The Muppet Christmas Carol: I think this is probably the best version of the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens that you could ever see. Michael Caine is Scrooge, Kermit the Frog is Bob Cratchett while Gonzo and Rizzo narrate. This is a very unique version and very funny.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir: This movie is interesting, and I found similarities in it to Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon. It was an interesting movie but not really one that lingers with you. It's a nice movie but not one that I'd go back to time and time again.

Mrs. Miniver: This movie was one of the many war propaganda movies, movies meant to make the people who saw it think that the enemy was kniving and evil, that this was their war to protect the country they loved. Mrs. Miniver takes place in a small little village in England and is about how the people in this town, focusing on Mrs. Miniver and her family, make their efforts to keep their England safe. I think the women's movment towards equality of the sexes got a boost durring the war, wartime women could not afford to be weak, fainting things, they had their families and homes to protect.

Martian Child: This movie was really good. It also made me cry.

Howl's Moving Castle: This is an anamaie movie by Hyao Miyazaki which is likely spelled incorrectly but at any rate his movies are pretty amazing and Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorite. I've seen the movie both in Japanese with subtitles and voiced over and I have to say that I prefer the voice over, but it might be because I saw the voice over version first...and because Christian Bale voiced over Howl. The world that this movie takes place in is like our own but completely different, and purely magical. This movie has messages both about war and about beauty, a lot of Miyazaki movies seem to.

While You Were Sleeping: A friend and I were quoting this movie as we got her Christmas tree ("I should have gotten a blue spruce, they're lighter!") and so we decided to watch it. This movie is a classic for me, I don't think I will ever get tired of it, no matter how many times I've seen it. This movie has comedy and drama and a really great cast of supporting characters. I love it.

Enchanted April: This movie takes place in the 20s and I love seeing the fashions from the 20s. The movie is very good, heart warming but it's also a tad strange.

You've Got Mail: I watched this movie because I read that it was a remake of Shop Around the Corner. The plots of the two movies are quite similar but You've Got Mail is updated for 1998 and tweaked a little bit from the original. It's an interesting premise that two people can hate each other and love each other at the same time...however I think a lot of stories whether in film or print, have some reference to this idea. I wonder why that's one that has occurred so much and if it's a case of art reflecting life. I prefer Shop Around the Corner but this is also a good movie, it's the same as I feel about the versions of Sabrina.

Oceans 11: I've never seen the original movie with the Rat Pack, but I'm referring to the latest version. It's pretty cool to see all the devious things that were planned up in order to knock over three casinos. It's been a while since I saw the movie though and I'd forgotten just how much swearing was in the movie though. I suppose in a way Danny and his crew are the underdogs and we all root for them.

Desk Set: I liked this movie, it's a comedy but through the advance of technology it's a bit more comical than was originally planned on. At the heart of this movies plot is the issue of man (or in this case woman) verses machine. There's also an element of feminism in there that I enjoyed. Katherine Hepburn is marvelous in this movie.

Mrs. Brown: This is a historical fiction... I think, at least I know it's based on history, however I don't know how accurate it is, anyway this movie is about Queen Victoria and how after Prince Albert died, she was coaxed out of grief by a servant whom her husband admired, as their friendship grows the Queens family etc. are scandalized.

O Brother Where Art Thou: I think I can safely say that this was unlike any other movie that I've ever seen before. The Odyssey meets the south in the 30s in this movie. I think the thing that interested me most was the setting of the south, the south is a place I've only been once and it seems to almost have a mythical quality about it. I don't know if I'd put it together before that while the north was modernized, the south was hanging back several decades. It's been a while since I've been forced to read the Odyssey so I don't know how well the two compare, there were a few main points like the cyclops and the sirens.

Wives and Daughters: This is technically a mini serise but I'm going to count it anyways. Wives and Daughters is based off a book by the same name by Elizabeth Gaskill. I think they were pretty true to the book, edits here and there but I love both the movie and the book. One really nice thing about the movie is that there's an ending, Elizabeth Gaskill sadly died before she wrote the ending of the book. I really think that they did a great job with this movie, in picking out the characters and telling the story and everything like that, this is a movie that I enjoy watching time after time.

Shop Around The Corner: I'd heard about this movie and I saw it at the library and so I thought I'd try it, I wasn't expecting much but I was quite pleasantly surprised. This movie includes a fun cast of characters and I think that's probably why I like it so much, I find movies can be much more entertaining if there's a great cast of supporting characters in addition to the main characters. The setting for this plot is a leather goods shop in Budapest during some kind of economic depression. According to the blurb on the back of the case You've Got Mail was a re-make of this movie. It's a sweet if perhaps sappy plot but Jimmy Stewart is always great.

Annie: This was a movie I loved when I was little and I thought I'd see if it was still as good as it was then; it was still pretty good but not as good as when I was little but so many things showed up this time that were over my head when I was little. Carol Burnett is really good in this movie, Bernadette Peters is a pretty typical casting, no real singing though. It's a look back at life in the 30s.

Sabrina: This isn't a repeat, it's the remake of the one with Audrey Hepburn, this one was made in the 90s. This version of Sabrina, for me at least, doesn't have the charm of the original, it feels a tad adulterated, however it is still a good movie and it's very funny with lots of memorable lines.

Wait Until Dark: Do not watch this movie home alone in the dark, you will regret it. This movie I suppose might be called more of a thriller but I find it terrifying. I think far more frightening that the disturbing things that people can think up, are the things that are actually really quite possible. Audrey Hepburn's character is recently blinded and adjusting to life when she unwittingly becomes involved with drug dealers and murderers.

Anastasia: This is not the more recent cartoon (though I love that). I've been interested in Anastasia since I read a book about her, with pictures from her life, anyway this movie was a version with Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner, the plot of the movie is similar to that of the cartoon, however the Rasputin aspect isn't there. It was a nice movie, I liked it.

The Paycheck: This is a pretty good action movie, not the best but pretty good. I hadn't noticed it when watching but in some of the extended stuff on the DVD they were talking about how they had been inspired by Hitchcock, especially North by Northwest and I saw what they meant, I just wouldn't have been able to put my finger on it otherwise. The plot of this movie is akin to that of Minority Report if you've seen that, I think I enjoyed this movie far more though. I liked the concept of the movie, it was unusual.

Spellbound: Alfred Hitchcock made simply amazing movies, he was a master of his art and I don't know that anyone, even today, does thriller movies like he did. In this movie Ingrid Bergman is a psychiatrist or psychoanalyst, I don't recall witch, she meets and falls in love with Gregory Peck's character only to find that he is not who he seemed to be and that he's accused of murder. Peck's character has amnesia and a guilt complex and Ingrid Bergman is determined to cure him and prove his innocence. It's a fascinating movie.
Murder on the Orient Express: I've never read the book by Agatha Christie but this movie is a wonderful whodunit, drama, comedy, emotion and intriguing. It's wonderful, simply wonderful and part of that is that there are so many wonderful actors in the movie; Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, and so many more.I highly recommend it.

Breakfast at Tiffany's: I hate the song but I love this movie. I'm a big fan of Audrey Hepburn and this movie is one of my favorites. Audrey Hepburn and George Pepard are wonderful in this movie.

Adam's Rib: This is a funny movie, but more than that it's a movie about laws and equality, specificly equality between women and men. Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy play a married couple of lawyers who find themselves testing their relationship when they go against each other in court. I think this must have been quite a monumental movie, such issues were not common place then as they are today. I still don't know how to take this movie, there are many blows forged for women's equality, but it almost feels bitter sweet, I could just not be seeing, but it feels like the dominant male sentiment of the day, has the last laugh in the end.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: This was a movie that I'd wanted to see at international cinema but missed, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but the preview I saw must have looked cool or something. This movie is French and half chick flick, half horror movie, I felt a lot safer in the world before watching this movie. The way the story is portrayed is not done in the traditional sense but from two different sides, first we see the story from the girl's point of view, then from the guys and the difference in their point of views is quite a shock. This isn't a movie that I ever want to see again, in fact I'm wishing that I hadn't seen it because it really creeped me out.

The Bourne Ultimatum: I am a fan of the whole trilogy and I think this might be the coolest of them all. These movies are flawless and each one ups the ante. In this movie Bourne finally makes it back to his beginning and seems to have gotten away from the CIA once and for all...unless there's another movie that I haven't heard about.
Sabrina: There are two versions of this movie, the original with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart and the newer one with Harrison Ford and Juila O.... I forget, at any rate, I am talking about the original. I love this movie, it's a charming Cinderella story with very witty humor. This is the movie where Hepburn and Givinchy got together. I like both versions of this movie but this version is my favorite, I find Bogie more believable as Linus Larabee, William Holden more charming and of course how could anyone out do Audrey Hepburn?

Indiscreet: I'm unsure about this movie, parts of it were really awesome, parts were blah and parts were not cool. Carey Grant and Ingrid Bergman are in love but lies are discovered and problems come up. One thing that comes from this movie is a message that you shouldn't lie about things, and I'm behind that 100% but there's a sort of battle of the sexes and the ending of the movie did not sit well with me. The movie was made in 1958 and that probably accounts for it's chuvanism but it doesn't make it any more plesant.

Australia: Wow, I've been wanting to watch this movie since I saw the previews about a year ago...obviously these things take me a while; it didn't disappoint though, it was a pretty awesome movie, even after they hype has faded down. I must say I was a bit disappointed that I could tell that computer animation was used in some parts but I suppose that can be dealt with. I wish that there weren't a few things in there that are, however I believe it's rated pg 13 and so I was warned. This movie was really awesome, really sad and the stars of the movie are both really pretty (Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman). The plot of this movie is very similar to that of Out of Africa but the issue of race and discrimination is dealt with much more. I am not very familiar with Australia at all but in Australia around the time of WWII the main ethnical groups in Australia were white and Aboriginies and as was usual for the time period, there was discrimination agains the Aboriginies but what really struck me was that below the Aboriginies on the social ladder were childeren who were half white and half Aboriginy, "creamies" was one of the derogatory terms. These poor childeren would be shipped off to an island, to an asylum away from their parents...or mothers really, since most of their fathers wouldn't claim them. It may have occured, but I'm not aware of anything like that happening with the racial discrimination between white and black people and this really struck me, that these poor children were just stuck between worlds, and not really able to join either. This movie really touched me and made me think.

Damn Yankees: This was an interesting movie, not the best plot, not the greatest music, but the dancing was great. This movie was choreographed by Bob Fossse and his wife, Gwen Verden was one of the stars, they even have a dance number together. This movie also made me think, the plot is that a man sells his soul to help his favorite team beat the Yankees, and so he makes a deal with the devil. The way the devil was portrayed in the movie made me wonder about how things would be if one made a deal witht the devil.

Shall We Dansu?: This is a Japanese movie, if you've ever seen the movie Shall We Dance? it's a remake of this one. This movie is about a Japanese man who takes up ballroom dancing (I don't know if this still holds true but when this movie was made, ballroom dancing was a social taboo.) It's a sweet and funny movie. I absolutly love it.

Good Night and Good Luck: This movie is about events that took place during the dark time of McCarthyism and communist witch hunts. Edward R. Murrow was a well known journalist and he had a tv news show called See It Now. For those who don't know about this period, it was the cold war and an insane period in history, the US was deathly afraid of communism and Senator Joseph McCarthy was in charge of a committee on un-American activity, basically accusing people of being communists. Most of the people that were accused were not communists and were accused and convicted with insubstantial evidence. People were terrified of the chance that they could be called up before the committee, carrears were ended or damaged at the suggestion that a person was "red". Anyway Edward R. Murrow and his team had the guts to stand up to Senator McCarthy and the injustice of what was going on, this movie tells that story. I think this is a very inspiring story.

Some Like It Hot: I love this movie, love it! To musicians witness a fictionalization of the St. Valentines Day massacre and to make it out of town alive they go into disguise and join a girls band headed for Florida. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are hilarious in this movie as they see what life is like for the other half. Marylin Monroe makes it hard for the guys to remember that they're supposed to be girls with humorous results.

Il Postino (The Postman): This is an Italian movie that I love, my second favorite Italian movie after Life is Beautiful (Vita e Bella). This movie is about an island postman who becomes friends with the famous poet Pablo Neruda and from him learns about poetry, love and the beauty that surrounds him in his island home. I highly recomend it, it's very heart warming.

The Magnificent Seven: This movie was inspired by the Japanese movie The Seven Samurai, which I haven't seen but hope to see. I may have said this before but I'm not a huge fan of westerns, this however felt more like an action movie and I know that westerns technically fall into that category, I mean an action movie today. The movie has a star studded cast Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, other famous people who's names I don't remember but who's faces you'd recognize... America is a funny place and kind of awesome too, in America a Mongolian can be a cowboy and a German can be a Mexican.

Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb: Yes that really is the whole title of the movie. This is a black satire about the cold war. Peter Sellers stars in not one but three roles, it was originally going to be four but I think that'd probably be too much for anyone. An unauthorized air strike against the Russians has been set into action and seems impossible to stop, worse than that the Russians have a doomsday machine that will destroy everything on the earth if the Russians attack. A darkly comedic look at a infamous era in history with such memorable lines as "Gentlemen please, no fighting in the war room!" and a creepy German, Dr. Strangelove himself.

Into The Woods: Technically this is a play, however I've only ever seen this version which they recorded for video. Bernadette Peters is in this cast and Chip Zeins (that could be wrong). I quite enjoy this play, it's a bit of a satire on a bunch of fairy tales: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc. This show is incredibly funny, fairly sad, and makes you stop and think about moral issues. It's quite a show.

Up: I loved this movie, it was the best Pixar movie that I've seen to date, it's sweet and laugh out loud funny. If you haven't seen it, you totally should!

Mostly Martha: This is a German movie about food, family and love. I really liked this movie, especially the fact that one of the characters was Italian and thus spoke in Italian some of the time...I doubt that will be an attraction for most people so I will just say that it's a nice romantic movie.

No Reservations: Okay so this is the American version of Mostly Martha so in contrasting and comparing these movies, I think on the whole No Reservations stayed fairly true to Mostly Martha, however it was Americanized, it's happier, and a bit more cheesy, it feels like Catherine Zeta-Jones is going through the motions of the character but she's also still playing Catherine Zeta-Jones, if that makes sense at all. I think I slightly lean towards Mostly Martha as my favorite of the two, it seemed a lot more sincere and real, not so contrived. I did appreciate things that seemed to be explained a little bit better in No Reservations. Both movies are pretty good but like I said, I lean towards Mostly Martha.

The Bourne Supremacy: The Bourne saga goes on, with more treachery, more amazing fights, more outwitting the bad guys and more insane car chases. This is the last of the books that I actually read, the books are rather hard to read and the movies really more make up their own plot and just use the character and title. I'm a fan of Bourne, this isn't my favorite of the movies but they're all well done and quite impressive.

Charlie's Angels: This movie has absolutly no redeaming value

Strictly Ballroom: This movie tells a story that has been told many times before, rebel guy, homely girl who come together to do something amazing and in the process the girl becomes beautiful and the two fall in love. It's been done many times before, but I still quite enjoyed this movie and I love dancing movies.

Marilyn Hodgkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School: This was an interesting movie, I'm still not quite sure what to think about it. It's very different from most movies I've seen, I'm pretty sure the essential story isn't one that's all that original but the movie itself is quite unique I think. I like it and I don't. I don't believe I'll be going back to this movie over and over again.

Dark Passage: Bogie and Bacall in a film noir type romance. This movie is interesting, I think it was sort of experimental. For most of the movie you don't see Bogie's face, the camera angle is as if you're seeing what his character is, kinda cool, kinda weird. This movie is noir, but it's not really dark on the whole, at least I didn't think so, but I guess I also haven't seen much noir lately either. Anyway, I like this movie and recommend it.

The Great Race: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, in a crazy, melodramatic, suffragette, race around the world. This movie is silly, and funny and quite frankly it's over the top. I liked it but I don't know that it's one I'd go back too. Jack Lemmon was quite amazing though, I think his performance was probably the best. This movie made me want to watch Some Like It Hot, I liked that movie better.

Bride and Prejudice: Jane Austin meets Bollywood. I think that pretty much sums this movie up because once you've said that what else is there to say? However, just to let you know I was pretty skeptical about this movie before I saw it but I fell in love with it, it's utterly wonderful, you really should see it.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: So Tim Burton is really weird, I think that could be universally agreed on, however sometimes his weirdness is also pretty cool. Of his movies I think that Nightmare's my favorite, I love the music and Jack Skellington.

As You Like It: I am a fan of Shakespeare and I am a very big fan of Kenneth Branagh Shakespeare movies and this is one of them. As You Like it is an enjoyable comedy but it is brought to it's best set in 19th century Japan. I never would have thought of a Shakespeare play in such a setting but Branagh makes it simply beautiful. I heartily recommend it.

Sydney White: A silly retelling of Snow White, this time it's Sydney White and the seven dorks. It's a fun and far fetched movie, I watched it with a roomie and we had a great time seeing it, it's one of those movies.

Miss Potter: This movie is about the life of Beatrix Potter, as I know very little about her I could not tell you as to how accurate it is but I found it a very charming story. I had no idea... well quite frankly all I knew about Beatrix Potter was that she wrote those stories, the ones about Peter Rabbit and all those other animals; I didn't realize that it might be though improper for a woman to be writing and illustrating her own stories. I also wasn't aware that she bought large amounts of land in the Lake District which she donated for preservation and I think that was a very wonderful thing to do. I found this movie rather inspirational it makes me want to do more, be better, do something really great.

Becoming Jane: I was curious, I admit it, despite hearing poor opinions of it; I think sometimes you still just to see something that you've heard was bad in order to confirm it for yourself. It's not wonderful, it's not terrible, it's just kind of blah, and frankly I don't know that I buy it. I think it's sort of funny, avid Austin fans would have this be another one of her stories with a lovely happy ending, but it cannot be, Jane Austin died young (well relatively) and she was unmarried; to a man she loved or any one else. Rather ironic isn't it?

For Whom The Bell Tolls: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman in a story about the Spanish Revolution by Hemingway. Yes Hemingway, bingo, interesting plot about the underdogs and an unhappy ending...ish.

Captain Horatio Hornblower: Before there was Piarates of the Carabean, there was Captain Horatio Hornbolower of the Royal Navy...I think that's what it's called. Anyway this movie takes place durring one of the Napolionic wars and Captain Hornblower is pretty much a sailors super hero and so who else could play that but Gregory Peck, it's a fair movie, nothing spectacular but not the worst you could do either.

Footloose: This movie is pretty awesome, Kevin Bacon, the 80s, dancing, Kenny Loggins, what more could you ask, except for an impromptu dance party after watching.

Atlantis: I thought this movie was soo cool when it first came out, and now, I still think it's a pretty awesome movie, it's fun to think about those sort of mysterious things, could there really still be an Atlantis out there? Probably not, but that doesn't mean that you can't still make a movie about it.

Soylent Green: If you enjoy the occasional Charlton Heston - Armageddon movie, then you should see Soylent Green, the world in 2022...11 years from now. I think over all I prefer the unintended humor of Planet of the Apes to Soylent Green's unintentional humor but it's still pretty good. I was first introduced to this movie by some friends...I think it might have been for St. Pactrick's day? perhaps not, however we did eat green food.

Return To Me: So this is one of the best known chick flicks I know of and has the recomendation of multiple guys I know as their chick flick of choice. Yes it's cheesy, it is a chick flick, but it's sweet and funny. A friend of mine observed that a wonderful cast of supporing characters can really make a great movie, here is the proof.

Spy Kids 3-D: This was the movie of choice last night when I was babysitting. I haven't really loved the spy kids movies since the first one. I've never actually seen this one with the 3D glasses and that might be fun but I doubt it'd really make me like this movie much more. It might be chalked up to the fact that this movie takes place in a video game and I'm not a gamer, but over all I wasn't impresses, however Elijah Wood's cameo was pretty funny.

The Queen: This movie is sort of a dramatized documentary...if that is a term, it covers the events following Princess Diana's death from the points of view of Queen Elizabeth and her family and the Prime Minister who at that point was Tony Blair. I find this movie interesting because of the way it looks into life as a royal etc.I don't know how accurately the events are represented but it was interesting to see another point of view on those events. Frankly I don't really remember much of them, I didn't really know much about Princess Diana. Quite honestly I wonder what the Queen thinks of this movie.

Life is Beautiful/La Vita E Bella: This may be my favorite movie, and for me that's quite a concession. This is an Italian movie, written, directed, and staring Roberto Benigni. I don't know that I have the words for how wonderful this movie is but I strongly believe that it's a movie that everyone should see and has something that everyone will love. One of the things I love is that the little boy in the movie is probably the cutest little boy I've ever seen. This movie is funny, sweet and inspiring.

To Kill A Mockingbird: I love this movie, I love the book even more, but the movie is almost as good. Gregory Peck is the perfect Atticus Finch, I don't know that anyone could have done a better job, from caring father to powerful orrater and lawyer to first class human being. This is such a powerful story about good and bad people and the world that we live in, it's a classic.

Love Story: This movie is famous, if not infamous, and though I'd never seen it before I realized that I'd seen it in different incarnations: A Walk To Remember, Charley, and others I'm sure. This movie is a well known romance and tear-jerker - in other word it's not something that should be watched after a break up or with a bunch of girls...unless you really want to cry, I've never had that urge but to each their own. It was a pretty good movie and I'm happy to say that I didn't cry. I will admit that my eyes got moist at more that one point because of Ryan O'Neil's puppy dog face but there were no tears. One thing I liked was that it was a slightly more innocent age and though there are love scenes, you're safe watching them. While it was a good movie, I stand by the famous line "Love means never having to say you're sorry." when it was spoofed in What's Up Doc? where Barbra Streisand says the line and Ryan O'Neil replies "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

Dear Frankie: This movie was an instant love and not just because it takes place in Scotland where people have beautiful accents. This movie is probably a bit cheesy, but it is such a heart warming movie and I at least, find it hard not to get emotionally involved. A woman, her mother and her son move around a lot so as not to be found by her abusive husband. The woman has a secret from her son: the letters he writes to his father go to a box where his mother gets them and writes back to him as his father. When the boat his father supposedly works on comes to port she tries to find someone to pose as Frankie's father. An interesting note is that the film features BSL (British Sign Language), which is very different than ASL.

Death On The Nile: This was a very good whodunit, I've never read Agretha Christie but the two movies I've seen of her movies have been very good and slightly unnerving. In this you can see Angela Lansbury play a crazy, sex obsessed old lady, and Betty Davis as a thieving old lady and probably some other people you know of. I didn't really see the ending coming.

Back To The Future: Part III: So scientifically this movie is even more far fetched than either of the other two movies, but it's still a fun one. Doc ends up getting sent back to 1885...or maybe 1855, I can't quite remember. Marty goes back to the past (1955) to get Doc's help fixing the time machine although now that I think about it I'm not sure how Marty gets to 1955 but maybe that's in the second movie and I just don't remember. Anyway, it's fun, utterly ridiculous and I'm guessing, unlike any other western out there.

The Manchurian Candidate: SEE THIS MOVIE! It was soo amazing, so wonderful. I should clarify that this is the original with Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury (is it just me or has that woman looked old her entire life?). I don't quite know how to explain it but early on in the movie I began to get excited, I knew that it would be an amazing movie; there are some movies that we love because they are dumb, some because they're mildly amusing, some that make us cry, so on and so forth but rare are the movies that can really thrill, movies that are intelligent, that might just blow your mind a little, that keep you utterly captivated- this was such a movie for me. I think this movie has earned itself a place in my heart with Casablanca, possibly even higher.

Glory Road: This is loosely speaking, the Remember The Titans of basketball. It's a sports movie and all that goes with it, defying the odds and being all around inspirational. I think this movie and Remember the Titans are different, and stand out from your average sports movie because these movies, both based on real events are about black/white integration and people who helped to break down the bigotry and hatred. Sports may not be everyone's cup of tea but I'm for anything that can help make the world a better place. I think this is a great story about great people in history.

Stardust: I quite enjoy this movie, I still remember going to see it with my roommates and a friend of ours. This movie, as the directer more or less said, is not going to change the world or anything like that, but it's terribly entertaining. Like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow it's a dazzling world of fantasy and the kid inside me is just thrilled. In Stardust there are witches, stars, murderous princes and best of all pirates who's ship flies through the air. I absolutely love the idea of flying pirate ships, if they ever come about, I would probably join the account.

Casablanca: So the AFI named Citizen Kane as their number one film and Casablanca as number two, if I did it I don't think that I'd put Citizen Kane on the list at all and Casablanca would most deffinatly be number one. Casablanca was a serindipitous movie where dispite being writen as it was being filmed and noone knowing what the ending would be, everything sort of worked out and it's still a classic today. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman both shine in this movie, but not alone, I've come to believe that in a great movie there's also a great cast of minor characters and this Casablanca has in Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreets, Claude Rains and others who's names I don't know. I love this movie and think that everyone should see it, it's got action, drama, comedy, romance, it's wonderful. Favorite line: "Are my eyes really brown?"

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Let me start of by clarifying that I have no interest in the books whatsoever; I was drawn to this movie because Jim Carey was in it. This is a very funny movie, there are great actors in it like Jim Carey and Meryl Streep. Carey plays multiple characters, all of which are superb. I like it, but I don't love it as I do some other movies.

Gigi: This is an older musical about a group of Parisians, lovers and mistresses...that might not be the right term but anyway... It's a sweet little story, nothing earth shaking, but amusing, it's a nice comforting sort of movie, one just to enjoy and not worry about anything too much. Despite the lovers and mistresses it's not inappropriate. I quite enjoy this movie every time I see it.

Back To The Future: This is an awesome, crazy, funny, 80s movie. Michael J. Fox goes back in time and sees his parents when they were his age. He has to get them together or he won't exist in the future. It's a fun movie.

Friday, May 8

The Bourn Identity: I love these movies, I love a spy type action thriller well done, and that serise is just that. I have the spy fascination but I've found that I now prefer to watch something that at least seems like a more realistic spy world, than the gadgeted, and farsical world of spies. This being said I also love Chuck, so it goes both ways I guess. Anyway, if you're into spy/ action coolness, I highly recomend Bourn, however I didn't love the books...and they have a way different plot.
Anything Goes: I got this musical because it has Donald O'Connor and I'm a fan, however it wasn't one of those amazing musicals I felt, just mediocer, but maybe if you really love Cole Porter you'd think better of it, who knows. Bing Crosby's also in it but I'm not a huge fan of his.
Mr. Deed's Goes to Town: I got this to see more of Frank Capra's movies. It wasn't bad but also not my favorite. I assume that Mr. Deed's with Adam Sandler took it's plot from this.
The Big Sleep: Bogie, Bacall, it was the first time I'd seen a movie with both of them. I liked it a lot. I have no idea where the title came from though.
The Bachelor and The Bobby Soxer: I love Carey Grant, however not a favorite, I probably won't watch it again.
The Nun's Story: I got this to see Audrey Hepburn and it was not what I was expecting. It was very interesting, I can't say how accurate because I've never been Catholic, I learned a lot, hopefully not things that aren't true. However even if I ever became Catholic, I never, ever want to be a nun.

Tuesday, May 12

Stranger Than Fiction: I was wary of this movie at first, especially because Will Ferril's in it, but it has grown on me. I first saw it with a group of people invited by my former roommate who aspier's to be a writer. I have long since given up my aspirations to write but I think my love of this movie might relate to my love of writng. This movie is about literature, well not entierly but it's a very dominant theme. I don't know if non writers etc. would enjoy it as much however I think it's a really good movie for writers or aspiering writers to see. It's quite funny and Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman are very good.
Guys and Dolls: I caught some of this on TV one time and I figured I'd see the whole thing. It seems to be one of the quintessential musicals. I don't know, I like it but I don't, it's borderline on way to cheesy but some parts are pretty good.

I've been working on seeing a lot of the great old classic movies, when I do that I tend to go through the library website and just reserve a bunch from the same actor just going on down the list. Right now I'm working on a bunch of Carey Grant movies. Grant was quite a versatile actor, he started out as an acrobat, he was also very good at comedy and of course he was quite well known for his good looks and charm. Look for more Carey Grant movies here in the future.
An Affair to Remember: I think I first heard about this movie from Sleepless in Seattle, the characters rave about it and so I put it on my list of movies to see and only just now got around to it. I really liked it, it was a good movie just like they said, but I liked it differently. In SiS they talked about the great romance and how wonderfully sad it was, and it was those things also, but I loved it for how comedic it was, there was a lot of fairly dry humor, which I love and so I liked that a lot. I think it's a movie that's probably got something for everyone, maybe even all those guys dispite the fact that it's a 'chick movie'.

Thursday, May 14

To Catch a Thief: I usually am a big fan of Hitchcock but this one wasn't my favorite. I think sometimes Hitchcock gets undermined by all the people who came after and have run with what he did so well. I remember watching Rear Window (which is the basis for Disturbia) after hearing all about it, but I remember being quite bored with it, part of that might have been from my watching it at home, in my basement with the lights on, however I think most of it is due to all the suspense movies I've seen since, all the people who were inspired by Hitchcock. Anyway, To Catch a Thief, you'd have to decide for yourself.
I Was A Male War Bride: I liked this one, a pretty good comedy and fairly witty in parts. One of the funniest things might have been seeing Carey Grant in drag, now some men can pull that off, but Carey Grant was not really one of those, just himself in a dress. I recommend it even if just for that.
That's all of the Carey Grant I've seen lately but there's probably more waiting for me at the library.
Sunset Boulevard: I think this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, very well crafted, a work of art. This movie is also very creepy, or maybe more along the lines of strange or unnerving. I watched the little thing on the DVD about the making of the movie and things got creepier, errie how close characters were cast in some cases. I liked it but I don't think I'll be watching it all the time, it's hauntingly close to some realities. I think everyone should see it once.
Roman Holiday: I have absolutely loved this movie from the very beginning, from the very first time I saw it. Roman Holiday was Audrey Hepburn's first big movie roll, it launched her into Hollywood stardom. I loved it this time because I can now pick out snatches of what's being said in Italian, I hadn't watched it since taking Italian. Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn are both simply wonderful in this movie. It's rightfully a classic.
Emma: I haven't ever read the book, nor do I intend to, however I do love the movie. I love the costumes, and Gweneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam. It is funny and sweet and right up there in the chick flick category.

Friday, May 22

The Importance of Being Earnest: I love this movie, which is also a play by Oscar Wilde. I love Wild's works they are so wonderfully witty and satirical. I think this movie is excellent and has a wonderful cast: Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon. It is a very funny movie.
North and South: This movie is a mini series based off of Elizabeth Gaskill's book by the same title. I haven't read the book but I hope to soon. I like this movie, it's a bit like Pride and Prejudice in plot but I think it goes deeper into both pride and prejudice. The North and South are those of England around the beginning of the industrial revolution. It made me think about people and different points of view. I very much liked it.
The Charge of The Light Brigade: This is an old movie with Errol Flynn, and typical of his movies. This movie is about a historical event, one about England's glorious days of being an empire, which I'm not terribly familiar. This movie is about military actions in India and that general area. I have to say that I did not love this movie, I thought is was well made etc. but I disagree strongly with the events that took place and about revenge. I don't know how to tell this without giving away crucial plot so be warned. There was a massacre of mostly women and children and to avenge that 600 men, the Light Brigade, went into almost certian death to kill the man responsible. It made me sick to think of it, of course it was horrible what happened, but 600 men for one man hardly seems worth it, it just seems to me like more needless death.
Sargent York: This is another war movie, but where I hated Charge of the Light Brigade, I loved this one. I like this movie because it was not really a glorification of war, the main character didn't want to go to the war, but once he made his decision to go, he did the best he could and in doing so he found himself a hero.
Lost Horizion: I loved this movie, it was based off a book by the same title and I now want to read it. In this movie a group of people find themselves in Shangri-La and begin to adjust to how different things are there. I highly recommend it. An interesting point about the movie, apparently over the years it was cut down and the version I got was a restoration, they found the whole soundtrack of the movie and all but 7 minutes of the film. Because of this though there are some parts that are just stills with sound, others high quality and still others are fairly low quality.
Gunga Din: I haven't read the famous poem but I quite liked this movie. I loved the friendship between the three Sargent. I decided that the resemblance between Douglass Fairbanks Jr. and Carey Ewles is uncanny and that this is one of my favorite roles I've seen Carey Grant in. Carey Grant was wonderful at comedy and this movie proves it to a T. I think this role also works because it's not the typical Grant role of someone suave and debonair, I think it's more like the background that Archie Leach had before he became Carey Grant.

The Remains of The Day: This was an very interesting movie with Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, James Fox and other great actors. This movie take place in a world that is almost completely foreign to me, England in the earlier part of the twentieth century. It was fascinating to see things that lead up to WWII from the point of view of those living in an English manor house and working in it. It was also staggering to see a time and place where people put themselves and their feelings behind things like their jobs, where their emotions were practically locked away, never to be seen. That is one thing that I like about a good movie, how it's possible to be introduced to lifestyles, ways of thinking and being that are so utterly removed from anything I might have ever considered.

What's Up Doc?: This has got to be one of the funniest movies ever made. It's a screwball comedy with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neil, the plot is quite similar to Bringing Up Baby. This movie is terribly quotable and just absolutely wonderful.

Persuasion: This is a Jane Austin story, and surprisingly I've actually read the book too (I haven't actually read a lot of Austin). Anyway as there are multiple versions of all things Jane Austin I will clarify that this is the version with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, made in 1995. I like the story of this movie but I think more still I like the way it was filmed, it all feels very real. The music of this movie is also very beautiful. If you're an Austin fan I recommend this version of the movie.

Citizen Kane: So I believe the American Film Institute picked this for their number one movie out of one hundred and so I decided to see if it was really so wonderful. Quite frankly I didn't like this movie really at all, I paused it to do something and thought about just not finishing it but I slogged on. This movie is interestingly filmed and in a way that might have been ground breaking, but it just wasn't for me.

She's The Man: This is first and foremost a chick flick, a really good movie to watch with a bunch of girls and it doesn't hurt if it's later at night. This movie is a silly movie, with pretty boys, pretty girls and also an empowering message to girls. It's not a movie that's probably ever going to win any awards, but it's a good one still, despite being a bit cheesy, I love it both for the movie and for the memories with my roomies.

The Life Of Emile Zola: This is one that got deleted but Citizen Kane reminded me of it. Unlike Citizen Kane, I quite enjoyed The Life Of Emile Zola, it was a very inspiring movie, I found myself wanting to make the world a better place after watching it. I think it's a movie that everyone should see at least once.

Friday, May 29

People Will Talk: Okay so this isn't actually Hepburn or Bogie, it's yet another Carey Grant movie. It's a fun movie with some interesting plot twists. I quite liked the part about the trains. It's a fun movie.
How To Steal A Million: I love this movie, it's very funny and in the crime thriller family. Audrey Hepburn plays a French girl who's father forges paintings, much to her dismay. She meets Peter O'Toole when she shoots him as an intruder in her house. Circumstances occur which force her to join O'Toole and to break into an art museum to protect her father from going to jail.
High Sierra: One of Bogie's big break through movies. A crime thriller, much more so than the previous movie. Love, crime, mountains, a lovable dog... Not my favorite but alright.
Two For The Road: Another Audrey Hepburn movie. The character she plays in this movie is more on the Holly Golightly side of things than the sweet innocent girls Hepburn quite often played. I liked this movie, I think, but it was very sad, it's the story (shown all out of cronolgical sequence) of a couple thorough their relationship together and their travles. It's a rocky marriage and it made me sad to wonder if many marriages out there are or have been like that and to wonder how being so in love isn't enough it would seem, to keep a marriage going.
Love in the Afternoon: Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper, Cooper is a big player. Hepburn's father is a private detective and she uses stories from his files to make Cooper jelous and become a one woman man. It's a cute movie.
Paris When it Sizzles: This movie is funny because of the way it portrays Hollywood, and how accuratly. Hepburn and William Holden. It's kind of a strange movie but that's part of what makes it so funny. It's also a chance to see Tony Curtis play a little bit part.
The Maltese Falcon: I'd heard about this movie, or perhaps the book, for years and I finally got around to watching it and seeing the famed Sam Spade. I though this was a really good movie, good mystery and acting and a very good ending. Another movie with Bogie.
The African Queen: This is only a partial report because the DVD was too scratched up to play the whole movie. I liked what I saw. It stars Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. I haven't seen any movies with Katherine Hepburn for a while and I'd forgotten what a wonderful actress she was. I'll try and get a better copy of the movie and report when I do.

Okay so I'm going to try and rewrite the last post I made:

From Here To Eternity: I'd heard a lot about this movie, it's famous for the beach make out scene. I really, really didn't like it. It was well made and well acted (Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Debora Kerr), but it struck a nerve with me and I'd just as soon never see it again.

Dial M For Murder: This was a wonderful Hitchcock movie, with Grace Kelly. I think this might be one of the most satisfying Hitchcock movie I've seen to date, it was perfect. From the beginning of the movie the murder's all set out before you and you are left sitting and waiting and wondering how it will all work out. An interesting side note is that the movie was filmed to be shown in 3D, apparently that was all the rage at the time, however it was naturally so good that it didn't need to be in 3D and so they stopped showing it that way.

The Navigator, The Boat, The Love Nest: Buster Keaton is the king of physical comedy and he's just wonderful in the Navigator, and frankly all of it but I liked the Navigator best. It's amazing to me the self sacrifice that he put into his art, to entertain people. I heard that through out his career Keaton broke every bone in is body...now that's dedication.

The General, The Playhouse, : More wonderful Keaton, there was one more in this set but I can't remember at the moment. See the above comments.

Duck Soup: The first Marx Brothers movie I ever saw and frankly I still think it's the funniest. There are prat falls, one liners, puns, sarcastic remarks and all sorts of fun. The very famous scene where Harpo and Groucho mirrored each other is also in this movie (it's really amazing, you should see it!).

Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow: I think this movie may be totally one of a kind in the way it was made; it was made with real people but everything else is animated into a sort of 40s si-fi/detective movie world. I think little kids would love this movie, and adults too. It's a thrilling adventure.

City Lights: Charlie Chaplin, just a nice, sweet, funny movie. Chaplin is wonderful as always, in fact in one scene he brought tears to my eyes I was laughing so hard. I think this movie is up there with the best of Chaplin.

oops

Apparently I deleted this blog and consequently lost tons of movie reviews. Sad day. I guess I have to start all over again. Look out for posts.