What Court Was Up To This Weekend
November 9th, 2009 |
(1990) Doesn’t live up to Carrie Fisher as a writer but its still a somewhat goodish movie in a somewhat boring way. |
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(1973) If you told me you thought this was the greatest movie ever made I wouldn’t actually be able to say you were wrong so I would just say “yeah or Star Wars” |
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The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) Sixties cynicism of small town Americana dressed up in fifties zany hijinx…. pretty darn fun |
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(1941) Come on, Laurence Olivier,Leslie Howard and Raymond Massey together in a movie can’t be anything but great. |
COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR
10 Comments
Mike says: I remember seeing “Russians” with my folks in the theaters when I was a kid! Carl Reiner, Brian Keith, Alan Arkin and Johnathan Winters- frickin classic cast! I remember it was a lighter, sunnier movie than Dr. Strangelove (which came out two years before it, and in even though it was a scream, scared the living daylights out of me at the time). Good pick!
martine says: what could i say clever ? nothing ! BUT Courtney posts and i read and love the postcards and pardon me i could talk about Almodovar or Wenders or Jarmush for instance … so i just say I love you , merci beaucoup, bisous !
Lany says: Still happy to see that you’re enjoying your movies, Court. I figured it out….the less humorous your reviews are, that means the better the movies are. Then again…I guess sarcasm was meant to be funny. Still though, only one somewhat boring movie out of four? Sounds like you had a nice weekend. 
I watched The Russians are Coming with my kids this summer and they really liked it. I was worried that the relevance of the time would be lost on them (and it was) but the comedy of the situation transcended it.
Mike says: Hey Kevin- You know its funny how we laugh at things that scare us. The duck and cover drills were a daily reality for us- we thought the end of the world was gonna happen at any moment (the Cuban Missle Crisis, JFK getting wasted) I was 8 years old when Russians came out- that god we had people like Carl Riener and Johnathan Winters who could make us laugh at the Cold War- Again, my parents had taken me to see Strangelove when I was 6 years old. I only remember bits and pieces, but it didn’t help me sleep at night!
I read up on Strangelove- the part of Major “King” Kong, who was played by Slim Pickens was offered to John Wayne after Peter Sellars turned it down (he was supposed to play 4 parts in the movie, he felt that was too many). It would have been a different movie if “the Duke” was in it! Cool that you are getting your kids up to speed on old films. Isn’t it amazing how different the pacing is of these older films?
Yeah – It’s been hit or miss, though. Planet of the Apes was well recieved, and even thought provoking in my oldest two kids. However, Oklahoma! was only interesting to my youngest.
Very interesting about John Wayne, in Strangelove, which coincidentally I was first exposed to at about the same age that you were. I’m not sure I can picture the Duke in that role and how it would have affected the movie. I’m going to stew on this for a while mentally.
However, my most memorable childhood events run from the death of Lennon to the fall of the Berlin Wall, so I would infer that our ages are somewhat split – not that it matters – I understand the message and relevance you are conveying. Thanks for continuing the conversation.
-Kevin
Mike says: I am older- a huge DW fan though (as well as BJM too). I remember JFK, MLK and RFK getting assasinated as a kid too! My kids are 18 and 12, and the youngest just found Looney Tunes~ He absolutely LOVES em! Mr Ed and the Bev Hillbilies too! Its fun sharing these shows with the youngens!
Lany says: Mike and Kevin….I totally agree with the points that you guys are making. I would just like to add that I feel that older movies give that “feel good” and comforting touch in one’s life. I don’t know why that is, but it seems to be so. Back then, the film industry may not have had as good of special effects, but they did have more of an imagination and genuine originality to make up for that. In the world of today’s entertainment, I sometimes wonder if they’ve simply run out of ideas. I like the occasional ( and I stress occasional ) up-to-date remakes of past movies, but lately there’s just been this rash of constant born again classics. The newer movies can’t possibly compete with the original versions. One good example of that is the movie “Psycho”. I saw a remade version of it that really sucked. We need more visionaries in the world of film making. I’m not that old, but I do appreciate some of the old origies that can have become timeless and that have been left to us by some of the greatest minds out there. Untampered with origionality is a beautiful thing.
Lany says: ….Oops, I mispelled originality. lol
