Thank you, Veterans, for … everything.

And now a look back at a time when Hollywood fought for America and liberty, not against it. There are notable exceptions today, but sadly the word “exception” does apply.

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Much more below the fold…

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Betrayed by Liberal Hollywood

Psychologists say that a parent’s grief over the death of a child is “the most difficult loss to endure and surely among the most difficult to integrate into one’s life” because our children are an enormous part of our legacy, and “in their deaths, a large part of our own future dies.”  The natural order of our lives has been turned upside down, bringing on an emotional chaos.

For the parents of military men and women who have died after volunteering to serve their country and walking into the face of death in the 21^st century’s war on terror, this grief and chaos has been exponentially multiplied by liberal Hollywood.  But one has to actually walk this path to understand it.  The anti-war sentiment and films that have spewed from liberal actors, producers, and directors have burdened our hearts unspeakably as they have served only to aide the greatest enemy our country has ever faced and to deface and demoralize the greatest ambassadors our country has: the men and women who wear the uniforms of the United States military. (more…)

Unless there’s a story beyond: “The repairman was surprised to discover Ms. Pershwipple’s telephone worked just fine…” I vote we keep porn out of it. Other than that, this could be an interesting and revealing exercise… Very simple, what are the last five movies you watched, and sorry big guy, no exemptions for that secret viewing of Garbo’s “Anna Karenina“ with just you and your box of tissues.

My single caveat is that this list will be the last five I’ve watched but haven’t written about. No point in mentioning them again. So starting with the most recent…

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1. Witness For the Prosecution (1957) –  **SPOILER** This may be the only film where a make-up job attempting to transform a star, in this case Marlene Dietrich, into a different person completely fooled me. That’s her, though, and Dietrich’s acting has more to do with pulling the stunt off than the actual make-up. Sadly, this was Tyrone Power’s last completed film. He was only 42 during filming, but looks 15 years older. Obviously he was a very sick man, even if he didn’t know it. But it’s Charles Laughton and his wife Elsa Lanchester who shine brightest in what is a true actor’s piece beautifully adapted for the screen and directed by Billy Wilder. (more…)

My original plan was to do a top five list of today’s actors under thirty-five with more personality than the ShamWow! guy, but you can only tap your chin so long.

To try and explain away the fact that the true movie star is fast becoming extinct, a few apologists over the years have tossed out the excuse that there’s no way today’s celebrities, er, uhm, actors can compete with their historical counterparts because color, unlike black and white, makes them too human and thus brings them down to earth. It would be foolish to completely dismiss that idea, but not as foolish as raising it before, oh, say, a lack of presence, talent, and most of all, class. Of course, if you’re determined to hold that position you must also believe that putting Ashton and the Jessica-of-the-day in a good noir film would change everything. (more…)