Well sir, it may say Uncle Spooky up there, but it 's basically Uncle Flauti's Fun House today, as you'll see when you get to his section. He not only did his usual Spanish Movie Recap for the month, but since this was not just any end-of-month, but the OCTOBER end, he also threw in a Halloween special for good measure. Incredible output. Tuna and Crimson Ghost have turned in some massive contributions over the years, but I don't think even those guys ever sent in 339 pictures and two long essays at the same time!

Couple that with LC's latest trip into the future and the usual gang of stars, and it's quite a page today!

Mailbox:

"On 10 Oct 06 ECW had a diva strip poker match. I haven't been able to find any un-edited movies of this. Has anyone?"

Third party videos:

Interesting zipped .mpg of Rhonda Shear ("Up All Night") and Monique Gabrielle just kinda standing around in sheer tops. Nothing unusual for Monique, but fairly rare for Rhonda.

From the archives. The quality of these is not so hot, but Cross My Heart has never come to DVD and it features topless action from the pretty redhead Annette O'Toole. (Four .wmvs zipped together)

OTHER CRAP:

Movie Reviews:

Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe). White asterisk: expanded format. Blue asterisk: not mine. No asterisk: it probably sucks.

Slim Susie (2003)

Slim Susie (2003) or Smala Sussie is a Swedish comedy. A man returns to his home town to look for his sister, Slim Susie, who has gone missing. He tells the entire story in flashback as he is being detained by the police. It seems his sweet, innocent sister had a fling with a rock star, and then became a druggie. All of his old friends were up to their usual drinking, drugs, porno movies, etc. It seemed everyone knew more than they were telling. Eventually, it comes out that the key to the events was a large amount of money.

The film is full of eccentric characters, nobody more so than the wife of the one town policemen, who is filmed having sex with the local wannabe film maker. The tape makes the rounds of the town as a running joke. 

The film has pace. At times, it is a little disjointed, but everything is eventually clear. Most who commented enjoyed it. If you are not bothered by subtitles, give it a try.

C-.

IMDb readers say 6.5.

 

Nicky Horn, as the policeman's wife, shows bush and her right breast.

Tuva Novotny, as Slim Susie, shows her breasts.

Notes and collages

Adrienne Barbeau in "Escape from New York" Adrienne Barbeau really struts her stuff in this film as the protective & vengeful "Maggie."

These are Flauti's comments and captures

FLAUTI's Monthly Spanish Movie Recap

Part one of this month's recap is just one film - but a very major one starring a big international star and directed by Spain's most acclaimed director. This would be Almodovar's Volver, which has generated some Oscar buzz for the performance by Penelope Cruz, and which is expected to be a strong contender for the Oscar for the best foreign language film.

VOLVER (2006) IMDb link
Español	English
Madrid. Ahora. Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) es una madre joven, emprendedora y muy atractiva, con un marido en el paro y una hija en plena adolescencia. La economía familiar es muy precaria, por lo que Raimunda tiene varios trabajos. Es una mujer muy fuerte, una luchadora nata, pero a la vez muy frágil emocionalmente. Desde su infancia guarda en silencio un terrible secreto. Su hermana Sole (Lola Dueñas) es un poco mayor. Su marido la abandonó y desde entonces vive sola. Un domingo primaveral, Sole llama a Raimunda para decirle que la Agustina (Blanca Portillo), una vecina del pueblo, le ha comunicado por teléfono que su tía Paula (Chus Lampreave) ha muerto. Raimunda adoraba a su tía, pero no puede ir al entierro porque momentos antes de recibir la llamada de su hermana ha encontrado a su marido muerto en la cocina, con un cuchillo clavado en el pecho. Su hija le confiesa que lo ha matado ella porque el padre, borracho, la acosó insistentemente. A regañadientes, Sole se desplaza sola al pueblo. Entre las mujeres que la acompañan en el duelo escucha rumores de que su madre (que murió en un incendio con su padre) volvió del otro mundo para cuidar en los últimos años a su tía Paula, que estaba enferma. Las vecinas hablan con naturalidad del "fantasma" de la madre (Carmen Maura). Cuando Sole vuelve a Madrid, después de aparcar su coche, escucha unos ruidos procedentes del maletero. Sole lo abre y allí encuentra, rodeada de bolsas, al fantasma de su madre. Sole no tiene otra opción que convivir con el fantasma materno e integrarlo en el trabajo de la peluquería. Por su parte, Raimunda sólo le comenta que Paco, su marido, las ha dejado y que intuye que no volverá. En realidad está tratando de desembarazarse del cadáver. Lo insostenible se convierte en cotidiano, cada cual por su lado, las dos hermanas emprenden una huida hacia adelante, sobreviviendo a situaciones muy tensas, melodramáticas, cómicas y también muy emocionantes. Ambas mujeres las solu-cionan a base de descaro y mintiendo sin la menor contención. "Volver" es una historia de supervivencia. Todos los personajes luchan por sobrevivir, incluso el fantasma de la abuela. En resumes, una película entretenida con buen argumento y un reparto de lo más adecuado. Por otra parte ha sido elegida entre "Alatriste" (2006) y "Salvador (Puig Antich)" para representar a España en los Oscars como mejor película de habla no Inglesa	Madrid. Now. Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) is a young, enterprising and very attractive mother, with an unemployed drunkard for a husband and a daughter in the heat of adolescence. Their everyday financial situation is very precarious so Raimunda has several jobs. She is a tough woman, and a fighter, but also very fragile emotionally because she has been holding in a terrible secret from her childhood. Her slightly older sister Sole (Lola Dueñas) is living alone since her husband left. One spring Sunday, Sole calls Raimunda to tell her that their Aunt Paula's small-town neighbor named Agustina (Blanca Portillo) told her that their aunt (Chus Lampreave) has just died. Raimunda adored her aunt, but she cannot go to the funeral because moments before her sister called, she found her husband dead in the kitchen with a knife in his chest. Her teenage daughter confesses to her that she killed her father because he harassed her insistently. Grudgingly, Sole goes to the small town alone to attend the burial. She hears rumors that her mother, who died in a fire, returned from the other world to take care of feeble Aunt Paula in her last years. To Sole's surprise, the neighbors speak with casual confidence of the existence of the ghost of the mother (Carmen Maura). When the skeptical Sole returns to Madrid, she encounters the ghost herself, and she has no option other than to coexist with her dead mother and to integrate her into the work in her hairdressing salon. On the other hand, sister Raimunda is trying to dispose of her husband's murdered corpse. The two sisters survive very tense, melodramatic, humorous and very exciting situations.  Volver (“To return”) is a survival history. All the characters fight to survive, even the ghost. Directed by the legendary Pedro Almodóvar, Volver has been chosen over Alatriste (2006) (2006) and Salvador (Puig Antich) to represent Spain in the race for the Oscar for best foreign language film.
Penelope Cruz (no nudity, but lots of cleavage)
Yohana Cobo (a small amount of nudity)

 

Part Two of this month's recap is the new releases from Spain and Latin America. The featured film among this group is Dark Blue, Nearly Black, a film which earned some positive reviews after its screening at Venice. I will take an in-depth look at this film and will also feature its star, Marta Etura in a new segment I call "Get to Know an Actress"

AZULOSCUROCASINEGRO (2006) IMDb link
Get to know an actress: Marta Etura
Español	English
Marta Etura nació el 28 de octubre de 1978 en San Sebastián, hija de una decorada y un empresario. Desde pequeña quiso ser actriz, pero para tranquilizar a sus padres estudió dos años de dirección y uno de montaje. Para emprender estos proyectos se trasladó a Madrid y se matriculó en la Escuela de Cristina Rota. Para poder sobrevivir trabajo de camarera e intervino en algunos spots publicitarios. Nada más finalizar sus estudios, Joaquín Oristrell contó con ella para el filme Sin vergüenza con varios de los últimos actores de dicha escuela, en donde interpretó a Belén, una joven actriz que mantenía unas difíciles relaciones con su madre. En este filme Marta mostró su cara más combativa, más independiente y con mayor rabia en su interior; una mezcla de fragilidad y entereza, vulnerabilidad y dureza. Eduard Cortés extrajo de nuevo ese registro en La vida de nadie, donde encarnaba a una niñera que se enamoraba del padre de los hijos a los que cuidaba. La hosquedad del personaje parecía empujar a Marta hacia el perfil de veintañera enemistada con el mundo, que sólo miraba por su individualidad a la que defendía desde la agresividad verbal y una gestualidad distante. Marta logró quedar candidata al Premio Goya a la mejor actriz revelación. Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón rompió esa imagen y extrajo de ella una interpretación más suave tanto en El Caballero Don Quijote (2002) como en La vida que te espera (2004). Entre la una y la otra rodó el thriller 13 campanadas -que la apartaba momentáneamente del drama-, Hay motivo y Frío sol de invierno, donde se puso en la piel de Mimo, la hija de un chatarrero que amargaba su existencia y que encontraba el amor en Gonzalo, el hijo de una prostituta que haría aflorar su lado más cálido. La Unión de Actores la recompensó con una candidatura al premio de mejor actriz de reparto. Al año siguiente estrenó Entre vivir y soñar y Para que no me olvides. Por su papel en esta última Marta recibió una candidatura al Premio Goya a la mejor interpretación de reparto que venía a simbolizar el paso entre la joven promesa que era 2001 y la actriz instalada en la industria que ya era. Entre el estreno de la película y la candidatura, Marta rodó y Azul Oscuro Casi Negro y Remake, así como la serie de televisión Vientos de agua, protagonizada por. En la primera interpretó a Paula, una mujer encarcelada por error, que abortó en prisión y que desea quedarse embarazada de nuevo de Jorge, un portero licenciado en empresariales y que es hermano de un recluso llamado Antonio. El deseo de superar su maternidad frustrada, de empezar una vida de nuevo como licenciada en filología y asistente social, hacían de Paula una mujer que traía esperanza a la vida del joven, algo de calidez en un mundo donde los sueños no se materializan. Según la actriz lo que más le atrajo del proyecto fue que su personaje pesar de estar encerrada, busca la libertad de conocerse y de conocer sus deseos reales, no los que le imponen.	Marta Etura was born on the 28th of October of 1978 in the Basque town of San Sebastián, the daughter of an industralist. From a very early age she wanted to be an actress, but to pacify her parents she studied two years of direction and one of design, finally moving to Madrid to study at the famous acting school of Cristina Rota (Spain's equivalent of The Actor's Studio), while working as a waitress and acting in some ads. For his directorial debut in "Without Shame", screenwriter Joaquin Oristrell hired Marta to play Belen, a struggling actress who had issues with her mother. She was one of many struggling young acting students hired to play struggling young acting students in this film. Marta's complex character appeared combative,  independent, and with a lot of internal anger; but was actually a mixture of fragility and strength, vulnerability and hardness. Eduard Cortés again drew upon that same range in "Nobody's Life", where Marta played an au pair who fell in love with the father of the children she was caring for. The character turned out to be a twenty-something already angry at the world, using surliness and verbal aggression to assert her individuality and worth. Marta was nominated for the "Best New Actress" award at the Goyas. Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón broke that image and allowed Marta to play a more charming character in Don Quijote, Knight Errant (2002) as well as in Your Next Life (2004). In between those two films she took a momentary break from the serious drama and made a thriller called The Clock Struck 13. Next came The Cold Sun of Winter (2004) in which she played a junkman's daughter who fought for a better life and found love when she brought out the warmer side of a prostitute's son. The Spanish Actor's Guild nominated her for their award as Best Supporting Actress. The following year she released Searching for Love, and then So You Don't Forget Me, the latter of which finally earned her a nomination for a Goya as the Best Supporting Actress, symbolizing the passage between the promise that was 2001 and the actress now respected by and entrenched in the industry. Between the opening of that film and her nomination, Marta made Remake, as well as the TV series "Vientos de Agua," and the movie we are viewing today,  Dark Blue, Almost Black. . In Dark Blue she plays Paula, a woman jailed in error, who aborted in prison and hopes to become pregnant again so that she can enjoy a comfy life in the prison's posh maternity ward. She tries to accomplish this by having sex with a fellow inmate named Antonio, but he proves infertile, and offers as a substitute his brother Jorge, a janitor who is working to build a better life and has earned a university degree in business administration. The return of Jorge's girlfriend complicates matters. This film was screened at the Venice Festival, and a comprehensive English-language review and summary can be found here.
Marta Etura
Eva Pallares

... continuing Part Two: new Spanish and Latin American films

We have at last arrived at Part Three, which consists of Spanish actresses in foreign films

Day of Wrath (2006) IMDb link

Blanca Marsillach

Beneath Still Waters (2005) IMDb link

Pilar Soto

Charlotte Salt

 

Flauti's Halloween Special

Español

Como es halloween mando las capturas de la colección "Películas para no dormir" basada en la mítica serie de Narciso Ibañez Serrador "Historias para no dormir": Se trata de seis títulos de terror, creados para la ocasión por seis directores españoles de renombre; La Culpa de Narciso Ibañez Serrador, La habitación del niño de Alex de la Iglesia, Regreso a Moira de Mateo Gil, Para entrar a vivir de Jaume Balagueró, Adivina Quién Soy de Enrique Urbizu y Cuento de Navidad de Paco Plaza.  Hay más información sobre las películas (en español) aqui.

English

Since it is Halloween I decided to send in captures from the collection “Films To Keep You Awake," based on the mythical series of Narciso Ibañez Serrador, “Stories to Keep You Awake." This includes six titles of terror created for the occasion by six esteemed Spanish directors:

• La Culpa from Narciso Ibañez Serrador

• La habitación del niño from Alex de la Iglesia

• Regreso a Moira from Mateo Gil

• Para entrar a vivir from Jaume Balagueró

• Adivina Quién Soy from Enrique Urbizu

• Cuento de Navidad from Paco Plaza.

 

 

Almost done. One more small matter. I have re-sent the pictures from Rosario Tijeras from last month's special, in order to correct a small error. If you are a collector, use these to replace the old ones.

 

Rosario Tijeras

Flora Martinez

Lina Marcela Parra

Cheers to all, and I hope you enjoyed this month's special.

*** Flauti ***

San Francisco Chronicle columnist C.W. Nevius reports that some women are complaining that they can't find any Halloween costumes that aren't incredibly revealing. One store owner said the slutty women's costume trend began because costume and lingerie makers held trade shows in the same  cities and realized they were targeting the same customers.  But parents are disturbed because not only are costumes such as "Sexy Army Lady" and a skimpy nurse outfit called "Sponge Bath Betty" being aimed at girls as young as 10, one company is selling a costume for even younger girls called "Miss Teddy Bare" and a French maid costume for a toddler.

*  It's never too early to teach kids the value of cleanliness.

*  Don't worry: it comes with little breast implants to help it stay up.

 

The Kootenai Humane Society animal shelter in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, announced that it will not allow anyone to adopt a black cat until after Halloween, for fear they might be harmed in pranks or sacrificed in Satanic rituals.  They have 97 cats awaiting adoption, and 28 are black.  A New York ASPCA spokeswoman criticized the move, saying that the cat sacrifice tale is an urban legend, and black cats are already hard to find homes for because they're stigmatized by superstition, so why penalize them by limiting the times when they can be adopted?

*  Nobody will be allowed to adopt anything black before Halloween ... except, of course, Madonna. 

 

Friday in Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, a masked robber entered a fireworks shop carrying a shotgun and fired a warning blast.  It set off the fireworks, and the entire store burned down in a spectacular shower of sparks and flames.  The owner was able to wrestle the gun away and pull off his mask.  Nobody was injured.  Police later arrested a young suspect.


*  This is nothing: you should've seen the fireball the time he robbed that gas station.

*  Good thing: his next plan was to rob a nuclear power plant.

*  The fireworks explosion was like the Iraq war: a big, fiery, stupid mess ... but still oddly patriotic.
 

Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, is doing its bit to curtail global warming by powering the campus with cow manure.  They say it will reduce carbon emissions by 3500 metric tons a year, the equivalent of removing 758 cars from the road.  Vermont has one cow or calf for every two people, the highest ratio in the US, so the campus will generate power from cow manure harvested from nearby farms. 

*  If that's not enough, they can harvest it from the Philosophy Department.

 

The Oslo, Norway, Natural History Museum is showing the world's first
exhibit on gay animals.  The organizer told AFP that it's to counter the argument that homosexuality is against the principles of nature, when it's been seen in 1500 species, even such "macho" animals as lions and sperm whale.  For example: female flamingos live together and only mate with males to have babies, which they raise together.  Male big horn sheep have sex with each other to be accepted into the flock and get access to females.  The exhibit angered some church leaders, including a Pentecostal priest who said the taxpayers' money would have been better spent helping the animals correct "their perversions and deviances."

*  Unfortunately, only the parrots can ask God's forgiveness.

Forzie, a four-legged chicken hatched last month in New Zealand, has died due to the fact that he also had two anuses.  Owner Marlene Dickey said, "I think he got glugged up"

* It was never diagnosed: their poultry doctor is a quack