Tag Archives: entertainment

Monday Movie Meditation?

Posted on April 17, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, sitting on the couch with my laptop and telling myself I could NOT again post the picture of Frankenstein’s monster saying, “No like Monday!”  I looked through my monster groups on Facebook for a new picture. Do you suppose I could find anything?  Then I saw this movie poster, which has nothing to do with Mondays and is actually a kind of a disappointing monster, but I downloaded it anyways, and here it is.

He is rather intimidating on the poster, I suppose.

I’ve seen Curse of the Demon a couple of times, DVR’d from TCM.  According to pre-movie commentary by Ben Mankiewicz, producer Val Lewton did not want to show the monster right away but was overruled by the studio.  I agree that it would have been much scarier to see the first victim looking utterly horrified by… what?  But these were pre-Jaws days.

For the uninitiated, in the first Jaws movie, we don’t see the shark until well into the movie.  This was actually making a virtue of necessity, because they had a lot of trouble with that mechanical shark, but it turned out to be SO effective.  Who knew?  Val Lewton, apparently, but nobody believed him.  Come to think of it, some post-Jaws movies could be a little more circumspect, too, but that’s a whole other blog post.

What a messy eater!

And here is the Jaws shark.  I feel he is a monster worth waiting for.  I’m afraid this was not a blog post worth waiting for, but what do you want from me on a Monday?

 

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It’s My Secret

Posted on March 22, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would give another plug to Secrets at Suiter House, the murder mystery dinner theatre to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  The event will take place at Ilion Moose Lodge, 302 Barringer Rd., on March 31.  Doors open at 5 p.m.  $20 per person includes an all you can eat spaghetti dinner.  There will also be a Chinese Auction with some really good prizes.

It is one week from Saturday!  Yikes!  I still don’t know what I’m wearing!  And there are a few more props I need to gather!  And does everybody in the cast know about the next rehearsal?

Oh dear, that was not a plug.  That was me dithering and probably did not leave a good impression.  I must correct that.  This murder mystery will be a lot of fun.  There are some good laughs in the script, along with some intriguing clues and local references.  Actually, the whole script is local.  It concerns a wealthy philanthropist (played by me) who is sponsoring the next exhibit at the Herkimer County Historical Society (whose museum, of course, is located in the Suiter House).  The dinner is a contest to decide who will be the curator.   Naturally there are a few hard feelings amongst the would-be curators, and EVERYBODY has a secret or two.

I last heard some 20 tickets were still available.  Are they still?  I don’t know!  For more information you can contact the historical society at 315-866-6413.

 

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It’s a Crime to Not Watch Movies

Posted on March 16, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

A distinguished cast of characters? Or a rogues gallery?  What’s bothering me is where is Cecil Kellaway?

I found this picture among my downloads recently and thought it might be a nice way to begin a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  Full disclosure:  I have another one of my headaches in addition to feeling quite lazy and whiny today.  I suppose you never feel lazy and whiny (you know who you are).  Well, I will bestir myself to type a few words including as few petty complaints as possible.

The above picture, in case you didn’t know, is from Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, one of my favorite movies.  My current profile picture on Facebook is Bette Davis in that flick:

“Oh, so you want a blog post, do you?”

I am feeling a little movie melancholy these days, because our DVD/VCR abruptly quit on us during the snow storm of March 2.  It happened right after we briefly lost power.  It seems a little odd, though, because we have a power strip, which I thought was also a surge protector.  The television and cable box emerged unscathed.  Phew!  The nice this that when we finally get a new player, we will not have seen all our favorite movies for a while.

One of my other favorites.

We don’t watch as many movies these days anyways.  As regular readers know, I am addicted to true crime television.  And when I really want a movie, I have a few on my DVR, including, if I am not mistaken, a couple of Hammer Horror flicks I recorded last October and haven’t watched yet.

Who could be uncheered by a vampire?

Or I could just read a book.

You were expecting War and Peace?

I see I am closing in on almost 300 words.  300 silly words, but aren’t they usually?  I’m going to watch a true crime show till bedtime.  Maybe a monster movie tomorrow.  Or perhaps I will have a Mohawk Valley adventure I can write a real blog post about.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Wrist to Forehead Sunday: Oscar Edition

Posted on March 5, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Like I know anything about the Oscars.  My husband, Steven, has always been a big Oscar fan and is quite knowledgeable about The Academy.  As regular readers know, I am more enamored of old cheesy horror movies.  Oh, I like some Oscar movies.  In fact, of recent movies, I certainly like Oscar movies better than huge, effects-heavy actioners or superhero movies, or asinine comedies replete with toilet humor.  I can’t say I’m a snob, given my love of William Castle and Roger Corman.  Let’s say my tastes are.. not mainstream.

All that said, when we had a chance to see all or most of the main Oscar nominees, we did.  Ever since we returned to the Mohawk Valley, however, it has not been so easy.  Sometimes it just seems such an effort to get to the area cinemas, even when they show the films we want to see.  Munson Williams shows movies, but even getting to Utica can be problematic, especially given Steven’s work hours.

Oh, don’t accuse me of whining. I suppose I am whining, but I don’t mean to be. After all, one does not whine on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  One swoons, in a dramatic fashion, the back of one’s wrist against one’s forehead, because life has become too much to be borne.  Alas!  Alack the day! You call that whining?  I call that an honest, if slightly exaggerated, response to the trauma of life.

So, on the brighter side, I get to stay up and watch the Oscars, because I have tomorrow off.  Normally I go to bed early on Sunday, to recruit my energies for the week ahead.  Additionally, I have taken two short naps today.  I feel in fine, TV-viewing fettle.  On the dimmer side, I have not seen any of the moves nominated, and I don’t even know most of the stars, especially since we let our subscription to Entertainment Weekly lapse (we found ourselves increasingly less entertained by it).

Back on the brighter side, I hear Steven washing the dishes, so I don’t have to do it.  That’s pretty nice of him on his Fabulous Four-Day Birthday Weekend.  That’s more on the brighter side than on the dimmer.  Maybe I should peel my wrist off my forehead and get back to enjoying my Sunday.  In the meantime, how about an Oscar nomination for that swoon?

 

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Film Noir, Blog Post Dull

Posted on February 19, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

As I type in lead after lead and backspace it out, I realize, it IS Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I know, I ended yesterday’s post with several places I wanted to give a better shout-out to.  Did anybody seriously think I was going to do that today?  I didn’t.  I thought I might write a little something about shoveling the driveway this morning, because I felt like much woman, as my sister Victoria would say.  I also thought I might take a walk with my Tablet and take some pictures of the lovely gray sky. Well, I didn’t, so just excuse the hell out of me!

I did a little bit of writing on my murder mystery, Secrets at Suiter House.  It is practically finished, but not quite there yet.  I’ll work on it.

In the meantime, I need to make a blog post.  Maybe a few pictures would help (oh WHY did I not take that walk with the Tablet?).

Can you feel the sex in the air?

Earlier today we watched Double Indemnity, a favorite of ours.  Film noir at its best.  If only I had had some Pinot Noir to drink with it.  Well, you can’t have everything.  I did have a little wine, because I saw on Facebook that it is National Wine Drinking Day.  According to Facebook, that seems to come more than once a year, but I won’t complain about that.  I don’t think you HAVE to observe these things.

A little venom in the air over here,

Since I said pictures, plural, I include a photo from another film noir we enjoyed recently, Sudden Fear.  I do like murder and mayhem, as Steven calls it.  Speaking of which, I think new episode of Snapped is about to start.  That, regular readers may recall, is my real Sunday staple.  Once again, sorry for the sloppy blog post.  I hope to see you all on Monday for whatever kind of a post I can manage.

 

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Severed Head Saturday?

Posted on February 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

What can I say, I like movies where somebody loses his head.  Not ALL movies where that happens, of course.  I don’t need to see the blood spurting out or anything really disgusting like that.  I am not a fan of the graphic violence.  And I like people to get their heads chopped off for a good reason, like greed, jealousy or being blackmailed.  Come to think of it, I always prefer murder for a reason, be it a movie, novel or true crime show.  You know, not some psycho, weirdo serial killer.  But I digress.

I had started to write a cooking post for tonight, and I have a couple of local business shout-outs I could write.  But I let it go too late in the day, and I’m tired.  We are looking at a Forensic Files right now (murder for the reason of greed, but not by losing a head).  Then we will put in a movie.  My vote is for Strait Jacket. I am in a William Castle kind of a mood, and, as I said to begin with, I like movies with severed heads.

Of course, it isn’t all severed heads with Mr. Castle.

And here’s the showman himself.  I never heard what kind of lobby gimmick if any he included with this flick.  That might be a good thing to research sometime.  I wonder if anybody has written a definitive biography of William Castle.  I’ll have to check.

The caption is not a line from the movie, or even anything to do with the movie, but I kind of like it.

Of course another reason to watch Strait Jacket is the wonderful Joan Crawford.  She is very good in the part, and I have to respect an actress who takes parts in cheesy horror movies in order to keep working.  And what’s wrong with cheesy horror movies anyways?  I find them more entertaining than a lot of Oscar bait.  But that’s a whole other blog post.  Happy Saturday, everybody.

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Blogging is for The Birds

Posted on January 26, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

“To think that I’ve been feeding these little S.O.B.s!”

My bad blogging but good movie-watching week continues with a fast Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  I am into Alfred Hitchcock today.  I offered Steven a choice of The Birds or Psycho, and he chose The Birds. Murder and mayhem without being too disturbing.  And we get to make fun of Annie the doormat.  It is rather unbecoming of me, come to think about it, because I have sometimes acted the doormat myself, in my sordid, low-self-esteemed past.  I try to avoid such behavior these days, but you just never now what you might do given the right (or wrong) circumstances.

Not the party they were hoping for.

This was the only photo I could find quickly featuring Annie the doormat.  I can’t think of anything witty to say about Rod Taylor or Veronica Cartwright, so I will merely note their presence.

I’d scream, too!

Maybe I can talk Steven into watching Psycho next.  It starts slow then picks up and become quite satisfyingly creepy.  In the meantime, I am missing The Birds while I type in this blog post.  Full disclosure:  I think I am coming down with a stupid cold.  I hope I am feeling better tomorrow.  Perhaps I could forgo Lame Post Friday and write a good post, to make up for my bad blogging week.  No promises.  Happy Thursday, though.

 

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Bette and Joan on Tired Tuesday

Posted on January 17, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve got the I CAN’T POST THAT disease,  also known as the Type It In Backspace It Out disease.

They look how I feel.

When in doubt, post a picture.  I confess to not being a great fan of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? although I adore both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, as well as old horror movies.  You may ask me, what’s that all about? But I will not have a good answer.  After all, one can’t like everything.

“I can just about spit in your eye!”

I may not have that quote right, but here is Davis in a movie I thoroughly enjoy, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, which ironically enough (given my enjoyment of one and dislike of the other) was originally titled Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?  I read all about it in a wonderful book called The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine.  Ooh, now I should find a picture of Crawford in a movie I like, preferably horror.  How about Straitjacket?

The caption is not a line from the movie. Also, Miss Crawford did not appreciate being referred to as a “broad.”

I may flatter myself, but I think this is turning out to be a not bad silly post. I haven’t even mentioned my headache (that was one of the lines I typed in and backspaced out, as mentioned earlier) (oops.  Well, go ahead and judge me for whining).  I’ll keep it short and end with another favorite picture.

She really lost her head over that movie.

Happy Tuesday, everybody.

 

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Murder or Monsters on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

Posted on January 15, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Are they plotting somebody’s demise?

I interrupt the movie-watching portion of my day for a fast blog post.  Of course I am having a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I would swoon onto a lounge if I had one, but that is not the important thing.  The important thing is to make a blog post. My husband, Steven, and I just watched Evil Under the Sun, a star-studded Agatha Christie adaptation, one of our favorites.  We are now looking at House of Wax, the 1953 version starring Vincent Price.  I said I wanted either monsters or more murder.  This is kind of both.

“As you see, my hands are not capable of great art any more.”

A Facebook friend shared the above picture, which got me thinking about House of Wax.  This movie also features Carolyn Jones, in a sadly small role.  That makes me think about watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which I would call more monster than murder, although I suppose that would be open to debate.  Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

And before this, they were drinking martinis. Mmmm…. martinis…

Carolyn Jones doesn’t have too big a part in Body Snatchers, either.  Maybe I should invest in a couple of DVDs of the old Addams Family TV show.

In the meantime, I’m over 200 words.  I call that acceptable.  We’ll see if I can do better as the week wears on.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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Lucky for Me it’s Lame Post Friday!

Posted on December 30, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I do not think it is such a bad thing to sip and post on Lame Post Friday. Haven’t you people ever heard of Happy Hour?  Just kidding.  We did not go to Happy Hour.  But Steven and I are sitting around having a couple of drinks with our friend Kim at our house. We enjoyed some munchies too, plus a lot of laughs.  Then I thought I had better go ahead and make my blog post, before I forgot to.  I did not want to miss two blog posts in one week.  Lucky for me it’s Lame Post Friday (ooh, that would be a good title, wouldn’t it?).

We have been talking about our respective plans for New Year’s Eve.  I was trying to explain to Kim about our traditional New Year’s Eve movies.  Of course, one cannot expect everyone to understand one’s particular movies.  I don’t always understand other people’s choices for their special times.  However, for the sake of having a blog post, I thought I would share with you ours.  I have no doubt mentioned most of these before, but let’s just look at this as one more holiday tradition.

At the top of my list is Sunset Boulevard.  For one reason, a pivotal scene takes place on New Year’s Eve.  Also, in an early scene, Gloria Swanson serves William Holden champagne and caviar, and later Holden assures a friend that there is “always champagne on ice.”  It is sweet champagne, and I prefer Extra Dry, but I try to gloss over that fact.  Also high on the list is Mystery of the Wax Museum, which opens on New Year’s Eve, although champagne is not involved.  However, we may also watch a movie I like to watch with champagne all year: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope.  It has nothing to do with New Year’s Eve, but champagne is prominently featured.  I might also suggest King Kong.  This movie does not involve New Year’s Eve or champagne, but it stars Fay Wray, who is also the star of Mystery of the Wax Museum.  The last movie we might consider is Sleepy Hollow, or, as I like to call it, The Headless Everybody.  This is a New Year’s Eve movie mostly because we watched it one New Year’s Eve many years ago.

So this is my Friday Lame Post.  I must get back to drinks and laughs.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

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