Marty (1955)

I had no idea Ernest Borgnine could be so lovable!

Intro.

I never really liked Ernest Borgnine before, probably because I had always seen him cast as bad guys, most notably as "Fatso" in From Here to Eternity.  But the write-up of Marty in the television listings sounded simple but charming, so I gave it a shot.  The write up said: Love comes to a shy, heavyset Bronx butcher.  Oscars for Screenplay, Director, Lead Actor and Best Picture.

Overview
Marty Piletti is a heavyset 34-year old butcher living at home with his mother.  He's constantly reminded by his customers (mainly Italian-American wives and mothers) and family that all five of his siblings, both older and younger, are married.  "You should be ashamed of yourself," most of the women say.  But it's not like Marty can help it; "I've been looking for a girl every Saturday night of my life."  And this Saturday is no different; he and his friend Angie (Joe Mantell) heed his mother's recommendation and go to a dance club called the Stardust Room.  Marty gets the brush off from girls, as usual, and he gets a bit disheartened.  Then something incredible happens - this fellow approaches him, explains that he's on a blind date with a girl who's a dog and he's met up with some girl and wants to ditch his date.  He offers Marty $5 to take his place on the date, but Marty being a very kind hearted gentleman calls the guy out for being a huge jerk.  The guy goes off and Marty sees the girl alone.  She looks so fragile and sad and when she goes out onto the fire escape to cry, Marty follows her.  She's not a dog at all, though she's not as attractive as some of the other women at the club.  Her name is Clara (Betsy Blair) and pretty soon she and Marty are inseparable.  They dance, they confide in each other, they go out for coffee and wind up talking for three hours.  What they have in common is that they've both nearly given up on ever finding love.  Yet here they are, a perfect match.  That is, until Clara meets Mrs. Piletti and disagrees with the family situation - Mrs. Piletti's sister Catherine is being kicked out of her son and daughter-in-law's house because the two women can't get along.  So Mrs. Piletti, who's been after Marty to get married, refuses to like the girl he's finally found.  Marty's friends aren't any help either, saying that Clara's a dog.  Angie even gets jealous because Marty won't be spending time with him anymore.  Will Marty take a chance on Clara or will he let what might be his only chance for true love pass him by?

Highlights 
As I said in the tagline, I had no idea that Ernest Borgnine could be so lovable.  This is one of the few (and possibly the first) times he was cast against his bad-guy type.  And he's wonderful!  Right from the opening lines we can see how kind and patient he is, even against the constant barrage of "when are you gonna get married?"  We can see his close relationship with his family, which makes his decision much harder.  Borgnine does a great job and it's easy to see why he won Best Actor (though I would've been torn on the Committee because he was up against Frank Sinatra in The Man with the Golden Arm).

What works so well is the simplicity of this story.  A reviewer on IMDb wrote that this was the time when we didn't need special effects or action scenes to make a great and unforgettable story.  And we don't just have the story of Marty and Clara.  Just as impressive is the story of Aunt Catherine (Augusta Ciolli) and her fight with her daughter-in-law.  Two women trying to rule the same house is difficult and it's a real shame that they can't get along.  The fight that results between the daughter-in-law, Virginia, and her husband Tommy is realistic and an interesting perspective on married life.  The scene where that fight unfolds is after they move Aunt Catherine into her sister Mrs. Piletti's house.  They're on the porch and Marty's trying to ask Tommy about a business idea - he wants to buy the butcher's shop.  He asks a question, but Tommy replies instead to Virginia about the situation with his mother.  They finally leave, telling Marty that he's stupid to want to get married.  Meanwhile we also get this lovely exchange between sisters Catherine and Teresa (Mrs. Piletti).  They talk about growing old and feeling unloved and unwanted by their children.  For these women, their children were their whole lives and although they are happy to see them married, they are also facing  loneliness.  The heart of the film lies in this loneliness, both for the women and for Marty and Clara, and how it can be overcome.       

Clara is also really well played by Betsy Blair (who is anything but ugly, but made up to look less attractive).  She has a college education, a loving home with her parents and a job offer waiting for her, but the one thing she wants most is the one thing she can't have.  Her confession to Marty that she'd been to the Stardust Room before and sat alone for an hour and a half without a single dance request (guys even came to her table then changed their minds) is really important and truly heartbreaking.

I don't want to get too personal here, but watching this film made me feel better about myself.  If Marty and Clara can find love, then so can anyone.  That's what really made this film stand out to me - hope.  There really is someone for everyone.  It's what makes us human, this desire to love and be loved.  No wonder it won best picture.  Everyone can cheer for Marty and Clara.     

Two stories to end with: First, although television was a huge threat to the film industry in the fifties, this film crossed the line between the media.  Marty was originally a television drama featuring Rod Steiger.  But Burt Lancaster's production company bought the rights and made it into a feature film.  When it won Best Picture, the news left a big impact on the industry.  Television wasn't just the low-class enemy anymore.  And a funny story: I was on the phone with my friend Catherine trying to explain this story.  She asked, well, how ugly is the guy who plays Marty?  Is he really ugly?  I said, "well, it's Ernest Borgnine, so...."  I don't know that I'd call him the ugliest actor in Hollywood, but he's a very far cry from say, Cary Grant.  However, Betsy Blair I think was too pretty to play a "dog".  It also made me smile when she said no one would dance with her because her real life husband was Gene Kelly.

Review and Recommendation

I love this movie.  I know I've already said that, but I want to say it again.  I can always tell when I really liked a movie when I get really upset that it ends too soon.  In this case, I wanted to see the rest of it - Marty and Clara dating more, getting married, having a family.  But it was cut short!  Still, the way it ends is probably Borgnine's finest moment on film.  I definitely recommend Marty to everyone, especially to shy, single folks like me who have just reached the age when our group of single friends shrinks rapidly and we starting to get invitations to weddings.  If Marty and Clara can find love, so can we!  

Picnic (1955)

Intro.

Very few people I know today who are in their twenties recognize the name William Holden.  I don't have an exact number, but in conversations with my friends, I've realized most of them know Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, but not Bill Holden.  In the mid-1950s, he was the leading male star in Hollywood, and known as America's Golden Boy.  I recommend most of his films (of the ones I've seen), starting with the epic The Bridge on the River Kwai.  But now I have to add Picnic to that list - what a great film!  And a perfect film to watch on Labor Day!

Overview

Picnic opens with a train slowing down in a small Kansas town and the engineer waking a passenger.  The passenger is a wandering vagrant (Bill Holden), who has an easy, friendly manner.  He goes to the first house he can find and asks for work.  The old woman, Mrs. Potts, tells him no one works on Labor Day and invites him to breakfast.  He soon is working in her yard anyway and without a shirt, which attracts the attention of next door neighbors: mother Flo (Betty Field), daughters Madge (Kim Novak) and Millie (Susan Strasberg), and their boarder, an aging, single schoolteacher named Rosemary Sidney (Rosalind Russell).  The man gets cleaned up and goes off to meet up with his old college buddy, Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson in his film debut).  Alan, son of the wealthiest man around, relives some good old times with Holden's character, who we learn is Hal Carter, the former college football hero.  Alan is taking his girl, Madge, to the Labor Day picnic and encourages Hal to take Millie.  The whole group, including Rosemary's date Howard, goes to the picnic and has a great time.  Madge is crowned Neewollah queen (a big honor in the town), uptight Rosemary relaxes as she enjoys a bottle of liquor smuggled in by Howard, and Millie starts crushing on Hal.  Things heat up after sundown, as Madge and Hal give in to a growing attraction and dance together.  It's a pretty intense performance that gets out of hand when a jealous Rosemary (who's already having problems dealing with the loss of her youth) breaks them up, tearing Hal's shirt.  Then teenaged Millie grows ill, having stolen the liquor to deal with her own jealousy.  After getting chewed out by almost everyone, Hal takes off, but Madge follows him.  They spend the night together, but come morning Alan has reported his car stolen (he had lent it to Hal).  Hal has to get out of town and Madge has to finally choose what she really wants out of life.

Highlights   
This was only Kim Novak's fourth credited film, but she is wonderful in it.  It's very easy to see why she rose to be such a big star.  She and William Holden make a good, believable couple, despite Holden being a few years too old for this role.  There was a 15 year difference in their ages, but I think Holden's charm and box-office appeal helped make the film a success.  Of course, I think the number of shirtless scenes probably didn't hurt either.  When I started watching the film, all I could think of was that the whole plot really revolved around his half-naked shots.  It makes sense then that the studio wanted the top male actor of 1955 in the role after it was turned down by the actor who had made it a hit on Broadway.  They wanted a built-in audience and they got it.      

I really liked how this film was shot.  There are so many elements that go into a frame, and in Picnic each one seems to fit together like a well-woven quilt.  Everything that is mentioned or seen once comes back later in the film - no loose ends.  The scene where Rosemary tears Hal's shirt is reminiscent of his arrival that morning when he took his shirt off to be cleaned (I told you the whole plot revolved on him being shirtless).  In the opening sequence, Hal cleans up at the river by a small waterfall - he returns to this same spot with Madge and then later when he is running away from the police.  It's a key point in the film, because it's at those falls where we learn the most about his character.  The shots themselves are also really well-constructed, particularly during the dance sequence, which features many shots at waist level.  All we see of Hal and Madge is from their elbows to their knees.  Framing alone can tell a great story.

Characters are great in this film.  You can't say the film is solely about Hal.  We learn just as much about Madge and Rosemary, and even quite a bit about Millie and Flo.  None of them are all good or all bad, but completely and entirely human.  They could be your next door neighbors.  Well, neighbors in 1955 maybe.  There's a side story about Madge and Flo too.  Flo is still hurt by her husband walking out on her some ten or twelve years earlier, and wants Madge to marry the "right kind of man" like Alan.  She keeps stressing that Madge should convince Alan to propose soon, before her beauty starts to fade.  At one point, Madge says "I'm only 19!" To which Flo responds, "Then next summer you'll be 20.  Then 21.  Then 40."  As if in answer to this warning, we see Rosemary, almost or already 40 and angry at still being an old maid.  Through the course of the picnic (and steady intake of alcohol), she goes from sarcastic to jealous to downright crazy.  Her resentment is aimed at the young lovers Hal and Madge, which is why she so viciously goes after Hal.  Howard, as boastful and unattractive as he first appears, becomes a sympathetic character by first helping Hal and then by marrying Rosemary.  Finally, Millie really makes an impact as the kid sister growing up.  During the course of one day she goes from being a stubborn tomboy to a lovely young lady.  She and Hal get along so well because in many ways he's still a fourteen year old boy.  Millie might still be a child, but she's also the one who has insight enough to tell her sister what to do in the end.

Picnic turns out to be no picnic for any of the characters, if you'll pardon the awful pun there.  It's a great film that encompasses not just one day in the life of these people or a holiday celebration in a small 1950s town, but also the hard choices we have to make about love and our own destinies.  I think Mrs. Potts says it best.  At the end, she admits that she liked Hal because he was so different and shook everyone out of their routine, everyday lives.  It's ironic since Hal only wanted to reinvent himself and have a shot at a normal life.  Whether he gets that or not is left up to us.      

Review and Recommendation
I loved this movie.  And not because William Holden was shirtless (although, I have to admit, he's really handsome).  It's masterfully done, with great cinematography, acting and story-lines.  It's one of the strongest character-driven films I've seen, and one of Holden's best performances.  It's also great to see Rosalind Russell and Kim Novak together, as two such talented actresses share the same screen!  I am definitely adding this to my Top Films list and recommend it to anyone interested in the real classics of Hollywood's golden age.

P.S. Thanks to TCM for all the movie backstory!  Also on their website, I saw that Picnic was remade in 2000 with James Brolin and Gretchen Mol.  I wonder if it can even come close to being as good as this version.

P.P.S. I was talking about this film at work the other day, and a woman in the breakroom told me that she had done the play of Picnic in high school and had hated it.  She said it was the worst play.  I think it could have been great if only Bill Holden had been there to take his shirt off.  It's always good to hear other people's responses to works - be it the film itself or the original play or book, the medium can often affect the story itself.      

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Intro.

You know how some films you aren't really interested in until you hear them referenced in another film?  That's how it was for me with Doctor Zhivago - I hadn't really heard a lot about it or had a desire to see it until I watched the modern romantic comedy Must Love Dogs (2005).  In that film, John Cusack's character is obsessed with Doctor Zhivago.  He says that he wants a love like that - a sweeping, epic love that is so powerful that "even after you're dead, it still hurts."  I couldn't resist a line like that, so when Doctor Zhivago aired on TCM recently, I took the opportunity to watch one of the great epics of Hollywood as well as #7 on the AFI's list of America's Greatest Love Stories.

Overview

While it's a bit difficult to summarize a movie that runs for three and a half hours, I'll try my best.  Basically the film focuses on the lives of Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) and Lara (Julie Christie).  From the beginning it seems that these two people were destined to meet - orphaned Yuri goes to live with his parents' friends and their daughter Tonya.  He grows up, becomes a famous young poet and then a doctor.  Lara grows up in a dressmaker's shop with her mother, and winds up falling prey to her mother's lecherous boyfriend Komarovsky, who rapes her.  They first cross paths when Lara's mother attempts suicide and Zhivago comes to her aide.  Then after she is raped, Lara comes to a big high-class society party and shoots Komarovsky just as Yuri and Tonya announce their engagement.  Well, Yuri and Tonya marry, and Lara marries her boyfriend, the idealist Pasha.  When WWI breaks out, Pasha enlists, and when he goes missing, Lara volunteers as a nurse to look for him.  She winds up serving in a country hospital with Zhivago, and they find a growing fondness for each other.  They call it off for the sake of their families, but it's clear neither can stop thinking about the other.  Yuri goes home to the middle of a revolution, and his well-off family is being targeted by the Bolsheviks.  They are forced to move to their country estate in order to avoid further persecution.   As it turns out, Lara lives in the town nearby their new cottage.  Zhivago frequents the town often, first to spend time writing at the library and then to just meet up with Lara.  What was a mutual fondness has blown up into a full love affair and we can see that while Tonya is Yuri's closest and oldest friend, Lara is his true love.  It's sad and painful to watch the hardships faced by all of the characters, and only gets worse when on his way back home from breaking it off with Lara (Tonya is pregnant), Yuri is shanghaied and forced into service with the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.  Kept away for more than a year, Yuri is desperate to see his family.  He finally makes it back to town, only to find his family has fled to Paris.  He finds comfort in the arms of Lara, who seems to be the only person left in the area.  They finally have their time together, but it isn't meant to last - Lara's husband Pasha has been killed for his part in the war, and the troops are coming for Lara and her little girl.  Komarovsky offers them a way out, and Lara and her daughter go.  Zhivago, full of hatred for Komarovsky, ducks out at the last minute and reunites with his family in Moscow, but spends even his last breath trying to find Lara again.

Highlights

Framing:  The film's story is actually a long flashback told by Alec Guinness (who is awesome!!), who is Yuri's estranged brother, Yevgraf.  The film starts with him questioning a young girl about her background and we learn that he is looking for his niece, the child of Yuri and Lara.  She says she isn't the girl, but he seems positive and begins to tell her all about Yuri and Lara.  The film beautifully closes with her leaving the room and walking off, slinging a balalaika over her shoulder.  We know from the story that Yuri's mother played the balalaika like a master, and her instrument was Yuri's most prized possession.  It's a simple yet beautiful way to tie the story together and confirm for most viewers that she is indeed Lara and Yuri's child.

Cinematography: Doctor Zhivago is absolutely gorgeous.  The scenes are so well presented and carefully detailed.  I loved all the shots of Zhivago looking through windows at other worlds (oh so much symbolism, I'll have to leave it for another time!).  There are also some really well-coordinated shots that either allude to deeper meanings or foreshadow future events (like the blood on the snow from the massacre).  I read on IMDb about how most of the film was shot in Spain, where a ten-acre replica of Moscow was built in the countryside.  Perhaps the most breathtaking scene is when all that snow finally melts and we see Zhivago's cottage surrounded by thousands of daffodils (actually 4,000, all of which had to be shipped in from the Netherlands).  Now that's epic film-making!  No wonder it won an Oscar for best cinematography.

Love Story: So all of this leads to one question - is it truly one of the greatest love stories of all time?  I would say yes and no.  I have to say I was a bit troubled by the fact that both Zhivago and Lara were married.  And not just married, but Zhivago seemed happily married.  I do have to give him credit though - he broke it off with Lara when Tonya was pregnant with their second child.  But as their story unfolded, I could better empathize with them and in the end secretly hoped they would end up together.  It's a chemistry you don't often see, even if that whole "getting the girl out of harm's way but not being able to go with her" sounds a bit like another great love story I've written about....  Of course, that heart-wrenching ending where Zhivago thinks he sees Lara for the last time is so poignant that you can't help but feel the pain of his loss.  If you don't empathize with the characters for the whole film, you can at least admire their great courage in the face of such a devastating time.

Review & Recommendation

Doctor Zhivago is such a beautiful story, I'd definitely recommend this to everyone, although some of the scenes and topics are not appropriate for young ones.  I'd also say you may want to brush up on your Russian history before watching to avoid too much confusion (I found myself trying very hard to remember my high school history class!).  However, deep down, the film is really a simple love story - two people who love each other in spite of all the hatred and chaos in the world around them.  You know from the beginning they can never live happily ever after, but somehow that loss only makes it that much more powerful.  It's a definite must see for classic film fans and hopeless romantics alike.  And finally I can't resist saying it: "We'll always have Varykino."    

Check out all of the cool stuff about Doctor Zhivago on IMDb's FAQ page.  And when you watch, keep an eye out for young Yuri Zhivago - he's played by Omar Sharif's real life (and completely adorable!) son.      

Casablanca (1942)

Intro.
Casablanca.  The name alone conjures the now-iconic images from the film: Bogart slumped at a table drinking and muttering about all the gin joints in all the world, the look on Ingrid Bergman's face as she asks Sam to play "As Time Goes By", the ending that leaves us breathless - the plane, the fog, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  This film above all others defines what it means to be a classic. 

The first time I saw this film, I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed.  I couldn't follow the German/French resistance storyline and Claude Rains just got on my nerves.  But now that I've seen it about four times, I have to say that it's grown to be one of my favorite films.  However, like some of the people I've talked to, I have to be in the right mood to watch it, mainly because it is a bit slow in some parts.  I wasn't feeling very festive this past Valentine's Day, but TCM aired the film and for some reason I couldn't turn it off.  That's when I knew I had to bend my blog rules and write about it.

Overview

Rick (Bogart) runs a bar and nightclub in the town of Casablanca.  It's 1942 and while Morocco is unoccupied, the German Gestapo is a real presence.  With WWII raging in Europe, many refugees are coming to Casablanca in order to make the trip to America.  Travel papers are hard to come by, so most of them come to Rick's to find contacts.  Such is the case of Victor Laszlo and his wife Ilsa.  Rick, it so happens, has gotten two passes to America - tickets to freedom.  And Ilsa happens to be the woman he loved a long time ago in Paris (hence "we'll always have Paris") who left him without explanation and completely broke him.  Ilsa and Rick must ask themselves if their love is still alive and worth fighting for, despite the danger that lies for Victor, who is a key leader in the Resistance.   

Highlights

I think part of what makes this film work is the mood - as I wrote earlier, you have to be ready to watch it.  Despite its usual label of a "love story" I would argue that it is instead a film about love and heartbreak.  I'm never ready to watch it when I'm happy or want a fun movie to cheer me up.  I want to see it on those days when I'm curled up in blankets on the couch with the rain beating down on the windowsill.  It's a melancholy type of film.  We see the love that Rick and Ilsa had and we are made painfully aware that it is gone.  Ilsa tries to convince Rick she still loves him, but does she really?  I change my mind each time I watch.  Which leads to the next point - great acting.  Ingrid Bergman is beautiful, smart and such a natural.  Claude Rains is funny and a bit over the top as Captain Renault (although after viewing it a few times, I've noticed more of his backstory, which made him more endearing).

I was going to keep this post short since it's such a famous movie, but I can't stop without mentioning Bogart.  Humphrey Bogart makes this film.  It was his "breakout" role in the sense that it established him as a romantic leading man, not just a gangster or tough guy or wisecracking detective.  He had just done The Maltese Falcon the previous year, and established himself as an icon in film noir.  This film, however, makes him even more of a star.  And most of that is how well he plays the role of Rick.  This tough, neutral-standing saloon keeper lets down his rocky facade and shows how vulnerable he is.  It's moving, it's completely human and it's darn good movie-making.  Rick becomes the classic American hero - he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness for the "greater good."  He's got a criminal past, he runs a saloon with illegal gambling, has lousy friends yet somehow we love him. 
 

Review

This part I will keep short - if you haven't seen this film, watch it.  If you've seen it once and not been too impressed, wait awhile and watch it again, preferably on a rainy night when you're in the mood to think about things like lost loves and old memories.

As always, check out IMDb, and if you get a chance, try to see the documentary "Bacall on Bogart."  It's a great look at the life and career of Bogie, and will shed some light into this film as well. 

The Pride and the Passion (1957)

Intro.
As February was going to be focused on leading men we adore, I thought the perfect film would be one starring both Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra.  I mean, two of my favorite guys in one film - how could I go wrong?  Well, it turns out there was a reason I had never heard of The Pride and the Passion until I went hunting for Sinatra films I hadn't seen yet. 

Overview
Cary Grant plays a British officer named Anthony, who is sent to Spain during the Napoleonic Wars to salvage a huge cannon that the French army has discarded.  What he finds is a group of Spanish resistance fighters who have not only found the cannon, but have fixed it and are trying to take it cross country to the town of Avila, which is protected by a fortress now occupied by the French.  Anthony is only interested in getting the gun back to England, but he needs the Spanish group to help him move it (that sucker is heavy!).  So he and the Spanish leader Miguel (Frank Sinatra) make a deal - Anthony will help them take the fortress with the gun (because he knows all about artillery) and they in turn will help him haul the gun to a ship bound for England.  The rest of the story is pretty solid - lots of pushing, lots of hiding from the French, lots of Anthony hooking up with Miguel's girlfriend, Juana (Sophia Loren).  The love triangle affects the whole film and we are finally drawn from Anthony's dilemma to Juana's as she has to choose between the two men (what a choice to have!!).  The ending is pretty spectacular as hundreds upon hundreds of Spaniards rush the fortress in order to save the town of Avila from the French.  I won't ruin it, but let's just say that Juana finally learns that she can't have it all.

Highlights (and some Low Points too)
First of all, there is an undeniable chemistry between Cary Grant and Sophia Loren.  I thought at first I was imagining it, since it was on the set of this movie that Cary supposedly proposed to Sophia.  Those shots where we see Anthony watching Juana, you can't help but wonder how much of that look is love and how much is just darn good acting.  It makes the film much more interesting to watch at that point, particularly for the, how shall I say it, "well censored" love scene between the two.  Oh I love when films subtly hint at sex and just as the couple embraces, the camera cuts to something like trees and then later comes back to the couple after the fact.  Such is the case here. 

This is not one of Frank Sinatra's best roles, though it is still much better than The Kissing Bandit.  His accent comes and goes (which is actually kind of endearing) and that haircut just doesn't look right on him.  But it is pretty neat to see him hold his own with Sophia and Cary.  Sophia Loren didn't seem as polished, but it could be because this was her first English film (although another film, Boy on a Dolphin was released sooner).  And Cary is good, but not his usual scene-stealing self (except when he's charming Sophia, of course!).   

Most importantly, the ending is really well done.  For a film that didn't hold my attention much, I was glued to the screen once they reach the fort and Juana must choose to either stay behind with Anthony and the cannon (where she'd be safe) or to go with Miguel and risk her life for her country.  I also enjoyed the scene before it where they ask for the help of the church in Avila - there is a beautiful mass that is held and the music and color fills up the screen.  That scene, particularly the statue of "The Pieta," is echoed in the film's ending in a delicate way.  It made me wonder if the film I had started to watch was really the same as the one that I was finishing.        

Review
While there are some good moments to this film (aside from those mentioned above, there is a great part where Anthony must explain to a puzzled Miguel why the cannon will "weigh" more going downhill and tries to use the laws of physics to show the math behind it), it feels long and heavy, as if you're pushing the cannon along with that mob of people.  It's a cool piece of Hollywood history because of Sophia Loren's earliest US work and her off-screen relationship with Cary Grant.  I didn't like the film, but I liked the history and really, any chance to watch Sinatra (even in awful roles) is still a chance I'll take.  

Want to read more?  Check out IMDb.  Also, if you are interested in a Cary Grant love triangle film, try The Philadelphia Story or The Grass is Greener.  Both films are fantastic - look for write-ups on those in the weeks to come!