Cat Ballou (1965)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Cat Ballou (1965)

Director:

Elliot Silverstein

Writers:

Walter Newman

Frank Pierson

Starring:

Jane Fonda

Lee Marvin

Michael Callan

Dwayne Hickman

Nat ‘King’ Cole

Stubby Kaye

Blurb:

A young schoolteacher turns into an outlaw to avenge her murdered father.

Thoughts:

Cat Ballou is another one of my video rental finds. I’d never seen a western led by a woman, and I immediately loved it. Jane Fonda is gorgeous, and I loved how stubborn she was. She knew what she wanted, and when she decided how to do it, she was all in. She was the boss of the crew, and it was great.

While looking up this movie, I was surprised to find it had won an Oscar. Lee Marvin won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Eli ‘Kid’ Shelleen and Tim Strawn. It won a few other awards and was generally well-received by critics at the time. It was also one of the top-grossing movies of the year. Yet, we never got another female-led western like this one. How disappointing.

Because of the older men in my life, I’ve seen a fair few westerns, and it’s a genre of movies and books that I have enjoyed watching and reading. My problem with it and why I don’t enjoy more of it, is its depiction of women. Most of the time, they’re an afterthought, and other times they’re used as a tragedy to push the hero on to greatness. This isn’t a problem only westerns suffer from. It’s just harder to find female-led stories in the genre. Cat Ballou is one of just a handful of western movies led by women. Wyoming by Zane Grey and Ride the River by Louis L’Amour are my favorite western books. It’s been a while, but I used to re-read them frequently.

The Godless miniseries on Netflix is the last female-led western that I remember happening. Even that, though, had a man come in and save an entire town of women. I was so infuriated by that series, mainly because the trailer sold me something that wasn’t what I got.

I’ll stop before this gets any longer or angrier. Pretty sure more of these rants are to come, though.

Nat ‘King’ Cole and Stubby Kaye sing the narration in this movie, and I will end up having it stuck in my head for days.

There is a comedic element to the film, but it’s more of an undertone than flat out Blazing Saddles.

There are so many things to enjoy about this movie, and I’m happy that it’s one I own.

In a Holidaze

In a Holidaze

By: Christina Lauren

Blurb:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

Review:

In a Holidaze is a Christmas Groundhogs day story, two things that I love, so I was particularly excited to read it. I was hoping for a bit more Groundhogs day than I got, unfortunately.

Maelyn does her best not to make waves. She wants to make sure everyone else is comfortable, sometimes at her own expense. She’s also a stickler for tradition. When everything seems to go wrong at her usual family Christmas vacation, she finds herself reliving the entire trip. It wasn’t until she decided to say f-it, I’m going to do what I want when things started to go right. I was actually a bit disappointed by that. I wanted more times through, but at the same time, I was annoyed at how obvious what she needed to do was.

Andrew, Maelyn’s love interest, seemed like a good guy. She’d had a crush on him for half of her life, but he had her firmly in the little sister category. Things, of course, changed in that department. Their intimate scenes were closer to fade to black than explicit, which was fine.

In a Holidaze was a fine book. It just needed to be punched up in a couple of plot areas. There was a large cast of characters, and they didn’t all get the time they deserved. They seemed interesting and were fleshed out, but several didn’t contribute much to the story. I was also disappointed in the handling of Andrew’s brother, Theo.

It was a cute holiday book and, with the right expectations, enjoyable.

3/5

Disney Toybox Re-Issues

It looks like the Disney store has a few re-issues right now. Briefly yesterday The Mandalorian and Child were available. Jango and Toy Story RC Car are also showing up. So if you missed out on them earlier, like I did, then now’s your time.

The Mandalorian and Jango showing up makes me think that someone is reading my blog. If that’s the case…how about a Finn figure? Mace Windu? Some more POC? Maybe some Disney Princesses? You know, if you’re looking for some ideas.

Mary Poppins (1964)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Mary Poppins (1964)

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Bill Walsh

Don DaGradi

Starring:

Julie Andrews

Dick Van Dyke

David Tomlinson

Glynis Johns

Hermione Baddeley

Reta Shaw

Karen Dotrice

Matthew Garber

Blurb:

In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.

Thoughts:

Mary Poppins was one of just a handful of VHS tapes that I had growing up. I watched it many, many, many times. Upon recent viewing, I discovered I’ve watched it so many times I could fall asleep during it. My children were less inclined and quickly got bored; if their past obsession with Blippi is any indication they have no taste.

I love the songs in Mary Poppins. I enjoy them more than any other older Disney movie except maybe The Little Mermaid. I was never a huge fan of the animation in Poppins, I thought it was odd, but unlike P.L. Travers, I don’t hate it with the passion of a thousand suns.

I read at least the first two Marry Poppins books when I was a child and didn’t enjoy them as much as the movie. Mary Poppins wasn’t very friendly, and since my first experience with the character was the film and Julie Andrews, I wasn’t impressed. I like my Mary with a spoonful of sugar.

P.L. Travers sounds like an interesting person, despite her opinions of the movie. She was a Shakespearian actor, wrote poetry, traveled a lot, and met some fascinating people. She also seemed a bit controlling, not just of her written works. Reading her Wikipedia entry, I learned that she adopted a son but never told him he had siblings, including a twin brother. He didn’t find out about his twin until they showed up on his doorstep, demanding to see him. Travers sent the twin away, argued with her son, and he stormed out and searched out his twin. Family drama is entertaining when it’s happening to another family.

I watched Mary Poppins Returns at some point during my review hiatus. Since I barely remember it, I don’t think I was impressed. I am a fan of the actors, though, so that’s disappointing. I have yet to watch Saving Mr. Banks. I plan to one day and just haven’t gotten around to it.

All in all, another great movie that I’m happy to own. It survived the great Disney purge of 2020 in my house. So that’s saying a lot.

Witchmark

Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle #1)

By: C.L. Polk

Blurb:

In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own.

Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family’s interest or to be committed to a witches’ asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans’ hospital, Miles can’t hide what he truly is.

When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles’ healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient’s murder. To find the truth he’ll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

Review:

It took me a couple of weeks to get into Witchmark. Not because there’s anything wrong with the book; I just wasn’t in a reading mood. Once I did, though I was all in, telling my kids to leave mommy alone so she can read.

Miles Singer was born with the ability to heal. The only power valued in his country is the ability to control storms. Since he doesn’t have that power and is part of one of the country’s wealthiest families, his choice is to forever bond with a storm mage so that they can basically use him as a battery. For obvious reasons, he’s not a fan of that, however if the general public find out that he’s a witch he’ll be locked away in an asylum. So he runs away as a young man.

We meet him years later after he’s served in a war and become a shadow of himself. His desire to heal is constantly warring with his desire not to be found and brought back to his family. Things change, and I’m reminded why life as a kind person who cares about others above all is filled with constant disappointment.

Anyway, Miles is pulled into a mystery that has implications across his entire country. He’s also dealing with the mystery of what’s happening to the men coming back from war. It’s a tangled web that I wasn’t able to figure out until the end. Bits and pieces were obvious, and I still don’t trust his sister, but the big reveal wasn’t what I thought it would be.

Witchmark was a great story, and I’m so glad that The Midnight Bargain wasn’t a fluke. I really like C.L. Polk, and I’m excited to read the next books in the Kingston Cycle.

4.5/5