Month: October 2025

Winter is Coming: Lip Products for the Season

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Lip Exfoliation

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish Exfoliator: One of the few products I like for exfoliating dry/chapped lips.

Lip Balms

Fresh Sugar Hydrating Lip Balm: My recs are the Caramel and Coconut scents.

Laneige: Lip Glowy Balm (var. scents); Lip Sleeping Mask (var. scents; can use during day)

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm: Iced Coffee (sheer cocoa) is my current choice; there are a variety of choices. For a more affordable alternative, try the Cocokind lip balms (I’m trying now).

Lip Color

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna: Gloss Bomb Stix High-Shine Gloss Stick: Riri shade will look good on tan skin; Gloss Bomb Cream Color Drip Lip Cream: Cookie Jar (chocolate caramel) is a FAB Fall/holiday color.

    Winter is Coming: Skincare Recs for the Season

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    Cleanser

    First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Facial Cleanser: My personal fave cleanser for Fall/Winter; I have used it off/on for almost 10 yrs.

    Fresh Soy Face Cleanser: Another of my top choices which have used 5+ yrs; good for any season/type of skin.

    Serum

    Estee Lauder Advanced Night Serum: The (one and done) serum for ALL ages/skin types; I’ve used it off/on for several yrs.

    Lancome Génifique Ultimate Recovery Face Serum: This is a V popular product for mature skin; my mom has used several products in this brand for 20+ yrs.

    Moisturizer (Face)

    Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator: This is esp. recommended for those w/ acne-prone (as is entire brand) or sensitive skin in Fall/Winter.

    Fresh Rose & Hyaluronic Acid Deep Hydration Moisturizer: This product feels fancy (& works); also V popular holiday gift idea (as part of a set) for moms, aunties, & gal pals.

    Moisturizer (Body)

    First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration: This is THE best moisturizer for cold climates &/or dry skin (can use on face also); good for ALL genders (I gifted to my super-dry skinned dad)!

    Native Moisturizing Lotion: My fave scents are Coconut & Vanilla and Lavender & Rose; I’ve been using this (affordable) brand for 5+ yrs.

    Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil: The (viral/popular) product that really works; I see women (all ages) flocking to get this product at my local Ulta store (whenever on sale).

    “Border Incident” (1949) starring Ricardo Montalban & George Murphy

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    The Bracero Program (1942-1964) was a series of agreements btwn Mexico and the US that allowed millions of Mexican men to work (legally) in the U.S. on short-term agricultural/railroad contracts. It was created to address labor shortages during WWII; it was the largest guest worker program in U.S. history. However, braceros often faced exploitation (promised wages, housing, and working conditions NOT met by growers). This movie (available on Amazon Prime video) centers on federal agents trying to protect Mexican braceros (someone who works w/ their arms/hands) from being robbed/killed along the U.S.-Mexico border. Pablo Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban; aged 29 and looking FAB in 1st MGM lead role) teams up w/ FBI agent, Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) to tackle illegal immigrant smuggling. This is one of the few roles where Montalban played a Mexican (his real ancestry)! Pablo goes undercover as a bracero; Jack poses as a criminal (who smuggles work permits). There is a documentary feel in the framing (beginning and end) scenes. This movie (filmed mostly on location: Mexicali, Mexico; Calexico and El Centro, CA) is a blend of noir and Western.

    Border Incident (a courageous movie for its day) was directed by Anthony Mann (before his iconic Westerns starring James Stewart). The budget needed ($650K) would’ve been TOO high for the “Poverty Row” studios he’d toiled in for 7 yrs. Mann was invited to MGM studios, which was headed by Dore Schary, a liberal/Democrat committed to making meaningful movies. Schary had been a playwright, director, and producer (for the stage), before transitioning to screenwriter and producer of moving pictures. Mann was apolitical; his main focus was making quality films. The director insisted that his frequent collaborator, John Alton, be hired on as DP/cinematographer. Fans of noir consider Alton to be a master of B&W photography; as Eddie Muller (TCM) noted, he somehow made the (wide open) spaces of the desert look claustrophobic!

    There is no femme fatale (as this is a world populated by men); instead, we meet a bevy of baddies of different looks and (unhinged) personalities! Rancher Howard Plakson is played by Howard Da Silva; noir-istas may recognize him from The Blue Dahlia (1944) and They Live by Night (1948). Alfonso Bedoya plays “Cuchillo” (knife); he was the Mexican bandit “Gold Hat” in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). He famously told Bogie: “We don’t need no stinking badges!” Zopilote is played by Howard Moss, a Shakespearean stage actor who had played many “ethnic” roles (due to his ambiguous looks). Mann creates tension and does NOT shy away from depicting racism and violence (based on real cases from the INS).

    [1] If you’ve only known Mr. Montalban as Mr. Roarke on “Fantasy Island” or as Khan on the “Star Trek” episode “Space Seed” not to mention “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” you’ll probably be wonderfully surprised by his heroic role here.

    [2] The pic is often vicious, sadistic even, landing violent scenes in the conscious that refuse to move until it’s all over and the screen goes blank. Suspense is never far away in Border Incident, with a mostly on form cast… bringing the material to life as the dream team cloak it all in pictorial assertiveness.

    [3] John Alton’s photography is worth seeing alone, even without the sound it’s so good, not that you would want to avoid the fantastic score by Andre Previn. And the direction by Anthony Mann at the peak of his intensity is sharp and beautifully controlled.

    -Excerpts from IMDb reviews

    Movie Trailers: Fall/Winter 2025

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    If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (in theaters OCT 10th)

    The Mastermind (in theaters OCT 17th)

    Blue Moon (in theaters OCT 17th)

    Bugonia (in theaters OCT 24th)

    Frankenstein (in limited release: OCT 17th; on Netflix NOV 7th)

    The Running Man (in theaters NOV 14th)

    Eternity (in theaters NOV 14th)

    Rebuilding (in select theaters: NOV 14th; in wide release: NOV 21st)

    Hamnet (in theatres NOV 27th)

    The Housemaid (in theaters DEC 19th)

    Father Mother Sister Brother (in theaters DEC 24th)

    Noir City DC 2025: “Tension” (1949) starring Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, & Barry Sullivan

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    Introduction

    Hey y’all, thanks for visiting! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy; I was sick w/ a bad cold/cough for 4+ wks (had NOT happened before)! I went to my doctor (2x), took prescribed meds, and even got chest x-rays (no issues found). I had a work deadline to meet, so ended up taking just 2 days for sick leave. I got the (latest) COVID booster and flu shot last weekend, then was able to have a couple more days off. Aging is NOT fun…

    This is my 5th year attending Noir City DC film fest; it’s held at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD (my neighborhood). Sadly, Eddie Muller (TCM; Film Noir Fdn.) didn’t attend the opening wknd/intro the movies. I’m trying to save money (V tough to do in current economy), so chose 3 films (I’d never seen before).

    All the best,

    EMMA.

    Review & Analysis

    In Every Two-Timing Kiss You Will Feel… TENSION -Tagline

    Freddie: They’re still at it. Tryin’ to find out who owns Germany, who owns the A-bombs, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, riots!

    Foster Hirsch (film historian/author) did the intro for this (lesser-known) MGM noir; it was a box office failure. “MGM (which projected a wholesome Americana) was NOT the studio for noir,” Foster commented. “This story is about post-WWII disillusionment,” he added. The score was composed by Andre Previn (then just 21); portions were recycled as title theme for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Director John Berry’s Hollywood career was cut short after He Ran All the Way (1951); he was was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). He went to work in England and France, returning to the US in the early ’70s.

    A meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife’s lover. -Synopsis

    Warren Quimby (Richard Basehart) has been suffering in silence (for several yrs) over his wife’s shameless flirting and cheating. His sympathetic employee, Freddie (Tom D’Andrea), thinks he needs to take some action. After WWII, the couple met in San Diego and married in a hurry; Claire bitterly recalls: “you looked kind of cute in your uniform then.” When Warren decides to confront Claire and her rich/brawny liquor salesman lover, Barney Deager (Lloyd Gough), he ends up getting a humiliating beating!

    Warren: Gee, it’d be wonderful to live out here, darling. Fresh air. Room to entertain. It’s a great spot for kids.

    Claire: You want to know something? I think it’s a miserable spot. It’s 30 mins. from nowhere.

    Here we find one of the nastiest femme fatales of the genre, as Foster noted. In one revealing scene, Warren (hopeful) takes Claire to the suburban house he intends to buy: she doesn’t even get down from the car to look. When he starts to talk about having a quieter life, she (annoyed) takes the wheel, honks the horn to drown him out, and asks him whether he’s coming w/ her or staying. Then, Claire hits the gas pedal to throw fumes in Warren’s face as he (meekly) gives in to her rejection. Who knows IF this toxic pair were ever in love!? There is no respect in their relationship!

    The cuckolded hubby starts thinking of revenge; there are murder tales in mags and the eye doctor points out (cutting edge) contact lenses “which can change your entire personality.” Warren creates the identity of Paul Sothern, a traveling cosmetics salesman; he rents an apt and makes friends w/ aspiring photographer/girl-next-door, Mary Chanler (Cyd Charisse). At last minute, Warren (AKA Paul) can’t go through w/ the murder; he tells Barney that he can have the tramp. The next morning, two cops arrive at the Quimby’s apt, explaining that Barney was found dead! Lt. Collier Bonnabel (Barry Sullivan) drives the plot in the 2nd half of the movie (available on HBO MAX).

    [1] Tension is one of those diamonds in the rough you find when you least expect it.

    [2] Unlike some noir thrillers that get too clever to make sense, Tension is well-plotted. The pacing keeps Basehart and Totter twisting until the end.

    [3] Though there are a few ridiculous elements to the story, standout performances, good direction and fine camera work make this one a winner.

    -Excerpts from IMDb reviews