Juli's Cinema Spot

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...