It's Always Fair Weather (1955) is a weird and wildly uneven movie. It's either having an astounding number like the whole sequence in the boxing gym where Cyd Charisse seems like magic, or its three dudes boring me to tears with their individual issues. And, yes, I'd seen it before.
I get that the movie is trying to replicate the trio of guys from On the Town, and, according to IMDB trivia, that was the original plan, but Sinatra was having his studio issues, and Munshin was on the outs with Hollywood.
But I think if this movie had just been about Gene Kelly's character, it would have worked a heck of a lot better. Or if it had been able to bring back all six of the characters - sure. Instead, we get this weird "men in crisis" story that just kind of lacks charm and even feels depressing.
Who knew the highly regarded American Classic film would be pretty good?
Red River (1948) is a Howard Hawks post-war epic, one of a dozen John Wayne classics, and features a good number of the A-list supporting players of the era who show up again and again in different configurations through the 1960's.
The film is also curiously myth-building for Texas history, and it's curious to see a movie made about it 80 years after the fact, rather than the additional near-80 that have since passed. John Wayne plays a gunman who joins a wagon train in the years just prior to the Civil War going southwest out of St. Louis. Somewhere in what would become the Oklahoma Indian Territory, Wayne decides to peel off and head South, crossing the Red River into Texas. There a girl who begs to go with him (Coleen Gray*) but he says he'll send for her. He's heading out into hard land with his pal, Groot (Western staple Walter Brennan).
I can't recall if Steven told me to watch Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man first, or Jamie informed me we were going to watch it. But watch it we did.
I was a bit skeptical. Marvel puts out a new Spidey cartoon almost every year, it seems, and then they disappear without much notice. Someone is watching them, but whenever I dip in, it's hard for me to get into it. Not so with this show.
YFNSM is 10 episodes, and it's the first time in a long, long time I got the vibes from a Spider-Man property that felt truly like the Spider-Man I liked in the comics growing up, and then in the Marvel Essentials I read in my 20's. A working class kid of great intellect, a lot of imposter syndrome, and abilities that are as much curse as gift. It takes place in an American New York with all sorts of people intersecting and interacting, and while there are people with strange technology and weapons, Spider-Man is really the only one with inherent powers and a secret to keep.
However, this is a very alt-universe version of Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
A movie whose reputation proceeds it, Morbius (2022) was met with critical derision, a fan base that showed up *ironically*, and a star who seemed to agree - we can all have a laugh at this movie.
I don't even really know what's wrong with Morbius - but, yes, the vibe is off. Nonetheless, I'll speculate based on the final product.
Unlike Madame Web, you don't have the immediate feeling "something is very, very wrong" in the first five minutes. Morbius really takes its time to utterly fall apart and admit no one knew what to do with this character once they had him.
I'd even argue the first 1/3rd of the film is entertainingly campy - or at least made for a good laugh as I put it on whilst on the elliptical. Jared Leto plays the very-ill but brilliant Michael Morbius, who we're to believe has grown to be a 30-something adult while requiring thrice-daily dialysis. As a child, he befriends "Milo" - later played by Dr. Who's Matt Smith - and they have a working/ parental relationship with Jared Harris.
This movie is hilarious from start to finish, is incredibly well written, well directed and has a cast that gets the assignment - starting with our two leads, to every supporting character. It's not Citizen Kane, but that's also not the goal. It's a flick that barely has any commentary and is just a situation with characters intended to derive comedy. And that it does.
I have no idea if people saw this in the theater (we did, back in college). But I assume everyone has since seen this since streaming or on basic cable. If not, fix your heart and see Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997).
If it's been a minute - Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow) are living in LA, hitting der clerb, and kind of drifting around but having a good time. Heather, a former classmate (Janeane Garofolo), runs into Romy and informs her that there's a high school reunion of their school in Tucson. Romy and Michele want to go, but slowly realize that maybe they haven't had the most productive ten years by many folks' measure.
Of course, old crushes will be there, and folks who crushed on them (Alan Cumming and Justin Theroux). And the mean girls from high school. So, our heroes decide they need to come up with a story that will impress.
This man of God is gonna also put you down for a 10-count
Boxer, father of many Georges, enthusiastic grill monger, Olympian, minister and generally good guy, George Foreman has passed.
Back in the 1990's, former 2-time Heavyweight Champion boxer (back when boxing was something we all kind of followed), George Foreman, became a staple of television as he began to market the George Foreman Grill. I doubt many folks could tell you about Foreman's more famous bouts, but everyone knew that the grill was reasonably priced, could be used indoors, and let the fat just drip right out of your food and into a washable plastic tray.
Did I have one? You know I did, and I used it on the regular from circa 1999-2007.
Foreman's boxing career is extraordinary. He earned the Heavyweight Title in the 1970's, retired, became a man in the community and became a minister. In the 80's, he came back in his late 30's and in the early 90's secured the Heavyweight title again, whilst in his 40's.
Foreman and Ali in Zaire
Y'all can read up on it, because it reads like a movie. Not least of which was Foreman's near-death experience and immediate religious conversion. He became a minister and made a lot of difference to folks in the Houston area and beyond.
George Foreman was a lot of personality, like a lot of boxers of his generation (see: Ali). And in the 2000's-era, generally just a beloved figure.
the rare fantasy movie that earns the art on the poster
Watched: 03/21/2025
Format: YouTube
Viewing: Unknown
Director: Matthew Robbins
In an era before CGI, a lot of love, skill and money had to go into making FX movies, and it was often the difference between a Star Wars and a Starcrash.* Dragonslayer (1981) was a VHS staple in our house back in the earliest days of home video when my folks thought *owning* a VCR was a crazy idea so we rented a VCR at the same time we rented a stack of movies from the grocery (shit was wild, kids).
My opinion of the movie hasn't budged much since I watched it as a kid. It's a gorgeous film with a miscast lead and spends too much time on being goofy at the beginning for the movie it wants to be at the end without enough connective tissue to make it all work. Maybe because of The Once and Future King casting Arthur as a nerd, maybe because this movie has serious "Sorcerer's Apprentice" vibes, we're stuck with basically a nerd as our lead, which feels like it's a particular part of fantasy fiction. Think of the near miss we likely had with Luke and Star Wars with writing, casting and editing (yes, we can always make any post a Mark Hamill appreciation post).
I like the bones of the movie *a lot* - the lottery, the corrupt government, even a novice wizard trying to solve the dragon problem. And, of course, the obviously female Valerian turning out to be a girl. All good stuff. I'd forgotten there's a whole bit about the church and the dipshit of a king sliding in and taking credit for the dragon's defeat. That's some fascinatingly cutting social satire for a mainstream fantasy film.
But we're here for the dragon puppets, both Henson-y and stop-motion, and man, they still look amazing. No kidding, because this was ILM in 1981 as all engines were really firing after Empire Strikes Back.
Anyway, I like the film well enough, still. I feel like they could have cut some business at the beginning, but I get why they did this for a more general audience and because fantasy fiction has a tendency to want to dick around before we get to the dark part.
I am sure the fact this was not CGI, even if it was computer-assisted will blow the minds of the youths, but I think it's a great example of state-of-the-art practical FX as I remember them as a kid. And maybe why Star Wars, Dark Crystal and other contemporaries seemed so special. This movie looks like a million bucks, and once you're in it, I think it's not half-bad.
I did read that Caitlin Clarke, who plays Valerian, passed back in 2004. Y'all raise a glass to her.
*that said, I will defend Starcrash with my dying breath
Both Jamie and I were convinced we'd already seen Arthur (1981), but both of us realized at some point, maybe a 1/3rd of the way through the movie, that we must have started the movie and never finished it. This doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. SimonUK had popped around, promising not to bring a horror film, and this was his selection.
Anyway, Arthur was sort of a big deal when I was very young, but because it was about a raging alcoholic, I missed it. Not that I think I would have understood it as a child. Now, in 1981, that didn't stop The Chipmunks from including Arthur's Theme on The Chipmunks Go Hollywood.
And in this way, as a child, I knew all the words to Arthur's Theme.
In some ways, it's very much a classic comedy - something that would have been made during the Depression as a screwball comedy. It's rich wackiness against rich stiffs and a working-class girl who meets a guy who so wealthy he can make all of her dreams come true.
It also would make an interesting modern remake of sorts, as the signs of Arthur's stalled maturity materialize in a fantasy setting of random collectibles, train sets, etc... and it's not too hard to imagine that in 2025 terms, along with maybe a guy who won't lay off the weed.
Moore's performance is at an 11 at the start, which is a lot. He's intentionally unlikable in his way, and it's not until Hobson enters as Arthur's butler/ father-figure that we see Arthur less through the eyes of people who are just temporarily dealing with him and instead with someone who cares about him. What blew my mind was the timing of Hobson in pop culture (not quite a Wooster and Jeeves, but close), and the complete re-imagining of Alfred in the Batman comics that would occur with Frank Miller a few years later. And, yeah, I can name another poor-little-rich-boy who also may be frozen in adolescence who sees his butler as his father...
I'm not sure John Gielgud as Hobson saves the movie, because it doesn't need that, but he absolutely wins the movie. I think the scene with Moore and Susan's father under the moose head is one of the best comedy bits I've seen in a while. And Liza is at her best - she's great in this as the waitress who dreams of being an actor. She's really funny, as is Barney Martin as her father. Or Ted Ross as Bitterman, the chauffeur.
Anyway, I agree with Simon that the script is actually really solid, and I'll add it accomplishes the difficult task of making a lout loveable and believable when he does show he can do something when he cares.
I think the last time we got a comedy like this - that wasn't a very self-aware remake - may have been Billy Madison, which is just mind boggling.
the sixth of six of these. I deserve a cookie for finishing.
Watched: 03/18/2025
Format: Hallmark
Viewing: First
Director: Ron Oliver
heads-up: If you're here for 100% Chabert content, I am going to alert you now, Lacey Chabert is a supporting character/ Executive Producer on this movie, and not the star. But watching the Chabert filmography will mean sometimes she is not the lead. I know. I can't believe it either.
Job: Art and Rarities Auction House Exec
new skill: empathy for other humans
Man: Victor Webster
Job of Man: Restaurateur and Chef
Goes to/ Returns to: Goes to Greece
Event: None, really
Food: Greek cuisine
First, I finally figured out where I knew Alison Sweeney from - she was on Days of Our Lives when that was the go-to soap opera to watch in the 1990's thanks to Sweeney's character, Sami (who was batshit) and Deidre Hall's Marlena was possessed by a demon. Weird, wild stuff.
On to the show:
With our couple established in the third Wedding Veil installment, we get the direct sequel here in the 6th and (mercifully) final installment, entitled The Wedding Veil Journey (2023).
In this movie Alison Sweeney and Man are realizing their schedules as an art auctioneer and restaurateur are incompatible, and they never see each other. In fact, they never managed a honeymoon in what we're told is three years later, meaning the movies are actually supposed to span something like 6+ years.
Sweeney and Man head off for Greece, but their plan is bad. They will stay only one night in a hotel and then wing it from there. Because of flight delays, they wind up arriving late, have nowhere to stay, and wind up in a struggling but lovely resort that seems honestly super nice. And clearly the production had the run of the place, likely due to COVID.
I like a good pirate picture. It's always going to end in flashing swords, some jerk getting his comeuppance, and a good chance there's Maureen O'Hara in amazing gowns. And this movie is that.
Apparently it's the passion project of Paul Henreid, the movie's star, who plays a Dutch sea captain who crashes in the Spanish West Indies. The Governor of the territory (a villainous Walter Selzak) condemns him to death, but he and his pals escape. Years later, Henreid has taken on the pirate-y name of The Barracuda and takes the ship carrying Maureen O'Hara - Spanish nobility sent to the Governor to be married.
To spare the lives of a second ship, O'Hara offers herself up to Henreid as his bride. The two marry, but it's a farce, intended to drive the Governor insane on Henreid's part. Of course, they're two good looking people, and figure out they actually like this idea. However, the Pirate Brotherhood/ Grand Council/ Whatever decides that she's too much of a risk, and they kidnap her and deliver her to the Governor. By-the-by, one of the pirates is Anne Bonny, played here by Binnie Barnes, who its suggested, has been Henreid's lady-friend.
Anyway, piratey shenanigans commence and O'Hara brings a musket to a sabre fight, and its awesome.
We've kind of lost sight of the rollicking adventure in modern action movies. This is certainly that. Henreid is having a blast not playing the debonair gentleman lover, and O'Hara is why they paid O'Hara piles of money to be in movies.
Yes, there's a scene casually thrown in where Henreid half-seriously threatens O'Hara with a deeply problematic fate worse than death, and that's a big mark against the movie. Not very heroic, Paul.
But overall, it's a good, pirates as anti-fascists sort of romp. And makes you, as always, very glad you weren't on a boat during this particular era in history, because, man. As much fun as a pirate bar seems, everything else seems designed to kill you.
Ms. O'Hara's would really like to speak with the manager
