Cinematic Distractions...

Another death in the family later...This one is the best I could do in my present headspace.
The above is neither a joke nor a cry for help. It's a statement of fact.

Dark Star: Hyperdrive Edition: Director's Cut(1974):
This parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey made by John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon when they were college students really grew on me. I watched it three times before sending it back. The introduction poses two questions:
1)Which part is played by multiple actors?
2)Which actor(in which scene) was on LSD?
Unable to find the answers, even in the making of/backstory feature included on the disc, I drew the following conclusions:
1)The voice of the bomb
2)All of them
It's good that this is only a movie, because the cockpit of their spaceship is built so small that it's impossible for them not to lean against multiple buttons and dials on multiple control panels while simply sitting there.
The song "Benson, Arizona" seems incongruous for a space movie. The incongruity is intentional, and the story behind the song is told in the extra documentary feature Let There Be Light. That line, taken from the book of Genesis, is uttered at a crucial moment in the movie.
For a low budget movie made by a bunch of college kids who were probably high, it's quite good. The pace in some scenes is painfully slow from trying to stretch it into a feature length movie fit for commercial release.
The disc I rented was a special 40th anniversary edition. The introduction references a line from the movie made funnier by a peculiar circumstance of our pandemic horror show reality in 2020:
Introduction: "It's been 40 years, and we're still out of toilet paper."
Movie: "Storage area nine self-destructed last week, and destroyed the ship's entire supply of toilet paper."

Pinky Violence: Criminal Woman: Killing Melody(1973):
I've seen this spectacle of a lady boss(sukeban) movie once before. To begin with, all of our protagonists are in jail, and none of them are sorry.
Maki has her first run in with the law after trying(with limited success) to take revenge upon the gangsters who killed her father.
Natsuko is another newcomer who accidently conks a cop on the head with an empty liquor bottle while taking a high speed joyride on a stolen motorbike.
Then there are repeat offenders, Yukie, and Kaoru. Yukie is a pickpocket who gets busted by an undercover cop. Kaoru is a sex worker who prefers to rob and beat her clients in lieu of rendering the agreed upon services.
While in prison, Maki quickly runs afoul of Masayo, a yakuza moll. Obligatory prison yard fight scene ensues.
Upon her release, Maki picks up where she left off in her quest to avenge her father's death. The other three ladies turn up to help.
[Watch the ice cream cone.]
They form a team, establish a hideout, perform reconnaissance on their targets, amass an arsenal, and set about picking off gangsters through a mix of covert manipulation and overt attacks.
Things get complicated when Masayo reappears and confronts Maki, culminating in a messy reprise of their prison yard fight.

Have Gun Will Travel: Season 04: Disc 03(1960-1961):
On this disc:
The Prisoner - Paladin has a go at playing defense attorney in a kangaroo court.
The Sanctuary - I thought the monk looked like George Kennedy, but the actor is Albert Salmi.
The Mountebank AKA: The Puppeteer - Paladin hitches a ride with a one man medicine show bent on giving one hell of a performance for a select audience.
A Quiet Night in Town(Parts I and II) - Paladin comes to town with a bounty head in tow. Bored, restless locals form a lynch mob out of sheer boredom, bringing out Paladin's dark side. James Best, Robert Emhardt, and Sydney Pollack guest star.
The Princess and The Gunfighter - Arlene Martel, billed here as Arlene Sax, is an absolute delight in this one.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs(2018):
I like vignette movies, but I was a little disappointed that the first story didn't wraparound at the end. I thought it was good overall. It opens strong with the titular chapter. "All Gold Canyon" was my favorite though. I was late to the party on this one, but I was glad to finally observe the James Franco "First time?" meme in its natural habitat in "Near Algodones". "Meal Ticket", and to a lesser extent, "The Gal Who Got Rattled", were depressing. The spooky, slow to unfold, suspense horror of "The Mortal Remains" made for a satisfying finale.

A Night in Casablanca(1946):
One from the box set I own. Not their best, but treasure pilfering Nazi scum are on the receiving end of the comeuppance hijinks. Lisette Verea performs the song: Who's Sorry Now?

Dangerous When Wet(1953):
I really should stick to the dramas of this decade. Breezy romantic comedies of the 1950s are such scary things. This one is also a musical with songs such as:
-Got Out Of Bed On The Right Side
-Ain't Nature Grand
-I Like Men
That last number I mentioned is performed by Barbara Whiting in the movie. She plays, Suzie Higgins, the teenage, middle daughter of a cult-like, fitness obsessed, farming family.
Her performance is saucy, but nowhere near as saucy as the one from Johnny "Hooray For Hollywood"" Mercer who wrote the lyrics. His rendition is included as an audio extra on the DVD.
The Higgins family farms together, swims together, and sings together. They're so corny and cute, it's sickening. Esther Williams plays, Katie Higgins, the oldest daughter, and best swimmer in the family.
A snake oil peddling traveling salesman(Jack Carson) happens upon their farm one day, which leads to the family agreeing to swim the English Channel as part of a cash prize competition.
During one of her practice swims, Katie meets a wealthy Frenchman(with a Spanish accent), played by Fernando Lamas.
Ridiculous premise established, I'll refrain from spoiling the rest.
The main highlight of this movie and sole reason I rented it is the animation with live action sequence in which Esther Williams does an underwater ballet with the cartoon cat and mouse duo, Tom and Jerry.
A few other memorable moments:
Fernando Lamas kisses and licks her arm, then sticks his head in her crotch on their first date.
Charlotte Greenwood, whose height and dancing skills earned her the nickname "Lady Longlegs" on the Vaudeville circuit, does an impressive dance number at the end of Ain't Nature Grand. Keep in mind that she was in her 60s when this movie was made.