The 39 Steps, 1935

Repost! (original post: September 27, 2011)


Director: Alfred Hitchcock (Dial 'M' for Murder, To Catch a Thief, Vertigo, Rope, Saboteur, etc......)

Stars: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll

Hannay (Donat) is taken by surprise at the theater (where, incidentally, he is watching an interesting spectacle of a man nicknamed "Memory" who will answer any question from the audience, because he memorizes 50 facts every day) when a woman comes to him and asks him to take her home. When she discovers that there are men on the street watching his apartment, she begins to tell him about the "39 Steps" and how she must go see someone in Scotland or the UK's secrets will get out of the country. (I don't think they were specific on secrets; I think we are just supposed to know that these are super important secrets. Or it could be I wasn't paying attention. Except I'm pretty sure I was.)

Then the mysterious woman comes to his room in the night and tells him to run or he'll be next. And when she falls over, he sees she has a knife in her back!

This incident convinces him that she was telling the truth, so, still unsure of what to do, but knowing he's headed to see a professor in Scotland, Hannay loses the goons after him by hopping a train. But at the next station, he discovers they're still after him. To escape them, he gets into a young woman's compartment and starts kissing her! (Classic escape! Maybe it was Hitch who started the trend?) The woman, Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), does not believe Hannay, and instantly tries to turn him in, but he is able to get off the train and run.

Well, this summary is getting long. I really liked this movie! I can't believe I've never seen it before! The cover for it (at least the one on Netflix) is a bit scary-looking, with a bunch of bloody hand-prints. The film has nothing to do with that! Except for when the mysterious woman is stabbed in the beginning, but it's not bloody! I don't want to say anything more, except that Pamela and Hannay eventually get hand-cuffed together, and are on the run from the guys trying to kill Hannay, and end up sharing a hotel room. How was this allowed on the screen in the 30s!!!!?? I mean, nothing happens, but still!

It's thrilling! :)

The Princess Bride, 1987

THURSDAY MOVIE CONNECTION!!!!

Christopher Guest-- Robin Wright

Director: Rob Reiner

Stars: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Billy Crystal, Peter Cook, Fred Savage, Carol Kane, Peter Falk

Now that's an all-star cast!

When Buttercup (Wright) learns that her love Westley (Elwes) has been murdered by the dread Pirate Roberts, she vows never to love again; not even 5 years later when Prince Humperdinck (Sarandon) chooses her as his bride. Before the wedding, she is kidnapped by 3 men, who've been hired to help Humperdick start a war with their sworn enemy across the sea. But following these three is a man wearing black (even a mask), whose goal is to take Buttercup from them.

But when he kidnaps her, and they're running from the Prince, she finds out his true identity: the man in black is her true love, Westley!

Okay, so there's much more to it. It's very funny- so many memorable lines! This one is an absolute MUST SEE, ESSENTIAL, whatever you want to call it, for EVERYONE! Watch it!

One of the best movies ever, and today is my birthday, so happy birthday to me!

Far and Away, 1992

THURSDAY MOVIE CONNECTION!!!

Colm Meaney- Tom Cruise

Director: Ron Howard

Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Colm Meaney, Thomas Gibson, Barbara Babcock

After his father dies and his home burns to the ground, Joseph (Cruise) leaves Ireland when he hears of the land in America that's being given away by the government. His landlord's feisty daughter Shannon (Kidman) has decided to run away from home, and she finances their trip, in exchange for his help getting there.

When they arrive, circumstances don't allow her to go on right away, so they get a room together pretending to be brother and sister, and work and save to get there. Joseph boxes and works at the factory with Shannon. His talent in the ring makes him forget his humble beginnings, and gets them both in trouble.

I don't want to give anything away! I'm sorry, but I LOVE this movie!!!!! It may be cheesy, but it's still great!

I especially love the music. It always gets stuck in my head.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets, 2007

Director: Jon Turtletaub

Stars: Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Ed Harris, Harvey Keitel

When evidence has shown up that ties the Gates family to the Lincoln assassination, Ben gates (Cage) and his father Patrick (Voight), will cross oceans and do whatever it takes to clear their family name. But they're up against the worst kind of villain: Mitch Wilkinson (Harris), who discovered the Gates-Lincoln connection, is bent on finding this second treasure that is said to be hidden under a great National landmark. He kidnaps Ben's mother (Mirren) in order to use Ben to search for the treasure.

This one is really great as well. I love how these movies are fast-paced, action- packed, and very clever, weaving fiction into history. Love it!

National Treasure, 2004

Director: Jon Turtletaub

Stars: Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight,

The Gates family has handed down the tradition of the great treasure collected over thousands of years and hid somewhere by our founding fathers, with the last clue left to a Gates long ago. Now Ben Gates (Cage) has spent all his life and every penny he has on treasure hunting, and finally he has another clue, leading to the next step.

The problem is: the next step is to look on the back of the Declaration of Independence for an invisible message from the founders. And Ian (Bean) the man who funded Ben's exploits, is after the treasure too, and he has no problem being on the wrong side of the law. After his warning to the FBI goes unheeded, Ben decides that the only way to stop Ian from stealing the Declaration is to steal it first. So that's what he and his computer genius friend Riley (Bartha) set out to do. But Dr Abigail Chase (Kruger) catches them, and they decide they have to take her along with them, to keep her safe from Ian. But soon she stays out of curiosity, as they get closer and closer to finding the greatest treasure of all time.

I LOVE this movie! It's ridiculous, of course, but so much fun!

The Postman, 1997

Director: Kevin Costner

Stars: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, Scott Bairstow

It's 2013. Wars and diseases have killed off most of the people on the planet, and in the US, small groups of people band together in their towns, and fear the outsiders. The Postman (Costner) wanders around performing Shakespeare for the townspeople, trying to brighten their lives a little.

This movie seems to have two parts (it's based on a book): in the first part, Costner's character is shanghaied by a group of soldiers ruled by a man who wants to take over the world, basically. He runs an army of slaves and kills anyone who can't keep up.

Eventually, Costner escapes and wandering through the woods, comes upon an old, wrecked Postal Service jeep, filled with letters and packages. He decides to take them to the nearest town, and deliver them to the people there. He impersonates a Postman and tells the people that the United States is a nation again, with a new government and everything. He is only doing this to be fed.

So, eventually there's a showdown between The Postman, who has united the people again, and the psycho who wants to rule the world.

There's a LOT of violence, so don't watch this if you can't take violence. And there is one sex scene, through which I fast-forwarded, but it seemed to go on for a while anyway, and you basically see her naked.

So, yeah, not for kids, but in the end, it's ok. I thought I would hate it, but I ended up kind of liking it.

Patriot Games, 1992

Director: Philip Noyce

Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Bean, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin

Jack Ryan (Ford), an analyst for the CIA, is visiting Ireland with his wife (Archer) and daughter, when he happens upon an assassination attempt, and saves the life of the intended target. In so doing, he kills one of the radicals, a young kid who was dragged along by his older brother (Bean). Now the brother wants Ryan dead, and will stop at nothing to harm him and his family.

Very suspenseful!

Iron Man, 2008

Director: Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man 2, Cowboys and Aliens)

Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard

Playboy bachelor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), has taken over his father's weapons manufacturing company, and lives like a crazy genius king in his gorgeous Malibu mansion. So his life is a little upset when on a trip to the Middle East for a weapon demonstration for the military, Tony is kidnapped by terrorists in a violent encounter. When he wakes up as their prisoner, he finds some kind of weird circle thing in his chest, visible to the outside, which is keeping him alive (keeps the shrapnel away from his organs). So, that's disturbing. And then the terrorists want him to build them one of his famous weapons, but instead, he builds himself a suit that will protect him on the way out of the cave.

Obviously, he gets free, and now his whole outlook on life has changed. He sees what his weapons really do to people and what happens when they get into the wrong hands. And soon he finds out that there may have been more to his captivity then he originally thought.

Okay, so I wrote a lengthy paragraph that covers the beginning, and then just kind of leave it. If you like action movies, you'll love it. Tony is very funny. His assistant, Pepper Pots (Paltrow), is a very cute character, and I love how they interact together.

Secondhand Lions, 2003

THURSDAY MOVIE CONNECTION

Robert Duvall- Josh Lucas



Director: Tim McCanlies

Stars: Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment, Kyra Sedgwick, Josh Lucas

I love this film.

Walter (Osment) is sent by his selfish mother (Sedgwick) to live with her bachelor uncles Hub (Duvall) and Garth (Caine). Hub and Garth reluctantly take him in, and eventually grow to like him, since he seems to get on the nerves of other relatives who are just coming over to get into the men's wills. Rumor has it, Hub and Garth have millions stashed away somewhere.

A lot of the movie is Garth telling Walter the story of Hub and Garth's lives: how they traveled to Europe, fought in the French Foreign Legion, and lived in Africa. Tales of action, adventure, romance!

This movie is beautiful from start to finish. I can't do it justice at all. You'll love it.

Back to the Future, 1985

Director: Robert Zemeckis (Romancing the Stone, Forrest Gump, Cast Away)

Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson

My favorite.

In 1985, Marty McFly (Fox) hops in a DeLorean to escape from terrorists, and he accidentally gets sent back in time to November 5, 1955. His friend "Doc"- Dr. Emmet Brown- (Lloyd) had converted the DeLorean into a time machine. Marty finds Doc in 1955, and together they have to repair the broken time machine and get Marty back to the future!

But a wrench is thrown into their plans when Marty bumps into his high school age father and mother, and interferes with their first meeting, which was pivotal in their relationship. Marty has to convince his wimpy father that Lorraine (Thompson) is the girl for him. Extra complications arise when Lorraine apparently has a crush on Marty, her future son!

This movie is brilliant, and I could watch it over and over again. I think my favorite part is when Marty plays Johnny B. Goode at the dance. Michael J Fox didn't actually play it, but wanting to be accurate, he learned all the correct fingerings on the guitar. He probably could have played it!

I have watched these movies (parts 2 and 3, as well) with commentaries a few times. They have so much information and insights for geeks like me! I loved it.

The Goonies, 1985

Director: Richard Donner

Stars: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Jeff Cohen, Ke Huy Quan, Martha Plimpton

The classic treasure-hunting adventure story!

A group of kids (known as "the Goonies") find a treasure map in an attic, and decide to follow it and see if the local legend is true- that pirate One-Eyed Willy really did leave behind a ship and treasure in a cave. Unfortunately, as they follow the map, it leads them to an abandoned restaurant where a family of criminals, the Fratellis, are hiding a dead body. As witnesses to this crime, the kids flee the Fratellis underground, following the map, as it leads them to a spectacular surprise!

It's absolutely wonderful! This isn't a kid's movie; it's definitely scarier than a kid's movie, and there's swearing too- not too much at all, I just thought I'd mention it. I love the kids' acting and the way they work together. It's very different, and refreshing. Their acting seems to make it more real. I just love it!

Since I have seen this movie at least 20 times, I decided this time I would watch it with commentary, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they actually filmed the actors talking, and frequently showed them talking and interacting, rather than just showing the movie and their voices. And it was the WHOLE cast!! All the kids (except it was 20 years later)

and the director! How often does that happen? That was cool.

(I don't know why this photo says "Bagou" over Mouth, and "Choco" over Chunk. What the heck?

The A-Team, 2010

Director: Joe Carnahan

Stars: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel

If you're familiar with the tv show from the 80's of the same name, you know that these men were sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit, and that they promptly escaped from prison. Well, this movie is about how they meet, and then, skipping ahead, years later, we get to learn about that crime they didn't commit which drove them to prison, and then to the Los Angeles Underground! So basically this is the prequel to the classic tv show.

I LOVE THE A-TEAM!!!!

Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (Neeson), Lieutenant Templeton "Face" Peck (Cooper), Sargent B.A. Baracus (Jackson), and Captain H.M. Murdock (Copley) are The A-Team! They're the best Alpha team out there. But then they're set up- framed!- and sent to separate prisons (well, three prisons and one Veteran's Hospital for Murdock - he's a little nuts). Six months later, they all break out, and their mission is to find the one who framed them and clear their own names.

(There is even a little bit of romance between Lieutenant Carissa Sosa (Biel) and Peck. So that keeps things interesting.)

I was surprised at how much I liked Murdock (played by South African Sharlto Copley- who is he? He came out of nowhere!), the crazy pilot of the group, and in true A-Team fashion, there are quite a few scenes where Murdock gets to show off his moves in flight! I'd have to say he was my favorite.

Brilliant!

Get Smart, 2008

Director: Peter Segal

Stars: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin

This was based on the 1960's tv show Get Smart, starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, about Maxwell Smart, a bumbling secret agent working for "Control", and his partner, Agent 99 (who doesn't have a name- it's just 99! I love that!). Together they fight against the KAOS agents who are bent on destroying the world.

Well, that's how I remember it anyway. And it's close enough!

This is an action-adventure-comedy-romance. It's totally cute, and I highly recommend it!!

Steve Carell is kind of brilliant!