July 19, 2007 - Premonition (2007), which I have been looking forward to since I first "glimpsed" the TV trailer for this (I try to avoid seeing trailers before I see the film, to always keep me in suspense while watching - so just a tiny glimpse). A stylish sci-fi thriller with an intriguing take on the space-time continuum - very enjoyable, I love stuff like this. About a woman (Sandra Bullock) who is given terrible news - her husband has been suddenly killed in a terrible car accident. But wait - when she wakes up the next day he is still alive! Seems she has had a premonition of the future, and now the film proceeds to jump back and forth within a week's time, sometimes he's dead, sometimes he's alive - and she must figure out a way to perhaps do something to prevent his death from happening. Very entertaining. (8 stars)

July 17, 2007 - Watched Driving Lessons (2006) - UK coming of age story about a quiet/shy seventeen-year old youth (Rupert Grint), who seems to live an odd life guarded over by his seriously overbearing ultra-religious mother and distant father, a vicar. This young man seems to spend most of his time just sort of staring with his mouth half open, not really responding to his life. But mama advises he get himself a summer job to help donate money to one of her current causes - so he responds to an ad placed by an aging actress (Julie Walters) looking for a boy to help her around her house and garden. This woman is *quite* an eccentric, and our young fellow doesn't seem quite so sure if he wants to keep this job - until she corrals him into taking her on a camping trip (forbidden to go by mama, of course) and then tricks him into a week trip to Edinburgh (gorgeous, I must say) where she is to appear at a literary reading. And soon our young man grows up as they share a tent, Shakespeare and his love for writing poetry - and as their friendship blossoms, so he begins to come out of his shell. By the way, even though mom has been attempting (quite poorly) to teach him to drive - it is on this trip that he actually learns to drive! I found this film entertaining and interesting. Julie Walters is very good here, playing the part of a woman who is older than herself in real life - Laura Linney, who plays mama, is excellent too - I've never seen her play a character quite like this one, she plays it to the hilt as the mother you love-to-hate. This film is reminiscent of "Harold and Maude" in a way, but without the romance element. (7 stars)

July 10, 2007 - The Last Mimzy (2007) - Magical sci-fi/fantasy film that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole movie - I LOVED this! About a ten-year old boy and his little sister who find a strange object (revealed at the beginning of the story to have been sent by a scientist from the future) floating in the water at their beach house. The object opens up to reveal a selection of odd rocks, a large seashell, and a stuffed bunny rabbit. Well, the rocks spin and do some strange stuff, the seashell causes the boy to be able to communicate with spiders, and the rabbit talks to the little girl and reveals to her that her name is Mimzy. The kids start to be able to do some odd tricks via newly found extra-sensory perception after playing with these toys - their parents seem at a loss what to do. Okay, this was really good (before sending back the disk to Netflix I watched this again a few days after this, by the way.) - the actress who plays the little girl in this is really excellent, believable - and quite adorable too. And I loved, loved, loved the orchestral score in this film, done by Howard Shore - really suited this to a tea, especially the piece of music that overlays each scene of magic - yeah, a magical touch! Okay, I must admit I am biased towards sci-fi and fantasy films - the touch of time travel in this made it pretty likely I would like it. A terrific, imaginative, and engaging film. (10 stars)

July 9, 2007 - Breach (2007) - This was a really excellent espionage thriller, based on the true story of Robert Hanssen, a "mole" in the FBI who has been busy giving secrets to the Russians for twenty-five years - finally caught in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison. This film follows the story of the placement of a young wannabee agent (Ryan Phillipe) as new "clerk" for the man they believe to be the mole - and their efforts to finally catch this man in the act of making a "drop". This is a terrific film - the story completely held me captive - the acting is great, especially I loved the performance given here by Chris Cooper, who plays the part of the mole as an oh-so subtly smarmy yet ultra religious (but with hidden sex perversions, apparently) character. The movie is really more about the relationship between the two men, than anything else. Loved this film. (9 to 10 stars)

July 6, 2007 - The Score (2001) - Highly entertaining and exciting crime thriller involving three men involved in a big heist to steal this priceless 16th century gold scepter that a buyer is willing to pay 30 million bucks to get their hands on. The head of this heist is played by Marlon Brando - he doesn't actually do anything except give them the idea and bring them to the buyer. Then there is the middle-aged man, Nick (Robert De Niro), years of experience as a safecracker - he hopes this will be his last "score" and he can retire from the biz on his "6 million dollar" cut. The third man is Jackie (Edward Norton), young, cocky, inexperienced - but has an "in" to the building (the Montreal Customs House) where the scepter is located - he's been posing there as a mentally retarded janitor's assistant. Trouble comes for them too - at the last minute the Customs House has put a whole bunch of extra security around the scepter, giving added suspense to the whole plot when the heist actually goes down! I liked this a lot - the whole heist was tense, dramatic, and fun to watch. The acting is top-notch - handsome and darling Edward Norton does such a good job in the scenes where he poses as the mentally challenged young man. One note: Angela Bassett is in this as DeNiro's girlfriend, but she almost seems like an afterthought here and does almost nothing, they could have just left her out of this entirely and the film would have been just as good (or better). It's like the producers thought, for some reason, they needed a romance in here (perhaps to hold the interest of the female audience - oh brother). (9 stars)

July 2, 2007 - A Lady of Chance (1928) - Entertaining silent film following the story of a gold-digger named Dolly aka "Angel Face" (played by Norma Shearer). Dressed up as the "good girl" we first meet Dolly working as a switchboard operator at a ritzy hotel, where she is recognized by two former partners in crime (slick, oily Brad and bad, blonde Gwen) who force her to rejoin their "racket" or face the consequences (she failed to report for her parole). Seducing a wealthy man she met at the hotel, he's soon minus $10,000 and picking out mug shots of Dolly at police headquarters. Brad and Gwen try to keep the dough for themselves, but wise Dolly gets the better of them - and wanting to work her own racket, she heads for Atlantic City where she ends up at a hotel absolutely swarming with men attending a "tile and cement" convention. There she meets her next "mark", an innocent Southern cement man/mama's boy (Johnny Mack Brown) who happens to be the perfect specimen of a "tall, dark, and handsome" man. She doesn't seem to notice his rather remarkable charms - under the impression he's about to make a million dollar deal, her heart is only on his wallet. Dolly bats her eyelashes into marriage, but things aren't exactly what she expects - and she just can't seem to escape from those two vultures either! This is a fun film - amusing and well acted, with an interesting, if predictable plot line. Norma Shearer is great, as always, and has a lot of expression on her face in this film - Johnny Mack Brown is charming and oh so handsome to look at. Lowell Sherman, who plays Brad, is terrific in this as he plays the smarm to the hilt. There is some interesting photography in this - like a shot of just the feet of the actors as Dolly is chased by some phony cops, and another interesting shot of the heavily made-up face of "Angel Face" visualized atop her new switchboard operator look when she is recognized by Gwen. The version of this screened on TCM features a decent jazz score that suits the film well. (8 stars)

June 30, 2007 - This morning I woke up early, so turned on TCM and watched Rusty's Birthday (1949) - Last of the Rusty movies, this one follows the continuing adventures of dog Rusty and his owner, teenager Danny (Ted Donaldson) who has just bought a new collar for Rusty's upcoming birthday - but doesn't want to give the gift before the day, so Rusty goes outside without his license on. Well, a man is seen rummaging around their garage, Rusty gives chase, Rusty rescues a woman's purse for her - and the bad man pretends Rusty is his dog and, well, sells him to the woman who decides to name her new-found hero dog "Jackpot". Okey dokey. But Rusty "escapes" and ends up having to make a multi-mile trek home the hard way, through a wooded area where he gets caught in some barbed wire and gets rescued by a sort of strange little fellow who goes around with his "pretend dog" - a stuffed toy dog on a rope he calls "Gladly". Well - first glimpse of the dad makes you know why this poor little boy is so weird - the dad says he's gonna "wallop" the kid because of this pretend dog. This out-of-work dad and his two sons get caught with the dog - and Danny's parents befriend them, especially the little boy (who mom seems to have maternal feelings for) who is given a room to sleep in their house and Danny's old pajamas to sleep in (bringing out the green-eyed monster, jealous Danny decides he will attend a military school next term and leave home). Mild, light fare - entertaining enough for it's hour length, plus you get to see Rusty the dog (played by Flame the dog) do a series of tricks - lay down, look right, etc., and fetch the mail from the mailbox and deliver it to Danny's dad via his mouth (by the way, everyone gets their name on the mailbox, even Rusty - everyone except Mom, what's up with that?!). The interaction between Danny and his parents comes across as very similar to the sort of wise TV dad's and their sons to come - like seen in "Father Knows Best" or "Leave it to Beaver". Danny makes mistakes sometimes, but mom and dad are always there to teach him a well needed lesson. Worth seeing. (6 stars)
Later today watched Black Snake Moan (2007) - Um, this was a weird one - amazingly it completely held my interest and, in fact, went by really fast - so, I liked it (I guess). About an abused young woman/wild child (Christina Ricci) in a rural Southern small town who seems to be a nymphomaniac - after her boyfriend leaves for his duty in the army, she goes on the loose - sleeping with all sorts of men and getting herself doped up, she ends up with a friend of the boyfriend who beats her in the face, shoves her out of his car, and (presumably) leaves her for dead on the side of a rural road (nice friend, eh). Anyway, an older black man (Samuel L. Jackson) who lives next to where she is laying in the road picks her up, brings her into his house, gets medicine for her, spends a few days treating her, chases her down when she's in the yard having nightmares, and - now this is the weirdest part - decides to wrap this big, heavy chain around her waist and chain her to his radiator! This isn't even like a sex thing or 'cause he is a psycho or something (well, I think) - it's because he wants to help her abandon her addiction to sex and find Jesus, and wants to keep her from running away until she does. Okey dokey (see - told ya it was weird!). The film is really, quite interesting (though I could have done without seeing the girl running around half naked for most of the film) - the acting well done and believable. It is certainly helped along by a great Rock and Blues music score, including some blues guitar numbers played by the man who holds her in chains, all of which completely suits this very odd film. (7 to 8 stars)

June 27, 2007 - The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) - Pretty good bio-pic following the story of Hustler founder Larry Flynt - starting with a scene of him in childhood in the woods of Kentucky, selling homemade moonshine with his brother. Skip to twenty years later where the two are running this sleazy strip club "Hustler a Go Go", and on to the beginnings of his porn magazine. A lot of this movie focuses on the court trials of Larry Flynt - arrested for obscenities, arrested for libel against Jerry Falwell, etc. We also see his relationship with one of the strip club girls, who later becomes his wife (and a total junkie) - and later Larry gets shot and becomes paralyzed, then seems to go pretty nutty. I really watched this one to see fave Edward Norton (so young, so handsome here) who plays his ever present attorney. The acting in this is pretty much the draw, I would say - Courtney Love is real good playing a junkie (reminded me of her role in "Sid and Nancy"), Woody Harrelson excellent and believable as Larry Flynt. (7 stars)

June 25, 2007 - Bridge to Terabithia (2007) - Really enjoyable film version of the children's book, the story of a lonely 11 year old (or thereabouts) boy named Jess (Josh Hutcherson) who is the target of a variety of school bullies, both male and female, and has a passion for art and drawing. Enter the new girl in school, Leslie - a pretty outsider with a big imagination! Turns out, they very soon realize, they live next door to each other in this rural area - and these two outsiders soon become friends. Scouting about in the wooded area nearby, they find this old rope that hangs above a river and decide to swing across. Soon Leslie has lead them into the world of their imaginations and into a magical fantasy land called Terabithia, where giant trolls and other creatures roam, all based around the real-life bullies they know. This film was a treat - I loved it. The two actors who play the kids are extremely likable and perfect in these roles (I knew I recognized Josh Hutcherson while I was watching this, but couldn't quite place him - he was the boy in "Little Manhattan") - even the little girl who plays his cute, sassy little sister is real good in this. The special effects are done to perfection, the story-line that takes place around the schoolyard is well acted and interesting (especially when they get even with a tormenter or two!). The orchestral score for this is excellent too. A moving and highly entertaining film. (9 to 10 stars)

June 23, 2007 - This morning watched Rusty Saves a Life (1949) - B-movie about an old man they call "Counselor" who likes to entertain a group of five teenage boys by serving them Sunday dinner each week, giving them advice, and giving them free reign over his large estate including their own shed/clubhouse with a lease for 99 years. He informs the boys that he plans to change his will the next day and leave the house and grounds to them instead of his absent nephew who never comes to see him. Well, oh dear, our fellow dies that night before the will can be changed. The city nephew comes around to hear the reading of the will and learns that there is an odd stipulation he must fulfill in order to inherit the property - he must live in the house, which is in a small town, for one year - and must continue to serve the boys dinner every Sunday night! Well, the nephew doesn't exactly hit it off with the boys - starting off immediately on the wrong foot by accidently hitting one of the boys dog Rusty with his car (luckily the dog was okay!). Okay, this nephew is a jerk and spends his time shooing kids off his property and tacking up "No Trespassing" signs - but the boys, and in fact, the whole town are even bigger jerks as they give him the cold shoulder, treating him like a complete outcast - and worse. The boys start pulling some pretty vicious pranks to try and get this guy to break the will - like breaking the windows of his house, and trying to wreck the construction of his new swimming pool. Anyway, as can be guessed by the title, Rusty the dog ends up saving a life - SPOILER: he saves the nephew and all become friends - heh. This film was mildly entertaining, very light fare and short enough to hold my interest through the whole film. This is from a series of films made in the forties about the boy (played by Ted Donaldson) and his dog Rusty, and (believe it or not) this is actually the first one I have seen of these! I liked it enough to see some more of them, and the dog is real cute. (6 stars)

June 21, 2007 - 25th Hour (2002) - This was quite good, directed by Spike Lee, the plot of this is simple yet interesting. The story follows the last day in NYC for a man/drug dealer (Edward Norton) who has just been caught and sentenced to 7 years in the penitentiary. He spends his last evening in a club where he meets up with his two best pals from school days on, plus his current girlfriend (who he has a slight suspicion turned him in). The patter between the two pals is somewhat amusing - one of the guys is a high school English teacher (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) who has a crush on his flirtatious, scantily clad student (Anna Paquin) - she is by coincidence there trying to get into this club, ends up going in with these guys and teacher ends up kissing her (oops - underage, it seems). Certain scenes in this were filmed in a particularly effective style - in particular a scene where our main guy, upset 'cause he's going to the slammer (and very worried that he's too "pretty" to not get raped by his fellow inmates) does a bathroom rant where his image in the mirror gives a rapid-fire speech, ranting on about every racial group and person he knows or knows of and what losers/fuck-ups/assholes (excuse the language) the whole world is - a really well done scene. This film really held my attention - good one. (8 stars)

June 20, 2007 - The Fountain (2006) - Really weird sci-fi movie that didn't quite hit the mark for me. About a man (Hugh Jackman) who has a wife (Rachel Weisz) that is dying from a brain tumor. The film switches back and forth between several odd stories all with the same two actors - the story in current day (the easiest to follow), the second story (which follows a book the woman is writing called "The Fountain") telling the weird tale of a man in Spain, circa 1500 A.D., on a quest for the queen to find Eden and the hidden "tree of life" which will give eternal life. The other story has our man with a shaved head in some sort of weird world next to this tree, mixing up potions, tattooing himself, hmmm - this apparently was supposed to be in the future, 2500 A.D., but the only way I know this is NOT from watching the movie - I had no idea what was going on here. Watching the "theatrical trailer" on the DVD afterwards, it gave this bit of info - okey dokey. Even the current day story is pretty weird as our man operates on a monkey in some sort of lab where he uses something from some tree he once saw to cure the monkey of a tumor. This movie has parts that are interesting, the message it seems to try to be giving (I think??) on some sort of meaning of life and death is an interesting concept, but as a whole this film is sort of a confusing mess. Now, perhaps those who know something about this film before they see it could follow this more easily - but I like to go into a film COLD, I don't like to know anything about plot-line before I see a film - for this the only thing I knew prior to viewing was that it was science fiction. So, to me, there is a real flaw in a film that can't be followed without prior knowledge of the story. This film is mostly a failure, in my book. (4 to 5 stars)

June 18, 2007 - Visages d'enfants (Faces of Children) (1925) - Excellent and moving silent film following the story of a young boy who has trouble coping with the sudden loss of his mother followed by his father's remarriage. In the village of Saint-Luc, in the Swiss Alps, the film opens in the parlour of a house where the coffin of the dead mother is brought down the stairs before the whole village including grief-stricken father and especially upset son, Jean. The daughter, Pierrette, seems too young to understand what is going on as she blows soap bubbles and plays with her doll (and in fact is actually told by a neighbor lady that her mama is "on a trip"). Jean now prays each night to a large photograph of his mother, which is prominently perched right above his pillow - he even imagines her coming to life as she smiles down on him. Every Sunday, father and son place flowers on her grave, but the father soon meets a local widow and her daughter Arlette, and before you know it dad stops visiting mama's grave and comes to the decision he will remarry. But he decides that Jean is just too sensitive to be told the news and recruits the boy's god-father to take him out of town while the marriage takes place, then tell the boy and send him back when the new family is safely in the household - hmmm, kind of an odd plan, it seems to me, just leaving the boy out of everything (he doesn't even get to attend the wedding - and the whole village is there!). Anyway, when Jean gets back he immediately gets into a fight with new step-sister Arlette. Now I was expecting some real problems with the new mom perhaps treating him badly in the way of the often seen evil movie step-mother - but she is actually very kind, gives lots of love and encouragement in trying to join these two families together as one family, and even seems to treat all the kids equally. But the fighting continues between Jean and Arlette, mostly caused by Jean who tries to exclude Arlette from playing with them and seems to like to pull pranks on her involving her doll, which he eventually pushes off the family horse and cart into the snow - all leading to a possible tragedy as Arlette is caught in an avalanche. This is a terrific film, very well photographed and very scenic, visually like a gorgeous picture postcard. An effective scene during the funeral procession features rapid cutting between the boy's face and the coffin - another scene looks like it came straight out of "Heidi" as Jean and Arlette are at the top of a mountain surrounded by the peaks of the Alps and a herd of goats. The acting in this film is natural and very well done by all - the kids are particularly good, their faces expressively showing every thought, especially Jean Forest, who plays Jean, who gives a really top-notch and memorable performance. The tinted print of this looked very nice for the most part, the orchestral score suits the film well and at times is extremely good. A remarkable and beautiful film - a treat to see. (10 stars)

June 14, 2007 - The Family Stone (2005) - Entirely set at Christmas-time, this film is about, yeah, the "Stone family", mom (Diane Keaton), dad and five adult kids. One brother, Everett (Dermot Mulroney), brings home for the holidays, his girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker). Now Meredith is a big city gal constantly on her cell phone, and EXTREMELY high-strung - - even though she meets them very politely and seems to be trying her best, the family immediately hates her, led on the most by bitchy youngest daughter Amy (Rachel McAdams). The only one on Meredith's side is pot-smoking brother Ben (Luke Wilson) who takes a sort of "fancy" to her right off the bat. Now, mind you, Meredith does keep putting her foot in her mouth, especially at one dinner where she gets in an argument with the family over her position that no parent would choose for their child to be gay (and one of the brothers is gay, as well as deaf - and he's there at the table with his life partner - oops). Feeling the need for back-up, I guess, Meredith recruits her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to come stay with her at a nearby inn - when Everett picks up Julie at the bus stop, he appears to have an immediate crush on her (another oops)! Okay - it's pretty obvious from the get-go that Ben may end with Meredith, and Everett with Julie - SPOILER: yes. Meanwhile, the mom is suffering with her own secret - she is about to die from breast cancer. With an all-star cast, interesting story, nice music score, and set entirely at Christmas - this film is a very enjoyable watch. One thing though, it can be a little tense watching this poor gal trying so hard to fit in to this very close-knit family, as the family seems to do their best to be rude and make her feel uncomfortable - I really felt for her, as it's easy to identify with how hard it can be to be the new one mixing with a family like this - but this really goes over the top in the way this family treats her, including her man. Quite good as a whole. (8 stars)

June 11, 2007 - Catching up on a couple of Edward Norton films today (my latest heartthrob) - first up, Down in the Valley (2005) - Dark, odd film about the relationship between a bored teenage Valley girl and an older guy named Harlan (Edward Norton) who thinks he's a cowboy while living in the north edge of the San Fernando Valley. Tobe (short for October - played by Rachel Evan Wood) heads for the beach one summer day with her friends and meets our man as he pumps gas into their car. She for some reason takes a shine to this guy and goes after him hard - inviting him to the beach with them, he quits his job all so he can spend the day with this young girl. Soon a happy couple in love, except for one thing - her dad doesn't shine to his daughter dating some down-and-out pseudo cowboy who (well, it's never actually stated in the film) seems much older than the girl and sort of a loser. Well, SPOILER - maybe dad was right. Harlan begins to show signs of insanity as he steals a horse to ride from a nearby ranch, plays cowboy by himself in his motel room with real guns, drawing them, pointing at himself in a mirror - he even at one point shoots at the mirror and gets himself kicked out to living on the streets. He seems just crazier and crazier as the film progresses until bad things start to happen when his cowboy gun "play" goes too far! Okay - this is quite a good film. Edward Norton gives an excellent performance here, he's very good at making himself appear like a good guy in the beginning, then oh-so-subtly showing the insanity inside as the film progresses. Rachel Evan Wood, great as always - Rory Culkin gives a good performance here too, playing Tob's quiet, slightly disturbed, lonely 13-year old brother - "the meek shall inherit the earth" as he profoundly states to his mad, aggressive, gun-crazed father. I found the film a bit depressing in the fact that I grew up in the Valley myself (I recognized many of the streets, freeways, and buildings in the film) - in fact in that northern part up near Chatsworth, Northridge, Simi is where I lived in my earlier years - I thought the film just made the Valley look like a complete hell on earth, just so ugly and crowded and depressing, with all the cars and criss-crossing freeways overhead - ugh! (8 stars)
Next up, Keeping the Faith (2000) - Unusual romantic comedy about three childhood pals who, grown-up, get involved in a love triangle - the twist, one guy is a priest (Edward Norton), one guy is a rabbi (Ben Stiller), and the woman they first loved in junior high, Anna (aka "Anna Banana" - played by Jenna Elfman) is newly arrived in NYC as a power business woman - but still wants to be pals with her old friends. Anna and the rabbi start having an affair, they keep it a secret from both their priest friend, from the rabbi's mom (who wants him to marry a nice Jewish girl, unlike his older brother), and even from the people at his temple (who push their daughters on him for prospective marriage). Anyway, our priest falls in love with Anna too - but is torn (like "Thorn Birds" Father de Bricassart, sort of) between church and love. All of this is mixed with some touches of humor here and there (not particularly funny, I must say). This is a pretty good film, though (perhaps it's my own biased attraction towards Ed Norton rather than Ben Stiller) but I didn't sense very much chemistry between Elfman and Stiller for it to be realistic as a love match - I did sense chemistry between her and Norton, yet she has no interest in him in that way. Ah well. All in all, pretty entertaining - it's kind of amusing the way these two fellows are portrayed as the sort of hip, new 21st century idea of being a priest or rabbi, joking in front of the congregation, and joining forces to set up a joint Jewish/Catholic senior center/karaoke bar. Ed Norton is a doll, Anne Bancroft is a nice addition to the cast as Stiller's mom. (7 stars)
And tonight, on TCM watched Hell's Highway (1932) - Well done chain gang movie - a short film, but packed with enough prison movie cliches to hold my interest for an hour including prisoners working in the hot sun with pick axes to build a highway under the supervision of mean, whip-wielding guards, the "sweat box" where prisoners get punished (sometimes to the death), bad chow (of course), black inmates singing spirituals, blackmail, murder, prison escapes, and two brothers - one the older, cocky, hardened bank robber (Richard Dix), the other a kid (Tom Brown) who seems to look up to his older brother almost like a father-figure and gets put in the prison for taking a shot at the "squealer" who sent his brother to the slammer. And to add a little color to the mix of men here - there's also a gay cook, a deaf inmate, and a prisoner who "reads the stars" and tells fortunes. There's also a bit about prison reform too, as a man is sent there to inspect the reason for the latest "sweat box death". This is quite a good film, nicely photographed in almost what I might call an early noir style with lots of dark shadows and close-ups. Richard Dix gives a really, quite good performance here - I usually think he seems a bit hammy, but this role really seemed to suit him. A young Rochelle Hudson appears here as Tom Brown's girlfriend - though her part is very, very, very brief. All in all, I found this film to be quite interesting and entertaining - well worth seeing. (8 stars)
Ladies They Talk About (1933) - Barbara Stanwyck as a beautiful gun moll who helps her gang commit an armed bank robbery, then gets herself arrested. A young reformer who speaks in front of an "old-fashioned revival" believes in her innocence and tries to help her as they both are from the same hometown and, well, she's not past using her looks to get what she wants. But when, for some reason that I couldn't quite figure out, she actually admits to him she was part of the hold-up, he then assists in sending her to San Quentin. Soon our gal is the "new fish" in prison, and this is a women's prison like no other - if it weren't for the appearance of some older women prisoners in the mix, this would almost look a private girl's school rather than the state Penn! Lounge rocking chairs, newspapers, card games, a "greenhouse" area, a hair stylist, manicures, the "ladies bird club", phonograph record players, and outside - "the sun yard", a regular garden spot. These women can wear their own slinky negligees at night and play records in their room - and one older inmate actually is allowed to keep her own little "lap dog" - hmm. This film is pretty good - the portrayal of the prison so far-fetched it's actually kind of a hoot to watch. I notice the male prisoners (on the other side of the prison) don't seem to have the same conditions as the women as they are shown in regular jail cells with bars. Anyway, Barbara Stanwyck, one of my favorite actresses from that era, gives her usual star performance and acts up a storm - just great as she plays the world-wise gal who'll play hard ball to get what she wants. A really fun film. (8 stars)

June 8, 2007 - Wonder Bar (1934) - Entertaining musical all taking place on one evening at the swanky Paris nightclub "Wonder Bar", the film following the stories of several different characters including headline dancers Inez and Harry (aka "the gigolo"), a well-to-do woman (Kay Francis) who has paid for "dance lessons" from Harry with a diamond necklace (now being investigated by her husband and the insurance company), orchestra leader/singer Tommy (Dick Powell) who is in love with Inez, a man who spends the evening giving away all his possessions before his planned suicide of driving over a cliff, two drunken American businessmen (in "Nuts and Bolts") on vacation with their wives, a Russian Count, and at the helm of it all - Al Wonder (Al Jolson), club owner who likes to deliver rather silly one-liners as he oversees and sings sometimes too.
Al loves Inez, Inez loves Harry, the two businessmen are busy chasing after two hostesses/gold-diggers, and their wives are happily pursued by another young nightclub gigolo. All of this is inter-mixed with a selection of musical numbers including a very entertaining dance number in which Harry and Inez dance surrounded by a bevy of platinum blondes and masked men, all dressed in black and white as they flow around the mirrored art deco set and dance floor, and are shown dancing in overhead, Busby Berkley-directed style kaleidoscope effect - cool! Other numbers include "The Gaucho Dance" (reminiscent of Valentino), and the big finale which is possibly the most politically incorrect, jaw-dropping musical number ever filmed featuring Al Jolson in blackface who heads to heaven complete with an entire entourage of dancing blackfaced angels, "Pork Chop Orchard" where pork chops grow on trees, "Watermelon Palace" with watermelons free for the taking, "Uncle Tom To-Nite" sign, craps dice, and tap-dancing number in front of waving watermelon slices.
All in all though, this film is quite enjoyable, light fare with enough stories to hold your interest, and the glitz and glamour of what appears to be a very fun-to-go-to hot spot full of well-heeled patrons in gorgeous gowns and tuxedos. I always enjoy the performances of Kay Francis and she is just fine in this, although she's not really given very much to do - same with Dick Powell, who has a small, rather bland role in this film. Guy Kibbee as one of the American businessmen and sidekick Hugh Herbert, as well as Ruth Donnelly and Louise Fazenda as the wife who likes the attentions of a younger man add quite a bit of humor to all this. Definitely worth a look. (7 stars)

August 18, 2006 - Solaris (1972) - Unusual Russian sci-fi film about a man who goes to the space station at Solaris and finds only two men left there, both sort of gone crazy. Solaris, it seems, is a sort of Ocean planet with a mind that reads humans thoughts and dreams, then brings them to life in the form of what the three men call "guests". Our main man is soon becoming involved with his guest - his wife who died of self-inflicted poisoning ten years previous. I liked this film, but was expecting a little more from what I've heard of it - perhaps this is one that requires multiple viewings to fully appreciate. But I certainly think the photography and style of this film is amazing - and the quietness of it, barely any soundtrack music, really suits the story and made me feel the isolation and quietness of the lonely space station atmosphere. Very interesting film. (8 stars)

August 17, 2006 - Today on TCM, watched Lady By Choice (1936) - Carole Lombard plays a fan dancer (working under the moniker "Alabam, the Human Heat Wave") who hooks up with a haggardly, dice rolling, beer guzzler named Patsy when she adopts her out of the "old ladies home" as her new mother, a publicity stunt for Mother's Day. Moving in with Alabam into her swanky apartment, the two women soon bond over shots of straight whisky, Alabam buys the old lady a new wardrobe, then both try to reform the other of their bad ways. And yes indeed, there is a male love interest for Lombard, a character who fits somewhat loosely into this whole plot. Interesting film, the first half better than the second, I thought, but I do like the interaction between Carole Lombard and May Robson who plays Patsy - they come across as pretty chummy, which works well for this story. Lombard appears in a number of gorgeous outfits here, everything from glamorous, fur-sleeved dress to satin rompers (how 'bout that ragged old hat with the dead bird hanging off it that Patsy wears in the beginning?!). Worth seeing. (7 stars)

August 16, 2006 - Watched Heidi (2005) Delightful Adaptation - Well done version of the classic story of the orphaned young girl, Heidi (played by Emma Bolger), sent to live with her hermit grandfather, known by the locals as "Uncle Alp", in his cabin away up high in the Swiss Alps. Grandfather is an unwelcoming, gruff old man, but he very soon takes a real shine to sweet little Heidi - and Heidi takes to her new environment like a duck to water. Sadly for both, she is soon swept away by her unkind/greedy aunt to live with a rich Frankfurt household as the playmate of a wheelchair-bound girl named Clara - but lively young Heidi soon adds some spark of life to the whole house, much to the chagrin of the meanie housekeeper, a really nasty woman in black who rules the roost with an iron fist. I have seen a number of filmed versions of this story, I found this version to be one of the best. All the actors are perfectly cast in this, I really think Max von Sydow is *the* perfect choice for the grandfather in this story and Geraldine Chaplin is suitably despicable in her portrayal of the housekeeper. Emma Bolger is an adorable and charming young actress who gives a very endearing performance, just as she does in her memorable portrayal of Ariel in the film "In America". The mountain scenery in this film is very atmospheric and gorgeously photographed, the orchestral score is really wonderful. An especially lovely and heartfelt family film, full of charm. Recommended. (9 stars)

August 15, 2006 - Ace of Aces (1933) - Rocky and Nancy, couple in love, when War is declared (WWI, in spite of their early 30s clothing). Rocky (played by Richard Dix) compares soldiers to lemmings "trying to reach a goal that doesn't exist" - Nancy (Elizabeth Allan) thinks her man is "yellow" as she pushes him into going to battle. Next thing you know, Rocky has joined an Aero Squadron and is encamped in a barracks full of nicknamed comrades and a menagerie of "mascots" not limited to a goat, pig, chimp, parrot, and Rocky's personal mascot, a cute little lion cub (actually, he looked sort of like a leopard to me). Rocky starts out fighting his morals against shooting another man - but not for long, it seems, as Rocky gets pretty darn aggressive amazingly quickly - the war has completely gone to his head as Rocky turns into the fighting ace of all aces! This film is a bit hit or miss - parts of it are good, other parts are quite slow-moving and boring. Richard Dix gives a somewhat hammy performance and there are some pretty fake looking kisses between the two leads, a real lack of chemistry there, I would say. BUT - there is some interesting photography in the air battle scenes, and a few other interesting scenes here and there, especially notable is a scene where Dix is confronted by one of the German soldiers he shot down, now on his death bed. Okay film. (6 stars)

August 9, 2006 - The New World (2005) - Quietly emotional, this very visual film started out quite slow, but in the end was very satisfying - it completely drew me in, I loved it! In the early 1600s, several ships of men from England arrive in the new world to set up a colony. They soon encounter a tribe of Indians, but things are never that great between the two sides. Handsome Captain Smith (Colin Farrell) befriends the very beautiful, favored daughter of the Indian King, Pocahontas, and they are soon in love. But when he is sent on a voyage to find the Northwest Passage (or something like that), she is told he has drowned (yeah, he did tell them, for some reason to tell her that). Anyway, this film is a real sweeping epic - love all the tracking shots, gorgeous photography, and the real historical feel of everything (really made me feel like I was back in time) - I do love historical epics like this. I really, really love the orchestral score for this too, done by James Horner. My only complaint is I had a bit of trouble understanding large segments of dialogue because of the English/Cockney accents combined with loud segments of music. Still was able to follow this though, as it really is a visual piece, a complete visual experience - could have been done well as a silent film. I will be watching this one again! (9 stars)

August 7, 2006 - Ghost World (2001) - Interesting film about a teen girl who just doesn't fit the mold. Just graduated from high school, quirky outsider Enid (Thora Birch) and her gal pal Rebecca aka Becky (Scarlet Johansson) seem at loose ends as to where their lives will go next. Becky gets a job at a coffee house and Enid has to take a make-up art class for summer school. Soon the two girls have played a cruel joke on a man who has placed a personal ad in the paper. They pretend the woman he seeks wants to meet him, then spy on the fake set-up date, then feeling bad, follow the fellow home. Enid soon befriends the guy, whose name is Seymour, and turns out he's just as quirky, if not more than her. Seymour's obsession is collecting vintage records and he can't get a date, it seems. So Enid sets out to help him find someone, without realizing that maybe the two might just connect themselves! I liked this film quite a bit, I think that Seymour seemed like a cool guy to date myself - hey, I like quirky guys really into vintage stuff. I can identify a bit with the girls in the film too (as a female interested in odd things like silent film, old-time music, etc., and spending all my time in the dark watching movies in my college days rather than goiing on weekend "ski trips" or playing tennis - I never really fit the mold either!) (8 stars)

August 2, 2006 - Asphalt (1929) - Outstanding German silent era crime drama; an early film noir about a young traffic officer who gets involved with a femme fatale he has just arrested for stealing a diamond from a jeweler's shop. This spit-curled, dark-haired beauty attempts to use tears, tricks, Cognac, a pillow-laden couch proportioned like a king-sized bed, and finally a black-laced bodysuit/nightie to seduce our officer into letting her off. These two soon become emotionally involved with each other, but the officer is feeling guilt over shirking his duty to arrest her. The photography in this film is really excellent - the film as a whole is very visual, with lots of facial close-ups, softly filtered lighting along with shadowy rooms and hallways, and an interesting montage at the beginning of the asphalt streets of Berlin and it's fast moving crowds of people and traffic, all shown with interesting overlapped and angled photography. The actors all give excellent, emotional performances. The actress, Betty Amann, who portrays the thief is especially good here, seducing both our officer and the viewer with just her eyes, showing a great range of emotion in close-up. The print on the Kino DVD of this looks good, the orchestral score is really great and suits this to a tea. I have seen many, many silent films and I would certainly count this one among the best I've seen. (10 stars)

July 31, 2006 - Today watched Hawthorne of the U.S.A. (1919) - Mildly entertaining silent film about Anthony Hamilton Hawthorne, American (played by Wallace Reid), who breaks the bank at Monte Carlo, then travels through the poverty-stricken kingdom of Bovinia, along with his best pal/sidekick Harry Blake (Harrison Ford). When Hawthorne's cap blows over a high wall, he climbs it and encounters a "lonely little girl", playing make-believe in her dream garden, which for all the world looks just like "The Secret Garden". Well, though described as a "little girl", she is really a very beautiful young lady, played by Lila Lee. He falls in love immediately, then gets caught up in a local revolution to overthrow the king, and the revolutionaries are determined to get Hawthorne to finance this revolution with his gambling winnings! But wait - the twist - the beautiful, lonely little girl is actually a princess, daughter of the king, and about to be forced to marry a Prince from a rival kingdom, a man she hates! I found this film interesting, though thought the plot revolved too much around this "revolution" and not enough about the romance between the characters. The film is boosted up considerably by the three main stars (Reid, Ford, and Lee), who are all very engaging and attractive - all three I would count among my favorite silent era actors. I enjoyed the interplay between the two male leads, they actually seemed like real buddies. The DVD version (from Grapevine) of this I saw featured a quite decent looking print, tinted mainly in a greenish-sepia tone. The music score was also decent, what I would describe as mid-range to pleasant. Enjoyable, light fare. (6 to 7 stars)

July 28, 2006 - Watched the Thelma Todd/Zasu Pitts short film The Soilers (1932) - Having no luck selling magazine subscriptions to housewives door to door, the girls (Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts) decide to invade City Hall to try their luck selling to the men. Thelma is soon using "a little personality", as she puts it, to sell subscriptions - showing off her leg to get them into offices. This film is mildly funny, not one of their best shorts, but still worth seeing. It features a number of standard slapstick gags including slips on banana peels, office ink spills, and the old "can't get through the revolving door" gag. The short is boosted up by the use of lively stock Roach Studio background music throughout the film and a ton of chemistry between Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts, who really seem to be having fun with this. They actually seem to spend the majority of this short falling down on top of a variety of male characters with their legs flailing about in the air - for those interested in seeing lots of shots of Thelma Todd's legs, this would be the short to see. A bit of slapstick fun. (6 stars)
This afternoon, watched the odd silent film Warning Shadows (1923) - This is an unusual, very different sort of film, completely visual as it has no intertitles, in keeping with the original German version. About a man who is full of anxiety (his eyes continually popping out in jealous rages) over the attentions his woman has been paying to a handsome youth and several other male admirers (meanwhile, though she likes to flirt, she actually seems more interested in gazing at herself and posing in front of mirrors). The action all takes place at a house dinner party one evening, where our beautiful and alluring peacock lady is busy enticing the man, the youth, and three gentlemen, then all are "entertained" by a strange traveling entertainer and his shadow puppet play, who causes all to hallucinate a vision of "things to come". This film is very interestingly photographed, full of sharp shadows against brightly lit walls that set some of the action, plus lavish period costuming and well-draped sets that look like they belong on a stage. The action is mostly slow and dreamlike, a bit too slow at times as this drags just a little through parts. Still, very interesting to see. The print on the Kino DVD, tinted in sepia/yellow, pink, and bright lavender tones, looks quite nice. The music score is excellent and suits this very odd silent film quite well. (7 stars)

July 27, 2006 - Watched the short film Hot News Margie (1931) - Short and Spicy. Fun little short film about "Hot News Marg" (Marjorie Beebe), star reporter for gossip-hungry tabloid "the Gazette", who will stop at nothing to get her story including getting shot full of bullets under the protection of her trusty "bullet-proof brassiere". On special assignment to get the lowdown on the rumored wedding of famous quarterback "Babe Booth" to a beautiful showgirl, Margie does it all to get the scoop, including playing football during a big match, disguised in football uniform (her stockings and panties left out on the men's locker room bench) and pestering Babe during game play ("Babe, are you married, huh, huh, be a good fella and give me the lowdown, are you married?"). Pretty amusing short, fast talking, and full of snappy patter and sexual innuendo - as Marg says "She'll get her story, even if she has to make the football team!". Marjorie Beebe is funny in this, and very entertaining to watch. A hoot. (6 stars)

July 26, 2006 - Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) - Cool Hits, Swinging Hips, and Girls with Flips. As the song lyrics gush in the opening credits "Come on along and join the Swinging Set" as you watch this quite silly, but fun film about Terry (played by Mary Ann Mobley), a student at Wyndam College for Girls who writes hit songs under a pseudonym and already has her first hit single, a ditty called "Help Stamp Out Men!". When the college board finds out about her songs (with lyrics like "She knows all there is to know from A to Z about S - E - X") they want to expel her for bringing "scandal" to the school - so Terry and her gal pals agree to have "nothing to do with men" on their Christmas holiday ski vacation in Sun Valley. But, oh know, they are soon being chased around the resort by Terry's music publisher (Chad Everett) and a French artist who want her to pose for a publicity painting wearing nothing but guitar and baby doll nightie! Girls wearing bikinis and shorty nightgowns who can *barely* act combined with fake-looking snow scene backdrops, poorly lip synched song performances, and handsome, but oh so boring young Chad Everett makes this sound like a pretty bad movie - but that's all completely part of the campy, nostalgic, 60s fun here! Yes, this film is a bit of fluff, but quite enjoyable. It is full of swinging party scenes at places like the Go Go Club, with kids dancing the Swim and Watusi, and lots of great, live performances by such groups as The Animals and The Dave Clark Five, and one of my favorite parts of the movie, Stan Getz along with the jazzy, cool girl performance done by Astrud Gilberto singing "The Girl from Ipanema" . Worth seeing for the music alone. (7 stars)
Later watched Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) - During the London blitz, four children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy - are sent to the countryside to live in this huge manor house. While playing hide and seek through the rooms of the massive house - the youngest, Lucy, stumbles upon a huge wardrobe full of fur coats. Hiding in it she stumbles through the back of the wardrobe and into the magical, snow covered kingdom of Narnia, where she befriends a fawn named Tumnus. Soon the rest of the kids are through the wardrobe to Narnia where they meet the beavers, the White Witch, and Aslan, the lion king. This film is terrific - kept me on the edge of my seat with it's powerfully well-done, superb special effects. I liked the choice of actors for the kids and thought they did a fab job telling this story, especially good is the young actress who plays Lucy. I was sort of expecting something more for kids, this instead seemed more like "Lord of the Rings" - fantastical, a bit violent, and even scary. I do love fantasy films, this was great. (10 stars)

April 3, 2006 - In Her Shoes (2005) - Really excellent, heartfelt story of two sisters - one is Maggie (Cameron Diaz) a flaky sex pot who can barely read and uses her sex appeal to get free drinks from the guys, the other is a slightly overweight lawyer named Rose (Toni Collette) who has no boyfriend and a seemingly dull life. The two sisters fight over the fact that the first sister slept with second sisters's "date/co-worker" and Maggie runs off without a word to live with the Grandma (Shirley MacLaine) in Florida who they haven't seen or heard from since childhood. This is sort of what I might call a "coming of age" film (even though the girls are 30-plus) as they both seem to find their way in this film and basically "grow-up". One finds love - they both find themselves. I guess you would definitely call this a chick flick. I loved this. (9 stars)

March 30, 2006 - Everything is Illuminated (2005) - Story of a strange young, Jewish-American man (played by Elijah Wood) who collects *things of remembrance* in little sacks and hangs them on this huge wall display in his house. When his grandmother gives him a photo left him by his grandfather, he makes a journey to Odessa, Ukraine to find the town - and the girl - who helped save grandpa from the Nazis and stands with him in the photo. There he hooks up with a "tour guide" - a weird Russian guy and his grandfather, plus their "seeing eye bitch" (cute doggie, really). This seemed like it was going to be sort of a black comedy for the first half, and didn't seem particularly that good. The second half takes a turn toward the much more serious, as it gets into the mystery of what happened during the Holocaust with grandpa and with the girl in the photo. Quite good and moving film. (7 stars)

March 28, 2006 - A rainy, lovely day of movies for me today - in the a.m., Listen, Darling (1938) - Cute story that got better as it went along of two teenagers (played by Judy Garland and Freddie Bartholomew) who kidnap the girl's broke, widowed mother (played by Mary Astor) before she marries an old man for his money. Driving her away in the back of their camper/trailer in hopes of keeping her away long enough so she doesn't marry the guy - it actually takes these two kids longer than you would think to come up with the obvious - find the mom a single man closer to her age who might be more to her liking. Luckily, within minutes it seems, handsome Walter Pidgeon arrives in the next trailer and seems like the perfect catch for mom. While the story in this may seem a little silly, the excellent performances by all make this a charming, fun film. I like the chemistry between Astor and Pidgeon, Scotty Beckett does well playing the super brat little brother you "love-to-hate", and Judy Garland's star quality absolutely shines in this film. Giving an emotional, endearing performance, she sings several lively, fun-to-listen-to songs in this, and when the film starts with a very young and lovely Judy singing a wonderful rendition of "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart", I just knew this film wouldn't be all bad. Two things I wonder about though - first, even though they are shown graduating from "junior high school" in the beginning, Freddie drives the car. Second, how come Freddie wants to hook mom up with old man Alan Hale at one point, almost as old and unattractive as the first man (both are described as rich so it can't be just for the money - and mom doesn't love either one). Yes, this film is fluff, but I quite enjoyed it and as the film ended I had a smile on my face and that's a good thing. (6 stars)
Then Lord Jeff (1938) - Coming-of-age tale starring Freddie Bartholomew as Geoffrey Braemer, a young man who grows from immaturity to manhood in the hands of some smart school training. The story begins with Jeff posing as "Lord Jeff", stealing an expensive jeweled necklace as part of a ring of jewel thieves, but he is caught and sent off to a Mercantile Marine School for orphaned boys. Sullen, snobby, surly to the other boys, he lies and fakes fainting spells, but boys and teachers try their best to steer him on the right course and whip him into shape. An excellent film, Mickey Rooney is super, as always, as a wise Irish schoolmate who helps Jeff find his way, little Terry Kilburn is a charmer as a cockney half-pint who clings onto Jeff despite getting the constant brush-off (yeah, just like little Pee Wee clings to Whitey in "Boys Town"). Actually, this film reminds me in many ways of "Boys Town". Quite good. (8 stars)

March 20, 2006 - Earlier today, I Like Your Nerve (1931) - Silly story of Dapper Dan who chases Beauty about to marry the richest man in Central America. This film features a basic plotline we've all seen many times in many different films and that is this - a more appropriate, more handsome man tries to catch, before it's too late, a woman about to be married to a less appropriate, "wrong" man. In this film, Loretta Young plays beautiful young Diane, daughter of the Minister of Finance, who is to marry, in four days time, a wealthy, but gruff and rather ugly old man (well - there's really no other way I could put it!) - the reasons for her odd choice of partner are a secret. When she meets grinning, conceited Larry O'Brien (played by Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), he is immediately in love and uses a bunch of tricks and schemes in an attempt to win her for himself. She seems to dislike him (but, of course, in the way of most movies from then to now, she secretly *really* likes him). There is some humor in this, mostly of the Three Stooges / slap-in-the-face variety, plus some funny scenes with Claud Allister as Larry's gay sidekick Archie. Loretta Young really has little to do in this film other than look gorgeous in beautiful gowns and dangling earrings. Boris Karloff also has little to do in this film other than slink in and out of the room as butler. The actor who plays her father acts in a sort of bugged-out eyes style, but I guess it's supposed to be funny. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. tries to be charming, but he comes across to me as not particularly interesting - he's just sort of there. Okay film, but nothing great - a middle-range time filler, mainly for fans of Loretta Young. (5 stars)
This evening I watched The Naughty Flirt (1931) - Throwing a party in honor of her annual expulsion from finishing school, perky, well-to-do blonde Kay (played by Alice White) dances, plays the ukulele, bats her eyelashes, and gets thrown in the paddy wagon along with her circle of wild chums. And that's just the start of this story! While at court she meets handsome young lawyer Alan Ward (Paul Page), who by coincidence works for her daddy's law firm. She falls for him big-time, then pursues him like crazy - but no go from his side, though he seemed to like her from the get-go, I guess she's too much of a flirt for our serious young law man. But as one friend says of her "When Kay Elliott starts after a man - she never misses!". So - seducing him after she tries to snag him via the "Cinderella Dance" (girls throw in one shoe on the dance floor, guys pile on top of each other to attempt to find the shoe for their fave gal and get her for "dancing and dinner" later) it seems to be working. But man crazy Kay is currently engaged, by her own count, to "six or seven men"; Alan tired of her flirtations puts her over his knee and gives her a spanking (yeah, you read that right). She decides to change her ways and comes to work as his secretary. Okey-dokey. Meanwhile, Two chums, a brother and sister duo (the sister, quite well played by a very slim Myrna Loy), make plans to break up Kay and Alan for their own greed - to get Kay (and her $5,000,000) for the brother. This is a lively romp of a film mostly good because of Alice White who gives an engaging, fun-to-watch performance. She is more cute, with her spit curls, big eyes, and pouty mouth, than a good actress but her acting does run circles around that of her co-star, Paul Page, NOT much of an actor, I must say. I am a fan of Myrna Loy, but this film is *completely* stolen by Alice White. Really enjoyable, light fun - a very entertaining film. (7 stars)

March 17, 2006 - On this cloudy morning watched Junebug (2005), real slice-of-life tale about this slick Chicago newlywed couple who travel to North Carolina so the wife Madeleine, owner of a gallery, can pursue the contract of a rural folk artist who paints interesting, but mainly bloody, sexual, weird scenes of Civil War battles. But by coincidence, hubby's family lives nearby - so they stay with them - mom, quiet dad who likes to carve wood in the basement, plus usually scowling, broody younger brother and his pregnant wife (who wants to name her baby "Junebug" and acts more like a teenage girl than a married woman) and who, by all appearances, seem like they got married too young. This family seems pretty dysfunctional, but so does the yuppie couple when it all comes down to it. Really, watching this film, it just seems like these people are - well, people. Weird in their way, yet normal too. This movie really seems real. I like the way certain scenes are photographed in this - the camera moving through the rooms of the hushed, empty house, or showing the quiet, green street where they live. Yes, I did quite like this film a lot, the performance of Oscar nominated Amy Adams is especially good, and I also thought the actor portraying the younger brother particularly good as well. Really, all performances here quite excellent. (7 stars)

March 16, 2006 - This morning watched I Am a Thief (1934) on TCM. Well-done, fast-paced, slick, and fun mystery story about a pack of jewel thieves and assorted other characters aboard the Orient Express, all in hot pursuit of the famous "Karenina Diamonds". In Paris, the insurance companies are upset about the glut of jewel robberies happening in the city lately, so put up for auction the exquisite Karenina diamond necklace in hopes of luring out the thieves from hiding. Dealer Ricardo Cortez bids and wins the diamonds and is soon traveling by train to Istanbul with many others chasing him and, more importantly, chasing the prized jewels including smartly-dressed Mary Astor, a lady of mystery. Most of this film takes place aboard the train, in state rooms and dining car, with plot twists and turns that reminds me of an early Hitchcock film. It also reminds me of an Agatha Christie style mystery story including gathering of all characters in the dining car for interrogation by smart police detective. This movie does not disappoint - with really excellent acting all-around and an interesting, suspenseful plot, this is really an excellent film. (8 stars)

March 15, 2006 - Good Night and Good Luck (2005) - Film about the early 50s broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow in his fight against Senator McCarthy and his kangaroo court hearings against communism. This film is very interesting, with excellent lighting and black and white photography, the set decoration of the CBS offices combined with the extremely realistic costuming of the actors really, really made it seem like the 50s. Excellent portrayal of Edward R. Murrow done by actor David Strathairn, Oscar nominated for this role. (8 stars)

March 13, 2006 - This evening, Green Mansions (1959) - Pretty weird story about a man and his developing love story with a strange nymph-like girl in a densely forested and canopy darkened South American jungle. Anthony Perkins plays the young man, in search for revenge and GOLD he heads by canoe into the jungle, abounding with snakes, leopards, and even worse - headhunters. Befriending (well, kind of anyway) one tribe he soon sets into a nearby forest, lush with ferns and fawns and waterfalls and loads of unusual birds, where he meets the beautiful and mysterious Rima (played by Audrey Hepburn) who rescues him after he is bitten by a snake. Rima is a strange little thing indeed, her slim self darting amongst the trees and greenery, she tends to the wild creatures and lives with a gruff old man, her grandfather. But Rima longs to know the truth of herself and where she comes from - Grandfather won't tell. Hmmm. This film is an unusual one indeed, but with beautiful, interesting and colorful scenery, a sweeping orchestral score, and my favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn, who looks especially lovely here - well, it's actually pretty good and held by interest in spite of the possibly less than ZERO chemistry between leading man and lady (it is really pretty hard to believe that this is a couple in love, when they kiss - um, talk about a lack of passion). (7 stars)

March 10, 2006 - The Age of Consent (1932) - Oh, the problems of modern youth. At State College, while most of the young men are more interested in "free love" than marriage, handsome Michael aka "Mike" (Richard Cromwell, an exact cross between Leonardo DiCaprio and Jude Law) is full of old-fashioned ideals and he loves to get advice and talk things over with his favorite "Prof", a real sort of mentor to our young heartthrob. Meanwhile, Mike's girl Betty seems to like to flirt around, mainly with a hotshot named Duke who has a snazzy new car. As Betty chirps "I'm not my Grandmother - I like to have FUN - I'm modern!". Well - Mike and Betty really *are* in love, so he gives her his fraternity pin and proposes quitting college so they can be married. But Mike is full of "frustration" it seems and When Betty says they should wait until they graduate before they marry (two whole years!), Mike turns to flirtatious Dora, waitress at the local diner/college hangout, who he ends up getting drunk and spending the night with. Problems ensue for Mike as Dora's angry father walks in on them, then pushes marriage or prison onto poor, poor Mike (seems our little waitress was underage). This film, at first glance, seems like it is going to be a light piece of college romantic fluff, with all the college kids drooling over each other and the guys trying to convince the girls to "drop some of their morals". Instead it takes a turn toward the quite serious, and with an emotional wallop, really comes off to be quite an excellent film. There is a lot of discussion in this film about "what's right, what's wrong" and other morality issues, and most of the performances are pretty top-notch here, I thought Arline Judge especially good as waitress Dora. (8 stars)

Changing my star system to a scale from 1 to 10 to match the IMDB ratings system.

March 9, 2006 - This morning I watched Spring Madness (1938) - Very silly story about serious Harvard man, Sam (Lew Ayres), all set to go on a two year trip to Russia to study the economy and write a book on the youth movement. One problem though - his girlfriend Alex (Maureen O'Sullivan), student at a nearby girl's college, doesn't know he is going. Alex and her slang-talking gal pals at college seem to care about one thing and one thing only - the spring dance. Alex is determined to get her man to that dance, but he actually has plans, along with his chum "The Lippencott" (well played by Burgess Meredith), to leave college before graduation and get on that ship to Russia - and he'll be leaving just *before* the dance. Dear oh dear. The plot of this film really just had nothing to hold my interest and most of the actors seem a bit long in the tooth to be realistic as college students. The only thing that saves this movie at all is some of the acting, especially by the some of the character actors, which is pretty well-done. I like Joyce Compton as Sally, man crazy blonde who only comes to college for the weekend dances, and Sterling Holloway as a Yale man, who seems to mainly hang about in the girl's college dorm lobby. And, well, Lew Ayres does look kind of cute in his polka dot pajamas in one scene. All in all, though, this movie is really just plain dumb. (2.5 stars)

March 8, 2006 - This A.M. watched Desert Nights (1929), John Gilbert's last silent film. In it he plays Hugh Rand, manager at the Crown Diamond Mines in Africa - - he hasn't been near a woman in three years. When a Lord and his daughter, Lady Diana (played by Mary Nolan), are to visit the Mines as a first stop before a hunting trip, Rand expects a bow-legged, cross-eyed "old maid". But surprise! - Diana is a beauty and soon sparks are flying between the two as they can't stop gazing at each other across the dinner table and share a lovely waltz together as daddy accompanies them on piano. Soon another surprise though - Lord and Lady are actually impostors and crooks. They steal a sack of diamonds and set off across the blazing hot desert with Rand as their hostage. When their African escorts leave them in the lurch, the thieves must turn to their hostage to help them out of the desert and soon they find out there is something of more value to them than diamonds - water! With glistening sun and black shadows, this film is expertly photographed. John Gilbert comes across as a handsome charmer, and his co-star, beautiful Mary Nolan, handles her role nicely. The film includes a pleasing orchestral score that really suits this story well. I found this film to be quite a good one. (3.75 stars)

March 7, 2006 - Made on Broadway (1933) - Smart, quick-tongued press agent Jeff Bidwell (played by Robert Montgomery) rescues out-of-work waitress, Minnie Martin (Sally Eilers), when she tries to kill herself by jumping into the river. He decides to use his skills to transform her from working class gal to swan and within a few months Minnie has become "Mona Martine", well-mannered, perfectly coiffed, satin gowned, and acting in the Follies. The plot takes a quick turn when Mona shoots Ramon, her handsome dance instructor, one night and Jeff again helps her by using his expert abilities at stringing together lies to cover the truth, and she uses her "skills" at acting to try to sway the jury her way during the trial. All the while, Jeff likes to have chit-chats with his ex-wife, who at first glance *seems* more interested in advances on her alimony than the goings on of her ex. This film is quite fast-paced and entertaining, with a few pre-code type lines thrown in which adds to the fun. The plot, in a way, reminds me of "My Fair Lady" in that he has her taking voice lessons, gives her a beauty makeover, and the like to change her (though even as Mona, she is certainly never a "lady"), which is all kind of brushed over quickly, but certainly there are similarities there. Our Gang Alert: Watch for Zeffie Tilbury (Our Gang's "Second Childhood") as one of the older ladies Jeff hires to pose as Mona's "aunts" during her trial. (3.25 - 3.5 stars)

March 3, 2006 - Watched The First Hundred Years (1938) - Quite improbable stage-style drama about a very happily married couple who separate over - well, the wife just won't give up her successful career as a theatrical agent to move to New Bedford with hubby for his new $15,000 a year job at the shipyards designing yachts. David (Robert Montgomery) is just SO tired of being a "kept man" by his wife Lynn (Virginia Bruce), all he wants is to take care of HER for a change. She won't budge, so two lawyers are hired, David moves into the yacht club, and the separation begins. It all seems so silly really. I mean, even now a couple wouldn't likely get themselves into a situation like this - you would think compromise between the couple and trying to work something out would be the way a happy couple would go - hmmm. The ultra quick split this couple makes is resolved eventually the old-fashioned way - Lynn is going to have a baby, so is perfectly happy to quit her job suddenly. Ah well. Pretty darn dumb. I did enjoy a couple of the character actor roles, Warren William as head of the theatrical agency, and Harry Davenport very enjoyable to see as her daffy, aging old Uncle Dawson, visiting the "happy couple" on his way for a trip around the world. (2.75 stars)
Next up, March of the Penguins (2005) - Documentary about Emperor Penguins and their annual 70-mile march from the sea to the breeding grounds in icy Antarctica. We see in AMAZING close-up camerawork the march, the finding of a mate for each bird, the keeping of the egg under the papa's belly while mama goes to sea to bring food, the hatching of the eggs, and the raising of the chicks - all through extremely harsh, cold weather conditions, blizzards, winds, ice, and the like. This documentary is awesome! So interesting - and I must say - those baby penguins are pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life! With excellent narration by Morgan Freeman, I really highly recommend this film. (4 stars)

March 2, 2006 - Pride and Prejudice (2005) - Newest version of the classic novel by Jane Austen, I have seen many filmed versions of this story (some *many* repeated viewings) and have read the book more than once too. This film is particularly beautifully photographed - golden light on the beautiful English countryside scenery and lighting the walls of the very countryfied (in this version) home of the Bennet family - peeling paint and much more shabby furnishings than usually seen when they film this (hey, most times I wonder why this family is considered so poor when they always live in a huge estate only a little less lavish than Pemberley). Anyway, the classic story of the five Bennet sisters, this version mainly revolving around just the story of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet (Keira Knightley) and her dislike, then romance with the ever so handsome and rich (10,000 a year!) Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen - ooh la la). I am still high from this beautifully done version of this story, just having seen it - one of my favorite stories out of all novels. The casting in this version was PERFECT - as Jane, the eldest sister, is meant to be the most beautiful I was wondering how they would cast a woman more beautiful than Keira Knightley in this part - they did. The actress playing Jane is probably the best casting I have seen for that character (though she isn't given much to do in this version) - lovely and appropriately shy and sweet as the character calls for. Jena Malone is well-cast as Lydia, but again given little to do here. This is the main flaw in this film - it should have been at least an hour longer. I would have liked to see more of the side stories - Lizzie's little infatuation with Wickham, the story of Mr. Collins and Charlotte, Lydia and Kitty and their chase after officers, the romance of Jane and Bingley, Miss Bingley and her chase after Mr. Darcy, etc. - flushed out more. As it is, these stories are pretty brushed over with the concentration mostly on Lizzie's story. Even Lizzie and Mr. Darcy's story felt a bit rushed - I didn't see as much of the growing passion he has for her in the earlier parts of the story - or the ever growing dislike Lizzie has for him in those early scenes. Still though, I loved this. It includes a lovely orchestral score, by the way, and I LOVE the long tracking shots done in single takes through the crowds of people and dancers in the ballroom scenes, around corners, each actor going in and out of the scene right on cue - fantastic! (4 stars)