Yvonne DeCarlo bids you welcome...

 ... to the first day of Autumn!

When East Meets West on NCIS

The new seasons of two NCIS series premiered this week--Season 20 for the Washington D.C.-based flagship series NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigations Service, and Season 2 for NCIS: Hawai'i. The crossover between the two series that began at the end of the last season carries into the openers in this season... and we're celebrating with a crossover photo gallery featuring Katrina Law and Yasmine Al-Bustami.

KATRINA LAW

The Character She Portrays: Special Agent Jessica Knight is a seasoned Federal agent who joined the investigative branch of NCIS after a stint as a ranking agent and explosives expert with the service's tactical response team.

 

YASMINE AL-BUSTAMI

The Character She Portrays: Lucy Tara is a young NCIS Special Agent that has recently been assigned to the Hawaii office. The youngest of three siblings, she disappointed her parents when she chose to pursue a career in law enforcement rather than join the family's Texas-based oil business.

From the "Whatzzat?" Department...

... we have a student film that we found in the deep recesses of YouTube. It's interesting visually, if a little underlit/underexposed in many of the shots. But it being too dark for its own good is not why we're scratching our heads by the time it's over.

We THINK we know what's being represented in this short, artsy film, but we're not sure. How about you take a few minutes and let us know what YOU think the film is about/is representing. (Maybe we'll add our thoughts in the comments, but we want to hear what others have to say first. If you have ideas, please share! We know you're out there...)

Antonym (2021)

Starring: Mia and Lillian
Director: Lucas Manuel-Scheibe
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day...

... and the Queen of Pirates is here to say:

"Ye may lead yer scurvy scallywags while wearin' 

a hat and high heels and lookin' great!"

"Ye may even learn 'em how to dance ballet!"

"But ye'll never have a more perfect piratin' moniker than the lady Frances Drake!"

Meanwhile, Joan Blondell is just here to hang out and look fabulous!

 

Musical Monday with Bad Omens

A favorite roleplaying game of mine was Cyberpunk 2020, with its "day after tomorrow" setting where the world had crumbled under the weight of a pandemic, government corruption, and corporate greed. I greatly enjoyed running my campaign in the setting, which incorporated some low-key supernatural elements, plus space aliens, in addition to the gritty sci-fi aspects already present.

I mention this, because this video for a single off Bad Omen's 2022 album, "The Death of Peace of Mind", captures the mood I was going for in the sessions of that campaign, as well as visually making me nostalgic for that game and my version of the world it took place in.

It's also a fantastic song with perfectly timed transitions between creepily mellow and savagely metal. So perfectly Cyberpunk!

Concrete Jungle (2022)

Starring: Noah Sebastian

Director: Orie McGinnis

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

Barnie's Creamy Buttery Caramel

I was not impressed by my first sampling of what Barnie's Coffee & Tea has to offer. Will the second go-around be better? I sure hope so!

Is Barnie's Creamy Buttery Caramel as smooth as this guy?

BARNIE'S COFFEE & TEA COMPANY: CREAMY BUTTERY CARAMEL

The foundation of this blend is medium-roasted Arabica beans, and there was nothing noticeable aroma-wise either when the bag was first opened nor as the coffee brewed that gave any hint that this was anything but normal coffee. It smelled great, as brewing coffee always does, but that was it.

When I poured the first cup, I likewise couldn't detect any aroma other than coffee. When I took the first sips of it black, there was a mild sweetness to the blend, but nothing I felt could be identified as a caramel flavor. It also didn't seem any more buttery than an average medium roast, but it was probably sweet enough for someone who usually puts a little sugar or milk in their cups to drink black. Me, I'm a wimp and I need a little more flavor or sweetness or milk to cut the coffee taste.

When I added Unsweetened Almond Milk to this blend, the caramel flavor showed itself ever so slightly, but this was still not something I'd describe as smooth. Again, maybe the blend would work with just the almond milk if you take your coffee lightly sweetened, but it was still a little too intense for my weak palate. I tried the blend with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk as well, and it sweetened it a bit more but didn't bring out the caramel flavor more clearly nor any  creaminess.

When I mixed the Creamy Buttery Caramel blend with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the drink finally felt as creamy as the name implied it should be. The caramel flavoring also seemed to pop a bit more. It was still a bit more subdued than I liked, but it was present and this was now a very enjoyable drink.

The most positive thing I can say about this blend is that its flavors remain stable as it changes temperature. Whether its mixed with either variety of almond milk or the creamer, the tastes describe above remain as described. Even chilled and over ice, the caramel flavor came through--in fact, it even seemed to grow a little stronger, which is atypical in my experience: More often than not, the flavors tend to become washed out when these coffees are iced... or, worse, a vile saltiness comes to dominate. All in all, this might be a blend that you're better off drinking chilled and iced. Even black, this coffee tastes sweeter when iced... even if I still couldn't taste much in the way or caramel nor did it seem any smoother than any other iced coffee I've had.

This blend from Barnie's falls somewhere in the middle of the pack as far as the flavored coffees I've had; it's not terrible, but I've had better. It is good enough that I'm not going to snark about their slogan this time out. I think it would appeal to those who are looking for something that is just slightly flavored or sweetened... while those who want more intense and in-your-face caramel flavors should turn to the Salted Caramel blend from Bones Coffee. (In fact, I think I'm going to mix what's left of my Barine's Creamey Buttery Caramel with the 4-oz sample pack of Bones' Salted Caramel in the cupboard to see what happens. If the result is a taste sensation, I'll let everyone know! (Heck, I'll also fill you in if I end up with something terrible...)

Felix knows how to spend the weekend!

If your weekend is half as wild as the one Felix the Cat has in "Woos Whoopee", you're doing it right. (Well, you probably want to avoid the hallucinations... but maybe not! The hallucinations are what makes this cartoon so much fun to watch!)

Felix Woos Whoopee (1928)

Starring: A voice actor who doesn't speak any actual lines

Director: Otto Messmer

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

An excellent drama with confused intertitles?

The Country Doctor (1909)
Starring: Frank Powell, Florence Lawrence, Kate Bruce, Gladys Egan, Rose King, Mary Pickford, and Adele DeGarde
Director: D.W. Griffith
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A country doctor (Powell) makes a fateful choice when his daughter (Egan) and another girl (DeGarde) are both struck with the same deadly illness at the same time.

"The Country Doctor" is another early and excellent short film from D.W. Griffith. Once again, he delivers a swiftly moving flick with not a second wasted and where we are treated to all actors giving their best performances. With many dramatic films of this vintage, the difference in film acting styles from what was common in 1909 (which were stagey and overly emotive) and the more natural-seeming approaches today can make them difficult to watch at times. Not so with films from Griffith... yes, there's big gestures and a certain degree of posing and posturing, but it doesn't seem quite as over-the-top as it does elsewhere, and it's almost always balanced with genuine-seeming facial expressions and more subtle body language. I might even go so far to say that if you're among those who avoid silent films because of the acting, you might still want to check this one out. Because it's clear from this film why Florence Lawrence, Frank Powell, and Mary Pickford were big stars in their day.

 

As is often the case, I am giving everyone the opportunity to watch the film I'm reviewing, but I'm dropping it here, in the middle of the review rather than at the end. This is because, while I liked almost everything about this film--from it's bright, airy opening scenes, to the cross-cutting between two locations as the story unfolds, to the excellent performances by the actors--the issues I do have relate to elements that can be considered spoilers.

So... please watch "The Country Doctor". Then, you can continue to read my comments below. (By the way, the version I've embedded has no soundtrack music. I found that the 2010 remaster of Mike Oldfield's "Hergest Ridge Pt. 1" works amazingly well for most of this film, except at the very end where the music becomes a little too upbeat. (Well, maybe. See below. And you can click here to open "Hergest Ridge Pt. 1" in a different window to play while watching the film.)

 

As much as I enjoyed this film, there was one thing I found it to be a head-scratcher that the film announces itself to carry a spiritual message--do the moral thing and you'll be rewarded in the afterlife--but then doesn't quite ever deliver on that promise. While the titular Country Doctor is very much self-sacrificing and obviously the sort of man who puts community above himself and even his family (given he prioritizes treating another patient over own sick daughter), there's no sense that he will be rewarded in the end. In fact, the final intertitle of the film seems to imply the opposite, both for the doctor, his family, and perhaps the entire community. (This strange disconnect between the film's opening and closing moments made a difference between me giving it a rating of Seven instead of Eight.)

With said that... what do you think? Am I putting too much weight on an element that isn't even really part of the film itself? Did I steer you wrong when I praised the pacing and acting of this great little drama? Leave a comment below!

The Mime's Big Day

Attention Plzzz (2015)
Starring: Swetha, Ashul, Maheswar, and Roshan
Director: Arunachalam

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A street-performer mime gives up in the face of competition but ends up changing the life of a homeless drug addict.

Reportedly inspired by the films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, I think "Attention Plzzz" is far cuter than anything on the very impressive resumes of either of those two gentleman. Another very strong element of this modern silent movie is that doesn't try to replicate the style of films made a century or more ago, nor is it just a film without sound, but the use of mimes gives a perfect in-story explanation for why not a single word is spoken.

I liked everything about this film--the actors all perform well, the pacing is spot-on, and the mime duels are very funny--and I probably would have given it Eight Stars if not for a couple flaws.

First, I think this film could have benefitted from being a little more focused. It almost feel like two films combined into one, with the first one being our Hero squaring off against a competing mime, and the second one where he distracts a homeless drug addict from shooting up. If the competition with the other mime had not been included in the film, I don't think it would have been missed, and we would have gotten to the really excellent part of the film sooner. All we needed in the initial part is the disinterested/confused onlookers to establish the mime's state of mind.
 

Second, a decision was made to include sound effects in the film's best moments, and I think it was a bad decision. They feel entirely out of place and they take away more from the action and mood of the scenes than they add. 

I could also criticize the film for not using enough medium two-shots during the mime's interactions with the homeless woman, but given that it claims to be inspired by old-time silent greats, I don't know that would be a fair criticism.

But why don't you take a few minutes and give your attention to "Attention Plzzz"? I promise it will brighten your day! (And if I steer you wrong, be sure to tell me off in the Comments section.)

Wonder Woman Wednesday

 Today. we've got two-in-one portraits of everyone's favorite Amazon!