"See How They Run"

As I've mentioned a few times here, one of my favorite actresses is the lovely Saiorse Ronan, and I try to make a point of seeing any and EVERY one of her movies as they come out! And while I still haven't had the time to check out her latest flick "FOE" (though I DID read the book and loved it), I did manage to see her 2022 comedy mystery "See How They Run" finally!

Done in the quirky style of Wes Anderson (of whom I also love and of whom Saoirse has made many films with), this is an Agatha Christie type "mystery-within-a mystery" where a cad of a director (Adrien Brody) is killed in a way identical to the Murder Mystery play they are doing.

Sent out to investigate the crime are Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and his assistant Constable Stalker (Saiorse). Like most Christie-type set-ups, this is one of those "room full of suspects" who, while the detectives investigate the scene of the crime, slowly start dropping like flies around them!

While certainly not in the calibre of Anderson, this movie is still fun and very colorful and satisfied my Saiorse Ronan cravings until I can get to see FOE myself!

Surrounded by Cilla!

 As a huge fan of the Beatles, one name among their colleagues that continually came up in early interviews was an artist that I had no knowledge of, vocalist Cilla Black. Mentioned not only because of her association with the Beatles, but because of the many tunes  John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote exclusively for her to sing, "It's For You", "Step Inside Love" and the groovy "Love of the Loved", among others! 

In fact, it was the latter Paul McCartney penned song "Love Of The Loved" that I really dug and made me want to explore more of her catalog. Strangely, unlike a lot of her peers, Cilla wasn't as big a name here in the US as she was in the UK, and I really had to dig to find out info about her and her music!

Many labels have been releasing these things called ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES, 5 or 6 CD album paper sleeved collections, and luckily Cilla was among them! Collecting five of her first albums, Cilla, Cilla Sings a Rainbow, Surround Yourself with Cilla, Sweet Inspiration and Sher-oo!, this was a beginner Cilla fan's dream, and I grabbed it right away!

Been listening to the five albums on rotate for the past few weeks, and I HAVE to say how WONDERFUL they are! Very catchy and Groovy, and WOWOW, what a set of PIPES she has! VERY impressed at how POWERFUL her voice can be, and at the same time, sweet, gentle and even playful! At this point I've exhausted my five CDs and it's time to seek out MORE!

PS: Somehow I was expecting Cilla to sound like Petula Clark as they are of course both 60's Female British Vocalists. But while there IS some of that "sound" in Cilla's music, the singer that she somehow most reminds me of is Shirley Bassey (!), with her BIG and powerful voice !!

A real treat of a discovery for me!

Entrancing "Poor Things"

 Wowowow, just caught the amazing movie "Poor Things" by eccentric director Yorgos Lanthimos, a movie about which much talk has been buzzing, but let me assure you, the film is WELL worth the PRAISE it is getting!

Starring Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe in a sort of gothic horror fairytale, I first described the movie to friends as a sort of "Tim Burton Meets Guillermo Del Toro", and while there IS a bit of that, you know what the film reminded me of (at least the early half)  was more along the lines of the QUAY BROTHERS with its shaky, macabre imagery and fanciful designs!

We meet brilliant surgeon Godwin Baxter (Dafoe under extreme makeup) conducting his business of medical advancements in the field, while raising a young woman with the seeming mind of a child named Bella. 

Though happy in her secluded life with Dr. Baxter, she is kept a secret from the people of the village and is forbidden from leaving the borders of the house. But Bella is curious about the wide world outside her window and as she grows, becomes more and more frustrated about her virtual confinement.

The overprotection and secrecy by the good doctor is well warranted, however, as we find that Bella is the result of an surgical EXPERIMENT with RE-ANIMATING a recently DECEASED pregnant woman's CORPSE...reactivated with the help of her unborn child's brain put into her head in place of her old damaged one!!

Since then Baxter has raised Bella as his own and, up until recently, she has been content to play in the house and yard. But the outside world is calling, and eventually the wide-eyed woman-child breaks free and is out to explore life as much as her voracious appetite can take!

Indeed, she travels everywhere near and far- from fancy towns and restaurants to sailing the seas to far-off places. We soak in the wondrous, magical places she visits as she does, and little by little, we see the once naive and innocent woman becoming a strong and self assured young lady!

The visuals, the characters, the acting, everything was SO GREAT, and I'm determined to see it again and will DEFINTELY be purchasing it on bluray when and IF it ever DOES!!!

BTW, when Poor Things had first come out, someone had uploaded crude handheld recordings of it online. And while not the way such a film should be viewed, these clips were the first images I saw of the movie and I have to say, the blurry, grainy and shaky camerawork actually ENHANCED the feel of the movie for me. I got a REAL "Nosferatu" vibe from these early clips as it looked like legitimate 1922 film footage! I mean, look at these grabs. Don't they look unsettlingly vintage?!

 I've loved Yorgos Lanthimos other works like "The favorite" and "The Lobster" (though still haven't seen A Killing a a Sacred Deer), but Poor Things is surely his best one YET!!!

Favorite Albums: Lesley Gore Sings Of Mixed-Up Hearts

Sometimes I'll pull out an album I haven't heard in awhile and just get blown away by the sheer AWESOMENESS of it, and so it was this weekend when I dug out my Lesley Gore album "Lesley Gore Sings Of Mixed-Up Hearts". 

Holy TOLEDO, I FORGOT how amazing this album was, really simply POP PERFECT!

Long a mainstay in my ever-shifting "FAVE 100 ALBUMS of ALL TIME, I was STILL blown away listening to it again. As some of you know well, I'm a big fan of Lesley's and adore her music, but this was like hearing it all over again for the first time! 

The perfect opening track (She's A Fool), Perfect Side Two Opening Track (You Don't Own Me) and album closers (I Struck a Match, If That's the Way You Want It,  Time To Go)....just a perfectly orchestrated masterpiece!!

And the songs themselves are some of the most catchy, beat-boppin' tunes, a terrific encapsulation of early 60's Rock 'n' Roll, penned by such greats as Goffin/King, Paul Anka, and Marvin Hamlisch...When you hear these tunes, ya just GOTTA get up and DANCE!

After that I had to listen to  a few more of my fave albums from her; "I'll Cry if I Want To",  "Boys Boys Boys", "Girl Talk", even the later "California Nights". Then going online to read up on her and being sadly reminded that Lesley was taken from us in 2015 due to Lung Cancer, a real "too Soon" tragedy...Thankfully we will always have her music to warm our hearts!

posted by zdorama

FINALLY Exploring the Mayhem That is "Rick and Morty"!

 After YEARS of seeing the ubiquitous clips of the ADULT SWIM animated series "Rick and Morty", I finally got around to sitting down and actually WATCHING to entire series starting from episode one, and holy HELL are they great!!!!

Using the template of the "Eccentric Genius Scientist" and "Wide-Eyed Naive Kid" as per the  "Back To The Future" parody short it originated from, this show skewered and paid homage to just about every sci-fi set-up, send-up and tried and tested trope, from time traveling, dimension hopping, multiple universes and evil clones, this show showcased 'em all!

Encapsulating the ideas/tropes into single episodes have made for some incredible shows, some of them off the top of my head include:

"Lawnmower Dog"

Taking on both the Stephen King story "The Lawnmower Man" and the movie "Inception", this second episode set the groundwork for the series, balancing goofy sci-fi shenanigans with sweet and touching moments as Morty's dog gains intelligence and creates an army of canines to take over the world. Only the love of a boy and his dog can stop it!

 "A Rickle in Time" 

After freezing time in the last episode of last season, it's time to set things going again. But a minor altercation between Morty and Summer creates a rift where there are two timelines. Attempting to fix the situation, the gang keeps creating new timelines over and over until the Time Police themselves have to step in!

One of the first clips I saw of R&M and one that never fails to entertain!

"Total Rickall"

Parasitic aliens multiply and take over households by infesting the hosts minds and creating false memories of them as loving members of the family. Rick is the only clear headed one but is slowly taken over as well, until they realize the parasites can only create happy memories and thus the dysfunctional family is able to identify the "real' people from the parasites- by their bad memories of tormenting each other! 

"Auto Erotic Assimilation"

First appearance  of "Unity", an assimilating hive mind that is revealed to be Rick's ex. An interesting character that is purportedly a featureless organism but mostly shown as a female woman resembling Tina Fey. Really dig this character and all the subsequent episodes with her(?).

"The Wedding Squanchers"

A wedding invitation to the union of Birdperson and Tammy leads to the entire family transported to an alien world for the festivities...only to find there is a conspiracy underfoot and the wedding becomes a bloodbath between Rick, his co-horts, and the Galactic federation!As olid storyline to wrap up season2 and a bonafide cliffhanger of an end!

"Pickle Rick"

The Smith family get counseling!

Already knew the images from this episode long before I ever watched the show, enough that I thought Rick turned into a pickle was a common occurrence! But it was the clips featuring family psychiatrist Dr. Wong online that really intrigued me and made me want to explore the show more! Like others, I really love the Dr. Wong character, as voiced by Susan Sarandon she exudes a real calm even when the story is going haywire!

“Morty’s Mind Blowers”

Hilarious take on the Inter-dimensional Cable episodes, this one featured Morty revisiting some of the times Rick has wiped him memory via a recall helmet. While reliving past moments, his frustrations at what he learns escalates til Both he and Rick have lost their own memories, leading to Summer's  classic “Oh Man, It’s a Scenario 4” quote!

“The Rickchurian Mortydate"

When snubbed by the President of the United States when asked for a selfie, Rick and Morty, (who are revealed to have been heretofore assisting the White House with all manner of extraterrestrial crises) turn their backs on the POTUS, and become enemies of America!

All this happening while Beth deals with the fact that she may be a clone created by her father while her true self roams the universe! 

Another awesome season closer.

“Star Mort: Rickturn Of The Jerri”

Explosive conclusion of several arcs including the Tammy/Birdperson Galactic Federation Manhunt and the Beth/Clone storyline. Like most of the best ones, this episode had its highly dramatic parts mixed in with the absolute silliness!

"Solaricks"

A re-setting on the Portal Gun sends all the characters not of the current timeline back to their source of origin, revisiting past story arcs and showing what happened since. One of the more serious Rick and Morty stories as we once again delve into the tragedy of past Rick and his beloved but ultimately doomed original family.

"Night Family"

In much the style of the excellent series "Severance", Rick creates a machine that activates the mind at night where your sleeping body does all the work that the person does not want to do while awake. Exercising to develop muscles, practicing to master musical instruments, these are all tasks where the family wants the benefits but not the work. And when they even make the sleeping selves do the chores like wash dishes, the night versions of themselves eventually rebel and try to take over.

“Analyze Piss”

Under orders from his therapist, Rick tries ignoring his enemies, giving to the rise of Jerry as Town Hero when he defeats "Piss-master" in duel. But as Jerry rises in stature, Rick discovers the underside to the villain’s failures. Also a commentary on the ups and downs of viral trending!

Another thought-provoking well-written episode!

"Air Force Wong"

The return of Unity and her Hive-mind and also Family Psychiatrist Dr. Wong make for an excellent episdoe, this time with Rcik fighting off Unity’s invasion of Virginia while at the same time dealing with the possible romance between Dr. Wong and the President!

The Smith family take a back seat for this one and the entire episode is given to the always intriguing ongoing dynamic between Rick and Unity!

"The Fear Hole"

R&M already poked fun at David Cronenberg in an earlier episode, but I think the Fear Hole counts as a true homage to the genre: existential crises and psychological trickery are all on the plate here as Morty and Rick jump into a door to their deepest fears only to find that their worries are deeply layered and multifold!