Juli's Cinema Spot

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 ...

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...