Orel Family

At the start of 1969, things were rapidly deteriorating for The Beatles: Their 1968 recording sessions for "The White Album" had turned so sour that recording engineer Geoff Emerick quit in July, followed by Ringo Starr in August. Their manager Brian Epstein had died in 1967 from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. They'd given up touring in 1966 to protect their own safety and sanity.  It may seem shocking that the most famous quartet in the world chose, as their next project, to take empty time and space in Twyckenham Film Studios , this time without even producer George Martin , who didn't go.   This is where Peter Jackson's epic 8-hour film, currently available on Disney+ , comes in. For Beatlephiles like me, the film is both a huge blessing and a bit of a let down. More on the let down later. The original Michael Lindsay-Hogg movie "Let it Be" was never released on DVD, and has been out of official circulation in all formats since the ...

We saw Mary Poppins Returns a couple nights ago. This wasn't my first choice, but as it was Lori's birthday, I deferred. I don't post much about movies these days, but I figured after having fun with Princess Leia's bit as Mary Poppins in the most recent Star Wars flick , I'd take a bit of a closer look at the "real" Mary Poppins. First, I'll note that I never read the PL Travers books. But I've seen the first Mary Poppins movie many times, on laser disc (I date myself!). The first movie was a silly, elitist celebration and gentle lampooning of lily white Northern European aristocracy -- a popular Disney theme of the time. But that movie had Julie Andrews at the top of her craft, and Dick Van Dyke at his charismatic best, no matter his atrocious Cockney accent . It also had an overload of some of the Sherman Brothers'  best songs -- the sound track included instantly memorable classics such as "Sister Suffragette," "A S...