Juli's Cinema Spot

So, are you on the lookout for a good holiday movie? Well, me too. I ended up working an extra Saturday this month, which really cut into my movie watching time. I had all these plans to see the following movies: Polar Express National Treasure Lemony Snickett's Series of Unfortunate Events Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera I'm sure there were others I wanted to see, but I don't remember what those are now. Out of all the above movies Brian and I have seen National Treasure . I have to say, despite some doubts I had at the beginning it turned out to be a pretty good movie. If you are in to U.S, History, you'd probably find this a good movie. I mentioned some doubts I had at the beginning of the movie. For example, In one of the opening scenes of the movie a grandfather is explaining the history of the Masons organization to his grandson and, having just researched the masons for a library customer, I'm not sure the grandfather's ex...

Yesterday I got to watch a great movie on cable. It was Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo . This is definitely one of my favorite Hitchcock films. I love the mystery and the eeriness of it (did I spell that right?). Plus, Jimmy Stewart is one of my all time favorite actors. He is sooo good in this film. Speaking of Hitchcock, my husband and I are spending Thanksgiving on our own this year due to him having to work the day after (and of course I need to shop, lol). We are going to resurrect a tradition we started a few years ago and haven't had a chance to do the last couple of years. Namely, we are going to spend the day watching Hitchcock films. On the list so far are classics such as Rope , Dial M for Murder and Rear Window . There are others too, but I don't remember what they are. Hey, if anyone else out in blogland has any suggestions, let me know. I'm up for anything except The Birds , which freaked me out and North by Northwest , which I watched once and it caused...

I think we won't get around to watching Citizen Kane until next summer when it's back to reruns on t.v. However, there is a holiday movie season coming up with lots of movies that look really good. So, I'm going to take a break from the AFI list and review the movies I make to this holiday season. Let's start with The Incredibles. We went and saw this last Friday night. It is a huge departure from the previous Pixar movies, both in style and in topic. It was a pretty okay movie and definitely worth seeing on an IMAX screen if possible. The beginning is a little slow moving and I'm not sure how well it will hold kids' attention. The last hour or so is more action packed and more "super-heroish," kind of like Spiderman meets Spy Kids only animated. Not to put any spoilers here, but I have to say one thing. There is a part where the father loses his job and goes back to "super-heroing" behind his wife's back. He never says anything ab...

I know I keep promising, but we have made an official plan to watch this movie on Wednesday next. Hang in there, I promise to update soon. Until then, cheers

I promise you my husband and I have not given up on our movie watching. It's just that the new t.v. season started and we have been working really opposite schedules lately. Oh and I joined a Bible Study and Church choir. So, that also takes up two nights of our week. I appreciate all of you who have stuck with me waiting patiently for an update. Next week we go on vacation for two weeks, so there may not be many updates then either. We will get around to Citizen Kane sooner or later though, so keep checking back. You may be pleasantly suprised to find an update or two.

I started a new blog tonight. It's all about quotes I've collected from books I've read. Check it out here and let me know what you think. The next movie will be Citizen Kane just as soon as we both have a day when we are feeling up to watching such a deep and involving movie. Hopefully it won't be too long, though. Keep checking back.

See, didn't I tell you I'd be right back? Okay, the second movie we watched this past weekend was Philadelphia Story starring Katherine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart, among other big name actors. Let me tell you, those two have great chemistry together on screen. Plus, Jimmy Stewart is one of my all-time favorite actors, so this movie was definitely a hit for me. The scene where Stewart's character visits C.K. Dexter Haven while drunk, is a classic. Best line from that scene? "I have the hiccups." Filled with blackmail, intrigue, revenge, and romance, this has all the makings of a true classic movie. I loved Dinah's character as well. The actress playing her absolutely cracked me up. Hepburn's character Tracy has some big choices to make in this movie and I was kept in suspense until the very end of the movie. I won't say anything more here, you've got to watch the movie to find out. Brian and I both gave this one a thumb's up for the fact ...

Well, some of you probably thought I'd abandoned this blog. Am I right? It hasn't been abandoned, life just got in the way of our movie watching. The next movie on our list was Grapes of Wrath and with our busy days at work, Brian and I just hadn't felt up to watching such a...dramatic, shall we say, movie. So, there sat the videotape, next to our t.v. for three weeks before we finally got around to watching it. This was the 1940's version with Henry Fonda. Now, in all fairness, I didn't pay as close attention as I should have. I was doing some net surfing while watching and so missed out on most of the movie. Here are my comments on what I did see though (and yes, I will sit down and watch the movie again some day). 1) Until they ran into the character Muley at the Joad's old home, I didn't get the sense of desperation and "dust bowl life" like I did in the opening chapters of the book. Once they met up with this character and more scenes...

Last night we finished off the 1930s decade with Wuthering Heights starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. I read this book in high school (way back 12 years ago) and had a great English teacher. She helped us through the tedious bits and really brought the story alive for us. Thus, it was one of the best books I read in high school. I still have the copy I used in high school, but haven't read it in a long time. Still, though, from what I remember of the story, this movie seemed to be a good adaptation. Although, it did end in about the middle of the book, so from that standpoint, it could have been better. You have to love a good romance and this is one of the classics, coming in at number 73 on the AFI list. As I said before, Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon had the lead roles of Heathcliff and Cathy. They are great stars in their own rights, but there was such great acting on everyone's part. As when I read the book, it was hard to know who to feel for the most. C...

Well, as I knew would happen, I've fallen way behind in updating this blog. Of course we're way behind in our movie watching, but that's beside the point. I'm here now, so I guess I should get to updating, eh? Way back on the 17th of July my husand and I watched that immortal classic, The Wizard of Oz . It really was a trip down memory lane to watch this movie. I remember watching it on t.v. every year. That and Charlotte's Web were the two things I looked forward to every year. What I remember most about watching the movie as a child is cool transition from black and white to color. I remember that being so incredible to see. Amazingly enough, I still remembered all the words to all the songs too. This movie is definitely one of those classics that keeps entertaining over and over again. What more can I say, except, "There's no place like home." Wizard's home on the AFI list is number 6. My husband and I both give this movie a definite thu...

I was told by one of our regular library customers that I have to like this movie ( Stagecoach ) because it was directed by John Ford. Well, you know who you are and if you're reading this, I did like the movie. For those of you not familiar with the movie, here's a bit of a plot summary. Five passengers, two drivers head off to their destination by stagecoach escorted by Army soldiers. Word has spread of Apache uprisings led by Geronimo. Although they are to be escorted the entire way, they discover that they will only be escorted part of the way. Along the way they face many trials and hardships, including, of course, an Apache uprising. The movie made some great statements about class differences. The way John Wayne's character treats the character Dallas like a lady despite her background reminds me of the way Colnel Pickering treats Eliza in My Fair Lady . This movie has something for everyone: a budding romance, great musical score, lots of action and did I me...

I had my own Mr. Smith experience about seven years ago now when I vacationed in D.C with my parents. It was so neat to see all the buildings and monuments I'd studied about all those years in school. This isn't about my journey, though, it's about Jefferson Smith's journey in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington . This is one of my favorite movies starring one of my favorite actors, thus it was a great way to end the 4th of July weekend. Jefferson Smith comes to Washington D.C. a naive junior senator who is put in the Senate after one of the congressmen from his state died. The only reason Jefferson Smith was appointed was because some powerful Senators felt they could control him. Davis proves them wrong though as he learns the ropes of speaking/voting in the Senate. It is a journey of self discovery, a journey that all must go through someday. Davis learns to stand up for what he believes in and to never back down. In this day and age of so many injustices, it's a ...

What do you say about a movie like this? I do love epics and like all the epics I've ever seen, this one left me completely speechless. There was so much to take in, I'm still digesting it all. I can say though that I'm now partially inspired to read the book and I would love to see this on a big screen someday. This movie is the first one we've watched in the top five of the AFI list. It came in at number 4. This movie had all the makings of a timeless epic: sweeping cinematography, love and heart break, spectacular special effects, and brilliant acting. All the actors cast in this film truly brought the characters to life. It made me laugh, cry, and feel angry in all the right places. If I tried to list all my thoughts on Scarlett's character and her realtionships with the other characters in the film, we'd be here until the next century, so I will just say that I'd love to have a healthy debate with whoever wants to email me . On other fronts, a co...

For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you're probably wondering if we've given up on our list or something. No, we haven't given up, we've just been working opposite schedules lately and it's been hard to find a night when we are home together to watch a movie. At any rate, last Saturday we finally got around to our next movie, Bringing Up Baby . It's a classic screwball comedy, although at the time it came out, not many people were excited to see it. The introduction to the movie mentioned that no one was seeing Katherine Hepburn movies at the time and the movie was basically a box office flop. There's tons more trivia on the Internet Movie Database (see the link in my sidebar). Bringing up Baby came in at spot 97 on the AFI list. So, first of all, here's a basic introduction to the plotline in case you've not seen it yet. Talk about your rough day. Dr. David Huxley is trying to play a game of golf with the legal advisor to a w...

Well, we were going to watch Mutiny on the Bounty tonight because it turns out my husband hadn't watched it yet. So, we got all set to watch it only to find out that the VCR ate the tape when I tried to rewind it. So, now, if and when we can ever get the tape out of the VCR, I'll have to take it back to the library and pay for it. Sigh. So, we decided to skip on to the next movie, which was....(insert drumroll).... Snow White and the Seven Dwarves . For obvious reasons this movie was included on AFI's top 100 list. It made number 49. Walt Disney made a lot of firsts with this movie, not the least of which was, this movie was the first animated feature film ever. A lot of people scoffed at the idea and told him it would never be a successful film. Walt proved them wrong though and created a classic in the process. I'd forgotten how good this movie is. It's hard to pick just one scene as my favorite because this movie has all the elements. I laughed, I was scar...

I finally got around to watching Mutiny on the Bounty tonight. While watching I also played around with the sidebar of this page and figured out how to put links in there. So far I only have the Internet Movie Database, but I may put some Harry Potter sites in sometime. Keep coming back, you never know what you may find when you visit my site. Okay, having pointed out the new feature of my site, on to reviewing the movie. There's a certain romace about ocean books/movies. It's that whole thing about setting out on a new voyage, facing unknown adventures and dangers. In Moby Dick, Ishmael had to face Captain Ahab and the great white whale. In this movie, the crew had to face another tyranical captain, William Bligh. Or was he tyrannical? Honestly I haven't read anything about the Bounty, so I couldn't tell you. I'll leave that to you to decide. Whether it was historically accurate or not, I've got to say the acting in this movie was brilliant .This one ca...

Tonight's movie was supposed to be Mutiny on the Bounty , but the VCR tried to eat the tape we got from the library, so we decided to skip that one and move on to the next, which was Modern Times , Charlie Chaplin's last (mostly) silent film. AFI placed this one at number 81. I found this one to be much more philosophical than others he had made. Before I get to my thoughts, I'll add here that my husband gave this one a thumbs sideways. As he said, it was okay - funny in spots, but not really captivating. In tonight's movie, Chaplin's "tramp" character is a factory worker caught up in the daily grind of a quickly modernizing world. Through a series of comical mishaps, he suffers a nervous breakdown, spends time in a mental institution, is arrested and accused of being a Communist, and finds true love. According to Internet Movie Database , Chaplin's purpose in making this movie was to "shout out" against all the modernization and technolog...

Ahh, there's nothing like a good romantic comedy and this movie, It Happened One Night was one of the first. It is number 35 on the AFI list. Starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, this movie follows the couple as they are traveling across the country. He is a newspaper writer and she is the daugther of a newspaper owner and has run away from an unwanted marriage. There are so many funny moments in this movie, it's hard to know where to start. One of my favorite scenes is the night they spend together in the motel. As they are settling down for the night, Colbert's character asks Gable's, "Who are you anyway?" My other favorite scene occurrs when they are trying to hitchike and Colbert's character gets a car to stop by showing her leg. Both of these are classic scenes and so funny! We did find this one on DVD and there are some pretty cool special features. There is a mini documentary type clip in which Frank Capra Jr. gives a narrative of how...

Today we watched Duck Soup , which was a short, but sweet comedy, coming in at number 85. Many years ago an aunt of mine tried to interest my cousin and me in this movie. Neither of us were interested. I suppose it had something to do with being 16-ish and not interested in classics like this. What was I thinking? This movie is hilarious! It's full of one-liners, personal quips, sight gags, and slapstick. This is one of the first movies from our list where I can see how it influenced movies and actors to come (well aside from Johnny Depp's imitations of Chaplin in Benny and Joon ). Truly this was a landmark in film history. My husband and I agree, this movie deserves a two thumbs up for being incredibly funny. After the tediousness of King Kong , this was a refreshingly funny film and I highly reccommend setting aside your next date night to watch it.

Before I get to tonight's selection, King Kong , I have to add that my husband gave Frankenstein a thumbs sideways. He thought it was just okay, not great, and probably wouldn't watch it again any time soon. Okay, on to my thoughts of King Kong (number 43 on the list). The video we got from the library was a 60th anniversary celebration type edition and it contained a documentary prior to the film. Thus we learned a lot about the film before actually watching it. For example, we learned that many film-making techniques used today were combined for the first time on this film. The movie was high art of the day. After the documentary it was on to the movie. By 30 minutes in, I knew I was going to have a hard time making it through the whole movie. Basically the pace was tedious and there were many rather corny lines. Don't even get me started on some of the acting. Oi! These aspects made it difficult to sit through the movie. They also made it difficult to appreciate...

Today's movie was the 1931 version of Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff as the monster. AFI placed this one at number 87 on the list. Right from the very surreal opening credit sequence I knew this was going to be a chilling and haunting film. The movie opens on a funeral scene where the only sounds you hear are a bell ringing and people sobbing loudly. This was very haunting and set the mood perfectly. The character of Fritz, Doctor Frankenstein's assistant, my favorite, was wonderfully portrayed by the late actor, Dwight Frye. Colin Clive gave a chilling performance as Henry Frankenstein. Then there was the monster himself. Monsters in today's movies are pretty scary, but usually due to visual effects. Frankenstein's monster is scary due to terrific acting on the part of Boris Karloff. His haunting howls, grunts, and screams sent chills up my spine. A few scenes really stood out for me: 1) When Henry's former teacher Doctor Waldman begins a dissection o...

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban . I have to say this one is by far my favorite of the three movies out so far. Emma, Dan, and Rupert gave wonderful performances as their respective characters as did the rest of the ensemble cast. I loved the camera shots as they gave a whole different feel to the movie. Also, the little "in between" shots were great, especially the boys in Gryffindor goofing off their first night back. That scene, the one where Ron wakes up from his spider dream, and bluebirds that fly into the whomping willow just cracked me up! Having said all that though, there were some scenes I thought were a bit rushed. I also would have liked to have Professor Lupin (or Sirius) explain to Harry about why his patronus is a stag and who Padfoot, Mooney, Prongs, and Wormtail were. I thought that was pretty important to the story and was sorry to see it left out. All in all it was a great movi...

City Lights was the movie of the night. It is another Chaplin classic, very funny but moving at the same time. This one occupies number 76 on AFI's top 100 lists. In it, a romance develops between Chaplin's character and a blind flower girl. Due to a series of events, she thinks he's a wealthy man. In fact, Chaplin's character is poor. He does sort of befriend a wealthy man who only recognizes Chaplin's character as a friend when the man is drunk. This happens quite frequently as the millionaire character likes to give wild parties. Since he's actually not wealthy, Chaplin's character looks for work so he can help pay her living expenses as she and her grandmother will soon be thrown out of their house for failure to pay rent. The odd jobs Chaplin's character takes make for all kinds of hilarity. Still though, he does raise the money for her and he helps pay for an operation that will restore her sight. This movie is a perfect blend of comedy and...

As you can probably imagine, many of the movies on the AFI's top 100 movie list are war movies. Tonight was the first war movie Brian and watched from the list. We watched All Quiet on the Western Front and boy was it a hard movie to watch. The film takes place during World War I and follows a group of young German men who enlist in the army. With the first battle scene you feel how scary a battle must have been with bombs dropping on all sides and never knowing if the next one would land in your foxhole or someone else's. There was also the psychological factor of watching the soldiers either become injured, lose comrades, or die themselves. Even though war movies aren't my favorite I did like this one because it didn't glorify war as so many of them do. This one was filled with the raw emotion of loss of innocence and death. I can't say that I would watch it again just because it was such a hard movie to watch. However, I'm glad I did watch it this one tim...

Tonight's film review is The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolsen. This movie, which was number 90 on AFI's list, is also the first to feature spoken dialogue. Did you know that? I didn't until I saw picked this movie up from the library. In it Jolsen stars as a jazz singer, Jakie, who is making it big in the world of music. His father, however, doesn't approve of his son's career choice. He would rather his son follow in his footsteps as cantor in the synagogue which they attend. Jakie continues in his career and enjoys great success until the day his mother shows up at the dress rehearsal for a show in which Jakie is to appear. She tells him is father is sick - on the verge of death - and begs him to come home and lead the service of Atonement at the synagogue. Jakie must decide if his heart lies in pursuing his career or honoring his Jewish tradition. I won't tell you the end, you'll have to watch for yourselves. I will say, however, it has a great stor...

This will probably be a somewhat longer post than I will usually make, unless a movie makes a huge impact on me, but I want to make sure my reviews get posted in the same order as my husband and I watch the movies. So here we go with The Birth of a Nation directed by D.W, Griffith and Gold Rush starring Charlie Chaplin. Okay, here's the scoop on The Birth of a Nation , number 44 on AFI's list. It was a very impressive piece of filmmaking considering it was made in 1915. There was so much emotion and so much to take in that I'm definitely going to have to watch it again. The only problem was the recording we picked up from the library didn't have a musical score to go with it. That made it a bit difficult to watch as well. My husband says Ebert and Roper each give a thumbs up or a thumbs down, so if we want to be like them this summer, we can only give two thumbs up, not four (as some friends had suggested). We give this one a thumbs up and a thumbs sideways f...

My husband and I are avid t.v. watchers, but with all the shows in reruns for the summer, we have nothing original to watch. So, we are embarking on a fun adventure. We downloaded the Amerian Film Institute's list of the top 100 movies from the last 100 years. We are watching them in chronological order and so far have watched "The Birth of a Nation" directed by D.W. Griffith and "Gold Rush" starring Charlie Chaplin. At some point in the next few days I will post my thoughts on these two fine movies as well as the one we are currently watching "The Jazz Singer." So, come back often as new reviews will appear frequently.