What classics did you see last week, Sept 26 to Oct 2?

Death in the Garden (1956) - 7/10





Zodiac (2007) - 7/10 





Klute (1971) - 7/10

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, 126 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released September 17, 2021:

As Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in the sometimes funny, sometimes chilling, and always on-the-mark new picture “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain seem to build their characterizations on arrested development--two adolescents trapped in eternal amber, as indefatigably cheerful as Stepford Wives, with personalities as broad as Alfalfa from the “Our Gang” comedies and Shirley Temple channeling the breathy, wide-eyed cadences of Betty Boop on steroids.

Garfield and Chastain gallop so close to the edge of parody in their roles that they can almost lean over and spit into the chasm of slapstick. But instead of going over the edge they pull back and moderate their acting but sustain their momentum, as animated as characters in a Walt Disney cartoon. In this way, they achieve nearly flawless verisimilitude--closer than you ever thought two actors could come to our memories of the real Jim and Tammy Faye during their heyday in the early 1980s.

Directed by Michael Showalter from a script by Abe Sylvia with Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbado, adapted from Benton and Bailey’s 2000 documentary of the same name, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” often plays like a satire of every flag-waving Hollywood biographical picture from “Yankee Doodle Dandy” to “Sergeant York” to “The Spirit of St. Louis”...but with a jaundiced subtext: In this picture, the heroes are the bad guys, spoiled rotten by their own dreams of avarice, turning The American Way on its ear. It’s funny, but it hurts.

With a spirit similar to Adam McKay’s films “The Big Short” in 2015 and “Vice” in 2018, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” chronicles the rise and fall of famed televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye, the charismatic and astonishingly popular co-hosts of the Christian television talk show “The PTL Club” from 1974 to 1989. During the program’s peak popularity, Jim and Tammy Faye became the most highly-rated televangelists in the world, attracting some 17 million loyal viewers daily.

Starting out as a sort of offbeat, knockabout romantic comedy, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” depicts the first meeting and off-kilter courtship of the couple. It’s about the same as you’d imagine it to be, something you might expect from a comedy sketch on SNL late in the show when the writers are running out of top material. The two meet cute, so to speak, go on a few ticklishly cheap dates, and quickly get themselves kicked out of divinity college, victims of their own awkward horniness.

It’s only after the picture firmly grounds itself in a cartoonish kind of reality that director Showalter brings out the big guns. A failure as itinerant preachers working out of the trunk of their car like encyclopedia salesmen, Jim and Tammy Faye soon throw in their lot with rising Christian superstar Pat Robertson (Gabriel Olds) and his fledgling Christian Broadcasting Network. Robertson perceives in the two hapless young hucksters an appeal natural for TV preaching and bestows upon them their own show--The PTL (“Praise the Lord”) Club.

The PTL Club grows fruitful, and multiplies. Gradually we see Jim and Tammy Faye become a powerful force in the conservative GOP revival guided by the stolid Jerry Falwell, played with an impressionist’s gusto by character actor extraordinaire Vincent D’Onofrio. The PTL Club’s faithful vote not at a poll but over the telephone, calling in increasingly large financial pledges to the show--live on the air, telethon-style, the money accepted by telephone operators on the set behind the gleefully greedy hosts. When a pitch for money is popular, the lines light up as if on cue.

The fly in the CBN ointment is Tammy Faye. In Jessica Chastain’s uncanny, almost ethereal performance, Tammy Faye although addled by wealth and success is genuine in her beliefs, as well as in her empathy for people. At one point as Falwell and Bakker discuss backstage the political oppression of liberals and homosexuals through Christian TV (despite Bakker’s own gay tendencies), they’re distracted by the sight of Tammy Faye on a nearby monitor, tearfully interviewing on live television a gay Christian suffering from AIDS.

But it’s their own sexuality that proves to be their ultimate undoing. Starved for physical and emotional affection, Tammy Faye nearly submits to temptation when a Nashville-based record producer offers both. Her near-tryst is broken up by Jim...but in retaliation for her indiscretion, he embarks on an extramarital adventure of his own. When Jim’s accused of rape by a young church secretary and attempts to buy her silence with money pledged by viewers to The PTL Club, the scheming Falwell betrays him to the public, and the law. The penalty is steep.

After the fall of the house of Bakker, the film’s closing scenes are actually difficult to watch. With Jim imprisoned on a cacophony of crimes, disgraced by scandals both sexual and financial, Tammy’s reduced to making the rounds of Hollywood casting agents, not in a chauffeur-driven limousine but a more economical Honda Accord. She whiles away her time pitching puppet shows for children and therapeutic panel discussions for troubled teens, all with herself as the star. “I do love the camera,” she acknowledges to an agent.

At the end, Tammy Faye is offered redemption of a sort, performing as a singer for a Christmastime special television broadcast from the Christian Oral Roberts University. After carefully applying onto her aged and weathered face makeup that’s grown over the years as outlandish and exaggerated as the grotesque whiteface on a circus clown, Tammy dons her wig in a pathetic attempt to appear as vital as the audience remembers her, and ventures alone onstage to sing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

It’s a revealing performance. As Tammy begins the familiar strains of the Civil War anthem, we see the show from the perspectives of both the indifferent audience and Tammy Faye’s dazed imagination. The difference is brutal. During the song’s finale, as Tammy Faye cajoles the audience to join in on the chorus, an enormous American flag is unfurled behind her. Broken, beaten, possibly mad, but still unbowed, Tammy Faye shouts an impassioned “God Bless America” into the television cameras, to the audience that once adored her.

The moment is as devastating, and as poignant, as the ending of Robert Altman’s 1975 masterpiece “Nashville”...and for much the same reasons. Like the Altman picture, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is a portrait of America at a spiritual, political, and cultural crossroad, as accurate as a snapshot, as vital as a heartbeat, as relevant to the present as to the past. Look for this picture to be mentioned prominently during awards season.

Also starring Cherry Jones as Tammy Faye’s mother and spiritual bellwether, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is rated PG-13 for sexual content and scenes of drug abuse.


“Dear Evan Hansen”   Distributed by Universal Pictures, 137 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released September 24, 2021:

Any Hollywood musical that uses mental health and the aftermath of suicide as its foundation has a very delicate path to walk. And because of some questionable and often awkward choices in filmmaking style, the new movie version of the Broadway play “Dear Evan Hansen” makes the job even more difficult than it would otherwise have been.

Friendless and suffering from depression and social anxiety disorder, high school student Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) writes an encouraging letter to himself each morning as a means of generating enough courage to face another day. When his daily letter is intercepted one morning by his emotionally troubled and equally friendless classmate Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan), Evan’s mortified and tries unsuccessfully to retrieve it.

But when Evan’s letter is later found in Connor’s pocket after the boy dies by his own hand, he not only benefits socially by being identified as the late Connor’s only friend and confidante, but also becomes a surrogate son to his grieving parents (Amy Adams, Danny Pino) and eventually, thanks to social media, even a global vanguard for teenagers suffering from emotional difficulties and mental health challenges.

All of which leaves the hapless teenager with an unfamiliar problem: His newfound popularity and social status is based on an elaborate misunderstanding...which he encouraged.

Possibly the world’s most unlikely musical, adapted from the Broadway production of the play by its Tony Award-winning author Steven Levinson and directed by Stephen Chbosky, “Dear Evan Hansen” is never less than interesting, sometimes compelling, and frequently even engrossing. The performances are almost uniformly excellent and the frequent musical interludes are richly enjoyable, if not particularly memorable.

The problem with the movie is its balance: While the stage version of the play by its very theatricality managed to blend music, heartfelt drama, and bittersweet humor into a moving live experience, “Dear Evan Hansen,” the movie, seemingly wants to be at least two pictures in one--a straight drama and a Broadway musical, with each individual genre constantly at war with the other for the movie’s soul. Thanks to the movie’s rich performances, each squeaks by in the end. But through most of the picture it's a very close race.

Filmmaker Stephen Chbosky has made a tidy living from depicting teenage angst--he’s also the author of the 1999 teen novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and the director of the hit 2017 teen drama “Wonder.” But Chbosky seemingly expects “Dear Evan Hansen” to sell itself to the audience, or at least to coast along on the enormous wave of goodwill generated by the reputation of the Broadway version of the play (and the six Tony Awards it won). And that’s unfair to both the movie’s performers and the delicate subject matter which forms the drama’s foundation.

Musical sequences which should be integrated into the narrative as seamlessly as if they were extensions of dialogue are instead sequestered and showcased as plainly as if a spotlight is aimed at the performer and he’s handed a straw hat and cane. In the other great motion picture musicals from Golden Globe-winning composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul--”La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman” among them--the songs add resonance to the scenes without interrupting the drama. In “Dear Evan Hansen,” every time the music begins, the rest of the picture stops.

Reprising his Evan Hansen role from the original Broadway production, singer and actor Ben Platt despite an affecting characterization becomes a casualty of the filmmaker’s shortcomings. Too often Platt is required to boldly belt out a snazzy show tune and then return to his stammering and socially awkward characterization the instant the music ends. The difference showcases the actor’s versatility but works against the narrative. It doesn’t help that at age 27 Platt’s about a decade too old for his role...and looks it, especially in the film’s frequent closeups.

The picture also suffers from a moderately distracting dose of starpower, with Amy Adams and Academy Award-winning Julianne Moore respectively cast as the late Connor’s grieving mom and Evan’s overprotective mother. As Evan’s classmate Alana, the talented Amandla Stenburg (Starr Carter in 2018’s “The Hate U Give”) has her role expanded from the stage version to accommodate her musical talents, and Kaitlyn Dever is appropriately acerbic as Zoe, the late Connor’s cynical sister.

The real standout in the movie is actor Colton Ryan as the deceased Connor Murphy. Briefly resurrected about forty minutes into the picture to participate with Evan and his dour “family friend” Jared (Nik Dodani) in the showstopping “Sincerely, Me,” the 26-year-old Ryan reveals himself to be easily the most dazzling performer in the cast. Ryan dominates the scene so effectively that the movie needs to work twice as hard to regain its momentum after he leaves. And when the dead guy manages to steal the show, the picture has a real problem.

“Dear Evan Hansen” is rated PG-13 for some suggestive references, thematic material involving suicide, and brief strong language.


“Copshop”   Distributed by Open Road Films, 107 Minutes, Rated R, Released September 17, 2021:

Swindler and career criminal Teddy Muretto (Frank Grillo), on the run from the cops, the FBI, and the Mob after being implicated in the murder of a prominent and influential Nevada politician, assaults a police officer as a means of getting himself thrown into jail for temporary sanctuary. Hot on Muretto’s trail, resourceful hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler) feigns a drunk driving incident to get himself thrown into a cell adjacent to Muretto’s.

As the two men bicker, insult each other, swap tough talk, and plan their next moves, they’re dismayed when the police station comes under siege from Anthony Lamb (Toby Huss), still another hitman on Muretto’s trail--one who’s genuinely disturbed. Worse, Lamb has accomplices among both the cops at the precinct and the district attorney’s office.

A rollicking, tough-as-nails, testosterone-fueled explosion of a movie, “Copshop” benefits enormously from a sharp and mordantly funny script from Kurt McLeod and director Joe Carnahan that contains a number of surprises and double-crosses and consistently goes in unexpected directions. Sort of a mishmash of early Quentin Tarantino classics such as “Reservoir Dogs” and “From Dusk ‘til Dawn” and an especially demented Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon, the picture is loud, violent...and viciously entertaining.

Action movie veterans Gerard Butler (“Machine Gun Preacher,” “Olympus Has Fallen”) and Frank Grillo (“The Purge: Anarchy,” “The Purge: Election Year”) plainly have a ball doing what they do best. But while Grillo and Butler strut, swagger, and sneer, “Copshop” is all but stolen away from them by Alexis Louder as an amazingly resilient rookie police officer who’s every bit their equal, and then some. Also contributing a scene-stealing turn to the picture is Toby Huss as a cheerfully sadistic professional assassin who enjoys his job way, way too much.

Directed by action/adventure specialist Joe Carnahan (“Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane,” “The A-Team”), “Copshop” is more than a little reminiscent of “Rio Bravo” from 1959 (and John Carpenter’s 1976 remake, “Assault on Precinct 13”). The movie takes a while to work itself up to full speed, but when it finally gets revved up the picture establishes its own rowdy identity and really comes into its own. This is a movie that would’ve been right at home at a drive-in theater during the 1970s. In its bullet-riddled glory, “Copshop” is Joe Carnahan’s masterpiece.

“Copshop” is rated R for strong, bloody violence and pervasive adult language throughout.

I have at least six Season 3s this year: Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Simpsons, Angel, Once and Again, Muppet Babies, and Northern Exposure.

And this week’s MASTERPIECE 50 is:
TRAFFIK (1990) about the illegal drug trade in different focuses. Starring Bill Patterson and Lindsay Duncan. Saw the first episode “The Smuggler”. Acorn Media DVD.

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The following episodes came from a VHS recording of NBC & CBS Broadcasts of Saturday Morning Cartoons on September 26, 1981:

THE SMURFS (1981) “Vanity Faire/ St. Smurf and the Dragon/ Sorcerer Smurf” 40th Anniversary. Although I would see SMURFS in syndication, this recording and the HERE ARE THE SMURFS special recording was for decades my only access of the original opening with the narration. In the first part of “Dragon” the channel was temporarily switched to CBS for…

TROLLKINS (1981) “Escape from Ascatroll” 40th Anniversary A Hanna Barbera cartoon about a Troll hick town in the style of DUKES OF HAZARD. It was this recording I was first introduced to the show; I would see the rest of the series in the mid-1980s on USA Network’s Cartoon Express. There was no video source I could find of this series (aside from another episode on YouTube), so I couldn’t include it in my 40th Anniversary viewing like the others. The recording goes back to NBC and the remainder of SMURFS.

THE KIDS SUPER POWER HOUR WITH SHAZAM (1981) “Do the Computer Stomp/Best Seller /Starfire, Where Are You?” 40th Anniversary These episodes were my most sustaining connection to this show for almost 40 years until this Anniversary viewing. The Shazam episode has IBAC (a villain with similar transformation powers, in this case saying the word combination of the initials of Ivan, Borgia, Attila, and Caligula) and his Hiss Men (alligator humanoids) kidnap the Marvel Family and transform them into Hiss Men too.

SPACE STARS (1981) “The Space City/ Prison Planet/ The Snake People / The Toymaster / The Education of Puglor /Collision in Space” 40th Anniversary For almost 32 years, this recording was my only access to the uncut Opening (the USA Network’s Cartoon Express broadcasts would excise the Astro and Herculoid parts of the Opening; Cartoon Network didn’t show the Opening at all). The first two segments I watched on said 1981 VHS. The third segment got accidentally taped over, so I had to watch it on DVD. The remaining three segments I also watched on DVD, because at that point the channel had again switched to CBS (midway to ABC’s broadcast of the opening of GOLDIE GOLD) for…

BLAKSTAR (1981) “Lightning City of Clouds” 40th Anniversary. This episode- Blackstar has to open the Box of Seasons to bring Spring to Winter-wrecked Saigar- was my only connection to the series for 23 years.

The next three CBS shows were combined into one Adventure hour.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE LONE RANGER (1981) “On a Tight Wire” 40th Anniversary. My intro to the Filmation series was this episode from its second season. I would have watched the second season, but the Volume 2 set is out of print with a $400 price tag. So this will be the only TNAotLR S2 episode I will watch for this Anniversary.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ZORRO (1981) “Fort Roman” 40th Anniversary Again (until 2009) this episode was my only connection to the series.

TARZAN LORD OF THE JUNGLE (1976) “The Ice Creature” This is a repeat from Filmation’s TARZAN series in 1976.

Included in this recording are news segments like CBS’ “In the News” narrated by Christopher Glenn, NBC’s “Ask NBC News” (where newscasters answer kids’ questions: one was about the Empire State Building, which I believe was my intro to that skyscraper’s history). Commercials like Smurf dolls and records (the latter showed footage from THE SMURFS AND THE MAGIC FLUTE which would not get an English release until 1983), the controversial Tippy Toes doll (a walking baby doll with a skirt that exposes her bum), Superhero Underwoos, etc.

The following also probably aired that day or month.
THE KWICKY KOALA SHOW (1981) “In a Pig’s Eye/ Challenges/Dirty Dawg’s Faux Paux” 40th Anniversary Warner Archive DVD.

FONZ AND THE HAPPY DAYS GANG (1981) “Time Schlep” 40th Anniversary CBS/Paramount DVD.

THE POPEYE AND OLIVE COMEDY SHOW (1981) “Computer Complications/ Chilly Con Caveman/ Here Today, Goon Tomorrow “ 40th Anniversary YouTube

THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN (1981) “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” 40th Anniversary Warner Archive DVD

GOLDIE GOLD AND ACTION JACK (1981) “Red Dust of Doom” 40th Anniversary YouTube

SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS (1981) “The Amazing Mr Frump” 40th Anniversary Dr Doom is the villain in this one (albeit differently designed from the other SM series) intending to perform a ritual that will give him reality-twisting powers but the ability accidentally goes to a nebbish old man (voiced by Alan Young, six years before Scrooge McDuck). Edited version (no Stan Lee narration) Amazon prime.

SPIDER-MAN (1981) “Lizards, Lizards, Everywhere” 40th Anniversary. The Lizard appears, albeit without any references to his other self Dr Curt Connors. Also, in the spirit of his Everyman status, Spidey is suffering a cold. YouTube.

G I JOE (1986) “Computer Complications” 35th Anniversary My first experience to Star-crossed romance was probably this story, where Cobra Zatara spies and falls in love with Joe Mainframe, the episode ending with them in their separate sides, but looking wistfully at the night. In a different story, the USS Flagg, which was a major Joe base back in the Pyramids of Darkness storyline, gets sunk when collided with a falling Cobra carrier. Dailymotion.

FIVE STAR FINAL (1931) 90th Anniversary Warner Brothers PreCode Drama about a cynical publicist being forced to make a sensationalist article about a woman with a past to boost his boss’ papers circulation with horrific consequences. Edward G. Robinson plays a more complex role than Little Caesar, haunted but determined to do the job until the ramifications wise him up. Also with Marian Marsh, Anthony Bushell, Aline McMahon, H. B. Warner and Boris Karloff, just three months before a certain film changed his career forever. First saw this on Showtime in the early 1990s. Warner Archive DVD.

THE SIMPSONS (1991) “Mr Lisa Goes to Washington” 30th Anniversary. Things get political when Lisa wins a contest that gets them to Washington DC, where the idealistic Lisa gets a taste of corruption in the government. FoxVideo DVD.

ER (1996) “Dr Carter, I Presume?” 25th Anniversary. July 4, 1996. My maternal Grandmother died on that day (a fine lady…). According to ER, it is the setting of the Third Season opener, a look at 24 hours in the life of Dr. Carter as an intern. Also introducing Omar Epps as fellow intern Dr. Gant and Lisa Nicole Carson as Carla Reese. Like most of the first 3 seasons, I first saw this on TNT in the fall 1998. Warner DVD.

SUPERMAN (1941) 80th Anniversary.
The first Animated Super Hero film, created by the Fleischer Studios and featuring Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander voicing their Radio characters with Jack Mercer as the Mad Scientist (whom I thought was an actual DC villain but was only designed for the cartoon). Although I saw the Filmation and Hanna Barbera animations, I wasn’t aware of the Fleischer cartoons until CBS’ SUPERMAN 50th ANNIVERSARY TV special showed clips of the series. Then in the fall of 1988 I learned the Disney Channel was showing of them in groups of three. This was the first, alongside “Electric Earthquakes” and the final short “Secret Agent.” (At the time, there was only one TV that had the Channel). Warner DVD.

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) 70th Anniversary. Gene Kelly sings and dances to Gershwin in this award-winning musical also starring George’s Guetary, Oscar Levant, Leslie Caron, and Nina Foch. My first viewing was the THATS ENTERTAINMENT’s edited version of the film’s acclaimed ballet climax. I finally got to see the film a few days before going to France, where I imprinted the “How Clear it Is” dance number at the River Siene (or what turned out to be a Hollywood studio recreation) in my mind to see the real thing. Warner DVD.

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THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (1986) “Mrs. Rogers’ Neighborhood” 35th Anniversary The team face a ghost hiding under the guise of a sweet old lady, who then possesses Venkman to force him to open the Ecto Cooler. Geez, this was the third episode I saw back then, and the high drama and scares was making me decide to quit watching for a time. Sony DVD.

DISNEY’S ADVENTURES OF THE GUMMI BEARS (1986) “Over the River and through the Trolls/ You Snooze, You Lose“ 35th Anniversary this year. Disney DVD

THE CARE BEARS FAMILY (1986) “The Great Race” 35th Anniversary. Beasltly cheats his way into a race for temporary king of Care-a-lot. This is probably the most substantial appearance of True Heart Bear since her intro from the second film, not to mention her last. Her partner Noble heart Horse will make one more appearance in the season finale. YouTube

PEE WEE’S PLAYHOUSE (1986) “Rainy Day” 35th Anniversary. YouTube

MUPPET BABIES (1986) “The Weirdo Zone” 35th Anniversary. The gang try to get to know Gonzo a little better, embracing their inner weirdo. Probably one of my favorite stock footage scenes in this ep: Gonzo’s eyes change to a double image of STAR WARS’ Death Star exploding (the base symbolizing his pupils). Also Fozzie imagines himself in footage of ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES. YouTube presentation of a recording of a Nickelodeon broadcast.

GALAXY HIGH (1986) “Pizza’s Honor” 35th Anniversary this month. YouTube

POUND PUPPIES (1986) “From Wags to Riches” 35th Anniversary. YouTube

TEEN WOLF (1986) “ Shopworn Wolf” 35th Anniversary. YouTube.

THE SLAYERS NEXT (1996) “Go to Next…and then Again” 25th Anniversary. The Next Series concludes with Phibrizzo destroyed by the Lina-habiting Lord of Nightmares, and the emancipated Gourry taking center stage to keep the LoN from erasing Lina, leading to a romantic embrace (that quickly changes to comedy). The episode ends with the gang on another adventure. This marks the last appearance of Syphiel until REVOLUTION in the 10s. Martina also bows out, marrying swordsman Zangalus. Japanese with English Subtitles. Software Sculptor DVD.

CASUALTY (1986) “Jump Start” 35th Anniversary. Several familiar faces like Alfred Molina as a reporter and Stella Gonet (Beatrice in HOUSE OF ELLIOT) as a surgeon. Just Entertainment/ BBC Video PAL DVD.

WINSTON CHURCHILL THE WILDERNESS YEARS (1981) “A Menace in the House” 40th Anniversary. It is 1934, and Churchill’s attempt to prove Sir Samuel Hoare (Edward Woodward) of treason leads to his downfall and disgrace from Parliament. A few months later the disgraced Winston is given a plea by Ralph Wigram (Paul Freeman) to look into the growing Nazi rearmament in Germany. YouTube

THE TROJAN WOMEN (1971) 50th Anniversary. Film adaptation of Sophocles’ Greek Tragedy on the sad fate of the survivors of Troy, starring Katherine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Irene Papas, and Genevieve Bujold. Kino DVD.

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DARKWING DUCK (1991) “Fungus Amongus” 30th Anniversary. The first appearance of Morgan’s MarCawber, Darkwing’s witch girlfriend, although she starts out as a villainess, sorta Catwoman to DW’s Batman. YouTube.

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1991) “Forward to the Past” 30th Anniversary. Universal DVD

BEETLEJUICE (1991) “Ghost to Ghost” 30th Anniversary A seance at the Deets house accidentally summons Boris ToDeath (an expy of Boris Karloff), who attempts to usurp BJ’s haunting of the house. Shout Factory DVD.

THE COMMISH (1991) “In the Best of Families” 30th Anniversary. ABC drama about Police Commissioner Tony Scali (Michael Chiklis). I remember when this was on ABC. It wasn’t until it came on Lifetime in 1997 that I seriously watched the show. This is an edited episode, the ending removed due to music rights. Anchor Bay DVD.

ONCE AND AGAIN (2001) “Busted” 20th Anniversary. The third season begins with the newly wedded Rick (Bill Campbell) and
Lily (Sela Ward) dealing with their merged families, either inner (Eli being unemployed, stepsisters fighting) and outside (Lily has been laid off; Karen, Rick‘s ex-wife is trying to maintain some control of her children’s lives in fear of losing them). YouTube Presentation of a Recording of a Lifetime Broadcast in the millennium.

HOUSE OF ELLIOT (1991) “Part Five” 30th Anniversary. It is New Years, and the girls each get a proposal. The New Years costume party leading into 1922, has one character dressed up as Dracula, although the tuxedo and cape look would not be created until 1924! Media DVD.

HOMEFRONT (1991) “SNAFU” 30th Anniversary this week. Short-lived ABC period drama about America after the end of WW2 as the GIs came home, centering on four and their families: Hank Metcalf, coming home for his sweetheart, not knowing she’s making out with his kid brother Jeff (Kyle Chandler). Charlie (Harry O Reilly) who has got a scheming British wife (Sammi Davis) much to the shock of his expectant fiancée Ginger (Tammy Lauren). Mike Sloan Jr. who gets killed offscreen but leaves behind an Italian Jewish wife (Giuliano Santini) much to the shocks of his WASP parents (Ken Jenkins and Mimi Kennedy). And African-American Robert Davis (Sterling Macer Jr) and his servant parents. Watched a few scenes of one episode in 1993, but got to see the series on a weekend marathon on TVLand in May 2000 and continued watching it on weekdays that summer (was my introductions to Kyle Chandler, Wendy Philips, and John Slattery). Internet Archive presentation of a VHS Recording of an ABC Broadcast.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (1971) 50th Anniversary Wishing to energize US interest in MONTY PYTHON, it was decided to make a film to promote it. The film is basically a feature-length collection of recreated sketches from the first two seasons, with alterations to link them together (the Dead Parrot sketch leads to the Lumberjack song). Although most of the parts are reprised, Terry Jones replaces Terry Gilliam as the Nude Organist, of which he will continue to play in the Third Series. I ended up watching this the last of the Python films. The order was HOLY GRAIL (July 1992), LIFE OF BRIAN (Christmas Day 1992), MEANING OF LIFE (Palm Sunday weekend 1992), and this one on Easter 1992. Although I had been watching the series on Comedy Central, the film introduced me to several sketches (Tobacconist sketch, How Not To Be Seen, Blackmail, Vocational Guidance Counselor, Double Vision Mountaineer, etc.) RCA Columbia VHS.

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THE TRAPP FAMILY STORY (1991) “God’s Decree” 30th Anniversary. Marry the Captain or become a Nun? Maria goes to the Abbey to seek God’s guidance. Japanese with English Subtitles. Bootleg DVD.

DOUG (1991) “Doug’s Mayor for a Day/ Doug’s No Dummy” 30th Anniversary Bootleg DVD.

G I JOE (1986) “Sink the Montana” 35th Anniversary Dailymotion.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991) 30th Anniversary Disney’s Best Picture Nominated film. My intro to the film was a Making of preview on THE JUNGLE BOOK VHS in 1991 (with the opening to “This town” and parts of “Be My Guest”). Over the following months I would see several numbers: Nickelodeon would show “Gaston” and an ABC Disney TV Special would have Angela Lansbury perform the title song. A comic book gave me the main plot. However, due to purposely turning down a chance to see the film on New Years Day 1992, I didn’t see the film until it’s video release in Fall 1992. Disney DVD.

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RECORD OF LODOSS WAR (1991) “Final Battle: Marmo- The Last Battle” 30th Anniversary. Japanese with English Subtitles. Image/Manga U.S. Corps DVD.

BAND OF BROTHERS (2001) “Crossroads” 20th Anniversary HBO DVD.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE (1991) “Only You” 30th Anniversary Universal DVD.

COLUMBO (1971) “Murder By The Book” 50th Anniversary this month. After two movies, the series began with this mystery as Jack Cassidy murders his author partner. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Universal DVD.

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DARKWING DUCK (1991) “Days of Blunder” 30th Anniversary. Enter Quackerjack, DW’s equivalent of the Joker, although a little softer than the psycho (due to executive meddling). YouTube.

THE LEGEND OF PRINCE VALIANT (1991) “The Pact” 30th Anniversary Val, Arn, and Rowanne encounter an old Viking with an agenda, giving Arn a vendetta (Vikings murdered his parents). Also revealed in said Viking’s flashback a murdering knight with a shield of an axe. BCI Eclipse DVD.

HOMEFRONT (1991) “Hand to Hold” & “Bedsprings” 30th Anniversary. The funeral of Mike Sloan with his Italian wife revealing her pregnancy, much to the chagrin of her mother-in-law, who is convinced she is a gold digger. Meanwhile, despite Jeff’s attempts to win his brother Hank’s girlfriend, she chooses Hank. Internet Archive presentation of VHS Recordings of ABC Broadcast.

ANGEL (2001) “That Vision Thing” 20th Anniversary. Lila of Wolfram & Hart returns with a vengeance, hacking into Cordelia’s visions to give her torture. Fred also takes on a greater role helping the gang. Amazon Prime.

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THE FUNKY PHANTOM (1971) “Who’s Chicken?” 50th Anniversary. Warner Archive DVD.

HEY ITS THE HAIR BEAR BUNCH (1971) “Wedded Bliss Boo Boo” 50th Anniversary. Warner Archive DVD.

THE PEBBLES AND BAMM BAMM SHOW (1971) “His Golden Voice” 50th Anniversary. The debut of Pebbles’ music group Bedrock Rockers (which will feature prominently in THE FLINTSTONES COMEDY HOUR). Warner DVD.

THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW (1971) “He’s No Heavy…He’s My Brother.“ 50th Anniversary YouTube.

HERGE’S THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (1991) “The Case of the Golden Crabs Part 1“ 30th Anniversary. Nelvana adaptation of Herge’s Belgian comic series of the adventures of a reporter. The intro episode is an adaptation of the 9th story introducing Captain Braddock (evidently to establish the cast of characters at the start; the beginning solo stories would be adapted later) I first saw this on HBO on its US release a month later (although the channel would combine the two-parters). Shout Factory DVD.

DARKWING DUCK (1991) “Just Us, Justice Ducks Part 1” 30th Anniversary. The first appearance of the 2nd incarnation of Negaduck, here an independent person to Darkwing, who gathers four of Darkwing’s foes to form the Fearsome Five, leading to several of DW’s allies to form the Justice Ducks. This 2-parter brings to form a problem in the Broadcasts. Fox decided to air the series out of order. At least four characters in this arc had their intro episodes appear later, bringing confusion to who these people are and how does DW know them (worse, some of these debuts appeared only on ABC that season). Another confusion is DW’s relationship with Morgana. “Fungus Amongus” ended with a Villain’s Exit by the latter. Now they are a couple with her going straight. YouTube.

DRACULA (1931) Cinemark showing.

FRANKENSTEIN (1931) Cinemark showing (unfortunately interrupted by a Satellite glitch). I’ll save my comments for next month.

GI JOE (1986) “Once Upon A Joe” 35th Anniversary. Dailymotion.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (2001) “Bargaining” 20th Anniversary. The sixth season begins with Willow taking severe measures to resurrect Buffy from the dead. Amazon Prime.

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) Peter Bogdonovich’s portrait of adolescence in a dying Texas town, with debuts for Cybill Shepherd and Randy Quaid, and star-making performances by Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, and Cloris Leachman. First saw clips of this on the docu AMERICAN CINEMA (1995) and then in 1996 on Laserdisc by my Late Uncle (who died one year ago) who gave me my second experience in commentary tracks. I saw a whole greater detail on PBS in May 1996. Laserdisc Criterion.

Saw Parts of:
CARTOON CARNIVAL (2021) Documentary on the history of Animation. TCM Broadcast.

Earliest film watched: I DO (1920)
Latest film watched: BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATION (2019)

First Name: Carmen (1983, Jean-Luc Godard) – rewatch - apparently (very loosely) based on the opera Carmen. A women falls for a bank robber and retreats to a country hotel as her uncle (played by Godard himself) attempts to make a film documenting their actions



Detective (1985, Jean-Luc Godard) – a hotel detective tries to solve the two year old murder case, that resulted in his uncle losing the job when he failed to solve it. Similarly opaque to much of Godard’s work from this period. Credited to John Cassavetes, Clint Eastwood, Edgar G. Ulmer as well as Godard



The Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company (1986, Jean-Luc Godard) - a film company struggles financially while it constantly hires extras. Shot very minimally with some great formal touches including some excessive but effective use of the dissolve



Safe (1995, Todd Haynes) - a woman becomes allergic to her environment in this cold bleached out suburban thriller. Julianne Moore is perfect as the fragile china doll emotionally and physically crushed by the outside world



Far From Heaven (2002, Todd Haynes) – rewatch - while there were hints of Douglas Sirk in the first half of Safe, here Haynes directly references his work, in particular All That Heaven Allows. A 1950s housewife finds her life may not be as perfect as it looks from the outside. Full of lush period detail and just the right amount of melancholy and melodrama, this near perfect film appears to exist entirely inside a beautifully autumnal snow globe



I’m Not There (2007, Todd Haynes) – rewatch - six actors play characters representing seven different facets of Bob Dylan’s persona in this kaleidoscopic jigsaw that completely re-invents the music biopic



The Final Girls (2015, Todd Strauss-Schulson) – fun meta horror film about a teenager who finds herself and her friends trapped inside the cult 1980s slasher film her mother appeared in

The Incident (1967)


Point Blank (1967)


Magnolia (1999)