the brim with sweetly-rendered performances, Toni Collette stands out in an instinctive, lived-in characterization as Jan Vokes, the real-life local bartender who inspired her hometown to recover dreams and ambitions many believed they’d lost forever. “We lost our jobs, our community, even our pride,” Collette’s Vokes tells the assembled news media when the town’s unlikely investment attracts the attention of the world, “Them Dream (Alliance) came along and reminded us what life is like when you have hope.”

Trailing Collette’s performance by a nose is Damian Lewis as accountant Howard Davies, the real-life brains behind the town’s investment. Once nearly ruined by a similar endeavor, Lewis’ Davies reluctantly finds himself carried along by Vokes’ enthusiasm...despite a solemn promise to his wife to never again wager on a racehorse. Familiar to American audiences for his Emmy-winning turn on TV’s “Homeland,” viewers hearing Lewis speaking in his native British tones might be briefly surprised, but the actor’s characterization quickly overcomes any lingering awkwardness.

Filmed in authentic locations throughout Wales, “Dream Horse” despite some rich characterizations takes a terrific story and makes it...well, okay. It’s the movie’s final image that provides the movie’s greatest impact: During the closing credits the cast members link arms with their real-life counterparts to sing a lusty and swaggering karaoke version of the old Tom Jones power ballad “Delilah.” And it’s that joyously looney impromptu performance rather than the movie itself that sends the audience out of the "Dream Horse" with a smile.

“Dream Horse” is rated PG for some mild adult language concerns and thematic elements.


“Spirit Untamed”   Distributed by Universal Pictures, 87 Minutes, Rated PG, Released June 04, 2021:

In the animated feature “Spirit Untamed,” independent-minded, city-dwelling tweener Fortuna “Lucky” Prescott finds herself redeposited in a small frontier town with her widower dad after one too many foolhardy exploits result in her Aunt Cora moving both herself and Lucky out of the big city. Decidedly unimpressed with rural life, Lucky’s attention is soon piqued when she encounters Spirit, a wild Mustang who shares the girl’s maverick tendencies.

The girl and the Mustang quickly bond. But when unscrupulous horse wrangler Hendricks and his henchmen plan to capture Spirit and his herd and sell them into hard labor, Lucky and her newfound frontier friends Prudence and Abigail bravely embark on an adventure to free the horses. And in the process, the headstrong Lucky discovers a long-lost spiritual connection with her late stunt rider mother.

“Spirit Untamed” is a motion picture experience that’ll knock your socks off...providing you’ve never seen a movie before. More franchise than film, dazzling widescreen animation helps this long-belated sequel to 2002’s “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” (and continuation of the Netflix animated series “Spirit Riding Free”). Sadly, the animation can’t quite disguise the fact that the story’s just a tired retread of “Black Beauty.” Young kids will love the picture...but their parents might find their patience tested by the familiarity of it all.

Celebrities collecting fat paychecks for lending their voices to animated characters include Isabela Merced as Lucky, Julianne Moore as Aunt Cora, Jake Gyllenhaal as Lucky’s widower dad, “Blackish” regular Marsai Martin and “Annabelle Comes Home” star Mckenna Grace as Lucky’s new pals on the prairie, and Eiza Gonzalez in flashback scenes as Lucky’s late stunt-riding mother.

The characters’ large, expressive eyes are eerily reminiscent of the works of artist Margaret Keane. If you can’t place the voice of 19-year-old Isabela Merced as Lucky, the young actress also appeared as the disenfranchised adopted daughter in the delightful 2018 comedy “Instant Family” and in the title role of 2019’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” Merced changed her name from Isabela Moner in 2019 as a means of paying homage to her family’s Peruvian heritage.

“Spirit Untamed” is rated PG for some scenes of mild adventure action.

I seldom do this, watch sport on Television, But when I'ts Euro 2020 delayed a year.

It's Football or Soccer championships, and Sweden just beated Slovakians and suddenly I'm part of that euphorian feeling too.

Anyway a few movies have been seen...


I must admit that I have seen too few movies to have an opinion about French superstar Gerarde Philipe.
It's a rather murky movie filled with secrets. and many wet trenchcoats. 
Something happened years ago...'''''

Well made minor movie about crack 'cracking and  tracking down a new born childen adoption ring. Never trust old women with sticks!

The Infinite Man (2014).



Slither (2006).



The Other Woman (2014).



Archive (2020).

And this week’s MASTERPIECE 50 is: DISRAELI: PORTRAIT OF A ROMANTIC (1978) the Four-Part ITC Serial starring Ian McShane as the Jewish Poet/politician/Prime Minister, Mary Peach as Mary Anne and Rosemary Leach as Queen Victoria. Watched Episode 3 “The Great Game: 1858-1872”. At this point, MASTERPIECE THEATRE had come to the 1980s, and DISRAELI was one of the first broadcasts of the decade. The one that was broadcast in the turning of the decades was THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET SERIES 2 (1978). Episodes seen were “Winter Lament,” “Patriots”, “The Reluctant Soldier”, “Shadows”, “Where There’s a Will” & “Ain’t We Got Fun?” A&E Video DVD.

Sunday 13
ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (1941) “Captain Marvel’s Secret” 80TH ANNIVERSARY The conclusion of the Movie Serial, as the Scorpion is thwarted and revealed and vanquished. Interestingly, the story is rather self-contained. Once the Gold Scorpion device is destroyed, Shazam considers Captain Marvel’s role is now finished, and depowers Billy Batson to live a normal life. This is probably the third time I’ve watched the full serial: I tended to stop watching after Chapter 6 in subsequent viewings. Republic Home Video VHS.

BORIS KARLOFF’S THRILLER (1961) “The Innocent Bystanders” Betamax Recording of SciFi Channel November 1997.

Monday 14
ROBIN HOOD PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991) 30TH ANNIVERSARY The second (and more famous) Robin Hood of 1991, bearing some similarities with ROBIN OF SHERWOOD (Muslim partner, dark mystical forces, the Sheriff the main villain with Guy of Gisbourne the flunky). Boy, do I remember this film that Summer 1991. I argued with my brothers and sisters over the 1938 film and this one (I was Team Errol; they were Team Kevin). Using Jerry Vermyle's THE FILMS OF THE THIRTIES as a source, my older brother threw the book to the floor and stepped on it. He even made a big deal with a continuity flub during the 1938 Sherwood Banquet scene, where Errol's leg of mutton changed to a bone, while showing the Costner film (via the Bryan Ferry Music Video) as perfection like the window crashing scene (neither of us noted the paper mache stained glass). I didn't see it in theaters, only finally getting to watch it on VHS that fall. Over the decades, I've grown to appreciate the film. It was my intro to the likes of Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, Michael Wincott, Geraldine McEwan, Michael McShane (The only name I knew at the time was Sean Connery much publicized cameo as Richard the Lionhearted, thus joining the INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE quartet of Lionheart players John Rhys-Davies, Michael Byrne, and Julian Glover). I would say the highlights are Michael Kamen's score, Rickman's Sheriff, and the (TV Tropes) "Lancer vs Dragon" scenes: of Azeem vs Mortianna (science enlightenment vs archaic superstition) and Friar Tuck vs the corrupt Bishop. Amazon Prime.

Tuesday 15
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (1991) “Pod People” 30TH ANNIVERSARY A weird ET knockoff. First saw this on edited form on THE MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER HOUR in December 1993. I eventually saw the full version from a rental in Summer 2004. Viewed on the Premiere Broadcast Saturday June 15 1991 on YouTube.

Wednesday 16
THE TRAPP FAMILY STORY (1991) “Lady Yvonne’s Gifts” Japanese with English Subtitles. Bootleg DVD.

Thursday 17
CRITICS CORNER (1987) Critics Judith Crist, Peter Travers, and Bruce Williamson discuss the Oscar nominees of 1986-1987. PLATOON, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, THE COLOR OF MONEY, EL SALVADOR are among the commented. Betamax Recording of WOR Broadcast Winter 1987.

DIGIMON ADVENTURE TRI: LOSS (2016) English Dubbed. Fourth film of the DIGIMON ADVENTURE TRI Hexalogy. English Dubbed. Shout Factory Blu-Ray

Friday 18
DIGIMON ADVENTURE TRI: REUNION (2015) English Dubbed. First film of the DIGIMON ADVENTURE TRI Hexalogy, reuniting the characters of the first series. Shout Factory Blu-Ray.

Saturday 19
THE ROCKETEER (1991) 30TH ANNIVERSARY Adaptation of comic series, a nod to the “Rocket Man” Movie Serials and 1930s America. First saw this in the trailers, where I thought Timothy Dalton was a hero (turns out he’s an Errol Flynn Expy based on that false rumor that he was a Nazi spy). Seeing it in theaters corrected me, but it led to my introduction to Bill Campbell and Paul Sorvino. I noted several of the film nods like THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938). At the time I thought I found a film blooper. There is a book titled 1939 and I thought the film was set in 1939 (I ignored the beginning caption), and then I see a showing of JEZEBEL which was in 1938 (Hey…I was eleven). Amazon Prime.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1996) 25TH ANNIVERSARY Adapting Victor Hugo’s novel makes this is, to quote Leonard Maltin, Disney’s all-time strangest source for an Animated Cartoon. I first read about the upcoming film, first seeing scenes from the trailers on the VHS of POCAHONTAS and DISNEY’S SING ALONG SONGS: COLORS OF THE WIND, with emphasis to the “Bells of Notre Dame” Number. Having seen the Chaney and Laughton versions, I was excited to see how Disney handled it. I even performed a narrative to my 8-year-old sister about the plot (although parts of it- Quasimodo’s failed kidnapping of Esmeralda and subsequent arrest & whipping, and Frollo stabbing Phoebus and framing Esmeralda- were changed for the Disney version). I especially recall the articles in USA TODAY and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY commenting about the dark tone of the film (I heard a neighbor walked out of the theater when he saw the “Hellfire” number). I saw it on theaters in June 1996. Later in 2003, just before I went to France, I viewed the film to get a better idea of Notre Dame Cathedral (I also watched CHARADE, FRENCH POSTCARDS, and AN AMERICAN IN PARIS). Disney VHS.

DIGIMON ADVENTURE TRl: DETERMINATION (2015) Second film of the TRI Hexalogy. English Dubbed. Shout Factory BluRay.


Saw Parts Of:
TRAILER PARK (1997) A Sci-Fi Channel collection of Film Trailers hosted by Tom Davis with commentary by Director Nicholas Meyer. The theme of this episode is Science Fiction Cops, with trailers from SOYLENT GREEN, I GO IN PEACE, and DEMOLITION MAN. Betamax Recording of SciFi Channel Broadcast November 1997.

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1990) “The Tree of Life” Betamax Recording of SciFi Channel Broadcast November 1997.

DIGIMON ADVENTURES (1999-2000) & DIGIMON ADVENTURES 02 (2000-2001) Bootleg DVD.

ok.ru/video/1348097542681


and VADIM's DANGEROUS LIAISONS (set at a ski resort is essential - he is Valmont to Moreau's Merteuil with a Miles Davis score. cool beyond belief)


POT BOUILLE from 57 with Darrieux & Anouk again is watchable

If you like swashbucklers his FAN FAN LE TULIPE well regarded by genre enthusiasts

Waterloo Bridge (1931)-The first, pre-code version of the Robert E. Sherwood play, directed by James Whale, this is an interesting watch despite its staginess. The outdoor scenes on the bridge are too obviously filmed against a backdrop, as if on a stage, and the leading man, Douglass Montgomery, is pretty rather than handsome (and, ironically, seems to be wearing more makeup than the "painted lady" played by Mae Marsh). Marsh gives a good performance, though, and there are a few quick glimpses of a pre-star Bette Davis.

Deluge (1933)-Forgotten B-movie gem, considered to be lost for many years, it was restored from an Italian-language print and a rediscovered soundtrack. A world-wide series of earthquakes, tidal waves, and eclipses (?) strikes the Earth, wiping out most of the population except for a small pocket of survivors, including a man separated from his wife and young children who becomes a skilled survivalist, and a young woman he meets (she survived 'cause she's a very good swimmer) and quickly falls in love with. Attempting to get back to civilization (a small community which tries to rebuild), they face danger from a vicious band of degenerates who assault women and kill anyone who gets in their way. As a low-budget B-movie, it wastes no time in getting to the worldwide destruction, complete with the requisite swirling newspaper headlines ("EARTH DOOMED" is the most succinct headline), and a memorable sequence of New York City being destroyed by a massive tidal wave. It's memorable because it's so quaintly primitive--unlike King Kong from the same year and studio, with its far more sophisticated special effects, the scene of destruction looks like a pile of shoeboxes being washed away by a wading pool full of water, along with toy boats and a stumpy-looking Statue of Liberty. But that's part of this movie's charm. As one of the very first disaster/post-apocalyptic films, it's entertaining in its pioneering way.

Road House (1948)-Nice little noir film featuring Richard Widmark, in his third film, again playing a giggling psycho (reportedly a sweet guy in real life, he would soon get sick of being typecast and try for less offensive roles). He's after tough-talking nightclub singer Ida Lupino (who, as co-star Celeste Holm says, has a nice voice "if you like gravel.") She's more interested in Cornel Wilde, though, and Widmark isn't happy and is out for revenge. Some good thrills, and Lupino's talk-singing style, which sounds like a cigarette butt floating in a glass of whiskey, is something to hear.

Still Mine (2012)-Released the same year as the overpraised Amour, this also centers around an aging married couple, with the husband having to face his wife's increasing dementia. But this film manages to be wistful and sad, yet avoids the despair and hopelessness of the French film. James Cromwell is a farmer and one of those incredibly self-reliant guys who can fix or build just about anything with his own two hands. But government regulations are increasingly forcing him from making a living on his farm. He plans to build a new house for himself and his ailing wife (Genevieve Bujold), but when the government moves in on him again, he stubbornly refuses to give in to them. Based on a true story, this film can be heartbreaking, particularly when the husband realizes his wife's increasing dementia, yet it doesn't have the downbeat, defeatist outcome of the other film. Cromwell and Bujold are terrific in this.

Minari (2020)-An overlong, meandering film about a family struggling to make a success of a small Arkansas farm. The father expresses very little warmth toward the family and is more interested in making money than in his family's emotional needs; the mother invites her ailing mother to come live in their trailer home; the kids interact mainly with the grandmother (the little boy's method of interaction is to feed his grandmother a bowl of his own urine, for some bizarre reason). The older child, a daughter, seems half-forgotten. An okay film, but not nearly as good as the hype it received.

News of the World (2020)-A western for people who don't like westerns, this stars the dependable Tom Hanks in one of his standard dependable hero roles. A Civil War veteran and professional newsreader who travels from town to town to read interesting stories from assorted newspapers for audiences, in 1870 he comes across a young girl "rescued" from her Native American captors after her original family was massacred, and feels duty-bound to deliver her to surviving relatives. They face various obstacles on the way-criminals, the elements, and a long trek across enemy territory (Texas, where much of the populace is bitter and vengeful against the rest of the country-some things don't change). Slow-paced and somber, much of the story seems derivative and predictable--every new plot twist can be seen coming from a mile off. Despite that, it's worth watching for the
beautiful scenery, Tom Hanks' usual good-guy persona, co-star Hanna Zenger's touching performance, and the well-worn but still-enjoyable story,