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.