The "Back to Work" Edition

Hi all!I know I missed a golden opportunity here by not making this a Harry Potter post in honor of his (and J.K.'s) birthday, but I'm honoring the fact that I got a stinkin' JOB instead!  Okay, okay, it's a freelance gig, but in stark contrast to my last five months, I'm showering daily and making money.  It's glorious for everyone involved.So I give to you....my "Back to Work" edition.  Enjoy!

Working Girl - released in 1988I've never seen this movie before.   Now that I have, I feel like I didn't miss much.This movie is like a study in 80's hairdos.   I'm sure a huge percentage of this film's budget was for AquaNet.  Holy shit.  This movie is basically watching a hard working, smart Jersey girl climb her way up the corporate ladder by pretending she's not just a secretary while her boss (Sigourney Weaver)  is laid up with a broken leg. She does this largely by getting rid of her horrendous 80's hairdo.  Seriously, her bangs were like a foot high flap raising from her forehead.  And everything turned around for her when she cut that shit off.  She also has the help of a man (hello, it's the 80's) in the form of Harrison Ford.  Now, I love me some Harrison, but sometimes (maybe always?) he's not the best actor in the world.  I know, I know.  This is sacrilege.  He's handsome and all that (I love him.  He knows.) but much of his acting style is "looking perplexed". This is in good contrast to our heroine Melanie Griffith's acting style which is constant throat clearing.  She has a kind of scratchy voice, but she seriously clears her throat in EVERY scene.  Maybe she has a goiter?  And I have a hard time buying her being smart.  Sorry.  It just doesn't ring true.  I mean, she says to Harrison when she meets him "I have a head for business and a bod for sin".  Bod. Gah.Sigourney Weaver is maybe my favorite character in this film.  She's bitchy and backstabby, but she plays it perfectly.  She has this fabulous line when she's telling Melanie Griffith something about getting her boyfriend to marry her.  It's all businesslike and then she says "And I am, after all, me."  It's pretty great.There are a ton of amazing actors who were clearly just beginning their careers because they have tiny parts.  Joan Cusack and Alec Baldwin both have healthy secondary roles but Kevin Spacey has a tiny part as a douchey, coke snorting coworker, Olympia Dukakis is an office manager with one scene and both Riki Lake and David Duchovny have teeny tiny walk ons (he's "party goer" and she's "bridesmaid").  To be clear, I'm not saying David Duchovny is an amazing actor.  Just that he had a tiny part in this film.I will also put forward that I think in nearly every film Harrison Ford is in they have written in a scene explaining his scar.  I'm not disputing that it's a sexy scar, it's just interesting that they always write it in. (In fact, it's from a minor car accident.  Did y'all know he used to work at a Bullocks?  It's amazing what you learn...)This movie did really well commercially.  The main song (written and performed by Carly Simon) won an Academy Award.  Maybe it needed to be seen in the  80's to really be enjoyed.  I don't know, I feel like I missed this particular bus.I read that the scenes of her office building lobby were filmed in one of the World Trade Center buildings and there is one shot where she's looking at the NYC skyline and there are the towers all lit up.  Seeing films when the buildings are still there always give me a chill at how arresting and epic they made the skyline, immediately followed by a true and deep sadness.(I suggest pairing this film with a big shot (or more) of Tequila Gold - that's what they call it in the movie.)

9 to 5 - released in 1980Although this film is 35 years old, it's still thoroughly enjoyable.  Jane Fonda is always lovely and classy, Lily Tomlin is perfect as the completely capable but overlooked employee and Dolly Parton is just generally adorable and charming.  I honesty thought this wasn't going to hold up watching it now, but I still liked it.Apparently this film originated from an idea that Fonda had because a friend of hers had started an organization called 9 to 5, dealing with woman office workers. This is back in the day when they were primarily secretaries - getting their bosses coffee, picking up their dry-cleaning, filling their cars with gas.  Wow, right?  I guess it was a tricky film to write because although it's classified as a "labor film" she didn't want it to be preachy and depressing (and let's face it..labor films tend to be just that).It remains funny, even though it's dated.  I nearly spat out my Coke Zero when I saw typewriters and dictaphones!  But one thing struck me.  Why can we make a computer fit on a fucking phone, but we STILL CAN"T CREATE A CONSISTENTLY FUNCTIONING COPIER?????  Mind blowing.Dabney Coleman plays their super scummy boss and he's really great.  He's a complete asshole or as they describe him "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot".  I think he's really funny, particularly when the woman are having their fantasies of getting rid of him.  All the fantasies are extremely silly (they have smoked a joint so they are a giggly, hungry mess..the scene is pretty cute) but my favorite is Lily Tomlin's.  She dreams of being a Snow White character, who, aided by a gaggle of 2D animated woodland creatures, poisons the boss's coffee.  Oddly, I'm having a hard time finding out who did the animation for this.  According to IMDB there was a supervisor and one animator and Wikipedia doesn't have anything.  Shameful.This is Dolly's first film role.  Again, she was really charming in it.  She doesn't read as a secretary though, with her false eyelashes and 3 inch long nails.  Ain't no way those fingers could type!We've come a long way, baby...but judging by the professional world I live in, we ain't there yet. The movie ends with the three of them being pretty proud of all the foreward-thinking changes they implemented in the office (day care, job sharing, etc).  Then they say something like "oh, but we didn't get equal pay" and they all sort of shrug like "well ya can't have everything!".  Grrrrr.(I suggest pairing this film with a hand rolled joint.  Puff, puff, pass people.)

My takeaways:#1 - I wish I could say everything about these films are incredibly archaic, but there is still a difference between men and women in the workplace.  And if you don't believe me, ask a female animator.#2 - I'm incredibly grateful to be working, but I fear that Cosmo might lose his newly formed skills at doing a High Five.#3 - Seriously, you ALL were amazing to me while I was a "lady of leisure" and I may be one again someday so in the meantime let's make hay while the sun shines!  Drinks on me!!

xoxo....hashtagSueslife

Happy Birthday Athena

Today is my mother's birthday.  She'd be 96.  She's been gone for nearly 20 years but a day doesn't go by where I don't think about her or say something she used to ("That outfit hides a multitude of sins"  "Why doesn't that car go?? He has a prairie!!").  I see her in the faces (and spunkiness!) of my family and even in the food we all cook.  She will never really be gone.

This post is entirely in my mom's honor.  She was a movie lover from WAY back (Gone With The Wind was her favorite all time movie) and instilled that love in me.  I'm sure she'd be happy that my cockamamie idea of taking Film Studies in school has actually kept me in food and housing because I think when I got my first job in the "industry" (video duplication) she thought I was working at a Blockbuster.

Hope you enjoy!

Untouchables  released in 1987

My mother was a huge fan of gangster films.  Loved James Cagney (and who can blame her).  When Untouchables was coming out she was SO excited to see it she had me play hooky from school that day (granted I was in college so it wasn't that huge of a deal) and go see it with her. Opening day. Matinee. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I had forgotten a lot about this film and learned some new tidbits  It was directed by Brian DePalma!  The music was written and conducted by Ennio Morricone (I was a bit underwhelmed by this music, especially considering I absolutely loved his score for the film The Mission.  That film came out the year before so perhaps there was some wad shooting.  I kid.  The man was amazing and incredibly prolific. He composed for like a zillion spaghetti westerns.).  The wardrobe (not costume design, mind you, so I imagine they just meant the suits) was created by Giorgio Armani (he got his own card in the credits). The screenplay was written by muthafuckin' David Mamet!!  This is the item that blew me away the most.  Several of the actors did Mamet's lovely and unique writing style justice - Robert DeNiro and Sean Connery (oddly)...but Kevin Costner trying to interpret Mamet's rhythmic dialog is like listening to Kevin Costner try to be "British" as Robin of Locksley.  The common denominator being...Kevin Costner.

One of the coolest things about this movie is DePalma's homage to one of the most revered sequences in film history:  the Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin (allow me to get all film major-y on you for a moment).  Potemkin was made in 1925 by a director named Sergei Eisenstein.  Eisenstein is credited with creating the "montage" in film editing.  What that meant for him (not the montage sequence of today - see Team America!!) was to take two or more images to create a "third thing" which is basically an emotion or an idea.  A synthesis.  Essentially, by juxtaposing images he can manipulate the viewer into a specific feeling.  If you ever want to spend 8 or 10 minutes, find the sequence on YouTube and watch it.  It's a ground breaking piece of film (particularly for the time) showing these regimented soldiers marching down the steps and the crowd panicking and dispersing.  It's very violent, most everyone dies, a child is trampled and the last part is watching a baby carriage roll down the steps (with a baby in it) unattended.   In my opinion, DePalma's homage is a good one.  DePalma favors slo-mo and he films his whole steps sequence that way.  All we hear, even though Eliot Ness and all the gangsters are shooting each other, is the synchopated sound of the baby carriage going down the steps.  It's very bloody (But come on!  It's DePalma.  Think about Carrie, for crying out loud!) but the baby does live at the end.  I'm not so sure that is implied in Eisenstein's version.

Sean Connery is always a treat, even though his Irish accent sounded pretty Scottish to me. Oh well, I'm gonna give it to him anyway.  And a special shout out goes to Andy Garcia's hair.  Always good, regardless of what I think about his acting. 

(My drink pairing for this film is some nasty, illegal bathtub gin!)

Silverado - released in 1985

My mother also loved a good western.  I think this is the movie that made her love Danny Glover, too.  As I've said before, she was a huge fan and at a Bammies one year he kissed her cheek.  She was giggly about that one for years.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film again even though I was somewhat reluctant to watch it.  I think I remembered it as long with kind of a dreary ending.  And more Costner, which could be trouble.  BUT.  It was great!  The dialog is witty, the awe-inspiring landscapes are...well...awe-inspiring (it was filmed in Vistascope or something like that....totally worth it).  The cast is amazing.  Even Costner is incredibly charming as a sort of ADD gunslinger.

This is essentially a buddy film.  4 decent dudes meet up under strange circumstances in the wild and wooly old West.  They have adventures and save the town.  It IS a long movie; 132 minutes.  But the pacing is swift and well executed so it didn't feel taxing.  It met with mixed reviews back in the day but I have to say...having not grown up in the age of Westerns (like the 40's and 50's, I guess?) I really enjoyed this version of the classic genre.

It's directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who directed The Big Chill among many other films.  Kevin Costner got his role, Jake, in this film because he was essentially cut out of The Big Chill entirely.  Clearly Kasdan likes ensemble films.  What I had forgotten about him is that he wrote films like The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  No wonder it's a good film.  Seriously, the dialog is great.  There were several times where I LOL'd in my house alone.  Kevin Kline is perfect in this film (it reminded me about how much I loved him back in the day.  Was marrying Phoebe Cates his downfall?  Perhaps.).  His performance is reminiscent (to me anyway) of Gene Wilder's character in Blazing Saddles.  Kline plays his role completely deadpan and delivers some of my favorite lines in the whole film.  At one point Kline and Scott Glenn's character are mistaken for two other guys - Baxter and Hawley.  Scott Glenn says he's not Baxter so the confused guy looks at Kline and says "You aren't Baxter either??" and Kline says "No, I'm not Hawley."  Heh.

The cast, as I said, is amazing.  John Cleese plays a sheriff "not from these parts" (duh) and gets to say a classic Monty Python line as his first bit of dialog onscreen "What's all this then?".  Linda Hunt (everyone's favorite 1980's little person!) has a great role where she gets to look and dress like a woman!  And Brian Dennehy played the bad guy.  He shows up in a lot of my revues actually.  He's clearly a hard working actor!  He plays a nuanced bad guy, which I think might be a tad unusual for a Western.  I think his character is actually a sociopath.  He's kind of charming yet completely sinister at the same time.  He smiles but you can see the evil behind his eyes.  I think this is my favorite role of his to date.  Jeff Goldblum is also in it, playing a city slicker. It's a toss up of which cowboy version of Goldblum I like better - this one or Buckaroo Banzai.  Danny Glover also gets a great line - "I don't want to kill you and you don't want to be dead."  And Rosanna Arquette is in this film.  I have a hard time seeing what about Rosanna prompted the dude from Toto to write a song about her.  And truly, her whole family seems like a bit of a mess.  What up, Toto?

The last thing I'll say about this film is I'm SHOCKED that no character in this film suffered from PTSD.  A shit ton of people get shot in front of a shit ton of different people and everyone (including the little kid) seem to take it all in stride (well, except for the dead guys).  Maybe that's just the law of the Old West.

(My drink pairing for this film is a shot of rotgut (good whiskey cut with something nasty to make it go farther) or if you're feeling like a weenie, a glass of sarsaparilla.)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding - released in 2002

This movie was released long after my mother passed away.  I know she would have loved it, though, which is why I added it to this post.  This movie makes me long for my Bostonian Greeks.  I see aspects of my family all over the place in this film - from restaurant ownership to never, ever eating lamb with (ick) mint sauce.  If this movie had Smell-O-Vision, it would smell like garlic!!

Apparently this film is the biggest grossing romantic comedy of all time.  Naturally...it's about Greeks.  :)

This film was written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars in it.  She originally had staged it as a one woman play based on her life and marrying a non-Greek.  Rita Wilson (Mrs Tom Hanks) saw it and eventually Hanks' production company Playtone produced the film.  My aunt ALWAYS reminds me that Rita Wilson is Greek.  Rita must be some kind of poster child for Greeks marrying famous guys.

Michael Constantine plays her father, Costa.  I had a fling with a guy named Costa once. On a cruise ship. Dang, that man was yummy.  Sigh.  Okay, sorry, I'm back. What were we talking about?  Oh yeah.  Constantine is great in the role - perfectly executing the Greek dad who uses Windex to cure any ailment and insisting all words are from a Greek origin.  Her mother is played by Lainie Kazan, who is so, so great (I just read that she's part Turkish!).  I think she's an under appreciated actress.  She consistently brings so much warmth and humor to every character she plays.  Anyone who hasn't seen My Favorite Year should for Lainie alone ("Swanny!"), although the movie is brilliant and everyone in it is fantastic.  Also, she has a good name.  It's a favorite in my family!

My singular favorite performance in this film, though, is Andrea Martin.  My brother Dennis has quite the story about meeting Andrea Martin which makes me want to not love her...but in this film it's hard not to.  She has arguably all the best lines ("What do you mean, he don't eat no meat?  That's okay, I'll make lamb."  Or the whole bit about getting the "bobopsy" done on her lump.  And it's her twin! Hilarious.). And when she's following Lainie Kazan around to pluck her chin hairs?  It was like being at home (Get the one big one!).  

I remember going with my family to see this film and it was really like having Athena sitting there with us.  I could just hear her big, big laugh.  She'd probably knock over her popcorn (apparently klutziness is passed down to the females of our family).  She would absolutely flirt with the ticket guy.  And she'd be hugging and kissing on us all as we were trying to leave.  I miss you, Mamitsa.

(My drink pairing for this film is Ouzo.  Lots of Ouzo.)

My takeaways:

#1 - It's no surprise that my mother influenced my movie watching, although I think in the end she was more of a Costner fan that I can ever be.  Maybe because she never saw Waterworld.  

#2 - I know a lot of you thought I'd include Singin' In The Rain here, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

#3 - Please raise a glass of whatever you're drinking today to my mom.  You would all have gotten a kick out of her and I guarantee she'd have loved each and every one of you.

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy

Hi all!

This time you get a flight of films!

I'm a long time fan of Baz Luhrmann (real name:  Mark Anthony Luhrmann!!).  His movies always surprise me and make me happy.  They even make me believe in love.

Hope you enjoy!

Strictly Ballroom - released in 1992

When I first saw this film, it was nothing like what I anticipated. I think I was assuming it was going to be kind of serious?  Anyway, I absolutely loved it.  It just reinforced what I felt that I already knew about Australian moviemaking.  These are filmmakers that are willing to take risks and have an amazing sense of humor.  

I learned some interesting things about this film (God Bless Wikipedia!).  This film was based on a stage production that Baz Luhrmann had written.  Ballroom dancing was close to his heart; he was a ballroom dancer as a kid and his mother taught ballroom dance.  It very nearly wasn't made as many folks thought it wouldn't sell at all.  The original producer died while they were in the last stages of production but his widow took over to finish the film.  Also, the woman who plays Scott's (the main guy) mother died a few months before the film was released.  She was wonderful in the film but I will admit that while I was watching it I was thinking (because of her voice) that she must have been a heavy smoker. She's gravelly as fuck.  Baz had to do a lot of fancy footwork to get the film actually seen but once he did it was an instant hit (apparently he showed it originally at a film festival and they got a 15 minute standing O!).

This is basically the story of a boy (Scott) who dreams of being unique and an ugly duckling girl (Fran...and please say these names with your best Australian accent) who metamorphoses into a swan.  They travel their journeys together and in the end they realize it's not about winning the Pan Pacific Ballroom Dance Competition but falling in love.  Baz must be SUCH a softie in real life.  All the Red Curtain films are about true love overcoming huge obstacles.

This film has nearly grotesque lighting and crazy camera angles, highlighting the absurdity of ballroom dancing and the competition that surrounds it.  Baz also pokes fun at the solemnity of the institution.  For instance, the president of the organization is ALWAYS called "Federation President Barry Fife".  FP Barry Fife is our bad guy....he reminds me a bit of Jim Broadbent's character in Moulin Rouge.  He's completely over the top with a ridiculous toupee and consistently red face like he's going to have an aneurism.

In direct contrast to the absurdity of the ballroom stuff, though, is Fran's family.  They are an immigrant family from Spain who live in a super shitty part of town (Melbourne, I think).  I actually really love this part of the film.  The dancing is beautiful as Fran and Scott learn the pasodoble from Fran's father and grandmother in their tiny backyard.  It celebrates the bonding power of dancing and the happiness of being with family.  Plus it's really awesome flamenco dancing!!  The dad kicks some serious ass.

The cast were all newcomers, and to be honest I'm not sure that many of them did much more internationally after this film.  The guy who plays Scott, our hero, was originally a dancer (and seriously, you could bounce a coin off his ass!).  It appears that he hasn't acted in nearly 10 years (or his IMDB hasn't been updated in forever) but I will say that his acting style in Strictly Ballroom is similar to a young Luke Skywalker.  Cute, but REALLY whiny.  I expected him to yell "Uncle Owen!!" at any moment.  I'm not sure what else Fran, our heroine, was in but I know she has a cameo in Moulin Rouge (the camera quickly pans by a tore up looking lady-of-the-evening when we are entering Montmartre.  That's her.).  

My favorite characters, though, might be Scott's little sister and her dance partner. They are always around, the voice of reason amidst the cacophony and ridiculousness.

(My drink suggestion for this film would be a big glass of sangria!  Ole!)

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet - released in 1996

Dear Baz Luhrmann, if you are going to make a Red Curtain TRILOGY, it's a nice idea to have a red curtain in all three of your films.  Sincerely, Me.

Okay, now that I have that out of the way...he starts and ends this film with a TV set on a blank background.  It's really a cool vehicle for that narrator type voice that Shakespeare wrote.  He also ends the film with Radiohead's Exit Music (For a Film), which is a song near and dear to my belly dancing heart (you get extra points if you know why).

This film is my least favorite of the three.  It's not a bad film at all.  It's actually very enjoyable and you can start to see Baz really fleshing out his style.  He starts playing around with small moments of sped up action and over the top sets and party scenes.  And of course, music is a huge part of it.  There is a little boy singing various songs (like When Doves Cry) in a kind of gospel choir style that is just gorgeous.  I hope that kid went on to do great things.  

I always think interpreting Shakespeare in film form is a brave and risky business. Baz says something about how he felt that this is how Will himself might have made a film because even in his day he had to compete with prostitutes and bear baiting (?? That sounds awful!) as entertainment.  I'm not so sure I agree with Baz on this, but what do I know?  It's certainly different than a Branagh interpretation!  I didn't think any of the actors did a really great job of delivering the dialog in a convincing way, but they were a SHIT TON better than Keanu Reeves (Kenneth Branagh, WHAT were you thinking??  Did you have a terrible fever the day you cast him?).

Oh, and why did no one tell me Paul Rudd was in this film?  He plays Paris (not entirely convincingly, but I'll give it to him because he's adorable).  Leonardo DiCaprio is apparently a favorite of Baz.  He wanted him originally to be in Moulin Rouge but alas, Leo can't sing.  As evidenced by this film, Leo is a good cryer but I still don't think he'd hold a candle to Ewan McGregor (sigh!).  John Leguizamo is also in this film (clearly another Baz fave).  I'm sure he's thanking his lucky stars that he played Tybalt instead of Mercutio, who is dressed in major drag for the party scene.  I feel like Leguizamo always gets saddled with the weird costumes so it's nice to see him only mildly strange.

I know R + J is a tragedy and all, but seriously there is the moment when they meet, fall instantly in love (ah youth!) and realize who their families are and I thought "You kids GOTTA know this doesn't end well!!"  Father Lawrence says "Thou art wedded to calamity".  True dat, padre.

(My drink pairing for this film is a fine pewter tankard of 16th century ale.)

Moulin Rouge - released in 2001

I love love love this movie.  I remember when I first saw it...I was visiting my niece D'Arcy and she suggested seeing it.  I (for some weird reason) hadn't heard about it and was super skeptical going (also weird...it's a movie, for crying out loud!).  This movie won me over from the first minute, pretty much.  The huge red curtains with the little conductor in front of it?  Sign me up.

Then we really got into it.  Ewan McGregor.  Swoon.  Nicole Kidman (who I'm not always a fan of).  Gorgeous and oh those outfits!  And not a bad singing job.  It was like a circus and a melodrama and a musical all rolled into one delectable package.  Right. Up. My. Alley.  As I was watching it this time, it occurred to me that I think my mother would have really loved this movie too.  Certainly my entire family fell under the Moulin Rouge spell that summer.  Remember, Erokans?

Baz began refining what he has done previously and added some interesting things cinematically in MR.  Together, they worked beautifully to construct this world he wanted us to live in.  The stop motion-y movement of the camera, sped up scenes, slo mo and the brilliant use of sound.  He goes from cacophony to nearly complete silence with the exception of Satine's breathing or the tapping of Christian's old school typewriter.

The Like A Virgin scene seemed almost an homage to Blazing Saddles with the fabulous dancing boys and the over the top sexual innuendos (hello popping champagne cork).

As always, Baz dazzles us with his musical choices (and mash ups) and fantastic dancing.  My particular favorite is the flamenco scene set to the Police's Roxanne.  The Unconscious Argentinian (that's what his credit is!) has such a great line earlier in the film, too:  "I will sing like an angel...but I will dance like the devil!"  (say this in heavy spanish accent "an-hel" and "debil")

I even buy into the device in this film where the audience finds out the entire plot at the beginning of the film - when Christian is setting up the film - then we hear the whole thing again (several times, actually) in the song and dance number where they are pitching it to the Duke, yet we completely embrace the whole thing as it unfolds.  No surprises but you still get the feels.

And let's have a moment to talk about the Duke.  I remember reading somewhere that the actor, Richard Roxburgh, was only the actor workshopping the scenes with the cast and that someone else was going to eventually get the role.  He was so perfect that they never recast.  He really is brilliant in this, he brings a lot of dimensions to the character.  He's funny, menacing and vulnerable.  If you look at his IMDB he's been in a bunch of films but I think this is the one Americans always remember.

My other shout out is to the midget can-can dancer.  She saves the frickin' day!!  Go Little People!!

And finally, Baz's dad was really sick but told him to focus on the film.  He passed away on the first day of production.  :(

(My drink pairing for this film is a Death in the Afternoon.  Champagne and Absinthe.  Fuck yeah, Little Green Fairy!)

My takeaways:

#1 -  I must have been an Australian in a past life.  I feel like I am always drawn to them (My Aussies, you know who you are!!  xoxo).

#2 - All these films are edited by the same woman, Jill Bilcock. She also did films like Muriel's Wedding and Road to Perdition.  Go Jill!!  She clearly kicks some serious ass...the editing in Baz's films is consistently innovative and lyrical.

#3 - I think it would be amazing to sit and listen to music with Baz Luhrmann.  His iPod must be ridiculous.

#4 - Come What May was an original song in Moulin Rouge.  It couldn't be nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, however, because it was written for Romeo + Juliet.  I see how the lyrics are very in sync with R + J (Come what may, I will love you until my dying day) but I'm SOOO glad it was in MR instead.  It's one of my favorite elements of Moulin Rouge. 

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Burt Reynolds (a post from the past)

Hey all!
I've been traveling a bit this month, so I'm gonna share my first Revue with you all here while I continue gathering data for my next original entry.  Clearly I've changed the format a bit since this one (originally written in February) and gotten a bit more...."filmy", shall we say?  Babes, sorry to make you re-read an old one.  Anyone else who reads my "blog":  hope you enjoy!

A few nights ago, Smokey and the Bandit was on.  Normally I hate watching things on commercial TV, but it sucked me in.  Sally Field, so adorable!  And her 'break out from squeaky clean image" role!  Jackie Gleason, hilarious!  Seriously, how did he not have a heart attack making this movie, all the yelling and being mad!?  Jerry Reed, trucker and singer!  And of course, Fred the Basset Hound.  But oh, Burt Reynolds.  Handsome.  Funny.  Charming.  And the tight pants with the crazy package.  Every gay man's dream, really....right? 

It was still funny, although filled with horrible 1977 racism and sexism.  If taken in context, though, I have to say it was making me laugh (Jackie Gleason's son in the movie is a total dipshit and Jackie says to him this terrible/awesome line:  There's no way, *no* way that you came from *my* loins. Soon as I get home, first thing I'm gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!)

(I'd suggest pairing this movie with an ice cold Coors, which is what they were hauling around to win the bet)

So then I got to thinking about Burt Reynolds and one movie that continually pops up in my head is Semi-Tough.  I never see it on TV.  Not sure if any of you have seen it, but it's basically about two pro football players who are best friends (Burt and Kris Kristofferson - total hottie back then).  Jill Clayburgh is the daughter of the team owner and also their best friend.  Kris gets caught up in an EST type program, ends up sleeping with Jill and they want to get married, but she never really understands the EST thing, Burt realizes HE loves Jill....you know.  Anyway, I remember it being really funny when I was young, so I found it On Demand and watched it.  It was okay, sadly not as funny as I remember it being when I was 14.  Probably I just liked all the swearing.  REALLY racist (A jerky reporter asks Burt why he wants to be a football player and Burt says (to mess with the guy) "Because we like to shower with niggers"  WHA??) and pretty sexist.  It doesn't have the same charm overall as Smokey and the Bandit (despite having the above cast and folks like Robert Preston (Music Man!  Victor/Victoria!!), Bert Convy (always guest stars in 70s TV) and Brian Dennehy - you see his butt, btw.  Weird).

(I'd suggest pairing this with whiskey - probably cheap - straight up)

So my take away is this....

#1 - My life is probably getting pretty dull for you guys if I can write this much about two movies from the '70s

#2 - Burt Reynolds was totally hot...not only body and face but adorably charming and funny.

#3 - Some nostalgic movies need to stay buried in your mind and not brought back to the surface.

#4 - I pretty much always was a 13 year old boy.

xo...hashtagSueslife

Angsty Boys

Hey gang!  Here's my second official post.  It's a bit angsty as the title says, but I hope you enjoy.  

Ordinary People - released in 1980

A couple of weeks ago Ordinary People was on TV.  I was reluctant to watch it because I remember this film so fondly but I'm glad I did.  I was in high school when it came out and I honestly fell completely in love with the tortured Timothy Hutton.  I'm such a sucker for a sad boy.  This was his first film and he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that year.  It was Robert Redford's directorial debut and it won Best Picture.  Pretty heady stuff for both of their debuts.

The film is about a well-to-do family that goes through a terrible tragedy - the death of a son.  Mary Tyler Moore - in a role that completely blows her nicey-nice stereotype out of the water - plays the mom and Donald Sutherland plays the dad.  Both of them are terrific.  Timothy Hutton is the remaining son.  He's just returned from a stay in the hospital because he tried to kill himself and they are all trying to get back to normal with varying degrees of horrible results.  Conrad (Timothy) is having a really hard time fitting back in at school (a very young Adam Baldwin (Jayne on Firefly!!!!) is one of his dickwad classmates) and would actually rather be in the hospital.  MTM is trying desperately to shove everything under the rug and Donald Sutherland is attempting to hold the family together.  Conrad finally goes to see a shrink.  It's interesting because it's clearly taboo to be seeking psychiatric help in the upper class suburbs of Chicago in the 80's.  Now it's a badge of honor.  Anyway, the psychiatrist is played by Judd Hirsch.  I love Judd Hirsch.  He was great in this film, very underplayed actually.  He gained fame on TV with Taxi and now he's on TV all the time playing every Jewish old man possible.  Seriously, he's in multiple shows playing someone's grumpy dad or grandpa (or even a son in Forever!).  There is another actor who plays the flashback version of him all the time.  I'm pretty sure this wasn't the guy's idea of success when he got into showbiz, being typecast at the young version of Judd Hirsch.  This dude needs a break, I think.

This film is almost like a foreign film.  It builds very slowly and deliberately.  There is no real ka-bang in this film but but it's fascinating to watch this family quietly implode.  Robert Redford was really masterful in his directing.  He's taken a white bread community and scraped away to show the ugly underbelly but in a sort of white bread way.  And Timothy Hutton's meltdown scene is so so good.  I cried the first time and I cried again this time.

Now I will admit, there are times I miss the 80's.  But I bet Timothy Hutton REALLY misses the 80's because he completely shot his acting wad on this film.  I don't think he's ever hit these heights since and, quite honestly, I don't think he's aging all that well (have you SEEN Leverage?).  Sorry Tim.

(I'd pair a nice, buttery glass of Chardonnay with this film.  Nothing too showy, you know.)

Good Will Hunting - released in 1997

I thought this was a good complement to Ordinary People because they are essentially the same film.  It's another film of a young man coming to terms with how fucked up he is. The difference is that Good Will Hunting is messy.  Ordinary People is orderly.  If the cities in these films were characters, that's how it would play out.  Lake Forest, IL.  Orderly.  Boston, MA.  Messy.

This film is about a South Boston boy who is a genius but had such a fucked up childhood (foster homes, abuse) that he doesn't really want to excel.  His friends are a group of Southies that are completely working class, obnoxious guys who would give Will the shirt off their backs.  I love these guys.  I'm not a fan of Ben Affleck (he just seems like such a dope), but I'll give it to him in this film.  He's constantly wearing "nice" sweatpant outfits and has this super douchey haircut.  He's perfect.  More perfect, however, is Casey Affleck (his younger brother in real life).  He's the wiry, sarcastic pain in the ass friend that calls everyone out on their shit (the guys are giving him shit because he wants to go to a particular takeout place 15 minutes away.  He says "What the fuck are we gonna do that we can't spare 15 minutes?"  He wasn't wrong.).  Apparently many of his lines were improvised.  See, already smarter than Ben.  

The shrink in this film is the late Robin Williams.  He's amazing in this film.  I realized watching this that I will never watch another Robin Williams film in the same way again (even Mrs. Doubtfire.).  There is a deep, deep sadness that I originally put toward good acting.  Now I gotta wonder.  There are dark places reflected in his eyes...it's kind of eerie.  And absolutely heartbreaking.

I have a secret (not so secret anymore) love for Matt Damon.  This script was his project when he was going to Harvard (Ben helped with fleshing it out as a full script, apparently...I doubt very much that Ben was at Harvard, though.  Or did much of the fleshing out. See how I feel about him?).  This is a really good script.  Sure, it's melodramatic and a bit monologue-y, but every time I watch it, I buy into it completely.  There are two scenes between Matt Damon and Robin Williams - the first meeting and then the subsequent session - that are really good.  They both tear each other down for their own reasons.  They perfectly exemplify each character - Damon's wanting to get the upper hand and Williams' giving room to build Damon back up if he wants it.  Truly lovely.  And speaking of improv, Robin Williams (not surprisingly) did a fair amount himself.  There is a scene where Matt Damon is laughing at something Williams is telling him and it had all been improv (different every take) so it was a genuine, can't-catch-your-breath laugh.  Matt Damon built some really interesting characters in this script.  Williams' character is so sympathetic and caring which is a great contrast with both Damon and Stellan Skarsgard's characters (Skarsgard plays the mathematician who discovers Damon's math skills), which are all about self preservation.

One more thing about Stellan Skarsgard. He is a great actor and has been in a ton of movies.  But what do I think about now whenever I see him?  Alexander, his son.  Eric Northman of True Blood....grrrrowwwllll!!  Stellan is younger in this film (and not covered in prosthetic makeup like in Pirates of the Caribbean - Hello Bootstrap Bill!) and for the first time I saw the resemblance.  He was definitely more...doughy...than Alexander is, but I see it in the face.  Sorry Stellan.  Your son's gorgeous body (that he shows A LOT  and a lot OF) has now upstaged you. Apparently they are all in a film together (Stellan, Alexander and Alexander's body), called Melancholia.  Anyone seen it?

(My drink suggestion for this film is a pint of Sam Adams.  Wicked good.)

My takeaways:

#1 -  I fucking love Boston for so many reasons but it's the accent that gets me every time.

#2 - If you need to see a shrink, be sure he was the star of a hit 80's TV show.  They cut right thru the  bullshit and cure you.

#3 - Tortured blond boys tear at my heart strings.

#4 -  I'm pretty much an asshole about Ben Affleck (but really, Jennifer Garner...what do you see in him??).

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Sue's Revues: Bond, James Bond

All right gang, here is the first post of the "blog".  It's pretty lengthy but I took on a big task...one of each Bond.  I have to say, it was pretty fun.  Hope you enjoy (with a cocktail!).

Sean Connery

Goldfinger - released in 1964

For my Connery film, I submit Goldfinger not only because I love this movie but because I remember it from when I was really little.  I don't remember when I actually saw it, but family legend says I sang the song around the house when i was about 3 years old.  I also remember the gold woman who simultaneously fascinated and scared me.  

I'm imagining as my Bond journey continues, production values will get better, but this film was full of "Backdropolous".  That is a term I got from an unnamed ex who would say, when you can clearly tell the actors are filmed in a studio and are comped onto a background, that they are filming in the land of Backdropolous. 

But really, who's looking at the background when you have Sean Connery staring you in the face?  OMG!  He's so handsome.  He seriously had a perfect ass.  And those lips.  Whoa.  Okay, sorry.  I'm back now.

So I'm sure most of you know the plot of this film (or maybe you know it from Austin Powers Goldmember?) but essentially there is a super villain who wants to have all the gold in the world.  He lives all over the place but much of the film takes place in Kentucky (because, you know, he's German), where Goldfinger owns horses and has a huge complex called Auric Stud (heh).  There is one shot that is in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken (not Backdropolous).   I'm wondering if that is literally where the Colonel started his business?  That would be pretty cool!

Anyway, James starts his journey by boinking Jill Masterson, who works for Gfinger.   She fucked up by sleeping with a Double O, so Gfinger painted her gold.  Then James meets her sister, Tilly, who is hell bent on getting revenge.  This doesn't go well, so soon there are no Masterson girls left (unless they have a wimpy sister that we never meet named Milly).

So James gets flown to Kentucky as Gfinger's prisoner.  He's flown by the amazing pilot, none other than Pussy Galore!!  (The way Sean Connery says Pussy is seriously worth the price of admission).  Pussy has a business where she trains pilots.  They are all busty blondes who really look like they aren't smart enough to know how to spell airplane, let alone fly one and the company is called Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.  Ah, Bond films.  I love you.

Gfinger has a band of Asian henchmen that not only dress like they should be in a rice paddy but they all run like girls.  Gfinger at one point is going to kill James by strapping him to a table and pointing the SLOWEST MOVING laser beam ever at his junk.  Gfinger goes into another room, has a conversation with his scientists, I had time to make a cup of tea...all before the beam gets anywhere near his jewels.  Naturally, he escapes.  Phew.  Bit of trivia:  apparently this is the first time a laser beam ever appears in a film.  Frickin' laser beam!

One funny thing I noticed about James is (at least in this film) he asks all the women he sleeps with if they've slept with the bad guy   I guess he has some morals after all!

I read that this is the first Bond film to include Q and his gadgets.  It's also the first Bond film to have the song over the opening credits (others were on the closing credits).  Apparently Shirley Bassey nearly fainted when singing that final note because it had to go for so long.

(My pairing suggestion for this film is a Mint Julep, which is what Goldfinger offers James in Kentucky.  And he drinks it, which is rather surprising.)

George Lazenby 

On Her Majesty's Secret Service - released in 1969

This was the 6th Bond film, after Sean Connery decided he'd had enough of James Bond.  The first thing that struck me as strange was that there was no theme song!  I mean, I guess "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is kind of a mouthful and maybe not a lot rhymes with Service, but it was still kind of jarring.

I had never seen this film before, so I was only going in with the "George Lazenby isn't a good Bond" preconceived opinion.  Honestly, he wasn't terrible.  I mean, we all know that Bond films are heavy on the action and rather light on the acting, so no worries there.  He's handsome (apparently he was a former model).  He has a good ass. He wears a kilt in this film.  These seemed to indicate a promising start.

Like most Bond films, he meets a woman because he's speeding down a windy, one lane road and she blows past him.  I'm guessing this is a metaphor for something, but I haven't worked that out yet (this is how James meets Tilly in Gfinger).  This is where James meets his future wife (that's right!) played by the always wonderful Diana Rigg.  She is gorgeous!  And a really good actress.  In this film she's playing a spoiled socialite that her father feels needs a good man to straighten her out.  There are some weird moments in this film for her where she gets slapped by James and later punched by her dad so she will stop protesting.  I had some issues with this, obviously.  Anyway, when they meet, James has to beat up a bunch of henchmen and then she runs off.  He says to the camera "This never happened to the other fella", which I'm assuming means Sean.  Kinda threw me out of the film, so it bugged.

So James woos Tracey (Diana Rigg) for a while and decides that he doesn't want to be 007 because M pisses him off.  He's SUCH a diva.   He (natch) gets caught back up in spying and wants to go after arch-villain Blomfeld.  He ends up impersonating a geneologist because Blomfeld is interested in discovering (and by discovering we mean having someone authenticate something he made up) his ancestry.  We find out here that the Bond family motto on their crest is "the world is not enough".  It was many years before they made that film. 

Blomfeld runs an allergy clinic in the Swiss Alps or somewhere like that.  He has this awesome woman who works for him that reminded me of Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein.  She is telling James (posing as Sir Hilary the geneologist) about the clinic and says they treat "ze hayfever, ze inability to eat ze oyster" because you know, oyster allergies are the next most common allergy after hayfever, right?  I mean, the itchy eyes and sneezing make them super hard to shuck!!

We finally meet Blofeld here, who is played by Telly Savalas!!  I had no idea!  Complete with fluffy white Persian cat (which apparently isn't high on the allergy list, like oysters).   My aunt knew Telly when she lived in Greece, so it was kind of awesome to see him in a film.  And I realized that he might be the 70's version of Vin Diesel!

So I looked this film up on Wikipedia and interestingly, they say that time has been kind to this film.  People realize the GL wasn't absolutely terrible as Bond and that the film is really well directed.  I'm thinking not so much.  This movie is 2 hours and 20 minutes long.  Holy cow, that's a long movie!  And after James falls for Tracey, he leaves her to go to the clinic and it's like a whole separate movie.  We never hear about her, he fucks two other women (in one night) because they're there, and it's this really convoluted way that Tracey comes back into the story.  Which, as far as a Bond film goes might not be so odd, but she ends up being the love of his life (I mean, he's giving up bachelorhood, for crying out loud!) so I'd have liked her to have more screen time.  Plus - and this might be because GL really wasn't an actor - I could never figure out when they fell in love.  GL is sort of a one expression kind of actor.

Another interesting thing I read was that GL got WAY too big for his britches.  This was, essentially, his first acting gig.  He won over producer Albert Broccoli by sort of dressing the part, etc.  Again, he's not terrible, but apparently they had to overdub the actor who plays the original Sir Hilary when he was impersonating him because he just couldn't do a voice.  And his ego got totally out of hand.  Even Diana Rigg had enough of it (although she does seem like a gal with little patience for blowhards) and was like "dude needs to pay his fucking dues" (I'm paraphrasing).   I love Diana Rigg.

(My pairing for this film is what James orders from the St Bernard who comes to rescue him:  5 Star Hennessy)

Roger Moore

Octopussy - released in 1983

I chose Octopussy for my Roger Moore Bond installment for the sole reason that when I was in India I was in the city of Udaipur, where they filmed some of the exteriors.  My guide in Udaipur told me this and I've been wanting to see it ever since.

I'm going to come right out and say that I'm not a huge fan of Roger Moore's Bond.  He's so...quippy.  Like all the time.  I don't mind the occasional pun or goofy joke, but honestly there were points when I wanted to just slap him and say "James, take this shit seriously for Chrissake!!"  No wonder Q is always so annoyed with him.  I don't blame him. Plus he just looks so stuffy British.  Apparently Moore was voted "Best Bond" by the Academy so clearly I don't conform to popular opinion.  He had the longest Bond career at 12 years and was the oldest guy to take the role.

There was no song by the name Octopussy (I guess none of us should be surprised by this).  Instead the theme song is All Time High sung by Rita Coolidge, lyrics by Tim Rice (his full name, I just discovered is Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice....So. Fantastically. British.).   This song is honestly a bit dull and SO nothing like anything in Lion King.  I think Tim Rice needs Elton.

Octopussy is essentially the story of a woman jewel thief who is betrayed by some people who work with her.  Maud Adams plays Octopussy.  Oddly, she also runs a circus.  The Double O that dies in this film is 009.  He has infiltrated the circus and escapes dressed as a clown with a balloon.  He is smuggling out a Fabrege egg.  He gets stabbed by these knife throwing twins and even though they have names in the movie, their credit is Twin One and Twin Two.  Very Seuss.  Anyway, what struck me is this clown-man is running through a dense forest in Germany, gets stabbed and eventually lands in a river sluice kind of thing and that fucking balloon NEVER pops.  Come on.  My suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

Anyway, one of our bad guys (the one who betrays OctoP) is played by Louis Jordan (Gigi!  Thank Heaven for Little Girls!).  He is very handsome and debonair with his French accent and good manners.  Another bad guy, the Russian general (there is always a Russian general...Ian Fleming clearly had issues with Russians and generals) is played by the bad guy from Beverly Hills Cop.  He is kind of hamming it up in this film, walking around with stiff arms - he looks like he's a little kid pretending to be a military guy.

Much of this film takes place in India.  They take some liberties with geography, saying they are going to Delhi.  They actually fly by the Taj Mahal which is in Agra and then end up in Udaipur which is in Rajasthan.  Kemal Khan (Louis Jordan) lives in the Monsoon Palace (I learned the reason this palace is named thus and on a hill from my tour guide in Udaipur. It was built there so the royals would be above water in a monsoon.) and OctoP lives in the Lake Palace (obvi on a lake...the lake is man-made as it's in the center of a desert - also tour guide info).  Both of these palaces are gorgeous...I didn't tour either of them (I toured City Palace) because I was only in Udaipur for a day.

One of my favorite moments is Kemal Khan playing high stakes backgammon, betting HUGE amounts like 20,000 rupees.  This is probably like $3.50 so it made me laugh.

I was a bit shocked that it took 45 minutes before James bedded anyone.  What??  He notices that the woman has a tattoo (it looked exactly like a kid's temporary tattoo down to the clear edging that they always have) shaped like an octopus.  He asks her what it is and she replies "it's my little octopussy".  Go James!

Anyway, there are a ton of chase scenes (mostly with a stunt double, I'd guess...we almost never see James' face and Roger Moore moves like an old man, quite honestly) and James finally sleeps with Octopussy, then he gets the bad guy.  There is one alarming moment when James is sliding down a banister that has a finial.  He realizes he's gonna hit it crotch-first so he shoots it off.  The alarming part is that it still looked jagged so I was worried about his nethers. James ends the film in a clown outfit to chase the bad guys so it all comes full circle.

(My pairing for this film is a nice, refreshing lassi.  Your choice of flavor.)

Timothy Dalton

The Living Daylights - released in 1987

The Living Daylights is the first Dalton film, although the producers had been courting him since the late 60's.  He actually felt he was too young when they approached him to take over for Connery.  He'd have been about 25, so I have to agree.  I'm gonna own it right now - Timothy Dalton is a sexy, sexy man.  He has this smoldering expression and has a great voice.  He's actually aging very well; he's in Penny Dreadful - which if you haven't watched yet, I highly recommend.

Okay, so in a moment of true bliss I discovered that the title song (called The Living Daylights!) is sung by A-HA!!!!  I was a bit sad that the title credits weren't done in scratchy 2D animation, but a girl can't have everything.  The Pretenders also performed a song (the end song) and Chryssie Hynde wrote the lyrics.  So very 80's, this one.

I don't really remember this movie very much, but it's not bad.  Basically, James is helping a KGB general defect but things get very squirrely.  Maryam D'Abo is the woman in this film.  She initially appears to be a cello playing sniper (as you are) but then we realize she's the defector's girlfriend.  The defector is trying to pin a bunch of American and British Intelligence agent's deaths on another Russian general (played by Salah from Raiders of the Lost Ark!!  I love Salah, he has the best voice!).  Well, naturally nothing is as it seems and the defector is, in fact, the bad guy (it's okay, he's still a Russian general!).  He's in cahoots with a crazy American general, so clearly Ian Fleming upped his game on this one.  The US dude has a room full of war hero wax figures from the ages.  Creepy.

This film makes full use of Bond's Astin Martin.  There's a laser beam that cuts off the bottom of a jeep and a rocket launcher among many others devices.  Apparently after On Her Majesty's Secret Service they retired the Astin Martin, so this is the first film that it reappeared in.  It's an awesome fucking car.

This film also introduced the new Moneypenny.  Actress Lois Maxwell played her from the first film to this one (14 films).  They traded her in for a younger model.  They did not, however, trade in either M or Q for younger models.  Q is seriously so old in this one that he runs up some stairs and immediately took a pill for his heart.

Much of this film takes place in Czechoslovakia.  I learned that in Czechoslovakia in the 80's, everything is being swept.  There's a dude sweeping in a bathroom, then another on the street.  Who knew Czech's were so worried about dirt!

A bit about our Bond girl.  Maryam D'Abo really knows how to toss her hair.  It's impressive.  What is NOT impressive is her character, Kara.  She's a fucking dope - there's no other way to put it.  She is the only woman James sleeps with in this film.  Mind you, she's the defector's girlfriend but she really doesn't care about that at all because she hops into bed with James at a moment's notice.  So once she's gotten a taste of Bond, she becomes like a lovesick puppy.  She jeopardizes all his missions because she wants to be near him.  She nearly flies them into a mountain at one point (James was busy killing off a bad guy PLUS diffusing a bomb...he was a bit busy) and then screams when James is like "what the fuck??"  This is precisely why James needs to sleep around.  Don't let these girls get attached.

(My pairing for this film is two fingers of Jim Beam, which CIA Felix offers James at one point.)

Pierce Brosnan

Tomorrow Never Dies - released in 1997

I actually wanted my Brosnan entry to be GoldenEye (his first) but I couldn't find it on any of my free channels.  In fact, I couldn't even rent it on Vudu.  Weird. So Tomorrow Never Dies it is!

This is the 18th Bond film and the first one after legendary producer Albert Broccoli died.  I believe his daughter took over.  I wonder what business the family was in before they produced films?  I also discovered that this film was released the same day as Titanic, so it opened at number two at the box office.  Sheryl Crow does the opening song, Tomorrow Never Dies.

I think my favorite thing about this movie is that Judi Dench is M!  It's the second film that she plays M.  I love Judi Dench.

I'm gonna say that I didn't really love this film. I think I was just a bit underwhelmed.  The basic plot is that there is an evil media baron played by Jonathan Pryce (of Brazil fame!) who wants to control the world.  He is doing this by starting shit between the UK and China using his media conglomerate to broadcast sensationalist news immediately.  He's actually writing the headlines beforehand and then making it all happen, like sinking ships and stuff.  Jonathan Pryce's trophy wife (played by Teri Hatcher who was 3 months pregnant at the time of filming!) is clearly only with him for his money and is also an ex-girlfriend of James.  She gets offed because she can't resist James' charms (code for: she slept with him).  I found it interesting that Teri Hatcher chose this role because apparently her husband always wanted to be with a Bond girl. Then she complained because she thought the role was shallow.  Um, have you SEEN a Bond film, Teri?

This is apparently the only Bond film where he actually beds a married woman.  Again, morals! I discovered that Brosnan's Bond is a shoulder biter.  I have to say, kind of sexy.

Jonathan Pryce is really hammy in this movie, which kind of bugged.  Also, many of his scenes are filmed at an up angle which resulted in his back teeth being visible and really distracting.  At least to me.  

There is a lot of computer work in this film (hello 90's) and there's even a shlubby computer hacker bad guy in this film.  I believe this type of film is called a "techno-thriller".

The Bond girl for this film is Michelle Yeoh.  She's been in a bunch of Chinese costume dramas (which I love!), most notably Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  She is seriously a bad ass in real life.  Apparently Brosnan loved working with her.  She wanted to do all her own stunts but they wouldn't let her.  She did do all her own fighting, however.  She and Brosnan have one great chase scene over the rooftops of Bangkok on a motorcycle.  They are handcuffed together so much of the time she's facing him and they both are steering.  Nice equality.

Brosnan is not a bad Bond. He's very handsome.  I always have a hard time separating him from Remington Steele, but it's not a far stretch to Bond so it works.  

(My pairing for this film is a martini, shaken not stirred.  Finally!)

My takeaways:

#1 - I had good musical taste when I was 3!

#2 - If the Erokans had a crest it would probably have a guitar and an old fashioned movie projector on it and our motto would be "We're funny...to us!.

#3 - It's interesting to me that none of the actors are actually from England except Roger Moore (SC - Scotland, GL - Australian (!), TD - Wales, PB - Ireland).  Huh.

xoxo...hashtagSue'slife