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You are here: Home / Archives for movies

A Favorite Movie and Newly Favorite Author

August 23, 2014 at 8:50 am by Claudia

This is what I saw when I let Scout out this morning:

saturday-fivecrowsinthetree

Five crows hanging out in our dead tree. At first, I thought they might be turkey vultures because I saw one up in the tree the other day. But their noisy calls soon told me they were crows.

We watched It Happened One Night yesterday. It has to be one of my favorite movies ever. It makes me happy. It’s funny and sad and wise and happy and it’s directed by the great Frank Capra, with a cast of wonderful character actors and, of course, Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable (in what I personally think is his best performance ever.) It was the perfect way to end a bit of a tough day. Thank goodness for TCM On Demand. We almost went with Roman Holiday, which was airing live on TCM, but I own that movie and we knew we could see it anytime.

Have you seen It Happened One Night? I have so many favorite scenes, but the scene on the bus with everyone singing “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” has to be one of them, along with every scene taking place in an ‘Auto Park,’ little groups of cottages where you could spend the night as you journeyed across America in your car. Don and I watch the scene inside the little cottage as the rain falls outside and wish we were back in that time, when traveling in a car was new and exciting and full of adventure.

(I just took a break from writing this because Don got up and we immediately started talking about how much we love that movie.)

In the past week or so, we’ve watched three of our favorite movies: Ball of Fire, His Girl Friday and It Happened One Night. I could watch them again and again.

saturday-morning glory bud

I also just finished a beautifully written mystery by a new author – Invisible City by Julia Dahl. Brilliant! It centers on a reporter who investigates a murder in the enclave in Brooklyn that is home to the Orthodox community of Hasidic Jews. Absolutely riveting, fascinating and so well plotted. I can’t decide whether to officially review it on the book blog or just talk about it. But I will say that I recommend it highly. An absolutely stellar debut novel and the first in what will be a series about reporter Rebekah Roberts. (Yay!) I am not exaggerating one bit when I say I couldn’t put it down.

Now I’m starting The Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olsen. I read four of his mysteries in succession earlier this year. He’s a wonderful writer. I’ll write about Adler-Olsen and his books in an upcoming post on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: birds, books, Don, movies 26 Comments

When A Movie is So Bad that it’s Good

July 25, 2014 at 7:50 am by Claudia

It’s actually coolish this morning.

I turned off the air conditioner. I may have to turn it back on again later, but it’s so nice to have quiet and birdsong, instead of the constant whir of the A/C.

I ran some errands yesterday. I know, big deal. But it was the first day I felt good enough to venture out for longer than a few minutes here and there. (More about the trip on Just Let Me Finish This Page.) The trip tired me out but I revived enough to do some weed whacking later on in the afternoon, while Don did a little mowing. Baby steps.

friday - lantana&birdbath

There was nothing worth watching on television last night, so we watched TCM On Demand. Don’s choice? A movie called Tentacles, made in the seventies and so dreadfully bad that it was good. You know what I mean. Sometimes there is a movie that is so bad that it makes for the perfect viewing experience. (As long as you’re not spending any money.) Clearly trying to build on the success of Jaws, the plot revolved around a giant octopus who was attacking and killing people in a coastal beach town. The producers were Italian and parts of the film were obviously dubbed. I don’t know how they got them, but the cast included Shelley Winters, John Huston, and Henry Fonda. Henry had sort of a cameo role, most of his scenes took place on a terrace and were, I’m sure, filmed in one day. He was part of a subplot that involved the work his company was doing on an underwater tunnel and the frequent use of high frequencies of sound that presumably created this monster octopus. Shelley played John Huston’s sister. Huston was a reporter and Shelley, a bit long in the tooth at this point in her career, as was Huston, was the mother of a little boy of about 10 or 12. What?? The whole thing was cheaply done, with bad special effects and closeups of a regular old octopus that were supposed to be terrifying. The plot got more absurd as the film went on, eventually involving some Shamu-type killer whales from a place not unlike Sea World that had been trained by the guy (played by Bo Hopkins) who was hunting the octopus (and who, by the way, had lost his wife, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and friend to the killer octopus, simply because they went out on a boat and used their radio to contact the Coast Guard – those sound frequencies again.) Bless them, those killer whales took on the octopus and killed him in a long scene that was so cheesy and blurry that I was unsure what I was seeing.

All this with a cheap sounding musical score created on a synthesizer.

I can’t make these things up.

friday - spirea

It’s Friday. We have no plans for the weekend but Don does have a gig on Sunday. I have to catch up on my reading. I have books to read and review and I didn’t much feel like reading when I was sick.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: movies, music 25 Comments

First Zinnia

July 20, 2014 at 8:00 am by Claudia

It’s Sunday.

And I’m still not feeling well. Friday night I felt feverish and I rarely get a fever. During that night I woke up shivering, and Don said my skin felt very warm. Yesterday, when I got up, I got a dizzy, clammy feeling and felt like I was going to pass out. (That’s something that has happened periodically to me over the years – it always has to do with sinus congestion.) So I took it easy all day yesterday – didn’t have a choice, really. Last night, I woke up bathed in sweat. Obviously, my body is trying to get rid of something – a virus? Anyway, I feel yucky yet again this morning.

I don’t like being sick.

Don had to mow the front lawn yesterday. We usually split that job and I like mowing. I couldn’t go to the CD release party last night. (Don brought me a cupcake.) I watched several episodes of Fixer Upper. I went to bed early.

Waaaah.

I managed to get outside yesterday to take a photo of the first zinnia to bloom here. They’re all planted from seed and are scattered around the property: in the Chicken Wire Fence Garden, the white barrels, and the kitchen garden.

Here it is yesterday:

first zinnia

And today:

first zinnia 2

It’s getting there. Hello first zinnia!

We watched Lawrence of Arabia the other night. That has to be one of the best films ever made. Simply stunning. Well, I should amend my previous statement. I watched half of it, then retired to bed with a fever. Don watched it all.

I miss Peter O’Toole.

Well, my friends, that’s about all I can come up with today.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: flowers, garden, movies 76 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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