Anti-Duke

I was talking to my mother a few days ago lamenting that I feel like I am creating gaps in movie education by my dislike of westerns and war movies. My mom suggested a few westerns that I might like including Big Country (with my beloved Gregory Peck), Shane (with Alan Ladd who I also like), and Stagecoach with John Wayne. I have an intense dislike of John Wayne. I don't think that he was that great of actor and it seems like most of his success was due to his friendship with John Houston. With that I mind the first western I decided to watch was High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. And I decided to read a little about it on Wikipedia and apparently John Wayne (and Howard Hawks) hated it and thought it was Unamerican (in fact Howard Hawks claimed that he made Rio Bravo in response to High Noon) because Will spends time asking for help defending the town (and it sounds like Hawks didn't like that the only one to help Will was his Quaker wife, so maybe Hawks hated Quakers?). And ironically, the Soviet Union didn't like High Noon either because the focus was too much on the individual.  The screenwriter (Carl Foreman who also wrote one of the few war movies I enjoy : The Guns of Navarone) was blacklisted and left the country. John Wayne was involved in getting Carl Foreman blacklisted and claimed he had no regrets about it (Foreman refused to name names at a House Unamerican Activities Committee hearing). So now I feel like I have an additional reason to not like John Wayne.

Don't Tell Rachel

When I was driving to the Olney Theater on less traveled and winding country road, I got a little nostalgic for Vermont.  There was just something about the historic little towns that dotted the road that reminded me of Vermont.  And then I realized I kind of miss living in Vermont with Rachel, Trey, Ellis, and Maddox. 

Theater Talk

I am super behind on my blog posts and I don't have great excuses other than I didn't write them (and I'm sure anyone who reads this blog is super disappointed that I took sooo long).  Any way, a few weeks ago I went to the Olney Theater to see "The 39 Steps" which was an adaptation of the Hitchcock movie/Buchan book.  It wasn't on the main stage but in the lab theater so the theater and stage were smaller which meant the stage design was nontraditional.  There were slats in the floor of the stage so set pieces (like a window or ladders) could be pushed on and off the stage.  The cast was just 4 people with the main character (a wronged man on the run), a woman (who played the 3 women characters), and 2 "clowns" who played the remaining characters (including a Scottish innkeeper couple, shady spies, and vaudeville performers).  The clowns added quite a bit of levity to play, which was probably helped (well, it helped me personally) that one looked like the love child of Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald from Kids in the Hall.  I liked it, but not as much as Hitchcock's version.  And then the following Friday, I took off a few hours from work to go see 1776 (in the last few days of its run) at Ford's Theater.  And it was pretty much incredible.  The theater alone is beautiful with the flags draping the box where Lincoln was assassinated.  There is a museum about Lincoln in the basement (with a focus on his second-term) and one of the most moving displays was all the living former presidents reading the Gettysburg address (so while I may not agree with their specific political beliefs, I can appreciate their oratory skills, even George W. Bush).   And the show was fantastic.  Due to watching the film version every year on the Fourth for many years, I know the words to almost all the songs, which the exception of my two least favorites: Mama Look Sharp and Molasses to Rum. Actually, since we usually watch it on DVD/VHS, it has probably been quite a while since I have listened to those two songs.  But in the stage version, I actually liked Mama Look Sharp (it made me cry) because the staging of this scene created such an atmosphere of intimacy. However, I am unmoved about Molasses to Rum (still creepy!).  The only draw-back to the show was there were eighth grades in the five rows in front of me.  They weren't too talkative but they did stand up for no apparent reason a couple of times.  And at least one did not read his program because he thought intermission was the end (which made no sense plot-wise, Jefferson hadn't even written the Declaration yet).  Having the eighth graders (and their chaperones who were older than me) there, once again reiterated that I am living in the wrong decade or at least the wrong country.  I made sure to dress up to go to the theater but the kids had on short and t-shirts and kept their hats on (and I saw a chaperone wearing what looked like work-out clothes).  I understand that they were probably walking around during the day, but I remember for my eighth grade trip to DC, our group went back to the hotel and changed before we went to see a show (and it was not at Ford's Theater).  Of course, I still enjoyed the whole experience, I only wish that my mother and my sisters could have gone with me.  There are a couple plays over the summer that I am hoping to see including Double Indemnity, Little Shop of Horrors, and something at the Kennedy Center (possibly The Addams Family) and War Horse at the Kennedy Center when it starts in the fall!

More Avenger-y stuff

Prior to seeing the Avengers, I saw the movie Thor.  I was kind of ambivalent about it (I didn't see it in the theater unlike Captain America, which I loved) so I had pretty low expectations for it.  Going in, I thought it had two things going for it: Anthony Hopkins and that Kenneth Braunagh was directing.  But I have to say, I really liked it.  There were another couple actors that I liked in it like Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, and Idris Elba.  The costume design was pretty solid, there were so many helmets (including at one point, a golden eye patch for Anthony Hopkins).  But the biggest surprise was how good Tom Hiddleston was as Loki.  I've seen him before in Return to Cranford, but he was kind of a milquetoast so I did not expect him to be able to pull off such a complicated character (and he is just as good in The Avengers movie).  And he is hampered by a super ridiculous helmet.

This does not bode well

I went to go see The Avengers today (in 3D due to that being the earliest showing that was not sold-out).  Usually, I think that the previews before a movie can give you some insight into what the expect from the movie.  My favorite (and tailored to me) example, is the single preview before being Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was for The Artist and the single preview before The Artist being for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  So I was a little apprehensive when the first 3 previews were for The Expendables 2, Battleship, and End of the Watch.  Also known as 3 movies that are not for me (and not even targeted for me).  I can't believe how terrible Battleship looks.  I think that there was a title card that read something also the line of " from the unholy Hasbro Toy and movie studio alliance that brought you Transformers" (and really Liam Nesson, what are you doing?  Do you have some sort of huge gambling debt you need to pay off?).  But the next 4 were much more reassuring since the trailers were for Abnorman (from the director of Coraline),  Frankenweenie (from Tim Burton), Brave (the summer Pixar movie), and the new Spiderman movie.  In the end, I really enjoyed The Avengers movie.  The writers did a really great jobs with giving little side stories to all the main characters without it feeling bogged down or overly long.  The movie is about 2 hours long, but it definately didn't feel that long something that I chalk up to a very tight script and a good editor (and a director willing to cut things that don't work).  It was a really fun film with just enough humor in it to show it wasn't taking itself too seriously (which is refreshing compared to Christopher Nolan super serious Batman movies) and it was obvious that Joss Whedon et al wanted to make an entertaining and stylish film.  With just the right amount of the Incredible Hulk.

One Season Wonder

One of my favorite series on my PBS station back at the farm was One Season Wonders.  It was series from the UK (usually comedy) that only ran one season, around 6 or 7 episodes.  And my very favorite show was Meet the Savages starring Marcus Brigstock (who I still adore and have subsequently discovered some radio shows that he wrote).  I recently finished the show Monday, Monday (also from the BBC) which was another show that only lasted one season.   I have such a strange attitude towards shows that last only one season.  Often, I get bummed after finishing the episodes because if the show has done it's job, I care about the characters and I want to know what happens.  But, if that is the case more often that not, I get imagine what ever I want happening to the character.  And sometimes (more often with British shows I find), the last episode of the series wraps up most of the story lines, not completely, but enough that the end is satisfying.  So then you get this perfect little bite of a totally enjoyable show that hit it's peak without showing any wear that you see in later seasons.  There are many shows that I like that seemed like the writers didn't really know what to do with the characters anymore ( Veronica Mars, Alias, King of the Hill (which I liked in later seasons but the writing was not a tight as it was earlier on) and The Office which is really showing it's age during this post-Steve Carrell season).  And occasionally, I will think of one really amazing season of a long running show as a one season wonder.  This is certainly true with the second season of the show Justified (which I watched in the span out about 18 hours (and this includes about 7 hours of sleep).  That second season can almost stand completely separately from season 1 (except that the beginning of the first episode begins right were the previous episode leaves off).   They did such a great job expanding the characters that you aren't too handicapped if you hadn't seen the first season at all. 

Trailer time

This was 1 of the 2 trailers I saw before  the movie Salmon Fishing in the Yemen today:


And now, I really want to see the movie Pina. Fortunately, it is playing at my favorite theater! So for fun, here are a few more clips from the movie:

Expectations Met

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I went to the AFI Silver to see John Ford's The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  I have never been a fan of John Wayne, mostly because the two genres of most of his films, westerns and war movies, are probably two of my least favorite genres.  So I was hoping that somehow seeing this movie, I would suddenly enjoy John Wayne's oeuvre.  But that didn't happen.  I did like the movie, but there were certain parts of the movie that I didn't like (and seemed a little dated), specific the implied spousal abuse (towards the end of the movie, John Wayne walks/drags Maureen O'Hara for 5 miles). But, there were other aspects of the movie that I did like.  The supporting cast was really good and the cinematography was gorgeous.  So I would say watching the Quiet Man did make me want to see more John Ford movies (although, I know he did make quite a few westerns and war movies).  There were a quite a few times watching the movie, I thought, "Oh, if only the casting was different I would enjoy this movie more".  Which then led to think about what actors I would have preferred in the roles.   I thought about one of my old standby favorite Joseph Cotten but he didn't have the right build to play an ex-boxer.  I also thought maybe Dana Andrews, but again he was a little on the short side.  Robert Mitchum has the right build, but I also find him kind of terrifying due to seeing Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter.  On the female side, I thought maybe Bette Davis or Ida Lupino (though she was a very tiny woman).  I ended up thinking that Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck would have been great together (they were in a few movies together, including Banjo on My Knee which I watched this week). Any other suggestions?

Lessons

What I learned from watching It's Always Fair Weather:

1. Dan Dailey was a very tall man, that or both Michael Kidd and Gene Kelly were wee men.  (I checked Imdb, Dan Dailey was 6' 3")
2. I am pretty sure that I saw the signature Pontipee dance move in this movie (done by Michael Kidd obviously).
3. Dan Dailey made a really poor facial hair decision with the mustache he sports in the later half of the movie.  
4. Gene Kelly was a great choreographer, but really only for himself.  Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd dance with Gene Kelly but really only Gene Kelly looks natural doing the moves.  Dan Dailey was about 6 inches taller than Kelly and Michael Kidd is a couple inches shorter than Kelly and both Dailey and Kidd have a different build than Kelly (both are thinner). And they look weird dancing next to Gene Kelly because they look kind of awkward. 
5. I remain indifferent in regards to Cyd Charisse. 
6. I kind of wanted to watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers after seeing Michael Kidd.  
7. I was kind of hoping that Tommy Rall would show up somehow.
8. I want to watch some more movies with Dan Dailey (and Betty Grable!). 

More Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly dancing with the Nicholas Brothers in The Pirate:

One thing I noticed while watching this was the complete difference in the build of Gene Kelly versus the Nicholas Brothers.  Well that, and the fact that there are many dance moves in this number that they did much better than Gene Kelly (which makes it sad that the Nicholas Brothers were not more famous).  

And this is just fun:

 

Gene Kelly, Dream Dancer

I went to AFI Silver today to see the Gene Kelly/Judy Garland musical The Pirate (directed by Vincent Minnelli and music by Cole Porter).  And about 2/3 of the way through, there is this crazy dance scene of Gene Kelly as a pirate in shorts (which I think is mostly to show off his giant dancer thighs):

This naturally made me think of other weird dance scenes from other Gene Kelly movies.  Like Singin In the Rain:

 

On the Town:

But the crazy weird dance sequence is not limited to only Gene Kelly movies.  There is also one in Kiss Me Kate: (the weird part is when Bob Fosse and his partner start dancing, after the weird scream).

White Christmas:

And let's not forget Oklahoma! :

The main purpose of these dance sequences is to show off different styles of dance (mostly modern dance) but the way the scene are added to the movie always seemed kind of awkward to me.  In a lot of the movies, one or more of the main characters is replaced by another (more talented) dancer.  This happened specifically in Gene Kelly movies since most often his leading ladies were mainly singers (all though Vera Ivy in On the Town was a dancer so I can't explain that one).  Out of all the clips from above, the one from White Christmas is the least awkwardly introduced because it a dance number for the show.  So be on the lookout for awkward dance sequences, they are in tons of musicals. 

Saving it up

I picked up an exciting surprise package from UPS today.  A couple of weeks ago, I filled out a feedback survey for a new RNA isolation kit at work.  My boss had signed our lab up to be beta testers for the company for future kits, so I mostly wanted to get familar with feedback system.  The company was running a promotion that you could win an iPad if you fill out the feedback survey.  I have to assume that very few people filled out the survey, because I won an iPad (and I never win anything).  I picked it up today and just started playing around on it.  So if anyone has any suggestions for fun apps, let me know!

That's not your place

A few weeks ago, I headed off to the AFI Silver to see the movie The Artist.  The movie is about the transition from silent movies to talkies with a silent film star (named George Valentin) resisting the move.  Therefore, the majority of the movie is silent with interstitial cards used occasionally throughout the movie.  As a result, the score is a very important part in conveying emotions since there is no audible dialogue.  And the score is really amazing and includes a little bit  the score from Vertigo written by Bernard Hermann.  The score (rightly so in my opinion) is getting strong Oscar buzz (as long as the score is 80% original material, it can be nominated).  So I was surprised to read last week that Kim Novak (who starred in Vertigo), took out a full page add stating that she felt like a rape had been committed against her by the use of Bernard Hermann's score.  Ignoring the extremely poor choice of words ( which seems to belittle the violence of an actually sexual assault),  I don't think that it is really Kim Novak's place to make this argument.  The composer got permission from Bernard Hermann's estate to use some of the score and furthermore Kim Novak didn't write the score.  Also, she claims that she is the only one left to defend Vertigo because Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart are dead.  Vertigo is arguably one of Hitchcock's most famous movies (though not one of my favorites) and I'm not sure that the credit is due to Kim Novak.  I think most of the credit goes to Hitchcock and the crew that worked on the film. So to me, this arguemnt came off as a slap in the face of anyone else who worked on that film.  She totally overreacted to the situation and I think that she comes out in a poorer light than the composer or the director of The Artist (the director released a statement along the lines of Bernard Hermann was a great composer and we were lucky that were we able to pay our respect to him by using some of his work in this film).  But besides this Kim Novak rant, I highly recommend The Artist, especially for people who enjoy old movies.  The costumers, set directors, and make-up artists really capture the era beautifully and there is a great scene that feature some amazing sound design and sound editing.  And I have to hand it to the actors, they did a great job adapting to a medium that I'm sure was foreign to all of the them.  The cast is really great too, with nice supporting roles from James Cromwell, Missi Pyle, and John Goodman (who I usually forget that I like).

The Apprentice has become the master

I have proof that I have seen too many film noir movies.  I was watching The Killing today which is a film noir movie by Stanley Kubrick.  And during the entire buildup to the heist, I was trying to identify which characters was going to get killed (there were about 2 characters I was sure were going to bite it, but they lived) and how the heist was going to go awry (I was pretty close on this one).  I will still watch more film noir films, some for the titles alone( there is one called Hell's Half Acre!) and because during a certain period in the late 40s/early 50s, there were are lot of actors and actress that I really like in film noir pictures (not to mention one of my favorite old studios, RKO Pictures, is known at The House Noir Built). 

Rich man, Poor man, Beggar, Thief

Last Saturday, I went to my beloved AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring to see the new movie adaptation of John Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  This adaptation was chock full of British actors that I know and like including Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Gary Oldman, Cirian Hinds, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch (which means Sirius Black starred in a spy thriller with Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Knightley, Captain Wentworth, and Mr. Darcy).  So I really liked the movie. Beyond the great casting, the director did a great job with establishing the fear and paranoia of the Cold War.  And the set design and costuming was really good.  But I have to say this is a movie that will benefit from repeat viewing.  Once you know the basic plot, you will probably notice/understand more of the subtle plot points and will make the movie more enjoyable (this is how I feel about the movie Gosford Park, by the 3rdv viewing I figured out what the familial relationship and who the couples were).  All in all, it was a good way to spend an afternoon.  However, there was one guy at the movie who both did not turn off his phone (and then didn't seem to understand that his ring tone was ruining the movie, seriously someone had to tell him to turn off his phone) and then fell asleep during the movie (I could hear his snoring, he was only a few rows in front of me).

Beautiful Meloncholy

Today I listened to a podcast called To The Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio.  This is a podcast that I really enjoy, but hasn't made it into my weekly rotation. And really it should, because the shows are really interesting and kind of similar to This American Life where they take a topics and do short news/non-fiction pieces about it.  The episode I listened to today was called Why Do We Love Sad Songs.  And I was introduced to this amazing piece of music called Adagio for the Strings by Samuel Barber:


It premiered on the radio in the late 1930s but gained popularity as song played at funeral after being played several times following the death of FDR.

Spelunking

In honor of finally being able to hear the latest series of Cabin Pressure, a BBC Radio 4 show that I adore, I thought I would write a post about discovering shows like Cabin Pressure.  While living in Ohio, I got used to listening to audiobooks from time to time (my local library had quite a selection).  So when I moved home, I tried the website Audible.com which lets you download a variety of audio programs which, fortunately for me, includes BBC radio shows.  The first thing I search for was David Mitchell and Robert Webb, who are the creators of a TV show I enjoy called That Mitchell and Webb Look.  And then I decided to look up actors that I really like.  The first was Marcus Brigstock, who wrote in and starred in a one season show called The Savages.  And I discovered this weird but funny radio show The Museum of Everything (which I can't really accurately describe). This was followed by searching for Benedict Cumberbatch (who Steven Moffat or BBC fans will know plays Sherlock in the updated series).  And through that I discovered the show Cabin Pressure which is a work place series that takes place in a small contract private airline.  I really love this show, it is a great combination of warmth, cynicism, and humor.  It doesn't hurt that is was written by John Finnemore who also worked on That Mitchell and Webb Look.  But I think on my favorite discoveries is Richard Armitage (of North and South and The Vicar of Dibley) narrating the work of Georgette Heyer, who wrote Regency novels.  And so those audiobooks represent the meeting of two things that I love.  Until Alan Rickman starts recording audiobooks (can you believe that he doesn't? I would listen to him reading the phonebook), Richard Armitage will do in a pinch (I've listened to one several times while falling asleep).  By searching for actors that I enjoy, I was able to find other projects from these actors that I truly enjoy. 

Because it is that time of year

In honor of Thanksgiving this Thursday, I thought I would write about a few things that I am grateful for:

• My Parents: I am so grateful for my parents.  Most things that I like about myself or my tastes are either a direct result of them (like my love for Paul Simon and Masterpiece Mystery) or due to the way they raised me (like my work ethic).  I know we don't always agree on everything, but I know how lucky I am that my parents are so supportive and willing to help me (and really they have been so patient with the number of hobbies my sisters and I have picked-up over the years like beekeeping, raising goats, soapmaking, cheesemaking, and quilting to name a few). 
• My Sisters (and their husbands and children):  My sisters are some of my favorite people in the whole world.  Sometimes I complain about being the youngest but I know that my life has been easier because of my older sisters giving me advice and support (and their husbands in more recent years).  And I love being an aunt so I'm thankful that my sisters and their husbands have given the opportunity to spend time with all my nephews.
• My Job:  Since the economy is still crappy, I know I am lucky that I have a job.  But I am thankful that I have the job that I have now.  I really love my job and it has given me a chance to explore a new part of the country and do something I love.  And I really like my co-workers a lot as evidenced by the fact that one of my co-workers got me an Agatha Christie book (the HarperCollins reprints with the awesome covers) as a thank you gift and that my boss and I talked about how great Paul Simon's Graceland CD is over lunch last week.  I know that I was lucky to be able to leave a job I didn't like and have time to really think about what kind of job would make me happy and feel fulfilled (thanks to my family and Rachel suggestion that I see a career counselor).
• Technology: I know this sounds like a weird one, but hear me out.  I love my iPod and I use pretty much every day.  I listen to music or podcasts at work all the time and it makes the time fly by.  Because of the internet, Facebook, and Blogger to name a few, I feel connected to my friends and family as well as the world at large and more informed.  Plus, I am listening a Paul Simon concert from Indiana University as I write this and earlier today I watched 4 episodes of Law & Order.  
• NPR:  It's just awesome.  I get so much from listening to programs from NPR.  I learn so much and every week there is at least one super fascinating story that I hear on NPR that I try to follow up on or learn more about.  Ditto for PBS.  
• My Freedom:  I was reminded of this while I was driving to work listening to a story about Saudi Arabian women fighting for the right to drive (and vote and walk in public places with men to name a few things).  I think too often we take our freedom for granted so I want to remember how fortunate I am to live in a time and place where women have freedom.    

I'm in a quilting sprint!

I finished all the handquilting on a quilt that I made when I still lived in Ohio (so I think I've had it pieced for about 2 years).  I had it mailed to me during my six month stay in Vermont and made a lot a progress on it but I hadn't put any real work on it for about six months.  Then last month, I decided to get to work on it so when I saw my mother at Thanksgiving, we could put the binding on it and I could finish.  After about 2 weeks of intense quilting almost nightly (with episodes of Midsomer Murders keeping me company), I finished it rather quickly.  So spurned on by this success, I decided that I would finally finish the first quilt I pieced.  I have worked on the quilting on and off for about 8 years. I wish I were kidding but I'm not.  I set it aside for the first time to make a quilt for Bridget and then my sisters kept having babies (and I made a king size quilt for Rachel which took me about 3 years, I pieced that monster quilt throughout most of grad school).  Now I am closer than ever to finishing it, I have about 1.3 pieces of border left to finish.  Since this was the first quilt that I worked on, I can see how poorly my first attempts were and how much better my stitching has become.  I kind of want to rip out those old bad stitches but I sort of want to be reminder of how I started.  So now, I'm sprinting toward the finish line of Thanksgiving with a quilt that I made with my grandmother and for that reason alone, I will always keep it with me. 

What I've learned from Film Noir

I have seen 12 film noir movies over the past two weekends so I thought that I make a list of what I've learned from those movies (and well as the many many other film noir movies I've seen in the past):

• If you have to see a psychologist or psychoanalyst because you may have murdered someone, makes sure the person is of the opposite sex.  He or she will be more invested in your recovery because there is a 80% chance she/he will fall in love with you and help you clear your name. 
• Do not let yourself get locked in a house (yours or someone else) or a building. More than likely the person who is holding you hostage will be in the process of convincing anyone that could help you that you are crazy.  
• Do not install frosted glass in your house.  In the case of the above situtaion, it makes it that much more difficult to get someone's attention.  Plus your hostage takes could sneak up on you (I'm looking at you Ida Lupino in Beware My Lovely).  
• If you husband is trying to run you down on the street, make sure that someone else is dressed very similarly (and hopefully in cahoots with your murdering husband). 
• Do not work in a bank.  At some point someone is going to either force you to rob the bank or rob the bank and make you the fall guy. 
• If you are a twin accused of murder and your psychologist is doing a word association exercise with you, it does not bode well for your twin if you answer to "mirror" is "death".  And don't dress alike, especially if you are not under 5.  It's just creepy.  
• If you are dealing with twins and one might be evil, only talk to the twins in person not on the phone. 
• Cats can either help you or draw unwanted attention to you.  It's really a toss up.  But trust dogs, they are always in the right.  
• If you have escaped from prison with a group of men and you've decided that you are going after a stash of money, things are not going to end well for almost your entire group.  Best to escape with only one other person (and don't get attached then either).  
• Do not marry, work for, or live with a person that is very attached to the parent of the opposite sex.  And for goodness sake, don't stay in his or her motel!
• It is probably a good idea not to get in a car that you are not driving. 
• Don't be friends with a gossip columnist.  
• Sometimes the police a helpful and other times the police are completely useless.  So sort of like cats.  The FBI is usually helpful (like dogs). 
• If you are involved with a married man, he is never going to leave his wife.  If he has a first wife, more than likely he did not divorce her, he killed her.  
• And most importantly, do not be a push-over.  Be proactive, be aggressive, and be willing to trick your adversary in any way that you gives you an advantage, gives you extra time, or shows that you are willing to fight back.