I liked The French Dispatch but it is clever more than it is deep. It has an all-star cast and Wes Anderson uses a wide variety of styles and color schemes. It’s like his The Great Budapest Hotel – style over substance. In that way, it reminds me of late von Sternberg/Dietrich films like The Scarlet Empress.
Here’s a link to Letterboxd
“You Make My Dreams” was a 1981 hit for Hall & Oates. The Lake Street Dive cover is a very amusing video. Even Kermit the Frog covered it.
I am posting about “I Will Survive” because it was in The Addams Family 2 which I watched yesterday. It was a huge hit for Gloria Gaynor in 1978/1979.
I hope the COVID situation has improved enough that they can do this. I also hope they continue to offer an online version including getting merchandise by mail. It’s a great event and I look forward to going again.
“The Addams Family 2” is not a good film. The animation and voice work are excellent but the plot is dumb and predictable. If you’re not familiar with them, look at the Charles Addams cartoons that are the basis for the TV show and films. You can buy prints of the cartoons here.
Shameless
I was pleasantly surprised by Stage Fright (1950) which is not considered one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films. The recent Warner Archive+ Blu-ray looks great. The film is not that suspenseful and begins with a controversial fake flashback.
The strengths of the film are the acting and dialogue. Marlene Dietrich plays an actress and captures your full attention whenever she’s on the screen. I read that she also told the crew how to light her scenes and they are reminiscent of her von Sternberg films. The mostly English cast is fine especially supporting actors Alistair Sim and Sybil Thorndike. Jane Wyman is understated as the lead and Richard Todd does not make a strong villain. Michael Wilding exudes competence as the detective.
One of my favorite lines: Dietrich asks Wyman how she is but says ” You needn’t go into detail, darling. I hope you’re not going to turn into one of those explicit people who always tell you exactly how they feel when you ask them.”
Sad! 