How bad can a movie be yet look fantastic? Ocean’s 11 (1960) is a heist film famous for its slick Rat Pack, mid-century modern trappings, but altogether a heaping, floppy mess. It’s a movie you want to like but can’t. It has no real highs, no lows, no drama, little humor. Interminable parts of the… Continue reading Bars, Nightclubs, and Casinos from Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Month: September 2018
The Man Who Built Disney’s Fantasyland in His Basement
Talk about humble and unassuming. A man builds a painstaking recreation of some elements of Disneyland’s Fantasyland in his basement, uploads a less than two minute-long video to YouTube, and all he says is, “This is a short video about my Fantasyland basement.” But there you have it. An as-yet-anonymous maker known only as Travis… Continue reading The Man Who Built Disney’s Fantasyland in His Basement
The Strange Case of the U.S. Soldier Who Talked 162 Germans Into Surrendering
As with so many war stories, this one is hazy and sounds like it’s ready-made for a movie. Particulars are hard to pin down, since the only person who might corroborate them has been dead since 1955. This is the story of a U.S. soldier whose “super-salesman” silver tongue persuaded German soldiers to surrender to… Continue reading The Strange Case of the U.S. Soldier Who Talked 162 Germans Into Surrendering
Edward Andrews: Great Character Actor Who Took Imperious to a New Level
Many character actors might bristle at the idea of being branded a character actor. Because, after all, who wants to be branded as a type? If in your last ten movies you played that type, are you destined to play that type again and again? On the other hand, if you’re good enough, it means… Continue reading Edward Andrews: Great Character Actor Who Took Imperious to a New Level
Yosemite’s Daredevil Dancing Waitresses
Instant death from falling off of precipices at Yosemite National Park is a long-standing tradition at that park. One time, at Yosemite, time melted away as I found myself mesmerized by the Yosemite installment of the “Death In…” series of national parks books about all of the ways visitors meet their demise in our country’s… Continue reading Yosemite’s Daredevil Dancing Waitresses