You Know You're Watching a Canadian Production When...

Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou (1987)

An early Clint sighting!

Clint in an early (and I think even first) role in Revenge Of The Creature (1955). It's only a about 20 seconds long and is a throwaway gag that Clint's lab technician has assumed that a cat has devoured one of four mice in a cage (thus proving that there's a built in instinct to attack since the cat had been fed recently) - until he finds it in his coat pocket. Goofy, but it ties in somewhat to the rest of the film.

And that is some damn good hair.

Seriously, Look at Those Cheeks!

Damn, Jane Wyman was adorable...In particular here in Lost Weekend...

You Should Always Be Happy...

I've been slightly obsessed with Girl Walk // All Day of late. Well, all year would be more accurate. Through a thin plot, the film follows three main dancers as they explore New York City and eventually get the rest of the city dancing along with them. The whole thing is set to the mash-up album "All Day" by Girl Talk - the majority of which is 70s-80s tunes mixed with rap and hip-hop garnished with a variety of other samples into one flowing piece of dance fodder (the entire album itself is available for free download under the Creative Commons license). Though typically not quite my style of music (since I would normally just want to hear the original versions), the artist Girl Talk (otherwise known as Greg Gillis) has a real knack for blending bouncy pop with the rhythms of rap (my favourite being Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life" seamlessly integrating with "Hey Ladies" by The Beastie Boys) and it allows lots if improvising room for the dancers (though it's a shame that many of the lyrics aren't suitable for younger kids - the film is otherwise perfect for many beginning dancers). Though they all knew the music very well beforehand and certainly had planned moves, the dancers had free reign to make things up as they went. Particularly important when you're moving around people in public spaces.

You can watch the entirety of this feature length music video right here (which I've done several times) or you can purchase the DVD for a suggested $10 (or more if you feel generous) and watch it over and over at your leisure (which I've done now a few more times).

I suppose it's a bit silly to create a screencap post of the film when it's all about the sheer joy of movement, but there's enough happiness flowing out of these stills to warrant it:

One of Many Reasons Why "A Christmas Story" will Always be Great

Along with its weaving of tapestries of obscenities, Bob Clark's A Christmas Story also weaves in a fine array of minor characters outside the main family and Ralphie's friends. So here's a short tribute to them on this Christmas Eve shortly after my family and I have finished our annual viewing...