Monday, May 11, 2020

Musical Monday with Kate Bush


You say you want to hear Kate Bush covering "Rocket Man"? You say you want her to do it while playing the ukulele? We have just the thing to brighten your Monday!


Rocket Man (1991)
Starring: Kate Bush
Director: Kate Bush
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars


Sunday, May 10, 2020

A Mother's Day silent movie


In May of 2012, YouTuber Libby Thomas uploaded a cute and funny short film she made with her siblings that was equal part tribute to the silent films we write about here (like these, for example) and Mother's Day card. Check it out... it's bound to make you smile, and perhaps even laugh!




Oh... and Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

It's me birfday...

... and on this day in 1922, decades before I was born, this great Krazy Kat cartoon by George Herriman saw print. (Click on the image for a larger, more legible version.)



Tom & Jerry are here for what's 'In the Bag'

In the Bag (1932)
Directors: John Foster and George Rufle
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

Tom and Jerry crash their plane in the cartoon wild, wild west. Surreal hi-jinx involving robbery and a vicious outlaw ensue.


"In the Bag" isn't exactly bad... but it isn't exactly good either. It's an unfocused scatter-shot collection of ideas and situations, some of which are related to the western setting, but most of which are generic gags that could work in any picture. Unfortunately, those generic gags are also nonsensical and unfunny; I expect non-sensical in a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon, but I also expect there to be more chuckles than this one delivered. The film also suffers from a sense of being padded, with several, otherwise amusing bits being dragged out to the point of almost outstaying their welcome while the animation loops two or three times with no variation.

The funniest sequences and bits of "In the Bag" come at the very beginning of the film--in the form of the disaster that causes our heroes to crash their plane in the wild west; at roughly the musical number at roughly halfway point involving some very unusual can-can dancers and scat-singing cowboys; and Jerry's heroic chase and capture of film's villain. The film's final series of jokes--in which Jerry designs to double-cross Tom and abscond with a bag full of cash--begin promising but they ultimately fall victim to the same lack of focus that crippled the picture overall and we're left in a closing bit that fizzles instead of sizzles. It's cute, but it doesn't provide a good close to the film, and it's the weakest ending to any of the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons I've watched so far.

"In the Bag" is neither among the best nor the worst entries in this series. I see glimmers of greatness here, but I think it was slapped together either in too big a hurry or with too little care for that greatness to be fully manifested. This causes me to give it the lowest possible rating of Five (on my usual 0-10 scale) that I can award it. It also causes me to observe that this is an all-too-common problem with "Tom and Jerry" and one of the reasons why they are not well-remembered today.

But how about you take a look at "In the Bag" and share what you think of it? You can watch it below, and leave a comment to this post, or pop on over to my Facebook page and speak up there!



Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Wonder Woman Wednesday

As we continue to look forward to the release of "Wonder Woman '84", we bring you these portraits of everyone's favorite Amazon and her wondrous hair!

By Aaron Lopresti
By Josh Howard

By Milo Manara
By Joe Jusko
By Asisi Suharianto




Monday, May 4, 2020

Celebrating Star Wars!

It's May 4th -- Star Wars Day! Here's a celebratory gallery of art for your viewing pleasure!

By John Cassaday
By the Artist With a Web-home at this Link

By Howard Chaykin

By Eric Johnson




By Dru Moh



By Stan!

By Bella Rachlin



Musical Monday with Ylvis

"Life´s a bitch," a wise man said
"No matter what, you´ll end up dead,
"And all that you can wish for is a friend."

The Norwegian duo Ylvis is bringing us an especially touching song on this very special Musical Monday...


Saturday, May 2, 2020

"Well... that escalated quickly." (Lesson: Don't steal!)

The Devil's Money Bags (aka "The Treasures of Satan") (1902)
Starring: Uncredited
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A burglar tries to steal sacks of money from an enchanted chest and pays dearly.

The Devil's Money Bags by Georges Méliès

"The Devil's Money Bags" is another fun mini-fantasy film from pioneering special effects artist Georges Méliès. Like most of Méliès films, this one serves up some light-hearted fun with its photographic trickery... but unlike most of his films, this one takes a gruesome and downright terrifying turn at the end. Hell... this 100+ year-old movie is more chilling than a lot of horror movies that get made today.

Take a few minutes out of your day and check out this great little piece of horror film history, right now via the embedded YouTube vide below!



Friday, May 1, 2020

Firearms Friday with Mystery Women

I don't know who either of these models and/or actresses are. If you can identify any of these females with firearms, leave information in the Comments section!