State of the Union: If you've seen Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, also directed by Frank Capra, you'll have seen a movie in the same vein as this one. This movie is all about the political system and rather a call to action to the voters. Angela Lansbury (I think that woman must have looked old when she was 5, her face, even when young and fresh, just says 'old' to me) is a hard business woman who's having an affair with a man that she wants to put in the white house as president. Spencer Tracy is the man and he's got ideas that could make him a great president, and that also upset those who are trying to put him in the white house. Katherine Hepburn, of course, plays Tracy's loving wife, who supports him in his ideas and efforts, until Tracy changes and becomes a 'yes' man, conforming to the will of Landsbury and co. This was a wonderful movie, but I can't help noticing that in movies with Tracy and Hepburn, her characters are wonderful the whole way through, while his tend to be pompous and jerks who come around by the end of the movie and make the phenomenal speech. I like the speeches but I don't really care for the guy/characters making them.

The Song of the Thin Man: So, this is the last of the series, I suppose I skipped a few by accident. It was a fine movie but no where near as good as the first, maybe one should start with the end of this series and work back so they finish with the best one. Just a thought.

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.