It's a Wonderful Life (1946) ****

The Capra "corn" is still there but if you just go with it, Jimmy's performance is all you need. Long, but well paced.

Beauty and the Beast (1946) ****

Jean Cocteau uses nothing but actors, cinema technique and his imagination to create a fantasy world miles ahead of the latest CGI junk from Marvel et al.

2021 In Review: Movies

*** The Many Saints Of Newark
** The French Dispatch
** Luca
* Annette
* Fever Dream
* Godzilla vs. Kong
* No Time To Die

2021 In Review: Music

**** David Bowie - Toy
**** Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham
**** MARINA - Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land
**** New Myths - All The Shiny Things (EP)
*** ABBA - Voyage
*** Bad Bad Hats - Walkman
*** Blood Lemon - Blood Lemon
*** Chills, The - Scatterbrain
*** Connells, The - Steadman's Wake
*** Field Music - Flat White Moon (EP)
*** Gloria - Sabbat Matters
*** Grouplove - This Is This
*** Middle Kids - Today We're The Greatest
*** Orange Peels, The - Celebrate The Moments Of Your Life
*** Paul Weller - Fat Pop (Volume 1)
*** Pearl Charles - Magic Mirror
*** Sports - Get a Good Look Pt. 1 (EP)
*** Spotlight Kid - Darkwaters
*** Texas - Hi
*** Weather Station, The - Ignorance
*** Weezer - Van Weezer
*** Winds - Look At The Sky
** Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - New Fragility
** Colleen Green - Cool
** Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time
** Field Music - Another Shot (EP)
** Flyying Colours - Fantasy Country
** Goat Girl - On All Fours
** Jane Weaver - Flock
** Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
** Jaromil Sabor - Mount Vision
** Jorge Elbrecht - Presentable Corpse
** Joy Formidable, The - Into the Blue
** Juliana Hatfield - Blood
** Lily Konigsberg - Lily We Need to Talk Now
** Liz Phair - Soberish
** Matt Berry - The Blue Elephant
** Matthew Sweet - Catspaw
** Midnight Sister - Painting The Roses
** Pardoner - Came Down Different
** Pip Blom - Welcome Break
** Piroshka - Love Drips And Gathers
** Ringo Starr - Zoom In (EP)
** Torres - Thirstier
** Umbrellas, The - The Umbrellas
* Aimee Mann - Queens Of The Summer Hotel

Newly identified hormone may be a critical driver of type 1 and type 2 diabetes | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Many hormones are involved in the regulation of metabolism, such as insulin and leptin. Fabkin is different from traditional hormones in that it is not a single molecule with a single defined receptor. Instead, fabkin is composed of a functional protein complex consisting of multiple proteins, including fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), adenosine kinase (ADK) and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK). Through a series of experiments, the researchers determined that fabkin regulates energy signals outside of cells. These signals then act through a family of receptors to control target cell function. In the case of diabetes, fabkin controls the function of beta cells in the pancreas that are responsible for insulin production.

The Thief of Bagdad (1940) ***

Conny Veidt gives a master class in how to play a villain in this colorful fantasy.

Repo Man (1984) **

Quirky and influential comedy/sci-fi hybrid. Well cast, played and directed.

The French Connection (1971) **

Expertly made police procedural, but can't believe it beat out Stanley for best picture/director.

Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967) ***

Unmistakably Scorsese right from the beginning even on a shoestring.

Don't Bother to Knock (1952) **

Weird little thriller is well paced but the casting is a bit off. Anne Bancroft's film debut.