False...

Well, I lied. Yesterday wasn't supposed to be devoted to Kiss Me Deadly, but rather Murder, My Sweet! What a mess I have made...

Raymond Chandler penned this Philip Marlowe noir. It was one I've never seen, and I gotta say I liked it quite alright. Though I do prefer Philip Marlowe to Philip Marlowe. But that's okay—Claire Trevor stole the show anyway—she's all the force of a gloomy hurricane or dust-blown trail. Check out Murder, My Sweet. It's classic noir—lots of drinking, plenty of dark shadows, tough brutes and tougher dames, and of course a thousand Chandlerisms.

Film Noir

Today's film noir feature—Kiss Me Deadly.

Robert Aldrich lensed this brooding little gem. I've never seen it, but if any of his past films are an indication, this picture should be wild! Thank you Theater Arts and your Film Noir: 1940s through 1960s course. What would I do without you!

What's in the box?

Go ahead, push it! I dare you.

Well, I've been gone for quite some time. Not really...like a day, two, I think, but it feels much longer. It's not my fault though—I started school this week! This fall promises to be one of mystery and intrigue, as I have enrolled in both Detective Fiction and Film Noir of the 1940's. 

Today I spent the morning with this fine chap (the one on the right...well...I guess both of them, technically). We watched The Maltese Falcon, and like, man—that movie never gets old, man. I did enjoy hearing some newbies try to hash out (in excited whispering) just what was going to happen in the end. But, man, they totally got MacGuffed!

Among other things, I've ingested and digested The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Silver Blaze, The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, A Scandal in Bohemia and The Greek Interpreter. Sherlock Holmes, you rock! (No. Not you, Sher-lame!) Now I'm cracking the spine of Agatha Christie's first Miss Marple mystery, The Murder at the Vicarage. These are the exciting reads. I'm dreading The Intentional Fallacy and The Death of the Author—which might sound like murder mysteries, but are actually literary criticism. 

I forgot to mention Shakespeare—does that ex-nay me from English Major eligibility? Yep. Topics in Shakespeare—a pretty general course, four of his plays set in Italy. Pretty cool focus. I'm in the middle of Romeo & Juliet and should probably stop writing this post so that I can get back to homework. 

Soon soon! Happy Thursday!

Where did they go?

The Goonies—quite possibly the greatest film to ever grace the earth with its presence and most certainly the only hopeful piece of cinema to come out of the 80s aside from these little gems. How could 114 minutes contain such star power? Astoria miracles, that's how.

But what happened to all those great faces? Sure—we see Mikey donning a cloak and forgetting to shave his feet, or Brand trying to steal my wife's heart, or Francis reminding us he's still around, or even Stef raising a hopeful career. But where's the rest of the gang?

John Matuszak AKA Sloth

Chunk's soulmate continued to save the day with testosterone-pumping action movies that still beg to shred up your VCR player (if you can find them). Pure gold like this—One Man Force. 

Corey Feldman AKA Mouth

The wonderkid went on to annihilate the 80s with the help of this other Corey. But even the Coreys couldn't keep up with cinematic demands. Eventually, Feldman had to turn away from the kind of high-quality art house cinema that defined his career, resorting instead to roles in huge budget films like Terror Inside.

Lupe Ontiveros AKA Rosalita

Lupe's been all over the place, running up a large list of films, made-for-tv movies and shorts. And though she can boast appearances in the likes of Desperate Housewives, Weeds, Storytelling and Real Women Have Curves, nothing competes with 1991's Dolly Dearest.

Robert Davi AKA Jake

Sure—he's a bit of a mama's boy in The Goonies, but in 1996, Robert Davi is one bad mama jama not to be trifled with! See him break all the rules in the most accurate realization of 2011 ever set to celluloid. Absolute Aggression—watch it if you dare.

So. Only one question remains after sifting through this wreckage of films: It's been nearly two decades—will the cast finally get back together for a Goonies sequel???

A way out west there was this fella...

Been watching quite a bit of Lebowski these days—actually, a whole ton of Jeff Bridges this last weekend alone. And in all our Lebowski wandering, I've been noticing some little details worth testing y'all about! Happy Tuesday—here's some trivia for all you Little Urban Achievers out there.

Who sponsors The Dude's yellow bowling shirt

(the one that originally belonged to a fella named Art)?

The Answer

What is on the B-side of The Dude's meditation cassette tape?

(The A-side: Venice Beach League Playoffs 1987)

The Answer

(The B-side is undoubtedly referring to this here gentleman)

What is the second LP in Maude's vinyl collection?

The Answer

What Psalm is written on the mortuary wall 

where The Dude and Walter get Theodore Donald Kerabatsos' ashes?

The Answer

(and in case you didn't catch it)

The Dude's past employment?

The Answer

&

The Answer

What would have been Smoky's score had he not entered a world of pain?

The Answer

What was the date on The Dude's .69 cent check
made out at Ralph's in the beginning of the film?

The Answer

Want some more? Well, man, like, try this out. What kind of Lebowski stumpers have you got up your sleeves, huh?

More Marathons

So. I've added two (newish) marathons to the Movie Marathons page—Richard Scarry's Favorite Movies and Get Off...The...Ph...

Of course, Richard Scarry—the children's author—would love any movie akin to his apple-driving character, Lowly Worm. The movies in this marathon at least mention these slimy nightcrawlers in some fashion, whether in a subtle turn of dialogue or in full Kevin Bacon, shotgun-blasting glory.

The second marathon—named for one of the best Dumb & Dumber quotes—is pretty straightforward: it's dudes on phones. More importantly, dudes who can't seem to get enough of phones. How obnoxious!

Invite some friends over. Make a drinking game out of it. Host a dinner party. Whatevers. 

It's time to get weird

Here's a semi-new preview of Jonny Greenwood's score to the upcoming film The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson's new project about a WWII veteran struggling to reconnect with society, instead finding himself welcomed into a new religion called The Cause.

The film—which is bound to be all kinds of unsettling—stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams. It's out September 21st. Listen to a portion of the score below.