Something old and something new

Hey gang!

So I was traveling a bit this Thanksgiving, so I'm going to offer up one of my early emails (from March, pre-blog) for this entry.  You can see how my format has evolved a bit, but the snark never changes.

I'm also giving you something new:  a holiday carol I wrote called The Twelve Days of Pet Sitting (sung to the obvious tune).  This is dedicated to all those that I have at least given a bowl of food to, if not more (Dobby, Tikka, Mama Cat, the 2 Mama's Girls (fat and thin), Fluffy Boy, the boy cat named Sue, Daisy, Miss Kitty, and of course, my Cosmo).

Sleeping Maleficent:

To be honest, I've really been resisting watching Maleficent.  I'm not sure why...probably the Angelina Jolie factor.  I'm so tired of her "persona" and the whole "I'm a director of lofty topics" that I forget that she's actually a really good actress and chooses some fun films to be in.  So I bit the bullet and started watching it.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  First thing:  her costuming is gorgeous.  It's perfect, actually.  She has some fake cheekbones, which are rather alarming  but shape her face exactly like the animated cartoon.  And her actual jawbone is freakish, quite honestly.  It's so sharp and pronounced that I feel like her skin is just painted on her bone.  Creepy.  Her lipstick in this film is a deep, sultry red that looks fantastic.

(Here are the spoilers)  Essentially the plot is this:  Maleficent is a fairy.  Wings, pointy ears, the whole nine yards.  When she's young she falls for a boy named Stefan (I missed the first 5 minutes so I'm not sure why he's in the enchanted forest) and they share a kiss...true love's kiss, or so she thinks.  Actually, Stefan is a power hungry prick, so he leaves Maleficent and the forest to go find his power within the human world.  She takes on the role of Protecter of the Forest.  The humans come in and try to fuck with the forest.  She wins but the king is furious and wants revenge.  He challenges all his squires (?) to kill her.   Whoever kills her will succeed him.   STEFAN volunteers (he really, really wants to be king) and goes to Maleficent.  He sort of seduces her (no sex but she loves him again), feeds her a sleeping potion and CUTS OFF HER F'ING WINGS!!  When she wakes the next morning, RazorJaw Jolie just howls.  It's really touching.  Chilling, actually.  Anyway, she rebuilds her life and is understandably the most bitter fairy in the entire world.  Stefan becomes king, has a baby....etc.  Sleeping Beauty.  One really cool thing is that the scene where she puts the curse on the baby Aurora is almost word for word from the original DIsney film.

There are the three good fairies in this film as well.  Honestly, they are total dipshits.  They reminded me of a less funny version of the witches in Hocus Pocus.  The "smartest" fairy is played by the actress who played Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films.  She's kind of always a treat but was a bit wasted in this film.

The twist on this film is that Maleficent keeps watch on Aurora as she grows and falls in love with her (even though she calls her Beastie, which is funny).  She tries to revoke the curse at one point, but can't.  Karma's a bitch, honey.  You do something shitty, this is what happens.  There is a nice twist (not at all unexpected, though) with the true love's kiss that wakes Aurora and the ending is satisfying.

The effects in this film are pretty bad, which surprised me.  There are a couple big fight scenes that look like a game company animated them and the good fairies (when tiny) are most definitely mo-cap, which is just shitty-looking in my opinion (think Polar Express...gah!)

For some reason, in both films, I couldn't get beyond the Spinning Wheel portion of the story.  Essentially, King Stefan commands that all the spinning wheels are destroyed in the kingdom, yet all they do is stick them in an unused portion of the castle.  Seriously??  You can't ACTUALLY get rid of them??  (Let's not even go there with how they made their clothes.)  Also, they hide Aurora for 16 years to be returned on the day AFTER her 16th birthday.  All the good fairies are one step from retarded, apparently, so that gets fucked up, but also I couldn't work out why they thought Maleficent would take action during those 16 years.  She made her stand so why would they all worry that she'd change the stakes?

(My pairing suggestion for this movie is a Disney themed cocktail called Maleficent! (Black Vodka, Grape Schnapps (there's Grape??), Apple Pucker - who knew??))

My second film HAD to be Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  I haven't seen it in years, it honestly wasn't one of my favorites.  It was released in 1959.  I was always more of a Warner Brothers kind of kid, so even though I saw the Princess films, I didn't obsess over them.  Disney captured my heart with their talking animal films, actually.  I had a charm bracelet (from a cereal box, as I recall...they put METAL - it was probably brass- in with the cereal!  It's amazing kids from the 60's are alive at all) of the Jungle Book.  It's the Bare Necessities, baby!

Anyway, the first thing that blew my mind about Sleeping Beauty is that it was created by NINETEEN animators!  WHAT. THE. FUCK.  Madagascar 3 had 70 animators.  Jesus.

It's really a beautiful film.  Again, it was very cool (and respectful) that Maleficent kept a fair amount of the dialog and the story of Aurora is also very similar with the exception of the ending.  There is also the running song in the film "Once Upon a Dream" , which is based on Tchaikovsky's music from the ballet and also has been redone for the end song in Maleficent by Lana Del Rey (it's a great version).

There was a song fail in this film.  One of the first songs had this truly amazingly complex dialog:  "Hail to the King.  Hail to the Queen.  Hail to the Princess Aurora."  That's it.  Over and over and over.....zzzzz.

The good fairies aren't nearly as stupid in this version although it is their rivalry that alerts Maleficent to where they have hidden Aurora (or Briar Rose, which is what they call her to be sneaky...again, not sure why they were so worried since they fucked everything up on her 16th birthday which was the EXACT day they should have kept their shit together).  It's also MUCH more "I need a man to complete me" and in a weird Snow White moment, she sings a song with all the forest animals.  I'm sure this is a metaphor for something that I think I'd prefer not to know.

Maleficent is just pure evil in this film.  I kind of like having a back story for her, it makes her meanness more palatable.

Also two more things about Spinning Wheels (see how much this affected me?).   One is that Maleficent used some of the same shot compositions as the animated version, which I thought was cool.

The second thing is whenever I think of a spinning wheel, I think of Rumplestilskin.  It's a missed opportunity to not use him whenever there is a spinning wheel.  And naturally, he should be played by Peter Dinklage!  :)

(My pairing for this film is the Disney themed cocktail Sleeping Beauty (Kinky Liqueur, Hypnotiq, Sprite))

My takeaways:

#1 - Be careful what you wish for (or curse), cuz sometimes it's irreversible.

#2 - I guess I never really was a Princess girl (besides Princess Leia).  If Maleficent came out when I was young, I'd totally want to be her.

#3 - I really, really do love animation.

And my holiday gift to you:

The 12 Days of Pet Sitting

On the first day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the second day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the third day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the fourth day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the fifth day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the sixth day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Cleaned six pools of puke,

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the seventh day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Played seven rounds of Bird,

Cleaned six pools of puke,

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the eighth day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Heard eight Cosmo meows,

Played seven rounds of Bird,

Cleaned six pools of puke,

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the ninth day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Swept nine huge dust bunnies,

Heard eight Cosmo meows,

Played seven rounds of Bird,

Cleaned six pools of puke,

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the tenth day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Felt ten claws need trimming,

Swept nine huge dust bunnies,

Heard eight Cosmo meows,

Played seven rounds of Bird,

Cleaned six pools of puke,

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the eleventh day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Delivered eleven pills a-poppin’,

Felt ten claws need trimming,

Swept nine huge dust bunnies,

Heard eight Cosmo meows,

Played seven rounds of Bird,

Cleaned six pools of puke,

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

On the twelfth day of pet sitting, knew my chores and got the key:

Watched twelve Hallmark movies,

Delivered eleven pills a-poppin’,

Felt ten claws need trimming,

Swept nine huge dust bunnies,

Heard eight Cosmo meows,

Played seven rounds of Bird,

Cleaned six pools of puke,

CLIMBED FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!

Scooped four litter boxes,

Found three lost toys,

Got two Tikka sniffs,

And Dobby hissed at me.

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

A Study in Ash

I'm gonna put something out there that might be a bit controversial...I hope it doesn't make any of you think less of me.

I love love love the Cinderella fable.  I know, I know.  

It's weird because I don't think of myself as a Princess-loving girl (besides Leia, natch).  But there it is.   I realized this when I was on my two ridiculously long flights last month.  The new Cinderella was featured and I was super excited.  When I examined why, it occurred to me that there are no two ways about it:  I'm a fan.  And I have been for a long time.  Some of you may know this, but the first kitten I ever had was a Siamese that our elderly next door neighbors gave me (now that I think of it, they must have instilled in me my love of cats; they had two gorgeous Siamese that I adored - and as I recall they had horribly racist names like maybe Ping and Pong? This was the 60's, people, don't judge.  The neighbors were extremely nice people, actually.).  I was about 5 or 6 at the time (this was a big year for me, if you read my Halloween post).  My parents let me name the kitten, which we thought was a girl.  I named her Cinderella.  Upon further inspection, though, we discovered that Cinderella wasn't a girl, so we ended up calling HIM Cindus. I think this name was borne out of me wanting to call the cat Cinders (I think that's the name the horrible stepsisters call Cinderella in the storybook I had) and either I garbled it (I was calling deodorant "dodorant" at the time....God knows why I knew that word but there you have it)  or that's how my Bostonian mother pronounced it.  Cindus didn't have a long life, but he followed me everywhere I went and I loved him dearly.

Since then, not only have I seen the traditional Cinderella films, but quite a few adaptations as well (even the Hilary Duff one...it's terrible but I still liked it (Jennifer Coolidge plays the evil step mother so that's a big plus)).  I guess I'm a sucker for a girl who works her ass off all the time and ends up with a sugar daddy.  Or maybe I like that the shoe only comes in her size.   

I did a bit of research about the Cinderella fable.  The first instance of this story was from 7 BC and featured a Greek girl (yup!).  Not all the elements are there, but there's a lost red slipper.  The version that introduced many of the elements commonly found now (pumpkin, fairy godmother and glass slipper) is a French story from 1697.  There are well over 200 documented theatrical versions of Cinderella (plays and films) starting from the mid 1800s.  That's a lot of fairy godmothers.

On my flight, they also were playing the original Cinderella (as well as an another offshoot film called After the Ball, which was adorably irreverent, combining Cinderella and Victor/Victoria) so here I give you my thoughts on Cinderella, old and new.

Cinderella - released in 1950

This version of Cinderella was taken from the French story I mentioned above.  Apparently because of WW II, etc, Disney hadn't had a big hit in many years (I think since Snow White was released in the late 30s) and they were banking a lot on this movie.  They employed 3 directors (similar to many of the animated films I worked on, actually) and used a new song writing collective, Tin Pan Alley (they ended up partnering with this company a lot, according to Wikipedia).  What they did totally paid off.  Cinderella became one of their most successful films; the profits leading to Disney being able to fund other productions and build their distribution company, as well as other endeavors.

One of the reviews says something about the "adorable mice".  Like a "how can you go wrong" type of thing.  Well, I'm gonna say that the mouse Gus Gus?  He's a fucking idiot.  I am SHOCKED that he didn't get eaten by the cat, Lucifer, within the first few minutes.  He's a portly mouse and continually looks like he's going to have a little animated heart attack when he's running up stairs or jumping around.  Gus Gus bugged.  Every stinkin' job they gave him, he messed up.  Where is Darwinism when you need it?

And speaking of the other mice, I'd like to ask, how does one employ a bunch of rodents (or any animal, really) to work for you?  I'm a nice person who's good to animals.  Why don't I have a staff of furry and winged creatures that are cleaning my house and sewing my clothes??  

I kept having to remind myself that this version was made in 1950...particularly when the amazingly handy female mice sang "Leave the sewing to the women, you go get the trimmin'" to Gus Gus and Jaq.  No surprise, Gus Gus fucked that up too.  Additionally, Prince Charming's dad (the King) was less interested in getting his son a good match and more interested in getting a baby-maker in the castle.  Any vessel would do.

Another interesting fact I learned is that for the first time on this film, the animation department hired "live action models" to film reference to keep the animation costs down.  Interesting!  They actually hired actresses to do the scenes, with rudimentary sets and props.   I believe they continued to employ this method through at least 101 Dalmatians.  We used this method too,but it was our animators shooting themselves as reference in an renovated storeroom.  Watching their reference was truly some of my favorite times at work.

Another quick thing about the animators.  I only saw one woman's name as an artist on this film, Mary Blair.  Her credit is Color and Styling, which I understand is being a concept artist.  Perhaps THE concept artist.  She was masterful, I'm learning.  Apparently she had a very troubled personal life, but in the midst of her own personal demons, she also designed all the costumes, sets and locations for the It's a Small World attraction.  Go Mary!!

One thing that surprised and delighted me was when I watched the credits and realized that Prince Charming was completely uncredited  In fact, he doesn't even have an actual name in the film.  Just "the prince".  Apparently his underdeveloped character in the film was an early issue for critics.  Not so much for me.

(My drink pairing for this is a Cinderella, a fruity non-alcoholic drink.  C'mon, you're watching animation!)

Cinderella - released in 2015

Scholars say that Cinderella is the story of unjust oppression.  It is that, but what stands out to me in all versions is that it's also, maybe more so, a story about jealousy and how incredibly mean and spiteful women can be to each other.

I think in the end, that should be what parents object to, not that she becomes a princess. 

I actually really like this version.  It's a Disney film, so they use the French story like the 1950 version.  Kenneth Branagh directs.  I'm not always a huge fan of him as an actor (I feel like you can always see his ego peeking out...which is why he was actually perfect for Gilderoy Lockhart in the Potter film), but I do like him as a director (I still think he made a mistake leaving Emma, but whatever...I could do a whole blog just on my thoughts about Hollywood couples...don't even get me started on the Blake Shelton/Gwen Stefani rumor). 

Branagh's version uses an element that many don't, which is that we see her as a child with her parents.  They are a very happy family and Cinderella's mother is nice and loving and beautiful.  She teaches our young heroine that the most important thing in life is to have courage and be kind.  This is where you find the magic. It's a theme through the movie.  Then Cinderella gets saddled with the stepfamily/horror show because her dad wants one last chance at being happy many years after the mom dies.  I don't fault him for this.  I do fault him on his terrible taste in second wives.  As soon as the dad goes away on a business trip, Cinderella is thrown out of her nice room to live in the attic.  With the mice.  Gus Gus is there, but is mercifully silent and doesn't do much more than eat.  

This film has a lot of heart, and the girl who plays Cinderella, Lily James, is perfect. (My former Blogguest, Linda Moore, might be a bit interested to know she's dating Matt Smith.  Hmph.)

The important part of the new versions of Cinderella (and Disney has jumped on the bandwagon with this film) is that we see the Prince and Cinderella meet and have a connection long before the ball. They talk, he falls in love with HER.  Her beauty, sure, but also her opinions, her kindness.  Her.  This is a big element of my favorite adaptation, Ever After.  The heroine is spunkier in Ever After.  She's also educated (her favorite place to be is a library).  I love this version.

Cate Blanchett plays the evil stepmother.  She is REALLY evil.  She does this one strident, braying laugh after she has humiliated Cinderella in front of her daughters and it's so mean and real.  It made me almost not like her for a second.  But she's Cate Blanchett which means she's pretty much All The Time Awesome.

Helena Bonham Carter is the Fairy Godmother.  This is a perfect role for her.  She looks great and she employs her usual "crazy, hot mess" acting style that served her well as Bellatrix Lestrange too.  At least in this, she uses her magic for good.

One thing about this film, whether you're a Cinderella fan or not, the costumes are A-FUCKING-MAZING.  Cate Blanchett gets some incredible outfits and Cinderella's ball gown is layer upon layer of fabric (apparently in blues and lavenders) that is just exquisite.  In fact, when she and the Prince dance, Branagh has added "swish" sound effects.  Like it's a character of it's own, singing with the music.  And the glass slippers were made by Swarovski!  Even if you never want to see this film, do yourself a favor and check out this article about the costume designer Sandy Powell.  Some great photos:   http://www.vogue.com/4463911/cinderella-movie-2015-sandy-powell-costume-designer/

One thing has stumped me, however...Cinderella and her mom sing a song called Lavender Blue.  I recognized it immediately and remember hearing it when I was young.  I thought someone like Hayley Mills sang it but I can't find it anywhere on the interwebz.  Now it's bugging me.  Anyone?

(My drink pairing for this film is multiple glasses of pink champagne.  Then sing Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo at the top of your lungs.)

My takeaways:

#1 - I apologize for the explosion of parentheses above. (not sure what got into me)

#2 - I thought this was interesting:  in the animated version, Cinderella's original ball gown - the dress the stepsisters rip to shreds - is thought to be based on a Salvador Dali look and her eventual ball gown is based on a Christian Dior design.  Nice.

#3 - Ever After, with Drew Barrymore, is one of my favorite movies.   Mireille Soria is the producer.  She also produced all 3 Madagascar films.  When I finally put that together (I had seen Ever After long before I became a Dreamworker) I shyly (for me) told her that I really loved the film.  She was like "Oh. Thanks."  Not the reaction I was expecting.

#34- Much like I learned valuable life lessons from Scarlett O'Hara (Tomorrow is another day!), perhaps I got my love of fabulous shoes from the Cinderella fable.  And I do LOVE fabulous shoes.

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Happy Halloween!!

There are a few moments in everyone's lives that define them; even set them down the path they are supposed to follow.  

Picture, if you will, a six year old girl who wants nothing more than to be hanging out with her older brothers (oh, and maybe she also desperately wants a kitten).  Against all odds she convinces them to take her along with their group of friends to the movies (I honestly don't know how this part happened.  Did the boys cave to her pleading? Did her mom say "go do something with your sister"?  Can anyone lend insight to this?).  

What they chose, in their infinite wisdom, was a triple feature of horror films.  They told their mother that they were taking her to a Shirkey Temple triple feature.  I'm stumped as to how the mother bought this.  Did she REALLY think her boys would sit through 6 hours of that precocious little moppet?  With their teenage friends??

Seriously, sometimes I think I grew up in the Twilight Zone. Or a sitcom.

Okay,  enough Rod Serling.  

The truth is  I ended up sitting on my brother John's lap the whole time. I was also convinced that Dracula lived in our backyard under the fake fountain.  Our mom was PISSED.

So for this post, I'm going to re-watch the films I saw on that fateful day!  I thought about trying to make my experience as authentic as possible, but at this stage of our lives, I'm pretty sure I'd be more apt to snap my brother's femur than look adorable sitting in his lap.  

So let's just start.

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave - released in 1968

I have a specific memory from each film I saw that day  These images have stayed with me for many, many years.  My Dracula memory was a dead woman's torso falling out of a church bell upside down; two drips of blood slowly meandering down her neck toward her chin.  Imagine my surprise that this shot is actually in this film!  Right at the beginning, too!  

As an adult, I can tell you - this is a pretty awful movie.  I mean, it's a Hammer Film, so you already know that the blood is going to look like bright red food coloring (check!) and there will be a lot of it (check!).  I was reading up a bit about the production company.  Hammer was kind of ahead of their time in the Gothic Horror movie realm, although it appears that even the internal folks were like "yeesh, these movies have A LOT of violence in them!"  What I certainly didn't realize as a 6 year old movie novice (horror or otherwise), is that the acting is TERRIBLE.  I'm talking really, really bad.  There is a "mute boy" who couldn't look more like he doesn't know how to act without speaking, and the (sort of) hero is a douchey English chap with a decidedly Roger Daltrey look to him.  SO 60's.  Everyone's makeup is thick with a weird gray shadowing, too, which is disconcerting.

Christopher Lee, of course, plays Drac.  He only has about 5 lines in the whole film and there are a LOT of shots of his bloodshot red eyes.  I have this issue, too, Drac.  It's called Dry Eye.  My fantastic optometrist, Dr. Carrie Lee, would suggest you use Refresh drops daily.  Seriously, you clearly have a pretty advanced case, dude.  Do yourself a favor and don't wear your contacts for so many hours in a row. 

I'd try to tell you about the story, but there really wasn't one. There's a Monsignor who's trying to save a village from Dracula but accidentally unearths him.  There's a super wimpy priest who ends up being Dracula's new Renfield and naturally the busty barmaid is the first to get bit.  Christopher Lee gets to overact heartily in his death scene, so I guess all the elements are there.  I was really hoping he'd turn into a bat at some point, but no such luck.

(My drink pairing for this film is a Bloody Mary.  Duh!)

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed - released in 1969

6 year old Sue remembers this scene:  It's the end.  There is a big fire in the house that Frankenstein lives in and the monster and the doctor are fighting.  Someone stabs the monster with a butter knife!  Ouch!  Who knew butter knives were so lethal??  Everyone dies.

Okay.  So now I've watched this as an adult for the first time since I was 6.   At some point in my teens or early 20's, I realized that what I thought was a butter knife was, in fact, a scalpel.  And the actual "scene" is more like 4 or 5 that blended together in my young mind.  So our sort-of heroine stabs (non-lethally) the monster about 15 minutes before the end of the film.  He is a sensitive monster, of course.  We all know that Frankenstein-the-doctor is the actual monster.  His creation didn't ASK to be created and in every incarnation of the story he feels pretty gypped by the whole deal.  It constantly impresses me that Mary Shelley wrote the original story in the 1816, all because she and her privileged friends were bored one summer.  Go Mary!  I think she won that contest!  Also, it's lauded as the first true science fiction novel.  Score one for the females!

Anyway, post stabbing, our monster in this film goes around and talks to his wife and tries to be philosophical and stuff.  6 year old Sue probably only heard "blah blah blah" when the monster was all weepy at his wife about what happened to him.  Even at a young age, I bet I was like "Quit your whining, let's move this shit along".  Eventually there is a big fire but all the butter knife (scalpel) hullaballoo was way over.  Not sure what I was thinking, but I'm gonna cut myself some slack because I was SIX and it was the last 10 minutes of the third movie in a row.

Upon adult viewing, I'll say that this movie was a lot more exciting than Hammer's above Dracula offering.  There is a lot of violence in this film, actually, and not the kind you would expect.  Peter Cushing plays Baron Frankenstein and he's super fucked up.  There is actually a rape scene where he attacks the sort-of heroine.  

The Cliff Notes version of this story is the Baron and his science buddy were doing all sorts of awful experiments on people and the buddy went crazy.  The Baron essentially kidnaps a young doctor (also with a decidedly 60's Mod look) and his fiance (our sort-of heroine), blackmailing them because they've been dealing illegal drugs (wha?) that the doctor stole from the asylum he works at (um, ok.).  The asylum houses the ex-buddy. The Baron transfers the ex-buddy's brain to another body when he dies and hilarity ensues.

This movie is very dark and kind of well written.  The acting, again, leaves A LOT to be desired, but Peter Cushing is pretty much awesome. I kept expecting him to give the orders to fire when ready on Alderaan, but maybe that's just me.  And, to his credit, it actually appears that he ate a sandwich or two during the 60's, although you could still slice or dice something with those crazy cheekbones.  In fact, this was made only a handful of years before Star Wars, so perhaps he did some Weight Watchers or juice cleanses before filming commenced in order to look exactly like a skeleton.

(My drink pairing for this film is a Starbuck's Franken Frappuccino...apparently only available from the 29th thru the 31st.  http://www.foodbeast.com/news/this-is-starbucks-new-halloween-drink-the-franken-frappuccino/)

SHE - released in 1965

Here's another one where my memory seemed so clear but wasn't quite on the mark.  The scene I remember is an immortal prince walking thru fire and aging more each time he passes through the flames.  Eventually he becomes a skeleton and disintegrates.  That's not exactly what happens in this movie (in fact, I'm pretty sure I saw that exact scene in a different movie...maybe a Harryhausen film?).  I also remember being excited about this movie because SHE are my initials, so in little kid self absorption I was positive I was gonna like this one! This was the second film of the three, a bit of a breather film.  For a long while it seemed pretty innocuous, there's a lot of exposition and a bit of a "love" story. In the end, I tbink this one scared me too, though.

Upon adult viewing, I'd be surprised if 6 year old Sue didn't sleep through most of this movie.  There is an interminable amount of  time where our hero and his friends cross a desert.  Just get there already!  It went on for so long that I got dehydrated just watching the film!  

It's another In the Hammer oeuvre (although that's a lofty word for what Hammer does); an adaptation of the H. Rider Haggard story.  Apparently old H wrote a ton of stuff and hung out with Rudyard Kipling, but is really only known for two stories: SHE and King Solomon's Mines.  Judging by this story, I'm guessing H has some issues around women.  SHE is really called She Who Must Be Obeyed and honestly she's pretty much a c*nt.  Ursula Andress plays SHE in all her gorgeousness and bitchiness.  Hammer favorites Petrr Cushing and Christopher Lee are in this as well.  Christopher Lee gets another fantasticly over-acted death scene and Peter Cushing gets some nice ironic overshadowing by saying the line  "Nothing is gained by fear and terror."  SO not the philosophy of Grand Moff Tarkin.

The basic story is that SHE is immortal and searching for her long dead love. She finds the guy's doppelgänger centuries later and hypnotizes him to come to her in the desert.  There is also the possibility of treasure, so his war buddies accompany him.  Through the desert.  For like 15 or 20 minutes of film.  Zzzz.  The hero is pretty much a douche (a Hammer hero theme) and not only falls for SHE but also messes around with a slave girl.  He discovers that SHE killed the original dude in a crime of passion (TOTAL C U Next Tuesday move).  The modern douche totally thinks with his dick, so apparently this doesn't concern him too much.  He gets caught smooching the slave and so SHE kills the slave and makes him immortal in this crazy fire that becomes magic only once in a great while (she's been alone a LONG time and clearly makes poor choices).  She also goes in the fire, but apparently no one told her that going in the fire a second time reverses the immortal effects.  Oops.  It turn out she is the one who stands in the fire and quickly ages until she's a pile of dust.  The modern douche realizes that thinking solely with the little head usually ends up badly and vows to watch the flame until he gets an opportunity to reverse his own immortality.  

In the end, it never would have worked anyway. SHE wanted everlasting love and he just wanted to get laid.

(My drink pairing for this film is a Flaming Zombie, because it's alcohol, it's on fire and it's Halloween!)

My takeaways:

#1- A Hammer Film triple feature and a Shirley Temple triple feature could not be more polar opposites.

#2- I forgot to mention, there is a belly dance scene in SHE!  Peter Cushing even gets up to dance with the girls!!  It's like the Skeleton Dance in Silly Symphonies!

#3- If anyone is ever on Wunderlich Dr in San Jose, will you check and see how Dracula is doing in my old backyard?  

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Shit I watched on the plane

Alternate title:  I've HAD it with these motherfuckin' movies on this motherfuckin' plane!!  Really, I couldn't pass up the obvious joke, now could I?

So as many (or all) of you know, I was on two incredibly long flights and one short one over the last couple weeks (I think I totaled about 50 in-air hours).  It was like a movie-watching goldmine!  Emirates had a zillion films I could choose from.  You will see from my entry today that sometimes I did not choose...wisely.

So here is my film itinerary, just a couple lines per movie so you get the gist. Cuz sometimes that's all you need.

USA to AUS

Jurassic World - released in 2015

I'm not gonna deny it...I love me some Chris Pratt.  This movie was a perfect plane movie....funny, charming leading man, great special FX that were visually big  and an easy storyline to keep track of (Dinosaur runs around. Everyone acts scared).

Thumbs up!

Ant Man - released in 2015

I'd say meh to this.  I love Paul Rudd but even his charm couldn't really do it for me in this film.  Also, what is Michael Douglas now, 1000 years old?  Whoa. My favorite part was Ant Man's friend, Luis.  He's this street-wise gangster type dude who is really funny.  His vocal cadence and demeanor, apparently, were taken from a "friend of a friend" of the actor Michael Pena.  Worth the free viewing.  Slept through a bit of it.

Thumbs middle.

Asterix:  The Land of the Gods - released in 2014

To be honest, I don't even know if this is the one I saw...I can't remember.  I'm assuming it is because via Google I discovered that it's the most recent Asterix offering.  I slept through almost the whole thing.  I saw enough to know that I am not a fan of the animation style.

Thumbs zzzz.

Pitch Perfect 2 - released in 2015

I liked this one!  It was funny and kept my attention on the plane.  As usual, I especially love Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins as the emcees (and our eternal Greek chorus).  They play off each other brilliantly, in fact I think they provided me with some actual LOL moments.  Which is always awesome when you're sitting alone on a plane.

Thumbs up!

Jupiter Ascending - released in 2015

While I did not for ONE SECOND buy the love story aspect between Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum (and she's with Ashton so I'm willing to buy a lot), I was entertained by this movie.  Eddie Redmayne played an evil guy and honestly his talents were wasted on this film.  His acting "style" seemed to basically consist of "sound like you have laryngitis".  I know he can do better than that.  This movie was also incredibly long.  I think there were at least two plot points they could have lost and I wouldn't have minded.

Thumbs middle.

MELBOURNE to PERTH

Tomorrowland - released in 2015

This was on a quick flight in the middle of my trip.

I wanted to like this...I really did. I mean, it's directed by Brad Bird for crying out loud!  The Incredibles!   But, meh.  Clooney seemed to phone it in a bit.  The kids were good but the one little girl was doll-like (for good reason, which I won't spoil if you haven't seen it) so you can imagine how I felt. And Hugh Laurie was just a bit weird.  Additionally, this also could have benefitted with a good trim.

Thumbs middle.

AUS to USA

Hot Pursuit - released in 2015

Holy shit.  I can't even with this one.  Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, what the FUCK were you thinking??  Abysmal.

Thumbs all the way down.

Ex Machina - released in 2015

I've been wanting to watch this for a while.  Watching it on a plane was definitely not the best venue but I still liked it a lot.  It's a moody, atmospheric film with only 3 main characters. Everyone gave stellar performances.  It's a quiet film that I think will stay with me for a while.  I have to say, I've become a fan of the main actor, Domhnall Gleeson.  Check out About Time if you haven't already seen it.  It's a lovely film, too. (fun fact:  his dad is Brendan Gleeson (MadEye Moody) and they were both in Deathly Hallows together because he played Bill Wesley!)

Thumbs up!

I know this doesn't seem like a lot for my flight home but on the first leg I had a row to myself (sweet, sweet stretched out sleep) and I also watched a couple films that are going to get their own entry next month.

(My drink pairing suggestion for any of these films is a tiny bottle of your favorite hooch and A LOT of water.  It's important to keep hydrated on a plane.)

My takeaways:

#1 - I've discovered that on a flight there are films you need to sacrifice to Morpheus.  I call them Sleeper Films.  I did this with Toy Story on my way home (sorry Pixar).  You put it on and it blocks out the sounds of airplane and crying children.  Bliss.

#2 - I guess I never realized (or maybe it's because of the specific airline?) that swear words are bleeped out of movies on airplanes. Silly. You can barely hear it anyway so what's the point?

#3 - Another fun fact:  Keegan-Michael Key was in Pitch Perfect 2 AND Tomorrowland.  He was definitely a treat in both films!  Glad to see he's getting some big screen time!

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Who's on First?

Hey gang!

It’s a natural human condition to pick a thing you love above all others then fiercely defend it to those with differing opinions.  Such is the case with Doctor Who.

Linda and I are both late bloomers when it comes to the Doctor.  We discovered him (oddly at about the same time) through the new incarnation of the series.  There were already 7 seasons of new Who at that point, so neither of us have had the chance to explore the original doctors yet.  So just know that Linda and I are only revue-ing the Ninth through Twelfth doctors.  We are, in no way, dissing the former doctors, we just can’t speak to them.

That being said, we are girls with opinions and we like Who we like.  We've been discussing the Doctors as we've been watching, and now we want to share that with you guys.

Also:  there are some spoilers below if you haven’t watched any Doctor Who.  Read at your own risk.

It is with great pleasure that I introduce my Blogguest, Linda Moore.  Arguably, the most interesting woman in the world.  

Linda:  Thanks for inviting me!  If only we were together and drinking while we do this.  Of course it would never get done, or be hi-larry-us, but only to us.  

Sue:  Amen, Sister!

LM:  As Sue mentioned, I do not consider myself a sci fi (or syfy) fan, so completely wrote off the Dr. Who phenom when it started.  I can’t say what made me start to watch other than pressure from Netflix, and a long sewing project looming in my future.  I figured a couple of episodes could keep me company while I worked.

I was not hooked on the first episode.  There were mannequins and I couldn’t follow the storyline, but Netflix kept playing and so I stuck with it.  I’ve been a Whovian ever since.  But not one of those rabid kind that actually know all the rules of being a Doctor and remember the names of the enemies and keep it all in sequence.  That hurts too much.  I like the arc of the stories, and the characters and the silly lines (“it’s a timey wimey thing”).

SHE:  I actually did like the first episode (mannequins…creepy!!).  I fully agree about not being able to keep the entire Who universe (Whoniverse?) straight, but each Doctor has been compelling in a different way.  I love the idea of getting a variety of actors and character interpretation within the same world.  The element that KILLS ME about this show are the Dalaks.  Clearly they were designed in an era of low budget/no cgi television.  I know they are representing a sort of Nazi-like enemy in their single-minded pursuit of extermination, but a giant tin can with a toilet plunger arm?  C’mon guys…we couldn’t upgrade when we moved into the new millennium??  

LM:  Let’s start with the fact that I don’t have a favorite Doctor. I think that Christopher Eccleston has gotten short shrift in the whole deal because he only got one season.  And while David Tennant was arguably the most popular “modern” Doctor, it would not have happened if Christopher hadn’t gotten it all moving in season 1 MD (modern doctor).  He also is the only one to have a more contemporary get up, and had a very nice bad boy aesthetic going with his black leather. Apparently he wasn’t happy with the working conditions so made his exit and returned to the theatre.

SHE:  I DO have a favorite Doctor (so far, anyway) and he is David Tennant.  It’s not that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy Eccleston and Matt Smith (I’ll get to my thoughts on Capaldi later) but there was something about Tennant’s portrayal that completely drew me in.  He was a series of contradictions:  Goofy and serious.  Fractured and whole.  Social and lonely.  He had the longest run (as well as having both Russell T Davies AND Stephen Moffat writing episodes!) so there was a lot of time to give him some serious depth.  I think during his run we really got to flesh out the pain the Doctor feels about being the last Time Lord left.  Which is what makes the “Master” coming into the picture even more intriguing.  Tennant not only finds another Time Lord but the guy’s a dick. Bummer!!

LM:  What I think is odd about the Doctor is that when he regenerates he can remember all kinds of valuable information about his enemies, previous battles, and how alien technology works.  But he has no idea who is companion is and has no memory of their recent history (as in, like 10 minutes ago).  There was one exception- when Doctor the Tenth ran into Sarah Jane, who was a past companion along with a robotic dog, K9.  She figured in a couple of episodes- enough apparently to spin off her own short-lived show in the UK.

I did enjoy the Tenth (Tennant) a lot.  He had a nice range of funny, loving and vengeful (especially when he was without a companion).  Some of these episodes were kind of awkward because we were introduced to River (spoiler alert- his wife that was raised by aliens as an assassin to kill him in the future) while he was still managing a budding unrequited love interest with his companion Rose.  I’m going to say something controversial here- I’m not a fan of Rose.  Sure she’s plucky and all, but she strung her boyfriend along for ages when she clearly had a thing for the Time Lord.  He was a nice guy and she was a shit for being so calloused.  I also thought that the writers really wussed out in giving her a knock-off version of her Doctor to keep.  I think they wanted to figure out a way to make fans happy that wanted to get them together.  Get over it people.  He’s already got an assassin wife.

SHE:  Oh, I love the Rose!  Added bonus for me is that she’s married to Laurence Fox who plays DS Hathaway on Inspector Lewis.  Anyone who likes tame BBC mystery series should check it out.  He’s adorable.  She’s also currently in Penny Dreadful PLUS when she was young she was a pop star!  Love her!

I also really enjoyed her relationship with the Doctor (both Eccleston and Tennant but mostly Tennant).  She was fearless and determined and took no shit.  And I know she kind of threw over her BF for the Doctor…but come on.  He took her time traveling.  Who’s head WOULDN’T be turned?

I also loved Donna.  Tennant’s Doctor sort of shunned relationships after Martha Jones (she fell in love with him and got kind of needy, frankly.  He was like “Nope, not hurting another woman!”) so he insisted upon a platonic relationship with Donna.  Tennant and the actress, Catherine Tate, are friends in real life so their chemistry on screen was really fun to watch.

LM:  One thing I really enjoyed about this Doctor was the process he went through when he knew his time was coming to an end.  The Ood kept singing to him about it, and he wasn‘t ready to go.  I thought that was touching.  Towards the end he was definitely more profound, and more “human”.  “We’re all stories in the end.  Make it a good one.”

SHE:  You’re right, that was great.  I cried.

LM:  Then we come to Matt of the floppy hair, and bow tie.  At 26 he’s the youngest Doctor. Most of his stories are intertwined with Amy and Rory who both Sue and I love.  Because of that, I do really like his episodes.  I thought it was interesting that the writers made him a lot more huggy and kissy than the others. His predecessors were much more PDA-averse and now the new Doctor is the most PDA-adverse of them all.  What does it mean?

SHE:  We also both enjoyed that he would make comments about being relieved that he wasn’t a ginger.  Funny, because Eccleston’s Doctor WANTED to be a ginger. Nice touch.  One of the things I enjoyed about Matt Smith is that while he’s very silly and energetic, he also shows some profound depth.  At one point, probably in his second season, I remember thinking “wow, he’s a REALLY good actor”.

LM:  Each of these Doctors also have an arc throughout.  His is the crack in the universe.  For some reason, I really liked that theme.  Though in the end, I didn’t like that it included the Time Lords on the other side wanting to get through.  Keep your own universe people.  You’ve already expired in this one!

And now we come to Peter Capaldi.  As with all regenerations, I had to observe a respectful period of mourning before I could even deign to watch the new one.  Each time I felt very loyal to the old one and was ready to hate the new one.  And each time, I couldn’t.  They each have something very compelling.  Well done, casting agent!  I like his sartorial aesthetic for the most part.  And I like that he changes his clothes.  The others wore the same damn thing all of the time.  He’s also spending more time contemplating who he is, why he chose this regeneration, and if he’s a good person.  I think it’s interesting that he acknowledges that in some way, he chooses his face (Apparently this incarnation really likes that guy in the Pompeii episode…).  He tells Clara that the Doctor she first met (loved!) chose a face that either he thought others would like or reflected who he wanted to be.  By that, I would guess this one is here to be serious and grown up about these things.  I’m also a bit curious if they chose an “older” doctor just to take the “will they or won’t they” question out of the mix, and let us concentrate on other things.  He lets Clara be a strong character, which is fun. However, he does do a lot less talking about what he’s going to do and then dishes out the lessons afterwards.  I’m not sure I like that part. He is lonely as always, and I think this one might be the worst if left alone too long.  Also, so far, I don’t like his overarching arc because it’s not very subtle- yes, yes, everyone is ending up in the Promised Land with the creepy lady.  Got it.  I’m not sure I really care.  

SHE:  Linda, we are similar in that we mourn the loss of each Doctor before embracing the new one.  Capaldi has been a struggle for me to get on board with, quite honestly.  I think part of that is because it’s also been a struggle for Clara as well.  I like Clara as a companion a lot.  She’s darling and smart and adventurous.  She seemed VERY reluctant to embrace this Doctor (I read, actually, that Capaldi and Moffat had to team up and convince her to stay.  It kind of shows.).  She does finally decide to stick with him, but I honestly wasn’t sure I was ready when she was.  I think it took me a few more episodes to really get on board.  I do, however, love his sense of humor (he has some good under-the-breath one liners) and I’m always a fan of the Scottish dudes. David Tennant is actually also Scottish, but as Linda has pointed out to me, they didn’t want a Scottish Doc when he was on.  Whatevs.  I love the Scots.

LM:  I think the key question is-which Doctor would you most like to travel with? I think the Eleventh (Matt) might be the most fun, but if we got into some serious shit, I think I’d prefer to be with Tenth (David).  How about you Sue?

SHE:  Tennant is my fave, so I’d have to go with him.  I agree about Matt Smith, he WOULD be fun to travel with.  He’s super cute and seems like a goofball.   But yeah.  Tennant.

(My drink pairing suggestion:  honestly I’m not even sure if the Doctor drinks or not – and it’s been debated on the interwebs – so I’d suggest a pint or two of Brewster’s Brewing Company Britannia’s Brew.  Apparently it has “truly national flavours, including English Boadiciea and Sovereign hops as well as seaweed and heather to represent Wales and Scotland”.  Pretty much sums it up.)

Our takeaways:

#1 – We have become TOTAL Doctor nerds!  

#2 – I’m clearly living up to the Erokan motto “We’re funny…to us!” with my titling lately.  Sorry about that, folks.

#3 – We both realized that it’s not about being a “Syfy” fan necessarily…this is all about good writing and acting.  And as Linda said to me - it’s reassuring to know that when the Aliens do come, there’s always a Doctor out there to save us.

xoxo…hashtagSueslife

The Wrath of Caan!

Hey gang!

I know, I know.  My subject of choice seems pretty odd and specific.  The weird thing is, I kept seeing that Rollerball was on TV and debating if I should watch it.  Then I saw that Alien Nation was on and it sparked the idea to write about Caan in science fiction films.  So there you go.

I didn't choose his arguably most popular role, Sonny Corleone, or the role I remember most fondly, Brian Piccolo.  But these were both fun movies to watch and dissect.

Hope you enjoy!

Rollerball - released in 1975

Wow, 1970's.  You were amazing and horrific, all wrapped into one neat package.

I am pretty sure I saw Rollerball in the theatre...I would have been 11 years old when it came out.  The more I look back on the films I've seen, the more I absolutely love the fact that my mom barely had any restrictions on what I watched.  I mean, every once in a while she'd try to make a stand (like when I was 9 and The Birds was on TV...she wouldn't let me watch it which was ridiculous because 3 years earlier I'd seen a triple feature of horror films) but mostly she probably either wanted to get me out of the house or wanted a couple hours herself in an air conditioned movie theatre.  Anyway, I don't remember who I saw this with (maybe my brother John?) but parts of it stuck with me.

Which parts stuck?  The Rollerball parts. It's touted as being this really violent look at a dystopian future...but looking at this film in contrast to films being made today...it's like a bedtime story.  Albeit a weird bedtime story, but you get my point.  Think Hunger Games without the bow and arrow and all the tributes just shoving each other.

I had a really hard time figuring out the point of the conflict in this film.  James Caan plays the best and most famous Rollerballer, he totally kicks ass.  He's a worldwide hero.  Rollerball has been created to eliminate war, so it's a very violent game with few rules.  It's kind of like Roller Derby meets Quidditch.  You skate around a track like a bat out of hell, some of the players are on motorcycles to make it more dangerous and you have to throw a little ball into a magnetic target. Caan's character is being rewarded for his service by getting a TV special made in his honor, but he's also being asked to retire.  He (and I) can't figure out why they want him to retire so he starts to look into the corporation (with the uninspired name "Energy Corporation").  Eventually we find out that this form of sports entertainment is also supposed to "demonstrate the futility of individualism" (thanks Wikipedia....cuz I honestly wasn't gonna get that on my own).  In fact, even the coach yells "This wasn't meant to be a game!  Never!"  So dramatic, that coach!  The final battle is a no-holds-barred blood fest.  No penalties, no time limit, straight up death to all.  Naturally our man is the last one standing.  Yay individualism!

James Caan is a baby faced youngster in this film.  I think he's maybe supposed to be a Texan but unless he's muttering (which he does quite a bit, actually...I guess that's his way of playing a "Texan"), he sounds straight up NYC to me.  Ba-da-bing, y'all!  He also has a total jew-fro.  Rollerball was made after Godfather (Sonny!!) so he was a pretty hot commodity.  And he's good in this, without a doubt, but it's no Brian's Song (does anyone remember that TV movie about the football player who dies of cancer?  I'll love James Caan forever because of that role.)  John Houseman is also in this film, as the head of Energy Corporation. He has the most formidable eyebrows ever!  Seriously, I felt like their wiry hairs might reach through the screen and wind around my ankle!  I kept remembering him from the 70's TV show, Paper Chase.  It was about law students and he was the scary head professor.  He was wonderful.

The best surprise discovery in this film is Richard LeParmentier.  You may be asking:  Sue, who is Richard LeParmentier and why do you care?  Well, let me enlighten you.  He has a small part in this film.  But he's much better known (and recognizable) as Admiral Motti in Star Wars.  He's the dude that Darth Vader chokes!!!!!  Darth finds his lack of faith....disturbing.   Best. Role. Ever.

The aesthetic style of the 70's is painful and in abundance.  The font they use for everything from the titles to the uniform numbers is bubbly looking, like how I used to write letters when I was 11.  And the outfits are all tight pants for the guys and flowy caftans for the women.  The women, by the way, are basically concubines for the athletes.  All the women.  Maud Adams (Octopussy!!) plays Caan's ex-wife who was "given" to an executive because he wanted her.  She had the biggest female role and it was like two scenes.  I was definitely having issues with how the women were portrayed in this film.  The sets were all 70's futuristic too. Everything was white with glass or mirrored accents.  There is a talking computer named Zero and the design was a box with rows of glass circles looking into the innards, which consisted of  LED lights and tubes with bubbling water. Oooh, future-y!!  And you know, that's what makes a computer run...bubbling water and lights.  I'm contracting at Apple...I know this shit.  I heard Dave the Computer was just coming off his 2001 fame and got really into drugs, otherwise they would have cast him.  :)

The circle is actually a big visual feature in this film.  Buildings are circular, circles are design accents, the goal and ball are both circles.  I'm assuming this is to hammer home the futility idea?  Everybody just keeps going round and round?  Or maybe it just looks cool.

Norman Jewison directed this film.  He directed Moonstruck, Fiddler on The Roof, Thomas Crowne Affair.  He was big on the arty shots in this film (a man's back muscles while working out, Caan's hands through a glass sculpture, lots of shots of cityscapes) and apparently showing sweaty faces is part of his cinematic style.  I guess it conveys tension.  There were definitely a lot of sweaty faces in this film and it made me tense because I wanted to wipe them all down.  So, that's a win, right?

(Oddly, James Caan is drinking what looks like a mimosa in one shot, so why not?  Let's pair mimosas with this brutal depiction of a dystopian future!)

Alien Nation - released in 1988

Now we see James Caan 13 years later.  He's aging pretty well, but he certainly isn't baby faced anymore.  This film costars Mandy Patinkin, just a couple years after Princess Bride.  We can't see how he's aging because he's in full alien makeup.

This film is basically a buddy cop movie, the twist being one is a cranky veteran cop and the other is a wisecracking black kid from Detroit.  Oh wait, no, that's 48 Hrs.   He's a cranky veteran cop and the other is a crazy, suicidal but brilliant cop who's wife died...oh wait, no, that's Lethal Weapon.  Cranky veteran and Chinese cop?  Nope, that's Rush Hour.  Okay, so I thought perhaps...maybe....just a bit....this film is a tad derivative.  This in no way means I didn't like it.  I'm a big fan of buddy cop movies.  So for reals, James Caan is cranky as fuck and kind of a loser.  He hateshateshates the aliens that landed in the "near future" (1991, heh), who have come to our planet and are fully assimilated.  So one of these aliens kills his partner and he gets paired with Mandy who plays Sam Francisco (ha!), who's the first alien to become a detective.  Caan volunteers to be his partner because he thinks he can use Mandy to help get the aliens who killed his partner, but in the end he becomes a mentor and friend to Mandy who is a good and upstanding citizen and a really good cop.  There is nothing that is original or innovative about this movie, but it's a nice friendship film.  I think it was successful because James Caan is a good actor and Mandy Patinkin is a great actor.  Even covered in alien makeup.  

Mandy's character loves being on Earth; getting opportunities he wouldn't have had on his planet, being able to give his family the best possible life.  I imagine this is how my father felt when he came to America.  Mandy gets this truly inspired little speech which I think applies as much today as ever:  "You humans are very curious to us.  You invite us to live among you in an atmosphere of equality that we've never known before, You give us ownership of our own lives for the first time and you ask no more of us than you do of yourselves.  I hope you understand how special your world is, how unique a people you humans are.  Which is why it is all the more painful and confusing to us that so few of you seem capable of living up to the ideals you set for yourself."  Heady stuff for a goofy buddy film.

(My drink pairing suggestion is a big glass of spoiled milk if you are an alien or a glass of Smirnoff over ice if you're human.)

My takeaways:

#1 - I read that James Caan has been up and down in his choice of roles.  I'm particularly glad he chose to be Buddy's dad in Elf.

#2 - I think Caan's real skill is being in films with really great actors.  Because he's good.  But he plays well with others that are great.

#3 - His son, Scott Caan, is on Hawaii 5-0 (is that still on?) and looks quite a bit like him from his Rollerball years.  I'm not sure why this is a takeaway but it is.

xoxo...hashtagSueslife