Tag Archives: movies

Roger Corman on Mental Meanderings Monday

Posted on August 22, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is getting later and later in the day on Monday and I still have not done my blog post.  It will, for sure, be Monday Mental Meanderings, but I fear my mental is far from meandering.  It is still.  It has stopped.  I looked for some monster movie pictures to pep up my post a little. I did not find any.  Whatever will I do?

The movie is not as sexy as the poster would make it seem.

At last! I found something! This is the movie we watched last night, a Roger Corman confection which I enjoyed very much.  I must say, the monster was much scarier in anticipation than in sight.  When we finally saw the monster, we laughed and laughed.

I believe there is a sexy brunette or two in this flick.

This is a movie we watched some time previously.  Earlier today I found a write-up I started about it.  I worked a little more at it but fear I must watch the movie again before I can finish it properly.  Who me?  Watch a cheesy movie again?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!

“That won’t qualify for the Dolgeville Violet Festival.”

I close with a shot from another favorite Roger Corman film of mine:  Little Shop of Horrors.  I have little use for the musical, on stage or on screen, but I adore the original cheesy movie.

I guess I don’t have much else to say.  Friends, it’s Monday.  I managed to NOT whine about how I can’t seem to write a blog post today.  I’m afraid that is the best we can hope for. But perhaps I will see you all on Tired Tuesday.

 

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Wrist to Hitchcock

Posted on August 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Alfred Hitchcock’s birthday, August 13.  Steven and I had hoped to watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie when we got home tonight, but it seems that will not work out.  Is it a Wrist to Forehead Sunday?  I fear so.  Never mind why; explanations are tiresome.  We won’t worry about that but concentrate on the famous director’s birthday.

I’m thinking this is only true in a sense.

I picked this picture of him to share, because I liked the saying on it.  This is not a rule I follow when I am directing or acting on a stage, by the way.

Nevermore, you say?

The Birds is one of our go-to movies, especially on a Sunday night.

Love the poster art.

Rear Window, however, is arguably our favorite Hitchcock movie.  The casting, the acting, the script, everything combines to make an entertaining whole.  I say “arguably,” because there is also my beloved Rope.  However,  I cannot find any photos of Rope, so we won’t talk about that movie right now.

We won’t talk about anything much, as it turns out.  It is SO Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Happy Birthday, Alfred Hitchcock.  Blog readers, please bear with me.  I will try to come up with something better on Middle-aged Musings Monday.

 

 

 

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Damned or Dead, What’s the Difference?

Posted on August 9, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sorry kids, it’s Tired Tuesday.  Instead of whining about how tired I am (except for these first two sentences), I thought I’d share a few pictures and remarks about a favorite monster guy of mine, Boris Karloff.  When I was looking at my On This Day on Facebook, I saw this gem:

The movie version adds a “?” to Mad Monster Party

I wrote a blog post about Mad Monster Party? and would like to add the DVD to our Halloween collection (which everybody knows I watch all year long).   I downloaded the picture, thinking to use it at some future date.  Then again, why wait?  So I decided to use it and began trolling for more Boris Karloff pictures for my post, preferably of movies I own or have seen.  I remembered a double DVD my friend Rachel had sent me and soon found this:

Now I was on my way with a kind of movie poster theme.

Bedlam is perhaps not as horror-filled as one might expect with Karloff as the lead, but it is a pretty good flick.  It is very stylish.  I wrote a blog post about it.  Of course I decided to look for the other movie on that set.  Unfortunately, I could not remember the title.  I knew there was an island and almost everybody died, and the title reflected that.  It wasn’t Island of Lost Souls, that was something else.  It wasn’t Island of the Damned.  Hmmm…

Oh! Not island, ISLE! Silly me!

I found it with the help of a Google search.  I hope regular readers are proud of me, because I can almost never find anything with a Google search.  I did not write a whole blog post about this movie, but I did mention it in one.

I close with a poster from a movie that I have neither written about nor seen, but when I was pulling the others out of the Download file, I saw it and said, “Hey!”

I am adding it to my list of movies to look for.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

 

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Wrist to Forehead Bad Seed

Posted on July 31, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

We are watching The Bad Seed, a DVD of one of our favorite cheesy movies.  Spoiler Alert:  I’m going to give away major plot points to this movie, if not the ending.  I don’t know if I’ll give away the ending and I know that by the time I finish the post I shall be far too lazy to go back and edit this paragraph.  In my defense, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  If you will not accept this defense, I will explain, shut up.

The Bad Seed, for the uninitiated is a movie made in 1956 about Rhoda, a little girl who kills people, and the devastating effect this has on her mother, Christine.  It was considered very shocking at the time, first as a novel, then as a Broadway play.  Who could believe that a sweet little girl was a murderer?  And that she had inherited the murderous gene from her grandmother?  Apparently her mother was just a carrier.  Well, I guess a lot of things skip a generation.

Steven’s biggest problem with the movie is that Rhoda right away seems like the kind of bad-tempered brat that might kill people.  She is supposed to be the perfect little girl.  She wears dresses, she keeps her room clean, she makes perfect curtsies at appropriate times.  The busybody landlady wishes she had “just such a little girl.”  We’re all supposed to buy into it too, apparently, and be shocked as we slowly realize what she is really like.  Steven does not see how it can even be a mild surprise much less a shock.  I have to agree.

My biggest problem, though, is that she never really cops to being a a murder.  Everything is, “But it wasn’t my fault!”  If Claude Dagel hadn’t said he was going to tell on her, she wouldn’t have had to kill him!  If he would have just quietly drowned when she pushed him off the dock, she wouldn’t have had to hit him with her shoe.  At least that would have been manslaughter, although this point is not thoroughly hashed out in the dialogue.

Steven is also bothered by the close-mindedness of Rhoda’s grandfather, Christine’s adoptive father, who pours self-righteous cold water on the theory of the “bad seed.”  Christine, who has been chewing up the scenery ever since little Claude’s death was announced on the radio (providentially, as it often is in movies, as soon as the characters just happen to turn it on), is horrified when she realizes her biological mother was a beautiful murderess.

The high points of the movie are the two scenes with Eileen Heckert as the drunken mother of the murdered little boy.  What a piece of acting!  She lift the movie temporarily above the melodramatic abyss.

I probably could do a much better write-up for this movie, and perhaps I will sometime.  I’m pretty sure I have mentioned the movie before, although a quick search of my posts did not show it.  I say, no matter.  It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday, and I have written something.  Have a lovely rest of your weekend.

 

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Short on Excuses, Long on Monsters: It’s Lame Post Friday!

Posted on July 29, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

If ever there was a day I needed Lame Post Friday, this is it.  Fortunately, it is in fact Friday, the day I have decreed that I am allowed to make a really lame post.  I know, what is my excuse the rest of the time?  Well, regular readers know, I have different excuses on different days.  However, my purpose today is not to muddle around with excuses but to make a short, reasonably entertaining post and get back to enjoying my Friday.

Sons of bitchin’ graboids! Pardon my french.

This may be worthy of Non-Sequitur Thursday, but we can’t always have these things exactly when we would like to.  I went into Downloads on our laptop, looking for something to pep up my post a little.  I could not see what this was a picture of, so I inserted it in the post, thinking I could always delete it if I didn’t like it.  But how could I delete a scene from Tremors, one of our favorite movies!  We never saw any of the sequels nor yet the television show.  I felt they might taint my memory of the beloved original.

When in doubt, there is always Nosferatu.

I recently found this picture of one of my all-time favorite guys.  I shared it on Facebook, just because, and now I share it with you, for a similar reason.

I would SO buy this book if I ever found it!

For the sake of using three pictures (it’s kind of a thing with me), I include a beautiful pulp fiction paperback cover.  Now that I am looking at it, I see it is a novelization of a movie.  Interesting.  I would still buy the book, even though I do not care for novelizations.  I have a minor collection of pulp fiction paperbacks which I purchased purely because I find the covers so delicious.

So this is my Friday Lame Post for the week. It entertained me to write it.  I hope at least some of my readers are likewise entertained.

 

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What to Watch on Scattered Saturday?

Posted on July 16, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

There was not a whole lot of scatter to my Scattered Saturday today (nor a whole lot of scat either, if you’re into jazz) (which I am).  I ran, I wrote, I read, I did not do dishes, I went to an early dinner with my husband, Steven, and now we are about to embark upon the movie watching portion of the evening (as regular readers know, my favorite part) (along with the bra off, sweats on, wine drinking portion of the evening) (which it also is, except for the sweats; too hot).  This being the case, I share a picture I downloaded earlier to share on Steven’s Facebook page:

Just another unrealistic body type for us females to aspire to.

I’m pretty sure this is a publicity shot for House on Haunted Hill (1959), one of our go-to movies for just such an evening.  I think we will not watch this movie tonight, since we did recently view it.  What are our other possibilities?  Hmmm….

“You think I’m the murderer? I thought you were the murderer!”

Thinking of Vincent Price usually brings me back to Laura (1944), a stylish noir, as one reviewer described it, and another of our favorites.  Price plays, unusually enough, a leading man type, not a creepy murderer type.  This is another of our go-to movies.

Nothing to worry about, everything is fine.

I finish with one last shot of Price, in another of our go-to movies, House of Wax (1953).  Price does play a creepy murderer-type in this one.

So we have several suggestions right off the cuff for the movie watching portion of our evening.  What to watch, what to watch, what to watch (yes, you have to say it three times).  Tune in tomorrow, on Wrist to Forehead Sunday, and perhaps I’ll tell you.

Just a thought: would you be more apt to describe this post as Slacker Saturday?  I’m thinking, maybe.

 

 

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Late Post, But Here Are Some Zombie Pictures

Posted on July 13, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am late making my Wuss-out Wednesday post (yes, I really wussed out this time).  Never mind why.  It’s a long story and makes me look bad. Instead, how about a few pictures of zombies, as suggested in comments of a recent post.  I don’t watch as many zombie movies as I do vampire movies.  However, one must acknowledge zombies as the scary monsters they are.

So that’s what happened to Veronica Lake.

I believe this is from Night of the Living Dead, which we have on DVD but rarely watch.  I find it more creepy than scary, and a little sad, especially at the end.  Still, it is considered a classic, so I pop it in when I can talk Steven into it.

I feel a little like this, only without the bright eyes. I do not feel particularly bright these days.

I found this in my search for zombie pictures, and to me it is apropos.  Of course, I believe in making Halloween last all year long.  In fact, I just set my DVR to record several scary movies on TCM, including the delightfully creepy Mad Love, starring Peter Lorre, whose horror credentials are impeccable.  Another find on my search took me in different direction.

I guess I can’t stop running after all.

I must confess, I have not gone running since the Boilermaker.  At first I felt too tired, then it got too hot.  I suppose these are lousy excuses (as most excuses are, but, hey, I’m only human) (and not an un-dead one at that).  I think I must begin running again, though, with a thought to taking part in a Zombie Run in November.  That sounds like fun.

 

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Psycho Strangers on a Blog Post

Posted on July 7, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

So it’s not going to be All Boilermaker All The Time after all.  I am indulging in Non-Sequitur Thursday complete with pictures.  First a little cheesecake for the discerning viewer (you know who you are):

So how come John Gavin is so small?

We decided to watch Psycho, which we have on DVD.  I think it starts a little slowly, but Janet Leigh does spend the first scene in a bra and half-slip.  Some folks enjoy that sort of thing.  Here is a more atmospheric shot for a little less prurient interest:

I love the sky.

After Psycho, I suggested we continue the Alfred Hitchcock theme with Stranger on a Train.  I recently acquired that DVD at a yard sale. Score!  I would like to see again the remake, Throw Mama From the Train.  I love that Danny DeVito.

Ah, the fateful cigarette lighter. There was a lot more smoking in the movies in those days.

I would have liked to get a picture of the carousel, a more dramatic setting than the titular train, but I could not find one.  Full disclosure:  I didn’t look very hard.  Regular readers may notice that I am downloading pictures again.   I still cannot download them on my own Facebook page.  However I can download them from my husband Steven’s page.  So I am sneakily logged onto his site.  Don’t worry, I won’t cause any more mischief while I’m there.

“Good Evening.”

I close with a picture of the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock.  We could have continued our movie viewing with Rear Window, The Birds, Rope, North by Northwest, The Lady Vanishes, The 39 Steps, or To Catch a Thief.  I guess we have quite a Hitchcock collection (no, no Vertigo!  I may lose all cinemaphile cred by saying this, but that movie has always left me cold).  And I thought of a good title while I was typing this.  Happy Thursday, everyone.

 

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Where’s Gene Wilder When You Need Him?

Posted on June 30, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

When in doubt, go for monsters, that’s my motto.  I was so determined to write a real post while on breaks at work today, but once again, it just did not work out.   Being in rather a sad way brain- and spirit-wise (and also pressed for time), I look for pictures.  Having no luck on Facebook, even on my go-to pages, I looked at what we have downloaded on our laptop, hoping my dear husband, Steven, had downloaded something new.  I think this one must have been there a while since it is from one of our favorite movies.

“This is a good boy!”

I feel a little bit like Peter Boyle in this shot:  in need of some TLC.  For the uninitiated (and I feel sorry for any who are), this is Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, starring the wonderful Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle (plus a number of other wonderful actors).  Dr. Frankenstein is attempting to tame the monster with love.  Does he meet with success?  Ah, that would be telling, and I did not include a spoiler alert.  If you haven’t watched the movie, I advise you to watch it.  If you have watched the movie, watch it again!  It’s fun!

I don’t know, I kind of liked the title Grave Robbers from Outer Space.

This is the other download that caught my eye.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is NOT the worse movie ever made!  It holds my interest and entertains.

Well, this is frustrating.  I was looking for a picture of Ed Wood, or of Johnny Depp playing Ed Wood in the movie of that title, to round out my post.  However, my laptop is refusing to download anything.  What the hell, computer? Oh, I suppose it is operator error as usual.  That is the story of my life, Operator Error!  I even made a typo on “Error” just now but corrected it (I hope). We’ll call this a Non-Sequitur Thursday and drive on.

I have to get to rehearsal for The Tempest, you know, that play I’m in with LiFT Theatre Company in Little Falls. Maybe I can write about that tomorrow.

 

 

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Murder on Monday

Posted on June 27, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Don’t get your hopes up;  I haven’t murdered anybody.  However, I have Agatha Christie on the mind today.  Why not muse about murder on Mental Meanderings Monday?  Yes, sometimes I just can’t help myself with the alliteration.  Well, here is a title with no alliteration: Death on the Nile.  It is one of my favorite movies.

I could only find a picture of the book. Sorry.

The movie is really a very good adaptation.  The book has a lot more characters and complications.  It is a little too much for me to compare/contrast right now.

OK, I guess it’s time for me to admit, this is another foolish post.  I can’t help it.  I’m tired, I have a headache, it was a difficult weekend.  No matter.  I shall post what I can and drive on.  I’ve been on the Agatha Christie Facebook page looking for pictures to share.  I fear I have not had much luck.

It was originally published under the title of 10 Little [something politically incorrect].

This is another movie adaptation which takes liberties.  I have seen a few versions of this, as well as acting in on on the Ilion Little Theatre stage.  I like it.

Now I must find one more picture to share, because I like to include three.  Hmmm….

Diana Rigg, Maggie Smith and Denis Quilley.

Pay dirt!  Here is a divine photo from Evil Under the Sun, another very good adaptation.  I will write another post discussing what makes a good adaptation and why I like these.  Today, I’m afraid it is beyond me.  I think I’ll go watch a couple of movies.

 

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