From the British Museum: On this day in 1611, Shakespeare's The Tempest was first performed.

Title page of the First Folio

Christopher Plummer as "Prospero" in The Tempest (2010 Stratford Shakespeare Festival)

Photo credit here.

Helen Mirren in Julie Taymor's 2010 film

John Cassavettes (with Susan Sarandon as Ariel) in 1982's loose adaptation by Paul Mazursky. Image via

John Gielgud in Peter Greenaway's quirky Prospero's Books (1991)

A good time at the movies

This entire post was prompted by a tweet from Roger Ebert.  Movies are not listed in order of preference. And, um, they're not all movies. What can I say? So make yourself a nice batch of popcorn...

1. Bubba Ho-Tep (2003). Here is a bit from Roger Ebert's review: "Elvis and JFK did not die, and today they're roommates in an East Texas nursing home whose residents are being killed by an ancient Egyptian Soul Sucker named Bubba Ho-Tep. I want to get that on the table right at the get-go, so I can deal with the delightful wackiness of this movie, which is endearing and vulgar in about the right proportion."

2. Werewolf of London (1935). The first Hollywood werewolf flick, and it's a good one. My favorite part by far, though, is the comic relief bit with Mrs. Whack and Mrs. Moncaster.

3. Look Around You (2002). Hilarious television parody of 1970s educational science films. Deadpan British humor at its best, it nails the detail and tone (even the music) perfectly.  Here's a bit from the episode (or "module") on Sulphur. "Write that down."






4. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) I never get tired of this beautifully shot and perfectly goofy movie, easily my favorite of the Coen brothers' films. Plus it has one of the best movie soundtracks ever.
"I'm gonna R-U-N-N-O-F-T!"

5. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). The source of many of our family jokes.

from monty python's completely useless website

Dennis: Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I'm being repressed!
King Arthur: Bloody peasant!
Dennis: Oh, what a giveaway! Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh? That's what I'm on about! Did you see him repressing me? You saw him, Didn't you?
(via imbd)

from imdb

6. The Lady Vanishes (1938). Francois Truffaut said this was his favorite Hitchcock film. The Lady Vanishes has it all: 1930s espionage and intrigue, vintage European trains, humor, and romance. Right up there with The 39 Steps.

Here's a very sweet fanvid:

(all images found via google except as noted)

Weekend

Here's mine:

This came out of the oven about an hour ago (recipe via pinterest and evilshenanigans):

Just got The Decemberists new album, The King is Dead, from the library. Can't wait to listen:
(Update: just listened. Terrific album, but they had Gillian Welch and only used her as a backup vocal?? For shame, Mr. Meloy.)



How To Die in Oregon. Showing at the Portland International Film Festival this weekend. Update: this movie is powerful, difficult to watch, and very, very good. See it on HBO this spring if you can.