Well, dear readers, can this really be the last week of June? I’m not kiddin’ around, here – this is really the last week of June and I, for one, am hornswoggled. I just don’t know where June went, frankly, or even georgely. It went, all right, and now we are at July’s doorstep. Well, I’m glad June will be over because June has been a trial. I have had it with the trials of June and also the June of trials. We don’t need any more trials and/or tribulations. We need only nice things for the second half of the year and by gum and by golly and buy bonds we are damn well going to have nice things and if any more trials and/or tribulation rear their ugly little pusses I will bitch-slap them from here to eternity and hell and back. Damn them, damn them all to hell. But, despite the trials and/or tribulations of June, June did bring some lovely things. I wrote four nice songs for PennyO’s show, I got the news that The Brain From Planet X would have a full production come December, and I reconnected with a lovely person that I knew some forty years ago. I’d say the upsides were up and the downsides were down, but I’ll only dwell on the upsides because who needs to dwell on the downsides – only a fool or a simpleton, not necessarily in that order. Speaking of a fool or a simpleton, yesterday I had a very nice day, even though it went by way too fast, just like the rest of June. I got an excellent night’s sleep, I jogged, then did some stuff that needed doing. Then, PennyO came over and I played her the four songs for her show and I think she was very pleased to hear them, which was good since I’m more than happy with them. We then lunched and discussed her upcoming interview and proposal, which was fun and interesting, not necessarily in that order. After that, I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish. It was so hot I felt like a piece of wilted lettuce. It was so hot I felt like a gazelle in a steam room. It was so hot I felt like a spicy Eyetalian meat ball.
Yesterday, I managed to watch three count them three motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, a film based on the novel by Jimmy Breslin. It’s a very confused film, with moments of amusement and many more moments of complete awfulness. I’d guess they panicked in post production and looped in a lot of off-camera “jokes” to try to pep up the proceedings. About fifteen minutes into the film they throw in silent movie cards, trying to pep up the proceedings. They abandon that after two cards. It’s frenetic and really unfunny most of the time. It does have an interesting cast – Jerry Orbach and Lionel Stander as rival crime gang bosses, and some terrific New York character actors. But, in the midst of all the badness, there are the performances of Robert De Niro (in one of his first roles) and Leigh Taylor-Young. Those scenes are really wonderful, and the two of them are so winning that you wish the film could have just been about them. But, then we always have to go back to the bad comedy. It’s also amusing to see Herve Villechaize in one of his first roles (maybe his first), albeit completely revoiced by another actor. Transfer is fine and looks like the film looked – i.e. the usual Owen Roizman dirty, grimy look. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, a potboiler from Fox entitled The River’s Edge, starring Mr. Ray Milland, Mr. Anthony Quinn, and Miss Debra Paget. It’s directed by Mr. Allan Dwan, who’d been making pictures since 1911. He has certainly made some fine films, but The River’s Edge isn’t one of them. It’s certainly got Cinemascope and color, but a good script it doesn’t have, and the direction seems stodgy and lethargic. Miss Paget is truly bad, and Mr. Quinn and Mr. Milland have both had better days as actors (not their fault – no one could have done anything with these roles). Alas, there is a commentary track by the comedy team of James Ursini and Alain Silver. I’ve known Mr. Silver since 1982 (he co-produced The Creature Wasn’t Nice, and I’ve worked with him many times since). He’s a knowledgeable sort but these commentaries are just awful. This is one of the worst – to hear these guys pontificate on Mr. Dwan and this film, as if the film were somehow automatically interesting because Mr. Dwan had directed it. They also call it a film noir, which it most certainly isn’t. I had to shut the commentary off after ten minutes before I vomited on the ground. Someone keep these boys from doing this – they have no idea how stupid they sound, and while we’re at it, let’s also ban “Professor” Drew Casper, one of the most pompous and irritating of the commentary boys (I’d rather listen to “Professor” Irwin Corey), and Mr. Richard Shickel, who’s the biggest nincompoop of them all. I then watched the third motion picture on DVD, and it was back to my current obsession, Mr. Yasujiro Ozu (I had to watch something good). I chose The End of Summer, the second to last film Ozu made, before he passed away in 1963. It’s a beautiful little film, beautifully shot in color, and expertly acted. Again, not much of a plot, just simple little scenes which add up to an affecting whole. Appearing again is Miss Setsuko Hara, who is now one of my favorite actresses ever. Her smile can light up a room or break your heart, frequently in the same scene. She’s one of the most human of all actors and I just adore her. According to dear reader Hisaka, Miss Hara retired in the mid-sixties and pulled a Garbo – not wanting to be seen by anyone (she thought her face was aged – at forty-two!). The transfer (region 2, from the UK) is nice, color-wise, but too soft throughout.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because June is slipping away quickly, like my sanity, and we’d better enjoy what there is left of it, because July is waiting around the corner.
If you missed any of the merriment and mirth and laughter and legs around these here parts over the weekend, then do catch up or, at the very least, do ketchup. And if you have a guess in the Unseemly Trivia Contest, do send it in before midnight tonight.
Today, I may be lunching with Jrand’s friend, if I hear from him and we can coordinate. I then have to proof the Kevin Spirtas video and do any last minute fixes before finalizing it and getting it to the DVD authoring guy. The package design is almost done, and we’ll be putting it up for preorder in the next two weeks, along with our new CD release. Stay tuned. I also have some writing to do, some errands to do, and some to do to do.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, eat, write, proof, and do the to do I’ve got to do. Today’s topic of discussion: When you were growing up, what was the first place outside your home town that you visited? What was the occasion, and what are your memories of it? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we?