HALLOWEEN 2021

When you're getting on in years, there's one knock on the door you don't want to answer!

 

MY WORST HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE!

 

Yes! It is no secret! I hate Brussels Sprouts!

REBECCA!

And the birthdays keep coming!

My little dear granddaughter REBECCA is 7 years old today, so...

 

MY FAVORITE CARY GRANT

 Cary Grant made 73 films from 1932 to 1966. His thematic range went from high adventure, action thrillers, and screwball comedies, to romance and drama. He is chiefly remembered for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock on four of his best films: SUSPICION, NOTORIOUS, TO CATCH A THIEF and NORTH BY NORTHWEST, and also from his screwball comedies of the late thirties and early forties. Some of his best works combined romance, drama and comedy, such as HIS GIRL FRIDAY, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, GUNGA DIN, PENNY SERENADE and CHARADE and in all of them, the unmistakable Cary Grant persona and sophisticated charm always came through.

Out of his enormous output, I have chosen these 30 films, which are the ones I revisit and enjoy over and over again.

MY FAVORITE CARY GRANT list on IMDb:

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls557970806/

THE JAMES BOND FILMS: My Personal Ranking.

 

I went to see my first Jame Bond movie on the big screen around 1964. It was GOLDFINGER, and later I had the chance to see the first other two on a double feature at a local second run theater. I saw THUNDERBALL early in 1966 at the height of the spy craze. The movies and TV shows at the time, were full of secret agents and cloak-and-dagger themes. I loved the Bond films and all its imitations, including OUR MAN FLINT, MATT HELM, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., I SPY, GET SMART, MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE, and all the rest of the lesser known spin-offs. 

The spy craze faded as the 70s began but 007 held its ground and became one of the movies' longest running and most successful franchises.  James Bond himself went into several transformations, as different actors succeeded Sean Connery in the role.  When Roger Moore bid farewell to the role, back in 1985, James Bond entered into a very different path, as actors like Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan struggled to make Bond up to date and more palatable to modern audiences.  Daniel Craig entered the scene when the world was changing radically as the 21st century began to see a major turn in morals, attitudes and popular culture. 

The Bond of old suddenly seemed out of place in the era of #MeToo and PC bylaws. Craig and the producers of the James Bond franchise made the necessary adjustments to place 007 in a contemporary setting without disturbing the prevailing status quo. Bond became an angry man, often going rogue and ditching his job with Her Majesty's Secret Service.  His personal life and background began to take precedence in the stories and he stopped being the dashing, womanizing, elegant debonair spy with a license to kill.  He was now made more human, more sentimental, more caring, more down to earth and less elegant. He became a mixture of Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt and Peter Parker. 

Frankly, that's not the Bond I knew nor the Bond I want to see on the screen. My Bond is an entirely larger than life, fictitious character,  mysterious, enigmatic, easy-going, hard-hitting but classy and elegant with knowledge of the better things in life and somehow, kind of a superhuman. His past is sketchy and not too clear. That is the James Bond we all wanted to be back in the 60s. However, we now live in  a different era. The Bond of old has vanished and the franchise producers are taking a different path to accommodate this day and age's tastes.  So now, sadly, it's farewell to the old James Bond we knew back in 1962, when it all started...

This is my personal ranking of the James Bond films. I love them all but I do play favorites. Not an official list but as far as I know none of them are, as this is purely a matter of taste and done just for fun, which means that no other criteria applies. You may certainly disagree with the ranking positions but again, this is just a very personal choice.

My James Bond rankings on IMDb:

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls011236085/   

ALMUDENA!

It is always with great joy and pride that I wish happy birthday to any of my grandkids! 

This time it's little ALMUDENA's turn. She's 3 years old today! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARLING!

 

NO TIME TO DIE...

 Just came back from watching NO TIME TO DIE. What a huge disappointment!!!! The theme song, unremarkable, dull and forgettable.  Brings you completely down.  The villain is pathetic. Blofeld has no weight whatsoever in the plot. Ana De Armas is easily the best thing in the entire movie. It’s obvious the producers are taking 007 into a very different direction, one that I am not interested in following. Good bye 007, and good riddance!  I’ll keep watching Sean Connery and Roger Moore over and over till I die!!

My Son RICARDO Is Celebrating Another Birthday!

 

It's been a wonderful journey watching my one and only son grow and prosper. He now has a family of his own, yet, I still regard him as my fun-loving, mischievous little kid!  He's been a blessing in my life!