Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - October 2021

 Sixty years old this month.   Yikes.

Dinner last night:  Jersey Mike's sub.

Your Weekend Movie Guide for October 2021

 

Ah, those were the days.   Radio City Music Hall.  A great movie and a stage show.  When you actually had to leave your home to be entertained.

These days, you can choose to see the movie in the theater while wearing a mask.  Or simply never get off your couch and watch it on some streaming service which will lull you into a fitful nap within 15 minutes.

You know the drill, gang.   I'll sift through the LA Times Movie Guide and give you my gut reaction to what's playing in the theaters.

And more than likely on your TV.   

No Time To Die:   The latest 007 caper.  This was the very first casualty of the pandemic as it was supposed to open in March 2020.   They finally put it out two weeks ago.   And, just for the record, Daniel Craig is not my favorite Bond.

Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free:  Let me guess who this is about.

The Last Duel:  14th Century France with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Adam Driver and Not Me.

Bergman Island:  A bunch of filmmakers investigate an island where Ingmar Bergman lived.   Now if they were researching Ingrid...

Venom - Let There Be Carnage:   Otherwise known as Congress.

The Rescue:  Boys stuck in a cave in Thailand.   Which is redundant.

Lamb:  A childless couple in Iceland find something alarming in their barn.   I wonder if the woman's name is Mary.

Titane:  A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion.  I'm not kidding.  That's the logline for the movie.

Mass:  Years after an unspeakable tragedy tore their lives apart, two sets of parents agree to talk privately in an attempt to move forward.  Stifling the biggest yawn ever.

I'm Your Man:  A woman and her robot.   I wonder if it's made of Titane.

The French Dispatch:  Wes Anderson captures on film the final issue of this magazine.   When was the last time you read any magazine?   Doctor's office doesn't count.

Dune:   This is a reboot of a movie I never saw the first time.

Halloween Kills:  Jamie Lee Curtis' annual paycheck.

The Addams Family 2:  Not live action.  And, for the record, I always preferred The Munsters.

Dinner last night:  Chili dog at the Dodger game.

Len's Recipe of the Month - October 2021

 

Here's another super easy recipe from my new addiction, the Sip and Feast website.   And it takes under 60 minutes.   

Folks, meet Chicken Medallions with tomatoes, capers, and roasted red peppers.

Get a skillet or a dutch oven hot with some EVO.

You'll want to do some prep first.

Chop up some fresh parsley.  Put aside.

Take a pint of cherry tomatoes.   Half 1/2 of them.  That sounds redundant but you know what I mean.  Keep the other half whole.  Put aside.

Mince three cloves of garlic.  Put aside.

Chop up the contents of an 8 ounce jar of roasted red peppers.  Put aside.

Use 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast fillets.   Cut them in halves and quarters.  Then do the pounding thing with a mallet.   Then salt and pepper them liberally.  After a few minutes, pat them dry with a paper towel.

Saute the chicken in the EVO until brown on both sides.   You may have to do this in batches.   Put the chicken aside with tin foil on top to keep it warm.

Add a little more EVO to the pan or pot.   Add the garlic and saute for a minute or so.  Make sure you don't burn it.

Add the tomatoes and let them cook for about five minutes.

Add a small jar of capers.   Include the juice.  Or add a shot glass of white vinegar.

Add a 1/2 cup of water.

Add the roasted peppers.

Let that all come together for another five minutes.

Add back the chicken.   And let that all come together for another five minutes.

Top with the chopped parsley.

You're done.

And you won't be putting anything else aside because most of the food will be gone.

Dinner last night:  Dodger Dog at the game.

This Date in History - October 20

 

Mickey Mantle today? Why? Pay attention....

460: AELIA EUDOCIA, BYZANTINE EMPRESS, DIES.

Okay, all together now. One-two-three...WHO??????

1620: DUTCH PAINTER AELBERT CUYP IS BORN.

His birth date got shortchanged, since all the newspapers were busy covering the Pilgrims' move to America.

1781: PATENT OF TOLERATION, PROVIDING LIMITED FREEDOM OF WORSHIP, IS APPROVED IN HABSBURG MONARCHY.

So, you Muslims looking to build a mosque, Habsburg might be your spot.

1803:  THE UNITED STATES SENATE RATIFIES THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE.

Lucky us, we got stuck with those assholes and broken levees in New Orleans.  Customer Service, please...

1882:  BELA "DRACULA" LUGOSI IS BORN.

Something we can really get our teeth into.

1883:  PERU AND CHILE SIGNED THE TREATY OF ANCON, BY WHICH THE TARAPACA PROVINCE IS CEDED TO THE LATTER, BRINGING AN END TO PERU'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR OF THE PACIFIC.

News to me.  I guess Tom Hanks hasn't gotten around to this one yet.

1907:  ARLENE FRANCIS IS BORN.

I'm stuck.  What's my line here?

1910:  YANKEE PUBLIC ADDRESS ANNOUNCER BOB SHEPPARD IS BORN.

Birth announcements...are now available...from Stadium vendors.

1931:  MICKEY MANTLE IS BORN.

The same day as Bob Sheppard.  Is this a neat blog entry or what?

1935:  THE LONG MARCH ENDS.

It's October.  Doesn't April come after March?  Yeah, you might have a better joke for this, but I'm the one with the blog site.

1941:  DURING WORLD WAR TWO, THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS IN KRAGUJEVAC IN GERMAN-OCCUPIED SERBIA ARE KILLED IN THE KRAGUJEVAC MASSACRE.

Well, what else would you call a massacre of thousands of people in Kragujevac?  Sometimes, historical facts can be so obvious.

1944:  GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR FULFILLS HIS PROMISE TO RETURN TO THE PHILIPPINES WHEN HE COMMANDS AN ALLIED ASSAULT ON THE ISLANDS, RECLAIMING THEM FROM THE JAPANESE.

Give him credit for showing up again.  Who the hell wants to see the Philippines twice in one lifetime??

1947:  THE HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE BEGINS ITS INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMMUNIST INFILTRATION OF HOLLYWOOD.

And I'm all for another housecleaning out here, as long as it helps us get rid of the Kardashians.

1968:  JACQUELINE KENNEDY MARRIES ARISTOTLE ONASSIS.

Boy, did she sell short or what?  The guy looked like a baboon.  I guess this is what happens when a woman skips her eye doctor appointments for a couple of years.

1973:  IN THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE, PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON FIRES US ATTORNEY GENERAL ELLIOT RICHARDSON AND DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM RUCKELSHAUS AFTER THEY REFUSE TO FIRE WATERGATE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR ARCHIBALD COX.

And they didn't even live in Kragujevac.

1977:  A PLANE CARRYING LYNYRD SKYNYRD CRASHES IN MISSISSIPPI.

Nbdy srvvd.

1979:  THE JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY OPENS IN BOSTON.

With about 100 or so copies of "Profiles in Courage" no doubt.

2006:  ACTRESS JANE WYATT DIES.

Mother Lasted Best.

2014:  DESIGNER OSCAR DE LA RENTA DIES.

As opposed to Oscar De La Buyer.

2020:  MAGICIAN JAMES RANDI DIES.

Now that's a disappearing act.

Dinner last night:  Leftover chicken.

Big Fat Payload

 

Everybody was talking about it last week.

I wasn't.  Who the fuck cares??

Yep, Amazon head honcho Jeff Bezos took another Six Flags ride into outer space and this time he took Star Trek's William Shatner with him.

Sadly, it was a round trip.   

Does anybody really give a damn about this?   He's the first actor into space.  Or the first ham.  Take your pick.   Shatner cried upon return.   I cried because he did.   I was never a Star Trekkie.   And I definitely was never a fan of bad acting.

This is the new toy for the Amazon guru and I can't think of a bigger waste of money than having regular citizens pays $250,000 for an 11-minute voyage into space.   And the three minutes of weightlessness.   And when you think about Shatner and his fat ass, that's an awful lot of weightlessness.

It's not like these idiots are doing this to research space travel or anything remotely useful.   They are just filling their bucket-size egos and there's nobody with a bigger opinion of himself than Jeff Bezos who is the one person in the world to benefit financially the most from the recent pandemic.  I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if Bezos is the one who had the Chinese virus leaked in the first place.

And yes, I did call it the Chinese virus.  Last I heard, it didn't start in Coney Island.

Media was agog at all of this nonsense.   I was not.   And, again, I ask the question.

Why a round trip?

Dinner last night:  Leftover chicken, tomatoes, and capers.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - October 18, 2021

A true classic sitcom moment from "Everybody Loves Raymond."  I still miss that show.

Dinner last night:  Chicken

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Saluting "I Love Lucy" One More Time

 

Staring at a television.   That was me years ago.   And maybe every day since.   

And all throughout my life, the TV show I might be staring at is "I Love Lucy," which celebrated its seventy year anniversary this past Friday.   So, let's salute my favorite all time TV show one more time.

I thought it would be fun to count down my top 10 favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes of all time.   Enjoy.   Tell me which ones are yours.  Oddly enough, you will not find the birth of Little Ricky or the candy conveyor belt or Vitameatavegamin amongst them.  Sure, they're great, but everything I truly love comes during the later seasons which featured the most perfect comedy writing ever.   I focus more on the Hollywood trip, the European tour, and the year living in the suburbs.   Sheer brilliance.

# 10:  "The Great Train Robbery" filmed on October 6, 1955 and telecast on October 31, 1955.

The end of the Hollywood trip and the game is headed back to NY via train.   Lucy suspects the guy next door is a jewel thief.   And, of course, there is a cord you can pull to stop the train.   Hilarity as always from the always welcome Frank Nelson as the conductor.   And great slapstick as Fred and Ethel always seem to be in the dining car when the train screeches to a halt.   

Condnctor:  "Madam, did you stop this train by pulling this cord?"

Lucy:  "Well, I didn't do it by dragging my feet."

#9:  "Lucy Does the Tango" filmed on February 7, 1957 and telecast on March 11, 1957.

I love you've seen it.   Lucy is hiding eggs in her blouse.   Don't ask why.   Ricky wants to rehearse a tango.   Don't ask why.   Just delight in the longest single sustained laugh in television sitcom history.  65 seconds.   Time it. That's a long time with no dialogue.   And Lucy is remarkable milking every yolk out of the joke.   Vivian Vance, in the background, makes this scene work as you anticipate what is going to happen.   But, still, the predictable laugh is as organic and raucous as anything you will ever see.

Ricky:  "Ethel, are you carrying eggs, too?"

Cue Fred to smack Ethel on her ass with the back of a door.

#8:  "The Star Upstairs" filmed on March 3, 1955 and telecast on April 18, 1955.

Your classic Lucy stalks a celebrity plot as she tries to get a glimpse of Cornel Wilde in the hotel room upstairs.  Of course, she gets locked on his balcony and...well...tries to lower herself down a hotel hi-rise with a rope made of draperies.   Does that make sense?   It sure does to me.

In this episode, the work of Vivian Vance needs to be showcased, especially in the scene where she tries to divert Ricky's attention from the fact that Lucy is hanging outside the terrace.   She is absolutely masterful and, frankly, is the glue that holds this series together week after week.

Ricky:  "Where's Lucy?"

Ethel:   "Um, I don't know."

Ricky:   "Oh, she's probably hanging around the hotel someplace."

#7:  "Bon Voyage" filmed on December 1, 1955 and telecast on January 6, 1956.

Ricky's band is headed to a European tour on a luxury liner.   At this point in the series, the production values were as luxurious.   All the money showed up on screen.  And, for this episode where Lucy naturally misses the boat, they built this mock-up of a real deck on a honest-to-God luxury liner.   Everything, as per usual, was shot in front of a live audience and must have been astounding to watch.  

Lucy (to helicopter pilot who will dangle her on a cord over the boat): "Have you got enough gas to fly this thing all the way to Europe?  I've got a credit card. Money is no object."

#6:  "Lucy's Italian Movie" filmed on March 8, 1956 and telecast on April 16, 1956.

Oh, my Lord.   The fight in the grape vat between Lucy and the real Italian grape stomper is so real that it's scary/funny.   As I was told by the Lucy writers, the lady didn't speak English and got a little carried away wrestling Lucy to the bottom of the grape vat.   A truly marvelous moment in the series that again demonstrated the fact that this show needed to be shot in front of a live studio audience for that energy to be displayed on screen.   The only way to travel.

Ricky:  "Is she out there socking up luckle coller???"

#5:  "The Tour" filmed on April 14, 1955 and telecast on May 30, 1955.

This episode proves that all those crazy tour buses trolling Hollywood these days are not a new thing.  They existed back in 1955 and Lucy and Ethel rode one.   She sees a grapefruit hanging off Richard Widmark's backyard wall...and...well...   Indeed, the scene inside the tour bus is the most hilarious part of the script as Lucy gets into a verbal tussle with the bus driver.  There are some location shots used which just happened to be on the street near the backyard wall of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz' own home.  Hell, why not?

Ethel (to Fred on phone):  "I'm in Beverly Hills and Lucy's in an awful jam. Never mind, 'what else is new?'"

#4:  Lucy Visits Grauman's" filmed on September 9, 1955 and telecast on October 3, 1955.

It never fails.  Whenever I take visiting friends to the footprints at the Chinese Theater, there's always at least one tourist standing on John Wayne's footprints and announcing that "John Wayne's block is loose."   It's amazing that this is still happening sixty years after the episode was produced.   While the scene where they actually steal the cement is wonderful, the true comedy comes in the scene at the end when Lucy is trying to pretend she is asleep while her foot is encased in a block of cement.   In this one, Desi Arnaz shines through as he tries to lift the "sleeping" Lucy.

Ricky:  "You gaining weight or something???"

#3:  "Lucy and John Wayne" filmed on September 15, 1955 and telecast on October 10, 1955.

Unofficially this is an "I Love Lucy" two-parter and the huge story commands it as we deal with the aftermath of the footprint heist.   John Wayne appears to prevent Lucy and Ethel from going to jail and the scene where they meet him is perhaps one of the best written scenes ever.   They meet the star wearing...wait for it...pocketbooks on their heads.   It is impossible to replicate the comedy here.   It's screwball but yet it makes perfect sense.

Lucy (gushing over John Wayne):  "In 'The High and the Mighty,' when your engine went out, my engine went out right along with it.   That was real acting, boy."

# 2:  "Return Home From Europe" filmed on April 5, 1956 and telecast on May 14, 1956.

To be technical, this is the favorite "I Love Lucy" episode of my writing partner. There are so many terrific throwaway lines and gags here that you have to watch it ten or twelve times to get them all.   Of course, I've seen it over 100 times.  

Headed back from Europe, Lucy tries to bring back a 25-pound cheese for her mother by disguising it as a baby.   She didn't count on being stuck next to another mother with an infant.   Lucy perennial guest star Mary Jane Croft is great here as Lucy does her best with the pretend baby.   Later on, the episode features the always welcome Frank Nelson as the customs agent.   Again, there is such remarkable writing that we have never gotten since.   

Lucy: "Baby?  Oh, that wasn't a baby.  (whispering)  It was a piece of cheese."

# 1:  "LA At Last" filmed on December 2, 1954 and telecast on February 7, 1955.

This is perfection and the one episode that made me wish I had written it.  Indeed, Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Pugh did and it is a textbook for Advanced Placement Comedy Writing.

You are lucky for any sitcom to have one absolutely hilarious comedy scene. This one gives us two: the scene in the Brown Derby and, of course, the famous "putty nose" scene at the end.  This is the only "I Love Lucy" episode that was Emmy-nominated for comedy writing.   Sad to say, they never won.   Criminal!  I have probably seen this episode 150 times and I still find new things and nuances.   

Of course, Lucille Ball makes a big deal that the putty nose catching on fire was an accident.   I, however, was shown the actual script by Madelyn Pugh Davis.   Um, it's right there in the stage direction.   Whatever.  This is the Lucy episode that raises and sets the sun and the moon for me.

Ethel (talking about Ava Gardner):  "She's just people like you and me.

Fred:  "She may be people, but she's not like you and me."

Bravo to all those folks behind these episodes and the greatest sitcom ever produced.   And a special tip of the hat to the writers.   After all, they're the ones who make the comedy world go round.

Dinner last night:  Lots of snacks watching the Dodger game with good friends Connie and Leo.