Tag Archives: movies

Donation, Decongestant, and DVDs, It’s Scattered Saturday

Posted on February 3, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

I almost forgot to make my blog post today. Isn’t that terrible?  Well, I will attempt a Scattered Saturday post.

It was COLD this morning!  Zero degrees, according to my thermostat.  I felt rather ill-used, since the weather reports had said it would warm up some today.  Still, I had a good reason to leave the house by ten this morning, so I did.  My car told me it was 5 degrees by then, which I was not happy about, but at least it was above zero.

My errand was a charitable one:  the Joe “D’Con” DeJohn Poker Run was happening in Frankfort, NY.  It is a snowmobile run followed by a spaghetti dinner with Chinese auction.  That is where I come in.  Last year I donated an afghan for the auction.  I had mentioned on a Facebook post I wanted to do that again, but I did not have my act together enough to call and arrange to do so before the fact (what, me not have my act together?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!).  I saw they had registration at The Brass Tack at 10 a.m., so figured I could drop the afghan off then.  I figured they would still take it

They not only still took it, they were expecting it!  They had seen the Facebook comment and thought I would drop it off. The people I saw were quite happy when I did.  There was never a better reason for going out in the freezing cold on a Saturday morning!

There was less reason for staying out in the cold.  I managed to stop at the drug store to get some decongestant that I wanted to take and stop by the post office to mail a few post cards, but then I went home to some warmth.  I did not stay more than a couple hours, however.  After a nap with my heated face mask (which I believe I have mentioned here before) and some food, I saw the temperature had reached double digits, so  ventured back out.

My goal this time was Basloe Library in Herkimer, NY (where I live, as regular readers will recall).  Steven had expressed a desire to see For Your Consideration, one of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries.   We have seen it once before and did not like it as well as, for example, Best in Show or A Mighty Wind, but lately both of us have though of giving it another view.  While looking at the DVDs, I thought of the Kenneth Branagh Murder on the Orient Express.  We have wanted to see that since before it hit theatres! I was delighted to find it.  I also grabbed a couple of Agatha Christie books and a biography of Rasputin (don’t ask me why; it just caught my eye as I went by).

After watching Murder on the Orient Express, we popped in our DVD of Deathtrap, and I am missing The Bad Seed as I type this.  It has been an enjoyable Saturday so far.  Not as lazy as last Saturday, not as ambitious as some.  I look forward to seeing what next Saturday will bring.  Or even tomorrow.  As always, I hope you will stay tuned.

 

Leave a comment

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

Agatha to Axes, it’s Slacker Saturday

Posted on January 27, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have not had a Slacker Saturday post in a while, and I have certainly had a slacker day today.  My husband, Steven, and I just hung out and relaxed.  We watched a few movies, though, so I will attempt a Saturday Cinema post before going back to relaxing.

Where, or where can I get a hat like that?

We started our viewing with Death on the Nile, a star-studded Agatha Christie which I love.  The above picture is Angela Lansbury in the truly delicious role of Salome Ottorbourne, writer of lurid romance novels and murder suspect.

After Death on the Nile, I was in the Agatha Christie mood so suggested we watch Ten Little Indians (1965) ,which I had DVR’d from TCM recently.  This is not to be confused with And Then There Were None (1945), which we own on DVD.  Both are based on the same book, of course.  However, in the 1945 version, the characters are on an island, as they are in the book.  In the version we watched today, they ride a cable car up a mountain.  I looked but could not find a picture of the movie we saw today.  How’s that for slacking?

Now we are watching a favorite of ours: Strait-Jacket (1964).  A William Castle thriller starring Joan Crawford as an ax murderess, how could I not love it?

Severed heads can be such bed hogs.

I suppose we should have saved it for a Severed Head Sunday.  I haven’t had one of those in a while either.  As for today, I feel my slacking off has extended to my blog post.  But at least I have included a couple of pictures. I’ll close with another of Joan.  Happy Saturday, everyone.

This is representative of the sort of editing some of my blog posts probably need.

 

Leave a comment

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

Haunted by Eve, I Snapped on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

Posted on January 21, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ah, Sunday, what a day.  I have traditionally said there is no point in trying to get anything done on a Sunday, hence, my Wrist to Forehead Sunday and Sunday Cinema features.  Today is no different.  In fact, I am trying to make my post after only two movies.  Wait a minute, I think I did that last week. I am not motivated to go back and check.  Did I mention that Sunday is a low motivation day for me?  I think I did.

They are on the look-out for ghostly phenomena!

We started out our movie viewing with The Haunting (1963).  I had been thinking of it because somebody mentioned it on one of my horror movie pages on Facebook.  I have always held it up as an example of how scary a movie can be with just sound effects and acting.  On this viewing I noticed how dated it was in one respect:  the head ghost-hunting guy had to be sensitive to how people might look askance at his activities.  His wife begs him to come home and stop making a fool of himself.  These days he would have his own reality show!  Then again, some people consider these reality shows a little foolish.  The subject is too deep for me to get into now!

The couple of the moment.

After The Haunting, we went to All About Eve (1950), one of my all-time favorites.  It is arguably the role Bette Davis was born to play.  Would anybody like to argue the point?  Please comment below.

Now I am looking at Snapped, because I cannot think of another movie to go to.  What’s that all about?  I suppose it doesn’t matter.  I am over 250 words, respectable enough for a blog post.  In the coming week, perhaps I will work on becoming more that merely respectable. Will I succeed?  A little uncertainty lends interest to my week.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

Every Sunday and any other day I can find it!

 

4 Comments

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

Now I Am Out of Oomph

Posted on January 14, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I sit, on my couch, looking at a Snapped On Demand and hoping to make a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post before I completely run out of oomph. It might be touch and go.

Even a small graphic might help pep things up.

I began today fired with ambition. After some coffee, a look at Facebook, and a few games of solitaire (with a deck of cards, as God intended), I ran in place on the mini-tramp for 33 minutes.  I watched another Snapped On Demand while I ran.  Then what could I do?  Laundry?  Go to the grocery store?  Have a Mohawk Valley adventure suitable for an article in Mohawk Valley Living magazine?  The possibilities seemed endless.

Eventually Steven and I went to a late breakfast at The Knight Spot in Frankfort, NY, which I may write about.  I took a few pictures just in case.  Either way it was an excellent breakfast.  After that we stopped at Valley Wine and Liquor, because we both enjoy a glass of wine on a Sunday (and other days, don’t judge).  Back home, I put in a load of laundry and we settled down to watch a movie.

As Ben Manckiewicz observed in his pre-movie commentary, things starts with a bang.

We watched Bette Davis in The Letter, which I recently recorded on DVR.  That is a really good movie.  After that I wanted a shorter flick so suggested Bride of Frankenstein.

Any girl could be a little nervous on her wedding day.

And that brings us to the present moment.  I’m kind of wishing I had paused my episode of Snapped while I typed this, but one can’t always think of everything.  The important thing is that I am approaching 300 words, and I call that more than respectable for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.   I hope you are all having a lovely end of your weekend.

 

Leave a comment

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

Wrist to Forehead Cinema?

Posted on January 7, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Full disclosure:  I had some Mohawk Valley adventures on Saturday that I could have written about.  But I wanted to to a Sunday Cinema post so we started watching movies.  Unfortunately, we are only on the second movie of the day and I want to make my post before it gets any later (when one gets up for work at 3 a.m., it gets late early).

Tippi, watch out!

We started out with Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, one of our favorites.  I won’t say it is a cinematographic masterpiece, but it is highly entertaining with excellent effects, especially for the time.  I’ve named a character Annie in my next murder mystery, after Annie Hayworth, the school teacher, because she is such a door mat.

That awkward moment…

We debated quite a bit during The Birds as to what we would watch next. I always like to have a connection between movies.  I thought of going from The Birds to Birdcage, but I wanted something darker. I thought of The Postman Always Rings Twice, which kind of has a connection because it features Hume Cronyn, who was married to Jessica Tandy, who is in The Birds.  Come to think of it, on that basis, we could have gone to Rope, which in addition to being written by Cronyn, is another Hitchcock movie.  But we have seen Postman and Rope recently.  Moreover, I like to drink champagne when I watch Rope, and I was drinking Barefoot Pinot Noir.  At last we settled on Sudden Fear.  It does not connect with The Birds, but it is film noir, which goes nicely with pinot noir.  Joan Crawford, there could be no possible objection.

As we watched Sudden Fear, we realized our television was getting quieter and quieter.  Sometimes it does that and we do not know why.  It goes back to a normal volume when we look at regular TV, so now we are looking at Snapped, my usual Sunday treat.  If you are wondering about my headline, well, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday for a number of reasons.  As you have seen, I had some heartburnings selecting our second feature.  Additionally, I am somewhat mortified in trying to have a Sunday Cinema post on only two features.  Well, you’ll have these things when you read a silly blog like mine.  I hope to write about my Mohawk Valley adventures in coming days.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

I do loves me some Snapped.

 

Leave a comment

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

Movie-ing into 2019

Posted on January 1, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven and I are once again spending a quiet New Year’s Eve at home.  Sometimes I long to go to a fancy party, dress to the nines, rub elbows with other fancy people, dance, sip champagne and have a balloon drop at midnight.  Then I find myself sitting on my couch in my sweats, crocheting and watching movies, and I say, “This is the bomb!”  Still, a blog post must be written, so while the current movie plays, I shall type a few words in hopes of entertaining somebody besides myself (of course it will entertain me, but I am notoriously un-fussy in that department).

Steven was enjoying the usual Twilight Zone marathon on Sci-Fi channel, but I confess to not being a fan of that show.  I hope that statement does not lose me any readers, but I believe honesty is the best policy.  Anyways, he graciously agreed to watch movies instead and we enjoyed The Wasp Woman (1959), which I had DVR’d off TCM recently.  I loves me some Roger Corman!

Actually, in the movie she has a wasp head and a woman body.

I wrote a blog post about The Wasp Woman once.  I remembered it being fairly entertaining, and it was.  I missed some of the movie because I was cooking, so I asked that next we watch a movie we have seen, so I wouldn’t mind being in and out.  We settled on Ed Wood (1994).  Back when I liked Tim Burton movies.

One of Johnny Depp’s better roles, in my opinion.

Next we went to one of our go-to movies, House on Haunted Hill (1959), the original William Castle film with Vincent Price.  I loves me some William Castle!

It has always seemed to me that you could win a fight with a skeleton, because they don’t have any muscles. Just saying.

Next I found a video I purchased at a rummage sale some time ago, Brain Eaters (1958).  Unfortunately, Steven found that one rather boring and asked that we switch it out.  I suggested Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) with Fay Wray.  I consider that a New Year’s movie because in includes New Year’s Day 1933.

I’d scream, too!

And that brings us up to date.  I am half watching the movie while I type this.  As I am over 350 words, I shall feel free to hit Publish and go back to my crochet. Happy New Year, everybody!

 

2 Comments

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

A Cinematic Pause in Christmas Preparations

Posted on December 24, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had hoped to do a Sunday Running Commentary, even went for a run this morning, but then I spent some time with Christmas mixing and fixing, then some time having a couple of drinks and relaxing, watching Christmas movies, so now I’m here ready to do a Sunday Cinema as usual (was that a run-on sentence?  I don’t care if it is and I am too lazy to check in any case).  At least we watched some seasonal movies, so there’s that.

Isn’t it romantic?

My main thing was, I did not feel like crying, so no It’s a Wonderful Life, no Homecoming, and not just any Christmas Carol.  When Steven suggested Christmas in Connecticut, I thought that sounded perfect.  Just a sweet love story involving people pretending to be something they’re not (that’s not giving away any important plot points, it’s part of the set-up).

After that I suggested the fun version of A Christmas Carol with Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge.

Jacob Marley reminded me a little bit of the butler in And Then There Were None, but Steven told it was Leo G. Carroll, who used to be in The Man From Uncle.

After that one, I was wishing we had a Christmas murder mystery, when I remembered, just before Steven suggested, Hercule Poiroit’s Christmas, an episode of the Poirot television series starting David Suchet.  I had read the book this was based on many times before seeing the movie.  I have a number of problems with the adaptation, but it’s a fun watch, and, David Suchet, there could be no possible objection.

Yet another excellent Poirot.

Poirot is an fun character for an actor to portray (or so I would think, having never had the opportunity to play him), and Suchet does an excellent job.  I have also enjoyed Albert Finney’s and Peter Ustinov’s interpretation of the part.  I need to check out Kenneth Branaugh’s Poirot, but that’s a whole other blog post.

In the meantime, it’s Christmas Eve Eve.  I need to get back to my tv-watching, crocheting portion of the evening.  For one thing, I need to recruit my energies for tomorrow.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

Leave a comment

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

On to the Christmas Videos!

Posted on December 3, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t know how good of a Sunday Cinema post this will be, since we only saw one actual movie.  Still, I think I can share a couple of pictures and say a few things that may entertain someone, even if it’s only me.

We started by looking at TCM, where this guy was talking on and on, and I did not pay much attention.  Eventually they got to the movie, which was Crack-Up (1946).  I said, “Don’t we have this?”  Steven thought not.

“I think I’ve seen it.  I must have DVR’d it.”  I used to DVR a lot more movies from TCM, and write blog posts about them.  I must begin doing that again.  However, I cannot do that with Crack-Up, because it turns out I already did, in 2013, in a post called, “Good Job, Leonard!”

This is Claire Trevor, who plays the love interest, although she gets to do a few brave, useful things.

The other reason I cannot write much about Crack-Up is that I did not pay too much attention to it.  I know, I often do not pay a great deal of attention to these things, but I was quite delinquent in that respect today.  After the movie, I found Forensic Files, although I was really more in the mood for Snapped.  Steven wanted something more joyful, so he bestirred himself to go up to the attic and bring down some of our Christmas movies.  Soon we were delighting in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Boris Karloff is the only Grinch for me. All others need not apply.

Next Steven chose Christmas Unwrapped, a VHS tape of a special that aired on the History Channel many years ago (at least, I don’t know how many, but it’s a VHS tape, so it must be quite a few, anyways).

Santa by artist Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly.

I tried to take a picture of the video cover with my Tablet, but it did not turn out well.  However, this is the Santa Claus that graces said cover.  I do love an old fashioned St. Nick.

After Christmas Unwrapped, I got to watch part of  Snapped episode.  Then I didn’t like the episode that was on next, so I put it on COPS while I made my blog post and Steven did the dishes.  Now Steven is deciding what to watch next while I am over 400 words.  Woohoo, that’s long for a Sunday post!  I wonder if he would like to watch that holiday classic, Die Hard.

PS.  He went another way and chose The Homecoming.

 

 

Leave a comment

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

The Blog Seed

Posted on November 24, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I know I had my Lame Post Friday on Wednesday this week, but I really don’t have much in me today except that silly title.  We are watching foolish movies and had made our way to The Bad Seed (1956) when I thought I had better make my blog post before I get too tired.

Those psycho eyes!

Steven always says he would like to watch a version of this where the little girl, Rhoda, really seems like a sweet little girl at the beginning, so you are shocked when she turns out to be a murderer (I didn’t need a spoiler alert for that; everybody knows that’s what The Bad Seed is about).  I wonder if I could get Ilion Little Theatre to let me direct it.  Then I wonder if I could find a kid actor good enough to be Rhoda.  Of course, I have supreme confidence in my own directing abilities to think I could pull it off.  I rather doubt I will have a chance to be disproved in this case.

Earlier today we watched The Ape (1940) with Boris Karloff.  Today (November 23) is Karloff’s birthday.  The movie is part of our DVD collection of 50 Horror Classics.  Karloff gets to use his beautiful voice, but the movie is kind of slow.

The poster is more exciting than the movie.

After that, we went on with the primate theme with The Ape Man (1943) starring Bela Lugosi.   The movie is part of a DVD I gave Steven called The Best of the Worst.  I don’t know if it was the worst movie, but it was certainly a very bad print.  We couldn’t understand most of the dialog.  When I had completely lost track of what was going on, I suggested we take it out and put in another movie, finally settling on The Bad Seed.

We did not watch long enough to see this dramatic scene.

There is no chance I will lose track of this movie, since we have seen it many times.  It is one of our favorites.  Still, what is the point of watching it if one does not actually watch it?  Therefore, I will hit Publish and return to the movie watching portion of my day.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

Leave a comment

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

Watch Out for the Women on Cinema Sunday

Posted on November 19, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Welcome to another edition of Sunday Cinema.  We got a later than usual start on the movie watching portion of our day so are only on our second movie.  I may have to pad this post with some remarks about the late lunch I made.  For one reason, I was making it during most of the first movie. Luckily, it was one I have seen before, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).

They are a steamy couple, yes.

Steven got the idea to watch this movie, because it was referenced on a short feature about film noir on TCM this morning.  Lana Turner certainly is a femme fatale, but she is far less evil than, for example, Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity (1944). Also, Turner seems to truly love Garfield, as opposed to just using him to get rid of an unwanted husband (although of course she does want to get rid of her husband; what femme fatale worth her salt doesn’t?).

A little less steamy, a lot more evil. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Maybe we should watch Double Indemnity next, if we decide to go for a third movie instead of switching over to Snapped, which used to be our Sunday afternoon staple (speaking of evil females).  Right now we are enjoying Sunset Boulevard, a rather atmospheric Gothic.

She is magnificent in the part.

I read Gloria Swanson’s autobiography.  I think it is funny she is so well known for playing this psychotic has-been, obsessing over her past career, when in reality, Swanson was a vibrantly alive woman, always looking for the next challenge.  I guess my take-away from today’s movies is I shall follow the lead not of the femme fatale nor the psychotic has-been, but of the real life Gloria Swanson.  What is the next challenge?  I guess to make a better blog post.  I’ll work on that tomorrow.

In the meantime, I haven’t even mentioned the meal I fixed earlier.  Oh, I guess it wasn’t such a much.  I made mini meatballs using some ground beef, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, eggs, garlic and spices.  While they baked, I grated mozzarella cheese.  Then I made a flat bread pizza with Dom Peppino’s Pizza Sauce (that’s is what my Mom and Dad use on their Christmas Eve pizza), canned mushrooms, and of course the meatballs and mozzarella.  It was quite delicious.

We are having a rather enjoyable Sunday, whether we go on to see another movie or tune in to Snapped.  I can only hope my good mood lasts till Monday.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Sunday Cinema, Sunday Supper and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →