two hours of my life I'll never get back.

Well, it finally happened. I finally found a movie that made me say, "well THAT's two hours of my life I'll never get back."

Beastly is about Kyle, a conceited jerk who thinks he's God's gift to high school. He plays a prank on a fellow high school student, Kendra, who unbeknown to him is a witch. Kendra teaches him a lesson by putting a curse on him making him as beastly on the outside as he is on the inside. He has one year to find someone to love him or stay like that forever.

Hoakey I know, but believe me, I went in with low expectations knowing it was probably targeted to tweens and teens. It had all the great makings of a nice, fluffy movie - so-so plot, fun characters, good moral - and...nuthin'.

See what you think:



Watched any movies that make you wish you could get the two hours back?

quotes: cary grant movies

Name the Cary Grant movie:

1. Do you shave or shower first?

2. I have an infuriating lack of talent for doing simple things.
You probably don't do them right, that's why.

3. I bluffed the Old Man out of the last pot. With a pair of deuces.
What's so depressing about that?
Well, I mean, if I can do it, what are the Russians doing to him?

4. Oh no! Not my zappatos.

5. I don't like the way Teddy Roosevelt is looking at me.

6. It's not a nice thing to do. People wouldn't understand. He wouldn't understand. What I mean is... Well... This is developing into a very bad habit!

7. Ready boot, let's scoot!

the hudsucker proxy

the year: 1994

the genre: quirky Coen Brothers comedy


the cast: Tim Robbins (Norville Barnes); Paul Newman (Sidney J. Mussburger); Jennifer Jason Leigh (Amy Archer); Charles Durning (Waring Hudsucker)

the plot: When Waring Hudsucker, head of hugely successful Hudsucker Industries, commits suicide, his board of directors, led by Sidney Mussberger, comes up with a brilliant plan to make a lot of money. They decide to appoint a moron to run the company so that when the stock falls low enough they can buy it up for pennies on the dollar, take over the company and restore its fortunes. They choose idealistic Norville Barnes, who just started in the mail room and is wacky enough to drive any company to ruin. But soon, tough reporter Amy Archer smells a rat and begins an undercover investigation of Hudsucker Industries.



don't miss: this scene:




did you know: based on the time it took the secretary to read War and Peace and Anna Karenina (based on the calculation of 4 minutes per page, 8 hours a day) it took at least 18 days for those in the Creative Bullpen to come up with a name for Norville's invention.



extra bonus points: if you know they play on words in the movie title. (Hint: It has to do with another Paul Newman movie.)


listen for: "You know - for kids!"

quotes: audrey hepburn movies

Name the Audrey Hepburn movie:

1. I've been trying to write her a poem, but I can't seem to finish it. What rhymes with "glass"?

2. Duval, please! I can't hear myself think, and I'm trying to think in French!

3. Please, monsieur, is the news good or bad?
That depends. Is this your wife?
It looks like her.
Then I regret to inform you that it looks bad.
Then there IS another man!
There is. And I regret to say that he looks good.

4. Do they still really have prizes in Cracker Jack boxes?
Oh yes.
That's nice to know... It gives one a feeling of solidarity, almost of continuity with the past, that sort of thing.

5. All right, get set for the story of my life.
Fiction or non-fiction?

6. Okay, you're the boss. Just do as I tell you.

7. Is this the elevator?
This is my ROOM!

the andy williams show

For Christmas my mom got me the Best of the Andy Williams Show DVD set.

Boy, do I love me some schmaltzy entertainment! And while a little Lawrence Welk will do in a pinch, this is high-quality, big name schmaltz. (sigh.)

Extra points if you know what movie this song came from:




Regular performers on the show included: The Osmonds (Andy's dad heard them sing and recommended that his son give them a listen - they appeared many times on the show), Bobby Darrin, Jonathan Winters, and okay, I had to throw in another Bobby Darrin.






The show ran from 1959 to 1971. The last two years, it was moved up a time slot, so it changed a bit to target younger viewers. I have to say I like the older shows, but it was fun to see The Carpenters, The Jackson 5, and Aretha Franklin, and Dusty Springfield (below) - even if some of the costumes are a little...yes, well.

tammy and the doctor

the year: 1963

the genre: comedy


the cast: Sandra Dee (Tammy); Peter Fonda (Dr. Mark Cheswick); Beulah Bondi (Annie Call); Reginald Owen (Jason Tripp); Alice Pearce (Millie Baxter)


the plot: When Mrs. Call's heart condition acts up, Tammy tags along in the trip to Los Angeles for the surgery. Since there are no guest quarters in the hospital, Tammy gets a job in the hospital as a nurse's assistant, and catches the attention of handsome young resident Dr. Cheswick.


count: how many times Tammy ends up back with custodial duties.



don't miss: Reginald Owen as Mr. Tripp - you may recognize him as Admiral Boom from Mary Poppins.



extra bonus points: if you know why smarmy Dr. Hassler (below, left) looks familiar.



did you know: when Tammy mixes up ID bracelets on the babies in the nursery, she identifies one of them as "Bernard Schwartz", the real name of Tony Curtis, then one of Universal's biggest stars.

tammy tell me true

the year: 1961

the genre: comedy


the cast: Sandra Dee (Tammy); John Gavin (Tom Freeman); Beulah Bondi (Mrs. Annie Call)


the plot: Heartbroken because Pete (who's away at college) fails to answer her letters, Tammy decides to go to college herself. After moving the Ellen B. downriver to Seminola College, she gains admission as a special student and, to pay her expenses, takes a job as companion to Mrs. Call, a wealthy eccentric.



don't miss: Stefanie Powers' screen debut.

more cartoons

cartoons

what else were they in?

Richard Deacon was a bald and usually bespectacled character actor who often portrayed pompous or imperious figures. Because of his looks and authoritative voice, he was often typecast as a humorless or foul-tempered authority figure.

You might recognize him as:

Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show
Fred Rutherford on Leave it To Beaver
Semu in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
Dr. Harbey Bassett in Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Policeman in Carousel
Williams in The Solid Gold Cadillac
Bill Hotchkiss in Kiss Them For Me
Dr. Melnick in Lover Come Back
Mr. Miller in That Touch of Mink
Mitch's City Neighbor in The Birds
Drive-in Manager in That Darn Cat
Survival Manual Narrator in Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN
Ralph Yarby in The Gnomemobile
Dean Wheaton in Blackbeard's Ghost
Charlie Wrenn in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band

director: busby berkeley

Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer who was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. His works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.

Gold Diggers of 1933: Shadow Waltz


The Gang's All Here: The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat


Take Me Out to the Ballgame


Babes on Broadway: Hoe Down

For Me & My Gal

what a character

Name the movie where Doris Day plays:

1. Kate Mackay

2. Kit Preston

3. Kitty Wonder

4. Katherine "Babe" Williams

5. Calam Cannary

best of: gene kelly

Summer Stock


Anchors Aweigh

Jack in the Beanstalk


The Pirate: Be a Clown


On the Town

It's Always Fair Weather: She Likes Me


Singin' in the Rain: Moses Supposes


And of course...

what else were they in?

Keenan Wynn was an fantastic character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts.


You might recognize him as:

The Drunk in The Clock
Clarence "Clinker" Krause in Song of the Thin Man
Joe Beckett in Neptune's Daughter
Charlie Davenport in Annie Get Your Gun
Irving/Edgar Klinger in Royal Wedding
Fred Bayles in Angels in the Outfield
Lippy in Kiss Me Kate
Alonzo P. Hawk in The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, and Herbie Rides Again
Col. "Bat" Guano in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Old Sailor in The Americanization of Emily
Hezekiah Sturdy in The Great Race
Senator Billboard Rawkins in Finian's Rainbow
Martin Ridgeway in Snowball Express
And many, MANY more!

the jungle book

the year: 1967

the genre: animated


the plot: Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince the boy Mowgli to leave the jungle for human civilization.


did you know: that when Gregory Peck was the President of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Science, he tried his hardest to get a full-length animated feature film (most notably the The Jungle Book) not only nominated for Best Picture Academy Award but actually win the award. He resigned as President in 1970 when other members didn't agree with him about animated films being nominated for the award. It would be over 20 years later before the Academy would reconsider, allowing Beauty and the Beast to be nominated.


extra bonus points: if you know why the Beatles ended up not voicing The Vultures as suggested by their manager.


don't miss: "I Wanna Be Like You" with Louis Prima and Phil Harris' off the cuff scatting. Because of their busy band schedules, they recorded the song separately.

best of: danny kaye

Hans Christian Anderson: Inchworm


Merry Andrew: Everything is Tickety-Boo

The Five Pennies: Lullaby in Ragtime


White Christmas: Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army


The Court Jester

what a character

Name the movie where Judy Garland played:

1. Esther Smith

2. Betsy Booth

3. Cricket West

4. Hannah Brown

5. Dorothy Gale

6. Sairy Dodd

color or black and white?

Do you prefer color...




...or black and white movies?

quotes: NYC

Name the movie:

1. Well, Denham, the airplanes got him.

2. I know a place right across the Brooklyn bridge where they'll never find us.
Where is it?
Brooklyn!

3. Would you not agree that Mindy's cheesecake is the best cheesecake alive?

4. The Empire State Building is the closest thing to heaven in this city.

5. Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away.

6. Where to?
Yonkers, New York, to handle a highly personal matter for Mr. Horace Vandergelder, the well-known, unmarried, half-a-millionaire.

guess who.

He was of Russian, German, French, Italian and Ethiopian descent, with ancestral connections to Russian nobility as well as the Ethiopian Royal Family.

He served as a private soldier with the British Army's Royal Sussex Regiment, during the Second World War. He was batman for David Niven and the two became life-long friends.

He had a career as an actor, director, and writer, appearing in more than 100 film and television productions.

He received an Oscar for his role in Spartacus.

He was a regular guest of numerous talk shows and late night comedians.

He made a comedy record in the late 1950s, "Mock Mozart" and "Phoney Folk Lore". He had been performing these as party pieces. Overdubbing allowed him to sing multiple parts.

He was also an internationally acclaimed TV journalist.