More IT woes

It's possible that the GoBack corruption over the weekend was caused by some pernicious infection. Our ISP has idnetified my IP as the source of some worrisome (and not initiated by me) internet activity. Now downloading lots of malware scanners to try and track down the issue...

More IT woes

It's possible that the GoBack corruption over the weekend was caused by some pernicious infection. Our ISP has idnetified my IP as the source of some worrisome (and not initiated by me) internet activity. Now downloading lots of malware scanners to try and track down the issue...

Review: "Dinner at Eight"

I picked this movie up ages ago as part of a 'Classic Comedies' boxed set. Finally got around to watching it with kestrell this weekend.

I found the genre descriptor somewhat misleading, in a similar (though less traumatic) way to my experience with Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Yeoman on the Guard". It's definitely *patterned* along classic comedy lines, and has lots of laugh-out-loud moments -- but it also takes a lot of increasingly dark turns as the film goes on.

The basic plot structure is about the intersecting lives of a bunch of aristocrats who are going to meet at a fancy dinner party. There will be confusion, mistakes, love affairs revealed, and general hijinks along the way. That's what it looks like for the first half hour or so.

Then you gradually realize that this is all happening just as the Great Depression is starting to hit. Pretty much all of these aristocrats are either broke or about to be, though many of them don't realize it yet. The wacky hijinks are gradually infused with more and more reality, as we are made to realize the human cost of these 'funny' people's behavior, both to themselves and their loved ones.

If a comedy ends with lots of marriages and a tragedy ends with lots of deaths, then this is... a drama, I guess. One on-screen death, one probable imminent death; no actual marriages, though one looks likely to happen soon, and no divorces, at least not yet.

The cast is uniformly good. Two generations of Barrymores acquit themselves well. Jean Harlow plays one of my favorite character types, 'Newly rich, lower class sensibilities, wants to hobnob with the gentry'. Billie Burke is largely her typical ditzy self, though she gets to show some other colors as the situation begins to disintegrate around her.

Overall, it's a good film, and I recommend it. But be prepared for a more bittersweet experience than a traditional 'comedy'.

Review: "Dinner at Eight"

I picked this movie up ages ago as part of a 'Classic Comedies' boxed set. Finally got around to watching it with kestrell this weekend.

I found the genre descriptor somewhat misleading, in a similar (though less traumatic) way to my experience with Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Yeoman on the Guard". It's definitely *patterned* along classic comedy lines, and has lots of laugh-out-loud moments -- but it also takes a lot of increasingly dark turns as the film goes on.

The basic plot structure is about the intersecting lives of a bunch of aristocrats who are going to meet at a fancy dinner party. There will be confusion, mistakes, love affairs revealed, and general hijinks along the way. That's what it looks like for the first half hour or so.

Then you gradually realize that this is all happening just as the Great Depression is starting to hit. Pretty much all of these aristocrats are either broke or about to be, though many of them don't realize it yet. The wacky hijinks are gradually infused with more and more reality, as we are made to realize the human cost of these 'funny' people's behavior, both to themselves and their loved ones.

If a comedy ends with lots of marriages and a tragedy ends with lots of deaths, then this is... a drama, I guess. One on-screen death, one probable imminent death; no actual marriages, though one looks likely to happen soon, and no divorces, at least not yet.

The cast is uniformly good. Two generations of Barrymores acquit themselves well. Jean Harlow plays one of my favorite character types, 'Newly rich, lower class sensibilities, wants to hobnob with the gentry'. Billie Burke is largely her typical ditzy self, though she gets to show some other colors as the situation begins to disintegrate around her.

Overall, it's a good film, and I recommend it. But be prepared for a more bittersweet experience than a traditional 'comedy'.