Austen Watch: Emma (2020)

Watched:  05/07/2026

Format:  Disc from Library

Viewing:  First

Director:  Olivia de Wilde

The funny thing about Jane Austen adaptations is that I guess, because I've never read any Jane Austen, is that Austen is the spring from which rom-com tropes flow.  So, even when you're watching a faithful or semi-faithful adaptation of Austen, you may feel the beats or arcs once the many, many moving pieces of an Austen story settle in.  

But that's okay.  It's not like people can't pick out the beats in a Spider-Man movie.

I do recall this one being advertised, but seeing it came out in 2020 means it may have played to empty movie theaters, but I'm also seeing it is not embraced and beloved.  And Jamie's reaction was pretty muted when the movie wrapped up.  That said, while I was goofing off with CB and JAL on Sunday, she watched Clueless,* which is loosely based on the book of Emma, so maybe too soon?

The challenges of these movies are manifold.  You need to adhere largely to the book or the Austen-heads will make sure that if you don't, they can drag you.  There are far more characters than modern screen-writing guidelines usually will say are a good idea.  And that can include characters who are discussed and not seen for quite a while - we're not meeting everyone important in the first five minutes as Modern Screenwriting Law would insist.   And we're certainly not clear on everyone's specific deal.  Communicating the social rules of Regency Era England to modern audiences - especially Americans who bristle at these things - can be hard.  And, of course, the books do not follow the "wisdom" of modern screenwriting rules, which are intended to serve audiences who can only handle knowing who is good and bad, and when will the final boss show up.

And yet - we keep making these movies and people tend to like them, because Austen knew how to write/ created a very specific kind of fantasy that's as satisfying in its way as any "male" fantasy story.  And they've already stood the test of time - which means they just already work for a wide audience.

The cast is punctuated with actors who would soon be more familiar.  The eponymous Emma is played by Anya Taylor-Joy - I think very well.  Her pal Harriet is Mia Goth.  Josh O'Connor plays Mr. Elton (and is hysterical, imho).  But there's also Bill Nighy as Emma's father and Miranda Hart as Miss Bates.

This is my first exposure to the story of Emma other than seeing Clueless one time in the theater.   I don't know.  It was a thumbs-up from me.  Anya Taylor-Joy and Mia Goth were solid.  Bill Nighy was terrific (and I guess Emma laid the groundwork for the oft-repeated solo-girl and her daddy sad-house).  It was a good mix of silly and semi-serious.  The life-lessons imparted were non-bullshit and I didn't roll my eyes, which is not nothing.  It's well shot, and I thought it got honestly better as it went along, versus what too many movies do.  

I have no idea if any of it was historically accurate, but it was pretty to look at.

Weirdly, this was the last IMDB movie credit for director Olivia De Wilde who I *do* know, but only from her many Florence + The Machine videos.  She's super good at those.  Three thumbs-up.  

Anyway, the best uncommented upon gag in the movie is the casting of the 6'1" Miranda Hart with the 5'1" Myra McFadyen as her mother.   

*I am unapologetic in my loathing of Clueless, so it's best I was gone.  If I never have to watch it again, I'm good.  And walking in on the last ten or fifteen minutes did nothing to make m rethink my case.

Ted Turner Merges With The Infinite

let's see how he likes it

Broadcasting pioneer Ted Turner has passed at age 87.

Is anyone more American than Ted Turner?  A Paul Bunyan of the 20th Century, launching ideas like CNN and Headline News.  TBS.  TNT.  Making us all watch the Atlanta Braves when the Cubs were right there if we had WGN.  

I don't even know if what he did was good or bad - he made the 24 hour news cycle, but he also didn't make it into the mess it is now.  All he did was give us Lynne Russell* in the early evening, and maybe we can blame him for Wolf Blitzer.  

Two things I'll be grateful for forever - he gave us Turner Classic Movies, which has been a lifeline for me year in and year out.  And he also had a steakhouse in Bozeman, Montana - Ted's - where I had some excellent meals.  

He lived large and publicly - one does not just marry Jane Fonda and expect it to be a minor deal.  In an era where being a corporate figure meant you could be made fun of as a Bond Villain (see: Tomorrow Never Dies) he simply loomed larger than life, and not in the dumb-ass way of today's weirdo oligarchs.

Ted, you lived large.  Heck, you once got mad and decided to manage the Braves yourself.  Hilarious.  

Here's to a media baron who actually did change the world.

*I had a real thing for Lynne Russell and became shockingly well informed due to my endless viewing of Headline News

Thriller Watch: Arabesque (1966)

Watched:  05/02/2026

Format:  TCM

Viewing:  First

Director:  Stanley Donen 

As a fan of artist Robert McGinnis, I had seen the poster art for Arabesque (1966) for years, but it's also a movie nobody ever really mentions, which I found odd given the star power, director Stanley Donen and a score by Henry Mancini.  

But I did record the film off TCM and so gave it a whirl.  

It becomes immediately clear that in the wake of Charade, Donen and Universal wanted to try to do that again.  But on the second attempt, it just doesn't quite work the same way.  

You can't blame the leads - Gregory Peck is Gregory Peck, and Sophia Loren is Sophia Loren (and maybe even more so.  Good golly.).  Peck is trying on being Cary Grant and for reasons, Loren is playing an Arabian woman.  I mean, it's an entire movie full of Arab characters played by non-Arabs, which isn't entirely a shock when you consider this is five years after West Side Story having some interesting ideas about who Puerto Ricans are.

LA Movie Watch: Under the Silver Lake (2018)

Watched:  05/01/2026

Format:  DVD - library

Viewing:  First

Director:  David Robert Mitchell

Under the Silver Lake (2018) is an interesting movie.  For what it sets out to do, I think it succeeds.  I am not, however, particularly a fan of movies that basically say "you'll get it when you watch it again and everything at the beginning will mean something different now that you know the end".  I mean, it's fun in a way, but I ain't got time for that.

SPOILERS

It's a movie that is having great fun encoding the hidden jokes and meaning in the movie while being about someone who is falling down the well of conspiracy theory and seeing hidden messages in everything.  From an academic exercise - it's no doubt an interesting magic trick, what writer/ director David Robert Mitchell is doing.

I guess I'm kind of caught on the "...and so what?" of it all by the end.  Like, it's a neat trick.  But...  to what end? 

Deciphering what was actually happening and why could absolutely be something one could try.  And maybe the movie even could have spoken to the moment as, in 2018, QAnon was still a force, and America was fully descending into seeing hidden meaning in everything (we just live there now). 

Friday Superhero Watch: Superman (2025)

Watched:  05/01/2026

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  Sixth

Director:  James Gunn

With zero prompting from me, on Friday night Jamie put on Superman (2025) as our evening's viewing.

I married well.

This is my sixth viewing in a year, which is too many, to be honest.  One starts to look at the seams rather than the quilt, seeing how the thing is put together, and that's not all bad if you want to start really dissecting a movie, but for staying in the intended flow, it can give you time to think about things other than the story presented.  

After this viewing, I still think Superman does so many things very well that were necessary for reframing the character in the public consciousness.  But it is an odd movie because the metatext of the reframing becomes what the story is *about*.  We're reframing Superman after Superman Returns and the Snyder universe films.  While also setting up the fundamental argument of Luthor versus the argument for Superman.*

Eschewing the direct origin story, Superman has to do the heavy lifting and table-setting for what's to come with the DC Studios Universe.  

Horror Coppola Watch: Dementia 13 (1963)

Watched: 04/29/2026

Format:  TCM

Viewing:  First

Director:  Francis Ford Coppola

The story Ben Mankiewicz and producer Roger Corman shared about why this movie exists sounds like a movie in itself.  

Basically, while filming a motorsports movie in Europe, Corman was running severely *under* budget.  With $20K left in in the bank, a crew and equipment available, and some time before they had to go home - he set  his second unit director loose to go make something for $20K.  That director?  Francis Coppola.

This is Coppola's first movie, and it feels like something between a Gothic mystery - one of those books with women running away from a castle, or Turn of the Screw or some such, and a modern thriller (for 1963).  For a first movie made on the cheap (the final total budget was $40K after selling the rights to the UK to bolster the budget) and written in a rush, and produced on-the-fly.  

David Allan Coe Merges With The Infinite

I had believed David Allan Coe died five years ago, but apparently he just passed.  

I do not know what the youths do now, but if you didn't know all the words to "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" - were you even really Texas'ing in the late 20th Century?

I don't know how much Coe and I would have agreed on in this life, maybe not much.  But that song is one of the greatest ever performed.

And one night at the VFW in Bozeman, Montana, I surprised several digital library colleagues by singing all the words to this most important song.  I may have had a few cocktails beforehand.

Gerry Conway Merges With The Infinite

It's hard to measure what any one creator gives to comics, but since the original wave of creators in the 30's and 40's, and since Stan, Jack and Ditko did their thing - there have been some major players.  And top among these is Gerry Conway.

Conway is responsible for some of the most important storylines and characters in comics.  The man was wildly prolific - having started at age 19 writing at Marvel and just going wild.  

Here's a list of characters he co-created:  From Wikipedia

Here's some of my favorites:

• Power Girl
• Firestorm
• Punisher
• Jason Todd
• Vixen
• Atomic Skull
• Star Sapphire

Can you imagine?

And, among his many important contributions, he wrote "The Night Gwen Stacy Died", one of the most important stories in Marvel Comics history.  The guy had chops.

I assumed Conway was in his mid-80's, having no idea he was a teenager when he started his career.  Gone way too soon.  

Nedra Talley Ross Merges With The Infinite

Nedra, Ronnie and Estelle

The final Ronette, Nedra Talley Ross, has passed.

A part of the Phil Spector music empire, The Ronette's place in American music of the 20th Century can't really be overestimated.  You may only know a few of their songs, but they qualify among your favorite musician's favorite musicians.  And this certainly helped carry them in the years after Spector and his wife, the eponymous Ronnie Spector, split less than amicably.

Nedra was a cousin of Ronnie Spector and Estelle Bennett, and the trio broke at a very young age, and never looked back.  Ronnie passed in 2022, and Estelle passed in 2009.

Here's a performance video from back in the day with the group at their peak.

Super Watch: Superman Returns (2006)

Watched:  04/26/2026

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  Unknown

Director:  Bryan Singer

I was maybe ten minutes into this rewatch of Superman Returns (2006) when I messaged Stuart that we needed to bring back the podcast just to do a ten-part series on this movie.  The pre-history of the movie is worth discussing, as is the production, months up to the release, the lackluster response to the movie, what came after with a reboot in the form of the Snyder movies, and that both the director and Spacey were canceled.  

It's also a movie from the wild west, exciting days of the superhero explosion that came after two great Spider-Man and X-Men movies, Batman Begins and a terrible Catwoman film.*  But no real rules had been written yet for how superhero films should work.  We're two years prior to Iron Man here.

The DVD releases of the Superman quadrilogy had really brought the Donner film (and its sequels) back to the public consciousness, and looking for a safe bet, with Batman done and Wonder Woman the only other DC IP that seemed possible - but that was a girl and Catwoman had failed -Warner Bros went back to DC's original moneymaker.  

Here, I'm just really going to cover the movie - but really what I thought at the time versus where I am in 2026.