Michael Hopcroft

isle of Dogs (2018) The entire canine population of Japan has been sent to an island full of garbage after being accused of carrying plague. A boy goes to the island seeking out his own bodyguard-dog and becomes involved with a cynical stray (voiced by Bryan Cranston). Although he doesn't know it, the boy is in a race against time before his father, the local political leader, can fumigate the island and kill all the dogs. Yes, Isle of Dogs is a "children's film" about genocide. Which makes it especially powerful and relevant. And while there were many controversies surrounding it (writer/director Anderson was accused of cultural appropriation), it's strong stuff. I was shaken almost to the core after I saw it.

"At some point, everything's gonna go south on you... everything's going to go south and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem... and you solve the next one... and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home. All right, questions?" "In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option: I'm gonna have to science the **** out of this." "They don't know I'm alive? What the--" F-word, F-word in gerund form, F-word again "--is wrong with you?"

'Spoilers, Sweetie!"

"You take the long road..."

His Oscar was for Bridge Over the River Kwai. He was actually nominated for an Oscar for Star Wars, but did not win (and probably would have regretted the role even more if he had). This may have been a Lifetime Achievement award -- he was certainly worthy of one. It was estimated that Guinness' share of the gross from Star Wars amounted to about $500 million (he owned 2.25% of the film). Even with all that money, he did not like the way the film came out or Lucas' simplistic philosophy (a lot of the actors had problems with Lucas' script -- Harrison Ford in particular complained about the "nonsense" technobabble he had to use). This article has a great summary of some of Guinness' best work, much of which is barely seen in the US (particularly his early-career association with the work of Charles Dickens).

"Now I know Santa doesn;t exist, but..." "Yeah?" "Do reindeer exist?" (bursting out laughing) "THIS GIRL BELIEVES IN REINDEER!"

"So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it."

(As the protagonist of The Time Machine heads into the future, never to return.) "There are three books missing." "Which ones?" "I don't know -- but which three books would you take?"

The launch of Disney+ is the very definition of a Xanatos Plan.

Since Hamlet was posing the question to/about himself, I can't quite picture it.

The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) Charles Addams was a cartoonist known for the macabre characters he drew for prestigious magazines. There have been many adaptations into film and television, but these are the best of them. It's the brilliant set-piece scenes that are worth the price of admission, but the real appeal is the amazing chemistry between Raul Julia's Gomez and Angelica Huston's Morticia. They are one of the hottest screen couples of their generation. Christina Ricci is also brilliant as Wednesday, a little girl who seems slightly "off" and the role model for a generation of weird children (who turned into gloriously weird adults). The whole series is a celebration of the unique and of the resilience of strong family bonds. I have not seen the new animated film, which presents the closest visual approximation to the characters as Addams drew them but was roundly panned by critics.

Back to School (1986) Rodney Dangerfield, then best known for his standup routines, plays middle-aged retail men's wear magnate Thornton Melon. His father, a immigrant tailor, had wanted him to go to college, but he loved tailoring and chose that route into wealth and fame. Now his own son is off to college and having trouble, so he follows him to his university to help him out and reluctantly enrolls as a freshman. Comedy ensues as his real-world experience collides with the theories of an arrogant business professor. This is a classic fish-out-of-water comedy. There are numerous lovely set-pieces -- Melon sending his secretary to take notes in class when business calls him away, showing surprising skill as a diver, and a closing scene where he addresses the entire student body at graduation. Dangerfield, at the peak of his fame and comedic talent, is really, really good in it.

Was Shriner off the menu?

"He used to be one of the best burglars in the trade, but he couldn't make the weight anymore." "This is a gun. And as soon as I've read the instruction leaflet, I won't hesitate to use it." "You don't get the Society News on the Embankment?" "We consider The Sporting Life a great luxury." "Specialist in Fairy Stories. Would you like to hear a Fairy Story?" "I've been living a Fairy Story."

Sounds like the show is just shot in very dark tones of color. I wouldn't be able to understand the laptop version either.

Two reindeer from a local farm (yes, there are Oregonians who raise reindeer) have been sent to the Oregon Zoo for the holidays. (I've often wondered how creatures used to warmer or colder climates adapt to being in a zoo in a different climate zone.)

Bump. Although I'm tempted to put in a topic change regardless, in order to revive the stalled thread.

hard to go wrong with the combination of Branagh and Shakespeare. Henry V is the definitive version of Shakespeare's nationalist-propaganda masterpiece.

The Longest Day (1962) One of the last war epics to be shot in black and white, this follows the lead-up to the Normandy invasion in a series of vignettes featuring different parts of the event, from the perspectives of both sides. This gives an idea of how wide in scope and how complex Operation Overlord was, at the expense of each character getting relatively little screen time. Despite this, John Wayne did what he usually did -- take over the film in a good way with his incredible, inexplicable charisma. But even he has a small part relative to what he usually played. Dwight Eisenhower was intrigued enough by the project to want to play himself, but the producers decided the former President had aged too badly -- instead, a non-actor chosen for his resemblance to the general was chosen who never set foot in front of a camera again.

Slashdot says an alarming number of people are downloading The Mandalorian on BitTorrent.

Other than credit card numbers, what can possibly be gained from spending $15-$20 to access an $8 streaming entertainment account?

Q; How do I know this whacked out Canadian politician in a seersucker suit can be trusted? A: You'll work harder with a gun in your back for a bowl of rice a day!

This is probably the most controversial movie on this list, and always will be. The producers were accused of advocating for fascism and dictatorship (which was not odd -- Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had a lot of American admirers in 1932, and fascism was viewed as a perfectly legitimate way to run a country).

Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) Cyrano is a poet and soldier with a face he sees as deformed (his attempts to take pride in it are hollow) who loves a woman but is too ashamed to court her -- so he ends up assisting a callow young barracks-mate win the woman. In this version, Gerard Depardieu is in the title role and owns it. The great advantage of this film is that it is in French, where the poetic language of playwright Edmond Rostand really shines. This has one of the great closing lines in a movie you will see in a while.

The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) Director Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night) and a fantastic cast bring the Alexandre Dumas adventure masterpiece to vivid, vibrant life. A young country minor noble is sent to Paris to enlist in the King of France's elite Musketeers regiment, meets three widely contrasting fellow soldiers, and becomes involved in a court intrigue with international repercussions. This is perhaps the most-real looking portrayal of 17th-century Paris (and its contrasts between the glitter of the gilded court and the squalor of where most of the city's people live) ever committed to film, and the fight scenes are uniformly excellent. There are many great performances here, but the one that stands out is Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu, one of the prime movers of the plot. His ruthlessness is contrasted with the fact that, as far as France's national interests are concerned, he is absolutely right about the Queen. A note; Lester originally intended to make this as a single, epic film. When studio brass split it into two parts after shooting, the cast rebelled because they had only been paid for one film. In the end, the studio relented and paid them again (they must have been placed under serious pressure from the actor's union in the UK).