23.1 The Falcon and the D’Ohman
New power plant security guard Wayne (Keifer Sutherland) rebuffs Homer’s attempts at friendship. However, after Wayne attacks Snake during an attempted robbery (blowing his cover as a former CIA agent) Homer helps him escape from his enemies.
It’s not an outstanding episode, but it’s not horrible. Perfect middle of the road entertainment.
The best part was confirmation Ned and Edna stayed together.
23.2 Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts
When Chalmers chastises Skinner for his education of Bart, he responds by challenging Chalmers to teach him himself. Chalmers proves an excellent teacher, particularly his use of Teddy Roosevelt to inspire the boys in his class.
While on a field trip to see Roosevelt’s discarded spectacles, Nelson is injured and Chalmers is fired.
Unexpectedly, the boys rally the school to hire Chalmers back.
The John Kricfalusi opening gag was an excellent addition to the show’s canon.
Chalmers is often played as a pompous buffoon; it’s nice to see him as a competent teacher.
23.3 Treehouse of Horror XXII
As a rule, I love Treehouse episodes, but this one was not one of my favorites.
In the opening, Homer is trapped in a parody of
127 Hours. In the first segment, Homer is paralyzed ala
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The second segment is a parody of
Dexter; Ned believes he is being told by God to murder, devolving into a critique of religion.
The third segment is a parody of
Avatar.
None of it is very funny and some of it is just blandly offensive.
Na’vi = Nazi is extremely lazy and the parody of religion didn’t land for me at all.
23.4 Replaceable You
Homer’s new assistant, Roz (Jane Lynch). conspires to have him fired. With an assist from her old acquaintance Ned, Homer turns the tables on her and wins his job back.
Meanwhile, Bart and Martin create a science day project of robot pets. It’s initially a welcome addition to the Retirement Castle, until the robot breaks down and causes mayhem (killing Mrs. Glick).
There’s some funny stuff, and I love Jane Lynch, but I wish she had been given a better role. Homer having a work enemy has been done much better (Frank Grimes). Why try it again?
23.5 The Food Wife
Tired of Homer being the “fun parent”, Marge arranges a night out with the kids and somehow backs her way into a hit food blog with her two eldest children. When the trio are invited to a molecular gastronomy event, a guilty Marge initially invites Homer, but a dream convinces her to keep this to herself and she sends him to a false address which winds up being a meth lab.
Antony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, and Mario Batalli guest star, which makes the episode better, but
The Simpsons take on food criticism has been done better elsewhere (Season 11’s Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner). There’s not enough substance for me to like this.
23.6 The Book Job
After discovering most successful books are ghostwritten by a committee, Lisa is horrified, but a consortium of Springfieldians (including Homer, Bart, Moe, Patty, Professor Frink and Skinner) see tan opportunity to game the system, and work to create a popular novel,
The Troll Twins of Underbridge Academy.
Along the way, they’re aided by Neil Gaiman and have to fend off an unscrupulous publishing executive (Andy Garcia).
It’s a fun, insightful parody of modern publishing and the commercialization of reading, and there’s a heavy dose of heist film parodies (especially
Ocean’s 11). I love a heist movie and I loved Neil Gaiman (although his involvement hasn’t aged particularly well).
This was easily one of the better episode of the season.
23.7 The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants
Homer backs his way into a promotion at work to “accounts man” and is mentored by Robert Marlowe (John Slattery).
Homer promoted beyond his competence is a tired trope. Workaholic parent struggles to maintain family life balance is a cliche straight outta the 80s / 90s.
I like the
Mad Men references (including Slattery and creator Matthew Weiner in guest roles), but this was one of the lowlights of the season.
23.8 The Ten-Percent Solution
Krusty is upset Itchy and Scratchy are getting so much love, but his protesting gets him fired. Despondent and unemployed, he’s aided by The Simpsons and their new friebd, the entertainment agent Anni Dubinsky (Joan Rivers), who happens to be Krusty’s ex.
Krusty’s yo-yo career has been the subject of a lot of episodes and can be fertile ground. But here it just doesn’t feel particularly fresh. However, Joan Rivers is top notch casting choice and her banter with Krusty elevates this to slightly above average.
23.9 Holidays of Future Passed
After an intro where Bart and Lisa complain while taking the family Christmas photo and declare they may not have children. Flash forward thirty years to see Bart dealing with his sons and Lisa (married to Mulhouse) failing to bond with her daughter. Both Simpson children struggle with parenting and turn to their parents for advice.
Surprisingly Homer offers good advice and proves to be a much effective grandparent than parent.
In general Iike future themed episodes. I really love seeing how teh characters might end up.
This was a really fun, really good episode. I love future Lisa with Milhouse.
In 1936
Edward VIII became King of England;
Reza Shah banned veils (including the hijab) in Iran;
The Winter Olympics were held in Garmisch-Partkenkirchen;
The Hoover Dam was completed;
The helicopter debuted;
The Spanish Civil War began;
Alan Turing published “On Computable Numbers”;
Jesse Owens dominated he 1936 Sumer Olympics in Berlin;
Stalin began the Great Purge in the Soviet Union;
FDR was reelected President of the United States for a third time;
Life magazine debuted,
Roger Miller, Stephen Ambrose, Troy Donahue, Alan Alda, Burt Reynolds, Carl Icahn, Jim Brown, Barbara Jordan, Jerry Reinsdorf, Alex Rocco, Dean Stockwell, Marion Barry, Sepp Blatter, Antonin Scalia, F.W. de Kerk, Ursula Andress, Mario Vargas Llosa, Glenn Jordan, Charles Napier, Frank Serpico, Glen Campbell, Roy Orbison, Jill Ireland, Albert Finney, Glenda Jackson, Bobby Darin, Wavy Gravy, Dennis Hopper, Louis Gossett Jr., Keir Dullea, Bruce Dern, Ken Loach, Kris Kristofferson, Robert Downey Sr., Shirley Knight, Barbara Mikulski, Elizabeth Dole, Buddy Guy, Yves Saint Laurent, Robert Redford, John McCain, Buddy Holly, Walter Koenig, Al Oerter, Jim Henson, Winnie Mandela, Silvio Berlusconi, Václav Havel, Brian Blessed, Bill Wyman, Charlie Daniels, Dick Vermeil, Michael Landon, Roy Emerson, Dick Cavett, Don Delillo, Abbie Hoffman, Alfred Uhry, David Carradine, Pope Francis, Hector Elizondo, Bobby Ross, Ismail Merchant, and Mary Tyler Moore were born;
While John Gilbert, Rudyard Kilping, King George V, Richard Loeb, Charles Curtis, Billy Mitchell, Max Schreck, Ivan Pavlov, A.E. Houseman, Maxim Gorky, Irving Thalberg, and Anne Sullivan died.
10)
The Devil Doll
9)
The Crime of Monsieur Lange
8)
The Devil is a Sissy
7)
By the Bluest of Seas
6)
Camille
Marguerite Gautier (Greta Garbo) uses her femininity to rise from humble beginnings to a preeminent position in French society as Dame Camille, but complications arise when she falls in love with Armand (Robert Taylor).
Armand’s father (Lionel Barrymore) convinces Camille her sordid past will ruin his future, so she leaves him. A heartbroken Armand finds her just before she dies from tuberculosis, which the film suggests is punishment for her promiscuous past.
When thirty-five year old Garbo retired in 1941, her career consisted of fewer than forty films, less than twenty in the sound era, but her work was so transcendent it ensured her a place in the Hollywood pantheon. Years after her death, her name still has a cultural cache and her public image as a mysterious, beautiful recluse impacts how we view her films, forcing us to see sadness behind every smile.
Robert Taylor was one of the brightest lights in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s, but since his death, the luster has faded. In a sort of reverse blacklist, he’s been systematically diminished because he identified communists in Hollywood before the
House Un-American Activities Committee.
George Cukor was at his best directing strong women, from
Judy Holliday to
Audrey Hpeburn and his close friend,
Katharine Hepburn. His affinity for women-centric films reached its apex with
The Women (1939), a film with no male roles.
Excerpts from this film appear in
Annie (1982) when Daddy Warbucks takes his orphan charge to the movies, and my love
Annie make me like this more than I might have otherwise.
This is a good introduction to Garbo, but it’s a little too melodramatic. If you want to see vintage Garbo, watch
Ninotchka (1939).
5)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
4)
The Story of a Cheat
As The Cheat (Sacha Guitry) writes his memoirs, we see flashbacks of his life. As a boy, he was caught stealing money, but his punishment inadvertently prevented him from eating poisonous mushrooms, convincing the child cheating and dishonesty were the keys to success.
This led to lifetime of cheating and an association with a variety of unsavory characters, including a jewel thief and would be assassin.
Finally cured of his cheating ways by an old army friend, he loses his money gambling and becomes a humble security officer.
Guitry, the writer, producer, director and star is a delightfully impish rake. Sadly, following WWII, he was accused of collaboration with the Vichy government and his reputation suffered.
This eighty year old film, fast paced and witty, has aged remarkably well.
3)
Swing Time
There’s an ostensibly. convoluted plot involving a gambler and a dancer in a collated pathway to falling in love, But who cares. The point of the movie ie th delightful musical numbers which showcase the sublime dancings from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
The dance number are so incredibly creative and teh songs are wonders, including the now gold standard (The Way you Look Tonight).
This is a wonderful example of what movies could be capable of.
2)
The Petrified Forest
Failed British wrier Alan Squier (Leslie Howard) arrives at a remote diner on the edge of the Petrified Forest and meets the proprietor’s daughter, Gabrielle (Bette Davis) who dreams of escaping to France to join her mother.
Although Alan and Gabrielle have an obvious connection and playfully flirt with one another, he hitches a ride with a departing wealthy couple, but they are waylaid by Duke Manatee (Humphrey Bogart) a desperate gangster on the run from the law.
Duke forces the caravan back to the diner where he is supposed to rendezvous with his girlfriend, but after realizing his girl has been captured, takes everyone hostage.
Adapted from a stage play (which also featuring Howard and Bogart) this film transformed Bogie into a star. The studio wanted an established star to play Duke, but Howard fought for his stage costar to reprise his role.
This movie fixed Bogie as a tough, no nonsense character. He’s a force of nature here, presaging Brando and the expressionistic performances of the 1950s.
Howard was a superstar in the 1930s, and died a hero in WWII, but seems to have been pushed aside in favor of other stars of the era.
I like Bette Davis here (although she is more plot device than character) and because of their respective contracts with Warner Bros, this the third of six collaborations for her and Bogie in the decade.
1)
Modern Times
The
Tramp gets a job at an assembly plant and, overwhelmed by the modern, machine-dominated world, suffers a nervous breakdown. When released from the hospital, he’s mistaken for a communist and arrested.
In prison, he accidentally uses cocaine, inadvertently escapes, voluntarily returns, thwarts a jailbreak, and leaves as a hero.
Finally free, he falls in love with a girl (Paulette Godard, who would become Chaplin’s third wife), and, after a series of setbacks, the couple find work at a cafe. Ill-suited for the job, the Tramp is quickly fired, but not before performing an amazing impromptu song and dance to entertain the customers.
Charlie nonsense song
So many people saw their own struggles reflected in Chaplin’s Tramp, he came to symbolize the uncertainty of modernity during the
Great Depression.
Unlike his contemporaries, Chaplin was not afraid to make political points in his films and, in an ironic twist, would later be labelled a communist and exiled from the United States.