Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Stay-at-home remedies

The spoonful of sugar needed to sweep away the stagnation

Mary Poppins: Lambs to the laughter.
Mary Poppins: Lambs to the laughter.

For those too cheap to buy a ticket, but eager to learn about an umbrella-powered nanny, radioactive spider bites, and how to make money by illegally transporting drugs across state lines, we offer these three stay-at-home remedies.

Mary Poppins (1964)

Video:

Mary Poppins (1964) trailer

Before the term “comic book movie” became a boulder in the shoe of film critics everywhere, the three most dreaded words in the cinematic lexicon were “live action Disney.” (Cough hard enough and you can still relish the saccharine remains of Darby O’Gill, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and Blackbeard’s Ghost.) Thanks in large part to the magic of humans artfully coexisting with their singing and dancing cartoon counterparts, Mary Poppins at times transcends the categorization. But once the rain washes away the chalk drawings, half the picture goes down the drain with it. How as children we all managed to survive the one-two punch of the dewey-eyed Feed the Birds number followed by the equally lumbering Fiduciary Fidelity sequence — one cockeyed Cockney-spouting Dick Van Dyke creation is enough — is a question I refuse to answer on the grounds that it will exasperate me. Fortunately, a chorus of flue-cleaning acrobats are the spoonful of sugar needed to sweep away the stagnation.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)

Video:

The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)

A doctor in mid-consultation suddenly and without explanation exits the examination room. Before he can finish his closing argument, a barrister unbars the door and bolts. A gasmask covers the face of the grandmotherly choir singer calmly exiting a bank, a smoking gun in one hand and a suitcase filled with cash in the other. These three ordinary citizens, along with seven more — all placed under the spell of a crazed extortionist (Thayer David) interfering with their thought patterns — are turned into bank robbing kamikaze zombies in this, Spider-Man’s big-screen debut. (Originally intended as a network pilot for the short-lived TV series, it received a wide release abroad and a limited run Stateside.) Flat TV lighting is far more conducive to bringing comic book panels to life, and the pre-CGI wall-walking effects are indeed special. One year before Dino De Laurentiis’s Superman showed moviegoers that a man could fly, fans of this series were equally as convinced that Peter Parker (Nicholas Hammond) could scale the heights of a Gotham skyscraper. With David White (Larry Tate on TV’s Bewitched), perfectly cast as J.J Jameson. Watch it on YouTube.

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Video:

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is young, she’s pregnant, and she’s desperate for work — so desperate that she’ll line her guts with grape-sized pellets of cocaine and smuggle the drugs across the Colombian border to make cash. Moreno earned a well-deserved Oscar nod for her unvarnished depiction of a woman dependent on (but not addicted to) drugs to provide for her family. Even though it predates Clint Eastwood’s latest by over a decade, this isn’t the first film about a drug mule. I’m guessing that honor belongs to Midnight Express. (Or does it only count when the drugs in your colorectal system aren’t for personal use?) My predecessor in these parts, Duncan Shepard, dubbed it Maria Full of Shit. Don’t you hate it when someone beats you to the punchline?

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example
Mary Poppins: Lambs to the laughter.
Mary Poppins: Lambs to the laughter.

For those too cheap to buy a ticket, but eager to learn about an umbrella-powered nanny, radioactive spider bites, and how to make money by illegally transporting drugs across state lines, we offer these three stay-at-home remedies.

Mary Poppins (1964)

Video:

Mary Poppins (1964) trailer

Before the term “comic book movie” became a boulder in the shoe of film critics everywhere, the three most dreaded words in the cinematic lexicon were “live action Disney.” (Cough hard enough and you can still relish the saccharine remains of Darby O’Gill, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and Blackbeard’s Ghost.) Thanks in large part to the magic of humans artfully coexisting with their singing and dancing cartoon counterparts, Mary Poppins at times transcends the categorization. But once the rain washes away the chalk drawings, half the picture goes down the drain with it. How as children we all managed to survive the one-two punch of the dewey-eyed Feed the Birds number followed by the equally lumbering Fiduciary Fidelity sequence — one cockeyed Cockney-spouting Dick Van Dyke creation is enough — is a question I refuse to answer on the grounds that it will exasperate me. Fortunately, a chorus of flue-cleaning acrobats are the spoonful of sugar needed to sweep away the stagnation.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)

Video:

The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)

A doctor in mid-consultation suddenly and without explanation exits the examination room. Before he can finish his closing argument, a barrister unbars the door and bolts. A gasmask covers the face of the grandmotherly choir singer calmly exiting a bank, a smoking gun in one hand and a suitcase filled with cash in the other. These three ordinary citizens, along with seven more — all placed under the spell of a crazed extortionist (Thayer David) interfering with their thought patterns — are turned into bank robbing kamikaze zombies in this, Spider-Man’s big-screen debut. (Originally intended as a network pilot for the short-lived TV series, it received a wide release abroad and a limited run Stateside.) Flat TV lighting is far more conducive to bringing comic book panels to life, and the pre-CGI wall-walking effects are indeed special. One year before Dino De Laurentiis’s Superman showed moviegoers that a man could fly, fans of this series were equally as convinced that Peter Parker (Nicholas Hammond) could scale the heights of a Gotham skyscraper. With David White (Larry Tate on TV’s Bewitched), perfectly cast as J.J Jameson. Watch it on YouTube.

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Video:

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is young, she’s pregnant, and she’s desperate for work — so desperate that she’ll line her guts with grape-sized pellets of cocaine and smuggle the drugs across the Colombian border to make cash. Moreno earned a well-deserved Oscar nod for her unvarnished depiction of a woman dependent on (but not addicted to) drugs to provide for her family. Even though it predates Clint Eastwood’s latest by over a decade, this isn’t the first film about a drug mule. I’m guessing that honor belongs to Midnight Express. (Or does it only count when the drugs in your colorectal system aren’t for personal use?) My predecessor in these parts, Duncan Shepard, dubbed it Maria Full of Shit. Don’t you hate it when someone beats you to the punchline?

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Two poems by Marvin Bell

“To Dorothy” and “The Self and the Mulberry”
Next Article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader