January 28 - February 3:

Ride the Wild Surf (1964)
Fabian, Tab Hunter
Before we popped this baby into the DVD player I saw that the running time was one hour and forty minutes and I thought "What the hell?" Well, if you removed all the long shots of guys surfing and Fabian smoldering the film would be about 20 minutes! That's okay, I loved it anyway. Barbara Eden is a black belt who flips guys over at parties for fun, Peter Brown (someone I've never heard of, but who seems to work a lot) gets drunk and dives off a cliff (he lives) and it's all set in 1964 Hawaii. What's not to like?

The Wrecking Crew (1969)
Dean Martin, Sharon Tate, Nancy Kwan, Elke Sommer
The last in the Matt Helm series, even though they tell you to look for The Ravagers, which would have been next in the series. Too bad it wasn't made--I can't get enough Matt Helm! Sadly, it came out the same year Sharon Tate was murdered by Charles Manson and his merry band of psychos. She was really funny in this one, as was everyone else. Nancy Kwan (as Yu Rang), in my opinion, had the best clothes, although Tina Louise, in a small role, gave her a run for her money in the costume department.

January 21 - January 27:

Panic in Year Zero (1962)
Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon
Oh, boy, I loved this movie! A family leaves LA for a camping trip, managing to miss the nuclear bomb that destroys the city. Anarchy ensues and it's every man, woman and child for him or herself. Ray Milland (who also directed) reminded me a lot of my father, who also would have known how to survive nuclear holocaust. It was a lucky thing for the family that he was around, because the mother and daughter had zilch in the way of survival skills and Frankie was enjoying the whole survivalist experience a little too much.

The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor
Another winner, this one based on the true story of '50s pinup (and bondage) queen Bettie Page. Gretchen Mol really looks like her and I think everyone did a great job capturing the feel of the era. We especially enjoyed Lili Taylor as Paula Klaw, since we know people who actually knew her and have heard all kinds of nutty stories.

Idiocracy (2006)
Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph
The most simultaneously disturbing and hilarious film I've seen in a long time. The U.S. Army experiments with suspended animation technology and intends to put Joe, a very average guy, and Rita, a hooker, to sleep for one year, with no energy expenditure on their parts, to see if it's possible to "preserve" people for the future. Well, long story short, the army base is closed and razed and the experiment forgotten. Fast forward 500 years and Joe and Rita wake up to a world so dumbed down that people can't speak in complete sentences and doctors and lawyers (and the president) have the IQs of squirrels who've suffered head injuries. They're suddenly the most intelligent people alive, which you would think would be an advantage, but isn't when intelligence isn't respected and you're considered a "fag" because you can talk without drooling. There is much hilarity as Joe attempts to save the American people from themselves. The only thing I disagreed with was the idea that we're 500 years from this scenario. I'd say we're more live FIVE years away!

January 14 - January 20:

Move Over, Darling (1963)
Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen, Thelma Ritter
I'm typically prejudiced against remakes, but this remake of My Favorite Wife has Doris Day, Thelma Ritter, California-in-1963 sets, costumes and cars and it even has a fantasy sequence on a deserted tropical island. In short, it's got everything! I wonder if Jo-Ann Fabrics still has boucle on sale, because I NEED Doris's green suit...

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin
One family's odyssey from New Mexico to California in a broken down VW Microbus so that their daughter can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Child beauty pageants are scary enough on their own, but couple one with the various challenges this dysfunctional family faces on the road and it makes for one very goofy, very dark comedy. Abigail Breslin, who plays little Olive, is great.

Gas-s-s-s (1971)
Bob Corff, Elaine Giftos, Ben Vereen, Cindy Williams
Oddly enough, I managed to see two road trip films this week that are at least partially set in New Mexico. In this one a gas has accidentally been released that kills everyone over the age of 25 and the youth of America get to prove how much better they can do at running the country than their elders. Naturally anarchy ensues. Best exchange: Doctor: "Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of an organization that advocates the violent overthrow of the U.S. government?" Marissa (ashamed): "Yes. The Paul Revere and the Raiders Fan Club."

Wild in the Streets (1968)
Shelley Winters, Christopher Jones
Another "Don't trust anyone over 30/the kids can do better than the adults" offering, where a young rock star incites various protests, which result first in the voting age being lowered to 14, then the lowering of the required age of various elected officials to 14. Later our young star becomes president and a new policy is instituted to force a mandatory retirement age of 30. At 35 folks are forced into concentration camps and force fed LSD. This all works great...until our young president realizes he's attained the ripe old age of 24 and 10 year-olds start heckling him for being old.

January 7 - January 13:

Change of Habit (1969)
Elvis Presley, Mary Tyler Moore
Like many films that are called terrible by, oh, everyone, I loved this one! The thoroughly ridiculous story involves three nuns, led by MTM, who venture to gritty (at that time) Washington Heights to volunteer at a free clinic. The hitch is that no one is supposed to know that they're nuns, so naturally they run out and buy minidresses so they can pass as carefree young nurses. Elvis, as the doctor, is cranky the whole way through (maybe he knows the film is going to lay an egg) and becomes even crankier when he realizes he's fallen for a nun. MTM is, of course, perky throughout. The juxtaposition of religion, dubious medical techniques and go go music makes this one an instant Lounge classic!

Speedway (1968)
Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra
More for Elvis week! I love this goofy tale of Elvis, as an overly generous race car driver who unfortunately hired his shifty best friend (played by Bill Bixby) to be his business manager. His pal screwed up his tax returns in a big way and now he owes over $100,000 in back taxes. Nancy is the IRS rep sent to collect. When they're not bickering they're singing, until everyone joins forces to save the day.

Click here to see what we watched in December 2006 and early January

Click here to see what we watched in November 2006

Click here to see what we watched in October and early November 2006

Click here to see what we watched in September 2006

Click here to see what we watched in July and August 2006

Click here to see what we watched in June 2006

Click here to see what we watched in May 2006

Click here to see what we watched in April and early May 2006

Click here to see what we watched in March and early April 2006

Click here to see what we watched in February and early March 2006

Click here to see what we watched in January and early February 2006