Monday, March 14, 2022

GET MICHAEL CAINE!

 Michael Caine, one of my favorite actors is 89 years old today and in celebration of this famous British icon, I will review here some of my favorite Caine performances.  His filmography on IMDb lists 134 film credits, which is quite a large body of work so it is rather difficult to pick out just a few. However, these here are my most memorable Michael Caine appearances:

ZULU (1964) 

With Stanley Baker

THE IPCRESS FILE (1965) 

 
With Sue Lloyd

ALFIE (1966)With Shelley Winters

THE ITALIAN JOB (1969)



TOO LATE THE HERO (1970)

         With Cliff Robertson


GET CARTER (1971)
 


SLEUTH (1972)
With Sir Laurence Olivier


THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975)


With Sean Connery 

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED (1976)


DRESSED TO KILL (1980) 


With Angie Dickinson
                                                                                                                          
DEATHTRAP (1982)  
                                                           With Christopher Reeve

                   EDUCATING RITA (1983) 

With Julie Walters

BLAME IT ON RIO (1984)
 
With Michelle Johnson and Joseph Bologna

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1985)
 With Barbara Hershey

MONA LISA (1986)  With Bob Hoskins

THE FOURTH PROTOCOL (1987)

WITHOUT A CLUE (1988)
 With Ben Kingsley

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (1988)

A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (1990)

NOISES OFF (1992)

THE CIDER HOUSE RULES (1999)
 With Toby McGuire

SHINER (2000)


THE QUIET AMERICAN (2002)


SECONDHAND LIONS (2003)

THE STATEMENT (2003)

BATMAN BEGINS (2004)
With director Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale


As Alfred Pennyworth

 
THE PRESTIGE (2006)

FLAWLESS (2007)
With Demi Moore


HARRY BROWN (2009)

GOING IN STYLE (2017)
With Alan Arkin and Morgan Freeman

KING OF THIEVES (2018) 


TWIST (2021)

BEST SELLERS (2021)

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

STAN LAUREL (1890 - 1965)

As we do every year on February 23rd, we take a moment to pay tribute to one of the greatest  comedians to ever grace the silver screen: Mr. Stan Laurel!

                                                You can check Stan's entry on IMDb here:

                                                                         STAN LAUREL

Sunday, February 20, 2022

DOG CHASING MAN

One of the special problems about living in a rural area is that you find a lot of playful stray dogs around who take enormous delight in chasing old guys going out for a walk, like me!

Friday, February 11, 2022

LESLIE NIELSEN : FROM DRAMA TO COMEDY

BORN ON THIS DAY:
Leslie Nielsen (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor, comedian, and producer. He appeared in more than 100 films and 150 TV programs. He worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to study theatre at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He made his acting debut in 1950.
His performances in the films include Forbidden Planet, The Poseidon Adventure, Creepshow,  Airplane!, Dracula - Dead and Loving It, The Naked Gun film series, plus many others. Nielsen received a variety of awards and was inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame.


FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Although his notable performances in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure gave him standing as a serious actor, Nielsen later gained enduring recognition for his deadpan comedy roles during the 1980s, after being cast for the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker comedy film Airplane! In his comedy roles, Nielsen specialized in portraying characters oblivious to and complicit in their absurd surroundings. Nielsen's performance in Airplane! marked his turning point, which made him "the Olivier of spoofs" according to film critic Roger Ebert, and leading to further success in the genre with The Naked Gun film series, based on the earlier short-lived television series Police Squad!, in which Nielsen also starred. Nielsen received a variety of awards and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.





As Francis Marion in THE SWAMP FOX (1959) 




THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)



CREEPSHOW (1982)


                                                          




AIRPLANE! (1980)



Nielsen passed away on November 28, 2010 at age 84.  His body was interred in Fort Lauderdale's Evergreen Cemetery. As a final bit of humour, Nielsen chose "Let 'er rip" as his epitaph.


Monday, January 31, 2022

THE YEAR OF THE TIGER!

The Tiger (虎) is the third of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 寅.
The Year of the Tiger begins on 1 February 2022 and ends 21 January 2023.
Thank heaven for Wikipedia!

Thursday, January 27, 2022

SIX MONTHS IN ANOTHER TOWN

I moved into a new town six months ago and I still feel very much out of place. No familiar faces anywhere and none of my friends live nearby. Anyway, I guess I'll get used to it as the weeks drag by and I finish settling in, but in the meantime, I'll have to get used to this rather uncomfortable feeling!

Monday, January 24, 2022

THOSE MAGNIFICENT FIRST YEARS AT THE DRAWING BOARD!

As I was preparing some materials for an interview, I came across several items that made me go back in time and recall those very first years when I started my career as a cartoonist.
Back then, during the early 1970s, where there was no internet, there were no scanners, no Photoshop or any other digital means to aid artists in their creations, you had to depend on the more traditional tools of graphic design.
Essential instruments for my work were the Gillott nibs, the wooden handles, the indispensable Pelikan Black India Ink, the erasers, the HB pencils and my paper of choice, the vellum cardboard.


And of course, another very useful item to complete the package, was me at the drawing board!
(That's me, in about 1976 or 1977.)
I really do not miss those days for I actually thrive using every digital assistance available today.
However, I do miss that long-gone comic book era, when BEEP BEEP, THE ROAD RUNNER and THE PINK PANTHER occupied my creative hours!

Saturday, January 22, 2022

PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOG!

I do not have a dog and I do not intend to have one ever again...I had enough mutts when I was growing up, and later, when my son was a small kid. Those times are past. But the question persists:
why do so many dog owners forget to pick up after their flea-bitten mongrels? 

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

"I'm Mr Hardy; Oliver Norvell Hardy!"

              Every January 18, I remember one half of the greatest comedy team in movie history!                                                                                    Bless you, Oliver Hardy!