---I have watched recently:
Across To Singapore (1928 silent) Joan Crawford, Ramon Navarro. Star crossed lovers. Two brothers love the same young woman. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018618/
Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) Shirley Temple, Alice Faye, Jack Haley, Gloria Stuart. Shirley is spunky and sets all aright, as usual. Good cast. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028118/
What A Woman! (1943) Rosalind Russell, Brian Ahern, Willard Parker. Story of a book agent and her new find, author Parker. Ahern is a reporter who hangs around. Very disappointing with this cast. Should have been funnier, but it just isn't. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036526/
The Captains Paradise (1950) Alec Guinness, Yvonne deCarlo, Celia Johnson. Naughty man has a wife in two ports across the sea from each other. He thinks he has it made - but does he? Smug and self-satisfied, the Captain is admired by his second in command, who wants to follow his lead with women. But his prim and proper wife in Gibraltar really wants to kick up her heals; and his gorgeous showgirl wife in Morocco wants to cook! Good heavens! Droll and clever take on the battle of the sexes. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045607/
Last Holiday (1950) Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh. The original. More poignant than the later version. Man in for routine checkup, get the bad news that his x-rays show he has Lambkin's disease and has only a few months to live. Dr. advises him to use his time enjoying himself. He cashes out his retirement and his savings and goes to the posh resort by the seaside. There he is befriended by the no-nonsense housekeeper, who tells him the best way to treat these toffs is by telling them the truth instead of buttering them up. Which he does, with astonishing results. Everything he does offers him more and more opportunities for wealth and/or power. Finally the old Dr. who discovered his disease comes for his annual visit and when he hears of the man who has Lambkin's looks him over and tells him he definitely does not. The final scenes are very shocking and sad. When I saw it the first time back in 1950, it was a real shocker. Wonderful film. Guinness is superb, as always. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042665/
A Letter For Evie (1946) Marsha Hunt, John Carroll, Hume Cronyn, Pamela Britton. Jules Dassin directed this programmer for MGM, and the actors do their roles with sincerity. When I was in high school, I had a mad crush on John Carroll. I wrote him and he wrote back a sweet letter to a crazy teenager. In this film, he is a scoundrel and does it well. Are we pulling for Johnnie (the nerdy nice guy) or "Wolf" to win Evie? In a sort of Cyrano deBergerac plot, Johnnie has answered a letter Evie put in a shirt pocket at the factory where she works. Only he used Wolfs picture. When the men get a leave before being shipped out, trouble ensues. A light romantic comedy made a little more interesting by the actors and the director. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037870/
The Harvey Girls (1946) Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Ray Bolger. The rest of the cast seems like the honor role of greats at MGM at the time. Judy looks great and has one of the funniest scenes from any of her films, when she retrieves the meat from the saloon after it has been stolen. The guy clearing the way is perfect in his amusement at this nice girl with 2 six shooters. All the lead females are shown at their best. Makeup and costumes are perfect. To see how MGM did it, making a film with nothing but stars from their roster, this is one for the books. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038589/
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1947) Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Teresa Wright, Dana Andrews. Rewatch. Great film. Comments on blog. 10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036868/
A Foreign Affair (1948) Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, John Lund. Rewatch. Comments on blog. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040367/
The Black Stallion (1979) Kelly Reno, Teri Garr, Mickey Rooney. Beautiful black stallion is the star of this show. For some reason I had never sat and watched the whole film, but this windy day I did. The boy and horse, up through the rescue, are great. Scenes of them bonding and racing with the wind on the beach are magical. The rest of the story is routine. We know the horse will be a winner. Cinematography is superb. 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078872/
Eyewitness (1981) Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, James Woods, Christopher Plummer. Vietnam vet, Daryll, works as a janitor in a large building and in the evening watches the newscasts he has taped of his favorite commentator, Tony, (Weaver). When there is a murder in his building, Tony covers for her station. Daryll intimates he knows something, and she tries to get him to reveal what he knows. Meanwhile the real killer/s watch and wait. A cat and mouse game continues until it gets very dangerous. Keeps you guessing, but the real fun is Hurt and Weaver playing with each other. Woods does his usual crazed character. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082353/
Random Hearts (1999) Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott Thomas. Cop Dutch (Ford) and candidate Kay Chandler (Thomas) are just going through there daily routine, when they are both informed by an airline that their spouses are presumed dead in the crash that day of a Florida bound flight. Both are sure there is a mistake, because their spouses so convincingly led other lives together. After the two realize it is true and they are dead, they meet because Dutch can't or won't let go. Kay is pragmatic, numb and angry and wants to forget it all. Interesting take on what would happen if the moment you are living is suddenly your last. What would those closest to you find out? 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156934/
The Deep End (2001) Tilda Swinton. Beautiful cinematography around Lake Tahoe, CA. Story covers a murder most foul. A remake of Max Ophuls "The Reckless Moment" (1950), the story of a young girl pushing her older lover in a fight in a boathouse where he falls onto an anchor and is killed. The mother in the Ophuls is the marvelous Joan Bennett in her best role, and the blackmailer is James Mason, at his charming best being a bad man. In this version, the lovers are gay, one the son of Swinton. The body of the man the son is involved with is found by Swinton the morning after, and she takes it across the lake and ties it to the anchor and pushes it off. From there both versions get into blackmail and the one who contacts the mother. In both versions he is charming and falls in love with this woman who is protecting her child. Mason makes his villain achingly real, and Bennett is perfect holding onto herself as a faithful wife and mother. Swinton is good, but the script and director let her down. The original was one of my favorites of both leads for years. This version I rate: 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250323/
October almost over. We are having our Indian summer. Cool, frosty mornings, warm sunny afternoons. My last five days of the month I'll spend as much time as possible sitting on the patio or porch or walking on the new trail if they get it finished while it is still nice out. Progress is being made, but it is slow when we are waiting.
October 28, 2010
October 22, 2010
A Star Is Born (1937) plus ---
---a classic comedy and two programmers:
It's Love I'm After (1937) Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Eric Blore. Screwball comedy about stage actors, fans, obsession, love and mix ups galore. Great cast 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029058/
My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937) Maureen O"Sullivan, Walter Pigeon, Edna May Oliver. Small town girl inherits big town newspaper. Editor thinks women in the newsroom are an abomination. Some fun but it probably was the lower half of a double bill. Oliver steals the show. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029283/
A Star Is Born (1937) Janet Gaynor, Fredric March. My favorite version of this story. The original. Great performances by all hands, with an especially nasty one by Lionel Stander as Matt Libby, the publicity man. Mean as a junk yard dog to Norman Maine, who has had to be extricated from one too many benders by Matt, and he resents it and gets even, at last. The final scenes never fail to bring me to tears, and Gaynor as Esther (Vicky Lester) superb; head high, catch in the voice, tears in the eyes, saying "This is Mrs. Norman Maine." What an end! Perfect for me - so...10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029606/
Ride Lonesome (1959) Randolph Scott, Karen Black, Parnell Roberts, James Coburn. Slow, boring Scott western, probably a programmer to be paired with another "b" or two on the bill. Bounty hunter Scott, takes his man in the first 10 minutes and from there it is a question of how many obstacles the story puts in the way of getting him to the hangman. Scenery is great - using the wide screen photography to emphasize the empty expanses of the locale and the huge rock formations in the foothills of mountains. That also shows the relation of man to the hugeness of the west - it is a wonder and scary. The director does a good job of bringing this fact out with his choice of scenes. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053220/
I'm behind on my comments. It's just too pretty outside to be watching films during the daytime. My Maple tree is glorious. The workmen are about through with the preliminaries and will start putting down the hard surface for the hike/bike trail tomorrow or next Monday, for sure. They have cut away some of the smaller trees and underbrush so the river can be seen from the trail in places. Great to watch it become reality, we've waited so long.
It's Love I'm After (1937) Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Eric Blore. Screwball comedy about stage actors, fans, obsession, love and mix ups galore. Great cast 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029058/
My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937) Maureen O"Sullivan, Walter Pigeon, Edna May Oliver. Small town girl inherits big town newspaper. Editor thinks women in the newsroom are an abomination. Some fun but it probably was the lower half of a double bill. Oliver steals the show. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029283/
A Star Is Born (1937) Janet Gaynor, Fredric March. My favorite version of this story. The original. Great performances by all hands, with an especially nasty one by Lionel Stander as Matt Libby, the publicity man. Mean as a junk yard dog to Norman Maine, who has had to be extricated from one too many benders by Matt, and he resents it and gets even, at last. The final scenes never fail to bring me to tears, and Gaynor as Esther (Vicky Lester) superb; head high, catch in the voice, tears in the eyes, saying "This is Mrs. Norman Maine." What an end! Perfect for me - so...10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029606/
Ride Lonesome (1959) Randolph Scott, Karen Black, Parnell Roberts, James Coburn. Slow, boring Scott western, probably a programmer to be paired with another "b" or two on the bill. Bounty hunter Scott, takes his man in the first 10 minutes and from there it is a question of how many obstacles the story puts in the way of getting him to the hangman. Scenery is great - using the wide screen photography to emphasize the empty expanses of the locale and the huge rock formations in the foothills of mountains. That also shows the relation of man to the hugeness of the west - it is a wonder and scary. The director does a good job of bringing this fact out with his choice of scenes. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053220/
I'm behind on my comments. It's just too pretty outside to be watching films during the daytime. My Maple tree is glorious. The workmen are about through with the preliminaries and will start putting down the hard surface for the hike/bike trail tomorrow or next Monday, for sure. They have cut away some of the smaller trees and underbrush so the river can be seen from the trail in places. Great to watch it become reality, we've waited so long.
October 20, 2010
Recent films---
I have watched these 2 films released the last 2 years:
The Merry Gentleman (2008) Michael Keaton, Kelly Macdonald. Michael stars and directs. He is a hit man in crisis. Kelly sees him almost jump off a roof. She screams and he jumps back out of sight. Very interesting, but very slow storytelling. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0967945/
The Public Enemies (2009) Johnnie Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotilliard. I don't know what they were going for, but for me, except for the women, there wasn't a sympathetic character in the whole film. Bale's Purvis was mean and corrupt, as was Hoover. They were supposed to be the good guys. (?) Depp's Dillenger was somewhat charming, but he killed so many and was so corrupt, I didn't like him either. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/
More films from the last 2 weeks later ---
The Merry Gentleman (2008) Michael Keaton, Kelly Macdonald. Michael stars and directs. He is a hit man in crisis. Kelly sees him almost jump off a roof. She screams and he jumps back out of sight. Very interesting, but very slow storytelling. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0967945/
The Public Enemies (2009) Johnnie Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotilliard. I don't know what they were going for, but for me, except for the women, there wasn't a sympathetic character in the whole film. Bale's Purvis was mean and corrupt, as was Hoover. They were supposed to be the good guys. (?) Depp's Dillenger was somewhat charming, but he killed so many and was so corrupt, I didn't like him either. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/
More films from the last 2 weeks later ---
October 04, 2010
Demi, Meg & Sarah----
--films with my girlie's.
Free Starz Weekend on Satellite:
2 I had never seen:
The Juror (1996) Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, James Gandolfini. Artist wants to, and is, picked for the trial of a mafia Don, Louie Boffano. She is selected by The Teacher, the Don's hit man, to bring in the jury with a not guilty verdict. Good premise goes off track along the way, and we end up in Columbia running around in the ruins. One long scene as Moore tries to convince the rest of the jury to see things her way and acquit. A lot of Baldwin being quietly menacing and nuts. And Gandolfini and Lo Bianco could have phoned in their parts, they are so generic. Big disappointment with this fine cast. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116731/
Kate & Leopold (2001) Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber. I'm sorry. What is Meg going for with that hairdo? Were we doing haircuts for dames that looked liike a mop back in 2001? Every scene she is in, I can't get past that hair! I think the two men fair a little better. Liev is distracted and crazed like a scientist in comedies is supposed to be. Jackman is properly vedy British and neat. So I guess if you like time travel movies, this is one for you. But it is not that well done and Meg is a mess. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035423/
And a rewatch:
Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009) Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant, Sam Elliot, Mary Steenburgen. Reviewed before on my Blog. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314228/
The selection of films this weekend was a bit lacking. But that's the way it goes.
Free Starz Weekend on Satellite:
2 I had never seen:
The Juror (1996) Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, James Gandolfini. Artist wants to, and is, picked for the trial of a mafia Don, Louie Boffano. She is selected by The Teacher, the Don's hit man, to bring in the jury with a not guilty verdict. Good premise goes off track along the way, and we end up in Columbia running around in the ruins. One long scene as Moore tries to convince the rest of the jury to see things her way and acquit. A lot of Baldwin being quietly menacing and nuts. And Gandolfini and Lo Bianco could have phoned in their parts, they are so generic. Big disappointment with this fine cast. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116731/
Kate & Leopold (2001) Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber. I'm sorry. What is Meg going for with that hairdo? Were we doing haircuts for dames that looked liike a mop back in 2001? Every scene she is in, I can't get past that hair! I think the two men fair a little better. Liev is distracted and crazed like a scientist in comedies is supposed to be. Jackman is properly vedy British and neat. So I guess if you like time travel movies, this is one for you. But it is not that well done and Meg is a mess. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035423/
And a rewatch:
Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009) Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant, Sam Elliot, Mary Steenburgen. Reviewed before on my Blog. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314228/
The selection of films this weekend was a bit lacking. But that's the way it goes.
October 03, 2010
One above average, then downhill------
On FMC:
Without A Trace (1983) Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsh, Stockard Channing. A parents worse nightmare. Your 6 year old is off to walk down the block to his ride to school. He never gets back home. Film follows the mother, and the detective who investigates and becomes emotionally involved in finding the child. Nelligan is very good as the distraught but determined mother. Hirsh, never better as the cop. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086593/combined
All On Starz free weekend:
Frantic (1988) Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley. So an American doctor and his wife get in a cab, after an all nght flight to Paris for a medical conference. They check into their upscale hotel, get to their room to get cleaned up, have a meal and rest, before his evening speech at the conference. Except while he is in the shower, we see through the steamy glass, she gets a phone call and yells something at him, and goes out of sight of the shower door. When he is having coffee, he realizes she has been gone too long and starts phoning the desk and then dresses and looks all through the hotel with the staff. So far, so good. He tries to work with the Paris police and fills out reports. But they are not sufficiently concerned and he starts out on his own. As he follows small clues to find out what happened, it gets more and more into the realm of a nightmare. Last part of the film completely looses credibility. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095174/combined
Hollywood Homicide (2003) Harrison Ford, Josh Harnett, Lena Olin. Harrison, my friend, what have you done? This is a mess of a story. He plays a detective who is moonlighting as a real estate broker. His new partner has decided he really wants to be an actor. Oh, and he is also some kind of exercise guru. Their case is a multiple killing in a recording studio among hip-hop musicians. Got all that? That's the problem. Between quirky characters, car chases, foot chases over ta-llllll buildings in a single bound, and in jokes, nothing makes much sense. And we don't care by the end anyway! 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329717/combined
Easy Virtue 2008) Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Barnes. Noel Coward play about upper class Brits who have a new American bride of the heir to the estate, descend on them. Thomas, as the Grande Dame is icy and hateful. Beil, beautiful and high spirited. They are a battling duo, and Firth is magnificent as the burnt out WWI master of the estate, who doesn't give a sh--. My kind of film. Loved it! 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808244/combined
Julie & Julia (2009) Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci. Previously watched and reviewed here. Love it. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/combined
The Ugly Truth (2009) Gerard Butler, Kathryn Heigl. Another rewatch. Beautiful people. Enjoy watching them. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142988/combined
Cool days and nights. Such a relief after the long scortching days of the last month. And Halloween just around the corner!
Without A Trace (1983) Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsh, Stockard Channing. A parents worse nightmare. Your 6 year old is off to walk down the block to his ride to school. He never gets back home. Film follows the mother, and the detective who investigates and becomes emotionally involved in finding the child. Nelligan is very good as the distraught but determined mother. Hirsh, never better as the cop. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086593/combined
All On Starz free weekend:
Frantic (1988) Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley. So an American doctor and his wife get in a cab, after an all nght flight to Paris for a medical conference. They check into their upscale hotel, get to their room to get cleaned up, have a meal and rest, before his evening speech at the conference. Except while he is in the shower, we see through the steamy glass, she gets a phone call and yells something at him, and goes out of sight of the shower door. When he is having coffee, he realizes she has been gone too long and starts phoning the desk and then dresses and looks all through the hotel with the staff. So far, so good. He tries to work with the Paris police and fills out reports. But they are not sufficiently concerned and he starts out on his own. As he follows small clues to find out what happened, it gets more and more into the realm of a nightmare. Last part of the film completely looses credibility. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095174/combined
Hollywood Homicide (2003) Harrison Ford, Josh Harnett, Lena Olin. Harrison, my friend, what have you done? This is a mess of a story. He plays a detective who is moonlighting as a real estate broker. His new partner has decided he really wants to be an actor. Oh, and he is also some kind of exercise guru. Their case is a multiple killing in a recording studio among hip-hop musicians. Got all that? That's the problem. Between quirky characters, car chases, foot chases over ta-llllll buildings in a single bound, and in jokes, nothing makes much sense. And we don't care by the end anyway! 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329717/combined
Easy Virtue 2008) Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Barnes. Noel Coward play about upper class Brits who have a new American bride of the heir to the estate, descend on them. Thomas, as the Grande Dame is icy and hateful. Beil, beautiful and high spirited. They are a battling duo, and Firth is magnificent as the burnt out WWI master of the estate, who doesn't give a sh--. My kind of film. Loved it! 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808244/combined
Julie & Julia (2009) Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci. Previously watched and reviewed here. Love it. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/combined
The Ugly Truth (2009) Gerard Butler, Kathryn Heigl. Another rewatch. Beautiful people. Enjoy watching them. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142988/combined
Cool days and nights. Such a relief after the long scortching days of the last month. And Halloween just around the corner!
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