American Graffiti, 1973

Director: George Lucas

Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul le Mat, Cindy Williams, Harrison Ford





A bunch of teenagers cruise around Main Street showing off their cars (it's the 50's) and hanging out before leaving for college the next day.  It's one of those teenage movies, very slow, not terrible, just not terribly interesting.  I don't know, I'm just not crazy about it.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986

Director: John Hughes

Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jennifer Grey, Ben Stein





Ferris Bueller (Broderick) decides he needs a day off of high school and comes up with an elaborate scheme in order to pull it off. (Including a recorded message that plays when the doorbell rings!) He gets his best friends off, too, and together they set out for a day in Chicago, doing whatever they please, and ending the day by singing in a parade.

I love love love this movie! Ferris is hysterical. It's the perfect film for a rainy day.

The Thin Man, 1934

Director: W.S. Van Dyke

Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy

Oops, I lied before! It was an accident. I thought Nick and Nora Charles were a creation of Agatha Christie's, but actually they are characters Dashiell Hammett created! And The Thin Man is based on the novel by Hammett.

When a young girl tells Nick Charles her father, Nick's old friend, is missing, Nick and his wife Nora take the case. Well, they eventually find out the guy was murdered, and then Nick solves the mystery. I guess the summary sounds a bit weird, but it was very enjoyable! Nick and Nora have lots of great lines and witty dialogue! They are hilarious!

NOTE: Wow! According to Wikipedia, The Thin Man was shot in 12 days! I doubt that would even be possible in this century!!

Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961

Director: Blake Edwards

Stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard

I haven't seen this movie in years. I never understood it before. Now I finally watched it and I get it. I'm still not sure about it.

I mean, it's a classic. Audrey Hepburn is beautiful; George Peppard is completely dashing. It's fun to watch. But it's also a bit depressing. Holly Golightly (Hepburn) is so selfish and ridiculous. Paul (Peppard) is just a normal guy who falls in love with her. It's very worth watching, and it is entertaining. But the things she does, and mostly what she does to herself, is kinda sad. The ending is good, though; otherwise, I would never recommend it.

I've only ever seen George Peppard in this and in The A-Team. And he is totally dreamy in both!

Double Indemnity, 1944

Director: Billy Wilder

Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G Robinson

I was watching NCIS a few days ago, and at one point in the episode, two characters, Tony and Ziva, talk about this film, Double Indemnity, as a classic. Tony usually knows what he is talking about concerning films. (But don't even get me started with his opinion of Strangers on a Train! Those writers need to actually WATCH that movie before they write his lines about it!!)

Walter Neff (MacMurray), an insurance salesman, visits the home of Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck) in a routine house call to renew her husband's auto insurance. Her husband is not at home, and they begin a flirtatious exchange, until she asks if she can get a life insurance policy on her husband without his knowing.

Wise to her game, Neff leaves immediately, putting her in her place, or so he thinks. He knows all the tricks in the business, and this one reeks of murder. Mrs. D shows up at his home later that evening, to flirt some more and assure him she doesn't want to kill her husband, though she's not very convincing in the latter argument, since Neff decides he loves her and that the two of them should kill her husband together.

It's crazy how when you're watching a movie, and your point of view is with the thief (like The Italian Job- love the new version of that one!) or the killer, in this case, you are cheering them on, in the case of the theft, or at least not wanting them to get caught, as in a murder. How do movies do that to us?

If you like the genre (film noir) or suspense, or crime movies, I'm sure you'll be delighted. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Barbara Stanwyck was a killer!