Right now, we can’t go to the movies, or anyplace else, without taking precautions against The Virus. That may change in 2021 (knock on wood). Streaming services have taken over as the primary means of distribution, and with the recent news about Warner Brothers’ game-changing commitment to streaming next year, it’s gonna be how many of us experience movies for a long time, even after The Virus is under control.

This Chaplin GIF is submitted in an attempt to lighten all our spirits.

It’s not too late to reboot 2020 so we can start over, is it?

The holiday season, at least, was a good one. Virginia took me to a Cirque du Soleil show at Madison Square Garden, and in turn, I took her to a performance of Messiah at Carnegie Hall. These were our Christmas gifts to each other. It was the first time I had seen either one. On Christmas night we had dinner with friends—I made a salad—and on New Year’s Eve she and Sandi were once again part of the annual free choral recital in midtown Manhattan. Ann was part of it too, for the first time. It was kinda funny how many people I knew in the chorus this year. Our after-party was a tad smaller than last year, but that was okay.

——————

Last month was a sad one for Trekkies. On the heels of the death of popular Deep Space Nine supporting player Aron Eisenberg, we lost more stars, from both sides of the camera. I’ve talked about DC Fontana here before; not too much more to add. As a woman writer, she was an inspiration to many who came after her, whether they were professionals in the industry or fans writing for SF zines. As for Rene Auberjonois, I remember feeling good about him joining the cast of DS9 because of his TV and film work elsewhere, and his was a tremendous contribution. His interpretation of Odo was as a multi-faceted character, loaded with contradictions, yet with a human touch underneath his brusque exterior. His relationships with Kira and Quark were fascinating to watch unfold and they brought so much depth to the overall story. Great artists who gave us much to be thankful for as fans.

——————

On a somewhat happier Trek-related note: I had made peace with the belief I would never get to see Star Trek: Discovery, but Ann acquired CBS All Access last month and she was kind enough to invite me to her house so we could binge-watch it. No, I did not expect to do that quite so soon after my little experiment, but life, y’know?

We watched the first twelve or so episodes of Season 1, over two nights. I won’t go into specific details here, but while some things were impressive—Michael Burnham is a unique character in Trek lore, with her own set of morals, and I like the premise of a disgraced Starfleet officer seeking redemption—there was a lot more I didn’t care for. The technology which clearly is superior to that of Kirk’s era; the profanity, which wasn’t Scorsese-level but served no purpose I could tell; the gee-whiz shots of outside the Discovery and then zooming inside; the stronger-than-usual emphasis on action; the unnecessary redesign of the Klingons; the de-emphasis on Starfleet values; the generic American crew; the lack of humor, THE CONSTANT GODDAMN CUTS.

If you wanna get into specifics, let’s talk in the comments. For now, I’ll just say: I understand this is set during a time of war, but even during the Dominion War, DS9 placed a greater emphasis on character and plots tailored around each character than what I’ve seen from Discovery so far. That may change, but I’m not convinced yet. Here’s hoping Picard will be better.

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Let’s go straight to the links:

Le uses All Quiet on the Western Front to address violence in war movies.

Jacqueline on Lionel Barrymore and Christmas.

Cats is gonna lose a ton of money.

Sam Mendes on how his grandfather inspired 1917.

The animation studio behind the Lion King remake shut down.

Could Adam Sandler win an Oscar? If he doesn’t, he’ll unleash a bomb of a movie on us.

Former DS9 star Nana Visitor on Rene Auberjonois.

CBS All Access is expanding Star Trek in many directions.

This post sums up my feelings about the whole CGI James Dean thing.

The struggle to preserve film backdrops.

Spotlight on former NBA star Kevin Garnett in Uncut Gems.

And then there was that time the US government thought Wakanda was a real country.

CBS All Access entices the Trekkies with new original series like Picard.

Sandi and I were talking about the new Star Trek series, Picard. If you haven’t seen the new trailer, straight outta Comic-Con, behold. She had thought it was a movie, and I certainly couldn’t blame her; it looks like one in comparison to TNG or any of the older series, except Discovery, of course. (I really, really, REALLY hope this won’t be about the Borg again. Seven of Nine’s presence makes me think it might be—and there was that great big cube right there in the trailer. And that has to be B-4 from the movie Nemesis, with Data’s memories, perhaps?)

When I told her it was part of CBS’ streaming channel, All Access, she complained about how much she was already paying for the cable channels she has (extra for TCM) and how she doesn’t wanna have to pay even more. It’s an all-too-familiar argument, one I had made two years ago against Discovery, and it hasn’t changed now—and they have the nerve to call it “all access,” when it’s anything but.

Binge-watching television has become such a natural part of our lives that sometimes we’re not even aware we do it. Part of it has to do with technology, in particular the evolution of home video, from VHS and DVD box sets to the DVR to streaming services such as Netflix. Part of it is the explosion of new cable networks that need something to put on the air before they develop original programming. And of course, part of it is the Internet, where you can upload entire seasons of old and new shows (I’m currently making my way through The Honeymooners on YouTube).

Some people take bingeing way too far, though, and last month I sought to understand why. I studied the binge phenomena in further depth by taking two streaming shows on Netflix, Ozark and Longmire, and watched the first seasons of both, the former one episode at a time and the latter all at once.

But first I asked my friends about bingeing.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Netflix viewing

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the first Netflix original film I've seen since I got the online streaming service for myself, and it comes for me at an appropriate time. You may recall Scruggs was a three-time Oscar nominee, including Adapted Screenplay, one of several Netflix films from last year to be feted, and that's starting to rub some people the wrong way.

So. Disney and Fox.

My reaction isn't too different from yours, I imagine: I'm not thrilled at Disney's monopolistic takeover of American pop culture and I fear this may not be the end.

The former's acquisition of the latter is a reaction to the rise of online streaming as a viable outlet for film distribution. The Mouse wants in on that — and once they launch their own platform for it this year, they will —but they also wanna stay competitive.

I guess at this point all I wanna say is this: if you're fed up with Disney owning everything, step outside your comfort zone and see what else is out there. The little guys, the properties without a budget, without a slick marketing campaign, will need our help to survive now more than ever. You don't have to settle for the same old thing if you don't want to — and obviously, this applies to way more than just movies and television.

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This month's link roundup includes stories related to the Disney-Fox deal, none of which involve superheroes:

What the deal potentially means for you and me.

The layoffs are and will be massive.

A post-mortem on the beloved Fox 2000, a casualty of the deal.

Is Tim Burton's Dumbo an unintentional allegory for the deal?

Data tracking in the wake of the deal: are children at risk?

Also:

Ivan on streaming movies.

How Maddy got into silent films.

And then there was that time, as Le tells it, when Fred Flintstone wore a rubber suit in a monster movie.

Will the Amazon HQ2 controversy lead  to the end of New York State's film tax incentive?

A brief history of "white savior" films (including Green Book).

Barbara Stanwyck learned much about being a great film actress from Frank Capra.

Rudolph Valentino and the lifestyle he inspired.

Finally, thanks again to everyone who took part in the Richard Matheson Blogathon and especially Debbie for co-hosting with me.

The giant-sized special edition of The Dark Pages with my article on Anthony Mann & John Alton is available now. I have my hard copy edition, and I gotta say, I'm impressed with the look of it.

Back in the 90s, I had a passing interest in zines, which coincided with my initial steps into self-publishing comics. I remember trying to market my comics amongst the zine crowd, but it didn't work out; zines are a whole different animal.

One would think zines were old hat in the digital age, but TDP is one of the finest looking ones I've come across in a long time: simple, but well laid out, on nice paper, with every square inch utilized, and a topic, film noir, with a wide and devoted audience. It's like reading all the entries in a blogathon in one collection.

Karen and her staff have a quality product here, and I'm pleased to have been a part of it.

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Speaking of blogathons, if you want in on the Richard Matheson Blogathon, hosted by myself and Debbie from Moon in Gemini (who is also part of the special TDP issue), be sure to e-mail me at ratzo318 (at) yahoo (dot) com or post in the comments and I'll put you on the list. March 9-10 is when it goes down.

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Here's more pushback against Whoopi Goldberg's anti-bike diatribe from weeks ago. Long-time readers of this blog know my feelings about biking, and the need for livable streets in general. It's not that cars are unimportant; it's just that they dominate our streets at the expense of other forms of transportation, and as a result, they've become as great a threat to human safety as guns, if not more so. We shouldn't tolerate it anymore.

More after the jump.

Roma

First Man
seen @ Cinemart Fiveplex, Forest Hills, Queens NY

The moon was half full the day I saw First Man. I noticed it on my way home, the sky darkening early in the fall sky. Sometimes when I look at it, I wonder what our primitive ancestors made of it — an image in the sky that changes shape consistently. I'll bet they made up some pretty good stories about what it was and what it was for.

We can only guess whether they thought it was a place to which humans could visit.

Next year will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing, when Neil Armstrong made his "giant leap for mankind," with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. First Man makes us appreciate, with nail-biting, white-knuckle clarity, how utterly dangerous this venture was. No lie, some of those scenes in space were difficult to watch because the camera kept spinning and spinning.


This movie has been used as a piñata by the right and the left for reasons too stupid to get into (seriously, I'm not even gonna justify them with links). I didn't read about any of it until after I saw the movie. I think they're both full of shit, as they usually are. And that's all I have to say about that.

Some very rich people are investing in space travel these days so some other rich people can pay for the privilege. The rest of us will have to wait our turn, and by then, who knows, we could all be dead. It seems to me space travel would be a good idea so we can think about living in places other than Earth — but what do I know? I'm not Elon Musk.


So how about that Damien Chazelle, huh? In a short time, he's established himself as a filmmaker to watch: one who takes on a variety of subjects with a vision for carrying them out. He gets some intense performances out of his actors, his cinematographers are distinctive, his Oscar-winning composer, Justin Hurwitz, is superb (I liked his work on First Man), and he's only 33. Dude's going places.

Ready Player One
seen @ Cinemart Fiveplex, Forest Hills, Queens NY

I have so much to say about Ready Player One that I'm dividing this post into segments. It's much easier for both of us. Trust me.

1. The internet and internet culture

2. Ernest Cline's 80s vs. my 80s

3. Steven Spielberg's 80s

4. Columbus

5. RP1 the movie

Been feeling a little blue recently. Jen had to leave my writing group, for personal reasons. She was easily the best friend I had made in two and a half years with the group. Going home, we'd ride the train together. That's how I learned she was a classic film fan. I've met her husband, I've gone to her parties, she came to my bookstore reading. I've even confided in her, on several occasions. I'm gonna miss her.

She and I were the group's moderators, along with this other girl named Claire (who is also terrific). All this year we've lost people who were regulars for months, even years. The group has been smaller, on average, as a result, so Claire and I decided we don't need to name a new moderator at the moment. Still, I kinda feel some added pressure. I did not expect to run the group for as long as I have; it was one of those situations where I took the job because someone had to do it, and I've done it to the best of my ability. 

Now that I'm closer to the end of the first draft of my novel, though, I'm thinking maybe I should switch to a smaller group of beta readers from that point on. I don't wanna run the group indefinitely, and with Jen officially gone, some of my motivation to do so went with her. I'll stick around for now, but I may be next out the door before too long.

The weather on the Fourth wasn't the greatest, so Sandi and me had dinner at this parkside restaurant near the East River and watched the fireworks from her place again. She actually has a great view of them. She kept oohing and aahing excitedly at every little display, as if she had never seen fireworks before. It was the most worked up I had ever seen any adult get over them in perhaps, ever! It was cute.

So chances are you might have heard about this new thing going around called the Classic Movie Marathon Link Party. From what I understand, it's kinda like my monthly link posts, only people get to host a "link party" on their blogs or some such. I'm not entirely sure I grok it all, but Paddy let me in on it, I submitted a post and it got accepted, so thanks to all involved. Nice to be on the receiving end for a change.

Your links:

Debbie reexamines the Disney/Lucas deal, five years later.

Paddy swoons for Errol Flynn as Don Juan.

The death of horror director George Romero prompts Jennifer to reflect on the summer she became a film fan.

I disagree with her assessment of War for the Planet of the Apes, but Jacqueline's story about going to the drive-in is still worth a look.

And then there was the time they encoded a movie onto living DNA.

Ava DuVernay's next film will be an adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time - for an important reason.

What does Christopher Nolan have against Netflix?

What was Romero's favorite film? (It's not what you think.)

Remember when Planet of the Apes was on TV?

Joan Crawford wrote a style book called My Way of Life.

War for the Planet of the Apes
seen @ Cinemart Fiveplex, Forest Hills, Queens NY

Six years ago, 20th Century Fox mounted an Oscar campaign for Andy Serkis, for his digitally-enhanced, performance-capture supporting role in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He didn't get nominated, in part because the whole concept of p-cap was still relatively new and not completely understood. In an assessment of his chances, I said roles like his, and that of Zoe Saldana in Avatar, are only going to increase, and a point would come when they'd be hard to ignore come Oscar time.

Ever since, we've seen franchises such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Hobbit, The Avengers and Star Wars employ p-cap technology, among other films, but it's Serkis and his character Caesar that, I believe, remains the most memorable, partially because it doesn't involve robots or dragons or aliens, but something real and familiar, apes - but mostly because the humanity of the character comes through so clearly. After awhile you forget Caesar is something that can't exist in real life; you see the things he does and you accept him on his own terms. That's because of Serkis.

Will that mean any kind of awards recognition, however? In War for the Planet of the Apes, the latest installment of the Apes saga, Serkis and the wizards of WETA Digital continue Caesar's evolution as the ape-human war escalates into a struggle for survival. 


Director/co-writer Matt Reeves, who also helmed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, portrays Caesar as both Jesus and Moses. The metaphor isn't subtle, but I can accept that. He understands the meaning of self-sacrifice in the name of his people, yet he and his lieutenants are also capable of compassion and empathy towards innocents, like the human girl they encounter. (It didn't take long for me to figure out who she becomes. If you think about it, the answer is obvious to anyone who saw the '68 original.)


WETA is outstanding. The landscapes of Avatar were digital; WETA went one step further by taking the p-cap suit and bringing it outdoors, away from the studio. Throughout all three prequels, they render Caesar and his ape army within a variety of natural locations, in all kinds of weather, day and night, and you are never less than completely convinced of their reality.


War injects some welcome humor into the story. The talking, clothes-wearing chimp Caesar and company meet skirts near Jar Jar territory, but never crosses that line, thank Zod. He's not as cloying, nor as desperate for attention, and he's actually useful. Plus, there's a thread of sadness through him that gives him a gravity Jar Jar thoroughly lacked.


Will all this add up to major Oscar recognition - beyond the technical awards, that is? Due to the critical and commercial success War has received so far, I could see a possible Best Picture nomination, but Serkis for Best Actor would signal a seismic shift in the way roles like his, and films like this, are regarded. I think it's more possible now than it was in 2011 - but it's way too soon to tell. Ask me again in December.

Sabrina (1954)
seen @ Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, Bryant Park, New York NY

I had always thought of Sabrina as a romantic comedy, but there's not a lot of comedy in the movie. For the most part, it plays like a straight love triangle story: very wistful, very angsty. Audrey pines for Holden, Bogey pines for Audrey. Why was it that Audrey's romantic leads were always so much older: Bogey, Peck, Cooper, Grant? I would've liked to have seen her with someone like Monty Clift, or Warren Beatty - but so it goes.

I find it a little hard to believe Audrey could be so dead set against going to Paris in the beginning, although it's not so much Paris as what it represents: two years away from Holden, living a life she didn't ask for. When she comes back, though, she's a changed woman, in looks and spirit. Old movies were fond of mystifying the City of Lights in this way. 

Andi talks about Paris, and Europe in general, so much. I know she had a boyfriend over there, learned the language, absorbed the culture, but try as I might, it's kinda tricky for me to imagine her as having undergone a Sabrina-like transformation. Maybe it's because I met her later in life, after she had readjusted to living in America again; maybe it's because she strikes me as more of a traditional, working class Noo Yawker than Sabrina - who for all of the class differences espoused in the movie between her and the Larrabee brothers, still can't help being Audrey Hepburn!


I was about the same age as Sabrina when I went to Barcelona, but that was for only a month. If I had spent two years there, I imagine I'd be quite different. The one year I spent in Ohio changed me enough! Europe, though... We Americans fought a revolution to liberate ourselves from it and in a way, we've been longing to return to it ever since, in one form or another.


I went to Bryant Park to see Sabrina, although watching an outdoor movie there is not the best experience in the world, because I really wanted to watch this movie again. As before, I noticed a number of people videotaping scenes on their cell phones. Why? Is it only because it's an outdoor movie? If they were inside a theater, it would be a crime (I'm not entirely sure this is all that legal, either). What do they do with these recordings, besides post them on social media?


I can understand using your cell to record a minute or two of a concert. While that's probably illegal too, I get that it's a live, unique experience that can never be perfectly duplicated and some people want to preserve that moment. A movie isn't live, though. Granted, the novelty of a movie shown outdoors is special, but the movie itself is no different than if you were watching it on DVD at home. I could even get behind taking a photo of the outdoor screen to show that, y'know, you were there - but recording a minute or two of the film on video makes no sense to me.

I watched it on the rear perimeter of the lawn, standing up. I had a seat on the left-hand side of the perimeter, but by the time the movie started, too many people were standing in my line of sight; plus, too many others were coming and going in front of me. I think I may opt to stand at Bryant Park for a movie from now on. I had no obstructed views, and it kept me awake.

Lion
seen @ UA Kaufman Astoria 14, Astoria, Queens NY

At this point in time, many, if not all of us who work with computers, use Google on a regular basis. I remember using a different search engine when I first went online in 2000. After awhile, Google seemed like a better option, so I switched, never realizing how prominent it would become. I experimented with Google-generated advertising here on WSW, but it didn't seem like enough of a money-maker at the time - and after seeing what other problems they can cause, I have to say I don't miss them. Google tech is expanding into other fields, such as self-driving cars. Personally, I think such vehicles will mean little if they still operate on unsafe roads, but that's a different post.

I remember when Google Earth first came out. I was still living in Columbus at the time. My roommate Max and I were looking it over and marveling at the ability to see far-off places from one's laptop. At the same time, it struck me as a bit scary, like the culture of surveillance had gone to its ultimate extreme. That ship had probably sailed by that point, though. Eventually, I learned to accept it and tried not to think about the wider implications, because my head would explode if I did.

Think about it now, though. I've used Google Maps on occasions where I wanted to confirm where I was if I walked into unfamiliar territory. In writing my novel, set in Boston, I've used it to pinpoint specific locations, though I've been to Boston many times. Using this technology just became natural over time, less scary, and most important - available to everyone. Sometimes I may rail against the speedy scientific changes in the world and their unintended consequences, but I can't deny this is one that has benefited me directly.


Could anyone have imagined, back in 2009, Google Earth would one day be used to reunite a mother and son over 25 years and thousands of miles apart, as in the biopic Lion? It doesn't seem possible, yet it's true, and this movie tells the story of Saroo Brierley well.

The first half is practically Dickensian: the accidental separation from his brother on the train at age five; the hard living on the Calcutta streets amidst shockingly uncaring people; the orphanage; the eventual adoption by the Brierleys.

One thing I'm grateful the screenplay included was the part later on where Nicole Kidman says to Dev Patel that she and her husband consciously chose adoption over breeding new offspring because "the world has enough people." I'm almost certain that's a direct quote. Kudos to Oscar nominee Luke Davies for including that vitally important message.


The reviews I had read of Lion had said the second half wasn't as good as the first, however much of a tearjerker moment it is when Saroo finally reunites with his mother. I'm not sure what director Garth Davis could've done differently. This story practically tells itself. I think any directorly flourishes or non-conventional approaches would've hindered its emotional power.

Davis and Davies seemed to do everything right. They touched on Saroo's conflicted feelings about his racial heritage; his feelings of uncertainty about his identity, which separates him from girlfriend Rooney Mara and the rest of his family (including a second adopted Indian boy who didn't turn out so well); and his obsessiveness with Google Earth to help him find his birth village. This is the kind of story which is almost impossible to mess up.


I saw Lion with Sandi on a beautiful late winter/early spring day in Astoria. I had discovered after the fact that admission was $16, but Sandi said it was cheaper with the Regal card. I have one, but I didn't feel like looking for it at the time, and I honestly thought it would only be $13.

Lion was a compromise choice. Sandi didn't want to drive to the cheaper Cinemart, where A United Kingdom was playing, and the Kaufman is the closest theater to her. This is no small thing, since she's got a bad ankle and walks with a cane. I had sworn off Regal two years ago after they caved in to paranoia and instituted a bag-check policy, but obviously, that has gone by the boards. I had no bag last Saturday, nor any of the other times I've gone there with Sandi. Regardless, we had a great day. We had a late lunch at Panera and stayed for hours.

...When public places provide constant entertainment they’re undermining my parenting decisions and depriving my child of what he could learn while bored. I understand what motivates them to install televisions and DVD players – no one wants to deal with a screaming toddler, and other patrons might get upset at the noise — but in my opinion their ubiquitous presence indicates a deeper problem.

I was running late for my writers group meeting. The subway was stalled. A bus would've taken too long. I was flush with money, so I decided to take a taxi, something I almost never do unless it's really necessary. It was a spur of the moment decision (and at $24, I'm not likely to do it again for awhile).

I got inside and there was a video screen affixed to the back of the passenger front seat. I wanted to sit and read my book, but a news report was playing, loudly. It was a touch screen. There was a mute button at the bottom, but either I was all thumbs or it was too small. I couldn't get it to work. I had to ask the driver to kill the sound for me. He did, but I still had to deal with the images on the monitor playing out of the corner of my eye as I read. There wasn't much room in the back of the taxi; the screen was fairly close to my face. Ignoring it completely was almost impossible.

Taxis, restaurants, cafes, bars, hospital waiting rooms - it seems like someone passed a law requiring public places to have video screens and/or music playing to keep you from being bored. (My "favorite" is music in the bathrooms. This is a thing now. Zod forbid you take a dump without Katy Perry to keep you company.) If you don't want to look or listen to them, though, if you'd rather quietly read or write, or - here's a wild thought - engage in a conversation with another human being - you're SOL.

This article, which I saw a mere week after the taxi adventure, focuses on children, but I'm here to tell you, it's not only kids who have to deal with the problem... and it is a problem, because what's gonna happen to us when we run out of spaces to unplug, to sit in silence and not be bombarded by man-made sounds and images for two seconds?

I never thought about it before, but I'm beginning to see the virtue in boredom as a sharp contrast to constant sensory stimulation. When you are your only source of entertainment, your mind is absolutely forced to come up with something, anything, to keep yourself alert and active. If we lose touch with that ability to make something outta nothing, then it's game over for us as a species. We might as well go back to living in caves for all we'll be worth.

So here are five examples of how people have dealt with boredom in the movies. If this post bores you, by the way, just make believe I'm Roger Ebert writing about the new Scorsese movie. Or get away from this computer screen altogether and go out and play. Does anybody remember playtime?


- Daydreaming. "Whaddya feel like doin' tonight?" In the Best Picture Oscar winner Marty, this is a familiar query between Ernest Borgnine and Joe Mantell, desperate as these two working-class schlubs are for some action of a Saturday night. In this early scene, they imagine going out with girls they like. Borgnine's Marty, in particular, dreams of finding the right one and getting married, like his family and his culture expect. When you have plenty of unwanted time on your hands, imagining something better can become habit-forming, until dreams are all you have. Such is the case with Marty, until he does find a girl later on in the story.

- Bickering. For a teenager, few things are more boring than serving a stretch in detention, especially with people with whom you have nothing in common. The John Hughes 80s classic The Breakfast Club throws a brain, a princess, an athlete, a basket case and a criminal together in one room (in what could be seen as a precedent for MTV's The Real World), and the initial result, naturally, is infighting. The five of them would never be put together under any other circumstances, even though they all go to the same school in the same town. This is partly by choice. Is it any wonder, then, they struggle to coexist, never mind get along? By the end, though, they do reach a kind of detente.




- Sex. One can hardly go wrong here, but what if the old in-out-in-out is dull and perfunctory? If you're gonna be bored, you might as well be bored in French, and in 1998, a film actually called L'ennui had this covered. The main character's a philosophy teacher, for Pete's sake, so he's already on that existential, life-is-meaningless tip. He meets a young chick who's his polar opposite, so naturally, they have sex! It's not a lot of fun for either of them, though. I haven't seen this one. Few of the reviews for it were raves. Most of the positive ones were qualified in their judgments. Perhaps that's appropriate for a film named "boredom"?


- Mockery. Laughing at other people and imagining them as all sorts of things is easy and fun, as the girls of Ghost World demonstrate. Thora Birch and a pre-fame Scarlett Johansson get their kicks making up stories about strangers and putting down their slowly-gentrifying neighborhood. Things kinda sorta happen when they meet Steve Buscemi, but on the whole, this is a very character-driven film, following Enid and Rebecca wherever they feel like going.

- Wandering. Eventually there comes a time when you're all alone with nothing to do. Walking around town is an easy solution to stave off boredom. In this wordless vignette from Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, Johansson (again) strolls through Kyoto, simply taking in the sights and sounds around her, occasionally interacting with this foreign world.

Additional suggestions for dealing with... [yawns] boredom are... welcome...

ZZZZZZZZZZ

Sometimes, as Raquel recently discovered, the right movie comes along at just the right time.

This is it! The bell lap, the ninth inning, the final month of this grand experiment called The One Year Switch - and what happens? Computer problems! Don't ask me how, but a screw in my laptop came loose (yes, I know; I've had a screw loose for quite some time), which led to a crack in the outer frame. That might not have been so bad except for the fact that finding replacement parts wasn't easy or cheap because even though I've only had the laptop for seven years, it may as well be seventy. Nobody makes laptops like mine anymore.


The repairman cut me a slight deal on the price, but that doesn't change the fact that my plans for the final two months have capsized. I've been writing this and the past several posts on my cell phone, and yes, typing with one finger is as tedious as it sounds. Did I mention I also have a cold? I'm still hoping to get my 1000th post in this year, but if I don't, it's no big deal, I guess. Like I said before, once I get my laptop back, I'll go back to the previous posts and add links and pics.

I'll wrap up the Switch with a final post game show piece on January 6, 2016 before returning to the original format, meaning new and old movies concurrently. Sticking to the classics all year long (more or less) has indeed been a challenge, but I've learned a great deal about the movies, and about myself too, I think. It's certainly made me understand my classic film blogger friends a little better - but I'll save all that summing up stuff for next month. If you've stuck with me this far, I can't thank you enough.

So for this final month, I've got one last blogathon for the year; the final two profiles; my Citizen Kane post (hopefully); and my 1000th post (really hopefully). Also, I'll deliver my one and only full-length new release post, for Star Wars Episode VII, because there's no way I can avoid writing about that one, Switch or no Switch.

Links after the jump, plus something extra: I thought you might like to see all the banners from this year. They've been fun to make and I hope you liked them.

Stolen from Page's collection. Don't tell her.

So I went to see Bridge of Spies at my local neighborhood theater, the Jamaica Multiplex, and I found that they have begun to search bags. To my knowledge, in the decade-plus that I've been going there, I don't recall them ever doing this before. Why now? The manager couldn't give me an answer other than "orders from high above," but I think we can take an educated guess. Anyway, I submitted to it, and I really regret doing that now. I think my reasoning was out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to my local theater. The more I thought about it, though, the more that struck me as weak.

Bottom line, I'm not going back to the Jamaica again. I've written a letter - an actual letter, not just an e-mail - to the theater's parent company, Showcase Cinemas (part of National Amusements Inc.) explaining why, not that I expect the big faceless corporation to care about losing one customer, but the act made me feel somewhat better. And the truth is that I can easily live without the Jamaica; there are other theaters in Queens I can go to, though they're a little further away.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm making this into something bigger than it actually should be. That's entirely possible, and if so, don't be afraid to tell me. Thing is, though, I still believe bag searches at movie theaters won't solve the bigger problem, which is gun control. Sooner or later someone in our government's gonna wake up and realize that the lack of it is too costly, in lives and money, to maintain much longer. But that's another rant.

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I started to feel the relentless wave of Star Wars hype weeks ago and I really, really wish we could just fast-forward to December 18 and get it over with. It's no longer even a matter of whether it'll be good; it's just expected that you, your friends, your family, your dog, your teachers, your boss, and everyone you know will be talking about it at least, if they don't actually see it.

I know this is the new normal; I know this is how it's gonna be for Episodes VIII and IX, for the Avatar sequels, for Batman v. Superman and Zod knows what else is on the horizon and there's no point in complaining. 

But I'm complaining. I was in the supermarket recently, right, looking for a box of Honey Nut Cheerios. I found it, all right, but you know what? THE FRIGGIN' HONEY NUT CHEERIOS BEE WAS WEARING A DARTH VADER HELMET. That's how pervasive this has become, people. You can't fight it. You can only give in to it, like the Dark Side of the Force. Seriously, sometimes I think the movies are beside the point... but whatever. I'll have more to say about the whole thing when I write about Episode VII.

Got some more good stuff for you this month: two blogathons, two more profiles, the first post this year devoted to an animated film, and since I've already talked about the so-called worst film of all time, I'm also gonna talk about the so-called best film of all time - Citizen Kane. In addition, I've decided what I wanna do for the upcoming 1000th post. Now it's just a matter of arranging it. I hope to reach the milestone before Christmas, and as this is post number 980, I'd say I have a pretty good shot at that goal.

And if you're in the New York area, I'm gonna do another reading this month at Astoria Bookshop, on the 12th. Details here.

Your links for this month:

Aurora does the conga.

Raquel has this fine profile on Cesar Romero.

Jacqueline voyages on the Good Ship Lollipop with Shirley Temple.

Ivan is back! And he's got the lowdown on a new Carol Burnett Show DVD box set.

Retrospace has a bunch of Halloween-themed pics of classic film actresses.

I can't imagine why anyone would make a museum devoted to miniature film sets, but it exists, and it's pretty damn cool.

Check out these neon signs made from movie quotes.

William Shatner's coming out with a book about his friendship with Leonard Nimoy.

Okay, so the Cubs didn't make it to the World Series, but the 2015 of Back to the Future 2 is still kinda-sorta plausible.

Ethan Hawke, Alicia Keys and other celebs ran the NYC Marathon yesterday.