Bad Day at Black Rock

thank you for the recommendation, I thought it was a good movie. 2.5 stars

Courageous - 2011

A Christian based film that my boss told me to watch. okay I guess. 3 stars.

It Should Happen to You - 1954

Jack Lemmon's first film. Judy Holliday's best film. She was blacklisted during the McCarthy era and died of cancer at age 43, so she really didn't make that many movies. She plays a dumb blonde in this movie and really does a good job. 2.5 stars.

Lincoln (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis is possibly one of the finest actors of a generation; he absolutely disappears in to the title role of this movie.  Sally Fields is wonderful in her portrayal of Molly.  This is an adaptation of the Non-fiction book, Team of Rivals (A great read, if you have not already read it), focusing ont he final months of the war and Lincolns life, in the struggle to get the House of Representatives to pass the Thirteenth Amendment.  Beautifully filmed, written, and acted; my only draw back from the show was that it should have ended at the end of the war, and not the assassination of the president.  If Daniel foes not win an Oscar for this role, than something is wrong with the Academy.

Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

This was an interesting little film by Clint Eastwood. He played Frank Morris who was the mastermind behind a jail break from the notorious prison known as Alcatraz. Although the movie was slow at times, it gave the feeling of how monotonous it would actually be to take the time to tunnel out of a jail cell. 2.5 stars for me. I don't know if you remember him but Claude Newby, a chaplain in Ogden, was a guard at Alcatraz at one time, and he told me that he knew the notorious Bird Man.

Operation Petticoat - 1959

This is supposed to be one of Cary Grant's best films. All I got from it was a hilarious Tony Curtis and a worn out and tired Cary Grant- who was starting to show the tread on his tires- by this point in his life he had made 73 movies, and actual only made a couple more before retiring. 2 stars

12 Angry Men (1957)

Stunningly spectacular film for the ages which has found a place on my top 100 list.  I am not a Henry Fonda fan by any stretch if the imagination, but I felt that this was a good role for him to play.  This theme has been played out in many mediums since its release, and I can see why.  This film had a solid message of not going into situations with pre-conceived notions of what the results should be.  I loved the cinematography, the script, and especially how the characters did not have names.  What I also found fascinating was the fact that we did not see any of the case that was presented to the jurors, instead the story was told through their rehashing of the details of the case...BRILLIANT!!!!

The Great Gatsby (1974)

There is only one reason that I watched this movie, and that is because they were talking about it on the KSL Movie Show last Friday.  They were talking about the up-coming version of this movie and began to reminice about the time that Doug Wright took his then girlfriend to see the 1974 version and the women in the crowd swooned when Robert Redford came on screen. 

This movie was about as exciting as the novel...lame.

Yes Robert Redford is attractive, but the movie is slow and uninteresting...come to think of it I fell asleep.

Bourne Identity, et. Al.

I enjoyed watching these three films of Matt Damon's where he played a government assassin that has been brain washed. Good but not great for me.

El Dorado - 1966

I was in the mood for a western and watched this classic with the Duke, Robert Mitchum and a younger James Caan. I really enjoyed it. 3 stars

The Grass is Greener - 1960

Everybody has heard of the "other" Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr movie called "An Affair to Remember". But this one is an unknown gem. I love Grant's comedic lines and throughout this movie I was constatnly laughing about 5 seconds after his line- 1. because he says them so fast that my brain can't comprehend what he is saying 2. The dry dead pan humor is hard to catch because the way he delivers the line you don't think it is supposed to be funny. This movie is really about the battle of the sexes, with british humor. 3.5 stars for me

Mister Roberts - 1955

Jack Lemmon starred in over 75 movies during his career, and he won 2 Oscars. This was his first Oscar. It really isn't a comedy. It is a John Ford directed drama about WWII, with some comedy mixed in. Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and William Powell co-star. The movie dragged for me. 2.5 stars.

Peeper - 1975

Natalie Wood and Michael Caine should be emberassed for making this movie. what a joke. Not even 1 star. I had to turn it off half way through I was so bored.

Mass Appeal - 1984

An unbelievable surprise. 5 stars. Available on instant NF Jack Lemmon plays Father Farley- a seasoned catholic priest who has life figured out. He knows what to say to this congregation, he knows how to please the monsignor Burke (played excellently by actor Charles Durning- who just passed away this month), he knows how to put people off and cancel appointments but done in a way that they are not offended- in summary he is a polished priest who can play the game as good as anyone. He knows that if he delivers a sermon that doesn't offend anyone, the contributions will continue to come from the parishioners. He also has a drinking problem that people overlook because he is such a lovable guy. In fact his followers provide him the wine! Life changes for Father Farley when he is suddenly given the assignment of mentoring young Mark Dolson- a student in the nearby seminary and a newly made Deacon in the Catholic Church. Dolson is outspoken. Monsignor Burke does not like him at all, and believes he is gay actually. Farley is given the assignment to mentor Dolson for one month, if he can fix him, then Dolson can graduate, otherwise he is kicked out of the seminary right before he would have graduated during his last year. Farley wants to help him and see the light so to speak- he knows he is a rough stone and belives he can fix him. Farley actually asks Burke for a chance to help the student, as Burke is ready to kick him out of school. Farley is overwhelmed with how much Dolson needs to learn, and sets out to teach him the ways of the trade. In the end, Farley is the one that needed to change and Dolson was the vehicle to teach him. This movie makes me think about a lot of things. Youth can be very powerful teachers- they can reach to all kinds of people despite age differences. Think about missionaries in our church. Think about people at work that our young and make a difference. In the end Father Farley must choose to start being honest with himself, and preach from his heart with the risk of losing friends and parishioners, or to continue on playing the game that will keep him safe and loved by all who know him. Basically treading lightly in order not to offend. There were a lot of parallels here for life- the movie used the Catholic Church as the set up- but everything in this movie applies to real life. One of Lemmon’s best performances. The only thing that kept it out of my top 100 list is I would have liked to see a different actor play Dolson- he just did a B job for me. (Zeljko Ivanek is the actor's name)

Penny Serenade - 1941

Cary Grant made over 50 movies in his career. He was only nominated for 2 Oscars, and this was one of them. Grant plays Roger Adams, a newspaper man who spends most of the movie down on his luck and out of money. He married Julie Adams (Irene Dunne) and together they move to Japan, as he has been offered a new newspaper job. In Japan Julie loses their first baby during pregnancy due to an earthquake. A few years later they decide to adopt, to help ease the pain they feel from their miscarriage. This movie is about the ups and downs of adoption in those days, including the thread of having the State take away your baby even after you have had it for a year. 3 stars and a tear jerker. I wouldn't say that this is a great performance by Grant, he was still developing as an actor at age 37, when this film was made, and I am not sure why he was nominated for an Oscar.

Kiss Them For Me - 1957

I am a sucker for bad Cary Grant films. I just love his deadpan deliveries- this film is no exception to the others I have seen. Poor script- but a great actor in Grant. 2 stars. This was my first Suzy Parker and Jayne Mansfield movie. Loved the former, didn't care for the latter. Mansfield is famous as the MM look alike. All I got from her was an actress trying to be MM- yes she looked like her and had the same figure, but stop trying to be someone else. Her life ended tragically at age 34 in a car wreck. Parker was a good actress and played well with Cary Grant. Some of my favorite lines from the movie- Do you love me Crewson? (Grant) I do, I love you. What kind of Love? (Grant) All kinds- sacred and profane Grant- That's the stuff. True love almost always fades, but money stays green forever. I don't get it. You don't resist and you don't cooperate. That's because I don't want you to kiss me, and I don't want you not to kiss me either. Does that make sense? No. Isn't it puzzling and confusing? Yes. Shall we just leave it that way then? Alright. Alright.- Grant/Parker