July 2014---

Watched TCM Kay Francis day films last week.  One I had never seen was Another Dawn with Ian Hunter and Errol Flynn.


1930s films with Cagney and one with Shirley Temple; Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm. 

The spring has almost ended and I have not made a new  post on this site.  Still watching films but not going online every day like I used to, so I' m not blogging much anymore. 

APRIL'S FIRST WEEK

NEW TO ME:

Off The Record (1939) Pat O'Brien, Joan Blondell.  Reporters on newspaper try to help gangsters young brother.  Likable stars in B-movie fare.  7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031743/combined

Identity Thief (2013) Melissa McCarthy, Jason Bateman.  She steals his identity because his name is Sandy and maxes out his credit cards.  He tracks her down and tries to bring her in so he can prove he is who he says he is.  I had to fast forward through some of this mess.  5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024432/combined

ENCORES:

Mogambo (1953) Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly.  African hunter leads safari to capture sounds of gorillas.  Gorgeous cinematography.  Unique score of only African native drums and chants.  Ava is stunning.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046085/combined

On The Waterfront (1954) Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden.  Right out of the headlines, story of the longshoremen's union corruption and the people who lived through and fought it.  Great film won 8 Oscars and many other awards.  10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047296/combined

The Agony And The Ecstasy (1965) Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento.  The story of Michelangelo's struggle with the Pope over the painting of the Sistine Chapel.  Drags at times. 7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058886/combined

The Hunt For Red October (1990) Sean Connery, Alex Baldwin.  A Tom Clancy Jack Ryan adventure story about the capture of a Soviet submarine. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099810/combined

Thieves, friends, the Fleet, and so forth---

NEW TO ME:

I Am A Thief (1934) Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez.  Fun and games among the criminal class.  6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026505/combined

The Passionate Friends (1940) Ann Todd, Claude Rains, Trevor Howard.  A love story, directed by David Lean, that is so boring I had to force myself to finish it.  They meet when young and part and then she marries an older man and he pines and  - oh! me, I've forgotten what,  but after much dickering around, she is forgiven and he is? I've already forgotten.  5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041735/combined

The Fleets In (1942) Dorothy Lamour, William Holden, Bette Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Jimmy Dorsey and Orchestra.   Lots of great dance music and great old songs.  Sailors and getting girls is the plot.  6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034736/combined

Cynthia (1947) Elizabeth Taylor, Mary Astor, George Murphy, S. Z. Sakall.  Fifteen year old Taylor in a minor film that hardly any of my friends saw back then.  It did not play long and I had forgotten it.  Liz is a sickly girl with all the usual teen problems.  Solved nicely by the end.  BTW, I am one week older than Liz.  She had 5 or 6 husbands.  I had one.  She was gorgeous her whole life.  Lucky girl.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039293/combined

Tightrope (1984) Clint Eastwood, Genevieve Bujold, Dan Hedaya.  Women are being murdered.  Cops are baffled when it seems their detective's life is mirrored.  6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088272/combined

Friends With Benefits (2011) Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson.  California guy sent to NYC for job meets girl and - the title tells all.  Leads are so attractive it is a pleasure to watch them.  7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1632708/combined

ENCORES:

Follow The Fleet (1936) Astaire and Rogers musical.  7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027630/combined

Red River (1946) John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joann Dru, Walter Brennan, John Ireland.  All time great western about cattle drive from Texas to the new rail head in Kansas.  10/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040724/combined

Top Gun (1986) Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards.  Still a great flying film and nice romance.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/combined

Rain Man (1988) Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman.  Lovely film about an autistic man and his bother, who has just learned of his existence.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095953/combined

Philo Vance, an Empress, Gatsby, baseball, and Three Cinderellas etc---

NEW TO ME:

Kennel Murder Case (1934) William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Paulette.  Powell as Philo Vance solves the case.  Astor wears great fashions of the day.  Vance has a black Scottish terrier in this one and only  the rich messed with dog shows back then.  6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024210/combined

Young Catherine (1991) Julia Ormond, Mark Frankel, Franco Nero, Chistopher Plummer, Vanessa Redgrave. Story of the German Princess brought to Russia to marry the heir to the throne.  Gorgeous costumes and scenery.  Interesting story.      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103311/combined

The Great Gatsby (2013) Leonardo deCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire.  The story has been filmed enough already.  Leo is quite good as Gatsby.  Silly useless people doing silly useless things.  A tragedy?  Not at all.  Gorgeous sets but the parties are much too frantic.  And tiresome. 5/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/combined

42 (2013) Harrison Ford, Chadwick Boseman, Nicole Beharie.  The story of Jackie Robinson as the first black baseball player hired into the major leagues.  Very well done, showing the harassment he endured.  7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453562/combined

ENCORES:

Cinderella Jones (1946) Joan Leslie, Robert Alda, S. Z. Sakall.  Girl singer and air craft plant worker discovers she is an heiress and must decide who loves her for herself.  5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038415/combined

Two Sisters From Boston (1946) June Allyson, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford, Jimmy Durante. Musical set in the gay 90's is fun.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039054/combined

The Glass Slipper (1955) Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Elsa Lancaaster, Estelle Winwood, Keenan Wynn.  Cinderella with lots of singing and dancing. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048124/combined

Because Your Mine (1952) Mario Lanza, Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore.  Opera star is drafted into the army with consequences for all.  Great singing. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044402/combined

To Catch A Thief (1955) Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams.  Alfred Hitchcocks fun film about a jewel theif.  Gorgeous scenery.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044402/combined

Enchanted (2007) Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon.  A storybook Princess ends us in real life New York City befriended by a man and his little girl. Charming for the lighter side. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461770/combined

Sex And The City, (2008) Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nizon, Kristin Davis,
Chris Noth.  Fun with the girls.  9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000774/combined

Melodrama, comedy and all that jazz---

NEW TO ME:

Thousands Cheer (1943) Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, Mary Astor, John Boles.  Musical about the shows put on for service men during WWII.  7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036432/combined

Go Naked In The World (1961) Gina Lollabrigida, Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Franciosa.  Love affair between a protitute and the heir to a fortune.  Boring,  Pretty scenery.  6/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054933/combined

Youngblood Hawk (1964) James Franciscus, Genevieve Page, Suzanne Pleshette.  Writer from the backwoods becomes a sensation and lives the high life until the glamour almost kills him.  7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058764/combined

How Do You Know (2010) Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson.  Love triangle has some cute moments but is mostly forgettable. 6/10 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341188/combined

ENCORES:

After The Thin Man (1936) William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta.   Second in the series is just as fun. 9/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027260/combined

Fiesta (1947) Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Akim Tamiroff, Mary Astor, John Carroll. Boy, girl twins fight in the bull ring and he wants to be a musician so she takes his place. Gorgeous cinematography.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039377/combined

12 O'Clock High (1949) Gregory Peck, Dean Jagger, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe.  Great film about the strategic bombing of Nazi Germany in WWII.  10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041996/combined

How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, William Powell.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045891/combined

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) Paul Newman, Robert Redford.  7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/combined

The Bourne Legacy (20111) Jeremy Renner, Ed Norton, Rachel Weisz.  9/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194173/combined

Argo (2012) Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman.  9/10 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/combined

Classics and junk---

NEW TO ME: 

Rumor Has It (2005) Jennifer Aniston, Mark Ruffalo, Shirley MacLaine, Kevin Costner.  The rest of the story after the end of The Graduate.  Supposedly.  6/10 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398375/combined 

Trance (2013/I) James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson.  Something about a guy who is hypnotized and a bunch of thieves and a painting and a therapist and and and---blah! 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1924429/combined

The East (2013) Playing on HBO this month is this mess of a film.  I watched it but have no idea what it was about.  Have completely forgotten who was in it and what was happening.  I looked it up on IMDb but it was so dense I gave up reading about it.  I gave it one point and that is generous.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1869716/combined

ENCORE:

Naughty Marietta (1935) Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Elsa Lancaster. Great movie musical.  A delight for operetta lovers.  9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026768/combined

Cass Timberlane (1947) Lana Turner, Spencer Tracy, Zachery Scott.  A small town judge marries a girl from the wrong side of the tracks and their struggle to make it work.  Lana is beautiful and fun; Spence is likable; Zach is his usual charming cad.  Great MGM production values. 8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039250/combined

Major League (1989) Tom Berenger, Cbarlie Sheen, Rene Russo, Corbin Bernsen.  One of the most fun baseball movies.  7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097815/combined

Dave (1993) Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Ving Rhames, Charles Grodin, Ben Kingsley.  A guy subs for the President of the USA while he has a night with his girlfriend.  Prez has a stroke and the sub is duped into posing as the Prez by the scheming team that doesn't want to give up power.  Cast is wonderful.  Great satire.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106673/combined

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003) Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson.  Back when Matt was doing rom/coms this was one of the best.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0251127/combined

Spy Game (2001) Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormick.  A CIA agent on his last day recalls the training of one of his operatives and works frantically to rescue him from a Chinese prison.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266987/combined

Oscar week and what won when---

NEW TO ME:

Heist (2001) Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon.  Too complicated to keep track of who did what and by the end I did not care.  But Hackman is always worth watching.  5/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252503/combined

ENCORES:

Pygmalion (1938) Leslie Howard, Wendy Hillar.  Bernard Shaw's great play done to perfection. IMHO.  Nominated for many awards, won Oscar for Screenplay.  10/10   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030637/combined

The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947) Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders. Rex is the best ghost ever.  Lovely score brings to life the scenes of the sea.  Oscar nomination for cinematography. 10/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039420/combined

The Red Shoes (1948) Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring.  All-time best film about ballet.  IMHO.  Won 2 Oscars for Art/Set Decoration and the wonderful score.  10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040725/combined

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) John Wayne and the US Cavalry.  With Joanne Dru, Mildred Natwick, John Agar, Ben Johnson.  Gorgeous cinematography is another character in the film.  8/10   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041866/combined

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Andcrson.  Tennessee Williams great play filmed before the Production Code was kaput. Nominated for many Oscars but won none. 9/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051459/combined

The Slender Thread (1965) Anne Bancroft, Sidney Poitier, Telly Savalas, Ed Asner.  Suicide hotline and the frantic work top save a woman's life.  Nominated for 2 technical Oscars. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059729/combin

Shakespeare In Love (1998) Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Colin Firth. Fun at the Old Vic with the writing and staging of Romeo and Juliet.  Won 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Actress and Supporting Actress.   9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138097/combined

Traffic (2000) Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benecio Del Toro.  Nominated for many Oscars, won 4 including Del Toro for Supporting Actor.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/combined

Die Another Day (2002) Pierce Brosnan, Halle Barry, Toby Stephens.  Only watch it to see Stephens as a very bad boy.  6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246460/combined

The Bounty Hunter (2010/I) Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Jason Sudeikis, Christine Buranski.  Divorced couple go on a chase for the bad guys.  In a great car!  Check brain and enjoy.  7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1038919/combined

One New & some Encores---

NEW TO ME:

Emma (2009 TV series) Romolo Garai, Michael Gamon, Johnny Lee Miller.  Jane Austen's novel of a meddlesome but sweet young woman who wants her friends to marry well, and who she chooses, is wonderfully realized in the 4 part mini-series.  The village and the homes used in England, make the story all the more real and beautifully realized.  Nominated for many awards, and won an Emmy for hair styling.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1366312/combined

ENCORES:

Saratoga Trunk (1945) Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper.     10/10

Dead Reckoning (1947) Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott.           7/10           

The Best Of Everything (1958) Hope Lange, Diane BAker, Stephen Boyd, Suzy Parker.    8/10  

The Caine Mutiny (1959) Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Jose Farrar, Fred MacMurray.  8/10   

Erin Brockovich (2000) Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart.                9/10

Taken 2 (2012) Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace.                       6/10

The brilliant and the bummers---

NEW TO ME:

Tess (1979) Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth.  Awful story of a beautiful poor girls struggle to survive in 1800's England.  She is preyed upon by men and has to do anything to survive.  I hated the whole thing and felt awful when it ended.  Now I find it was made by pedophile Roman Polansky and think he is a sick SOB.  4/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080009/combined

The Object Of My Affection (1996) Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda, Aison Janney, Steve Zahn.  Rom/com about a woman who finds herself pregnant with one stupids guys baby, but has a really great gay guy sharing her apartment.  It all works out but these people are too good to be true.  6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120772/combined

8MM (1999) Nicholas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix.  Awful mess about a private eye sent by the widow of a rich man to find out if a film found in his safe is real.   He ends up in the porn/snuff industry  in Los Angeles.  I could not finish this stinker.  Who wants to wallow in such stuff.  It is enough to read about it in the news.  4/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134273/combined

Love, Marilyn (2012) Documentary about her life, using film clips, interviews with those who knew her, and her letters and recently found diaries and notebooks of her writings,  Fifty years after her death she is still a favorite topic, and her pictures are still used and sold.  I still feel sorry for her all these years later.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077747/combined

ENCORES:

The Great McGinty (1940) Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff, Murial Angelus, William Demarest. The first of writer Preston Sturges great films he directed.  Story of a bum who rises to be governor of a state with the help of a crooked boss.  His in-name-only marriage to his secretary, who then fall in love, and the jaded look at politics, is as relevant today as it was 80 years ago.  9/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032554/combined

Reap The Wild Wind (1942) Ray Milland, Paulette Goddard, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey, John Wayne.  Cecil B. DeMille's story of clipper ships, the Florida Keys, storms and southern belles, is entertaining.  What DeMille does best.  Shot in beautiful technicolor.  And a giant squid for good measure!  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035244/combined

Wag The Dog (1997) Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Anne Heche, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson.  Political satire and dark humor about a Presidential election, and doing whatever it takes.  Hoffman as a Hollywood producer hired to do the impossible, is terrific.  At every problem he says "this is nothing!"  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035244/combined

Argo (2012) Ben Affleck's Oscar winning film is a favorite of 2012.  Watch it often.  9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/combined

A good week of watching films---

NEW TO ME: 

Anthony Adverse (1936) Fredric March, Olivia deHavilland, Claude Rains, Gale Sondergaard, Edmund Guenn, Anita Louise. 18th century Italy and a story of how an orphan rises from nobody to wealth and his adventures in the Indies, Africa and finally off to America, and freedom.  You can see why March was a matinee idol of the 1930's.  Very handsome and very good actor.  Anita Louise is luminous.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027300/combined

And The Band Played On (1993) Mathew Modine, Alan Alda, Richard Gere, Glenne Headly. The first years of the AIDS virus and the fight to get funding and finally the infighting among the doctors from the USA and France about who would be given credit for the discovery of what it was. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106273/combined

The Stranger Beside Me (1995-TVmovie) Tiffany Thiessen.  Tiffany, a star of White Collar,  is the only reason to watch this mess.  About a woman married to a guy who is a serial rapist.  She slowly grows suspicious and finds a way to save herself and her baby. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114559/combined

Turbulence (1997) Ray Liotta, Lauren Holly. A flight during Christmas season, plane all decorated and everything, and a madman and a flight attendant duke it out.  Finally gets that sucker landed all by herself.  Whew!  Tiresom drivel, but nothing else would do.  Liotta plays nuts okay. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120390/combined

Emma (2009 TVseries) Romolo Garai, Michael Gamon, Johnny Lee Miller.  Jane Austen's novel of a meddlesome but sweet young woman who wants her friends to marry well, and who she chooses, is wonderfully realized in the 4 part mini-series.  The village and the homes used in England, make the story all the more real and beautifully realized.  Nominated for many awards, and won an Emmy for hair styling.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1366312/combined                          
Ides Of March (2011) Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, George Clooney. Dirty politics among the staffs of campaign rivals.  Interesting, but we end up not caring about any of these buggers.  7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/combined

ENCORES:

The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) William Powell, Myrna Loy,  Lucille Watson, Anne Revere, Gloria deHaven.  Nick and Nora go home on holiday and get involved in - ta da - murder!  Not up to the best of the series, but Asta saves the day being cute.  And even on their worst day, better than most. 8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037365/combined

The Great Ziegfeld (193) William Powell, Frank Morgan, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer. Story of the great Broadway producer of extravaganzas, glorifying the American Girl.  9/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027698/combined

The Heiress (194) Olivia deHavilland, Montgomery Clift, Miriam Hopkins, Ralph Richardson. Olivia's second Oscar win and she is magnificent.  Great film of the successful Broadway play of the Sloper father and daughter, and a young man intent on marrying 'the heiress.'  10/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041452/combined

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf (1966) Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis.   Volatile, overwrought drama of aging couple spending a drunken evening with new couple on campus. One of the films that introduced cussing to American movies. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061184/combined

Wait Until Dark (1967) Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna.  Blind woman in danger. As the years go by, Hepburn's delivery of her lines seems more and more false.  6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062467/combined

The Day Of The Jackal (1973) Edward Fox as an assassin is riveting.  9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069947/combined

28 Days (2000) Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins.  Alcholic and drug abuser is sentenced to rehab for 28 days instead of a jail term, which she will serve if she fails to get sober.  Her drinking buddy boyfriend is no help because he just wants to party.  Bullock is good as a perp who isn't serious about reform until she is almost sent off to prison.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0191754/combined

The Jane Austin Book Club (2007) Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker.  A group read through all the Austin novels while living lives they discover match the heroines of the books.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0866437/combined        

Trouble With The Curve (2012) Clint Eastwook, Amy Adams, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake.   Favorite film of the year.  Baseball, romance - what could be better?  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2083383/combined         

Final movies enjoyed in JANUARY

NEW TO ME:

What Price Hollywood? (1932) Constance Bennett.  Waitress finds stardom and trouble.  7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023686/combined

Small Town Girl (1936) Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor. She marries a rich guy. 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028269/combined

Divorce (1945) Kay Francis, Bruce Cabot.  A Monogram film and a step down for our Kay. Forgettable. 6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037645/combined

Wintertime (1943) Sonja Heinie, Cesar Romero, Cornel Wilde, Carole Landis, Jack Oakie. Ice Skating, music and great ballroom dancing by Romero. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036540/combined

The Package (1984) Gene Hackman, Tommie Lee Jones, Joanna Cassidy. Green Beret Sgt. has to get Green Beret prisoner to USA, but he escapes and the chase is on.   7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098051/combined

Beautiful Creatures (2013) Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Rmmy Rossum.  Why are these good actors in this mess.    5/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1559547/combined

A Good Day To Die Hard (2013) Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney.  John McClane has a son and they are in Russia.  Boring.  5/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606378/combined

ENCORES:

Maytime (1934) Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, John Barrymore. Perfect.  Great singing. Beautiful cinematography.  10/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029222/combined

The Women (1939) Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Mary Boland, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard.  Great comedy.  10/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029222/combined

Broadway Melody of 1940 Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy, Ian Hunter, Frank Morgan.  Did not enjoy it as much as the first time I saw it.  Seemed labored and dull.   Downgraded a point.  Still, it has The Fred, Frank and Hunter.  Not a fan of Powell.   8/10  
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032284/combined

Nobody Lives Forever (1946) John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald. Good film noir with romance.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038780/combined

That Midnight Kiss (1949) Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson, Jose Iturbi, Ethel Barrymore. The film that introduced the great singer.  Lively romance and great music.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041956/combined

Rear Window (1954) James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Wendall Corey, Raymond Burr. One of Hitchcock's finest. 10/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/combined

Gambit (1966) Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Herbert Lom.  Favorite caper film.  9/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060445/combined   

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci.  Buddy cops Riggs and Murtaugh get a federal witness -Leo - to protect who is a pain the neck but helps out anyway. 8/10 http://whttp:www.imdb.com/title/tt0097733/combined

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo.  Riggs, Murtaugh and Leo, get a buddy cop who is a woman who can match Riggs all the way.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104714/combined

Sleepless In Seattle (1993) Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan.  Charming romance.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108160/combined

The Pelican Brief (1993) Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shephard, John Heard, James B. Sikking, Tony Goldwyn.  Conspiracy political thriller. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107798/combined

Clear and Present Danger (1993) Harrison Ford, William Dafoe, Anne Archer, James Earl Jones. Tom Clancy's character, Jack Ryan, takes of the Columbia drug cartels.  8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109444/combined

First Wives Club (1996) Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Bette Midlar.  Three women get dumped by their husbands but get their revenge.  Great cast. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116313/combined

Syriana (2005) George Clooney, Matt Damon, Christopher Plummer, Chris Cooper.  spying and other nefarious dealing in the oil industry. Confused. 6/10    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365737/combined

Hurt Locker (2008) Jeremy Renner.  Iraq war bomb squad maverick is a loner and not liked, but gets the job done.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887912/combined

The Bourne Legacy (2012) Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach.  Another part of the CIA has operatives that  are targeted to be killed.  Number 5 Aaron Cross has to figure out how to stay alive and keep Dr. Marta Shearing from being killed, also.  Solid entry into the Bourne world. Gorgeous scenery of snow capped mountains and trees.  9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194173/combined

TV Series Favorites: 

Jane Eyre (2006) Toby Stephens. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780362/combined
White Collar Final episodes for season. Matt Bomer; Tim DeKay, Willie Garson. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1358522/episodes?season=5
Black Sails (2014) Episode 1 Toby Stephens. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375692/combined

A Few New; Favorites too---

NEW TO ME:

Allotment Wives {1945) Kay Francis, Paul Kelly, Otto Kruger.  Minor Francis film, but the subject was very timely in 1945.  Women marrying GI's for their allotment checks and the agents who broke the racket.  Kay is one of the women and in charge of the younger girls.  Kelly is the agent who ends the scam.  7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037505/combined

Treasure Of The Golden Condor (1953) Cornel Wilde, Anne Bancroft, Constance Smith, George Macready, Fay Wray.  Usual sand and sword melodrama.  Mayan gold is the treasure. 6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046457/combined

Kiss Of Death (1995) David Caruso, Nic Cage, Katherine Erbe, Samuel Jackson, Helen Hunt, Stanley Tucci.    Based loosely on the 1947 noir classic, this can't begin to hold a candle to the earlier film.  Caruso is no Victor Mature.  Cage plays crazy well, but is no Richard Widmark and there is no iconic scene such as the pushing grandma down the stairsas in the earlier film.  In fact it is so boring I quit half way through.  3/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113552/combined

High Fidelity (2000) John Curack, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joan Cusack.  Rom/com about a sad sack guy who runs a vintage record shop and has nutty friends and employees.  Mainly about his love life.  6/10  .  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146882/combined

ENCORES:

It's A Date {1940) Deanna Durbin, Kay Francis, Walter Pigeon.  Mom's a Broadway star who goes on a trip to Hawaii to rest and learn new part.  Deanna is her daughter who wants to be an actress.  Mixups and fun and good music make a pleasant film.  8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032644/combined

Play Girl (1941) Kay Francis, Mildred Cole, Margaret Hamilton, James Elison, Nigel Bruce. Aging gold-digger takes on a young girl and coaches her in the ways of the world and how to take men for the moeny they will fork over.  As usual, Kay wears fantastic fashions.  The cast makes the film fun.  8/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032916/combined

To start 2014 - A week in Florida ----

---looking at the white sand beach and the gulf - away from sub-zero temps - was like heaven.  A few films watched while on vacation ---

NEW TO ME:

Hello Again (1987) Shelley Long, Gabriel Byrne, Judith Ivey, Corbin Bernsen. Charming fantasy about a woman who chokes to death and is brought back to life after a year by her kooky sister. Her husband has moved on and she has to convince someone she  is who she says she is.  7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093175/combined

Scenes From A Mall (1991) Bette Midlar, Woody Allen.  On the verge of a breakup of their marriage, a couple spends a day at a huge mall doing this and that and talking.    7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102849/combined

Wicker Park (2004) Josh Harnett, Rose Byrne, Diane Kruger.  Obsession with a young woman seen in a cafe by a man, leads him to put his life and career on hold as he trails her around.  Is she his former love who walked out on him?  He has to know.   6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324554/combined

Poisidon (2006) Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss.  Remake of the original is rather tedious.           6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409182/combined

Rescue Dawn (2006) Christian Bale.  The fight to survive in the jungle of  Laos during the war in Vietnam.  6/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462504/combined

Passion Play (2010)  Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, Bill Murray.  Fantasy about an angel rescued my a down and out trumpet player.  Sweet story.  5/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396221/combined

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I (2011) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner.   The    wedding of Bella and Edward and the baby causes all kinds of drama.  Not a very good entry in the saga.  5/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1324999/combined

Snow White And The Huntsman (2011) Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth.  A retelling of the fairy tale with the huntsman sent to kill the princess becoming her mentor and protecter.  6/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1735898/combined

No Strings Attached (2011/I) Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline.  They met at a summer camp as young kids and then, years later, after he discovers his girl friend in bed with his father, calls all his little black book numbers and ends up drunk and naked in her place.  After a discussion they decide to have a sex only relationship.  Will it last?  The leads are so attractive we want it to work out.   7/10  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1411238/combined

Virtual Lies (2012/TV film) Christina Cox, Marc Menard.  A cyber romance goes wrong for a man who almost loses his wife after creating a fake identity online and indulging in lies, deceit and seduction.  5/10   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1887712/combined