Day #22,872

Walk km 17,187-17,189: library & T&T

TV Episode #108: 28 Up (1984, Michael Apted)

It's beginning to drag a bit. This one is 136 minutes long but there's probably only about 30 minutes of new footage. Can't blame the filmmakers though. Without seeing the previous episodes, those 30 minutes of new footage would be meaningless. VHS was all the rage at this time so it would be hard for them to foresee the advent of Netflix.
Some fake stuff in this one. Reenactments from their lives instead of "real" footage.
Sad to see Neil continuing his downhill spiral. Will he still be around for 35 Up? Bruce looks better though. Seems to have gotten over his problems from 21 Up.
The original reality TV show and no doubt the best.

TV Episode #109: 35 Up (1992, Michael Apted)
Not much difference from 28 to 35. One thing I noticed - by 35 they are very concerned about how they look.
The women look hideous the way they cover themselves with as much make-up as they can pile on. They also all wear their "Sunday go to meeting" clothes. They're trying to hide their true selves. A shame really because they all looked their best at 7 (except Tony!) .

Movie #2524: 42 Up (1999, Michael Apted)
Well, that's much better. Gone is that horrible makeup and goofy clothing on the women. They're looking much better at 42!
Spoiler Alert: Bruce got married! And Neil was at the wedding!!!

Day #22,871

Walk km 17,181-17,187: Upper Lynn & Upper Lonsdale

trees and such
approx km 17,185 Princess Park

TV Episode #105: Seven Up (1964, Paul Almond)
TV Episode #106: 7 Plus 7 (1971, Michael Apted)
TV Episode #107: 21 Up (1978, Michael Apted)

Oh boy, I've got 5 more of these to go.And they're getting longer.
Addictive account of 14 children who are visted first when they are 7 years old and then every 7 years after (the most recent one was 56 Up in 2012).
I thought they were all made by Michael Apted but the very first one was actually made by Paul "Mr Genevieve Bujold" Almond!
The kids so far are following the path that looked set for them except Neil who went from extremely perky and smiling 7 year old to a rather depressed 21 year old. Of course, he has 35 more years to turn it around.
I found this quite fascinating so I can only guess what it must be like for the participants.

Day #22,870

Walk km 17,171-17,181: UBC to mudflats to Alma @ 4th

Meetup walkers
approx km 17,176 Spanish Banks mudflats

Movie #2523: The Vagrant (1992, Chris Walas)

Entertaining horror/comedy that keeps switching between hallucination/reality. Bill Paxton is the white bread/vanilla type who buys a house and is appalled by a filthy/ugly tramp who lives in the neigbourhood and keeps getting into his house. 
The director was never allowed to direct another picture.

Day #22,869

Walk km 17,158-17,170: King George Station to Tynehead Park
Walk km 17,170-17,171: library & T&T

Green Timbers Lake
approx km 17,161 Green Timbers Urban Forest

Movie #2522: Off Limits (1953, George Marshall)

Here's a 1953 George Marshall film without Martin & Lewis. Instead we have Hope & Rooney. Just think: people used to think that this was funny!

Book #504: Exit Ghost (2007, Philip Roth)

I enjoyed Indignation so I tried another Roth. Didn't work this time.
Guy in retirement from life decides to make a comeback. Falls flat on his face..

Day #22,868

Walk km 17,139-17,158: Tilburg to Tsawwassen

railroad cars
approx km 17,152 from overpass on Arthur Drive, Delta

Day #22,867

Walk km 17,129-17,139: Thornhill to Webster's Corners

bear and fish sculpture
approx km 17,132 Grant Ave Maple Ridge

Day #22,866

Walk km 17,126-17,129: to Denman

Movie #2521: The Kiss (Jacques Feyder, 1929)

Hard to say whether this film is any good or not since 1/3 of  it is missing.
IMDB says 89 minutes but TCM is showing only 62 of them. Nothing too great at 62 minutes but who knows what is missing?

Day #22,865

Walk km 17,113-17,126: Aberdeen station to Steveston

path in a park
approx km 17,118 Terra Nova Park

Day #22,862-864

Walk km 17,108-17,110: to the library
Walk km 17,110-17,113: Coal Harbour

Movie #2520: Our Man In Havana (1959, Carol Reed)

What a difference a country makes. I've been watching those Martin/Lewis Hollywood comedies and here comes a British one. Well, it's more than just a comedy but there are plenty of comedic scenes here and they couldn't possibly be more different. No funny faces and pratfalls here. This is strictly a sophisticated, dry humour. Not something that you're likely to laugh out loud at. At least it's not Benny Hill.
I guess I should be enjoying the higher quality British stuff more but I guess I'm just a rube: I prefer Martin & Lewis. Nice high quality picture but nothing to get excited about.

Day #22,858-861

Walk km 17,073-17,084: Sun Valley
Walk km 17,084-17,097: Sunnyside
Walk km 17,097-17,108: Sunshine Hills

Meetup walkers
approx km 17,086 148A Street Surrey

Book #503: Songs Of Innocence (2007, Richard Aleas)

 Characters didn't really ring true. Nice plot but I could not get involved.

Movie #2519: Money From Home (1953, George Marshall)

Amusing Martin/Lewis comedy but it's not exactly Frank Tashlin. A nice time waster.

Day #22,857

Walk km 17,062-17,073: testwalk in Sunshine Hills

park entrance
approx km 17,065 Cougar Creek Park

Movie #2518: Elle S'en Va (2013, Emmanuelle Bercot)

French road trip movie that turns into a weepy family reunion hug fest. Not complaining.
The main attraction of course was seeing Valerie Lagrange again. Catherine Deneuve got the lead role but Valerie had a small part in the beauty contest reunion episode. I saw Valerie when I was in Paris in 1984 but that was 30 years ago! Didn't recognize her in the movie but I assume she was the one who confessed to being a hippie back in 1969. I'll see if I can track that down on the internet.

Day #22,856

Walk km 17,051-17,062: beneath Burnaby Mountain

Movie #2517: Stripes (1981, Ivan Reitman)

The first half had some funny stuff but I wasn't too crazy about the heroic second half.
I guess they couldn't expect any Americans to watch this unless the U.S. miltary came off as heroic in the end despite the fact they were the butt of jokes in the 1st half.

Day #22,855

Walk km 17,048-17,051: to Army & Navy

Movie #2514: Fun With Dick And Jane (1977, Ted Kotcheff)

Not very funny. A few amusing situations - I think their best bet would have been to make this into a TV sitcom.
And what in the world is Mordecai Richler doing writing the screenplay for this? Is nothing sacred?

Day #22,854

Walk km 17.036-17,048: Coquitlam river walk

Movie #2513: Deadly Strangers (1975, Sidney Hayers)

There is an escaped maniac on the loose. He's stolen a car and is now driving around England with Hayley Mills (daughter of Sir John Mills and mother of Crispian "Kula Shaker" Mills).
The Brits are pretty good at this type of thing.
Gratuitious nude scene by former child star Hayley. Extremely odd cameo role for Sterling Hayden.
It all adds up to a bit of fun.

Day #22,853

Movie #2512: Hollywood Or Bust (1956, Frank Tashlin)

I've seen this one before. So far back in the distant past that I didn't remember a thing about it except it wasn't all that great (as Tashlins go).
Well, that turned out to be true but even 2nd rate Tashlins are mighty entertaining. Martin & Lewis drive across country to get to Hollywood. Not as magical as his great "Artists And Models". Instead, we have to be content with 90 minutes of highly colourful fun.

Day #22,852

Walk km 17,024-17,036: King George Station to Strawberry Hill

Movie #2511: Cannibal: The Musical (1993, Trey Parker)

An early effort from Trey "South Park" Parker. It's a parody of musicals. I don't watch musicals so I can't get much out of a parody of them. The music is just as crappy, however the lyrics have been changed to make them silly.
Looks like a lot of work went into this and I liked the joke about Wyoming but it's just not my cup of tea.

Day #22,848-851

Walk km 16,991-17,003: 49th Ave Station to Boundary @ Kent
Walk km 17,003-17,006: to T&T twice
Walk km 17,006-17,024: Strathcona to Southlands

a Buffalo-Springfield steamroller
approx km 17,008 National Avenue

Book #502: Indignation (2008, Philip Roth)

I thought I had read one of these Roth's back in the 60s or 70s. After reading this I'm pretty sure I haven't (probably just saw the film of Goodbye Columbus).
Pages that fly by faster and faster until you're sure the main character has gone completely mad. Well, it wasn't really madness, it was..............
Excellent.

Day #22,847

Walk km 16,980-16,991: Semiahmoo Trail and Sunnyside Acres Urban Forest

Book #501: Atomic Cover-Up (2011, Greg Mitchell)

Story of the film that was shot at Hiroshima and Nagasaka after the A-Bomb and how the US government confiscated it amd made it "top secret" so that no one could see it. Straightforward account.
Amazed by the number of typos. Why didn't anyone proofread this?

Movie #2510: Life Itself (2014, Steve James)

Like the movie yesterday about Luis Tiant, it's hard to tell if it's any good. Because I watched Siskel & Ebert back in the day, I have reason to want to know more about Roger Ebert's life. Would that be true of someone who had never heard of him? Don't know but I do know that I enjoyed it. I'll wait for Roger's review.

Day #22,845-846

Walk km 16,973-16,980: South Westminster

Vancouver's ugliest house
approx km 16,980 96 Ave near 116 St

Movie #2509: The Lost Son Of Havana (2009, Jonathan Hock)

Documentary about Luis Tiant returning to Cuba after 46 years away.
I remember Luis because I watched baseball in the 60s and 70s. So, this was quite interesting. To others it may be meaningless.
BTW, Crackle now has subtitles.

Day #22,843-844

Walk km 16,959-16,962: running errands
Walk km 16,962-16,973: Semiahmoo Trail and Sunnyside Acres Urban Forest

sign tells all
approx km 16,966 Semiahmoo Heritage Trail

Movie #2508: The Front Page (1974, Billy Wilder)

Billy Wilder sure can direct a picture but his low opinion of the human race makes them almost unwatchable. So, it was a pleasure to watch this one: screwball comedy with wall-to-wall plot twists. Sure, some of the characters were a bit slimey but it was all played for laughs. Excellent.

Day #22,841-842

Walk km 16,947-16,960: South Arm and Shellmont
Walk km 16,960-16,962: running errands

tired walkers at end of walk
approx km 16,960 Steveston Highway

Book #500: The Beatles Invasion (2014, Bob Spitz)

Day-by-day account of The Beatles first trip to the USA. Nothing special but since I was one of those millions who watched the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 the story does have meaning for me.
Interesting that one of their last jobs before they went home was to meet Cassius Clay (for publicity photos). It turns out that Clay did not even know who they were. And the Beatles didn't know that Cassius Clay had just recorded "Stand By Me". I'm sure if they were properly introduced they could have had something to talk about.