Recent Viewing

A Matter of Life and Death (1946) David Niven should have died when he jumped out of a burning airplane without a parachute, but he didn't and they have to figure out what to do about it. I love any cinematic depiction of heaven, and this has some of the most wonderful heaven scenes ever filmed. On the other hand I am not too thrilled about trial scenes, which are just people standing around talking, but this trial takes place in heaven and is one of the most spectacular courtrooms ever depicted. I had been wanting to see this for years, after having seen a photo of the gigantic escalator they ride on to and from heaven. They were obviously working out some mixed feelings about Americans with this, after their wartime experiences, and it's always interesting to me to see how they are depicted from another cultural viewpoint. Entertaining overall, few surprises, much satisfaction. 8/10

Village of the Damned (1960) Mysterious force causes village women to become pregnant with strange threatening children. We always enjoy Monster Child movies, and this is one of the best. Demonizes not only children but conformity and mind control and, by allegory, nationalism. George Sanders is always a plus. 8/10

Those two were watched with Donna. Alone I watched:

Supertrain: Express to Terror (1979) Pilot/premiere of the short-lived and disastrous television program about a gigantic atomic-powered luxury train with disco, weight room, swimming pool and sauna. Hugely expensive models and sets filled with third-string actors who were apparently told to overact every single line. I have absolutely no memory of this program's existence. I may not have owned a TV at that time. Crooner Steve Lawrence is the star, and it seems anyone who could be spared from a guest spot on the Carol Burnett show was shoehorned in. A fascinating historical document. 6/10 for schlock value. Anything you ever need to know about Supertrain can be learned from this excellent website:

http://nbc_supertrain.tripod.com/