Firearms Friday with Sophie Ryleigh

It's the return of Firearms Friday!

In this installment, we show you that even assassins can be inconvenienced on laundry day. Sometimes, you just have to get ready for work, even if the dryer cycle isn't done.

Sophie Ryleigh is an English model from Essex. You can see more from (of?) her on Instagram and Twitter. She also has a Facebook page.

Not sure what to make of this one

The Call (2020)
Starring: Danielle Elisha Steiner
Director: Wolfgang Kern
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

While walking in the rain, a woman (Steiner) gets a phone call.

"The Call" is a quiet, technically well-executed film. I liked the creative, yet straight-forward, camera-work. The precisely calculated use of out-of-focus moments were among the things that impressed me the most about this film... and the well-deployed, touching (yet catchy) music on the soundtrack also stood out.

And yet, I found myself waffling between awarding this picture a High Six or a Low Seven on my 0-10 scale, because I am not left with a clear sense of what is going with the phone call mentioned in the title and my teaser summary. There are a couple obvious explanations--and a less obvious one that got my imagination going, but I'm fairly certain it's not something that was in the Wolfgang Kern's head when staging this film--but since I didn't feel that was enough here for me to lean in one direction or another as far as "meaning" goes, I went with the High Six Rating.

I strongly recommend you take a few minutes out of your day to check out "The Call". Just click below and sit back. Perhaps you can even leave a comment below to tell me (and other visitors) what you think is going on with the voice on the phone.

Miko's latest interpretive dance...

 ... was a big hit with the test audience!

'The Law of the Tong' is saved by its interesting main characters

The Law of the Tong (1931)
Starring: Phyllis Barrington, Jason Robards, John Harron, Frank Lackteen, and Dot Farley

Director: Lewis D. Collins

Rating: Four of Ten Stars

An honorable Chinese gangster (Robards) has a chance encounter with a dancehall girl (Barrington) that ends up changing both their lives forever.

"The Law of the Tong" is a somewhat dull affair with a story that features a mix of interesting and inexplicably stupid characters, as well as equal parts halfhearted moralizing, nonsensical Orientalism, and underdeveloped intrigue.

The film would be unwatchable if not for a pair of interesting characters at its center--Joan (Phyllis Barrington), and Charlie Wong (Jason Robards). Wong is a Chinese gangster whose agendas and ultimate goal is utterly inscrutable. He is clearly operating a human smuggling ring, and he is involved in a gang war, but he claims that his objective is to bring poor Chinese people into the United States where they can enjoy the better life he has found. He is also never anything but courteous and respectful toward Joan and he goes FAR out of his way to help her and turn her life away from an inevitable slide into prostitution. Meanwhile, Joan emerges as a fascinating character when she become caught in the middle between her friendship with Charlie Wong and the nerdy, self-righteous undercover detective Doug (John Harron) who is going to get himself killed while trying to bring down Wong's smuggling ring. In a better, slightly longer film, there would probably have been more development of Wong and Joan... I for one would have enjoyed getting to know both of them better.

I think this film also shows that it's a shame Phyllis Barrington only made a dozen or so movies. She lights up the screen whenever she appears, and her charisma shines brightly both opposite Robards and Harron. 

And speaking of Harron: The third main character in the film, Doug, is interesting only insofar as he is not as bland and uninteresting as the supposed romantic leads in these sorts of films tend to be; otherwise, he is merely the catalyst that leads to Joan's fateful first encounter with Wong. I might have included Doug in the reasons that makes the film worth watching, but the usual blandness is replaced by self-righteousness augmented by stupidity. (He follows Joan to work at the dancehall and then gets outraged--OUTRAGED!--when she dances with customers.)

Aside from its underdeveloped main characters and story, this film is also harmed by the habit of having white actors in "yellow face" portray Asian characters. It's something that looks strange to modern viewers, and, as good as Jason Robards is as Charlie Wong, and Frank Lackteen is as the villainous Yuen, I've no doubt that there were equally talented actors of some East Asian extraction that could have filled those roles. (Heck, one only has to look to "The Secrets of Wu Sin" (1932) for proof of that. Both films are on the same double-feature DVD from Alpha Video.)

Musical Monday with Psychostick

If you're not in a romantic mood on this Valentine's Day, Psychostick is here for you. Even if you're bitter, angry, and heartbroken I think this song will put a smile on your face... ESPECIALLY if you're bitter, angry, and heartbroken!

On Valentine's Day...

... Terry Moore is here to tell all visitors to Shades of Gray how we feel about you!

 
We're sending all of you imaginary flowers and chocolate kisses. Then, you can join us for an imaginary romantic dinner!

Bones Coffee's Highland Grog

It's Sunday, so I'm going to let the world know about the coffee I've been drinking!

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: HIGHLAND GROG

The concept of this blend confuses me a bit. To me, "grog" is something that's associated with the latter part of the Age of Sail... and I don't associate sailing ships with the Scottish Highlands. When I did a web-search on "highland grog", I discovered that there are several coffee companies that have a version of this flavor under names like Highlander Grog, Highlands Grog, and so on. Each have their own special little twist, but the common theme are the flavors of rum and butterscotch.

With the Bones version of this apparently popular variety of flavored coffee, we get  rum, butterscotch, and caramel. As weird as I find the notion of Highland Grog, I was certain that Bones had given me the resources for some great tasting coffee, because they had done such a wonderful job with their Coconut Rum blend.

Like most of Bones' flavored coffees, the foundation is medium roast. When brewing, the smell of run rises from the pot with a bit of butterscotch mixed in--exactly as advertised. It's not one of those blends where the aroma fills the kitchen and nearby rooms, but standing near the pot as the coffee brews gives you a preview of what you'll be drinking shortly.

As with all the coffees I drink for review purposes, I tried the Highland Grog blend in several specific ways. I drank my first cup black and (bag)piping hot. The rum flavor was front and center from the outset, dominating both the flavor and scent... and seeming like I might actually be drinking coffee spiked with a tremendous amount of rum. Or maybe rum spiked with coffee--the rum flavor is so strong it almost wiped out that of coffee. That, plus the subtle but still noticeable butterscotch flavor, led me to drink an entire cup without adding of my typical unsweetened almond milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. Interestingly, the advertised caramel flavor isn't present until the coffee begins to cool. This made the drink even more enjoyable. It's nice the way the flavor profile changes, and this may have to be a blend I will have to get a bag of, since it's perfect for someone like me who often drinks his coffee slowly, so it invariably cools to room temperature well before I'm done with a cup or mug.

With that in mind, it probably comes as no surprise that this blend works amazingly well over ice, whether it's consumed black or with the usual varieties of almond milk or sugar-free creamer added. Although the flavors are a bit muted--as tends to be the case with most coffees--the rum is still very much evident, as are strong hints of butterscotch and caramel. Even better, there is none of the saltiness that creeps into some Bones Coffee blends when they are consumed iced, or sometimes even at room temperature.

As I mentioned above, this is a flavored coffee that even I, with my reflexive habit of adding almond milk, milk, creamer, or booze to any cup of coffee that is placed before me, could drink black. In fact, the typical unsweetened almond milk I use didn't enhance this blend, but rather seemed to detract from and dilute what made it appealing. The sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer mixed better with the Highland Grog blend, and it was an okay addition to the coffee whether hot, iced, or in-between, but it didn't improve the flavor all that much.

As also mentioned above, I noticed that a number of other coffee roasters offer their version of this flavor, and a number of them have vanilla as part of their mix. I decided to break with my usual review protocol and try Bones' Highland Grog with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk added. Like the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, it mixed nicely with the coffee, and the addition of vanilla wasn't bad, but it was only a slight improvement over drinking the coffee black. (At least when hot or room temperature; I based this review off a 4-oz sample pack of "Highland Grog", and I ran out of coffee before I could try the blend iced with the vanilla almond milk.

Highland Grog is another winner from Bones Coffee Company. I particularly recommend if you're looking for a coffee that's great iced.

The Boys like their coffee hot and their kilts below the knees.

Fantastic Friday!

"The Fantastic Four" first appeared in 1961, in a comics magazine published by Marvel Comics. Created and co-plotted by Jack Kirby (artist) and Stan Lee (writer), their early appearances were reminiscent of DC Comics' sci-fi/adventure title "The Challengers of the Unknown" (which Kirby illustrated, and possibly co-plotted, for a while before creating this group). The Fantastic Four, however, quickly evolved into something wholly unique, with Kirby and Lee spinning tales featuring equal amounts of cosmic mysteries, superhero action, and down-to-earth--if tending toward the soap-operatic and melodramatic--family dynamic between the characters and their growing supporting cast.

Lee and Kirby wrote and drew the "Fantastic Four" for roughly 110 monthly and annual issues. These issues, and the 200 or so that followed, still remain my favorite Marvel Comics... and the Fantastic Four (as they existed in the stories told by Kirby & Lee, followed by Marv Wolfman, Doug Moench, and a variety of a artists, and, ultimately, John Byrne) was a cornerstone of the entire Marvel Universe.

The Fantastic Four began to drift as a property as of issue #301 and by the mid-1990s, they had fallen from their position as Marvel's First Family. Over the past 30 years, there has been numerous reboots and re-inventions of the Fantastic Four, in addition to several cancellations and revivals of their title... but none of the creators that have brought us those tales have been able to recapture the Golden Age of the first 25-30 years of the characters. (As a big fan of Sue, Reed, Johnny, Ben, and all their family and friends, I have kept hoping someone might... but so far, I've only been disappointed.)

This post series presents drawings that celebrate the glory years of the Fantastic Four! This year, I hope to make at least one each quarter.

A Picture Perfect Wednesday with Anita Page

Although she mostly played supporting roles, Anita Page (1910 - 2008) was one of the most popular screen actresses of the early talkies, at one point receiving thousands of fan letters each week. Her career began to stall during the pre-Code years, and by 1934, she had mostly retired from acting. She is perhaps best remembered for "Night Court" (1932), and her co-starring turns with Bessie Love in "The Broadway Melody" (1929).

In 2000, at the age of 90, she returned to the screen in a string of four B- horror movies.

On this Picture Perfect Wednesday, we bring pictures of Anita playing some instruments. Why? Because!

A great effort with serious flaws

Killing Time (2010)
Starring: John Carlin and Zander Riggs
Director: Phil Baumhardt
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A young man (Carlin) sits alone in a room, waiting...

"Killing Time" is a short film that resulted from a student project, but it's very impressive. I really like the lighting (even if it's a little on the dark side), the use of sound, the placement of the camera. All-in-all, it does a great job in capturing the film noir mood and style.

Except for a couple minor details.

Usually, when I post student films I come across during my trawling through YouTube, I don't get too critical of them--they're student films for crying out loud, so if I'm impressed or amused, I leave it at that! There's generally no point in nitpicking them: If I think they're worth the time of the visitors to the blog, they're good enough, period. 

In the specific case of "Killing Time", the flaws break the illusion Phil Baumhardt was going for with such force that it almost ruined the whole thing for me. Still, the overall effort is good enough that I think it's worth checking out... even if you have to click through to YouTube to do so. (And if you do... maybe you can spot the flaws that I did. If you do, let me know if you think I'm being too critical.)