Juli's Cinema Spot

There is a treasure of a movie hiding at your nearest library or video store. That is, The Treasure of Sierra Madre , number 30 on the AFI list. In the basic storyline, an American down on his luck entes a lottery. He wins and is now able to afford equipment to go hunting for gold with a friend of his. They are led by a guide named Howard. About thirty minutes in, I began to wonder if he was trustworthy. In fact, can any of the trust each others? To find out the answer and learn what happens next, you'll have to watch the movie. There is lots of suspense, fights, and gunfighte. All the makings of a great action movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This one gets a two thumbs up.

Number 37 on the AFI list is The Best Years of Our Lives . It tells the story of three men returning from war wondering what life will be like for them now. It reminds me of a number of books I've read lately, but I digress. The cinematography in this movie was very good. In the opening scenes, there were quite a lot of camera shots from the point of view of the guys. This lets you see their hometown from their point of view, which reveals quite a bit about the characters themselves. The central theme of this movie seems to be that you can't go home again because something always changes once you leave. Home is never the place you left. For once we have a movie that doesn't romanticize war. Though I'm not a big war movie fan, so maybe there are others out there. Please comment and let me know. Myrna Loy is one of my favorite actresses, so she made the movie enjoyable. We watched this movie back in August and her performance is the only one I still remember. I know AFI r...

I'm glad my husband and I made the rule that we aren't allowed to multitask while watching these movies because this was the first time I'd ever really sat down and watched It's a Wonderful Life in its entirety. AFI rated this one as number 11 on their top 100 list, but I definitely think it belongs in the top ten. Jimmy Stewart, ah Jimmy Stewart. I think I mentioned at one time that Stewart is one of my favorite actors, didn't I? I can't picture anyone else as George Bailey. The dance scene at the high school and when he walks Mary home have got to be my favorite scenes in the movie. Frank Capra called this his favorite film. It's another movie that pays tribute to the human spirit and the importance each peoson plays in the lives of their friends and families. The dvd has a neat "making of" documentar in teh special features and aa personal rememberance featuring interview clips with Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart. This movie definitely gets a tw...

I'm finally getting around to posting my review of movies my husband and I watched way back in July and August. I'm staring here with Double Indemnity starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred Macmurray, directed by Billy Wilder. This one made number 38 on the list. "Aah, the things we do for love" was the thought that occurred to me while watching this movie. It also occurred to me that we never really know what people are capable of. The human spirit, both the good deeds people do and the harsh, hard hearted things they do surprise me all the time. It was interesting to see Fred Macmurray in a different role than the father on My Three Sons. Barbara Stanwyck also did a remarkable job as Mrs. Diedrichson. Even if you don't know what the term double indemnity is all about, you know she's up to something. It's very creepy really. There was some cheesy dialogue now and then, but it was done in a "gotta love it" kind of way. Despite this, though, there we...

I was happily blogging along tonight (surfing other blogs on Blog Explosion, that is) and realized I've seen two movies now that haven't appeared on here yet. They are Sky High and Double Indemnity , which is on the AFI list. Stay tuned for my thoughts on these movies coming up in a day or two. Cheers and Happy Movieing!

I'm referring, of course, to that wonderful movie Yankee Doodle Dandy directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. The AFI placed it at number 100 on their list. In case you're not familiar with the plot, it's the life story of actor/producer/playwright George M. Cohan. The film pioneered the flashback method of telling a story and begins with Cohan's childhood stage acting. It tells the story of he and his family as they performed plays and shows across the country as "The Four Cohans. Like all entertainers, they have their ups and downs. At one point George's arrogance causes his family to be looked down on as performers. In a somewhat sneaky move, however, Cohan gets funding from a producer and makes his stage come-back. Finally the family is once again reunited as a family act. There is much more to the film, but I'll stop here because I don't want to spoil it for you. The message about family loyalty is something you don't see much in...

About an hour ago my husband and I got home from seeing Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I have to say, I initially couldn't think of any words to describe this movie. It was weird beyond words, but then that's what I expect from Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. All in all it was a good movie, very well done and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, where to start? The kids did a great job acting in this movie. My favorites, in order, were: Veruca, Violet, Charlie, Augustus, and Mike. I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan, so of course, think he did a great job. Then there was Christopher Lee. While this wasn't one of his most stellar, spectacular roles, it seemed like he had a great time playing Wonka's father. In fact, the entire cast seemed like they were given the go-ahead from Burton to just "have fun with it" and it truly showed. They formed a good ensemble which shone through on the big screen. Finally, I thought it was remarkable that one acto...

The other day my husband and I watched Casablanca . It came in at number 2 on AFI's list and I can see why. Citizen Kane was number 1 and this movie was definitely just as brilliant as that one. In fact, they are two of my new favorite movies. I have to ask myself, how did I go through 30 years of life without watching Casablanca ? Allow me to expound - Acting: Some of the accents were a little off, but aside from that, the acting was so good. Sam cracked me up and there was such great acting on the part of Bogart. My favorite scene was when he confronted Ilsa. He acted that scene with such passion that you could feel his character's heartache and anger. Plot: This storyline was much easier to follow than The Maltese Falcon . Also it was neat to see the famous scenes and hear the famous lines from this movie in their proper context. They make so much more sense now. Musical score: Very good in terms setting the tone of key scenes. Sam's playing and choice of music really a...

Last night we got around to The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart. It's number 23 on the AFI list. I was really hoping to like this movie, but alas, I have to say I didn't like it all that much. Okay, I'm ducking and covering from all the Bogart fans out there. Now, on to why it wasn't my favorite. The acting - Most roles were either stilted, or overacted. I did like the actor who played Cairo, though. He was good, very believable. Music - There was too much of it and it was too repetitious. It all sounded suspenseful and I can only take so much foreboding music in a movie. Storyline - I found it too slow-moving and I got lost somewhere along the way. That was probably my fault, though, for surfing the net during the first twenty minutes of the movie. For now I'm giving this movie a thumbs sideways and so did my husband. I don't know, I may watch it again someday to see if I like it any better.. I'm almost always willing to give a movie a second cha...

So, here I sit watching The Village for the second time. I thought it was going to be a lot more scary than it was. I mean, monster, slasher wise. That's why I didn't see it in the theatre. After taking me to see The Mummy and due to the dreams I would have after watching Haunted History on the History channel, my husband strongly discourages me from watching movies likely to give me nightmares, lol! Hence the reason I'm am just now watching The Village . I watched it once last week, but my husband wasn't at home, so we are watching it again tonight. It is a scary movie, but more psychologically scary. Those are the kind of movies I like, well along with grand epics, but that's digressing. Most of the acting in the movie was pretty good, but Bryce Howard's performance as Ivy Walker really stood out. I thought she was really really good. To this point I'd not seen anything she'd been in. Hope she keeps going with her acting, she's off to a great s...

Well, after it having been out for three weeks now, we finally made it to see Revenge of the Sith and I have to say it's the best epic film I've seen since Return of the King . The main reason for that is the storytelling. I mean, if you've seen episode IV, you know who's going to survive the battle scenes in Revenge and who won't. You know where everyone starts out in Episode IV, but what you don't know is how they got there. George Lucas did a brilliant job tying up those loose ends and setting up the plots for eps IV-VI. As with the other films the musical score was great. It brought the perfect emotion to every scene. Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, and Ewen McGregor were once again outstanding in their roles. Christensen's performance really stood out to me and made me want to check out some of the other work he's done, just to see him in a different role. So, those will be some of the next on my list of movies to watch. While the acting was ...

There is hope on the horizon. After many months of some not so great movies, there are finally some good ones to look forward to. Well, potentially good ones anyway. In the last two weeks I've seen two movies, both of which I really liked. The first was Sin City . I have to say that while I was expecting a high level of gruesome violence, it's another thing to actually see it played out on the screen. I don't normally do movies with that much violence, but the fact that it was an all-star cast really made me want to see it. Then too, there was the fact that it looked like it was going to be well done artistically and I do go in for artistic movies. So, I was not disappointed by this movie. When it comes out on DVD, I'll definitely watch it one more time, especially if there are good commentaries. The other movie I saw was Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . This one was a so-so movie. There were a lot of funny bits and the flight over Magrathea (I think) was really w...

Well, here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for. I'm finally reviewing Citizen Kane . I have to say, I loved, loved, loved this movie. I think it's one of my favorites so far and I can completely see why it made number 1 on AFI's top 100 list. Okay, here's what I loved about it: The dark and mysterious opening. I can see why it is one of the most famous cinematic moments in film history. Great camera work and transitions between the present and the past. I think one of my favorites scenes as far as camera work goes is the one toward the end of the film when Susan is leaving Kane. The camera angles and all the other cinema magic that goes into a scene like that were very effective in making Kane look like his imposing, over bearing self when entering the room and small and weak after Susan walks out of the room. The sets - awesomely designed and again very effective for setting the mood of the movie, particularly in the later years of his time with Susan wh...

Well, after quite some time I"m finally getting here to update this blog. I noticed tonight it's been since January since I wrote anything. Don't know how this post will turn out, though because my body is trying to get a cold and I'm trying to keep ahead of it. Assuming everyone hasn't given up on this blog, does anyone have tried and true methods to offer on how to keep from getting sick? I have to work the next seven days straight through and absolutely have no time to get sick. On the up side, though, I met someone at my church who likes Lord of the Rings as much as I do so now I have someone (in real life) to talk about the movies with and my husband won't have to listen to me talk LotR non-stop, lol! Anyway, on to the update. There are two reasons for the lack of updates. First, all the shows I watch have been first run episodes, so what with keeping up with my t.v. shows, there hasn't been time to catch many movies. Second, there haven't been ma...

Every so often a movie comes along that truly inspires you every time you watch it, more than any other movie you've ever seen. You can watch it over and over and always learn something new about yourself and the world around you. It's the one movie you turn to when life hits a low point and you need someone or something to help pick you back up. I don't know what that one movie is for you, but for me I've discovered it's the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Return of the King most of all. I don't know why these movies help to pick me up. Maybe it's watching Frodo's struggling journey that helps me realize as hard as I think things are for me, some people struggle with something much harder to deal with and they do it with great perseverance and courage. Like Frodo, they come out a different and stronger person. Makes me realize I should stop complaining and just get on with the task or tasks at hand. Or maybe it's seeing that Frodo wasn't ...

Catch any good movies this holiday season? I did. Out of all the movies on my list, I only got to see Phantom of the Opera. It was a pretty good movie, depite a couple of little things. Well, a good movie if you don't compare it to the stage show. I really liked the scenes and costumes. The girl who played Christine had an amazing voice, but Gerard Butler, who played the Phantom didn't grow on me until about the last third of the movie. Also, the movie was told from a flash back point of view, so there were some black and whilte flash forward scenes that kind of threw me off. The end of the movie, though, sent chills up my spine and left me wanting to see it again. All in all, I give it a two thumbs up. Brian and I scored well on the DVD scene this Christmas. He got Office Space, Red Dwarf series 3, Stars Wars Trilogy, Jersey Girl, and Better off Dead. I got the ulitmate gift, the boxed set of Lord of the Rings Extended Edition. This set truly rocks and I'm not even one ...