Well, dear readers, yesterday simply flew by and now it is today. Funny how that happens, isn’t it? And where else can you find such information on all the Internet, that’s what I’d like to know? I started off the day by dealing with some book things, then I attended to some details that needed attending to, then I went off to a screening of our very own Nick Redman’s new documentary, a sequel to his Academy Award-nominated The Wild Bunch documentary, An Album in Montage. This new documentary will be part of the supplements on the upcoming 2 DVD set of The Wild Bunch. Nick and several Peckinpah experts (and Mr. Peckinpah’s daughter Lupina) traveled down to the location used for The Wild Bunch. That footage is intercut with some amazing never-before-seen outtakes from the film. It’s very well done and is yards above the junk that passes for documentaries on DVDs. It actually has style and a point of view. I also saw his shorter little doc that will accompany Ride the High Country – a talk with Peckinpah’s sister. Also very good. After that, I headed home, took part in our Unseemly Live Chat, which was sparkling, and then had a lovely massage. I have much to do today, so I’d better keep mushing on forward with these here notes.
Last night I finished watching a motion picture on DVD entitled Orca, The Killer Whale. What a perfectly awful film this is. It’s one of the many post-Jaws ripoffs, but this one just takes everything that Jaws did right and subverts it. In the opening moments of the film, Richard Harris manages to wound a pregnant whale, who then tries to kill herself before being hauled up onto his boat so he can sell it. She then ejects the unborn fetus which skeeves Richard Harris, who washes it off the boat. Needless to say, husband and daddy-to-be whale gets upset and spends the rest of the film killing everyone associated with Richard Harris, and finally Richard himself. In other words, the only thing you care about in the film is the killer whale. The Richard Harris character is a jerk and deserves his fate, no matter how many times they try to justify his actions. There is a narration by Charlotte Rampling that was obviously tacked on so that the audience might have a clew as to what was going on at any given moment, and Bo Derek gets her leg bit off by the angry whale. There is a nice Ennio Morricone score which doesn’t really help the film much but is fun to hear. However, Paramount has delivered a beautiful DVD – sharp, colorful and really splendid-looking.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below so I can get to the rest of these here notes.
I think I shall title today’s notes Kung Pao. I don’t really know why, but I’ve been wanting to use that title for two weeks and today is the day. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, today is Kung Pao Notes day. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that too too? That means that these here notes will be spicy and peanutty.
I’ll tell you what else today is. Today is a day when we must don our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, today is a day when we must have cheese slices and ham chunks, today is a day when we must dance the Hora or the Tap-Tap-Tap-Tapioca, because today is our very own dear reader Jenny’s sweet sixteenth birthday. So, let’s give a loud haineshisway.com birthday cheer, shall we? On the count of three, or the earl of four: One, two, three – HAPPY SWEET SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY, DEAR READER JENNY!!!
I feel these here notes are so Kung Pao, don’t you? I feel they are spicy and peanutty. But are they beef, chicken or pork? Or all three? Whatever they are, they are Kung Pao all the way.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must make important phone calls, I must write, I must do errands, and I must write, and I must think Kung Pao thoughts all the livelong day and night. Today’s topic of discussion: What is your all-time favorite foodstuff that your mother made when you were a child – the dish you always wanted her to make or that made you happiest when you saw it on the table? Let’s have detailed descriptions and even recipes if you know them. Let’s have loads of lovely Kung Pao postings, shall we? We shall.