The first movie I watched today, along with Emma, was 1975's A Boy and His Dog. This certainly is not a family film.  I had seen it years ago when it first came out and enjoyed it equally as well today.  It stars a young Don Johnson and takes place in the future after a nuclear holocaust (ala Mad Max).  People are scrounging and killing for food and whatever materials are left.  Don Johnson plays a character who can communicate with his dog, whose main responsibilities are to find his master a female.  Overall, its rather a kinky and off-beat science fiction affair.  This is the type of film that probably has a cult following.

The second film Emma and I watched today was Tim Burton's Mars Attacks. This is the third time I have seen it, and it always remains funny.  It is quite imaginative and is Tim Burton at his best.  This time watching it (the first time since 9/11) I got a whole new perspective on it. Tim Burton must have republican sympathies.  In the film, as Mars is attacking earth, there is a whole political contingent (the left?) who insists that peace can be had without war.  They think that if we only talk to the Martians, they will understand and stop destroying us.  Then there is the whole other point of view in the film that realizes that talking is over and we must protect ourselves with force.  There is also a scene where the French call our president and announce to us that they have signed a peace treaty with the Martians and the fighting is over!  However, seconds later the French get zapped!  Very funny and very true! And a fantastic cast

Mars Attacks is one of Tim Burton's last movies before he fell in love with the close-up and quick cut.  In this movie one could actually SEE things.  He even had shots of two people talking together and one could see both of them at the same time!!!  Burton's later films (Planet of the Apes) are filled with close-ups which can be really annoying. Memo to Tim: your movie will be shown on a big screen and we can see things without the face filling the entire shot!

Today we went to the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater and saw a film noir double feature. The first film was 1950's The Man Who Cheated Himself about a cop who tries to cover up his girlfriend's murder of her husband.  The second film was 1946's Night Editor.  That film was a rough film (for its time) about a cop who is cheating on his wife.  One evening the cop, while necking with his girlfriend, witnesses a murder and sees the murderer.  Does he come forward and point the finger at the guilty man or does he keep quiet so his wife does not find out he was out necking?  The movie follows him as he suffers great guilt, especially when the police start to convict an innocent person for the murder.

Both films were classic B-movie film noir (black and white, of course).  The dialogue, although kind of corny know, was great.  Women were women, men were men, and bad guys never succeed.

Rebecca came home from college this weekend and brought a film with her that we watched this morning.  The Real Blonde was rather entertaining. It's a story about an our of work actor (matter of fact---he has never worked), his girlfriend, and two of his friends.  It's a character driven comedy that is well written and lots of fun.  I am surprised that this film is not well known--it has quite a few stars in it including Daryl Hannah, Kathleen Turner, Buck Henry, and Dennis Leary.  The film is sweet with a few characters that one can admire. This movie is one of my favorites of this year!

Later in the day Rebecca, Emma, Val, and I went to see Scary Movie 4.  This is a classic case that you cannot rely on a preview whether you should see a movie. The trailers to this film took all the highlights and strung them together to make this film look like a laughfest!  However, most of the jokes were lame (the typical fart jokes and the obligatory satire of Brokeback Mountain).  Although they spoofed many films (some directors should realize that the mere act of spoofing does not mean that it's automatically funny), the main film that they concentrated on was War of the Worlds.  The bottom line on this film is that the people responsible should should have tried harder.

This morning, Valerie, Emma, and I watched To Be Or Not To Be, the Mel Brooks remake of the old 1942 Jack Benny-Ernst Lubitsch comedy.  It's a story about a Shakespeare theatrical group in pre World War Poland that is force to shut down after the Nazi's invade.  The group then proceeds to work for the underground. Mel Brooks did a great job at preserving the humor of the original and adding upon that his own style.  Needless to say, there are plenty of Jewish and Nazi jokes.  One can see a bit of the yet-to be written The Producers throughout this film. One of my favorite comedy films.

Later that day, Valerie and I went to see When do We Eat?, a comedy about a Passover dinner where a family (dysfunctional, of course) is gathering together. Along the way, as the mother of the clan wants to have a perfect seder, the father accidentally ingests Ecstasy.  Hilarity (?) follows with the obligatory ending where everyone realizes what's really important in life. The film was mildly amusing but nothing I would recommend for people to see.  The film was a little like the recent The Family Stone, including a gay interracial couple (this time they were lesbians instead of men).

We paid another visit to the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood and saw two old Film Noir films.  The first film Val, Emma, and I saw was Ruby Gentry starring Jennifer Jones and Charlton Heston.  This was a great melodramatic "woman's picture" of the 1950's.  It's about a woman from the "wrong side of the tracks" in love with a man above her social status.  The movie is way over the top but 100% engrossing. Charlton Heston, though way over-acting, was great to watch.  Kissing scenes from 1950's films are still the best!

The other film was Beyond the Forest starring the great Bette Davis. She plays a wife of a small-town doctor.  She is desperate to leave her husband because she finds her whole existence in the town boring. She hates the town and everybody who lives there. She is one of the most evil characters ever depicted on the screen.  Once again the acting is over the top but totally engrossing.  There are several time the dialogue is laughable.  This film is not on DVD and the print they showed tonight was the only one in existence!