Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Contact
Ace:aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com Recent Entries
Daily Tech News 1 February 2025
The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not In Our Stars, But In Our ONT Fri-YAY!!! Cafe Karoline Leavitt: Many Media People In This Very Room Attacked Trump as a "Conspiracy Theorist" and Lied About Covid's Origins The Trump Administration Keeps Giving the Media Simple, Direct, Candid, Straightforward Answers. The Media Keeps Rejecting These Answers and Demanding Different Answers. Update: FBI Firings Yuger Than First Reported Trump Orders Senior FBI Officials to Retire, Resign, or Be Fired By Monday CBS's Parent Corporation Paramount In Talks to Settle Trump's $10 Billion Election Interference Claim, Based on the Deceptive Editing of Kamala Harris's Word Salad Fake Interview Under Pressure From Voters, Newsom Walks Back His Plan to Spend $50 Million of Taxpayer Money to Sue Trump for... Whatever Trump Appoints New Acting Head of FAA Buh Bye: Chuck Todd Gonezers at MSNBC Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Saturday Afternoon Chess thread 07-24-2021 |
Main
| Saturday Overnight Open Thread (7/24/21) »
July 24, 2021
Saturday Evening Movie Thread 07-24-2021 [Hosted By: Moviegique]THE AFRICAN QUEEN The most depressing thing, for me, about seeing John Huston's classic film The African Queen was not coming out of the theater to see an add for Disney's Jungle Cruise, but watching the movie and recalling a scene I'd just seen extracted from the new Marvel Black Widow movie. Allow me to elaborate: In 2015's Age Of Ultron, there was one of those rare moments of a thing called "character development" where Black Widow tearfully confesses that part of her training involved a full hysterectomy—a little reminder that the besides being a plot-armored quasi-super-hero, she's also a human being. This little moment was controversialized by the perverse childless weirdos who dominate "journalism" and who cannot ever allow the possibility that a woman might find considerable meaning and value in fulfilling a woman's biological role, i.e., having children. And so, in the new movie, one of the (now apparently dime-a-dozen) Black Widows recalls the same incident as a flippant joke. The African Queen is a love story, first and foremost. It's also an action-adventure-war picture, because Hollywood used to adore that sort of broad crowd-pleaser. The action-adventure stuff is what happens in the movie, but it's about love. To wit, old maid missionary Rose Sayer (Katharine Hepburn), upright and uptight but genuinely strong of character, finds herself fleeing German advances in Africa at the dawn of WWI with the low-class, crass and vulgar Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart), and the two strengthen each other through a burgeoning affection and shared purpose—which is of course a sort of last ditch, long-shot heroic gesture against the Hun. Talk about "they couldn't make that today". Chock full of fabulous blocking, of course. Having grown up with late-era Katharine Hepburn, I was not a fan, and it wasn't until years later when I saw things like Bringing Up Baby (where she's basically a manic pixie dream girl) and The Philadelphia Story where I began to realize that she could genuinely act—in a role that didn't have her as an uptight New England patrician. And I suspect it may have been this role that guided her career into that mold because she's so, so good at it. Yet the beauty of this part is her transformation: She knows what's right and she is steadfast, but she also has feelings which occasionally, fleetingly break through to the surface; when she "warms up", as it were, she allows herself more emotion, but if anything is more determined and uncompromising. On the flipside we have Hobo Bogart, who is also the sort of actor you could easily forget could actually act because he was so good at the hard-boiled detective thing. But here he's not suave or cool or heroic, rather a kind of unprincipled drunk living a life of ease. (I actually had some concern about The Flower seeing him in this condition.) This movie is, essentially, a buddy comedy/road movie, and our principles are the oddest couple. They're both way too old for their roles, of course—Hepburn was mid-40s, Bogie was mid-50s—but it doesn't much matter. Nor does the fact that they're supposed be English. (Well, in the book Charlie is cockney, but for the movie they switched that to Canadian.) The effects, largely consisting of actually being in Africa and rolling the cameras, are quite good, with the exception of some of the rear projection shots where the two stars are not actually on the boat because, holy cow, can you imagine sending your middle-aged superstars to shoot the rapids? Most of the stills and outtakes from this movie are pix of Hepburn and Bogart sitting in a boat—because most of the movie is about Hepburn and Bogart sitting in a boat. Two things, perhaps surprisingly, didn't work too well for me. I'm a fan of technicolor but I don't like the palette used here. It feels a little degraded, like—well, like Kodacolor always seemed to get after about six months. (Seriously, movies shot in the '70s—the prints would get super grungy looking by the second run, beyond normal wear and tear.) The other thing I didn't care for, on the whole, was Allan Gray's score. It has some very good moments, but I noticed it a lot and it seemed sort of jarring or misplaced. There's a scene early on which felt positively riff-able: Bogie and Hepburn are getting on the boat and there's a pretty grim strain playing. I could just hear Tom Servo saying "Thrill! To the getting-on-the-boat-scene!" I mean, I got that it was kind of a big deal because Hepburn's leaving her home and the Germans are probably menacing some people somewhere, but there's nothing at the moment that justifies it. I guess I felt, at a lot of points, like the music wasn't well integrated. Sometimes it just be that way. Minor nitpicks, however. This really is a movie for all ages: Their physical journey is entertaining, both fun and funny, with director John Huston never missing a chance to have something exciting happen; and each event along the way, reveals their emotional journey, which is dramatic and moving. The palette's not QUITE this washed out, but it felt that way sometimes. Jungle heat? Unlike most of the great old directors, Huston didn't have a short "golden" age where he produced masterpieces. Obviously The Maltese Falcon (his first film!), Key Largo and Treasure of the Sierra Madre were classic '40s flicks, but in the '50s he had this movie and both Moby Dick and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison; in the '60s, Night of the Iguana; in the '70s, The Man Who Would Be King, and even into the '80s, The Dead, Prizzi's Honor and Under The Volcano (which I hated—but it's not always about me). African Queen would not even be nominated for best picture (which went to the over-rated An American In Paris), and John Huston would lose both directing and writing awards to A Place in the Sun (which won six of its nine nominations). For his only Oscar, Bogie would beat out Frederic March (Death of a Salesman), Marlon Brando (A Streetcar Named Desire) and Montgomery Clift (A Place in the Sun)—all heavyweight dramatic roles, making me suspect that the Academy was feeling sheepish about not having awarded him sooner. Hepburn would lose out to Vivien Leigh (Streetcar) and would have to console herself with her 1933 Oscar (Morning Glory) and her three subsequent wins (Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, The Lion In Winter, On Golden Pond) and seven other nominations. This may be my favorite role of hers, however. As I suspected, the Boy loved it. The Flower did have some issues with Hobo Bogart, but she also loved it. Bogart would end his career with three of his strongest performances: The Caine Mutiny, The Harder They Fall, and Sabrina. | Recent Comments
Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan (ARiK):
"You're right on time, Blond M.
Good Night ever ..."
IRONGRAMPA: "Made a small cherry pie from scratch the other day ..." Blonde Morticia: "Hi, everyone! Am I late? ..." apply for jordan e-visa: "I used to be recommended this website through my c ..." JQ: "Thanks, Adriane. Better than before, for sure. ..." Adriane the Bah Humbug Critic . . . : "Iirc - fish eyes are a source of fresh water when ..." Adriane the Bah Humbug Critic . . . : "JQ - hope you are getting some good sleep … ..." JQ: "The eyes. Dad ate them and smiled and said than ..." discount nitro golf balls: "Hey very interesting blog! ..." Weirddave: "[i]Ex FIL was a VIP military pilot. Told a story a ..." publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb): " Well, I discovered a little bug in how this w ..." Login Rakyatjp: "Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us yo ..." Recent Entries
Daily Tech News 1 February 2025
The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not In Our Stars, But In Our ONT Fri-YAY!!! Cafe Karoline Leavitt: Many Media People In This Very Room Attacked Trump as a "Conspiracy Theorist" and Lied About Covid's Origins The Trump Administration Keeps Giving the Media Simple, Direct, Candid, Straightforward Answers. The Media Keeps Rejecting These Answers and Demanding Different Answers. Update: FBI Firings Yuger Than First Reported Trump Orders Senior FBI Officials to Retire, Resign, or Be Fired By Monday CBS's Parent Corporation Paramount In Talks to Settle Trump's $10 Billion Election Interference Claim, Based on the Deceptive Editing of Kamala Harris's Word Salad Fake Interview Under Pressure From Voters, Newsom Walks Back His Plan to Spend $50 Million of Taxpayer Money to Sue Trump for... Whatever Trump Appoints New Acting Head of FAA Buh Bye: Chuck Todd Gonezers at MSNBC Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |