Updated for Week 5 after the jump. Time once again for Turner Classic Movies’ yearly tribute to one star per day for the month of August. Below I’m listing at least one pick for every day. These might include my favorites for each day if any, the new-to-me titles and/or any available rarities that I’m most likely to watch or DVR. I say “most likely” because there are just too many great titles — or at least ones I enjoy. Tell me what I missed in the comments.
But first, here is a handy table of the first-time honorees and this month’s TCM premières. All times are Eastern.
George Brendan Nolan was born on this day in 1904 in Ballinsloe, County Galway, and he is today’s daytime star on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Handsome and debonair, he had a complicated childhood and adolescence involving being orphaned, moving to New York City, going back to Ireland, and becoming a courier for the Irish Republican Army. Allegedly he got into acting with Dublin’s Abbey Theatre Players only as cover for his IRA activities. Learning that his arrest was imminent, he left for Canada and made his way to the U.S. and Hollywood. (I couldn’t make this up, it’s in his biography.)
The tougher or goofier the dame, the better George Brent works. It's a gift and a skill ^PG #TCMParty
Turner Classic Movies is once again presenting 31 Days of Oscar, this year organized by nominees and winners in a different category each day. The channel has scheduled a bunch of films that have never graced TCM airwaves before, even venturing into the 21st century, which, in my unpopular opinion, is welcome addition. (This isn’t a new thing for me. I’ve been advocating for Future Classic Movies since 2012.) Most of the Oscar films are in heavy rotation year-round, and, as controversial as it may be, it’s nice to get some variety. Some titles like Gosford Park, The Triplets of Belleville, Far From Heaven, and Lincoln map obviously to classical genres, but all of these deserve a chance. Try one, you might like it. After all, even Wings (1927) was new once. More on the remaining premières after the jump
Ava Gardner — Grabtown, North Carolina’s Christmas gift to the world — was probably most familiar to me as one of the quintessential femmes fatales, Kitty in The Killers, and as the determined, loyal woman who saved her husband Frank Sinatra’s career by getting him the role of Maggio in From Here To Eternity. She was certainly the former, and she may have been the latter (she certainly tried), but she was much more than these things. My concept of Gardner has been considerably expanded, by a new biography of the star, Ava: A Life in Movies.
We’re back for a fifth consecutive year to honor the versatility and depth of supporting players with the WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon. Based on a phrase borrowed from Turner Classic Movies (TCM), the WAC! Blogathon is an event that many look forward to each year. It’s a chance to pay tribute to the Louise Beavers and Eddie Andersons of the movie world — the names that seldom or never appeared above the title. Your enthusiasm for spotlighting the oft-nameless faces that appear in countless beloved movies is admirable, and Aurora, Kellee, and I extend sincere thanks to all of the bloggers who have joined us in the previous four years. We invite you all to help us make the fifth outing extra special. Get all the details after the jump…
For various reasons, including a successful run of Blue Jasmine at Cinema Detroit, I’ve been thinking more about the Best Actress category this year than any other. Oscar front-runner Cate Blanchett is simply genius in the title role. Many people have mentioned to us that her acting (and to a lesser extent, that of the rest of the cast) are the reason they like or even love this unexpectedly downbeat movie. (Sally Hawkins is, of course, excellent. But Andrew Dice Clay? Really? Really. He’s actually good in it.) And I have agree, and also add that I think this is because Blanchett makes Jasmine seem like a real — albeit self-absorbed and delusional — person. I’m pretty sure Blanchett will win, she just earned a BAFTA, but the other contenders are Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Judi Dench and Meryl Streep, so I guess it’s not a done deal. Be that as it may, I believe that Blanchett, assisted by the rest of Jasmine‘s acting troupe, is what kept people coming into the theater seven months after the film’s premiere.
And now, without further ado, here are this week’s posts:
As some of you may know, Tim and I have found a permanent space to show movies. I’ll be talking about this and our upcoming events and screenings tomorrow on the radio. Yikes! UPDATE: The radio show’s podcast is here, my segment is about 2/3 of the way through. Thanks to everyone for their support…it is so very appreciated.
I’m super-psyched to be on WDET’s Craig Fahle Show, tomorrow, Monday October 21, at 11:30 a.m. with Connie Mangilin of the Mitten Movie Project, to talk about Cinema Detroit, MMP Detroit Night, and the Burton Theatre. Except in the case of breaking news. For those in the metro Detroit area, WDET is at 101.9 FM. Outside of the broadcast area, you can listen online. Wish me luck!
How is that for a generic blog post title? The thing is, I’m pretty sure there are a lot of year-end “Best and Worst Lists” out there that I completely agree with, and chances are, you’ve probably already read those. So here is a little bit quirkier, non-standard list.
Film that unintentionally emphasizes the importance of hand sanitizerShame
Movies I liked that prove I’m not too pickyThe Three Musketeers (2011). Cowboys and Aliens
Sequel that prompted me to check out the first installment in the seriesSherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
2011 movies I’ve haven’t seen yet but want toMoneyball.Young Adult. Drive. The Ides of March. Warrior. Melancholia. 50/50. The Guard
2011 movies I’m dying to see but couldn’t until 2012 (and still haven’t)A Dangerous Method. Haywire. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The Artist. The Mill and The Cross.
Possibly the hugest disappointmentThe Green Hornet. I still don’t know what happened there.
My most anticipated movies of 2012Wettest County (It’s about Prohibition. Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain are in it, and the screenplay is by Nick Cave. I’ll be there.) The Dark Knight Rises. The Hobbit. The Woman in Black (if I can handle it). John Carter.
Movie in which I totally identified with the main character to the point that people in theatre were staring as I laughed and cried my way through itBridesmaids
First Woody Allen movie I’ve really, really liked in yearsMidnight in Paris
Extraordinarily gorgeous movie I saw three times in the theatreJane Eyre (2011)
So…what are some of your quirkier likes and dislikes of 2011?
Paula's Cinema Club 