The animated series reminds me of the classic Disney cartoon presentations with some live action, some background and references and the animation. The colors were vibrant too. I'd say Bob Gale is the closest anyone's come to Walt.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" 1975

You know, I don't think I've seen this all the way through since the first time I saw it, when it came out. It's a really funny movie, and deserves for all those quotes to be as famous as they are.

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" 1988

Loads of fun, with Steve Martin and Michael Caine playing con men. Glenne Headly, who plays the girl, died just recently and I was reminded of this. If you've missed this one, check it out.

Recently? Just last week she passed away. I missed any obit for her. She was a wonderful actress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenne_Headly

"Dial M for Murder" 1954

Grabbed a chance to see this one on the big screen, in an interesting venue.

My city started out as a Hudson's Bay trading post, and about fifty years ago they constructed a replica of one of the forts, as a living museum - you know the kind of thing, where people in costume pretend to be fur traders, etc. Over the years, various heritage buildings that were doomed to be demolished were dragged to the site, and replicas of others were built, so now there is the fort, an 1885 street, a 1915 street, etc.

They show old movies once a week in the old vaudeville theatre down there, and tonight was the first time I checked it out. Really quite nice, I'll be heading down again.

Not much to say about the movie except that it's a classic for a reason. Ray Milland is especially great, and John Williams as the chief inspector steals the show.

I watched Fargo, a movie from 1996 starring Steve Buscemi and William H. Macy.

"Stephen King's The Stand" TV Miniseries

Gary Sinise as Stu Redman
Molly Ringwald as Frannie Goldsmith
Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg
Laura San Giacomo as Nadine Cross
Ruby Dee as Mother Abagail Freemantle
Ossie Davis as Judge Richard Farris
Miguel Ferrer as Lloyd Henreid
Corin Nemec as Harold Lauder
Matt Frewer as Trashcan Man
Adam Storke as Larry Underwood
Ray Walston as Glen Bateman
Rob Lowe as Nick Andros
Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen
Peter Van Norden as Ralph Brentner
Bridgit Ryan as Lucy Swann
Rick Aviles as Rat Man
Max Wright as Dr. Herbert Denninger
Shawnee Smith as Julie Lawry
Cynthia Garris as Susan Stern
Richard Jewkes as Dick Ellis
Sarah Schaub as Gina McKone
William Newman as Dr. Soames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as The Monster Shouter
Warren Frost as Dr. George Richardson
John Bloom as Deputy Joe-Bob
Troy Evans as Sheriff Johnny Baker
Stephen King as Teddy Weizak
John Landis as Russ Dorr
Dan Martin as Rich Moffat
John Dunbar as Dave Roberts
Sam Raimi as Bobby Terry
Chuck Adamson as Barry Dorgan
Kellie Overbey as Dayna Jurgens
Ray McKinnon as Charlie D. Campion
Tom Holland as Carl Hough
David Kirk Chambers as Brad Kitchner
Kathy Bates as Rae Flowers (uncredited)
Ed Harris as Gen. Bill Starkey (uncredited)
Sherman Howard as Dr. Dietz
Ken Jenkins as Peter Goldsmith
Richard Lineback as Poke Freeman
Sam Anderson as Whitney Horgan
Leo Geter as Chad Norris
Patrick Kilpatrick as Ray Booth
Jordan Lund as Bill Hapscomb
Jesse Bennett as Vic Palfrey
Jim Haynie as Deputy Kingsolving
Billy L. Sullivan as Joe
Hope Marie Carlton as Sally Campion
Mary Ethel Gregory as Alice Underwood
Britney Lewis as Arlene



As Tom Cullen would say: "M-O-O-N, that spells epic casting."

Yhis is one of the best Revelation/Armagedon type projects. Not a horror film (as many think all King's works are but hardly even get to that level like the other miniseries "It" did). Purely The Good versus The Evil. Six great hours of Gospel as seen through the eyes of that guy from Maine. Mayhaps it is, maynaps it isn't.

It wasn't a bad adaptation of the novel, all told. I had some issues with some of the casting choices - Gary Sinese did a good job, but he sure didn't look the way I imagined Stu to look. I'd have picked someone like a young James Gandolfini.

And I can understand why they merged Nadine's character with whatsername that Larry left New York with, in the book - it saved time and she wasn't an essential character -
but that episode was part of establishing Larry's character - or rather how he thought of himself, as someone who never follows through, who never really lays it all on the line. The whole thing was so darn long, they could have left her in and just made it a little bit longer.

"Steel Magnolias"

Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts

With all the Qs about this one on FT, I expected more. There was no character development. The plot jumped in time with major character changes and no explanation, Six women (put forward as 3 paired relationships based on family, careers and wealth) A real tear jerker for the ladies because one of them dies. Too much shooting at birds in the trees with blanks (?) not enough shooting of backstories. Sally Field is watchable. Guys... skip it at all costs.

I never really understood the appeal of that one, myself.

"The Young Philadelphians" 1959

Nice adaptation of a Richard Powell novel, with a lot of familiar faces. Paul Newman and Barbara Rush play the leads, but Brian Keith does a nice turn with a brogue and a hearty manner, while Robert Vaughn, looking impossibly young, chews the scenery in all directions. John Williams, who I saw last week in "Dial M for Murder" shows up again as a Philadelphia lawyer. And Batman himself, Adam West, (even more impossibly young) has a short part where it's never stated that he's gay, but where we all know he is.

Oh, and the delightful Billie Burke, who you might know as Glinda the Good Witch, is yet again delightful, and Richard Deacon, who was all over the TV screens of my childhood, has a very entertaining spot as a butler.

I pulled some old DVDs off the shelf to check for deterioration (I'll have to replace "Robots" the animated feature). These have held up fine on the shelf:

-Babylon A.D. - I think one of Vin Diesel's best because he us playing a vulnerable character and not a superhero.

-Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs (live action) - Is that Huntsman Thor? I think it is!

-The Mutant Chronicles - Too dark visually but fine plot and characterwise.

-The Villain - A great Kirk Douglas doing Wile Coyote pratfalls Western comedy. Governor Arnold and Ann-Margret as Handsome Stranger and Miss Charming, wonderful... especially with what we know as the man's real personality as a masher, playing the dumb country bumpkin, ignorant of human desires.

-The Golden Compass - shame they never did the sequels!!

-Thunderbirds (live action) - Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek TNG's Will Reiker) directed

"Blade Runner" 1982

Oddly enough, I'd never seen this. Can certainly understand why it's a classic.

We're supposed to be cheering for the Replicants, right?

Is Deckard a replicant? Built with implanted memories to hunt his own kind? He did seem to have a superhuman tolerance for pain.

Could be. I like it that the film works, either way.

Serendipity~

I random;u pullrf 2 DVDs to rewatch and both had Fisher Stevens as a co-star: "Super Mario Bros" woith Hoskins, Leguizamo and Hopperl "The Marrying Man" with Alec Baldwin and Kuim Vassinger,

Both films were enjoyable. one a comic take on the video game and the other a fair romantic comedy (but wow can Kim sing)

Another fluke in my disc pulling from separate shelves got me 2 "Slip Stream" DVDs, One astars Sean Astin, the other, Bill Paxton. The first is a time travel bonunfrum set in the present where the time jump is limited to 10 minuted. It centers around a bank robbery and the killing of an FBI agent, The second is about a dystopian future post geophysical upheaval and the travels to do something noble by Pacton. It remind me a lot of the Sental Berger campy classic "She"

"State Fair" 1945

Well this is about as wholesome as you'd expect a 1945 R&H musical about the Iowa state fair to be. Farm family goes to the state fair, each of the four members has triumphs and losses. Well, actually only Dick Haymes' character has a loss, and he wouldn't have been happy with her anyway, the hussy.

I had a surprisingly good time with this, as light fare from this period is really hit and miss for me. Harry Morgan has a wonderful turn as a carnival barker, probably the high point of the movie ... "I'm having fun here!"

"State Fait" = "Carousel" without the big name singers and dancers. Like one, you have to like both. Noth are Blue Ribbon winners.
I've long wanted to get the DVD of Pat Boone's 1962 version.

"Mrs Miniver" 1942

Well, it's propaganda, but it's darned effective propaganda. Makes you want to go and fight for beer, and roses, and a 1000 year old stone church....

"The Purple Rose of Cairo" 1985

I'm not a huge Woody Allen fan, but you gotta admit that when he's good, he's good. And this exploration of fantasy and disappointment is good.

"Guys and Dolls" 1955

Yeah, Marlon Brando can't sing like Frank Sinatra can, but he still carries off the part of Sky Masterson pretty well. Some great songs, some great dancing - the crap game sqeuence is wonderful, and the opening number is one of my favourites...
"I got the horse right here...."

"Broadway Danny Rose" 1984

Well, OK, maybe I am a bit of a Woody Allen fan after all. It's a farce, sure, but it's one with so much heart.... That Thanksgiving dinner scene, good lord.

"The King and I" 1956

Got a chance to see this on the big screen, which is always fun. Our film society is shutting down, though, so not too many more chances for these classics in a theatre for me, too bad.

"La La Land" 2016

Seen right after a golden age musical, gotta say that the songs and choreography of this one were, well, OK. The story was fine, and lord knows the stories of some of the old musicals were thin as tissue paper. But, I dunno, I feeling that maybe I'm just too old for movies about young people with dreams - I find myself more annoyed by them than rooting for them.

So, this was fine. There were a few bits that were really quite nicely done and a lot of the colours really popped. But it was sure no "Moonlight" so looks like this was one year the Academy got it right.

"Citizen Cohn" 1992

Made for TV biopic of Roy Cohn, a truly terrible person. James Woods does a great job of portraying Joe McCarthy's attack dog, during the Communist witch hunts of the 50s.

"I Am Not your Negro" 2016

Whew.

This is the words of James Baldwin, mostly read by Samuel Jackson over archival footage of various types, sometimes Baldwin himself in interviews and TV appearances, talking about race in America.

And he refuses to go with the easy almost-truth. He refuses to look away. He refuses to not be a man.

I've read some of Baldwin's fiction, and been overwhelmed by the clarity with which he speaks about brutality. Looks like I'm going to have to read more.