Fall Back: Year of Bests – 2017
A few years back, I did not publish a year-end piece on those articles I most enjoyed reading for the period. Routinely, my online browsing turns up…
The Death List – Part 3
James Bond: “You expect me to talk?” Auric Goldfinger: “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.” Everyone makes mistakes. It’s likely the one tendency that…
Spring Forward: Year of Bests – 2015
A couple of years back, I did not publish a year-end piece on those articles I most enjoyed reading for the period. Routinely, my online browsing turns…
Same Song, Different Movie: Wheel of Fortune by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss
This entry examines one of the classic pop songs of the 50s. In fact, this version of Wheel of Fortune, written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss, is the cover song of the 1951 original performed by American jazz singer Johnny Hartman. Kay Starr’s stirring number out a year later was given a special verve by the versatile pop and jazz singer in her rendition. Her biggest hit, #1 for 10 weeks, tied together two critically acclaimed film adaptations, each of whom lost out big time come awards season, fourteen years apart.
Purely Because of a Movie – Songs on My iPod Part 9
Continuing my summer of 2014 series, which was begun right here and chronicled my history with said device, examining the music that ended up on my iPod byway of the…
Opening Titles and Song: L.A. Confidential
Whenever the calendar resets, I start to drift back to those films that garner annual viewings in my household. I’m usually the one that leads this…
Reprise » Favorite Movies of L.A.
More than four years ago, seems like only yesterday for some of us, my local ally Pop Culture Nerd linked her readers, and her L.A. Times Festival of…
Reprise » Favorite Books of L.A.
More than four years ago, that’s 28 of them in my dog’s life, mi compadre Pop Culture Nerd linked readers, and her L.A. Times Festival of Books friends,…
31 Days of Oscar – Recant This! Recasting Oscar’s Picks: the 90s
The blogathon masters Paula, Kellee, and Aurora are at it again. They’ve come up with the 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon. Their blogging goal is to get down in writing any…
TMT: Hush, hush
This is the next entry in a Theatre… a Movie… and a Time series that was begun here. Since I am in the backstretch of my Versus AFI: 10 Top 10 arc, this month looking at the Mystery genre, it’s almost now a tradition I chronicle one of its selections in this series. My #1 pick of Chinatown was one of my early entries from last year. So, it’s fitting that the next memory I record here is one that I linked with that exceptional film.
Versus AFI: 10 Top 10 – Mystery
Previous: Fantasy This is the continuation of a series I began in January of this year that examines and remarks on The American Film Institute and its recent propensity to create Top…
Los Angeles: Recommended Viewing
Previous: Recommended Listening As I finish my look at the wonderful gift my bride of 23 years gave me for our recent wedding anniversary, this is the…
Devil in a Blue Dress Film Review
“Now when someone’s telling me there ain’t nothing to worry about, I usually look down to see if my fly is open.” As expected, winter (as…
It Rains... You Get Wet 