Tag Archives: movies

Monstrous Friday?

Posted on March 16, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

“You’re asking ME for a blog post idea?”

It’s that sad moment when I do not even feel up to making a Friday Lame Post.  I just sat here, alternately scrolling down Facebook and staring at a blank WordPress Add New Post page, and I really, truly, got nothin’.  I thought if I opened with a picture of Noseratu (1922), it might spark something.  So far, not much.  However, I am up to 50 or so words, so that’s something.

Quick: which one is me?

I throw in a pic from House on Haunted Hill (1959), just to keep the picture-and-nonsense theme going.  We do love House on Haunted Hill.  William Castle, Vincent Price, what’s not to like?

I’m a little cleaner that this chick, at least.

Carrie (1976) is a bit more graphic than either Nosferatu or House on Haunted Hill, but I include the picture, because I feel just about as stunned as Sissy Spacek looks in this shot.  This is one reason that Lame Post Friday is looking increasingly like Monstrous Monday.  How mortifying.  I can’t even think of a good headline incorporating the word “lame.”  Maybe if I add one more monster picture, something will come to me.

So why am I NOT howling?

Yes, what is it with me? Friday night, and I’m not howling.  I’m not out partying heartily till the wee hours.  Is this what getting older is like?  Damn!  Then again, if I stop trying to type something entertaining (or at least) coherent into my blog post, I can sit here with my knitting, and perhaps my Friday will become a little more enjoyable.  In the meantime, thank you for tuning in, and I hope to see you all for Saturday’s post, whatever it turns out to be.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

A Little Help from Elsa

Posted on March 11, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello, and welcome to another Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I am tired and discouraged, but there is no point in going on about it.  For one reason, somebody is sure to point out that other people have way worse problems than mine and I should just be grateful that… something or other.  I hate it when people tell me to “just be grateful that –”  I’ll be grateful when I’m good and ready!  Right now I’m complaining!

Only right now I am trying not to complain but to make a half-way decent blog post (cue jokes about the usual quality of my blog posts).  I was going to do my usual Sunday Cinema;  we started the movie watching portion of our day shortly after noon.  However, I cooked an actual Sunday dinner and we put the television on Snapped while we ate.  It’s still on, but the current episode is one I’ve seen more than once.  Maybe I can mention the movie we did watch and list a few others we might watch next.  After I hit Publish.

Doesn’t it look mysterious and spooky?

We wanted something scary but one we had not seen recently, so I suggested The Spiral Staircase (1946), which we have on VHS (just to show how old school we can be).  I was hoping to find a picture with Elsa Lanchester, but her part isn’t all that big.  Still, we love Elsa Lanchester, so I suggested we have an Elsa Lanchester film festival.  We could continue the spooky theme with Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

I should have had such a ‘do on my wedding day.

After that, we could watch Witness for the Prosecution (1957).  Elsa Lanchester’s role in this film is neither in the short story nor the stage play, but she is the best character in the flick.

This is also Bride of Frankenstein. Isn’t she pretty?

That is the picture I was looking for when I mentioned Bride.  I got tired of scrolling and looking through my Media Library so used the other one.  Then I found it when I was looking for the next picture. Just a little insight into my blogging methodology.

Spoiler alert: He doesn’t murder her.

Next we might go color with Murder By Death (1976).  That is a star-studded romp, and the first video I ever gave Steve, back when we were dating.  We have it on DVD now.

How many can you name?

Well, we won’t have any time to watch any movies if I don’t finish this post and hit Publish.  At least I’ve typed myself into a better mood. Happy Sunday, folks!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Sunday Cinema, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Birdcage to Bedlam on Cinema Sunday

Posted on March 4, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

I tear my eyes away from the television screen to make a Sunday Cinema post.  It is my dear husband Steven’s birthday, and we have spent the day enjoying each other and a few movies.  However, blog posts must be made (that is, my blog posts, by me, and daily; others may follow their own rules of course).  We started with Bird Cage (1996), at Steven’s request.  I love that movie, too, although any Robin Williams movie will be forever bittersweet since his untimely death by suicide.  I apologize for the serious note in a blog that bills itself at “totally fun,” although I confess I am not really sorry.

I think this is a merry moment off camera.

I looked for a good picture of Williams with Nathan Lane in drag, but the best I could find was one of them laughing together.  I like that, though.  Laughing together is one of the joys of life.  After Bird Cage, I suggested another favorite of ours, Being Julia (2004) with the divine Annette Bening.  It is based on one of my favorite novels, Theatre by Somerset Maugham.  It is really an excellent adaptation.  I can see where each change is necessitated by the difference in medium from page to screen. Alas, I think my copy of Theatre was lost in the flood of 2013 (my stupid fault for leaving books in the basement, which I KNEW I should not have done) (but I digress).

She is marvelous, yes, and I would LOVE a cape like that!

Next I suggested Bedlam (1946) with Boris Karloff.  While looking for the DVD (it is not with our main collection for some inexplicable reason) (I think Steven is responsible) (but I digress), I came across The Bowery at Midnight (1942)  with Bela Lugosi. Lugosi or Karloff, I thought, let’s go with an old time monster movie guy.

Quite frankly, the poster is more exciting than the movie.

Bowery was not the thrill we were hoping for.  It had its moments, but it moved kind of slowly.  We were happy that I found Bedlam to put in next.

Even without the Frankenstein monster make-up, he is a creepy guy.

I wrote about that movie in a post some time ago.  Steven did not remember watching it, but when we watched it again, he remarked that it is a very good movie.  It has a good plot, with a good lesson.  I do like a story that teaches a lesson.

I might like to write a blog post one day that teaches a lesson.  Do I know enough or even act well enough myself to presume to teach anybody a lesson?  That sounds like a subject suitable for some half-baked philosophy on Lame Post Friday.  Why, that’s days away!  I’d better not think about that, or this will become Wrist to Forehead Sunday instead of Cinema Sunday.  I’d better get back to my movies. Happy Sunday, folks.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Sunday Cinema and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Wind and Witches on Monstrous Monday

Posted on February 26, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am sitting here listening to the wind outside howl and thinking how long it has been since I’ve watched The Wizard of Oz.  When it gets as windy as it is today, I always make the same joke. I think it is a pretty good one, but I daresay I flatter myself.

“When it’s like this, I worry somebody’s going to come along and drop a house on me.  It happened to a sister of mine.  Then the bitch stole her red shoes.  I wanted those shoes.”

Really, I think it would have been kinder to have offered the Wicked Witch of the West some grief counseling rather than stealing what was apparently some kind of family heirloom.  But I digress.

“Now what will I wear with my glittery red ball gown?”

I think a witch counts as a monster for Monstrous Monday, which of course is today.  For good measure, here is something more creature-ish.

“Those red shoes would look pretty spiffy with this outfit, too!”

According to a Facebook meme, sometime you have to put on the pointy hat and call out the flying monkeys, just to remind people of who they’re dealing with.  It would be a more effective threat if the Witch had not ended the movie in a steaming black puddle.

I’m afraid this has not been a very good post.  However, that makes my final picture appropriate.  I thought I would end on an inspirational note:

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Monstrous Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Movies Before Monday

Posted on February 25, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

For me it’s wine, not the hard stuff.

Yes, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I am supposed to be watching The Bat (1959), a movie featuring Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price.  We previously watched  Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), which also featured Moorehead, which is what made me think of The Bat.

I do not think this pose actually appeared in the movie.

 

“I could spit in your eye!”

The divine Bette Davis.  There could be no possible objection.  Yesterday I was going to do a Saturday Cinema, but my laptop would not cooperate.  Perhaps I could type a few words about that now, so the whole post won’t be me whining about the weekend being almost over.

This was the only picture I could find just now.

 

We watched Horror Hotel (1960), also known as City of the Dead, last evening.  It was really more of a village, truth be told, but I don’t decide on these titles.

This was just the first photo of this movie I found in my Media Library.

After Horror Hotel, we saw House on Haunted Hill (1959), mostly because it was on the same disc.  We love House on Haunted Hill, another delightful vehicle for Vincent Price.

And now I am looking at Snapped.  Steven will be watching the Oscars later, which he has been tuning in to for some 50 years.  I may go to bed early.  I see I am over 200 words, which I consider respectable for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I hope your weekend was grand and your upcoming week not too gruesome.

HERE’S the picture from Horror Hotel I was looking for!

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Damn Laptop

Posted on February 24, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, I am in a bad mood now!  I was all set to make a Saturday Cinema post with illustrations when my laptop blacked out AGAIN! I hate computers. So here I am , on my tablet, typing hunt and peck with a stylus.  Not conducive,  to say the least .

I was having such an enjoyable evening too.  But one must deal with the circumstances at hand, and blog posts must be made.

I haven’t had the greatest Saturday,  but it has had its moments.  I had a good run as well as a not bad walk.  I wrote seven post cards, got some grocery shopping done, and cooked a not bad dinner.

We are currently watching horror movies,  cheesy and otherwise.  We’re on the third one so far.  I hope to get to at least one more.

Oh dear, less than 150 words.  How slowly it goes one letter at a time . Quick, Cindy, think of something else to say. …  Nothing comes to mind.

What I really need to do is get some real writing done.  It hasn’t happened yet this weekend.  But I cling to my rule of All Writing Counts.  Seven post cards is, I feel, not bad.  Additionally,  I made a brief note in the TV Journal .  I could write more there as the evening progresses .

In the meantime, I am at last over 200 words.  I’m going to call this a Slacker Saturday and drive on.

 

2 Comments

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, Slacker Saturday and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Helping Hands to Cute Vampires, It’s Monstrous Monday

Posted on February 19, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

I tried to write a blog post before work this morning.  I got a few paragraphs done, but I can’t finish it at the keyboard.  Maybe tomorrow.  Full disclosure:  I did not work any more on it during breaks and lunch, because the lure of crossword puzzles was too strong.  So let’s have our usual Monstrous Monday before the next episode of Dateline starts (regular readers may recall that on Mondays I watch Dateline on OWN).

Maybe if I drank more tea, I could be a better blogger.

I love this picture, because we all get by with a little help from our friends.  Even a monster sometimes needs a hand.

It looks perfectly harmless now…

I’ve been thinking about this movie a lot lately. It is Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors (1960). I love that movie.  I have no use for the musical, but to each his own, as the old lady said when she kissed the cow.

I’m not scared of my own shadow. This one, however, is a different story.

This, of course, is from my all time favorite, Nosferatu (1929).  They knew how to use shadows in those old movies.

“Look, Mom! No cavities!”

Just to end on a note of cuteness, here is one of my own little vampires, in a decorative pot given to me by my good friend, Marsha.  I have no problem with cute monsters.  I like all kinds!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Monstrous Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Saturday Cinema on Sunday?

Posted on February 18, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Let’s just call this a Wrist to Forehead Sunday and have done with it.  I thought I could find pictures of the cheesy movies we watched last night and do a post on those, but I could only find two.  Also, I do not feel much like making a long-winded post talking about movies.  How about a short post and I can get back to enjoying my Sunday and so can you (or your Monday if you read this tomorrow; I can be flexible).

Our first movie was one I had no luck finding pictures on, The Monster and the Girl (1941), which I DVR’d off TCM recently.  I could do a whole movie write up on that, since I took notes in the TV Journal.  Maybe next week sometime.  As Steven put it, we didn’t love the movie, but we didn’t mind it.  I wanted something more cheesily and reliably entertaining so suggested something from one of our DVD collections, specifically The Atomic Brain (1963).

You would think that is some sort of potion she is about to drink.

That is the rich old hag who is paying a mad scientist to make her young and beautiful again.  It was not easy being a mad scientist in the 1960’s, apparently.

After that we watched the Amazing Transparent Man (1960), merely because it was on the same disc.  It was pretty entertaining, too, although the guy was kind of a jerk, whether you could see him or not.

Look, I found a picture after all!

I could not find a picture as stated earlier, because I thought it was called “The Incredible Transparent Man.”  Silly me!  But I’m too lazy to go back and change the previous paragraph.  Regular readers will not be surprised.

After that we started to watch The Ape Man (1943), with Bela Lugosi, but we went to bed before it was over.  Something to look forward to on another cheesy movie watching night!

Not nearly as suave as he was as Dracula.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Several Stops on Scattered Saturday

Posted on February 10, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is time to make my Scattered Saturday post so I can return to the bra off, sweats on, wine drinking, movie watching portion of the evening.  It has been a cold, windy Saturday, yet I managed to get out for a bit.

First I got my post cards written, as well as a short letter which Steven helped me finish.  We were both having a hard time getting ourselves started this morning.  At last we had both washed up and dressed.  We stopped first at the post office then at Basloe Library, where we returned the two movies we watched last weekend as well as two novels I read (I still have a biography of Rasputin, which is not due for another week or so).  Then we headed out Route 28.

Our destination was the Rusty Nail Grill in Little Falls, where I wanted to drop off an afghan for a fundraiser they are having tomorrow.  I would like to write an entire blog post about our drive out and the Rusty Nail itself.  Maybe tomorrow.  We drove back a different way, going through Little Falls but not making any stops.  Back in Herkimer, we went to Hannaford (a grocery store that loves local, by the way), then back home.

After relaxing at home for a bit, we gassed up my car then went to a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer.  The wine tasting rates a blog post as well, as I took a few notes on what we tried.  Soon we were back home and into our sweats.

While we watched an old monster movie I DVR’d some time ago, Steven fixed us some yummy BLTs.  Now we are looking at a movie we have seen many times but love.  However, that is a subject for perhaps a Sunday Cinema post.  In the meantime, I am over 300 words. Happy Saturday, everyone!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Scattered Saturday and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

R.I.P., Julie Adams

Posted on February 5, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

In lieu of this week’s Monstrous Monday post, I bid a sad farewell to the star of one of Steven’s and my favorite monster movies, Creature of the Black Lagoon (1954). Julie Adams passed away Sunday, Feb. 3, at age 92.  I followed Official Julie Adams Facebook page, and I loved how gracious she was.  She appeared in many movies and television shows, but she was reportedly delighted that she was best known for Creature.

She was still lovely.

I don’t know how recently she was making personal appearances, but I did wish I could make it to one.

You could not blame the Creature for being enamored.

I did not really know Julie Adams for anything other than Creature and her Facebook page, so I cannot do a real biography.  I guess I can’t say much besides I was a fan, and I’m sad she’s gone.

It’s nice to see when antagonistic co-stars are friends off-screen.

I noticed on the Facebook page that she and her son, Mitchell Danton, published the book, Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon.  I’ll have to look for a copy.

I guess I’ll close with a picture of her co-star.  Steven and I will no doubt watch the movie again soon, in memory.

4 Comments

Posted in personal and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →