James Bond

Still working on watching all of these movies...

Breaking Dawn Part II

If it was not for the GREAT twist at the end of the movie, this show would have been a waste of film.

Unicorn City (2012)

This movie won all sorts of accolades that the film festival that they do down in Utah County each year (I cannot think of the name of the festival, but it is primarily focused on clean films). Unicorn City was filmed in Utah and is akeen to Napoleon Dynamite. Voss is a mid-twenties man who has enveloped his entire life around that of Fantasy. He is part of a coven at the local comic book store where they play Dungeon and Dragons games ad nasium. The rules and lifestyles are so enter twined that to separate them would cause these people to have withdrawals. Voss lives in his brothers closet, and is in need of finding a job. He finds a good job, but needs to prove to the hiring manager that he is able to lead a group of people, so he decides to take a group of his friends out in the mountains to create a real-life fantasy world called Unicorn City. Drama ensues and happiness wins out in the end. I laughed out-loud many times during this movie, but do not expect much more than a locally made movie. 3 Stars

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Several years ago Peter Jackman directed the greatest trilogy in the history of movies, but he filmed all three of the movies at one time, so as to maintain the same characters, scenes, and feelings that were portrayed in the Lord of the Rings series.  The Hobbit was the first book in the series of book that JRR Tolken wrote about the Hobbits and their impending adventures, but the Lord of the Rings was made first.  Frankly, I feel that this was a better move because it gave us a reason to care about the characters of the story.  If not, we would not have understood about Gollum, or Bilboe, or Gandolf or the trials that the "ring" was about to bring to their quiet world.

This movie begins back in the Shire showing Bilboe writing about his adventure he had been on some decades earlier; if you remember back to the LotR movies this is where that story begun, particularly the part where the Shire is preparing for Bilboe's birthday.  From there the movie dives into a back flash of the adventure that Bilboe went on to the Misty Mountains.

By a chance situation Bilboe and Gandolf find each other and Gandolf determines that Bilboe would be a perfect member for the band of Dwarfs that are going to go back to their mine city to reclaim it from the dragon that ran them out years earlier.  Bilboe states that he does not want to take part of this, but Gandolf does not take this as his final answer.  Later that night several dwarfs show up at his house to meet up for their adventure...to make a long story short Bilboe agrees to be their thief, and they head out on their adventure.  Along the way they encounter Wizards, Trolls, and Orks that all want to kill them, or stop them from going back to the mine city.

I really enjoyed this movie and felt that it picked right back up with the same feeling and emotion that the Lord of the Ring movies was filmed with.  For the longest time they were hoping the Del Torro would direct this film but I am glad that Peter Jackman came back to take the helm of these shows.  There will be two more movies in this story, and they were all filmed like it predecessor so I am expecting nothing but perfection with these films.  5 stars.

A Kiss Before Dying - 1956

I just finished a book about Natalie Wood's life. The author talked about how Robert Wagner's best film was this movie. So I had to check it out. I don't get what the big deal is about this movie. They even did a remake in 1991 with Matt Dillon. Wagner plays Bud Corliss who is dating Dorothy Kingship (Joann Woodward) purely for her father's mining fortune. When he finds she is pregnant he realises she is likely to be disinherited, so cleverly stages her suicide. After a couple of months her sister back home finds evidence to question the suicide verdict, but by then has a new boyfriend of her own... Bud. 1.5 stars.

No Man of Her Own - 1950

Just a fun little noir film. 2.5 stars. Here is what this film is about. "Helen Ferguson, pregnant, penniless and dumped by her boyfriend Steve Morley, takes the identity of the pregnant Patrice Harkness, when she and her husband are killed in a train crash. The rich Harkness in-laws, and their other son Bill, had never seen Patrice, so they accept her and her newborn son into their family. However Steve eventually finds her and starts to blackmail her" I am excited to see Les Mis in the theatres this holiday.

Witness for the Prosecution - 1957

All the reviews I read had high marks. We know that Billy Wilder is a great director, so mix that with a great writer (Agathe Christie)and what do you get? A 5 star movie with an absolutley stunning ending. Made my top 100 easily. I strongly recommend this movie. I saw it on NF instant. Charles Laughton plays Sir Wilfird Robarts- a tough old bird of a lawyer, who happens to be dying of heart disease. The british humor between Robarts and his at home nurse is great. Laughton steals the show with his performance. All of his manerisms are just perfect for the role. Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich play the other leads in the movie. Laughton is representing Power who has been charged with murder. I don't want to say anything else because it may ruin it for you. How many films have you seen where at the ending of the movie right when the credits are starting a voice actually says "The management of this theater suggests that for the greater entertainment of your friends who have not yet seen the picture you will not divulge to anyone the secret of the ending of Witness for the Prosecution." About half way through the movie I thought I had it figured out, wow did the end suprise me. Probably the best ending to a movie I can remember. Great acting by Laughton, great writing, directing, everything. Well done!!!

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which book paper burns. In the distant oppressive future books are not tolerated, and there are firefighters are charged with burning the books and punishing the people who are found with books in their possession. Guy Montag is a young up and coming firefighter who begins to question what it is that they are doing as fire fighters. Not only are they not allowed to read or own books, but the citizens much watch the government run messages that are projected on their TV screens in their houses ala 1984. If you can get past the 1960s decor made to look like the distant future, it is an interesting story. Unfortunately for me I was not able to get past the decor. Only two stars for me.

Red Dawn (1984)

When I was in elementary school it was believed that our building was utilized as a hospital during the second World War.  The reason we believed this was because we could look through the old grated windows in the basement of the school and see beds and matraces.  Now that I am older I have found out that it was never used as ahospital, but was a school since its creation during WWII.  The beds and matraces were there for "Fall Out" purposes during the Cold War.  This movie was made during the high points of nuclear war discussions of my young childhood.  I remember playing on the playground pretending to be army guys being attacked by the Russians, it was great because the Americans always won.
Well, this movie was very much a depiction of those games we used to play on the playground, except it was not just the Russians that attacked, but the entire Central and Southern American countries as well.
The story begins with a couple of high school guys being droped off at school.  During their history class the invaders start to land and they begin shooting up the school and everyone in it.  A dozen of these boys escape, gather supplies, and head to the mountains to fight the war.  Their families have been killed, and they are left to take on the entire operation of WWIII.  Along the way they are able to find a couple of girls to join their team; and oddly enough they are able to go in to town anytime they want to gather more supplies.  As the "Wolverines", they are easily able to dismantle the entire enemy line, but that begins to collapse as some of these boys turn on their buddies.  In the end, they all are killed and they war is won elsewhere.  WOW!!!  I think this was filmed, edited, produced, and directed by a bunch a high school buddies who were caught up in the Cold War hysteria.  The only reason I decided to watch this movie was because of the recent release of a remake, boy I wish I hadn't.  The guys on the KSL movie show said this wasx a horrible movie, but I just had to watch it to see for myself.  Patrick Swazye, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, man they had better careers after this show.  There was ZERO character development in this show.

The Thomas Crown Affair - 1968

Steve McQueen “the essence of cool” plays Thomas Crown in this classic. A man so bored the only thing he can do is try the impossible. He has all the money he needs, a Rolls Royce, mansion, etc. He even has a beautiful girl that he spends his time with. But for a man that has everything, he wants more. So he pulls of a bank heist for a couple of million dollars. Not for the money, just to “beat the system” as he says. For kicks I guess. Enter Faye Dunaway as Vicki Anderson. Vicki is hired by the bank and the insurance company of the bank to find the man who took their money. The police have no leads and Vicki is a professional head hunter if you will. The movie is about the tension between Vicki and Thomas. The first time she meets Thomas she tells him that she believes he stole the money (she had done some detective work prior to figure that out). Of course Thomas realizes she has nothing to go on but a hunch and plays it cool. The movie was popular with audiences because it is more about the tension between man and woman then it is about a stupid bank heist. It is rated R for showing a ladies back right at the start of the show, some kissing (doesn't show anything below their neck) and the sexual tension that exists between Thomas and Vicki as the play chess. It wouldn't be rated R today, but I still wouldn't show it to my kids due to the adult themes suggested during the chess game. The director was able to show tension without any nudity, just the way that they are playing chess together- it is really quite interesting. I had only seen the parity of this scene when Austin Powers recreates it in one of his movies. I like the feel of the movie. A millionaire who spends his time flying glider planes, playing polo, racing on the beach with his dune buggy, smoking big cigars, drinking, hiring people to rob banks, and of course dating the lady who is investigating him. Sean Connery turned down this role and McQueen said later that it ended up being his favorite movie of all time. Because of its uniqueness and the fact that it doesn't fit into any bucket of a "type of movie", I really do like this movie. I liked the split screen idea when it showed us the bank heist and I love the ending. It took me about 20 min after the movie was over to really understand the ending and what happened, but I think I have it figured out now. 4 solid stars for how different it is then most movies and the excellent acting of McQueen and Dunaway. The remake received horrible reviews.

Witness to Murder - 1954

I continue to get sucked into these stupid noir films, well not everyone is bad, but you have to watch 5 to get to a gem. This one is 1 star and was just awful.

Black Narcisus (1947)

Generally, I do not like to judge a movie by it's cover but for this one I did.  The cover art was haunting, I mean a nun ringing a bell 9000 feet up on the side of a mountain, boy I was hooked...I wish I hadn't.  This movie was awful from the word go.  Every once and a while they would go back to the imagery of that nun ringing the bell and I would get sucked in again.

A small group of young nuns is sent out to establish a school and hospital in this old abandoned castle for the local villagers.  The castle is on the side of a mountain some 9000 feet up and it is constantly windy up there.  Mr. Dean is the local Englishman who has been asked to be their handyman, but the nuns nor Mr. Deam can tolerate each other.  To make a long story short two of the nuns fall for Mr. Dean, and one actually falls from the bell cliff for him.

Dumb movie!!

Move Over Darling - 1963

Doris Day and James Garner try to duplicate what Cary Grant and Irene Dunn did in this remake of the 1940 hit movie "My Favorite Wife". The original is better. only 2 stars for me. I also found out that MM was completing a remake of this movie as well in 1962 before her death, it was called Something's Got to Give (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217055/). Had MM lived, Move Over Darling would never have happened, they only got to do the remake because of Something's Got to Give not finishing.

Columbus Circle - 2012

Found this on NF. I was impressed with all the big names they got to cast the film. This is one of those movies that when you are done watching it you think "wow that actually was a really good script". And then you realize how bad the acting and directing was that you realize the movie bombed for those reasons. The most I can offer is 2 stars. The show is about an heiress who's been shut inside her apartment building for nearly two decades and now she is forced to confront her fears after one of her neighbors is killed and a detective arrives to begin the investigation.

Lilies of the Field - 1963

It is a rarity but when it happens it is worth savoring every moment. What I am referring to is when a simple script turns into a great movie. If someone told you they were going to make a movie about an unemployed person helping nuns build a chapel, you would think that would be a dumb movie. The tension between Homer Smith & Mother Maria is more about their own stubborness than it is about their different faiths, cultures or background. They never admit it, but they need each other to fullfill their potential. 4 out of 5 stars and it almost made my list.

The Artist - 2011

I took your advice and Valli and I watched this silent award winning film. I enjoyed watching a silent film because I approached it differently- I paid attention more and tried to do some lip reading. It was very easy to follow the story line, which I wasn't sure how that would work. It seemed like when we really needed to know what they were saying they would give that to us with captions. I didn't like how the director never let us know why the main actor hated his wife (actress Penelope Miller). The actress that played "Peppy Miller" was incredible. I loved a lot of things about this movie. 4 stars.

America (1924)

D. W Griffith made about 535 movies (98% of them were short films) in the early 1900s.  He directed the Birth of a Nation, Intollerance, Abraham Lincoln, among others.  This is a look at the Revolutionary War through the stories of Rebels and English Loyalists.  As I was watching this movie I kept thinking about the Last of the Mohechans.  I am going to try and watch all of these movies, grant it most of them are two minutes or less in length, but when you get to the feature length movies they are mostly over 2 hours long.

Follow Me Boys (1966)

I was in the Boy Scout office the other day (I am the Cub Master), and I saw that they were selling this DVD there, so I thought I would try it out for kicks and giggles. I found it over at the library, and have been singing the main song for about a week now. Lem (Fred MacMurray) is a saxophone player in a traveling jazz band, who is studying law, and looking for a honest job and place to settle down. He finds that place and becomes a store clerk in a sleepy little town. Soon he gets eyes for a young lady in town and will do anything to get her attention. To his chagrin he must become a Scout Master for a bunch of rag-tag boys to get that attention. He takes these boys and forms them into a marching, camping group of scouts. Over time he marries, adopts one of these boys, and remains the scout master for the next thirty years. This story covers all of those years, and we get a brief history on about three of those troops. I found this movie to be entertaining and enjoyable to watch with my two cub scout aged boys. It will not make any list for me, but it was a fun Disney watch. My only grief with the show as that it was a bit too long, much like many of the Disney movies from that era.

Bernie - 2011

I have had this movie on my to watch list for awhile. Watching Jack Black in a serious role is a transition for me and probably everyone else sitting at home watching this movie. But you know what it worked. His acting and singing were great. The actor I struggled with in this movie was Matthew Mcconaughey. Shirley MacLaine did a great job, as she always does. The movie is based on a true story that is just bizarre. Jack Black plays Bernie Tiede, a chubby undertaker in his 30's, who takes pride in his work. He's a Gospel-singing tenor. He is genuine, real and has a big heart. He cares about others more than himself. The movie has a bunch of interviews with townspeople, mixed with flashbacks, and this allows us to follow Bernie: he arrives in Carthage, Texas (pop. 7,000), where old ladies adore him; he befriends a wealthy, mean-spirited widow named Marjorie Nugent; they become companions in both daily routines and expensive vacations. The much older rich widow is rude to Bernie, but he is too nice to know what to do. Then one day he looses his cool and kills her. This is an interesting movie with some bad language and because it is so different than regular movies I will give it 3 stars. Next up for me is the silent film you told me to watch from last year that took all the Oscars home.

F/X 2 - 1991

Wow- this is a really bad movie. I kept waiting for it to pick up but it was a dissapointment. Should have been rated R for nudity and swearing. 1 star for me. F/X man Rollie Tyler is now a toymaker. Mike, the ex-husband of his girlfriend Kim, is a cop. He asks Rollie to help catch a killer. The operation goes well until some unknown man kills both the killer and Mike. Mike's boss, Silak says it was the killer who killed Mike but Rollie knows it wasn't. Obviously, Silak is involved with Mike's death, so he calls on Leo McCarthy, the cop from the last movie, who is now a P.I., for help and they discover it's not just Silak they have to worry about.

Mirror Mirror - 2012

A fun movie to watch as a family over the Holidays. It is on instant NF. 2.5 stars.

The Producers - 2005

I remember you blogging about the original, which I have seen but it was a long time ago. This is the remake and it made me laugh quite a bit. Will Ferrel, Nathan Lane, and Matthew Brodderick were all great. I felt like the sensuality of Uma Thurman was way over the top. I get that it is part of the script for broadway and the original film, but they just sort of dwelt on it too much. Without that part it really could have been PG instead of PG-13. A very funny take on the original and it had me laughing many times. 4 stars.

The 6th Day - 2000

I read the reviews for this Schwarzeneggar film and decided to try it out. The film went from bad to worse when it started showing futuristic hologram woman performing sexual dances and poses for real people- because hey this was supposed to be the future where cars drive by themselves, you can fall in love with video images instead of real people, you can replace your pet with a clone after it dies, etc. Robert Duvall is also in the film. I could only take 60 min and turned it off. Just a bad movie. The premis is that Arnold has to kill off his clone.

Casino Royale 2006

Finally, I have found a James Bond movie that was worth its time. Daniel Craig performs in his first James Bond role and he is working to stop a terrorist funded organization, but he first needs to cut off the money man who is the connection to the group. To do this Bond must get into a ten million dollar buy in poker game and beat the bad guy to get all of his money. The battle goes back and forth between MI6 and the bad guys, Bond sleeps with the beautiful girl, who turns out to have sold out to the bad guys...wait this sound like pretty much all of the other movies. Bond does give his heart and job away temporarily in this show, but in the end, killing and getting revenge on the bad guys wins out. Just a side bar here, I have an on going battle with my brother about watching R rated movies. I do not like to watch movies that are full of stupid sex and nudity, I do not like torture violence, but I can tolerate language, because I can go essentially anywhere in the world and hear those words. However, I have watched some great R rated movies, that have no violence, no nudity, and limited language. In this movie there is sexuality, violence, killing, torture, and evilness that ranks higher than some of those other great movies...I just needed to get that off of my chest again as I am watching these nudity, sexually, violent, lame movies.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Eli Wallach, James Coburn and Horst Buchholz, oh my gosh, quite possibly the coolest cowboy movie ever!!! A tiny village in Mexico is raided by Calvera and his bandits throughout the years and they are getting fed up, because they are just poor farmers and cannot defend their property and families. So to end the raids, three of the villagers seek out to find themselves some hired guns to protect them. Well they not only find hired guns, but they find some of the most cool guys in the history of the world. To make a long story short, go and watch the Seven Samurai. I know you have seen this, but I give it a solid four stars out of five,s imply because I have never felt so cool watching a western. The score is also extremely popular.

Act of Valor (2012)

The story surrounds a terrorist cell that has networks around the world intent on causing mass casualties simultaneously in America. Their network is active and complicated. To begin they take out a CIA operative and take the other hostage; the torture that she has to withstand is sometime unbearable. To the rescue are our brave men of the Navy Seals. The action sequences used actual Seals and live rounds of ammunition. Of course there were actors covering the main rolls, but they, along with the plot, sucked. It felt very much like I was watching my childhood replayed on the TV, when we used to gather int he neighborhood and play "war". The dialogue was choppy and fake, and it felt tacked on as an afterthought to the superb action sequences. If you do watch this movie, be prepared fro brief interruptions of dialogue amongst an action packed adventure. It is rated R for torture and gritty war violence.

His Girl Friday - 1940

Cary Grant Movie number #23 turns out to be Solid Gold! 5 stars!!! Made it on my top 100 list- yeah. This movie is based off the play "The Front Page". I had seen the 1974 adaption with Jack Lemmon, Walter Mathua, & Carol Burnett. That movie can't compare to this one. Grant and Rosalind Russell are incredible. This is a great fast talking, cut throat, dog eat dog enviornment type of show. The humor is off the charts. The sparring between Grant and Russell equals any type of sibling or love quarell ever seen on the big screen. I loved this show. Awesome. I can't wait to watch it again. According to IMDB this play has made it to the big screen 4 times but this is the best version. I had to rewind it a few times to catch some of the funny one liners. I found this movie on youtube under movies under free movies. What a fun show.

Houdini - 1951

Tony Curtis teams up with his wife at that time (Janet Leigh) to play perhaps one of the hardest roles of his career- Harry Houdini. It is sad that Curtis and Leigh learned all the magical stunts from real magicians and performed them by themselves. Everytime I see Leigh in a movie all I can think about is Pyscho! but this role fit her talents I think. Wonderful color and sets for a 50's movie and overall I was pleasantly suprised. 3.5 stars. I loved learning about Houdini's life and I did some fact checking after the movie to see if it was factual- and the director did a pretty good job of making the movie a true biography of Houdini's life. Not sure the rating- but it is G. No swearing or anything. I cannot find a trailer for this one. If you have instant NF I would recommend this show. There is something fun and innocent about this movie it that really makes it worth your time. Houdini had a passion for what he did and he was good at it. Perhaps the underlying message is to have a goal and don't ever stop working towards that goal. Almost a 4 star movie for me actually- I have no problems recommending this show.

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend - 2010

I love to root for the underdog. This is a low budget movie filmed on location in SLC. If you are an Alyssa Milano fan it is worth the 84 min investment to watch this off of instant NF. Most of the other actors are ones you will recognize from the other side of heaven, the best two years, RM, etc. Milano is the one that makes the show. I can't give it more than 3 stars but my wife and I liked it. We liked the twist at the end. Just a cute innocent story. Could be G - but there is some kissing but it could still be G. Jesse (Milano), in a moment of bold self-confidence, introduces herself to Ethan, a struggling writer. And then in walks Troy, and in a moment of bold self-confidence, he introduces himself to Jesse. Jesse falls in love with both men, who happen to have a lot in common but still seem very different. What will happen when Jesse has to tell the truth? Both my wife and I agreed- Milano at 40 years old is still very attractive. She has aged well.

Picnic - 1955

This will be my last "old movie" post for awhile. I am cancelling my disc portion of NF. I feel like i have seen every old movie that I want to see. It dissapoints me that I have to watch 8 crappy movies to find one gem. All the movies from the 50's are blending together in my head- they all seem to have the same writing, film sets, premise, etc. The only difference between them is the actors and producers. This film is a C version of East of Eden or Long Hot Summer. The material is just hand me downs from better films. William Holden and Kim Novak are nothing special. 1.5 stars for me.

Sudden Fear - 1952

This has been in my queue for sometime. Say what you want about Joan Crawford but man that dame can act. the picture and sound quality of this film were horrible but I stuck through it. A younger Jack Palance also did well in this film. After an ambitious actor (Palance) insinuates himself into the life of a wealthy middle-aged playwright (Crawford) and marries her, he plots with his mistress to murder her. I added the show to my queue because the mistress is played by Gloria Grahame and I like her. Just 2 stars but a fun show.

Somewhere in Time (1980)

Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour team up in this wonderful romantic science fiction show.  Reeves character Richard Collier is an up and coming stage writer who has just debuted a successful show at his college.  While celebrating a elderly Elsie McKenna approaches him, hands him a pocket watch and asks him to return to him.  Eight years later this moment is still playing a major role on his mind, and he is unable to focus on his writing, so he takes a trip to clear his mind and ends up at the Grand Hotel in Michigan (I have actually been to this hotel, but was unaware that is was made famous by this movie).

While waiting for the hotel restaurant to open that evening he walks into the hotel's museum and notices a picture of a stunning woman hanging on the wall.  He is drawn to this picture and begins to do research on her.  To make a long story short, he hypnotizes himself to travel back in time to 1912 to meet her.

Elsie McKenna is played by Jane Seymour, and she is a famous stage actress that is int he Grand Hotel to perform a roll.  McKenna and Collier find each other and a love story begins...I am sure that you have seen this movie, but this is the first time I have seen this, and I enjoyed it completely.  The soundtrack is wonderful, the acting is mediocre, but the story is strikingly romantic.  I will watch this movie again if given the chance. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Living Daylights (1987)

James Bond is tapped to help an assassin escape from Russia and you guessed it, she is beautiful.  I am not sure why I am trying to watch all of the James Bond movies, but I feel that I must as a man.  I can't wait to get to the more modern movies to see if they improve as time goes on.  1.5 stars.

The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)

This is the second time that Roger Moore makes his appearance as James Bond in the ninth film of the series.  This time around he is not after a cold war villain but a ruthless killer who hunts victims for sport.  M16 receives a bullet in the mail with 007 imprinted on the side and they decide to take Bond out of the field until this killer is capture.  This does not deter Bond from going out and hunting this guy down himself.  UUHHGGG just rehashing the plot of this movie makes me want to vomit.  LAME and not worth of the Bond franchise.  Christopher Lee was the villain, but still not worth the watch.

The Notorious Landlady - 1962

Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak, and Fred Astaire... what's not to like? Well actually everything. Not even one star. 1/2 star just because I can't give Jack anything less. What a mess of a movie. Nothing ties together, horrible directing, horrible acting, what a joke.

Mission Impossible IV - Ghost Protocol

I liked number 3 better. 3 stars for this one. It was entertaining just not great.

Clue - 1985

I watched this with my wife- she had never seen it. I watched it about 15 times as a kid because it was one of the only VHS tapes that was at my friends house and I slept over at his house many times as a kid. I always thought the movie was based off the board game CLUE- but my wife said the movie was very similar to "And then there were none" written by Agatha Christie.

Battleship (2012)

Really?!!?  Why?!?  This movie was a rehash of Independence Day, but a lot dumber.  The movie begins with Hopper being a bum, with a deadend life ahead of him.  His brother forces him to join the Navy to straighten out his life, and to give himself a future.  So far the movie is harmless.  However, we have been sending signals to an alien planet in an effort to communicate with them, and they are angry.  One day while the world Naval powers have gathered in Pearl Harbor to practice tactics these aliens arrive to destroy us.  The bum turned Naval Officer is now in charge and saves the world.  LAME...the only thing I found amusing was the bullits that the aliens were shooting looked like the game pieces from Battleship.  1 star, a must miss.

I Want to Live - 1958

Finally made it to this Susan Hayward gem- where she took home an Oscar. I was expecting a lot more drama based on the reviews I read. I huge let down for me- 1.5 stars. Simon Oakland did a good job in this movie based on a true story.

Random Harvest - 1942

My neighbor loves classic movies, so we got talking and she told me this was her favorite movie. So of course I had to try it out. It was okay- 3 stars for me. What really impressed me was actress Susan Peters and Greer Garson. I was familiar with Garson but not Peters. I went to IMDB to read about Peters and what I found was a very sad story which I will let you read. Very sad.

The Honeymoon Machine (1961)

The other night I was trying to find a film that my older boys and I could watch together.  We found this one On Demand and decided to give it a whirl.  Steve McQueen plays a naval lieutenant Fergusen 'Fergie' Howard during peace time.  While anchored in a Ventitan bay he decides to go a shore and rig some roulette games at the local casino using an on board computer from the ship.  Fergie wrangles a couple of buddies to go in on it with him.  They study the roulette wheel for hours tracking the numbers the ball is landing on, and then they relay those numbers back to the ships computer via Morris code with a blinker.  A short time later the ship signals back the results for the winning numbers for the wheel. 

Unbeknown st to the Lieutenant and his friends the Admiral was monitoring the ship as the answers came back to the shore, and he thought it was an inside job for a Russian attack.  The madness goes on from there.  I would not say that this is an Oscar winning movie, but it was a fun hour and a half; probably only 2 stars, but it was painless.

Cry Danger - 1951

Just a dumb noir film that I watched last night. 1.5 stars. Not worthy of a post.

Mission Impossible 3 - 2006

Just saw this for the first time. It was okay. Didn't like the girl playing opposite Tom C. I did like the plot and I loved P. Seymour Hoffman as the bad guy.

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin and Anne Francis all star in this interesting film. Spencer Tracy shows up one day in a one horse town that is hiding a horible secret. There is really only one way to get in to this town and that is by the train. The train has not stopped in this town for over four years, until Tracy steps off in this town. I will try not to give too much of the storyline away, but eventually Tracy gets to the bottom of the secret. This was an enjoyable film to watch in an afternoon. 3 stars out of 5, worth a watch.

When the Eight Bells Toll - 1971

I came across this British film on NF and gave it a whirl. Boy am I glad for that decision. A young Anthony Hopkins plays a very confident British secret agent and royal navy officer named Philip Calvert. Calvert knows he is good and pulls off a quiet arrogance equal to 007 himself. He takes no prisoners and he doesn't care is his approach is non-conformant. He doesn't respect his superiors and actually mocks them when sometimes they don't even realize that he is being so brash. After being beat up by a thug Calvert returns to the boat all covered in blood and mud and his secret agent partner says to him "What happened to you?" His response allows us to see an inside look to his egoistic sense of humor "I met a wild gypsy girl in the heather." I absolutely loved Hopkins and veteran British actor Robert Morley in this movie. They ham and egg it back and forth, neither one wasting a line in an effort to help build the character and to show us how different they are even though they both work for the queen. Calvert's one liners are just hilarious. Morley's character is just hilarious- always focused on food and comforting himself. The movie plot is simple- "Calvert must figure out how millions in gold bullion are being pirated. The obvious suspect is a tycoon whose yacht hosts a succession of questionable characters. All hell breaks loose when the yacht's hostess aids the investigation” I am not the only one that likes this movie- the reviews are fantastic. I like how Hopkins plays this role and quit honestly I don't know why he wasn't given a chance to play 007 in the 1970's- he could have done a much better job than Connery did. Hopkins arrogance is brilliant. 4.5 stars for me and a strong recommendation. I watched it with the captions on to catch all the British humor which is so deadpan at times I was missing it.

Red Dawn- 1985

When I heard a remake was coming out I had to rewatch the old one- haven't seen it in about 15 years. I was laughing out loud each time one of the 17 year old high school kids shot a missle or rocket launcher and the target (usually a jeep) that was a mile away would still be hit dead on. I like this movie and it was made at a great time in the 80's and I remember the movie offending a lot of people. It makes me appreciate my freedom. 2.5 stars for me. Lots of actors we know in this one- Thompson, Grey, Sheen, and Swayze.

Dear Murderer - 1947

A fun British film that I found on Instant NF. 3 stars. I love murder mytery movies. I think you would like this one. "When successful business man Lee Warren suspects his wife is having an affair, he sets out find her lover, kill him, and make it look like suicide. Complications set in, when he finds out she has another lover as well, so Lee has to change his plans". What the tagline doesn't tell you is Lee Warren (played by Eric Portman) is a great actor- I love how he delivers his line and his character is so smooth as he pulls off "the perfect murder" or so he thinks.

Sleep, My Love - 1948

Anyone who is married or who ever has been married knows that marriage is a series of ups and downs. For Richard Courtland - marriage is pure boredom. The faster he can get rid of his wife and live out the rest of his years with a younger version of a companion in a bombshell named Daphne- the better for him. Courtland is played by Don Ameche (people our age recognize him in his older years a good actor in Cocoon and Harry and the Hendersens). He is manipulative and will stop at nothing to take over his wife's money- which he will inherit after her death. He married into money and wants it for himself. Courtland schemes with his mistress and a couple of other people and comes up with a plan to torment his wife and eventually figure out a way to kill her without the police finding out. They poison her each night by adding hallucinations to her hot cholcolate. After she is in a deep sleep they make her think she is going crazy- without giving too much away basically they make her think she is going crazy but she really isn't. Robert Cummings plays the part of Bruce Elcott- a man trying to help the innocent Mrs. Courtland- who is played by Claudette Colbert, a famous actress of her day. The police detective is non other than Raymond Burr- funny. A fun movie but nothing spectacular. 2.5 stars.

The Wave

How far is too far when it comes to a good ides? How far is too far when it comes to educating our youth? Some teachers will go to great lengths to enlighten the minds of their students, to help them understand how dangerous, or even marvelous something can be. This film will represent these phenomenons with a high school teacher and his class, when he tries to teach them the dangers of fascism. When I was done watching this movie I could do nothing but just sit and think about what I just witnessed and how simple it was to accomplish. This is a German film with English subtitles, but it well worth the time. It is a very heavy PG-13 or even R, but I enjoyed how it made me stop and think about the power of influence.

the man who never was

My kids and I liked this one. Montgomery Clift was brilliant. The story is great- it is a fun film to watch and it hooks you in, not because of action just because the story is real and you want to know how the Brits pull it off. 3 stars

Sabrina (1954)

The Larrabee family is a family of wealth and pleasure. They have made their fortunes manufacturing goods, but it is the second generation that is running the firm now. The older brother, Linus (Bogart) is the chairman of the company and will look for any opportunity to gain more control and power in any industry. His younger brother, David (Holden) is a playboy and is used as a pawn by Linus to create a new merger in their company with a plastics firm. Growing up on the property, Sabrina (Hepburn) watched David's every move and she was completely infatuated with him. However, she is just a shadow on the wall to them. When she comes of age she travels over to Paris to study in one of the world's best culinary schools. Two years later she returns home as a more sophisticated woman. Sadly, David is now engaged to a new woman (the daughter of the plastic company's owner)and Sabrina is left int he dust. David begins to notice Sabrina and falls in love with her. Not wanting to see the deal fall through Linus begins to build wedges in their relationship, and in doing so he falls in love with Sabrina. I enjoyed watching this film, but was surprised to read afterwords that none of the three main actors could stand each other. Thinking back on the movie it was apparent because some of the chemistry felt forced. Even so, I enjoyed it. 3 1/2 stars.

What Did You Do In The War, Daddy? (1966)

When General Bolt (Carroll O’Connor) asks “by the book” Captain Lionel Cash (Dick Shawn what to do with a little town of Valerno Italy during WWII, Cash tells him to go by the book and capture the town.  With that answer Bolt gives Cash the command of War Weary Company C to lead the attack and take the city.  Begrudgingly, the company takes the task because Lieutenant Christian (James Coburn) is told by Cash that they must.

Upon arrive in the town they find a very willing army and town that wants to surrender, the only problem is that they do not want to surrender until after their towns wine festival that night.  Let the fun begin.  Christian wires back to command that they have run into a little resistance, just to allow for the town to have their party.  Little did he know that command was going to send in Major Pott (Harry Morgan) to oversee the resistance.

This movie turns into a fun cat and mouse chase that involves three countries.  With this movie you will just have to sit back and enjoy.    It is family friendly for older children who can follow the plot line of ‘who is on first’.  I give this show four solid  enjoyment stars (There are no Oscar worthy performances in this one); it is worth it just to see Harry Morgan in such an incredibly funny roll.

The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961)

For the first time in several weeks I get a chance to sit down and watch a movie; unfortunately I selected this one for my viewing pleasure. Here is the story of a group of men in the latter part of WWII who are civilian pilots, that really have no purpose for the war effort. To there excitement and resentment they are shuffled into a corner of the US and left to do pretty much nothing for the duration. This "comedy" fell short for me and left me turning it off half way through the show. Dang!!

The Awful Truth - 1937

Wow I was so excited after reading about this movie, all the Oscar nominations, star studded cast, etc. What a flop as far as I am concerned. 2 stars. Don't waste your time.

One Eyed Jacks - 1961

Marlon Brando directed one movie during his life- and this is it. He was also the star of the show. I tried watching this Western on NF instant once but the quality was poor, so I ended up finding it at the library. The movie lasts 2 hours and 21 min. It's okay but nothing more than 2.5 stars. Marlon Brando and Karl Madden play bank robbers, and Brando spends the bulk of the movie seeking revenge on Madden who basically left Brando for dead and he ends up in a prison for 5 years before breaking out. It was Madden's fault that Brando ended up in the prison- and Brando seeks revenge in a venomous way- even more hatred than is shown in the Count of Monte Cristo. Ben Johnson gives a fantastic performance as does Pina Pellicer. I found out through IMDB that Pina committed suicide at the age of 30 - 5 years after this movie came out. Johnson is a fine actor and even earned an Oscar in 1971, although this was the first movie I had seen him in. I love watching Brando on the screen because he can say 100 words with just a grin. He is the master of camera close ups with no speaking- it really helps you read his character. This movie is for Brando fans and don't expect a great film, just an okay one.

Cover Girl - 1944

If you like musicals and dancing - particularly performed by two of the best to ever attempt both talents -then this buds for you. Stealing from IMDB.....Rusty Parker, a red-headed leggy dancer at Danny McGuire's Night Club in Brooklyn, wants to be a successful Broadway star. She enters a contest to be a 'Cover Girl' as a stepping-stone in her career. She reminds the publisher, John Coudair, of his lost love, showgirl Maribelle Hicks. He was engaged to Maribelle, although his wealthy society mother made fun of her. Maribelle left John at the altar when she saw the piano at her wedding. It reminded her of the piano-player she truly loved. Rusty is Maribelle's granddaughter and there are musical sequences with Maribelle dancing to songs from the beginning of the 20th century. Rusty lands on the cover of her grandmother's former fiancé's magazine (as a bride). She is pursued by Coudair's pal, the wealthy theatrical producer, Noel Wheaton. He produces a lavish musical to star Rusty, surrounded by real cover girls of the mid 1940's... Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly are simply magnificent. This show earned 5 Oscar nominations and took home 1. The color was tremendous for a show in the 40's. I thought by the look of the DVD it would be a trashy show- far from it. Columbia films spared no expense on this one. The costumes and props were incredible. I loved the songs especially the one I am posting here “Long Ago and Far Away”. It is obvious Hayworth is lip singing. The other songs have some great choreography especially the other one I posted “Put me to the Test”. What a great dancer Kelly was. 4.5 stars for me.

Sweet Smell of Success - 1959

A superhero has their power, a villain has their motive, but Burt Lancaster has something that is more desirable than all of the above- the ability to deliver lines like I have never seen before, or will ever see in the future. Roger Ebert included this movie in his book "The Great Movies". Just like Days of Heaven, Ebert was right on the nail. Incredible. It is on my top 100 list. In fact, Burt Lancaster's performance should be in the top 50 characters of all time. Lancaster plays J.J. Hunsaker- a man so in love with himself that his love for others is nothing more than a manipulative controlling friendship which is pulled off so smoothly that even J.J. doesn't realize just how evil he is. His success is dependent on the slease that is underneath him- and their ability to pull off unethical jobs which J.J. gives the green light on. Tony Curtis turns in a great performance as Sidney Falco- a press agent with as much integrity and morals as a jar of peanut butter. His soul is twisted like a pretzel. When J.J. asks him to do something against the law- his response is without hesitation "the cats in the bag and the bag is in the river". J.J. who is more corrupt than a mobster, realizes how slimy Falco really is and says to him "“I’d hate to take a bite out of you. You’re a cookie full of arsenic”. Sidney is in a dog eat dog world and wants to make it to the top- and he will do anything to get there. The movie is much more than one liners- it is the cinematography of a sleasy new york that put the show on the Oscar map. Some of the scenes are just incredible. Susan Harrison plays J.J's. sister. Here is some weird trivia- Susan's daughter in real life is none other than Darva Conger- the bimbo who married the millionaire Rick Rockwell on the TV show "who wants to marry a millionaire" that aired about 12 years ago. Back to the show- this one is one of Ebert's top shows for a reason- it is unique, the dialogue is intriging and the acting is top shelf. Well done. Next up for me is a Cary Grant movie nominated for 5 Oscars - The Awful Truth.

Human Desire - 1954

Glen Ford plays Jeff Warren in this Film Noir Classic. Warren has just returned home from the Korean War. He wants nothing more than to get back to what he loves- working as an engineer driving trains and being at the railroad. The movie in itself is really for train lovers as a lot of the scenes take place at the train yard or on the trains themselves. Gloria Grahame plays Vicki Buckley. She is married to an acholohic and wife beater- played by none other than Broderick Crawford (who is incredible in the movie All The Kings Men as the lead). This movie is about manipulation at it's highest form. Playing off of human emotions to get what you want out of life. Warren thinks he has fallen in love with a beautiful women (Vicki) who needs to be treated fair. It takes Warren until the end of the movie to realize that Vicki was playing him to get what she wanted, just like Mr. Buckley played his wife Vicki to get what he wanted. 3 stars for this one- slow at times but I really liked the message that came from this one.

Never So Few - 1959

What do you get when you mix Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Dean Jones with the most beautiful woman in the world (Gina Lollobrigida). The answer is a really bad movie - 1 star. Not sure why reviews say she is the prettiest girl ever, but anyway this movie was a bust. I only have 3 movies left and I will have seen all of McQueen's. This movie is about WW2 and everything about it didn't work for me.

Odds Against Tomorrow - 1959

I love heist movies - especially noir B movies which are heist movies. The action is in the last 15 min of the movie, but I loved how the director takes the time to build up the characters. By the time of the heist you know why each of the 3 men feel that they have to rob the bank, their lives are in shambles for different reasons. There are some recognizable actors in this show- Gloria Grahme, Ed Begley, Harry Belafonte, Shelley Winters, and even Wayne Rogers (from MASH). 3 stars for me. I like movies like this one. Regular people trying to pull off a heist.

Leave Her To Heaven - 1946

I added this gem because it had Gene Tierney in it and it was nominated for 4 Oscars. About 20 min in I thought- wow what a boring movie but my goodness the cinematography is outstanding, and not only was it a 1946 movie in color- it was the colors they used, and the backdrops of the trees in Maine, and lakes, oh my goodness it was incredible. Then after the movie I start reading about the show and realize the 1 Oscar that came out of this movie was the Cinematography! Hollywood got that one right. Luckily the movie got a lot better and ended up being a solid 4 stars for me. Some thrillers are gorey, others graphic, creepy, etc. This one is just plain eerie. It stays with you, sort of like a Hitchcock. Great music. Incredible acting by Tierney, and just leaves you feelig icky. As one tag line reads- Of all the deadly sins jealousy is the worst. I do recommend this movie. The scene of Teirney out on the lake with her husband Richard Harland's brother is one for the ages. Well done. Bravo.

The Artist (2011)

This has all of the magic of a silent film from the golden age of movies, combined with the cinematography of today. In the old movies there were long shots of the artists faces, now they focus on crowd reactions and interactions. This is a combination of Singing in the Rain meets Sunset Blvd, so for me it was darn near flawless. I am going to give this movie a solid five stars. I watched this with my kids and they all enjoyed it; it is rated R because someone flipped the bird, and for a attempted suicide scene with a gun that is played out funny but took some explaining to the kids. What these actors do with their faces and bodies to tell the story is beautiful and well worth your time. During a year when there were several sequels and remakes this was a refreshing movie to watch.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

When I was 14 years old I went and stayed with my aunt and uncle during the summer at Ricks College for about 10 days. They were dorm parents and the dorm they were over was empty. My brother and I had the entire quad to ourselves. We spent our mornings watching movies in the dorm lounge. My uncle introduced us to the Pink Panther series and we watched all the movies several times. This was my introduction to Peter Sellers. I have had this movie on my queue for over a year. 5 stars. I had to watch the show with the captions on to catch every work of Sellers. The man is so funny. I love the characters. I loved the war room. I wish the movie would have lasted longer. My favorite part was when Peter Sellers (he plays three roles) is playing Dr. Strangelove and he is fighting his right hand, which for an unexplained reason can't stop doing the "hail hitler" sign. A retired German scientist, Strangelove steals the show with his accent and demeanor. I was equally impressed with Sterling Hayden and George Scott's performances. It was also fun to watch a very young James Earl Jones. Watching the "making of the movie" on the DVD was very helpful. I didn't realize that Stanley Kubrick wanted this movie to be serious and then ended up moving it to a comedic satire. Given the year this was released and all that was going on in the world- it was a HUGE risk but it paid off.

A Double Life - 1947

I have noticed something over the past few years as I have watched a lot of movies from the 19400's, 50's and 60's. Hollywood likes to hand out the accolades for actors and actresses who can pull off something very difficult on screen- playing characters which have 2 or more personalities. The Three Faces of Even, Treasure of the Sierre Madre, and this film A Double Life are great examples. Ronald Colman's performance as Tony John in this show gave him an Oscar, the film was also nominated in 4 other categories but did not win any other Oscars. Tony is an aging actor who is in love with his ex-wife, as she is in love with him. A chance comes to play the lead in Shakespeare's "Othello". Tony is hesitant because he knows he has a hard time keeping his personal life separate from his stage life during productions like this. After running the show 300 times Tony loses a sense of reality. He starts acting out scenes from the show during his real life. The show is 1.5 stars for me. Yes Ronald Colman is great but I just didn't think the movie was that great.

dont give up

Millie- I am not sure if that is how to spell your name- don't let Adam talk you out of watching white collar. I never watch TV but my wife convinced me to try white collar and I am totally hooked after finishing the first 3 seasons. Clean show. Tons of fun and humor. Stay focused and you will be thankful you stuck with it.

Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Little Joe Jackson (Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson) is a compulsive gambler, and all around no good husband, who gets killed during a bad gambling transaction. As he laid dying on his death bed he receives a visit from Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram) who is there to collect Little Joe’s soul. Petunia (Ethel Waters) is a good Christian woman, and is a faithful wife to Little Joe. She knows deep down inside he is a good person. When she sees that he has died, she pleads to the heavens to let him live, and here is where the movie gets fun. An angel appears and begins to challenge Lucifer Jr. as to who gets the soul of Little Joe. Eventually they give him six more months to fix his life or he will be damned to hell. Throughout the remainder of the film you see the influences of the devil and the angel on his shoulder. This was a telling of the story Faust, but it was done by an all African-American cast, and it was set to music. Louise Armstrong plays a minion of Lucifer Jr. (sadly the version the library had was edited and did not have the cut with his big music scenes in it), Duke Ellington and his Orchestra played a role, Lena Horne, was a love interest/temptation for Little Joe, and many other prominent actors of that era. If you like southern gospel sound, jazz, and good/simple musical numbers this show is for you. I read up a little bit on this movie and MGM did recycle shots of the tornado from the Wizard of Oz in the making of this movie. This is a sit back and enjoy movie, it is not complicated and does not take a lot of effort to concentrate on. However, at the beginning of the movie there was this warning: “The films you are about to see are a product of their time. They may reflect some of the prejudices that were commonplace in American society, especially when it came to the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. These films are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. While the following certainly does not represent Warner Bros.’ opinion in today’s society, these images do accurately reflect a part of our history that cannot and should not be ignored.” 3 ½ for me.

The Electric Horseman

I realize that you have seen this movie, but I just wnated to let you know that I give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I liked it!!

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)

Throughout our lives we have many choices that we will make that will determine how our future will play out. Some of those decisions will lead to a tight family relationship; some will lead to prosperous professional careers, while others will lead you nowhere. I feel that the later choice was what was eating at Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp). The oldest brother of other siblings and an obese mother stuck in the tiny town of Endora. Not only was he stuck but he was committed to his younger brother Arnie (Leonard DeCaprio) who was mentally challenged. The film focuses on the comings and goings of this small town, but also around the family preparations for Arnie’s 18th birthday party. In the week leading up to Arnie’s birthday, we get an intimate glance into Gilbert’s relationships with those around him. You have probably seen this movie so I will end my synopsis of the movie there. However, I would like to express how much this movie has changed me as a person…let me back up a little bit, this movie has reminded me of how I should be as a person, and the change took place in my life in the autumn of 1999. I was living in a tiny town called Burney in Northern California, this town was very much like Endora, and the people of that town were a picture perfect portrayal in the movie. They were comfortable with their surroundings, and felt that anything that was outside of the norm was a free for all freak show. Racism, poverty, pomposity, and judging were normal behaviors for these people and they did not even try to hide these attributes. In fact, the Elder I was serving with told me that this town reminded him of the town in Gilbert Grape; at the time I did not understand his reference but I sure do now. We as members of the human race should be looking out for those around us and not just ourselves. Every character in this film needed help in one way or another, but the forgiving hearts we not to be found anywhere…man I have gone off of the deep end on this one… I felt that each performance in this film was deserving of recognition. I think that Leonardo DeCaprio should have received an Oscar for his performance! Five Stars for me on this one.

Pickup on South Street - 1953

IThis one took me 3 nights to finish and it was only 90 min long- but that was because I was at the baseball fields for my sons playoff games each night. I need to take a break from film noir. Ebert talked this thing up like it was casablanca or something. To me it was another 2 star film noir movie. I have see so many film noir movie over the past couple of years that they are all running together in my mind- the plots seem the same, the actors seem the same, blah blah. Time for a new genra for awhile.

The Talk of the Town - 1942

What a fun show with great characters, great actors, great scripts. This one was nominated for 7 Oscars. I loved Jean Arthur in Mr. Smith goes to Washington, and she was just as good in this one. Cary Grant does his thing and is fun to watch. What I wasn't expecting is the refined and almost perfect performance put in my Ronald Coleman - who plays the professor. He was so good that I have added one of his other movies to my queue. I can't find a trailer for this movie on youtube. Nothing crazy- a simple story to follow yet the director weaves a bunch of different storylines together with small bit parts that actually makes the film work even better than just having the 3 main characters dominate the screen. 3.5 stars for me. A little slow at times or I would have given it 4 stars. I liked this movie. Just a lot of fun and laughs. The main message of the story is great too.

Forks over Knives - 2011

This is a food documentary that I watched last night while doing my ironing. Some physicians I work with have told me about the book "the china study", and this documentary talks a lot about that study - which went on for 10 years. The premis for the film is basically this- if you eat a plant based diet and eliminate meat and dairy products- you will signficantly reduce your chances of forming cancer, and even overcome cancer in some cases. If you eat a diet based on meat, eggs and dairy- you may end end up with high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc. I liked the show. I stoped eating red meat and pork 2 years ago. I still eat chicken, turkey and seafood. This movie didn't convince me enough to give that up- along with dairy. Maybe I like that stuff too much. I can say this- I do not miss eating red meat or pork at all. I don't even crave it. The movie also talks about how bad sugar and caffeine is for us. No suprise here. I am happy to say I have never had an energy drink (red bull, etc.) and I don't ever plan on having one. I would have a really hard time cutting out sugar but I can say I rarely drink pop or juices.

The Night of the Hunter - 1955

Another movie I watched because it was in several top 100 movie lists. This movie reminds me of a scab, a mosquito bite, or a hangnail. During the movie I didn't really appreciate the film. After the movie as I had a few days to think about it, it just couldn't leave me. I reflected back on the still shots, the shadows used by the director to portray Harry Powell, the music, etc. Overall yes I think this is a top 100 thrills movie- it leaves you feeling creepy, and is creepy throughout the entire show. I give it 3 stars. Very different than any other movie I have ever seen, way move creepy than Cape Fear. Robert Mitchum plays Harry Powell. A wolf in sheep's clothing if there ever was one. His facade is as a preacher. His occupation is to marry women, and then kill them after taking them for everything they have. The movie starts right after he finishes off wife #6 or #12 - he can't remember. Powell is sent to prison for stealing a car and there he meets Ben Harper (played by none other than Peter Graves from mission impossible TV series). He learns that Harper has hid away $10,000. After Harper is executed and Powell is released from prison, he sets off to marry Harpers widow (Willa Harper)- played by none other than Shelly Winters. Winters was an absolute star in her age, and she shows off some of that prowess in her role by completely doing a 180 with her character- as soon as she marries Powell her personality changes. I think the best actor in the entire movie is the son of the late Ben Harper- John Harper played by a kid named Billy Chapin. IMDB has nothing on him. The scene of Shelley Winters dead body is probably one of the all time greatest shots in film history. As I have read about this movie I have learned that many acting and film schools require students to watch this movie. It is something else. The honeymoon scene of Harry Powell and Willa Harper was just downright incredible- not in a bad nudity way- this is a PG movie- I mean I was just so impressed with the dialogue on the honeymoon and how the actors handled themselves. It really showed you just how sick inside Powell was.

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

There are times in our lives that we cherish and look fondly upon. For me personally it was the formative years of fourteen through sixteen when I had a close nit group of friends. We were not only friends; we were lovers of one another company and presence. At times we could just sit together and not say a word and feel of the love that we all shared for one another. As a group we would have done anything that was asked of us by any one of the others. Recently, I have ventured back to the schools that these friendships flourished at, and many things have changed in these buildings. Yet, when I walked by our “area” I could still hear, see, smell, and sense some of those moments that I cherish so much. As I watched Cinema Paradiso I thought about those friends, not because we had anywhere near the same experiences, but because it shared in the same passion. Salvatore returns home late one evening and he is told that he received a call from his mother. She told him that Alfredo had died; so here is where we begin to see the story through the memory of the old Salvatore. These memories begin when Toto (his nickname) is a young altar boy in Giancaldo, Sicily, who is a little scamp. The Father that he helps is the Father for this village and has taken it upon himself to censor the movies that are shown. He screens them alone, and rings a hand bell when there is kissing or intimacy on the screen. It is then Alfredo the projectionist’s job to edit the films for the townspeople. Toto, in the beginning, bothers Alfredo but over time they become very close friends. Alfredo shows Toto how to be a projectionist. One evening, during a very beautiful section of the movie, the projector catches on fire and young Toto has to save Alfredo from the flames. The theater is destroyed, Alfredo is now blind, and the town has no form of entertainment. An enterprising gentleman rebuilds the theater with all new amenities, and makes Toto the projectionist. For some reason the films are no longer censored, and the towns sexual urges become more prevalent on our screen (they are more open about sexuality and human responses to such in European films). To make a long story short, there is a budding romance with Toto and a local girl that goes nowhere, Toto serves his time in the military, grows anxious and wants to leave the village. Alfredo tells him as he is leaving that he should leave and never return, visit, write, or think about this town again. They have such a strong bond that Toto does exactly that. Flash back now to the present; Alfredo has died and has left a wonderful gift for Salvatore—a spliced together movie of all of the censored parts of the movies. This movie had a message of passionate friendships and loyalty to those friends, but frankly for me it was lost in the art of the movie. The filmmakers could not decide if they wanted to be artsy or message driven and somehow got lost along the way. This is on many top 100 foreign film list; in fact it is number 27 on the Empire magazines list for 2010. I grew bored with the movie, two hours was far too long, and the only reason I am giving it 3 stars is because it has conjured up such happy memories in my life that had nothing to do with the story itself.

The Lady Eve - 1941

I remember you asking me if I had seen this movie, but I never knew if you watched it or not. I added this to my list to see because it was in one of those top 100 lists. I won't give you an explanation becuase I think you have seen this one. It is well worth your time if you haven't. 3.5 stars.

On The Town - 1949

I just had to watch this musical becuase it had Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Ann Miller starring in it. 3 sailors take port in NY NY for a 24 leave. The music is okay, as well as the dancing. The story is quite boring. 1.5 stars for me. It was fun to see a younger Kelly and Sinatra. My wife thought it was really cheesy and corny, and I agree.

Alice's Resturant (1969)

I am not even sure where to begin with this review.  This is a movie that it based on a “song” written in 1967, which is based on actual events the happened in 1965 with Arlo Guthrie (the son of Woody Guthrie, he wrote This Land if Your Land).  This movie ultimately winds down to the fact that this young man did not want to serve in the Vietnam War, but it is told in such a roundabout way that the message is almost lost in the story.

Arlo is a young man who is wandering around the country running into a very eclectic group of friends and associates along the way.  Eventually he runs into his friends Ray and Alice, who own a church.  They have turned this church into a halfway house for “lost” kids of the generation.  Well, Arlo thought it would be nice one Thanksgiving day to clean up their church and haul garbage to the local dumps.  The dump was closed on Thanksgiving so they decided to just dump the junk off the side of the road.  In short time they get arrested, convicted, and branded a nuisance.  Coincidentally, this saved him from being eligible from serving in the war.  Arlo plays himself, even Obie the police officer plays himself, because he didn't want another actor acting like him as a dumb officer.

This show is a train wreck, but I could not look away, and I think I fell in love with the show.  It was a show that shaped and defined a whole hippie generation, much like the documentary Woodstock.  Netflix claims that this show is PG, but there is nudity, situations, and drug use.  This should be rated R, but if the nudity was removed it could easily be a PG-13 show.  If you are not interested in watching the show, you should at least go on to youtube and search for Arlo Guthrie performing Alice’s Resturant, it ranges from 18 to 45 minutes long; I have posted the 18 minute song and that should be enough.

I am ashamed to claim that I like this movie, but frankly I do.  That even hurts me to write that; honestly it is only a 1-2 star movie but I cannot get it out of my system…go figure, maybe it was the music that had me hooked.

Limitless - 2011

a co-worker told me I just had to see this movie. It was okay, nothing incredible. I thought Bradley Cooper did a good job. 2 stars.

Bus Stop - 1956

Just plain awful. Supposed to be a comedy. Really never got going, and just was plain bad. Not even 1 star. It wasn't MM's fault. She actually did a good job with her role, her accent as a hillybilly idiot from the Ozarks, etc. This movie was based on a stage play and they did a pitiful job surrounding MM with characters. I have one more MM movie and I am done with her shows. The one I still want to see is the Misfits.

Days of Heaven - 1978

It took 3 tries after reading Roger Ebert's book, but I finally hit the gold mine. Not only did this make it on my top 100 list, it actually feels like a perfect movie to me. I wouldn't change one thing. Richard Gere plays Bill- a dirt poor, hot tempered, uneducated blue collar worker. Brooke Adams plays Abby, Bill's girlfriend. After accidentally killing a co-worker at a steel mill factory in Chicago, Bill takes his girlfriend and little sister with him across the country to find any kind of grunt work they can get their hands on. They end up in a wheat field in Texas. In order to protect Abby, Bill pretends it is his sister not his lover. Her pretty looks cannot be hidden under her migrant worker facade, the rich farmer sees her beauty and decides she will be his. This movie is poetry in motion. The movie has about 10% of the dialogue you would get from a regular show. It almost feels like a silent movie- there are long stretches where no one is speaking. The director uses stunning scenery and a monotone voice of a 12 year old narrator to tell this amazing story of love, greed, poverty, sickness, jealousy, social class differences, murder, con artistry, etc. Everything flows smoothly. The shots of the farmer fields, trains, airplanes, etc. are just breathtaking. The symbolism in this movie is what every director longs for but few ever achieve. The burning of the wheat fields is symbolic of Abby starting a new life. The farmer who falls in love with Abby (Sam Shepherd) overcomes a life threatening illness because of love, but in the end is still sick inside because it really wasn't true love. This movie has so much to offer to the audience. 5 solid stars and it was never in question. Good call Ebert.

The Big Heat - 1953

this is my second straight movie that I watched as a result of reading Ebert's book - The Great Movies. I do see why this is on his top whatever list, but it won't make it on mine. Ebert tends to rate movies high if they are groundbreaking, the first movie to address a certain issue, a certain topic, etc. This movie is one of the first crime mystery movies that did really well in the box office. Glenn Ford plays a no nonsense police homicide detective named Seragant Bannion. His wife in the show is Marlon Brando's sister in real life, which was an interesting fact- and she was a good actress in the movie. You will recognize a few faces in the movie (Lee Marvin). the script is great. For 1953 there are quite a few killings and maybe that is why Ebert liked it- it set the precendance for what a movie can be. In the end it is a 3 star noir movie for me. Check out the trailer and see if it interests you before putting it on your queue.

Room Service (1938)

My wife and I saw this FUNNY play down at the Shakespearean Festival and even to this day we make reference to it and laugh.  I always knew that the Marx Brothers made this show into a film, and had always wanted to see it, so when I saw it at the library I checked it out.  I had no idea that Lucille Ball was in it.

Gordon Miller (Goucho Marx) is the producer for an upcoming show, but does not have a financial backer yet.  In the meantime he is mooching off of his brother in law and living in his hotel with all of the actors of the show as well.  The writer of the show arrives to stay with them, the regional manager of the hotel arrives, the rest of the Marx Brothers arrive, Lucille Ball arrives, and many more arrive.  This show is all about people coming and going, and lies being built upon lies.

Even now I am laughing at the show, but it is the stage play and not this movie.  It felt like the Marx Brothers were playing straight while trying to be funny, the same with Lucille.  5 stars for the play, 1 star for the movie.  I am very sad.

Strangers on a Train (1951)

I am going to borrow my synopsis from IMDb...

"Bruno Anthony thinks he has the perfect plot to rid himself of his hated father and when he meets tennis player Guy Haines on a train, he thinks he's found the partner he needs to pull it off. His plan is relatively simple. Two strangers each agree to kill someone the other person wants disposed of. For example, Guy could kill his father and he could get rid of Guy's wife Miriam, freeing him to marry Anne Morton, the beautiful daughter of a U.S. Senator. Guy dismisses it all out of hand but but Bruno goes ahead with his half of the 'bargain' and disposes of Miriam. When Guy balks, Bruno makes it quite clear that he will plant evidence to implicate Guy in her murder if he doesn't get rid of his father. Guy had also made some unfortunate statements about Miriam after she had refused him a divorce. It all leads the police to believe Guy is responsible for the murder, forcing him to deal with Bruno's mad ravings.Written by garykmcd "

I have one word for this movie...predictable...2 stars. 

The Avengers (2012)

Together we have watched many movies where the producers have brought together very strong personalities because they felt that these independent actors would be able to create a positive chemistry for the film.  We can attest to the fact that this has not always worked well.  The producers for The Avengers apparently felt that they could bring together these very well established actors to make a good movie, but frankly I was skeptical.  I have enjoyed all of the pre-"Avenger" films to one level or another, but I wasn't holding out that they could bring the magic together in one movie.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is the brother of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and has come to earth to claim his rightful spot as the ruler over Thor and his protected people.  Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) is head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is tracking the destruction of Loki, and decides that they need to bring the "Avengers" together.  We see the gathering of all the players, which takes a long time to do, but it helps build the relationships and needed chemistry between each of them.  Soon enough though they begin to fight Loki and his minions.  It is here in the film that I finally relaxed because the chemistry between the actors was perfect.  They all got their screen time and lines; I was afraid that Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) was going to have to carry this movie, but they gave the rightful place to Captain America (Chris Evans) as the real leader of the Avengers.

The writing was perfect, there was the right amount of comedy throughout the film.  I give this movie a very solid 5 stars, it is well worth the time.  Stay all the way through the credits.  I took my two oldest boys 10 and 8 and they enjoyed it.

The Third Man - 1949

I agree with you on this one. Just okay for me. 2.5 stars. Loved the camera work with the lighting, angles, shadows and everything but the story just wasn't that exciting to follow. I like movies that keep me guessing.

The Man with the Golden Arm - 1955

I suppose every human being will struggle with some type of addiction in their mortal lives. The flesh is weak. But not all addictions are like a heroin addiction, at least that is what this movie portrays to the viewer. Sinatra plays Frankie Machine. A good guy who got mixed up with the wrong kind of drug. The movie starts out with Frankie on top of the world. He is out of rehab and ready to start a clean life. He wants to be a musician, a drummer. He wants to leave behind his legacy of dealing cards and doing drugs. Frankie goes against the advice from his doctor, and decides to return to his old stomping grounds. It doesn't take long for Frankie to take his first heroin hit, start working as a dishonest card dealer for a shark named Louise (played fantasticly by Darren McGavin (who you will recognize from The Christmas Story, The Natural and Billy Madison). Frankie is torn between an old life with his wife Zosch Machine (played by the same actress who plays the cold hearted baroness in Sound of Music) and his girlfriend Molly (played by Kim Novak). Believe it or not in this movie his girlfriends is actually the better influence for Frankie. Zosch is a liar and manipulates Frankie. I love how the director (Otto Preminger) portrays Frankie. It really is creepy how much the drug controls him. I did not like how bad the copy of the film was, hard to see images and hard to hear the voices talking. This would be a great movie to do a remake off. 3 stars for me. If the sound was better as well as the picture quality I would give this 4 stars and make my kids watch this show.

Bringing Up Baby - 1938

I watched this movie with my entire family as a recommendation from the author of the book you told me about - classic movies for families. we all liked it. 4 stars. Hepburn and Grant were great together.

Compulsion - 1959

This movie is based on a true story of the Leopold-Loeb murder trial that took place in America in the early 20th century. Money, privilege, esteemed background and superior intellect create human beings that feel like they are Gods in a sense. Two young law students in Boston become very disturbing individuals. They begin to feel they are too smart for society. They can do whatever they want and get away with it. Including Murder. Great performances by the two students - Dean Stockwell and Brandon Dillman. Dean may look familiar to you if you ever watched the TV show Quantum Leap. But despite their performances they were no match for a veteran Orson Welles. Welles even gave them a head start. The film lasts 103 minutes. Welles decides to show up for the first time with 25 minutes to go in the show, and he steals everything. Welles is absolutely incredible as veteran homicide attorney Jonathan Wilk. He doesn't need to persuade a jury, he can persuade the judge and the prosecution. The last 10 minutes of the film the camera is on Welles 100% of the time. No other actor could have done what he did in this movie. When you turn it off you realize he was the entire movie - yet only entered in the third act. I had to watch his closing monologue twice just to really think about what he was saying. A 5 star performance for Welles. I love how he tied religion into his closing remarks to the judge. It really tied the movie together. Two things were missing for this pleasant flick to get 5 stars from me and on my top 100 list. So it will sit with 4 stars. 1. I wanted to see how the boys performed the murder- it never showed it. I realize this is 1959 and Hollywood was different, but we need to see the boys faces when they committed the murder, otherwise the viewers don't really know if they were insane or not. Were they nervous, confident, or crazy? I needed to see that to understand what their emotional state was. 2. Orson Welles should have entered the movie earlier. He is so gifted and so talented that if he has the right script and the right role, he is the best in the business. This one fit him perfectly. They could have brought him in earlier in my opinion.

You Were Never Lovelier - 1942

A fun Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth film. Simple script. Excellent dancing. 2.5 stars. Not much to see unless you want to watch 4 great dances with a group duo of Hayworth and Astaire.

Pal Joey - 1957

Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. Awesome.

The definition of Debonair is courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm: a debonair gentleman. Jaunty; carefree; sprightly. Or in other words - Frank Sinatra!

Yes he can sing, but man this guy is so smooth as an actor that I had to keep shave my scruffy face right before the show so that my face would match his performance.

Hayworth was 40 years old when she made this movie. It was apparent to me during this film that Hayworth really only had a 10-15 year window to be a beautiful star. She was an alcoholic and a chain smoker her entire adult life. By 40 she looked like she was 50. her face is weathered and worn out. I have read that the media really beat her up during the last 25 years of her life because of her drinking. When she died at age 67 she had been suffering from Alzheimer's for 25 years but it went undiagnosed for 15 years according to her family. By age 50 she couldn't remember one line and producers and directors refused to cast her in movies because she just couldn't remember a line even if someone fed it to her - same as Brando in his older years (like when he was 70 not 50 like Hayworth)!

Okay back to the movie. Sinatra play Joey - the slickest nightclub performer of the 1950's (my guess). IMDB states this movies as - Joey Evans is charming, handsome, funny, talented, and a first class, A-number-one heel. When Joey meets the former chorus girl ("She used to be 'Vera...with the Vanishing Veils'") and now rich widow Vera Simpson, the two lecherous souls seem made for each other. That is, until Linda English comes along. Linda is a "mouse on the chorus line" and built like there's no tomorrow. But she's the typical good little girl from a good little home -- just the right ingredient to louse up Joey's cushy set up.

Novak plays Linda English. Hayworth plays Vera Simpson. A night club performer who retires when she marries into money. Joey is able to win her over by treating her for what she truly is on the inside - a dame, rather than a rich woman.

3.5 stars because Sinatra is just fantastic in this one. I love all ths songs, it almost makes it feel like a musical, but there really is only 4 songs.

Gypsy - 1962

I sometimes don't know why I go on these stupid quests to see every single movie that an actor/actress ever made. I should be smart enough to realize that I will be running into some really bad movies. But.. I like doing it and have done so for Robert Redford (I have like 4 movies left), Steve McQueen, Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, Cary Grant (have gotten to 20 of his like 60 movies so far)and Natalie Wood.

This movie is #19 for me of Natalie Woods collection. Like the last 3 I have watched it is just simply a waste of time. 1 star, and it is a generous star.

Wood plays Louise Hovick. Louise is raised by an over the top mother who forces her two daughters into show business - and the reason for that is to offset the fact that she could not become the star that she wanted to earlier in her life.

Rosalind Russell plays the mother - Rose Hovick. If there is any sliver lining in this musical it is her performance. Karl Madden plays Herbie - the business manager and love interest to Rose.

Louise suddenly becomes her mothers only hope of fame when her sister June decides to leave her mothers lifestyle. That lifestyle is one of traveling around the Country looking for the next opportunity. For the Hovick's it never happens, until one day, just when it looks like June is going to give up after 25 years of pushing her kids into show business, almost by accident Louise is asked to perform a small role at a burlesque show. That is the break they needed. Louise goes from nothing to a star - a stripper that is.

The last 20 min of the movie are about Louise becoming Gypsy Rose Lee - the stripper. The movie then moves from a dumb G musical with lame songs and acting to an adult theme of Natalie Wood doing riskay strip routines. The movie is based off of a book written about the real life of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. What a waste of time I was so mad at wasting 2 hours of my life on this one. Natalie Wood was a star by 1962, I really don't understand why she wasted her time on this one. Maybe it was the directors fault and Natalie liked script.

La Belle et la Bete (Beauty and the Beast) (1946)

This is a French film which begins with this quote, "Children believe what we tell them. They have complete faith in us. They believe that a rose plucked from a garden can plunge a family into conflict. They believe that the hands of a human beast will smoke when he slays a victim, and that this will cause him shame when a young maiden takes up residence in his home. They believe a thousand other simple things. I ask of you a little of this childlike sympathy and, to bring us luck, let me speak four truly magic words, childhood's "Open Sesame": Once upon a time..." I found this movie on www.youtube.com and started showing my four year old daughter it. I was reading her the subtitles and about five minutes into it she asked me why they weren't singing...I have failed. This is essentially the Disney story that we have all grown to love. Critics such as Roger Ebert claim this to be one of the greatest movies of all time; Empire magazine listed it as number 26 of the top 100 world cinemas of all times. Me, I felt it could have been better considering the magic of The Wizard of Oz came out seven years before this. This was a fun watch with my daughter, but that is the only memory I am taking from it.

Safety Last! (1923)

The story begins as a young man (played by Harold Lloyd) is preparing to board a train headed for the big city.  Before he departs he promises his love that he will send for her and marry her when he makes it in the city.  Shortly after he arrives int he city he becomes a clerk at the DeVore Department Store selling fabrics.  He writes his girlfriend daily and sends her extravagant gifts that are well outside of his purchasing ability, thus giving his girlfriend the idea that he is wealthy finally.  She travels to the city to see for herself and shows up unexpected to the department store; he sees her and pretends to be the general manager of the store.  This leads from one cleaver lie to another, digging him deeper and deeper in trouble.  Later in the day he over hears the real general manager expressing that he would give $1000.00 to anyone who could increase the customer base to the store.  This gives the boy an idea to run a stunt of having someone climb the twelve stories of the building.  The boy approaches his roommate and arranges to split the thousand dollars with him, if he trades places with him after about two stores.  Inevitably this plot falls apart and the boy has to climb the building by himself; this is one of the most famous scenes in movie history that no one has seen, but everyone is aware of.

Harold Lloyd was probably the most profitable silent movie star of all time, simply because he made more movies that Chaplin and Keaton, but over the years he preserved the movies and essentially kept them to himself, they have since been re-released for our era to enjoy, and I am here to tell you that he is a joy to watch.  He does not come across as forceful like his counterparts, he seems to be very down to earth and like the rest of us, in that he has to work for what he gets in life.  I am going to try and find some more of his films to watch.  I found this one on www.youtube.com, but it did not have music with it (so it was a real silent film), and I seemed to enjoy it far more, because the music can sometimes distract me from the film itself.  Ryan, I know that you do not like silent films too much but please take the time to check this one out sometime, it is well worth your time.  Since I know that you will not, I am going to post some scenes from the movie for you to watch.  I am going to find space on my list for this five star movie.



Yes, he did most of the climbing by himself, and he is even missing some of his thumb and fore finger from an explosion in a previous movie. Absolutely amazing.  The first 2/3 of the movie are funny, while this last part is breath taking.  This would be a great movie for you to watch with your kids.

Speaking of kids I picked up a book from the library that you might be interested in.  It is called The Best Old Movies for Families, A Guide to Watching Together, by Ty Burr.  He is a movie critic for the Boston Globe and goes through and list many movies for each genre, and explains why you should watch them with your kids, where you might pause the movie and have discussions about points of interest (such as politically incorrect images/statements/practices; or why there was the Depression, etc.)  I have found many movies that I would like to watch with my kids and family from this book.

Adam's Rib (1949)

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are a married couple who are both lawyers.  He is an Assistant DA while she is a defence lawyer.  In this show they are representing the opposite sides of an attempted murder by a jilted wife.  The battle of the sexes is represented very well in this show, but the performances by Tracy and Hepburn are off of the charts.  They made nine movies together and were adulterous lovers for most of their adult lives.  This was one of the most publicly known secrets in Hollywood.  That aside, I give this show a solid four out of five stars.

Monkey Business (1952)

Dr. Barnaby Fulton (Cary Grant) is a chemist who is trying to find a position that will make people younger.  He is married to a wonderful wife, Edwina who is played by Ginger Rogers, but he cannot seem to pay attention to her at the moment because he cannot get the formula to work on the lab chimps.  The next day he goes into his lab to find out that one of the chimps has escaped and gone crazy.  He asks the janitor to lock up the chimp so he can get back to work.  Well, the bumbling janitor doesn't get the cage locked and the chimp escapes again and creates the potion perfectly and places it in the water cooler.  Unbeknown st to Barnaby he tried to his new potion on himself and takes a drink of water out of the cooler.  He suddenly feels and acts twenty years younger, but the affects wear off after about six hours.  His boss becomes excited about the developments and wants to instantly market it.  Barnaby gets his boss to hold off, and he tries the potion on his wife (she was in his lab, and took a drink of water out of that same cooler)to the same effects.  The cooler is the running joke of the movie, but it falls flat (simply because humor was different in the fifties than now).

This is the first film I have seen Ginger Rogers in and according to your standards of a good actress I would score her about a 37, she was a treat to watch.  The chemistry between grant and Rogers was amazing and felt genuine.  The bad thing for me was that this movie went on about 30 minutes too long.  Marilyn Monroe was in the movie purely for eye candy, but she did a good job in this one.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

You know that I am a sucker for Cary Grant, so I am going to go into this movie with the pre-conception that it will be a good movie.  Boy, was I wrong.  Grant and Katharine Hepburn were amazing in the respective rolls; in fact Hepburn was so spot on with her lines it was a joy to watch. 

Cary Grant is an paleontologist who is trying to get a 1 million dollar grant from a local donor.  During a golf outing with this donor he runs into Hepburn who instantly falls in love with him and begins to do everything to keep his attention on her.  Unfortunately she does not know that he is planning on getting married the next afternoon.  Along the way a cheetah arrives on the scene and turns everything upside down.  To make a long story short, this movie was beneath these two actors.  It was a comedy that for me was way too long. 

I have seen this movie on many greatest movie lists, but frankly, I am not sure why.  Only two stars for me on this one.

An Affair in Trinidad - 1952

When I consider top actresses I use 4 categories to add up their overall performance-
1. Ability to act- how do they deliver liines, how smooth are they on camera, etc.
2. Dancing
3. Singing
4. Overall looks and how they present themselves

If you score 1-10 on each of those categories I really think Rita Hayworth is around 35 points. It is what sets her apart from other Hollywood sex goddesses. She was more than that. She was a professional dancer before ever becoming an actress. Her voice is just plain incredible. Because of her - this plain movie become a 3.5 star movie. Who else can star with Fred Astaire in several movies and hold her own? And lets be honest- she is gorgeous.

This movie stars Glen Ford and Rita Hayworth together - just like Gilda which came out 4 years previously (and is in my top 100 list). Ford plays Steve Emery - a man who has flown to Trinidad because his brother sent him a letter telling him there would be a job for him in that Country. Hayworth plays Chris Emery - married to Steve's brother. We never actually meet Steve's brother because he was murdered before the show starts. Steve then has to find out who is behind his murder, which the police are saying was a suicide. Pretty easy to predict the ending, but a fun movie along the way.

There are a few fun characters and overall an okay show. I am too much of a sentamentalist because I like these movies just for the pure fact that they don't exist anymore. The golden age of Hollywood is gone. The close ups on the actors faces, the lighting to bring out their eyes, all of that is just history. No nudity, sex, vulgarity, drugs, or language in this one- so it wouldn't even make it to the big screen in todays world and that is okay with me. I like the old movies.