Well, dear readers, here we are, the start of a brand spanking new week and I, for one, say both hoo and ray. As I’ve mentioned, last week was a total roller coaster ride, with moments of highest heights and moments of lowest lowghts. But, I’m ready to face whatever outcomes are coming in the next day or two, and I pretty much know what those outcomes are going to be, unless I’m surprised by something I’m not expecting. Yesterday, for example, was a very helpful day – I had a great and long night’s sleep, I had an interesting telephonic conversation with the object of last week’s travails, and then I simply didn’t do much of anything but relax and watch DVDs and eat and become fairly certain of my path. It was just the sort of day I needed and I feel somewhat refreshed as I’m writing these here notes at eleven twenty-two in the evening. And I’ll take somewhat refreshed any day of the week, even Monday. Hoo and ray indeed.
Yesterday, I managed to watch three-and-a-half count them three-and-a-half motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled The Proud Ones, an oater starring Mr. Robert Ryan, Miss Virginia Mayo, Mr. Walter Brennan, Mr. Jeffrey Hunter, and Mr. Robert Middleton. It was quite a good oater, actually, and I enjoyed it very much. One forgets just how good people like Robert Ryan were. Never saw a bad Robert Ryan performance. And Walter Brennan – do we have any character actor today who is within a country mile of Walter Brennan? Absolutely not. And in this film, he’s very understated and completely wonderful. The transfer is nice – some parts look better than others, but it’s never less than acceptable, and frequently more than that. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, which was entitled Compulsion, a film of Mr. Richard Fleischer, based on the novel by Meyer-not-Ira Levin. It’s basically about the Leopold and Loeb case. It may be Mr. Fleischer’s best film, and the performances are just perfection, none more so than Mr. Bradford Dillman as Artie. At a time when every actor was mumbling like Marlon, Mr. Dillman’s performance comes off as completely fresh and I think the performance was quite influential on acting styles that followed. Dean Stockwell is also excellent, and E.G. Marshall turns in his usual strong performance. And then enters Orson Welles, who walks away with all his scenes. The film is a crisp 103 minutes. The black-and-white scope transfer is mostly very good – could be a bit sharper, but again, it’s very acceptable.
I then watched half of a motion picture entitled Leo the Last, a not very well known film by Mr. John Boorman, made soon after Point Blank. I’d always wanted to see it, and a DVD was finally issued in Italy, so I got it. I’d always heard the film was a complete and utter disaster, but was not quite prepared for the breadth of said disaster. It’s simply one of the worst movies ever made, at least the sixty minutes I made it through before turning it off. Everyone who made the film was clearly on drugs – it’s completely incoherent on every level, and Mr. Boorman had seen one too many Fellini films for his own good. The poor actors do what they can, but it’s completely hopeless. Only for Boorman completists, I’m afraid. I then watched the third motion picture on DVD, a region 2 DVD, which was entitled Tarantula. Tarantula has always been one of my favorite of the giant bug movies, and I find it very enjoyable every time I watch it. It helps to have Mr. Leo G. Carroll, and John Agar and Mara Corday are fine, too. The transfer is full frame, which is a joke. You could fly several airplanes through the frame, what with all that useless head room at the top of the image. When one puts it into “zoom” mode, the aspect ratio is perfect. This was shot after The Incredible Shrinking Man – that DVD is in its correct aspect ratio, so why they didn’t do the same for Tarantula is quite baffling. In any case, I hope they rectify that when the film is issued in the US.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, whilst I continue to climb out of the abysmal abyss I have been residing in for the past few days.
Hoo and Ray – wasn’t that a comedy team? Today I shall be entering corrections on the master copy of the new play. Today I shall be catching up on shipping and other things. Today I shall be trying to finish booking the cabaret series. Then tonight, Mr. Matt Ashford and I will be doing a commentary track for the Deceit DVD. We’ll also be putting together a little reel for Matt of his best moments for his acting demo. So, it’s a nice full day and evening. The rest of the week should be equally busy, too, and I think I’m going to be on the prowl for a new DVD authoring guy – they guy who was recommended to me is making me a bit nervous, frankly, and I’m just not sure he’s professional enough.
My lovely weight loss program continues to work, and I was especially good this past weekend, eating reasonably and jogging both weekend days. I’ve been jogging at least four days a week, sometimes five, and that really helps change one’s metabolic rate, which is the key to weight loss. I’m going towards twenty pounds, maybe by the end of the week or the beginning of next week. Then it’s on to the final five or ten, depending on how I feel and how it looks.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do many things, including errands, driving about in my motor car, visiting the postal office and eating something interesting and reasonable. Today’s topic of discussion: Who are your favorite comedy teams and what are your favorite sequences or routines from their films or appearances? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I gird my loins to deal with the situation I must deal with, hopefully come tomorrow.