The Way We Were (1973)

I was really expecting this one to more romantic that it actually was.

Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford play Katie and Hubbel. They attend the same college and she's got a crush on him. But she's a political activist and he's a writer and they have very different views on life and politics.

The movie begins 10years or so after college, as she runs into him at a restaurant. As she looks at him, we go back in time to their college days. Once their past is established, we go back to them at the restaurant. He's quite intoxicated and goes home with her, where he passes out on her bed.

They sort of start up a romance after this evening. But their relationship never quite seems comfortable for either of them. Their rocky romance spans years. They almost give up a few times. Eventually, they give up for the last time. They are just too different.

That's it in a nutshell, and I think it's ok to write the spoiler since its a very old movie.

Here's what I didn't like about Katie and Hubbel's story. To begin with, Katie was just too desperate. She was begging him to be with her, while he just looked aloof. This is really evident the first night they were together. In that scene, they are in bed, he's drunk and passed out, so she takes off her clothes and slips into bed. He comes over to her and eventually passes out again. She taps him and says something like, "Hubbel? Its Katie. Did you know it was Katie?". For such an educated and outspoken woman, Katie was just the desperate school girl in love with the jock. Their love AND their conflict lacked any passion at all, which made me not really care what happened in their relationship.

In the last scene they run into each other after years of not having seen on another. He's with his wife, and as they exchange pleasantries, he asks Katie if she's still married. They hug...for a long time. It's obvious they still love each other. But again, I just didn't really care because their story did not touch me. The got together and they broke up. That's about the extent of the romance. Not very memorable.

Extraordinary Measures

This touching movie is based on the lives of John & Aileen Crowley, played by Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell. They have three children, and two of them have a rare genetic and fatal disorder called Pompe Disease. Children with the disease are generally expected to live no more than 9 years, and the Crowley's daughter has just turned 8.

Enter Dr. Robert Stonehill, played by Harrison Ford. He does research at a Nebraska University, with much of his research pertaining to a treatment for Pompe Disease. John hunts the good doctor down and together they embark on a a journey to try to get funded by a major drug company for their research. Together - the cranky, anti-establishment scientist, and the business man, who is also a desperate father, fight against the politics of drug companies and the bottom line of "making a profit".

The movie is rated PG, and I did take my 9 year old son to see it. While it was a bit long for him, he did follow the story and it was pretty clean, with the exception of a few words.

Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford are outstanding actors and, as expected, did a great job in these roles. Since we are dealing with a story about terminally ill children, there were a few gut wrenching moments. But mostly, it was a triumphant story, filled with hope and the love that drives a mother and father to do anything they can for their children.

The Princess Bride (1987)

The movie begins in the present day, with a grandfather, (Peter Falk), visiting his sick grandson at home. He's come to read his grandson (Fred Savage) a story. He says, "In my day, television was called books!" As he begins to read, we see the story take place, with occasional flashes back to present to see the discussion the grandson/grandfather are having about it. One of the cutest parts is in a scene where one of the book's character is in the sea, surrounded by killer eels, and just as the drama climaxes, it flashes back to to Grandpa, who assures Grandson that the character won't get eaten. He says, "I just wanted to let you know, because you looked a little nervous...".


This is one of Robin Wright Penn's earlier works, and actually, she was "Robin Wright" at the time of this movie. She plays the lovely "Buttercup", who lives on a farm and finds herself in love with the farmhand, Westley, played by Cary Elwes. After they profess their love for one another, Westley leaves the farm to seek his fortune so that he can come back and provide a life for himself and his beloved Buttercup. Unfortunately, Buttercup soon receives news that Westley has been killed.

Not long after, the Prince Humberdink chooses Buttercup to be his queen (against her will, of course, since she is still in love with Westley). She ends up being kidnapped, and thus begins the adventure of the Princess Bride. There is swordplay, pirate ships, magic spells, dungeons and everything you'd expect from this move.



On a side note, I was SURE Prince Humperdink was Mark Ruffalo, but actually turned out to be Chris Sarandon (Susan Sarandon's first husband). See the resemblance on the right? (Ruffalo on left, Sarandon on right)





My son was not sure he wanted to watch a movie with "princess" in the title, but the minute the story began with the grandfather and grandson, he seemed to be drawn into it. He was having a lot of the same reactions that the grandson was having! But all in all, The Princess Bride was a movie we both enjoyed. It was funny, witty and pretty clean!

Rear Window

I was biting my nails the whole time I was watching this movie!!

Rear Window is an Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Stewart plays Jeff, a photographer who is temporarily wheelchair-bound after breaking his leg. Not being able to do much else, he spends his time looking out his window, at his neighbors who live in apartments surrounding a small courtyard. He looks into the windows of their apartments, and in essence, into their lives. His nurse Stella, played by Thelma Ritter, comes in every day to check in on him and take care of him. His girlfriend, Lisa (Kelly), also visits him regularly.

I knew the premise of the movie was that he witnesses a murder as he looks out his window. So the whole time I was watching, I was waiting for it to take place. But, wow - Hitchcock really strung out the suspense. Jeff looked from window to window, and the whole time I was watching wide -eyed, not wanting to miss a thing. Who would it be? Would it be "Miss Torso", the beautiful dancer with no shortage of gentlemen callers? Or the couple that is always fighting? Or perhaps the frustrated musician at the piano? The lonely woman? Or wait, how shocking it would be if it turned out to be the newlyweds? Or what about the sculptor? Jeff just watches to pass the time, and out of curiosity, but WE are waiting to see who will be the ill-fated neighbor! I was on the edge of my seat. And even when I found out who it was....there was a point where I began to wonder...did he really see it? Or has he made a mistake?


Grace Kelly plays his girlfriend Lisa, and they are a beautifully matched pair in this. I watched Grace Kelly in High Noon, and mentioned in my review that there was absolutely no chemistry between her and Gary Cooper. In this film, there was chemistry abounding between her and James Stewart!


Hitchcock usually makes a cameo in his movies, and this one is no exception. I recognized him instantly when I saw him - casually winding a clock in one of the apartments!

If you love suspense thrillers - this movie is a definite must-see!

Up In The Air

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who spends most days of the year on the road. He's single, alone, and he's pretty convinced he likes it that way. He loves his job - he fires people for a living. Employers hire the company he works for to go in and do the dirty work of letting their employees go. He's a "termination facilitator".

Natalie Keener, played by Anna Kendrick, is Ryan's 23 year old co worker. She's a recent grad, young and optimistic, and is ready to climb that corporate ladder. She's got a new idea, which she presents to their boss, Craig(Jason Bateman). She believes that they could save a lot of money if instead of traveling to terminate employees, they could do it via video conference. Not only does this sound like a cold, impersonal, and ridiculous idea to Ryan, but it also threatens the very lifestyle he loves.

So the boss insists that Ryan take Natalie with him on his assignments so she can learn what he does and see if this new idea of hers is gonna fly. Ryan is good at what he does - he "knows" people and their reactions, and he understands that this is one of the worst days of their lives. He believes that he does what he does in a humane way - something that can't be replaced with a web chat. (It's almost like being dumped via text message!). This is evident when Natalie fires someone via the computer, using all the canned lines that she's learned, but doesn't really know what to say when the 56 year old man begins to cry on the screen, after being fired from a Detroit factory that he's worked at for decades.

There are plenty of side stories here as well. There's Natalie and her boyfriend. And there's Ryan and his two sisters, one of whom is getting married soon. Another major character here is Alex, which seems to be the female version of Ryan. They are both always traveling and meet up every so often for a "casual relationship".

When the video conference terminations seem to be a certain future of the company, Ryan has to face the fact that he may not be able to distract himself from his lonely existence once he's home for good. Suddenly, the single life...actually, not really even the single life, but rather the emotionally isolated life...doesnt seem quite so attractive to him anymore. And even though he tries to tell himself he's not alone - since there are people all around him at the airport, at the restaurant, at the hotels - he's starting to realize that he is actually lonely. He even decides to take a chance on Alex. you'll have to watch it to see if the risk is worth it for him.

Clooney does a great job, which isn't surprising. Kendrick is great as the arrogant young person climbing the corporate ladder without much regard to anything else but her own advancement. While Jason Bateman's role isn't very big, he is a fine actor.

I really liked this movie - it grabbed you right from the beginning. Surprisingly, it put a high value on marriage. This makes perfect sense, since director Jason Reitman was married and had a child in the six years that he was working on the script.

And by the way, some of the people you see in the movie that are reacting to being fired, are actual people who have just been fired in real life. Reitman asked them to say what they had said when they were fired. I wondered that when I watched the movie.

Up in the Air has a few nominations for a Golden Globes as well as the Screen Actors Guild, which will probably lead to some Oscar nominations. Good movie - recommended.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Set in England at the turn of the century, this movie stars Gene Tierny as Lucy Muir, and Rex Harrison (whom we also know as Dr. Dolittle and "Henry Higgins") as the brash Captain Daniel Gregg.

Lucy, a young beautiful widow, is tired of living under the thumb of her mother in law and her sister in law, so she decides to go off on her own. She takes Martha, her housekeeper, and her young daughter Anna (played by a 9-year-old Natalie Wood).

Counting on income from one of her late husband's investments, Lucy rents a cottage by the seaside. The realtor warns her that it's haunted, but Lucy finds this delightful - a haunted cottage by the sea! However, she soon encounters the ghost of the former owner, Captain Daniel Gregg. He wants her to leave - after all, its his home! But she stubbornly refuses! Amazed at her fearlessness, he decides to lets her stay. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that the source of income she was counting on has dried up. Captain Daniel tells her to write a book, the story of his life. It becomes a best seller and she is able to support herself. Needless to say, Lucy and Captain Daniel form a bond as they spend time together.

Along the way, she meets a charming Miles Fairley (George Sanders) who she plans to marry. Sadly, Captain Daniel decides to let her live her life without him, among the living. As she sleeps, he tells her that her conversations iwth him have all been a dream, and that she wrote the book on her own. But Mr. Fairly, it turns out, is not as charming as he appears. He has a secret that Lucy soon discovers. She is left alone again.

The story continues through the years. We see Anna grown, and Lucy aging. The ending...very romantic and sweet.

This movie was funny, sweet and romantic. I was drawn into the characters immediately, and there was never a slow moment. I truly enjoyed it and recommend that you see it if you get the chance!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Loved this movie!!

23-year-old Joanna (Katharine Houghton) comes home from her trip to Hawaii, busting with news - She's in love with someone she met on her trip: Dr. John Wade Prentice (Sidney Poitier).


So what's the problem?

1) she's white

2) he's black

3) its 1967

Joanna is happy as can be, but John is a little nervous about how her family will react. And...they are very surprised.

He's also worried about HIS family will react.

Joanna's parents (Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn) have brought her up to not look at race, and to be independent and open minded. One of the best lines is when Hepburn is telling her husband that they raised Joanna to not judge people by the color of their skin she says (paraphrased), "when we raised her to know that whites weren't better than anyone else, we never once added 'but don't marry a colored man'...".

Surprisingly, the housekeeper, Tillie (played by Isabel Sanford) is pretty upset. She's a black woman, and she tells Joanna that she does not like this one bit. She says she does not like him because she does not like someone of her own race trying to get "above his place".

When John calls his parents to tell them he's in love, they are overjoyed. (he is a widower). However, he does not tell them all about Joanna. But she ends up grabbing the phone and invites them to dinner.

The entirely of the movie takes place on this one day. The news is shared, the couple wants their parents' blessings, but everyone is reeling from the surprise of it all. But the couple tells their parents that they have only this night to decide how they feel about it, because their flight to Belguim leaves at 10:45pm, and then they'll be leaving to get married.

There were so many great lines in this movie, I almost grabbed a notebook to write them all down. This movie would be a GREAT conversation starter about how society has changed, or appeared to have changed, or not changed at all.

I totally recommend this movie!

Avatar

Sci-Fi is not my favorite genre. I wouldn't have seen this movie if there was anything else on. But the people I was with wanted to see it, and so I agreed to go with an open mind. I was kinda dreading that it was a looong movie - Two and a half hours long!

Avatar is about a young marine paraplegic, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who has gone to the moon "Pandora" to finish a mission his deceased brother had begun.

While humans cannot breath the air in Pandora, they can link to a genetically bred "body" that is created to look like the natives on Pandora. As Jake sleeps, he wakes in his "avatar" body. While in his avatar, he meets the elusive People of Pandora and eventually becomes one of them. They don't know he is actually human.

When he begins his fact-finding mission, he is supposed to report back to his superiors about the best way to move the natives away from their home, so that a valuable mineral can be mined. But Jake begins to love the natives, especially his lovely female guide. This is where his internal struggle begins, and he begins to be at odds with his human superiors. Once he decides which side he wants to be on, the war begins.

Having said that I don't really like this genre, I have to say that it was a very good movie. While sci-fi buffs might drool over the special effects (which were good), I prefer a good story at the heart of a movie. And Avatar had it. We find ourselves cheering Jake on - his human form as well as his avatar form. We also see, that it doesn't really matter what the outer appearance is - the true person is inside.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

A humanoid alien and his mighty robot land their flying saucer in Washington DC.

How's that for a first line?

That's how The Day the Earth Stood Still begins. Unfortunately, the alien, Klatuu, is greeted by the earthlings with fear and then violence. He is taken to a hospital, but he escapes and lives among the humans for awhile. He has a purpose for his visit to earth. He has come to warn us about our ways. Earth is on its way to self destruction unless it learns to live in peace. He also tells what his people have done to ensure peace on their planet.

There was a remake of this movie in 2008, starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. I haven't seen it, but now that I've seen the original, I just might make it a point to.

Sadly, Klatuu's message is still as true today as it was back then. A classic must see.

The Odd Couple (1968)

I've watched most of the Odd Couple TV series episodes with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. But I've never watched the original movie with Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon.

The movie begins with Felix Unger (Lemmon) wandering around and almost committing suicide after his wife has kicked him out. He finally finds himself at Oscar Madison's (Mathau) apartment. Oscar offers Felix a place to stay temporarily. As Felix begins to talk about his marriage, we can kinda see how he might have driven his wife crazy after all these years. (He, however, does not have a clue). He is a very neurotic, anal retentive, nit-picky neat freak. On the other end of the spectrum is Oscar. He is the ultimate slob. The opening scene finds him having a poker game at his place, and offering his guests rotten food and warm beer from the fridge that's been broken for weeks.

Needless to say, they begin to drive each other crazy.

It had funny and slow parts. While I enjoyed it, I wouldn't necessarily label it as a "must see" movie. Based on a play by Neil Simon, it really is a perfect starting place for a TV series. Both sets of actors (movie and TV) did a great job with their characters.

The Pink Panther (1963)

This is the original Pink Panther movie, starring Peter Sellers as the clumsy Inspector Clouseau. Also starring is David Niven and a very young (and scrawny!) Robert Wagner.

We find Inspector Clouseau at a snowy Swiss resort, on the heels of a jewel thief. As you might guess, the thief is right under his nose, and is also aided by Simone, Clouseau's lovely wife! David Niven is the smooth talking thief, and Robert Wagner plays his nephew, with his own shady history. They all seem to work together, yet none trusts the other. The movie is full of physical comedy, close calls and mistaken identities! The scene where Simone juggles Sellers, Niven, and Wagner in the hotel room and none of them ever know that the other two are also hidden in the room is pretty funny!

Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale) is the princess who owns the target jewel that Clouseau is trying to protect. I thought she really looked a lot like Catherine Zeta Jones! (see photos to the left)


This review is short and sweet: The Pink Panther is a funny, enjoyable movie, and Peter Sellers did a great job! Might be worth it to watch the rest of this series of movies!