Movie Catch Up

As reported earlier, there are two Sherlock Holmes features and two silent films that we have recently viewed. The Holmes movies are showing on Prime, and were part of a planned series that never got further than these two offerings.  The Sign of Four is from 1983 and stars Ian Richardson and David Healy as the dynamic duo.  They both seem effective, and seemed chosen to resemble Rathbone and his Watson.  But Healy doesn't play the fool nearly as overboard as Nigel Bruce, and the paring works well here.  The story has a few discrepancies with the Homes canon, but not enough to raise eyebrows very high at all.  There are a few good scenes, and a few bad ones.  The Andaman native aspect is overplayed, and the two brothers who inherit a treasure from their father (but don't know where it is) are nothing too special.  The best scene is an extended one with Toby leading the chase as he sniffs out the creosote, with Holmes and Watson catching up on the case details as they go.  Worth a look for Holmes fans.

 

Showing on Prime Video. 

 

The same Holmes and Watson are back in the 1983 Hound of the Baskervilles.  This is one of those stories that fans of Holmes know down to the last detail.  Again we have a pretty decent attempt at bringing the tale to life, though there are a few changes once again.  Brian Blessed (over) plays the red herring.  In fact, everyone seems suspicious in this version and if you didn't know who the bad guy was you might never guess.  Stapleton is well played by Nicholas Clay (who also appears in the Brett series, as the doctor in The Resident Patient) (and Lancelot in Boorman's Excalibur).  Again this version is worth watching.  Holmes smiles and laughs a lot, and his sense of humour makes him seem a bit more human than many other players of the character.  Well worth watching, and reading, of course.  One of the best mystery stories ever written.

 

Now showing on Prime Video. 

 

Next were two very different silent films that we watched on Criterion.  Here is the channel's blurb:

 

WITHIN OUR GATES (1920) is the earliest surviving feature film by an African American director. It was Oscar Micheaux’s second film (after 1919’s THE HOMESTEADER, now lost), centering on an idealistic young woman named Sylvia Landry (Evelyn Preer, one of the first great stars of the race film) who attempts to raise money for an elementary school for black children. In the course of navigating the racial politics of both the black and white communities, Sylvia’s past is revealed in a series of flashbacks that contain the film’s most notorious sequence: the lynching of her parents by a white mob. Micheaux’s staging of the scene is startling in its bluntness and speaks volumes about the director’s fearlessness and willingness to address taboo subject matter. The film touches upon other themes that would recur throughout the controversial filmmaker’s career, such as the promise of rural life vs. the corrupting influence of the city, and the use of religion as a means of misleading the black community. 

 

Of interest mainly to film historians, especially of early Black American cinema, it features overacting and repetitive scenes.  It does have its chilling moments, however, and does not spare the Black man in its condemnation, even though it is the whites who are at the heart of this tragedy.

 

Streaming on Criterion. 

 

Lastly comes a very intense film from Sweden, starring and directed by Victor Sjostrom.  The Phantom Carriage is from 1921 and is quite sophisticated for its time.  A young Salvation army woman tries to save the soul of a local villain, but he is having none of it.  The carriage in question is driven by Death's servant, who must spend one year collecting bodies from where they died.  There are many striking scenes, including a drowning victim picked up by the carriage in the ocean moments after he dies.  More intense than A Christmas Carol, there is a resemblance between the two films in theme and in its use of ghosts and past events to get its point across.  Recommended.  Bergman was heavily influenced by this film, and the actor/director of it stars in the leading role in Bergman's Wild Strawberries.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

A Big Anniversary

Last Friday was our 50th wedding anniversary.  We spent a quiet day at home but plan to party hearty in a few weeks.  My surprise present to Deb will be revealed at that time.  In the meantime, here is a photo from the big day.  We were married at Our Lady of The Pines, a small church on Lake Penage.

 

The bridal party and family leave the church.  We were heading for boats to take us back to the camp.  For our honeymoon Deb and I took over the family camp for a week, doing canoe day trips and enjoying the late August weather with swimming and saunas.  We would leave for university very soon. 

 

Sunday was board game day.  We played a round of BBC's Doctor Who game, the classic doctor version.

 

Today's board game.  The player must protect locations with various versions of the Doctor, along with his companion allies.  The player must also try to attack the sites of his opponent with Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians, the Master and so on.  It is really a card game, not a board game. 

 

In other gaming news, PC related, I'm getting the hang of Tomb Raider 1.  My reaction times are improving, as is my swimming technique.  Still lots to work on, though.

 

All of the locations are based on actual archeological material, including the incredible dolphin pool.
 From the updated version of TR 1.

 

I'm also replaying Realmyst, and though the game itself is over I continue wandering around taking photos, waiting for the light to change and the day/night cycle.

 

Moonrise in Channelwood, Realmyst.

 

In this world, Selenitic, a number of sound puzzles must be solved.  Realmyst. 

 

Train Sim World continues to occupy a lot of my time.  So far I am driving trains on 35 different routes in several different countries.  I still have many routes I have not yet used. I add a new one about once per month.  Each route has 8-10 locomotives, each with their own timetable.  Even one route could keep me busy for a year.  I am now driving over 50 different types of locomotives.  Could I really drive them on real trains?  Yup, if I had the master key and reverser handle.  No problem!

 

Hauling freight in Montana.  American freight routes are the most challenging.

 

Hauling freight through the Austrian Alps.

 

Running a passenger service on the Ilse of Wight. 

 

We have played 80 Days twice now, winning one and losing one (each by a single day).  We will play a 3rd time soon, but not to win.  It's more fun just exploring and taking bizarre routes around the world.  This is a fun game, but if taken too seriously can lead to much frustration.  Just enjoy the journey!

 

 2 screenshots from 80 Days PC game. 

 

I'll be back soon with a 4-movie update: two Sherlock Holmes films and two silent pictures. 

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Mid-August Briefing

Congratulations to England, which is finally getting some rain!  Maybe someday we'll get some here at the Homestead, too. The heat has been turned down a notch, but the humidity continues unabated.  As does the poor air quality as a result.  The air is often dead still.  A ten minute walk outside is like taking a bath.  Temps are in the mid to low 80s most days, and we have had some clouds.  But we need rain quite badly here.  The ground is cracked and very dry and nothing is growing unless it gets watered a lot.  There are both floods and fires not far from us, but we seem to be taking the middle ground.  So far our 30 year old air conditioner has been up to the challenge.  However, we keep the house at 77 F so as not to overtax it.  We needed a new dehumidifier for the basement, it's been running constantly and I've been dumping bucket after bucket of water.  Looking forward to autumn.  Summer is not a nice season in this area.

Piano pieces are coming along.  I nearly have all three Scriabin pieces memorized (along with one Bach, a Haydn sonata, March Wind, and one of two Glass pieces.  I will soon begin memorizing the 2nd Glass piece.  Not being memorized this time is the Bach Prelude and Fugue and the Chopin Nocturne, the latter still giving me pains as I try to master this incredible piece of very difficult music (Op 28 #2).

 

Deb has been switching most of her films to her Youtube channel, as well as fixing up an older film which she was never happy with.  We continue to view commercial films, so here's what we've been up to lately.

 

First, two from Kino Films Collection.  Regular readers of this blog will already know that we watch some pretty strange and weirdly wonderful films, so when I announce that we have watched a really strange one, I usually mean just that.  Legend of the Mountain is a fantasy/horror film from 1979 and directed by King Hu.  With a running time of over 3 hours and the film often moving quite slowly, this one takes a commitment to get through.  A traveling scholar is given an assignment, namely to copy an old manuscript with magical powers within its words.  The scholar is a bit of a goofy character.  Filmed in Taiwan, the landscape scenery is absolutely wonderful, and the fact that it is a wide screen movie helps a lot.  The scholar gets mixed up with a group of ghosts, most of them wanting to get their paws on the documents, which might help them gain more power.  There is no kung fu in the film, though there is some flying and a lot of disappearing.  Replacing kung fu are magic drums, and the good versus evil ones dual via drums.  The smoke and fog machine gets a good workout, and the settings inside and outside of old abandoned monasteries are quite eye-catching.   If you are looking for a weird Chinese movie that is actually quite watchable, this just might be it.  Mildly recommended, especially if you are tired of kung fu films.  Make sure you are watching the full version, all 3 hrs and 12' worth.

 

From Kino Films and showing on Amazon Prime. 

 

Also from Kino is another decently strange offering.  Paul Auster wrote, produced and directed The Inner Life of Martin Frost and it was released in 2007.  Auster's novels are not likely to appeal to a wide audience.  I have read his New York Trilogy and have mixed feelings, though I did really enjoy the first in the series.  It is unlikely that this film will have wide appeal, though I did, for the most part, like it.  A writer stays at a friend's secluded house while away, and hopes to recover from just having finished his most recent novel.  He awakens after his first night to find a young woman in bed beside him.  They gradually get to know one another, but she is not who whom she said she was.  Even so, Martin falls for her and they are soon in love.  He is suddenly alert and writing again.  The mysterious plot doesn't really thicken, but it remains quite mysterious throughout.  The film is only 90 minutes, though parts of it drag a bit.  The couple are separated when she is called back from whence she came, but there seems to be a way around their dilemma.  The film has a good beginning and a good ending, so it's more than halfway successful already.  Some of the middle bits seemed a bit padded, as if trying to stretch out a short story.  The film is very theatrical and should appeal to folks who like stage performances.  Recommended, though not highly.

 

Now showing on Kino Films. 

 

The remaining film was watched on the Criterion Channel.  Rams is a documentary from 2018 and directed by Gary Hustwit.  It chronicles the works of lead designer at Braun Dieter Rams.  Neither of us had heard of this man, but we were both fascinated by this film and the super super cool stuff that he designed.  Many of his designs out-Bauhaus the Bauhaus, though that school was certainly a major influence.  Record players, radios, shelving units, chairs... just about any kind of utensil one could think of was beautifully designed and expertly crafted during his time at Braun.  His lean design look matches his philosophy.  Nothing should be made that isn't simple and direct in appearance, and nothing extra should be added.  Not only that, but the item should be built to last and be easy to repair.  Not too many things manufactured today have that kind of outlook.  A truly wonderful film about a very brilliant (and useful!) man.  His ten principles of design are still studied by design students today.  Highly recommended.

 

Now streaming on Criterion. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Partial Eclipse Report

It was cloudy.  End of report.  In the last astronomy session, which ends in about 4 days, I have had one clear night.  The rest of the week and weekend will be cloudy.  It's been quite a year.  Our weather has been warm and very very humid, with poor air quality every day.  Indoor weather yet again.

In other news, there is none.  So let's get right on to movies watched ,with three to report.  Beginning with most recent, Beat is a 2000 film directed by Gary Walkow.  It gives the scoop on the early formative years of the three big beat generation writers: Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs.  Apart from the very poor sound quality, I found the film to be lifeless and mostly uninteresting.  Bill and Joan Burroughs are living in a dumpy apartment in Mexico City.  With two young children, their marriage is going nowhere.  Bill prefers young males in his bed to his wife, though for some reason she wants to stick by him.  That doesn't work out so well in the end.  Friends from New York visit and Joan goes on a road trip with them to see a volcano in Guatemala.  It is a very boring trip.  The film has loads of cigarettes and booze, some light sex scenes, but it literally goes nowhere, like the marriage.  Not even Courtney Love can save this one.  Give it a miss and read some beat literature instead.

 

Streaming on Criterion. 

Remembering Gene Wilder is a fun documentary from 2024 covering the eccentric actor's career from high school drama through to his major films.  Films like Young Frankenstein and Willy Wonka are still among our favourite films of all time.  There are interviews with many people who worked with Gene, including a lot of talk from Mel Brooks, who gave the actor his first big break.  There are many film clips and lots of interviews with gene himself.  Very sadly, his life ended with severe Alzheimer's Disease.  But what a legacy he has left behind.   Highly recommended! 

 

The film was showing on Kino, but no longer is. 

 

Finally comes one of the most entertaining films I have seen in a very long while.  The People Versus Larry Flynt is a comedy/drama from 1996, masterfully directed by Milos Forman.  Woody Harrelson plays the snake in the grass Flynt, Edward Norton as his greatly put upon lawyer, and Courtney Love as Flynt's young and sexy alcoholic drug-addicted wife.  The film comes together beautifully and works its magic upon viewers.  Flynt is a one-of-a-kind jerk, a total and complete asshole, but he easily gains our sympathy as he battles censorship in every shape and form.  He has a way of torpedoing his own defense in court, and the relationship between him and his lawyer is both highly amusing and very frustrating.  In his first trial a very sourpuss judge delights in the jury's guilty verdict and gives him the maximum sentence.  The judge is played by no less than the real Larry Flynt!  How he must have loved that role!  Courtney Love has never acted better, and Forman uses her almost too much.  She is in virtually every scene, sometimes just for a split second for a reaction shot.  But she is totally perfect in the role.  All in all this is a really really good film, even if you don't like Hustler magazine (who does?).  Highly recommended.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

The Odyssey

First, a summary of July weather.  It's been a pretty typical month of summer weather here in southwest Ontario.  Though we have had little rain there has been plenty of sunshine and warmth.  We managed to actually go outside and walk one time.  One morning it was cloudy and only 80 F (and humid, of course), so we took advantage of it and went for a short neighbourhood walk.  That's about our July average.  We had a total of nine days where the temperature hit 90 F or higher, and four days where it stopped at 88 or 89 F.  The coolest day saw the temp hit 75 F, while the hottest was 98, twice.  So, 13 days above 90 altogether since June 1st, and seven more at 88 or 89 F.  Like I said, about average, maybe a tad warmer.  Things sometimes cool down a bit in August.  One can always hope.  Places like Vienna, Austria, have been hotter than we are this summer, which is really really strange.  And I doubt this kind of weather will simply disappear next summer. In fact...

 

The paving project on our 4-lane road in front of the Homestead is now complete, and cars are once again zooming past, this time on brand new pavement.   We get our chance to try it out tomorrow, as Deb has some routine blood work to get through.

 

There are no new films to report.  Instead, we have been watching a 1968 8-part television series of The Odyssey.  We saw bits of this many many years ago on TVO (Ontario's public TV channel), but then lost track of it.  Well, it recently received a good update and is now available to all on Youtube.  Viewers have to play around a bit to get it translated, but we managed.  It was a Dino De Laurentiis production, thus big budget.  Filmed in Italy and Yugoslavia, it was aimed at a European audience.  Different directors helped out, including the gruesome cyclops episode by Mario Bava.  We have not seen the Nolan version, and aren't really that keen to do so.  Someday, no doubt.  But this one is top notch, and worth sitting through.  Costumes, sets, locations and acting are all quite fantastic, and the pace is measured when needed, and action packed when needed.  Probably the most faithful filming of the book.  Highly recommended!

 

All 8 episodes are on Youtube. 

 

We got through our first adventure in the PC game 80 Days.  The game is a cross between the old text adventures and more modern but economical 2D adventure games.  It is a delight to play.  We managed to get around the world in 79 days, winning the bet!  We are already on our second round, trying to take a totally different route.  The game has nearly endless possibilities.  I will play at least three times for now.  By coincidence I am currently reading a Jules Verne adventure story, The Children of Captain Grant.

 

We spent a night in Cairo on our way around the world. 

 

Mapman Mike