HAPPY BIRTHDAY

LOL! You know I am obsessed. Ronald Christopher Walken was born today March 31, 1943 in Astoria, Queens, New York. He is 68 years young today. Happy Birthday Mr. Walken and may you have a long(er) life. Chris' debut was in the movie The Anderson Tapes in 1971. In 1972's The Mind Snatchers was Walken's first starring role on the silver screen. However his first TV movie was in 1966 in Barefoot in Athens. We will soon see him on the big screen again in Kill the Irishman. The movie after that which I am very curious about is entitled Dead Man Walken, where he plays himself. Is it going to be like Being John Malkovich? We'll have to wait and see.

Walken on Sunshine

The Prophecy - I saw this one years ago, but it was on TV so I watched it. It was good to recall what happened, so the 2nd movie would make sense. Gabriel is my favorite of the Arch-Angles and to have Walken play (her - Gabriel is a female), made me smile, even if he was evil.

The Prophecy 2

- Usually the sequel sucks, but this one was actually better than the first. A lot of stars were in this one. Jennifer Beals, Eric Roberts & Russel Wong. Gabriel was even nastier in this one.

The Prophecy 3: The Ascent - This one sucked. The actors were just awful, even worst than the actors in the first one. Walken was good, the little he was in it. He lost his dark evilness and adopted a long haired hippy look. He was on his way to redemption.

Excess Baggage

- A young woman fakes her kidnapping only to find herself actually kidnapped. It was a cute movie. Alicia Silverstone stars. Walken plays her uncle Ray, a smooth 'mob like' character.

Pennies from Heaven

- Walken was in this movie for about 5 minutes as a tap dancing pimp. Wonderful! The movie itself was cute. Steve Martin stars in this remake of a British series.

Sarah Plain and Tall: Skylark

- The 2nd installment of the Sarah Plain and Tall trilogy. It was fine, sad in parts.

Vendetta - Xenophobia rules in New Orleans in 1890. Everyone fears the Italians and a new organization they call the maFia (not the Mafia...maFia - emphasis on the Fia). Based on the largest lynching in American history. Disturbing and sad. Walken plays a real jerk in this one.

The Rundown - Walken and Dwayne Johnson in one movie. Have I died and gone to heaven? Action film, funny in parts. You will not be bored watching this.

Fade to Black

- After Orson Wells divorces Rita Hayworth, he goes to Italy to film a movie. There he becomes involved in a plot of murder and Communism. Walken plays Wells' friend who may or may not be on the up and up.

The Dancing Pimp

Why am I obssessed with Mr. Walken? Who wouldn't love a man like this?



This clip is from the 1981 movie "Pennies From Heaven" staring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters. What you see here is Walken's entire part. But it is well worth the watch, the movie is pretty cute. It is based on an English TV program with the same name and same story line. I haven't seen the English version (staring Bob Hoskins) but this version is totally lip synced. If you like 1930 music and musicals you'll love this movie.

I did get to see the FATBOY SLIM video, but I am unable to embed it here. What a gem.

Walken will be 68 in a few days, I doubt he can move like this anymore, I'm glad we have some footage to look back on. Thank goodness for YOUTUBE.

I'm Walken Again!

Sarah Plain and Tall (1991)

I taped this during Thanksgiving 2010. I never got to watch it. During my search for Walken movies, I discovered that he was in this one. That man has got to be in every movie ever made. So of course I watched it. He starred with Glenn Close. It was pretty much what I expected for a TV movie, the acting was fine, just kind of sappy. During the commercials I learned that this is actually a trilogy. I thought I got all the movies, because I also taped "Sarah Plain and Tall: Winter's End", but it turns out that is the third part. I was bummed to learn I neglected to tape "Skylark" or "Sarah Plain and Tall: Skylark". My library didn't have it, Netflix didn't have it, so I thought I was out of luck until next Thanksgiving. But of course, I have the luck of the Irish. "Skylark" will be on March 23rd. So I'm holding off on watching "Winter's End" until I see it. It will make more sense that way.

Man on Fire (2004)

Don't you hate it when you know you've seen a movie, but cannot remember anything about it. I know I saw this because I watch every movie Denzel is in. I couldn't remember Walken or Rourke being in this film for anything. So I watched it again. It slowly came back to me, but most of it, I do not remember. I won't be forgetting now. It was OK, very violent, I'm not too much into violence on screen, but I forced myself to watch it because...well...Walken.

The King of New York (1990)

So one year Walken is playing this tough NY drug lord and the next he is a farmer with baggy over-alls on. You gotta love it. I had never seen this movie. I know I said I don't like to watch violence on the screen, but sometimes I will make an exception. Especially when someone as cool as Walken is doing the killing. You couldn't help but to cheer for him, even though he was a ruthless cad.

Gigli (2003)

Remember ths one? The worst movie ever made (I still think Plan 9 From Outter Space is the worst but whatever). It starred J-Lo and Ben Afleck. I didn't think it was all that bad. It wasn't the best film I've ever seen, but it definetly wasn't the worst. Two thugs (one male one female) kidnap an autistic young man for their boss. I thought it was a cute movie. Walken was in it for a hot minute, but what a minute.

"You know what I'd love to do, right now? Go down to Marie Callender's and get me a bowl of pies, some ice cream on it, mmm hmm good. Put some on your head, your tongue would slap your brains out trying to get to it! Interested? SURE?"

This line makes absolutley no sense, but MY GOD, it is brilliant! And with that perfect Walken delivery...loud, obnoxious, absurd, ridiculous, clipped and crazy-eyed.


Yes I did watch other movies this week, one that was pretty good was:

The Next Three Days (2010)

Starring Russel Crowe as a husband who will go to any length to get his wife out of jail. Accused of murder, Lara spends years in jail while her husband, John works to get her out the legal way. Obviously it doesn't work. He resorts to some seedy and questionable methods. Does his plan work? Did she commit murder? Well you have to watch the movie to find out.

More Walken...MORE Walken, I need MORE WALKEN

Eight out of the ten movies I've watched so far this month have had Christopher Walken in them, Yeah, I got it bad. LOL! It is only March 8th.


The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
When she and her family have their royal titles stripped by the crown, 18th-century French countess Jeanne de la Motte Valois schemes with her lover, her husband and a mysterious Italian count to obtain a diamond necklace worth millions.

Walken is the mysterious Italian count. He was decked out in eccentric clothes and even a more eccentric accent. His role in this movie was minor. Also starring Hilary Swank and Adrien Brody.


New Rose Hotel (1998)
Two old-school crooks, Fox and X, try to engineer the score of their lives -- a con worth $100 million. The assignment? To train a beautiful young girl to seduce and induce a radical Japanese geneticist to spill his scientific secrets.

I only watched this because Walken was in it. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen. It also starred Willem DaFoe, and you would think with these two excellent actors, this movie would be stellar, but it just wasn't.

Suicide Kings

Last Embrace (1979)
After helplessly witnessing his wife's cold-blooded murder, emotionally devastated government intelligence officer Harry attempts to piece his life back together while suspecting that his own agency may be trying to kill him.

Walken was in this for about a minute, but he was young. Starring Roy Schneider, it was a decent movie. It looks like it was made for TV.

Last Man Standing

Brainstorm (1983)
Mike Brace is a technological genius who's created a device that can record and play back human thought. But the military catches wind and emerges as an unwanted 'silent partner' in his project. Soon, Mike and his wife are thrust into a breathless, non-stop race to prevent the machine from falling into the wrong hands and becoming the ultimate government weapon in this touching, thought-provoking thriller.

Walken and Natalie Wood (her last role) star in this Sci-Fi drama from the 80s. If you don't like 80s Sci-Fi, you aren't going to like this. I thought the main stars did a good acting job, the other actors, not so much.

Lots of young tasty Walken to behold.

Mouse Hunt (1997)
Two down-on-their-luck brothers inherit a run-down mansion that turns out to be worth millions. They can sell it and pocket a fortune, but first they have to evict its diminutive tenant: a mouse with no intention of leaving.

Caught this on TV. Walken has a cameo in this as a crazy exterminator.

The month is not over and I have several more Christopher Walken movies to watch. I do think I'll be done with much of his stuff by the end of this month.

Last Man Standing - Film review across time and space

A 1920 era movie made in the 1990s, based on a Japanese samurai movie from the 1960s that was based on American western movies of the 1950s....got that?

Starring Bruce Willis as John Smith, a drifter making his way through a Texas town. On his route he finds rival gangs. Italians and Irish gangs with sharp suits and Tommy guns battle each other during 1920s prohibition America.

Christopher Walken plays Hickey, the Irish gangs right hand man. The best at what he does. Seems Hickey and Smith have a strange mutual respect for each other.

But Smith isn't making a home with either gang, he's playing both sides and getting pretty rich in the process.

Although this movie doesn't have much of a score, the little bit of music that you do hear is distinctly Kurisawa-film sounding.

As I was watching this, I thought this story was pretty familiar. So I looked it up and found that it was based on the 1961 Akira Kurosawa film, Yojimbo starring Toshirō Mifune.

In Yojimbo, a ronin arrives in a small town where competing crime lords make their money from gambling.

Obviously in the original film there are samurai sword instead of a Tommy gun, and a lot of honor and of course, no sex (some saki though).

Out of these two films, I enjoyed Yojimbo much more. I felt it had a little more class and a lot more style.

The only reason I watched "Last Man Standing" was because Walken was in it. It was an OK film, but as far as art or a film that will stick with you, it didn't work.

Yojimbo, although the same movie, is a much better film.

GUSH Time - My new favorite movie and some great reads

Suicide Kings (1997)
American neo-noir/comedy-drama film, starring Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery, Johnny Galecki, Jay Mohr, Jeremy Sisto, and Henry Thomas. It was based on Don Stanford's short story, The Hostage, and directed by Peter O'Fallon.

I hate when I've been under a rock. I've seen this movie listed on Netflix and IMDB, but never paid it any mind. I like Christopher Walken but it didn't seem like something I could get in to. And the term neo-noir ??? I like film-noir but wasn't sure if I'd like neo-noir.

Of course I thought this movie was brilliant, and I'm probably the last person on earth who hadn't seen it. But it has now become one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time.

The Plot in a short form from Wikipedia:
Moving in a non-linear fashion, the movie follows the exploits of a group of young 20-something rich kids who are plotting a kidnapping in order to save the sister of one of the friends.

Scottish-German Walken plays an awesome Italian ex-mobster named Charlie Bartolucci who these idiots have the nerve to kidnap and mame!!

What I liked about this movie was the psychological mind-games Charlie played on these young men. Who can you trust? Who should you trust?

The other actors were amazing. Jeremy Sisto, Denis Leary and Johnny Galecki were the three (other than Walken) who stole the show.

I'm usually not one to gush too much about movies, but I loved this one. So if you are one of the few people (like me) who have not seen this, I recommend this highly. How highly? I gave it a 5 out of 5 stars.



Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach (1977)

This book questions the reader's view of reality, proposing that what we call reality is merely an illusion we create for learning and enjoyment.

I read his 1st book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" many years ago. I thought it was quaint, but it didn't rock my world. I was surfing around one day and found this listed somewhere and read the synopsis and thought it might be worth the effort. I ordered it from my local library. I was done in 1 hour (191 pages). I loved it!

Synopsis from Wikipedia:
Donald Shimoda is one of the two main characters in Illusions. He is a messiah who leaves his job of being a messiah (and also of being a mechanic at a garage) after deciding that people value the showbiz-like performance of miracles and want to be entertained by those miracles more than to understand the message behind them. He meets Richard, a fellow barn-storming pilot and begins to pass on his knowledge to him, even teaching Richard to perform "miracles" of his own.

OK so it sounds way out there, but it is actually very good and thought provoking. Not a hard read, not cerebral at all. Written in plain every day language with plain every day imagery. I recommend. 4.5 out of 5 stars.


CURRENTLY READING


Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos (2010)

I got this book the other day for my Kindle for free from Amazon, but now it costs.

I'm a few chapters in and OMG, this book is hilarious.

From Amazon:
The Apostle Peter punches Jesus in the face, then chases him out of a coffee shop. And that's just chapter 0.

OK so now, what do you think this book will be like? People on the train must think I'm nuts cracking up to myself. I love books that take religious subjects/figures and make them into laugh out loud stories. We all need a good laugh.

I've only read two other books that did this, one was a fiction story the other a memoir. Both were great, I recommend both:

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Reviews (Books and Movies)

Macrobiotics for Dummies by Verne Verona

I love Dummies and Idiot books. Especially when I know very little about a subject. For those who don't know, Macrobiotics is a lifestyle, some people think it is just a way of eating, but this book goes into depth on how it is more than eating. It is how to keep your home, how to live your life and just basically the holistic approach to the Macrobiotic lifestyle. I found it very interesting. I have started eating Macrobiotic 80% of the time, the lifestyle change is a little harder, but I'm trying. It is a great book to start off with. Not a book for those who have already the basics down.

The Shunning (Heritage of Lancaster County #1) by Bevery Lewis

Downloaded this a while back, it was a freebie. Learned it was coming on TV in the spring, so I wanted to at least read the first part. Set in Amish Country, young Katie Lapp is about to be married to the local Bishop, however, things aren't what they seem. Katie finds out things about herself, and it changes the course of her life. The end of the book had an interesting cliff hanger, which caused me to purchase the 2nd part, and of course then I'll have to purchase the 3rd part.



I've been watching a lot of Christopher Walken movies. I'm a big fan, but he has so many movies, I cannot keep up. So I decided to just buckle down and watch some. Here are his movies that I watched in February. I'm still working on more for March.


Who Am I This Time? (1982)
In this hour-long film by Jonathan Demme, Walken plays a very very shy hardware store clerk who signs on with a local drama troupe in order to overcome his shyness. Susan Sarandon co-stars as his love interest. Most people are not familiar with anything Walken has done before the age of 45, but in this early movie he shines, he's different than what we know him to be. He is downright brilliant. This is my new favorite movie that he stars in. He was about 38 in this, but he still has his boyish face. 5 stars.


The Sentinel (1977)
Starring an even younger Walken. Here he doesn't say much, maybe a total of 10 words in the whole movie, but who cares...he is yummy in this one, eye candy deluxe. Oh yeah, it is a horror movie about a young unmarried model who moves into a posh Brooklyn apartment building and experiences some interesting paranormal phenomena.


The Funeral (1996)
Now this is the Walken we all know and love. Here he is who we know him to be. Also starring Chris Penn, Isabella Rossellini and Anabella Sciorra. At the funeral of their brother, the two living brothers deal with past hurts and present dangers as they look for their brothers killer.

The Maiden Heist (2009)
What a delightful film. Starring Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy. A fantastic comedy that deals with 3 security guards who have fallen in love with several pieces in the museum they work in. When the news that the pieces will be moved to a Denmark museum, these 3 devise a plan to save their beloved pieces. Who thought of putting these 3 men together in a comedy? I don't know, but great job. The chemistry was amazing. 4.5 stars.

Nick of Time (1999)
Also starring Johnny Depp, Walken is a crooked law enforcement officer who wrangles Depp into doing a criminal activity that would cause political upheaval.

Homeboy (1988)
Also starring Mickey Rourke. Mickey is an over the hill boxer named Johnny Walker who gets involved with a con artist named Wesley, played admirably by Walken. Wesley befriends Johnny but has ulterior motives. He wants Johnny to help him with a jewelry heist. While this friendship develops, Johnny falls in love with an owner of a local carnival.

Around the Bend (2004)
Also starring Michael Caine. Four generation of men come together to help heal the past. Walken plays Grandpa Turner (Caine is great grandpa Henry). After Henry dies the remaining 3 embark on a road trip that answers a lot of questions and bring forgiveness. I cried at the end of this one. 4 stars.

$5 a Day (2008)
The conservative son of a thrifty conman begrudgingly joins his father on the road --after being released from jail for one of his dad's earlier crimes. Strangely similar to "Around the Bend" in the fact that there is a father/son forgiveness thing happening and a road trip as well as the ending which is scarily similar. But I did enjoy this one. Walken acts more like himself in this one. He's even from Queens in the movie (art imitates life). 4 stars.

And just because he is beautiful (I think he still is):