What Movies Have You Seen Lately?

Quote: Wizard

I don't claim to know much about the real man, but I've heard his roles were not much of stretch.

What you saw on the screen was John
Wayne in real life. A mans man, very
opinionated. He wore a toupee in the
movies but not in private, unless cameras
were around and the studio didn't like
his balding head to be public.

Extremely right wing. He did a western
with left winger Ed Asner and hated him
so much he wouldn't speak to him on
the set or even say his name. He referred
to him as 'that New York actor'.

Asner was the typical Lib, always lecturing
Wayne about politics. Wayne finally got
sick of it and told him to STFU.

Quote: Wizard

...I always thought his heavy smoking habit eventually caught up to him...

While making a film for a few months in an old atomic test area didn’t help, the likeliest cause of his death was smoking. I recall he made an anti-smoking PSA, so I think he even blamed cigarettes for killing him.

One of my favorite roles of his was a guest spot on “I Love Lucy”, where he played... himself. But “True Grit” is a classic.

Quote: Ayecarumba

While making a film for a few months in an old atomic test area didn’t help, the likeliest cause of his death was smoking.
.

Absolutely. He smoked 4-5 packs
a day of unfiltered Camels, for
45 years.

Downwinders were at risk but often in Nevada its water quality. Not just the high barium content but the contamination particularly by industrial and military chemicals. NAS Fallon has a registry of those who drank water from the area but its a very political database with extremely political follow up. Senator Nye of Nevada lived in Santa Monica, CA and drank California water. Even if forced to make trips to Nevada, he would rarely drink local water.

Smoking and wartime exposure to asbestos or other particulate matter was very costly. Non smokers exhale most of the asbestos they inhale, smokers are lucky if they exhale ten percent. Remember the days when Camels would be sent to military units and military hospitals?

My former dental hygienist said her whole family would go outside during the tests. They would clap and wave American flags. They all died of cancers. Her brother survived his bout and was still living when I left Vegas.

Quote: Fleastiff

Remember the days when Camels would be sent to military units and military hospitals?

My dad was in the Navy in WWII,
if the cigs weren't free they were
only a few cents a pack. The public
was paying $1 a carton.

All officers started out a lecture with "smoke 'em if you've got 'em".

Even post war it was hard to get a ban on smoking in public. Bus drivers or cabbies who had allergies were simply told to get another job.

People who complained of pulp factories were told "that is the smell of money".

Its the same way today with diets, food processing, hygiene, day care, etc. Deferred health costs!!

Here’s a link to an article about John Wayne’s cancer, and his American Cancer Society PSA.

“Sherlock Gnomes” - I didn’t see the prequel to this animated feature, “Gnomeo and Juliet”. If you intend to see this film, you should see the prequel first, as many of the relationships between characters were already established when the story begins. In this “Toy Story” universe, garden gnomes, toys, and other decorative objects in the shape of creatures or people come alive as long as humans can’t see them moving. Apparently, ceramic garden gnomes “die” when they are smashed.

The plot revolves around the apparent ressurection of Sherlock Gnomes’ arch enemy Moriarity (he was supposedly killed in their last confrontation), and the mysterious disappearance of gnomes from gardens all over London. In typical animated feature storyline, there is a dispute amongst the heroes which needs to be resolved in time to save the innocents, and not surprisingly, it is. Johnny Depp does a good job as the voice of Sherlock.

The notable thing about this film is the Executive Producer credit for Sir Elton John. The soundtrack includes more than a dozen Elton John classics, and he apparently also did some of the in between music as well. If you are in elementary school, or a fan of the glittery one, you may enjoy this film, but otherwise, there’s nothing notable here.

I give it five Cupid’s Arrow orchids out of ten.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Here’s a link to an article about John Wayne’s cancer, and his American Cancer Society PSA.

6 packs a day, can you imagine? He was lighting
a new one every 10min. He got sick in his 50's,
very typical of men who use their lungs as
smoke filters. You even have to change a
furnace filter once in awhile, you can never
change a lung filter.