Jaws

I know the movie Jaws isn't super vintage, I thought I'd make a quick post about it anyway. I saw it last night for the first time and I thought it was great. Personally, I'd put it up with Alfred Hitchcock movies as far as suspense-level goes. I just thought I'd let everyone know that they should see Jaws if they haven't yet.

PS- What about Jaws 2, 3, and 4? Are they any good, or do they just get ridiculous after a while?

Happy Birthday, Jimmy Stewart

Jimmy Stewart is one of my favorite actors. I mean, who doesn't love his soft-spoken, kindly ways? His friendly persona has granted him into the hearts of anyone watching one of his movies. He was (well, he still holds the title but unfortunately, he passed on in 1997) the movie star to rank highest in the US Air Force-- he was a Brigadier General. He was truly an American hero.

James being awarded the  Croix de Guerre.

The newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Stewart (Gloria McLean)

Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock's classic from 1954

From Harvey, 1950. An absolutely splendid and sweet movie.

Long time, no post!

Wow! Has it really been a month since I last posted? Sorry about that, folks. But now, I'm back and posting again! :)
First of all, I saw the movie American Graffiti. The movie highlights the last night in a small town of a group of teenagers before some of them are going off to college in 1962 (Hence the catchphrase, "Where were you in '62?"). At any rate, that movie was absolutely splendid. The music is superb (if you go to basically any 50's-themed place, they'll most likely be playing the soundtrack) and it truly is an accurate representation of growing up in the 50's and early 60's.

The other day, I watched The King's Speech for the second time. This time, though, I saw it with my dad and he thought (and I quote) that the movie, "was excellent!" So, if you haven't seen that movie yet, I highly advise you do so.

Yesterday, with nothing else to do, I watched the movie The Bad Seed. I thought it was really good, and it had an intriguing plot and neat characters. However, the ending ruined it for me. If you scroll down a bit, I'll reveal the ending to you.

Be warned! Here be spoilers...








So. The little girl, Rhoda, went to the dock where she killed the little boy Claude for his Spelling medal. Her mother had apparently thrown it back into the water (or something along those lines) so Rhoda took a net (like one to draw leaves from a pool) and began to search for it. All of this is happening during a lightning storm, and all of a sudden, lightning hits the dock and it collapses underwater, taking Rhoda down with it. Ummm.... how anticlimactic is that?

What's more, after that scene, the actors are introduced. Second-to-last is Patty McCormack, who played Rhoda, and after her is Nancy Kelly, who plays her mother, Christine. Suddenly, Christine slings Rhoda onto her knee and begins to spank her and that's the end of the movie.

Personally, I didn't like it one bit. But to each his own! So if you want to watch it, it's available on Netflix for instant streaming to either your computer or Wii.

Online Radio

So. Where I live, there's no oldies channel devoted only oldies from the 50's and early 60's. However, I recently came across radio.com which is a website online that streams radio right to your computer (for free!!!) from basically all over the US! I kind of got to it in a roundabout way, and I'm sure that there's an easier route, but these were my directions:

First off, I went to kearth101.radio.com.
Then, I clicked on  the Play button at the top of the screen.
After a new page popped up, I clicked was able to browse the channels.

My favorites were Reunion Radio and Classics/Oldies. Some good stations were Class Reunion: 1960, K-LUV Oldies, and K-EARTH Classics.

It's really great what technology can do these days. Heck, it's almost like a time machine! :)

Poll

So, our first poll has ended! The question was: If you could live in any of the following decades, which would you choose? And here are the results:

1. The Fifties: With 6 votes
2. The Twenties: With 2 votes
3. The Forties and the Seventies: Tied with 1 vote

Unfortunately, neither the 60's nor the 30's were picked. However, in the near future I plan to make posts on both of them, just for a little information.

Thank you so much for voting, and be sure to vote again on my next poll!

The Drifters

This afternoon after school, I've been listening to The Drifters. It's so refreshing to listen to their sweet, amazing songs. I like them both with and without Ben E. King. My favorite of their songs is "Up on the Roof." It's just so relaxing and it reminds me of summer for some reason... not sure why. I just wanted everyone to know that it's the middle of the week, and I know it's stressful. But if you just want to unwind, listen to some of The Drifters. Their music is sure to get you relaxed!!! Have a great week.

Happy Birthday, Gloria Swanson

As it would have been Gloria Swanson's birthday today, I figured I would make a post with a little about her and my favorite movie of hers, Sunset Blvd. She was born on March 27th (today) in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Adelaide and Joseph Theodore Swanson, and they separated when she was young. Her first film was in 1914, and she was cast as an extra in The Song of Soul. In 1916, she moved to California to further pursue her acting career. She starred in dozens of films and soon became a silent-film star.                    Here's Gloria Swanson in 1921.

And now a review on Sunset Boulevard...

What is there to say besides the fact that it is one of the best movies of all time? (It scores #6 on the list of my favorites on my "Movie" tab) And if you haven't seen it, then I highly advise that you do. It's the story of the over-the-hill silent-film star who has become a dellusional recluse, Norma Desmond, and her encounter with the young filmwriter named Joe Gillis. She imprisons him in her home and makes him write a screenplay designed specifically for her to make herself known in Hollywood again. She falls in love with him (although she is old enough to be his mother) and all the while he is having an affair with another woman. It's a truly gripping and amazing movie that I think anyone will be impacted by.

This movie holds one of the most famous lines of all time: "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."


And the sad thing is, is that I'm sure cases such as Norma Desmond's have happened with other silent-film stars, when they just can't get past the fact that they're not famous anymore and will most likely live their lives in solitude.

...on that happy note... happy birthday to an amazing actress, Gloria Swanson.

"We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!"