Well, dear readers, I must write these notes in a hurry. Why, you may ask, must I write these notes in a hurry, and I shall tell you why, for why should I keep such things from you dear readers. I must write these notes in a hurry because, frankly, I am eating French fries. Yes, Virginia, I am eating the fries of France, and if I write long notes they shall wilt and wither and we simply cannot have wilted and withered fries of France, now can we? As most of you know, I write these here notes just before midnight, and tonight I had a craving for the fries of France from the deli of Jew. So, I went to the deli of Jew and got the fries from France (with Ranch Dressing from the USA). I then came home and realized I had to write these here notes. So, let me give you the dear Reader’s Digest version of yesterday. I got up, I had breakfast with Mr. Kevin Spirtas, I did a few errands, I visited a few emporiums, I ate a cheeseburger, and I sat on my couch like so much fish, not doing much of anything else, except doing a new last paragraph for my short story. It’s now closer, but needs one more little thing, which I think I have now figured out. End of paragraph one.
Beginning of paragraph two. Yesterday, I watched two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled Psycho II. I have not seen Psycho II since it came out. I do not think it’s a great movie or anything, in fact I think the script is pretty poor. But it does have some very entertaining moments, thanks to the expert playing of Mr. Anthony Perkins, and the lovely Meg Tilly. Interestingly, the film has a component that actually makes it seem better than it is, and that is the score by Jerry Goldsmith, probably my favorite of his 80s scores. It’s amazing what a great score can do to a mediocre film. Of course, the opposite can also be true and that is somewhat the case with Psycho III, which is the second motion picture I watched on DVD. Psycho III is much more interesting than Psycho II, mostly because of the script by our very own Pogue. It has very clever ideas and good characters, most importantly the character played by the wonderful Diana Scarwid. Perkins is, as always, great. He’s also the director here, and, as a director, he’s much more in Ken Russell territory than he is in Hitch territory, style-wise. He’d worked with Mr. Russell just prior to this film, in Crimes of Passion, and the look of Psycho III is very much influenced by that film, with its splashes of color wash lighting over scenes. I believe the studio imposed some of the blatant violence on its filmmaker, and those bits are very out of place, much more like slasher films than Psycho films. There are many sly allusions to the original film, and a terrific opening homage to Vertigo (the film’s opening line, played over a black screen, is a hell of a way to kick-start a movie – a real attention-getter). Aside from the slasher violence the only other thing that hurts the film is Carter Burwell’s heavily synth score, which I found trivial and completely at odds with the visuals and the acting. It’s too bad they didn’t have Jerry Goldsmith back, as it would have lifted the film to another level. Both films sport brand new anamorphic transfers that look just fine. There are no extras, save for the theatrical trailers.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Don’t I have some fries of France getting wilted and withered, not necessarily in that order? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because this is the end of part one.
Beginning of part two. Don’t forget, Donald should have a new radio show up later today. Don’t forget to submit your answers to the Unseemly Trivia Contest. Don’t forget, I may just open up the Unseemly Live Chat Room later today, IF we have a quorum on the forum or, at the very least, a forum on the quorum.
Oh, I simply must go eat the fries of France. They are calling me. They are saying, “BK, get in here quick, before we wilt and wither and get yucky.” They said it with a French accent, of course.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must do my final adjustment on the final paragraph of my short story, I must do an errand or three, I must work on the LACC musical numbers, and I must watch a DVD or six. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite video games since the advent of video games – you know, games from the classic era right up through today. Also, your favorite games you play on your computer. I’ll start – from the classic era – Frogger, always. Computer game – Free Cell and Bookworm. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as I now toddle off to eat the fries of France. End of notes.