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.