'THE SEARCHERS' ......HAPPY 70TH ANNIVERSARY TO JOHN FORD'S ENDURING MASTERPIECE.....

 The Searchers (1956)

     70 years later, director John Ford's robust, heart rending epic still stands tall as a cinematic landmark......and an inspiration for an entire new generation of filmmakers who revered his work - Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, David Lean and who knows how many others. 

       Watching it again, after many previous viewings, we found ourselves still riveted by its imagery, characterizations and the grandiosity of its landscapes as a backdrop for the emotional power of its storytelling......it's uniquely American  mythmaking on a spectacular scale (and something sorely missing to today's movies, we might add.....)

      We're not about to rehash, re-analyze and review all the details of the film......so anyone reading this post who hasn't seen it, stop reading this immediately and find a way to see it. Like, right now. 

       While this fresh viewing still stays in our memory, we'll just cover the pivotal bits and pieces that stood out the most.....

        John Wayne and the rescued woman captives......One of the most brutal moments in the film. Ethan Edwards (Wayne), searching for his abducted-by-Comanches niece (Natalie Wood) visits a Cavalry post to see if she's among some women rescued. She's not.....and the surviving girls have been driven mad by the experience. The camera lingers on Wayne's face, filled with revulsion and barely contained rage....since by this time we know the unforgiving, hard hearted Ethan considers white women in the hands of Indians as the walking dead, lost causes to be put down like rabid dogs. 

        That cabin doorway......in the history of iconic film shots (Cary Grant chased by the cropduster, Charlton Heston riding his chariot, Orson Welles whispering 'rosebud'), there's that frontier doorway that serves as Ethan Edwards' path into the loving comforts of family and friends and then back out to the lonely outcast life into which he's exiled himself. As the door finally closes on him as he walks away into arid solitude, the final heartbreaking camera shot became forever a part of film history.

      Monument Valley.....the Arizona natural wonder upon which John Ford created and staged  his own universe in multiple films. Ford's only major problem in "The Searchers" - the stark beauty and power of the place (especially when photographed in sharp, wide screen VistaVision) painfully contrasted with outdoor scenes that Ford shot on obviously indoor Warner Brothers studio sets. 

       Hank Worden as frontier madman/jester Mose Harper.....comedy relief in a Ford film was always loud, boisterous and veering into slapstick. Worden's arrested development Mose (no doubt encouraged by Ford) took this approach to its very limit and it's hard to tell if Mose's genial lunacy is something laughable or deserving pity. By the end of the film, this frontier toddler with no impulse control finally emerges a hero......and awarded his own rocking chair happily-ever-after. 

         We could go on for hours more on this film (and so have many other film bloggers, pundits and critics.)  But we feel we've made our point. 

           "The Searchers", 70 years later, remains a 'must-see-before-you-die' for everyone and anyone who loves movies. 

              5 stars (*****).

         

'THE COVE'....TROUBLED TEENS SHOULD NEVER PARTY WITH A CULT......

 The Cove by Claire Rose (2026)

     I did have myself a great good time with 'The Cove'. a YA thriller that takes a wild rollercoaster ride through a variety of horror genres.......everything from 'Misdommer' to 'The Wicker Man' to, I kid you not, the Jewish Diaspora from Europe and a loony finale cribbed from Greek mythology.

     Our lead rebellious sarcastic loner, Lindsay Wineberg, has once again accomplished what she excels at - getting bounced out of another prestigious private academy. Right at the school's front door she finds her parents arranged a car ride straight up to her uncle's farm in Marbury Maine. Her uncle's supposedly out of town, but her aunt, a cruel evangelical harpy has assumed running the uncle's work farm for delinquent, troubled teens. And under auntie's iron=handed command, it's no phones and work, work, work for Lindsay and four other teen inmates.

     But something wicked is afoot in scenic Marbury, especially on a nearby tiny island populated by seemingly benevolent cultists.

     Yeah, sure they are. Then why did Lindsay and her farm friends wake up already in their farmhouse beds after partying hardy with the cult kids? And, with no memory of how they got there? And what happened to one of the farm kids who didn't make it back with them? Uh oh.....

     Lindsay and her surviving outcast Scooby gang find themselves up against a formidable horrific threat, but even in harm's way, Lindsay's never at a loss for a snarky teen riposte in the face overpowering evil Atta girl.....you tell 'em, even as they're planning to......well, I dare not say. .

    Fast moving and tense, what with all the worthy 'elevated' horror films the book samples like a buffet, then takes a sudden dive into seriousness when dealing with the dire backstory of Lindsay's Jewish relatives and ancestors.

     As silly as it all sounds (and some of it is), I couldn't stop reading and that bonkers climax feels ready made for a movie adaptation. But if that does happen, I'd wait till the film hits a streaming site I'm already paying for.......

    4 stars (****).

'WHERE THE WATER MEETS THE SKY'.....A MYSTERY-FILLED COMING OF AGE AMID MICHIGAN'S NATURAL WONDERS....

 Where the Water Meets the Sky by Diane Les Becquets (2026)

     I found myself seduced and entranced by this beautifully rendered coming-of-age story set amid the stunning flora and fauna of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.. And I say this as a reader who's not the biggest fan of books steeped in elaborate descriptions of natural settings that might tend to overwhelm the characters' story.

     But this book perfectly blended well-drawn real people with the picture-postcard views of the lush forests that surround them.

     17 year old Abby faces a pivotal summer as she helps her environmentalist uncle conduct a climate change study of the Upper Peninsula. Her forever best friend Brew is headed for college and and Abby herself soon faces choices about where her journey into adulthood will next take her. But she's also tormented by the mystery of her mother's tragic death in a fire which 7 year old Abby somehow survived.....and found wandering dazed with a book of matches. And during this summer amid the spectacular MIchigan woods, Abby befriends Seda, an outgoing but troubled girl who immediately captured her attention. Together, this unlikely duo of opposites find and take up partial residence in a remote abandoned cabin.

     All of these various elements - Abby's longtime loving friendship with Brew, the mystery of her mother's death and Abby's possible part in it, the bonding with Seda, and her UP explorations, all come together........but with an eye-popping twist that I'm thinking readers will either fully embrace or judge as an obvious, facile metaphor. While I tend to lean toward the latter opinion, it didn't in any way lessen my overall favorable impression of the book.

     For anyone who loves to lose themselves in a tender story that unfolds, around some brilliant prose painting of landscapes, there's a summer getaway vacation awaiting you on these pages.

     4 stars (****).

'I, SPY'.......SPY FANS, A NEW MISSION TO ACCEPT....ALONG WITH PRE-SCHOOL PLAYDATES AND SNACKS.....

 I, Spy by L.M. Kemp (2026)

     Calling all armchair secret agents - strap on your gun, practice your spotting of tails, work on your karate chops, cause here's your next mission to stop nefarious villains from causing global chaos and destruction.

     Top agent Kendal, however, has walked away from the Spy Game, preferring to raise her 4 year old daughter Rosie as a normal everyday mom giving her little girl a normal everyday life. Not much chance of that, given she discovers armed thugs, for one reason or another, are still on the hunt for her.
     
     Seeking some measure of peace, Kenda accepts what sounds like an easy-peasy assignment from Rico, her old spymaster boss. She's to stay in a plush London safe house with Rosie. There she just has to supervise a young agent placed in a high tech firm to find out what's going on with their new monumental app. Rosie gets enrolled in an exclusive private school and Kendal joins the Mom brigade in the constant swirl of playdates, school pageants, and parent-teacher conferences. It's a whole new world for Kendal, considering her loveless upbringing by her own mom, a legendary lethal agent who began training Kendal in spy craft since early childhood.

     As in all thrilling spy stories, nothing and nobody are what they seem, nobody's to be trusted and Kendal's soon up to her neck in danger, double agents surprising twists......and someone she never saw coming likely to point a gun at her at any given moment.

     As a spy/espionage fan since forever, I didn't want this book to end and can only hope that author L.M. Kemp isn't done with taking us and Kendal on more perilous missions. While I appreciate the book taking a descriptive deep dive into Kandal's problematic history with her mother, "I, Spy" really shines in its dialogue, filled with sharp, martini-dry wit.....shaken, not stirred, of course. And Kendal even comes equipped with her very own "Q" in Fini Meridian, who runs a clandestine tech supply store always worth stopping in for a visit.

     Pure fun every stop of the way. If you're crazy for this stuff like me, this should go right to the top of your 'must reads' for the year.

     4 stars (****).

'THE COVE'......IN A COZY CORNWALL BOOKSHOP, SHE'S SAFE FROM A KILLER.....OR IS SHE?

 The Cove by L.J. Ross (2026) 

     Like other books by this author I enjoyed this one thoroughly, a fast paced suspenseful romantic cozy mystery set amid the crashing surf, high cliffs and and twisting caves of scenic Cornwall. Just the perfect spot where murder will out.

     But first we're in London, where beautiful successful publishing exec Gabrielle barely survives an attack of the 'Underground KIller'. And yes, that's what you think it is, a psycho who lurks in the Tube stations, waiting to push people in front of an oncoming train.

     Traumatized to the max and now afflicted with OCD, Gabrielle takes a job managing a quaint little bookstore that sits in a cove on the Cornwall coast. And in true cozy (and Hallmark movie) fashion, the store comes complete with quirky cast of characters who embrace Gabrielle and a ruggedly handsome artist with his own sad backstory (but with an eye for Gabrielle and vice versa....)

     Gabrielle's settling in nicely until she witnesses what appears to be a murder on the Cornwall cliffs. But did she really see what she claims she saw, or has her brush with near death in London caused her imagination to run wild? And has the Underground Killer found out where Gabrielle lives and hoping to finish what he started?

     Author L.J. Ross assembles everything nicely in place here - romance, some much needed humor, a sense of oncoming danger to Gabrielle and of course, twists, reveals and and a sea-tossed cinematic showdown. And for all book lovers, it's always a bonus to see the inner workings of a bookstore and the publishing industry.

      A solid, entertaining mystery and with a picturesque tour of Cornwall for armchair travelers. 

      4 stars (****).

WEEKEND MADNESS WRAP-UP.....SPECIAL "JEEEMY KEEEMIL DOES NOT BE BEST!" EDITION

Breaking News :   Trump announces his ballroom will now include an additional 75,000 square feet for storage of his and Melania's hurt feelings........ 

And as always......don't forget....

To BQ visitors:  Happy, happy weekend....see you next week with an overload of book and film reviews.....

To Trumpanzees:  Having a ball at the gas pumps and supermarket yet?? 

'GAS-S-S-S....WHICH IS WHAT ROGER CORMAN'S UNION WITH AIP FINALLY RAN OUT OF......

 Gas-s-s-s  - Or: It Became Necessary to Destroy the World In Order to Save It (1970)

     This sloppy, chaotic, satirical mess is now only famous for ending the long time association between prolific exploitation icon Roger Corman and American International Pictures, the prime purveyor of cinema shlock since the 1950's through the 1970's.

       Together, Corman and AIP ground out cheapo junk as fast as they could shoot it and release it....but their output also included some genuine quality.....groundbreakers like "The Wild Angels", "The Trip", and Corman's lushly produced Edgar Allen Poe films with Vincent Price.

      Of the two moguls running AIP, Samuel Z. Arkoff reveled in cinematic drek, but his partner James H. Nicholson began to fancy himself as a would be David O. Selznick, hoping to slap his name on classier projects and somehow meddle and improve the usual fast-buck AIP movies.

      According to Corman, Nicholson took to tampering and re-editing 'Gas-s-s-s', which Corman had taken actual artistic pride in (an unusual attitude for the most practical and savvy of cash conscious filmmakers....) Thus ended AIP's marriage to Corman who went on to form his own successful film company.  For AIP, its Golden Age was fast coming to a close, as big studios started making far better popcorn munching movies than AIP could ever hope to achieve....(such as "Star Wars" and "Jaws".....)

      'Gas-s-s-s, was written by George Armitage, who'd later go on to direct some darkly funny movies of his own ("Miami Blues", "Grosse Pointe Blank") A post apocalyptic, dystopian satire, the film imagines the aftermath of a bio-weapons accident that has killed off everyone over the age of 25.

       Hey, Gen Xers, Milennials, Gen Zs, Gen Alphas!  Want to see what the world would look like in 1970 with nobody left alive but Baby Boomers?  Guess what?  It's every bit as f***ed as you knew it would be.......

         And this might very well be what Corman and Armitage had in mind.....a cautionary tale for young boomers to 'be careful what you wish for' with more than few subtle hints that they'd be no better at running the world than their elders.

         What unfolds on screen - a freeform, making-it-up-as-they-went along carnival of quirky, self-absorbed idiots wandering from place to place (mostly the American Southwest). Along the way, nuggets of actual sharp wit are sprinkled into the swirling mix of random pandemonium, but you'd need tweezers and a microscope to isolate them. 

        And who needs to work that hard?  But every so often the film does land a few of its jibes, including the idea of fascist dictatorships set up by golf club members and high school football players. Offscreen, God drops a few gag lines, sounding like a Catskill Resort comedian and on screen Edgar Allen Poe and his beloved Lenore wander through the film on a motorcycle.  (Please don't ask us to explain any of that.....the film doesn't either.....)

         You can extract a bit of fun spotting the future stars in the cast (Cindy Williams, Talia Shire, Bud Cort, Ben Vereen) but that doesn't make the interminable 78 minute running time go any faster. Shapeless and desperate to make itself hip, the film collapses into nothing right before your eyes. 

         1 star (*) and that star is only because Roger Corman, George Armitage and their cast had nowhere to go but up......and many of them did.