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I Was a Teenage Thumb was another latter-day Warner Bros . - Chuck Jones cartoon I watched on YouTube
Just watched this latter-day Warner Bros . Merrie Melodies cartoon on YouTube . Directed by Chuck Jones with Maurice Noble , this cartoon seemed to be their version of the Tom Thumb story with the parents , especially the wife , wanting a child . Then Merlin , who changes into anything for seconds at a time , grants th...
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Sayonara was an entertaining look at America-Japan relations of the time
Having borrowed this movie from the local library a couple of weeks ago intending to originally see this on or a few days after Memorial Day , I finally got to seeing Sayonara just this morning . In this one Marlon Brando plays Major Lloyd " Ace " Gruver , a General's son who's been raised a certain way , being transfe...
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The Young Girls of Rochefort is a wonderful French musical possibly inspired by American jazz
This French musical inspired , I'm sure , by the American M-G-M musicals ( with Gene Kelly's presence being possible evidence of that ) takes a while but once you get into the dances and mostly dubbed singing ( Danielle Darrieux excepted ) the rest of the story and picture takes you to a realm that seems out of this wo...
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Bitter Sweets is another enjoyable episode of " Pushing Daises "
All right , here is this episode in a nutshell : The murder of a man named Tony is blamed on his girlfriend Tina , Tina gets out of jail when Tony's friend Alfredo is fingered by Tony after Ned revives him for a minute , Alfredo blames it on his girlfriend who is an inflatable doll but takes the rap for her anyway , Bi...
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Paris Blues make Poitier and Carroll luminous together
Having just reviewed Sidney Poitier in 1960's All the Young Men for Black History Month in commenting on African-Americans in film in chronological order , we're now at 1961 with another Poitier movie , Paris Blues . Actually , he's a co-star with Diahann Carroll , Joanne Woodard , and her real-life husband , Paul Newm...
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The Boss is another charming and endearing episode of " Samantha Who ? "
As if her amnesia and attempts to get reacquainted with her friends and parents weren't enough , Sam's workplace gets a visit from the rarely seen partner of Chapman and Funk : Winston Funk ( Timothy Olyphant ) . Andrea coos like a teenage girl when she sees him as she reveals to Sam her crush on him and not just becau...
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Grindhouse is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Tarantino / Rodriguez fans
Wow ! Grindhouse is one of the most awesome movie theatre experiences in my life of 39 years ! This Quentin Tarantino / Robert Rodriguez joint effort is the closest I'll ever come to what it was like to see a double feature from the ' 70s of exploitation movie fare . The first thing shown is a bogus trailer for somethi...
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Invisible Ink is another entertaining short of Max Fleischer's Koko the Clown
Max Fleischer keeps losing the tip of his fountain pen in the inkwell . It seems Koko's been removing those tips from inside . Max doesn't want to play with him on the drawing board so he draws an exit door for him to go through . Koko just dances around so Max draws chains on him and uses a sticker to keep him in one ...
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer : Welcome to the Hellmouth is very good beginning for cult series
Sunday , September 17 , 2006 marked the last broadcast of the WB . It was marked by airing the pilots of the following classics : Felicity , Angel , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and Dawson's Creek . Buffy the Vampire Slayer was originally a movie from 1992 starring Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry . That movie's writer , Jo...
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Kung Fu Panda is one of the best from Dreamworks Animation yet
While I admit to falling asleep at some scenes ( parts of Tai Lung's escape and some of Po's training ) , I was mostly highly amused and entertained by what Shifu ( Dustin Hoffman ) was teaching Po ( Jack Black ) . In fact , this was one of the most entertaining of the Dreamworks Animation features . Po gets befriended...
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A Gun in His Hand is another " Crime Does Not Pay " short well worth seeking
This is another of M-G-M's " Crime Does Not Pay " shorts that appeared in the " Special Features " section of the DVD " Film Noir : Bringing Darkness to Light " . In this one , rookie cop Dennis Nordell ( Tom Trout ) , after graduating from police academy , goes back to his crooked friends in order to pull one heist af...
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Heores : Better Halves is a bit slower but still moves plot along
As the last episode ended , Peter has answered Issac's phone with Present Hiro on the other line . Peter's message to him , " Save the cheerleader , save the world . " This was the same one Future Hiro had said to Peter previously . Peter also relays to Present Hiro and Ando about Hiro's future self . After he hangs up...
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Joe marks a great performance of the late Peter Boyle and the debut of Susan Sarandon
Though I saw this movie about 4 years ago long before I started commenting on IMDb , I decided to review it now which is unusual for me since before now I often reviewed something just after seeing it . What can I say ? Well , the best performance is that of the late Peter Boyle as the title character who , after findi...
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Marvin Digs hints at Ralph Bakshi's work post-Terrytoons
In honor of Ralph Bakshi's 69th birthday on this day in 2007 , Jerry Beck linked from YouTube on Cartoon Brew this , Marvin Digs , the first one Bakshi made for the fading Parmount Cartoon Studio ( formerly Famous Studios ) . Very much of its time , the title character is a teenager with hair all over him who exasperat...
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The Jerusalem Duality explores Sheldon's weak side in " The Big Bang Theory "
Dr . Eric Gablehauser ( Mark Harelik ) brings 15-year-old Dennis Kim ( Austin Lee ) to Sheldon and Leonard's attention . He wants Sheldon to welcome him in as a fellow associate . Unfortunately , Sheldon is jealous of him because he accomplished so much at a younger age than when Sheldon was during his teen years ( exc...
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The Bandmaster is a very good Walter Lantz / Andy Panda cartoon
Just watched this Walter Lantz / Andy Panda cartoon on YouTube as linked from Mayerson on Animation blog . Like Mickey Mouse in The Band Concert , Mr . Panda is the conductor of a symphony orchestra though here it's in a circus . They're playing the overture to " Zampa " . While an early version of Donald Duck was the ...
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Surprise lived up to the episode's name in this edition of " Swingtown "
Having finally watched this episode after surviving Hurrricane Gustav ( a tree fell in my parents ' house but neither me nor my dad were anywhere near the master bedroom where the disaster happened , thank God , and my mom was at work at Women's Hospital at the time ) , here's the synopsis in a nutshell : This being th...
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Little Daddy is one of the best of Stymie's " Our Gang " shorts
This Hal Roach comedy short , Little Daddy , is the one hundred fifth in the " Our Gang / Little Rascals " series and the seventeenth talkie . With their father in jail ( no mention of the mother ) , Farina is Stymie's sole caretaker . In the mornings , the older brother prepares breakfast using various makeshift contr...
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9
Retreat to Move Forward was another nearly-great episode of " 30 Rock "
In this episode , Jack invites Liz to a keynote speaker address meeting where he'll encounter some elderly members of a Six Segma club , Jenna , on Frank's suggestion , looks up Wikipedia for research on her preparation in playing Janis Joplin not knowing Frank put some lies there , and Tracy , after a visit to Dr . Sp...
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Gavin Volure with Steve Martin was another very funny episode of " 30 Rock "
In this one , Liz and Jack are invited to a party at Gavin Volure's ( Steve Martin ) mansion where among the guests is John McEnroe who's an art lover who yells ! Volure is interested in Liz who agrees to spend some time with him despite his agoraphobia . Actually , that's a cover since he's under house arrest for embe...
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The Herring Murder Mystery is a rare Columbia cartoon that's nearly excellent
This Columbia Screen Gems cartoon begins with a fish screaming as she gets marinated and put in a sardine box . The man who does it feels guilty and as he starts to walk out he hears footsteps that he repeats a few times . Then smoke appears and when it fades a talking fish that's taller than the man shows his card tha...
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The Notorious Bettie Page is an interesting look at the title character's period
First , I've got to say that the black and white cinematography on the Tennesse and New York scenes and the color ones on Miami have an authentic period feel for the ' 50s that takes you back to a time that seems so long ago . And Gretchen Mol looks stunningly and uncannily close to the title character in all her attit...
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Apollo , Apollo was another very funny episode of " 30 Rock "
In this episode , Liz is visited by former " sex partner " Dennis who's trying to make amends for his behavior . She then finds out on Jenna's phone that Dennis had sex with her as well . Having accomplished almost everything on his list since his 10th birthday , Jack wants the excitement of that childhood back in a ba...
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The Fighting Irish ends a hilarious first cycle of 30 Rock
This will be the last 30 Rock to air until late April as the next several weeks will have " Andy Barker , P . I . " show in its stead . Another funny episode has Jack telling Liz she has to fire some of her staff . Liz doesn't know who to let go and everyone around is extra nice to her as a result . Then she meets the ...
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The Sky Princess is one of George Pal's best Puppetoons
The Sky Princess is a George Pal Puppetoon in which the title character is kept asleep in a chamber up in the sky ( or space ) by a wicked witch . A prince manages to wake her up with his violin as he plays some instrumental music that when put to words for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty became " Once Upon a Dream " . W...
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Goodbye , My Friend was another hilarious episode of " 30 Rock "
In this episode , Jack bonds with Frank as they and the other writers watch Harry and the Hendersons when they find out their fathers abandoned them as children , Liz bonds with a pregnant donut shop registrar hoping to adopt her baby when it's born , Kenneth gives Tracy his first birthday party and makes Jenna share i...
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Atama-yama is one wonderfully weird animated short from Japan
I just discovered this animation artist from Japan , Koji Yamamura , from Amid on Cartoon Brew . One of Yamamura's animated shorts showcased there was this one as linked from YouTube , Atama-yama ( Mt . Head ) , that was nominated for the Oscar as Best Animated Short for 2002 . It tells how a man who chews cherry pits ...
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Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is an essential " MST3K " episode
I watched this episode on a 2-DVD set of " Mystery Science Theater 3000-The Essentials " of which the other disc had the short Hired , Part II and Manos , The Hands of Fate . In the invention exchange , Dr . Forester and TV's Frank show a machine that turns great presents into crappy ones while Joel and the ' bots have...
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The Story of George Washington provides a unique kid's view from his drawings
This is a unique cartoon in the Paramount archives in that most of it is an animated version of a child's drawings ( or at least what they'd look like according to adult writer / director Jack Mendelsohn ) . It's also narrated by a child who mixes words like saying how George Washington was " the most famous dead Ameri...
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9
Oh , Teacher is another funny Disney Oswald outing
In this Disney Oswald short , the rabbit is , it seems , an elementary school student about to take his fellow rabbit girlfriend on a bike ride to the learning place . A fellow cat student is his rival for the girl . There are plenty of gags inspired by the Felix the Cat cartoon series like a question mark over the cat...
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Disover the charms of Powell and Loy in After the Thin Man
After the Thin Man is the first movie I've seen in the William Powell-Myrna Loy series and what a treat it is to finally discover the charms of Nick and Nora Charles as well as their dog Asta ! Returning to their San Francisco home on New Year's Eve , they find a surprise party at which only the servants recognize them...
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The C Word is another excellent episode of 30 Rock
Jack invites Tracy to a party of the network CEO . Tracy accepts . Liz has been driving the writers crazy with her demands for scripts and overhears one of them calling her a very nasty word . It's the one that rhymes with " runt " which is what the animal wrangler says when the other word is spoken . Kenneth is awkwar...
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Watch a pre - " I Love Lucy " Desi Arnaz entertain you in Jitterumba
Found out about this musical short on Mark Evanier's website " News from Me " as linked from YouTube . With the exception of the " Managua , Nicaragua " musical segment which takes place in a classroom with the star Desi Arnaz as the teacher , this appears to be a concert film directed entirely straight through ( give ...
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Finnegan's Flea is Famous / Paramount's partial version of One Froggy Evening
Just watched this Paramount Modern Madcap cartoon on YouTube . The story here is similar to Chuck Jones ' One Froggy Evening except the creature singing is a flea , there's dialogue as opposed to pantomime , and the people Finnegan goes to actually sees the fly warbling . So Finnegan should be getting in the riches but...
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Tire Trouble is another winner in the " Our Gang " series
This Hal Roach comedy short , Tire Trouble , is the twenty-second entry in the " Our Gang / Little Rascals " series . In this one , Mickey drives his own makeshift car with Mary , Joe , and Jackie in tow . Among the unusual gadgets : a boxing glove attached to the outside front that knocks out any passersby ! When they...
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Marvel at the art of Bill Irwin : Clown Prince
Bill Irwin : Clown Prince is a fascinating documentary of Irwin's experiences from graduating from Ringling Bros . Clown School to his first public performance in the Pickle Family Circus to his performance of The Swinger ( a mime dance to Peaches and Herb's " Shake Your Grove Thing " ) to The Regard of Flight ( there'...
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A Date with Dizzy is interesting short for Dizzy Gillespie / John Hubley fans
I found out about this rare John Hubley / Dizzy Gillespie short from Cartoon Brew and viewed it on YouTube . In it , a commercial director is trying to get Gillespie and his band to score music for an animated spot for " Instant Rope Ladder " . Also present is the product's ad representative . The band plays their firs...
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Francois Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 is a nearly fine adaption of Ray Bradbury's novel
Having not seen this movie in 25 years ( when it aired , I think , on cable station WGN-TV in Chicago ) , I had an inkling to watch this again when my local paper , The ( Baton Rouge ) Advocate , had an item on their opinion page with the headline , " Smoking hot book event " . It mentioned that Ray Bradbury's original...
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Ain't Misbehavin ' is entertaining Waller " soundie " with Myra Johnson providing additional vocals
This last short I'm reviewing from the Kino Video DVD " Hollywood Rhythm Vol . 1 : The Best of Jazz and Blues " was actually a " soundie " ( music videos of the day played on specially made jukeboxes ) starring Fats Waller playing and singing the title song with a bevy of girls , one of whom is Myra Johnson , fighting ...
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Samson and Delilah was a nearly excellent start for the second season of " Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles "
In a wonderful silent slo-mo sequence scored with a song by Garbage , we see Cameron wake up after the explosion in the van and , after we see Sarah and John take care of their kidnappers , Cameron sees them and as we cut to her point-of-view , the words she sees says , " MISSION : TERMINATE " ! That was a great shock ...
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Ub Iwerks ' Skeleton Frolics is a worthy successor to his earlier Skeleton Dance
Having just seen Walt Disney's The Skeleton Dance on the Saturday Morning Blog as linked from YouTube , I used those same sources to watch a remake done in Technicolor for the Columbia cartoon unit and animated by the same man-Ub Iwerks . The colors , compared to the earlier black and white , are really used imaginativ...
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The Demon Hand was another compelling episode of " Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles "
As the episode begins , Cameron is dressed as a cop . She's going to the police station to put the power out with her hand so she can get the dismembered hand from the Terminator she killed . A look at the sheet list reveals it's in the possession of Agent Ellison . After Cameron goes home and tells Sarah about the han...
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The Josephine Baker Story provides nearly excellent depictions of her life and career
In continuing to review African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month , we're now at 1991 with HBO's biographical movie , The Josephine Baker Story . Before going on with my comment , I'd like to mention that star Lynn Whitfield is a native of the city I now live in , Baton Rouge , La . As th...
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Happy New Year , Charlie Brown ! was another fine animated " Peanuts " holiday special
Well , New Year's Eve is coming up but poor Charlie Brown is stuck with having to read " War and Peace " ( which is about a thousand pages ) for his school book report . On top of that , Peppermint Patty invites him for her and Marcie's party while Linus tries to avoid Sally and her calling him her " Sweet Baboo " . Oh...
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Chuck Versus the Marlin is a wonderfully amusing supposed season finale of " Chuck "
Chuck finds a bug hidden in one of the Buy More appliances . He gives it to Casey who shares the find with Sarah as they share the info to their superiors on the computer screen . Devon arrives at the store to ask Chuck for approval of his sister Ellie's hand and hands him the ring for safekeeping for a couple of days ...
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Chuck Versus the Crown Vic is another entertaining episode of " Chuck "
Okay , this is the last episode of " Chuck " before the Christmas break . Since there's still a writers ' strike , only two more new episodes have been filmed so it's hard to tell right now if we'll get an actual full season of this bright new action-comedy . In a nutshell : Chuck , Sarah , and Casey are trying to stop...
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Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami is another exciting episode of " Chuck "
Chuck is now going out with Lou , the sandwich girl we met in the last episode . Morgan , hearing this , makes a play for Anna . Too sudden . Lester , on hearing of breakup of Chuck and Sarah , tries to make his moves on the Weinerlicious lady . Sarah comes on too strong for him so he leaves . When Chuck and Lou are ki...
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button provided a unique performance from Brad Pitt
While my friend wanted to watch this movie because he's a big fan of Brad Pitt , I was simply more interested in the premise and the fact it was shot in my neighboring city of New Orleans whose scenery is breathtaking here ( the fact that present scenes are set during Hurricane Katrina was also a fine dramatic touch ) ...
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Tasmanian Devil makes a hilarious debut in Devil May Hare
Robert McKimson's Devil May Hare marks the first appearance of the Tasmanian Devil , an ugly little monster who constantly spins around that will eat any animal especially rabbits . When he comes upon Bugs Bunny , however , he's in for a surprise ! First , he eats a pig that's actually an inflatable raft , then chicken...
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Hector's Hectic Life is a wonderfully funny holiday cartoon from Famous Studios
Last week , I reviewed Chips Off the Old Block which concerned a cat who found out about his offspring and kept them away from his female master because he was afraid of being thrown out . That's the same premise here except it's now a dog named Hector with his pups who all wave one of their ears just like dear old dad...
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R . O . Blechman's The Soldier's Tale does Igor Stravinsky's music justice
Anyone who's read many of my comments here know what an animation buff I am . So it was as one that I decided to check out R . O . Blechman's The Soldier's Tale from my local library . Based on compositions by Igor Stravinsky and a popular Russian folktale , this concerns a soldier's post-war trials and tribulations af...
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Gary Cooper is excellent as Lou Gehrig in The Pride of the Yankees
To celebrate the 4th of July , I decided to watch this excellent movie about a great American hero , The Pride of the Yankees , which is an account of the life of the late , great baseball player , Lou Gehrig . Gary Cooper has just the right mix of shyness , joy , humor , and love of the game to portray what was consid...
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Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters is an inspirational true-life based movie
On this , the day of the vice presidential debates that I recorded and will watch later , I decided to watch director Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters right after watching " Survivor " . Co-produced by Oprah Winfrey and inspired by actual events , The Great Debaters is a very compelling history lesson about a sma...
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Goldilocks and the Jivin ' Bears is one more " Censored 11 " cartoon I'd recommend
This is the last of the Warner Bros . " Censored 11 " cartoons I've seen on Thad's Animation Blog and what a cartoon to watch as the final entry since it has hot jazz music performed by the title character animals , the Big Bad Wolf from Red Riding Hood ( who's off riveting ) , Goldilocks wearing out the Wolf from jitt...
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Four Months Ago . . . was a compelling flashback for our " Heroes "
As Peter meets with Adam , who previously we saw as Takezo Kensei , we find out they have a history . Adam gives Peter something that makes him remember what he was doing four months ago : After brother Nathan flew Peter away from New York into the stars , Peter told his brother to let him go . Nathan obliges just as h...
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Out of Time is a way excellent episode of " Heroes "
Before I start , let me make a correction : The woman that Peter has been hanging with is named Caitlin , not Kate . Okay , so while Noah was in Odessa , Ukraine , his wife has allowed West to come in the house to have breakfast which Claire just found out when she and West were text messaging each other . Her mom love...
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Fight or Flight is another excellent episode of " Heroes "
With Molly in a coma , Matt vows to find his father who made her that way . When he gets to the station , Nathan's still there confronting him about his mother . Matt promises no harm to his mother and tells him about his journey . Nathan wants to come along and won't take a " no " . When they arrive there , Matt is re...
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Cautionary Tales was another great episode of " Heroes "
Because his family is in danger again , Noah tells his family they must leave but Claire refuses . She later writes " Sorry " with stones for West to see . When she tells West she's staying , West doesn't seem happy to hear it , in fact he's miffed she didn't tell about her father before . That's what the " Sorry " sto...
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Beneath the Southern Cross is another essential Victory at Sea episode
It's the battle of the South Atlantic between the British ship Devonshire and the German ship Atlantis . Plenty of footage of South America , both as sympathizers to the Nazi cause and , much later , as American allies willing to aid their northern neighbor's cause . . . More compelling footage of sea battles accompani...
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Conquest of Micronesia is an inspirationally balanced Victory at Sea
In the Central Pacific , Americans are ready for the battle with the Japanese as both sides sustain multiple casualties with neither side wanting to surrender . Eventually , more deaths occur on Japan's front than the United States ' . . . This episode seems to live up to the series ' title , at least on the Americans ...
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Baton Bunny is another wonderful mix of classical music and animation
Like Mickey Mouse , Andy Panda , and Tom and Jerry before him , Bugs Bunny plays a symphony conductor in Baton Bunny . Even without his voice , Bugs is hilarious whether inadvertently putting his glasses upside down making the pages look that way , having cuff links move around him , or being annoyed by a fly while he'...
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D-Day details the most important battle in World War II history on Victory at Sea
The Allied invasion of the Normandy Beaches of France is detailed to very compelling effect courtesy of vintage footage taken there . Among the leaders there was General Eisenhower . One of the most important turning points for victory from the Allied side . . . Perhaps one of the most exciting episodes of the entire V...
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Design for Peace marks final U . S . triumph in Victory at Sea
This episode starts with footage of the atomic bomb that was tested in New Mexico before it goes on to the devastation that happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki . With that Japan surrenders as that country's diplomat signs the official document prepared by the U . S . military before General MacArthur and fellow offerers...
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Design for War is great start for series Victory at Sea
In honor of Memorial Day , which this year is on May 28 , I started watching the first two episodes of the documentary series " Victory at Sea " . This one titled " Design for War " is the first . It chronicles the first two years of World War II in Europe before the United States ' full involvement . Germany succeeds ...
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Full Fathom Five is exciting tale of U . S . submarines aid in Japanese defeat on Victory at Sea
In this episode of Victory at Sea , we see how the U . S . submarines contributed to the Japan empire's downfall when they sunk thousands of their battleships . . . Nice footage of American sailors relaxing and having fun between drills before they are ordered into action . And what action there is as we see footage of...
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Guadacanal depicts some of the bloodiest WWII battles on Victory at Sea
While also taking sights in Australia and New Zealand , the U . S . Marines suffer defeat after defeat at the hands of the Japanese at the base of Guadacanal . As the reduced crew retreats , however , a new one comes to take its place in a remarkable example of endurance . . . Interesting scenic shots of what the jungl...
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Roman Renaissance is compelling account of Mussolini's decline in Victory at Sea
While Hitler's Germany continues to rise , Mussolini's Italy falls leading to a battle between the U . S . and Germany for the European country's soul . Eventually , as destruction upon destruction surrounds Naples , Italy accepts defeat and allows the U . S . to liberate their people as this episode ends with Rome cel...
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Rings Around Rabaul is another excellent episode of Victory at Sea
The title of this Victory at Sea episode refers to the circle of ships the military of the U . S . , Australia , and New Zealand manage to surround around the Japanese base of Rabaul in the Solomon Islands . Many of these events happened in the fall of 1943 . . . Besides the stirring action accompanied by such likewise...
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Return of the Allies showcases the U . S . taking back their Philippine commonwealth from Japan on Victory at Sea
Just before the U . S . entered World War II , the Japanese managed to conquer their Commonwealth of the Philippines . After Pearl Harbor , some plans began formulating on freeing the Asian island from the Land of the Rising Sun but a full scale invasion didn't come to fruition until 1944 . By January of the following ...
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Some U . S . victories abound in Midway Is East segment of Victory at Sea
After the Japanese successfully invade Singapore and the Philippines with the U . S . bases there , the Americans on another base in Midway manage to bomb many of Japan's ship carriers making the Asian country beat a hasty retreat and giving the U . S . some early victory in the second World War . . . Once again , stir...
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Melanesian Nightmare is compellingly somber episode of Victory at Sea
In New Guinea , the Japanese fight a never-ending losing battle against the Allies of Australia and the United States as more and more casualties pile up while their homeland only hears news of victory being broadcast on radio . Eventually , the soldiers ' ashes arrive in white boxes to a mournful nation . . . While de...
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The Night of the Meek was an excellent Christmas episode of " The Twilight Zone "
This is my fifth consecutive comment on a Rod Serling-related project and my first this month of December on a Christmas-related one . Having never seen this particular episode when " The Twilight Zone " was airing on Superstation WGN-TV in Chicago on cable during the ' 80s , I was ecstatic when I found this on joust ....
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Mediterranean Mosiac is another compelling episode of Victory at Sea
British forces head on to Gibraltar and Malta to hold off the Italian Navy and the German Luftwaffe from invading there . While the English do get constantly bombarded at the Malta Islands , they remain steadfastly determined to keep charging especially after King George VI pays a visit there . . . The most interesting...
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Mare Nostrum is compelling depiction of European fight in Victory at Sea
The British and the Greek military teams manage to defeat the Italians and later the Germans in the battle to take over the Mediterranean . At issue is who controls the Suez Canal in Egypt . . . One team of Europeans unite against another team in order to fight for what's right ! Another compelling episode of the great...
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Killers and the Kill details German defeat in the Atlantic Ocean on Victory at Sea
As the Allies form bombing bases in lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean , the Germans try one more chance at conquering that area by sneaking a submarine from west of Europe . Unfortunately for them , they get caught and attacked from all angles . . . Perhaps the episode of Victory at Sea that most details the German de...
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Jammin ' the Blues is most innovative of its time
Jammin ' the Blues is an Oscar-nominated short from 1944 that is basically 10 minutes of improvisational jazz played in one long jam . Marie Bryant sings " The Sunny Side of the Street " at one point for the film's highlight then jitterbugs with Archie Savage to bring this most entertaining " jam session " to its excit...
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Winsor McCay's How a Mosquito Operates shows how something made 95 years ago can still be effective now
As a person who doesn't normally watch horror films but has taken in some once in awhile and , while somewhat scared , was also entertained enough to not be too grossed out , I found Winsor McCay's How a Mosquito Operates a little mind-frightening enough to think if I was still an under-12 kid watching this for the fir...
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The Pacific Boils Over is great depiction of Pearl Harbor in Victory at Sea
In honor of Memorial Day , which this year is on May 28 , I started watching the first two episodes of the television documentary series " Victory at Sea " . This entry , " The Pacific Boils Over " is the second . Using Japanese footage , we see the planning , execution , and ultimately the celebration of the Asian cou...
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The Magnetic North is another compelling Victory at Sea episode
This episode of Victory at Sea explores the battles between the Americans and the Germans over the Arctic Circle concerning the Nazi-occupied Norwegians and other like-minded nations . After the Germans ' defeat , the Japanese take their turn resulting in another long , drawn out battle . . . A more somber segment in t...
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The Fate of Europe is another compelling segment of Victory at Sea
The final defeat of Germany is chronicled here due to the Russians and now liberated France's determination to keep fighting . We also witness the meeting of Roosevelt , Churchill , and Stalin on final plans for Germany's surrender and the forming of the United Nations . At the end as Hitler's suicide is mentioned by t...
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The Battle for Leyte Gulf is another exciting episode of Victory at Sea
Japan feels the agony of defeat more and more as the Americans attack them at every turn in the battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines . The empire of the Japanese is fast disappearing . . . The narration , music , and cuts of shot after shot of explosions dominate this episode in a bombastic show of the battleships o...
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Target Suribachi is about the Marines triumph at Iwo Jima on Victory at Sea
The U . S . Marines fight a never-ending battle against the Japanese in their attempt to place their flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima during the now-legendary events depicted in this episode . . . As we reach the final throes of battle in the Pacific war against Japan , we are once again reminded of the price of liv...
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Suicide for Glory depicts Japan's last attempt at conquest in Victory at Sea
In one last ditch effort at glory , having lost most of their best men in military uniform , Japan employs kamikaze pilots-men who willingly crash their planes on carriers in order to destroy the enemy-to crush the American spirit . But the U . S . Navy and Marines are ready for them with their battleship guns through ...
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Sealing the Breach is another compelling episode of Victory at Sea
With war now declared on the U . S . front , naval branches throughout the southeastern states have banded together to bring battleships and submarines with supplies across the Atlantic Ocean to our Allies in England . Among those branches are those in New Orleans which is a two-hour drive from my current hometown of B...
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Sea and Sand is another compelling episode of Victory at Sea
In this one , the U . S . Army goes forward to defeat German General Rommel's military men in North Africa while the Allies also overtake many of the Mediterranean supply bases . We also see footage of Russians as they try to survive many invasion attempts and American President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Chu...
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Two If By Sea is another serious segment of Victory at Sea
The United States prepare to attack the Japanese as they attempt to conquer Peleliu and Anguar near the Philippines . Various casualties on both sides as we witness many deaths and captures at the end . . . This episode begins with a quote from the bible that starts with " To everything turn , turn , turn . . . " that ...
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The Road to Mandalay describes Japan's conquest of Asia in Victory at Sea
This episode details Japan's invasion of China in 1936 and subsequent conquest of Burma after Pearl Harbor before China's liberation was aided by the Allies especially the British as they come back to the Mandalay crossing that helped make victory possible . . . Lots of info for a segment that dealt with how obsessed J...
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Tintin and I is excellent documentary of Herge
Tintin and I recently aired as an episode of PBS's P . O . V . series . It's based on a taped interview of Georges Remi a . k . a . Herge , Tintin's creator , from 1971 in which in discusses his various experiences publishing his popular character , first in a Catholic newspaper , then in his own series of comic books ...
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The Turkey Shoot showcases Japan's invasion and eventual U . S . rescue of Guam in Victory at Sea
Guam , a U . S . territory , gets invaded by Japan a few days after Pearl Harbor and continues under the Asian country's occupation for two and a half years before the Americans take Guam back amid various Japanese casualties , either by suicide or self-defense . The Guam people are thankful as the episode ends on thei...
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Rabbit Fire is one of my favorites from the " Hunting Trilogy " series
Of the three shorts directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese that starred Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , and Elmer Fudd in the " Hunting Trilogy " series , this , Rabbit Fire was the first . When I originally saw this as a nearly 10-year-old kid in the late ' 70s , I laughed out loud at the way Bugs kept trick...
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Bully for Bugs is another classic Chuck Jones Bugs Bunny cartoon
This is another cartoon in which Bugs should have taken a " left turn at Albuquerque " and ends up at a place not of his choosing , in this case a bullfighting ring . After Bugs insults the bull , the bull butts the rabbit sky high as Bugs declares , " Of course you realize , this means war ! " Boy , does it ever ! Wat...
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Million Dollar Baby was certainly one of the best pictures of 2004
I've now seen this movie twice . The first time was in the theatre after it won the Oscars for Best Picture , Best Director ( Clint Eastwood ) , Best Actress ( Hilary Swank ) , and Best Supporting Actor ( Morgan Freeman ) . The last was hours ago on HD DVD with my parents . My dad thought it dragged a little while my m...
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Christopher Crumpet is wonderfully animated UPA short
Just saw this classic UPA short on YouTube . It concerns a little boy who turns into a chicken when he doesn't get what he wants from his parents . In this one , he wants a rocket ship . His father gets a toy one . " I want a REAL one ! " , Christopher exclaims . The father sees an ad for a real one in the paper . He g...
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Elvis : From the Waist up showcases great Presley performances in his first year on national television
Elvis : From the Waist Up was a VH1 special I taped about 10 years ago that I'm just now seeing since a few days from now , it will be 30 years since Elvis " left the building " . This special , narrated by Bono of U2 , chronicles Elvis ' national television appearances in his first year from his debut on the Dorsey Br...
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Abou Ben Boogie is a wonderfully sexy Walter Lantz ' 40s cartoon
Abou Ben Boogie is one of Walter Lantz ' Swing Symphony cartoons that relied heavily on the swing-jazz music that was so popular during the ' 40s era this short was made in . It takes place in some Arabian country at a restaurant where all the men go ga-ga over a dancing harem girl with bare midriff who sings the title...
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Swinging the Lambeth Walk is another unusual Len Lye animation short
Another Len Lye animated short which has paint abstracted directly on film . The music is , as usual , an excellent score for its period . It begins and ends with a silhouette of a hand with its thumb pointed up . I guess all I can say after having seen so many of these Len Lye shorts on YouTube is if you've got a tast...
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This French animated short highly deserved its Oscar nomination from yesterday
Meme les pigeons vont au paradis is one of five Oscar-nominated films in the Best Animated Short category . In this entry from France , an old man with a red bag of lots of gold coins is visited by a priest who tells him to sign something in order to insure his entry into heaven . He also brings a machine that gives th...
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Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party was another entertaining musical short
After performing two numbers in the Cotton Club-the first one with nothing but gibberish , Cab takes some friends to the title party where he sings one more number , " The Call of the Jitterbug " before it's called a reel . . . The announcer is the only white guy I saw here so this is obviously a major studio productio...
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Fantastic Planet is very innovative French-Czech animated feature
I just discovered on YouTube this English-language version of Fantastic Planet , which was distributed in the U . S . by Roger Corman's New World Pictures . A kid Traag adopts a human-like little Om after the mother dies . This Traag learns lessons from a multiple-headphone-like device . As the Om grows , he absorbs al...
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Big Business is the best Laurel and Hardy holiday comedy I've seen
Hours after I rewatched The Fixer Uppers , I remembered another Laurel and Hardy short that had something to do with Christmas : This one called Big Business ( also the title of a feature starring Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler from 1988 ) . The boys sell Christmas trees in this one and are not very successful at it ( ma...