dulcedemon

[dulcedemon]

Gentle Spring Frederick Sandys 

[dulcedemon]

[dulcedemon]

Current Attractions...

Thieves Like Us(1974): This prison...sponsored by Coca-Cola. This prison break...sponsored by Coca-Cola. This bank heist...sponsored by Coca-Cola. This awkward romance while on the lam...sponsored by Coca-Cola. Watch the movie, then watch it again with the director's commentary. It's worth it just to have the Coca-Cola thing explained. The setting is dank, moisture saturated Mississippi in the 1930s. Robert Altman talks about having to avoid active flood zones during filming in the commentary. Shelley Duvall and Keith Carradine are total naturals in their acting. They are fantastic together. Louise Fletcher is powerful in her role as Mattie. Keith Carradine's dog plays a small role, too. Old radio serials used as part of the soundtrack really enhance the mood. While watching the movie, I jokingly made a prediction about a certain prop. I was sorry to be right.

Gold Diggers of 1935: Good story with Marx Brothers style comedy, only without the Marx Brothers. In just two years, most of the cast of the 1933 version had moved on to bigger and better things, or faded into obscurity, except for Dick Powell, who stars here. Frank McHugh just about upstages everyone with his comedic performance. The dancing pianos are quite a novelty. Also, I never loved and hated Lullaby of Broadway so much. That is some cold ass shit, Busby Berkeley.

Black Panther(2018): My standard superhero movie "review" applies: Lots of stuff gets broken, glass gets shattered, asses get kicked, things get really bad until they get better again. This one is exceptionally pretty while it does those things. The locations, costumes, and special effects are terrific. I really like that being the Black Panther is something that has to be earned, and defended. It can be inherited. It can be challenged for in ritual combat. It can be transferred, which is a great concept. Whoever designed the Jabari throne room deserves an award.

Stink!(2015): It does a lot to educate the general public, many of whom use multiple fragranced, chemical laden products in their daily routines. It also touches on extreme chemical sensitivity, and how difficult, if not impossible, product manufacturers and chemical companies make it for consumers to find out exactly what chemical ingredients are being used. People(like me) who have fragrance allergies, and other chemical sensitivities will find themselves nodding along. The people who need to see this the most are the ones walking around in their own personal synthetic stink cloud. One thing I've learned the hard way(after a few itchy rashes), always wash new clothes before wearing them. Always. Even if the items don't smell foul to you --ALWAYS! A lot of dyes used in clothing are highly caustic; any residue left in the fabric after the manufacturing process can irritate skin. Also, the darker the color, the nastier the chemicals used to make the dye. I don't know why this is so, but it is. I favor black as the color of choice in my wardrobe; I'm speaking from experience. There is one pair of black pants that I had bought a few years ago, which I gave up trying to get the chemical stink out of after about ten washes. I relegated them to gardening/home improvement project use, and even then I wear another pair of pants under them to avoid getting a rash. I'm too frugal to throw them out, and too embarrassed to give them to a charity clothing drive, because of how bad they reek. Thankfully, many personal care and household products offer unscented versions. I use these, because I have no choice, and neither does anyone who chooses to live under the same roof as I. Whenever I discuss this topic, I can't help but think of The Incredible Shrinking Woman.

Elle(2016): This is the only one on the list that I didn't like. It's really too bad, because it's also an incidental Christmas movie, which I get a kick out of. It seems their budget would only afford them one song. The song: Lust For Life[Iggy Pop] is a poor fit. The first time that it gets played, the characters joke about how no one likes it except for one guy. It works in that one scene, but using it more than once was a mistake. There is an indecisiveness in the overall tone. Is it supposed to be a dark comedy? If so, it's not funny. Is it supposed to be a hard hitting drama? If that's the case, its punches miss the mark by a mile. I love watching Isabelle Huppert, but her character here is thoroughly despicable beyond the reach of audience sympathy. The first time I saw her on screen was during my senior year of high school, when my English teacher had the class watch Madame Bovary(1991). It was our reward for finishing the book.

[dulcedemon]

Don’t forget tomorrow is Vintage Sunday

[dulcedemon]

Current Attractions...

Lost in Space: Season 1(2018): There is a lot of science in this sci-fi series, which is how I like it. The ever rapidly changing planet is a brilliant plot point. The bots are beautiful, and terrifying. Molly Parker(Maureen Robinson) and Parker Posey(Dr. Smith/June Harris) play some amazing point-counterpoint. Molly Parker also deserves an award for the Best Implied Use of an Expletive in Space. It's a family show, so you don't hear her say the complete word, but you know what it is; it's the only word appropriate for the given situation.

Tokyo Decadence(Topâzu - 1992): This is my second time around with this one. I watched it instead of biting my nails over election results coverage on November 6th. Over the years, titles featuring adult sexual content have been culled from [movie rental service]. Of what remains, Tokyo Decadence is one of the more interesting and less tame choices. Ai(Miho Nikaido) is a sex worker, whose specialty appears to be BDSM. She is timid, soft-spoken, but very professional. At first, she seems well adjusted, lonely, but not unhappy. In truth, she is superstitious, consulting with a fortuneteller(Yayoi Kusama). She also has an unhealthy fixation on her ex-boyfriend. The best parts are in the first hour. The rest is a minor nervous breakdown. For the most part, it follows her mundanely through her work day, which would be considered anything but mundane by many people. The works of Xavier Cugat and Pérez Prado enhance the soundtrack, though their CDs take some abuse in the longest, and perhaps best scene in the movie.

Fitzcarraldo(1982): No one portrays terminal madness quite like Klaus Kinski. Here he plays a desperate(and always sweaty) entrepreneur, whose previous business endeavor to build a railroad across the Andes mountains met with failure, and made him a laughing stock among his collegues. His fetish-like love of opera cements his reputation as an eccentric fool. The story begins with him seeking a loan to build an opera house in what is basically the jungle in South America in the early 1900s. No one will loan him money for his opera house, which leads him to purchase of a boat for yet another business endeavor in the hopes of being able to finance his pet project with the proceeds. With the boat lies the rest of the story...a story is based in truth, which is drawn from certain events in the life of rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald. Yes, there really was a boat, and it was really taken over a mountain, but not in the fantastic way depicted here. I liked this, but not as much as I liked Aguirre, Wrath of God, which I have seen twice now, and hope to own a copy of someday. I strongly recommend both titles.

Daredevil: Season 3(2018): I give it an "S" for satisfactory. The dynamic of three holds it together for yet another season. Having done eight years hard time in Catholic school during my childhood, the heavy-handed Catholicism both entertains and irritates me. I still think they are cancelling the wrong Marvel shows. Not that I want any of them cancelled, I don't, but Iron Fist was just starting to get good, when they killed it. So, yes, I neglected to do a real review here, because I'm still sulking about Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. Also, Misty Knight should have her own show.

Nite Owl(AKA: Night Owl - 1993): For good, this is bad, but for terrible, it's truly great. A very low budget vampire movie, John Leguizamo is the biggest star, though he was not yet a star at the time this was made. Quick appearances by Michael Musto, and Holly Woodlawn add to the off-kilter ambiance. It's fairly traditional as vampire stories go, though more sexually graphic than many of the classics, which is a plus in my book. Being shot in black and white gives it an extra gritty feel. It's also a glimpse of a less commercially homogenous NYC circa 1990. This is the second movie with the title Night Owl that I've seen this year. The other one starred Jennifer Beals, and came out the same year as this one. Maybe that is why this one has that deliberate misspelling... I had no intention of seeing either of them. I was looking for a much older movie of the same title(proper spelling). [Movie rental service] had never heard of it, and suggested two completely different movies that happen to have the same title, which makes no sense, but here we are.

Earth(1947:Earth - 1998): I don't want to put down a movie for reasons unrelated to its content, but I have a duty to warn those who would rent it on DVD. The copy I was sent promised a choice of original language with English subtitles or English audio, but it would only play in English. English would be fine, but it's not entirely in English, and much of the English that is spoken is heavily accented. Fine...English with English subtitles it is. The problem there is the heavily accented English has no subtitles. For me it's just an annoyance, but for people with hearing difficulties, this one is an absolute bitch. Thus concludes my complaints about the disc itself. Now, onto my complaints about the movie: It has story, but no heart. Characters are not fleshed out enough to care much about them. Nandita Das is good here as Shanta the nanny of the young girl, Lenny(Maia Sethna). It is through young Lenny's eyes that we are supposed to view the life and strife of 1947 India, immediately before the India-Pakistan partition. The trouble there --the kid is just not very likeable. She seems too naive for her age, whether it's a product of her insulated, privileged upbringing, or maybe she is just not that bright. She spends most of her time with her nanny, who spends a lot of her time getting fawned over by at least one man of every religion in India. Everyone is good friends, but conflict grows as the day of "independence" draws near, dividing people as well as land. The hate toward a certain group is not subtle, and neither is the violence. I think having seen Fire(1996) and Water(2005) before this set a certain level of expectation on my part, which simply was not met.

[dulcedemon]

[dulcedemon]

The Death of Cleopatra, 1841 (oil on canvas)

German von Bohn (German, 1812-1899)

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes

[dulcedemon]

Current Attractions...

Street of Shame(Akasen chitai - 1956): The best comes last in Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women series. It's interesting to see how the nature and legal status of sex work in Japan transitions over time in these films. For the first part of the series, the settings are freshly post-war. The women drift through rubble strewn surroundings. In each subsequent film, the gradually rebuilding of the nation, physically, if not psychologically is evident. The influence of the American occupation becomes more and more apparent. Western clothing and hair styles begin to creep into the everyday culture. Although it is alluded to several times, American soldiers patronizing Japanese prostitutes is not depicted in any of these films. It's a glaring omission, and I suspect, a deliberate one. For a film less shy about that aspect of post-war Japan, I highly recommend Seijun Suzuki's Gate of Flesh(1964). By the time of Street of Shame, prostitution is not exactly illegal, nor is it fully legal, and the brothels are subject to restrictions as to how and when they can operate. Reconstruction has come a long way since the war ended. The brothel, Dreamland Salon, where the women work is a cross between a nightclub, and the modern "soapland". Pending legislation to make prostitution completely illegal plays its own part in the story. The brothel owner, and radio news keep the ladies updated on its progress. I spoil nothing in revealing that the proposed law does not pass, which is in contradiction of the reality of 1956 Japan. That year the anti-prostitution law did, in fact, pass. The characters are realistic and memorable. Their motives, and backgrounds vary. Their age range is broad, so much so that it is conceivable that the oldest among them could have been any one of the women in the earlier movies, working from just after the war to the time depicted. They are mothers, wives, and daughters. Their financial debts in life, and to the brothel itself compel them to keep working. Some work to support their children, one works to support her unemployed spouse and their baby, another works to pay off a bad debt for her father, and a capricious delinquent works for spite. Often the family members who benefit from the income these women earn, are ungrateful for the work they do. They are ashamed of it, and even openly hostile about it, but they spend the money all the same. Their selfish attitudes cause a lot of misery, and invite tragedy. The camaraderie among the women is strong, but so is the competition for clients. The top earner, Yasumi, is particularly shrewd when it comes to getting and keeping money. She even engages in loan sharking. She lends money to the other women, collecting payments with interest. She manipulates her clients with remarkable guile to both her benefit and detriment. Yumeko and Yorie are the two oldest. Yumeko is a widow, who works to put her son through school. Yorie gives the impression that she has been at it since her youth. Mickey is a spoiled brat fond of Western fashion, and other material things. Bespectacled Hanae has potential tragedy forever nipping at her heels, along with(and in part because of) her less than supportive husband. This final film has the best balance of hope and heartbreak. Though its final scene might be the most heartbreaking of all. It is also Kenji Mizoguchi's final film; he died later in the same year it was released. Also of note is the striking avant-garde score created by Toshiro Mayazumi.

The Warriors(1979): At last, I've seen the entire movie! It only took me three decades. I was only four years old when it came out though. I needed some time to get old enough to see it. There is one scene that everyone seems to know, even if they haven't seen the movie. Hint: It involves David Patrick Kelly and some bottles. [I have never seen him play a normal, boring person. It's almost like when you see him in anything, if shit is not abnormal when it starts, just wait and it will be, because David Patrick Kelly is in it.] That famous scene combined with the bits and pieces that I've seen over the years were almost enough to be the whole thing, except for the end. I may have even been mentioned it in one of my old movie lists(on a website not this one). Back in 2004, I was working a bakery job that had me on shift at five o' clock in the morning, which was about an hour before I would typically go to bed. One bleary early afternoon after work, my boyfriend decided to watch The Warriors. I paid as much attention as I could while struggling to stay awake. Fourteen years later, I finally gave it a proper, fully alert, viewing. Better still, someone was generous enough to share their Ultimate Director's Cut on Blu-ray edition with me. Thanks, by the way. I loved the freeze frames that end each scene being given the comic book look. It lent a nice touch. Having some idea of the geography made it a much more interesting experience. Up until more recently than I care to say, my knowledge of the layout of NYC and its immediate surrounds was embarrassingly poor. The 1970s ambiance is fabulous, so much gentrification since then, probably too much. There is not much for female viewers to latch onto here. I can relate to Mercy(Deborah Van Valkenburgh), yet I'm a long way from being her. I'm not Lizzie material, and I don't decoy in the park like Mercedes Ruehl. In terms of character relatability, I'm half Rembrandt(Marcelino Sanchez) and half Mercy. To be hard pressed against the sea, yet able to rejoice in it comes from a lifetime of fighting on surrounded ground. We are fighting on surrounded ground. Our backs are to the sea. We will not quit this shore no matter how many bat swinging, roller skating, high hatting motherfuckers get sent our way.

Logan(2017): I have never read an X-Men comic book. I have not seen any of the other X-Men movies. I really liked this. It has more emotional depth and frailty than a lot of superhero movies do, but also a tremedous amount of violence.

42nd Street(1933): Underwhelming...I think maybe I waited to long to see it in that I saw the better movie musical of that same year first. Gold Diggers of 1933 boasts many of the same cast members, the same choreographer, a better story, better costumes, better songs, and better dance numbers.

Justice, My Foot!(Sam sei goon - 1992): A crazy, kung fu comedy starring Stephen Chow, but the best jokes and moves come from Anita Mui. The humor is profuse though a bit vulgar --as in fart jokes, and a sidekick named "Ah Fuk".

I Married a Witch(1942): There is not much comedy to be found in this comedy. It has its cute moments, but the dad character is too repugnant. If you like the madcap matinée type, you might like this. It reminds me of Arsenic and Old Lace, which I also don't like.

[dulcedemon]

[dulcedemon]

Current Attractions...

On the Beach(1959): I don't how this one eluded me as long as it did, especially as a fan of the Fallout video game series. Egads!, The way these people soldier on toward the inevitable astounds. They dutifully report to work. As the gasoline begins to run out, they ride bicycles, and even horses to get around town. One of the best visuals in the movie is the mixed traffic bustle of the main thoroughfare. Everyone seems to be engaging in an almost childish yet somehow noble denial of reality, when a last call for life on Earth frenzy in the streets might be expected. Some tick a few items off their bucket lists. Some drink the time away. No matter what, they keep civil, even genial toward each other. It's set in Australia for the most part, except for a few places to which the submarine travels. One of those places is San Francisco. As they take turns peering through the periscope at the eerily empty streets, a young man makes a fateful decision. For Fallout fans: San Francisco --fishing scene --Behold! Pip Boy!. Stars Gregory Peck, a delightfully mature Ava Gardner, a non-dancing Fred Astaire, and Anthony Perkins. Features the song Waltzing Matilda, and by features I mean there is no escaping it for almost the entire movie. It's in the background as a gentle instrumental refrain. It's belted out at full volume by raucous drunken fishermen. At first, the drunken fishermen are funny with one of them singing terribly off key. They go at it for an entire afternoon, and well into the evening. Resist the urge to hit the mute button, because just when the characters[and the audience] can't take another chorus...They sing another chorus, but no one is off key this time. Suddenly, their singing sounds sober, perfectly in tune, and haunting in tone. The true climax of the story comes during the final verse: Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong. "You'll never catch me alive!", said he. And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong: "You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me."

Luke Cage: Season 2(2018): Harlem's most infamous family implodes, leading to a confrontation between the superpowered, and the supernatural. It's slick, badass, and smooth, and it rocks the best soundtrack of all the Marvel Netflix shows.

Women of the Night(Yoru no onnatachi - 1948): It begins with a woman reading a posted sign, which basically states that any woman found outside after dark will be assumed a prostitute, and arrested by law enforcement. The tone of this next to last entry in the Fallen Women series by Kenji Mizoguchi is no less bleak than its predecessors, but at least it comes to a decisive conclusion. Often heard but seldom seen trains are more than just ambient enhancements. The sound of the horns as the trains pull away from the station where the prostitutes congregate is deeply sad. As the sound grows more distant, the women(individually or in a group) wear expressions both pensive and longing. They wish to be on board. They wish to escape, but few dare to openly admit it. They wish the war had never happened; they wish that their husbands, sons, and fathers had come home. The only time we see a train being ridden by any of these women is when it brings in a young woman full of ambition and high hopes, only to have them quickly crushed by squalid depravity. There is a lot of inner strength on display, and maybe even some hope in the end.

The Iron Fist: Season 2(2018): So fresh and so clean...and so much better than the first season! The supporting characters come to the fore, and transform themselves in amazing ways. I was most impressed by Ward Meacham, played by Tom Pelphrey. I think it is due in part to my being underwhelmed by that character in season one, but also his transformative arc in season two is pretty extreme. I agree that Colleen Wing and Misty Knight make a great team(worthy of their own show). Season two also introduces the very bizarre Mary Alice Walker/Typhoid Mary character.

Chu Chin Chow(1934): A pretty fable based on Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Not much comedy for a comedy, except for the enormous soft ice cream swirl hats worn by the palace guards.

[dulcedemon]

I’m sure all the people laughing and clapping at 45 mocking a sexual assault survivor are just suffering from economic anxiety so it’s fine. Makes perfect sense really and we need to be sensitive to their fears.

[dulcedemon]

Seated Nyoirin Kannon, Japan

[dulcedemon]

Current Attractions...

Mary and the Witch's Flower(2018): Pretty, fanciful, and sweet feature-length anime...This was my "make-up" movie for the last one on this list, which was blotted out from my brain nicely.

Osaka Elegy(1936): If a person has their good nature taken advantage of enough, a day will come when they are no longer good natured. On that day, they will be blamed and castigated by every soul sucking loser who took advantage of them and their resources. Another installment of Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women films, don't go looking for a happy ending, or even a satisfying unhappy one. Ayako(Isuzu Yamada) should have stayed in her little glass booth with her adorable phone operator headset.

Night Flight(1933): The cast is packed with majors stars of the day: John and Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Myrna Loy, and Robert Montgomery...It's a simple but taut action-drama about a relay of air mail planes, flying at night, over the Andes and through storms, without the aid of radar or other modern navigational equipment, while carrying a highly time sensitive shipment of medicine. For all the star power and drama, and all the effort and budget that must have gone into the flying scenes, my favorite thing about this movie was the giant, light-up, wall map used to indicate the approximate locations of the planes along their routes. It's not quite its own character, but it features prominently in almost every air mail company headquarters scene.

The Post(2017): "The way they lied...The way they lied...Those days have to be over." Helical columns of newspapers rising from floor to ceiling are really something to see. I love a good printing press scene. Even better here is that no one stops the presses, because the whole movie is about deciding to run them, specifically to publish the Pentagon Papers. The line quoted above, and the way it gets delivered by Tom Hanks(as Ben Bradlee) really sums up the quiet intensity of this movie as well as the events it depicts. Its message about the importance of journalism, journalistic integrity, perseverance, and truth should forever resonate. The entire cast is fabulous, but I particularly enjoyed Bob Odenkirk in the role of Ben Bagdikian.

Ip Man(Yip Man - 2008): Having recently watched The Grandmaster, directed by Wong Kar Wai, I thought it would be a good idea to watch another movie about Ip Man from my list. My only complaint about this one is that is sets up for a sequel right away. We kept looking at the running time left, wondering when he would be forced to flee to Hong Kong. Turns out, the Hong Kong exodus is the end of this movie, and the set-up for part two. Highly detailed, historical accuracy beyond certain documented events is questionable(as it is in all things about Ip Man)...in the Wong Kar Wai version he has two children, in this version he has only one. The scenes with the textile mill workers were some of my favorite parts of this first installment in the Ip Man saga.

Candy(1968): I have not had the pleasure(?) of reading the book by Terry Southern. I have no idea of how wide open to interpretation the plot is supposed to be, but it seems to me there is a choice of two narratives: 1)Candy Christian is a sweet, naive, daydreaming high school girl[Of consensual age!(one would like to believe)], who blossoms into womanhood by gaining an understanding of herself and the world around her through a series of mostly forced sexual encounters with one cartoon caricature of a man after another. 2)Candy Christian is a space alien(of consensual age), who blossoms into mature alienhood by gaining an understanding of itself and the world around it through a series of mostly forced sexual encounters with one cartoon caricature of a human after another. I think fans of Heavy Metal(1981) will have a special appreciation for the opening sequence. Fans of Sigmund Freud will appreciate the end. The cast is rich and strange. John Astin plays a dual role, but keeps it all in the family. Ringo Starr, Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau, Richard Burton, James Coburn, and Charles Aznavour play Candy's...what some descriptions politely call "suitors". There are great and cool actors everywhere in this movie down to the bits parts. Even Buck Henry, who wrote the screenplay, gets in it as a mental patient. Yet, it's the relatively unknown ingénue, Ewa Aulin, who carries the whole thing. So much of her part is physical with few spoken lines, and there was no tongue in my cheek as I typed that. She does some intense physical comedy in a scene with Richard Burton and some spilled liquor, and even more so in her scenes with Marlon Brando. Both Burton and Brando really should have done more comedy in their careers. Brando is as funny in this as I have ever seen him. Echoes of the lines spoken by Walter Matthau, and by John Astin as T.M. Chrisitian can be heard on FOX News daily. Ringo Starr plays... I'll stop there. I liked this movie. I liked it so much that I watched it 3.5 times; the 0.5 came from having it on in the background, and turning around to look at the screen occasionally. All lot of people would hate it, and they should, but I'm not one of them. I happen to enjoy satire, as long as it's intelligent, which this is, even if it comes on like a concussion, which Candy certainly does.

The Avengers: Infinity War(2018): I did not expect to see the Red Skull. I'm probably one of the last fans of the series to see this movie, so I don't think there is anything else I need to say about it. Holy fuck! The Red Skull!

Night Owl(1993): Went searching for a movie that turned out to be unavailable from the service I use. It recommended this instead, and I like Jennifer Beals. This is a good movie for getting household chores done, taking care of neglected personal grooming or pet grooming, doing a workout, or reading a book. If what you really want is to watch a movie, in particular one with Jennifer Beals in it, rent or buy The Bride(1985). Night Owl is a cheap, cheesy serving of leftovers from the 1980s. The plot is painfully predictable. The production values are on par with horror vignette television shows of the 1980s. I have to wonder how it got into movie theaters, if ever it did.

The Bittersweet(2017): This...I don't know...I hope the synopsis is wrong about the brother and sister connection. Even if they mean sister as "girl at the same orphanage who is older than he is", it's still a pretty sick movie. Heavy on the bitter, and light on the sweet. I'm not sure if it addresses child sexual abuse, or exploits it.

[dulcedemon]

For Those Living in a Shotgun Shack...

You may ask yourself: How many probably white, probably male, 40-65 year olds, who majored in English in college but are also fluent in Italian and Russian[or who have friends capable of helping them fake it], who also have experience in radio, and public speaking or teaching, who write(or dream of writing) professionally, who take their java dark and twisted, who have a thing for numbers, who have an even bigger thing for grammar, who favor the pseudonym "Dave" while social engineering, who know the unorthodox definition of "tensegrity", who love storms, oceans, volcanoes, and space exploration, and who have visited at least one Great Lake can there possibly fucking be?

[dulcedemon]

Current Attractions...

The Grandmaster(Yi dai zong shi - 2013): A lavish, romanticized version of the story of Ip Man from director Wong Kar Wai. There are three prominent elements in every Wong Kar Wai movie that I have seen(which is not all of them but most of them): A rich color palette, an emotive yet elegant score, and a difficult, often unfulfilled romance. All three are present in The Grandmaster. Of course, it's also a martial arts movie. You can't tell the story of Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee, without action scenes. Here we have an action movie coming from a director who is primarily known for romantic dramas, and who casts his favorite, and very much not an action guy actor, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, in the lead role. Not only does it work, it's spectacular! The actors had trained intensively under the guidance of experts for these roles for years prior to the start of production. Yes, years, and the effort clearly shows. Well choreographed fights take place in beautiful settings. No setting is more beautiful than the opulent brothel where the martial artists hold their meetings. "Good men can be found among rogues..." Within this gilded, and heavily laquered house of pleasure, martial artists from all the regions of China come together to converse, and to fight. Their casualness and geniality combined with the dead seriousness of their actions is truly something to behold. A bare-faced, and modestly dressed Ziyi Zhang seated in contrast to a bevy of beaded silk dresses, rouged lips, and pin curls is also quite a sight to behold.

Piccadilly(1929): Anna May Wong owns every scene she appears in, and is the unequivocal star of this film. Gilda Gray gets topmost billing though. The thinking at the time was that movies had to have a white person in the lead role in order to suit British and American audiences, or to even get made in the first place. It is unfortunate that such thinking existed. More unforunate still, is that it persists to this day. What is truly outstanding about Piccadilly, apart from Shosho's big dance number, is how it tries to address certain cultural issues. There is the obvious focus on interracial dating, which is addressed without any subtlety in a scene that takes place in a crowded pub. There is also a sort of acknowledgement of sexual harassment in the workplace. These were highly taboo topics at the time. There were laws against certain types of interracial interaction, such as dancing in public with someone of another race. Sexual harassment as an obstacle to gaining and keeping employment was scarcely even a topic. It was just how things were. Women more or less came to expect it, and for far too many years, could only complain about it in hushed whispers among themselves.

Monty Python: Life of Brian(1979): I've seen this movie many times. The first time I saw it, all the people in it were still alive. I had a sudden desire for the "splitters" bit. This movie is available through a streaming service, depending on where you are. Singapore was great, by the way.

Marvel's The Punisher(2017): Although I liked it, it was a slog to get through. Though in a way, I think anything Punisher, whether it is a movie, a series or a comic book, should be tough to get through. It's not supposed to be a joy ride. Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach make an excellent team, and they really know how to keep it going. If I could pop this series in time machine and send it back to the 1970s, I'd cast Robert De Niro and Gene Wilder in their stead.

Yes(2004): It's a good thing I like Shirley Henderson, or I might have quit this movie at the first scene. Her cleaning woman character talks directly to the audience. Eventually, I realized her asides were one of two Shakespearean devices being used throughout. The other being iambic pentameter. It's both poetic and annoying. Joan Allen and Simon Abkarian are fantastic together, which is the only reason I could tolerate this movie to the end.

Cleo from 5 to 7(1962): Pretty in its black and white cinematography, but a tad boring. A woman passes time in the late afternoon, while she waits for what may or may not be some very bad news.

Nina's Heavenly Delights(2006): A bad caricature, it fails as a food movie, as a LGBTQ romance movie, and it isn't even real Bollywood. Problems are resolved too quickly and simply. Characters do a complete about face on the issues in just a few scenes without experiencing much pressure to change. Most of the food looks like something I would make.

[dulcedemon]

[dulcedemon]

Current Attractions...

Mr. Robot: Season 3(2018): One of my favorite things about this series is how hope springs up in weird and unexpected ways.

Thor: Ragnarok(2017): This is the best use of Immigrant Song by Led Zepplin ever.

The Last Jedi(2017)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 5: The End(2018): I've gotten what I wanted out of this series. It can end here, and I would not be the least bit disappointed. That is not to say that I'm not glad they are doing one more season, I'm very much looking forward to it.

American Graffiti(1973): This was a much better movie back when I was much too young to understand anything beyond the shiny cars, and the familiar faces from sitcoms I watched with my family. Ron Howard's character seems so grossly maladjusted now. The female characters are largely marriage instead of college focused. The best(or worst) part of having such dumb female roles is that the one they try to portray as the biggest bimbo, actually comes across as being one of the smartest women in the whole movie. I liked Terry(Charles Martin Smith), Curt(Richard Dreyfuss), Debbie(Candy Clark), Carol(Mackenzie Phillips), and of course, Wolfman Jack. It would have been difficult to sit through the whole movie without Wolfman Jack.

The Revenant(2015): Gorgeous scenery is exquisitely captured. The detail and gory realism are high. The action is ferociously exhausting. I had some difficulty believing that a man talked up to be a thoroughly seasoned hunter and local wilderness guide would just blunder between a mother bear and her cubs, but the attack has to happen somehow for there to be a movie. Three other movies came to my mind while watching this: Jeremiah Johnson(1972), Ravenous(1999), and Cannibal! The Musical(1993). I'd prefer any of those to The Revenant. I can't quite articulate why. Maybe it's that it tries to be Jeremiah Johnson, but it's bad at it. It could use a sense of humor about itself like Ravenous. It takes itself way too seriously, and drags on way too long, which makes it seem ridiculous like Cannibal! The Musical, but it's too arrogant to play it as an advantage.

Tropic of Cancer(1970): I like Rip Torn. I didn't like this movie. I regret that I have not read the book, but I probably will someday. If for no other reason than to arrive at an understanding of which it is that truly sucks: Henry Miller or this movie based upon a book he wrote about himself. The protagonist is the worst spouse, lover, or friend anyone can have. I expected him to screw and then screw over women, which he does in abundance, but he also screws over his friends, which is unforgivable. I never thought I'd say something like this, but the monologues about fucking, and the nature and nuances of "cunt" were the only good parts this movie had. The sexual scenes were just sad.