Recent viewings..good stuff!

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Over the last few day I have had some down time to sit and enjoy some of my most recent purchases.

Monty Python's Not the Messiah: This is essentially a musical version of The Life of Brian a 1979 film production by Python himself. This concert was just excellent in every way. It was funny, the singing first rate(all soloists and chorus), and the BBC Orchestra is in excellent form. Having reviewed The LIfe of Brian, I would say the musical adaptation was spot on the mark, and just as funny as the movie itself.

Quincy Jones: The 75th Birthday Celebration: Was off the charts in terms of just plain muscianship, and the quality of the arraingements presented. This gentleman impact on jazz and pop just cannot be overstated. The highlights of the night IMO, the voices of Patty Austin, Chaka Khan, Freda Payne,Ledisi and Rahsaan Patterson. The killer presentation of the night belongs to Naturally 7, a acapella group that was also its own band(with no instruments to be found). They were their own drums, bass, and their harmony sounded like a big band.

The Ray Harryhausen Blu ray collection: This included 7th Voyage of Sinbad, 20 Million Miles to Earth, It Came From Beneath the Sea, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, and recently purchased Clash of the Titans(not the new dreck). I must admit it, I love stop action animation a lot, and Ray Harryhausen represents the best there is when it comes to this type of animation. Surprisingly, the qualiy of each Blu ray disc was quite good, way better than the DVD's I have of these movies.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: A Terry Gilliam directed movie that much like all Gilliam productions, is quirky, weird, funny and entertaining all at the same time.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox: Is an excellent movie also based on stop action animation(and very clean at that), is extremely whitty, funny and entertaining. I saw this at the theater and thought it was great, but at home it plays even better. Thanks to this movie, I cuss a lot less, and have learned to use the word "cuss" to substitute for the actual cuss word.

The Happening: After viewing this movie, I just wanted to throw myself from a very tall building. This movie was just plain strange without any entertainment value whatsoever. I think M. Knight has thrown himself off a building, and has never recovered.

Star Wars:Clone Wars season one: is a animated version based on the Star Wars franchise. This was a blind buy, but I was so surprised that I enjoyed it, I ordered the other discs in this set.

All in all some very good viewing.