Marlie's Movies

My Favorite Things - Amendment #1

2010-08-22T07:28:00.001-07:00

So here I am, ready to retract some of my thoughts from yesterday - last night, Chris and I watched The Quiet Man. Although I had seen this movie many years ago, I forgot a lot more of it than I thought. We LOVED it! We were laughing hysterically the whole time - between Ward Bond fishing in the river, the hysterical Michaleen as the chaperone and the back and forth relationship between Mary Kate and Sean, there just were no bad moments!! So although I did not care for other John Wayne / John Ford movies, I have to say that this one was nothing short of brilliant. John Wayne has NEVER looked that good, my God. What on Earth? Haha. The last half hour of this movie is right up there with some of the greatest moments in film history.

I read a great piece of trivia about The Quiet Man. At the end of the movie, you can see Sean and Mary Kate standing in their garden. Mary Kate leans over to Sean and whispers something in his ear, which generates a great response of shock from him. Apparently, John Ford told Maureen O'Hara something to whisper, and she said "no way", she could never say that to the Duke. He talked to her into it, promising her that between the three of them, no one would ever reveal what was said. To this day, the line is a mystery. :)

My Favorite Things :)

2010-08-21T12:09:00.001-07:00

I can't tell you how excited I am to make this post - it's something I have talked about ever since I started working and stopped blogging - a list of favorites, surprises and debunked assumptions. During the course of my blog I watched just under 90 new movies - and since then I have watched dozens more as the blog really just fueled my love for movies. TCM consistently takes over our DVR and Netflix queue. What can I say...I'm in love.

So here you have it...a summation of my experience :)

Who did I watch the most?

Spencer Tracy - 7

Katharine Hepburn - 7

Jimmy Stewart - 5

....and for directors, I saw 6 of Billy Wilder's movies :)

Who surprised me the most - in a good way?

This one is easy. Spencer Tracy. Before I started the blog, I had never seen Spencer Tracy in anything - all I really knew of him was that he was in a relationship with Katharine Hepburn while married and that he was a drunk. I expected him to be cocky and brash and I was prepared to not care for him at all. Well, I was right about the relationship and about him being a drunk, but the cocky and brash - I could not have been more wrong, at least about him as an actor. Within 10 minutes of seeing him on screen (my first viewing was I believe...Adam's Rib) I was in love. I found him to be so charming and subtle - I could never picture him reading lines from a page. By the end of the blog I had seen 5 of his movies - Adam's Rib, Woman of the Year, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Pat and Mike and Captains Courageous - and since then I have added Judgement at Nuremberg and Boy's Town. I can say without a doubt that he is my favorite actor of all time - and for those of you who know me well, you know I take that very seriously :)

Another surprise to me was Billy Wilder. As a self proclaimed movie buff, I am simply ashamed to say that I had never even heard of Billy Wilder before the blog - honestly now I can't even imagine how I didn't know him. He's quite an interesting character - so interesting, in fact, that I read a book about him called "Conversations with Wilder" by Cameron Crowe...very good read. He's a great storyteller and storycrafter - I love how he puts shots together - the light and shadow, etc...I saw six of his movies during blogtime - let's see if I can remember them from memory - Some Like it Hot, Sabrina, Sunset Boulevard, Love in the Afternoon, The Apartment....and.....and .....oh yes, Stalag 17 (had to look that one up). Post blog, I watched The Lost Weekend - one of his most well known movies. I highly recommend all of them...except Love in the Afternoon, haha :)

One more...Bette Davis. When she's onscreen, I just can't take my eyes off of her. Plus her list of quotes about Joan Crawford are reason enough to love her. She just has PRESENCE.

Did anyone meet the exact expectations I had for them?

I love this question because I only wrote it so that I could talk about Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra. One of the reasons I started this blog was because I felt that, as a movie buff, I really needed to learn more about the classic movies and actors. I would say "Well, Jimmy Stewart is my favorite actor" but let's be honest...he's everyone's favorite :) So, just like I can't say Hey Jude is my favorite Beatles song because it's too obvious, I felt like I needed a different answer. Well, I'm sorry folks, but no one in this world amuses me more onscreen than Jimmy Stewart - I just love every second of everything he does (well, minus some seconds from Harvey). You would think his on screen "aw shucks" demeanor was just a show but it wasn't - I read his biography too and no one ever refuted what a great person he was - friendly, humble. .....and Frank Capra, come on. The guy just doesn't make bad movies - It's a Wonderful Life, You Can't Take it With You, It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Classics. (Julie I know you wanted me to add Arsenic and Old Lace - haha). A great pair of men.

Any other surprises?

When I started blogging, there was a whole genre of movies that I knew little about but really wanted to explore - westerns. I thought, you know, I have seen almost no old westerns, maybe I could really love them? The answer to that, in short, is no. I wanted desperately, and I mean really desperately, to love John Wayne and John Ford....and although I have a great respect for them, I just couldn't force myself to love them. I was really surprised that I couldn't - I thought for sure John Wayne would become a favorite. ....an icon, yes...a man's man, absolutely...a hollywood legend, no doubt. I also love how respected he was in Hollywood - women loved him and men wanted to be him.

Who were Hollywood's hottest leading men?
Again, an easy question - and I have three easy answers. Paul Newman. William Holden. Clark Gable. Done. There are no words.

Who were Hollywood's hottest leading women?

Ah, yes. I must give this one to Joan Crawford - talk about presence, my God, when she appears in The Women you think no wonder Norma Shearer's husband cheated on her. To me, she is the quintessential movie star.

What movies would I add to my favorite movies of all time?

The Women

Some Like it Hot - one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Jack Lemmon. Classic.

How Green was my Valley

Sunset Boulevard - Gloria Swanson=perfection.

...and just one parting thought. Perhaps I should have put Lionel Barrymore on my list of surprises - I've only even seen two of his movies - It's a Wonderful Life and You Can't Take it With You - but he won my heart in You Can't Take it With You - just seeing him onscreen makes me smile. His speech in the jail cell at the end of You Can't Take it With You is one of my favorite moments of all the movies I've seen.

I hope I didn't forget anything :)

AFI's Top 100 Movies!

2010-08-04T12:44:00.001-07:00

So far I have seen 69/100! Only 31 more to go...

1. "Citizen Kane," 1941
2. "Casablanca," 1942
3. "The Godfather," 1972
4. "Gone With the Wind," 1939
5. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962
6. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939
7. "The Graduate," 1967
8. "On the Waterfront," 1954
9. "Schindler's List," 1993
10. "Singin' in the Rain," 1952
11. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946
12. "Sunset Boulevard," 1950
13. "The Bridge on the River Kwai," 1957
14. "Some Like it Hot," 1959
15. "Star Wars," 1977
16. "All About Eve," 1950
17. "The African Queen," 1951
18. "Psycho," 1960
19. "Chinatown," 1974
20. "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," 1975
21. "The Grapes of Wrath," 1940
22. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968
23. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941
24. "Raging Bull," 1980
25. "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial," 1982
26. "Dr. Strangelove," 1964
27. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967
28. "Apocalypse Now," 1979
29. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," 1939
30. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," 1948
31. "Annie Hall," 1977
32. "The Godfather Part II," 1974
33. "High Noon," 1952
34. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962
35. "It Happened One Night," 1934
36. "Midnight Cowboy," 1969
37. "The Best Years of Our Lives," 1946
38. "Double Indemnity," 1944
39. "Doctor Zhivago," 1965
40. "North by Northwest," 1959
41. "West Side Story," 1961
42. "Rear Window," 1954
43. "King Kong," 1933
44. "The Birth of a Nation," 1915
45. "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951
46. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971
47. "Taxi Driver," 1976
48. "Jaws," 1975
49. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937
50. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969
51. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940
52. "From Here to Eternity," 1953
53. "Amadeus," 1984
54. "All Quiet on the Western Front," 1930
55. "The Sound of Music," 1965
56. "M*A*S*H," 1970
57. "The Third Man," 1949
58. "Fantasia," 1940
59. "Rebel Without a Cause," 1955
60. "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1981
61. "Vertigo," 1958
62. "Tootsie," 1982
63. "Stagecoach," 1939
64. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 1977
65. "The Silence of the Lambs," 1991
66. "Network," 1976
67. "The Manchurian Candidate," 1962
68. "An American in Paris," 1951
69. "Shane," 1953
70. "The French Connection," 1971
71. "Forrest Gump," 1994
72. "Ben-Hur," 1959
73. "Wuthering Heights," 1939
74. "The Gold Rush," 1925
75. "Dances With Wolves," 1990
76. "City Lights," 1931
77. "American Graffiti," 1973
78. "Rocky," 1976
79. "The Deer Hunter," 1978
80. "The Wild Bunch," 1969
81. "Modern Times," 1936
82. "Giant," 1956
83. "Platoon," 1986
84. "Fargo," 1996
85. "Duck Soup," 1933
86. "Mutiny on the Bounty," 1935
87. "Frankenstein," 1931
88. "Easy Rider," 1969
89. "Patton," 1970
90. "The Jazz Singer," 1927
91. "My Fair Lady," 1964
92. "A Place in the Sun," 1951
93. "The Apartment," 1960
94. "Goodfellas," 1990
95. "Pulp Fiction," 1994
96. "The Searchers," 1956
97. "Bringing Up Baby," 1938
98. "Unforgiven," 1992
99. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," 1967
100. "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942

....New Plans!

2009-11-05T12:04:00.001-08:00

.....as you all have noticed, my movie watching has dwindled considerably. With the holidays just around the corner I have found it difficult to keep up with movies while painting and keeping Mootinis running! Crazy times but good times :) So be patient and I'll do my best - my revised goal is to make it to 100 movies total! I'm really excited because once I reach 100 movies I'm going to make a nice big juicy post about all my favorites along the way - people and movies who surprised me (Spencer Tracy)....and those that were exactly what I hoped for (Jimmy Stewart) :) It's going to be a lot of fun. Number 84 will be Arsenic and Old Lace. At that point I need to take a serious look at my list and make sure the remaining 16 movies are MUST SEES. So help me out if you have any ideas!!

Day #83 - Gigi

2009-11-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

IMDB Link-

Yesterday I watched Gigi - going in with no expectations I came out feeling fine about it...just fine. Not crazy one way or another. The story has been told so many times it's hard to be too moved by it - basically any story of a girl who is in love with an older man but doesn't catch his attention until she is all made over. Think My Fair Lady - in Paris.

Leslie Caron plays Gigi, a young French girl who is raised by her Grandmother and her Aunt, a high-mannered and elegant woman who never married but has plenty of lessons and knowledge to impart on Gigi, namely, how to properly walk, sit, talk and eat. Gigi of course is beautiful but sloppy - she runs everywhere, plops in her seat, and tells it like it is. Louis Jordan plays Gaston, a rich bachelor whose exploits land him in the daily news pretty consistently. Finding the rich life and its women and company a bore, Gaston finds company in Gigi and her Grandmother. After spending a weekend away with Gigi - Gaston and Gigi still see each other as just friends.....but at the same time, Gigi's Grandmother and Aunt see a huge opportunity to bring them together. When the idea is presented to Gaston, he at first is appalled - after all, Gigi is just a baby! After a bit though, he realizes that he is actually in love with her....and well, the rest you can fill in.

I didn't know that Gigi was going to be a musical - and it was a strange kind of musical to me. The songs were more talking than singing. It was the first Lerner/Loewe musical since My Fair Lady, so ....I must not be a big fan of them because most of you know how I feel about My Fair Lady...Audrey or not. Maurice Chevalier narrates the piece and has the same kind of talking/singing. He's very handsome though and I love his accent. I read that he actually acted with a stronger accent than what he had in real life and that he was a real penny pincher. Anyhoo, the thing about musicals is that I don't actually like them very much. It's strange though because The Sound of Music is arguably my favorite movie of all time - but yet when I see OTHER musicals I don't like them!! This one felt very Mary Poppins'y, just in the sense of it's color and feel. Why were movies so oversaturated?? So essentially, it was a cute movie but I would recommend others is this is the feel you are going for :)

Gigi won many Academy Awards in 1958 - Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Score, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Song. WHEW! 9 wins overall. That surprises me a bit.

Day #82 - Harvey

2009-11-05T11:13:00.001-08:00

IMDB Link

Harvey, I wanted to like you. I really did. ....but you know, I didn't. In fact, I was over you about an hour in. This one was hard for me - I love, love, love Jimmy Stewart so I figured as long as he was in it I was good to go. Just seeing him at the opening of the movie made me smile and laugh. What really drove me crazy, and I mean CRAZY, about this movie was Josephine Hull who played Veta, Elwood Dowd's (Jimmy Stewart's) sister. I'm sorry, but I found her to be SO annoying - her constant whining and crying and fretting about drove me mad. It certainly didn't help that she had such a big part in the movie. ....interestingly enough, she won an Academy Award for her role. Honestly, with some of these old movies I really wonder what the Academy was thinking.....harsh, I know.

Harvey is the story of Elwood P. Dowd. Elwood lives with his sister and her daughter, Myrtle May, in the house he used to share with his mother before she passed. All would be well except that Elwood has a best friend who has created a lot of problems for Veta and Myrtle - this best friend just happens to be Harvey - and Harvey happens to be a 6 foot 3 1/2 inch rabbit. Along the way we learn that Harvey came about just after Elwood's mother passed, and we as the audience should assume that this is how he dealt with the trauma of the loss. He befriends everyone he knows and spends most of his time with Harvey, drinking at the local bar. When he introduces Harvey to a group of socialites dining with his sister and niece, they are so embarassed that they decide to commit him to the local institution. When they take Elwood there, a huge mix-up occurs which ends Veta in the institution and Elwood out of it! Once they figure out the mistake, Elwood is gone and they set out to find him. The thing about Elwood is that even though he sees Harvey, he is such a good man that the doctors and nurse at the institution really start to care for him. In fact, by the end of the movie, the head doctor is convinced that he also sees Harvey. Veta stays dedicated to committing Elwood until the end, when she realizes that even though he has some issues, he is far more pleasant as is than if she were to change him through medication. Thus, a happy ending.

Harvey was based on a Pulitzer-Prize winning book and Jimmy Stewart also portrayed Elwood P. Dowd on Broadway. I believe Josephine Hull was also part of the Broadway cast, oh joy. In the film, Elwood refers to Harvey as a "pooka", which basically means that he is an apparition which usually takes the form of a large animal, in this case, a rabbit. Although the only other person to see Harvey is the doctor, I think as the audience we are not led to believe that he for sure does or does not exist....it's an interesting way to tell a story.

Word has it that Steven Spielberg is remaking this movie in 2010 - the latest rumor is that Robert Downey, Jr. will play Elwood P. Dowd. I don't think he looks or acts much like Jimmy Stewart - I think Tom Hanks would be a good choice - but I don't put anything past Robert Downey Jr.....he's extremely talented.

Day #81 - Away We Go

2009-10-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I loved this movie!!! It was so, so cute. Chris and I honestly felt like it was written about us - a couple of times we looked at each other like. "did they really just say that? We say that all the time!" Away We Go is about Burt and Verona and their journey to find the perfect place to raise their child. Verona is six months pregnant when they find out that Burt's parents are moving to Europe - since Verona's parents passed away and they moved there to be close to Burt's parents, they decide hey, we don't have to be here anymore. So they think of a few places where they have friends or family and set out to find a city to move to. Burt and Verona really love each other and are excited to have a baby, even though they aren't married. When they spend time with their somewhat crazy friends and family, they learn a lot about how different relationships work - between husbands and wives, parents and kids....etc. They see how unfair the world can be when relationships don't work out or are troubled and it just reminds them of how much they love each other. Really the movie is a journey for them, in my opinion, to really figure out what kinds of parents and people they want to be.

I looooooved the cast in this movie - fantastic all around! I was really unsure of John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph....to me, John Krasinski is just Jim from The Office and I wasn't sure I could see past that....and Maya Rudolph seemed too old I guess. But they both did an amazing job - their dialogue was really natural and there were a few semi-emotional scenes where John Krasinski especially really surprised me. The supporting cast though really makes this movie a gem - Allison Janney might be my favorite actress ever, she just cracks me up. Some of the other friends and family were played by Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhall, Paul Schneider and Jim Gaffigan.

I definitely recommend this movie - it was directed by Sam Mendes and it's just really sweet!

Day #80 - Gran Torino

2009-10-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Gran Torino is a film directed by, produced by, and starring Clint Eastwood. So I had a couple of assumptions going in - one, it was going to be slow, and two, Clint was going to be monotonous. Luckily for me, I LOVE Clint Eastwood. I didn't use to - but I didn't really know much. I had a bitter taste in my mouth after Million Dollar Baby came out because of how much I didn't like the movie and how much attention Clint got for it. That being said, earlier in this challenge I watched Unforgiven. Unforgiven changed my opinion of Clint forever. I just see him as this total badass and no, he's not the greatest actor there ever was, but I really don't care! I think he has great screen presence and he scared the daylights out of me in Unforgiven so that's that. I desperately want to meet him and hang out - he's gotta be super cool :)

Clint plays Walt Kowalksi - he's an old Korean War vet who lives in the same neighborhood he did decades ago, even though over the years he slowly became the only white man around. Walt is grumpy, extremely prejudiced and lonely...his wife just passed away and he has a terrible relationship with his two sons. A Hmong family live in the house next door but they seem to really hate him and vice versa - he sees the youth around his neighborhood as disrespectful and the people as having no pride in their properties. One night Walt catches Thao, the Hmong teenage boy who lives next door, trying to steal his prize possession - his 1972 Gran Torino. Despite this incident, Walt saves Thao and his sister Sue on two separate occasions when they are being harassed by the Hmong gang they are trying to avoid. People start to respect Walt for this, and Thao is sent to work for him to pay off his shame for trying to steal his car. With no real role model in his life, Thao becomes close to Walt as Walt teaches him how to be a man. Though their relationship helps them both greatly, it creates a lot of problems as Walt continues to put himself in between Thao, Sue and the Hmong gang.

I thought the story was pretty good - I think it could have delved deeper but that may have been a bit of Clint's acting too. I liked the ending a lot - I really wasn't expecting it and that is refreshing! Did anyone else see it? :)

A few snippets from Roger Ebert's review...

"I would like to grow up to be like Clint Eastwood. Eastwood the director, Eastwood the actor, Eastwood the invincible, Eastwood the old man. What other figure in the history of the cinema has been an actor for 53 years, a director for 37, won two Oscars for direction, two more for best picture, plus the Thalberg Award, and at 78 can direct himself in his own film and look meaner than hell? None, that's how many."

"Among actors of Eastwood's generation, James Garner might have been able to play this role, but my guess is, he'd be too nice in it. Eastwood doesn't play nice. Walt makes no apologies for who he is, and that's why, when he begins to decide he likes his neighbors better than his own family, it means something. "

Day #79 - Wolverine

2009-10-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

The key to watching Wolverine is to go in with lower expectations. Honestly. I don't mean that as a huge insult AT ALL, I just think that when it first came out, there was, according to friends and reviews, a lot of disappointment because it was so over-hyped. Having heard many negative reviews, Chris and I put off watching it for a long time - and I'm glad we did. Going in with different expectations and a desire for a fun action movie helped us to really enjoy it!

Wolverine tells the story of Logan (Hugh Jackman) before he became Wolverine (before all of the other X-Men movies). The movie starts by showing us a glimpse of his childhood and then travels through time showing Logan and his brother Victor (aka Sabertooth) fighting in many wars before it jumps to the future where Logan and Victor are being recruited by William Striker into a team of mutants. After Logan learns that their intentions are not entirely good, he leaves the team, as well as his brother, who is growing increasingly violent. To seek revenge for Logan leaving, Victor seemingly kills Logan's wife, sending Logan on his own quest for vengeance. He returns to Striker and agrees to be part of an experiment in which they fill his body with the metal adamantium (sp?). Hence his transformation to Wolverine. The remainder of the movie is basically Wolverine seeking out Sabertooth and eventually Striker, after learning that his experiment was actually a farce.

The real surprise in this movie for me personally was Sabertooth...ooooooh Liev Schreiber, you are scaaary my friend. He really freaked me out!! I like how understated his teeth were and I was creeped out by his movements. He had a GREAT evil look! Hugh Jackman was great as Wolverine - and I liked Gambit but I thought his character would be bigger? I was quite elated to see Dominic Monaghan in the movie as a mutant...love him. Charlie! As for the action, I don't particularly care for action that is wild and overdone, which I felt like it was at times in Wolverine...it was just too much, too unrealistic. What did you all think?

Day #78 - Blazing Saddles

2009-10-09T18:15:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

I'm going to need help with this post :) ...so please, pipe in with comments. I know some of y'all have seen this movie and LOVE it, so don't be shy - I'm here to learn :)

So I've had Blazing Saddles at my house for probably a month and half - that tells you how excited I was to watch this movie - the only reason I had it was because Chris hijacked my Netflix account again. So tonight I bit the bullet.

About 30 minutes in, all I could think was...."Is this supposed to be funny? ...and if so, why?"

Then 35 minutes in I thought..."what on Earth is going on with Gene Wilder's hair?" LOL

The first half I really didn't care for at all - the second half was better and I did laugh out loud a few times, but this is really, really not my cup of tea. I just....don't get it. Why is it so funny? The scene where the men are sitting around the fire eating beans? I wanted to throw up! I have had a bad taste in my mouth since seeing Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka but I did like him more in this movie. Chris and I decided that what makes him creepy is that he talks so quietly all the time...and slowly....but it also makes him kinda cool? Haha :)

Is this the first movie where someone said "Excuse me while I whip this out?" Classic Marlie and Melissa quote that I never knew came from this movie.

Blazing Saddles was nominated for 3 Academy Awards - Best Film Editing, Best Music and Best Supporting Actress...ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Was no one else acting that year? Unbelievable.

Day #77 - Bringing Up Baby

2009-10-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

OK. I think I need to watch this movie again. I was painting and thought I could watch it at the same time and perhaps I missed a lot by not being able to "see" a lot of the scenes since I had my face in a glass. I've heard a lot about this movie over the past few months as other movies have come up so I was really looking forward to it. I got it from Netflix like 3 weeks ago and I really fell behind. I'm also holding onto Grapes of Wrath and Blazing Saddles.

Bringing Up Baby is a comedy starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and I thought the plot was allllll over the place - the dinosaur bone, Baby, the aunt - and that's really why I think I need to watch it again - I may have missed some transitions. I have to admit that although Cary Grant is not one of my favorite actors, I found him to be really, really funny in this movie...I especially loved when he was wearing the women's fuzzy robe. His comedic timing is fantastic. Interestingly enough, I really do love Katharine Hepburn but didn't care for her in this at all. I found her to be really annoying - I mean, with her voice, she can only be taken in regular doses and her character in Bringing Up Baby was SUPPOSED to be annoying and a big talker so it was just too much.

Bringing Up Baby is a screwball comedy - does anyone have any thoughts on what exactly a screwball comedy is compared to a regular one? I have some ideas but was curious. They seem to be very fast-paced and comedy is already tough enough for actors to pull off - I imagine it was quite a challenge. I'm still hoping to see one of Rosalind Russell's screwball comedies :)

Day #76 - Love Happens

2009-10-01T18:49:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

So tonight I was headed for the movies - I was hoping to see Bright Star but ended up seeing Love Happens, which was fine since I wanted to see it anyway! I'm not a big Jennifer Aniston fan - I guess I'm neutral really, she just doesn't do much for me. Aaaaanyway, Aaron Eckhart DOES do something for me so it's all good :) Here we are again with a movie that was marketed one way and in reality was something else. I was hoping for a cute romantic comedy and ended up with a romantic drama-comedy, a dramady? It was good though, I really enjoyed it.

Movies like this leave me thinking about at what point the script decided to go a certain direction. The story in this movie is actually pretty moving and has a lot of potential for a deeper exploration of human emotion. If you took away the gimicks and the cliches, it becomes a solid drama....but that's not what they went for, so we end up with a good romantic dramady instead of a great drama...thoughts? I would like to take the script and give it to PT Anderson - add some true reactions and reality and see what you end up with. Just a thought.

In a nutshell, Aaron Eckhart plays Burke, a motivational speaker of sorts. Burke wrote a book called A-OK and holds seminars for people who are trying to deal with the loss of a loved one. Since he lost his wife in a car accident, he seemingly has had to cope with the same feelings as his audience. However, we come to find out that he has not practiced what he preaches and is still holding on to his wife's death. While in Seattle, his hometown, for a seminar, he meets a local florist named Eloise. Eloise helps Burke to confront some of his unresolved issues and by the end of the movie he has come clean to his audience and to Eloise. The movie is definitely sad and I cried a few times - doesn't take much these days!

Day #75 - Sunshine Cleaning

2009-10-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I just love it when a movie is marketed as a comedy and turns out to be well...not funny at all. . Sunshine Cleaning to me, looked like a really cute and funny movie about two sisters and their cleaning business. All of that being said, the movie was good, it just wasn't at all what I was expecting.

Sunshine Cleaning is about two sisters who are very different from each other. Amy Adams plays the older sister, Rose, and is the more responsible one - her younger sister Norah is reckless and rebellious. She is played by Emily Blunt, who I love...but who maybe shouldn't try American accents :) It was odd. The sisters lost their mother to suicide when they were really young so they were left under the care of their father. Rose used to be really popular in high school but seems to have lost most of her friends along the way and gained a son but no husband. She works for a cleaning company and is sleeping with a man who I presume was an old high school boyfriend...only problem is, he's married. So you could say Rose's life isn't exactly what she hoped for. When Rose learns that there is more money to be had in crime scene cleanup, she starts her own company with Norah, hoping to make something of herself. The movie goes on with various cleaning situations and a fairly predictable relationship between Rose and Norah. There were a few funny moments but overall it was a downer - I give it 1 thumb up.

Update

2009-09-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Just to let you all know, NO the blog is not over yet :) I've received some rather menacing threats regarding my blog but rest assured it was only a small break! A couple of weeks of traveling to New York City, North Carolina and Georgia in addition to a rush of Mootinis orders had me swamped! All of that being said, it was nice to get a few moments without movies....WHAT?!! Did I just say that? I guess 70+ movies in is about as far as I can go before I feel worn down! I will pick up again very shortly - please don't leave me :)

......and leave me comments!! You know who you are! ;)

Mickey Rooney's Impersonations of Clark Gable & Lionel Barrymore

2009-09-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

After reading Julia's comment on Captains Courageous, I found a great video of Mickey Rooney doing impressions of Gable and Barrymore :) Hilarious!!!

Day #74 - The Guns of Navarone

2009-09-12T18:21:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

Ooooh, good movie :) Gregory Peck - le sigh. I loves me a rugged tall man :) Hahaha - ok really, I enjoyed this movie - another good WWII movie, though much more palatable than some of the others I've seen. The plot was easy to follow which I appreciate because some war movies are hard to follow if you don't come in already knowing about the situation or the people involved.

The Guns of Navarone was made in 1961 by Columbia Pictures - directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn (LOVE) and David Niven. The Guns of Navarone were actual guns that were positioned on a cliff in Greece overlooking the Aegean Sea - their location enabled them to sink Allied ships while maintaining a spot which was heavily protected and fortified. Peck, Quinn and Niven were part of a selected group of soldiers sent on a near impossible mission to destroy the guns. As the guns were positioned on the edge of a cliff, the beginning and end of their mission involved scaling the straight up and down face.

I love Gregory Peck as much as any woman with a brain but I'm not sure military roles are really his strong suit. He has a very signature look on his face all the time - like he is amused....or smug? How do I describe it? He always looks like such a nice guy - it works great if you are playing Joe Bradley or Atticus Finch but I'm not sure it's quite as convincing as a military commander. All I see when I look at David Niven is the Pink Panther so that took him out of the game - and Anthony Quinn, well, I just love him. I also saw him in Lawrence of Arabia but I have to admit, and I am NOT ashamed to say, that I FIRST saw him in A Walk in the Clouds. Yes, thank you.

The Guns of Navarone won an Oscar for Best Special Effects but was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Score, Best Sound and Best Screenplay.

Day #73 - Captains Courageous

2009-09-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Awww, this movie was really cute :) It took me awhile to get into it - I was afraid it wouldn't hold my interest but it eventually did - about 45 minutes in. I was really looking forward to seeing this since my Mother-in-Law recommended it as a great Spencer Tracy movie - and as this challenged has led me to become a great fan of his, I knew I was in for a treat. I didn't expect this kind of a role though! Tracy played a Portugese fisherman who spoke in broken English, which, at first, was really annoying - but I got used to it after a bit and it wasn't so bad. I guess at first I didn't understand he was Portugese and so I though he just sounded uneducated.

Captains Courageous centers around a young boy named Harvey - Harvey's father is very wealthy and his lack of attention to his son has led Harvey to become spoiled and entitled. He bribes kids at school to get what he wants and has few friends to show for it. One day he admits to a teacher that he had tried to bribe him to make his history exams easier and got kicked out. When his Father hears the news, he is shocked, mostly because he really doesn't know his son at all. He decides to take Harvey with him on a ship to Europe - when Harvey accidentally falls overboard, he is picked up by the fisherman Manuel (Tracy). Harvey spends the next several weeks with Manuel and the other men on the fishing boat - Manuel takes an interest in him, teaching him how to fish and telling him stories of his own Father who had died at sea. Harvey sees how little his own father had taught him and really latches on to Manuel, learning many valuable lessons before returning back to the mainland - I won't ruin anything else from the ending :)

I just really loved the relationship between Manuel and Harvey - Manuel could appreciate the simple things in life and found very little value in money and material things - quite the opposite of how Harvey had been brought up. In one of the scenes in the movie, Manuel challenges another one of he fisherman to a contest to see who can catch the most fish. When Manuel finds out that Harvey ruined the other guys line so that he and Manuel could win, Manuel forfeits the challenge and treats Harvey to silence. I really liked this bit of plot because Harvey was learning things about integrity and honesty when he had been so oblivious before. I enjoyed Freddie Bartholomew as Harvey - he was prett insufferable as the snotty kid at school but once he got on the fishing boats he was much more tolerable :)

Spencer Tracy won a Best Oscar for his role as Manuel. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Editing in 1937.

Ohmygosh, can I please take a second to talk about Lionel Barrymore? He played the Captain of the ship and I just saw him a couple of weeks ago in You Can't Take it With You. He is so hilarious - Chris and I were constantly laughing at him because he has this way of yelling his lines where I have NO idea what he's saying! It just all runs together! I like him a lot :)

Day #72 - On the Waterfront

2009-09-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

IMDB Page

WOW. On the Waterfront was fantastic. Marlon Brando - fantastic. If there is one actor that all actors worship, it is Marlon Brando - the king of the Method, he had a style that many since him have tried to emulate. Throughout the course of this challenge his name has come up constantly as other actors list who they admire and respect. I was really excited to see him in this movie as I knew it was one of his most famous roles.

On the Waterfront is about Terry Malloy, an ex-boxer who works on the docks of New Jersey - not only is he a dock worker, he works with the mob that runs the local union. The mob is headed by Johnny Friendly (Lee Cobb), whose right hand man Charlie Malloy (Rod Steiger) happens to be Terry's older brother. The men of the dock follow the "D&D" rule - Deaf and Dumb - they know that you simply don't speak out against the mob unless you want to swim with the fishes. After one of their own, Joey Doyle, is killed for speaking out against Friendly and his men, Terry starts to wonder if what they are doing is right. One day he runs into Joey's sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), who is dedicated to finding out who killed her brother. As his interest in Edie grows, she works with Father Barry (Karl Malden) to help Terry follow his conscience and speak against the mob in court. Meanwhile, Friendly warns Charlie to keep his brother in line - leading to the famous scene between Charlie and Terry in the back of the cab. Charlie has basically been sent to kill Terry but can't to it - and Terry shares with Charlie the loss he feels over the life he could have had if he had been allowed to box without the intereference of the mob ("I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody"). In the end, Terry must stand up to Friendly and win back the rights of the union workers.

Watching Brando to me is a bit like watching Spencer Tracy just in the sense of naturalism. I imagine that the things he does are not written on the page - that he starts with the script but then adds in mannerisms and gestures that are subtle yet make him feel like a real person. He really feels vulnerable to me - specifically, there is a scene where he is talking to Edie in a salloon and she forces him to face his conscience - he kneels down on his knees and looks up to her, asking her what is wrong. It's such a tender moment and yet he can turn around and be just as tough in the next scene- really amazing.

On the Waterfront was nominated for 11 Oscars and won 8 - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Brando), Best Actress (Eva Marie Saint), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. The three Oscars it did not win all came from Best Supporting Actor nominees to Rod Steiger, Karl Malden and Lee Cobb. The quote "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum, which I am" was #3 on AFI' list 100 Movies, 100 Quotes, behind "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" and "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."

Elia Kazan was the director of On the Waterfront and apparently used this movie as a vehicle for telling his own story of ratting out colleagues to the House Un-American Committee - Roger Ebert covers this really well in his review which is linked below:

Roger Ebert's Review

Day #71 - Ben Hur

2009-09-05T19:56:00.001-07:00

Ben Hur. I can't believe it's taken me so long to see it. I guess I thought I had magically watched it sometime without realizing it - but honestly none of it was familiar. I thought it was absolutely amazing - I loved the story and was moved by the set design and effects, especially in Rome. Ben Hur follows the story of Judah Ben Hur, a wealthy native of Jerusalem at the time when it was being taken over by the Roman Empire. When Judah turns against the Roman placed Governor - coincidentally his boyhood friend Masalla, and is wrongly accused of attempted murder on a Roman soldier, he is banished to the gallows and his mother and sister are placed in jail. He vows revenge on Masalla, his anger and hate fueling his will to live. After saving the life of a Roman General who commanded the ship he worked on, Ben Hur was adopted by him, living in Rome for a short period of time becoming a champion Charioteer. He leaves Rome to search for his family and find his revenge on Masalla, eventually defeating him a chariot race which leads to Masalla's death. I don't want to say much more about the plot as I don't like to give away too much - the movie continues as Judah reunites his family and finds his faith through the witness of Christ's crucifixion. I had a couple issues with the ending but overall really loved the movie.

There were a number of things that I loved about this movie - first of all, Charlton Heston. Throughout my challenge I have found a couple of people who I could cast in the story of my life - and for the role of my Grandpa Eckelman I am casting Charlton Heston. I can't quite put my finger on it but I believe it's something in how he moves his mouth. Mom and Melissa, any thoughts? I'll find a good pic for above. Anyhoo - Heston was really great in the role of Judah Ben Hur. I haven't seen him in a movie before and was surprised at how much I liked him. He had a good mix of strength and masculinity but at times he was also a bit feminine (for lack of a better word). Interesting. So another thing I loved was the story of Jesus - although not the primary story, I think that the question of faith and hope is really important in this movie and in the end plays a huge role. Throughout the movie you hear talk of the man from Nazareth - I just like that you never see the face of Jesus and the story only exists to strengthen that of Ben Hur and his family. Finally, wow - enough can't be said for the chariot scene. Apparently it took 5 months to film and of course that was before there were any computer effects so it was all straight camera work - amazing.

Ben Hur saved MGM from bankruptcy - a huge gamble, it really paid off by earning $75 million at the box office. It also won 11 Academy Awards - a feat only equalled by Titanic and Lord of the Rings - Return of the King. What I simply CANNOT understand is how it won 11 Oscars and lost only one for Best Screenplay - how on EARTH can you win Director, Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Set Decoration, Costume Design, Cinematography, Special Effects, Film Editing, Sound and Music and NOT Screenplay!? Are you kidding? Impossible.

Day #70 - You Can't Take it With You

2009-09-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

I got crazy swamped with Mootinis so unfortunately my movies took a backseat - I actually watched You Can't Take it With You a few days ago but haven't posted yet - I'm so behind! Tonight I am starting on Ben Hur - I think I will post in two parts since that's how I'll have to watch it. Very excited :)

You Can't Take it With you is a 1938 Frank Capra movie starring Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold and Jean Arthur, amongst others. It's VERY Capra-esque, very similar in many ways to It's a Wonderful Life. The story is basically about love/family/friends vs. money/what money can buy. Alice (Jean Arthur) lives with her family in a crazy home - they have picked up many strangers over the years which has led to a wild and interesting bunch of people bunking together. Alice's grandfather (Barrymore) truly feels that one should only spend their life doing what makes them happy and places next to no importance on money and material things. Alice spends her days working as a secretary for the Tony Kirby (Jimmy Stewart). As part of the Kirby family, Tony has a ton of money and power as his Dad controls much of the going-ons in the city. When Tony and Alice fall in love, Alice's family only cares about her happiness and so they are supportive - however, Tony's family is none too happy. They think Alice is far below what Tony deserves and they think her family is absolutely out of control. One night, the Kirby's are visiting Alice's family and all goes haywire, resulting in everyone getting arrested!! While everyone is in jail, Alice's grandfather tries to tell Mr. Kirby that if he were take away his money, he would have no friends, because, after all, "you can't take it with you.". This was my favorite part of the movie - I really like the message in the movie, that money may buy you nice things, but in the end, it's the people that care about you that really matter. In a very "Capra-esque" turn of events, Mr. Kirby eventually sees the errors of his life and makes friends with Alice and her family.

You Can't Take it With You was the 1938 Best Picture Oscar winner. Frank Capra also took home the Best Director statue :)

Jimmy Stewart is, of course, so cute. I love him. ...and I really enjoyed Lionel Barrymore. I definitely recommend this movie - and give it some time. It took awhile to grow on me and in the end I was really happy with it:) Chris really liked Jean Arthur, as he also did in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I liked her a lot until I found out she didn't like working with Jimmy Stewart, at which time I declared her to have no soul.

Day #69 - The King and I

2009-08-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

"Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera" :)

The King and I was such a cute movie! Admittedly it took me awhile to get into it - I think with musicals, if you aren't already familiar with the music, it takes some time - or mutiple viewings - to really appreciate it. I also thought a few of the scenes were quite bazaar, but they were overshadowed by the cute scenes. Honestly without Yul Brynner this movie would have been so much less endearing. EVERY time he said "et cetera et cetera" I laughed out loud - or every time he said something was "scientific".

Deborah Kerr's character was very similar to Maria's in The Sound of Music just because she was so proper but had some real strength to her - and coming in to watch over all of those kids was similar as well. I hate that she didn't do her own singing. It seems like it wasn't that uncommon back then but now it would be unacceptable. Can you imagine if say, in Chicago, Renee Zellweger acted but someone else sang? There would be such an uproar.

......and since when did Rogers and Hammerstein musicals have sad endings like this? Sheesh! So - The King and I won 5 Oscars - Best Actor (Yul Brynner), Best Art Direction, Best Costumes, Best Music and Best Sound. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Walter Lang), Best Actress (Kerr) and Best Cinematography. Did you know that Yul Brynner was actually RUSSIAN? Yet he plays the King of Siam so well!

Day #68 - Wuthering Heights

2009-08-30T12:12:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

Heeeeeey Laurence Olivier :)

Wuthering Heights - ah, is this a romance? drama? tragedy? all of the above? What a GREAT movie - I really enjoyed it. Another 1939 classic, Wuthering Heights lost the Academy Award to Gone with the Wind, and I think, rightly so - but that being said, it was a fantastic movie. This was my first Laurence Olivier experience and OOH LA LA, what a man. Very handsome. Merle Oberon played Kathy and I didn't care for her much - she was alright, neither here nor there. You know who I really liked in it? The servant - Isabella, played by Geraldine Fitzgerald. She and Olivier were both nominated for Oscars but did not win. Wuthering Heights was directed by William Wyler.

This story revolves around the relationship of Heathcliff (Olivier) and Kathy (Oberon). When Kathy and her brother are kids, their Father brings home an boy from town - he acts as one of their servants but he and Kathy become really close friends. When their Father dies, Kathy's brother treats Heathcliff very poorly, and as Heathcliff and Kathy fall in love, they know they are forbidden to be together. Though Kathy loves Heathcliff, I think she was really tempted by the rich life of her neighbors and often used it against Heathcliff, knowing he could not give her that. One day, she meets her neighbor Edgar and as time passes he falls in love with her, proposing marriage. Kathy is forever torn - Heathcliff is her real love but Edgar could give her money and a lavish lifestlye. Eventually she chooses Edgar, and even after Heathcliff leaves for America and returns with money and status, even purchasing Wuthering Heights, she cannot be with him. Heathcliff marries Edgar's sister, not out of love, but out of a desire to be close to Kathy - he leads a miserable life. When Kathy becomes ill, he asks her to haunt him, to drive him mad - just not to leave him alone - and when she dies, she does haunt him until the day he joins her.

The only problem I had with this movie was that Heathcliff and Kathy were kind of unlikable - Kathy was in love with Heathcliff but kept choosing Edgar - what?! She wasn't in love with Edgar so really it just made her superficial. Heathcliff was passionate and brooding but not altogether a nice man - so in the end, I loved the movie but definitely want to learn more about the characters to see what I was missing.

Day #67 - The Ballad of Jack and Rose

2009-08-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I can't believe it took me so long to watch this movie - as a huge Daniel Day-Lewis fan I should have been all over it. The Ballad of Jack and Rose was written and directed by Rebecca Miller, daughter of famed playwright Arthur Miller and wife of Daniel Day-Lewis (which, I can't really imagine - I wonder what that's like?!). For the first half hour or so of the movie, I could NOT take my eyes off of DDL. For the FIRST time ever, I felt like he was so exposed - here I was looking at the closest thing to the actual man - not a character. When you see Bill the Butcher or Daniel Plainview, the last person you see is DDL. But here - it was different - he wore clothes like what he typically wears, he spoke with a Scottish accent, very similar to the British accent he would normally speak in, his hair was as it typically is and he even had his earring in. I felt like this was as close as I would come to seeing him raw.

Jack and Rose are a father and daughter who live alone on an old commune on an island off the Eastern coast of the U.S. Right away you see that Rose really worships her Dad - he is the only man she has ever known and they seem to have a strong bond. Early in the movie we learn that Jack is dying, and he is worried about how Rose will fare after he is gone. In order to fix this problem, he goes to the mainland to see a woman who he has dated off and on, Kathleen (Catherine Keener - amazing). Kathleen has two sons from other men and I think Jack felt like if they moved in, they could provide care for he and Rose, especially after he died. He calls this an "experiment" and once Kathleen and her sons move in, everything changes. Seeing her Dad with another woman, Rose acts out, trying to lose her virginity right away and cutting all of her hair off. As the viewers, I think at this point we are really starting to understand there is more than a father/daughter relationship between Jack and Rose - and perhaps that is why Jack really brought Kathleen to the island - to protect Rose from himself. The rest of the movie shows the challenges the two families face in trying to live together and how Jack and Rose eventually have to face the truth of their relationship - I won't ruin anything for you by going into more detail.

I thought this movie was EXCELLENT. I LOVED the writing and the story was very original. The acting was of course amazing - I was surprised to see Camilla Belle (Rose) act alongside DDL - I was afraid she would disappear but she really held her own. It's not a light-hearted movie but I strongly recommend it.

Day #66 - 500 Days of Summer

2009-08-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I have many different feelings about this movie. I just got back from seeing it - I had really high expectations and I was a bit disappointed. Two things I really liked about it - first of all, the story was REAL. It wasn't froo froo and full of happy endings and perfect situations and dialogue. Secondly, I knew going in I was going to love Zooey Deschanel, I already did - and sure enough, she was SO cute. That being said, I didn't care for the guy AT ALL - Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He just didn't make me care about him, I found him to not have much charisma or anything worth my attention. I know it's harsh, but hey - it's my blog :)

500 Days of Summer is about a guy, Tom, who meets Summer, a girl who works in his office. In a nutshell, he is a believer of love and relationships - she, however, does not believe that love exists. She prefers independence and freedom. As they begin their relationship, she tells him she doesn't want anything serious - he says OK, but you know he will try for that anyway. The movie actually starts by showing her breaking up with him, and the remainder of the movie takes you through the 500 days of Tom's life after the day he first met Summer. I've already talked about the actors and the story - but let me say about the style - it's very unique. I appreciate its originality but what on EARTH was going on with the mini coreographed dance in the middle of the movie? OH my goodness, no.

I'm going to label this as Romance - NOT Romantic Comedy....it's more of a Romanti Drama but I don't have that as a category ;)

Day #65 - Easy Rider

2009-08-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Talk about an unexpected ending. I didn't see that coming AT ALL.

There is a theater here in town called The Enzian that shows some mainstream movies but really focuses more on "indie" type films and old classics. It's not a large theater because it holds different sized tables and you get to order food, beer, popcorn, etc. Tuesday nights are for "cult classics" and last night was Easy Rider. Having never seen it before, I was curious - I've heard about it for a long time but didn't know much other than it had to do with drugs and motorcycles.

Easy Rider was written by (and starred) Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in 1969. It's about two guys who take off from LA on their motorcycles headed for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Along the way they meet some interesting, and some not-so-friendly strangers. One of these strangers is played by Jack Nicholson, who, to me, really stole the show. He was hilarious. The "UFO" scene was hysterial. In the scenes where they are smoking pot they are ACTUALLY smoking, haha. There are a lot of drugs which I typically don't like but I didnt' mind it here. The movie feels pretty iconic but I think you had to have seen it at the time it came out to really appreciate it. Another one of those movies where context is key.

Peter Fonda was intriguing to me - first of all, he looks just like his Dad...but also, I don't know, he has this interesting look to him. Dennis Hopper was about what I expected - apparently he was in a bad state of drug-induced paranoia during the production of this movie and many of the crew quit. I wonder if they were high when they cut the movie too - I didn't care for how it was edited, really choppy and jumpy.

Oscars Best Movies Montage - AMAZING!!

2009-08-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

Amelia Poster

2009-08-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Cool!

Day #64 - From Here to Eternity

2009-08-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

iMDB Link

From Here to Eternity was a HUGE Oscar favorite in 1953 - it won 8 Oscars out of 13 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (Frank Zinnemann), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra) and Best Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Deborah Kerr ("is it Karr or Kerr?" - great quote) were also nominated in the Lead Acting category but none of them won - strange.

The movie takes place before, during and after the attack on Pearl Harbor - mostly before. Lancaster plays Sgt. Warden, stationed at Scofield barraks in Hawaii. He is a tough leader, and for the most part, all business - except for, of course, the Captain's wife - Karen Holmes (Kerr). Knowing the Captain isn't in love with his wife and that she was certainly not faithful to him, Warden pursues her and they have a secret affair. In the meantime, a new guy shows up to report to Warden's unit - his name is Prewitt (Clift). Prewitt is an amazing bugler and boxer - the boxing team is excited for him to join the unit but find he is completely unwilling to box. They hound him throughout the movie and his refusal to box earns him double work and bad treatment - yet he still won't box. The best part of the movie, in my opinion, is Frank Sinatra. Sinatra plays Private Maggio, who takes an instant liking to Prewitt and they become good friends. Maggio is a bit of a jokester and drinks a lot. One night he takes Prewitt to a club where Prewitt meets Lorene (Reed), a prostitute, and they fall in love as the movie goes on. I don't want to write much more on the plot - it's definitely worth seeing the movie and I don't want to ruin anything - but basically, as the attack on Pearl Harbor gets closer and closer, the relationships between all of these characters grow and evolve, culminating in how they all wrap themselves up in the attack.

I actually did not care at all for the relationship between Warden and Karen Holmes. The scene on the beach where the waves crash over them kissing on the beach was, unfortunately to me, a HUGE disappointment. They had JUST met each other and so there was no real desire to see them together - I really didn't care about them yet. I think it should have been some kind of unrequited love or a real struggle for awhile in the movie and then perhaps this scene. That being said, Burt Lancaster is really a big guy, is he not? He competed a lot with Marlon Brando, which I can definitely see - they are both big guys with a pretty similar look. I wonder if, when this movie came out, this scene was very risque (sp?).

What I DID care for was the relationship between Prewitt and Maggio - and Prewitt and Warden. Prewitt and Warden's relationship changed a lot as the movie went on and really ended on this mutual respect between the men. Apparently Lancaster was really intimidated to work with "Monty" Clift as he found him to be "perfect". Back to Sinatra real quick - Chris and I just really loved him. He was such a TINY little man, I just wanted to put him in my pocket. His acting was great in this movie and he plays a drunk very well, haha. This was my first Sinatra, Kerr, Lancaster and Clift movie - the only actor I had seen before was Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life, and this was a very different role for her.

I read a bit on IMDB about Montgomery Clift and it seems like he had a very difficult life - plagued by alcohol, drugs and guilt over his homosexuality. He died very young of a heart attack.

I can't embed this video so I'll have to add the URL instead - this is a video of Frank Sinatra accepting his BEst Supporting Actor Oscar:)

Frank Sinatra Acceptance Speech

Day #63 - Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

2009-08-23T17:23:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

This movie was definitely funny - and bizarre - and nothing like I expected, haha. I really think this movie might take multiple viewings to really appreciate the humor. I know I didn't pick up everything I was supposed to nor did I fully understand it. Before Geoffrey Rush portrayed him in a TV movie, I had never heard of Peter Sellers - is that sacrilege?! Sellers, often touted as one of the greatest comedians of all time, was known for playing multiple characters in the same movie and played three in Dr. Strangelove. George C. Scott, known for his later role in Patton, and Sterline Hayden also starred.

I turned to Chris when the movie was starting and said, ya know, I think this is my first Stanley Kubrick movie - to which he said, what about A Clockwork Orange? 2001 A Space Odyssey? Full Metal Jacket? OK - so it's actually the fourth Kubrick movie I've seen - oops! Dr. Strangelove is a political satire which pokes fun at the cold war and how people reacted to it. The movie opens with Sterling Hayden, an American General named Ripper, calling for all American bombers flying over Russia to strike their targets with nuclear weapons. Clearly seeing that Ripper has gone mad, his Executive Officer, Mandrake (Seller's first role) begs him for the code to call off the strike, which he refuses. Meanwhile, General Turgidson (Scott), hears of the strike and alerts the President (Seller's second role) and his staff - they react by calling in the Russian ambassador who tells him that if they strike Russia, Russia will release the doomsday machine which will destroy the world. The movie continues as the two sides try to work out the situation - and in the meantime, the bomber pilots go through a pretty hilarious series of checks to release the bomb, only to find out it is stuck and needs to be manually released. The BEST part of the movie is when Dr. Strangelove is introduced - back in the war room, I believe he is there as a strategist or something? He sits in a wheelchair and wears sunglasses and talks with a very strange accent - he tells everyone that basically once the doomsday machine is released, they can survive by drilling into the ground and taking a couple hundred thousand people down there to survive. Dr. Strangelove (who is Seller's third role) says there should be a 10 to 1 man to woman ratio and that the women should be selected based on their sexual desirability. I assume this is why all the men in the room decide to "stop worrying and love the bomb". Strangelove is hilarious though, his hand is out of his control and he keeps doing the Hitler salute and accidentally calling the President "mein Fuhrer".

As I said, I think this movie requires multiple viewings but I can see why it's AFI's 3rd Best Comedy - I just need a bit more time with it. I didn't laugh out loud much - only to George C. Scott a couple times and at the end with Strangeloe. That being said, I didn't laugh at ALL the first time I saw The Big Lebowski and now I'm hysterical the whole time!

Dr. Strangelove was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Stanley Kubrick), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Peter Sellers) and Best Screenplay - unfortunately it did not win any.

Screen Caps from Dr. Macro!

2009-08-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

I found this great website - Dr. Macro's High Res Movie Scans...and found some fantastic screen caps! Dude. Look at William Holden in that second pic from Sunset Boulevard - he is SO good looking!

Trailer - Avatar

2009-08-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Avatar is James Cameron's upcoming and highly anticipated new movie - Chris and I read an article the other day saying that Avatar will change the way people feel about movies and what the possibilities are for effects and visuals - the trailer looks AMAZING.

Day #62 - The Time Traveler's Wife

2009-08-21T09:18:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

Everything I know about time travel I learned from Back to the Future - if you go back in time, don't run into yourself. If you change something in the past, it WILL affect the future. If you want to visit 1985, just punch it into the Delorian. 88 mph and a flux capacitor will get you there. At least with Back to the Future all of the questions were answered - you knew how to time travel and how to control it. I get really annoyed when movies (and TV shows - LOST anyone?) try to cover time travel and it makes NO SENSE. The Time Traveler's Wife was a nice love story and it certainly helped that Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana were the stars because I love them both - that being said, the more I think about the story, the more questions I generate.

*Spoilers*

SO - he time travels....and he can't control when he leaves. He goes to the same places a lot so can he control where he goes? He finds out from a doctor that he has a genetic anomaly....but then there seems to be no more tests as to how to fix it or how he can control it. They have a child who can time travel yet she can control it. SO this begs the question, why did she not teach him? Especially when they find out he's going to die there is still no attempt at trying to fix it. He asks his daughter ONCE how she controls leaving and she says she sings...so they sing together and he goes anyway. Is that really the only attempt?

I believe that if you are going to incorporate time travel into your story, you need to answer all of these questions for people like me. If you are going to write it in willy-nilly, then use another idea. Like with LOST - Good Lord, does anyone know what's going on? There are SO many questions with the time travel aspect that it's just frustrating.

So even though I seem very irritated, it is actually an enjoyable movie if you can go in knowing you won't get all your questions answered - I'm so biased because I love Rachel McAdams - she is so great!

Day #61 - Mogambo

2009-08-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Mogambo is another "random" movie choice that came out of TCM's "Summer of Stars" - I know I've mentioned this several times but haven't explained it. For the month of August on TCM, every day is dedicated to a different star. So, last week, one of the days was Clark Gable day so I basically just DVR everything on that day and then pick and choose from it later!

I chose to watch Mogambo because it was a John Ford film and it featured an older Clark Gable which I was interested in seeing as well as Ava Gardner. I haven't seen Ava Gardner in anything yet but I've heard of her so many times. At the time of this movie, Ava was Mrs. Frank Sinatra - filming took place in Africa so Frank was apparently on set most of the time. Also, Grace Kelly starred in Mogambo and spent many an off-screen moment locked away in Clark Gable's tent :)

Three things - ONE, Clark Gable looks really good with gray hair :) TWO, Ava Gardner is really not what I would have pictured at all - she is really beautiful, no doubt, but she has a real exotic look to her. Is exotic the right word? I don't know - it's not really. Anyhoo- number THREE is that I'm sorry, but I'm really not a Grace Kelly fan. She's so beautiful but her acting makes me cringe - just feels so forced. What do you guys think?

I was working on the computer while watching Mogambo so I didn't follow it TOO closely but Clark Gable plays a man living in Africa who runs a gaming company and hosts safaris and such for visiting tourists. When Ava Gardner's character shows up one day, I think he doesn't like her right off the bat because she's a woman and surely she has no idea how to handle herself out in the wilderness. She really proves to be tough and they have a short affair before she heads out of Africa. On the day she is scheduled to leave, a husband and wife, Grace Kelly, arrive. It isn't long before Gable develops feelings for her as she is quite beautiful and not altogether too in love with her husband. Oh but WAIT - Ava's boat hit some trouble and she was forced to come back to camp - so now we have ourselves a nice little love triangle that actually plays out in a pretty funny way.

I found this quote that Ava said about Bette Davis and I really liked it...

"Maybe I just didn't have the temperament for stardom. I'll never forget seeing Bette Davis at the Hilton in Madrid. I went up to her and said, "Miss Davis, I'm Ava Gardner and I'm a great fan of yours." And do you know, she behaved exactly as I wanted her to behave. "Of course you are, my dear," she said. "Of course you are." And she swept on. Now that's a star"

Day #60 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

2009-08-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

LOVED it!!! Loved the movie, loved Spence, loved Kate, loved everything. I have found, that over the course of 60 movies, I have fallen totally in love with Spencer Tracy. I'm not sure I have EVER seen acting done so naturally and efortlessly. I know I'm a broken record with him, but he makes me smile just seeing him enter a scene. In this movie especially he was such a cranky old man which was so endearing to me. Spencer died just 17 days after filming was wrapped on this movie and received a posthumous Best Actor Oscar nomination. Katherine Hepburn and the director both put the salaries up to back Spence in this movie as the studio was so unsure of his health, fearing he would not be able to finish the movie. Kate drove him in every day and they worked until he got too tired and then went home. He's so amazing.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is about a mother, Christina, and father, Matt, (Kate and Spence) who welcome back their daughter Joey and SURPRISE! her fiance John from a trip to Hawaii - everything sounds wonderful until they find out that he is black....and as they are white, it comes as quite a shock. Certainly in this days it wasn't nearly as accepted, in fact, it was banned in 14 (or 17?) states. Christina, though shocked at first, decides that Joey and John are quite in love and is therefore accepting of the marriage so long as Joey is happy. Matt, however, is very unsure - scared of the future that they are making for each other and their kids, he decides that maybe he is not quite so accepting. Joey and John are leaving that very night and hope to get their parents' approval before they leave. Joey invites John's parents to join them for dinner, even though John has yet to tell them that Joey is white.....once they arrive and see her, they are shocked as well, taking similar views as Christina and Matt. The remainder of the movie is a series of conversations between parents and "kids", ultimately culminating in a GREAT Spence monologue - and I won't ruin the ending for you so you'll just have to see it.

I thought the acting in this movie was phenomenal but we are dealing with some real heavy hitters - Spence, Kate and even Sidney Poitier fresh off of an Oscar win for Lilies in the Field. I'm sure the movie was controversial at the time but it really hit the issue head on. That being said, I was watching a special on Sidney Poitier and they were talking about how, in the 60's, Poitier's characters were written to be very straight-laced - he had to be polite, educated, well spoken - this was how he had to pave the way for serious African American actors to come. I found that interesting because his character in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is pretty perfect - in fact, they don't even show he and Joey kiss, afraid audiences wouldn't like it. My, how times have changed.

If you HAVE seen this movie, do you remember the ice cream scene with Spence and Kate? Perhaps one of my favorite of this blog so far - SO hilarious.

On a side note, I said in an earlier post that the old man character in UP (Pixar) was modeled after Spencer Tracy (thanks for the info Julie!) and it could not have been more evident than in this movie!!!! So fantastic. Hence the reason I included the pic above :)

Day #59 - The Soloist

2009-08-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I have been sitting on this movie for awhile and I've come to the conclusion that I was really disappointed in it. The preview made this movie look like an inspirational tearjerker about redemption and friendship - but I felt that overall it was more a commentary on the present homeless situation in Los Angeles....which is FINE, but then show it that way. I hate misleading previews.

The Soloist is about reporter Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) and his relationship with Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a mentally disabled homeless man in Los Angeles who just happens to be a former Julliard student and musician extraordinaire. When Lopez hears him play one day on the streets, he decides to write about him - how did this man wind up on the streets? As the movie progresses, Lopez continually urges Ayers to move into an apartment, take cello lessons and perform recitals - yet all of these things seem to be against the wishes of Ayers. He seems actually to be happy on the streets where there is air and space and people. My biggest problem with this plotline was how absolutely unlikable Lopez is - I'm not sure he ever really wanted to be Nathaniel's friend and many things he seemed to do for his own benefit. By the time he "redeems" himself at the end, I stopped caring. The movie also incorporates flashbacks, showing us how Nathaniel arrived in the present situation. His mental illness progressed slowly and didnt' seem to be caused by any occurance but instead was chemical. All of this could have been told to us, the viewers, without the flashbacks, which I didn't care for at all. They weren't necessary and told us very little.

The Soloist was directed by Joe Wright who also did Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, both amazing movies. Jamie Foxx was very good in his role and Robert Downey, JR. was good, but not great - in my opinion. I think Chris liked this movie a lot more than I did - I just didn't care enough about the characters and was angry at being misled from the trailer.

I like this story from IMDB...

"The real Nathaniel Ayers was invited to view the filming of the scenes at Disney Hall in Los Angeles, but opted on the day to set up his cello and music across the street and continue playing saying "I really got something going here. I think I'm going to stay and play this just a little bit longer." Steve Lopez spoke about this incident in an interview conducted by Dave Davies for National Public Radio's program Fresh Air in April 2008. He added: "I look(ed) across (the street from Disney Hall) and there he is sawing away, as he calls it. And inside this building there are maybe three hundred people, the LA Philharmonic, the cast, the crew, are shooting a movie about his life. And I said to the producer Gary Foster 'You know what Gary, we picked the right name for this thing, The Soloist. There he is.'"

Day #58 - Love in the Afternoon

2009-08-12T15:25:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

Another random choice :) - this one from Audrey Hepburn day on TCM! Love in the Afternoon was a cute but strange movie. I think I would have liked it more if I had been even remotely convinced at the romance between Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper. He was much too serious and just seemed SO much older than her...there wasn't much chemistry, I don't know...has anyone else out there seen it? Julia? I did like it though, it was a cute story. Let me take a few steps back...

Audrey Hepburn plays Arianne, the daughter of a Parisian detective who is hired by men to spy on their wives when they suspect them of cheating. As a result, his house is full of files and pictures that Arianne loves to read through. One night, she overhears one of her father's clients say he is going to kill the man sleeping with his wife - Frank Flanagan, an American playboy and womanizer. Arianne rushes out to warn him, even though she had never met him before. She saves Frank from getting shot and finds herself meeting him the following day. Over the course of the next few weeks while Frank is in Paris, Arianne sees him in the afternoons as she cant' get away from her father in the evenings. She spins this whole tale of herself to Frank, leading him to believe she is also out with other people a lot and is no more attached to him than he is to her....however, as time goes on, they both know they are starting to fall in love! When Frank finds out who Arianne really is, a detetive daughter who lives at home and spends her time with only ONE man, he leaves, trying to save her from his lifestyle.....but can he really leave? Of course not! We all know how this turns out :)

Gary Cooper to me is SOOO Christopher Plummer. That's all I can think about when I see him. I much prefer Gary Cooper in High Noon than in this kind of romantic role. He and Audrey separately are fantastic but together.....not so much. Billy Wilder co-wrote and directed this movie and really wanted Cary Grant to be in it, but he said no. I am wondering if Cary Grant had issues with Audrey...he never did a movie with her and was offered one more than once. This, by the way, is my SIXTH Billy Wilder movie, can you believe it?!

Day #57 - They Met in Bombay

2009-08-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Totally random choice. Today is Clark Gable day on TCM and the first movie I recorded was They Met in Bombay because it co-starred Rosalind Russell and I looooooooved her in The Women. Filmed in 1941, They Met in Bombay is about two thieves (Clark and Rosalind - and yes, I'm on a first name basis) who unknowingly go after the same jewel - after they discover each other's intentions they become partners and travel together, escaping the police. In the meantime, of course, they fall in love :) When Gable poses as a British officer, he involves himself in a battle which ironically enough earns him a hero's medal - turns out he isn't such a bad man after all :) Now, I don't know about you other women out there, but did anyone NOT fall in love with Clark Gable? Come ON! I must say though, the first Gable movie I ever saw was, probably like a lot of other people, was Gone with the Wind. I don't think he changes his character much from movie to movie so I just see Rhett Butler everywhere. Which is really just fine :) :)

Just FYI, Clark Gable was named AFI's 7th Greatest Male Stars of All Time, behind Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire and Henry Fonda. He was nominated 3 times for Oscars, winning 1 time for It Happened One Night. His nominations were for Mutiny on the Bounty and Gone with the Wind.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus Trailer

2009-08-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

This trailer looks AWWWESOME. I have two words for you. Christopher. Plummer. I have two more. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is the movie Heath Ledger was in the middle of filming when he died - in order to keep the movie going, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law all stepped forward to take over filming of the rest of Heath's part, donating their salaries to Heath's daughter, Matilda. Amazing.

Day #56 - Julie and Julia

2009-08-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

I am VERY excited to finally post a review for Julie and Julia, the inspiration for my blog that was started 56 movies ago :) I LOVED it - it was SO cute and fun :) Meryl was absolutely perfect as Julia Child - what I love about Meryl is how absolutely subtle and natural she is. You know all of her mannerisms, gestures, expressions, etc. aren't all in the script but she adds them in so well, you never feel like she isn't the exact character she is playing. I just admire her as an actor so much and I know she will go down in the history books as one of our greatest.

If only my blog could be as successful as Julie Powell's - I could get dedicated readers and a book deal! Alas though, I think the only people reading my blog are those who I beg to look at it :) (and I appreciate you all!) Julie Powell set out as a writer early in her life and after her half finished novel wasn't picked up by a publisher, she took up a desk job...several years later on the brink of her 30th birthday, she thought, wait a second, everyone else has blogs, why can't I? I have thoughts! I'm a writer! So she blogged about something and someone she really loved - cooking and Julia Child :) The movie follows her through her battle to complete 525 recipes in 365 days, a feat which challenges her and the relationship she has with her husband and friends.

Intertwined with her story is that of Julia Child - first arriving in Paris with her husband, who is an Ambassador, she looks for something to pass her time and finds Le Cordon Bleu, a cooking school. Her love for food and cooking lead her to a collaboration with two other women in writing a book on French cooking for American women, specifically, housewives without servants. Her story is also full of challenges as she struggles to find the exact voice her book needs and a publisher who wants it.

There are a couple of things I LOVED about this movie - the first was the relationship between Julia and her husband Paul, played by the always fantastic Stanley Tucci. Here is a love story between an unlikely couple - he was short and bald, she was tall and a big woman - neither were conventially good looking. But they were head over heels in love with each other and that was really awesome to see. The other thing I really loved was the character of Julia - laid back and cheerful, she seemed phased by very little, rarely getting exasperated or frustrated. If only we all could be more like her! Apparently Julia Child was 6'-2" so they had to employ a lot of forced perspectives and things like raised countertops and really high heels to make Meryl, at 5'-6", look really tall!

I highly recommend this movie to everyone - I know you will all enjoy it!!

The Lovely Bones Trailer

2009-08-10T19:03:00.001-07:00

Has anyone read this book??

Day #55 - Blade Runner

2009-08-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Well, Chris hijacked my Netflix queue again so we got Blade Runner in the mail :) It's good though - I've heard a lot about this movie over the years so it wasn't too bad to watch it. I actually was working on my website during the movie so I didn't focus as much as I should have it - but you know, I think that was okay because by the end of the movie I was pretty convinced that giving it my full attention wouldn't have saved it for me. I'm not a big sci-fi fan and this one was just too much for me. The end was weird and it gave me creepy vibes.

As a "guest reviewer", Chris brought up a really good point about the movie. The producers of Battlestar Galactica (THE GREATEST TV SHOW EVER!) were greatly influenced by Blade Runner so we ran across a lot of story details that felt really familiar to us. Had we seen Blade Runner first, it may have felt more original, but unfairly so, we found it to be old news. The awards it should have been nominated for it was - cinematography and special effects. The production design was AMAZING - a very cool look at the future.

Blade Runner was Ridley Scott's 1982 masterpiece starring Harrison Ford - over the years it has become a real cult classic. Edward James Olmos made an appearance - WAHOO ADMIRAL ADAMA! Overall I was not a fan but if you like sci-fi, this might just be your cup of tea.

Day #54 - Confessions of a Shopaholic

2009-08-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about romantic comedies. I'm a pretty typical woman in that I love romantic comedies - I know they are predictable and cheesy and unrealistic but I still watch them every time :) That being said - they don't need to be completely unoriginal and poorly written. Too much of the time, filmmakers rely on big name people to attract you to movies that are just awful. For example - I love Jennifer Garner. I'll definitely see a movie just for her. So I'm guilty. I went to see Ghosts of Gilfriends Past and wanted to walk out. Just because it's a romantic comedy doesn't mean it needs to sacrifice story and character. Look at the Marlie Arnold classics - Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally - funny, romantic, cute, great characters, great story. Step it up romantic comedies!

Onward now to what I watched a couple of days ago - Confessions of a Shopaholic. Not a great story and there were definitely some cheesy ridiculous parts - but there were also some cute parts and I feel like Isla Fisher really saved this one. I really liked her :) Unlike Katherine Heigl who I don't even remotely care for, Isla Fisher is fun and cute and you really want to be like her....which let's face it, is the WHOLE reason we women watch romantic comedies!

...and end soapbox.

"This Means Something....."

2009-08-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Great quote - from an even greater movie :) Who knows it?

Day #53 - Serpico

2009-08-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Chris and I first heard of Serpico while watching an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Charlie plays Pacino's character and wears a poncho, yelling at other cops that they are all corrupt. It's fantastic. So Chris hijacked my Netflix queue and there ya go - Serpico. We actually knew nothing about it other than Pacino was in it and it had to do with corrupt cops haha :) Serpico was made in 1973 and was directed by Sidney Lumet. This is my second Lumet film after 12 Angry Men and I actually think this is the first time Pacino has appeared - ah!

Al Pacino plays Frank Serpico, a New York cop who prefers working undercover in street clothes - he's a bit strange, and after the other cops find out he is unwilling to accept money from criminals like they do, they turn against him. An honest cop like Serpico makes them all look bad, and Frank grows increasingly unhappy with his lack of advancement. In the end, Frank turns to an outside agency to investigate the corruption in the force - a big no no - a cop turning against cops. Though not an inspiring film per se, I did find Serpico to be a great symbol of one man standing up for the right thing in an extremely difficult situation. At the end of the movie, Frank ends up getting shot in the face - he survives but retires from the force and the investigation contines on.

I liked this movie a LOT more than I thought I was going to - older cop movies have a certain grittiness to them that I don't always care for but this I didn't mind. Pacino was AMAZING as Serpico and honestly I think his costume designer should have won an Oscar - his outfits were hysterical. Always trying to blend in, he has an interesting array of prints and patterns, a bit of hippy style and some rather ridiculous hats. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good Pacino performance and/or a great cop movie.

Al Pacino won nominated for a Best Actor Oscar but lost to Jack Lemmon in Save The Tiger. I love watching "early" Pacino because it just reminds me how AMAZING of an actor he truly is.

Day #52 - Dances with Wolves

2009-08-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Dances with Wolves has to be one of the greatest stories ever told. I don't know if it would sneak into my top 10 but I would say definitely top 15 best movies :) I saw this movie all the way through when it first came out in 1990 but I'm sure my 10 year old self wasn't quite up to the task of appreciating it :) Since then I had seen scenes here and there but I was shocked at how much I had forgotten! I love Kevin Costner in this movie but for me it's the Indians that make it so great - Mary McDonnell as Stands with a Fist, Graham Greene as Kicking Bird and Rodney Grant as Wind in His Hair. Mary McDonnell is just amazing - if I didn't know any better I would say she really didn't know how to speak English, she is just so convincing! Kicking Bird grabs your heart right from the get go and Wind in His Hair is captivating - I loved the story of how he and Dunbar's relationship grew to be so strong. Of course my heart went out to Two Socks - I watched this two nights ago and I'm still distraught that he died - who does that?! I want to strangle the writer for writing that in!!

Dances with Wolves was nominated for 12 Oscars and won 7 - including Best Picture, Best Director (Kevin Costner), Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Screenplay. Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell and Graham Greene were all nominated for acting Oscars but unfortunately didn't win - I would love to have seen Mary win, but let's see what else was going on that year....

1990 was the year of Awakenings, GoodFellas, The Godfather III and Ghost. What I completely disagree with is Jeremy Irons taking home an Oscar for Reversal of Fortune over Kevin Costner. Come ON. Mary McDonnell lost her Oscar to Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost - ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! Whoopi was good and all, but did the Academy even SEE Dances with Wolves? Ugh. Finally, Joe Pesci beat out Graham Greene for Supporting Actor....whatever. I hate Good Fellas so I'm biased against Joe Pesci.....can I also say....not only did Jeremy Irons beat out Kevin Costner....he beat out Robert DeNiro in Awakenings....WHAT??!!!!! AAAHHH! This is almost as bad as the Tommy Lee Jones win over Ralph Fiennes in Schindlers List but I'm not EVEN GOING TO GO THERE.

I digress.

As I'm sure most of you know, Dances with Wolves is the story of John Dunbar, a Union soldier stationed at a secluded outpost in the West to fulfill his desire to see the frontier before it was lost. When he arrives, he is all alone except for his horse and a wolf who he names Two Socks (so cute). He cleans up the fort, writing in his journal and waiting for his replacement, who will never come. One day he surprises a woman who he finds near his camp, bleeding and hurt. He takes her to the Sioux tribe, which shows them that he did not mean them harm. The Sioux feel that they can gain much by talking to him and hopefully finding out when the white men will come and how many there will be. So Kicking Bird and Wind in His Hair go later to greet Dunbar - although Kicking Bird is friendly and welcoming, Wind in His Hair takes a long time to warm to the white man, not trusting his motives or thinking he is worthy. Over time, they are able to learn each other languages through the help of the woman Dunbar saved, Stands with a Fist - a white woman who grew up with the Sioux. Dunbar spends more and more time with the Sioux, helping them to find buffalo and learning their ways. He and Stands with a Fist fall in love and get married. The Sioux, however, cannot avoid the advancing armies of men looking to take over the frontier. As they look to move their camp, Dunbar returns to his fort for his journal where he is captured by the army and branded a traitor for joining the Sioux. As usual, I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone - I've already said a TON. Let me just say though, that for those who have seen it - the ending with Wind in His Hair on the cliff made tears run down my face - it was just so moving and wonderful. :)

Woa, woa, woa....check this out!

Viggo Mortensen was originally cast to play John Dunbar. Mortensen will, however, be playing John Dunbar in the upcoming sequel to this movie, The Holy Road (2011), as Kevin Costner has stated that he will not be reprising his character.

Day #51 - Jezebel

2009-08-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Ah, yes. My first Bette Davis experience :) Jezebel was recommended to me by my Mother-in-Law and I'm so glad I took her up on it - I had never heard of Jezebel before she mentioned it. Released in 1938 by Warner Brothers, Jezebel was oddly similar to Gone with the Wind which would come out the following year. Bette Davis and Fay Bainter both won Oscars for it - this essentially took Bette Davis out of the running to play Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind as she had basically already played the role in Jezebel. I found Bette Davis to be FAR more beautiful than I thought she would be. In picture she always looked a bit bug eyed, haha, but I thought she was really pretty - and BOY she has the evil look down pat. She even puts it to Vivien Leigh.

Jezebel is about Julie Marsden (Bette Davis), a southern Belle in New Orleans before the Civil War. Very headstrong and fearless, Julie gets angry at her banker fiance, Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda), when he won't leave a meeting to go dress shopping with her. She gets back at him by choosing a red dress for the upcoming ball (scandal!) - a ball where every unmarried woman wears white. Wanting to teach Julie a lesson, Preston makes her dance in front of the whole crowd, even after Julie realizes her mistake and begs him to let her leave, humiliated. Preston then leaves her, thus breaking their engagement. Julie was convinced he would return immediately, but when he doesn't come back for a whole year, she is desperate to apologize and humble herself to him upon his return. She holds a ball to celebrate his return and even wears her white dress to greet him - however, it was too late - Preston was married to a woman from New York. Eager to get back at him, Julie uses her persuasive ways with her friend Buck, hoping he will challenge Preston to a fight. He ends up challenging Preston's brother and in a turn of expectations, Buck ends up killed. Preston then comes down with yellow fever which was sweeping the city. In a last minute move of redemption, Julie offers to accompany Preston to the isolated island, knowing that she is sure to contract the fever herself and die.

I like Henry Fonda a lot, but not in this role - partly because I just don't think he fits the part well but also because with the movie being so close to Gone with the Wind, he just can't compete with Clark Gable and Leslie Howard! As I said, I really liked Bette Davis - very evil and perfect. I would really like to see her in more movies!

Here's a good video from the movie - this is where Julie first meets Preston's wife at the ball. You can see her BEAUTIFUL white dress :)

Day #50 - Pat and Mike

2009-08-03T16:36:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

This movie took me two screenings to get through as I actually fell asleep the first time! I loved Hepburn and Tracy together again but I didn't care much for the movie - it just didn't keep my interest. It was kind of fun to see Kate playing golf and tennis - I have read that she was really good at sports.

Kate Hepburn plays Pat, a woman who is a great athlete but who seems to be held back by her fiance - as is typical for Kate's roles, she didn't want to feel like she was tied down to any preconceived notion of what women should and should not do. He treated her like property, and after competing in the Women's Nationals for golf, she decides to not go home with him as planned. Instead, she goes to find Spencer Tracy's character Mike - an Agent/Promoter, he introduces himself to Pat at the golf tournament, hoping to make some money from her. Pat and Mike then embark on a relationship where he promotes her sports and they slowly start to fall in love, despite Mike being a bit shady in his work and Pat working through things with her fiance.

So yah, overall, I have enjoyed the other Kate/Spence movies much more than this one but am always glad to mark ones off the list!

Day #49 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

2009-08-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I have a lot of catching up to do - I've seen 3 movies since my last review! Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a movie I have seen bits and pieces of many times but never the movie in entirety....and for being such a Jimmy Stewart fan, I think that's quite a sacrilege. Ah, Jimmy. Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy. I love you so much!! Really, he's so perfect, I just smile when I see him on the screen because he makes me really happy and I just feel so good :) He's definitely my type too - I always like the nice guys :)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is perhaps one of the most inspirational movies I've ever seen - the story really reminds you of what politics and Washington should be about. Jimmy Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, a naive Minnesota Boy Ranger (aka Boy Scout) - when the Governor needs to fill a Senate with someone who will sit there and not ask questions so that a bill he backs will go through, he thinks Jefferson is his man - after all, this man has no business in the Senate! When Jefferson arrives, he is in awe of the monuments and the history of the city and can't wait for the Senate to convene. He is especially excited to work with his mentor, Senior Senator Joseph Paine, a respected friend of his father's. When Jefferson decides to pass a bill to open a boy's camp in Minnesota, he doesn't realize he is interfering with the very bill he was meant not to disturb. When persuaded to back down, Jefferson stands up for himself and against the corruption and greed that he realized had taken over politics. Jim Taylor, the real political force behind the bill Smith fights goes on a rampage, creating a scandal he thinks Jefferson cannot overcome. However, with the help of his secretary, he finds a way to prevail!

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 Frank Capra film which was nominated for 11 Oscars! It took home only one for Best Original Screenplay. A few years later when Jimmy Stewart was awarded an Oscar for The Philadelphia Story, he felt it was actually overdue credit for his work in Mr. Smith. Many politicians at the time felt the film depicted Washington as corrupt and were outspoken against the film. European countries also banned it as they didn't want their citizens to see democracy at work. The American Film Institute named it as #27 on the Greatest Movies of all Time.

Day #48 - High Noon

2009-07-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

High Noon is a Fred Zinnermann directed Western starring Gary Cooper - according to John Lithgow (yay TCM!), this movie came about at a time, in the early 50's, when bravery and courage were much valued at the box office. Gary Cooper won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Marshal Will Cane. The movie opens with Will's wedding to Amy, played by Grace Kelly. It seems like all is well until 3 shady looking men stride into town. This immediately puts the town into uproar, and we find out that these three men are waiting on their leader, Frank Miller, to arrive on the noon train. Frank threatened to come back and kill Will after being sentenced to hang for murder - little did Will know that he would be pardoned and come back looking for him. The rest of the movie basically consists of Will going around to the men of the town asking for deputies to help him take down Frank. When no one will step up to help, Will must fight on his own. At the beginning of the movie, Amy decided to leave town, disgusted with Will's desire to stay and fight. At the very end though, she comes back and helps him kill Frank and his men. The movie ends with Will throwing his deputy badge down at the townspeople who wouldn't help him and leaving with Amy.

When the movie was over, Chris said, "well, that's the most concise movie I've ever seen" - which is true, haha - it was only 85 minutes long, not much time for froo froo. Overall, I thought it was a fine movie - not great or bad, just fine. The Mexican woman who played Mrs. Ramirez drove me CRAZY. I didn't care for the acting much and am surprised Gary Cooper was called out for an Oscar. I find that I'm often times not impressed with acting in Westerns - is it like watching action movies today, knowing they aren't made for their great acting?

Throughout the movie, clocks are shown often as the movie is shot in real time. This reminds me a lot of 3:10 To Yuma, a Western remake from a couple of years ago with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe - that movie also was centered around the arrival or departure of a train and relied a lot on time.

Though I didn't care for his acting, I really like the look of Gary Cooper - he looks like a real man :) I would pick him for my side on a fight :)

According to IMDB:

"This film was intended as an allegory in Hollywood for the failure of Hollywood people to stand up to the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Sen. Joseph McCarthy Red-baiting era."

Day #47 - La Vie en Rose

2009-07-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Wow. I knew that Marion Cotillard was going to be good in this movie, but she truly blew me away. I'm trying to think of when I have seen a better performance by a woman in ANY movie, and I am coming up with very little - perhaps Charlize Theron in Monster. Cotillard really impressed me, I had no idea how talented she was/is. She won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal.

La Vie en Rose follows the life and career of Edith Piaf, a French singer and cultural icon - abandoned many times as a young child, she grew up in poverty and started her career by singing on the streets as a teenager - which is essentially where she was discovered. Her career and life had many ups and downs and Cotillard portrayed the emotions of these ups and downs beautifully. Edith Piaf's voice is really unlike anything I've ever heard - not only because she sings in French but her voice is unique. I found it interesting that when Piaf came to America she felt like the people here didn't understand her and vice versa. She always missed Paris and felt most at home there. As far as the way the movie was made, my only complaint really is that I was confused about her illness - I read online that she died of lung cancer but how well was that explained? I didn't pick up on it at all - she seemed to take injections for serious (perhaps debilitating) arthritis? I understood also that she was into hard drugs at least for a small period of time - but I'm not 100% sure of any of this. In fact, Ebert's review said she was addicted to morphine - how was I to know this? Oh well.

Roger Ebert had this to say...

"This mosaic storytelling style has been criticized in some quarters as obscuring facts (quick: how many times was she married?). But think of it this way: Since there are, in fact, no wedding scenes in the movie, isn't it more accurate to see husbands, lovers, friends, admirers, employees and everyone else as whirling around her small, still center? Nothing in her early life taught her to count on permanence or loyalty. What she counted on was singing, champagne, infatuation and morphine."

I couldn't find a good video from the film, but here are a couple of clips of the real Edith Piaf singing...La Vie en Rose and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.

Day #46 - Rear Window

2009-07-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

So right off the bat I'm thinking, I dunnoooo, I'm just not a big Hitchcock fan ....I don't think I'm gonna liiiiike this....but I looooove Jimmy Stewart, right? So I HAVE to give it a whirl, right? Right.

...and voila! I loved it :) Honestly I did not know how this movie was going to end until the very last minutes and I was really surprised! It's so exciting when that happens because movies tend to be fairly predictable and formulaic - I found Rear Window to be unlike any movie I've seen. I loved that the movie never left the set of the apartments - and that everything you saw was through the eyes of Jimmy Stewart. As the documentary helped me to see, Hitchcock set up the movie so that as a viewer, you saw something happen in another apartment, then you cut to Jimmy Stewart's reaction and you can't help but react as he does. So you actually follow the mystery of the movie right along with him....except for that little tidbit of info that the viewer gets that he does not! I won't ruin it :)

Rear Window is about L.B. Jeffries (Stewart), a photographer who is bound to his wheelchair after suffering a broken leg. Because he isn't able to get out and about on his own, he spends most of his time staring out his apartment window, spying on his neighbors' activities. One night, he sees some suspicious activity at the apartment across the way, where a man has been caring for his invalid wife. He starts to suspect that the man murdered his wife, and as the next couple of days go on, he sees more and more to lead him to believe his theory is true. His girlfriend Lisa, played by the beautiful Grace Kelly, at first thinks that his imagination has run wild - that is, until she sees some of the suspicious behavior for herself. By the end of the movie, Jeffries, Lisa, and Jeffries' nurse Stella are all working together to solve the mystery. As this story moves along, we also get a glimpse into the lives of some of Jeffries' other neighbors, adding some depth the the movie.

As usual, I adored Jimmy Stewart....he's just a man after my heart, I love him so much :) I love that every line he delivers feels like he's doing an impression of himself. This is the first movie I have seen of his in color so that was nice - he has blue eyes!

Day #45 - Woman of the Year

2009-07-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am going to write my review tomorrow but I just wanted to say....I LOVE SPENCER TRACY!!!

IMDB Link

OK I'm back :) So yes, first of all, let's talk about Spencer Tracy. As I said after I watched Adam's Rib, I really expected Tracy to be gruff and cranky - and as in Adam's Rib, I could not have been more wrong. Charming is the best word to describe him - he is just wonderful! He is so natural in his roles and also very funny! Out of all of the movies I've seen so far, I would definitely put him up there with Jimmy Stewart as far as favorites - and I NEVER would have guessed that. I knew so little about him before this challenge - all I knew was about his love affair with Kate, but nothing about HIM. Love, love, love him.

So I read on IMDB that this was the FIRST movie he and Kate Hepburn made together (1942) - and boy can you tell! Their chemistry is AMAZING! They are so into each other - not for ONE second do you think they are acting. It's actually really fun to watch, knowing their story and what they would mean to each other. I had to smile at the screen at times, I was so thoroughly enjoying their interactions.

What I would like to know is this - and I'm posing this question to anyone who might know. I've noticed that Kate Hepburn's roles are typically that of really strong females who don't believe they should play second fiddle to men - and as I know that was the same of her in real life, I wonder.....were these movies written with her in mind? Because people knew she was like this and would therefore play the part well? I would be more inclined to think that female roles were just simply written this way anyway - but in the late 30's/40's/50's, how many writers were telling the story of women like this? I would have thought it were rare....

Woman of the Year won an Oscar for Best Screenplay and Kate Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress but did not win. I also wanted to share this piece of trivia from IMDB:

"As Katharine Hepburn's close friend and frequent director, George Cukor was a natural choice to direct, but for her first film with Spencer Tracy, Hepburn wanted Tracy to be as comfortable as possible, so as a quasi-producer, she hired George Stevens, who had directed her in Alice Adams (1935). As Hepburn said, "I just thought he (Tracy) should have a big, manly man on his team--someone who could talk about baseball." Cukor (who was openly gay and known for his friendships with actresses) would later become a good friend of Tracy and would direct both actors inKeeper of the Flame (1942), Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952)."

I also wanted to share a FANTASTIC quote that I first heard from my Hollywood Encyclopedia/Mother-in-Law :) and also found when researching this movie....(this quote is from Wikipedia) :)

"This is the first of nine films Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were to make together. They met for the first time on this shoot. In the 1993 documentary Katharine Hepburn: All About Me, Hepburn herself says she was wearing high heels at the first meeting with Tracy and producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and said "I'm afraid I'm a bit tall for you, Mr. Tracy". Mankiewicz then responded, "Don't worry, Kate, he'll cut you down to size."

My favorite scene of the movie is the very last one when she is trying to make breakfast for him - not because of her actions but because of his reactions - what great faces! Lemme see if I can find it on YouTube. Yay! For a quick background, let's just say that Kate is trying to prove that she can be a good housewife - and she's not exactly comfortable in the kitchen :)

Day #44 - The Longest Day

2009-07-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

I liked this movie even more than I thought I was going to! Being such a history buff, you give me a D-Day movie and I'm a happy camper :) What I enjoyed the most about The Longest Day is that they didn't just give you the Allied point of view. You also got to follow the Germans, which is rare in war movies. Not only that - but you didn't just follow one company or one military branch for the Allies - we got to see Air Force, Navy, Army, Airborne..we saw gliders at work as well as engineers. They really made accuracy a priority so I found it to be a really interesting story. It's unbelievable to see how the Germans handled the days before and of the invasion of Normandy - I had read before about how they expected the invasion to come at a different location but I didn't know how much they relied on weather to make strategy assumptions. Not only that, but once the invasion did start, it was as though Hitler didn't take it seriously. He wouldn't release the Panzer divisions and I found it interesting that his high ranking officers didn't have the guts to wake him up to even tell him what was happening!

I digress. The Longest Day was released in 1962 and was directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton and Bernhard Wicki. It starred a great many actors of that era, including Richard Burton, Red Buttons, a young Sean Connery, John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Robert Mitchum. The nice thing was that none of these actors, in my opinion, really stuck out as a lead. It was more of an ensemble which I always feel is best for war movies. A bit of trivia - apparently this was one of the first war movies ever made where everyone spoke their native languages - the Germans spoke German, the French spoke French, and the British and Americans spoke English. Also, at $10 millioin, The Longest Day was the most expensive black and white movie ever made until Schindlers List came along in 1993. It won 2 Oscars - Best Cinematography and Best Special Effects.

One of the scenes that really blew me away was the invasion of Omaha Beach at Point-Du-Hoc. The men who were assigned this part of the beach had to scale hundred foot cliffs with ropes and ladders, taking heavy fire the whole time from Germans above. Amazing.

Day #43 - Some Like it Hot

2009-07-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

This movie was HYSTERICAL! I knew going in it was going to be funny because of recommendations but really nothing can prepare you for Jack Lemmon as a woman - he is so fabulous. Some Like it Hot was my fifth Billy Wilder movie and my second Jack Lemmon movie :) It was my first time seeing a movie with Tony Curtis or Marilyn Monroe, and that being said, let's hope it's the last Marilyn Monroe movie I see - she is terrible! Billy Wilder once said, "Hollywood isn't ruining Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe is ruining Hollywood." Wilder had a lot of difficulty working with Monroe - she came to set late every day or not at all, and when she did show up, she often required dozens of takes to complete even the simplest lines. Wilder didn't even invite her to the wrap party, haha. Monroe aside, I LOVED this movie - it was definitely hilarious and I thought Jack Lemmon especially just rocked it. I would love to have a poster of Jack Lemmon in the scene on the train when all the women came into his bunk for a party...love it.

Some Like it Hot is essentially about two musicians who witness a mob murder - in order to get away from the mob, they dress as women and join an all woman band on their way to Florida. They are both immediately drawn to Sugar, a singer and ukelele (sp?) player - not knowing they are men, she confides in them as if they were female friends. When she tells Josephine (Tony Curtis) that she wants a millionaire to take care of her, he seizes the chance to play the part of Shell Oil, and of course she doesn't know that he is the same woman she has been spending time with! Daphne (Jack Lemmon) meanwhile, draws the attention of an older man who is staying at the hotel - he eventually proposes to her, now knowing she is a man! When the mob shows up at the hotel, Daphne and Josephine have to make a run for it - with the old man and Sugar in tow!

AFI named Some Like it Hot as the #1 Funniest Movie of all Time! Jack Lemmon was nominated for an Oscar but unfortunately lost - the movie did win, however, for Best Costume Design. Here's a great clip from the movie:

Day #42 - The African Queen

2009-07-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

The African Queen was a 1951 John Huston-directed movie starring Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. It was filmed on location in Africa, which was extremely rare for that time period. It was also a dangerous time to be in the Congo, but John Huston felt it would add needed authenticity to the film. During filming, most of the cast and crew were sick - Katharine Hepburn dealt with a severe case of dysentery - what I think is hilarious about that is that she was so disgusted by how much John Huston and Humphrey Bogart were drinking that she protested by having water only - thus the reason she was so sick. Neither Huston nor Bogie were sick during the shoot - in fact, Bogie said they drank so much scotch that if a fly landed on one of them it would have died instantly :) Apparently Bogie was not too keen on being in the jungle but Kate viewed it as quite the adventure - why am I not surprised? :)

The movie opens with Rose (Hepburn) and her brother holding a church service in German East Africa - they are British and I assume missionaries. We are also introduced to Charlie, a British man who drives a steam ship on the river, delivering supplies to the area. This is where our TV signal went out (I was watching on TCM) - so I missed the next 15 minutes or so - ah! Apparently after learning that the Germans were at war, Rose's brother protested and was killed - Rose then left with Charlie on his steamboat. Rose seemed much more refined and sophisticated than Charlie who was fairly dirty and drank a lot. The rest of the movie is about the adventures they face as they head down the river. Rose feels that they can turn the African Queen into a torpedo boat and if they head down river they can attach a German ship that is keeping a British counter-attack at bay. Charlie is scared, feeling that it would be a suicide mission and far too dangerous. Rose convinced him otherwise and so off they went. They face many obstacles such as rapids and German gunfire but along the way fall in love. Eventually they get stuck in a channel with very little water and too much mud - convinced they are going to die, they go to sleep only to wake up in the lake they have been trying to reach, having been rescued by a storm which raised their boat from the mud. I won't ruin the end - so if you want to know what happens you'll have to see it for yourself!

I really liked the second half of this movie but not the first. It took me a LONG time to get into the story - at first I really just didn't care much about the characters. That being said, once they started to hit the obstacle of the mud, I felt like the added layer I needed was there and I began to really enjoy it. I LOVED Kate and Bogie together, I thought they were fantastic - I was especially impressed with Bogie - I always thought of him as such a serious person and although I liked his charm in Sabrina, I didn't think he could play a character like this. In fact, Bogie won his only Oscar for The African Queen, beating out the favorite Marlon Brando for A Streetcar Named Desire. There is just something about Kate Hepburn - I've seen a few of her movies now and I crave more - I can't put my finger on what it is, I just really love her audacity.

Day #41 - Stalag 17

2009-07-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Stalag 17 was recommended to us and neither Chris nor myself had ever heard of it. Stalag is German for prisoner camp so Stalag 17 is about a group of men who share a barracks as American POW's during WWII. The movie came out in 1953 and starred William Holden, who won an Academy Award for it. It was also written and directed by Billy Wilder! This is my FOURTH Billy Wilder movie and I think my.....3rd William Holden movie :) Go me.

I felt so-so about Stalag 17 - first of all, we didn't know it was a comedy. I thought it was going to be a serious war movie. Apparently Billy Wilder liked to make comedies surrounded by a morose or dark context. So that threw me off a little bit. When the movie started I realized it was going to focus a lot on these two "barracks clowns" who provided a lot of slapsticky type comedy throughout which was fine I suppose, but I didn't expect it. Early on in the movie we are told that there is a "traitor" in the barracks who is feeding information to the Germans - information on escape attempts and equipment the men shouldn't have like radios. I really had no idea who it was until it was shown to me so I appreciated the surprise. Overall, like, I said, it was so-so for me. After the movie we watched the "making of" featurette which helped us to understand the movie more and I feel like when we watch older movies we should always know a bit about the context ahead of time. Chris was offended that they said Stalag 17 was the best POW camp/escape movie because we both liked The Great Escape much better :)

With all of that said, William Holden is HOT and I am MORE than happy to watch more of his movies :)

Day #40 - The French Connection

2009-07-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Strikes and gutters - for as many good movies as I've been watching, I'm bound to run across one from time to time that I don't care for. I had high hopes for this movie because I, like every sane person in the world, love Gene Hackman. He has the voice, ya know - it lends itself perfectly to being raised, so I love it when he yells and gets mad. The French Connection came out in 1971 and won 5 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Actor (Gene Hackman), Best Director (William Friedkin), Best Film Editing and Best Screenplay. Perhaps this was a movie that was really significant for its time and that's the risk you take in watching older movies - without the context sometimes you miss the point. ...which I did.

Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider play NYC cops who are assigned to a special investigation involving a group of drug dealers. Gene plays Jimmy Doyle, a man who seems to work off of impulses and gut feelings, which doesn't always instill confidence in his plans. He discovers that the men he is following are actually working a deal with a French group who is smuggling drugs overseas to help with the "drought" in NYC. Thus, the French connection. Beyond that, I don't really care to even get into the story. If I were to look at the screenplay for this movie, I imagine it's about 10 pages along. There was SO little dialogue and I felt like the movie was Gene Hackman following the bad guys around for a long time, then a few lines of dialogue, then more following, then a car chase scene, more following....it just go really old. I know, I know, the chase scene is one of the best in film history, no? I'm not a car chase kind of person so I was just glad when the movie was over. I know it's harsh, but it just wasn't my thing.

Day #39 - The Apartment

2009-07-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I believe this is my 3rd Billy Wilder movie! The Apartment is a comedy written, directed and produced by Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Young Jack Lemmon is so cute!! The Apartment won 5 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing and Best Screenplay. Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Jack Krushen were nominated in the acting categories but did not win.

I watched the Special Feature, "Inside the Apartment" which was really good because they talked about the context of the movie which is always really helpful. Billy Wilder first conceived of this story in the mid 40's but felt like the subject matter would not be accepted - adultery was not really shown and spoke of outright and it was basically a "rule" in Hollywood that the sanctity of marriage always be upheld. By the time the late 50's rolled around, there was a scandal in the press about a woman who was cheating on her husband with another man, always going to a secret apartment to meet. It so happened that this guy was the superior at work to the apartment owner who was just looking to advance his career......well, voila! Not only did Billy have the rest of his story put together, he also felt like maybe now he could get away with it.

I should probably go ahead and say...The Apartment is about an insurance worker, CC Baxter (Lemmon) in the late 50's who rents an apartment a half block from Central Park - unfortunately he can't use the apartment in the evenings as much as he would like because the key to his place is passed around the office amongst men looking for a place to take their mistresses. CC agrees to it even though it's inconvenient because it has allowed him to move ahead in the company. Shirley MacLaine plays Fran, the elevator attendant - which I think is funny - I can't imagine having that kind of job. Anyhoo, CC really likes Fran and asks her out only to be stood up. Later he finds out that Fran has actually been seeing Mr. Sheldrake, his boss, who is married and using the key to his place! One night when Fran is at CC's with Mr. Sheldrake, she realizes that he really does not love her and is afraid she is just another woman to him...so after he leaves she takes sleeping pills and passes out. CC of course comes home and finds her, solicits the help of his doctor neighbor, and nurses her back to health.....in the end, even though Mr. Sheldrake leaves his wife, Fran realizes it's really CC that she loves - they have a fantastic When-Harry-Met-Sally-esque New Years eve ending :)

I loooooooooved Jack Lemmon so so much! He was super cute - I've never seen him in a movie where he was young. This is one of the reasons I am loving this challenge - I mean, I know who so many of the legends ARE but I don't know firsthand about their work and it's been really fun to learn. I should be getting Some Like it Hot soon....yay!

I'm not sure how to classify this movie...comedy? drama? romance? It's funny, but I wouldn't say all out comedy....let's go with Drama.

Day #38 - The Civil War

2009-07-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

For the past week and a half or so, Chris and I have been watching Ken Burns' Civil War documentary - it is 11 hours long so I've put that in place of a few movies along the way. I have to admit, I don't know that I had heard of Ken Burns before Chris told me about him, but apparently I'm the only one. He has done many critically acclaimed documentaries including ones on D-Day, baseball, jazz and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Being a huge history buff, I am really loving the documentary. I was excited when it first started because the narrator, David McCollough, also narrated Seabiscuit, one of my favorite movies. I love the level of detail that you get in a documentary, and with Ken Burns I know everything I am getting is accurate and backed by first hand accounts. It took 6 years to make so you know that a ridiculous ton of research went into it.

The Civil war aired over 5 nights on PBS and 40 MILLION people tuned in, can you believe that?! It was the highest number of viewers for any show on PBS up to that point. According to Wiki, this documentary was considered Ken Burns' magnum opus. 16,000 archival photographs, paintings and newspaper images were used for the show.

Day #37 - The Philadelphia Story

2009-07-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I looove this movie - it's such a classic. I saw it many years ago and didn't remember much about it, other than that I loved Jimmy Stewart. It was on TCM the other night so I DVR'd it and I've actually watched it twice now :)

Katharine Hepburn played the role of Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story on Broadway, and she wanted the rights to the script for a movie version, so her boyfriend at the time, Howard Hughes, bought it for her. Cause we all have billionaire boyfriends right?? MGM agreed to do the movie, even giving Hepburn the opportunity to choose her costars and director. As her director, of course she chose no other than her favorite, George Cukor. She originally wanted Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy as Macauley Connor and CK Dexter Haven, but they were not available, so Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart were cast. Fantastic :)

The Philadelphia Story was nominated for 4 Oscars in 1940 and won 2 - Best Screenplay and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Jimmy Stewart (yay!). It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Katharine Hepburn and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Ruth Hussey (really? what a strange nomination....). Kate Hepburn lost to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle, which I have never heard of - but I imagine that after Kate put so much into this movie, she was none too happy not to win an Oscar for it. The Best Picture winner that year was Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca.

I think that the best scene in this movie BY FAR is the scene where Jimmy Stewart is drunk and goes in to talk to Cary Grant and keeps yelling "CK Dexter Haaaaven!" and he hiccups all the time. He is so freakkin' fantastic. A couple years ago I read his biography and loved it because I was so happy for the story of his life not to ruin my opinion of him :) Here is a great video....from 1:20-1:30, tell me Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant are not trying desperately not to laugh after Jimmy hiccups and Grant says "excuse me":) It makes me hysterical when he says "CK Dexter Haven you have unsuspected depth!" This has to be one of my favorite scenes of all time!

Day #36 - Public Enemies

2009-07-03T11:48:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

There is no other way to start this review than to say...whoever decided that Christian Bale needed to walk around the big screen in 1930's suits and hats should be arrested. How am I supposed to concentrate on the story with THAT?! Come ON. Christian Bale is one of the few actors who I can honestly say I have been following since I was a kid - and it's so rewarding to see him become an A-list actor. There is a lot to be said for him not selling out long ago when the options were presented to him - I'm sure a lot of people think he is new to the scene but he's been making movies since he was a kid, and it's just really nice to see more choices open to him. People really respect him as an actor and that will only continue to grow.

OK, enough about Christian Bale. Is it ever enough? No, it isn't...but we shall move on nonetheless. I loved Public Enemies - I thought it was put together really well, it was easy to follow and it made me feel like I was really back in the 30's. Johnny Depp was fantastic and I was glad that Dillinger was not written to have any real sympathy. He briefly mentions his upbringing but so much of the time writers write in some kind of flashback or something that makes you feel sorry for the bad guy. Well, John Dillinger robbed banks - he wasn't a good guy and he made no excuses for it. It was interesting that the media responded so favorably to him - he was really quite popular. Actually, maybe the most interesting part of the story to me was the backstory of the founding of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover. Who were these guys going to be and what would they stand for? What kind of methods would they use and how would they be trained? Hoover wanted results, and was perhaps too eager to use severe tactics - Melvin Purvis seemed a bit more sympathetic and knew that for the FBI to really get results, they needed trained lawmen. I found it odd that they were holding a shootout complete in suits and hats - was that part of their initial image?

Chris and I both liked the style of the movie, especially in the gunfight scenes because they appeared really smoky and dirty. I assume that is a Michael Mann decision - and he makes suuuuch fantastic movies! Last of the Mohicans anyone?

Day #35 - Chinatown

2009-07-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Okay, so I know I was supposed to love this movie - I mean, it's a classic, right? Either I missed something entirely or it just wasn't my type of thing, but I didn't care for this movie at all. In fact, about 2 hours in, I asked Chris when the torture was going to end and checked the timer.

Here's the thing about mysteries. I like a good mystery, I really do - but I have to feel confident that as the movie goes along I am getting enough clues to understand the solution once it's revealed to me. I have to feel like, okay, I have all the pieces except for a couple....but what I really hate are mysteries where I feel like I'm not getting any of the information and so when the solution comes it will mean nothing to me. Chinatown was in the middle of these two dilemmas. The Usual Suspects is a perfect example of the first type of mystery whereas Mulholland Drive is a perfect example of the second. With Chinatown, I was pretty confused for most of the movie and when the end came, it was really interesting, but the journey was frustrating for me. I really just didn't care at all by the time the movie ended.

Chinatown was a 1974 Roman Polanski directed movie starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, neither of which I liked. I know, shoot me. What was the big deal? Roger Ebert just raaaaved about Nicholson but it escapes me. IMDB calls it "neo-noir" while little peon me just thinks it's film-noir...what is the difference? I don't know. I actually liked the story behind the movie more after reading about it on Wikipedia after - Jack Nicholson's character is based on William Mulholland and the story in Chinatown is based on the real life water wars that came about as water from the fields/farms outside of LA were piped in to provide water to the valley. Maybe I should have read this BEFORE the movie but alas....I did not. Let me know your thoughts, if you have seen it. The poster is pretty awesome though :)

Day #34 - The Women

2009-06-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

This might be one of my favorite movies yet! Today I watched The Women, a 1939 movie directed by George Cukor with an ALL female cast including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine and Paulette Goddard. This movie was recommended to me by my mother-in-law Julie - thank you!! It was on TCM and what was really nice about it was that...oh what was his first name...whatever his name Osborne comes out and gives a little intro to the movie which I appreciated. He said that George Cukor, the director, was great at working with women and so this movie was quite ideal for him. He was only available to direct it as he had just gotten fired from directing Gone with the Wind. Hmm...wonder why? Gotta remember to look that up.... Anyhoo, in 1939 at MGM, their big time divas were Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo. Norma and Joan especially were huge rivals and were always vying for the big scripts and attention of the studio bosses. This was their first movie together so it was always in the back of my mind as I watched them.

Rosalind Russell I had not actually heard of before but she was my favorite in this movie!!! She was SO funny and ridiculous and over the top. Every time I see Joan Fontaine I just think of Olivia Dehaviland - they were sisters, right? She's soooo pretty. Let's talk for a second about Joan Crawford - that woman scares me! You think maybe she's okay but then once she turns on bitch mode it seems to come allllllllltogether quite easy and I think in real life she would be beyond intimidating. I actually found her to be much prettier than I imagined as I had never seen her in a movie before this one. Norma Shearer was very endearing and also very pretty but different than the other women and I can't quite point out how. I loved seeing all of these women together - what a powerhouse!

In a nutshell, this movie is basically about rich upper east side-y women who spend their time gossiping and talking about their husbands and everyone one else's. The focus of the story is really on Mary, who seems to be in a unique position where she deeply loves her husband and she knows that he feels the same - she thinks they have something special and while the other women go on and on about men being scum, she holds firm on her belief that her husband is not one of those men. Come to find out, the gossip mill turns out her husband and she finds that he has been seeing another woman, the perfume girl at "Blacks" aka Saks - this woman, Crystal, is played by Joan Crawford. Now although that is the PLOT, the STORY is really about women and their friendships, how they interact with each other, their motives, manipulation and trust. Something I found VERY interesting was that there was not a SINGLE man in this movie - not anywhere! All supporting cast, extras, you name it - everyone was female. Even with all the talk of women's husbands, not a single husband had a scene.

This is a long video but worth it if you are interested - someone put together clips of Rosalind Russell in this movie and I think it's hysterical - especially the fight she has with Paulette Goddard's character :) Enjoy!

Day #33 - The Lion King

2009-06-26T12:44:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link

Random, I know :) Yesterday I spent the day at Downtown Disney - one of the perks of living in Orlando - 20 minutes from Disney when you want it! There is a shop there that displays Disney artwork - some of it is AMAZING. I felt really inspired to go back and watch some Disney greats - movies I haven't seen in years and years. So today I actually watched Cinderella, The Lion King, and now Beauty and the Beast as I worked on Mootinis. I chose The Lion King to review because I had truly forgotten how good it was.

The Lion King came out in 1994 and was Disney's 32nd animated feature - it came out around the time when Disney was releasing one awesome movie after another - The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast.... the opening scene is so fantastic - you know, when they are playing The Circle of Life and Simba is presented? It's so good! Two - no, three things I had completely forgotten about: One, Jeremy Irons as the voice of Scar? You just can't beat it!! He is SO great!! Two, the hyenas are hysterical - the constant laughing and vacant expressions? Priceless! And three - Timon and Pumba, also hysterical. Timon reminds me a lot of Mike Wazowski...sometimes I even thought I was listening to Billy Crystal instead of Nathan Lane. I really loved watching it and might keep it around for a bit :)

I read on IMDB that the story of The Lion King was loosely based on Hamlet - cool, huh? OK, I'm going to attach a video of the beginning of the movie :)

Day #32 - The Reader

2009-06-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

I didn't realize how far behind I was! Last night we watched The Reader which I really, really enjoyed. My expectations originally were so high because of the Oscar buzz but I heard from a few people that they were disappointed - so I put it off and put it off, which is surprising not only because I like to watch Oscar-worthy movies but I also love Kate Winslet!

Kate plays Hannah Shmitz, a German woman who works on what I assume is the city bus - one day she meets a young boy named Michael, who was sick with scarlet fever and had throwin up outside of her apartment. She helps him home, and months later after recovering, he goes back to thank her. Thus begins their love affair - although she was much older than he was, he fell in love with her, at one point telling her he couldn't possibly live without her. Hannah asks him to read to her, and this becomes a major component of their relationship. She seems really secretive, and I couldn't quite figure out what her story was - she was a rather unpleasant and unlikable character, which surprised me. After arriving late a couple of nights in a row, Hannah and Michael get in a fight and she leaves town, not telling him goodbye or leaving him with any information. My thought was that she felt that he was too young for her and that for him to be happy she needed to be out of his life.

Michael continued through law school and about 10 years later he, along with a few fellow students and his professor, went to view a trial that was taking place in Berlin. There he found Hannah Shmitz - after all those years, he found her on trial along with 5 other women. As it turns out, Hannah was an SS officer, allegedly responsible for the lives of hundreds of women at Nazi camps during WWII. Michael was devastated. What I found really interesting about Hannah was that she never apologized for anything she did. She openly admitted her involvement in the selection of women to be killed at Auschwitz, but not once did she ever say she felt remorse. On the contrary, she seemed to still feel like she did her job and that was that. She was a guard. End of story. So that, coupled with her treatment of Michael years earlier, really left the audience with little pity for her.

I don't want to say anything more as I have already said too much for those of you who haven't seen the movie - but I really did enjoy it. I was impressed with David Kross who played the young Michael. To play such graphic love scenes would be hard enough but with Kate Winslet? It must have been very intimidating. Ralph Fiennes played the older Michael and I must say, he has got a stare to pierce your soul. If I ever saw him in real life I would be scared to death of him!!

At the Oscars this past year, Kate Winslet won the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar for this movie and it was nominated for 4 others. I really like the first picture above because at this point, I realized that I had never seen Kate like this before - hardened, mean. She's so talented.

Day #31 - The Hangover

2009-06-23T06:02:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link!

The Hangover is definitely a strange follow-up to Gettysburg - actually Chris and I watched it the other night when we wanted a movie and weren't quite ready to dig into a 4 hour war epic. :)

The Hangover is about 4 friends - Doug, Alan, Stu and Phil who head to Vegas for Doug's bachelor party. Determined to have a crazy and memorable time, they upgrade to a villa suite at Caesars and head to the roof to start off the night. Cut to the next morning - everyone is passed out and the villa is a crazy mess - clothes strewn about, a chicken walking around, and a tiger in the bathroom! Worst of all - Doug is missing and no one can remember a single detail from the night before! The rest of the movie is about the remaining guys trying to find Doug and put together pieces and clues from the night to find him.

These guys are so perfectly cast and it is ABSOLUTELY hilarious!!! My favorite character is Alan, played by Zach Galifianakis - he is kind of crazy and definitely a loose cannon, so random! Ed Helms from The Office is BRILLIANT as Stu - he's the guy who is always trying to follow the rules - he doesn't really want to get into any trouble or be too crazy - he also has to call his girlfriend constantly and lie to her about where they are, knowing she would never allow him to hit up Vegas with the guys. He plays most of the movie with a missing tooth which makes him even that much funnier. Phil is played by Bradley Cooper (HOT) and is that quintessential guy who is just so cool - definitely would not call his wife when he's in Vegas and wants the guys to go out and be crazy.

The fact that Chris would see this movie twice means that it's really good - rarely does he want to see movies in the theater more than once. It's really a guys kind of movie but I think everyone can enjoy it!! Roger Ebert gave this movie 3 1/2 stars which is just CRAZY for a comedy like this!! He usually saves the 3 1/2 and 4 stars for dramas! Here is an excerpt from his reviews about Alan's character:

"Well, Zach Galifianakis' performance is the kind of breakout performance that made John Belushi a star after "Animal House." He is short, stocky, wants to be liked, has a yearning energy, was born clueless. It is a tribute to Galifianakis' acting that we actually believe he is sincere when he asks the clerk at the check-in counter: "Is this the real Caesars Palace? Does Caesar live here?"

One last thing - check out this link below to The Hangover posters...the series is hilarious!!

http://www.cinemablend.com/gallery/previews/The-Hangover-3483.html

Day #30 - Gettysburg

2009-06-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

As a head's up, I am going to be tackling Gettysburg - yes, all 7 hours of it!! I will probably turn this into 2 or 3 postings as I'm sure I won't be able to watch it all in one sitting :)

Gettysburg was a mini-series which aired in 1993 - directed by Robert Maxwell.

OK - so Gettysburg is done! It was only 4 hours, not the original 7 that I thought - thank goodness now I can just do one post! SO, I really enjoyed watching Gettysburg. I really like the idea of taking 4 hours and dedicating it to one battle instead of the whole war - you can really get into the details of the men and the strategy....and I LOVE history and war movies so I'm game. Gettysburg in particular was great in the sense that everything was filmed on location so you could get a pretty good feel of the surroundings. The actors really surprised me - I knew Martin Sheen would be good as Robert E. Lee because he is always amazing...but Jeff Daniels and Tom Berenger I wasn't so sure about going in. They left me pleasantly surprised. All I know Tom Berenger from is Platoon and he's definitely not a good guy ("They've got Elias!"). And HELLO, Ponyboy was in it! (C. Thomas Howell). Stay Gold, Ponyboy.

With all of that being said, I had some definite issues with the series - mainly, I didn't always like how they filled the time between battles. With four hours of play, they had some huge opportunities and I would have liked for them to have been more efficient - it's like every scene was just too long. The movie overall wasn't too long, they just spend too much time on each scene, does that make sense? What bothered me more than anything though, was the monologues given the Generals. They spoke as if they already understood their own historical significance - like they already knew what would happen at Gettysburg and what it would mean to the overall war. So they kept having this inspirational, big picture, "our place in history" kind of talks and I thought, even though they knew Gettysburg might be the battle to end the war, there is no way they could have known to talk about the things they did. So that's a pretty big grievance but it definitely didn't ruin the series for me - I still really liked it. The extras really made Chris and I laugh - I imagine it's a huge undertaking to form an army of extras and have them act but we kept catching guys who looked like they were out for a Sunday stroll....la la la...oh yah, I'm supposed to be fighting this guy next to me. I also think I'm hypercritical because I've been watching Band of Brothers, and to me, every minute of that series is perfect. Here is an awesome little tidbit about the extras....

Except for the professional actors, this movie featured over 13,000 volunteer Civil War re-enactors who paid their own way, provided their own props and uniforms and fought the battles presented on screen using the same tactics as were current at the time.

I'd like to read about Robert E. Lee and specifically about his strategy at Gettysburg. It seemed like he was making a lot of foolish decisions - even with his top General, Longstreet (Berenger) voicing his disapproval. Was he just too prideful to turn around and retreat? Did he really think they were invincible as he said at the end? It was really cool though how throughout the series, comments were made by the men about their General Lee - about the respect they had for him and how sort of "untouchable" he was. They really loved him - and the series portrayed him, even amidst his decisions, as a pious and relatively quiet man.

OH - and Melissa, the actor who played General George Pickett was Stephen Lang AKA Ike Clanton! Haha - "why Ike, whatever do you mean?"

Day #29 - Adam's Rib

2009-06-19T14:31:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link!

Aahh - my FIRST Katharine Hepburn / Spencer Tracy experience (and George Cukor!). How rewarding! You know, I thought going in, that since this was a romantic comedy that there would be a bunch of froo froo. I was wrong. You don't bring in the heavyweights like Hepburn and Tracy and get anything less than spectacular. I loved their chemistry and wondered how long they had been linked off camera - she totally dotes on him. I have only seen her before in The Philadelphia Story (fantastic) and was so impressed - that being said, HE actually blew me away. I always thought Spencer Tracy would be this old, gruff, stoic kind of guy and I was way off! I found him to be extremely charasmatic and playful. Cute even!

Adam's Rib was very fun to watch - Hepburn and Tracy play husband wife lawyers, Adam and Amanda Bonner, who go head to head in a murder trial - Amanda defends the accused wife and Adam defends the husband. Right off the bat Amanda sees this as an opportunity to prove that women are not treated equally to men in the eyes of the law - Adam sees her stand as a mockery and over the course of the trial their relationship suffers. I love how the movie is setup - you see their day in trial, then the aftermath at home....then you see the next day at trial and the aftermath again - as the movie progresses they fight more and more - but watching them fight is so great! I would never have wanted to go up in argument with Katharine Hepburn!

Who can recommend the BEST Tracy/Hepburn combo movie to add to my list?

Adam's Rib was made in 1949 and was #7 on AFI's list of Best Romantic Comedies :)

Day #28 - Lars and the Real Girl

2009-06-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link!

I would LOVE to take this opportunity to attempt to sell you on a movie that I love love love - Lars and the Real Girl. It came out a couple of years ago and got a bit of press for Nancy Oliver, the writer, getting an Oscar nomination. She previously wrote for the show Six Feet Under and now writes for True Blood. But anyhoo - this movie is so fantastic and I rarely hear anyone talk about it so I'm telling you all to GO RENT IT!

The first thing I want to say is that casting for Lars and the Real Girl is PERFECT - Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider and Kelli Garner. The subject matter for this movie could have SO EASILY gone wrong had the actors, specifically Ryan Gosling, played it like a joke. The story centers around Lars - he lives in the garage of the house his brother and sister-in-law own and seems to be lonely and very antisocial, or awkward at least in social situations. Right off the bat his sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer) begs him to come join them for breakfast and we see that he is very reluctant, preferring to spend time alone. Karin and Gus (Lars' brother), especially Karin, are worried about Lars but can't seem to find a way to help. Lars works at a cubicle-laden office (reason enough for depression) where we meet Margo, a girl who seems to have a crush on Lars but can't get through to him. Margo is interesting to me - she is kind of childish in a way but yet she seems to understand Lars more than anyone else. Lars' tactless cube-mate shows Lars one morning a site he found where you can buy sex dolls but Lars seems uninterested. That is, until a couple weeks later - Lars knocks on Karin and Gus's door and announces that he has a girlfriend, Bianca, from Russia and he would like for them to meet her. Because of his religious beliefs, he would also like for Bianca to stay with them. Karin and Gus are ecstatic - here they have been all worried about Lars and for no reason! Cut to the shot in the living room with Gus, Karin and Lars sitting awkwardly around a blow up doll. Lars seems to have no idea that Bianca is not real - he talks to her and responds as if she talked back. Gus and Karin freak out (a fantastic scene) but eventually tell Lars that Bianca should see a doctor, just for a checkup.

I LOVE where the story goes from here - it is SO clever and original. The doctor, played brilliantly by Patricia Clarkson, convinces Lars to bring Bianca in every week for treatment and in the meantime, she is afforded some alone time with Lars where she starts to learn more about him and perhaps what has led to this delusion with Bianca. He never catches on because she pretends as if she doesn't really care, after all, he's just there for Bianca, so they are just talking right? Their scenes together are fantastic. As time goes on, the townspeople play along, pretending that Bianca is real in order to help Lars. I won't say much more so that I don't spoil anything - but you can see how odd the subject matter is. Ryan Gosling is so subtle and perfect and he totally dedicates himself to this character - I mean, as an actor, he has to walk around all day talking to a sex doll without you thinking he is creepy or sick. Not once did I think that - he never crossed the line - in fact, by the end of the movie, I thought she was real too!

If you rent it, which you should and you will - check out the special features on the DVD - there is a great piece on Bianca and everything they had to do to prepare her for scenes. As is the case in the movie, they talk about her as if she is real and there are a couple of fantastic blips with Ryan Gosling talking about how Bianca is a diva. They even get into a fight :)

Here is what Roger Ebert had to say about Lars and the Real Girl...

"How do you make a film about a life-sized love doll, ordered through the Internet, into a life-affirming statement of hope? In "Lars and the Real Girl," you do it with faith in human nature, and with a performance by Ryan Gosling that says things that cannot be said. And you surround him with actors who express the instinctive kindness we show to those we love."

"As we watch this process, we glimpse Lars' inner world, one of hurt but also hidden hope. Nine actors out of 10 would have (rightly) turned down this role, suspecting it to be a minefield of bad laughs. Gosling's work here is a study in control of tone. He isn't too morose, too strange, too opaque, too earnest. The word for his behavior, so strange to the world, is serene. He loves his new friend, treats her courteously and expects everyone else to give her the respect he does. How this all finally works out is deeply satisfying. Only after the movie is over do you realize what a balancing act it was, what risks it took, what rewards it contains. A character says at one point that she has grown to like Bianca. So, heaven help us, have we."

Day #27 - Sabrina

2009-06-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link

Sabrina is a 1954 movie directed by Billy Wilder and starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. This is my second Billy Wilder AND William Holden movie of the challenge after Sunset Boulevard - it's also my second Audrey Hepburn movie after Funny Face. Random comment - when I was watching The Holiday the other day, I was listening to the commentary and the director was constantly talking about Billy Wilder which made me really curious about him. So I looked him up on IMDB and then I just felt ridiculous for not knowing how renowned of a director he was. 21 Oscar nominations, including nominations for Director, Writer and Best Picture - among those were 6 wins. I'm hoping to pick up Stalag 17 and The Apartment soon...maybe Double Indemnity.

Anyhoo - (my second paragraphs always start with "anyhoo"...I need a new format!) - Sabrina was so cute!! I really, really liked it. William Holden was much better looking than I remembered him being in Sunset Boulevard and I found Humphrey Bogart to be really charming! Audrey Hepburn was OF COURSE cuter than anything ever - it was only her second movie since Roman Holiday. I just love her. Everything she does is adorable, except for in Funny Face, which was just not cool. Romance movies were so different then - now, writers and directors really don't hold anything back. It's kind of nice to see it much more subdued.

A bit of trivia - Audrey Hepburn wore Givenchy for most of the movie and actually hand picked her outfits from his collection. This was the beginning of a lifelong collaboration between them. Also, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden fell in love during the filming of Sabrina - but apparently she broke it off after learning he couldn't have children. Poor guy.

Day #26 - She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

2009-06-15T14:51:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link!

I had a couple of paragraphs written for this movie but somehow they got lost...I have a pretty good inkling of what happened but alas, I have to start over and I don't have the energy! She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a John Ford movie - one of many starring John Wayne - and part of his cavalry trilogy including this movie along with Rio Grande and Fort Apache. This was recommended to me by my mother-in-law AND my Grandpa so I was really excited to see it :)

I thought it was a good movie - not great, but good and enjoyable. I feel like I must be missing something though because the critics speak SO highly of this movie. As much as I like John Wayne, I feel like he wasn't really acting much in this movie..in fact, I was a bit disappointed with him until maybe about halfway through the movie when I started enjoying him more. I have a feeling though that he is like this in most of his movies - any thoughts? That being said, I loved how much older he was supposed to look with his graying hair and mustache - what a handsome man he was - seriously. Chris and I liked Victor McLaglen's character even though he was SO random - is his role basically just to be the drunken sidekick who gets in fights? Haha :) I had a LOT more written my first time around about the "company" of actors that John Ford frequently used but I will save all of that for the next Ford movie - let's just say I was glad to be able to put some faces with names such as Harry Carey, Jr., Ben Johnson and John Agar. I have many more Ford movies on my list - next I believe is The Searchers. I am getting my moneys worth at Netflix!

Day #25 - 12 Angry Men

2009-06-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/

12 Angry Men is a 1957 courtroom drama movie starring Henry Fonda - it was also the directorial debut for Sidney Lumet, who also directed such later movies as Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network. It was nominated for 3 Academy Awards (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenplay) but lost all to Bridge on the River Kwai.

The movie spends all but 3 minutes in the deliberation room - 12 men consist of the jury that must decide the fate of an 18-year old boy accused of stabbing his father. At first, only Henry Fonda's character believes the boy is not guilty, but as the movie goes along, he succeeds at planting the seed of doubt in the other juror's minds. I think there's a great lesson as far as having the guts to stand alone for something you believe in. There were a couple of jurors who seemed to just want to get it over with, as if they really didn't care how they voted as long as they could go home - I'm sure that this happens all of the time and perhaps people need to remember that someone else's life is in their hands and it needs your full attention and consideration. Something I REALLY loved about how the movie was written was that we, as the audience, received all of the information from the trial through the juror's arguments. We did not come in with any preconceived notions based on seeing witnesses and such give testimony. As the movie progressed, we got more and more info which I thought was really cool. It drug a bit at the end, the last 20 min. or so, just because I felt like I could see where it was going and got a bit anxious. Overall, the acting was phenomenal - very intense performances from all of the men which is always a joy to watch.

I have to admit, this is the first movie I have ever seen with Hank Fonda. I know a lot about him from the Jimmy Steward biography I read since they were very close friends - but I have not ever seen him. I know, shame. I'm definitely going to add Grapes of Wrath to my list, as well as On Golden Pond.

I just read that 12 Angry Men was #2 on AFI's list of Best Courtroom Dramas...which begs the question, what is #1? I'm going to guess To Kill a Mockingbird. Oh I'm right! Yah, that one definitely takes the cake :) Henry Fonda, as "Juror #8" was also list as #28 on AFI's Top Heroes list...which ironically gave #1 to Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird :) This is actually a really cool list of Heroes and Villains...check it out:

AFI's Heroes and Villains

Day #24 - Up

2009-06-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/

Tonight Chris and I saw Pixar's new movie, UP, in digital 3D! We both really liked it - we thought it was GOOD, but not GREAT. There are other Pixar movies I like better, but that being said, they can basically do no wrong, so the movie is still enjoyable and clever :) Perhaps it's because I just watched Monsters, Inc. yesterday when I was painting and you really can't beat it, or maybe it's because my expectations were VERY high..but whatever it was, I would put it in the middle of the pack for Pixars. I actually thought it was really, really sad. WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!! The story centers around an old man, Carl, and his wife, Ellie, who met as young kids and always wanted to be adventurous explorers - as they grow up, though, other things come up (as they always do) and they never quite make it to South America as they always dreamed. After Ellie dies (which was so sad, by the way...talk about sadness only 3o minutes in, is this Bambi or something??), Carl decides to "float" his house by balloons to South America on his own to put it where he and Ellie always imagined it. As his house floats away he realizes he accidentally took along a passenger, a cute round kid named Russell - a wannabe "wilderness explorer" who just needs to earn his last badge - Assisting the Elderly. Carl is bitter and cranky in his old age and it takes him a long while to really warm up to Russell. Once they land in South America, they embark on a journey to walk the house to the cliff alongside Paradise Falls, Ellie's dream location. On the way, the encounter a "snipe" who Russell names Kevin, even though later they find out Kevin is a girl, hahaha. Kevin is hilarious, I love the wide open eyes and the squawk - but really you can't beat Doug. Doug is a dog that discovers Carl, Russell and Kevin on their walk - he wears a collar that allows him to talk. As you can imagine, dogs like Doug (I imagine he is some kind of lab) only have so many intelligent things to say - and the funniest parts are when he yells "squirrel!" and immediately looks for one hahahahah. Well....as it turns out, there is another old explorer in the area, a man who was Carl's boyhood hero who came when he was younger to prove that he had found this exotic bird that the people back home thought he made up. Turns out that bird was Kevin, hahahaha -the more I picture Kevin, the more he makes me laugh :) The explorer had been there for many years and now that he found Kevin again, thanks to Carl and Russell, he tried to birdnap him and go home....aaaaaaaaaaaaanyhoo, as you can guess, a big rescue takes place and everyone ends up safe and sound - back home again, Carl becomes a sort of fatherly figure in Russell's life and of course they keep cutie Doug :)

What I didn't like about it were the dogs...although I loved Doug, I did not at all care for the dogs that the old explorer kept - I thought they were hokey. I liked the idea of the collars that made them talk but I didn't like when they started flying planes and serving dinner. Something I really DID like about it was the message - Carl was holding on SO TIGHT to the house and to all of Ellie's things. Eventually, he learns to let go of the "stuff", saying to Russell in the end, "It's just a house." He knows he has the memories of Ellie and as long as he held onto the house he couldn't fully help Russell, who really needed him. It was definitely sad though - much less comedy than normal for Pixar.

.....and AWESOME - next summer will be TOY STORY 3!!! Yay :)

.....and oh yah, the 3D was really cool. We got to wear awesome Buddy Holly-esque 3D glasses and it was definitely fun to watch it that way :)

Day #23 - He's Just Not That Into You

2009-06-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Let me first say that I rented this movie through iTunes and watched it on the plane on the way home from Indiana on my iPhone. I love technology.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001508/

Let's face it. I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. I don't care if they have a plot. Really, it's not what I'm renting the movie for anyway! That being said, I actually really liked the plot in this movie. I think it shows up simply that relationships come in all kinds of forms and with all sorts of issues. My favorite part of the movie was Ginnifer Goodwin - she is SO cute! Her character is also fantastic because although she is pitiful and pretty sad to watch, EVERY woman in the world has a little bit (or maybe a lot) of her in them. We don't always make the right decisions and we certainly don't always use a lot of logic, but hey, we're doing the best we can, haha. I love Jennifer Connolly in everthing she does and I think my favorite scene in this movie was with her character - having found out her husband has been lying to her, she throws his clothes down the stairs and then slams a mirror into the ground, breaking it into a thousand pieces. The best part though, is that as soon as she breaks the mirror, she goes to get a broom and dustpan to clean it all up. Her husband is played by Bradley Cooper - I have one word. Hot. There is a great cast overall - Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johanssen, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long. SO, for those of you that like chic flicks, I think you'll like this one too :)

Day #22 - Life is Beautiful

2009-06-10T10:45:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118799/

I am still pretty behind but I have a lot of GREAT movies coming my way so I think I can catch up :) Today I am watching Life is Beautiful - I have been avoiding this movie for a couple of weeks actually, trying to find a good "crying mood" day, since I know I'm going to. All I really know about this movie is from the Oscars...when Roberto Benigni stood up on his chair when he won Best Actor :)

This movie was soooo sweet. I didn't think anyone could make a comedy about the Holocaust, but Roberto Benigni did it - or as the Netflix description calls it, a "tragicomedy". Life is Beautiful, or La Vita a Bella, was written, directed by and starring Roberto Benigni - it is about a man, Guido, who is just full of life, who falls in love with a woman he calls "princess". They have a son, Joshua, who is SO ridiculously cute. When Joshua is five or so, the family starts experiencing firsthand the prejudice against Jews in Italy in the early 40's. One day, without warning, Guido and Joshua are rounded up with the other Jews and put on a train to a concentration camp. When Guido's wife finds out, she insists on being put on the train as well. The real plot of the movie at this point is how Guido helps Joshua cope with and understand what is going on around them. Because it is Joshua's birthday, Guido tells him he is taking him on a trip as a surprise - once they arrive at the camp, they are part of this "game" where they must collect points. Once they earn 1,000 points, they win a tank :) One of the best scenes in the movie is when a German officer comes into their sleeping quarters and asks that someone translate his German into Italian so that everyone can understand the rules. Guido immediatly volunteers, even though he doesn't know German, so that he can announce to his son the rules of the game, such as the three things you are not allowed to do - 1) ask for a snack, 2) cry or 3) ask for your mother. I won't say much beyond that - if you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it :)

Life is Beautiful won 3 Oscars - Best Actor, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Score. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Screenplay. Also, it won the Grand Jury prize at Cannes Film Festival. Here is a video of Roberto Benigni's winning the Best Foriegn Language Film Oscar...ok...so the embed isn't working, here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cTR6fk8frs

An excerpt from Roger Ebert's review.....

"The movie actually softens the Holocaust slightly, to make the humor possible at all. In the real death camps there would be no role for Guido. But ``Life Is Beautiful'' is not about Nazis and Fascists, but about the human spirit. It is about rescuing whatever is good and hopeful from the wreckage of dreams. About hope for the future. About the necessary human conviction, or delusion, that things will be better for our children than they are right now."

Day #21 - How Green Was My Valley

2009-06-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033729/

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this movie!! So fantastic. What a wonderful, heartwarming, and yet tragic and sad movie. It follows the Morgan family in a small South Wales coal mining town, 6 sons and 1 daughter, their mother and father. The story is narrated by the youngest son, Huw, played by Roddy McDowall, so you see the whole movie through his eyes. All of his older brothers along with his father work in the coal mine and his sister Angharad, played by the beautiful Maureen O'Hara, helps with her mother at home. The movie follows the trials and tribulations of the family and they definitely have their fair share. When wages are cut at the coal mine, the Morgan sons want to form a union and strike - when their Dad stands against the strike, they leave home. In the meantime, Huw gets in an accident saving his mom from drowning and loses the use of his legs for months as he heals. The town is really centered around the chapel and there is definitely a strong current of faith that runs through the movie which is really inspiring. Once the Minister announces his favor of the union, the workers return to the mine and the sons come home - only to leave for America after losing their jobs to cheaper workers. The idea of family in this movie is so strong - here you have a husband and wife who truly care for each other and their family and yet they face so many struggles. I love Huw, who is so loyal to his family and although he earns honors in school, he decides to work in the mines like his father and brothers. I won't speak much more on the plot, but overall I was just so inspired by faith and family.

I also wanted to say that I am really enjoying watching older movies. I always thought, well, in the older movies, you know, I can't relate to what's going on. It was a different time and women aren't like that anymore, people don't behave the same, the country was at war/depression/etc. - now we have cell phones and the internet and ridiculous technology....how can I possibly relate? But what I am realizing is that we are all involved in the human experience. How Green Was My Valley could be made just as easily today as it was in 1941. The story is the same. Family. Hardship. Work. Love. Celebration. Those things don't change over time - and that's kinda cool :)

How Green Was My Valley won 5 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp who played the father), and Best Art Direction. It won Best Picture over Sargent York, Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon!

Day #20 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

2009-06-03T15:07:00.001-07:00

I would like to title the pictures above "What.", "Just Plain Wrong", and "You Have to be Kidding Me." :)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/

Let's not even TALK about the first 5 minutes of this movie. I mean, come ON. I was practically breathing into a paper bag! Paul Newman. You are the love of my life. Let me see if I can find a video of you in all of your splendor.

There is something seriously wrong with this world. No video.

I did find another good one though- the bike scene with "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head". I must admit, and I'm SORRY, don't kill me, but I'm not a big fan of this song. Good thing I'm a fan of HIM though, haha - here it is:

So let's talk about the movie :) I enjoyed it in its entirety but really didn't love it until the end - I felt that Butch and Sundance were buddies and kind of like business partners but didn't really feel their friendship that strong until later in the movie. I liked that Butch was the "thinker" and Sundance was the "fast one". Robert Redford. Le sigh.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was directed by George Roy Hill, who also directed Newman and Redford in The Sting, 4 years after this one. It won 4 Oscars - Best Song, Best Score, Best Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Sound - it lost Best Picture to Midnight Cowboy.

A bit of trivia....originally Steve McQueen was set to play the Sundance Kid with Paul Newman as Butch - the title, had it worked out that way, would have been The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy :) Also - with nine wins, this movie holds the record for BAFTA (British Academy Awards) wins - Best Picture, Best Actor (Redford), Best Actress (Katharine Ross - WHAT?? - she was annoying!), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Sound and Score.

AFI named Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid #7 on its Top 10 Westerns.

Notice how little I talked about the movie :) I spent too much time looking at pictures!

Day #19 - The Mission

2009-06-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091530/

Let us continue down the Jeremy Irons path of amazing-ness. The Mission - again, a Matt and Melissa recommendation that I was REALLY looking forward to. I had actually heard a lot about this sountrack but knew basically nothing about the movie or what it was about. SO - here is some basic info....The Mission was released in 1986 and was directed by Roland Joffe, who also did The Killing Fields. It won the Oscar for Best Cinematography but was also nominated for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Music, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction. It is no wonder it won Best Cinematograpy - it is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. And yes....the score is spectacular.

The Mission is centered around Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons) and Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert DeNiro) - they are Spanish Jesuits who are trying to protect a South American tribe from becoming enslaved by Portugal. Father Gabriel is a Jesuit from the beginning of the movie but Mendoza began as a slave trader - after feeling deep remorse over the death of his brother by his own hand, he paid his penance and turned to Father Gabriel and the Jesuits for guidance. I loved Jeremy Irons in this role because he was so calm and focused - DeNiro was more aggressive and I was so impressed with him in this movie. It's nice to see him truly act - I don't feel like we see that much of it anymore...I mean, at times, yes, but others....sometimes we don't NEED him to ACT, we just need him to be Robert DeNiro. Ya know?

Anyhoo - so the Jesuits build a Mission and convert the tribespeople to Christianity - it seems as though they have never known better times, the people are happy and they trust the Jesuits. However, when the land they live on is sold (or traded?) to Portugal, they are forced to defend their land and their mission. Mendoza joins in the fight but Father Gabriel refuses to, as it is against his vows. He joins those tribespeople who would not fight in the mission and helps them to pray and have hope. The end of the movie is so tragic and heartbreaking - but it's real. It's how things happen in life when people get greedy and they overlook what is really best for the people involved - not everything has a happy ending. Nevertheless, I highly recommend The Mission so check it out :)

Day #18 - Lolita

2009-06-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119558/

Lolita was one of my Jeremy Irons viewing in California - it came highly recommended from Matt and Melissa and since they have talked about it for awhile, I figured, let's go for it! I knew the subject matter was going to be controversial but that didn't bother me - it's a movie, people. Get over it :)

Lolita was directed by Adrian Lyne who also did Indecent Proposal, Fatal Attraction, Unfaithful....see a trend? It was based on the book by Vladimir Nabokov. Jeremy Irons plays a middle aged Professor who moves to the United States from England to teach. When he arrives, he rents a room from a woman and her 15-year-old daughter, Dolores (aka Lo, or Lolita). From the moment he sees Lolita, he is infatuated with her. Lolita seems a bit mature for her age and flirts with him, probably knowing how it tortures him. He winds up marrying her mother, not because he loves her, but because he wants to stay in the house. This is interesting considering it made him Lolita's step-father. He ends up picking up Lolita from her summer camp after her mother was killed and from there he and Lolita travel across the country together, their relationship getting more complex....I think he was completely in love with her and obsessed - and she was perhaps fond of him, but not in love with him. She played her game - she knew what she had to do to get what she wanted. He always gave in - he couldn't help himself. By the time the movie is over, his jealousy, paranoia and control over her drove her away...and the end I won't ruin in case you want to see it. Let's just say Frank Langella's performance, though really small, was QUITE memorable :)

Overall, I liked the movie but wasn't crazy about it - the subject matter didn't bother me, I just thought it was a bit too slow and dreary. I loved Dominique Swain as Lolita - for her first movie she was perfect. Jeremy Irons was great of COURSE but I need another viewing to pick up some of the subtleties that Matt and Melissa pointed out. His yearning for Lolita is so obvious and palpable. He could have ventured into being a creepy old man VERY easily, but he didn't, and I imagine you would attribute that to great acting and directing.

.....and interestingly enough, this movie was never released in theaters due to its subject matter...it was released through Showtime to a record viewing audience.

Day #17 - Nine Trailer

2009-05-21T19:05:00.001-07:00

I canNOT express how ridiculously excited I am for this movie :) As we all know, of course, haha - my favorite actor is Daniel Day-Lewis, and this seems like such an interesting role for him, very different from his intense parts thus far. I loved what Rob Marshall did with Chicago so I think he's going to handle this very well. Also, Penelope Cruz. Let's not even talk about how amazing she is! Enjoy the trailer :) I'm cheating today by adding this trailer instead of a movie review :)

Day #16 - The Sting

2009-05-20T20:58:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070735/awards

Wahooooo - this movie was so good! For being such a huge Paul Newman fan, I am ashamed to say that I have neither of his two potentially most famous movies - The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - my love came from Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, etc. So I was, of course, SO excited to see him in this and he was everything I hoped, haha :) I thought the story was done very well - it kept me guessing and I was definitely surprised by some of the unexpected turns. Robert Redford and Paul Newman, though? Come ON. It's just wrong. Two such men should not exist in movies together - it's just too much for us women to handle all at once :) The music was great of course and just the overall style was unique, unlike any other movie I've seen - for example, the title cards that told us the "chapters" in the movie, such as "The Players", "The Hook", and finally, "The Sting". Two thumbs up for me :)

The Sting won 7 out of 10 nominated Oscars in 1973 - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Music, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction and Best Costumes. Robert Redford was nominated for a Lead Actor Oscar but lost to Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger.....what is that?!

Day #15 - Amadeus

2009-05-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086879/

Amadeus is quite simply one of the best movies I have ever seen. I have to spread the gospel because I think SO FEW people have seen it and it is truly worth every second. Amadeus is the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - the movies begins with him as a young man and follows his career and life through to his death. It is told BRILLIANTLY by the narration of Antonio Salieri - Mozart's contemporary. Mozart is played by Tom Hulce - absolutely fantastic performance from a relative unknown. Salieri is played by the GENIUS F. Murray Abraham. The movie was released in 1984 and won 8 of its 11 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (Milos Forman), Best Lead Actor (F. Murray Abraham), Best Sound, Best Makeup, Best Writing (Peter Shaffer) and Best Art Direction. UM - why did Tom Hulce not win, you ask? He and F. Murray Abraham were both nominated for Best Actor, a very rare occurance.

The first time I saw this movie, I really liked it. A few months passed and I thought, you know, that movies was REALLY good, so I watched it again and then I was in love. For me, the story as presented by Salieri is just amazing. Salieri was a composer, like Mozart, but did not have the natural talent that Mozart did. All he ever wanted in life was to create beautiful music, and he asked God to allow him to serve Him in this way -even taking a vow of chastity. When Mozart came around, Salieri heard the music he always wanted to write but found Mozart to be immature, a perverted creature. Why, he wondered, would God grant THIS man, of ALL men, the talent he so desperately wanted? He tells God that he will destroy Mozart - and basically sets out to do so by being Mozart's friend to his face, yet manipulating every situation to continually contribute to Mozart's deteriorating sanity - especiallly after Mozart's father dies.

Here are some AMAZING quotes from the movie...

Salieri addressing a crucifix..."From now on we are enemies, You and I. Because You choose for Your instrument a boastful, lustful, smutty, infantile boy and give me for reward only the ability to recognize the incarnation. Because You are unjust, unfair, unkind, I will block You, I swear it. I will hinder and harm Your creature on earth as far as I am able."

Salieri describing Mozart's music..."On the page it looked nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse - bassoons and basset horns - like a rusty squeezebox. Then suddenly - high above it - an oboe, a single note, hanging there unwavering, till a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the very voice of God."

One of the final scenes in the movie is Salieri helping Mozart finish his requiem. Mozart is dicatating to him and Salieri is writing because Mozart is too sick. This is one of, if not the best, scenes in the movie. A bit of trivia - Tom Hulce skipped lines to confuse F. Murray Abraham so that it genuinely looked as though Salieri could not fully understand Mozart's music.

Day #14 - Sunset Boulevard

2009-05-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=sunset+boulevard

Sunset Boulevard - a 1950 Film Noir classic starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson. It was nominated for 11 Oscars but only won 3 - Best Screenplay, Best Music and Best Art Direction. Acting nominations went to William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Eric von Stronheim and Nancy Olson in addition to nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, Billy Wilder.

OHMYGOSH this movie is SO FANTASTIC! Gloria Swanson is GENIUS - demented, crazy, awesome. I could not keep my eyes off of her from the minute she gets on screen. This movie is about Norma Desmond (Swanson), a has-been actress of the silent film era who lives in a old huge house on Sunset Boulevard. Joe Gillis (William Holden) is a screenwriter who comes across the house and looks to hide away there, thinking it is abandoned. When he goes in and encounters Norma, she basically decides to keep him captive there so that he could help her write her screenplay that would bring her back to the movies, back to the fans that "never forgave her for leaving". Norma falls in love with Joe but he never loves her back - he stays, knowing that she is a means to the end he hopes for, that is, selling a screenplay. Norma is pretty crazy - she still sees herself as royalty and when she goes to see Cecil B. DeMille (cameo in the film!) she feels like, this is where she belongs and this is where everyone wants to see her. I won't say exactly how the movie ends so I don't ruin it, but the last scene of the movie is SO INCREDIBLE!!!!! This is where Gloria Swanson delivers her famous line "Alright Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup." She is truly haunting and crazy and just so amazing.

There are so many interesting pieces of information about this film. Gloria Swanson's career was VERY similar to Norma Desmond's. Swanson was a former silent film star - the difference was that she want on to have success in radio and TV once the talking films came about. However, when Sunset Boulevard came around, she really hadn't made a movie since the early 30's. So it was, in a sense, her "comeback" movie.

When Sunset Boulevard came out, it was both loved and hated. Critics seemed to love it but Billy Wilder, the director, was always afraid of how Hollywood studios and actors, writers, etc. would receive it because, after all, it shows the evil and bad side of Hollywood. Louis B. Mayer famously reprimanded Wilder after an early screening saying he disgraced the industry that made and fed him. Many believe that the reason it didn't win any of the major Oscars was for this reason - that some Hollywood-ers just couldn't deal with the subject matter.

One more thing - this movie is considered Film Noir, which I know very little about and I'm pretty sure I've never really seen a movie classified as such. It was very dark, almost like a mystery movie. The music was really eerie and there was a LOT of shadow/light work. VERY cool - definitely added to the overall sense of weirdness.

Let me share a clip of how amazing Gloria Swanson is:

Some interesting background info from Wikipedia...
"The street after which the film is named has been associated with Hollywood film production since 1911 when the town's first film studio opened on Sunset Boulevard. The film workers lived modestly in the growing neighborhood, but during the 1920s profits and salaries rose to unprecedented levels. With the advent of the star system, luxurious homes noted for their often incongruous grandeur were built in the area. The stars were the subject of public fascination throughout the world as magazines and newspapers reported the excesses of their lives. As a young man Billy Wilder was interested in American culture, with much of his interest fueled by the country's films. In the late 1940s many of the grand Hollywood houses remained, and Wilder, now a Los Angeles resident, found they were part of his everyday world. Many former stars from the silent era still lived in them, although most were no longer involved in the film business. Wilder wondered how they spent their time now that "the parade had passed them by" and began imagining the story of a star who had lost her celebrity and box-office appeal."

Day #13 - It Happened One Night

2009-05-17T17:22:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025316/

It Happened One Night, a 1934 Frank Capra movie starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, was the first movie to ever sweep Oscars' "Big Five" - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Screenplay :) So naturally, it had to be on my list :)

It Happened One Night is about Ellie Andrews, a socialite who runs away from her life of people telling her "what to do and how to do it" and on her way to New York City meets Peter Warren, a newspaper man looking for a good story. Like any good romantic comedy, they can't stand each other at first - he's just in for the good story and she just doesn't want him to tell her Dad where she is. By the time the end rolls around, they discover they are in love! It Happened One Night was one of the first romantic "screwball" comedies ever filmed - paving the way for all the Sleepless in Seattles and When Harry Met Sallys of the world :) I love all the old sets and lighting, so classic. Clark Gable is witty and handsome, of course - and I was very curious about Claudette Colbert. She has a kind of manly (?) voice...or maybe just deeper, kind of sultry. I thought she was really cute (not pretty though, actually kind of odd looking haha) until I read that she demanded double her usual salary to do this movie for a guarantee that it would only last four weeks - AND, she hated the movie so much she didn't even attend the Oscars where she won Best Actress! Clark Gable himself walked on the set first day and said, "Let's get this over with." Hahaha! Back to the movie though....I really enjoyed watching it and am glad to be able to check it off my list :)

Turner Classic Movies named It Happened One Night as one of their top 15 most influential films of all time - see below for excerpt:
(http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/tcm-unveils-their-list-of-top-15-most-influential-films-of-all-time)

"The surprise success of It Happened One Night made Frank Capra one of the screen’s top directors and provided the prototype for a decade of screwball comedies. Romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally and The Sure Thing draw on the rapid banter, outrageous comic situations and sexy road trip of It Happened One Night. The movie even provided inspiration for one of the screen’s most enduring characters, Bugs Bunny."

I love learning about "old" Hollywood during the days of the studios contracting out and "owning" actors...here is a tidbit about it from IMDB....

"Columbia Pictures was considered a Poverty Row studio at the time of the film's release. Both MGM and Warner Brothers would loan out temperamental actors to Columbia as a 'humbling experience.' Studio boss 'Harry Cohn', who was loathe to pay for his own roster of contract stars during the early 30's, would invariably assign them to work on Frank Capra's films. Although the studio had received Oscar nominations prior to this picture, it's success virtually single-handedly lifted Columbia out of the ranks of poverty row."

Day #12 - Chocolat

2009-05-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/

After all of the violence and war movies, I was ready to just...chill. So I found a movie I thought would be good for that :) Melissa has always thought it was a travesty that I hadn't seen this and then I got the gasp of death from Leslee last night so I thought...ok ok! I'm on it!! Chocolat was nominated for 5 Oscars in 2000 - Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Music, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Juliette Binoche) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Judi Dench) - it did not win any though.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!! I thought it was such a cute movie :) I was really enjoying it and then Johnny Depp showed up and it was all over. The characters/townspeople in this movie really are what make it special - I loved all the side storylines that were going on and how people were handling the chocolaterie differently. Juliette Binoche was so perfect as Vienne, so charming - and I especially loved Judi Dench's character, Armande. I think my favorite scene was when Vienne and Roux went out on his boat and he asked her how her daughter felt about moving around all the time - it was so subtle which I always appreciate, not overdone or overacted. Alfred Molina was fantastic as the town mayor - apparently in the book he was actually the Priest, which makes sense - in the movie he might as well be.

Fantastic poster for this movie :)

Day #11 - Funny Face

2009-05-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

1957 - Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. I think the movie was about 5 minutes in, just after the beginning of the first song when I turned to Chris and said "This is going to be a long 2 hours...". Well, it was.

I love Audrey Hepburn, I do. But this movie just didn't do it for me. There were a few cute parts but for me, they were outweighed by a bunch of really strange scenes, odd dancing routines, so-so singing. The interpretive dancing scene at the Paris bar? - so weird. I have to admit I fast forwarded through some of the movie near the end and let a few horse laughs come out :) Am I missing something? Here is the scene:

Chris read up a bit on the movie because I was confused as to why they were playing with color so much - it wasn't new...? Apparently Funny Face was one of the first movies to use VistaVision cameras with technicolor film - Ben Hur also used these cameras but Funny Face played around with the effects a bit more. So at the time I'm sure it was amazing but for me - cheesy. As I said, I'm bad at putting movies in context!

Day #10 - The Deer Hunter

2009-05-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

OK - change of plans again! Funny Face didn't come in the mail so it's on to The Deer Hunter :)

Let's see - The Deer Hunter came out in 1978 and won itself 5 Oscars out of 9 nominations. Wins were for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Christopher Walken. Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep were both nominated for Best Actor in Leading Role and Actress in a Supporting Role but lost to Jon Voigt in Coming Home and Maggie Smith in California State. I have to say I am really curious about watching Christopher Walken in a serious role - I've only ever seen him do comedy. By this time DeNiro had done Taxi Driver and The Godfather II but not yet Raging Bull

Going in, I had heard that this movie was about Vietnam and was one of the more accurate portrayals out there of the effects war had on soldiers. Wow - it was really intense. First of all, let me say that I thought the movie was too long and piecy, just meaning that I wish there had been more transition between the men being home vs. going to Vietnam vs. going home again, etc. That was the only problem I had with the movie because otherwise I thought it was fantastic, albeit depressing and dark.

As a quick synopsis without giving too much away, The Deer Hunter is about 3 friends from a small town in Pennsylvania who enlist in the army and head off to Vietnam. While they are there, they see many horrific things and get involved with a game of Russian Roulette when they are captured by the Vietcong. They become separated again and eventually - they each have to deal with their individual residual effects of the horrors of war. I was absolutely thrilled to see true, raw acting out of DeNiro and Walken and was impressed with John Savage, who played one of the friends, Stevie. The Russian Roulette scene especially was extremely intense. Having no first hand knowledge of war, I would imagine this movie hit pretty close to what men dealt with when returning from war - isolation especially, no one understanding them.

Here is the Russian Roulette scene - don't watch it if you don't want spoilers :) For a bit of trivia - DeNiro and Walken were actually slapped while filming this scene, which added to their agitation, culminating in one of the most intense scenes I've ever seen.

Finally...a few quotes from Roger Ebert:

"It is not an anti-war film. It is not a pro-war film. It is one of the most emotionally shattering films ever made."

"At the film's center comes one of the most horrifying sequences ever created in fiction, as the three are taken prisoner and forced to play Russian roulette while their captors gamble on who will, or will not, blow out his brains."

Day #9 - Lawrence of Arabia Part 2

2009-05-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

So tonight was Part 2 of Lawrence of Arabia - I think had I not been falling asleep last night becuase it was late I would have watched the whole thing :) This movie is absolutely amazing - I loved it so much more than I thought I would. It's so beautiful - now I know what people refer to when they speak of the visual spectacles that David Lean creates. The desert is like its own character in this movie - perhaps it is the MAIN character. So much of the emotions of the characters are dependent on the harshness of their environment.

The second part of the movie took a few turns I didn't expect. I feel like we definitely followed Lawrence through phases - at first, I believe he wanted an adventure and Arabia gave him that. Once he got there and befriended Ali and others, he became loyal to them and their cause for freedom. However, as the process continued, I think he started to see himself as a prophet, and as he said about himself, "Do you really think I am JUST anybody?". At that time his motive changed - for glory, for fame. After his beating and after he got sidetracked from his run on Damascus, his motive changed again. No longer was he seeking glory and fame - he just wanted to go home and escape the bloodshed. Please if you have seen this movie, let me know your thoughts - do you agree/disagree?

I LOVED Anthony Quinn in this movie - such great little one line zingers. Alec Guiness was great as Prince Faisel - what a powerful voice. I think T.E. Lawrence is an unlikely hero - I wouldn't say he was manly, or particularly soldierly. In fact, he was a bit feminine and softspoken - I wonder if Peter O'Toole was like this in real life? I'm thinking no.

Roger Ebert's review of this movie made me smile because I have read SO many of his reviews and this one was just glowing - I attached a quote from it that I really liked (it is how he began his review....)

"What a bold, mad act of genius it was to make "Lawrence of Arabia," or even think that it could be made. In the words 27 years later of one of its stars, Omar Sharif: "If you are the man with the money and somebody comes to you and says he wants to make a film that's four hours long, with no stars, and no women, and no love story, and not much action either, and he wants to spend a huge amount of money to go film it in the desert, what would you say?'"

One last thing - the soundtrack was breathtaking....I attached a YouTube video for your listening pleasure :)

Day #8 - Lawrence of Arabia, Part 1

2009-05-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

I decided that movies 4 HOURS long count for two days :) So tonight I'm going to start watching Lawrence of Arabia - this review is going to be more of an informational post and then tomorrow I'll give the full review. Cool? Cool.

IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/

1962 - Lawrence of Arabia won 7 Oscars out of 10 nominations. Wins were for Best Picture, Best Director (David Lean), Best Sound, Best Music (Score), Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif both lost in their respective categories - Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. My first thought is...who on EARTH did they lose to? Let's find out, shall we? Well, Sharif lost to Ed Begley in Sweet Bird of Youth, but O'Toole lost to...wait for it....wait for it...Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. If you're gonna lose to anyone, that's not so bad :)

David Lean is also responsible for directing such movies as Dr. Zhivago and Bridge on the River Kwai. He is known for epic, visually stunning films. I believe Peter O'Toole was a relative unknown when he was cast in the role of Lawrence - it seems strange that he was ever an unknown! He is now 77 years old and has been nominated for 8 Oscars but with 0 wins. He's Irish, which surely I should have known by his last name but never really thought about it.

OK so - a little over 2 hours into the movie, I am LOVING it. I thought it would take me awhile to get into it, but it really didn't. We turned on the subtitles which has actually been really helpful, especially when discussing peoples' names, the Arab tribes and the various cities. What I really wonder about, is to whom is Lawrence really loyal? He seems to want personal glory but yet seems loyal to the Arabs as well. When he returns to Cairo after taking Aqaba, I love how he takes his servant Fajjah with him and demands he be served lemonade and given a bed with sheets. He also won't take off his Arab garb - does he do this for theatrics or is he truly respecting the Arab men he'll return to? That's what I'm most curious to find out tomorrow night. The music is AMAZING and I'm more impressed with the acting than I anticipated - I love Peter O'Toole's piercing blue eyes and Omar Sharif? Hot. :) C'mon, you know it wouldn't a proper review without my standard comments!! :)

Day #7 - Star Trek

2009-05-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/

Tonight Chris and I went to see Star Trek on IMAX and it was AWESOME!! I really, really loved it! I have never seen a Star Trek movie nor did I ever really watch the TV show so I was thankful that the writer/producer JJ Abrams went into this movie fresh - he wanted to be sure that people who didn't know anything about Star Trek could still go in and love the movie. Chris clued me in to a couple "catch phrases" that Trekkies would know such as when McCoy said "I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" - so it seems as though JJ would appeal to Star Trek fans with things like that as well.

I LOVED Zachary Quinto as Spock - I thought Chris Pine was a great Kirk, but I think a lot of guys could have gone in there and played that role well. I'm not sure just anyone could have been Spock. The scenes where Spock and Kirk played off of each other were done SO WELL - they had a great dynamic! I thought the story utilized humor in just the right amount and also the love story was really small but thank goodness for that - this movie didn't need it. I loved the scene between Spock and Uhura where she asks him what he needs after his mother was killed - it was so subtle and nice, not over the top as romances always are in movies. Zoe Saldana did a fantastic job.....

and SPEAKING of FANTASTIC jobs. Let's not even talk about Karl Urban as McCoy. I had no idea he could play a role like that, I mean, I thought all I was going to see was Eomer (moment of silence for his hotness.........okay done) but he was so great! I hope Star Trek fans liked him in that role - judging from pics I looked up he is a good resemblance to the original McCoy :)

The villain was a bit weak in this movie but you know, he didn't need to be dominant - assuming they are going to make more of these movies, this first one needed to just be a re-establishment of the characters and story. SO, I didn't have any problems with Eric Bana as Nero. I'm biased of course - Eric Bana, come on. He's like walking perfection. So does anyone know, are they making more of these? I really hope so. I will definitely go see them. I might even go see this one AGAIN.

Day #6 - Spanglish

2009-05-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371246/

Spanglish is one of my favorite movies of all time - I rarely hear anyone talk about it but I think it is INCREDIBLE and everyone should see it! I'm using today as my day for watching a movie I've already seen :)

To me, this movie is all about communication - specifically, difficulties in communication. The movie starts with a wealthy American family...Tea Leoni, Adam Sandler and their two amazing kids...hiring a Mexican woman, played by Paz Vega, to take care of their home. She speaks very little English so that is the obvious communication problem. Tea Leoni is the mother, and is absolutely hilarious and is played so ridiculously well - she is neurotic and an emotional basketcase - because of this, she starts having marital problems with her husband, Adam Sandler. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE him in this movie. He's so adorable and wonderful - almost like a victim in his own household. So not only do you have the communication barrier based on language, but also the distance growing between a husband and wife. Throw in the complicated relationship between the mother and her young daughter, and you get a great story.

As the movie progresses, Fleur becomes more and more a part of the family. She has a very difficult relationship with Deb, the mother, because as Fleur's daughter moves in with the family, their parenting skills become blatantly different. Fleur's daughter, Christina, becomes tempted by the lifestyle that Deb presents to her, and Fleur struggles to keep her true to herself. The husband also struggles with temptation in his developing feelings towards Fleur, as does she. I won't ruin any endings but it is lovely and wonderful and FOR ONCE a somewhat realistic ending, not gooey gumdrops and sunshine.

I'm CRAZY about the acting in this movie - I adore everyone. Adam Sandler is endearing, Tea Leoni is perfect - and Cloris Leachman plays her mother SO WELL - she is absolutely the comedy in the movie :) The girl who plays Christina, Fleur's daughter, is surprisingly compelling for being so young and I love her relationship with her mother.

Here is what Roger Ebert had to say about Tea Leoni's portrayal of Deb:

Consider Deborah Clasky, the mother of the Los Angeles family. She is played by Tea Leoni like an

explosion at the multiple personalities factory. She is kind, enlightened and politically correct. She is also

hysterical, manic and a drama queen whose daily life is besieged by one crisis after another. I am not sure

this character has any connection to a possible human being, but as a phenomenon, it's kind of amazing;

Deborah doesn't just go over the top, she waves goodbye as she disappears into cuckoo-land. Somehow

Leoni is able to play Deborah without frothing at the mouth, and indeed makes her kind of lovable.

Here are some great quotes:

Deb's Mother to Deb: Lately, your low self-esteem is just good common sense.

John to Fleur: They should name a gender after you. Looking at you doesn't do it, staring is the only way that makes sense. And trying not to blink so you don't miss anything. And all of that and you're you. It's just that you are drop dead crazy gorgeous! So much so, that I'm actually considering looking at you again before we finish up here!

Day #5 - Unforgiven

2009-05-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105695/

An Oscar doozie - 1992 Best Picture, Best Director (Clint Eastwood), Best Film Editing and Best Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman). Without even planning it, I started a 1992-Oscar-a-thon :) Clint Eastwood was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman - and now we have come full circle from my Glengarry Glen Ross post :)

AFI named Unforgiven the 4th best Western of all time - behind The Searchers, High Noon and Shane - I'm hoping to add a couple of those to my challenge list.

Wow - amazing movie. I LOVED it. I was genuinely interested in every minute of the movie, especially when Richard Harris was on screen. His part was small, but memorable. He is just so fantastic - so subtle and perfect. I'm not even gonna lie - I am SCARED of Clint Eastwood. I would not cross him for anything - he absolutely took OVER the end of this movie. What a force. Chris and I loved Morgan Freeman of course, he is always perfect. ...and for Gene Hackman, well, every time I see him I think it's Norman Dale from Hoosiers. It's like, OH look, Norman Dale is playing a Sherriff, haha. That aside though, he was really, really good.

There was some really great dialogue in this movie - one scene in particular was an exchange in which Little Bill (Gene Hackman) has arrested English Bob (Richard Harris), who is sitting in a jail cell. English Bob had come with a biographer, and Little Bill was telling the biographer the "true" stories of English Bob's exagerrations - this one in particular about a fight between English Bob and a man named Corky...

[Little Bill is telling Beauchamp the real story of English Bob's gunfight]
Little Bill Daggett: You see, the night that Corky walked into the Blue Bottle, and before he
knows what's happening, Bob here takes a shot at him! And he misses, 'cause he's so damn
drunk. Now that bullet whizzing by panicked old Corky, and he did the wrong thing. He
went for his gun in such a hurry that he shot his own damn toe off. Meantime Bob here, he's
aiming real good, and he squeezes off another, but he misses, because he's still so damn
drunk, and he hits this thousand-dollar mirror up over the bar. And now, the Duck of Death
is as good as dead. Because Corky does it right. He aims real careful, no hurry, and... BAM!
That Walker Colt blew up in his hand, which was a failing common to that model. You see,
if old Corky had had two guns instead of just a big dick, he'd would have been there right to
the end to defend himself.
W.W. Beauchamp: Wait a minute. You mean that, English Bob killed him when he didn't
even have...?
Little Bill Daggett: Well, old Bob wasn't goin' to wait for Corky to grow a new hand.

Another great moment - the end, when William Munny (Clint being BA) comes in to get his revenge...
(...am having trouble embedding this video...so for now, follow the link!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccqdEhytKOk

Day #4 - Glengarry Glen Ross

2009-05-07T10:57:00.001-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/

My friend Andrew has been trying to get me to watch this movie, well...for years I would say. Now, here I am finally! Before the movie started I looked it up and thought the screenwriter's name, David Mamet, was familiar....I looked at his other movies and nothing rang a bell. Seeing as how he is a playwright, I expected monologues and with this Who's Who of a Hollywood cast, I was really looking forward to it.

Jack Lemmon - Al Pacino - Alec Baldwin - Kevin Spacey - Ed Harris - Jonathan Pryce - Alan Arkin. Wow. Al Pacino was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Golden Globe. He won the Golden Globe but lost the Oscar to Gene Hackman in Unforgiven. Interestingly enough, Al Pacino won Best Actor that year for Scent of A Woman - so that would have been a pretty awesome sweep had he won both.

On to the review - definitely a powerful movie and I thought the performances were fantastic. I thought Jack Lemmon's story was really sad and I don't know, maybe no one would agree with me, but why not nominate him over Al Pacino? There were F-you's flying all over the place but I liked the energy at least :) ...good way to spend a Thursday afternoon!

Day #3 - Appaloosa

2009-05-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800308/

So today I didn't get anything in Netflix so I went to our Movies on Demand channel and picked Appaloosa - my thought was, first of all, I like Westerns (all 3 or 4 I've seen) and second of all, this cast is loaded. Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and if that wasn't enough, Jeremy Irons? Come on, this movie can't go wrong, right? Well - I was disappointed. It was a pretty typical Western storyline but I felt like the lines were delivered straight from paper. Chris and I always try to picture what the script LOOKS like on paper - then watch the actors speak and interact...can you tell they are reading a script or have they convinced you they are actually thinking those words on their own? This movie failed that test. You can't bring in these heavyweights and walk out with that movie. I've seen them all act better - although...Ed Harris does look pretty nice as a cowboy :) All men do. I'm also inspired to check out some Jeremy Irons flicks....any suggestions?

FYI, this movie was also directed and co-written by Ed Harris :)

Additionally, the posters for this movie are B.A. They won an Internet Movie Poster award for Best Character Posters. Check it out:

Day #2 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day

2009-05-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/

So as the movie opens to 2029 AD, I can't help but think, am I gonna see a Johnny Ringo appearance again? YES! I was excited to see him, if only for a minute!

"....and introducing Edward Furlong." Woa - his first movie? Nice. I'm loving his super squeaky voice - I really don't know that I've seen him in a lot other than American History X and this is obviously quite a different role. I liked his relationship with the Terminator in this movie....the father/son angle was actually kinda nice.

I liked this movie a lot more than the first, seemed like there was more of a storyline. I LOVED Robert Patrick as the bad guy - I'm sure that those effects were really cutting edge at the time - the silver liquid looked a lot like what James Cameron used for the water in The Abyss...lemme see what year that was made. 1989. So the water came before the liquid metal. Cool. So now that I know the "history" of the Terminator I'm even that much more excited to see Terminator Salvation - should be amaaaaazing.

Here is what Roger Ebert had to say about Robert Patrick as the villain....

"T1000, as played by Patrick, is a splendid villain, with compact good lucks and a bland expression. His most fearsome quality is his implacability; no matter what you do to him, he doesn't get disturbed and he doesn't get discouraged. He just pulls himself together and keeps on coming."

Roger Ebert Link: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19910703/REVIEWS/107030301/1023

Julie & Julia Trailer

2009-05-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

Where I got my inspiration for the blog...

Day #1 - Terminator

2009-05-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/

Strange movie to start with, right? I'm usually pretty iffy on action movies but Chris and I are seriously preparing ourselves for AWESOME Terminator Salvation when it comes out. We didn't know anything about the story - Sarah Connor? John Connor? So last night - Terminator. Tonight - Terminator 2! I'm looking forward to some BA Linda Hamilton.

SO - let me start by saying how excited I was that Michael Biehn was in this movie! James Cameron must really like him since he used him again in The Abyss, best movie ever. Of course all I think of is Johnny Ringo from Tombstone, so that's what I called him the whole time.

The love scene in this movie was spectactularly hilarious - I won't get into details but Chris and I were definitely laughing. I'm really bad at putting movies in their context so I thought the effects for the Terminator were pretty cheesy but it was early on in that process so I'm understanding. I'm really glad we watched it - I think I needed to be able to say I had.