Latest Obsession & Movies


Let's see, maybe I should do a blog post about MOVIES! I haven't done one on old movies in awhile. Only because, I haven't really watched any.


But first...my next cookbook purchase will be this:

I love jellies! My Mom has some awesome jelly molds from the '70s which she used to make cool-looking (and tasting) gelatin salads. That was very big in the '70s. My parents were great entertainers back then. I can remember large BBQs in the backyard or just lots of people sitting around the living room & talking/drinking/eating. Anyway, I flipped through this book and it's pretty. I have too many cookbooks though. I love looking at recipes & pictures. I would make someone a good housewife. Haha.


It's apropos that my favourite actress starred in a movie where she made a big Dinner for her ex-husband, completely from gelatin. How could you not love a character who does this?

See how amused & perplexed William Powell looks as he surveys Jean Arthur's spread? The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (RKO 1936) is no Thin Man but it is still a very cute movie.


The two latest oldish films I watched were from the '70s so I guess, technically, they really aren't that old.

I have to admit I have never read Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five (Universal 1972) so that may explain why I found it a little difficult to "get" the film. I thought it was interesting, the whole concept of being unstuck in time, and jumping back & forth between different periods, but sometimes I felt maybe I was over analyzing it too much & was confused. I started out believing Billy Pilgrim was suffering from post traumatic stress after what he witnessed during WWII but then I veered off into a whole other direction thinking maybe he was dead and his soul was inhabiting a life form from another planet. See what I mean about over analyzing? It was an interesting film & kept my attention. I especially loved the music from Glenn Gould! I probably won't go out and read the book now, though.


BTW: Growing up Canadian, most of the books we read in High School were Canadian classics, which explains why we didn't read Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I read Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Hugh MacLennan, Alice Munro, Morley Callaghan. Of course we did read British author, George Orwell and Shakespeare!


I am sort of on a Meryl Streep kick. I am especially fascinated with her earlier roles, starting in the early '70s. Did you know that Jean Arthur actually taught Meryl Streep acting at Vassar!! How cool is that? Something I learned from Jean's biography when I first read it over 14 years ago.

I love this photo of Meryl Streep & Christopher Walken from, I think, the 1979 Academy Awards. I had not seen The Deer Hunter (Universal 1978) in its entirety until recently. I mean, it is a pretty long film! But wow, very well done. All the performances were great, especially Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro (Meryl was good too, but truly a supporting character). Makes me wonder, what the hell has happened to him now? Why does he do such crappy movies? His character, Michael, went from me basically hating him, to me thinking what a stand up guy. And the downward spiral of Christopher Walken's Nick is just heartbreaking. I can see why he won an Oscar for his performance. Some people have said they thought the film was too long & slow, and should have been edited more, but I disagree. I see what Michael Cimino was doing, with the initial set-up of normal, everyday life before the boys head to Vietnam. It presents such a stark contrast to what happens after. I still can't believe Michael Cimino has only made 8 films in his entire career. I would love to see if he has one more classic in him.


It's Thanksgiving this weekend and I hope to watch some films between the eating. Maybe some horror films since it IS Halloween month!