I find myself at the movies again on Saturday night. This time I saw "A Star is Born".

This movie has been made so many times. 1937.... Judy Garland in 1954... And then, from my youth, Barbra Streisand and Kris Krisofferson in 1976 (do the math, jerks!). I had the soundtrack on vinyl and it was meditative while doing my many household chores in high school.

"The black, black widow is sittin' in the middle of the web It's the fly she seeks.."

I notice right away that Bradley Cooper (of the glow-in-the-dark blue eyes) is taking on some kind of non-Bradley voice which I (wrongly!!!) attribute as an homage to Kris Krisofferson. It was actually an homage to hunka-hunka Sam Elliott (Lifeguard, anyone... anyone?) who plays Bradley's long-suffering less-successful brother.

Story is predictable -- fourth iteration, after all -- but seemed more ham-fisted with the morals... yes, Elly sold her soul for fame; yes, Jack was stupidly jealous of her rising star.

I didn't really enjoy the camera action in this file. Everything seemed very close... too close...

Three points of comparison leave me slightly favoring the 1976 version:

2018 - It seemed in this version, Elly kept her wide-eyed-wonder love for Jack, even in the face global humiliation and his disintegration before our eyes.

1976 - I felt that John Norman Howard took a more "manly" way out, than did Jackson Maine.

1976 - I preferred the tribute concert by Esther over that by Elly.

WTF-o-meter!!!! Andrew Dice Clay plays Elly's father!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!