by Sam Juliano
A ferocious snowstorm blanketed the east coast Saturday, leaving in it’s wake power outages that have affected millions across the region. My own home remains without electrical power, with people close to the scene predicting restoration no sooner than Tuesday. This will undermine Halloween festivities in many areas, and has even caused some school closings.
The musical countdown has reached the Top Ten with today’s posting of Judy Geater’s marvelous review on The Band Wagon. The venture has been one of the site’s finest projects, landing the highest number of page views and comments for any other endeavor. There are many people to thank, but most of the credit goes to the writers and to Dee Dee. The essays have been superlative each and every day, and Dee Dee’s work on the sidebar has been a revelation. Today is Halloween, so the trick or treaters will be ringing your doorbells! Be sure to have plenty of the sweet stuff on hand.
The sites’ special features continue in full force: Jaime Grijalba’s special anime review produced a very fine piece, and his subsequent “Fixing a Hole” post on both Universal DRACULA films is a gem as well. Jamie Uhler’s monumental “Getting Over the Beatles” series continued with another great installment, while Jim Clark wrote a buffo mega-essay on DRIVE.
Another slow week for Lucille and I at the theatres, though for a number of reasons this was to be expected. The freak snowstorm ruined weekend plans,(we don’t have any electrical power in our home, and I’m told we won’t until Wednesday!) but the demands of the musical countdown have prevented me from seeing some films I hope to see in the near future. Still we managed three films, two recent releases and a movie palace horror classic:
Paranormal Activity 3 *** (Tuesday evening) Edgewater multiplex
Puss n Boots *** 1/2 (Sunday afternoon) Edgewater multiplex
House on Haunted Hill **** (Friday night) Jersey City Loews
The highlight was seeing William Castle’s B horror classic HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1958) for the second year in a row during Halloween season, but this time on the 70 ft. screen of the renovated Jersey City Loews movie palace at Journal Square. Castle’s grandson Kyle was aboard for a Q & A, and the theatre was rigged with “Emergo,” which was a gimmick that had a skeleton glide across the screen and out into the audience. The theatre’s volunteers offered up a balcony haunted house for the kids after the film.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 had a few acute scares, but it was up to the same game as previous installments, and offered little we haven’t seen in one way or another. PUSS N BOOTS has enough visual ingenuity and jokes to sustain it, and Banderas does some fine work. Yes, in the SHREK mold, but a fun time, especially for the kids.
Note: Joel Bocko was prepared once again to do this week’s links, but lo and behold he fell victim to the same electrical fall-out that we did, and after doing the first three links he lost power at his New Hampshire home. Therefore, I apologize for the failure to update this week.
John Greco’s second part of his interview with Peter Winkler – who penned a volume on actor Dennis Hopper – is a riveting read! it’s at Twenty Four Frames: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/interview-with-author-peter-l-winkler-part-two/
Judy Geater has unearthed another desirable curiosity at Movie Classics with a superb review of “Laughter” starring Nancy Carroll, Frederick March and Frank Morgan: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/laughter-harry-d%e2%80%99abbadie-d%e2%80%99arrast-1930/
The ever brilliant writer and commentator R.D. Finch of The Movie Projector concludes his four-post series on Ken Russell with “Ken Russell at the BBC: Part 4, Song of Summer” http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2011/10/ken-russell-at-bbc-part-3-dantes.html
Murderous Ink offers a fascinating description of the chaos that was early Japanese film screening at Vermillion and One Nights: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2011/10/frames-per-second.html
Jaime Grijalba’s October countdown to Halloween has been a joy for fans, and he continues his progression through the history of horror with “Halloween H20″ at Exodus 8:2: http://exodus8-2.blogspot.com/2011/10/23-freddy-vs-jason-2003.html
Jon Warner offers his positive take on the love-it/hate-it minimalist western “Meek’s Cutoff” Films Worth Watching: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2011/10/naked-spur-1953-directed-by-anthony.html
Pat Perry has authored a fantastic double review of two highly-regarded multiplexers (50/50 and The Help) of recent weeks at Doodad Kind of Town: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2011/10/5050-and-help-diary-of-friday-afternoon.html
Filmmaker and blogger extraordinaire Jeffrey Goodman offers up an extraordinary list of La Novelle Vague titles that are essential for cineastes at The Last Lullaby: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/satsang-sacred-listening/
Laurie Buchanan asks her readers to ponder “What Do You Do With Fear” at Speaking From The Heart: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/what-do-you-do-with-fear/
Tony d’Ambra’s newest post at FilmsNoir.net in his marvelous ‘Film Origins’ series features 1940′s “Angels Over Broadway”: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/film-noir-origins-angels-over-broadway-1940.html
At Mondo 70, Samuel Wilson has penned an utterly fascinating review of the Spanish language “Dracula”: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2011/10/wendigo-cumpla-dracula-1931.html
Roderick Heath has authored a master class review at Ferdy-on-Films of Spielberg’s “Jaws”: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=11979
Murderous Ink in Tokyo has penned a brilliant historical and political essay on two celebrated Kinoshita featues, “Army” and “Twenty-Four Eyes” at Vermillion and One Nights: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2011/09/apron-as-weapon.html
Sachin Gandhi of Scribbles and Ramblings has a fascinating, glowing report up at his place on the Calgary International Film Festival: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2011/10/ciff-2011-all-about-mavericks.html
Terrill Welch reports on the success of her second “Salish Sea Sunday Savings” sale at the Creativepotager’s blogsite: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/second-salish-sea-sunday-savings/
Qalandar reviews the Hindi gangster flick “Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster” at Satyamshot: http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/qalandar-reviews-saheb-biwi-aur-gangster-hindi-2011/
Shubhajit Laheri has penned a superlative capsule review of “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” at Cinemascope: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2011/10/pat-garrett-and-billy-kid-1973.html
Craig Kennedy’s “Movie Quote of the Day” at Living in Cinema is from Brian de Palma’s “Carrie” based on Stephen King’s novel: http://livingincinema.com/2011/10/23/movie-quote-of-the-day-carrie-1976/
Patricia examines a book “You are Not So Smart” by David McRaney at Patricia’s Wisdom: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2011/10/you-are-not-so-smart-david-mcraney/
Stephen Russell-Gebbett has penned an utterly brilliant review of Von Trier’s “Melancholia” at Checking on my Sausages: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2011/10/melancholia-lars-von-trier.html
David Schleicher takes on Von Trier’s “Melancholia” brilliantly at The Schleicher Spin: http://theschleicherspin.com/2011/10/10/melancholia-marriage-and-the-end-of-the-world/
Srikanth (Just Another Film Buff) featues Chuck Workman’s “Precious Images” at The Seventh Art, making a comparison to Joel Bocko’s brilliant montage series: http://theseventhart.info/2011/10/23/short-films-13/
Michael Harford has a new collage up at the venerable Coffee Messiah’s place on “Coffee and Seuss”: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2011/10/dont-give-up-i-believe-in-you-all.html
Again Ed Howard and Jason Bellamy have produced a towering installment in their monumental “Conversations” series with a brilliant discussion on Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon”: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2011/10/conversations-28-barry-lyndon.html
Jason Bellamy has penned an exceptional essay on “The Ides of March” at The Cooler: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2011/10/men-behind-curtain-ides-of-march.html
Ed Howard has a terrific new piece in his “Films That I Love” series on Ernst Lubitsch’s “The Shop Around the Corner” at Only The Cinema: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2011/10/films-i-love-55-shop-around-corner.html
In a set of links, the Film Doctor explores a number of economic and political topics, from Google & Facebook as Big Brother, to the illusion behind the “creative industry” myth: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2011/10/reactionary-links.html
At Movies Over Matter Jason Marshall names “The Apple” as one of his favorite “bad” movies: http://moviesovermatter.com/2011/09/17/hes-so-eager-to-believe-and-so-easily-deceived-like-a-baby-watching-magic-hes-so-gullible-its-tragic-the-apple-my-favorite-bad-movies/
James Hansen has written an outstanding essay in defense of “Drive” at Out One Film Journal: http://www.out1filmjournal.com/2011/09/shadowing-spotlight-nicolas-winding.html
At Radiator Heaven J.D. reviews ”A Scanner Darkly” which he considers the first accurate translation of Philip K. Dick from page to screen: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2011/09/scanner-darkly.html
Srikanth (Just Another Film Buff) offers a fascinating review of Kevin MacDonald’s “A Life in the Day” at The Seventh Art: http://theseventhart.info/2011/10/16/ellipsis-49/
Roderick Heath at This Island Rod has penned a towering essay on 1968′s “The Lost Continent”: http://thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2011/10/lost-continent-1968.html
TCM’s Greg Ferrara rescues rare clips of Christopher Lee telling ghost stories from a defunct CD-ROM on Cinema Styles: http://cinemastyles.blogspot.com/2011/10/christopher-lee-tells-stories-and-gives.html
At Cinema Viewfinder, Tony Dayoub kicks of New York Film Festival coverage with a thoughtful review of “George Harrison: Living in the Material World,” Martin Scorsese’s latest music documentary: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2011/10/nyff11-movie-review-george-harrison.html
Steven Morton’s “First Thoughts on Tree of Life” are up at Petrified Fountain of Thought: http://petrifiedfountainofthought.blogspot.com/2011/10/first-thoughts-on-tree-of-life.html
Craig at The Man From Porlock analyzes the faults of Moneyball, and wonders why sports films keep raising the position of their “underdog” heroes: http://themanfromporlock.blogspot.com/2011/09/off-field-moneyball.html
Hokahey at Little Worlds marvels at the formal prowess of the Oregon Trail film “Meek’s Cutoff”, praising its “magnificent dissolves” and “real-time realism”: http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2011/10/oregon-trail-verite-meeks-cutoff-2011.html
At Not Just Movies Jake Cole discusses “The Blue Angel” and wonders why the Germans – kings of the silents – made such a strong transition into sound: http://armchairc.blogspot.com/2011/10/blue-angel-josef-von-sternberg-1930.html
Record Club #4 – The Dirty South” is leading the way at Elusive as Robert Denby, and proctor Troy Olson has quite a comment thread to show: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2011/08/record-club-4-drive-by-truckers-dirty.html
Kevin J. Olson announces the return of his Italian Horror blog-a-thon at Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/italian-horror-blog-thon-returns.html
The saddest of times for Jeopardy Girl as she movingly relates at The Continuing Story of Jeopardy Girl. Wonders in the Dark extends it’s deepest condolences to our friend up north: http://jeopardygirl.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/gone/
Adam Zanzie continues his recap of the book “War Horse” on Icebox Movies in anticipation of the upcoming Spielberg film: http://iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2011/09/war-horse-1982-chapters-6-10.html
Dave Van Poppel at Visions of Non-Fiction has posted a terrific review of the documentary “Project Nim”: http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.com/2011/08/project-nim.html
Andrew Wyatt defends the 80s monster movie “Q” at Gateway Cinephiles: http://gatewaycinephiles.com/2011/09/30/looklisten-q-at-the-wufs
Sam, please no need to apologize. Your & your family’s well being is more important. Hope you, Joel and others on the east coast get your power back soon. Despite your situation, it is remarkable to think you still put up a new entry. Just shows your incredible dedication to this site.
Stay warm..
Thanks so much for that Sachin! Last night the temperatures were in the 30′s so we all had to sleep with extra blankets. I was concerned about the two amazon parrots we own, as the temperature in the house was potentially dangerous. We relocated them to the basement where there is better insulation. We all stayed in the two-floor school building (where I am now in fact) till around 11:00 P.M. last night and then drove the five minutes to our cold and dark house on an eerily blackened street. Luckily I had the school to do the site work. Joel, who presently resides in New Hampshire, apparently got his power back this morning. They are telling us not to expect any until Wednesday. This means after the trick or treating, we’ll be back up to this school tonight again. Ha! i have a countdown review due up for late night, and it’s only 2/3 done I’d say.
I appreciate your words of concern, my excellent friend!
Sam,
I’d been hearing about the problems in America on the news. I know it’s not uncommon to have snowstorms there on the east coast, but does it normally happen so early? I hope everything is restored to normality soon. Winters have been a little colder and snowier here in recent years and the way we complain you would think it was The Day After Tomorrow.
With only three films watched, you must be running low on power yourself!
This week I saw :
SOURCE CODE *** 1/2
WAKE WOOD *** interesting, but as with so many horror films, it would be better with fewer overtly ‘horror’ elements.
Stephen—
It most assuredly is extremely rare to have even a quarter of an inch of snow in October, much less the six inches or so that fell here in Fairview. The township of West Milford, about 45 minutes drive from here reportedly got 19 inches. Because all the trees had almost all their leaves, the wet snow accumulated on them, adding weight that toppled some and caused huge branches to break. This had a domino effect with power lines, many of which were brought down. Lucille took some pictures, and I must say it still right now looks like a war zone in our neighboring community of Ridgefied, where our street unfortunately shares an electrical transformer with. Ha! on what you say about losing power myself! I’d say as of late it’s the demands of the musical countdown that is forcing me to pull back.
I haven’t seen WAKE WOOD, but would say you are just about right with SOURCE CODE.
Thanks for your concern and kind words my very good friend!
Sam, so sorry to hear that you are still without power – the snowstorm sounds terrible. Thinking of you and your family and all those in this situation. Stay safe and warm! I hope the weather lets up and that you soon have power back, and the same for Joel and his family.
I’m amazed and impressed that you have managed to keep up the site despite all this. Wonders is the right word. Must thank you very much for putting up my review of ‘The Band Wagon’ and for the kind words about it.
I’ve had a week away from work and made it to the cinema three times. I saw one new release, Spielberg’s motion capture animation ‘Tintin’, which my whole family enjoyed – the animation is stunningly lifelike and this is one film where I felt the 3D was actually worthwhile, after my son persuaded us to see it in this form. The story was quite fun, slightly reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies in places, but the animation was the thing. I should add that I don’t have much knowledge of the original comic strips, so I don’t know how true the movie was to them and what Tintin buffs will think of it!
I was also lucky enough to see two classics on the big screen in rare showings at a local cinema, ‘Vertigo’, which we discussed in last Monday’s thread, and ‘The Private Life of Henry VIII’ from 1933 with an amazing performance by Charles Laughton – these were both first viewings for me and made a strong impression. It was great to see them in a packed cinema – just a shame that the print of ‘Vertigo’ wasn’t very good.
At home I saw a few movies on TV and DVD – one was an enjoyable pre-Code, ‘Hot Saturday’ (1932), with Nancy Carroll, Cary Grant as a rich playboy and a couple of shock plot twists. I also saw three musicals, ‘Paint Your Wagon’ (1969) and ‘Robin and the Seven Hoods’ (1964), both of which I thought were pretty bad except for the odd musical number, and Fred Astaire in ‘A Damsel in Distress’ (1937), which isn’t a great movie but does have some wonderful Gershwin songs and a couple of great dance numbers – a pity he was cast opposite Joan Fontaine, who couldn’t dance!
Judy–
Those are beautiful words all around and I thank you! Yes, the power is still out now, and it’s Tuesday evening at 7:30 P.M. They are talking about tomorrow or Thursday or beyond. It’s very frustrating, though we do have the school here at our disposal. The kids have a perfect place to do their homework (ha!) Having this kind of weather in October is virtually unheard of, but here we are.
You had quite a week there of movie-watching Judy! All in all I agree with your estimation of “A Dansel in Distress,” and likewise would dismiss “Paint Your Wagon” and “Robin and the Seven Hoods.” Thanks for the detailed description of “Tinton.” Sorry to hear that a poor print marred your otherwise excellent viewing of VERTIGO, which is a supreme masterpiece. I also love PRIVATE LIFE and Charles Laughton’s celebrated turn as Henry. I did see “Hot Saturdays” at the pre-code festival a few months ago, and thought it fair enough. It certainly had some shocking plot twists as you say.
Thanks for everything my friend! You have been peerless!
NO POWER AT YOUR HOUSE? How the hell are we supposed to see the macaroni and sausage and peppers when we sit at the table to chow down on Wednesday?
Christ…
I’m more worried about the kids going to bed. Going up that North Face of the Eiger they call a staircase is hazardous enough when lit, let alone pitch black. Somebody will break their neck with toys and clothes all over the landing…maybe if we’re lucky someone will squash the pug.
I say set the dogs on fire if you need light to read by…
Now that’s an idea. Call it British night, and have Guy Fawkes day five days early. Then stick a rocket up the Pug’s arse and send it into orbit. The first dog in space since Leika.
I love animals, but that’s a piss fountain of death.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys better hope that animal activists groups don’t look at this thread. Ha!
Sam,
Thanks again for the shout out! I hope you and your family, as well others caught in this freak storm, are safe and warm. My own week was relatively quiet. Spent time photographing cats, reading (finished Robert B. Parker’s last book “Sixkill”) as well as doing some writing and of course some movie watching. Below is what I watched.
The Way (****1/2) Moving and inspirational character study about family, friends and life’s journey. Your emotions will swing between laughter and heartbreak. Straight forward in its direction by Emilo Estervez and wonderfully acted b y Martin Sheen. One of the best films I have seen this year.
The Big Year (***1/2) I found this film rather charming. Unlike most comedies these days, it does not go for the cheap laughs with humor coming more from the heart instead of the groin. Sadly, this will limit the audience for this enjoyable, if nothing special, film
Bitter Victory (****) It was after seeing this film Godard famously said, “the cinema is Nicholas Ray.” Two British officers, one a coward, the other a lower ranking sullen hero, head a undercover mission into Libya to steal secret documents from the Germans. Nicely acted and some excellent visual touches by Ray especially in the desert scenes.
An American in Paris(*****) Gene Kelly was at the pinnacle of his career. As I mentioned in my comments a few days ago. this musical has it all, a joy from beginning to end.
Rear Window (*****) My favorite Hitchcock film! A voyeuristic treaty on what it means to watch; movies, neighbors, life, and the invasion of privacy. Stewart and Kelly are both very good but Thelma Ritter gives another charming performance as Stewart’s wisecracking visiting nurse.
Dont Expect Too Much(***1/2) Documentary on Nicholas Ray directed by Susan Ray. A look at the long history and making of his film “We Can’t Go Home Again” with student from Harpur College.
10 Rillington Place (****) Low key thriller by Richard Fleischer about London serial killer John Christie. Richard Attenborough gives a dark subtle and chilling performance along with a young John Hurt as the simple minded but innocent husband wrongly executed for the crimes of killin
John—
Thanks for the very kind words! We did make it through the latest angry outburst from Mother Nature, but we are still without electrical power. We also have a flood in the basement, as a result of the sun pump not having power. Looks like two or three inches all around. Nasty stuff. You must be saying to yourself that you are thankful you got out of here! Ha! Reading the Parker book and photographing gave you some nice diversity, but again you had a banner week with the movies!
You have me intrigued with THE WAY John. I was wondering if you
saw this in a theatre? if so, I seem to have missed the opening. And I haven’t seen that Ray documentary but have read about it.
A chilling performance by Richard Attenborough indeed in 10 RILLINGTON PLACE, which I also rate with four stars but always find hard to watch. Actually I didn’t see BITTER VICTORY yet either, but appreciate the buffo capsule. Dead on with THE BIG YEAR and of course with both AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and REAR WINDOW, which are screen masterpieces. And I’m not surprised that you have the latter as your #1 Hitch.
Thanks for the spectacular wrap my friend! What a terrific week!
Sam – I did see THE WAY in a theater. It played here for a week or two and was gone. It was playing in NY a week or so ago (saw the ad in THE NEW YORK TIMES). Not sure if it is still playing.
I have to check on that John. Thanks for the heads up!
Sam, thanks so much for the wonderful mention.
Happy Halloween! I hate hearing that about the difficulties caused by the storm. I hope that your power will restore sooner than expected. I’m also excited to hear all the good news about the musical countdown. It’s really amazing the work that you and the group have done. Congratulations!
This week was all at-home viewing for me. I saw TOKYO TWILIGHT, EARLY SUMMER, EARLY SPRING, Lupino’s THE HITCH-HIKER, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, and Renoir’s WHIRLPOOL OF FATE and LA PETITE MARCHANDE D’ALLUMETTES. I was very happy to see them all, but my favorite of the bunch was Ozu’s EARLY SUMMER. Again, I credit you for really pushing to jump into Ozu. It’s been the most rewarding of all my cinematic discoveries these last couple of years.
Thanks so much, Sam, for all that you do. Here’s to another awesome week!
Jeffrey—
The storm was freakish for sure, but it wrecked more damage and residule discomforts than a winter storm would have or could have. Nobody was prepared. We were told the power would be back by Wednesday, but we can’t figure on anything until it happens. In the meantime, we’ll be spending the nights up at the school here. Yes, the musical countdown’s success has exceeded all expectations, and the final lap here should be a blast!
Looks like you had a tremendous movie-watching week there, and yes, the viewing of the lot of Ozus was particularly thrilling. I too would probably pick EARLY SUMMER, though it’s roughly tied with TOKYO TWILIGHT in my estimations. I saw it again just months ago at a festival, so I can well understand a strong emotional connection to it. The Renoirs and THE HITCH HIKER are exceptional choices too, and let’s just say that SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER has it’s fans too!
Thanks as always for the kind words, concern and acknowledgement, though I know you were heading in the Ozu direction a while back on your own!
Have a great week my very good friend! And an enjoyable Halloween night!
Sam -
That snowstorm looks terrible. I hope you and your family are staying warm and safe till the power comes back on.
A quiet week here. The only new release I caught was JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN, silly and fun. I’m a huge Rowan Atkinson fan and went in expecting exactly what was delivered, so it was a very enjoyable evening. Otherwise my weekend was filled with family activities. I’m still hoping to get up a review of MELANCHOLIA later this week.
Pat—
Yep, this was something no one expected, and it really messed things up on Halloween weekend. needless to say the power outage is a major inconvinience for a host of reasons, and it forces us to alter plans. I am still not sure what we will be doing tonight with the trick or treating, though while it is still daytime it should work well enough. I’ve never seen JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN, but sounds like you derived some entertainment value. I’ve had fun with a number of films in a similar vein. I would be most interested in that planned review of MELANCHOLIA!
Thanks as always, and have a very good week my excellent friend!
We’ve also been without power as you know. Like you I availed myself of the “school” option. Too bad about Sunday night’s cancellation of the Halloween events. I’m hoping that today’s trick or treating goes well. Lisa and I watched three in the Halloween series on Saturday and Sunday on DVD. After the first it’s sameness.
Frank—
Yep Frank, we are linked by yet another event here, though of the infamous variety. Had the town officials waited about another hour before cancelling, the festivities would have happened. But it’s risky to wait too long. Halloween movies are perfect for this weekend. But yeah, the first one will do me well enough.
Thanks as always my very good friend, and hope your power returns sooner than expected!
Hi Sam,
Thanks for the kind mention. Hope you all get your power back on very soon and get back to normal. I finally got my travel plans for work finalized and I will be working in the UK Manchester area for almost a month, leaving in 2 weeks. It will be really hard to be away from the family for that long, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Will also probably be working the night shift! Eeek! My great film watching experience of the week was seeing Visconti’s Senso, a magnificent melodrama and one of the most operatic of examples of that type of film. I was thoroughly engaged into the passionate performances and love affair. Wonderful stuff. We’re excited for Halloween tonight and the girls will be Cinderella (my oldest) and a bumblebee. Should be really fun. Anyways take care and keep warm this week my friend.
Jon—
Thanks as always for your deep concern and exceedingly kind words. You will be heading to Manchester for two weeks? Wow. You will be in Allan Fish’s territory, and may actually be able to see him if plans could be made for that short interval. Allan is attending University a few days a week in that region. Yep, you gotta do what ya gotta do, but the time will fly I’m sure, and you’ll be back home soon enough. Halloween night will be a blast for you all I’m sure. Your girls will surely stand out in those costumes, and you’ll be smiling from ear to ear. Wonderful observations on Visconti’s SENSO, which is absolutely a very great film. Jon, I attempted to comment last night at your MEEK’S CUTOFF review, but unlike my home PC, which can now sort our Mozilla Firefox, the school’s computer couldn’t install it despite my attempts to download. Ever since Internet Explorer couldn’t sort out the comments, it’s been a bit of a problem, but as soon as power is restored I’ll be over there. Yeah, I’m not the fan of the film that you and others are, but it has it’s merits too.
Have a great trip my very good friend, and the best Halloween ever tonight with the family!
Jon, if you’re coming to Manchester, two things. One, make the Cornerhouse cinema/gallery on Oxford Road your second home. Secondly, purchase a brolly.
Yes Sam and Allan, I’m actually going to be over in the UK for a month, staying mostly in the Chester area southwest of Manchester, but maybe with a few days here and there in Manchester if I get a day off, or if the weather is decent (probably not likely), spent in the countryside.
Allan, Thanks for the tips!
Oh and Sam, I’m sorry about your continued issues with commenting at my site. I have windows explorer on one of my computers and don’t have any issues but I know you’ve mentioned this before. I will see if I can figure something out. Thanks.
John, I will try again tonight on the sc hool PC through Internet Explorer.
FYI Sam, I changed how the comments box opens up, so maybe that will fix it. The comments should come up as their own page now. Maybe it will be better. Thanks.
Thanks Jon!!!
I will be over there within minutes to see if it goes through.
More power to you, Sam — I really mean that. It’s tough hearing about your trouble after sighing with relief over Albany barely being touched by the storm. It snowed steadily from about 4:00 p.m. Saturday, but nothing stuck except to the car roofs. I was worried for the poor Occupiers still holding out in Academy Park, but am glad to report they’re holding out still. Over the week I’ve put up reviews of Stroszek and Le Beau Serge, along with Fugitive Alien and The Vampire’s Ghost for Halloween. I’m weighing whether to write up N. Ray’s We Can’t Go Home Again, but if you can’t say anything good… Actually, it’s more sad than bad, an equivalent to all those posthumous novels that keep coming out in spite of incompletion or authorial dissatisfaction. His Party Girl was more interesting, more old-fashioned in some ways than the films from the actual period yet with a hint of Cold War protest as well over the prosecutor’s ruthless tactics. It looked great, too. Also saw Robert Mulligan’s The Other, which started slow but built its horror up nicely thereafter, and Mark Robson’s The Seventh Victim for Val Lewton, which seemed oddly pointless. Could have watched more but pulled James Curtis’s Spencer Tracy bio off the library shelf without quite appreciating what a monster of detail it is, fascinating yet overwhelming. In any event, I recommend it.
Samuel—
Power is an exlusive things these days! We still don’t it as I write to you now, and the reports are conflicting as to when it will return. I am a baby to complain though, especially when speaking to someone who lives in Albany. You’ve had a lifetime’s worth of showstorms, I’m sure. Thanks as always for the kind words and concern my friend! Great to hear the “occupiers” are holding out in the park. I do want very much to read the reviews of LE BEAU SARGE and STROSZEK (and the Halloween pieces) but am not at all surprised that you didn’t care for that particular Ray. It received very mediocre reviews, and was recently screened at the Film Forum.
Must say you surprised me here with the dismissal of Lewton/Robson’s THE SEVENTH VICTIM, which is a film I rate highly. For me it is one of the masterpieces of this series, up there with ZOMBIE and THE BODY SNATCHER. Agreed that Mulligan’s THE OTHER builds it’s horror. I like the film.
Thanks for the advice on that Tracy bio. i will write that down for sure, and could well understand the allure.
Thanks my very good friend as always!
Yeah, I just saw Jamie’s list and saw Seventh Victim at No. 7– or am I getting the numbers mixed up? Made me wonder what I’d missed, because he and you aren’t alone in your regard for it. Will have to try it again sometime.
I don’t think you missed anything with The Seventh Victim. It’s a real snoozer.
Sam, man-o-man were we ever thinking about you and yours yesterday as we drove to Lake Geneva (WI) in the late afternoon and heard about your weather on the car radio — so bad it made the news everywhere!
I trust that you and yours are well. I imagine there will be lots of “snow days” for schools — and so early in the season. The only bad part about that is that those days need to be made up at the end of the school year.
With no electricity…do you guys have a fireplace or wood burning stove? Or are you having to dress in multiple layers to keep warm?
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL – I clearly remember a bunch of us neighbor kids huddled around our black and white television watching this one Halloween week when we were in elementary school. I suppose it was a “special” that was being aired specifically for that holiday. (This was back in the day when we would come home from school and watch DARK SHADOWS that aired just before WILD WILD WEST and THE FLINSTONES.) Then we sat down to dinner and our parents watched the news with HUNTLEY and BRINKLEY. After that, we were sent to our rooms to read and/or do homework so they could watch PEYTON PLACE. Ah yes, the good old days
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY – Eoghan and Kayley saw this at the theatre yesterday. I received a text afterwards say, “Mom, you do NOT want to see this. Scared the bejeebers out of us!”
PUSS N BOOTS – I want to see this for our date night this week. I saw the 3-minute preview and was hooked!
Laurie—
I want to thank you for your very kind e mails of concern and the equally kind words here. It seems the residule effects are really making their mark, as we continue to function without electrical power, and are spending our evenings in one of the schools. We return home very late every night to sleep though in a house without heat. The temperature did improve today. We didn’t have any days off for school as it turns out (for this freak storm) but what you say about the likelihood is dead-on. Yes we certainly do have to make these days up if they happen. We don’t have a fireplace in our house. The only way to insure we would have heat in an emergency situation like this would be if we had a back up generator. We are looking into that as the sun pump failure now has caused a big two to three inch flood in our basement.
Your son is right about PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3! Would love to know what you think of PUSS N BOOTS.
Have a great week my friend! Many thanks!
Sam – I’m sooooooo sorry to hear about the water in your basement. I hope there’s no permanent damage to any of your stuff — especially as it pertains to your movie collection(s).
I loved PUSS N BOOTS! The voices of Antonio Banderas as Puss N Boots, Salma Hayek as Kitty Softpaws, Zach Galifianakis as Humpty Dumpty, and Billy Bob Thornton as Jack made half the film. The humor — blatent and subtle — was great! The animation was fantastic!
Thanks so much Laurie, for those kind words of concern! Fortunately, Lucille has removed everything from the floor, and even took the precuation of emptying the nottom rows of DVDs all over the room to avoid damage. At least we were spared that disaster.
I am thrilled to hear that report on PUSS N BOOTS which I like as well. You frame it perfectly there!
Sam, my friend, no power for Halloween? Perfect. Everything by candlelight: I almost wish I were there, too.
By the way, where’s Ken Russell’s ‘The Boyfriend’ on your musical countdown? Har, har. I watched this glittering pile of Art Deco used movie parts on TV the other night. Geez. Someone should have told Russell that it’s impossible to satirize Busby Berkeley’s beloved excesses without looking just plain mean-spirited and nasty. A curdled version of ’42nd Street,’ though Glenda Jackson has a fine cameo (natch).
Ch-ch-changes
‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1978) — With San Francisco’s Transamerica pyramid and the city’s hilly topography forming crazy, Caligari-like angles, Philip Kaufman’s skin-crawler might be almost as good as Don Siegel’s 1956 classic of paranoia. An alien life form from deep space is turning humans into affectless zombies. In the 50′s, mindless conformity and Commie phobia provided the political undertones; here, fear of commitment and the emotional unavailablity of members of the ‘Me” decade are making it difficult to distinguish between ‘normal’ citizens and pod people.
It takes a Herculean effort to write that last sentence with a straight face. ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ is nothing more (or less) than a successful scare picture and all the film’s psychobabble is just a distraction from the chief aim of horror — which is to make the flesh creep; and this remake is diabolically good at it. The film drags a bit near the end, but it’s still a modern horror classic and it gets 4-1/2 stars from me. I loved it.
A dream cast, with Donald (Don’t Look Now’) Sutherland, Brooke Adams (fresh from ‘Days of Heaven’), Veronica (‘Alien’) Cartwright, Jeff (‘The Fly’) Goldblum and Leonard (‘Star Trek’) Nimoy (and see if you can spot Bob Duvall in there, too).
“Glittering pile of Art Deco used movie parts” – that’s priceless. I actually considered putting “The Boyfriend” on my countdwon ballot, but then thought better of it. I first saw it when I was about 12 – and liked it then (I even got the soundtrack album) – but it really hasn’t held up for me as an adult. Mean-sprited is exactly right.
Mark–
Believe it or not, I responded to you yesterday, almost immediately after your comment was posted. But at the school I was at, the comment got eaten up, and as it was lengthy, I couldn’t reply right away. Whenever that happens, it’s quite frustrating needless to say. Power is till out, but the kids still got their trick or treating in yesterday. Love those saucy comments about Russell’s THE BOY FRIEND, which had no chance from the start of making the countdown. It’s probably (or close to it) his worst film, and an aberation from the director of such distinguished films as “The Devils,” “Women in Love,” “Savage Messiah,” and the BBC series that R.D. Finch recently reviewed with great authority.
Your analysis of the 1978 version of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is master class. Numerous insights throughout. I am a huge fan of Siegel’s 1956 version (in fact it’s one of my supreme personal favorites) but I always experienced fear while watching this accomplished re-make. McCarthy’s cameo is always an amusement too. It is definitely as you pose a modern horror classic!
Thanks as always for the thought-provoking submission here my very good friend!
Not only does McCarthy have a cameo, but Don Siegel himself plays the cabbie who gives Sutherland and Adams a lift. lol.
Sorry to hear about the crazy snowfall and power outage Sam. In my neck of the woods the snow never bothered to stick around and the damage was minimal at best (though the actual storm was very powerful and kept me at home). I did have a Halloween get together that was cancelled on Saturday that was taking place in NJ. The party throwers still don’t have power as I write this. Me and my girlfriend were planning on going as Yukon Cornelius and The Abominable Snowman from Rudolph… unfortunately that will have to wait for another year. I did attend an annual haunted house exhibit which I try to do every year. Last year I went to The Headless Horseman Hayride Fest in Ulster Park NY. This year I went to Coney Island’s Creepshow At The Freakshow event which was decent and moderately fun. I love trekking to various scare-filled outposts and getting into the October 31st spirit. What I watched this week (three on a cabin fever inducing Saturday)….
Dames ****
Barry Lyndon *****
Lets Scare Jessica To Death **
Martha Marcy May Marlene ***
Swing Time ****
Without A Clue ***
Tower Of London (39) ***
I enjoyed Dames more than I was expecting due to Joel’s reservations. I will admit that the choreographed Berkeley sections were the clear highlights. My newfound appreciation for Lyndon was relayed in the mass email I sent.
Maurizio—
I can’t explain why northern New Jersey got hit so hard, and why the NYC boroughs didn’t sustain worse results. But I’m happy for you, believe me. The trees around here either broke or toppled over as a consequence of the wet, heavy snow accumulating on the branches. This is turn brought power lines down. With so many outages all over the state, it meant a longer time to reach everyone. As I stated on other replies here, we are still without power. Yukon Conelius and the Abominable Snowman, eh? Nice! Sorry though that you couldn’t get to that Jersey destination, though I hope you still had a chance to use those costumes! Ha! I also love going to the various October scare events, and we visited Clinton Place in Hackensack last week. This is a long street with large and beautiful homes that collaborate each year to decorate to the hilt. Great that you had something as close as Coney island. But where you went last year is great too!
Great to hear that response to DAMES! The five-star rating for BARRY LYNDON is a glorious reversal on your part and I applaud it. This is a film that grew on me in much the same way! Happy to see that high rating on SWING TIME too, especially since the jury is still out on the musical genre with you. But I am thrilled you are going the nine yards! I’m pretty much with you a half star either way with MARTHA MARCY, TOWER OF LONDON and LET’S SCARE JESSICA!
This was a terrific, passionate wrap here my excellent friend!
What a week and snow also – are you posting at work to have power? We got up after a fierce wind and rain storm to 54′F and sunshine – Zip and I went for a double walk and worked up a sweat.
I have started a campaign to get Tree of Life/ Mozart’s Sister/ Hedgehog movies to one of our 3 16 plex theaters.. I took my request and phone numbers to Choir Practice, Yoga, and book groups and asked each member to call each of the theaters and tell them we would like some showing of some of the movies we would like to see. About 60 people have called so far and the list of requested movies has doubled. Our little arts theater has only 100 seats and does a great job, but can not change out the movies fast enough and still get everyone in who wants to attend. Driving 90 miles to the city is just not so great, especially with so much construction and the winter weather.
The owner of one theater was willing to think about it and was interested in the ideas shared. This is the theater that shows the Met Opera’s one Saturday a month for $45 a ticket…so I think there is hope. The owner also has senior Tuesdays where he shows old movies and had never thought of doing a series of musicals.
I also shared your website and the same owner was very interested.
Here’s hoping I may have some movies to write about in the future?
But I surely do enjoy reading about them here.
I just love that feeling of being separated from the whole world once you take your seat – and then the kind of return to earth feeling as one leaves the theater. It’s nice to just get away and have an out of house experience.
Boo and Happy Halloween – snow ghosts?
Patricia—
All the PC work I completed the past days was done at one of the local schools, (the two floor structure where Lucille is Principal) where the entire family stayed till around 11:00 P.M. every night. So you had some snow too, eh? And then sunshine. Isn’t that the way it also pans out? Ha!
I can’t believe they are charging $45.00 for that HD opera broadcast ticket! I thought the $24 they want in these parts was high, but prices around here are higher for most things. Thanks for including that inspiring anecdote about the petition to bring TREE OF LIFE and MOZART’S SISTER to your local theatres. And that you actually got one operator to listen? Fantastic! The 60 respondants is terrific! Tes, 90 miles is too far to travel to see a film, I quite agree.
Thanks so much for sharing WitD!!! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a few movies reviewed at PATRICIA’S WISDOM!!! I agree with you that you are transported in two hours or so that you are in the dark.
And love the Boo and Happy Halloween!!!
Hope all went well on Monday Patricia. And thanks for this wholly wonderful and engaging submission my friend!!!!
Here is a great you tube of Jaime Grijalba folks!!!
Fantastic stuff!!!
Ahhh to be young with patchy facial hair. Little by little every core member of WITD is unveiled…
Indeed Maurizio, indeed.
Sorry to hear about the snowstorm, Sam. Man, the East Coast just can’t catch a break this year–there was the huge snowstorm late last winter, the hurricanes in the summer, and now another snowstorm. Weird. Of course, in the my town in Indiana we had tornadoes go through, so it happens I guess.
I actually saw a bunch of great movies for the first time over the past week, including:
Atonement–8/10 stars: very good, but I couldn’t help feeling it must have worked better as a book.
Into the Wild–8/10 stars: terrific, though a little overlong and belaboring its point a bit too much, but I was captivated.
Lost in Translation–9/10 stars (maybe 10/10): How have I missed seeing this until now?
Nostalghia–?/10 stars: actually, I have no idea what to think of this one, except that I didn’t like it. Which is strange and disappointing since I’ve been in awe of every other Tarkovksy film I’ve seen up to now, and consider Andrei Rublev possibly the greatest movie I’ve ever seen. But this one bored the heck out of me and seemed repetitive and derivative in its themes and motifs. His other movies were slow too, but they had plots where stuff actually happened.
The Passion of Joan of Arc–10/10 stars: Wow. The cinematic equivalent of Michelangelo’s Pieta?
The Trial of Joan or Arc–6?/10 stars: actually not entirely sure what to think of this one either. It certainly pales in comparison to Dreyer’s film. But it also seems weak next to other Bresson films–not much actually happens, and except for a few deeply striking images (mostly of Joan’s feet), I felt it was all just too simple and straightforward. This is actually sort of a problem I have with a couple of Bresson’s films, mostly Pickpocket, but also a little with A Man Escaped. Everything is stripped down and simple, and there are remarkable individual scenes or sequences that go by very quickly, and then it ends. I don’t feel the supposed transcendence. I need more to hold onto. Perhaps they play better on second viewing. I had much stronger reactions to Au Hasard Balthazar, Mouchette, and Diary of a Country Priest–these films seemed to have a great deal more happen, with a great deal more thematic complexity, and consequently a great deal more spiritual power. Diary of a Country Priest almost left me in tears. But Trial of Joan of Arc left me scratching my head and looking at the clock in surprise–that was it?
Stephen—
Thanks so much for the words of concern. Yes, weather-wise it’s been quite a dire stretch, and still as I write this response to you on Tuesday afternoon we do not have any power at our home. Originally we were expecting it to be restored by tomorrow (Wednesday) but now I am hearing by next Monday. If that is true, I think I am close to suicide. Ha! What was supposed to be a minor weather turn has turned out to be a major disaster. Stephen I need to get over to your site ASAP. I blame the unusual demands of the musical countdown for the blogging delays. But yes, what you say there about the fearful possibilities in Indiana are dead-on too.
You saw a very interesting group of films there. I will certainly agree with you on Tarkovsky’s NOSTALGHIA, which is the only film by him I am not keen on. It’s a difficult one to sit through.
I am no fan of LOST IN TRANSLATION, but I am in a severe minority and have taken my lumps. Similarly I took a minority position on INTO THE WILD. I adore ATONEMENT and had it as my favorite film of 2008, but some do have issues with it. I like TRIAL, but agree still with much you say, and I absolutely adore those other Bressons you mention, which are far superior.
This was a tremendous response my friend!!!!
Hello Sam and everyone!
Wheew. So October ends, I just posted the last review of the month of October and I’m now laying on bed seeing funny youtube videos, I think I need to get off horror for a while… not really, it’s always good time for a scary film. But still, I can now finally rest and post whenever I feel like it, but keep writing.
Thanks Sam and everyone who has been supporting the Horror Countdown, I mean really (even if the link up there don’t match for the movies, I know about the power outage).
Well, yeah, I’ve been working very hard on the short film: scripting, producing, casting, and all is gonna take a bunch of money from my friend’s and my pocket, so that we get a good piece of work at the end, so yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing. That and studying, a test is coming and the workload is really heavy.
This is a long weekend in Chile. You have Saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday are free days so yeah, 4 days for work and study. The worst part about it is that my mother, my brother and my girlfriend went out for the weekend and yeah… that’s that.
So, my week movie wise:
- A Colour Box (1935, Len Lye) **** One of the painted on film animations, really interesting as always, and really funny with the excellent mix with the music.
- Allegretto (1936, Oskar Fischinger) **** Uses figures, music and colours, really interesting to see as a good animation of abstract.
- An Optical Poem (1937, Oskar Fischinger) **** Produced by the MGM one of the great animations of figures and music and abstract images, really good.
- Another Earth (2011, Mike Cahill) **** Interesting quirky sci-fi indie drama film. It has a really great central female performance as well as a nice blend of the sci fi elements to what goes through the mind of the protagonist. It’s funny to think about how another planet being in sight, just like Melancholia with von Trier. A good movie, but it may need a better explanation on the scifi element… not that it needs it… but yeah.
- Begone Dull Care (1949, Evelyn Lambart, Norman McLaren) **** I’ve seen all these abstract great animations in a class, and we had a hell of a time with my companions, moving along the jazz rythms these short films have.
- Bela Lugosi (1931, Grace Elliott) ***1/2 This is the short film that Dee Dee posted at the Dracula piece I wrote, it was funny seeing Lugosi in another facet, laughing in good measure and having a little joke on the poor interviewer, which was really beautiful. I like old standards.
- Blinkity Blank (1955, Norman McLaren) **** I really liked abstract animations and the usual rating I gave these is **** because I enjoyed them a lot on how they used colour, but there are exceptions and you people will notice.
- Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (2004, Akiyuki Shinbo) ****1/2 An anime that was briefed here and at my site.
- Dawn of the Dead (2004, Zack Snyder) ***1/2 Review of this remake at my site for horror madness.
- Five (2011, Jennifer Aniston, Patty Jenkins, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Penelope Spheeris) *** A compilation of five stories on breast cancer, made for TV, and it shows. The lack of any cinematical event should be a problem in a world where TV sometimes is even more important critic-wise. The show is lazy because it goes for the easy tear, but sometimes it goes beyond, specially when they try to teach something about cancer itself, in that sense it’s a useful and interesting piece of television film.
- Fly (1970, John Lennon, Yoko Ono) ***1/2 This experimental short film would be unbearable to some (as unbearable is Wavelenght to some people), but it manages to give its message across, on art and sexuality and how we treat the figure of woman. You get squeamish seeing a fly entering a woman’s vagina, but it’s the reaction the makers seek, and in that they deserve a credit.
- Free Radicals (1958, Len Lye) ***1/2 Experimental stop motion film that mixes 3D like animation with african music, but the lack of colour brings this one down a bit, but still surprising.
- Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995, Joe Chappelle) **1/2 I reviewed this sequel at my blog for horror madness.
- Halloween: Resurrection (2002, Rick Rosenthal) *** I reviewed this movie… as you can see in the video Sam posted just above this comment. Check it out!
- Halloween 5 (1989, Dominique Otherin-Girard) **1/2 I reviewed this film for the horror madness at my blog.
- Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998, Steve Miner) ***1/2 I review this actually decent sequel to the original film in my blog for the horror madness.
- High Tension (2003, Alexandre Aja) **** I reviewed this french horror film at my blog for October’s horror.
- Synchromy (1971, Norman McLaren) ****1/2 Must be one of the greatest animation experiments ever put to film. It’s like watching the composing for an Atari game, yeah, is that good. The geometric sense of the whole thing really brings it up a notch. Great short film.
- They Were There (2011, Errol Morris) ***1/2 Commercial documentary on IBM using the usual Morris style. It brings the spotlight to the less known things from the IBM industry, beyond computers and desk work, so for that it’s really interesting, even if it’s not a passion work.
And that’s that for past week, have a good week Sam!
Jaimie–
You deserve a long break. But as I know you are a tireless worker, you will be back to the grindstone soon enough. That was a remarkable run you had at EXODUS 8:2 during October. And the comment you just entered yesterday under Jamie Uhler’s horror list is a masterpiece. Looks like that short film is promising! You’ve been working hard, and a bit of luck should be heading your way. We also have a week coming with days off (Election on Tuesday and NJ Teacher’s Convention on Thursday and Friday). Sorry your girlfriend and mom are deserting you this weekend.
As to your movie watching, I see you saw 19 fiolms this past week!!! Is that a recdord? Either way it is staggering, and I can appreciate this and understand what it entails. The Halloween series is understandable because of the time of year it is, but what a diverse lineup. Glad to see that solid rating for the inde ANOTHER EARTH, which I must say I did like. Those Fischingers are most interesting as is the Lennon/Ono short. But heck I can have my pick. This was a stellar roundup.
I wish you a productive but sane week my friend. You were a really superstar at Wonders this week! Many thanks for the superlative report here!
Sam, I’m glad to hear that you are surviving the snow and power outages. I’ve been complaining about 50 degree weather, so I guess I should look at your situation and count my blessings — and put on a sweater. I hope you get your power back soon, if you haven’t got it already!
Things have been going well here. I took my annual walk down to West Hollywood for the Halloween Costume Carnavale, which is always outrageous and fun. Hundreds of thousands party goers taking over the streets in some of the most outrageous and elaborate costumes you’ve ever seen. People take Halloween seriously over here.
And I actually made it out to the movies! I saw The Rum Diary and Anonymous, neither of which impressed me too much. The Rum Diary is OK, but it reeked of pointlessness — the kind of pointlessness only interesting to people who think drug addiction and alcoholism are chic. And Anonymous was plain terrible. Boring and wrongheaded on just about every level. It has a very good chance of making my worst of the year list. It’s so bad it even inspired me to write a review! And you know I haven’t had the extra juice necessary for blog writing lately. That will be coming soon.
Stay warm my friend.
Jason–
Thanks very much for that! We did indeed get the power back this morning after a five day period without lights and heat. But we availed ourselves of one of our local schools. But heck I know a number of people who have gone longer without power, so I have no business belly-achin’ at this site all the time!
The Halloween costume event sounds great Jason! And it’s nice to know that at least in some places weather will comply with the real appreciation of the day. I bet those costumes were fabulous! Wish I could have seen that myself!
I was planning to see ANONYMOUS soon, but your report does nothing to bolster that resolve! Ha! I hear ya! And I must say that I expected as much with THE RUM DIARY, which I won’t be seeing anytime soon.
I must say I have missed visiting MOVIES OVER MATTER. That will end very soon.
Thanks as always my very good friend, and have a great weekend!
You’ve had a rough period Sam. I give you all the credit for finding a way to keep everything going. I would have loved to attend that screening of that Vincent Price movie in Jersey City!
David, the electrical power returned this morning a bit after 10:00 A.M. We went five days without it, so you can be sure we were ready to celebrate! Yes, you would have really enjoyed the screening but they’ll be other chances.
Thanks again my friend!