Scary Movies, Glen Rock Soda and Fat Jiggling

Guess what turned up deep in my jewelry drawer?  Yes, I am cleaning out a lot of things - must be what happens when three of four kids go away to college.  Anyway, the following turned up from the depths of my drawer:

Oh yeah - you know you had one, too.  Especially if you were a pre-teen girl in the 70s.  This one was no bigger than a small address book.  Remember those psychedelic satin covers?  I wasn't very good at keeping a diary.  A typical entry was not more than a sentence or two.  From Saturday, March 6, 1971:

 

Who is Mark?  One of our weekly crushes, no doubt.

 

My best friend, Sherry, and I would often get together and watch scary movies on Saturday afternoons in her basement.  Channel 18 in Milwaukee often broadcast creepy movies during "Saturday afternoon Theater."  I don't remember, but I thought there was a costumed host introducing the movies.  Maybe I'm confused with Shock Theater or Nightmare Theater or Dr. Cadaverino.  My entire diary entry from Saturday, March 13, 1971:

 

 A week later and another scary movie.

Bela Lugosi in Murders at Rue Morgue (nice eyebrow/s).  Sherry and I couldn't get enough of horror movies - even if they were awful, B-rated and kind of stupid.  We'd sit on her basement couch wrapped up in blankets and if we were lucky, we'd get permission from her parents to have a Glen Rock soda.

They always had a case in their basement.

And if the movie lightened up, we might spend some time jiggling our midsections in her mom's belt exerciser thing - but we didn't wear heels like the lady in the picture above who actually kinda looks like Sherry's mom.

The other night my son DVR'd Bram Stoker's Dracula off the television.  Although we don't really watch scary movies too often, we feel it's in order every year to watch one good one to celebrate Halloween.  We watched the edited television version (thank goodness) of this 1992 version of Dracula starring Gary Oldham, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves.  Yuck, was it creepy.  I am not a better person for having seen that movie.  My son kept saying the story line just didn't make any sense.  It kinda reminded me of those awful, B-rated scary movies of Saturday afternoons in Sherry's basement - gross, gory and bleak.  I'd much rather have a scary, suspenseful movie with a good story -- like Disturbia or Signs, which we've watched for Halloween in the last few years.  I'm not afraid of a little gore, but please give me a decent story, something that will make me jump, and some good acting.

OK, I'm taking suggestions - a good Halloween movie - what are your ideas?

Movies I Have to see Once a Year

When I was a little girl, there were certain movies that came on TV only once a year.  There were no videos or DVDs, there was no TiVo or DVR, there was no streaming on the internet.  It was on when it was on.  You better be ready and waiting in front of the television when the appointed time rolled around or you were out of luck until next year.  The two shows I remember waiting for with excited childhood anticipation were:

Peter Pan starring Mary Martin

and of course, The Wizard of Oz.

Now things are quite different.  Not only are we no longer a slave to broadcast schedules, we can actually own the movies we love and watch them whenever we want.  When purchasing a DVD we have to ask ourselves, "Will I want to watch this over again?"  Otherwise, why buy it?

I have realized there are certain movies that are currently on my once a year rotation.  First of all, it's a requirement that the following are viewed each summer:

It isn't summer unless my daughter and I have watched The Parent Trap 2 - it gets us in the mood to go to Girl's Camp and Chelsea loves twin Annie's English clothing style.  Larry, my husband, envisions himself the dad in RV - defeated yet trying to make everyone happy - and ya gotta love the Gornicke family.  Dan in Real Life is just plain funny - Ruthie Pig nose Draper!  Ok, ok I know, but it just feels like summer when you hear "What Time is it?  Summertime!"  And it was a tradition to put Toy Story on the old VCR up at the cabin when I was fixing waffles and everybody was just getting out of bed.  There are so many lines from those movies that we all know by heart.

Next, these are required viewing or it just ain't Christmas.

It's a Wonderful Life - yes it's long, but I like to watch it on Thanksgiving morning just after the parades... makes ya think.  Ok, I just need to see the bigfoot parody or Elf eating cotton balls to bring on the holiday spirit.  I like all the Christmas Carol movies, but it just doesn't seem that any of the other Scrooges get as giddy as Alastair Sim on the morning after.  The Holiday is just good.  I must be a fan of director, Nancy Meyer - she just gets people and situations right - and Jude Law... (sigh)

Final once-a-year category?   The chick flicks.

I loved Ever After.  Maybe Drew Barrymore was slightly miscast, but Dugray Scott???  Yowsa!  I love the scene where he's at her front door explaining his obvious interest in her.  The Inheritance is a little known movie based on a book by Louisa May Alcott.  I think it was a made for TV Hallmark type movie.  It's sweet and predictable, but oh it strikes a wistful chord in me - Thomas Gibson as James Percy - nice.  I do love all things Jane Austin and though the debate between versions of Pride and Prejudice rages on - I think everyone loves whichever they first viewed - and Matthew Macfadyen, yeah.  Oh, I also like to watch the BBC mini-series version, too.  There's nothing like Colin Firth emerging from the pond!  It's kind of early to tell, but I'm thinking Twilight will become an annual event in the future - I know it would be easy to read the book annually.  And of course, The Princess Bride.  We know every line - As you wish.

What are your must see once-a-year movies?