Don’t Let the Love of Classic B&W Films Die! – Part Two

In 2017 we are looking to the future, and the horizon is bright! One of the wonders of our world is the ability to enjoy the old with the new and share it with future generations. 

This holiday break I was able to share several B&W films with my 22 year old son. This is a yearly tradition in our household.  Not just B&W films, but the classics. I have three children, their ages are spread out (11 to 22) so I only subject them to a few at a time so it isn’t torturous. Surprisingly, while they object at first, they usually get into the movie after the first 30 minutes or so. Some of you may have noticed from my tweets (@AmyJRomine), this year I shared Abbott and Costello with the two younger kids and the Thin Man series with the eldest. 

Liking the idea of revisiting the classics? Check out part one of this post. Here are the last five in a list of 10 B&W films I highly suggest for 2017. Most can be found on Amazon or TCM. These are in no particular order as I love them all. 

Bringing Up Baby – (Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn) - While trying to secure a

$1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby. Both a very young Grant and Hepburn captivate with sharp banter and physical comedy rarely replicated in today’s films.

Casablanca – (Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman) - In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications. We all know this classic love story and B&W is the best version.

The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor) - A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette. This signature classic changed the face of noir films for the ages. Do not miss this classic suspense thriller! By the way, did you know the 1941 Maltese Falcon is a remake of a movie from 1931 starring Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez and was originally penned by Dashiell Hammett who also created The Thin Man.

The Little Princess – (Shirley Temple, Richard Greene, Anita Louise) A little girl The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer, but I have to admit the scene where the Temple  finds her father is tear-jerking and too perfect to resist!

is left by her father in an exclusive seminary for girls, due to her father having to go to Africa with the army. Needless to say you had to expect at least one Shirley Temple film on the list. I was torn between this and

Arsenic and Old Lace – (Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane) - A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family. Hollywood has attempted to remake this classic four times without success.  Frantic, funny and full of delightful physical comedy this once stage play turned movie is one not to be missed!

 So those are the final five of ten. You can see the fist list here. All can be found on Amazon and are shown regularly on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Also IMDB (the links are used in this blog) usually has a list of places you can purchase and or rent movies. I would love to hear your feedback, suggestions you have for the list!

After completing the list I thought of several more must see B&W Classics including To Kill a Mockingbird and Roman Holiday!

Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!

80/20 A Matter of Taste - A Review of Seduced by Tarah Scott

Let me start out with the disclaimer that I am not a romance fan. That is to say my romance taste is wrapped in suspense, thrill, action, adventure, scifi etc. Rarely can I stomach a straight romance -- thus rarely do I knowingly chose to read straight romance. In the case of Seduced, by Tarah Scott I read the book based on the blur which to me did not describe the book as a straight romance. 

Blurb

It’s a Mississippi Deputy Sheriff’s duty to bring a serial killer to justice…even when he’s a three hundred year old Scottish lord. It’s an SAS agent’s duty to save her.

With each passing day, Lord Colin Morrison grows more furious...and more desperate. In three hundred years, not one of the women who shared his bed broke the spell that imprisoned him in Castle Morrison. Margot Saulnier is different. She can save him. All she has to do is give in to her desire for him. Then die.

Deputy Sheriff Margot Saulnier knows her best friend murdered her husband—Margot’s cousin—but she can’t prove it. Now, four years later, out of the blue, Cat calls Margot from Scotland and invites her to visit. Margot turns in her badge and leaves Mississippi. This time, she’ll do whatever it takes to prove Cat murdered Donny. Margot didn’t plan on falling in love with an SAS Agent—or a three-hundred-year-old Scottish lord. Now she must choose.

SAS Agent Charles McNeil is going to keep Margot Saulnier out of trouble—whether she likes it or not. He understands her need for justice, but with no proof and no authority, she’s headed for serious trouble. So is he. Charles didn’t plan on falling in love with Margot. Neither did he plan on saving her from a serial killer.

I thought this book was going to have a ton more plot than romance / eroticism. This is not the case. If I had know this I would have not read the book as it is not my taste. I did, however, chose to read the book and so here is my review as posted on Amazon and Goodreads.

 

This is a heavy romance with a lot of passion. Light on the story but is not lacking in hot and steamy scenes. The attempt at character and plot by the author is weak and I wanted more. More depth, more mystery, more excitement to make it a more enthralling, interesting read. 

In the plot that was conceived, I got a little lost in the mix. Who is who and I admit I wanted more depth in the folds of all of the erotic play. Overall, a good read but I will admit I prefer more plot than sex and this is definitely the opposite.

 




Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!

NBC Attempts to Modernize a Classic Tale with Emerald City

When a tornado transports Dorothy Gale from Lucas, Kan., to the faraway land of Oz, her arrival sets in motion a prophecy about a disastrous event known as The Beast Forever and strikes fear into the land's almighty ruler, the Wizard. On her quest to meet the Wizard in Emerald City, Dorothy encounters witches, an amnesiac soldier, a sheltered little boy and many more mysterious beings who will ultimately shape the future of Oz and Dorothy's place in it.

Say goodbye to Kansas.

Creators: Matthew Arnold, Josh Friedman

Starring: Adria Arjona, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ana Ularu 

The premiere episode of Emerald City was Jan 6^th 2017 and was two episodes together, The Beast Forever and Prison of the Abject giving us a theatrical length pilot. The creators Matthew Arnold and Josh Friedman are relative unknowns and NBC seems to have taken a note from other networks in giving new creators a shot. 

Anchoring the cast is Vincent D'Onofrio, who has been recently hailed for his great performance in the Netflix original series, Marvel’s Daredevil, and Joely Richardson who has a slew of b-List credits to her name. The remaining ensemble are all relatively unknown actors and actresses and this was, I think a good move on NBC’s part. 

Let’s talk about the show. This is an updated version of the original Wizard of Oz complete with a gun and medical knowledge (as Dorothy in this version is a nurse). The fantasy, bright dream like quality of the original is erased and replaced with rich tones, dark shadows and even darker intent. There is no skipping in Emerald city. No singing, joking or even humor. It is a straight-laced drama and very dark. 

With violent scenes including the beating of a woman beyond reason, to manipulation via ignorance, the tones of the entire show are dark and dire. Even Dorothy is lacking a gleam of hope. 

All of that being said, the acting is good, the chemistry between Lucas and Dorothy is evident and leveraged in every possible scene. While I am a fan of D’Onofiro, his portrayal of the Wizard is thick and a heavy, very reminiscent of Wilson Fisk in Daredevil without the layers.  While the Fisk character is also very heavy we are given layers to the swamp and why it exists and that is reflective of good writing. This is not the case thus far in Emerald City for any of the characters. 

If the pitch for this show is Once Upon A Time meets Dystopia it fits, but is in its current state unpalatable. 

While there have been several television and movie reincarnations / retellings / reinterpretations / spins offs of the famed classic movie The Wizard of Oz. I have watched a few and others I have refrained. I was actually going to refrain from this version until a Twitter friend said I should watch. All have been interesting but none compare to the original. 

The Tin Man (2007) Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough - Set in the spirit of L. Frank Baum's classic, the "Tin Man" follows the adventures of DG, a waitress and part-time student, as she travels through the mystical world of "The O. Z. (Outer Zone)", discovering her hidden past. This well-known story takes a twist in this SyFy adaptation as DG battles the sorceress Azkadellia along with the help of four friends; Glitch, a former adviser to the Queen whose brain has been removed; Raw, a psychic empath; and Wyatt Cain, a former police man (aka Tin-man) who has been imprisoned in an iron suit, forced to watch his family's destruction time and time again. Although parallels can be made to the original book this story takes its own path down the yellow brick road.

Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012) Starring: Paulie Redding, Eliza Swenson, Billy Boyd - Children's author Dorothy Gale makes a decent living continuing her grandfather's series of Oz books. When a new agent enters the scene, Dorothy moves to New York city. In the midst of a major business deal for her books, Dorothy discovers that her books are not based on her imagination, but on repressed memories. While Dorothy struggles with the revelation, she is forced to confront The Wicked Witch of the West, who has descended upon the Big Apple, determined to settle an old score.

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) Starring: James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz  - A frustrated circus magician from Kansas is transported to a magical land called Oz, where he will have to fulfill a prophecy to become the king, and release the land from the Wicked Witches using his great (but fake) powers.

Return to Oz (1985) Starring: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh - Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.

Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!