Category: Celebs

Albert Einstein’s Letter About a UFO Incident!

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On July 19, 1952, a large number of people, including air traffic controllers, saw six unidentified flying objects in restricted air space over Washington, D.C.  The event lasted fourteen minutes and made national news.  It inspired Louis A. Gardner to write Albert Einstein.  He wanted Einstein’s opinion: were UFOs the result of intelligent alien life, top secret technology created by humans or something else.

Albert Einstein wrote back. His letter is above.  I’m surprised by Einstein’s response.  I would have thought he’d be curious.  But then again… maybe he wasn’t because he already knew the answer.

Source:  Albert Einstein’s Letter About UFOs at Mental Floss.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 10 Best Movie Characters!

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Simon Bland at /Film took a look at his choices for The 10 Best Arnold Schwarzenegger Roles That Aren’t The Terminator.  I thought I’d play along, so before you click over, here are how are choices play out (in no particular order)…

Bland

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Dutch – Predator Dutch – Predator
John Matrix – Commando John Matrix – Commando
Jack Slater – Last Action Hero Mark Kaminski – Raw Deal
Julius – Twins Ivan Danko – Red Heat
Dt. John Kimble – Kindergarten Eraser – Eraser
Mr. Freeze – Batman & Robin Rottmayer – Escape Plan
Quaid – Total Recall Quaid – Total Recall
Trench – The Expendables Series Trench – The Expendables Series
Harry Tasker – True Lies John ‘Breacher’ Wharton – Sabotage
Conan – Conan The Barbarian Conan – Conan The Barbarian

Kevin Costner’s Ten Best Movies!

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Hunter Cates at /Film posted The 14 Best Kevin Costner Movies, Ranked.  That got me thinking about what I would choose as Kevin Costner’s best films.  Here are how Cates and my rankings turned out.

Cates

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10. Thirteen Days 10. 3,000 Miles to Graceland
09. The Upside of Anger 09. No Way Out
08. A Perfect World 08. Silverado
07. Hidden Figures 07. The Bodyguard
06. No Way Out 06. Waterworld
05. The Untouchables 05. JFK
04. JFK 04. Dances with Wolves
03. Dances With Wolves 03. Revenge
02. Field of Dreams 02. Open Range
01. Bull Durham 01. The Untouchables

“Malice in the Palace” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Malice in the Palace (1949)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Vernon Dent and Everett Brown

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys are diner owners whose customers end up wearing more food than they eat.  When two crooks dupe the boys into stealing a cursed diamond, they get wise and attempt to return the gem for a reward.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Malice in the Palace almost featured Curly!  Based on Curly’s successful  cameo in Hold That Lion, he was set to play an angry chef.  Sadly, his illness affected the performance, so the scene was reshot with another actor.  The photo below features a nearly unrecognizable Curly (he’d lost much weight, had hair and a fake mustache).

Malice in the Palace earns 4 of 5 stars.

RIP: David Crosby

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David Crosby, the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, died on January 18, 2023, after a long illness.  He was 81.

Mr. Crosby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.  His music is on five of Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

David Crosby dropped out of college to pursue a career in music.  Before joining the Byrds, Mr. Crosby performed with  Terry Callier and later with Les Baxter’s Balladeers.

In 1964, David Crosby joined the Byrds and a year later they had their first #1 hit with Mr. Tambourine Man.  This was followed up by Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) which also peaked at #1,  David Crosby stayed with the Byrds until 1967.  In 1973, he reteamed with them for the album Byrds which he also produced.

In 1968, David Crosby met Stephen Stills and they began playing together informally.  Graham Nash of The Hollies joined the duo and soon they formed Cosby, Stills and Nash.  When the group played at Woodstock, it was only their second live performance!  Their first album, Crosby, Stills & Nash was a hit.  In 1969, Neil Young joined the group which retitled itself as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.  Throughout the rest of his career, David Crosby would play with variations of CSN&Y, perform solo, as well as work as a session musician providing background vocals for folks like Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Carole King, Elton John and Phil Collins (just to name a few). In 1996, Mr. Crosby created CPR, a band consisting of himself, Jeff Pevar, and Crosby’s son, James Raymond.

Some of David Crosby’s hits include: Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) which peaked at #1 (with the Byrds); Mr. Tambourine Man peaked at #1 (the Byrds); Wasted on the Way reached #9 (CS&N); Just a Song Before I Go hit #7 (CS&N); Woodstock reached #11 (CSN&Y); Southern Cross peaked at #18 (CS&N); Teach Your Children reached #16 (CSN&Y); Suite: Judy Blue Eyes hit #21 (CS&N); Ohio reached #14 (CSN&Y); Marrakesh Express topped at #28 (CS&N).

David Crosby never lost his youthful love of fun.  He always seemed like a younger man in an older man’s body.  Some of my favorite songs by him include Mr. Tambourine Man, Just a Song Before I Go and Teach Your Children.  It’s interesting that I had forgotten the names of some of his songs, but once they started playing I knew the words and enjoyed them all over again.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to David Crosby’s family, friends and fans.

“The Locksmith” starring Ryan Phillippe, Kate Bosworth and Ving Rhames – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The Locksmith has a great cast (Ryan Phillippe, Kate Bosworth and Ving Rhames!) and a classic storyline.  You can check out the trailer below.  Deal me in!

An expert locksmith (Ryan Phillippe) is released from prison and pulled back into a world of crooked cops and small-town gangsters, despite the future he hoped to build with his ex-fiancé (Kate Bosworth) a detective, and their daughter.

“Disorder in the Court” (1936) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Disorder in the Court (1936)

Director:  Jack White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Bud Jamison, Edward LeSaint, Hank Mann and James C. Morton

Tagline: The Three Stooges turn plumbers in Scheming Schemers.

The Plot…

The boys are witnesses in a murder trial.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Disorder in the Court is a classic.  It features as much wordplay as physical comedy.

One of my favorite scenes is when Curly is sworn in to testify.  All Curly has to do is raise his right hand, put his left on the Bible and repeat after the court clerk.  If you can watch this scene without laughing, then have your pulse checked.  What I didn’t know was that this routine was “borrowed” from Buster Keaton’s Sidewalks of New York, directed by Jules White.  The same Jules White who produced Disorder in the Court!

Disorder in the Court earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Unstoppable” (2018) starring Don Lee / Z-View

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Unstoppable (2018)

Director:  Kim Min-Ho

Screenplay:  Kim Min-Ho

Stars: Ma Dong-seok (Dong Lee), Song Ji-Hyo, Kim Sung-oh

Tagline: Don’t Mess With Me

The Plot…

Dong-Chul (Lee) is a soft mannered seafood salesman, trying to take his small business to the next level.  Coming home from a dinner date with his wife, Ji-Soo (Ji-Hyo), they’re involved in a fender-bender.  In the car that hit them is  Ki-Tae. Ki-Tae is a psychotic gangster who kidnaps and sells young women to sex-trafficers.

Ka-Tie is taken with Ji-Soo. He finds out where she lives and kidnaps her.  Big mistake.  Dong-Chul is a former gang enforcer.  He’ll do whatever it takes to get his wife back.  He’ll be unstoppable.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee should be a bigger celebrity in the United States.  Lee doesn’t have traditional movie star good looks.  He’s a big guy, but not overly muscular.  Yet, he has charisma and the camera loves him.  Check him out in Train to Busan or The Gangster, the Cop the Devil and you’ll see what I mean.  We get glimpses of that superstar in Unstoppable but not to the same level.

Kim Sung-oh plays the villain.  At times Sung-oh, in his purple suit, reminded me of The Joker.  He’s good at playing crazy.

Unstoppable has a bit too much comedy for me.  I was hoping for a gritty thriller.  Still, Unstoppable isn’t bad and Don Lee is always good.

Unstoppable earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Three Dumb Clucks” (1937) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Three Dumb Clucks (1937)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay:  Clyde Bruckman

Stars: Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Charles Dorety, Cy Schindell and Al Thompson

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys get word that their dad has struck it rich, left their mother and is about to marry a woman out for his money!  They decide it is up to them to stop the marriage.    What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Curly plays a double role in this one.  In addition to being one of the boys, he plays his/their father!  Double Curly is a bonus.

In the scene where Curly is thrown down the elevator shaft, he received a cut that required stitches!

Three Dumb Clucks earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Marlowe” starring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger & Jessica Lange – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Liam Neeson as Marlowe.  This looks like it could work.

MARLOWE, a gripping noir crime thriller set in late 1930’s Los Angeles, centers around a street-wise, down on his luck detective; Philip Marlowe, played by Liam Neeson, who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The disappearance unearths a web of lies, and soon Marlowe is involved in a dangerous, deadly investigation where everyone involved has something to hide.

“The Invitation” (2022) starring Nathalie Emmanuel & Thomas Doherty / Z-View

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The Invitation (2022)

Director:  Jessica M. Thompson

Screenplay:  Blair Butler

Stars: Nathalie Emmanuel, Thomas Doherty, Sean Pertwee, Hugh Skinner and Scott Alexander Young

Tagline: You are cordially invited to a nightmare generations in the making.

The Plot…

“Evie” Jackson (Emmanuel) is a struggling artist who, after a DNA test, learns she has relatives in England.  One of them, Oliver (Skinner) reaches out to Evie.  They meet and hit it off. Oliver informs Evie that her great-grandmother had a secret child with one of the family’s African-American servants.  It was quite the scandal at the time!  Oliver invites Evie to attend an up-coming wedding in England – all expenses paid.  Although hesitant at first, Evie accepts.

When Evie arrives at New Carfax Abbey, she meets Walter De Ville (Doherty) lord of the manor, and host of the wedding.  Evie is shocked at the opulence on display, but has to admit she’s attracted to De Ville.  It’s obvious he feels the same towards her.  But something isn’t right.  Everything feels a bit off.  Evie will find out too late why.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I liked the slow buildup to the reveal the wedding.  It’s not much of a spoiler to say that there are quite a few Dracula Easter eggs throughout the film – everything from character names to locations.  If you’re not a Dracula fan and miss them, it won’t take away from the film.  If you do recognize them, they should enhance your viewing.

Nathalie Emmanuel is best known for her role in Game of Thrones.  I first saw her in Furious 7 and thought she had star power then.  She’s excellent as Evie.  I look forward to her future projects. Thomas Doherty is well cast as De Ville.  I’d never see Doherty before.  He has charisma and at times reminded me of a young Sean Connery.  Perhaps he could be the next 007.

The Invitation begins with the feel of a love story, then morphs into psychological horror and ends as a pedal to the floor vampire flick.  I liked it better than most so your mileage may vary.  For me…

The Invitation earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Emily the Criminal” (2022) starring Aubrey Plaza / Z-View

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Emily the Criminal (2022)

Director:  John Patton Ford

Screenplay:  John Patton Ford

Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Bernardo Badillo, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Jonathan Avigdori, Victor Manso and Roman Arabia

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

Emily cannot catch a break.  She works for a food catering company and barely makes enough money to stay afloat.  Emily’s saddled with student debt for a degree she never completed.  An aggravated assault and a DUI conviction keep her from getting better paying jobs.  So when Emily gets the opportunity to make $200 for an hour’s work, she jumps at it.

The job is illegal.  Using a fake credit card to purchase a big ticket item will get her a $200 kickback.  Emily does the job and is good at it.  So she takes another riskier gig.  Before long Emily is into a relationship with Youcef (Rossi) as she learns more about this illegal business.  She learns too late that Youcef’s boss, Javier (Badillo) isn’t happy with Emily’s quick advancement or her relationship with his partner.  Javier has plans of his own that don’t bode well for Youcef or Emily…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

What an impressive debut for John Ford Patton who wrote and directed Emily the Criminal.   He was fortunate to get Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi to star.  They have chemistry.  The pair also make people who do unlikeable things likeable.  I wish that Emily didn’t create so many of her own problems.  The things that hold her back are all because of her bad decisions in the past.  Then she compounds them with an attitude that prevents her from even getting through interviews for better positions.

I look forward to John Ford Patton’s next feature.  He’s shown here that he knows how to write a crime film with a flawed (anti)hero.

Emily the Criminal earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Hold That Lion” (1947) starring The Three Stooges with a Cameo by Curly! / Z-View

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Hold That Lion (1947)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Kenneth MacDonald, Emil Sitka, Dudley Dickerson, Heinie Conklin and Blackie Whiteford

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys are after a crooked lawyer who is on the run with their inheritance.  Add in a loose lion and what could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Hold That Lion marks the only time that four Stooges appeared together on screen.  It was also the only time that the three Howard brothers appeared on screen together.  The scene takes place when the boys come upon a sleeping man in the train.  The sleeping man is Curly!

Curly had since retired due to the problems caused by his multiple strokes.  Curly came to visit the set.  Director, Jules White had no idea Curly was coming.  White spotted a man on set reading a newspaper.  The man slowly lowered the paper and waved.  The man was Curly!  White was inspired and asked Curly if he’d like a cameo.  The rest is history.

For me, the funniest scenes are when Larry, Moe and Shemp individually enter Icabod Slipp’s office to confront him. Slipp (MacDonald) acts as if he just entered the office and accuses each Stooge of being Slipp!  He then attacks them for stealing his money.

Hold That Lion earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Glass Onion” (2022) starring Daniel Craig / Z-View

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Glass Onion (2022)

Director:  Rian Johnson

Screenplay:  Rian Johnson

Stars: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Dallas Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Hugh Grant, Stephen Sondheim, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Serena Williams

Tagline: A Rian Johnson Whodunit.

The Plot…

Miles Bron (Norton), one of the world’s richest men, has invited five friends to his private island.  They will play a murder mystery game while staying in his mansion, the Glass Onion.  His five friends are Bron’s head scientist Lionel Toussaint (Odom), Connecticut governor Claire Debella (Hahn),  fashion designer Birdie Jay (Hudson), social media influencer Duke Cody (Bautista), and ousted Alpha co-founder Cassandra “Andi” Brand (Monáe).

Each guest received a special invitation that would be impossible to copy.  Surprisingly, the world famous detective, Benoit Blanc (Craig) also received an invitation. He has arrived with the other guests.  Bron has no idea how Blanc could have received an invite, but allows him to stay.

Before the weekend concludes there will be multiple murders and only a world class detective will be able to peel back the layers to solve them.  Luckily, Benoit Blanc is there…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Glass Onion is the second film to feature Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc.  Rion Johnson, creator, writer and director of both films, was upset that Netflix required Glass Onion to be titled Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.  In each film, Benoit Blanc solves a complicated murder with multiple suspects.  The set-up is time tested (Nero Wolfe, Charlie Chan, Columbo, etc.) and it is wonderful that Johnson continues the tradition.

Glass Onion features quirky characters with each part well cast. A special shout out to Janelle Monáe who gets the biggest opportunity to show her acting chops.  She shines.

Rion Johnson has created another winner.  I hope he has more Benoit Blanc whodunits in our future.

Glass Onion earns 4 of 5 stars.