AuntiePam

If there's a Top Ten Noir, I'd put The Killers right up there with Out of the Past. It was shown as part of Ava Gardner's 24-hours, and she's fine (maybe better than fine) but the movie is all Burt Lancaster. And Burt before he perfected that toothy grin -- the one the impressionists used. He's low-key and quiet, subdued, fatalistic -- perfect for the story. Edmond O'Brien was fine as an insurance agent hunting down a stolen payroll, and the character actors (the "hoods") were suitably ominous, especially William Conrad. Director Curt Siodmak's name is familiar to me from his science fiction/horror films. Woody Bredell -- the cinematographer -- has a gazillion credits from 1927 to 1955 (76, actually), died in 1969 at age 66. The light and shadows in this movie really worked well with Burt's cheekbones. Currently watching Summer and Smoke, for Rita Moreno's day. She's so gorgeous. Does TCM ever do a director's month? If not, they should.

While we're on the subject of comfort at home, let me put a word in for house-coats. Or maybe they're called house-dresses. I was in a nursing home for a month after a fall, in 2018. I didn't know that I could bring clothes from home. For the first couple days, I was in the hospital gown that I came in. I thought I was supposed to stay in the gown. Then one of the nurses brought me a couple of dresses that someone had left behind. (My gosh, the woman had probably died -- it just now hit me.) One was purple plaid and the other was a red/white/blue check. The nurse made sure my slipper socks matched whichever dress I was wearing -- she was stylin' like that. Anyway, these dresses snapped down the front and they had huge pockets. I could carry my phone, my tissues, and my chapstick. If I had to pee in a hurry, just lift and sit -- no messing around with jeans, buttons, zippers. If only someone would make these in a less chintzy design, muted colors, a fabric that drapes -- I'd wear them now. But it's slip-on shorts and a tee shirt (no bra) at home. For work, J.C. Penney has flat-front pants with big pockets -- the fabric is velvety, with a teeny bit of stretch. Awhile back they were on sale for less than $10. I bought some for me and for my daughter.

Wasn't that great? We're so accustomed to seeing "mean girls" of that age group. Dale must not have been around much, because the daughter has none of his bad qualities. I loved Christine chastising Dale for a homophobic comment, and saying it's okay to be gay, or bi. And she really means it -- she's going to accept the granddaughter for who she is. She's not just saying it to be "in" with the young kids.

Or what dubbel zout said -- it's lazy writing -- lack of communication always is. There's rarely a good reason for it.

My problem with the scene where Leonard and the Bishop confront Will is that it's such an overused trope. Someone has a terrible experience and delays talking about it. Frequent example: Husband's late for dinner because he stopped to help at an accident scene. Instead of explaining as soon as he gets home, he lets his wife berate him for not calling. Wife ends up feeling guilty for being insensitive. Will needed to stop Leonard and the Bishop but he didn't, because then he couldn't be a martyr to their insensitivity.

Regarding the theory that Madelyn isn't really dead -- I'm not up to rewatching, but didn't we see her sleep with a Senator -- and then she morphed into a schlubby guy, and Madelyn blackmailed him? Or the schlub was a Supe who had morphed into Madelyn --- whatever. Anyway, seems possible that there's a Supe with a power to morph, whether it's Madelyn or someone else -- she could "morph" into a dead-looking thing and make Billy think Homelander had burned her brain out.

freddi, here's a list of films that feature scenes with skiing -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mainstream_films_with_skiing_scenes. I remember a different ending too, but perusing those Wiki lists, I'm not seeing anything that might be the one I'm remembering. But it's hard to tell, just from a title. Watched The Shop Around the Corner on Jimmy Stewart's day. It's weird (but cool) that the movie didn't involve bad accents or Americanized names, or a location change. The movie has at least one perfect scene -- Christmas Eve when everyone's leaving the store to celebrate with friends and family. Matoushek accosts each of them as they're leaving, hoping for an invitation, and then here comes Rudy, the new kid. Matoushek entices him with the description of a delicious meal and they walk off together. I think it's perfect because of the pacing -- nobody says too much or too little -- and it turned out just the way I wanted -- Matoushek has company.

(Re Torch Song Trilogy) I can't speak for the play, but the movie doesn't seem dated at all. I suppose the sex and language would be more explicit if it were filmed for today's audiences, but the wit and humor don't suffer for being PG-rated. It's something I could have watched with my grandma, or my kids. I'm sending it to my 50-ish daughter for her birthday next week. I think she might get something from Arnold's attitude toward relationships. Like it's okay to grieve, but you have to make room for other things too. Which reminds me of that quote that started I Never Sang for my Father, about how death ends a life but not a relationship.

Maybe it's old news, but I'm just seeing Dawn ads claiming it's a good laundry pre-soak. It most certainly is. It got rid of an old ketchup stain on a white tee shirt, and a new food/grease stain. Actually, I didn't even pre-soak. Just squirted on some Dawn and tossed the stuff into the wash. I'm thrilled.

I Never Sang for My Father -- Gene Hackman as the son who could never measure up to his father (Melvyn Douglas). Aren't these relationships dying out -- the father who comes up from poverty, alternately spoils and mistreats his kids, expects lifelong gratitude? And the kid who can't give an inch, even though he might recognize his part in the estrangement? Well, I hope they're dying out. We don't see so much of this in the movies anymore, maybe that's a sign. It's so easy to see this from the outside looking in. At the beginning, I wasn't all that happy with Margaret, the mother. She also took her husband for granted, dismissed his interests -- but then that's what happens in long marriages -- we stop paying attention to each other. Also, I've been in a nursing home in the last year -- they're much better now. My gosh but that was sad.

OMG I did it again! Broderick Crawford -- fine actor, but never accused of being pretty. Rinaldo, thanks for the background on the role of David. Mankiewicz acknowledged that Matthew Broderick being in the movie helped it become accepted, mainstream (or something like that) but he didn't mention that Broderick played the role of David on Broadway.

Torch Song Trilogy had been sitting in the DVR for awhile, and I think it's gonna be there permanently. What a wonderful romantic, heartbreaking funny hopeful movie. Fierstein's character is just perfect -- how does someone learn to love like that? So honest and accepting without devaluing himself. For anyone who doesn't know, it's three stages in the life of a drag queen in NYC. We meet his mother (Anne Bancroft), two lovers (one a very young Broderick Crawford) and later on, a foster son. There's humor and drama and music and a little bit of social commentary. The big fight between Arnold and his Ma was hurtful but necessary. The air is clear, they understand each other a bit better. Fierstein has the most beautiful eyes this side of Liz Taylor.

It's on the schedule later tonight. DVR is set. Seems that this movie came out during a period of when very downbeat movies were all over the place, and downbeat is a genre (?) that I didn't appreciate in my youth. These downbeat movies had irascible characters, always making things hard for themselves, and if they didn't actually look for conflict, they sure didn't avoid it. Now I eat that stuff up. Maybe it's easier to relate when one has had more life experience.

Melvyn Douglas is certainly a revelation. I was slightly familiar with his later movies -- Hud and The Changeling and Ghost Story. So it was sure a surprise to watch him as a comedic leading man with Ruth Hussey in Our Wife and then leading again with Sylvia Sidney in Mary Burns, Fugitive (and Wasn't Sylvia the tiniest little thing?). His bio at IMdB was also a surprise -- the political background, and his marriage. He won two Oscars, an Emmy, and a Tony. I like to think I'm a fan of classic movies, but it's mostly the really famous ones that i know -- the ones that show up on Jeopardy! I'm not really familiar with the lesser-known movies and actors (lesser known today, I mean). There are some real surprises that aren't on the Top Ten of 19-- lists.

Are we supposed to believe that Madelyn kept Becca and the boy hidden away for eight years? Homelander never looked for Becca? I suppose if she was just a one night stand, he wouldn't care, so yeah, maybe that part is believable. When was Madelyn going to tell him? Or is there a chance Madelyn didn't know? I'm not at all familiar with superheroes or super-anti-heroes, so all this was new to me, and a lot of fun. I'm sure I missed some gags and inside jokes -- like the one with the dolphin going through the windshield. Wasn't that done -- successfully -- in a movie? I also enjoyed seeing some familiar faces, although I didn't twig to Antony Starr, and I loved Banshee. Gus Fring, John Rawls, Bobby Singer, and Simon Pegg as Hughie's dad -- awesome. I thought the casting was perfect.

Me too. And of course Martha would use it. Is it weird that Ken and Christine's relationship is the most honest one on my TV screen right now? They are so believable. The singing was fun -- those are my peeps, and that's my song.

I woke in the middle of the night, wondering if I'd messed up those names Yep. Thanks for setting it straight! Any clues why TCM is showing Star Wars: A New Hope twice in one week?

That Certain Woman, 1937, Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, although Ian Hunter was more of a leading man in this one that Fonda. This was a Davis movie that I hadn't seen, and I've seen a lot, which made me think it hasn't been shown very often. Bette was never lovelier. The premise reminded me of The Young Philadelphians. In that movie, Paul Newman and Barbara Rush are split by Newman's ambition, and his willingness to give up his woman (at least temporarily) for the sake of his career. That memory sort of colored where I thought That Certain Woman was going. Bette leaves Fonda because he fails to stand up to his father, to try to become his own man. So when Fonda shows up later in the movie and she appears to fall for him again, I didn't buy it, because it didn't seem to me that he had changed. In any case, the movie was well worth watching. One small thing I wonder about is the high billing of Tina Louise -- third after Davis and Fonda -- and she had just a few minutes of screen time. I also enjoyed Mary Phillips, who had a Thelma Ritter-type role as Bette's good friend, maid, nanny, companion, etc.

Rewatched Niagara, this time with my husband, who rarely watches "old" movies. He stayed with me through this one, even when there was no more Marilyn to ogle. It's fast-paced, with just enough light to balance the dark, and there was a clever crime as the basis. I could sit and watch it again, despite the implausible stuff. The only scene that really jars is the sheriff suddenly asking for the missing persons file, and finding something in it that sends him to the gift shop where he meets up with Rose and the Cutlers. That was clumsy. But that was generally the case with this movie -- it needed setup to get the characters in place, a reason for them to be where they were. But Marilyn was a vision and Joseph Cotten very much under-played the stressed out husband. The scenes of the Falls weren't quite a travelogue, but I don't feel like I need to go there now.

I'm the one who remembered reading someone saying that Lisa was berating/belittling her employees. It may have been in a regular episode thread rather than the reunion -- I'm sorry but I can't say for sure. It wasn't in a Vanderpump Rules thread, because I don't read those. (I'm old, memory fails along with every other darn thing.) Sorry I can't be more specific, but the gist was Lisa asking an employee if he was always such a pussy -- or something like that -- in front of the employee's spouse, maybe (?) In any case, the belittling part stayed with me because I've worked with managers who used that tactic, and then wondered why you hit the door as soon as a better offer came along.

It's because even when Camille is being sincere, she comes off as phony. So she's either faking it, or she honestly doesn't know how to interact in an honest way. It was the crying about her house that bugged me. #1, she had other houses, #2, she was undoubtedly well-insured, #3, the house's significance is that it was the house she built with the divorce settlement (correct me if I'm wrong) -- it wasn't the family homestead. And the death of her assistant always seemed to be an afterthought. "Oh yeah, and my assistant died." I was fine with Denise throwing shade -- "Are you all right?" Camille deserved no respect from Denise, after Camille's lies, dishonest comments, and then the "rental" comment. I was on LVP's team until I read comments in last week's thread about how treats her employees. I can't respect anyone who belittles the help. I'll watch next season for Denise. The rest of them can go hang.

Cathy's "light in the loafers" co-worker will probably end up dead. He's going to importune the wrong person. Either that, or Cathy will kill him accidentally, pushing him or something. I hope it's that, and not Geordie going after the guy. I hope Mrs. C soon realizes that if she refuses to have any sinners for friends, she won't have any friends. What would Jesus do, after all? Will has good detective instincts, at least about this week's case. The daddy issues were telegraphed. He's no Sidney in the looks department, but that's okay. Makes Geordie look hotter by comparison. Those eyes! I hope grandma doesn't do much prison time. If she hadn't thrown the rock -- if she'd just pushed the woman, she could probably have gotten off, as accidental, or even self-defense.

I liked Barb after watching the reunion. She was honest about her comments, dissing Lu. She didn't try to obfuscate. And she shouldn't have apologized -- she said the truth. Mean of Dorinda to say "turnip" -- she could have said "dandelion in a bouquet of roses" or something -- but turnip implies slow, dim-witted, no personality. But I agree that Barb doesn't fit. She actually works, she oversees projects, deals with employees, taxes, etc. I would have liked to see her in that surrounding, see how she handles conflict, how she treats her employees. Why do these women even bother with spray tans? I thought the tan look was out of fashion. If you have a freckle or uneven skin tone to cover up, use something that matches your skin. There's no hope for Lu. She crawled up Carole's ass, wanting to be close to a "princess", and then she bangs a waiter because she thinks he looks like Johnny Depp. He didn't look like Depp -- he looked a little bit like Depp at Jack Sparrow -- huge difference. So shallow, she'll never see herself the way others see her.

What was the deal with the slack line? My recording cut off when he was putting a red rope or something between those two trees. At first I thought he wanted two trees for a hammock. The Atlanta couple and their selfies -- my lord, can selfies stop being a thing, please?

So can we assume that Cathy told Geordie what happened? I assume so, and I'm wondering what Geordie will do about it. "Importuning" is a crime, and that's what the guy did. So there! I like that Leonard is out of the closet with Mrs. C. It will force her to face her bias -- if indeed she has one. I suspect she's not a homophobe -- she's just unenlightened, provincial. She can't imagine that someone she likes could be one of those. That was a nice introduction to Will. I just hope he's not too nice. Dickens liked him, so he must be okay.