Another month has gone by so here are some of the movies I watched. To be honest I don't know what happened this month! It flew by! I normally watch at least 5 note worthy movies but this month I've barely looked at the TV! I have Three to share with you so I'll try to go more in depth with each one just to make the post a bit more interesting! So without further ado lets get into it!
6/10. The first movie I watched was The Gang's all here! A musical extravaganza from 1943 featuring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, James Ellison and an appearance by Benny Goodman and his orchestra. This movie was recommended to me based on the fashion and while its peak 1940s style its a little too much shoulder pad for me.
The movie was a huge success at its release and made Alice Faye a star! It was also nominated for an academy award for best art direction. In 2014 the movie was recognized for its cultural and historically significance and is being preserved at the national film registry. I was excited going into the movie because of all its amazing reviews and fame but the movie itself didn't didn't have much of a plot. There is a love story of course, a soldier falls in love with a show girl from the club New Yorker and there is a party to raise war bonds at the house of the girl the soldier was suppose to marry. So a bit of a love triangle I suppose although I felt it was anti climactic.
The biggest draw from the movie is the large musical numbers like "The Lady in the Tutti Fruity Hat" featuring Carmen Miranda and Dorita. Most of the movie is musical numbers (Duh.. because its a musical) It is directed by Busby Berkeley, if you are not familiar with his work he is an American director and choreographer know for his elaborate dance numbers. His signature is creating large shapes with people in his choreography. Similar to synchronized swimming, thats the first thing that comes to mind. He also plays around a lot of different elements that were innovative at the time, in this movie he has light up rings (They look like glow in the dark rings) and uses green screen to make it look like the actors faces are floating.
I think my favourite dance number was the one in the photo above, I love the costumes and its just so unusual! Even tho some critics criticized this number for its phallic symbolism. Overall it was was enjoyable, I think everyone should watch it at least once but I probably wont be watching it again. If you are interested you can actually watch the whole thing on Youtube here!
10/10. I LOVED this documentary! its new on Netflix and I was so excited to watch it when it was first announced, and it did not disappoint! I knew a lot of the information discussed but, what I enjoyed the most was the amount of unseen footage they used (at least unseen by me) and also just footage of the streets of Hollywood and NYC in the 50s. It almost feels like they went out on the street and shot everything FOR the documentary, but its real footage. I loved it.
I've always been interested in Marilyn Monroe, like I'm sure many of you are, I also share a birthday with her! She was such an interesting person and had more depth than was perceived by the public. Norma Jeane (Her birth name) had a rough start in life bouncing from foster home to foster home while her mom was in an asylum. It's crazy how far in life she was able to go with very limited opportunities and became Marilyn Monroe.
She was viewed as the Sex symbol we remember her as but she was more than that. It's hard for some people to look past that image, which she strategically created. All she wanted from life was to be loved and feel like she belonged. In the documentary they show notes from her psychiatrist and interviews with his family members who interacted a lot with Marilyn (He treated her from his home) What I found interesting is the way they talked about her character, or presence I guess. She has a certain allure that even if you didn't know she was Marilyn (was wearing no makeup and a head scarf) men would still be attracted to her and women wanted to be her. There is something about her that pulls you in, the way she moves and carries herself. In the documentary it was described as "animal like" which I found really interesting.
She also started her own film production company which was unheard of at the time for a woman! I actually didn't know that! Sorry I'm posting so many photos for this documentary, there are just so many good photos of her lol maybe I should do a whole blog post dedicated to Marilyn.
Of course half of the documentary deals with rumours about Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedy Brothers. We all know about JFK and Marilyn but it was actually rumoured that it was both brothers. And they make connections to the Kennedy Brothers and her death. Was is a suicide? Accidental overdose??? or was it more than that?? You'll have to watch the documentary to find out!
8/10. Of course I went to see the new Downton Abbey movie opening day, at the first showing available lol. I rewatched the series with my mom during one of the the lockdowns, it was her first time watching it and she LOVED it! So we were both really exited to watch the new movie and were counting down the days. And of course it didn't disappoint in the costume and set department.
It started off with Toms wedding, which isn't a spoiler lol its literally in the trailer. I personally loved her dress, There is something about 1920s wedding dresses that I love! However I wish they would've shown more of their relationship. Since you didn't see much of it in the previous movie I was hoping to see a bit more of their chemistry or how they interact as a couple. I love seeing why and how people fall in love, so it felt a bit rushed in that regard. However I understand it's a movie and they have to fit in all of the characters so they cant dedicate too much time to one person. The movie as a stand alone film doesn't hold up, it's made for the fans of the show and you have to be invested in the characters to enjoy the movie (I felt the same with the first movie).
I loved their clothes, especially these tennis outfits. I want to see if I can recreate one of these looks. I always thought that Edith was the best dressed on the show and I will die on that hill. Everyone always points to Mary when it comes to being the fashionable one but in reality its Edith! She always looks fabulous and she really came into her own after she got the magazine and the flat in London. If I could find more photos online I would make a whole blog post of Ediths outfits just to prove this point lol. Either way if you love the show its a MUST SEE! To Me it felt a bit rushed and I wanted to see more from the characters... basically I wanted another season not a 2 hour movie lol. I guess if your only criticism is that your audience wants to see more then you are doing something right!
And with that I'll finish this blog post and leave you with a photo of me at the movie theater before watching the new Downton Abbey movie!
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