5!

I've got a new baby.  Quentin.  Number 5.  Her name is not Quentin.  It is Lucinda Hope.  Unfortunately, her first film seen in the hospital was a "shaken baby" doc: let's start 'em on the horror first thing!  Still in the hospital, she joined me in watching short segments of Wuthering Heights and The Pink Panther on TCM, but we gave up on both of those.  There just wasn't anything to equal the horror of that first film.

Back at home, I had a Netflix disc waiting.  I fell asleep to Baichwal's Act of God two nights in a row, then dutifully finished it the third morning.  I just couldn't get into it.  Greenaway's short doc of the same name dealing with the same subject is slightly preferable if only because it has a much better sense of humor. 

I've had off from work so I've been watching a decent amount of stuff with the girls...

The Ace of Hearts is a silent film starring Lon Cheney (sr.) that I really wanted to like.  A secret society decides that a man has lived too long and now must die.  A great premise.  The execution is lame.  The "constructive" love bit is too much.  There are a few good moments that keep the whole thing watchable.

Hot Water, a Harold Lloyd vehicle, turned out to be one of the best silent comedies I've seen in a while.  I've seen other Lloyd pictures, but nothing this good.  Basically, Lloyd's character suffers at every turn in dealing with his in-laws!  I thought it was really funny, but I was definitely helped in my appreciation by Mildred's raucous laughter.  The ghost/sleepwalking sequence is perfect.  
 
We've also been watching shorts:

Rapunzel is a waste of Harryhausen's talents, but pleasant enough.

The Flag is the first silent film I've ever seen that was shot in Technicolor.  It's a fun little tale of Washington and Betsy Ross.

I bought Tom & Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 2

Puss Gets the Boot has "Jasper" being thrown out after breaking too many dishes.
The Midnight Snack features some food fighting, but also ends in broken dishes.
The Night Before Christmas is going on my short list of favorite Christmas movies.  Tom and Jerry make peace for Christmas.  I feel like there is a long tradition of this happening between animated rivals, but I can't think of other specific examples right now.
Fraidy Cat is the second film we saw (the first being Hot Water) that had a really great ghost chase sequence.
Dog Trouble is notable in that Tom and Jerry form a temporary alliance to get a dog out of the house.  It ends not in dishes but furniture crashing.

More to come soon.