Steelyard Blues (1973)

Netflix is showing "long wait" for my top 4 movies, so I got sent the 5th movie on my list which was Steelyard Blues staring Jane Fonda, Peter Boyle (R.I.P.), Donald Sutherland & Howard Hesseman. 1.5 stars. It is a comedy with A LOT of slow parts mixed in. I did laugh out loud at some of the scenes with Boyle. The plot is simple- a bunch of losers get together to try and build an airplane so that they can fly away and leave society- leave the police, structure, humanity all together. Sutherland is the queen bee of the group and he is in love with a prostitute (Fonda). Boyle (the grandpa in everybody loves Raymond) is a self proclaimed nut who just got out of the psych ward and once worked for the circus. He has an identify crisis and dresses up as a different person in different scenes. If it wasn't for his role this would have got a turkey rating from me. Dumb. The music was cool though, it sounded like the music people made when they were on acid.

Hud (1963)

I am fairly numb about this film, because it did nothing for me in the form of entertainment. Paul Newman was good, as usual, but the rest of the cast felt very two dimensional even though two of them won Oscars for their portrayals. I would rather watch Giant before I see this one again. The dark emotions that were underlying in this film were not desirable and were even predictable. Many people believe this is the best black and white film ever but I felt it was very flat. 2 out of 5 for me. Sorry :)

The Odd Couple (1968)

Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau made over 10 movies together. They are actually buried next to each other. I like to picture them doing stand up comedy in heaven right now. Those two just gel together in a movie. This is a great comedy- 3.5 stars. I laughed through it, my wife thought it was lame. The premise is that Lemmon plays a character that is so neurotic and OCD that his wife kicks him out of the home. He attempts to take his own life, and so his friend (Mathau) feels bad for him and lets him move into his elaborate 8 room bachelor pad. Mathau regrets that decision when he soon reliazes that Lemmon is more of a picky housewife than any woman could ever be.

Get Low (2009)

Robert Duvall and Bill Murray team up in this film about a hermit who wants to through a funeral party for himself while he is still alive. His motive his to hear what everyone has to say about him. The performances were well done, and I am protesting the shaft Duvall got from the academy on this one, because he was not even nominated (this was probably his best performance). Murray was under control in this film so it was fun to watch him act.

I was disappoionted with the abrupt and unexplained ending, but everything before those final three minutes was worth my time. This was a solid 3 out of 5 for me.

Jane Eyre (1943)

This classic novel has made it to the big screen many times. This version stars Orson Wells and Joan Fontaine (not her real name). I had to iron about 20 shirts last night so I watched this on instant netflix while I did some ironing. I was bored of it but did make it through the first 50 min, then gave up. Fontaine went on to win an Oscar in another film and is still alive today actually. I thought it was interesting that there is a character that plays a big part in the first 15 min of the movie, her name is Helen. I am looking at the actress and realized it was Elizabeth Taylor. I stopped the movie and went to IMDB, and sure enough it is Elizabeth Taylor when she was 11 years old. She wasn't even credited for the movie, in fact you won't see her name in the credits at all. Weird. It was amazing how it looked like her even at 11 years old. RIP Elizabeth Taylor, now I can say I saw one of your first movies!

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

I saw this at the library and decided to watch it because I had seen it on many top 100 lists. I turned this off about half way through due to the poor acting and boring story. I felt like I was watching a silent film due to the long stares at the camera, and weak dialogue. This won the picture of the year, but will not make it on to my top 100 list.

Lonesome Dove (1989)

Please forgive me for this one, as it is a T.V. mini-series, but I am going to consider it a movie! Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones are two semi-retired Texas Rangers now ranchers living on the Rio Grande in a fart of a town Lonesome Dove. Jake Spoon(played by Robert Urich) tells them of all of the unsettled land up in the Montana territory, so they decide to take their herd up there to settle. This movie has smoking, tobacco use, whores, drinking, fighting, murder, unseen rape, swearing, theft, grand theft, and violence. More importantly though, it has horses, ranching, cattle, whores, and cowboys. This was a good movie to watch and enjoy. When watching it, just take into account the era of when it was made, computer or animated graphic were still in infancy, but they were trying so just laugh and move on. Robert Duvall was great in this movie, thus cementing my opinion on him being my favorite actor. This will not make my top 100 list due to me being torn on the fact as to whether or not this is a movie, but if it is on T.V. I will stop and watch it for a spell.

On the Waterfront (1954)

First of all, any movie with Marlon Brando and Karl Malden in it cannot be bad (A Streetcar Named Desire). This is a story of corruption and mob mentality on a waterfront docking union. Terry Malloy (Brando) gets caught up in the romance of working with the mob as an inside man, due to his brother being number two in the union. A cat and mouse chase ensues, intermixed with romance, fighting, murder, and deception, with good winning out in the end. Brando is probably best known for his line "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender."
This is a good movie that will make it onto my top 100 list. As a side note, this was Eva Marie Saint's first movie on the big screen.

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

I don't know what made me laugh more- watching the movie, or listening to my 6 year old laugh his head off as he watched the movie along side me. Either way this is a fun slap stick comedy movie and I will give is 3.5 stars. Great for family's to watch together. 100% better than the remake which came out about 10 years ago. My dad talked me into watching the original.

Thanks for all the good memories E. Taylor. Rest in Peace

Bell, Book & Candle (1958)

Just a dumb 1.5 star movie, the only reason I watched it was because Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, and Jack Lemmon were in it. I got it from the library. Kim Novak is a witch who casts a spell on Stewart so that he will fall in love with her. The rest of the movie a 3rd grader could have written. Pretty Lame. I watched some of it in fast forward I got so bored.

Key Largo (1948)

Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, & Claire Trevor. Bogart and Bacall were married when they shot this film, and Bacall was only 24 years old in 1948 so this is the youngest I have ever seen her in a movie.

This is a fun 3 star movie about a mob that takes over a nice Florida keys hotel during a hurricane destroying everything around them outside. It was hard for me to take Robinson seriously as a bad guy, just like it was for me to take Harrison Ford as a bad guy in "What Lies Beneath". You get so used to watching someone play the good guy it make it tough to see them doing anything else.

The script is nothing to write home about, but the acting is good.

Dr. Zhivago (1965)

This is a bonifide 4 star movie. I made it through all 192 minutes. For the middle hour, I was convinced this was going to be a 5 star movie and make my top 100 list. I changed my mind because I did not like the last hour of the movie as much as the first two hours, and I didn't care for the ending of the movie meaning the last 20 min.

This work has so much to offer- a wonderful scenery of war torn Europe (specifically Russia) during WWII, a great love story, wonderful characters, great acting, etc. The script was so good that it required me to rewind the movie a few times to actually catch what the character was saying because there were times where there was some deep dialogue going on that really was fascinating.

Rod Steiger who was incredible in the movie "in the heat of the night" and won an oscar for it, was just as good in this movie. Omar Sharif & Julie Christie were great together. I love how the movie portrays -40 degree weather so well that I think I actually was cold watching this movie and had to get a blanket.

I thought it was funny to see "Obi Wan" from the first Star Wars movie playing a role in this movie as commander Yevgraf. Geraldine Chaplin turned in the weakest performance in the movie, everybody else was great. I need to do some more reading online about this movie, there were 2-3 parts where I was really confused and I still don't understand everything that happened. This is a great movie and I would recommend sticking with it. It did take me 3 nights to watch it. I loved how they filmed the part of them living in the train as they were traveling, it seemed so realistic.

A Bullet for Joey (1955)

This is just a fun 90 minute classic noir murder mystery from the 50's. I watched it because Edward G. Robinson is one of my favorites. He makes everything look easy on screen. George Raft and Audrey Totter did okay as well in this movie. It was a fun 2 star movie. Next up for me is either the 3 hour epic "Doctor Zhivago", and I need to finish the second half of "The Odd Couple". From everything I have read, Doctor Zhivago may make my top 100 list which I am almost done with!

Perry's Egyptian Theater

They are showing the Quiet Man on March 17th at 7pm. IT costs $6 or $5 with a can of food. This is a John Ford, John Wayne film made in Ireland (non-western) that won the Oscar for best cinematography.

Later in the month they will be showing, Romancing the Stone.

The Wrong Man (1956)

This is a different kind of Hitchcock film, everything in the film actually happened in real life to a a real couple in New York in 1935. Nothing was made up. Henry Fonda and Vera Miles (Miles is actually sitll alive today) pull off great roles. I learned from watching the special features on the DVD that Alfred Hitchcock took this movie so serious, he did not do his routine cameo appearance in the film. He wrote out every scene on story boards before they started production. He cared a lot about this movie.

If you ask 100 35-year-old men in America to watch this movie today, I would say only 5% would give this movie a thumbs up. I am one of those men. The reason is I don't need fast action in a movie, language, nudity, explosions, etc. This is a slow movie where Hitchcock is playing off the characters faces and movements. I love the footage of NY in the 50's- the cars, the buildings, etc. I love how Hitchcock was able to pull a 180 halfway through the film and turn the focus off of Fonda and onto Miles. That is very hard to do, and he did it.

I give this movie 3.5 stars. If it was fiction, and not based on a real story, I would only give the movie 3 stars. If you are a Fonda fan you will like this movie. If you want to see how a character can completley change their behavior halfway through a movie, then focus on Miles. She did a great job.

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

This is the movie that made Rock'n'Roll mainstream. When this movie came out the kids would start riotous behavior when the song "Rock Around the Clock" started playing at the begining of the movie. Glenn Ford plays a high school english teacher, Mr Dadeir, for some inner-city hoodlums. Sidney Poitier is one of his students (Ironically he play an identical role about ten years later in To Sir With Love)

Watch for Jamie Farr of MASH fame as well in this movie (Clue: He is the idiot)

This film will not make my top 100 list but it is worth a watch due to its place in pop culture history.

Inception (2010)

Have you seen this movie? I just finished it, but will hold my review until I ponder it over a good nights sleep.

Sorry Jane Russell... I tried

Adam, I am not worthy to post a comment on your blog entry regarding "Gentleman Prefer Blondes". I could only make it 45 min before turning it off due to boredom. I tried my best, I just could not get in to this movie at all!

You'll Never Get Rich (1941)

I watched this movie for one reason- to see Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth dance together. When they aren't dancing, the movie is boring. A 3rd grader could have written the script. Hayworth is absolutely drop dead gorgeous in this movie. My daughter watched the movie with me and was impressed at how great Astaire was at tap dancing. What really impressed me what the formation line dancing, when they had 100 people dancing at the same time all together. The acting is horrible, but that is okay I watched it for the dancing. I give it 2 stars.

Hurry Sundown (1967) Unrated but should be PG-13

Consider who is in this movie for a minute- Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, George Kennedy, Faye Dunaway- all superstars. The director was another celebrity- Otto Preminger. The plot is excellent- racial tension between blacks & whites in the South in the 1940's, pride, greed, and sexual tension. So really you had all the pieces for a 5 star movie, but somehow it comes across as a 2.5 star movie (Netflix nation gives it 3 stars). It was fun seeing Burgess Meridith (Trainer "Mic" from the Rocky movies) and Jim Backus (Thurston Howelee III on the Gilligans Island series) in this movie playing the roles they did.

I was so confused the first 45 min of the movie, not sure where Preminger was going. The last 100 min had flashes of brilliance, but not pieced together like it should have been. Dull parts, and great parts. It never really came together as one great movie. Unless you are a huge Fonda or Caine fan, I think you will not like this movie.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

The story of a drunken man living in his own mind, in regards to his glory days as a football player, must spend the day at his childhood home celebrating his fathers birthday. Brick (Paul Newman) must face his own demons while his wife, Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) stands by his side. Dad, or Big Daddy (Burl Ives) has cancer and is dying; everyone knows but Big Daddy and Big Mama, and they all want the large inheritance. This is a spectacular Tennessee Williams play that was converted to the big screen, well played by Newman, Taylor and Ives. The screen play was great and the acting was well done. This will make it on to my top 100 list. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

An Affair To Remember (1957)

This movie has a lot to offer. Cary Grant makes everything look easy in a movie. He is graceful and doesn't waste any motion. The casting of Deborah Kerr as the lead in this movie is the only thing stopping me from putting this movie in my top 100 list. For the time period this movie was made I think someone like Julia Andrews would have been better. The role required someone with a voice, sophisticated, and pretty. I just couldn't get into Deborah's take on this role for some reason. I love the parity and contrasts in this movie. The ultimate player meets his match. Grant has to become a real person in order to win the love of the one he loves. He learns how to work for a living. The ending is great. I really liked this movie.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Where to start? This is the third or forth Marilyn Monroe movie I have seen and this was probably the best acting she has done. My problem with her is that she seems to be acting in a different movie then the actors around her. Jane Russell comes across as brash and feminist, while Marilyn comes across as, well, blond.

As a whole I enjoyed this movie, and would probably give it a 3 out of 5. I have not seen Jane Russell before in any of her films, but I am not sure I would seek out any at the present time (RIP).

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946)

This is the 15th of 16 Andy Hardy films in which Mickey Ronney stars in. I picked to watch one of his films because of all the news coverage on him lately. This is the story of Judge Hardy's son Andy returning from the war, and the only thing on Andy's mind is getting married. Well, life has made other comical plans for Andy. It is a cute little film, probably a 2 out of 5 stars, but I was well please with how good of an actor Mickey Rooney was (is).

Jane Russell's passing on 3/1/11

In honor of Jane Russell passing away yesterday, I will be watching "Gentleman prefer blonde's" this week. It was already on my instant queue because I am trying to find a Marilyn Monroe movie that is actually worthwhile. I am trying two more movies and then giving up. This is one of them.

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1960)

Very slow movie, but the reason I watched it is because it is based on an actual event. The director used the real policeman and real bank customers in the movie, the ones that were there that day the bank heist happened. They were asked to act in the movie the same way they did during the real thing. And of course the other reason I watched the movie is because it starts Steve McQueen. The movie is about 4 men who plan a heist and completely botch it. They are psychotic in nature, they are not normal people. I give this 2.5 stars. My favorite parts of the movie deal with the director allowing the characters to portray just how nuts they were. It allows the viewer to predict that people this dumb could never pull off a heist.