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.