This film tells the true story of a man who found himself alone behind German lines after all his me die.
There may have been many movies about a solider behind enemy lines, but this movie manages to stand out due to very strong filmmaking. The film pulls you into the emotion of the story in surprisingly subtle ways at times. One of the most effective ways this is shown is shown through the film being in three different color pallets. The opening prologue is in black and white to reflect how gloomy and foggy the setting is. The scenes with our main character behind enemy lines are in muted colors to emphasis the horror he is going through. Meanwhile the non-war scenes in the U.S. are in bright colors as a contrast. Even if you don't notice this while watching the film, it is something you will feel. Another clever bit of filmmaking is that after the prologue, we see everything from our main character's point of view. This allows us to experience the tension of what he is going through. This is even shown through the lack of subtitles. Subtitles are under characters speaking in German in the prologue. However, once we start following our main character, we no longer see any subtitles when characters speak German or French. This works perfectly as we do not have any information that our main character (who doesn't speak German or French) has. Since we on the same level of understanding as him, it becomes easier to see things from his eyes. One of the film's greatest assets is Scott Eastwood who is wonderful in the lead role.
This movie does have moments of corny dialogue and moments that stretch believability too far for a movie based off a true story (this is especially true of the playing dead scene). Still these flaws can't ruin this very well-made movie.
In this film, a young couple in conversation talks about who their celebrity sex passes (a celebrity they would be allowed to have sex with without it being considered cheating) would be, just for fun. The guy decides that he would have sex with Jennifer Aniston and our heroine, Gail Daughtry, decides she would have sex with John Hamm. When the guy actually ends up having sex with Jennifer Aniston, Gail decides she needs to find a way to have sex with John Hamm.
This movie is full of proudly juvenile humor. The dumb and silly comedy comes fast and furious. As soon as one gag end, another one follows it immediately. With these constant gags throughout, naturally not all of them hit. In fact, as this film starts, it seems like it is going to be painfully unfunny. It is always hardest for a comedy to be funny, while it is setting up its story. Yet there are still constant gags in the story's set up and nearly all these jokes really fall flat. However, as the story gets going the movie gets funnier. This starts happening gradually with more and more gags working as the film went on. When it got to the last act, I was laughing out loud regularly. As much as the humor can really fall flat at times, when the movie is funny it is completely hilarious. That the humor gets better as the film goes on is heavily due to the cast of eccentric characters (especially John Slatery playing himself). As the movie's story becomes a sex joke filled retelling of Wizard of OZ, our main character meets more friends who join her for her journey. Zoey Deutch as the main character is very purposely over the top with her wide-eyed wonder and naive optimism. This type of character is frankly funnier, when given someone strong to play off of. When a strong supporting cast is given to this character, it is no wonder that she gets funnier. This main group of characters plays off each other so well and this is where the best humor often times comes from. When the humor drifts away from this group and on to other characters (the mail man as the narrator is painfully unfunny) and celebrity cameos, that is when it falls flat.
While a lot of the humor doesn't work, this is still a comedy that made me laugh out loud multiple times.
Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church.
Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing In the Sweet By and By. This song came about because of a friendship between composer, Joseph Webster and poet, Dr. Sanford Fillmore Bennett. One day Webster was depressed and Dr. Bennett recognized this. Dr. Bennett asked his friend what was wrong. Webster replied, "Oh nothing. Everything will be alright by and by." These words brought up an idea in Bennett and he wrote down three verses and a chorus to this song as soon as he could. He handed it to his friend saying, “Here is your prescription, Joe.” Webster loved the lyrics and wrote music for them in practically no time at all. Dr. Bennett later said, “It was not over thirty minutes from the time I took my pen to write the words before two friends with Webster and myself were singing the hymn.” The hymn was first published in 1868 and went on to great fame since. This version of the song comes from Roy and Dale's 1973 gospel album, In the Sweet By and By.
This is followed by Jim and Jessie with Wait a Little Longer Please Jesus.
Afterwards is Ricky Skaggs with Waiting at the Gate. This comes from his 1999 gospel album, Solider of the Cross.
Then comes The Sons of the San Joaquin singing The Boss Is Hangin' out a Rainbow. This is a cover of a Sons of the Pioneers song, and the sing was written by Bob Nolan, one of the founding members of that group and one of my favorite songwriters. This version of the song come from the Sons of the San Joaquin's 1992 album; A Cowboy Has to Sing.
Next is Roy Drusky with a medley of Have a Little Talk With Jesus and Turn Your Radio On.
Now comes The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. This hymn began with a man named Anthony Showalter. As a fan of gospel music and an elder in a Presbyterian church, he held many "singing schools" at various churches in the south. One day he received two letters from former students who were struggling after their wives had passed. To respond to these letters, Showalter consulted scripture. He came across Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." After reading this verse lyrics for a song chorus went through his head and he wrote down, "“Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.” After using this in the letters to his former students he sent this chorus to his friend hymnist, Elisha Hoffman. In the letter he also wrote, “Here is the chorus for a good hymn from Deuteronomy 33:27, but I can’t come up with the verses.” Hoffman then wrote the rest of the lyrics to which Showalter put to music. The hymn was published in 1887.
Today's musical selection ends with Porter Wagoner and The Blackwood Brothers with I See a Bridge. This comes from their 1966 gospel album, The Grand Old Gospel.
Now for the 17th episode of The Lone Ranger TV show.
Now for a message from the Reverand Billy Graham.
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again, it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection starts with the Noveltoons short, The Old Shell Game (1948). This is the first solo cartoon for the character Wolfie, who had previously only worked with Blackie Sheep. He proves to be just as inept at catching turtles as he is at catching sheep.
Next comes Donald Duck in Officer Duck (1939). This is the first time that Donald went up against Mickey Mouse's nemesis Pete in one of the duck's solo cartoons. It was far from the last as during World War 2, the two would be paired together in a series of shorts with Pete as Donald's long-suffering sergeant in the army. A good portion of animation for the character Pete was done by Norm Ferguson and John Lounsberry. Released to theaters on October 11, 1939, this was the last Donald Duck cartoon of the 1930's.
Now for Bugs Bunny in Bushy Hare (1950).
Anyone familiar with the Columbia Krazy Kat cartoons knows they bear little to no rebalance to the George Herriman comic strip on which they were supposedly based. Krazy was turned into a Mickey Mouse clone and the supporting characters disappeared completely. There was however one exception to this and that was the cartoon, Lil' Ainjil (1936). This film does a surprisingly good job at capturing the feel of the classic comic strip. This is especially true of the background art, which had the same distinct look that appeared in the comic strip. The cartoon also features other characters from the strip including Ignatz Mouse, Offissa Pup and Mrs. Kwack. Much of the story also revolves around the idea of Krazy enjoying Ignatz hitting him/her with bricks. Cartoon buffs may recognize Offissa Pup's voice as that of Billy Costello, the first voice of Popeye. Interestingly with how this cartoon was so different from any other in the Columbia cartoon series a review in The Film Daily called it "The usual troubles of Officer Pup while trying to keep Ignatz Mouse from socking Krazy Kat with bricks." The same review called this film "Just fair." This is not a perfect cartoon, but it is quite fun to see how this series could have been had it been more faithful to the strip.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Next is the Fleischer Stone Age cartoon, The Fulla Bluff Man (1940).
Now for one of my favorite early Mickey Mouse cartoons, The Karnival Kid (1929). This movie is famous for featuring Mickey Mouse's first spoken words. Though Mickey's earlier shorts had been sound pictures, they mostly revolved around music instead of dialogue. Though Walt Disney was excited about moving in this direction, his distributor, Pat Powers was not. Powers felt that an English-speaking mouse would have less appeal in countries where English is not the common language. To be fair the mouse does not receive a great deal of dialogue in this movie. His first words are the immortal, "Hot Dogs! Hot Dogs!" (in a scene animated by future Donald Duck director, Jack King). The voice is not the familiar high pitch falsetto, but a plainer undistinguished voice. I do not know who provided this voice. Carl Stalling speak about the early voices of the mouse in a 1969 interview, “all the animators were taking a shot at it, those who wanted to.” Of course, later on Walt himself would become the voice of Mickey. The cartoon features some men who would soon have a great input on Disney's animated films. Ben Sharpsteen (supervising director on the Disney features Pinocchio (1940) and Dumbo (1941)) animates the opening shots of the fairgrounds, the monkey playing all the instruments and the barker (a fore-runner of Kat-Nip from the Mickey Mouse comic strip) pulling Mickey's nose. Burt Gillet (who would direct the most popular Silly Symphony, Three Little Pigs (1933)) animates the scene with the merry-go-round, Mickey playing the hot dogs like musical instruments, the emergence of Minnie and Mickey tipping his ears to her ("The Big Mooseketeer" Roy Williams stated that this scene inspired the Mickey Mouse ears that all of TV's The Mickey Mouse Club wore). Les Clark (one of Walt's nine old men and one of the greatest Mickey Mouse animators) receives very little footage in the cartoon. He animates Mickey catching a runaway hot dog and giving it a spanking, Mickey briefly strumming the guitar and the final shot of the movie. Les Clark's ending was originally going to be longer with Mickey riding the bed like a horse. The legendary Ub Iwerks (who co-created Mickey with Walt) animates the two cats' duet. Despite the forward-looking ideas in this cartoon borrowed a major gag from a previous Disney short. Mickey chasing and spanking the hot dog was originally done by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in All Wet (1927).
Up next is the Noveltoons cartoon, Space Kid (1966).
Now let us close with a song.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
Donald Duck: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein
Crude, juvenile, stupid and a heck of a lot of fun.
The last film for these lovable overgrown frat boys is a mixture of footage from the previous movies as well as the TV show and new stunts filmed for this movie. These stunts both old and new appeal perfectly to the immature middle schoolers in all of us. Some of them are so crazy, we wonder how these guys could have possibly lived through the last 26 years. Others are full of pure gross out humor that works because these guys are so dedicated to the bits that it is hard not to get caught up in their immaturity. The best bits are often a delightful mixture of pure gross out comedy and dangerous stunts. There are also some practical jokes on others as they go out. I admit I find these less funny or entertaining than the dangerous or gross-out bits. However, the theater was laughing very hard along with these practical jokes, so I am in the minority there.
However, what really makes this movie and this franchise as a whole work is the loveable people performing these stunts. Often times the banter between them is funnier than the stunts themselves. We have really grown to love and care about these guys over the course of these five movies and the TV series that began it all. It is almost sad to say goodbye to these people who have grown to feel like friends to us. They themselves actually get pretty emotional about this themselves. In-between the old clips and the new stunts are scenes with them reminiscing about the last 26 years. There is a real sweetness to these scenes where we see just how much these guys love and care about each other. One doesn't expect to feel touched watching a movie where a guy sits in a porta potty which is flung into the air by a giant slingshot and finds himself covered in crap, but here we are. It is hard for a movie where a good portion of it is simply a clip show to stand out. However, these scenes give it a bit of a unique feel.
The film's story (based on Supergirl's comic book story, Woman of Tomorrow) may not offer anything particularly new or groundbreaking for the superhero genre. However, this does not stop the story from being very well told. The heart of this story rests heavily in the title character. In many ways she is very different from her cousin Superman. She is much more cynical and hides her pain behind a lot of partying and an outwardly apathetic demeanor. Yet none of this can hide that like her cousin, she is deep down a very good person. When it comes to doing the right thing, she can't help herself. It is hard not to love a character like this. Her outward demeanor makes her come off as very cool, while her good heart makes her easily to care about emotionally. The scenes dealing with her backstory are very well done. These emotionally effective scenes make us fully understand why this character is the way she is. Also endearing this character to us is Milly Alcock's fantastic performance (she brings a real charisma to this character) as well as her relationship with the young girl (played by Eve Ridley) she goes on this journey with. How Kara (Supergirl's real name) cares for this young girl really captures the heart of this character. She may get annoyed or exasperated with the young girl and even loses her temper at times. However, when push comes to shove Kara always has the girl's back.
As well as a great lead character, this movie also features some very good comedy and action scenes. The comedy is often very funny, while (unlike some recent superhero movies) never distracting from the drama or the characters' arcs. This is because all of the humor flows naturally from the story and characters. Jason Momoa as Lobo gets many of the film's greatest laughs. The action scenes are fantastic. They are very exciting and well-paced. The use of rock music on the soundtrack is also a great asset as it perfectly fits the main character and the tone of the movie.
What keeps this movie from getting a higher grade is the villain. This is a very bland, generic and forgettable villain with nothing to make him stand out from so many similar movie villains.
This is the final segment of the final episode of The All-New Super Friends Hour, unlike most other Super Friends formats, this one had hour long episodes that were made up of various shorter cartoons. The first segment would be an adventure staring two members (or three in some cases as Batman and Robin would often team with another Super Friend) of the Super Friends. The second would be a morality play staring the Wonder Twins. The third would be a typical half hour Super Friends adventure. The fourth and last segment would feature one of the main Super Friends (or two in the case of Batman and Robin) teaming up with a special DC Comics guest.
In this cartoon Superman and Green Lantern team up to save the day when a wild elephant is loose in India.
This is a fun cartoon. Superman and Green Lantern have to save the day without harming the elephants making saving the day feel like a real challenge. The elephants have a great design, and the background art of India is very eye pleasing. The climatic action scene is done quite well. There is some of that very corny superhero dialogue that I love. While there may not be anything new here there is still enough to enjoy.
After having been around for decades, it is amazing that the Mario franchise can still do something new. Yet this new Yoshi spin-off game is something completely new. I have never played a platformer that has felt like this before. Rather than your typical straightforward platforming stages, this is a game that encourages you to explore these levels and the learn about the creatures in them. The premise is that you are helping an anthropomorphic encyclopedia learn all it can about various creatures in its pages. Each creature has its own stage and the point of each of these stages is to learn all you can about these creatures. As someone who simply loves exploring the world around him, a video game that encourages you to explore the video game world in the same way is automatically appealing to me. To simply move at your own pace as you move around this world creates a very charming and relaxing game to play. I found this game a perfect way to unwind after a workday myself. The game even lets you use your own creativity giving you the opportunity to name the creatures you meet.
It of course helps that the world you explore is delightful. The artwork is fantastic and many of the environments and creatures are very creative and fun.
With its often very easy difficulty, this game is heavily aimed at younger Nintendo players. I have no problem with this and feel this is a perfect game to make for kids. After all it is always a wonderful idea to encourage creativity, exploration and curiosity when making something aimed at kids. Heck even most grown-ups could use more of each of these.
The only problem I have with this game is with the mixture of often very easy difficulty and its short length, you finish the game, before you know it.
Coming out of seeing this movie in the theater, I heard a couple having a conversation, where one party said that he wants to read and learn more about George Washington. Whatever flaws you might find with this movie, I cannot find a better recommendation than that. When a historical biopic makes you want to learn more about the actual historical figure than it does its job very well.
To me the most appealing thing about this film is the story that it decides to tell. The story here takes place pre-revolutionary war and pre-presidency. This is just the type of story that I love to hear about famous historical figures. Today too many biopics simply tell the stories that we have heard many times. By focusing on a story about George Washington that much of the movie going audience has never heard of, this film feels fresher and more intriguing than most current biopics. It of course helps that the story is well told here. The casting is fantastic. There are some big-name stars in the cast including Andy Serkis, Ben Kingsly and Kelsey Grammer. However young William Franklyn-Miller steals the show from all of them in the title role. He is fantastic and charismatic here and you fully buy him as a great leader. The way the character is written is also excellent. This movie makes it hard not to root for and identify with him. The latter is not something that is often seen with depictions of George Washington, but it is something that is the very heart of this film. What we see here is not the larger-than-life historical figure but a man who learns from his mistakes and becomes a great leader because of them. This is much more important and emotionally resonate than simply showing him after he matured and become the man we hear about today.
This movie does have too many moments that can simply come off as corny. This type of clichéd corniness feels out of place in a film that is supposed to be a depiction of real historical events. Much of the dialogue is sadly the same cliché corny dialogue that appears in too many biopics these days. This is especially bad in the scenes that acknowledge the racial inequalities and prejudices that sadly play a part in the history of an otherwise great nation. As much as I love my country, these should be acknowledged and addressed in any part of our history as ugly as they can be. However, the writing of these scenes is quite bad with too many forced lines of dialogue that simply take one out of the movie.
Despite some poor dialogue, this movie is an excellent cinematic portrait of this major historical figure.
Note: Sadly, there is still no short film before this Pixar movie.
Michael's Movie Grade: A-
A pure treat for Pixar fans.
I was very skeptical when I first heard of this film. The franchise's story has come to a conclusion twice and despite how much I love these movies, there seemed no need to continue the story. While this movie is technically an unneeded epilogue to an already finished story, it is a darn good one.
Jessie has been a franchise standout since her first appearance in Toy Story 2 (1999) and with this movie she takes center stage. If this franchise is going to continue, I think this is the way to do it, instead of focusing on Woody and Buzz, whose stories have been told and feel completed, turning the attention to other characters. Jessie is a perfect choice for this. She is a character that can be fun and funny, but she also has a sense of emotional depth. She received what is possibly franchise's most emotional moment when her backstory was told in Toy Story 2. This backstory is expanded upon here, in a very emotionally satisfying way. One scene revolving around her back story made me tear up in the way only Pixar can do.
The storyline revolves around Bonnie getting a new tablet device and spending less time with her toys because of this. Jessie of course with her back story takes this especially hard considering what the poor cowgirl has been through. Yet Jessie is not the only character, we create a strong emotional bond with. We also feel a major bond with Bonnie. This is probably the most I have ever connected with this character in any of her three movies. Here she is bullied by her peers for still playing with toys. Trying to seem more grown up and fit in she becomes ashamed of playing with her toys. This is a situation we can all greatly relate to. We all have felt ashamed of loving something that we truly love because someone might view us as childish or not want to spend time with us. This movie does such a great job of digging into this universal experience, creating some very emotional moments.
I great appreciated how this movie dealt with Lilypad (the tablet Bonnie gets). It would have been so easy to simply makes this character a stereotypical villain. Yet this movie went beyond that. Her only intention is to help Bonnie. Even if she goes about it in the wrong way, she does truly care about Bonnie, just as much as the toys do. The whole film takes a more complex stance than toys are good and tech is bad. Instead, it acknowledges that technology can be a great thing, but it is not a substitute for human imagination or social interaction.
As well as the great themes and emotional moments, this movie is also really funny. There were many moments here that I laughed out loud. The humor hits on a consistent basis here.
If I had one problem, it is about how the filmmakers found a way to bring Woody back into the story, after he left the gang at the end of the last movie, yet he didn't really contribute much to the story here. It kind of makes the ending of the last movie lose some of its emotional impact.
This film is directed by Andrew Staton, who was a screenwriter on the previous Toy Story movies and directed some of Pixar's most beloved movies including Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL-E (2008). Staton also co-wrote this movie with Kenna Harris. She had worked as a story artist on the Disney films, Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) andRaya and the Last Dragon (2021) as well as the Pixar movie, Luca (2021). She was also the story supervisor for Inside Out 2 (2024) and worked as a character designer on the TV show We Bare Bears.
As a sidenote, after the passing of Don Rickles, rather than giving Mr. Potato Head a new voice actor, they instead use a few lines from previous Toy Story films. I thought this was nice as it is hard to picture anyone else voicing Mr. Potato Head. As another sidenote, I love the use of a classic song from Bambi (1942) at a very appropriate time.
Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church.
Today's musical selection begins with the King of the Cowboys, Roy Rogers, singing The Circuit Riding Preacher from his and Dale's 1959 album, Jesus Loves Me. Circuit riders were real men back in the late 1700's and 1800's. They were part of the Methodist Episcopal Church and rode on horse across the early United States, preaching the gospel. Naturally this was a perfect subject for Roy to sing about as the lore was similar to that of the cowboy and Roy was a Christian. This song is set to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Old Republic with a few choruses of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms inserted in there.
This is followed by Ricky Skaggs with The Joshua Generation. This song comes from his 1999 gospel album, Solider of the Cross.
Afterwards is The Purple Hulls with No Doubt Salvation. This comes from their 2015 gospel album, Why We Sing.
Then comes Roy Drusky with Softly and Tenderly. The song was written by an Ohio businessman named Will Thompson in 1880. As well as writing gospel songs Thompson also wrote quite a few secular songs and parotic songs. When the songs he wrote were rejected by publishers he created his own company, Will L. Thompson & Company. This company would not only publish music by sell musical instruments. Softly and Tenderly first appeared in 1880's Sparkling Gems, Nos. 1 and 2, a collection of songs from the company. When evangelist Dwight L. Moody was on his death bed he told the songwriter, "Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life." This was appropriate as Will decided to make songwriting his career while at a meeting held by Moody.
Next is The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1948 recording of Read the Bible Every Day. This song was written by Tim Spencer, one of the group's founding members.
Afterwards is Jim and Jesse with Over in the Glory Land.
Today's musical selection ends with Gene Autry and Dinah Shore with their 1950 recording of In The Garden. This song was written by C. Austin Miles (who also wrote Dwelling in Beulah Land). As well as a hymnist, Austin's hobby was photography. He wrote this song in 1912 while waiting some film to dry in a cold and leaky basement. Miles had discovered earlier that he could read the bible in the red lighting of his darkroom and often did. This day he was reading John 20. He read about how Mary went into the garden to see Jesus' tomb. Her heart was full of sadness, but when she learned that Jesus had overcome the grave she was moved to great joy. This passage moved Miles as he read it, and this song started to come to him. Miles originally intended this song to be an Easter song and for it to be from the point of view of Mary Magdalene. Miles would later say about this song, “This is not an experience limited to a happening almost 2,000 years ago. It is the daily companionship with the Lord that makes up the Christian’s life.” Learning this story has made this song all the more powerful for me and I hope it enhances the power of this great hymn for you as well. The same day Gene and Dinah recorded this song (April 20, 1950), they also recorded a lovey version of The Old Rugged Cross.
Now for the 16th episode of The Lone Ranger TV show.
Now for a message from the reverend Billy Graham.
Psalm 87
Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.
1 He has founded his city on the holy mountain.
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you,
city of God:
4 “I will record Rahab and Babylon
among those who acknowledge me—
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush—
and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”
5 Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High himself will establish her.”
6 The Lord will write in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born in Zion.”
7 As they make music they will sing,
“All my fountains are in you.”
Thank you for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again, it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with Tree For Two (1952) starring Sylvester the cat. This short film introduced the two dogs, Spike and Chester. They would only appear in two classic theatrical shorts (the other being Dr. Jekyll's Hyde (1954)), but the popularity of these cartoons has made them make cameos in many post-golden age Looney Tunes projects. This short would later be edited into the feature film, Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983) and be remade as The Dogfather (1974), the first short in The Dogfather series.
Up next is the Terry Toons cartoon, Hounding the Hares (1948). This short film features our good friend Farmer Al Falfa.
Now we join Donald Duck in Sky Trooper (1942). Like many cartoon characters, Donald Duck spent much of World War 2 making service comedies that featured him in some branch of the military. Despite the most famous image of Donald being him in his sailor suit, most of these service comedies featured the duck in the army. Many of these cartoons also feature Mickey Mouse's nemesis Pete as Donald's long-suffering sergeant. The highlight of these films is often the interactions between these two characters. Sky Trooper was written by Carl Barks, who is best known for his wonderful comic book stories starring the beloved cartoon duck as well as for the creation of his uncle Scrooge McDuck (for whom Carl also wrote the comic book stories). The cartoon was directed by Jack King, who directed most of the Donald Duck shorts around this time. The film was released to theaters on November 6, 1942. It made its TV debut on an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club that aired on December 10, 1957. The cartoon would also be used in the Walt Disney Presents episode, This is Your Life, Donald Duck (1960).
Next is the silent Out of the Inkwell film, Hot After It (1926). This film would later be retitled Koko's Treasure Hunt for television and that is the title you see here.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Next comes Bugs Bunny in Bugsy and Mugsy (1957). This film was a semi-remake of the Slyvester cartoon, Stooge for a Mouse (1950). Bugsy and Mugsy would later be remade as the Dogfather cartoon, Heist and Seek (1974).
Now for the Fleischer stone age cartoon, Way Back When a Razzberry was a Fruit (1940).
Winsor McCay is easily one of the most important, and most talented pioneers of animation. Contrary to some stories you might hear though he is not the first filmmaker to use animation (Emil Cohl, J. Stuart Blackton, Charles-Émile Reynaud, and Segundo de Chomón beat him to it). However, his importance to the history of animation cannot be underestimated. Winsor McCay had already enjoyed much success before entering the field of animation, as creator and writer of the newspaper comic strips, Little Nemo in Slumberland, and Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend. These comic strips were the highlight of the comics page back then. They transcended what comic strips had been known for through their abundance of imagination, and expert drawing style. It is only natural for a man who created this to be attracted to the art form of animation. His first film was Little Nemo (1911) based off his own comic strip. This film starts out in live action with McCay betting he can make drawings move (although he incorrectly credits himself as the first to do this), and his friends respond with laughter and disbelief. The live action segment of this film is very clever, and humorous. The highlight of the live action portion though is seeing McCay draw his characters before the animation starts. This is when you know you are watching a great talent at work. The animation segment itself is very well done and entertaining, but it is a little dated. It is obvious he had not yet figured out what to do with animation, and that leads to a lack of understanding our characters, and therefore a lack of personal involvement. However this animation is expertly done. It is very appealing and still looks very good by today's standards. This entire segment was hand-drawn by one man, Winsor McCay himself. He drew four-thousand drawings all by himself for this one short segment of the film. The early color was achieved by hand painting the 35mm film itself after it was complete. this was also done only by McCay.
Now let us close with a song.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin
I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck
Donald Duck: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein
A compelling and thoughtful revisionist take on the tale of Robin Hood.
Don't go into this movie expecting a typical Robin Hood film. This is not a swashbuckling adventure starring a young dashing Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks. Rather this is often a quiet meditative film that is more interested in delving into the psyche of the main character than providing an action-packed spectacle. Even when we do get action scenes there is very little fun to them. Instead, these scenes are unforgivingly brutal and hard to watch. Still, this is keeping very much with the theme of this movie, rather than being gore for the sake of gore. The brutality serves a purpose here. It is here to rid our minds of any sort of romantism. Instead, we are thrown into a world where violence, even if it is at first well intentioned, deeply changes a person for the worse. We see Robin Hood as an old man (played marvelously by Hugh Jackman), who does not view himself as a hero but instead as a person whose entire legacy was built on nothing but violence and bloodshed. After some early brutal scenes, the rest of the film is very quiet and introspective causing us to go into dark places that we normally wouldn't associate with a Robin Hood story. While this film will definitely divide movie fans and critics for years to come, it leaves a devastating emotional impact and lots of food for thought.
Director/writer Michael Sarnoski (Pig (2021), A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)) not only dismantles and deconstructs the tale of Robin Hood but also creates a powerful cautionary tale about violence and when fiction and romanticism override the brutal truth.
I am not saying this movie is for everyone. It can be unrelenting in its unpleasantness, and the pacing will probably be too slow for those used to big blockbusters. Others will simply have a hard time accepting such a dark take on such a beloved figure. Yet if you are willing to give yourself over to such a challenging movie that asks a lot of its audience, it is an extremely rewarding experience.
What if Joan Crawford had her own weekly radio show? Joan Crawford herself answers this question in the 1936 article from Radio Stars magazine. If you have trouble reading the article, click on the pages and use your touch screen to zoom in. If you don't have a touch screen, click here.
For an example of Joan on radio enjoy this following episode of Suspense.
