Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Hallmark Watch: Christmas at Dollywood (2019)

Dolly's outfit needs more sequins



Watched:  12/18/2020
Format:  Hallmark Channel on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010's
Director:  Michael Robison

Arguably, no one involved with this movie knows how anything works in real life and everyone but Danica McKellar's character should be fired.  And Dolly, of course, should always be held blameless.

We've watched a lot of parts of Hallmark movies this year, but watched almost none from start to finish - but when a movie promises to serve up Dolly in prime, post 2000 incarnation of Dolly as glamorous wise songstress and embodiment of goodness - I'm in.  I have, in fact, watched a good chunk of "The Coat of Many Colors" movie and everything.

Monday, December 21, 2020

PODCAST: "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2005) - a Xmas Genre Xrossover w/ Jamie and Ryan




Watched:  11/28/2020
Format:  DVD
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2000's
Director:  Shane Black


Jamie and Ryan talk the 2005 neo-noir by Shane Black and starring RDJ jr. and Val Kilmer. We hadn't seen it and were heartily surprised by the film - a noir murder mystery sort of thing with a lot of classic detective pulpy roots as both text and plot. 
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Intro and Titles - John Ottman

Sunday, December 20, 2020

"It's a Wonderful Signal Watch: A Christmas Parable" - we did a 4 minute Xmas Sketch

Holiday Watch: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)


Watched:  12/16/2020
Format:  Amazon Streaming (but it's also on Disney+ now)
Viewing:  ha ha ha...
Decade:  1940's
Director:  George Seaton

If Miracle on 34th Street isn't part of your personal Christmas canon, I don't even know, man.

Noir Watch: Tomorrow is Another Day (1951)




Watched:  12/13/2020
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  1950's
Director:  Felix E. Feist

I watched this film once before and did a brief write-up, so I won't belabor the points there.  Instead, I'll dwell on how there's always multiple reasons to watch a movie, starting with "is it any good?" and "was the story worth it?"  And, yes, and yes.  

Watching Tomorrow is Another Day (1951) again, I found  it seems to intersect at a lot of places in cinema and cinema history.  It's not breaking ground, but it does feel like 1951 is a particular time and place in what we're talking about, and the aesthetics of how that story is done.  And - it's helped along by the plot element of the basic set-up.

Steve Cochrane - who is becoming a personal fave - has just been released from prison after killing someone when he was still a teenager.  Now in his early 30's, he doesn't really know anything about post-Depression America.  Or how to function as an adult in society.  He's basically a 15 year old kid in a grown-up's body wandering the streets of post-War America with no context for anything from a 1950's era car with power windows to how to get a job.

One of the curious aspects of watching movies from the 1920's - 1960's is getting used to the wardrobes, ideas and fashions of each era - and getting your head around what the 50's looked like compared to the 1930's, and that can all bleed together in hats and suits in black and white.  But here it's a plot point to know the hat of 1951 is not the hat of 1935, and the cut of the suit is different (those of us who grew up in the 80's know our 1990's suit from our 2020 suit).  

For us sitting in 2020, who are staring at the taxi dancer sequence with wonder - this movie may have the most straight-forward presentation of what was going on in these places that doesn't assume a lot of audience knowledge (as Cochrane's character tries to sort it out).  

But the film also sits on the edge of the 1940's.  The urban portions, where Cochrane heads to NYC, feel like any movie from 1944-1950 (and miles away from the NYC of Sweet Smell of Success in 1957).  It's still dime-a-dance girls and tenement apartments.  But the back third of the film where Cochrane and Ruth Roman join seasonal workers picking lettuce - feels almost pre-war.  It's not the picture of post-war prosperity that we tend to think of, but which does show up in films like Border Incident and Thieves' Highway.  The hand-to-mouth existence of anyone wasn't always shown - but here it's a reminder of the struggles of a lot of America that the movies never really sought to show once the war came along.

It's not the way anyone really intended you watch the film, but every once in a while the structure or story of a film of the era can be a window into the period in ways that weren't necessarily intended, but wtill jump out at a modern viewer.  

I did like 95% of the movie again - but, man, that ending.

Happy birthday, Audrey Totter


 born this day in 1917


Saturday, December 19, 2020

Noir Christmas Party Watch: Lady in the Lake (1947)

 

Watched:  12/18/2020
Format:  Amazon Watch Party
Viewing:  Unknown
Decade:  1940's
Director:  Robert Montgomery

I've written this up plenty.  And podcasted it.  No need to do so again.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Friday Watch Party: (this one will cost you $2) "Lady in the Lake" from 1947



We figured out that if you rent it, we can all Watch Party it.  

This one WILL cost you $2 to participate.  I get none of the money.  

Day:  Friday - 12/17
Time:  8:30 PM Central


For this week's selection, I'm pulling out part of my personal Christmas canon - "Lady in the Lake".  
  • It's one of very few movies shot entirely from a single character's POV - essentially a videogame perspective, and done in 1947 with those giant cameras
  • Based on the novel by Raymond Chandler
  • Starring Signal Watch patron saint: Audrey Totter
  • It takes place on Christmas


What's not to like?


Holiday Watch: Christmas in Connecticut (1945)



Watched: 12/13/2020
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  Unknown
Decade:  1940's
Director:  Peter Godfrey

The other night I was drinking and, as one does, decided what I really wanted to see was Sydney Greenstreet in a movie.  And, of course, it is the holiday season - and what better choice than Christmas in Connecticut (1945) when it comes to your Syndey Greenstreet/ Christmas movie viewing needs.

Basically a classic farce (but only with a hint of the bedroom about it), Christmas in Connecticut gets a lot of play, but seems like it never quite makes it into the zeitgeist like a lot of other films - even if it deserves to more than a lot of modern holiday favorites.  Genuinely funny with a terrific set-up and everyone on the same page giving sharp, punchy performances - it's got classic comedy chops to spare.

Stanwyck plays a cooking and homelife columnist for a popular "Good Housekeeping" style magazine.  She's essentially posing as America's perfect housewife - complete with husband, child and a picturesque farm house, when she's really living the life of a single-gal in the big city.  Fortunately, her uncle if a terrific chef and just tells her how he makes his best dishes, and she adds the purple prose.

But her pushy publisher (Greenstreet) is sent an idea for a promotion - the famous guru should take in a hero sailor (the movie is WWII contemporaneous) and show him true American hospitality.  But, of course, she can't do it - so she fakes it.

People are in and out of doors, people hidden from one another, and Una O'Connor plays the domestic not in on the shenanigans.  And - while faking a marriage she's actually dodging to a bore of a man (who owns the farm), Stanwyck meets the sailor in question and the smittening is mutual.

It's a terrific film - perfect for a comedy about the holiday that doesn't take it too seriously.  And, of course, Sydeny Greenstreet is brilliant. As always.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Happy Birthday to Helen Slater




Today is the birthday of Helen Slater, famous around these parts for playing Kara in Supergirl, as well as Lara on Smallville and Eliza Danvers on the CW show Supergirl.  She also starred in The Legend of Billy Jean, City Slickers, Ruthless People, The Secret of My Success, and has appeared in numerous shows, including the final episodes of Mad Men.  In addition, she loaned her voice to DC Superhero Girls as Martha Kent and Batman: The Animated Series as Talia al Ghul.  

If you didn't know, she's also cut a few records (she's pretty great!), and continues on her trend of being terribly crush-worthy.