Monday, February 20, 2023

Musical Monday with New German Cinema


Jessica Weiss of New German Cinema

Singer/songwriter Jessica Weiss, who has been the face and voice of UK-based band Fear of Men since 2011, recently unveiled a solo project. Check out the first video released in support of it below... and enjoy the ethereal spookiness! (I don't think I've enjoyed a song of this genre as much as this one since C'est la Mort in the early 1990s.)


Friday, February 17, 2023

Firearms Friday with Raquel Welch


Born in 1940, Raquel Welch was an international cinematic sex symbol and genre-film superstar for a decade from the mid-1960s through the waning years of the 1970s. Whether it was spy thrillers or spy comedies, science-fiction adventures, or historical actioners of questionable accuracy--from the American Wild West to the French pre-revolutionary period through the days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth alongside girls in fur bikinis, Welch could be counted on to bring sexiness and lots of personality to her roles.

As the 1980s dawned, Welch's career shifted focus from the Big Screen to the television where she often produced and starred in movies tailored to her talents. She also turned herself into something of a cottage industry, serving as the spokesperson for numerous beauty products and appearing in comedies as "herself".

With the turn of the century from the 1900s to the 2000s, and Welch entering her 60s, she remained a gorgeous as ever and standing as the very definition of "aging gracefully". In 2017, at the age of 77, she played her last major role as a supporting character in the 10-episode Canadian television series "Date My Dad".


Raquel Welch passed away on February 15, 2023, following a short illness.

Thursday, February 16, 2023

A big welcome to our new sponsor!

Is this how you deal with annoying relatives or guests who overstay their welcome?

Phyllis Barrington and John Howard in "Bulldog Drummond's Revenge"

 If so, be aware that murder is illegal, bodies are hard to dispose of... and that we know someone who can offer you a better option! We're proud to announce a another sponsor who makes it possible for the Shades of Gray team to bring you all the great content you find here!

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Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

A dream of soul mates in black and white


I've rarely come across a more perfect short film to offer up for your viewing pleasure on Valentine's Day than this one. I hope you enjoy it!


Black and White (2021)
Starring: Chastity Cofield, Skylar McNamee, and D.W. Moffett
Director: Daniel Otero
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Can dreams become reality? Do soulmates exist outside of dreams? A young man (McNamee) and woman (Coefield) discover the answers to those questions.

Monday, February 13, 2023

Musical Monday with Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey as a Vegas Showgirl

 
With Valentine's Day coming up, we thought we'd bring you a romantic song... well, a sort-of romantic song. It's more of a break-up-and-moving-on song, especially when taken in context of the mini-movie music video that goes with it. (And we really like this music video, because we like the ones that tell stories rather than just show musicians standing around playing instruments and singing.)

Plus, it's always good to be reminded that it's okay to play Mariah Carey songs when it's not Christmas time.


I Stay in Love (2008)
Starring: Mariah Carey and Andrew Karelis
Director: Nick Cannon
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

It's a Mohammed Monday!

 

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO

 

Sunday, February 12, 2023

The Scottish Play, Retold

Shakespear, Yesterday and Tomorrow


At some point during the mid-1950s, writer/artist Mort Meskin created the following retelling of Shakespeare's "MacBeth". Meskin's version moved the action from 11th century Scotland to 20th century America, and replaced the competing clansmen with gangers. Enjoy this rarity (and click on each page for a larger, more easily read version).

Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin

 
 
 
















 
For more obscure (but fascinating) comics and art, check out The Bristol Board.

Thursday, February 9, 2023

'Knife in the Water' is a great first feature film

Knife in the Water (1962)
Starring: Jolanta Umecka, Leon Niemczyka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz
Director: Roman Polanski
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A businessman (Niemczyka) invites a hitchhiker (Malanowicz) to spend the weekend with himself and his wife (Umecka) on their small yacht. The two men soon begin to compete for the woman's attention and to engage in a rapidly escalating battle to prove who is the most macho.

Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz, and Leon Niemczyka in "Knife in the Water" (1962)

"Knife in the Water" is in a category of movies that I generally can't bear to watch: It's a story of people in a cramped space who tear each other apart on a psychological level for no reason other to tear each other apart. The better the acting and cinematic craftsmanship, the more uncomfortable the film is for me to watch. 

For example, I recognize "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966) and "Boys in the Band" (1970) as some of the very best movies I've seen, but they are not films I would watch again unless I have to for some professional (or blogging) reason. Everything about both pictures is excellent and that's what makes them so hard to watch.

I don't like watching people tear each other apart for no reason other than to tear each other apart, especially when there isn't a character that I can cast as the villain of the piece. I watch movies for the entertainment, not to watch suffering for the sake of suffering. This is the same reason why I couldn't stand those "torture porn" films that were all the rage during the early 2000s.

With all that said, I recognize "Knife in the Water" is well-acted and well-filmed. Polanski (and/or his director of photography) did a brilliant job framing scenes so even when the characters were on the deck of the boat, with an expansive horizon ahead, things felt claustrophobic even though the surroundings were open and airy.  

Similarly, the acting is universally excellent--generally restrained and in perfect keeping with the slow burn of the film's story. The calm demeanor of the characters, coupled with the way they are clearly trying to get under each others skin, along with the knowledge that none of them have anywhere to escape to when the inevitable explosion of rage happens.

Jolanta Umecka in "Knife in the Water" (1962)

The pacing of the film is immaculate almost up the very end... and perhaps even at that point. It felt to me like the aftermath of the eventual confrontations, as well as the lead-up to the film's cryptic ending felt like it dragged a bit. I don't know if that sense was just my reaction to the conflicts in the film mostly having been resolved, or if it was my unfulfilled expectation that there would be an additional twist.

"Knife in the Water" was Roman Polanski's first feature-length film, and it shows that he had a great eye for framing scenes from the very beginning, as well as pacing the story for maximum building of tension. As mentioned above, he doesn't quite manage to deliver a solid ending--we can see how much he improved as a storyteller in the similarly-structured "Cul-de-Sac" a couple years later--but this is still a very well-mounted film. It's also a fine example of what a talented filmmaker can do with a limited budget, and it's worth examining by would-be filmmakers to this day.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Checking in with the Moon Girls

The researchers at the Shades of Gray Observatory have captured another image of a Moon Girl making sure everything looks right in the night sky!