Airport 1975 - By this time the Disaster Movie template was well in place: bigger catastrophe, less subplot sprawl, more of a focus on resolution. Doesn't mean this was a good movie by any stretch.
Ahh, Karen Black. I'm not sure why someone with a vaguely crosseyed look was hired for a role where she stared into the camera (flying the plane) for most of the film. Linda Blair and Helen Reddy are on hand to set up the singing-nun + IV tube gag in
Airplane!. We noted that for someone playing a bride of Christ, Reddy's song was profoundly un-Christian. Here's a chunk:
Would you take better care of yourself?
Would you be kinder to yourself?
Would you be more forgiving of your human imperfections/
If you realized your best friend was yourself?
Who is always with you everywhere?
Who is on your side when others are unfair?
And tell me, who will never let you down in any situation?
Who will always see you get your share?
Okay, so it's not Slayer, but you'd expect a nun to be a little more churchy. Anyway, good fun for all the wrong reasons.
Vampyr - Confusing 1932 horror film. Some interesting camera tricks, and confusing enough to be disorienting.
Quantum of Solace - I saw the cover of some lad mag touting Olga Kuylenko as the Hottest Bond Girl Ever.
I have my own theories. But the film. Yes, having seen
Casino Royale is nigh-mandatory for getting much out of QoS. And yes, the franchise now feels more Bourne than Bond. I'm okay with that. The image of Bond as the suave wisecracking ladies' man is pretty moribund now; thanks in large part to Austin Powers, but the franchise's lean years didn't help much either. So I have no issue with recasting Bond as Action Guy. And while I'm always happy to see John Cleese, I don't miss Q's parade of product placements.
Annie Hall (again) - Watched this for the zillionth time. I mention it only to note how date the L.A. segments feel. The rest isn't timeless, but doesn't feel like so much a relic.
Little Caesar - I was astonished to have never seen this, and to see how dead-on the typical Edward G. Robinson really is (compare James Cagney, who never actually said, "You Dirty Rat!" in a film, or Cary Grant).
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