Movies Watched -- Nobody Knows (2004)

141 minute running time which means it was only 40 minutes too long … I liked this one though, I could easily cut out 40 minutes with a fan edit and turn this into a green-go recommended movie, but Kore-eda does not have a ruthless editor (which he needs) so the record will reflect that I liked it but can’t recommend it, Farr did though (“a film of strange, disarming beauty that packs a wallop”) … once again, Kore-eda exploring unusual family situations, in this case a mother abandoning four kids (totally unthinkable, especially in Japan), but it’s based on a true story … the child actors are good, but no women or children should watch this (tough guys only).

I really should do a fan edit of this one and cut out 40 minutes of fat and turn it into a fantastic movie, but who has the time for that? (I do.)

She has grown

Movies Watched -- Our Little Sister (2016)

127 minute running time which means that it’s 30 minutes too long … this is a Kore-eda movie recommended by John Farr … this one was a little too cutesy for me, Kore-eda is forever interested in unusual family structures, and in this movie he injected a 15-yo step-sister into a trio of young adult women … I wondered if they would have been so welcoming if their little step-sister wasn’t so beautiful … Japan’s demographic problem on full display here because these three young women, who were all attractive, were unmarried and didn’t have children … I wasn’t thrilled with this, of course I didn’t hate it, but it was a little more heartstring-tuggy than I like.

Dad was kind but useless

Movies Watched -- Suspiria (1977)

99 minute running time but felt like an eternity … didn’t help that both the picture and audio quality on my DVD were terrible, but this was clearly an awful movie … low budget, dumb story badly told by someone named “Dino Argento,” and the soundtrack by the “Goblins” was unbearable, they could use it to break detainees at Guantanamo … I guess this is a cult movie (because it’s so bad) since some hip dude recommended I watch it, but you don’t have to make the same mistake that I did … avoid.

Are those glowing eyes outside my bedroom window?

I Would Do It All For You

Panamanian girl singing in Engrish … I dig the song and her voice:

I Hate That I Love You So Little

Credit to the Spotify algo … Mathilda looks a bit like Nicole Kidman, pity about the tats … I dig the song and her voice:

Why Come Down When There's Nothing To See?

I dig Lucy Rose … not a fan of these pandemic/Zoom videos, but I love this song and her voice…

Authors and Their Ages

Jonathan Ames — March 23, 1964

Stephen J. Cannell — February 5, 1941

Reed Farrel Coleman — 1956

Eoin Colfer — May 14, 1965 (Irish male)

Michael Connelly — 1956

John Connolly — 1968

Robert Crais — June 20, 1953

Tim Dorsey — January 1, 1961

John Dufresne — January 30, 1948

Allen Eskense — 1963

Michael T. Harvey — 1958

Joe Ide — 1958 (Japanese-American)

Stephen Mack Jones — 1954 (black)

D. Daniel Judson — 1962

William Scott Landay — July 23, 1963

Danny Lopez (pen name) — N/A

Walter Mosley — January 12, 1952 (light-skinned black)

T. Jefferson Parker — December 26, 1953

James Patterson — 1947

George Pelecanos — February 18, 1957

Mercedes Rosende — January 13, 1958 (female)

Alex Segura — 1980 (male)

Karin Slaughter — January 6, 1971 (female)

Martín Solares — 1970

David Swinson — N/A

Joseph Wambaugh — January 22, 1937

William Wells — 1945

Dave White — 1979

Michael Wiley —1961

Movies Watched -- Diabolique (1954)

In French … 116 minute running time so at least 20 minutes too long … this is a movie with a twist and bits and pieces of it have been endlessly copied and imitated ever since, so it’s a classic in that sense … I liked it and you should see it, but it doesn’t get a green-go, since it’s too long and evil at its heart … French censors handled nipples under thin nighties differently from American censors, but you still couldn’t get away with crime in 1954.

Il est si laid

Movies Watched -- Moonstruck (1987)

102 minute running time so about the right length, maybe could have been tightened up a little, but this was a sweet story … what a pleasure to watch a PG movie where nobody swears or is covered with tattoos (1987 after all) … I don’t think the screenwriter John Patrick Shanley is gay, but he should be … Cher got Nic Coppola the part over studio objections … it’s a good screenplay (won the Oscar, not that that means anything) and there’s fine acting (except for Nic of course) … I’d say this is a green-go if you’re in the mood for a rom com from the late 1980s, I enjoyed it … and Farr liked it too (“a flavorful, heartwarming delight….”), even though it’s a straight love story.

I’m too old for me.

There for the Big Win

More words of wisdom from the great Linda Raschke:

“The key to most traders’ success is that they find something that they know intimately well, they can apply it consistently, and then they are there for the big win. Always make sure that whatever you do is scale-able.”