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.