Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    I'm a Sound Man: Blow Out at 40
    Nancy Allen on "Blow Out", Women in Film
    John Travolta: "Blow Out" in Chicago
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  John Travolta	Jack Terry	John Lithgow	Burke	Nancy Allen	Sally Bedina	Dennis Franz	Manny Karp

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1981
    Directed by Brian De Palma.

Labels: §3, brian-de-palma, john-lithgow, john-travolta, mystery2, nancy-allen, neo-noirA, thriller2

# posted by gail @ 18:39    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Iconic movie. Iconic acting performances. Iconic sets. Iconic lines. Iconic set pieces. Iconic photography. Despite PC quibbles throughout the years from feminists and LGBTQ activists regarding Foster's and Levine's characters, this movie has been assured, as well, an iconic role in filmography for the ages. It set standards for a variety of production values in film entertainment that, in many cases, haven't been superceded.
    Myself? I found it even more involving and enjoyable than any previous viewings; that's right, I'm not sure whether I've only see it once before, or more. There have always been bits of it I haven't been able to release from my mind, though, which is why I finally obtained the movie and am glad I did. To me, this is one of those one-of-a-kind productions that I refer back to when watching other movies of the same genre. Although, come to think of it, as far as the horror genre goes, there is one other that stands alone, for me, and to which I compare others in this genre: Midsommar. In my mind, these two movies stand, side-by-side, atop sub-categories in horror all their own.
    What a delight it was to watch this movie again! What a delight it will be to know I can watch it, yet again, any time I want!
    I thought I remembered a final scene in which Lecter is on a plane seated next to a young boy and shares some liver pâté with him, presumably from his latest victim. Missing this scene in this movie bothered me so much that I looked it up. Turns out, it's in the sequel to this movie, Hannibal, a 2001 production, and it wasn't pâté Lecter shared, it was brains, presumably Krendler's. I watched this movie and, as well, enjoyed it, but not enough to be driven to obtain it. At least, though, I solved the mystery of my memory of a "missing" scene.
    In 2001, Roger Ebert reconsidered his 1991 3.5 star review of this movie, rewrote the review, recalibrated it to 4 stars and assigned Silence of the Lambs Great Movies status.
    This edition features a second disc loaded, I mean, loaded, with special features, including a three part documentary with Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster about several aspects of making the movie. Way to steal my heart! I can't wait to go through them!
  Update: 4/27/2022:  BTW, I haven't yet cracked the special features on the second disc of this particular dvd presentation of this movie. If there's anything noteworthy that I'm provoked to write about, I'll add my comments, later.
  Update: 4/28/2022:  I watched all the special features for this edition last night, well over two hours of material. Many of the special features were recorded a decade or more after the initial release of the film. All the special features were worth a watch. Many of them focused on the relationships between the actors as they worked, including their surprise at and appreciation of their colleagues' bit tricks, so to speak, and their ability to encourage each others' performances with these acting tics. There was also quite a bit of eye-opening, appreciative comment on Jonathan Demme's process and procedure, as well as detailed commentary on his adaptation of the book into a movie. I love special features like this, that delve into the techniques used by actors and crew during the filming of movies. If you've got the "Collector's Edition" of this movie and you're fascinated by movies, don't ignore the special features about this movie!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jodie Foster	Clarice Starling	Anthony Hopkins	Hannibal Lecter	Ted Levine	Jame Gumb	Scott Glenn	Jack Crawford
  Anthony Heald	Frederick Chilton	Brooke Smith	Catherine Martin	Diane Baker	Ruth Martin	Chris Isaak	SWAT Commander

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date:1991
    Directed by Jonathan Demme.

Labels: anthony-hopkins, detective1, dramaF, gender-bender, horror2, jodie-foster, mystery2, neo-noirB, psychological2, suspense3, thriller2, violence4

# posted by gail @ 12:29    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Here's a movie that had me so puzzled I watched it two and a half times, then looked online for a full, detailed summary of the story (linked to the title, above) in order to understand the the movie. Turns out, I was wrong about the identity of the man in chains and a jump suit being shuffled down the hall at the very end of the film who turns and smiles at Detective Bobby Gold. I thought that guy was the librarian, but it was the man at the beginning of the movie who had killed his wife and kid(s) [Did he have one kid or more?] and promised to tell Gold the nature of evil. Which makes more sense than my misunderstanding.
    For another take on the movie here's Roger Ebert's four star review. Frankly, I kind of have a feeling that men, in particular (versus women) have a special place in their hearts for the kind of hard biting male-to-male drama David Mamet incorporated in this film, and some others.
    Clearing that up, however, didn't really change my understanding of the bulk of the movie. Bobby Gold is a human who is stuck between a birth identity he didn't know he carried and a work/life identity he thinks he understands but doesn't. He thinks the two are intertwined in a way that they aren't, and doesn't really understand how they are intertwined until after he's more or less taken out of commission from his work/life. When he understands that the intertwining has nothing to do with him or his Jewishness, well, at the end of the film the camera catches him in the discomposure of being stunned.
    There are Mamet scripts I enjoy more than this one. This film is a hard row for me to mentally hoe. There are Mamet scripts that I think I don't understand because I'm not male and women suffer different identity crises than men. This movie is one of them. Glengarry Glen Ross is another. But I can say I loved the content and delivery of the dialogue, the extraordinarily clean presentation of Gold's internal conflict and the surprise ending, a double surprise because I had to amend my understanding of the entire film once I correctly identified the prisoner being walked down the hall. To certain death.
    Wow. Makes me want to watch Glengarry Glen Ross again and piques my curiosity about American Buffalo.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Joe Mantegna	Buddy Gold	William H. Macy	Tim Sullivan	Ving Rhames	Robert Randolph	Natalia Nogulich	Chava
  Vincent Guastaferro	Lt. Senna	J. J. Johnston	Jilly Curran	Lionel Mark Smith	Charlie Olcott	Rebecca Pidgeon	Rebecca Pidgeon

  
  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1991
    Directed by David Mamet.

Labels: coming-of-age2, Criterion2, detective1, mystery2, police-procedural

# posted by gail @ 20:17    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Toshirô Mifune	Kōichi Nishi	Masayuki Mori	V.P. Iwabuchi	Kyōko Kagawa	Yoshiko Nishi	Tatsuya Mihashi	Tatsuo Iwabuchi
  Takashi Shimura	Admin. Ofc. Moriyama	Kō Nishimura	Contract Ofc. Shirai	Takeshi Katō	Itakura	Kamatari Fujiwara	Asst. Chief Wada
  Chishū Ryū	Public Prosecutor Nonaka	Seiji Miyaguchi	Prosecutor Okakura	Kōji Mitsui	Reporter	Susumu Fujita	Detective

  
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 1960
    Directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Labels: §2, akira-kurosawa, chishū-ryū, Criterion2, detective1, mystery2, neo-noirA, toshirô-mifune

# posted by gail @ 20:10    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Song Kang-ho	Park Doo-man	Kim Sang-kyung	Seo Tae-yoon	Kim Roi-ha	Cho Yong-koo	Song Jae-ho	Sgt. Shin Dong-chul
  Byun Hee-bong	Sgt. Koo Hee-bong	Go Seo-hee	Ofc. Kwon Kwi-ok	Ryu Tae-Ho	Jo Byeong-Sun	Park No-shik	Baek Kwang-ho
  Park Hae-il	Park Hyeon-gyu	Jeon Mi-seon	Kwok Seol-yung	Seo Young-hwa	Eon Deok-nyeo	Woo Go-na	Kim So-hyeon

  
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 2003
    Directed by Bong Joon-ho.

Labels: §2, bong-joon-ho, Criterion2, detective1, dramaD, mystery2, neo-noirC

# posted by gail @ 16:34    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  Me, only
• Mentions:  *1* *2*
• 
  Commentary:  It took me a long time, and a great price, to decide to own this movie. I have to say, although, overall, for me, it's an enjoyable watch, especially considering the major change in Gere's "leading man" persona, I don't know, the story doesn't take it far enough for me. But, I was reminded of the aforementioned (in a "Mention") sex scene in some television compendium show of the 10 sexiest movie scenes in the last 100 years, I don't know, and this scene was one of them. I was reminded just previous to haunting our local DVD trade-in store. I had forgotten how riveting that scene is, and, a few others, as well.
  Update 8/1/21:  There was a link to the second mention, but in trying to correct it, I deleted it, didn't realize I deleted it, and saved this without the correction. I tried a few simple ways to recover it, but none of them worked. I also looked through my journals for it almost all of them and, frankly, I probably missed it. But I'm leaving it up there, without a link, to remind me, sometime in the future, I should try to recover the second mention of this movie.
  Update 5/21/2022:  I did finally, a while ago, find the link to the second mention. The reason it was so hard to find is that it wasn't in the general journals it was in this journal.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Richard Gere	Edward Sumner	Diane Lane	Constance Sumner	Olivier Martinez	Paul Martel	Erik Per Sullivan	Charlie Sumner
  Chad Lowe	Bill Stone	Dominic Chianese	Frank Wilson	Erich Anderson	Bob Gaylord	Michelle Monaghan	Lindsay
  Kate Burton	Tracy	Margaret Colin	Sally	Željko Ivanek	Det. Dean	Michael Emerson	Josh

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2002
    Directed by Adrian Lyne.

Labels: drama8, erotic, mystery2, richard-gere, suspense2, željko-ivanek

# posted by gail @ 11:04    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G, several times
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  This is one of those movies that's guaranteed to please, in one way or another, both of us. Since we watch parts of it every time it appears on television, when I noticed a cheap, widescreen copy of it for sale I snatched it. We watched it that night. Much better to have constant favorites on DVD, since it's easy enough to pause them or watch only the parts we happen to be thinking about at any time.
    The truth is, I'm not a fan of the after-death philosophy behind the movie, although it's pretty enough and certainly makes for a unique thriller. The famous love scene is nice but give me Diane Lane's first fuck with her extra-marital lover in Unfaithful over wet pottery clay and "Unchained Melody" any day. I especially love, though, Whoopi Goldberg's performance as Oda Mae (this character deserves mention in some tome of memorable, perfectly played movie characters) and Tony Goldwyn's performance as Carl Bruner. I read someplace that Tony Goldwyn's preference is not for acting, which is too bad. I've seen him in lots of bit parts and his performances are always memorable and enlightening.
    Just for fun, I thought I'd include Roger Ebert's critical review of this movie. In a way, it's a send-up of all ghost movies.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Patrick Swayze	Sam Wheat	Demi Moore	Molly Jensen	Whoopi Goldberg	Oda Mae Brown	Tony Goldwyn	Carl Bruner
  Rick Aviles	Willie Lopez	Vincent Schiavelli	Subway Ghost	Gail Boggs	Louise Brown	Armelia McQueen	Clara Brown

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1990
    Directed by Jerry Zucker.

Labels: dramedy2, fantasy3, mystery2, popcorn-and-soda4, suspense2, whoopi-goldberg

# posted by gail @ 22:28    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1* *2* *3*
• 
  Commentary:  Mom and I were both excited about finding this at Costco. Alas, the series, for us, anyway, is much better in memory than in reality. We have no quarrel with its reputation, its place as a cultural icon, its historical significance as literature and television and we concede intellectually that it was a groundbreaking series. But we couldn't help but laugh through several of the episodes. We're keeping this season but I don't think we'll be purchasing anymore. We both, by the way, continue to love Rod Serling's voice during his introductions.
  Update 5/13/2022:  I did not even think twice about consigning this to the library, once Mom died, although, it should be said, she and I actually never watched any of the episodes, again, after our first "outing" with this. I probably could have donated it long before Mom died. In addition, I'm not going to bother to set up a table of Actors and Roles, there are so many.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the series.
    Release Date: 1959-1960
    Directed by several people, no women.

Labels: dramaA, fantasy3, mystery2, suspense2, TV2

# posted by gail @ 17:10    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1* *2*
• 
  Commentary:  This movie has an hypnotic effect on me. Aside from enjoying the super hero theory postulated in the movie and loving the way the father/son relationship is portrayed, I have a strong response to its technique, including the choice of shots, film editing, the way the story unfolds, the direction of the understated performances...every time I watch it I discover something new. It is, so far, my favorite Shyamalan movie. Mom likes its atmosphere but finds the story disturbing although she sticks with it when I watch it.
    By the way, in addition to Roger Ebert's review of this movie, linked to the title of this post, there is an intriguing article on the cinematographic composition of this movie by Jim Emerson that is fascinating to read, if you're into understanding why this movie keeps you captured, scene to scene.
  Update 2/10/18:  This movie began my curiosity about and interest in super hero movies and stories. Not all of them, mind you. I'm a picky customer so there are many I don't like, often, for instance, later installments in super hero series, like Iron Man. I can only stand the first one. Be that as it may, I have a small, particular collection accruing and this is the first.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Bruce Willis	David Dunn	Samuel L. Jackson	Elijah Price/Mr. Glass	Robin Wright	Audrey Dunn	Spencer Treat Clark	Joseph Dunn
  Charlayne Woodard	Mrs. Price	Johnny Hiram Jamison	13-year-old Elijah	Eamonn Walker	Dr. Mathison	Leslie Stefanson	Kelly

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2000
    Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Labels: dramaA, fantasy3, haunting2, m-night-shyamalan, me-favorite3, mystery2, samuel-l-jackson, super-hero2, suspense2, violence3

# posted by gail @ 17:04    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  Mom's sister introduced both of us to this movie. Since knowing it was one of mom's sister's favorites it has become a favorite of Mom's although sometimes, now, it moves a little fast for her. I've always enjoyed this movie. It's like riding on a carousel.
  Update 9/29/19:  I know, I know. It may seem like I'm just looking for movies to include in my "gang-movie" category, but this movie is definitely a gang movie -- an "ad hoc" gang movie, with a muddled moral core (unusual for gang movies) that adds to its delightfulness.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Paul Newman	Henry Gondorff	Robert Redford	Johnny Hooker	Robert Shaw	Doyle Lonnegan	Robert Earl Jones	Luther Coleman
  Charles Durning	Lt. William Snyder	Ray Walston	J.J. Singleton	Eileen Brennan	Billie	Harold Gould	Kid Twist
  Dana Elcar	FBI Agent Polk	Dimitra Arliss	Loretta Salino	Sally Kirkland	Crystal	Paulene Myers	Alva Coleman

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1973
    Directed by George Roy Hill.

Labels: action3, adventure3, buddy, gang-movie, jean-favorite, mom-favorite2, mystery2, paul-newman, period5, popcorn-and-soda5, robert-redford

# posted by gail @ 02:29    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  This came as one of five in a Joan Crawford Collection (Click the part of the title that says "The Joan Crawford Collection" for a different summary and review). Each of us had seen this at least once before we acquired it. Both of us are fascinated by the emotional violence in the film.
  Update 9/23/21:  I often watch this version and Kate Winslet's Mildred Pierce mini-series back-to-back. They both feature terrific actors in all parts. The actors who play Veda are both equally electrifying. Despite the fact that Joan Crawford has a penchant for playing "bad women", she was equally effective in this movie as a good woman, a woman who values her cohorts, a woman who expects nothing but the same from her husband but is not devastated when he fails, and a woman who over-values a talented but uncompassionate daughter. Granted, the daughter in this version isn't really much to hang one's hopes on, while Kate Winslet's daughter Veda is promising. And, in the mini-series, no one gets killed. But, the overall effect is the same, and quite delicious to watch!
    An added delight with this version is Eve Arden as Ida Corwin, the role Mare Winningham plays in the miniseries. Eve Arden is sassy and smart as Ida Corwin, but we don't get a lot of her character development in the movie. In the mini-series, Ida's trajectory expands and becomes a mini-story in its own right.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Joan Crawford	Mildred Pierce	Jack Carson	Wally Fay	Zachary Scott	Monty Beragon	Eve Arden	Ida Corwin
  Ann Blyth	Veda Pierce	Bruce Bennett	Bert Pierce	Lee Patrick	Maggie Biederhof	Moroni Olsen	Inspector Peterson

  
    The link to the Wikipedia write-up of this film can be found here.
    Release Date: 1945
    Directed by Michael Curtiz.

Labels: dramaA, film-noir2, joan-crawford, me-favorite3, melodramaA, mystery2

# posted by gail @ 02:24    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1* *2*
• 
  Commentary:  I saw this movie in the theater when it first came out strictly on the strength of my familiarity with Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. What a romp! I fell in love with all of it: The story, the presentation, the delightful performance by Andy Garcia, the suspense, there isn't an aspect of it I don't love. I've rented it and shown it to Mom a couple of times. She is always entranced. Thus, I ended up adding it to our movie collection.
    It was this movie, in fact, the watching of which brought out the police on one of two noise ordinance complaints. [The other complaint was during an evening Mary Tyler Moore marathon.] It is worth it. Both times.
  Update 5/12/2022:  The truth? I recently viewed (and enjoyed) this film again (I think it was the fourth or fifth viewing in my life). Yes, it's fun, very involving, and I have a special fondness for remembering my watching of it with Mom. It also got largely great reviews. But, you know what? When I watched it again recently, I was suddenly struck by the fact that I think it's an elaborate vanity project. I mean, the overwhelming (both in number and reputation) cast? The almost unbearable number of twists and turns? The hint, no, more than a hint, of overwrought acting? But, you know, it's tasty. Very tasty. And, if you ever want to call the police to your house ...
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Kenneth Branagh	Mike Church/Roman Strauss	Emma Thompson	Grace/Amanda Sharp/Margaret Strauss	Andy García	Gray Baker	Derek Jacobi	Franklyn Madson
  Wayne Knight	Pete Dugan	Robin Williams	Dr. Cozy Carlisle	Hanna Schygulla	Inga	Campbell Scott	Doug

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1991
    Directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Labels: andy-garcía, derek-jacobi, emma-thompson, me-favorite3, mystery2, neo-noirA, popcorn-and-soda5, robin-williams

# posted by gail @ 02:18    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1* *2*
• 
  Commentary:  The truth? Occasionally I'll get caught up in one of these episodes, but it is more interesting for me to watch my mother watching this show. Several years ago she used to say that she liked the series even though she "couldn't stand" Angela Lansbury. As she watched, though, she'd forget that the character is played by Ms. Lansbury and immerse herself in the genteel, nosy, forthright, thoughtful amateur detective who is also a mystery writer. I think my mother likes the reverie of believing that J. B. Fletcher is the epitome, not of what the Ancient One life should be but is. So, I watch the show more carefully, now, when I'm so inclined.
  Update 2/11/21:  No offense to the show, this is now in my county library system. After Mom died, I just didn't think I'd be interested in watching it, anymore. Yes, it's a great portrait of elders, and I'm an elder, now, officially, but, well, she's not a good role model for me, seeing as how I am a natural-born-hermit.
  Update 5/25/23:  Although I did not include Andy García in the truncated (because I passed this onto my local library system) list of actors and roles, below, I do include him in the labels at the end of this post because he does appear in the pilot episode of this series, which I, at one time, did own.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Angela Lansbury	Jessica Fletcher	Tom Bosley	Sheriff Amos Tupper	William Windom	Dr. Seth Hazlitt

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1984-1985
    Directed by several people, no women.

Labels: andy-garcía, angela-lansbury, mom-favorite2, mystery2, TV2

# posted by gail @ 07:16    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  This one is my treat, one of my trance movies. I don't know if Mom will ever see this movie. I think it would bore her. She does not find representations of the internal flights of one's mind interesting, not even if a story centers around them. She is a "what did they do", not a "what were they thinking" person. I think this is because she is such a quick study in regards to picking up on what people are thinking...but, considers that what a person is thinking is absolutely no excuse for bad behavior.
  Update 5/11/2020:  Per my above prediction, and my machinations, Mom never saw this movie. Frankly, if she's "out there somewhere", I think she would still feel that it would have been a waste to time to watch it. Go, Mom!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Sean Gullette	Maximillian Cohen	Mark Margolis	Sol Robeson	Ben Shenkman	Lenny Meyer	Samia Shoaib	Devi
  Pamela Hart	Marcy Dawson	Stephen Pearlman	Rabbi Cohen	Ajay Naidu	Farouq	Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao	Jenna

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1998
    Directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Labels: A24, darren-aronofsky, dramaB, dream1, film-art2, me-favorite3, mystery2, neo-noirB

# posted by gail @ 15:12    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I have fond memories of Mom and me watching this movie. Mom does not. That's okay, though. Despite her lack of time acuity, she has a peculiar ability to grasp this movie and delight in it's circularity. But, she never remembers seeing it. Which, I suppose, is a plus.
  Update 2/7/18:  You may think it strange that I thinned this one out of my collection, considering what a good movie it is, how lauded it is. All I can tell you is this: Mom and I watched it so much that I knew I would never watch it again. It's been tattooed onto my mind. If I feel the urge, I can always check it out of the library. In almost 10 years I haven't felt the urge.
    Roger Ebert, however, felt the urge more than once. Along with his initial review, linked to the title of this post, Ebert serenaded this movie twice [first here then here] as a Great Movie pick.
    Finally, Jim Emerson in his Scanners co-site recommends not only the movie but a companion article singing the praises of the movie. Check out the immediately previous link for yet another link to that goodie.
    What's the matter with me that I sent this movie to the library dog house? Almost makes me feel craven. Not!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Bill Murray	Phil Connors	Andie MacDowell	Rita Hanson	Chris Elliott	Larry the cameraman	Stephen Tobolowsky	Ned Ryerson

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1993
    Directed by Harold Ramis.

Labels: comedy2, fantasy3, mystery2

# posted by gail @ 22:56    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G (finally)
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  The truth is, if this movie hadn't come bundled with four others we wanted, we wouldn't own it. I know, stating this is probably blasphemy. I had never seen the movie all the way through until maybe a month ago. Although, when I read the name of the movie to my mother off the cable schedule, she expresses interest in it and often watches it, it's not one either of us yearns toward and, often as not, when it's on the cable schedule, in this house, Animal Planet trumps it.
    When we viewed this film the last (aforementioned) time, I remember Sidney Pollack, who introduced it as one of TCM's Essentials, slipped into a blur of words rhapsodizing Ingrid Bergman and her performance in this movie, nodding, as well, to his life long crush on Ms. Bergman. Anyway, from what he said I thought, "Oh, okay, well I'll watch the whooole thiiing and, if what he says about Ingrid Bergman's performance is true, I should really enjoy this. At the end of the movie I was thinking, well, I think men go crazy when they see Bergman on the screen and think her a better actor than she was. She was very good, obviously stellar, but not transcendental, like, say Streep or Kingsley.
    I'll probably be lynched by the Klassic Movie Klan before morning.
  Update 2/6/18:  Since my mother's death almost a decade ago, I continued my contentious relationship with this movie. I've checked it out of the library (thank goodness I donated my copy to it) at least once every two years and struggled through it yet again. I enjoy Claude Rains in this movie. I've come to enjoy the machinations of the plight of people stuck in Casablanca. But, I'm sorry, the love story does absolutely nothing for me. Sometimes, immediately after watching it, I think the movie would have been a whole lot better, at least for my viewing, if the love story had been dumped. I'm hoping, at this point, that I don't feel I have to watch it again.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Humphrey Bogart	Rick Blaine	Ingrid Bergman	Ilsa Lund	Paul Henreid	Victor Laszlo	Claude Rains	Capt. Louis Renault
  Conrad Veidt	Mjr. Heinrich Strasser	Sydney Greenstreet	Signor Ferrari	Peter Lorre	Signor Ugarte	Dooley Wilson	Sam

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1942
    Directed by Michael Curtiz.

Labels: claude-rains, dramaB, ingrid-bergman, mystery2

# posted by gail @ 22:54    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  This is one of those accidental gems I found when trying the dregs of a video store back in 2002, I think it was, when Mom had no energy but would stay up for movies and TV. I'm familiar with the story of Silas Marner, and I'm impressed with what Steve Martin does in film. I remember watching it by myself, first, then enthusiastically turning it over to Mom, then taping it off a cable network (bad copy). Its muddled melodrama doesn't bother me. Mom and I consider it an 'up' movie.
  Update 5/9/2022:  I still consider this a delightful little movie and find an excuse to watch it at least once a year, even though, considering how much we watched it when Mom was alive, you'd think I'd be tired of it by now. Not so. It's a surprising gem. Steve Martin managed to wrangle some surprising and amazing talent to perform in this movie, too, which is probably one of several circumstances which makes this movie so enjoyable.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Steve Martin	Michael McCann	Carolyn McCormick	Elaine McCann	Alana Austin	Mathilda McCann	Gabriel Byrne	John Newland
  Laura Linney	Nancy Newland	Catherine O'Hara	April Simon	Stephen Baldwin	Tanny Newland	Michael Des Barres	Bryce

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1994
    Directed by Gillies MacKinnon.

Labels: dramaB, laura-linney, mystery2

# posted by gail @ 10:34    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  The attraction for my mother with this movie is the wide swathes of glimpses into Amish life. I love the music [Maurice Jarre; the Jarres are my favorite father-son environmental composers] and the movie's seamless construction. We share our favorite scene: Hands down, the barn raising. My mother has been heard to say while this scene was unfolding, "Wouldn't it be nice to live that way again?" Telling comment: I believe it shows that she considers the way (and area within which) she was raised as a child culturally and spiritually similar to Amish society.
    One other scene that always gets a rise out of her: When the heroine tells her father-in-law that he shames himself. "Good for her," my mother has been known to cheer.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Harrison Ford	John Book	Kelly McGillis	Rachel Lapp	Lukas Haas	Samuel Lapp	Jan Rubeš	Eli Lapp
  Josef Sommer	Paul Schaeffer	Alexander Godunov	Daniel Hochleitner	Danny Glover	James McFee	Patti LuPone	Elaine Book
  Viggo Mortensen	Moses Hochleitner	Brent Jennings	Elton Carter	Frederick Rolf	Stoltzfus	Angus MacInnes	Leon Ferguson

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1985
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: danny-glover, dramaB, harrison-ford, mystery2, neo-noirA, peter-weir, popcorn-and-soda6, shared-favorite

# posted by gail @ 01:54    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  Although it has a lot of high-recognition actors playing parts in it (check out the Actor/Role table, below), this movie was one of those that was better in the remembering than in the re-viewing of it. Even my mother thought so, and she's only seen it once.
    It strikes me as a vanity project, which is why I passed it on to our local library. I haven't had the urge to check it out since I gleaned it from my collection. The wikipedia article on this film, linked below, records some pretty surprising dissension among critics, and, yet, apparently audiences liked it. Well, not this audience.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Robert Redford	Bishop/Bruce	Ben Kingsley	Cosmo	Sidney Poitier	Donald Crease	David Strathairn	Irwin Emery
  Dan Aykroyd	Darren Roskow	River Phoenix	Carl Arbogast	Mary McDonnell	Liz Ogilvy	James Earl Jones	Bernard Abbott

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1992
    Directed by Phil Alden Robinson.

Labels: ben-kingsley, david-strathairn, mystery2, period5, robert-redford, thriller2

# posted by gail @ 19:16    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I know, I said there isn't a movie in our collection I haven't watched, and this is it! I got this movie because Mom's mentioned it off and on throughout the years and it appeared one day on sale at Costco. The day I bought it, some weeks ago, she was excited when I told her, settled in with it zestily, then, about ⅔ of the way through decided, without warning, to take a nap. She has watched it again, since then.
    Roger Ebert wrote two reviews of this film, his initial review, linked to the title of this post, and another when he christened it one of his Great Movies.
  Update 2/9/18:  I have, as well, watched this movie since my mother's death. I find it mildly engaging but it isn't close to my favorite Hitchcock movie. That badge of honor belongs to Vertigo, a movie I've watched more than a few times since my mother's death. Just for the record, my second favorite Hitchcock movie is The Birds, mainly because I saw it when I was a kid. Its astonishingly dark ending really made an impression on me. I should note, I read the book before seeing the movie. Ah, the good old days of multi-literacy! I should also note, I have not seen nearly all of Hitchcock's movies, although all members of my family were devotees of his television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  James Stewart	L. B. Jefferies	Grace Kelly	Lisa Carol Fremont	Wendell Corey	Thomas J. Doyle	Raymond Burr	Lars Thorwald
  Thelma Ritter	Stella	Judith Evelyn	Miss Lonely Hearts	Ross Bagdasarian	As the Songwriter	Georgine Darcy	Miss Torso

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1954
    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Labels: alfred-hitchcock, dramaC, james-stewart, melodramaC, mystery2, popcorn-and-soda6, suspense2, thelma-ritter

# posted by gail @ 19:11    0 comments    email......this post