Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) and the sad lack of cell phones

The heartwarming 1987 John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, with it's Thanksgiving theme, has become a traditional holiday film and fan favorite. This weekend, with a piece of leftover pumpkin pie, I sat down - once again - to watch the comedic genius paring of John Candy and Steve Martin, who plays a character trying to make it home to his family for the holiday. There are some very funny moments in the film; it's hard to pick, but I'd say my favorite sight gag is the one with the dog in the back of the truck.  I went to a showing of this on its opening day - hard to believe it's been 25 years now. The theater at that screening was packed with people, and it was fun hearing everyone laughing. I bet alot of them have bought the DVD or Blu Ray.  This time while watching, I noticed a few quirky things going on in the background. For example, in the beginning, Steve Martin hails a cab for the airport in New York passes by a Roy Rogers fast food restaurant, which I'm sure has been gone for at least a decade or two.  In another scene on a bus, a passenger is shown reading a magazine with Michael J Fox and Family Ties on the cover.

Martin looks up at a clock in the airport, and it's 

one of those old "flip clocks"!  Not even a digital clock 

in the airport yet! 

Poor Martin tries to call home several times using a pay phone: from a restaurant, from the airport, etc. If only he had a cell phone, he'd be able to call home more frequently, and his wife would be calling or texting, too. But then again, the movie wouldn't be as funny, would it? I imagine that if the film is ever remade, Martin's character would have to lose his phone somehow.

The Life of Pi (2012)

Yesterday I went to see The Life of Pi. With the exception of some opening shots in a zoo, just about all of the animals it it are CGI - computer generated imagery. If you know the story that the film is based on, then you'll understand why. Protests would arise if real animals were used during the filming of the  shipwreck. You've heard about the tiger in this movie, right? Like alot of celebrities, he's a complete fake, but looks amazing - the textures, the eyes, the movements, the swimming in the water. It's really incredible. CGI has come a long way.

 Here are some reviews from:

Roger Ebert (4 stars)  |  Leonard Maltin's review  | Peter Travers review

Cinemablend ranks Skyfall as #2 best Bond movie

The pop culture site Cinemablend recently ranked the best Bond films, from 1-23.

Read more about each ranking here at Cinemablend. 

1 Goldfinger  ("I'm not sure anyone will ever do better than this")
2 Skyfall ("like a love letter to James Bond fans")
3 From Russia With Love ("nearly perfect")
4 Casino Royale
5 You Only Live Twice
6 On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the "most surprising" in the series)
7 Dr No ("holds up pretty well")
8 The Spy Who Loved Me
9 Goldeneye
10 License to Kill ("the most intense and disturbing plot")
11 The Living Daylights (the series needed "a serious tone")
12 Tomorrow Never Dies ("pretty good")
13 Live and Let Die
14 The World Is Not Enough
15 Die Another Day
16 Moonraker  ("fun to watch")
17 Thunderball ("way too slow")
18 A View To A Kill
19 Diamonds Are Forever  ("disappointing")
20 For Your Eyes Only
21 Quantum of Solace (plot is "too complicated")
22 Octopussy
23 The Man With the Golden Gun ("dreadful direction", "disappointing")

James Bond's Best and Worst: Peter Travers Ranks All 24 Movies

Critic Peter Travers ranks 24 Bond films, including Never Say Never Again ("If a movie stars Sean Connery as 007, it's a Bond film. End of story.") 

Read more about each ranking here 

1 Goldfinger ("indelible")

2 From Russia With Love ("the most raw of the series")

3 On Her Majesty's Secret Service 

4 Casino Royale

5 Skyfall ("continues Bond's backstroy with staggering style and assurance")

6 Dr No

7 You Only Live Twice ("just gets better and cooler with age")

8 The Spy Who Loved Me  ("spectacular")

9 Thunderball 

10 Die Another Day ("Brosnan shows grit as 007")

11 Live and Let Die

12 For Your Eyes Only 

13 Never Say Never Again

14 The Man With the Golden Gun

15 Moonraker

16 Octopussy 

17 A View To A Kill 

18 Diamonds Are Forever 

19 Goldeneye

20 The World Is Not Enough

21 Tomorrow Never Dies ("shallow")

22 The Living Daylights ("dull", "humorless")

23 License to Kill ("drab")

24 Quantum of Solace ("fiasco")

Han Suyin, Chinese-born author of ‘A Many-Splendoured Thing,’ dies at 95

Renowned Chinese-born writer Han Suyin, whose autobiographical novel was turned into the popular 1955 American film Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, has died. She was 95.

Han Suyin was the author of about 40 books on modern China.

Read an article from the Washington Post here:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1075192/chinese-revolutionary-author-han-suyin-dies-95

In the 1955 film, Han was played by white actress Jennifer Jones. Back in those days you could not have an interracial romance on screen. That was a big no-no. Even if the leading man was William Holden. The film won oscars for score, costume, and song, which was a huge smash.

Han Suyin

Turn Back The Hands of Time

Don't forget to turn clocks back 1 hour tonight before you go to bed. 

Woo hoo! One extra hour of sleep tonight.

 Now let's listen to Eddie Fisher sing his big hit, "Turn Back The Hands of Time" -

 

New autographs, Sept 2012

Julie Adams (Creature From The Black Lagoon)

Cast from Lost In Space (June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, Bill Mumy)

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming! (1966)

Zany comedy about a group of Russian sailors - led by Alan Arkin -  who find themselves stranded on a small, tight-knit New England island town. Not able to speak the language, they try to steal a boat to get off of the island hoping not to encounter any of the locals. Eventually rumors spread all over the island about invaders and everyone panics ("It's all over!" predicts one paranoid resident).

The Russians disguise themselves as as locals

There are some funny sight gags and comedic bits involving the paranoid townsfolk. One bit has Jonathan Winters at the kitchen table with his 8 little children prepping the family about a possible attack. There's a town drunk that's funny, and an old woman who gets tied to a chair while her near-sighted husband hardly notices.

But there are some softer moments, too, especially the scenes involving one of the Russians falling in love with a young woman.  Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint are the only two people who know why the Russians are there and try to explain it to everyone else. Another voice of reason is Brian Keith, who plays the police chief. Also starring Theodore Bikel.

It's an enjoyable satire about paranoia in the days before cable news, the internet, smart phones phones, and Twitter.