Jamaica Inn

I watched the Alfred Hitchcock film "Jamaica Inn." I see it gets mostly poor reviews all around.

I didn't think it was so terrible. I had a hard time understanding the dialogue much of the time, with the heavier accent, especially with Charles Laughton's character. But that's about it.

I couldn't figure out why Maureen O'Hara's character went back to Jamaica Inn when she had escaped with the guy she saved. That didn't make sense to me.

It started off very exciting, with the ship being tossed in the sea, then the cutthroats doing their thing on the survivors. That's why they call them cutthroats.

As for Charles Laughton, his character was fairly disgusting. Plus I don't think I've ever seen anyone whose eyebrows were so far up his head, except Cap'n Crunch comes to mind. That was very distracting.

It was good to finally see all the soldiers clean up the mess and get it straightened out.

It was anticlimactic when Pengallon jumped off the top of the boat. Who really cared at that point? I would've shot him through the head and spared him the trouble. Why they didn't just shoot him, I don't know.

Among the outlaws, I liked Harry the best, in a scruffy top hat, looking great in his filthy suit. He reminded me of Adam Lambert, a very attractive guy.

A Bunch of Alfred Hitchcock Movies

I bought one of those video bin DVD sets at Walmart, a bunch of movies by Alfred Hitchcock, $5 for four DVDs.

Some of the reviews I looked at at Amazon say there could be technical difficulties in there somewhere, which I wouldn't doubt. A few years ago I got a John Wayne set that had technical difficulties, such as freezing up at certain points no matter what you did.

But so far so good on this one. But I've only watched one and most of another movie.

The one I watched last night was great, "The Lady Vanishes." I was definitely trying to think how it was going to resolve itself, the whole business on the train about Miss Froy vanishing. Maybe she wasn't even there, because the other woman was hit on the head by a planter. That was a mystery, which, if you haven't seen it, would be worth your time to find!

I like the various actors in the film, since they had some really weird spooky looking ones on the train, characters. The two Englishmen were pretty funny too, both at the hotel which the film starts and on the train. There's a lot of witty things throughout.

The other film I'm having a hard time staying awake for, even though it's not bad. It's silent, so I'm listening to music while having to pay extra close attention to the film. It makes me tired and I have to give up for a while. It's called "The Farmer's Wife." I'm not a big fan of silent films, because of all the work you have to do to watch one. Also they're very unnatural.

Anyway, a farmer's wife dies, then he marries off his daughter, then he feels like getting married himself. But who should he get married to? He's going through the list of possibilities, picturing them sitting in his wife's empty chair. He has a housekeeper who he's not even considering, but the box says she's "secretly in love" with him, so I would guess he eventually opens his eyes to the very fit woman already under his roof.

The film has a hired man who's fun to watch. He looks like a real character and plays the rustic part to the hilt.

Finished "The Great Escape"

I was close, toward the end of the movie "The Great Escape," so I just sat and let it play out.

I hate to say anything about the end, since maybe someone else hasn't seen it. But, hey, it's over 45 years old, and not that many people read this blog anyway.

Of course I would've preferred a happier ending. It has a terrible ending, in my opinion. The problem is that it's more or less a true story. The escape and the aftermath actually happened, so there was no way to give it a decent Hollywood ending.

So you're left just admiring (I guess) their bravery and sense of duty in escaping. Never mind the terrible payoff. I have a hard time with that one. Because if they would've just sat tight in prison, they would've been OK and would've accomplished as much.

If it indeed is the "duty" of everyone to try to escape, that's fine. I'd say change the "duty." Once you're in prison, you're out of the game as far as what you're going to do "out there." Just sit tight and let the war end without you.

The building of the tunnel was quite an operation. But it seems like if you were brilliant enough to do all that work, you'd also be brilliant enough not to have it 20 feet short. Come on. I'm amazed that anyone could dig a tunnel surreptitiously, have it completely supported with wood, have a track to run a makeshift train shuttle on, have electrical lighting, and all the rest. Again, if you can do all that, you can measure the thing and make sure it's not 20 feet short!

As for being caught afterward, that was a major drag. Once you're out of the prison, your troubles have just begun.

Harry Potter On Blu-Ray

We got the first five Harry Potter films on Blu-Ray.

I'm not a big fan. I've seen each movie one time, at the theater. But I was watching part of the first one on Blu-Ray and it looked really good. It looked better than it did at the theater, in fact. Which might be because I normally sit way too close -- the first row back then -- and have a hard time focusing on anything.

With the big TV and the crystal clear picture, it's quite enjoyable. So I saw part of the beginning, way up in fact to the time they're being sorted by the sorting hat and then going to their rooms. Then I stopped. And the next part I saw was toward the end, facing Professor somebody who is a host for the parasitic Voldemort, and Harry has to face him, blah blah blah.

Like I said, I only saw it one time. And I didn't remember any of this last part.

So it might be worth my while, assuming I have enough free time, to watch all these on Blu-Ray. I could do it. I don't know how but I think I could. I'm not good at sitting watching TV for prolonged periods of time.

Hermione is sure cute.

Republicans' Current and Future Idiocracy

This is too weird. We have terrible climate change forecasts for the breadbasket states, and we have senators in those areas who will not vote to do anything about it.

Let's say it gets extremely hot. And the plants all start dying. We can always give them Brawndo, with electrolytes, which plants crave. Like in the movie, we also have idiots leading us.

This article says Kansas will be most ravaged by climate change. But the two Republican senators there are unlikely to support legislation concerning it. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts. You think you have a Brownback now, just wait till the average temperature is 110!

So obviously they're morons.

In Nebraska we have Democrat-in-name-only Ben Nelson. Nelson earlier signed a letter calling for climate legislation to be put off. (Have we ever mentioned that Ben Nelson is worthless?) And the other senator is Mike Johanns, who apparently is also behind on the issue.

These are the places that are going to be most affected, mind you.

Then Iowa stands to face the third worst catastrophe. Republican Charles Grassley represents Iowa, and his vote is always right down the line with Rush Limbaugh and the other radicals. These people don't care about the country, just how they can stick it to President Obama in the heat of the moment. And with their "leadership," the country will have plenty of heat.

It's kind of like in the first episode of Superman, where Krypton is erupting all over the place. Superman's dad is the only scientist to say, "Hey, Krypton is erupting all over the place. Maybe we ought to do something about it." To which the other scientists scoff, saying, "Jor-el, you're mad! Krypton erupting all over the place? Don't be silly. That's just the people upstairs with their loud parties."

When you're watching it you think, no one could be as crazy as these guys! But bring it down to real life and the Republicans: Yes, you can be that crazy!

The Shaggy Dog

I said the other day that I got a VHS tape of "The Shaggy Dog," the old Disney movie from around 1958.

I actually watched it, piecemeal like I do while I'm exercising morning and night. Then today I knew I was close to the end so I just sat and let it play out.

It was OK. Very lightweight, easy stuff to handle. And in "glorious black and white" as the box says. It didn't look all that glorious, but it's VHS ... you're not getting digital sharpness. That's OK though, because I won't ever be buying it on DVD. It's not something I want to see over and over.

As for the story, the kid keeps turning into a shaggy dog, then back to a kid, and he has some adventures. It becomes a spy story, and the real story is how do they break up the spies or get the government to believe their information, since it's hard for the authorities to believe the guy's kid is a dog.

It's amazing though how accepting others are of this weird fact. The old professor at the beginning, he has no problem with it. He's the one who's able to explain how this could've happened to Wilby. (He read the inscription off a magical ring that the Borgias owned.) The brother Montgomery "Moochie" Daniels has no trouble accepting it. In fact he prefers his brother as a dog. And the Dad, played by Fred MacMurray, even though he hates dogs, is able to accept it that his son is in fact a dog without many questions. You'd think he'd think they were pulling a prank on him.

I don't think Mom ever finds out about Wilby. And his best friend doesn't find out exactly. Except they're both enmeshed in a net fighting, with the fight starting out with a dog and ending up somehow with Wilby. And speaking of being enmeshed in a net, Annette Funicello is in the movie as their sometimes love interest. Annette's role is surprising minor. She comes and goes a few times and is at the big dance. The main female role is the French girl who moves in next door, who owns the shaggy dog who keeps being absorbed into Wilby. In the movie, Annette doesn't have an interesting role in the least.

The police are used for some of the comic relief, as one officer in particular keeps hearing Wilby as the dog talking, other various things. It's almost too much though. And I'm thinking of one scene close to the end, where they're radioing headquarters, and the captain has them repeat the whole description of the dog. I thought this could've been trimmed down.

It's a harmless, lightweight, nothing major film, entertaining in its way. I'm glad to have seen it. And now that I have, I'm also glad to move on.

The Shaggy Dog and Marilyn Monroe

I got a VHS tape today of "The Shaggy Dog," at Goodwill.

I don't know. I'm not a Disney fan in the least. But I thought, it's an old, cute movie. One I don't believe I've seen. I'm not going to buy it on DVD but here it is for a buck, it might be fun to see while I'm exercising, killing time, or whatever.

So one of these days I'll be watching that.

This week (I watch movies in about 10 minute chunks) I've been watching "Some Like It Hot," with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. I'm loving it, but I'm ready for it to end. It's very cute. I think it might be building to a head, because the gangsters the two men were fleeing are back in the scene.

I really haven't seen Marilyn Monroe that much in movies. I'm not really a movie guy. And somehow I missed hers. She's cute but plays sort of a dumb blonde in it.

The men are dressed as women, employed in an all girl band. Anyone who wouldn't be able to recognize their maleness, of course, would need to be examined. But that's the way the movie needs it to be. The dialogue is very snappy and well written. It's an excellent, delightful film.

Veritgo

I rewatched Veritgo. It's been a few years and I was surprised how much of it I forgot. I forgot a lot.

I couldn't remember how it ended and a lot of the various twists and turns. I need to watch it again now with everything fresh in my mind. Maybe I will.

This is only the second time I've seen it. But I happened to find a cheap VHS of it at a thrift store so I picked it up.

It would be nice to have it on DVD or Blu-Ray, but a Blu-Ray disc doesn't seem to be available yet.

Of course I remembered the bell tower sequences (the first two) and the scene at the Golden Gate bridge. I remembered certain things about the bell tower sequences that meant I was expecting certain twists.

I like all the slow meandering the film makes around San Francisco and a lot of the scenes where James Stewart is just thinking and wondering, trying to make sense of what he's doing.

Nice movie. It's "all the thumbs I have up."

Hitchcock

I found an interesting book the other day, called "The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock," by David Freeman. Whether I ever read it or not, we shall see. But I am sort of interested in Hitchcock and his films.

I also got a VHS copy of "Vertigo," so it's been kind of a Hitchcock themed week as far as the thrift stores go. "Vertigo" is a great film of course. I'm just sorry he never lived to complete the sequel, "Horizontal."

Billy Jack Meets Tarzan

I just had a good spree of thought/fantasy about the coming together of two great action heroes, Billy Jack and Tarzan.

At the time I really loved Billy Jack (the first movie) and of course Tarzan, swinging through the jungle doing a great Carol Burnett impression. We used to watch movies of Tarzan with these prolonged underwater fights, and it about destroyed my lungs watching him stay underwater for eight to 10 minutes at a time. But somehow he always survived.

Billy Jack was a survivor too. I'm sure if I saw that movie again it'd all come rushing back to me. Why exactly it appealed to me at the time I can't say. It was countercultural with a sense of still enforcing justice. The poor put upon kids had a hero who seemed to have mystical (Native American) powers and a mother figure to counsel them, the way I remember it.

Put Billy Jack and Tarzan in the jungle together, with Delores and Jane, and you've got all the action and justice you can handle. If Boy is kind of a hippie doing performance art downtown with a lot of his wayward teen friends, and there's a big Ape, like the Sheriff in Billy Jack, causing troubles, Billy could be out in a heat hutch somewhere meditating and Tarzan could be knitting stronger vines. Then they descend on the Ape and the ape people of the town and bring justice to the entire jungle. We wouldn't end it like Billy Jack, though, with him being led away. Instead it'd have a happy ending, like with him shipping out to some other locale, like to take on Fu Manchu and the yellow menace.

Hello to Tom Laughlin out there. During the '08 campaign I saw some things by him online, like he's a Renaissance man intellectual, which I would want to tamp down a bit instead of being so overt about it.

The first movie was a great one at the time!