Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret and Evil Dead Rise on Monday Morning Diary (May 1)

by Sam Juliano

A deluge of rain has defined the last few days in the North Jersey region.

The e mail to site writers about the upcoming Seventh Annual Allan Fish Online Film Festival will be sent out to past writers in the project later this week.

Editing on Irish Jesus of Fairview continues, with a late June/early July publication of the novel anticipated.

On May 10th I will again be chaperoning the 8th grade trip to Washington D.C., which runs until the evening of Friday, May 12th.  I will provide a repot with some photos, much as I have in the past.

Lucille and I watched two recent films this past week, though Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret will actually be seen Sunday night.  The other film, Evil Dead Rise, was utter torture to sit through, though the reviews and my three boys liked it.  There can be no accounting for taste.  Ha!

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Seventh Annual Allan Fish Online Film Festival on Monday Morning Diary (April 24)

by Sam Juliano

Wonders in the Dark will again be hosting an Allan Fish Online Film Festival in late May to coincide with our friend’s birthday.  It is hard to believe this will be the seventh annual enterprise in my co-founder’s honor, and I again thank and acknowledge Jamie Uhler of Chicago who conceived of the project way back in early 2015, just months after Allan’s August 2016 passing.  I am only mentioning it now -in late April –  so that some potential writers could begin to toss around ideas.  I won’t again make reference to it until around May 10th, the day I will be sending out a group e mail to the usual suspects.

This year’s annual Tribeca Film Festival will be held in June, and Lucille and I plan to watch the films online, as we did the last several years.

As editing on Irish Jesus of Fairview continues, I received the latest tweaked art of the cover, back and spine from Andrew Castrucci.

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Greatest American Films Poll Results and A Thousand and One on Monday Morning Diary (April 17)

by Sam Juliano

Another holiday is behind us and we have passed the middle of April.  Thanks again for the messages about Lucille.  All is going well.  We are just a few weeks away from announced this year’s Allan Fish Tribute Festival, will will launch later in May.  Our longtime friend and reader Mark Sadler reminded me this week that I never posted the results of the Greatest American Films polling – something that floored me, and underlined yet again my encroahing senility.  Therefore, I will post the full Top 255 on this MMD.  The results were certainly wonderful in so many ways.

The entire family watched the new release A Thousand and One this past week at our local Ridgefield Park multiplex.  It was a powerful work, about a foster home abduction set in an utrban jungle circa 1995-2000, and it showcases an electrifying female lead performance.  It is surely the best film I have sene so far in 2023.  5/5.

Here is the polling result:

1.      Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) – 843.5

2.      City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931) – 775

3.      Sunrise (F. W. Murnau, 1927) – 670

4.      Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) – 650

5.      The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) – 610

6.      The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, et al., 1939) – 547.5

7.      Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen, 1952) – 527

8.      Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) – 526.5

9.      Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950) – 521

10.  The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) – 474.5

11.  Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) – 473

12.  The General (Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman, 1926) – 472

13.  Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) – 435

14.  Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938) – 413

15.  The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) – 411

16.  It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) – 400.5

17.  The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971) – 381

18.  The Godfather, Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) – 380.5

19.  Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) – 373.5

20.  The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) – 358.5

21.  Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) – 333

22.  Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) – 331

23.  Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001) – 319.5

24.  Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) – 307

25.  The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925) – 301

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Easter Sunday and Super Mario Brothers Movie on Monday Morning Diary (April 10)

 

by Sam Juliano

Another holiday has come and gone, spring is in full swing, and at least a few of us are making plans for the summer.  This year’s Tribeca Film Festival will be staged in June, though we are unsure whether we will just stick with the virtual -at home- connection, much as we have been doing the last several years.

Thanking everyone for their kind words for Lucille, who is coming along quite nicely.  Though she won’t be return to her school position until early May, she has been mobile around the house, and just yesterday managed to travel to my sister’s for Easter dinner.

Everything remains status quo with Irish Jesus in Fairview, which is currently projected for publication in early June.  Though I haven’t made any serious progress with Roses for Saoirse, I continue to play around with various ideas.

Another insignificant week on the current movie scene (though this is always a tough time of the year for quality cinema, largely) as I was again pulled along by my sons to see a new release that was rather forgettable.  But they liked it, and that’s what counts.

Super Mario Brothers     ** 1/2    (Thursday night)  Teaneck multiplex

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John Wick Chapter 4 and Shazam! Fury of the Gods on Monday Morning Diary (April 3)

by Sam Juliano

Palm Sunday means Easter week is suddenly upon us.  For those of us still in the teaching profession this time of the year translates into eleven days off consecutively, this year from Thursday, April 9 -actually a half-day for Holy Thursday – until Sunday, April 19.  Lucille came home from Englewood Hospital this past Tuesday and everything for her is coming along quite well.  Of course the pain meds are vital to the recovery, and she has been walking within the house.  Again I wish to thank everyone who has offered up well wishes.  They are deeply appreciated.

All is status quo with Irish Jesus of Fairview, which is currented being edited by Bill Kamberger, who continues to make significant progress.  Meanwhile I am starting to focus more on the third novel, Roses for Saoirse, which I continue to develop.

My boys “forced” me to see two multiplex films over the weekend, and I can’t say I thought much of either.  But heck, the reviews were good for John Wick Chapter 4, and there are plenty of fans including my children, who loved both films.  Lucille urged me to escort them, and we enjoyed two nights out with the family.  Anyway, John Wick Chapter 4, ** of ***** (2 of 5) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods * 1/2 of ***** (1.5 of 5)

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