Currently Reading 01-26-21

Well, last night I finished reading Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas and today I finished reading A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday. It’s been a bit since I read an entire book in a day, but it was one of those books and one of those days. So my Cold Street review won’t post until tomorrow.

Next up! The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss. It’s another Christmas book! Lol I loved the last one so hopefully I like this one just as much. We’ll see…

2021 has been a slow start for me. Even though there was no holiday traveling last year I feel wiped out. Until recently I wasn’t able to focus on a book for any length of time. Hopefully that’s changing, but I’m not going to push myself.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Director:

Jim Sharman

Writer:

Richard O’Brien

Starring:

Tim Curry

Susan Sarandon

Barry Bostwick

Richard O’Brien

Patricia Quinn

Nell Campbell

Jonathan Adam

Peter Hinwood

Blurb:

A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.

Thoughts:

I remember where I was the first time I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’m not sure if a friend was trying to shock me or legitimately thought I’d like the movie, but I ended up loving it. I have not had the pleasure of watching in theaters, but one day, hopefully with that same friend.

The whiplash of going from Bedknobs and Broomsticks to Rocky Horror was amusing (My blog posts ended up being posted out of order). The opening helped ease me in, though. When the songs started, I didn’t care at all. I love the songs so much.

There is, of course, a lot of history tied with this film. It wasn’t a success at first, and only because of the studio’s policy to allow theaters to order from their backlog did it become a cult classic. Now it is the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

Papers have been written on this movie, including an essay entitled “Bisexuality, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Me” by Elizabeth Reba Weise. It’s included in the book Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out.  Rocky Horror represents the queer community in a way that I’m not sure was there in the seventies. Maybe, I’m not sure. I love that Frank N. Furter, Tim Curry, seduces everyone. He is a treasure in all things.

The costumes, the dance numbers, the humor, there is nothing that I don’t enjoy while watching this. If anyone ever asks me, I say that I don’t enjoy trippy movies or tv shows, but looking at my catalog and considering TV Shows I’ve been watching, I’m starting to think that’s not true. Maybe I’m just really picky about my trippiness?

A couple of attempts at sequels to Rocky Horror were made, but there doesn’t appear to be a true one released. The closest that came is a movie called Shock Treatment. I haven’t watched it and from what I can tell most people didn’t like it. I might try to dig up a copy one day to judge for myself.

I will not be getting rid of my 35th-anniversary blu-ray edition. It doesn’t appear as though the 45th edition has anything new. I’m hoping that at some point there’s a remaster, but who knows if that will happen.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

Directors:

Robert Stevenson

Ward Kimball

Writers:

Ralph Wright

Ted Berman

Bill Walsh

Don DaGradi

Ken Anderson

Starring:

Angela Lansbury

David Tomlinson

Blurb:

An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.

Thoughts:

I remember Bedknobs and Broomsticks fondly. It’s not a movie that I’ve seen often, but it made a big enough impact on me that I bought it when I saw it for sale. I’ve watched it once since then and still enjoyed it, but that’s been years and years ago (it’s a DVD to give you an idea). While talking with some friends, I discovered that they had the same experience. They’d seen it, liked it, but didn’t remember much if anything about it, just that they liked it.

It’s based on a book, of course. Disney purchased the rights when they had issues getting Mary Poppins and then Bedknobs was set aside when they finally did get Poppins. It seems like it did well at the time, though it was compared to Mary Poppins in reviews. I looked to see if there was a blu-ray available on Amazon and it appears to only be on streaming and DVD, so I guess it never made it to blu-ray. It’s not a movie that’s gotten a lot of love and I wonder if it’s because of the witch element.

After my re-watch, I still enjoy it, but since it’s on Disney+, I don’t feel the need to own it. There was a very long singing and dancing number that had some questionable representation. It also felt a bit like Mary Poppins, though, that could have been that one of the main actors was from that film. After reading the Wikipedia entry it sounds like at least one song originally written for Mary Poppins was included in Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

By far, the best scene in the movie was the battle at the end. It was so bonkers ridiculous, and amazing. That part alone made me almost keep the film. Still, as I said, it’s a DVD, and Disney+ has it available, and it doesn’t seem likely to be taken down.

I just want to add, Angela Lansbury is a treasure, and every time I see her, I think of Murder She Wrote and want to watch it. Plus, she was Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, the best Disney movie ever! (Maybe not ever, but definitely up there)

The Rescuers (1977)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Rescuers (1977)

Directors:

John Lounsbery

Wolfgang

Reitherman

Art Stevens

Writers:

Larry Clemens

Ken Anderson

Frank Thomas

Vance Gerry

David Michener

Ted Berman

Fred Lucky

Burny Mattinson

Dick Sebast

Starring:

Bob Newhart

Eva Gabor

Geraldine Page

Joe Flynn

Blurb:

Two mice of the Rescue Aid Society search for a little girl kidnapped by unscrupulous treasure hunters.

Thoughts:

The Rescuers was the first movie on my list that’s not technically mine. When I made my list of owned movies, I included movies that my husband owns as well. We’re one household, so it made sense. There are a couple of movies that he owns that I won’t be watching for various reasons, but I’m including most of them in my re-watch.

The Rescuers was a dark movie. There were hardly any light moments in the entire film. A little orphan girl is kidnapped and forced into a dangerous situation repeatedly so the villain can get a giant diamond, for crying out loud. Current kid’s movies do not have a monopoly on darkness.

While reading the Wikipedia entry for a children’s movie, something you love to see is “nudity scandal.” It sounds like a disgruntled or stupid employee decided to sneak in a shot of a topless woman. It was only in two frames and pretty much impossible for someone to notice on ordinary viewing, but of course, someone spotted it. After seeing the image, I feel like it was more amusing than anything else.

Reviews at the time seem to be mostly positive, saying it was a return to old form for Disney. Since I got rid of most of the movies that came out at that time, I only have my memories to compare it too. The only time I had issues with the animation were when the villain was appeared, and there was a ton of black outlining. I thought she looked pretty bad.

The songs were mostly forgettable, they were nice at the time, but thirty minutes later, I forgot they were even there. I did love the voice cast, though. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor sounded perfect together.

The film is also a bit dated. Bianca was smart and capable, but since she was a woman, she was often babied. However, she seemed to take it in stride and use it to her advantage, so that was nice.

The Rescuers isn’t necessarily a movie I feel like I need to own, but there are worse movies to have on my shelves.

The Awakening

The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1)

By: Nora Roberts

Blurb:

In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…

When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.

This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home. Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny…

Review:

As soon as I started reading The Awakening, I struggled to put it down. I wasn’t able to focus on anything once I started. I was surprised by that because I expected this story to be like Robert’s The One Chronicles. It was very light on romance, like that series, but The Awakening was nowhere near as dark. It was almost like reading a wish-fulfillment book. The main character was miserable in her life, though she had a found family that she loved completely. She finds out that her mother has been hiding a fortune from her and can then live the life she’s always wanted. She goes to Ireland, something I’ve always wanted to do. She starts writing a book and ends up being very good at it, something I’ve tried to do with varying levels of success. She then finds out that there’s a multiverse, and she’s got powers, something I think everyone has wanted at some point in their lives.

Even with how much I loved The Awakening, I did have a couple of complaints. Well, not complaints exactly, but things I wasn’t all on board with. The biggest one being the relationship between the main character and what will inevitably be her love interest. He was a bully while training her and gruff and rude while not, but I was supposed to believe that she was attracted to him. Their “relationship” would have seemed to come out of nowhere if I wasn’t used to these types of books. It was seriously lacking in any kind of attraction or build up.

I also wish it hadn’t ended on a cliffhanger. That’s only a complaint because it was so good I want to read the next book NOW. The next book doesn’t come out till November, so I’ve got a wait ahead. Considering how long I had to wait for this book from the library, I might pre-order the sequel.

Besides all the wish-fulfillment going on with The Awakening, I loved the world that was created. It’s not one I necessarily think I could live in, I love technology too much for that, but it sounded beautiful. More than a few times, I set aside the book and searched for cottages in Ireland. The descriptions were gorgeous. I also loved that all these fairy tale creatures were able to live together in harmony. The world sounded like a utopia, except for the whole fact that a demon god was trying to destroy it and everything else.

The Awakening was an excellent read, and even though it wasn’t like Nora Robert’s books of old, it was one I’m incredibly excited to keep reading. It’s the middle of January, and I’ve already read one of my favorite books of the year. It’s crazy.

5/5