Cam Bert

Helen sure is a tomato! It does make me wonder why it never happened sooner.

Wang Ta danced with Helen and I'm pretty sure he sang briefly but never soloed. I think you hit the nail on the head my main problem with the movie. I get that Mei Li fell in love at first sight, Linda loved him for his wealth, and Helen had been crushing on him for years. Yet, outside of Linda I don't really see why that is. Wang Ta is handsome, smart, and rich but he is kinda blah character wise. If he was a bit more charming or charismatic I could see why Helen had been waiting for him or why Mei Li instantly feel in love with him. His falling for Mei Li is even more of a head scratcher. He liked her but then to jump to I must be with her, I didn't fully buy it. Also Sammy ends up with Linda and Wang Ta ends up with Mei Li but no love for Helen? Poor Helen.

Again no reason to complain but I found it funny that in a movie about Chinese people there was only one fully Chinese main cast member, Benson Fong who played Master Wang Chi. Nancy Kwan is half Chinese, Juanita Hall is African American and the rest of the leads are Japanese. However, this is an all Asian cast with only a few white background extras in the restaurant scenes and one speaking part for a Caucasian actor who plays a mugger. This is also 1961 a time when John Wayne was Genghis Khan and Mickey Rooney was Mr. Yunioshi. The whole idea of an all Asian cast at that time and the movie isn't super offensive is mind blowing. Honestly good on this movie.

It's also based on a novel like Crazy Rich Asians. I'm expecting big things!

You'd image every time he sees his appearance it'd be startled from just randomly being shifted to a new location from the limbo it was stuck in of the past location. Imagine the hell of Ralph just walking pass mirrors in general. Like he's just randomly popping here and there and completely unaware of what's going on because Ralph didn't notice the mirror. Like if Ralph was in the mall and there was a mirror in a shop across the way and he's caught in the reflection of it, just shopping away, while his reflection has to exist super tiny and with no one around to notice or care about him. I guess he could explore the mall on his own in that case.

Toni Basil's paramours in this film are very extreme types. Do you think that's because she's been around so long as a vampire that she's been with every type of man imaginable so she seeks men of unique body size and shape just to experience something new and different?

That's fair enough. I suppose there are little details that I didn't pick up on like John Wayne's lost love like Amy and Paul were talking about. There are things like that but not enough to make me want to revisit the film.

This is similar to the idea that I had that his mirror self is the cooler version of how he sees himself. A more fully self actualized Ralph. However mirror Ralph does know things that regular Ralph just doesn't know. I could buy to a certain degree that he may be aware of these things, like where Nora was because his mind is aware of the one place he missed checkng, but it is a little much. This fail to also account for the ending or where mirror Ralph got a girl to make out with at the start. Speaking of that scene it is seems mirror Ralph has been around the block a view times while Dorkula is a virgin. All that said, I think I'm going to have to go for self actualized fantasy.

I think one of my favourite parts of the whole movie might be that fact that turning into a bat retains Hulk transformation rules that you will always retain some sort of pant or underwear regardless of size difference when changing back and forth.

I live in Japan and if you show people a picture of a vampire and ask what it is you'll get the response "It's a Dracula." I don't even think this is isolated to people that don't speak English. I'm sure you can go on the street show a picture of a vampire to people in North America and get "Dracula" as a reply. While not as a great level as the 'Frankenstein vs Frankenstein's Monster' debate (on a side note in Son of Frankenstein this is actually addressed by Frankenstein's son saying that people even took to calling it by his father's name and that's okay because he too was a 'son' thus taking the family name) it is not helped by films like this and Blacula and Bunnicula that make people think the generic term for vampire is "Dracula". That said "Rock-pire" is not as catchy as Rockula. Though he only really has one rock song. They could have easily called him "Hiphopula"

This might be an unpopular opinion but I have to wonder if a film is only good after repeat viewings is it that good of a film? Now, the clarify there are plenty of films that get better on repeat viewings because you pick up things you first missed, details that you forgot, etc. However you usually are rewatching it and getting those things because you enjoyed or were interested by the movie on the first viewing. A lot of people seemed to not like this movie at all or been bored by it on first viewing then they read something or heard something and when they go back a second time and it is better because they are getting those things now. If it truly was a "top 100" movie shouldn't your first viewing leave you wanting to see it again or at least with a sense of "that was good." To see something and have no reaction to it but then do research and then appreciate it seems like a failing on the part of the movie to me. It shouldn't only be enjoyable if the audience has prior knowledge going in. I'm going to jump the gun here a bit and use next weeks movie as an example. Unforgiven works as a character piece if you have no idea who Clint Eastwood is. Yet in many way it is playing on who he is and his history and the genre itself. If you get that you'll probably enjoy the movie more but because the story is so character driven that a layman to Westerns or Eastwood I think would have an enjoyable first viewing. I could be wrong. For me the movie was beautiful. The way the exteriors were shot and some of the shot compositions are of course iconic and influential. However, the other half of the movie is on cheap sets on sound stages and look it too. It's jarring. The story itself is a bit of a hot mess. You have a young girl turn into an older girl and yet all the other actors look the same yet we have to be told "It's been five years" because they don't show us any signs of time actually passing. So for me a lot of this negative things offset the good things. While I get why it was influential I don't think that is reason enough alone to put it on the list.

Also fun fact. Some people may remember that there was an "In The Heat of the Night" television series in the late 80s/early 90s that served as a sequel to this film. However, this movie actually had two sequels. First was a film called "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!" from 1970 and then a year later a sequel to that was released called "The Organization". I had the misfortune of actually being able to find They Call Me Mister Tibbs and watching it and if you didn't like In the Heat of the Night than find this movie and watch it. It'll make you like the movie a whole lot more. Basically Virgil Tibbs is now a San Francisco homicide detective with a wife and two kids. The movie is filmed on cheap sound stages for the most part with flat lighting. There is no sense of mystery or intrigue to the murder mystery and no hidden messages about racism to be had. I guess this is due to San Francisco being more liberal I suppose. The whole movie is pretty boring except for a scene in which Virgil Tibbs who is trying to connect with his son pours him a glass of whisky and makes him smoke a cigar because he hit his sister. He's got to teach him what it means to be a man you see. Did I mention the kid is like eight or ten?

I wish I could have got on the boards sooner with this one. Busy holidays and all. Anyway, what struck me as very odd is for people of my generation in my part of the world growing up (Western Canada) the novel that the film was based on was required reading in either grade 8 or 9. We read this book in English class and I remember being excited because I thought we'd get to watch the movie at the end like we did the year prior with the The Outsiders. However, our teacher was dead set against this. She felt the film detracted too much from the book and it blurred some of the lines of the books themes on racism. Now it's been a good twenty years or so I don't remember the finer details of the novel so much but I remembered enough of the general story that I felt I never had to watch the movie. So I watched it for the first time and I really enjoyed it. I think it works great as a sheep in wolves clothing. The movie is about racism but it is also very much a police procedural that sneaks in its message instead of putting it front and center. Now this could be to the detriment of the movie but again we have to think about the context that this movie was being made it. Like Paul and Amy mentioned they had to prove that a black lead movie could make its money back just to get money to make this movie. If it was coming with a more direct message who knows if it would have ever got made. Still this movie was taking chances socially that it maybe wasn't talking artistically. That said there is nothing wrong with the movie. Every aspect of the film from acting, writing, to directing is perfectly done. It maybe not be trying to break the story telling structures or visual styles or acting methods because just making it was a challenge in itself. On top of that, it holds up today. For all that I say keep it on the list.

The day has finally come! I'm ready to be rocked.

This movie is part of my mom's three must watch Christmas movies (along with the original Miracle on 34th Street and the Alastair Sims starring Scrooge) so all of us in my house growing up had to watch this movie a lot. What you mention is close to how my Dad saw the movie. The things we see change are the things that relate to George because it is not some alternate reality but rather an imagined dreamscape created by Clarence based on George's memories. Nothing we see is what actually would have happened but rather on what George feels or thinks deep down would happen. So the fact that Mary tells him without him she'd end up an old maid and wouldn't marry Sam is kicking around in his mind somewhere and therefor that's what he sees.

First I'll start off with the praise. Much like mentioned I enjoyed the colourblind casting of this movie and how much of a non-issue it was. In addition the cast are incredible singers and I liked the songs. My major complaint was I wasn't really feeling the step sisters so much. I get that they are suppose to be the comedic relief but the bouncing between non-comedic bullying of Cinderella and then comedic buffoonery just give me a nose bleed. This leads me to my larger thing I realized. I hate to say this but... I don't think I like the Cinderella story that much. Again like grudlian pointed out this story has a weird issue with the prince being face blind and in this movie with him meeting her before the ball and then not recognizing her is even more confusing. I guess it just kinda falls into the trope of the nerdy girl taking off her glasses and now she's beautiful. It's also close to the Clark Kent/Superman problem. I'm not a fan of it. It is also a story of little to no consequence for the "evil" characters. The step sisters and mom are cruel to Cinderella and their punishment is not marrying the prince they had no chance with to begin with. I think I heard in the original they chop off their toes to fit into the slipper or something.

A very happy birthday to Gigi! And a belated happy birthday to Taylor Anne!

I was just uploading an oddly similar picture just now from watching the last 30 minutes.

That's what I thought too. Like I thought him and Rocky were suppose to be from the same neighbourhood or grew up together. Wouldn't that mean Rocky would have known Adrienne from back then? Has been crushing on her that long or is he now seeing her through a new more experienced around 30 light?

Another small detail which I find very interesting. Given the fact that Paulie and Adrienne share a home makes me ask why that is. Did their parents pass and she was forced to move in with him or he inherited the house? Why would she be with him and not their parents otherwise? Or was Paulie married and Adrienne moved in to help him as he turned towards alcoholism after losing his wife to death or divorce. There is also a picture of him in a military (I want to say navy) uniform in their living room. There are little bits like this that paint a more complex picture to who Paulie is. Did something happen to force him out of the military and that's why he turned to drinking? Given the timing of this movie most likely he was in Vietnam and that changed him and that's why he became the guy he is. I've not seen Rocky II or V so not sure if this is covered in the later films.

What about The Monkees? Are you just on their social media team?

The fact that it is the second most popular Christmas song in Japan drives me a little more insane each year.

I think it's a combination of luck and talent. Lack of budget or problematic conditions often leads to people being forced to be creative with what they have and what they can do. However just being forced to adapt and change doesn't make something great. It's talent people seeing things or thinking things through that lead to this improvements. I think that's why sometimes smaller independent film makers suffer once they get a big budget. Once they can do whatever and doing have to worry about it or think about it as much.

I was trying to figure a way to say this in my letterboxd review but I couldn't think of a pithier way of saying it. I think it is funny that this movie is considered a sports movie or a boxing movie when it is more of a character study. One can relate the message to being about sports and boxing, but this is a story about this man. About getting to know him and where he's from and what he's about and seeing him struggle and grow. The boxing is just a device to allow and show that happen. If this was a movie truly about boxing we'd see more scenes of him learning or honing his technique and more boxing scenes. You definitely would not have that first hour if it was just about the sport. That's why the end of the movie isn't about whether he won or lost but rather that he did it and proved it to himself. Much like why Last Christmas by Wham! is not a Christmas song, you could easily replace the boxing with some other competitive sport like many other films went on to do and the story doesn't change.I think just calling it a boxing movie or a sports film you are missing what makes this movie great. That's also to me a shame that the rest of the films until Balboa basically put the boxing first and all the great character stuff second.

I agree with this. They work for each other and I think Rocky's intentions are good. Just look at everything leading up to Thanksgiving dinner. He is constantly checking with Paulie that everything is all right and that Adrienne is aware he's coming and all that. He cares about her and realizes that she's shy and doesn't want to push it. We see him practicing the joke he wants to tell her because he wants to impress her. There so many little things like that that point to, while on paper a big strong guy like him shouldn't have problems with women he is looking for that missing piece. When he meets Adrienne he sees a woman who is the bits he's lacking. He's a rambler, she's quiet and listens. He acts, she thinks. This ultimately leads to the apartment scene. While him holding the door shut did make me a little side eye it, I firmly believe that if she turned away from the kiss he would have stopped. He's never that aggressive with her prior or in the rest of movie and they do seem to really love each other. So while in the moment it seems a little strong when looked at he whole I feel okay with it. Also, not sure if it was intended or not but I like the fact that he shows her his turtles. She quickly acknowledges that she knows because she's the one that sold them to him. However, I read this more as hi saying to her "Look around, am the kind of guy that keeps turtles?" where he is showing her that basically he got the turtles as a way of getting to know her and talk to her.