Wasabi

Wasabi is a 2001 French film directed by Gerard Krawczyk, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring Jean Reno. I'm becoming more and more a fan of Reno. This is another film I thought was fun (after I got past the bloody faces at the start) that the critics generally did not like. The Younger Son and I watched the French-language version with English subtitles. That's the one embedded below.

The film is available at youtube in 9 pieces which should autoplay from here:


Variety calls it "an acceptably entertaining but borderline bland vehicle for Jean Reno". Roger Ebert gave it a lowly 1 1/2 stars, saying that "There is no artistic purpose for this movie. It is product." The New York Times likes Reno but not much else.

Angel Face

Angel Face, a 1952 film noir, is directed by Otto Preminger and stars Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Barbara O'Neil, Kenneth Tobey, Jim Backus and Herbert Marshall.

If someone asks you for one last chance do not give it to them.

trailer:

Variety says, "Mitchum and Simmons make a good team". DVDTalk calls it "one of director Otto Preminger's best". 1001 Flicks has a review.

The Locket

The Locket is a 1946 film directed by John Brahm and starring Robert Mitchum.

Youtube has this online divided up into 10 segments, which ought to autoplay from here:


Bright Lights Film Journal says, "Fans of The Locket cherish it for its neurotic heroine (Laraine Day) and its flashback-within-a-flashback-within-a-flashback plot structure." MSN and TCM have overviews.

Border Patrol

Border Patrol is a 1943 Hopalong Cassidy western film. Robert Mitchum and George Reeves are in this one. Mitchum had credited roles in 6 Hopalong Cassidy films.

Watch it online thanks to the Internet Archive:


MSN and TCM have overviews.

Aerial Gunner

Aerial Gunner is a 1943 war movie. Its main claim to fame as far as I'm concerned is that it has Robert Mitchum in an early uncredited performance.

GoogleVideo has this online:


The New York Times doesn't mention Mitchum and describes the film as "heroics for the bumpkins in one-syllable clichés."

Robert Mitchum

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1997 of Robert Mitchum, another long-time favorite of mine.

Here are the films I have posts on:

Aerial Gunner (1943)
Border Patrol (1943)
The Locket (1946)
Out of the Past (1947)
Where Danger Lives (1950)
Angel Face (1952)
What a Way to Go! (1964)

FilmReference.com closes by saying, "Although filmgoers have enjoyed this late bloomer's laconic presence for years, the critical and popular consensus has finally caught up with Mitchum's greatness as a screen star." Salon.com says, "Somehow he managed to be both cool and reckless, heroic and vaguely sinister, laconic to the point of inertia, yet still a man of action. And above all, he was tough." TCM and AMCTV have short biographies.


The photo at the top of the post is from Wikipedia.

The Game of Go

Going downstairs last night didn't get me invited to play a game, as The Daughter and The Younger Son were engrossed in Go. The Younger Son is especially intrigued with this game and has found a local group that gathers weekly to play.

There is a 3-video series covering a championship game here:

part 2, part 3

The Majestic Game of Go:

provides pictures of settings, game sets, people playing...

Elvis Lives!

I knew it all along:

The stark, black-and-white snapshot taken by a stunned fan on June 26 clearly shows the aging superstar resting in a wheelchair on the grounds of his Graceland mansion in Memphis.

HT: Memphis Flyer

Rummikub

Going down to get another cup of hot tea, my timing was once again perfect to get in on the start of a game with The Daughter and The Younger Son. It was Rummikub this time, always a favorite of mine since we discovered it years ago. It's quick and easy and fun. When the kids were little it was great for practicing math and logic skills. Our game has yellow tiles instead of the orange ones I think come with it now.

The photo at the top of the post is from Sidewalk Flying's Flickr photostream.

A Fish Called Wanda

This DVD is another of The Husband's Father's Day presents, and he picked it for tonight. A Fish Called Wanda stars Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. It's #21 on the AFI 100 Years 100 Laughs list. There are some things about British humor we don't "get" -the stutter, for instance, is something we just don't find funny. I did laugh out loud at several points, though not at the stuttering or during the torture scene. And the film actually has a leper colony in it. That redeems the film for me.

trailer:


Roger Ebert gives it 4 stars and calls it "the funniest movie I have seen in a long time". The New York Times doesn't like it. Variety says it's "is wacky and occasionally outrageous in its own, distinctly British way." FilmReference.com says that Charles Crichton's "triumphant comeback at the age of seventy-eight, with the huge international success of A Fish Called Wanda, was as heartening as it was wholly unexpected."

Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home

Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home is the 3rd book in Harry Kemelman's 12 book Rabbi Small mystery series. Besides this one, I've read the first book -Friday the Rabbi Slept Late- and the 10th -One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross. All three of these appear to be out of print. I found them at my local used book store, and I'll continue to read the series as I find more of the books. I find the look at Conservative Judaism fascinating. I also find his view of Christianity interesting in how he defines it in contrast to Judaism.

from the back of the book:

On Sunday, Rabbi David Small uncovers a Passover plot than undeniably raises more than Four Questions - threatening to ruin not only his holiday seder but his role as leader of Bernard's Crossing's Jewish community. But there's no time to appeal to higher sources when one of his temple board members, a businessman, is rumored to be pushing drugs and all the facts point to a group of teenagers as accessories - to murder.

Settlers of Catan

When I went downstairs to refresh my cup of tea I found The Daughter and The Younger Son setting up Settlers of Catan, so I stayed to play. We don't abide strictly by the rules, but we really like this game as we've adapted it. I bought it at MidSouthCon several years ago.

Here's a video review from TheDiceTower.com that shows the game as it is set up and provides a general overview:


RPG.net has a review, calling it "a landmark game" and saying "it belongs on every board gamer's shelf. It really shines as a gateway game or a game for more casual players because of its core simplicity and its high replayability." Wired.com calls it a "Monopoly killer". Games Magazine has added it to their Hall of Fame.

Philip K. Dick Award Winners

Winners of the Philip K. Dick Award for best original paperback:

2017 Bannerless, Carrie Vaughn
2016 The Mercy Journals, Claudia Casper
2015 Apex, Ramez Naam
2014 The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, Meg Elison
2013 Countdown City, Ben H. Winters
2012 Lost Everything, Brian Francis Slattery
2011 The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy, Simon Morden
2010 The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack, Mark Hodder
2009 Bitter Angels, C. L. Anderson
2008 Terminal Mind, David Walton
(tie) Emissaries for the Dead, Adam-Troy Castro
2007 Nova Swing, M. John Harrison
2006 Spin Control, Chris Moriarty
2005 War Surf, M. M. Buckner
2004 Life, Gwyneth Jones
2003 Altered Carbon, Richard K. Morgan
2002 The Mount, Carol Emshwiller
2001 Ship of Fools, Richard Paul Russo
2000 Only Forward, Michael Marshall Smith
1999 Vacuum Diagrams, Stephen Baxter
1998 253: The Print Remix, Geoff Ryman
1997 The Troika, Stepan Chapman
1996 The Time Ships, Stephen Baxter
1995 Headcrash, Bruce Bethke
1994 Mysterium, Robert Charles Wilson
1993 Elvissey, Jack Womack
(tie) Growing Up Weightless, John M. Ford
1992 Through the Heart, Richard Grant
1991 King of Morning, Queen of Day Ian McDonald
1990 Points of Departure, Pat Murphy
1989 Subterranean Gallery, Richard Paul Russo
1988 Wetware, Rudy Rucker
(tie) Four Hundred Billion Stars, Paul J. McAuley
1987 Strange Toys, Patricia Geary
1986 Homunculus, James P. Blaylock
1985 Dinner at Deviant's, Palace Tim Powers
1984 Neuromancer, William Gibson
1983 The Anubis Gates, Tim Powers
1982 Software, Rudy Rucker

Ones I've read are in bold print.

relevant web sites:
Wikipedia
Official site

Threads

Threads is a 1984 post-apocalyptic BBC TV movie. I watched this when it aired on PBS and found it deeply affecting. My first-born was a baby at the time, and watching this bleak film by myself was quite an experience.

via youtube:

Threads from Peski TV on Vimeo.

AMC has an overview. BBC has a guide and says, "The message - if there is one - that seems to run through the story is that mankind would probably survive in some form or another, but it wouldn't be pretty."

Dark Shadows

On this date in 1966 Dark Shadows premiered. Although it was a while before Jonathan Frid made his first appearance as vampire Barnabas Collins, it was Barnabas I watched it for. Every afternoon I made sure I was parked right in front of the TV, even in the summer when our little back yard pool was a major attraction. Dark Shadows lasted about 5 years. There were some plots I liked better than others, but Barnabas was there for me through it all.

Video clip:


There has been talk of a remake with Johnny Depp in the role Frid created.

The picture at the top of the post is from the Barnabas Collins page at CollinWiki.

Being There

Being There is another of The Husband's Father's Day presents, and he chose it tonight. This 1979 comedy is directed by Hal Ashby and stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart and Richard Basehart. I picked this film as a present along with the others I gave him because it is on the AFI list of 100 Years, 100 Laughs. This one is #26. I like this film a lot, but The Husband did not and couldn't imagine why I'd have suggested it as a comedy.

trailer:



Roger Ebert considers it a "great" movie and "a rare and subtle bird that finds its tone and stays with it." The New York Times opens with this: ""BEING THERE" is a stately, beautifully acted satire with a premise that's funny but fragile."

Sourcery

Sourcery is the 5th book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. We've given up finding these in local used book stores. I've started buying them new, reading them and passing them along to The Younger Son. I get a kick out of them and am looking forward to the next one. This book features Rincewind and Death.

from the back of the book:

When last seen, the singularly inept wizard Rincewind had fallen off the edge of the world. Now magically, he's turned up again, and this time he's brought the Luggage.

But that's not all...

Once upon a time, there was an eighth son of an eighth son who was, of course, a wizard. As if that wasn't complicated enough, said wizard then had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son - a wizard squared (that's all the math, really). Who of course, was a source of magic - a sourcerer.

SFReviews.net likes it. SFSignal has some criticisms but ends by saying, "Sourcery is a fine Discworld novel, and shows that Pratchett was getting his story telling legs in gear."

The Professional

The Professional is a 1994 French film (English language) directed by Luc Besson and starring Jean Reno, Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman. The Younger Son has a shorter cut and the international cut of this film and showed me the shorter version.

I tend to talk to movie characters as I watch them, and the last thing I said to Matilda was, "No! Don't put the plant there. It'll die there." Movie characters never listen to me.

trailer:

Roger Ebert doesn't like it. The New York Times says that "Even in a finale of extravagant violence, it manages to be maudlin." Variety says,

Besson delivers a naive fairy tale splattered with blood. Mix of cynicism and sentiment will ring hollow to cine-literate sophisticates but may play well to the gallery.

John W. Campbell Award Winning Novels

The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel:

2018 The Genius Plague, David Walton
2017 Central Station, Lavie Tidhar
2016 Aurora, Kim Stanley Robinson
2015 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Claire North
2014 Strange Bodies, Marcel Theroux
2013 Jack Glass: The Story of a Murderer, Adam Roberts
2012 The Islanders, Christopher Priest
(tie) The Highest Frontier, Joan Slonczewski
2011 The Dervish House, Ian McDonald
2010 The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi
2009 Little Brother, Cory Doctorow
(tie) Song of Time, Ian R. MacLeod
2008 In War Times, Kathleen Ann Goonan
2007 Titan, Ben Bova
2006 Mindscan, Robert J. Sawyer
2005 Market Forces, Richard Morgan
2004 Omega, Jack McDevitt
2003 Probability Space, Nancy Kress
2002 Terraforming Earth, Jack Williamson
(tie) The Chronoliths, Robert Charles Wilson
2001 Genesis, Poul Anderson
2000 A Deepness in the Sky, Vernor Vinge
1999 Brute Orbits, George Zebrowski
1998 Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman
1997 Fairyland, Paul J. McAuley
1996 The Time Ships, Stephen Baxter
1995 Permutation City, Greg Egan
1994 no award
1993 Brother to Dragons, Charles Sheffield
1992 Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede, Bradley Denton
1991 Pacific Edge, Kim Stanley Robinson
1990 The Child Garden, Geoff Ryman
1989 Islands in the Net, Bruce Sterling
1988 Lincoln's Dreams, Connie Willis
1987 A Door Into Ocean, Joan Slonczewski
1986 The Postman, David Brin
1985 The Years of the City, Frederik Pohl
1984 The Citadel of the Autarch, Gene Wolfe
1983 Helliconia Spring, Brian W. Aldiss
1982 Riddley Walker, Russell Hoban
1981 Timescape, Gregory Benford
1980 On Wings of Song, Thomas M. Disch
1979 Gloriana, Michael Moorcock
1978 Gateway, Frederik Pohl
1977 The Alteration, Kingsley Amis
1976 no award
1975 Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick
1974 Malevil, Robert Merle
1974 Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
1973 Beyond Apollo, Barry N. Malzberg

Ones I've read are in bold print with links to blog posts if I've written one.

Relevant sites:

Wikipedia entry
Official site

The River (1951)

The River is a 1951 Jean Renoir film based on a novel by Rumer Godden.

This film is online at youtube in 10 parts. part 1:

part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10

Senses of Cinema has an article. It's on Roger Ebert's list of great movies. The New York Times calls it

a blissfully sentimental and emotionally adolescent little tale, more reflective of western conventions than of the ageless culture of an eastern land.

Parallax View says,

A film of astonishing physical beauty, The River is one of the richest explorations of man’s place in the natural world ever filmed.