mum and i just looove Manuel Garza-Rufo (Lincoln Lawyer), so we watched this:
this was a dreamy tale, in the style of magical realism in a screenplay of the book of the same title, by Manuel’s grandfather.
the fantastical story seems to take place in a sort of bardo, or purgatory, where every character we meet could be alive, dead, or some realm in between.
this is one that readers of the Hispanic writers of the magical realism (Casteneda, Garcia-Marquez, others) will appreciate. i found it a very good portrayal of that “vibe” and in keeping with that style of Latin American storytelling.
This will seem an odd choice, but I’m going with Scream and Scream Again. More for the feel than specific plot elements, although it takes place in a land which is beginning to succumb to totalitarianism, although many don’t realize it yet. The focus on conspiracies, a healthy person suddenly becoming incapacitated (and then being exploited by the medical profession) and the frenzied incoherence of the plot, also seem evocative of these times.
Just wait until you get to Highlander Tw—, I mean, Highlander Tnnnnnnn—
Highlander Three: The Sorcerer. There was no Highlander 2. They skipped from one to three with no explanation. Trust me on this.
I’m just hanging out for Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League The first Buckaroo Banzai movie got my hopes up, and I’m expecting the sequel to be really good. Any day now.
“Who are you?”
“I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, and you are trespassing in my home.”
…
"And who are you?"
“Connor MacLeod. Same Clan, different vintage.”
Hey! Leave the series out of it! Sheena Easton? Roland Gift? Roger Daltry??? It had the best guest stars. And my mom and I watched reruns of it every day after school and I love it.
I just watched the third episode of Good Times (free on tubi.tv, btw). I really love to watch old sitcoms at night, shows I grew up with, or just heard the theme songs to, while I was getting sent to bed. They’re so comfortable and relaxing. But it’s been a long time since I saw this one.
Anyway, this episode was about the dad/husband trying to get a new job, one that paid a whole $2.50/hour to start and after the apprenticeship, would pay a whopping $4.25/hour - big money! - in the same league as bank presidents and bookies! They were all super excited about being rich. Threw a huge party for him.
Not gonna spoiler it, but if you know sitcoms, you know. It was a beautiful episode. Bittersweet.
I made a little more than that when I first got started, but not much more ($5.25). Seemed like crazy money at the time though, to us kids who had never earned their own money before. And you can bet we sure partied about it. And we certainly weren’t thinking about age discrimination.
What I really love about it is the way it captures humanity, their celebration of success, and handling of discrimination. If you remade this episode today, you’d probably want to change the numbers of the pay rate, but there’s really no reason to change anything else. Because it’s as solid today as the day it was made.
I made $5.25 at my first job too, as a Student Library Assistant at the Thomas Jefferson Branch of the Detroit Public Library. I was 15 and only worked there for two months. It was getting in the way of my getting high and my studies. (yeah, i can’t figure that out either)
Having Price, Lee and Cushing in it doesn’ hurt, either!
And which do you like better: “Last Man on Earth” w/Price or “The Omega Man” w/Heston?
(also, if you want to learn more about Vincent, get a copy of his biography written by Victoria Pricer, “Vincent Price: A Daughter’s Biography”. It’s wonderful.
Unfortunately, Price, Lee and Cushing have barely any scenes together. I should also clarify my earlier post, that I think SaSA is probably pre-distopian.
I think the adaptations of I am Legend descend in quality as they go along. Price gets some stick for not being the man of action that Heston was, but I don’t think that’s what Last Man on Earth was going for. I still enjoy The Omega Man though.
