The Blood as Well as the Castle of Fu Manchu

Movie Night @ Gary's last night - The Blood of Fu Manchu and The Castle of Fu Manchu. In the first movie, Fu Manchu was an idea guy with a very attractive, equally evil daughter, and hot slave women. He clearly had some sort of empathy for them as he called them by name. I could not take my eyes off of Tsai Chin as Lin Tang. There were several scenes where she was wearing a very bright pink lip stick. The gem in this film however, was Richard Palacious as Sancho Lopez. I loved his hat and pistola.

In the second movie Fu Manchu has yet another idea for world domination, but alas, he has no time. And boy, did Fu let us know that. I lost count of how many times Fu uttered, "We don't have time" every time someone suggested that something wasn't quite getting done correctly/safely. Working in IT for so many years, you know that phrase is a death nell for what ever evil project is in the works. He needed a good project manager.

I should've counted the times I heard the name Nayland Smith and the number of times I heard a gong being struck (I like the sound of a gong being struct btw) in both movies. Aayye!

Speaking of gong, of course I think of T-Rex and Get It On. Some dapper bloke to Marc's right named Elton plays piano in a spiffy poddle print gladrag.

I like hanging out on a pirate ship!

I saw this album listed on Fistful of Culture. Holy Cow! Who doesn't want to hear these folks sing Pirate chanteys? Looks like the predecessor Rogue's Gallery was released in 2006. Who knew?

Holy Motors

I've wanted to see Holy Motors by Leos Carax since I saw the trailer. Confession: I've watched the trailer 4 or 5 times. The Movie Buffs had a Meetup scheduled to view the film on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't the movie I thought it was going to be, which is good. I thought it would be more like the short film he made for Tokyo! - Merde(which I just loved). I will say this, Carax does not make films where you going to say, "I saw that coming." It's not that I liked it or didn't like it; I'm glad I saw it.

We decided to dine at Tian Fu after the movie. Oh my goodness, never going back again. The service was terrible. We had to ask for water 3 times. The tea was terrible too. How do you mess up tea? You leave the tea bag in and never take it out. Yuck. Very bitter. The Age Tofu was mushy and tasteless. My nabeyaki soup had a bunch of cold, white pre-packaged noodles at the bottom. There were five of us and everything came out at different times. Entrees came out before appetizers, appetizers got lost, etc.  There were 2 other smaller tables of peeps in the restaurant, it's not like they were busy.

How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying

Yes, I actually watched this movie (it took 2 days). I'd never actually seen it all the way though and I didn't want to watch something "heavy". This is going to sound funny, but I used to have a crush on Robert Morse when I was a wee lass. My fav Robert Morse movie is The Loved One. He had that beauty mark on his face and that amazing split between his front teeth. Almost no one can sing except Michelle Lee which makes it quite entertaining in an odd way. The over the top choreography is the icing on the cake! Anyone who has ever had a job can relate to the fact that good old fashioned back stabbing and ass-kissing are tried and true methods to get you to the top.

Interesting observation - Robert Morse play Bertram Cooper on Mad Men. Bertram has an office that contains traditional Asian art  and a few Rothko paintings. In HSBWRT, Finch ends up president of the company with an Asian themed office. There is no way this is a coincidence. Ahh....no...it turns out Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men wanted Bertram to be the Finch character - complete with a Japanese fetish.

Bertram Cooper's office on Mad Med. Asian screen on left, Rothko paining on right. Oh, and you must take your shoes off at the door.

A different angle.

Captian Oogie and Linda Blair

Wow! What a super creepy commercial. So...where does Captain Oogie get his souls for the dolls?



Holy crap! Another creepy Ideal Doll commercial.



Not sure how you explain this one. This is an Ideal doll commercial with Linda Blair. Weird.

Oh, and btw, I never liked dolls. Now I know why.

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

The first movie of the year - Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage. Based on the previous postings, I see a musical pattern here. If you're a Rush fan, put this in your NetFlix queue! I put the DVD in the player last night thinking a I'd watch a few minutes and come back later; I didn't move! Great footage of the band in the early days. I laughed out loud and at times I sang out loud (and yikes I cannot carry a tune). Some of these songs I hadn't heard in quite a while. I didn't know until recently (someone at work brought it up - Geddycorn) that they really didn't have many female fans. They make mention of this in the film, but I'm not sure why they attracted a predominately male audience.

Growing up in a teeny tiny town when this stuff came out I used to listen to these early albums over and over. Godz these guys were clever! I never had a problem with Geddy's voice either. I just loved the fact that they didn't have this fairy king lead singer; they had a regular looking guy who was a talented musician as well. I appreciate the fact that they didn't do these sweaty sex-rock-god-type songs. Their songs were about interesting little known or cleverly developed mythical themes. I drew pictures of the band on my notebooks in high school with a black pen.

Several things are explained in this film. We hear the story of how the Oriental robes become stage wear, where "I can't pretend the stranger is a long awaited friend" line originated, and we get now know why they changed musically after Hemispheres.

Honestly, for two cents, a mere two cents, I could stay home from work today, watch the film again, and listen to Rush albums the rest of the day.

Kula Shaker, Headswim, and The Seahorses

I saw Kula Shaker @ the Cabaret Metro in Chicago on April 12, 1997. The Cabaret Metro was a very small, intimate concert experience with a tiny floor area in front of the stage and a balcony that ran around the top. It was a very Elizabethan-type theater. It was quite magical; everyone sang along to every song on K. I really like the BritPop sound but not necessarily all the bands. I want my BritPop a certain way. I love the British reference points in the lyrics, the 60's jangly-clangly guitar riffs, and the nod to the mod hair cuts. Sorry, I can't help it. I never liked bands like Oasis or Blur. No appeal there really.



Headswim opened for Kula Shaker and they did this song - Tourniquet. Oddly enough, this video was recorded on Feb 13, which happens to be my birthday.



I ran across this video of a band named The Seahorses. They appear to have gotten close to fame, opened for the Stones and U2, but a break up in 1999 pretty much sealed their fate. Never heard of them. Love the guitars! Really nice job on the video - the bobby on the boneshaker is a hoot.