Watch It: Go West

Four days into our fantastic Queue de Grâce voyage, and we're tagging along with Buster Keaton and Brown Eyes, in the grand frontier adventure, Go West.

This silent film, directed by and starring Buster Keaton in 1925, tells the tale of a young man named Friendless, who is practically penniless and must go out into the world to seek his fortune. While working on a ranch, he finds a friend in a dried-up, yet plucky, milk cow. I'm going to gush about Mr. Keaton in a few inches, but holy cow, this bovine is a scene-stealer! Her acting talent greatly surpasses that of Gwyneth Paltrow, an Academy Award Winning Actress.

Unfortunately, Geza's work schedule prevented him from being able to enjoy this one with us. He has seen many other Buster Keaton films and is a long-standing fan. So, he's cool, but he's not going to be able to offer anything here today.

Let's give the kids a turn:

This movie! Man, it's amazing how much Buster Keaton puts in just for a perfect shot. And it's wild to think that this is what he did for a living! Buster Keaton is extremely awesome. I love all of his movies. He risked his life to put a smile on your face.

They were falling on the train. They were barrels. A guy fell down on the train.

There was a grown-up, named Buster Keaton. On the train, the barrels fell out. There were potatoes in them. One barrel had Buster Keaton, it fell. It rolled out of the train and it broke. There were a million bulls. They chased him. He rode on the cow.

The film was very funny. I loved it a lot. To think that back then, when making the stampede scene, they didn't have computers to generate bull images. Nowadays, they'd just cut and paste over and over and over to make animated bulls. I'm thinking of how hard it must have been to make these movies, with such limited effects; it's impressive. 

The cows is running inside. These cows are running to the neck.






It is rare that I will get all up in a reader's face and say, "Look, this thing, you need it in your life." But, this is one of those special moments. Buster Keaton, anything with Buster Keaton: watch it.

The Great Stone Face is unlike any performer from his era. The effervescence of his clever gags and plot twists is complemented perfectly by his serious demeanor and dry delivery. If you watch any Buster Keaton film and aren't completely in love with the guy by the end of it, I will eat Thomas' least favorite fedora.

Watch It: Our week of Queue de Grâce

Fall is upon us! Just like that! Summer evaporated quickly here, with the birthdays of two boys. and suddenly we were all up in it. Soccer practice, Halloween plans, winter garden preparation, there's a chicken coop in the works; we need another project like we need a Cole in the head.

Our long-time family friend, musician, book boss, role model, and proud owner of the biggest cranium I've ever seen hatted, Cole Roulain, writes an excellent blog for grown-ups who like solid, thoughtful writing on the subject of film, vitagraph, american. If you're over the age of 18, or an exceptionally punk rock minor, give it a look. You won't be sorry.

One of the features on vitagraph, american is the "queue de grâce." Cole hands control of his viewing choices over to a friend for a week, and writes about each of the mandated selections. Often, this is a chance for him to illuminate films that may be obscure, misunderstood, or forgotten; sometimes it is used as an opportunity to force Cole to write at length about a Meg Ryan movie.*

*For those of you too young to know who Meg Ryan is, or why her movies might be hard for a fan of quality cinema to watch, consider yourselves lucky.  Run! 

I like to read his opinion on movies I've watched, because he brings a point of view that I can relate to, even if it's different from my own. Friends who make things and work hard to do them well are one of the best things to have in your life. They always make you think, which is never a bad thing, no matter what you may have heard.

Occasionally, someone is brave enough to allow Cole to choose their week's movies, which they write about. As a result, people from all backgrounds weigh in on a subject they might never have discussed publicly, having seen films chosen for them by a guy who really knows his stuff. Thomas took the challenge, and is a better man for it. He still mentions Godzilla. That wasn't just going to happen on its own.

When we accepted that summer was really gone, and we were certainly headed for colder darker days, we saw a chance to get in on some of this sweet queue action. I asked Cole to make a list of movies suitable for a family, a first for him, I believe. For seven consecutive days, in whatever grouping of parents and children we can manage, we will watch one movie per day, beginning next Monday, October 8. Each day, we will write about it, here, and I do mean "we." I plan to get input from any family member who will talk to me. It might get incomprehensible, but it promises to be interesting.

I present, our queue, all of which are streaming on Netflix:
The Mummy (1932)
The Red Balloon (1956)
A Town Called Panic (2009)
Go West (1925)
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

So, tend to any last minute errands, and stock up on popcorn, because you only have a few days before the lights dim and the curtain rises on a week of watching it.*

*and writing about it, and perhaps grinding popcorn crumbs into it, and then probably vacuuming it.

Stay tuned!