Briefs for June 29-30, 2023

I'm not going to be taking part in the Thursday Movie Picks blogathon this go-round, largely because I can't really think of three good TV shows that fit the theme of "Revenge". I have a feeling there are more of those shorter-run TV series on cable and now streaming over the past few years that would fit the topic, but I still don't do any of the premium/subscription services outside the basic if you will of YouTube TV. There's still enough on the various free streaming platforms that I don't see myself getting through for ages to come. Where's that cartoon about the guy announcing to his wife that he's finally reached the end of the internet?

Tonight on TCM is the final night of Katharine Hepburn's turn as TCM's Star of the Month. And then on Friday, we get some more summer/beach/island movies, including Where the Boys Are at 3:30 PM. I have to admit that I've never actually seen this one in its entirety. I've turned on TCM in the middle of the movie and watched parts of it, but never the whole thing. I set the YouTube DVR to keep me a copy the last time it was on, but I haven't gotten around to watching it yet since I didn't pay attention to the fact that it was going to be on the schedule so soon.

On the other hand, I did watch one that I thought was going to be on the FXM schedule this week, the Debbie Reynolds western The Second Time Around. It doesn't come up again until next week, so that's when you're going to get the full-length post on it. Other than that, I don't think there's anything comming up on FXM that I haven't mentioned before.

I should probably mention The Last American Hero on FXM on July 2. That's mainly because of the presence of Valerie Perrine. I hadn't heard about her health problems -- she was diagnosed with Parkinson's around 2016 or so -- and a documentary filmmaker did a shortish (around 30 minutes) documentary on her then-current struggles that was released in 2019. I watched that a few weeks back on Watch TCM because they ran it, but if you want to put down $3.99 it does seem to be available for rent on Amazon, Google Play and Apple TV.

I should probably mention the passing of actor Julian Sands, who graced a wide range of movies like A Room With a View and Leaving Las Vegas. I tend to pay more attention to the obituaries than to the celebrity gossip, so I hadn't heard that he went missing back in January hiking in the mountains north of Los Angeles. I only heard about it because they finally found his body. Sands was 65.