New Year's Resolution Week Twenty Eight: Sunset Boulevard

This is one of my favorite movies of all time.  It is one of the first classic films I ever saw.  Though for some reason, I cannot remember my first showing.  It's like it's always been a part of me.  Always in my repertoire.  It is one of the movies that secured my love of classic cinema. It's just so perfect.  I watch it whenever it's on, so I was looking forward to tonight.  I knew it wouldn't be a dud!

Movie Night Menus came though again tonight!  I was totally not in the mood to stuff myself, so their menu was perfect for tonight.  Light fancy food.  The cocktail was a Ritz cocktail.  It was basically a fizzy orange cherry drink.  I used orange juice, fizzy water and grenadine.  Decided that was close enough!  The main meal was smoked oyster Waldorf salad in avocado shells.  I just followed the recipe and left out the oysters.  Easy.  Finally, caviar toasts.  I wasn't in the mood for toasts, so I used croissants instead.  They're fancy, so I thought that would work.  I also couldn't find creme fraiche, so I used farmer's cheese this time.  Last time I used cream cheese.  I also have some vegan caviar, so I was able to use that.  Nice and simple and easy.

So here we go!  Ritz cocktail(kinda), Waldorf salad in avocado shells, farmer's cheese with vegan caviar and croissant.  Oh yeah, and depression glass.  ;-)

So onto the movie!  Like I said, I love this movie.  When I was a smoker, I tried desperately hard to make a cigarette holder like Norma Desmond.  I think I used a paperclip.  Epic fail, but I tried.  The detail in this film is amazing.  There is always something to look at.  I cannot imagine how long it took the to put together these sets! They're so intricate!  I just love watching!  It's so beautiful.  

Even as an ex-smoker, I still want this cigarette holder!  

This movie is all about Miss Gloria.  Let's face it, anyone could have played the other roles.  NO ONE else in the world could play Norma Desmond!  I know that she wasn't thrilled with being associated forever with this role.  I think it was because people assumed it was autobiographical.  Swanson was not that tragic.  She was tough and smart, and she simply would not eat unhealthy food.  If you get that reference, you will be my friend forever!  As Norma, she was so glamorous, so extreme, so fabulous!  Swanson also has one of the most beautiful profiles ever. I hold her right up there with Barrymore.

Look at this DIVA!

I also absolutely love all of the other classic actors that are either in this movie or referenced.  Every time I watch it, I hear another name of an actor I love.  Everyone already knows The Waxworks, Buster(sigh), Anna Q Nilsson, and HB Warner.  And of course, the baby thrower himself, Erich von Stroheim, who worked with Swanson on Queen Kelly(which we get to see part of in the film.  LOVE).  Cecil B DeMille has his very own close up.   And I love that he calls her "Young Fellow" in the film.  It was a nickname he had for her in real life from the time she was a young girl.  A TON of silent actors are mentioned in the script!  Mabel Normand, Wallace Reid, Rod La Rocque, John Gilbert, Valentino, Marie Prevost....  ::::sigh::::  And they're deep cuts too!  Someday maybe I'll listen very closely and put together a list.  Someday....

Chaplin even makes an appearance....sort of.  ;-)

As for dinner.  It was ok.  Nothing spectacular.  I think I would have switched out all the mayo and sour cream and just used plain greek yogurt.  Tastes the same, saves the calories and fat.  But I don't think I'll be making this again.  It was very plain and boring.  Maybe the oysters would have made a big difference.  Hmmm.  The cocktail was just ok.  I don't think I like grenadine that much anymore.  I shoulda just had the OJ and fizzy water.  The farmer's cheese was really bland too.  Caviar was salty.  Meh.  Croissant was good though.  Thankfully it was easy and not heavy, so it could have been a bigger waste.

Gloria Swanson saved the night!  Here is the scene everyone wants to see.  Here is her close up.....

      

Next week I'll be late posting.  Plans are just going to be in the way, but I won't forget!

Love,
Olive
    

New Year's Resolution Week Twenty Seven: Winchester '73

Alright, I'm just gonna say it.  I don't like westerns.  Don't like them, never have, never will.  I don't even like western TV shows.  Even if Barbara Stanwyck is in it.  Nope.  I dislike them almost as much as I dislike musicals.  There are some exceptions, but for the most part classic musicals just leave me cold. And bored.  Anyway, I don't like westerns either.  I do like William S Hart though.  For some weird reason, I have a soft spot for him.  I also have a soft spot for James Stewart and Shelley Winters.  So while I really wasn't looking forward to tonight, I was hoping they would save me.  It could happen.

So dinner!  Nothing in Movie Night Menus again.  They did have some westerns in there.  Dinner was chili or tacos(they called it something else, but tortillas with meat are tacos. They just wanted to be fancy).  I wasn't in the mood for either.  Kinda.  Since the film was set in Texas, I decided to go for fajitas!  I haven't had fajitas in forever!  So I grilled up some vegetarian chicken strips and some onions and peppers.  Warmed up some tortillas.  And bought a little cherry pie.  Why cherry pie?  Cause it was cute and I wanted it, that's why. 'nough said.

Tortillas, vegetarian fajitas, and cherry pie.  And depression glass.

So the movie.  I decided to go into this with a healthier attitude.  I was going to watch the story and ignore the setting.  It's a very different western from any that I've seen before.  I haven't seen many, but I've seen a few.  This story follows a gun as it is passed from different owners.  It actually really was interesting.  No one said, "Y'all" or used hokey accent.  In fact, Jimmy Stewart made it easy to try and forget it was a western.  He never changed his way of speaking.  Doesn't really fit a western.  At all.  There were some cheesy fight scenes and shoot outs, so I wasn't too thrilled with those.  They're silly.  Stewart and Winters were wonderful.  I do love Shelley.  She's so good.  A Patch Of Blue, A Place In The Sun, Roseanne, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?, The Poseidon Adventure, What's The Matter With Helen?, Lolita....  Love her!  But like I said, the story really was interesting.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I really wanted to find out who ended up with the gun!

There were some pretty cool cameos too:

Rock Hudson

Stony Tony Curtis

So maybe it was my improved attitude or maybe it really was just a good movie in spite of being a western.  I really enjoyed this film.  I would totally recommend it if you want to watch a western.  And dinner was nummy.  Totally hit the spot.  Fajitas are amazing!  Cherry pie was a little sour, but whipped cream fixed that!  ;-)  

Really good night!

Love,

Olive

New Year's Eve Resolution Week Twenty Six: Adam's Rib

I gotta start off saying I LOVE SPENCE AND HEPBURN!!  Love them!  My favorite film of theirs is Guess Who's Coming To Dinner.  It's so good so very very good.  I've seen Adam's Rib before, but it was a long long time ago and I can't remember most of it.  Since these two are always good, especially together, I had no doubt tonight would be a great night!

As for dinner?

Finally! Movie Night Menus had me serving up a lime daiquiri, cold melon halves, lamb stew with aromatic rice, candy bars, and licorice.  Ummm, interesting?  Now I gotta switch it up to meet my needs.  First, daiquiri.  I made some fizzy lime water.  Hey, it was the best I could do.  Next cold melon halves, I don't like digging in melons, so I chopped it up.  Ok, I bought it chopped up.  Lazy.  Plus I didn't want a whole melon.  Next, lamb stew.  The recipe had so many ingredients!  Lots of them I've never worked with before, so I just winged it.  I replaced the lamb with tofu.  Tofu doesn't like to be boiled for too long, so I added it the last 15 minutes.  I also misread the recipe a bit.  It called for apple cider, and I thought it said apple cider vinegar.  So there's that.  To counter the sour I created, I added sugar and salt.  I also added an entire can of coconut milk instead of just a cup.  I couldn't let it go to waste.  As for the candy bars and licorice?  Done!  Snickers baby!!!

Depression glass with licorice and candy bars, tofu stew, and cold melon. And lime fizzy water in my Laurel and Hardy glass.

I had a great time with this movie.  It was so cute and so fun.  Very typical man vs woman film a la Doris Day and Rock Hudson, but really smart.  And the chemistry.....  I can't say enough about it.  Tracy and Hepburn just adore each other.  And respect each other.  It's really beautiful to watch.  I think that was my favorite thing about this film.  I loved watching them enjoying each other.  I can't remember a film of theirs where I saw the relationship so clear.  I mean, it's always there, but here it was in full force.

Lookit them just loving each other.  That look....

They just had so much fun with each other.  But I do kinda swear she's flipping him off....  Hmmmm.

The other actors were great as well.  You really love Judy Holiday.  But how can you not love Judy Holiday?  She's beautiful and adorable.  The only other film I've seen her in is Born Yesterday(I think).  She was phenomenal, just like in this film.  She had the same voice.  Kinda ditsy.  I had always assumed that it was a put on for the character in Born Yesterday, now I wonder if that is how she really spoke.  I gotta find more of her films and check it out.    

She's so good at simple and innocent.  Amazing expression.  

I had a great time tonight.  The film just made the evening.  It was so good.  The dinner?  I wasn't a big fan of the stew.  It was ok.  Didn't seem to have much flavor.  I think the problem was that all of the spices were on the tofu and I couldn't add the tofu until the end, so they didn't get to permeate the rest of the stew.  It was really healthy though.  My doctor would be proud.  Next time I think I'll use that vegetarian duck I used for the duck soup.  It's sturdier and won't fall apart when boiled.  Oh yeah and no ACV, I'll get cider.  Everything else was awesome, especially the rice.  SO GOOD!! I'm totally going to make the rice again.

Love,
Olive
PS:  I can't believe I'm already more than half way through!  This year is flying!!

New Year's Eve Resolution Week Twenty Five: White Heat

I just adore Jimmy Cagney.  He's always so good.  Especially as a gangster.  The only thing I've seen him in that I didn't like was Yankee Doodle Dandy.  But I don't like musicals.  And it was really really long.  And I don't like long.  I've never seen White Heat.  I've been meaning to, but never got around to it.  This should be a good night!

I've been pretty sick to my stomach all weekend, so no dinner tonight.  Just not in the mood.  I didn't have much inspiration anyway.  Not feeling good isn't really inspiring.  Bah.  At least I had James Cagney to look forward to.

This movie was long.  A little too long.  I started wandering around about an hour and fifteen into it.  Not having dinner probably didn't help.  Food keeps me still.  It did still hold my attention though, I just fidgeted a lot.  I make people nuts.  This movie was really really good.  Even though it was long, I still can't think or a scene that wasn't necessary.

Cagney was wonderful in this role.  It was far more complex than any role I've seen him in.  A cold heartless momma's boy.  Towards the end of the movie though, you finally get to know his character and like him.  He's smart and a good read of people.  Almost.  He finally trusts someone and it proves to be his downfall.  I loved the way that it coincided with you liking his character.  His opening up makes you like him, but also leads to his end.  Very clever.  It's a wonderful up and down.

Just a big old mamma's boy.

Virginia Mayo was stunning as usual.  Her character was very manipulative.  Not a very deep role though.  Not hard to play.  I think she was hired mostly for her looks.  Not that I'd blame them!  I think the only other film I've seen her in was The Best Years Of Our Lives.  She didn't stand out for me in that film though.  There were just too many big actors around her.  I remember her in it, her story line just didn't pull me in too much.  

He's absolutely right!

One other actor really stood out for me.  Steve Cochran.  He was really really good at being slimy.  He seemed to just steal every scene he was in.  I really enjoyed him.  The whole time I kept trying to figure out who he reminded me of.  Then I figured it out!  He is a cross between an ugly George Clooney and a good looking Chaz Palmineri!  Yep.

I was kinda shocked by him too, honey!  I didn't know he was so furry though....

Tonight was good.  I really enjoyed this movie.  I know it was long, but still very very good.  And I still had a great night even though I skipped dinner.  I got to see a depth to Cagney that I don't think I've seen before.  He was really amazing in this.  Not that I expected any less from this Irish Boy!

Here is the scene everyone is expecting me to talk about.....

Love,

Olive

  

New Year's Eve Resolution Week Twenty Four: The Third Man

I've seen this movie once before.  I really didn't like it.  Of course, it was a lousy day.  It was showing at at a theater in the city on a fourth of July weekend.  One of my favorite theaters, so I was really looking forward to it.  I spent an hour and a half trying to get there, and then once I did there was no parking.  So I went an hour and a half all the way back home and watched it on DVD.  So I wasn't in the best mood.  My moods really affect the way I watch movies.  I've realized that.  I was willing to give this one another chance, but I wasn't looking forward to it.  I also don't remember much about this movie.  Just that I didn't like it, and of course, that famous first shot of Orson Welles.  That smirk is incredible.  So here we go!

So dinner!  The movie is set in Vienna after the war.  Lots and lots of running up and down streets.  I looked up Viennese food.  In particular street food.  Turns out that, big shocker, Vienna is famous for it's sausages.  They're served either cut up on their own with mustard or on a roll.  The roll sounded the most appetizing.  Plus I hate mustard.  Since I was having dinner, I wanted more than just a sausage on bun, so I looked up side dishes.  Thank goodness, they serve roasted potatoes!  Usually, it's a side for wiener schnitzel, but whatever I wanted some!  Finally, Vienna is famous for their pastries!  Apple strudel!  Num.  So I found me some vegetarian bratwurst, some wonderful rolls, made some roasted potatoes, and some apple turnovers(close enough) and was off to watch a movie I didn't like!

Vegetarian bratwurst and roasted potatoes on ruby depression glass!

Apple strudel turnover on my beautiful depression glass.

So I tried really hard to go into this with an open mind.  My full plate didn't hurt.  I really did find this better the second time around.  Not spectacular.  I found it very drawn out.  Everything was building, but excruciatingly slow.  Not enough happened.  In fact, the final fifteen minutes, which is supposed to be the most suspenseful, I got all antsy and started aching for it to be over.  Took too long.  

Even the kitty was bored.

Three things stood out for me.  First, the music.  Weird.  Throughout the film there was this really pleasant happy bouncy music.  Did not fit at all.  You kind of bounced along with it.  I keep trying to figure out what would make them choose this music, but I can't.  It didn't make me uneasy, it didn't make me pay closer attention to the action on the screen.  It didn't even come on when certain characters appeared.  It seemed random.  Maybe that was the point?  If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.  The song is stuck in my head though.  I really liked it, it just didn't fit.

Second, Orson Welles, of course.  The man was in the movie for like all of 10 minutes, but it was an Orson Welles movie.  That voice, that face.  There is no one like him.

Welles was just awesome.  That smirk is too much!

Finally, the direction.  This movie was beautifully shot.  Every scene.  There were so many difficult angles.  I really wonder how Carol Reed did it.  She was a pioneer.  All of the scenes were so good that I can't even choose my favorite.  Well, seeing Orson in the doorway would be my favorite, but that's everyone's favorite.  

Every scene was as good as this one.

There was some good to this film for me.  I guess I just didn't like the story line.  Dinner was very good.  You can't go wrong with carbs though.  Is it possible to have a bad potato?  Nope.  And pastry, again, not possible to be bad.  The veggie brat was really good too.  Tasted like an actual brat.  As for the movie?  Would I watch it again?  Hmmm, maybe, depends on what is for dinner.  ;-)

Love, 

Olive    

New Year's Eve Resolution Week Twenty Three: The Bicycle Thief

Hoooo boy, was I not looking forward to this one!  Subtitles.  Which means attention.  I first heard about this movie while watching My So Called Life.  It was supposed to be Angela's first date with Jordan.  He never showed.  Guess he didn't like foreign films either.  That and he can't read, remember?  ;-)  Nah, he just didn't want to meet her parents.  And Brian Krakow in a fit of jealousy said he had to explain the movie to Angela.  That is the only exposure I've had to this film.  And it didn't sound good....

So dinner.  I went for traditional Italian food.  Italian movie, Italian food.  I think I've done enough pizza on here, and yesterday I watched The Godfather part 2, so I had pasta.  There's not many other options in Italian food if you don't eat meat.  It's all just variations of carbs, cheese and tomatoes.  Not that I'm complaining!!  There is nothing better.  I was up for cooking tonight and skipped lunch so that I would have room.  Alright, I had popcorn at a movie that I was at(Colleen Moore!!!), but that's it.  I decided to make one of my favorites, panzeratti, which is basically a pizza folded in half.  It's "kinda" pizza, so that doesn't really count as doing pizza again, does it?  Whatever, it's delicious!  I did use store bought dough, I can make my own, I just didn't have time.  I filled it with diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and fresh mozzarella.  OMGoodness.....  I served the leftover tomatoes on the side.  I didn't want to put all of them into the panzeratti because I've heard panzeratti's  can explode if they're overfilled.  I hate cleaning my oven.  I also had some red sparkling red grape juice, because I always think Italian food goes wonderfully with red wine, but I cannot have red wine.  Boooooo!  So I did what was closest.

Amazing!  Huge panzeratti with diced tomatoes on the side and sparking red grape juice.  All on my fabulous depression glass.

Now for the movie.  I found it remarkably watchable.  I was really surprised.  It flowed very well and was easy to pay attention to.  The cool thing about this movie is that you can watch it on two levels.  You can just take the basic story line of a man desperately trying to support his family and keep his job, or you can look for the symbolism and read into it deeper.  I did a little bit of both.

There are lots of symbolic ebbs and flows in this movie.  A current.  The country and the people were in a state of conflict and indecision.  Lots of deciding to go with or against the mob, the majority.    Streams of people, streams of bicycles, streams of street cars.  Do you decide to go with them or against them?  Then the moral decision at the end.  You see the main character remember what it did to him.  Remember that it ruined his life.  Do you do that to another person so that you survive and can support your family?  At the end he is shown understanding that he could not show, and blends into the crowd.  One of a million that this happens to every day.  No one is special.  No one is unique.

Lots of crowds and groups in this movie.  Lots of flow.

I had a really great night!  I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.  I can see why it is an essential and why it has the reputation that it has.  I definitely going to watch it again and get an even deeper feel for it.  I really want to analysis it more.  Especially the role his son plays.  Jiminy Cricket?  There's a lot there and I want to find it!  As for dinner, I mean really, did you see that picture?  Ummm, nummy!  You can't go wrong with cheese and bread.  You just can't.  I did use basil paste, because I couldn't score some fresh basil, and that was a little off, but it was still delicious, it just could have been better.

I wanna do tonight again!

Love,
Olive

New Year's Eve Resolution Week Twenty Two: The Red Shoes

This was another movie that I was not looking forward to.  The only exposure that I've had to it was from A Chorus Line.  Some of the dancers saying how this movie inspired them and made them want to become a dancer.  Then my favorite character Val comes up and says,  "Oh, yeah, let's get one thing straight. See, I never heard about 'The Red Shoes,' I never saw 'The Red Shoes,' I didn't give a fuck about 'The Red Shoes.'"  That's kinda how I felt about this movie.  And it looked long.  And y'all know that I don't like long.  Oh well, it's a resolution and ya gotta do what you gotta do.

Dinner.  I was looking for something inspiring in this movie.  So I thought, "What do ballerina's eat?"  I looked it up.  They claim to eat a lot.  They lie.  We've all seen The Black Swan.  They don't eat.  This worked out kinda perfect.  I had a HUGE lunch and wasn't hungry at all.  So tonight, I eat like a ballerina.  Nothing.  ;-)  Before any ballerina's jump all over me, this is totally tongue in cheek.  

Tonight we dine on empty depression glass.  Still so pretty.

So onto the movie.  I was right, it was long.  Clocked in at 2 hours and 15 minutes.  However, it was pretty.  Really really pretty.  Which made it easier to watch.  I'm not a frou-frou kinda girl.  Most of the time.  There are *some* frou-frou things I like.  The ending surprised me.  I was not expecting that.  It made me like the movie much more.  I think if I had known how it ended, I would have enjoyed it more.  I'm going to have to give this one a second chance.  Someday.  When I think I can sit still for 2+ hours.  

This movie kinda made me do this.

Still, like I said, it was pretty.  The colors were so vibrant. Moira Shearer was stunning.  Her hair was incredible.  There were some really cool shots that stood out.  I really enjoyed the way the film looked.  

This shot is really cool.  

So tonight was kinda blah.  I didn't enjoy the film so much and there was nothing good to eat.  I was too full anyway, but still.  Good food makes everything better.  I gotta stop eating such big lunches.

Love, 

Olive