Tag: Books & Movies

10 Best / Worst

Movies

Here’s a list of movies I can get behind:

10 Brilliant British War Films That Completely Tanked
(That Are Now Classics)

I’ve seen all but one or two (I have got to watch Colonel Blimp at some point in the near future), and all I can do is offer a ringing endorsement.  That they all failed at the box office just reinforces how good they really are.

I have DVD copies of A Bridge Too Far,  Aces High and Charge of the Light Brigade, and having been reminded by the video, I think I need to look at acquiring a couple more — The War Game and Zulu Dawn, especially.

Do ye (y’all) the same.

Welcome News

Entertainment, Wokism

When I heard that Woke Disney was going to remake one of my favorite-ever movies, I was immediately overcome by a Black Mood.  What foul atrocities, I asked myself, are they going to inflict upon this jewel?

Fear not, Kim:

Disney fans are breathing a sigh of relief after it was reported that a live-action remake of The Aristocats has been quietly cancelled.

Plans for the new movie, based on the 1970’s classic, were initially announced in 2022 with Questlove attached to the project.

But, speaking on the August 20 episode of Score: The Podcast, the director – real name Ahmir K. Thompson – claimed that the film has been shelved.

Addressing the project’s demise, Questlove told the podcast: ‘A new administration came in, and then I was like, “Okay, well, this is what I plan to do, and dadada, do the song and dance, and here’s some of the music examples and there’s some team I’m working with dadada.”

‘And then they had another administration shuffle, and it was like, “Okay well. All right.” And by the third time I was just like, “Maybe this isn’t meant for me, because there’s also, at least, like right now, there’s so many options I have in pickings.”‘

Questlove said that The Aristocats live-action make could be revived years down the line.

‘Maybe it’ll happen in the future,’ he added.

I bloody well hope not.

Of all the old Disney movies (The Aristocats was made in 1970), this one represented all the good things about the classic animated Disney movies:  funny, satirical, heartbreaking, full of suspense, lovely musical numbers (Maurice Chevalier!), with wonderful supporting characters (e.g. Madame’s ancient lawyer and the gaggle of elderly English geese) and the most villainous of villains, Edgar the butler.

It is an example of the perfect movie — and, it should be said, the last okayed by Walt and made under Roy Disney’s supervision before their respective deaths.  (Since then…)

There is no doubt that any “new” take on this classic would only be foul, wrong and at the end, a commercial failure.  And making it “live-action” (i.e. mostly CGI) would add to the cataclysm.

Some movies — especially the perfect ones — never have to be remade.  And The Aristocats most certainly belongs in that category.

Hell, I always thought (and still do) that Duchess was just about the perfect woman:  gorgeous, unwittingly sexy, loved her family… the list is endless.  And as voiced by Eva Gabor… rowrrr.

And one last thought:

Worth Another Look?

Entertainment

The other day I heard a snatch of a tune while shopping — it was a theme tune from an old TV show — and it got me asking myself a question, and hence it’s a question for everybody:

If you could re-watch / binge all the episodes from any old TV show (minus the commercials, of course), which would be your Top 5?

Bear in mind that a lot of the old shows are hopelessly dated, and won’t have passed the test of time;  but some are so good, or have such treasured memories, that it wouldn’t matter.

I am also aware that most old TV shows are available on boxed sets and such, but run with me on this one.  Imagine it’s a cold, rainy / snowy long weekend and you don’t want to do anything except wrap up in a blanket and watch TV.  You turn on the streaming channel of your choice, and there they are.

Mine are below the fold.

Read more

Out Of The Loop

Gratuitous Chick Pics, Old Fartism

The other day I was confronted by a situation that has become depressingly familiar:  an allusion to someone who is clearly well-known to many, but whose existence had hitherto been completely unknown to me.

In this case, it was the redoubtable Tom Knighton, whose substack efforts are definitely worthy of subscription in general, but sadly out of my reach because #Poverty.  Writing a very Kim-like essay (minus Kim’s swears), he was talking about the evils of technology being used to spy on people and control their lives — in this case, electricity supply — which is an issue near and dear to me, as Loyal Readers will be aware.

However, towards the end, Knighton writes this:

When I thought I wanted a cyberpunk future, I meant with Dina Meyer running through the streets of some city while we tried to find a cybernetic dolphin, not this crap.

Who?

It turns out that this Dina Meyer is an actress who has had a fairly long and interesting career, with appearances in many, many movies and TV shows:  none of which I’ve ever watched, other than (in the TV case) a few episodes of a show in which she may have appeared but clearly didn’t register with me.  Here are a few examples, just to illustrate the situation.

Apparently, Miss Meyer started off her career in Beverly Hills 90210, of which I’ve never watched a single episode.  She’s also appeared in some movies (Johnny Mnemonic, Starship Troopers, Saw I-III, Dragonheart  and one of the Star Trek movies), none of which I’ve seen because their genres (sci-fi, fantasy, horror etc.) have absolutely no appeal to me.

While Tom Knighton clearly knows who she is and uses her as some kind of cultural reference, it’s perfectly possible that as good an actress as she may be, Dina Meyer has heretofore floated completely under my finely-adjusted and alert Totty Radar, however much of a cultural lodestar she may be.  Lest others find themselves sailing with me on board the same Ship Of Ignorance, therefore, I submit the following:

It seems somewhat strange that she’s survived and prospered thus far (into her late 50s, good grief) without my ever having spotted her before, but it’s a factor of her role- and genre choices rather than my inattentiveness.

Anyway, there’s no need to thank me:  it’s all part of the service.

Answer Delayed

Literature

Several Readers have asked for the translated version of Les Misérables that I have praised quite often before.

Please be patient:  I don’t have my copy of Les Miz at hand — I believe I lent it to the Son&Heir a little while ago, and he thinks he may have it, but he’s just moved house and as it’s not among the books so far unpacked, it might still be in a packing case in his garage.  He’s promised to locate the thing and bring it back to me if this is the case.

However, I believe that this is the book I have:  from AbeBooks, it’s the Les Miz / Hunchback double feature (!), in hardback, from Connecticut/Longmeadow Press.

It’s kinda spendy, nearly $40, but considering that it’s essentially two classic works for $20 each, it’s a bargain.

There aren’t a lot of copies extant, so it’s FCFS.  Good luck, y’all.

Not Really The Best

Literature, Movies

Okay, I admit I was caught by the headline to this article:

‘Masterpiece’ period drama based on ‘best book ever written’ is free to stream on Netflix

Ignoring for a moment the inherent inability of Netflix to make a “masterpiece” anything, I was nevertheless curious to see what constituted the “best book ever written”.

Alas, no.  While One Hundred Years of Solitude  isn’t a bad book, it’s nowhere close to being the best book ever written — hell, even in the “magical reality” genre (to which it belongs) John Fowles’s The Magus  has it beaten all ends up — but while One Hundred  may entertain, it’s not going to change your world in the same way, perhaps, that Les Misérables  might.

Feel free to discuss in Comments, or to nominate your own submission for the greatest.  (Oh gawd, here come the Heinlein / Pratchett groupies…)