Monk

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"Enter the Dragon" is airing on IFC. The legendary Bruce Lee. The art of fighting without fighting. Watching the introduction, in which he is fighting in those little trunks, he just doesn't look that tough at all, so thin of bone, like a bird. But I guess it is easy to be flippant now that he has been dead for some thirty years. The legendary aura is there forever, though. At least for those of us who were here when he became the big thing - the super-Asian that made all the Anglo boys worry if we little brown ones might know kung fu, making them a little more wary.

And my drought is over. I'm taping it for the collection, the movie thing. It had been months since I got anything from these so-called premium cable stations. And this is a nice one. A little of that movie magic from yesteryear, when the world was young and Monk but a wide-eyed boy.

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No movies with women in the lead

Sure there are. It's called porn.

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Watching "A Gun, A Car, A Blonde" again.

Getting up from the bed,
after another long nap and TV session,
I have another reason to appreciate the movie.

My back is stiff and sore
and doesn't want to be moved.

I always have to worry
that it won't be just a transitory struggle
of a minute or two.

I'm good again, though,
a little sore but good to go,
this time.

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"Child's Play" aired tonight. Chucky the maniacal doll. That's definitely a keeper. It may not sound like it, but you have to see the movie.

I remember when I first saw it. At UT-Austin. A late-night showing. Alone. Monk was actually a little scared walking back to his dorm in the dark. Mr. Macho Dominator Guy.

Horror movies, at least non-sexploitative horror movies, are not likely to make it into any collection of mine, but this was a good one. Can't say the same for any of the Chucky sequels that followed, of course, but this one is a classic.

Jeff Goldblum's "The Fly" is another horror flick that I have been keeping an eye out for. As luck would have it, the original Vincent Price one has aired, but I definitely want this more updated version, no disrespect to Mr. Price.

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It has been weeks since we've had a movie hit. Part of the problem is that I've become much more selective. Indeed, I'm whittling the collection down. For instance, I think "Sharky's Machine" is going to have to go.

If you are going to watch a movie over and over again, it has to really have something for you. Right now, I'm watching a couple of more episodes of "Black Scorpion" and she still has Monk smacking his lips in hopeless love.

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The movie industry has cobbled together a new system for movie trailers, adjusting to the Internet age. They are allowing movies to put racier material in the trailers, but they have this rather elaborate regimen to go through with the accompanying protections for children.

Such protection still strike me as a sweet but rather silly fig leaf. We have to jump through such hoops in the belief that we are actually protecting children when these children probably have access to better porn sites than I do. But I guess it is better than just banning everything that is not deemed appropriate for ten-year-olds.

I wanted to check out the system whereby you have to fill in your name, birthdate, and zip code before you can see the trailer. They actually check with public records to see if the information matches with one who is at least eighteen. I found it with the movie "Superbad". Be sure to include the slashes in your birthdate, which I didn't do at first and only got the message that they cannot access the records at this time, which is a little misleading, since you think the problem is with them.

( article )

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I just got "Eye of the Beholder" into my movie collection. I so love that theme song "I Wish You Love", and I rewind the end to hear it whole again and again. Here is the best version that I could find on YouTube. It is still plenty sweet:

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“Wall Street” was only a modest hit when Fox released it. But it won a passionate following in the financial world, where many found something to love in the predatory Gekko. Speaking by telephone from Bermuda, Mr. Douglas said he wouldn’t mind if he never had “one more drunken Wall Street broker come up to me and say, ‘You’re the man!’ ”

-- Michael Cieply for The New York Times

They are going to make a sequel. "Wall Street" has been airing on cable lately. I've debated whether I like it enough for my collection, but I've shied away from it. Now, I'm thinking more of it with this sequel in the works. Now it probably won't air again for years. I'd rather have "The Game" anyway.

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During a break from Carrie's carnal trials, I check the TV schedule for any collectible movies tonight. I see "8MM" is playing! I've been hoping for a shot at this one. Although it is not explicit - no "Spit On Your Grave" or "Baise Moi" - it definitely hits the right themes, and it is a well-done piece of drama.

The problem is that "The Shield" is on tonight and they conflict. I noticed that I was looking at a West coast station, and I anxiously checked to see if I could catch the earlier East coast airing. I groaned when I saw that the movie airs at four-forty-five, which was the exact time I'm checking this, I punch the channel, and there it is: starting. If only I had one more minute, I could have had it all: 8MM and The Shield - perfection! I have to struggle hard to accept that I just missed out.

If this were "Sopranos" night, this wouldn't be a problem. Sopranos has become more of a chore, suffering through these last boring episodes to see how they end the story - and good riddance! But it's not Sopranos night, and The Shield plays like brilliant noir, which is quite a feat since they don't have the privilege of being able to show nudity.

At first, I was thinking that I have to catch the movie. 8MM is a DVD-worthy movie. But I have a lot of good movies now, and I can afford to be cute. I'll stick to my regular Tuesday night and take a chance that I will get another crack at 8MM.

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I'm watching "Baise Moi", again. I was worried about whether the movie would fit in my rotation, since I often watch the movies while I'm eating and this movie is subtitled, and I cannot read while I'm eating. I shouldn't have worried. It is special enough that you can still enjoy it without catching all the dialogue.

Indeed, they don't even provide subtitles in some scenes. It surprises me that they don't provide a dubbed option. I should think this steamly little flick would be worth the full treatment - careful subtitling and an option for dubbed dialoge. I'm not complaining. I'm blissfully delighted that this movie makes it to America at all and uncut!

The movie may be thought of as being a "Thelma and Lousie" but made for adults instead of the Walt Disney productions that we usually get in this country. I just don't get it. America saves Europe, and we usually only get the kiddie version of movies while Europe gets to enjoy freedom in their movies. I just don't get it. Well, at least we got "Baise Moi" in its full glory, thank god!

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