On the Twin Peaks Front....

Unfortunately, the Log Lady recently passed away.  I hope that the rest of the characters, as well as David Lynch, all show up in the twenty five year reunion.  Here's a collection of the actors, sans make up, vocalizing their love for him.

Great Halloween Film

Somebody has posted Nadja.  I have this on VHS and it's impossible to find on DVD.  Watch it before they pull it for copyright reasons.

As Mentioned Below --- Niagara (Trailer)

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There's a scene in this film where the dark haired, serious Polly is on a lounger.  Her husband appears and wants to take her photograph.  He asks for her to turn to the side so that he can capture her in "profile."  When he tells her to inhale, we know what he means.  Polly is in a bathing suit and he wants the classic cheesecake photo worthy of the gas station calendars of that era.   Polly shoots him a look, but complies.  The picture doesn't get taken, as a shadow falls over her.  Yes, it's Marilyn, who has stepped into the scene.   So much of this film is about those dual roles that women had to play at that time---they had to be the girl next door in order to get married.  This was at a time that women were marrying younger than ever and they were perceived as not having much worth otherwise.  Even bright women who went to Seven Sisters Universities and graduated with perfect grades got bottom rung jobs as secretaries.   After all, they were filler jobs, until they "got a man."  However, it was also an epoch when fashion increasingly dictated that they have very slim waists, huge breasts and that those assets be displayed in a sweater.

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That scene spoke volumes about the times.    Betty was duking it out with Veronica.  Good girl Debbie Reynolds was about to have her marriage usurped by the vixen Liz Taylor.  A female was one or the other, but never both.

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This movie has some superb camera work with interesting lighting and angles.  There's a scene where Joseph Cotton stalks Marilyn Monroe through a hydro-electric building that is very suspenseful.  The sharp shadows look like it was mastered by a photographer doing black and white stills for a fashion layout.  

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Niagara dealt with PTSD before the term existed.  Joseph Cotton is not a flat character, but somebody we actually can pity, despite doing bad things.

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I'm a fan of film scores, and the jarring music suits the screen's images perfectly.   I'm not a person who bought into the cult of Marilyn,, but I like this film.

Filth

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I saw Trainspotting twice when it first came out and laughed a little too hard at some parts.    It took some time for Filth to make its North American appearance, as it seemed to be having trouble getting distributed.  I ended up buying it via I-Tunes when it first became available.  I watched it again today.  It's one of those films that people either really get or they don't understand it at all.  The Scottish accent is difficult enough for some to follow, let alone the very dark humour.

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The trailer is more light hearted than the movie itself, for the actual premise is the coming apart of a person at that most festive and depressive times of the year.  Bruce, a detective, is up for a promotion.  He is superbly played by James McAvoy.  His machinations as he strives to get the upper hand will probably bring to mind at least somebody that we've met in our past---those people who pat you on the back with one hand and stab you with the other.  It would seem over the top if it weren't handled by such a good actor.

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"I used to be a good person," exclaims Bruce.  Can what was lost, be found?  There's a surprising twist in the film involving his marriage, and it ties into a murder case he's working on.    It's graphic and gruff and if one has a taste for things dark, it's a good film to watch.  There's a lot of sexual content, drug usage and violence----all of it by our man Bruce.

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In the midst of this, James McAvoy reveals a man who is actually lacerated by guilt.  There's a great original score by the ever talented Clint Mansell.

Frizzy Hair

All of this talk in the news about the white woman pretending to be black got me thinking.  Rather, her hair brought back some memories about cuts of the past, and being the OCD person I am who never sleeps, I had to do some research.  Here it is:  This is the look that spawned a lot of people to do perfectly satanic things to really good hair.  The problem was, a lot of people did it at bad hair "salons" in small towns.  Barbra Streisand's film, a rmake of "A Star is Born" had the same effect.  The frying of the hair in that film did not just touch the female of the species.  Males did it too.  Imagine if you will, guys walking around with  ash blond  "fros.    It was not a good look.  Ash blond out of the box didn't work with your Mom, so it certainly didn't go with the sixteen year old guy in a school jacket.   Thank God that look has gone the way of  Cheryl Tiegs'  Sears clothing line.  Mom jeans are bad enough, but  her "look" was grandma stretch jeans.
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Check Out Linda Blair's 70's Hair
(this is a great site called Satanic Pandemonium.
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 They've got information on those films you thought you had forgot)
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.As an aside, when I was a kid and watched movies about growing up in California, especially if they featured Linda Blair, it seemed that every single kid had a horse.    Go back and review them and you will see what I mean.  Why would "Sarah T" be a drunk with that huge house and access to that good  friend with a horse and a great beach nearby and all that nice weather?
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Many many thanks to the site:  Satanic Pandemonium.  Have a look.  Click on the link about Linda Blair's hair.  They have information about the movie"Summer of Fear."  It was made for television and was based on a book that I read when I was in Junior High School.  Yes, the Seventies were big on making movies about the devil.  They took hold of cars, people and even land movers.  Funny how the guy who operated it never took off his hard hat.

Christopher Lee is Gone

I logged on the news today to see that Christopher Lee has died.  I've long written of my love of Hammer Horror, which goes way back to my youth. I used to watch the movies when I babysat, which some might suggest wasn't a good idea, but I've never been afraid of the dark.   The films that Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing did together were my favourite of the brand.  There was a special chemistry that the two men had.  "The Hound of the Baskervilles" from 1959 is one of my favourites, even though it isn't a horror film.  It is well acted and staged.   I have some DVDs of their horror films  as well as a book that features movie posters.  Somehow, they never get old.  Mr Lee also starred in a James Bond classic.  I could also watch "Theatre of Death" over and over.  Despite his fame, he stayed married to his wife for fifty years, something which doesn't happen often these days.  You have to know that he would have had people throwing themselves at him, yet he didn't "bite." (I had to say it.)
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Mr Lee brought untold entertainment to insomniacs and the lover of horror classics.  Before the current wave of vampire lore, he embodied the legend.  He did so without benefit of CGI.   The Hammer movies are the stuff of legend for many a male, if one reads the boards.  Ingrid Pitt  inspired many a young boy to attend Horror Conferences when he grew up.  I was one of the few females who was a Hammer fan at the time, but I was also a train geek.
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I had watched "Dracula AD" just the other day.  There's a line in there, which tells the anti-hero to "Rest in Final Peace."  I suspect that Christopher Lee would appreciate the inside joke.  You will be much missed and always remembered.

Somebody Probably Lost this Film on Purpose...but it's wonderful! "Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula."

.This needs an art-house revival because there's so many ways to have fun with it.   "Nocturna:   Granddaughter of Dracula" came out in 1979.  There had been a resurgence of interest at the time in all things blood-sucking.  Steven King's take on the  vampire legend had sold astronomically well and inspired the  made-for-television mini-series/movie  "Salem's Lot."  Frank Langella, a fine actor, was absolutely hot that summer in Dracula and as a lead up to the film's release, the literary classic was re-issued with stills from the feature.  I know this as I managed to get a copy of that book (and there's a story about a missed plane connection in Edmonton as a result, but I digress).  A short time prior to this, the story had been updated in the wonderful comedy "Love at First Bite."

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I suspect what this movie wanted to do was capitalize on this and combine it with disco.  There's no need to mention the darkness inspired by Saturday Night Fever (Roller Disco films, anybody)?  In this movie, the granddaughter of Dracula encounters a musical group who is playing at the family's hotel...yes, The Count has fallen on hard times and has to take in guests.  After being encouraged to get up and boogie with the lead singer, Nocturna discovers that she can see her reflection in the mirrored lustre of Transylvania's take on Studio 54.  She begins to feel....human!  Why anybody would want to start aging is beyond me, but Nocturna wants that.  And our lusty male lead.

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What's surprising is the soundtrack, which is where I am sure this upload will meet its downfall.  It features seventies disco stars such as Gloria Gaynor and Vicky Sue Robinson, so some studio executive is certainly going to whine about copyright.  It also has tracks by Moment of Truth, which was a classic example of the Philly Disco sound.

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Ah, the possibilities for a Halloween/Disco/Goth dressup ball to coincide with watching the film!
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BTW---up yours spell correct.  I want to type "Nocturna."  I don't need your nanny state filling in the word "nocturnal."

FROST/NIXON

I re watched the DVD "Frost/Nixon" on my rest days. I find Frank Langella a great actor and there's something in him which reminds me of Christopher Plummer. I would love to see the two of them on stage together. This movie manages to make the transition from play to screen very well. Unlike many pieces set in the l970's, it does not rely on the camp of clothing and props which we easily recognize as being of the time. Instead, it is a duel between two men at the end of their rope, determined to make a comeback in the public eye and to redeem themselves to themselves.
I've always been a fan of talk radio; as a kid I'd try to pick up stations from far flung places. Depending where I was working in the Bleak House, talk radio certainly provided a reprieve from boredom. I'd turn the dial and find something which suited my mood. There used to be a very interesting host by the name of Bryan Styble in Seattle. However, KIRO decided that they wanted to turn their late night format into the usual boring drivel of all sports talk, all the time. I can think of nothing more inane. Bryan Styble might talk of poetry one minute, then local politics the next. He was a huge fan of Bob Dylan. He once had Vincent Bulgiosli on as a guest, and because of it, I ordered his huge and excellent tome on the Kennedy killing through Amazon.
One of the topics one night was on best and worst presidents. Bryan Styble's favourite president happened to be Ronald Reagan. Now, while I didn't agree with his choice, he had some very interesting reasons for that decision and I love debate. As I've said before, as long as a person has good arguments, I have no problems at all listening to that individual .
Some callers will automatically suggest that Nixon is the worst. I don't believe so, given what he did in China. However, I think that Nixon had an interesting and profound effect on the psyche of the public. It's thanks to his administration that people are now willing to accept that 9/11 was an inside job. Had somebody put out a student/independent film prior to Watergate making such suggestions, it would not have been believed. Before the Watergate scandal, the majority accepted the conclusion of the Warren Commission in regards to the death of President Kennedy. Now, people would be willing to conclude that anybody from the CIA to their mother-in-law was involved.
The Nixon Administration caused a profound distrust of the government to develop. People now write consiracy theory books on almost any topic, or any death. One need only look at the unfortunate car accident that killed Princess Diana. Television series such as the "X Files" entered the mainstream.
It's a good DVD if a person wants to see one up-man-ship. I like the fact that Langella does not fall back on the classic Nixon mannerisms. It literally is a chess game being played out. Yes, I betray my Political Science minor in watching this, but even those who might not have an interest in such topics should give it a try.

THE BEST MOVIE ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD

`````With increasing talk that there is a nut in North Korea who might actually be capable of using a nuclear device, I thought that I would mention this film. "On the Beach" came out in l959 and is one of the most effective anti-war artistic statements created. I have read many moving poems, heard protest songs and watched numerous films; nothing tops this one. The cast is stellar (Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Anthony Perkins, to name a few), and the black and white cinematography adds to the ambiance. The script is top-notch, as it comes directly from the book of the same name.
`````Australia is the last place on earth with humans alive, and the nuclear death cloud is approaching. The citizens have been given a pill to take which will allow them to die in peace when the alert is given. The scene depicts the final moments in the lives of the main characters. I find that I can never think of the song "Waltzing Matilda" in the same way again.
`````There were some anti-war activists in the l960's who reported that an inspiration for them was having watched this film, which came out in l959.
`````Other good films on the topic are television movies: "The Day After" (l983) and "Testament." "The Day After" was very graphic for the time and thus very controversial. People threatened to boycott companies that advertised, as they felt they were being unpatriotic. "Testament" was made for PBS and stars Jane Alexander. It is more like a theatre production, and thus showcases her excellent acting, especially the scene in which she has to deal with the loss of her child. There were no special effects; rather, it relied on the stage presence of the stars alone.
`````If you haven't watched "On the Beach," it's a classic.

I JUST REWATCHED-PARTY MONSTER

I am not a fan of Caulkin, so I was surprised that I liked this film. It describes the killing of a well known drug dealer in the New York club scene, called Angel, by his friend Michael Alig. Michael had actually been up for parole only recently, but he didn't get out as planned. The movie is fairly true to facts, although it does change some things (for instance, Alig was picked up with a male partner, not female).

If somebody is interested in watching a documentary on this case, watch "Shockumentary," which interviews many of the real life participants. This documentary interviews the brother of the victim and captures well his grief and anguish that the police seemed to be doing nothing.

Michael Alig openly bragged for some time about having killed Angel. It became an open secret in many circles. When he was first arrested, the Feds were more interested in using his testimony against Peter Gatien, who owned the Limelight (as well as other clubs) and he may have received a slide had he not so openly talked of the killing.

What's interesting watching this film is that people so soon forget the past and comment on the originality of Lady Gaga in her costuming and songs. The Club Kids certainly were the first to have clubbing as their lifestyle.

By the way, I also like the use of this song: Scissor Sisters---Can't Come Quickly Enough. If one listens to the lyrics, it's more then a light-hearted anthem.

Culkin manages to portray the new kid in town well, one who initially rejects the ingestion of drugs. Without being heavy handed, the movie shows his decline. It does not blame his usage, however, for his behavior, which I like. In real life, Alig was highly ambitious to score in the social scene. The drugs merely allowed him to become an obviously lofty, condascending individual who didn't see that getting a free pass into all the clubs and hot parties did not translate into receiving a "Get out of jail free" card.

It is Seth Green, however, who I really liked in this film. He portrays Alig's friend; the individual who ultimately wrote the best-seller on the incident.

It's certainly not a heavy film, but I enjoyed it for the soundtrack and it has a wry sense of humour about it.

WALKEN AS A VAMPIRE

I saw this years ago at a film festival and I loved it. The black and white film is beautiful and highlights Walken's wonderful cheekbones along with the sinister aspects of New York's city streets. You have to adore a film in which he discusses vampirism along with Burroughs. I highly recommend this one. I went out and bought it. The film studies good and evil; how we are drawn to either one and whether we have the strength to reject such forces. It's actually a very philosophical concept.

CLASSIC 70'S TV MOVIE AND A GUILTY PLEASURE

This is classic 70's. It stars Mr Brady and the original woman from Eight is Enough, along with one of the Sweathogs from Welcome Back Kotter. It's actually a well done movie and is one of my guilty pleasures. It has every thing that 70's movies need. The cool girl rides a horse. There's a ballad by Paul Williams in the soundtrack, which soars whenever the drama rises. As an insomniac, I've come to appreciate the fine nuances of 70's T.V. movies (the devil was big too). Here's some trivia; John Travolta fell in love with the woman who played his mother in the film, even though she was much older then him. She went on the develop cancer when starring on Eight is Enough and subsequently died. It deeply effected John Travolta, who was filming Saturday Night Fever at the time.

NEAR HERE

This is from the film "Cousins." At about 01:55, where they begin to ride the bike, is an area not that far from here. That's basically the landscape in the area.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLAYS

Somebody had posted this and I thought I'd share it. I have this on video. It's one of my favourite plays. There are certain scenes in plays or movies that never fail to "get" to me, just like specific verses in books or poems (for example, the last bit in "The Great Gatsby"). I've seen this performed live a couple of times, and this part never fails to touch me. It speaks of guilt that we cannot escape. We may try to put distance between a person we've wronged, but it doesn't go away. The "Blow out your candles, Laura", followed by the tears, is such superb acting on his part. His sister Laura, in life, had been a fragile, glass-like individual (she collected figurines, and thus the title of the play), yet her memory haunts him. For anybody who likes the theatre and hasn't seen this one, I'd really recommend it.

DIRECTOR DAVID LYNCH EXAMINES WHAT LIES BENEATH

.....David Lynch is one of those directors that you either really get, or you don't understand him at all. I've seen several of his films, including the infamous "Eraserhead", which was triple-billed with other interesting cult classics at an art-house theatre. He was the executive producer of "Nadja", which is a vampire picture that most people missed out on. It has a wonderful soundtrack and stars Peter Fonda. I also really enjoyed "Lost Highway", "Blue Velvet" and Elephant Man."

.....However, what I want to write about today is his work on "Twin Peaks", a television series from the early l990's. It was absolutely ground-breaking. It was accompagnied by the film "Fire, Walk with Me" (which had a cameo by David Bowie). This was the darkest and most brooding series to be featured on a mainstream cable network. David Lynch managed to sneak in several double entendres. How he got them by the censors, who must have been asleep at the switch, is amazing. It was most likely a reflection of the intellectualism of the wit. Lynch did not pander to the lowest common demoninator. This series forced a person to think. It challenged people to examine the nature of good and evil; is evil actually an entity onto itself?

.....In "Twin Peaks", David Lynch looked at what lies beneath. The show was set in what appeared to be an idyllic, small town in the Pacific Northwest. Ironically, it looked a lot like the town that I had to move to due to my job. Then, Lynch began to peel back the layers. The homecoming queen was a cokehead. It examined incest and the devastating outcome on the victim. The men who seemed to be the leaders of the community might actually be the boogie men from whom we need protection.

.....Well before the X files, he examined what other forces might be out there. There was a sense that the woods could carry a dark undercurrent for all its look of calm. He incorporated native legends into the narrative. Lynch was the first person to really make use of dream sequences to a great extent. At times, it is like watching a surrealist film. The violence, at times, was intense. The scene of the killing in the train car was frightening in that one could imagine the terror of this girl. As an aftermath, the critics at the time commented that never before had grief been so realistically captured on television film. The moment when the mother discovers that her daughter has died is gut wrenching.

.....There is a great deal of very fine acting in the series and the film. For instance, there is a scene towards the end of "Fire, Walk with Me" where we see the extent of Laura's cocaine usage. She is doing it just to get through her mundane days and nights. She is doing it to get dressed. It captures that feeling that the sun is coming up, all of the drugs are gone, one has done an eight-ball by themselves and been awake for three days solid. Now, the day is to be faced---sober. Along with that is the realization that one would also have to face what one was doing the drugs to avoid in the first place. Dead sober with no chance of sleeping.

.....David Lynch asks whether there is redemption or if all hope is lost. His ending is such that you have to make the decision.

.....Each year there is a convention in the town where this series was filmed, with various people involved from it. One year, I would love to go. I just need to talk somebody into being my road trip partner.

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Here's a clip from "Fire, Walk With Me." I've posted another below, in which Laura and her friend have a seemingly philosophical discusion, which takes a poignant turn. I've also found one from "Nadja", for those vampire fans.

David Lynch--Part Two

Notice the good acting. It's a profound statement about the loss of hope and the feeling that one is in a free-fall with no safety net or support network.

DAVID LYNCH- Part 3

This is for the vampire fans. It's got a dark sense of humour, great music and interesting cinematography.

THIS WOULD BE FUNNY, IF ONLY THE PART AT 2:17 DIDN'T LOOK LIKE WHAT HAPPENS AT MY HOUSE WHEN THE VACUUM CLEANER COMES OUT

Before I head for night shift, I want to post this. I love Peter Cushing and B movies. So, I found this. It's hard to believe that it wasn't all that long ago that main-stream movie theatres ran these sorts of films. It's very funny for how bad it is. Just a word of warning...don't play if the cats are around. They do respond to the yeowls.

AN ALIEN IN YOUR OWN SKIN

`````I happened to come upon this film by accident one day and it was one of those ones where there was a connection. It wasn't that I enjoyed it; there was something in it that reflected my own life.

`````I was born here, but when I was young, my family returned to Europe. The telecommunications industry has really changed in the last few years and it's hard for people to understand, but it's not that long ago that there were parts of that continent that still lacked what people in North America took for granted. For example, there were only a couple of television stations at the time and they wouldn't start up until something like five in the afternoon. Mind you, they were very liberal with what they ran.

`````I found a documentary once that had been filmed in the area I had lived in and I showed it to a friend of mine. It was filmed in black and white in the l970's. My friend thought it was from World War Two, given the way people were dressed and how they lived. The elderly people were lugging old big tin milk containers and working in the barn in the same way they'd done for decades. In fact, I had relatives who did not have indoor plumbing when I was a child. I still recall having to trudge through the snow when I visited in the winter to use the outhouse.

`````When we returned, we had to pack up everything we owned into a few trunks and suitcases. It meant making tough choices about what one left behind. It really was leaving all that one owned behind. A person knew that they'd most likely never see others again.

`````It was odd moving back to North America. Not only did I have to relearn the language, but when I did, I had an accent. The culture was different also. Over there, it had been no big deal for kids my age to run around top-less. After all, little kids all have the same parts. When I did that, it was greeted with shock. I didn't understand the way many of the girls behaved, in that they seemed to enjoy teasing others immensely. I refused to join in, and that labelled me as different. I opted to have males as friends, much as the girl in this film, "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries." I ended up getting teased because of my refusal to play by the rules.

`````It was funny....a rumour started when I was in highschool that I had moved up from California, as I looked like the quintessential California girl. I was blonde and tanned easily. That's the last thing I felt like. I always felt like an alien. I was fairly shy and quiet. I loved to read and was an independant thinker. I was very much a loner and I enjoyed writing.

`````I guess this is why I have always had an understanding of how immigrants feel. They may be nonwhite, on the whole, but I know how they feel. It's also why I never give in to the herd mentality of picking on others.

A VIDEO TO WATCH

I watched this video and really enjoyed it. I warn you, that it's in German, with English subtitles, so if you don't get into that sort of thing, you may want to avoid it. People who normally avoid plotlines based on true political events need not be afraid. This one is fast paced. Many in North America are not aware who these people are. In fact, it's a sad statement that it took September 11 to wake us up to what many in Europe have been dealing with for a long time; terrorisim. In this case, though, the faces are the middle classes' own kids and good looking ones at that. They were very well to do, in some cases. While the core group was small, those willing to help was large. Not only was it because of the times (late l960's and 70's) it was a guilt over what they felt took place in their parent's generation. They were driven to do something.
By the way, I could not but help notice the difference in the trailers between Europe and our market. More car scenes over here.