Friday, April 5, 2019

"Us" and The Week in Reviews

[I review "Us" as well as DVDs "On Chesil Beach" and "Vox Lux."  The Book of the Week is "Help Me!: One Woman's Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Can Really Change Your Life,"  I also bring you-up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die" with "Peking Opera Blues."]




Us


A family's peaceful vacation is disrupted when their doppelgangers arrive and terrorize them.

Little Adelaide is on vacation at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in 1986.  When her parents get into a fight, she wanders off.  She goes down to the beach and sees an eerie fun house. When she goes in, she finds herself in a hall of mirrors.  Then the lights go off and as she tries to find her way out, she comes face to face with....herself!

And so begins Jordan Peele's latest horror film that is also an expose of American racial, cultural and political issues. Jordan Peele uses the horror genre as his voice to open discussion about serious current issues, and he is very good at it.  He showcases the issues but not at the expense of the horror.  He did that in "Get Out!" and he does it again here and though "Get Out!" was scary it was also funny.  This one is just plain scary.

Flash forward and now little Adelaide is the all grown up Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) married to husband, Gabe (Winston Duke), with a daughter, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and son, Jason (Evan Alex).  They are a well-to-do couple and their children are happy and smart. They are all happily on their way to their summer house near Santa Cruz, bopping along to the music in the car, though Adelaide is a bit nervous remembering her scary experience years ago on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  Later, wouldn't you know, when they get to the beach with their friends, Kitty (Elisabeth Moss) and Josh (Tim Heidecker), that eerie fun house is still there and some strange things start happening.

But nothing as strange as what happens when they get home.

They are settling in for the night when Jason sees some people out in the driveway.  When Gabe goes out to investigate and asks the strangers to identify themselves, they do not reply, but Jason says, "It's us."

And it is...well, sort of.

It's a family that looks exactly like Adelaide, Gabe, Zora and Jason except their names are Red, Abraham, Unbrae and Pluto and they are sporting red jumpsuits and carrying large scissors.  When Gabe asks, "Who are you people?" and Red finally answers, she says, "We are Americans."

And that sets the tone.  

In "Get Out," Peele exposed race relations.  Here he uses the home invasion genre to expose our current American experience and the everyday things we should really be scared of.

It's a home invasion by perverted versions of Adelaide and her family, and Adelaide, Gabe, Zora and Jason must fight these doppelgangers to the death to save themselves, a scary horror film to say the least.  I mean, a fight to the death with yourself?  

But what is really scary is Peele's message:  there are voiceless, marginalized people out there who get blamed for everything.  Those with voices say, "It's not us, it's them."  But us?  We need to realize that we are not blameless, unwitting players in the ills of the world. Pushed to their limits the voiceless and the marginalized might let loose on the privileged people.  And all of us, each and everyone of us has a monster within that when provoked could be unleashed.

Written and directed by Peele, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for "Get Out!" this is a thought-provoking film without skimping on the horror.  This is a scary movie.  But I have to say that while this was an enjoyable film experience, in a scary way, for me it didn't quite have the impact of  "Get Out."  Too many "Huh?" moments, but perhaps this is one of those films that needs to be seen more than once to get all of the points Peele has thrown in.  Watch it the first time for the horror, then see it again to put together the message and make the pieces all fit.  It's also fun to try to see which other horror films Peele pays homage to, "The Shining" being one.

All of the actors play a dual role - Us and Them - which also gives the actors a chance to explore two sides of their acting ranges - good and evil.  Nyong'o is especially wonderful employing a scary raspy voice which she says was modeled after a rare disorder called spasmodic dysphonia and for which she has gotten some flack.  But in this day and age, it seems everyone gets flack about something.  I was also impressed by the kid actors.  For once I wasn't annoyed.  They were wonderful as well.

Rosy the Reviewer says...As good as "Get Out?"  Maybe not, but it's still just what a good film is supposed to be - an enjoyable and, in this case, scary film, but one that also makes you think.



***Some Movies You Might Have Missed***
(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!


On DVD





On Chesil Beach (2017)


Why being a virgin on your wedding night can be a very bad thing!

Edward (Billy Howle) and Florence (Saoirse Ronan) are on their honeymoon in a seaside hotel on the coast of England. It's 1962 and both are awkward and uneasy with each other.  In flashbacks we see the evolution of their love story.

Edward is a poor young man who loves rock and roll and whose father is a teacher and his mother has mental issues. She had been hit in the head by the open door of a moving train and was never the same.  Who would be?  Florence is upper class and has a very critical mother. She also plays violin in a quartet and loves classical music.  

After graduating university, it's love at first sight for both of them but it's 1962 and both are repressed sexually. They are also burdened by the class disparity between them. And it doesn't help that Edward is not a very sensitive guy, quick to anger and belligerence.  Florence is inexperienced and dominated by her father who may or may not have molested her. And to make it all worse, both are virgins, so these two are not particularly good candidates for a successful wedding night.  So when the wedding night does happen, let's just say it doesn't happen.  Both disappoint each other and what happened that night appears to influence the rest of their lives. We see them 13 years later and then 45 years later, both wondering what might have been.

If ever there was an indictment of being a virgin on your wedding night this is it! 

Written by Ian McEwan from his novel and directed by Dominic Cooke, this is a slow moving character study of life in England during the early 1960's, before the sexual revolution when no one talked about sex and expectations were high when it came to romance.  And I have to say that the movie was as frustrating as Edward's and Florence's wedding night.  I know it's before the sexual revolution when people not only had sex all of the time but they talked about it as well, but these two are so stilted and closed-up it's almost laughable and I don't think that was the point here. The laughing part, I mean.  I know these two are supposed to be repressed but it didn't feel like they felt anything for each other at all.  It was difficult to care about this love affair.  It could be that Ronan and Howle didn't really have much chemistry but that could have been a directorial and acting call because Edward and Florence are supposed to be so awkward.  But it wasn't fun to watch.

Rosy the Reviewer...if you like Ronan and slow moving, moody British films set in picturesque British landscapes, you might like this but don't blame me if you don't.



Vox Lux (2018)


A young girl who survives a school shooting becomes an unexpected pop star.

The film begins in 1999 when teen sisters Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) and Eleanor (Stacy Martin) survive a school shooting.  The girls write a song about it, Celeste sings it at the memorial service, the song takes off and Celeste becomes a pop celebrity.  She is discovered by a street-smart manager (Jude Law) and her career takes off.

Fast forward to 2017 and Celeste (Natalie Portman) is now 31, the mother of a teen, still a pop star, though now a more hardened one and dealing with a media scandal. Yet another act of violence has occurred, this time on a beach and the shooters are wearing masks from one of Celeste's videos.

Written and directed by Brady Corbet, the film is slow to get going - and be warned. Natalie Portman does not even show up until half way through the film and when she does, the film fizzles. Natalie Portman does not a believable rock star make.  She overacts the part like mad.  But the film shows how the media exploits tragedy, turns victims into celebrities and the price people pay for fame.  What it doesn't do is tell us anything new about that phenomenon.

The film started out strong and then fizzled but Raffey Cassidy is a young actress to watch.  She plays the young Celeste as well as Celeste's daughter and she is the heart and soul of this film.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an interesting premise that didn't really go anywhere.




***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

100 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?




Peking Opera Blues (1986)


An epic film about three young women - a revolutionary, an aspiring actress, and a jewel thief - set in an opera house in the early twentieth century during Sun Yat-Sen's bid to establish a democratic republic in China.

It's 1913 Beijing, during Yuan Shikai's presidency of the country that brings together an unlikely team of heroines: Tsao Wan (Brigitte Lin), a patriotic rebel who dresses as a man; Sheung Hung (Cherie Chung), a woman in search of a missing box of jewels; and Bai Niu (Sally Yeh), the daughter of a Peking Opera impresario.


Directed by Hark Tsui, this film is like a cartoon and I haven't really liked cartoons since I was six.


Why it's a Must See: "The political themes and gender issues at work within the narrative...provide a fascinating subtext for this classic of contemporary Hong Kong film.  One can only reflect back on such a burst of pure cinematic pleasure with bittersweet nostalgia [because the] Hong Kong film industry is in a catastrophic slump."

---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

I am thinking the Hong Kong film industry must have also been in a slump back then when this film was made. It's terrible.  I am starting to think those folks who came up with those movies in the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book were smoking crack.  I am also starting to think that now that I have less than 100 films to go, I am scraping the bottom of the barrel! Haven't seen a film I liked in awhile!


Quentin Tarantino
 refers to this film as "one of the greatest films ever made" and "a blast––it's a lot of fun."  I am going to have to rethink what I think about old Quentin. He must have been smoking something too.

Rosy the Reviewer says...for me, unwatchable...and I paid good money to rent it from VOD!

(In Chinese with English subtitles)



***The Book of the Week***



Help Me!: One Woman's Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Can Really Change Your Life by Marianne Powers (2019)


Now here's an idea!  See if all of those damn self-help books actually help!

During yet another day nursing a hangover watching "The Kardashians" and the Housewives, Marianne Powers decides she needs to do something about her life.  Ever a self-help book maven, she decides to really put them to the test.  She decides to read one self-help book a month and follow it's advice to the letter for an entire year.

Will she find happiness?

The books she tested will be familiar to those of us who have also dabbled:

1. "Fear the Fear and Do It Anyway" by Susan Jeffers
"Take a risk a day - one small or bold stroke that will make you feel great once you've done it."

2. "Money, a Love Story" by Kate Northrup
"Our relationship to money is a direct reflection of how much we value ourselves."

3. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne
"Whatever you dream can be yours."

4. "Rejection Therapy with Jason Comely" (this is actually a game, not a book)
"You must be rejected by another person at least once, every single day."

5. "F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way" by John C. Parkin
"If you're feeling stressed about something, say "F**k It" and you will feel instantly better."

6. "Unleash the Power Within, With Tony Robbins"
"There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that, once unleashed, can make any vision, dream, or desire a reality."

7. "Angels, with Doreen Virtue"
"We all have angels guiding us...They look after us.  They heal us, touch us, comfort us with invisible warm hands..."

8. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey
"Begin with the end in mind."

9. "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle
"Many people live with a tormentor in their head that continuously attacks and punishes them and drains them of vital energy.  It is the cause of untold misery and unhappiness as well as disease."

10. "Get the Guy" by Matthew Hussey
"You become so obsessed with meeting THE guy, you don't meet any guys."

11. "Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead" by Brene Brown
"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen."

12. "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay
"Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn't worked.  Try approving of yourself and see what happens."

Powers gives a good run-down on each of these self-help books and adds humorous stories of how she applied them and what happened.

For example, in January she chatted up strangers on the Tube, swam in frigid water and jumped out of an airplane, all things she was afraid of.  The next month, she realized just how bad her finances really were. But then "The Secret" told her that all she had to do was visualize a 100,000 pound check coming in the mail and it would come.  And on and on.

Powers is a writer who lives in London so there is a very British bent to this book, but I rather like British humor so it's funny and self-deprecating as the British tend to be.  She also takes a few swipes at us Americans who are thought to be rather naive and overly happy.  Powers' mother worried that after doing this project her daughter will have gone all American on her.  Heaven forbid!


So, what did she learn?


That self-help books are all basically telling us the same thing: 


We are all afraid we are not enough because if we are not enough we won't be loved.  So we have to keep trying to find perfection and happiness.


So did Powers heal her life following the advice from these books?


Yes and no.


   "In so many ways my year was a disaster.

   "My debt grew, my productivity plummeted and I am now a stone heavier (a stone is equivalent to 14 pounds) than when I began.  I became irresponsible, selfish and deluded, watching inspirational videos on YouTube instead of doing actual work and spending money I didn't have on the basis that the Universe would provide. Worst of all, I fell out with one of my best friends...I became a self-help junkie, disregarding my friends and family, always thinking the answer was in the next book, the next book..."

But there was a positive side.  Putting into practice all of the advice from the books made Powers put herself out there in the world, when before she had been depressed and closed-up. 

      
"Self-help did help -- a lot.  It, ironically helped me get past myself [to see] that [as Brene Brown said] 'connection is why we are here.' [So] As I think back on my year and a bit of self-improvement, the best bits were those moments of connection.  It's only with other people that magic happens - a magic that could be defined as love.  Or God. Or beauty. Or spirit.
   "And so for now at least, I am going out in the world with a heart open to love."

Now you might think that because I have told you how it all ends, you don't need to read this book.  You would be wrong. As they say in self-help talk, "It's not the destination, it's the journey.


Rosy the Reviewer says...Powers' journey is funny, self-deprecating and enlightening and shouldn't be missedNow let me get back to my book - "How to Get Rich and Thin at the Same Time!"





Thanks for reading!



See you next Friday




for 


"Gloria Bell"


and

The Week in Reviews
(What To See and What To Avoid)


as well as



the latest on



"My 1001 Movies I Must See



Before I Die Project" 





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Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.



Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 


Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll down below the synopsis and the listings for the director, writer and main stars to where it says "Reviews" and click on "Critics" - If I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list.



Friday, March 29, 2019

"Captain Marvel" and The Week in Reviews

[I review "Captain Marvel" as well as DVDs "Puzzle" and "Ben is Back."  The Book of the Week is "The Easy Noodle Cookbook."  I also bring you up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with "Shock Corridor."]



Captain Marvel


How Carol Danvers became Captain Marvel.

With the exception of Batman and Superman movies, I was never much of a superhero fan and avoided those comics for most of my life.  So the superhero movie versions weren't of much interest either.  However, I am a big fan of woman empowerment so I went to see "Wonder Woman," and loved it so much that I thought I should give Captain Marvel a try as well. But, sorry, Captain Marvel is no Wonder Woman.  And Brie Larson is no Gal Gadot.  I guess it's a DC comics vs. Marvel comics thing and I am in the DC camp.


I think one of the reasons that I am not drawn to the superhero films, despite their incredible popularity at the box office, is the fact that the plots are so complicated and intricate it's like taking calculus again. The characters and people have difficult names like Yon-Rogg and Skrulls and it just gets exhausting.  I don't want to have to work so hard to enjoy a movie.  And this one is no exception.


Carol Danvers AKA as Vers AKA as Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) is an ex-U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and member of the Kree military unit called Starforce.  Her DNA was altered during an accident thus giving her super powers: superhuman strength and the ability to fly without a plane.  Members of the Kree race are generally unemotional but Danvers has a human side and if she has a weakness it is keeping her emotions in check (you can tell this was written by a man. Of course a woman superhero has to be emotional)!


OK, so that's Marvel's story.  Now here is the plot.


When the movie begins, Carol/Marvel is Vers, a Starforce member who is suffering from amnesia.  She doesn't know her own backstory.  The Krees are at war with the Skrulls, who are alien shapeshifters, and Vers is kidnapped by Skrull commander, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn).  Her memory is probed but she escapes and crash lands in 1990's L.A. where the film has some fun reminding us of what the 90's were like - Blockbuster Video, pay phones, pagers, the scratchy sound of dial-up Internet and the music of TLC and Nirvana.  There she encounters S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, digitally enhanced to look 40 years younger) and Coulson (Clark Gregg), who should be good guys but those darn shapeshifters keep impersonating people.  Vers finds a crystal with her memories in it and eventually finds out who she is, who her enemies really are and that the Skrulls aren't so bad after all.  That's about all I can say about the story and probably all I figured out.

Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (and a bunch of others) and directed by Boden and Fleck, that's basically the story in a very small nutshell.  It's far more complicated before Vers discovers she is really Carol and then becomes Marvel and, like I said, getting there was just exhausting.

I also didn't get Brie Larson as Captain Marvel.  How did that happen?  I totally understand Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman because she is a wonder of a woman.  But Larson?  I know she is a good actress.  I mean she is an Oscar winner for "Room," and she was wonderful in that, and she is perfectly OK in this, I guess.  But she doesn't really have much to do because the character is not fleshed out very well.  And I just couldn't help wondering, why her?  How did that come about?  The Hollywood suits were sitting around and wondering who should be a superhero woman with incredible strength and Brie Larson is who came to mind?

Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel have similar superpowers and when Wonder Woman wielded her bracelets at the end of the film, I cried and cheered at the same time.  But when Marvel unleashes her talents, I just felt kind of blah.  And of course, this was our introduction to Marvel who we learn at the end of the film will be joining her other Marvel compatriots in "Avengers: Endgame," out very soon.

Rosy the Reviewer says...so even though a superhero woman movie directed by a woman is a good thing, this didn't change my mind about superhero movies.  Not a big fan.





***Some Movies You Might Have Missed***
(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!


On DVD



Puzzle (2018)


A suburban mother who is taken for granted finds her passion - jig saw puzzles!

Now you might be thinking, "Huh?  Jig saw puzzles?  Do I really want to watch a movie about jig saw puzzles??  Yes, you do.

Agnes (Kelly Macdonald) is a hard-working but bored stay-at-home Mom whose kids and husband take her for granted and treat her like a dummy. She has to throw herself her own birthday party and then clean up afterwards! She gets an IPhone for her birthday and doesn't have a clue how to use it which doesn't help her intelligence cred with her kids.  But she also gets a jigsaw puzzle as a present.  And it's not one of those easy ones, either.  She lays out all of the pieces on a table and wouldn't you know. She aces it in record time and gets a huge dose of pride.  So now she's addicted and wants more.

She travels into the City, which is a big deal because poor Agnes has been pushed down so far she is barely existing.  She gets another puzzle and once again puts it together in record time.  Turns out, Agnes is a puzzle savant.  At the shop she sees an ad for a puzzle partner and intrigued answers the ad and meets Robert (Irrfan Khan), a rich, super smart inventor who lives in the city.  She impresses him with her savant-dom and how fast she can solve the puzzles so he wants her as his puzzle-solving partner.  Now Agnes has to find a way to get into the City regularly to practice with Robert for a big upcoming puzzle competition.

Directed by Marc Turtletaub and adapted by Polly Mann and Oren Moverman from the Argentinian film "Rompecabezas," which I am guessing means "puzzle" in Spanish (see?  I'm no dummy), I found this little film interesting and charming.  Yes, it is yet another female empowerment film - naive, shy woman everyone takes for granted blossoms when she discovers her passion - but, as I have said many times, I love female empowerment films, and what sets this one apart from the usual cliches were the performances by MacDonald and Khan and the puzzle aspect.  I find it amazing the things that motivate people and this film was entirely believable - that this bored, unappreciated housewife would find something she was good at, in this case, working out puzzles, and that it would empower her.

Macdonald, a Scottish actress who many will recognize from "Boardwalk Empire," is believable and poignant as the lonely, unappreciated Connecticut housewife and Irrfan Khan is wonderful as Robert.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed this film, I had a couple of teeny tiny problems with it.  For example, not sure why Agnes had to go all of the way to Manhattan to get another puzzle.  Don't they have jig saw puzzles in Connecticut?  I know she was supposed to be a naive, very sheltered woman but Bridgeport, Connecticut?  Hardly the Outback.  I also don't understand women who have to lie to get out of the house.  Just tell your husband you are going!  What's the big deal? 

But all-in-all, my kind of film.

And in case you still aren't sold on a movie about jig saw puzzles, maybe what Robert says about that in the film will help:

"Everything's random...  There is nothing we can do to control anything. But when you complete a puzzle, when you finish it, you know you have made all of the right choices...at the very end everything makes one perfect picture. What other pursuits can give you that kind of perfection?"

We all need to find that bit of perfection - something we are good at.

Rosy the Reviewer says...like enjoying a movie, especially when it's a charming little film like this.  Perfection.



Ben is Back (2018)


A teen who is supposed to be in rehab shows up at home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve.

Another drug addicted kid movie and another one starring Lucas Hedges.  Do film producers automatically think of Lucas Hedges when they need an angst-ridden teen?  My god, he's in everything.  We've seen him as an angst-ridden teen who has lost his Dad and is estranged from his Mom in "Manchester by the Sea."  We've seen him as an angst-ridden gay teen in both "Lady Bird" and "Boy Erased" and he was an angst ridden teen beating up his little brother in "Mid90s (yes, mean kids are angst-ridden too)." And that's not even naming all of the films he has starred in since 2016. But he's good so I'm not complaining.

And then there's Julia.  You know if Julia Roberts is in something, it's going to be high class and good.  Can you tell I am a big fan?  Well, I am.  I mean, c'mon, she had me at "Mystic Pizza."  That smile. That je ne sais quoi that just oozes off the screen. And she is just a really good actress too.

Anyway, despite the smile, our Julia has now graduated from pretty women to playing Moms and here she is Holly Burns, mom to Ben (Hedges) who is supposed to be in rehab for drug addiction but decides he is fine and comes home.  Can she trust him?  Not really.  Holly spends the entire film making sure Ben is not using which could be boring but it's not.  Ben is back physically but Holly has to get him back mentally.

Ben has learned how to work his Mom. She tells him he can stay for one day but he can't leave her sight but Ben knows how to charm his Mom and she doesn't handle things particularly well so things kind of get out of hand, especially when they come home from church and discover the house has been broken into and the dog is missing.  Who would steal their dog?  Well, Ben thinks he knows as his past comes back to haunt him. Holly and Ben go on an odyssey to find the dog and Holly gets an up close and personal look into the seedy side of Ben's old life, the drug-addicted one, and we get a closer look at Holly. Ben had become addicted to pills after a snowboarding accident so when Holly runs into the doctor who prescribed the pills to Ben she lets him have it telling him she hopes he dies a horrible death. Holly clearly hasn't really worked out Ben's responsibility in all of this yet.

Written and directed by Peter Hedges (Lucas's Dad), this is a powerful story of what drug addiction can do to a family.

Ben is back can mean more than one thing.  Ben is back home to deal with all he wrought before he left for rehab or he is back from the hell of drug addiction.  Sadly, neither of those things holds true in this film and that's actually a good thing because the film does not offer easy answers to the issue. What do you do with a drug addicted son?  You love him but can't trust him.  You like him but can't trust him.  You want him home but can't trust him.

Rosy the Reviewer says... an in your face look at the power of drug addiction and the lengths a mother will go through to save her child.






***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***


101 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?




Shock Corridor (1963)


A journalist has himself committed to a mental hospital to try to solve a murder.

Newspaper guy, Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck), decides that the quickest way to a Pulitzer Prize is to solve a murder at a mental hospital and then write an article about it. OK, I get that.  But then he decides that the best way to get the story is to be declared insane and committed to a mental hospital.  Bad idea.  He also decides that his mental illness should be his "unnatural" attraction to his sister, who is really his girlfriend, Cathy (Constance Towers) who is also a stripper.  An even worse idea. You can see where that is going to go.


Speaking of stripping, Cathy is one of the worst strippers I have ever seen, not that I've seen loads but I know a bad strip when I see one.  She does this  strange strip tease with feathers and fringe where she starts out with a feather boa covering her face and then sings while the boa is still covering her face and all we see are the feathers flapping up and down from her breath.  Very, very strange.  And then some of her moves which were supposed to be sexy (I think), were actually NOT!


Anyway, back to the murder.


The witnesses to the murder were three guys at the hospital:



  • Stuart (a very young James Best), who is obsessed with the Civil War and thinks he is J.E.B. Stuart
  • Trent (Hari Rhodes), one of the first black students to integrate a segregated college in the South who now believes he is a member of the Ku Klux Klan.  Yes, you heard me.
  • Boden (Gene Evans), an atomic scientist who has regressed to the mentality of a six-year-old


There is also a fat guy who thinks he is an opera singer and a room full of nymphomaniacs.  I am still reeling from the scene where the Johnny gets locked into the room with the nymphos. Not sure I will ever get over that!


Written, directed and produced by Samuel Fuller, a famous B-movie guy, this movie plays with the whole notion that just being around mentally ill people will make you mentally ill, which in today's world is not a very PC notion.


Why it's a Must See: "The...acting is all over the place, with the cast obviously encouraged to give voice to their inner psychotic...Fuller doesn't always arrange the film like he knows exactly where it's going, and its inherent trashiness never belies it's B-movie origins -- but he does imbue [this film] with a crazed energy more than befitting its striking name."

---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

OK, I am starting to rebel against the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book.  The acting is all over the place?  Fuller doesn't make a film where it looks like he knows what he is doing?  It's trashy?  Then why in hell do I need to see this thing?


The film begins and ends with a quote from Euripides:


"Whom God wishes to destroy he first makes mad."


Rosy the Reviewer says...I am mad.  I am mad I had to watch this film!




***The Book of the Week***



The Easy Noodle Cookbook: Noodles Recipes You Can Make in Less Than an Hour! by Daniel Humphreys (2019)


Noodles and more noodles!

As you know I love cookbooks and as you also probably know, I get these little obsessions from time to time.  Right now it's - NOODLES!

I found this little nugget on Amazon when I decided I wanted to immerse myself in noodles.  It appears to be a self-published book but the 25 noodle recipes included in this little book are actually really good.

Humphreys takes us from classic recipes for Spaghetti and Meatballs and tuna noodle casserole  and then moves on to Chicken Ramen Pot Pie," "Orange Chile Noodles" and "Spicy Sesame Noodles."  All kinds of noodles are represented: regular egg noodles and spaghetti but also ramen, udon, soba noodles and my new big discovery - Chinese egg noodles, which are delicious (I ordered them from Amazon).  These are very simple recipes that you can add to as you see fit.

When I was young, I was very finicky.  How finicky were you, Rosy?  I was so finicky I didn't even try pizza until I was 15.  And I certainly didn't like spaghetti with spaghetti sauce.  It looked funny.  So my mother would make me spaghetti with just butter on it.  How spoiled were you, Rosy?  Let's not get into that.

But Humphreys includes a "Simple Buttered Noodle" recipe so if you have finicky kids, here is a taste:

Cook 12 oz. of wide egg noodles (spaghetti would work too).  Meanwhile heat 2 T. of butter in a skillet.  Add shallots and chopped garlic, cook for 3 minutes, then add 2 more T. of butter.  Add in some chives, 2 T. of parmesan, 1 T. lemon juice and mix with the cooked noodles.  Voila!  Easy and delicious, even for a finicky eater!

Humpreys is a chef who says in his 15 year career, no one has ever sent a dish back. In his conclusion he writes "Hopefully by the end of this cookbook, you have found plenty of easy to make noodle recipes that you can prepare for your family any night of the week."

And I did.

Rosy the Reviewer says...noodle recipes you will make over and over again that can also act as jumping off points for your creating your own versions.




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