Great, a movie set in China and the preview shows us two white guys first.

I saw James Brown twice, but it was back in the 90's when his voice was mostly shot. His band still kicked tho', and the cheesy Vegas style production he did was fun. Still, what I wouldn't give for a time machine to see him back in the 60's or early 70's….

While I certainly agree that Cimarron is no City Lights, I kinda like it, and actually, it's more progressive in its outlook towards Native Americans than later westerns, like THE SEARCHERS.

I'm guessing THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH was only mentioned once because the rest of the critics never saw it. Seriously, it's a truly terrible, stupid movie with Charlton Heston playing a circus owner who takes himself more seriously than Moses!

The LAST BOY SCOUT was a lousy movie, but the original line for the suicidal player was "I'm going to Disneyland!" Just before he blew his brains out….not surprisingly, Disney didn't go for it, although it was a much better line.

This is a good, solid, well made film, but man, Robert Strauss as "Animal" is such broad comic relief that he often makes the three stooges look dignified…

People interested in Oscar history may enjoy my blog:

Years ago I was excited to see PLAYTIME in rerelease at the Castro in San Francisco; I had heard so much praise of Tati over the years that I expected to love it. I sat in almost complete silence during it as one plotless, pointless scene took place after another. I've tried to watch this film and had the same…

He got more conservative as he aged; as a young man he was a pro new deal Roosevelt supporter who starred in a short film that took on anti semitism (THE HOUSE I LIVE IN) that would later get him accused as a communist. By the 1980's he was hanging with Reagan, the kind of guy who was accusing back in the 50's.

And Ray Charles, oddly enough

Man, that movie, it sucks so bad even John Carradine would only do a cameo,(but he also sings the title song!)

Interesting, it's true the album doesn't hold together thematically the way that COME FLY WITH ME or COME DANCE WITH ME do, but along with the classic title tune, it's a solid set of songs("That Old Feeling", "You Go to my Head" ).

That ep also had a short film about the circus that featured clowns spanking each other. "Oh, I'm a naughty clown! Naughty, naughty!" Classic.

To me one of the funniest things the show ever did was to actually have the Mads apologize for sending MANOS. That and this exchange:
TOM:"So, this movie's been for what, half and hour?"
JOEL: "More like five minutes."

I saw the movie in a theater and enjoyed, although there wasn't much that you couldn't get out of a TV episode for free (a couple of swear words,some slightly better effects).

I thought Leonard Maltin was a really funny good sport in GORGO, I loved how he seemed right at home in their universe. Unfortunately, the rest of the episode is a bit spotty, seeing as how half the damn movie is stock footage of English Navy boats, something even Mike and the Bots couldn't make funny….

In NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE, when Napolean dances at the end, same thing

I think MARS ATTACKS! counts as deus ex machina in that it does have the heroes trapped and then saved by an outside force. It's about as close as it comes in modern day story telling.

It's a different era,so it's hard to appreciate, and yeah, he was an egotistical violent tempered bastard who played in Sun City during the days of Apartheid. On the plus side, he may have banged Nancy Reagan in the White House!

I've always found it interesting that Sinatra's various styles could be summarized by what label he was on. I would add NICE AND EASY from the Capitol years to your list of his best recordings, it swings more lightly than some of the other albums, and has a great, easy going feel.