Relationships for Valentines----

Mrs. Parkington (1944) Greer Garson, Walter Pigeon, Agnes Moorhead, Edward Arnold. Episodic story of a mine owner and the boarding housemaid from the town he marries. Begins with the 80 year old head of the family telling the rest of the clan the story of their marriage. There is a crisis because of a family member's banking practices that could come from today's headlines. He will be arrested if he can't come up with missing funds. The clan is not willing to give up their way of life to save him. Many complications and Greer in makeup to age her, but the film is stolen by Moorheads french countess. MGM had the contract players to make films like this as soon as the 2 stars said yes. I shudder to think what this would be like if filmed today. In the first 15 minutes we would have a nude scene of the Col. and the maid romping in bed. As it is, it is too long and parts are boring. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037096/

Three Days Of The Condor (1975) Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow. A favorite and still master story telling. About a government agency that checks through all written material looking for anything that might be spy related. Joe Turner (Redford) reads everything. That's his job. One day, it is his turn to go get lunch. While he is out, (he uses the basement door to get to an alley that is closer to the eatery, because it is raining), we see men come into the house and murder everyone. Joe comes back and is stunned. From that opening we follow Joe's next couple of days trying to find who he can trust and what is happening. As relevant for today's crazy world as it was then. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073802/

The Saint (1997) Val Kilmar, Elizabeth Shue. Confusing. The Saint of the old studio days has been updated and made so confusing I lost track of what was going on. Lots of chases. Something about fusion, secret formula, and who can get it first. I like the 2 leads but not the story. But this ain't MY Simon Templar. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120053/


Must Love Dogs (2005) Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer. Preschool teacher and boat designer meet through PerfectMatch.com where helpful people have posted ads for them. Passable romantic comedy because the leads are likable. BTW, the dogs are borrowed because neither character has one of their own. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417001/

French Film (2008/British) Hugh Bonneville (who won for Best Actor at Monte Carlo) as the lead character Jed. Douglas Henshall is his best friend Marcus and Anne-Marie Duff and Victoria Hamilton are the girlfriends. Nice relationship film. Bonneville is very engaging. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986230/

I Hate Valentines Day (2009) Nia Vardalos, John Corbett. Not bad, not good. Okay. She is a florist. He owns a restaurant. She has a rule; five dates and it's over, Jack. But---something goes awry and we have 'love' enter the picture. I would say you have to like the leads to enjoy their story. I did. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0762105/

Something Borrowed (2011) Gennifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, John Krasinsky, Colin Egglesfield. Hudson is Darcy, in the same kind of role she always does. Goodwin is Rachel, ditto. Egglesfield is Dex, the hunk both woman want - why? is the question. He has no personality. John K is Ethan, Dex's friend and the one we like and want to see win. Formula, except that the 3 leads are all unlikeable and we don't pull for them at all. At least I didn't. I am dismayed that the script and novel were both written by women. Is this what they think of young women today? 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491152/

Fred , Ginger, Sonja, Ty, 2 Joans ---

---show how it's done.


All shown on TCM:

Top Hat (1935) Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick. Great dancing in a gazebo in riding habit, in a feathered ball gown, and The 'Picolino.' Title number is superb. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027125/

Second Fiddle (1939) Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Edna Mae Oliver, Rudy Vallee. I had forgotten how gorgeous Ty was in his early career. This is just a fluffy vehicle for Sonja to show off her figure skating, and is nicely done. Irving Berlin songs. Edna, bless her, is wonderful and she and Ty having a drinking contest and throwing the glasses over the balcony railing, is priceless. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031907/

Born To Be Bad (1950) Joan Fontaine, Robert Ryan, Zachary Scott, Joan Leslie, Mel Ferrar. Joan Fontaine is very good at being sweet and getting what she wants and making everyone like it - for a while. She schemes her way into her uncles secretaries'(Leslie) life, steals her beau(Scott), while romancing a dangerous author(Ryan), and getting an artist(Ferrar) to paint her portrait. And that's before the halfway mark. Fine study of a manipulative social climber. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042275/

Lanza, The Wild Bunch and the ladies----

recently I watched:

The Toast Of New Orleans (1950) Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson, David Niven, J. Carrol Naish, Rita Moreno. The second film Lanza made, with Grayson as his costar. Another huge hit for MGM so they hurried scripts for their new star. This one is about a fisherman in the bayous who is discovered when the impresario of the New Orleans Opera comes for a visit. He brings his star, Suzette, and when she sings at the festival, the brash Pepe jumps up and joins her on stage. Which makes her furious. From there we have the taming and 'civilizing' of Pepe so he will be suitable as an opera costar. The Technicolor and music intervals are marvelous and the finale scenes from "Madame Butterfly" are beautifully sung and funny as well. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043053/

The Wild Bunch (1969) William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan. Not a hero in the bunch. All are mean, ornery, dirty and have no honor - not even among thieves. The opening scenes of the children poking at a scorpion that is being attacked and devoured by hundreds of ants, while they watch and giggle, is all you need to know about the next two hours. By the end of all the mayhem only Deke (Ryan) is still able to wryly reckon he'll move on. Which is what all the cowpokes had to do. Robbing trains, banks, stagecoaches, etc., were mostly over. The lawmen, with former thieves as their intelligence agents or surrogates (as Deke was) would make the west safe for merchants and families. And the myths would take over the west. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065214/

Picture Perfect (1997) Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon, Jay Mohr, Olympia Dukakis. Jen is really very pretty and cute but I hate the clothes. Kevin is his usual smirking, fun self. Mohr is - questionable. A womanizer or a bland duffuss. Let's see? Which one? Well, it all works out, I guess. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119896/

Jane Eyre (2011) Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench. Charlotte Bronte's Gothic romance is filmed once again, with an all English cast and terrific locations and old dark mansions on the moors. Once again we have a very pretty girl attempting to look plain as Jane. For Mr. Rochester we have a guy who is slight and almost a dandy. Not the way he is described in the novel. The pacing is very deliberate and the scenes that should be exciting and scary are bland. Not my favorite filmed version of this story. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229822/

Catching up with Award winners----

One Eight Seven (1997) Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard. Story of a teacher who is attact and injured so severly that he moves all the way across country before he can go back to work as a sub in another school where chaos reins. Film is unrelenting in its' depiction of a school where almost all order and teaching is gone. The administration is so afraid of lawsuits they want no confrontations with students. By the end, it's the law of the jungle. Real downer. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118531/

The Kings Speech (2010) Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter. Wonderful film with wonderful performances. A master class in acting. Story of the second son in line for the throne, who rises to become England's king during WWII, and the therapist who helped him become the countries steady and uplifting voice in wartime. 9/10    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1504320/

The Help (2011) Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain. Wonderful film with a marvelous ensemble cast. Davis is so good as the maid who gives voice to the maids in a 1960's southern town. A woman's picture about the lives they lead. The white women and their maids are locked in a society that is soon to be "gone with the wind." Davis is superb and Howard and Chastain are perfect. Glad the SAGs honored this film and the actresses. 10/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/

The Eagle (2011) Channing Tatum, Mark Strong, Jamie Bell. Stunning cinematography, especially the shots of Scotland's north country. In Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem. A quest film with the soldier and his slave heading into the part of Britannia outside Hadrian's wall. Tatum keeps your eyes on him - so has star quality. Okay action. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034389/

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011) Documentary. Update of the Memphis 3 case. The film brings the case of the murdered children and how the three young men were just brought in for questioning and ended up on trial and convicted of the crimes. Over the years more and more evidence was uncovered and finally DNA proved they were not the ones who killed the children. They were released but still there is a cloud. Wonderful work done by The Innocence Project and others convinced they were railroaded. 8/10 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2028530/

Mario Lanza's first film----

That Midnight Kiss (1949) Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson, Ethel Barrymore, Jose Iturbi, Thomas Gomez. Lanza's first film is a joy. Wonderful music, beautiful Technicolor.   TCM has shown the 3 MGM movies that made him a matinee' idol.  Light and happy.   8/10