We're spending this first Friday the 13th of 2023 laughing in the faces of Fate and Bad Luck!
Friday, January 13, 2023
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Wonder Woman Wednesday
Our favorite Amazon is aspiring to soar to new heights in the new year. She hopes all her fans and all the visitors to Shades of Gray will be successful right along with her!
Monday, January 9, 2023
Musical Monday with White Town
Your Woman (1997)
Starring: Chloe Treend
Director: Mark Adcock
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
Saturday, January 7, 2023
It's the first full moon of 2023...
... and we present a timeless tale of Elmo Aardvark in observance, courtesy of writer/artist/animator Milton Knight!
Like us here at Shades of Gray, Elmo recognizes the true nature of the Moon and that the Moon Girls are the ones running the show up there!
Support Milton Knight by joining his Patreon page (and get previews of what he's working on). Milton tells us that he likes this blog, so we encourage you to support him!
You can also join him in conversation on his Facebook page!
Friday, January 6, 2023
Firearms Friday with Anna May Wong
Born on Jan. 3, 1904, Anna May Wong was a third-generation Chinese-American who began her film acting career at the age of 15. Within a year, her raw talent and charisma was being noticed by directors and fellow actors alike, and she swiftly moved from bit parts, to major supporting roles, and to her first starring role at the age of 17 in "The Toll of the Sea" (1922).
Wong is perhaps best remembered for her major supporting role in "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924) (where she was as captivating and scene-stealing on screen as leading man Douglas Fairbanks). As sound replaced silent movies, Wong made a successful transition into talkies and cemented her legacy as the first Asian-American movie star. Unfortunately, the racism baked into the U.S. film industry--with its regulations that stated actors of different races could not share the screen in romantic scenes, and the habit of casting white actors in "yellow face" in leading parts--stopped her from maintaining her star status, and she went to Europe where such policies and habits did not stand in her way.
As World War II was looming on the horizon, Wong returned tothe U.S. where, after acclaimed leading roles in thrillers "Daughter of Shanghai" (1937) (where she received top billing) and "Dangerous to Know" (1939), she found the old racist blocks were still in her career path and she quickly found herself relegated to choosing to star in Poverty Row films, or take minor parts in major pictures. By 1942, after appearing in 48 American, British, or German pictures, Wong left film behind for the stage.
Wong is perhaps best remembered for her major supporting role in "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924) (where she was as captivating and scene-stealing on screen as leading man Douglas Fairbanks). As sound replaced silent movies, Wong made a successful transition into talkies and cemented her legacy as the first Asian-American movie star. Unfortunately, the racism baked into the U.S. film industry--with its regulations that stated actors of different races could not share the screen in romantic scenes, and the habit of casting white actors in "yellow face" in leading parts--stopped her from maintaining her star status, and she went to Europe where such policies and habits did not stand in her way.
As World War II was looming on the horizon, Wong returned tothe U.S. where, after acclaimed leading roles in thrillers "Daughter of Shanghai" (1937) (where she received top billing) and "Dangerous to Know" (1939), she found the old racist blocks were still in her career path and she quickly found herself relegated to choosing to star in Poverty Row films, or take minor parts in major pictures. By 1942, after appearing in 48 American, British, or German pictures, Wong left film behind for the stage.
In 1949, Wong returned briefly to the Big Screen with a supporting role in the fabulous thriller "Impact", and in 1951 she starred as the title character in the short-lived detective TV series
"The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong".
"The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong".
During the 1950s, Wong battled several health issues, but still managed to return to television during the second half of that decade, with small supporting and guest-starring roles in detective shows, drama anthology series, and westerns.
Wong suffered a massive heart attack and passed away in 1961, one month after her 56th birthday.
Thursday, January 5, 2023
'What the Doctor Ordered' is okay medicine
What the Doctor Ordered (1912)
Starring: Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Edward Dillon, Jack Pickford, Kate Toncray, and J. Jiquel Lanoe
A wealthy hypochondriac (Sennett) is instructed by his doctor (Lanoe) to go up onto the mountains to benefit from the pure air. The man's wife (Toncray) and teenaged children (Normand and Pickford) come along for the trip. Snowball fights, illicit lovemaking between the daughter and her boyfriend (Dillon) ensue, with it all culminating with members of the family in mortal danger.
That's a long summary for a short movie, but I couldn't figure out a shorter way to put it. Which is odd, because that paragraph also describes almost everything that happens in the film.
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Director: Mack Sennett
Rating: Five of Ten Stars
A wealthy hypochondriac (Sennett) is instructed by his doctor (Lanoe) to go up onto the mountains to benefit from the pure air. The man's wife (Toncray) and teenaged children (Normand and Pickford) come along for the trip. Snowball fights, illicit lovemaking between the daughter and her boyfriend (Dillon) ensue, with it all culminating with members of the family in mortal danger.
That's a long summary for a short movie, but I couldn't figure out a shorter way to put it. Which is odd, because that paragraph also describes almost everything that happens in the film.
"What the Doctor Ordered" is a fast-moving film where not a second is wasted. In fact, it moves so fast that I wish a little more time had been spent on a few more transition scenes or character interactions to fill in the relationships a bit more. It would have made the film feel less choppy and the story more substantial.
That said, the film is full of raw energy and the actors all give excellent performances. Mabel Normand and Edward Dillon are particularly fun to watch, while Normand's scenes with Jack Pickford have a playfulness in them that will put a smile on your face. Frequent watchers of silent movies may be particularly fascinated to see Mack Sennett in a starring role, since he's usually behind the camera or in very minor parts.
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Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Ballerinas must be light on their feet...
... or Tamara Cerner wouldn't be dancing on water in the flooded basement at Shades of Gray HQ.
Monday, January 2, 2023
Musical Monday at Shades of Gray HQ
Have you ever wondered what it's like at the Shades of Gray offices, the place where everything is in black-and-white and all time is meaningless? Well, watch the video below and you'll get a feel for it!
Dinero (2018)
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B, and DJ Khaled
Director: Joseph Kahn
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
(Okay... so it might not be exactly like that around here, but... all right, it's NOTHING like that. But it's a new year. Maybe THIS is the year we go viral and stuff! Or Jennifer Lopez just decides to give us a dump truck full of money!)
It's a Mohammed Monday!
It's a new year, but we're the same old Shades of Gray... and we're bringing you the same old Jesus & Mo, in show of our respect for murderous religious fanatics everywhere!
THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO
Sunday, January 1, 2023
It's January...
... Lois January that is! It seems 2023 snuck up on her!
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