review: The Bachelor & the Bobby-Soxer

Well that was fun. Not much to it, but a lot of hi-jinks and some clever dialouge, including a very fun patter: "You remind me of a man. - What man? - A man with a Power - What power? - The power of Who doo - Who does? - You do - Do what? - Remind me of a man etc"

Not much to say about a movie like this - except that I enjoyed watching it and I would watch it again.
3 out of 5 stars

review: Notorious

This is one of the hottest romances. Grant and Bergman are electric. This is the romantic in me talking, but I swear their first kiss takes my breath away. I don't really know if there is a single person better at making love to a woman on screen better than Cary Grant. I think very highly of the Bogart/Bergman romance in Casablanca, but even that pales in comparison to this. I would love to trade places with Bergman and nustle into his shoulder. I swear, everytime he kisses her - my heart skips a little. Grant is an amazing actor in that sense. When he kisses on screen you can see right into his character. Because a kiss is not just a kiss, there is always something behind it, and Grant shows us what is behing the kiss.
The story is really good - an international spy thriller kind of thing. Not Hitchcock's most powerful story, but darn good one.
Acting is phenomenal. I like Bergman in these slightly stronger roles. Not that I don't like her in Casablanca, but she's a lot less weak in this movie. As I said, Grant is amazing. It is interesting to see him in this kind of film - especially after watching so many of his comedies. There is next to nothing to laugh at here and he still commands the screen. You don't notice as much in some of his other movies, but Grant is also a very simple actor - a very readable one; you can tell every inflection he has - but you think you are the only one seeing it. That scene where he coaches her out of bed is so amazing to watch him in. Rains, of course, is wonderful - he is an amazing actor. The perfect non-villian, villian. You can see him being tortured by his mistakes and by what he has to do to her. The supporting cast is also quite wonderful and Leopoldine Konstantin - who plays Rains' mother is so damn creepy. She is the evil one, no doubt.
As par with international spy thrillers, the designs are usually, rightfully always very rich. In movies like these you are almost always sure to have elaborate and very beautiful sets, costumes, etc.
As far as how honored this movie is: it is part of the Criterion collection, in the National Film Registry, and nominated for 2 Oscars.
I personally think it deserves more.
4 and 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Talk of the Town

Considering it was nominated for 7 Oscars and was incredibly popular in its day, I was rather surprised to I had never heard about it or read about it.

Its a comedy - but you wouldn't have been able to tell that by the beginning montage of the movie. I thought it was going to be a rather serious courtroom kind of drama.

But, once you get into it, you can see that this is an interesting comedy mixed with a nice hint of a drama.

But I can see why I haven't heard of it: its not incredibly memorable. Not compared to the classics. However it is a pretty good movie. A nice lesson on law mixed with a little romance.

I don't quite know why I don't like this more. I love Cary Grant and I like Jean Arthur, but this movie is just ... forgettable. I just watched it the other night and already I am lukewarm about it.

3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars

Bringing Up Baby

Utterly delightful!
It is amazing that this movie was a box office bomb when it came out. Hepburn was labled 'Box Office poison' and Hawks was fired from the next movie he was going to direct also starring Cary Grant, Gunga Din (see review). However, as with many greats, it was only a matter of time before it would be realized for its true potential. This movie was so wacky, it was way ahead of its time.
Trying to explain the story does the movie no justice because the plot is just utterly ridiculous (and I mean that in a wonderful way) To boil it down a scientist (Grant) meets up with a mad-cap heiress (Hepburn) and has a series of misadventures incolving a brontosaurus' bone, a dog named George, and a leopard named Baby.
It is just utterly fantastic! You have to see this one! It's a typical screwball comedy with a particularly wacky story, fantastic acting, and a good ole time! It has therefore been awarded many honors including selection for the National Film Registry as well as being included on 4 AFI Top lists!
Trust me, it is worth it!
5 out of 5 stars

review: Charade

No kidding, I love Cary Grant. And Audrey Hepburn. And Alfred Hitchcock ... wait. Hitchcock didn't direct this film?? Really? Oh, Stanely Donan.
The famous joke goes that this was the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made. This is almost a perfect example of his kind of movie.
The story is about this woman (Audrey Hepburn) who plans to divorce her husband. Only when she returns home from vacation, she finds out that he is dead - and he is not who she thinks he is. Now, somebody is after her - and some money that her husband apparently stole. While on vacation she meets a nice man (Cary Grant) who shows up later on, convieniently.
The story has so many plot twists that you can't even begin to tell about them. It's a wonderful film with delightful scriptwriting and performances. Walter Matthau is wonderful, and, of course, Grant and Hepburn are delightful. Imagine: Cary Grant was 59 when he made this film. 59 and he still charms the hell out of the role! That man is sexier at 59 then most men are at 25! And funnier! He is delightful in this film! Hepburn is always known as a glamour girl, but most of the time people forget what a wonderful comic she is too. Utterly delightful!
5 out of 5 stars

review: An Affair to Remember

This movie is a remake of a 1939 movie called 'Love Affair' by the same director, Leo McCarey. It was a success, then they made this one almost 18 years later, and then it was made again, using the original title in 1994. It also is said to have been the inspiration for 'Sleepless in Seattle'
So, it is obviously a popular story.
I haven't seen either the original, or the remakes. This one is quite charming. I mean, it has Cary Grant. And I love Cary Grant movies. I don't mind at all that he often plays the same kind of roles. He is just so charming in them. Deborah Kerr is also quite nice. I have only ever seen her in 'The King and I' so I don't know much of her work, or how to judge her.
The movie is a little bit of a tearjerker near the end. The story is about a man and a woman who meet on a boat and, naturally, fall in love. The problem is that both of them are engaged or attached to another person. Sounds like a Astaire/Rogers movie right? Except no dancing and no singing. Which is not entirely true because there is some dancing and some singing. Anyways - they agree to meet in 6 months if they are unattached and in a economical standing to get married. Sadly, they do not meet and from there, the story goes.
All in all, a lovely story - and so touching. It is listed as #5 on AFI's 100 Passions list.
3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars

Review: The Bishop's Wife

I read a review about this movie before I began it. It was not a favorable review, so I was prepared to not like it. I will admit that this movie does kind of flirt with a line. You have to be a little cynical to see it and very cynical to look for it. Plot: A biship, who is trying to raise money for a cathedral sends a prayer to God. The answer to his prayer: Dudley - an angel from heaven. While the bishop continues to work after the money, Dudley goes to work on those around the bishop - especially the bishop's wife. He sort of fills in to where the husband should be. Never anything improper, but like I said a line is flirted with - and the lady as well. It is a good story - and it ends well. I think the person watching the movie was hoping for something a little more dramatic (if that is what you are looking for, see the star vehicle of a remake) If you want something simple and sweet with some comedy in it, watch this. I'm not saying which is better, but this one was made for its time and the remake was made for its time - I guess it just depends on which time you like better.
I find this one as charming as Grant is himself - and this role seems to be written for his particular charm. The overall message is the point of the thing, and it is near the end that the most beautiful moments occur. Finding faith, finding love, and finding the miracle of the simplicity of human life.
My favorite and not favorite part happen to be the same thing strangely enough. It occurs at a skating pond. I don't like it because it is all rather fake (they did a terrible job on the skating double for Grant) and I think they over-played the miracle a bit too much - it would have been more fun to just show them having a good time at the rink without all the fancy moves. But, then again, I also love it because there is a simple beauty in the entertainment of going skating - the whole scene seems like something out of the beautiful remembered past. Everyone of all types and abilities mixing together on the ice: the young, the old, the professionals, and those new comers. It's nostaglia at its best.
The special effects are really quite fun to watch - espeically because they are so dated. Not realistic at all, but they have a certain magic to them that modern effects don't have. I guess that is just has to do with my affection for the primitive ;)
All in all, a delightful film. 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars

Reviews

Dark Passage: Bacall n' Bogie. Ummmm. Never realized I loved Bogart so much, but thinking about it, yep - he's dandy. The story is a little strange. A man breaks out of prison where he has been serving time for a crime he did not commit. A girl helps him. He runs, but he can't run far enough. It's not a surprising story, but then again it is, in the fact that nothing ever gets solved really. The first half is rather odd because it is almost all from a character's view shot. After a while, that gets old. A good deal of the film feels like a Nip/Tuck episode - only trust me, Bogart does it better.
3 out of 5 stars.

Lifeboat: Hitchcock classic. Brilliant. Utterly brilliant. Plot basic: a group of people who survived a Uboat torpedo sinking their ship find themselves stranded in a lifeboat. Most of the entire thing takes place in the lifeboat, only leaving it 2 time, or something like that. You would think that would leave an incredibly cramped feeling to the picture, but it doesn't. Hitchcock finds space somehow, but also juxtaposes that with the closeness of the people and of course tensions. The incredible tensions. It is a good story. Brilliant photography, the suspense, it is all screams Hitchcock. I can't imagine how it must have been to shoot the film. Acting was brilliant on all sides. There was not one wink link, in any aspect.
Four out of five stars.

I Was a Male War Bride: with Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan, directed by Howard Hawks.

First reaction: "that was cute" That pretty much sums it up - Acting was nice, but there was nothing too special about it. Story was funny and entertaining, but again, there was nothing special. It is a perfectly nice film. Plot: A French and an American officer are asked to team up again for an assignment. They don't particularly get along, but as always, that is just a front for thier love. The come to realize this, and the decide to get married. And rest of the movie is about the Red Tape. Like I said, it is a perfectly nice film, and it is worth a watch every now and again, but there was not much to it.

3 out of 5 stars.

Movie Reviews: Gunga Din and Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Viginia Woolf? - I can only say this: What the HELL was that?!?
Can't rate - too bewildered. #67 on AFI's top 100 list (2005). I don't know why. I mean, it's well written, I guess. The story is overpowering everything to me right now, and I just don't get it.

Gunga Din: starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Cary Grant, Victor McLagen, and Sam Jaffe - with very brief moments with Joan Fontaine.

Well this one surprised me. I was expecting a little more of a war epic. What I got was an interesting mix between a comedy and a war film. It is simple enough: Somewhat (sarcasm intended) loosely based on the poem of the same title by Rudyard Kipling, the three leads play buddies in Her Majesty's Army in India. Trouble from a murderous group of Indians known as Thuggee is brewing and they get into the thick of it accidently. (There is a whole lot more to it, but for no spoiler's sake, I will stop there) It begins in more of a comedic, high-jinks in the army kind of way, but it slowly moves into something of an Indian Jones nature, to an all-out battle movie.

Although a little cheesy and not very serious most of the time, it is a delight. I laughed, I worried, I cried a little, it was great. Like I said, it really isn't to be taken too seriously for most of it, but the themes of friendship, honor, service, and glory are all there and present enough. Some of the shots, especially in the temple scenes are quite effective. And whoever played the Thuggee leader deserves praise for his ability to creep me out! Grant is definately in the comic part of his career, prior to becoming the suave, elegant, womanizer we all idolize him as. And he is delightful that way. All three of the leads are quite wonderful.
I was a little surprised by the action, especially in the beginning. It was like something out of the silent age. Everything was sped up. But in the more serious battle moments, they kept it mostly at regular speed, with a few exceptions that accompanied some very interesting camera shots. Particularly one where the camera seemed to be mounted on a spear which was run through one of the Thuggees. But that was about as violent a thing as you ever saw. Which is the way I like it. Leave it to the imagination, we can think up how gruesome it is ourselves.
3 out of 5 stars.