Wednesday, July 3, 2013

AFI Top 100 Movies

 
I still really, really do not get the greatness of Citizen Kane.  It's fine, I guess, but I don't get why it's considered to be the best movie ever.  Really, Kane at #1, and To Kill a Mockingbird at #34?  Who makes these lists?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UYlX1-mj4s

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

AFI Top 100 Movies, Revised



I don't really know why AFI felt the need to revisit their original list after only 10 years, but it's interesting to see how political correctness changed it. 

The new movies included:  The General  (1926), Intolerance  (1916), Fellowship of the Ring  (2001), Nashville  (1975), Sullivan's Travels  (1941), Cabaret  (1972), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  (1966), Saving Private Ryan  (1998), The Shawshank Redemption  (1994), In the Heat of the Night  (1967), All the President's Men  (1976),  Spartacus  (1960), Sunrise  (1927), Titanic  (1997), A Night at the Opera  (1935), 12 Angry Men  (1957), The Sixth Sense  (1999), Swing Time  (1936), Sophie's Choice  (1982),  The Last Picture Show  (1971), Do the Right Thing  (1989), Blade Runner  (1982), and Toy Story  (1995).

Almost 1/4 of the list was replaced, some by newer movies.
 
The films removed from the list included:  Doctor Zhivago  (1965), The Birth of a Nation  (1915), From Here to Eternity  (1953), Amadeus  (1984), All Quiet on the Western Front  (1930), The Third Man  (1949), Fantasia  (1940), Rebel Without a Cause  (1955), Stagecoach  (1939), Close Encounters of the Third Kind  (1977), The Manchurian Candidate  (1962), An American in Paris  (1951), Wuthering Heights  (1939), Dances with Wolves  (1990), Giant  (1956), Fargo  (1996), Mutiny on the Bounty  (1935), Frankenstein  (1931), Patton  (1970), The Jazz Singer  (1927), My Fair Lady (1964), A Place in the Sun  (1951), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967).
 
I think the ones that surprise me the most are Rebel Without a Cause, Jazz Singer, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, as they're considered landmark movies.  But of course, Nashville - which nobody's even heard of - and Titanic - which was cinematically impressive but had a crappy storyline - are good enough to replace them.  Obviously this means I don't know anything.
 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The Freshman

Laughs (#79)

A silent comedy wherein Harold Lloyd plays the new kid on campus, who has big dreams of being the star football player and having everybody like him.  He even has a jaunty little handshake, which he's certain will help him make lots of friends (but sadly I couldn't find a clip of it).

This is considered the first sports movie.  It was ok, as far as silents go, but I thought it was too long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl3OlMEDBuU

Thursday, May 23, 2013

The Defiant Ones

Stars - Sidney Poitier (#22); Cheers (#55)

Have I mentioned that I love Sidney Poitier? 

The Defiant Ones tackles racism, with a pair of escaped convicts, one black and one white, chained together and dependent on each other.  It could have been sappy, but it wasn't.  It could have been an edge-of-your-seat adventure, but it wasn't.  It was realistic, and I liked it.

Oh, and I love how buff Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are in this poster.

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

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

AFI Top 100 Songs



For some reason, AFI absolutely loves Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.  While I can't really dispute "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at #1 (although I probably would have placed it top 5), I can't for the life of me figure out "The Man That Got Away" at #11.  Wondering what movie it's from?  Exactly.  It's a song you probably don't know unless you're a diehard Judy fan.  I think these songs should be determined by significance in the movie as well as influence on pop culture.

And while I'd love to see Porgy and Bess ("Summertime", #52), I can't find it.  So we'll have to wait on that review.

Here is a lengthy collection of all 100 songs - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcg9xXjz7ks&list=PLz59ctKeMZfKI3vtr4RqnlhkIkuCrEDlY 

But if you don't have time, then watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIiT51Y5uiM

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Safety Last

Thrills (#97)

Well, what do you know?  I saw this movie a few years ago and had forgotten the name of it. 

Safety Last is a silent movie full of slapstick comedy pratfalls.  You know, the kind where he's walking on beams at a construction site, not watching where he's going, and the audience knows he's about to fall when a crane hoists a beam to just the right place and he steps right on to it, remaining oblivious to the danger. 

It's fun, because it's classic old movie comedy.  I'm sure it had its audience roaring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr2aj1ibVYE

Monday, April 29, 2013

The Big Broadcast of 1938

Songs - Thanks for the Memory (#63)

The movie itself was just enh.  Millionaire W. C. Fields is financing a luxury liner in a Transatlantic race.  Meanwhile, Bob Hope plays emcee for the ship's entertainment.

The entertainment is, well, varied.  From an out-of-place animated sequence to an operatic solo from Valkyrie to a duet that is quite reminiscent of Snow White and the Prince.

But then there's "Thanks for the Memory".  It might not be remarkable here, but it became Bob Hope's signature song.  And yes, I am old enough to fondly remember him singing it at the end of each Christmas special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Owr4iBctU

Thursday, April 25, 2013

AFI Top 100 Thrills

 
Not necessarily 100 thrillers, this list also encompasses action movies, mysteries, and horror films. And then there was the occasional odd fit, like The Wizard of Oz, which I'm sure was just on there so AFI could have Judy Garland on every list. There were a good number (7) that I refused to watch.
 
Robert Mitchum is very scary.  Gaslight remains my favorite psychological thriller, and Raiders of the Lost Ark is the most exciting movie ever.
 
 

Monday, April 22, 2013

AFI Top 100 Passions

 
 
The thing I had to remember when looking at the movies on this list is that "passion" is not the same as "love".  I'd dispute calling some of these films love stories, but I suppose they're passionate, so here they are. 
 
I haven't yet seen Morocco (#83) or Porgy and Bess (#92).
 
 


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

AFI Top 100 Laughs


I guess comedy means different things to different people, but I did find some pleasant surprises on this list - Buster Keaton, Nick and Nora Charles, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and Ball of Fire, to name a few.  I still really do not get Woody Allen, and I think O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Princess Bride should have made the list.

Oh, and I haven't yet seen The Freshman or The Heartbreak Kid.  I haven't been able to find them, but I'll review them when I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzf43LdYeYU

Monday, April 15, 2013

AFI Top 50 Heroes


“...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.”  
 
I love Atticus Finch.
 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

AFI Top 50 Villains


I guess I don't disagree with any on this list.  It seems to me Darth Vader should be higher, but I can't dispute the first two choices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8JjH724-ho

Monday, April 8, 2013

Jurassic Park

Thrills (#35); Stars - Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum (Current)

I don't really get how this was such a huge hit.  It's the same premise as every other creature movie out there - Arachnophobia, Deep Blue Sea, Tremors.  Scientists decide to mess with DNA, they inadvertently create a superspecies, almost everybody dies.  Unoriginal and stupid.

Oh, and I've always thought of Jeff Goldblum as kind of quirky looking.  But I was watching this and I thought, "You know, he's not unattractive."  Nope - he was 39.  I guess he was a late bloomer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP4me3kPQwE

Saturday, April 6, 2013

AFI Top 10 of 10 Film Genres

 
I'm not going to re-list them all, but here are the top movies in each genre:
 
Animation - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Fantasy - The Wizard of Oz
Gangster - The Godfather
Science Fiction - 2001: A Space Odyssey
Western - The Searchers
Sports - Raging Bull
Mystery - Vertigo
Romantic Comedy - City Lights
Courtroom Drama - To Kill a Mockingbird
Epic - Lawrence of Arabia
 

Monday, April 1, 2013

The Taming of the Shrew

Stars - Mary Pickford (#24)

Technically, this movie is not on any list, but I needed to watch a Mary Pickford movie.  I chose this because it's my favorite Shakespeare play.

They shrunk the adaptation down to an hour, which meant they completely glossed over why Katherine was like she was, and why she came to submit to Petruchio - and so, basically, they cut out the parts of the story that show why I love it (and why I feel both characters are completely understood in modern society).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blZMk5MklF4

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Postman Always Rings Twice

Passions (#49)

Gorgeous Lana Turner is married to an old codger, so she and (the apparently good-looking but really not all that) John Garfield decide to do away with her husband so they can live happily ever after.

The whole postman thing isn't explained until the very end.  It means that if they don't kill you the first time, they'll try again and get you on the second try.

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

Monday, March 25, 2013

Tarzan the Ape Man

Heroes - Tarzan (#34)

1. If Africa were left to Jane's father and Tarzan, there'd be no animals left. 
2.  I love how 1930s actresses bite their knuckles when they cry.
3.  The pygmies dance like Oompa Loompas.
4.  Cheetah is the real hero of this movie.
5.  Holy cow, is this movie cheesy.  Give me the Disney version any day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zTzqz0_bM4

Friday, March 22, 2013

AFI Top 25 Film Scores

 
 
While Star Wars deserves the top spot without question, I don't necessarily agree with the rest of the list.  Star Wars brilliantly demonstrates what a film score should be - it needs to be easily identifiable with the movie, and it should evoke the emotions and essence of the story.  As someone said, the score is very much a character in Star Wars.  John Williams is a genius. 
 
And yes, Lord of the Rings should be on this list.
 
1 STAR WARS    2 GONE WITH THE WIND    3 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA    4 PSYCHO    5 THE GODFATHER   6 JAWS   7 LAURA   8 THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN   9 CHINATOWN   10 HIGH NOON   11 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD   12 VERTIGO   13 KING KONG (1933)   14 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL  15 OUT OF AFRICA  16 SUNSET BLVD.   17 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD   18 PLANET OF THE APES   19 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE   20 THE PINK PANTHER   21 BEN-HUR   22 ON THE WATERFRONT 23 THE MISSION  24 ON GOLDEN POND    25 HOW THE WEST WAS WON
 

Monday, March 18, 2013

Out of Africa

Score (#15); Passions (#13)

Well, let's see...the scenery was beautiful, and Robert Redford was Robert Redford, so those are good things.  The score was ok, but not fabulously memorable.  I didn't care for Meryl Streep's character, so that tainted the whole thing for me.  I also didn't like how - and I know this is historically accurate - the Europeans belittled the native Africans.

Basically, it was Dr. Zhivago or The English Patient or any other such movie, set in Africa.

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

Friday, March 15, 2013

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Thrills (#63); Stars - Bette Davis (#2), Joan Crawford (#10); Villains - Baby Jane Hudson (#44)

I love you, sister dear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=648-2RE4XAk

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Jezebel

Stars - Bette Davis (#2), Henry Fonda (#6); Passions (#79)

It is said that this movie was Bette Davis' response to not being cast as Scarlett O'Hara.  However, Jezebel is no Gone With the Wind.  Sure, she's a spoiled Southern girl pining over a man she can't have, making a spectacle of herself in the process.  But it doesn't have the depth or complexity that GWTW has.  It's simple and lackluster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrhNPS4nbmQ

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The Great Dictator

Laughs (#37); Stars - Charlie Chaplin (#10)

This movie, made in 1940, featured Chaplin in a dual role - as the ruthless leader of a European country and as a Jewish barber living in the ghetto.  I liked the opening disclaimer:  "Note, any resemblance between Hynkel the dictator and the Jewish barber is purely co-incidental."

It was very strange to hear Chaplin speak.  But he had enough of his characteristic comedy pratfalls and mishaps to keep his fans happy. 

This was a comedy, but when the barber ended up confused with Hynkel (surprise, surprise) and had to give a speech to the masses, I liked what he had to say.  It's a bit lengthy, but worthwhile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcvjoWOwnn4

Sunday, March 3, 2013

The Wild Bunch

Top 100 (#80/79); Thrills (#69); Stars - William Holden (#25), Ernest Borgnine (Current); Top Ten - Western (#6)

Ugh.  This ranks up there with Unforgiven as my most disliked western.  A gang of outlaws in the last days of the Old West rob banks and trains, take advantage of women, and try to avoid the mercenaries who are after them.

There's not a single woman in the movie who's not being used by men.  I realize it shows what kind of men they were and all that, but it really was excessive.

William Holden and his adversary Robert Ryan looked too much alike, and I found that confusing.

The gunfights, however, were cinematically impressive.  And that's about as positive as I'm going to get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62qvse2Rl-M

Friday, March 1, 2013

AFI Top 100 Cheers


I haven't yet seen The Defiant Ones and I can't figure out why neither Netflix nor the library has it. Oh well.  Overall, a pretty good list.  I don't think Breaking Away or 2001 should be on it.  They were stupid and pointless.  As for the others, I may not have liked them all but at least I see how they fit this category.  It fits that Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, Tom Hanks, and Frank Capra are well-represented here.

But while I'm not going to be petty about the order, I have to disagree with The Sound of Music being as low as #41.  Have they not seen that movie?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AJI6XTRGsc

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Rose



 

Song - The Rose (#83)

A singer sleeps around and drinks too much.  She managed to muster up a little bit of sympathy from me, because it shows how these big stars are sometimes viewed as a commodity.  She recognized that she needed help, but her producer said no, because she had a tour to finish and another album to record.  Mostly, though, I found her annoying and devoid of personality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5G3XKsq7Ic

Monday, February 25, 2013

Road to Morocco

Laughs (#78); Songs - (We're Off on the) Road to Morocco (#95)

Eh.  Hope and Crosby - wonderful, I know.  But I was bored and unimpressed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRiLf9YTrGU

Saturday, February 23, 2013

AFI Top 100 Quotes

 
 
The only movie quote not yet listed is "What a dump" from Beyond the Forest.  I haven't been able to find that movie.  Incidentally, Elizabeth Taylor quotes that line in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, when she asks Richard Burton what movie it's from - so I guess that will have to count.
 
This list confirms my belief that Casablanca is the best written movie of all time, what with 6 quotes listed.  Why don't people talk like that anymore?  My only objection is that there aren't any Princess Bride quotes.  I think it's fair to say that that movie is the most quoted film of our generation.  Seriously, when ESPN devotes half an hour to quoting it, I think it's made a significant stamp on pop culture.
 
 
 
 


Friday, February 22, 2013

In the Heat of the Night

Top 100 (#75 Revised); Stars - Sidney Poitier (#22); Cheers (#21); Quotes - "They call me Mr. Tibbs" (#16); Heroes - Virgil Tibbs (#19)

Excellent movie.  A Philadelphia homicide detective is falsely accused of murder while visiting relatives in the South.  He then has to help the racist sheriff figure out who really did it.

Have I mentioned that I love Sidney Poitier?

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

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Ray

Cheers (#99)

I have a hard time feeling a lot of love for a character who just about destroyed his life with drugs and womanizing.  He cleaned himself up and became a better person, but that was only in the last few minutes of the movie.  His mama raised him much better than that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZJxL3PrrLM 

Monday, February 18, 2013

AFI Top 25 Musicals

 
 
We've finished the Musicals category.  While I certainly can't dispute their top choice, I still consider The Sound of Music the most-loved musical of all time.  Fiddler on the Roof will always be my favorite.  And I really, really don't get the love affair AFI (or anyone, for that matter) has with Judy Garland.
 

Sunday, February 17, 2013

On the Town

Stars - Gene Kelly (#15); Songs - New York, New York (#41); Musicals (#19)

The story was thin, but the movie starred Gene Kelly, so it's all good.  I just love watching him glide while he dances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7CIgWZTdgw

Friday, February 15, 2013

City Lights

Top 100 (#76/11); Laughs (#38); Stars - Charlie Chaplin (#10); Cheers (#31); Heroes - The Tramp (#38); Passions (#10); Top Ten - Romantic Comedy (#1)

Good, sweet, but maybe a bit overhyped - then again, I'm watching it 80 years later.  The Tramp falls in love with a blind girl and tries to come up with the money she needs to save the home where she lives with her grandmother. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rkNBH5fbMk

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

How the West Was Won

Score (#25); Stars - James Stewart (#3), Henry Fonda (#6), Spencer Tracy (#9), Gregory Peck (#12), John Wayne (#13)

Holy cavalcade of stars!  This movie is actually 5 different stories about taming the west, covering river rafts, trapping, gold mining, wagon trains, riverboats, the Civil War, buffalo stampedes, the railroad, and Indians.  It wasn't bad, but although they managed to loosely tie the stories together, it felt a bit disjointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5HRSmLlaiA

Monday, February 11, 2013

Marty

Stars - Ernest Borgnine (Current); Passions (#64)

I wasn't expecting to like this movie, but I loved it!  This little gem is a romantic drama from the guy's point of view.  Marty is in his mid 30s and single.  Everyone jokes, "So, Marty, when are ya going to get married?"  Marty laughs it off, but secretly he's alone and hurting, thinking no girl will ever find him attractive. 

If you haven't seen it, see it.  It'll be worth your while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_1M-4lIfnA


Saturday, February 9, 2013

Show Boat

Stars - Ava Gardner (#25); Songs - Ol' Man River (#24); Musicals (#24)

I was actually supposed to watch the 1936 version of this movie, but I can't find it.  I ended up watching the 1951 version.  It worked out ok, because then I got to see an Ava Gardner movie, so it counts for that, too.

Well, what's there to say about it?  It started off with slaves smiling in the cotton field.  Somehow I don't think they actually smiled all that much.  And the Magnolia/Ravenal story wrapped up awfully quickly.  And we never did find out what happened to Julie.  And the Ravenal/Kim part at the end totally creeped me out.

But I liked "Ol' Man River" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkDU1ai5P1I

Thursday, February 7, 2013

What's Up, Doc?

Laughs (#61); Passions (#68)

This is an homage to the classic slapstick comedies of the early days of film.  I think they use every gag except for slipping on a banana peel.  I thought the plot was thin, and so was the romance.  I'm not really sure why it got a spot on the Passions list, other than the fact that AFI loves Barbra Streisand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWRZut6klgE

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Thelma and Louise

Thrills (#76); Stars - Geena Davis (Current); Cheers (#78); Heroes - Thelma Dickerson and Louise Sawyer (#24)

First, I'd just like to say that if I were Susan Sarandon, I would have pushed Thelma into the Grand Canyon about 30 minutes into the movie.  Oh my gosh, she was an idiot.  How on earth can Geena Davis think she was portraying a strong woman?

Secondly, I strongly question the "heroes" list.  Sure, they deserved a cheer for shooting the would-be rapist.  But after that, everything they did was just plain wrong and anything but heroic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

Sunday, February 3, 2013

A Night at the Opera

Top 100 (#85 Revised); Laughs (#12); Stars - The Marx Brothers (#20)

Okay, so I don't really like the Marx Brothers all that much anyway.  I like Laurel & Hardy better.  But this wasn't my favorite of their movies.  Maybe it was because of all the opera.  Maybe it was because Zeppo wasn't in it.  Who knows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Axzxe1a78E

Friday, February 1, 2013

The Deer Hunter

Top 100 (#79/53); Thrills (#30)

Three buddies from a factory town enter the Vietnam war together.  They serve together, end up separating, and each find different fates.

Too gritty.  I very didn't like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpBkc2jK-6w

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Goodfellas

Top 100 (#94/92); Top Ten - Gangster (#2)

Just when I said all gangster movies were the same, along came this one - a gangster movie with a touch of Woody Allen.

Yeah...didn't like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaXO3yg1REE

Monday, January 28, 2013

Moonstruck

Laughs (#41); Stars - Cher (Current); Quotes - "Snap out of it!" (#96); Passions (#17); Top Ten - Romantic Comedy (#8)

A young widow is engaged to a man, but ends up falling for his estranged brother.  Meanwhile, her parents are experiencing romantic problems of their own.

I liked that it included the parents' story.  I liked some of the romantic things Nicolas Cage said.  But overall, it was about passion, not love, so I didn't think it was that great.

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

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Topper

Laughs (#60); Stars - Cary Grant (#2)

When a fun-loving, carefree couple dies in a car accident, their ghosts decide to help their stodgy friend Topper lighten up a little.

It was ok, but I guess I'm just too serious a person.  I found it annoying that all they wanted to do was party.  I also thought there wasn't nearly enough Cary Grant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhoxERyC32c

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Woman of the Year

Laughs (#90); Stars - Katharine Hepburn (#1), Spencer Tracy (#9); Passions (#74)

A sports writer falls for a political journalist.  He soon finds their romance takes a back seat to her career.

Probably ahead of its time, I thought it was alright.  I didn't really like Hepburn's character, though. 

I wanted the clip where Tracy introduces Hepburn to baseball, but I couldn't find it.  Sorry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snSK5RfD33Q

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Thing From Another World

Thrills (#87)

This is one of those sci-fi movies people love only because it's so cheesy and awful.  Scout sat through it laughing at the Killer Alien Carrot from Outer Space.  I really can't imagine anyone taking it too seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5xcVxkTZzM

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Man of La Mancha

Stars - Sophia Loren (#21)

This movie is not on any of the lists, but Sophia Loren is, so here you go.

I love this movie.  I love the story of Don Quixote (although the book is cumbersome).  And I love the way Don Quixote sees Aldonza, his beloved Dulcinea. 

As Eliza Dolittle says, "The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a common flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like a common flower girl, and always will. But I know that I shall always be a lady to Colonel Pickering, because he always treats me like a lady, and always will."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-1aCoRqRO4 (I don't know why the sound doesn't match the picture, but oh well)

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Little Caesar

Stars - Edward G. Robinson (#24); Quotes - "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?" (#73); Villains - Caesar Enrico Bandello (#38); Top Ten - Gangster (#9)

I have now seen more than my share of gangster movies, and I am thoroughly convinced they're all the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq3uK3i4_gA

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Cool Hand Luke

Cheers (#71); Quotes - "What we've got here is failure to communicate" (#11); Heroes - Luke Jackson (#30)

Paul Newman's baby blues sure are nice.  Other than that, though, I didn't much care (as in basically my feelings are neutral) for this movie.  It's very much a guy story.

The Cheers barflys called Cool Hand Luke one of the sweatiest movies of all time.  They're probably right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6zuBcppwjo

Monday, January 14, 2013

A Cry in the Dark

Top Ten - Courtroom Drama (#9)

A family vacation to the Australian Outback turns tragic when a dingo kills the baby.  The tragedy continues when, lacking a body, the court charges the parents with murder.

Good, but a little slow-paced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6plbpqm-HI

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Lost in America

Laughs (#84)

After losing his job, a man and his wife sell everything and set off in an RV to discover America.  They make it as far as Las Vegas.  Then trouble ensues.

Funny, because it's not the annoying over-the-top kind of funny that far too many comedies do.  The humor here is believable.

Not my favorite, but it wasn't bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrvTzAZG23Q