One first viewing; 14 Encores---

FIRST TIME:

The Lucky Ones (2008) Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Pena. Three people returning from war injured, are thrown together after their flights are cancelled. Told they will have a possible delay of a day or more, one decides to rent a car and drive to his home in St. Louis. The other two ask to share a ride that far and will go on to Las Vegas from there. By the time they get to the end of their journey, all are changed and because of disappointments and other events they have encountered, all decide to reup and the final scene is them back at a deployment area getting back on a plane for overseas. Sort of sad and touching, they are more at home with each other than with those they were going home to. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0981072/combined

ENCORES:

The Women (1939) Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, Virginia Weidler. Great stars in a marvelous film. 10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032143/combined

Jesse James (1939) Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull. 8/10 This is the myth of the James boys in glorious technicolor. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031507/combined

Return Of Frank James (1940) Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper, Henry Hull. Continuing the saga of the James family of Missouri. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032983/combined

Kitty Foyle (1940) Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, Gladys Cooper. Ginger's Oscar performance in a grand woman's film. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032671/combined

The Great Lie (1941) Bette Davis, Mary Astor, George Brent, Lucille Watson, Hattie McDaniel. Astor is a true bit-- and Betty lets her get away with it and the film. Great fun watching the pros duke it out. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033677/combined

Daisy Kenyon (1947) Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, Henry Fonda, Ruth Warrick, Peggy Ann Garner. One of Joan's and Dana's best IMO and Henry ain't bad either. Suds 99/100 per cent pure. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039294/combined

Nora Prentiss (1947) Ann Sheridan, Kent Smith, Bruce Bennett, Rosemary DeCamp, Robert Alda. Melodrama as noir with missing persons that aren't and the down fall of a foolish doctor. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039666/combined

The Loves Of Carmen (1948) Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford. Rita is gorgeous and Glenn is handsome with his hair curled, but the drama is a bit thick and the hero is laid low by the wicked woman. 5/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040552/combined

The Doctor & The Girl (1949) Glenn Ford, Janet Leigh, Gloria DeHaven, Charles Coburn, Nancy Davis, Bruce Bennett, Basil Ruysdael, Warner Anderson. Great cast in soapsuds but I love it. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041300/combined

Harriet Craig (1950) Joan Crawford, Wendell Corey, K.T. Stevens, Lucille Watson, Allan Joslyn, Viola Roache. Joan is cold and mean, just the way we like her. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042544/combined

The Blue Gardenia (1953) Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Jeff Donnell, Raymond Burr. Favorite Conte role and the rest of the cast is fine too. Story of a telephone operator who drinks too much, blacks out, and comes to and sees a dead body. Did she do it? 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045564/combined

Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden, Brad Dexter, Don Rickles. Submarine adventure. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052151/combined

Inside Daisy Clover (1965) Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Ruth Gordon, Robert Redford, Rowdy McDowall, Katherine Bard. Crazy Daisy and her nutty mother take on Hollyweirdos. 6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059314/combined

Red Eye (2005) Rachel McAdam, Cilliam Murphy, Brian Cox, Jayma Mays. Charming seat mate on a plane turns out not so nice after all. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421239/combined

Two gems among the duds---

FIRST TIMERS:

Hackers (1995) Angelina Jolie, Jonny Lee Miller, Fisher Stevens. 5/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/combined

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Brian Cox, David Morse. Story of a woman who has amnesia who begins to get flashbacks after a bump on the head, and has to go back to her spy life because someone is trying to kill her. Fun to see Geena as an action heroine. Jackson is great as the detective she hires to help her. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116908/combined

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkerson. Somehow I just don't enjoy seeing films about the squalor and noise of India, so that ruined this film for me. Always love Maggie Smith though and as usual, she steals the show. 6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1412386/combined

Show Boat (1936) Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winniger, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan. Awful version of the play. Dunne is okay but what's with that shufflin' dance she does. And the blackface part of the show is disturbing and bad. Morgan may be famous for her rendition of "My Bill" but it is staged and acted better by Ava Gardner in the '51 version. And what is that warble in Jones voice. Sounds like he can not hold a note. Howard Keel is a much more dashing Ravenal. And sings better too. Of course, Kathryn Grayson is more age appropriate as Nolie. Childlike in the beginning, she is wonderful in "Make Believe" with Keel. Robeson is fine as Joe, but I heard him many times on radio when I was growing up singing "Old Man River" so it was a treat to see how it was filmed in this version. And this one does age the characters as in the original play, which is fine. But I like the '51 version much more, and the final scene with Ava blowing a kiss to the Show Boat and Nolie always has me in tears. This one has a fade out with Gay and Nolie together again at the theater watching their daughter - all grown up and a stage success. Not nearly as affecting, at least to me. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028249/combined

ENCORES:

Saratoga Trunk (1945) Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper, Flora Robeson, Jerry Austin, Florence Bates. Ingrid is gorgeous and Gary is grand. All time favorite I watch often. 10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038053/combined

Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950) Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Gary Merrill, Tom Tully, Karl Malden. A cop goes to the dark side but redeems himself for beautiful girl. Noirish drama. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043132/combined

Ace In The Hole (1951) Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Ray Teal. One of the darkest newsmen ever depicted on film. One of the most dirty and dusty locations, filmed in New Mexico. A man trapped in a cave is at the mercy of a guy who takes over the rescue and plays it for what it will do for his career. He wants to get back to the big time in NYC and decides this human interest story will get him there. From the day in 1951 I first saw this film, I have never thought of newsmen the same. Billy Wilder directs and Douglas was never better being a mean bastard. Sterling is terrific as the wife who just wants out. One of my favorites from the 1950s. And tell me there aren't people in the press who are just as corrupt as Chuck Tatum. Maybe that is why the film did so poorly - newspapers didn't like it then and probably still don't. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043338/combined

The Good; the bad; the ugly---

ENCORES:

The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) Rex Harrison, Shirley MacLean, George C. Scott, Ingrid Bergman, Omar Sharif. Gorgeous locations and pretty people. Three separate stories revolving around the car. Enjoyed them all, but it is the cinematography that is the star. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059927/combined

That's Entertainment (1974) MGM's musical stars in clips from their famous movies. Starts with 1929's first musical and ends with An American In Paris scene. Brought back many fond memories. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072272/combined

The Brave One (2007) Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Mary Steenburgen. Revenge tale with fine performances and moody, dark streets. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476964/combined

FIRST TIMERS:

Anna Karenina (1985) Jacqueline Bisset. Christopher Reeve, Paul Scofield. Bisset is fine as the lead and, of course, one can see how she goes potty about the Count played by gorgeous Reeve. Scofield is better as the husband than most and made me understand him better than others in the role have. And what a voice! 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088726/combined

The Back-up Plan (2010) Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Eric Olsen. By the second meeting of the birthing group, I knew I hated this film. The two leads are worth much more than this tripe. Bad, and the best friend guy is a jerk. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212436/combined

The Five Year Engagement (2012) Emily Brunt, Jason Segal, Chris Pratt. What a dud of a leading man. Not charming or funny at all. Emily tries but the script defeats her. Story of a couple in San Francisco, who have separate careers and she gets a chance to have a promotion at a university in Minnesota and they decide to go. He, as a chef, thinks he can get a job anywhere. He is wrong and ends up making sandwiches in a deli. It goes downhill from there with him growing a beard and learning to hunt with the locals, while she is hit on by her superior in the department. Really unlikeable people doing stupid stuff. 5/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1195478/combined

Glenn Ford, Ann Sothern Bs---

FIRST TIMERS:

Walking On Air (1936) Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, Jessie Ralph and Henry Stephenson. Formula B musical about a rich girl who wants to marry one
guy and hires another to pretend to be a rich obnoxious count so her
father will reconsider his unfavorable view of the one she thinks she
loves. In the meantime, her father hires a bodyguard to keep her at
home and she is locked in her room. She throws her meals, that are
served on a tray of fine china and silver, out the window. Her pretend
suitor is really trying to be hired by a radio show and we get to hear
his audition and first broadcast. The 3 songs are forgettable and the
script is predictable. Ann is okay and Gene is his usual smarmy
sophomoric self. The two character actors steal the show. Which is a
dud. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028479/combined

Babies For Sale (1940) Glenn Ford, Rochelle Hudson. Early Ford film concerns black market for babies and a young reporter who takes them on in an expose' article he writes. The connected real adoption agencies get him fired by threatening the paper with law suits. He continues investigating on his own, and eventually meets up with two of the girls who have lost their babies to the Doctor in charge of the place they had gone to for help. They manage to get foot prints of the baby that was sold to a rich couple and the originals made at the time of birth to show the child was really Hudson's child she had been told had died. Somewhat watered down because of the Hays code, still has a good story to tell. Ford is very good looking in his early films and is charming. Rest of cast is fine. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032231/combined

Framed (1947) Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Barry Sullivan, Edgar Buchanan. Guy blows into town driving a defective truck. He gets his promised money by strong arming the owner of the rig, who is not gonna pay. Goes to a bar and hooks up with a dame after getting drunk and passing out. She is looking for a patsy for her real fella, who is a banker married to the daughter of the owner of the bank. Who he doesn't love. As their plot is revealed as they use their mark, Mike, who they plan to kill in the bankers car as it misses a curve and crashes down a mountain ravine, but things don't go as planned. Or do they? Our femme fatale has a secret plan and Mike has to figure it all out. Pretty good noir. Carter is simply gorgeous and Glenn is in turn confused and a hardened gambler a la his role in Gilda. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039396/combined

The Undercover Man (1949) Glenn Ford, Nina Foch, James Whitmore. Interesting story of an IRS agent, Ford, who is appropriately professional and humorless at the same time, and Nina Foch as his wife has little to do but look concerned. Ford wants more time at home but he and his fellow agents hunker down in a small room going over books and leads. Barry Kelley, as the lawyer for the "Big Guy", in a thousand dollar suit, living in a mansion and driving a very sleek convertible car, steals the movie. As the master fixer he is simply superb. Based somewhat on the real gangster Al Capone and the G-men who brought him down, this is a pretty good B movie and while not exciting, keeps your interest.   7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042006/combined

ENCORE:

Article 99 (1992) Ray Liotta, Keifer Sutherland, Kathy Baker, Forest Whitaker, John Mahoney. Story about a group of doctors fighting the bureaucracy at a Veterans Hospital. When a patient needs a bypass operation but is given an Article 99, which is a denial of service letter, they get him admitted for something else and move him around until they can schedule the procedure. Keifer is the new yuppie doctor who is just going to serve his time before going into practice for himself. But he finds himself caring about an old vet who has been shifted around for a long time until he finally just wears out and dies. Very interesting film that is more relevant today than when it was released. Filmed in Kansas City, Missouri at an old hospital that was to be torn down, the scenery is gorgeous. On a hillside with the Liberty Memorial (the only WWI Memorial in the USA) down a long drive lined with maples in full fall color, it is a beautiful backdrop in contrast to the crowded and crumbling hospital. Cast are all very good. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101371/combined