Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 1958

Director: Richard Brooks

Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives

Wow. Not exactly what I was expecting. But not bad at all.

So Brick (Newman) is a alcoholic who is rejecting his wife Maggie (Taylor) because of something that happened in their past. While visiting his childhood home, they get caught in the midst of much drama on learning that Big Daddy (Ives) is dying. This film is a struggle of relationships and realizations of mistakes and all that jazz. It's emotional and dramatic, but I don't mean it negatively. And I don't want to give away any more.

And after I watched it, Paul Newman made a guest appearance in my dreams!

Needless to say, I highly recommend it.

The Prince and the Showgirl, 1957

Director: Laurence Olivier

Stars: Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe

It's not as great as it sounds. What a title, though! "The Prince and the Showgirl"!! (Can I get an Amen?) I was waiting for something to happen the whole time, but nothing really did. The Prince sees her in a play, invites her over for dinner, tries to seduce her, and she laughs at him because he really is completely ridiculous. Nobody would like this character- he has no redeeming qualities, so it's kind of bizarre that she actually does end up falling for him later. And they spend a very long time at a coronation, and I just didn't care. And Netflix claims it's romantic, but I found no romance anywhere. So, there you go. Watch this if you are a Marilyn Monroe fan, because she's absolutely gorgeous, as well as entertaining, especially when she's a bit tipsy. But otherwise, I see no point. I'm glad I was keeping busy as I watched it.

I hate giving bad reviews! This stinks! But that's life. Not every movie can be like "Back to the Future", you know.

Quantum Leap, tv series 1989-1993

Creator: Donald Bellisario

Stars: Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell

I have an idea! Let's make a show where we can do anything and everything. Let's make it span decades and even centuries! Let's make it about "changing history for the better", with a time-travelling Superman-like character, who knows basically everything. This will be a show without limits!

Great idea! But it's been done before. The show was Quantum Leap, and I don't mean to actually poke fun at it in the paragraph above- this is one of my favorite tv shows of ALL TIME! (No pun intended. You know, because it's about time-travel...) The only thing this show lacked was a large cast. The only characters in every episode were the two guys above. And the only other regular characters were the ones in the future that we only hear about, and very rarely, if ever, see (Gushi, one of the workers on Project Quantum Leap; various women Al dates, especially Tina, but also many others; and the super-computer with all of history recorded in its data banks, Ziggy.)

"Theorizing that one could time-travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the quantum leap accelerator and vanished. He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home."

I did not write that little summary; it comes directly from the show, in the beginning of every episode. I did write it from memory just now though, which just proves that I am a nerd. In one episode, Sam "leaps" into a blind pianist in 1964 (but of course, Sam can actually see) and must save his girlfriend from a serial killer. In the very next episode, he is a dj in 1959 whose mission is to save a radio station, and begin a romance with the station's owner. (One of my favorites!) In another, Sam is a veterinarian in 1954, involved in a cowboy competition- the prize? A woman! At the end of season one, Sam leaps into 1953, as a private detective resembling Humphrey Bogart. In very fascinating (and at times, emotional) episodes, Sam leaps into himself as young man, a chimpanzee, Lee Harvey Oswald, Elvis Presley (yes, the King, himself!), Sam's own great-grandfather, Al, and in season 2, Sam even leaps into a woman for the first time!

Like I said, this show has everything: comedy, romance, drama, mystery, and, of course, time-travel. My bet is, you'll love it.

The Talk of the Town, 1942

Director: George Stevens

Stars: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman

No, I didn't think up this blog name myself! I borrowed it from one of my favorite Cary Grant films: The Talk of the Town, of course!

Leopold Dilg (Grant) is a wrongfully-accused escaped convict who shows up on Nora Shelley's (Arthur) doorstep, looking for a place to hide from the police. Believing him to be innocent, she reluctantly agrees he may stay the night. But her new tenant Professor Michael Lightcap (Colman), who agreed to rent the house from Miss Shelley, shows up early. Now Miss Shelley takes it upon herself to hide Dilg, while also employed as the Professor's secretary. What follows is a perfect mix of comedy, mystery, romance, and drama as the three become friends, and eventually attempt to prove Dilg's innocence.

I could not possibly love this movie more.

I always rewind the very last scene and watch it again and again.

Indiscreet, 1958

Director: Stanley Donen

Stars: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman

I have to be careful not to give spoilers on this one! I loved it!

At first, I was a little disgusted. Anna (Bergman) and Phillip (Grant) meet, there's instant attraction, when suddenly he announces, at the end of their date, "I'm a married man." Though of course he is "separated and can't possibly get a divorce"- whatever that means- but she's heard that one before. They back off for about 45 seconds. Then the affair begins.

It goes on for a while, and I don't like that kind of thing, even if they are separated. But then Anna learns a very important secret about Phillip that changes everything.

Watch it!

This was the first time I had seen Ingrid Bergman in color! Of course, I had only seen her in 2 films: Casablanca and Notorious. (Notorious also stars Cary Grant, and I love it! It's probably my favorite Hitchcock. But that's for another day.) It was good to see these two together on screen again. Two of my favorite actors.

Walk, Don't Run, 1966

Stars: Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton

Director: Charles Walters

My good friend Netflix has been recommending this film to me for ages, and I finally decided to give it a chance when I discovered that it was a remake of "The More the Merrier", which I reviewed on April 5th. The More the Merrier was rather lame, and I was disappointed that they didn't do more with it. It just could have been cuter. I was very eager to see what the remake would be like!

This film, made 23 years later, is very nearly the same, but definitely better than The More the Merrier, in my humble opinion. Does that make sense? The setting is Japan at the Olympics (rather than D.C.), so of course there is a housing shortage, causing Eggar to sublet her house to Grant, who sublets his half to Hutton, and then plays matchmaker. A couple things make the 1966 version better: 1. Cary Grant. Enough said. This was his last film, and he shines as always. Very funny! 2. Samantha Eggar doesn't cry as much as Jean Arthur did. (That was a bit depressing at the end of the 1943 film. Not really romantic, but I guess realistic.)

One thing I still don't get is the title. "Walk, Don't Run". I suppose it makes sense when you find out Hutton's event in the Olympics. (Sorry for spoiling!) But to use it for the title doesn't seem to make sense....

All in all, a cute film. This one is worth watching, if you just want a cute comedy, with a little bit of romance.

Soul Surfer, 2011

Stars: AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt

Director: Sean McNamara

Wow! This is the true story of surfer Bethany Hamilton, whose arm gets bitten off by a shark. This is a beautiful film. (The only unfortunate bit is that Carrie Underwood is in it- that's where the cheesy acting comes in, and it's just too bad.) It was heart-warming, dramatic, and inspirational. The Hamilton family is very close and the traumatic events only draw them closer to each other and to God.

Niagara 1953

Stars: Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton
Director: Henry Hathaway

I found this film on Netflix "watch instantly", and I'm so glad I did! It has a Hitchcock-like style of suspense and well as story. Therefore, I loved it! Plus, that movie poster is awesome!

Unhappily married couple Monroe and Cotton are staying at Niagara Falls in a little resort. Monroe and her lover plot Cotton's murder, but things don't go as planned. Still alive, Cotton is out to kill his wife, but somebody else knows he's alive too.

Basically, if you like Hitchcock, you'll love Niagara!

The Odd Couple, 1968

Director: Gene Saks
Stars: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau

What an odd movie! Not exactly what I was expecting.

Oscar and Felix end up sharing an apartment after Felix's soon-to-be ex-wife kicks him out. He then proceeds to drive Oscar crazy by his obsessive cleaning tendencies. And that's where the "classic comedy" comes in.

I don't want to give too much away-- because it is definitely worth watching! The poker guys are absolutely hilarious! My favorite parts were definitely with those guys- laugh-out-loud funny, literally.

Brilliant!

G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, 2009

Director Stephen Sommers
Stars: Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans

Last night Matt and I were browsing through Netflix, trying to find something to watch. You know those days when you just want to watch a movie you've never seen before? I suggested an episode of Bones, or "You Only Live Twice" (because sometimes I just want to watch a Bond film). But no. We finally agreed on G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra.

Wow. We expected to make fun of it the whole time, and we were definitely not disappointed, in that respect. Fans of Mystery Science Theater (and we are) will love this film.

As we watched G.I Joe, it felt like we were watching several action movies. It was almost like it took features from all kinds of action movies and tv shows and brought them together. Just a few of the movies that it brought to mind:
-Star Trek
-martial arts films, since it was full of martial arts
-Superman (there was a place in the Arctic surrounded by snow and ice, it just felt like a fortress of solitude)
-Independence Day
-Top Gun
-Doctor Who (one of the bad guys was the Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston; I was really expecting the Daleks to come around the corner, crying, "Exterminate! Exterminate!")
-Every single Star Wars film, but especially-
-Star Wars Episode 1 (it even had Ray Park, who played Darth Maul)
-The Mummy (heck, it even had the guy who plays the MUMMY!!!!)

That is something worth mentioning- the cast was truly an all-star cast! I had no idea Dennis Quaid was in the movie, and he is always fun to watch, of course. It was very interesting to see who else popped up (we had to look up quite a few people as we watched, including Ray Park, since he apparently plays roles with masks or paint on his face, does anyone know what Ray Park actually looks like in real life?). Joseph Gordon Levitt, that guy who plays the Mummy in the Mummy (Arnold Vosloo), and ---this was the best part of the WHOLE movie---Brendon Fraser!!!!! His part lasted about 15 seconds, but that truly made the movie for me.

Bottom line, if you want to make fun of a movie with friends, this one is perfect!

The More the Merrier, 1943

Stars Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, and Charles Coburn

Director George Stevens

The scene is Washington, D.C. during World War II. There's a housing shortage and Miss Millegan (Arthur) decided to sublet her apartment to help out. She ends up with two roommates, a young handsome one, and an old millionaire-matchmaker. I'd like to mention that I absolutely ADORE classic movies! They leave a me with a great, happy feeling. Most of the time. But to be honest, like any decade and any film genre, the classics have their stupid movies as well.

This one had a cute story line, at least I think so; any time you have people sharing a house in film you get some cute situations. Or you should. But so much more could have been done to make this romantic and sweet! Instead, Jean Arthur's character spent a good portion of the movie crying! I totally understand this, because I am a girl. But we don't put it in movies! Not that much, anyway. I'm not a film expert, but in my humble opinion, this one is kind of dumb.

The Tourist, 2010

Stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp
Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

This was an enjoyable film! I heard that it had a Hitchcock feel to it, and it most definitely did, feeling most like North By Northwest, in my opinion. A man in mistaken for someone else and helps a woman spy accomplish her mission. Oops! Did I give anything away? In fact, that is very much the story line; the only thing The Tourist is missing is the drunk driving bit and Mount Rushmore!

I'm kidding. But really, if spy movies are your thing, this one is lovely. Romance, adventure, action, suspense, drama.... Definitely worth watching again, without a doubt. In fact, if you didn't guess the ending, I would say you almost MUST watch it again, this time with the ending in mind.