Actress Thora Birch was born March 11, 1982. She landed her first major role at the age of 6 on the sitcom "Day By Day". Birch worked steadily throughout her childhood, with starring roles in numerous television series and movies and theatrical films ranging from "Patriot Games" (1992) to "Monkey Business" (1994).
In her late teens, Birch played what are arguably her most famous roles to this day, appearing in the films "Ghost World" (1999) and "American Beauty" (2001). She successfully navigated dangerous career waters that mark the transition from child to adult actor, and she remains a busy and sought-after working actor to this day. Most recently, she's starred in "Above Suspicion" (2019) and has had a recurring role in the latest batch of episodes of the "Walking Dead" television series.
Here are a few pictures of Birch through the years in observation of her 38th birthday.
Cab Calloway was a singer, dancer, songwriter, and band leader without whom we wouldn't have had any number of more recent pop stars... with Michael Jackson being prime among them. He had such a unique and enviable style about him that many have borrowed from him and added it to their own routines. To this day, Calloway stands as an unmatched giant in the history of American dance and popular music. (In these parts, we celebrate him primarily for his contributions to three of the Betty Boop animated shorts.)
Calloway co-stars in this week's Musical Monday feature, as he is joined by an equally amazing pair of performers--tap dancers Nicholas Brothers. In this self-contained performance from the 1943 musical "Stormy Weather", Calloway and his band swing away with the tune "Jumpin' Jive", while the Nicholas Brothers deliver one of the most spectacular dance routines ever put on film.
If you enjoyed that clip--and if you didn't what's wrong with you?!--you might enjoy the movie it came from. It features a veritable who's who of top African American singers and dancers from the 1940s, with Lena Horne leading the cast.
It may be 120 years old, but "How He Missed His Train" is as relevant and important as ever. After all, we've all had mornings like the poor fellow in the film, and we've all had to call into work with this exact explanation as to why we were going to be late. We have, haven't we? I can't be the only one...
How He Missed His Train (1900)
Starring: Georges Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
(This is an impressive and hilarious bit of trick photography filmmaking from the father of special effects. It's both simple and complex and it's near-flawless in execution. Even better, I'm sure it's relatable to anyone who's gotten up on the "wrong side of the bed.")
On June 4th, 2020, there'll be another big-screen Wonder Woman adventure hitting movie theaters. Here are some drawings of her from great artists to get you warmed up for it!
It's Super Tuesday here in the U.S., which means several states are holding their primary election to see who they will nominate for the presidential election later this year. I don't know if the folks at the Fleischer Studios were psychic, or if the 2020 presidential hopefuls were inspired, en masse, by this cartoon...
(Political snarking aside, this is a fun cartoon with catchy music, and I think you'll enjoy watching it!)
Betty Boop for President (1932)
Starring: Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop)
Director: David Fleischer
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
(Oh... and if anyone is still of the habit of writing in Mickey Mouse if you don't like any of the candidates, I suggest you switch to using Betty Boop. She has a better platform/manifesto... when has Mickey Mouse ever promised: "... a lot of Hi-De-Ho!, Boopy Doops and chocolate ice cream!"?)
Once upon a time, Mohammed Mondays were a regular feature around here. Now, they are special events, reserved for when I come across a particularly amusing cartoon featuring the Prophet Mohammed, or some other noteworthy occasion.
On this Mohammed Monday, I bring you the latest from artist Bosch Fawstin, who may well have brought more images of the Big Mo into this world than any other single human being. (Click on the image to see a larger, more easily read version.
Fawstin has released a color version of this cartoon as a limited-run print. One hundred signed and numbered copies are available at Fawstin's online store. For more information, or to order your copy, click here.
Here's a little something to kick off the week for my fellow D&D players and other lovers of fantasy! It's a neat song and an excellent music video that features some great visualizations of what it must be like when the evil priest calls down a rain of fire upon the heads of that pesky adventuring party!
Woodkid (2011)
Starring: Willy Cartier, Agyness Deyn, and Matvey Lykov
Director: Yoann Lemoine
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Diana Rigg is a British actress with a long and celebrated career on both the big and small screens. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mrs. Peele on "The Avengers" during the 1960s, and her more recent role as Oleena Tyrrell on "Game of Thrones".
The Grandmother's Story and the Child's Dream (aka "Grandmother's Story") (1908)
Starring: André Méliès
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Four of Ten Stars
An angel descends and whisks away a child (André Méliès) to a magical land of living toys and fairies. Or was it all a dream?
"The Grandmother's Story and the Child's Dream" (1908) is one of Georges Méliès lesser efforts. It's slow to get started, it's got sloppy blocking, and the trick photography is less precise than is the standard set by other films. I think the main problem here is that it was under-rehearsed, with its large cast not hitting their marks quite right and not standing still enough for Méliès in-camera special effects to work properly. That more rehearsal was needed also seems evident in how some of the fairies seem clumsy or listless, and how an adult actor yanks the "dreaming child" back to his mark in one scene.
It's a shame the performers in this film weren't steadier, because I like every idea present, I like the visualizations of the fairy-realm, and, other than the slow start, I appreciate that Méliès lets this film unfold at a less frenetic pace than many of his other works.
As always with these Méliès reviews, I encourage you to take a few mintues to check out the movie for yourself, right here in this post. You might find my take completely wrong--in which case I hope you'll let me know in a comment below.
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