Sullivan's Travels

Top 100 (Revised #61); Laughs (#39); Cheers (#25)

I don't know if I'd call this a comedy, and while Veronica Lake's role is significant, the movie certainly wasn't about her.

But all that aside, this was a good movie. A movie producer wants to make a movie about hoboes and call it O Brother, Where Art Thou? The studio wants a comedy, but he wants it to be more realistic, so he goes out into the world and discovers what it's like to be a hobo.

A bit preachy, but not overly so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08e9k-c91E8

Philadelphia

Cheers (#20); Songs - Streets of Philadelphia (#68); Heroes - Andrew Beckett (#49)

I started watching this movie unsure of whether I'd watch the whole thing. I did. It's not a movie about the relationship between Andrew Beckett and his partner. It's a movie about a man who was treated unfairly and how he stood up to it.

It's a great courtroom drama, and Hanks and Washington are both wonderful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO91tO3iPAQ

Gaslight

Thrills (#78); Stars - Ingrid Bergman (#4)

Brilliant psychological thiller! It's scary how easy it would be to do this to someone.

Kind of like when my sister tries to convince me I'm a Sims character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuHfvfqX03o

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Top 100 (#50/73); Thrills (#54); Song - Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (#23); Heroes - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (#20); Top Ten - Western (#7)

Oh, how I love this movie! The combination of Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and William Goldman's witty script make this one of my all-time favorites.

It's a bit odd that Butch and Sundance are listed as heroes. They were wild west bandits. And yet in this movie, they're the ones we cheer for. We forget that they're the bad guys and we want them to win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck6vqsOt-Pc

His Girl Friday

Laughs (#19); Stars - Cary Grant (#2)

First off, I don't know why anyone would choose Ralph Bellamy over Cary Grant. That would just be silly.

Secondly, I like this movie. And I like Cary Grant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PLsYSTRHDg

Anatomy of a Murder

Stars - James Stewart (#3); Top Ten - Courtroom Drama (#7)

I liked this movie, but didn't love it, probably because I disliked Lee Remick's character. You're supposed to be cheering for Jimmy Stewart, but it's hard when you don't care what happens to his defendant. Maybe I'd like the book better.

But Stewart, of course, was great - as was the entire cast. And George C. Scott was actually not an unattractive man when he was younger (no, he wasn't 38).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vDT3D41Kos

Blade Runner

Top 100 (Revised #97); Thrills (#74); Top Ten - Science Fiction (#6)

Movies that have words like futuristic, post-apocalyptic, cyborg, android, or robot in their description are an automatic red flag for me. I knew before I watched this that it would be stupid, far-fetched, and pointless. And believe me, it was.

It was supposed to be told film noir style. Why on earth would anybody think it was a brilliant idea to combine film noir and sci fi? Harrison Ford's narration sounded like a fifth grader reading his book report in front of the class.

In fact, Harrison Ford seemed bored throughout the whole movie, as though he, like me, thought it was a stupid waste of time.

These commercial spoofs are dumb. The movie's even dumber.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtGv6Zq8Cvg

Do the Right Thing

Top 100 (#95 - Revised); Songs - Fight the Power (#40)

I liked this better than I thought I would. It's about racial tensions swelling until they finally erupt on a hot summer night. The story is well told, and the acting is very good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKeWrdPsYAc

Chinatown

Top 100 (#19/21); Thrills (#16); Score (#9); Quotes - "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown" (#74); Villains - Noah Cross (#16); Top Ten - Mystery (#2)

Overall, it was okay. Jack Nicholson plays a detective who starts out investigating one thing, but finds it's just the tip of the iceberg in a different case. So that part was interesting enough. I don't like Faye Dunaway though. And Chinatown wasn't really a part of this story. It referred to something that happened in the past (which was never really explained). They'd just say things like "It's just like Chinatown." Whatever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX5XpFm7jps

The Last Picture Show

Top 100 (Revised #95)

I turned this off less than 1/2 hour into it. It was all about teenagers um, figuring out the facts of life.

I think it would have been better if they had done it this way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttnu6RB_cPI&list=UUi3JJJ1I_GzwtV4HTtRePFg&index=7&feature=plcp

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Top 100 (#20/33); Cheers (#17); Villains - Nurse Ratched (#5)

As Brinthia said in her review, this movie was, um, interesting. That's about it. I don't get how it's an inspirational movie. I certainly wouldn't call it that. And as for Nurse Ratched being a villain, well, she wasn't particularly nice. But I don't think I'd say she was evil. Not like Maleficent or Voldemort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSiVZ524yW4

Scarface: Shame of a Nation

Villains - Tony Camonte (#47); Top Ten - Gangster (#6)

This is the 1932 film, not the 1983 version starring Al Pacino (and probably laden with f-bombs). This version was good - your typical 1930s gangster movie. Personally, I like it better without all the swearing and violence.

The movie, however, was pulled from theaters quickly after it's release (supposedly because it encouraged gangster behavior, although I think it's more likely because it boldly stated that the government was just standing back allowing it to happen). It's only recently been re-released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n__zOO9AEa8

True Grit

Stars - John Wayne (#13); Heroes - Rooster Cogburn (#36)

The movie was okay. John Wayne is great, but that girl was so completely annoying. I get that she had to be pushy and determined. That was central to the plot. But why does that have to come across as annoying? And if she had said one more time that Rooster was a man with true grit, I would have thrown something at the TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDhBW597Rx0

Meet John Doe

Stars - Gary Cooper (#11), Barbara Stanwyck (#11); Cheers (#49)

So here's the thing - I loved Ball of Fire. I mean, really loved it. And so I started watching this movie expecting it to be another Ball of Fire. It's not.

Not that it's bad. Not at all. Cooper, Stanwyck, Capra - of course it's good. It's just a totally different movie. This is a social commentary on the plight of the average citizen. Cooper is softspoken and noble. Stanwyck is fiesty. Capra makes you feel good to be alive. But it's a drama, not a romantic comedy.

So yes, Meet John Doe is a good movie.

But it's not Ball of Fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9AXjEChjno

A Streetcar Named Desire

Top 100 (#45/47); Score (#19); Stars - Marlon Brando (#4), Vivien Leigh (#16); Quotes - "Stella! Hey, Stella!" (#45), "I have always depended..." (#75); Passions (#67)

I really need to see this movie again. It's been a long time since I've seen it, and I don't remember much. I remember that it was hot, and that people weren't happy. Vivien Leigh's Blanche was a bit like an older Scarlett O'Hara. And Brando, well, my Guys and Dolls post tells what I think of young Brando.

Yep, I need to see this movie again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zeea5UzPPg

Shrek

Stars - Mike Myers (Current); Top Ten - Animated (#8)

Okay, so the Fiona thing was a sweet twist. Other than that, though, I really didn't love Shrek. I hate toilet humor, especially in kids movies. And there were far too many innuendoes and other inappropriate things that really were not necessary.

And what's with all the sequels? It's getting to be like The Land Before Time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s1ECntZfGI

Rebel Without a Cause

Top 100 (#59); Stars - James Dean (#18)

This is the movie that set the stage for teen drama. So many of the later teen movies have been influenced by Rebel Without a Cause.

Truth is, I never quite figured out just what made James Dean's character so broody. Maybe that's because he didn't have a cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu0pbUUFIzM

Intolerance

Top 100 (Revised - #49); Stars - Lillian Gish (#17)

This lengthy (3:17) movie tells four stories of intolerance - a modern tale of social reformers intolerating the downtrodden, French royalty in the 1500s intolerating the Huguenots, Babylonian priests of Bel intolerating the Ishtar worshippers, and, of course, the Pharisees intolerating Jesus.

There's actually very little of the Jesus story - I'm sure it was thrown in there to squash complaints about the nearly nude drunken Ishtar revelries. Some people are intolerant of that, you know.

I find it ironic that Griffith made this preachy movie about how we should all love each other at about the same time he made his extremely racist The Birth of a Nation.

Mae Marsh was in both movies, and I still think she looks and acts like the certifiably insane crazy cat lady who lives down the block in that house the kids swear is haunted.

And I threw up a little in my mouth when (spoiler alert), at the end, the angels flew overhead, bearing peace and hope for a more intolerant world. At least for all the little white children down below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWbRuhmsHPM

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Passions (#73)

A widow buys a haunted cottage and soon develops a friendship with its former resident - the ghost of an old sea captain.

The story is sweet but sad. She's just so very, very lonely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMyW4ct2hoE&feature=related

Caddyshack

Laughs (#71); Stars - Chevy Chase (Current - Unrated); Quotes - "Cinderella story. Outta nowhere..." (#92); Top Ten - Sports (#7)

I really didn't think it was all that funny. The golfers were arrogant and stupid. The caddies were boring and stupid. Bill Murray was annoying and stupid.

I fell asleep towards the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yJ89DBaVDA

All Quiet on the Western Front

Top 100 (#54); Top Ten - Epic (#7)

Young men enlist amid promises of glory and adventure. They find out all too quickly that war is hell.

Aside from the cheesy 1930 acting and directing, it was a good movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZNxbzEwB5k

Back to the Future

Top Ten - Science Fiction (#10)

Hold it, fellas, I'm afraid you're just too darn loud.

With Huey Lewis, a DeLorean, and Marty's orange vest, this movie is as much a time capsule of the 1980s as it is the '50s.

Goofy, yes, but I like it. And even though I love Eric Stoltz, I think Michael J. Fox fit the role of Marty better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PiWd96LldM&feature=related

Double Indemnity

Top 100 (#38/29); Thrills (#24); Stars - Barbara Stanwyck (#11), Edward G. Robinson (#24); Villains - Phyllis Dietrichson (#8); Passions (#84)

Very good mystery movie, with lots of twists and turns.

But still I wonder - what's the deal with Barbara Stanwyck's hair?

Jailhouse Rock

Songs - Jailhouse Rock (#21)

Sure, Elvis movies are cheesy, but they're also great fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0Rz-uP4Mk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvlxRvhCB_A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrjbwVhQOAw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkMVscR5YOo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_aai8_SpXk

The Jazz Singer

Top 100 (#90); Quotes - "...You ain't heard nothin' yet!" (#71)

This movie deserves its spot because of its achievement as the first talkie. Actually, it's part talkie/part silent. The first 20 minutes or so are silent, then Al Jolson sings and says his famous line, then after that it goes back and forth - a few scenes silent and a few talking.

Aside from that, though, it was just ok. Erma thought it was dumb. I thought it had a decent story to it - a Jewish man wants to be a jazz singer, but his father wants him to be a cantor. I do agree with Erma, though, in that Jolson's eye makeup was creepy and his voice wasn't that great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M1Dl6KZVZs&feature=related

The Lion King

Songs - Hakuna Matata (#99); Top Ten - Animation (#4)

I don't really care for talking animal movies. The Lion King, however, is the exception. The story is well-told (incidentally, it's the first Disney animated movie with an original story), the characters are entertaining (okay, so Simba isn't Mufasa, and he never will be. I say we blame that on Scar), and the songs are sing-alongable (well, except for Can You Feel the Love Tonight? How cheesy can you get?). And above all that, it is truly visually stunning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX07j9SDFcc

The King and I

Songs - Shall We Dance? (#54); Passions (#31); Musicals (#11)

I love this movie. I love the songs. I love Deborah Kerr's dresses. And I love the ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGM-7hoNSWc

King Kong

Top 100 (#43/41); Thrills (#12); Score (#13); Quotes - "...It was Beauty killed the Beast" (#84); Passions (#24); Top Ten - Fantasy (#4)

I have to disagree. It wasn't Beauty killed the Beast. It was the greedy men who took him out of the jungle in the first place. Stupid people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuRQH_hLcTw

The Nutty Professor

Laughs (#99)

Apparently I'm not French.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QrelL9fOjY

Schindler's List

Top 100 (#9/8); Cheers (#3); Heroes - Oskar Schindler (#13); Villains - Amon Goeth (#15); Top Ten - Epic (#3)

When you're looking at eleven million, one thousand does not seem like very many. But it is. Because of the courage of one man, 1,000 people were spared from certain death. It's important that we remember heroes like Schindler, Corrie ten Boom, and Miep Gies, and Spielberg does an excellent job here telling us to do just that.

This movie is oftentimes hard to watch, but the story is worth telling. It's a very well made movie (although it could have done without the nudity) and all the actors - Ralph Fiennes in particular - were excellent.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Top 100 (#100/98); Stars - James Cagney (#8); Cheers (#88); Quotes - "My mother thanks you..." (#97); Songs - The Yankee Doodle Boy (#71); Musicals (#18)

I have to admit that, while I remember watching this, I don't recall much about this movie. One thing I do remember is that upon seeing it, I decided that I liked the name Mary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-x20vVneDg

Rudy

Cheers (#54)

I liked this movie. I liked Rudy's persistence and perseverance. I liked his dedication and willingness to take small steps and work to make his dream come true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXOIYxZF41s

Speed

Thrills (#99)

This movie was far-fetched, but entertaining. But did it have to have so many endings? They didn't need to add excitement at the end - there was plenty throughout the movie. It ended up feeling too long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRk1bQ_Ni4Q

The Producers

Laughs (#11); Songs - Springtime for Hitler (#80)

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I like Mel Brooks (actually, I loved him on Mad About You). He's politically incorrect and irreverent, but he knows just how far to take a joke. He's not out to offend - he's just plain funny.

Brooks and Wilder make a great team, and they do it again in The Producers (which is why the 1968 version is better than the Nathan Lane/Matthew Broderick one).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0gUnTBA3lI