Well, dear readers, I have in my possession a post card for an estate sale taking place this morning. I have never been to an estate sale before – or rather an estate auction. It’s only five minutes from here, so I may just mosey on over and see what’s what. Bargains may be ripe for the picking, or perhaps bargains may be pick for the riping. I could come home with an estate, for example. For example, I could come home with an estate. Speaking of estates, I had such a lovely day yesterday. I don’t remember much of it, but I think it was a lovely day. I bought some westerns on DVD, I swam, I mailed some packages, and I watched a couple of DVDs. It was all very relaxing. I spent a little while going through my new The Stanley Kubrick Archives book – it’s a sumptuous feast for the eyes, this book is. It is also very heavy. There are many interesting factoids in said book – for example, I never knew there was an alternate title for Killer’s Kiss – Kiss Me, Kill Me. I’m enjoying it very much and shall be for at least a few more days – it’s over five hundred pages. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Last night I went to a screening of a motion picture entitled Melinda and Melinda, a film of Woody Allen. It’s a strange little movie. A group of people sit in a restaurant. One tells a little story, and two writers at the table posit that the story could be taken as tragedy and as comedy. We then see the story played out both ways, although it’s not exactly the same story. I suppose it sounds like an interesting device, but what happens is that you never invest in either of the stories, and after an hour I just turned off to the film. That said, there are more “Woodyisms” than we’ve had in a long time. Woody, of course, isn’t in the film, but Will Farrel is his surrogate and has the Woody timing and inflection down pretty well. The comedy is the more interesting of the conceits, but one keeps getting taken away from it. In the end, it’s all just a one trick pony and I came away disappointed. I also thought that most of the cast were not up to Woody’s usual interesting casting choices. Also, it’s too long at 100 minutes. Still, I’m always grateful for a few yocks.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got an Estate Auction/Sale to go to.
To tell you the truth, I am in a conventional dither – I have this feeling that I have plans today, yet I cannot remember any such plans. I also have the feeling that I have plans for tomorrow and yet I cannot remember any such plans. So, maybe I don’t have any plans but just think I might. And that, dear readers, is why I’m in a conventional dither.
Yesterday, I also watched a motion picture on DVD entitled The Violent Men, directed by Mr. Rudolph (Rudy) Mate, and starring Mr. Glenn Ford, Miss Barbara Stanwyck, and Mr. Edward G. Robinson, along with Mr. Brian Keith. I’d never seen it before. I quite enjoyed it – it’s actually quite a complex little western, character and plot-wise, and Mate (a former ace director of photography) keeps the whole thing moving right along. And with a cast this good, it’s all very watchable and entertaining. The transfer could be a bit sharper, but it’s fine – full 2:55 scope anamorphic transfer and excellent 3.0 stereo sound.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, toddle off to an Estate Auction/Sale to see what trinkets might be of interest, I must do a few errands, I must drive about in my motor car, I must eat something interesting, and I must watch more DVDs. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to make with the snappy replies. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, and I shall have a full report for you on the Estate Auction.