Imaginary time capsule

The Lupin III completist in me is once again sated. I've finally seen the ten-minute OVA Lupin Family All-Stars, and it was delightful! It's based on one of the original manga chapters (minus the usual nudity, sex and, uh, colourful language - but it retained the surreal humour), and the animation is absolutely top-notch, even if the art isn't. It made me smile, though I'm sad to see the old voice cast go.

Also, heads up: A new Lupin TV film premieres in Japan this Friday. Based on the press release and trailer it'll probably be a lacklustre affair. When even the animation in the trailer seems low-budget, it's time to lower your expectations. It makes sense though, I suppose TMS poured the money into this years' TV series and then spent a few nickles and dimes on the annual TV film. Ah well, I know many are looking forward to another by-the-numbers Lupin film after the rollercoaster that was the Fujiko spinoff, and it's about Marco Polo's Il Millione!

Anyway, tonight's Halloween. I plan to put on a movie (maybe Mask of Dimitrios or maybe the 1931 Dracula) and draw some more. Got some bonbons in case some errant children knock on my door. It'll be a comfortable evening.

Okay not all of them were subpar, I was happy every time I got a fourth-wall joke and a mellow Crosby love song - ANYWAY: I've watched all the Bob&Bing Road movies! Why oh why did they make that last one. Why did they replace Dorothy Lamour (who was still looking great!) with Joan Collins. Why.

I think Road to Utopia still is my favourite. Might be because that was the first one I watched, but also I think Doroty Lamour in that velvet dress singing Johnny Mercer's 'Personality' is so cute:

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Anyway, here's a thing somebody needs to confirm or deny for me: With all this in mind, I came across a post about the Dreamworks movie Road to El Dorado (no I'm not thinking about whether the creators intended for Miguel and Tulio to be boyfriends, that seems like an urban legend to me). See, it sort of clicked. Dreamworks intended it to be a series, right? About two conmen buddies traveling the world? And they get mistaken for something they're not? And they hook up with a badass lady? And there are musical interludes? So either this is one of those homages that are completely obvious to everybody but me, or I need to put the brakes on this Bing Crosby obsession of mine.

Anyway, I've been meaning to rewatch that movie anyway, seeing as the first (and only) time I saw it was on a train journey where I was too self-conscious about watching a children's movie in public to really appreciate it. But I remember being kind of "meh" about it, I wonder why. I mean, the animations is wonderful, I remember thinking the music by Elton John was pretty catchy...

Oh wait. There it is. "Your horse bit me in the butt!" Yup, Dreamworks humour. I think I'll rather stick to The Emperor's New Groove (I've only watched the Norwegian dub, which was uncommonly hilarious, but I definitely need to see the original. Because Eartha Kitt. And Tom Jones.)

As if I'm not emotionally vulnerable enough these days (SUCH a crybucket), I've developed not only one, but two cold sores on my upper lip. A personal record. And in spite of what the ads tell you, those clear cold sore plasters, while pretty effective, don't stay on when you eat or drink. Which means I'm trying out this new style of drinking which doesn't involve the upper lip at all. Still haven't quite perfected it.

Another problem with cold sores are that they generally can't be confused with a bruised lip from fighting. So I can't make up any badass stories when people point to my mouth and make sympathetic noises.

Another grievance: Nordic TCM's current programming just won't do. See, my mum's got TCM (or the Cartoon Network/TCM hybrid channel) and also DVR, and I always get a lot of mileage out of both when I'm visiting. There's usually at least one movie per night to peak my interest, but looking at the listings now... Some C-list Westerns, and late eighties comedies (when did that become TCM material?), it's hugely disappointing.

TCM's Norwegian website is also a complete joke. It was last updated in October and there are broken links and typos everywhere. A far cry from the main TCM site, which I actually use as a handy resource.

On the upside, there is lots of candy and cats here to bury my woes in.

(God do I love that line.)

Aaah I get so excited when I finally get to watch one of the great actors in action for the first time, and I realize that every word I've read, all the praise I've heard, was spot on. Sure, sometimes I get so disappointed I spend the rest of the evening wondering what on earth people see that I don't - but when everything's just right, it's so right.

Tonight's revelation: George Sanders. Who doesn't have a major part in All About Eve, but I was grinning at the screen every time he walked in.

I was so puzzled reading about glamorous leading ladies preparing to leave their husbands for him, or women going to the movies to sigh dreamily at the screen, because looking at pictures of him my immediate reaction was "What, him?" Of all the delicious mancandy to come out of Hollywood in that era, you pick the tall pudgy guy with the thinning hair?

But now. Oh man do I see it. He's a delight on screen. And the voice. That low, low purr with the impeccable upper-class accent. How can you not respond to that? And the delivery. How someone can come across as so sophisticated and lascivious at the same time is a mystery. "Cad" doesn't even begin to describe it.

I definitely need to watch more. Thankfully the author of my favourite film blog is a huge Sanders fan, so I know where to go for suggestions.


ETA: WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA. He's LORD HENRY opposite ANGELA LANSBURY AS SYBIL in The Picture of Dorian Gray?! JESUS I DON'T NEED TO HEAR SUCH EXCITING THINGS WHEN IT'S ALREADY PAST MY BEDTIME.

There are certain actors I try to avoid seeing in colour. Sure it's fine for novelty's sake (I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Ginger Rogers' ostrich feather gown in Top Hat was actually very very blue), but for the duration of an entire movie it can be really distracting to me.

To be honest, I think my distaste comes from the fact that the sort of actors and actresses I think were beautiful and handsome and yummy during the thirties and forties were getting on in years by the time colour film were becoming the big thing. Not even tons of makeup could disguise drooping jowls and wrinkles from early Technicolor, boy was that an unforgiving medium. (To me, Georges Guètary looks at least ten years older in An American in Paris than he does in some his later French movies).

I've been thinking about this because yesterday I saw Fred Astaire in Technicolor, and the routine was so good it's probably the first time I've been able to forget that I'm watching Fred Astaire in Technicolor.

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(Too bad this video flattens the colours further - I think I like Lucille Bremer in this scene mostly because her bright red hair reminds me of Moira Shearer).

Trust me to love any storyline involving elegant thieves. And maybe it was due to how for the most part Ziegfield Follies (1945) is a bore up until this sequence, but that step and turn he does at 06:08 had me gasping audibly. I'd forgotten how much I absolutely adore Astaire. Later on in the movie he dances with Gene Kelly you know, in their only real teamup ever - which in turn reminded me how much I love Kelly (who sure fills out that suit in a way Astaire never could, mmmm those legs).

I know I'd sworn off Capra movies, but then I read some line from Platinum Blonde (1931) that made me laugh, and decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did!

Not only did it make me realize that yes, Jean Harlow definitely earned her status as a Sex Symbol (which certainly doesn't come across in plain pictures, but wow, watching her on screen is spellbinding), but it also made me fall completely in love with the male lead, Robert Williams.


I mean, that easygoing Clark Gable-type charm! That witty delivery! His obvious chemistry with Harlow! Those eyes! I thought, "Why hasn't anybody told me about Robert Williams! He should be up there alongside Spencer Tracy and Jimmy Cagney and James Stewart! I need to see his entire filmography ASAP!"

See, funny thing about Robert Williams... Turns out, Platinum Blonde was his first big role. Also, he died three days after it premiered, of appendicitis.

Ahhhhh darn. At least I appreciate that I'm not alone in thinking he'd really been considered one of the great actors of the 1930s had he lived.

I've got a new vanity project this year, it's this page:

Moviewatching 2012

A place where I'll not only list but also try to score and write a few words about every single movie I watch this year.

It's got a sexy hover effect and everything!

I've never been one for war movies. Watching the usual shooting-at-the-enemy-for-two-hours, dashing-acts-of-bravery, big-patriotic-speech-as-the-music-swells thing doesn't appeal to me. But there are certain famous movies I feel I ought to watch even if I don't think I'll enjoy them.

So...

You know, All Quiet on the Western Front was absolutely not at all what I expected.

Here you've got a war movie, an American war movie from 1930 and all the characters are German and... it's just one of the most human and universal movies I've seen. I wasn't merely crying at the end, I was whimpering into a pillow. Not to mention how the movie doesn't feel dated at all - it's surprisingly modern in its delivery, with the episodic story.

And it... It feels so important somehow. Exposing patriotism and idealism and us-versus-them and war, how decidedly unglamourous and meaningless it all really is. I can't believe this was made between two world wars.

I honestly think it should be shown in schools everywhere.

(This is me learning not to assume things about movies.)

There's just something about keeping list that seems so... satisfying!

So here we are, list of this year's movies (short films, documentaries and rewatches not included).

( Movies 2011 )

All in all I feel the list isn't as varied as it was last year, but that's probably because I haven't had the money to go to my beloved film club this semester. On the other hand I've been watching a lot more foreign movies ("foreign" as in non-English) than usual.

A good movie year, I think.

The Son of Frankenstein was different than I'd anticipated, not going for the same sympathetic approach the previous movie did, but it was still a delightful straight-up horror movie. I got a kick out of the lampshade hanging about how the majority of people seem to think Frankenstein is the name of the monster, that got a titter out of me.

Aaah Basil Rathbone, supreme moustache wearer of my heart. I was half expecting him to just do a carbon copy performance of Colin Clive's role, but I was delighted to see him bringing his own very English, jittery (and gloriously camp) approach to the movie. He was a delight to watch.

And oh, I wound up loving Ygor in spite of everything, but that's definitely Bela Lugosi's charisma affecting me and not the script. Put Karloff, Rathbone and Lugosi in a scene together and Lugosi's sure to steal the scene every time. Wonderful.