January 14 movie: MGM: When the Lion Roars. Documentary about MGM narrated by Patrick Stewart. I think it was a miniseries, and we watched parts 2 and 3 of 3. This was different from the That's Entertainment! movies in that it's a history of the studio, including dramas and what was going on behind the scenes. Stewart's dialogue is very silly, and rendered totally ridiculous by the self-important delivery. For instance a scene where he has to repeat some dialogue from a William Powell movie, about which dance beats to use when shaking various drinks. "A martini must always be shaken to a waltz." Powell said it like it was a funny bit of foolishness, and he was slightly drunk, and the line worked. Stewart says it like he's simultaneously reciting Shakespeare, and also wondering if he should fire his agent. It's hilarious.
The best thing about this movie was the interview clips with aging MGM stars. One of the stars they talked to was Ricardo Montalban, and we coincidentally watched this on the day he died. It was a nice surprise to see him talking about his days as a matinee idol.
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