greetings!

Well my pals, I found myself a bit under the weather. Because of this, I am going to keep this correspondence brief.

I’ll be honest… part of me wanted to skip out on Sundae Matinee this week but I got to keep the momentum going. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, routines and rituals are extremely important to me. They are easy to stop, but extremely difficult to restart. At least, this has been my findings. After I shake this pesky cold I’ll be back on my feet again with a more enticing newsletter. Until then, here are the latest happenings.

what’s the latest scoop?

Down With The Internet

As expressed to you last week I have a disdain for the internet and it continues to grow. Since the start of the year, I have been making it a priority to get myself offline in as many ways as possible. Down with the internet! I requested that those that want to reach me do so via telegram. I am quite disappointed to report that I have yet to receive a telegram since my last dispatch… however, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, I am hopeful to find one at my door soon.

NOW BACK TO THE SHOW: In effort to be live a more analog life, I have started a media journal of sorts. Below is photographic evidence.

My plan is record my favorite watches and reads at the end of each month and share theme here in effort to spotlight some of the media I have enjoyed. I also feel this will be quite helpful for me at the end of the year when I compile a best of list. I encourage you to do the same, and if you’re up for it, share your favorites with me. I am always seeking new pictures to watch and books to devour.

In January I watched 58 motion pictures. Above, I recorded those that stood out to me. All of them were new-to-me except for the 1946 noir, Black Angel. I revisited this flick on the Criterion Channel, as it was part of their “Blackout Noir” series which Criterion described as: characters tormented by amnesia, memory holes, and drunken blackouts, leaving them to grasp in the dark in search of an often terrifying truth!

I watched a few of the films that were part of this series,. However, Black Angel is the one that really stood out to me and I am so happy that I took the time to watch it again. It is such a great mystery that keeps the viewer guessing until the end. It features a stellar cast of Dan Duryea, Peter Lorre, and the lovely June Vincent. Revisiting a movie is comforting, and I have to ensure that I do so more often. It is easy for me to get caught up in only watching new-to-me pictures, but there is value in spending time with those I have seen before.

In January I read 3 books and ta da I enjoyed them all. I am still reeling from reading about Lestat riding a motorcycle while listening to Bach in Anne Rice’s Lestat. Who’s pumped for season three? Knowing this show is on the horizon is giving me reason to not throw in the towel. It is going to be INCREDIBLE and I may even be working on a secret series for TVJawn (an arm of MovieJawn) with my pals Kate and Emily in support of the show. Stay tuned!

Check back in March to see my Favorites from February.

this week i am proud of…

my review of Pillion 

I wrote a review of Pillion for MovieJawn and am quite proud of it. You can read the review here. I recommend checking out the movie too! I consider it to be one of the best new releases I have seen in quite some time.

this week i recommend…

Watching THREE SECRETS (1950)

This is easily becoming my favorite part of the newsletter, as I love to share motion pictures that I believe are otherwise hidden.

I stumbled upon this week’s pick, Three Secrets after falling down the rabbit hole that is Patricia Neal’s filmography. I caught Patricia recently in the Michael Curtiz (same director I mentioned last week, of King Creole) motion picture, Bright Leaf (1950) on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). This was a tale of a couple tobacco growers that battle for control of the cigarette/cigar market. I found it to be a well made picture that was mostly about terrible people. It may have also been the first time that I watched Gary Cooper in a film in which I simply could not stand the sight of him by the time the credits hit the screen. His character was so despicable that I could have just spit.

After viewing the movie though, I immediately started looking up other films Patricia Neal had been in. I can’t express enough how grateful I am that TCM exists and that I have access to it. Bright Leaf included another incredible introduction from Alicia Malone in which she mentioned how the film surprisingly has flown under the radar given the stacked cast of Gary Cooper, Lauren Bacall, Patricia Neal and Jack Carson. I also learned from Malone that Curtiz was apparently a major JERK on set with a capitol J. That was unfortunate to learn, because I do find him to be a damn good picture maker.

If you check out Bright Leaf, I do not believe you will find it as a waste of your time. For me, I am really happy I caught it, as it lead me to Three Secrets.

I find it astounding that I have never heard about Three Secrets before given that, when it was made, it seems like it would have been ahead of its time. SYNOPSIS: A plane crashes and the sole survivor is a five year old boy that now finds himself stranded in the mountains of California. The newspaper reveals that the boy had been adopted and the crash took place on his birthday. This causes three women played by Eleanor Parker, Patricia Neal, and Ruth Roman (my lord this cast is stacked) to believe that the boy might quite possibly be the son they gave up. Each of the women head to the mountain town, and as they await updates on the rescue each of them share their story.

The performances from the three main stars was absolutely fantastic. Each one of their stories tugged at my heartstrings. By the time the credits rolled though, I decided Patricia Neal is an absolute powerhouse. Her voice hypnotizes me and I would watch her in any damn picture. While Parker is always showing up and never disappoints and to me, Ruth Roman can do wrong.

These tales are relevant even today because, throughout all time, men have been scum and continue to be. Go ahead and prove me wrong, I’ll be waiting here.

In the meantime, I recommend you watch this movie, it is available for free here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy you are here. xx.
goodbye.