Lagniappe!

I'm still ramping back up to my usual level of go-go-go, but I haven't been totally sloth-like. This column is a lagnaippe for you - a little bonus to go with your usual reading, since this blog has been a little off its feed as I travel through my convalescent stage.  Ensley and I just finished an episode of our weekly movie show "Meet Me at the Movies" (soon to be available through streaming, which has us both excited) that centered on one of the Grand Dames of American cinema, Katharine Hepburn.

So much to discuss there - 4 Oscars, all for Best Leading Actress (Morning Glory [1933], Guess Who's Coming to Dinner [1967, when she tied with Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl], The Lion in Winter [1968, making her one of the rare back-to-back winners], and On Golden Pond [1981]). Her insistence on living by her own lights, even when that got her deemed "box office poison" for her tailored slacks and unvarnished opinions.

And her 25-year love affair with Spencer Tracy, with whom she did nine films, including Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat & Mike (1952) which featured Hepburn's athleticism. Tracy was a good Catholic and he never divorced his wife. Hepburn respected that relationship, and did not attend Tracy's funeral, instead spending the day at a friend's house. The friend protected her privacy and screened Tracy's Oscar-winning film Captains Courageous (1937) for her.

There's also The Philadelphia Story in 1940. She made that one after her lover, Howard Hughes, bought her the film rights as a present. There's The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart in 1951 and there's the film she viewed as her crowning triumph, 1962's adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's shattering Long Day's Journey into Night.

Kate Hepburn - what a dame! Treat yourself to one or a half dozen of her films, won't you? If you're feeling silly, start with Bringing Up Baby - Cary Grant, Kate, a leopard, and hey - a dinosaur!

Also, I picked up my responsibilities with BiffBamPop and put out a column about radiation and bug movies. Seemed like a suitable topic, given the last five months or so. It refers to a truly bad movie called The Killer Shrews which starred a very young James Best, who went out to fame as Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard. Mr. Best was a gentleman of the first order and he took his final bow on this earthly stage a few days ago.

Lastly, I've been breathlessly watching Better Call Saul, which has been renewed for another season. I wasn't sure about this show at first - spinoffs are a tricky business. For every Maude or Frasier, there is an AfterMASH or The Ropers. 

I can report with complete delight that Better Call Saul is a gem. Watching Jimmy McGill try so hard to stay on the straight and narrow and run into wall after wall, you develop a sort of sympathy for him. I don't want to spoil it - really, this is one you should watch - but Bob Odenkirk is a find whose talents go beyond being the outlandish Saul Goodman we saw in Breaking Bad and the supporting cast is likewise fantastic. Both shows have some similarity in themes - both Walter and Jimmy want respect for their efforts and talents - but BCS is no mere copy of BrBa.

There now - I've given you plenty to go explore!  Back soon!

Still Here!

Faithful readers, you can be forgiven for wondering just where I've been and I thank you heartily for not giving up on me. To briefly catch you up, for the last six months or so, I've been dealing with the fallout of a medical exam that had the doctors going, "Hmmm." Sparing you the gory details, early detection is the bomb, although surgery followed by radiation treatments aren't a carousel of fun. I had excellent medical care and a wide-ranging circle of well-wishers who helped me through all of this, but the last couple of weeks of treatment were just draining to the point of me putting this blog on the back burner taking this blog off the stove altogether. But treatment has concluded and, while it'll still take me a few weeks to heal and get my energy level back to where it ought to be, I'm going to come back from all of this healthier, heartier, and brimming over with vim and vigor!

And just because I haven't been posting, don't think I haven't been watching! A quick rundown of some highlights:

Neill Blomkamp's Chappie is worth a rental when it comes out. The film wants to do more than it actually achieves and is muddled in places, but once again, Blomkamp (of the stellar District 9) shows he's willing to ask the Big Questions, even if he's not sure of the math to get the answers.

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is quirky, funny, stylish, and just a little heartbreaking in places. Rent it now and see why the film picked up 4 Oscars this year, including costume design, hair/makeup, and production design.

Speaking of heartbreaking, along with anger-inducing, one night when you can stand it, watch The Invisible War, a documentary about sexual assault in the U.S. military. If it doesn't make your blood boil, there's something not quite right about you.

I've also ripped through both Season 3 of House of Cards (serious and filled with ambitious, awful characters who you just have to keep watching) and the first season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (hilarious and filled with quirky, funny characters who you just have to keep watching, plus one of the catchiest theme songs in recent memory). Clearly, I recommend them both. Further, if you can stand to not binge-watch, you need to check out The Americans, which continues to be one of the best shows on television today.

And yes, "Third Age Thursday" will be starting up again soon!

More Walter White!

Yes, Breaking Bad has ended its run and Better Call Saul is gearing up to explore the transformation of James "Jimmy" Morgan McGill from young, possibly-idealistic lawyer to the criminal criminal lawyer Saul Goodman - you ARE making plans to watch that, aren't you?  But during last Sunday's Super Bowl, Walter White re-emerged.  Sorta.

And then a friend sent me this remix, which I've barely been able to stop playing.  Enjoy, but be warned - it's not entirely safe for work (or to be played around small children, but it's Breaking Bad, so you knew that, right?).

Better Call Saul is getting some extremely good buzz - click here to see what I mean - and watch the trailer. This could be a show worth watching!

. . . and it's so big it needs two nights for the premiere! Plan to tune in Sunday, Feb. 8 and Monday, Feb. 9 at 10:00 Eastern!

Want to know more?  Click here for loads of details from AMC!