Penny Serenade 1941

     This film is told in flashbacks.  Julie Gardiner Adams is going to divorce her husband Roger Adams.  She thinks there is nothing holding them together anymore.  She begins to play the recordings that they purchased in their time together.  They met in the music store where Julie worked.  All the songs remind her of their lives and what was happening at that time period.  There is the first record for their meeting,  a record for their courtship, marriage, desire for a child and the everyday ups and downs of life.     

     There are many joys and sorrows in life and there have been many times of happiness but also deep pain for Julie and Roger.  They are in a period of deep pain at this point and they don’t see a future or recovery.  The reminders of right now are tearing them apart and they don’t have any answers or know how to move forward.  The music is very enjoyable and I liked the time period.  There are struggles with money and jobs but family life is very stabilizing.  Little events have importance and families did a lot together.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

     

119 min, Drama directed by George Stevens with Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Beulah Bondi, Edgar Buchanan, Ann Doran, Eva Lee Kuney, Leonard Willey, Wallis Clark, Walter Soderling.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 93% critic 75% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 327 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 3.5* out of 4* average user rating 4* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Beulah Bondi has been in many films.  She started acting in 1931 at the age of 50 and she passed away at the age of 91 in Woodland Hills, CA on January 11, 1981.  She was born May 3, 1889 in Chicago, Illinois.  Her last role was at the age of 87 as Aunt Martha in the TV series, The Waltons from 1974-1976.  Irene Dunne said this was her favorite film.  She also wrote to a fan that Love Affair of 1939 was also a favorite.  Grant and Dunne starred together in The Awful Truth of 1937 and My Favorite Wife of 1940.  They played a married couple in this film plus the other earlier films.  The original copyright holder didn’t renew and this film fell into public domain.  Many versions are second or third generation copies with bad editing or of extremely poor quality.  Cary Grant wasn’t a parent in real life until the age of 62 in 1966.  Grant was nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Actor, this film plus None But the Lonely Heart of 1944.

Suzy 1936

     This film is based on a novel written by Herbert Gorman.  The setting is just prior to and during WWI in 1914.  Suzy Trent is from America and she meets Terry Moore in London.  She’s trying to be an actress but she’s not a name in London so she’s having a difficult time with jobs.  She doesn’t mind being a chorus girl but she doesn’t like the extra attention that sometimes comes with the job.  She is thinking about going back to American but Terry asks her to marry him.  He’s working on an airplane stabilizer and they go to the factory where he works.  There is something shady going on and the owner comes into the factory with two other people.  Suzy leaves for Paris, she finds a job and she meets Andre Charville.  He’s a famous French flying ace and they get married. 

     Suzy jokes that she needs a rich husband to support her but she really does.  After her marriage to Andre, Suzy lives in Paris with Andre’s elderly father.  She becomes protective of Andre's father and she takes care of him.  She makes up letters from Andre that he didn't write because he hasn't been writing.  There are plot twists up until the end.  I think it's interesting that the makeup of the women in this time period features very thin drawn on eyebrows?  I think they are unattractive?  3* (This movie is OK)

93 min, Drama directed by George Fitzmaurice with Jean Harlow, Franchot Tone, Cary Grant, Lewis Stone, Benita hume, Reginald Mason, Inez Courtney, Greta Meyer, David Clyde Christian Rub, George Spelvin.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 66% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 6 reviews, Leonard Maltin 2* out of 4*, 4.56* out of 5* average user rating, Three Movie Buffs average 2* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Herbert Gorman was paid $15,000 for the rights to the novel.  In 2017 money, that would be $266,000.  The flying scenes were outtakes from Hell’s Angels of 1930 filmed by Howard Hughes.  Howard Hughes was injured when he crashed and three of the WWI ace pilots were killed.  Hughes leased the flying footage to other studios to offset the tremendous cost of filming.  The horserace is supposed to be the Epsom Derby of 1914 but the newsreel footage is of the Derby of 1934.  The clothing used for the women is not of 1910 but is from the mid-1930’s.

Life 2017

     An unmanned Pilgrim 7 space probe has returned from Mars to the International Space Station.  The probe sustained severe damage during passage through an asteroid field.  The probe contains an intact soil sample from Mars that may contain the first evidence of life beyond the Earth.  There is a six-member crew on the space station and the exobiologist Hugh Derry begins to revive the dormant sample.  The sample quickly grows into a multi-celled organism.  There is an atmospheric accident in the lab and Hugh is worried that the sample has been damaged.  He revives the sample with mild electric shocks.  This action causes the organism to attack Hugh’s hand.  Events begin to spiral out of control after this attack.

     Alien of 1979 inspired this film.  Scientists are always so wide-eyed and there is never any danger from the unknown!!  The creatures are always innocent, all organisms from any other planet must be just as nice as we are and all the other Earth creatures??  I was reminded of the events in Alien when I was watching this film.  I think a list was followed of everything not to do with a specimen and everything not to do on a space station?   In the beginning, the sample looks like pink bubble gum!!  Probably, even bubble gum would attack after electrical shock treatment!!  3* (This movie is OK)       

104 min, Sci-Fi directed by Daniel Espinosa with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Olga Dykhovichnaya, Ariyon Bakare.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 67% critic 55% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 3.3* out of 4* with 869 reviews, Metacritic 54 out of 100 with 44 critics 6.2 out of 10 with 372 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Halong Bay, Vietnam.  This film grossed $100.5 million with a production budget of $58 million plus advertising expenses.  Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were the writers of Deadpool of 2016 and it also starred Ryan Reynolds.  Originally, Reynolds intended to play larger role as a main character but The Hitman’s Bodyguard of 2017 forced him to take a supporting part instead.  Rebecca Ferguson was nervous about acting in her role as Miranda but after talking to the director, she changed her mind.  Some footage was reused from Spider-Man 3 of 2007.  Ariyon Bakare’s character Hugh Derry is paralyzed from the waist down.  He doesn’t need a wheelchair in the weightlessness of the space station.  The single-cell organism is named Calvin after a naming contest is held among school children on Earth.

Field of Dreams 1989

     This film is based on a book titled Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella.  Ray, Annie and their daughter Karin Kinsella live on a farm in Iowa.  Ray is out in the cornfield and he hears a voice tell him, “If you build it, he will come.”  Annie and Karin don’t hear the voice and Ray doesn’t know what he’s supposed to build and who will come?  Then, the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and seven other Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series Game show up in the field.  Ray, Annie and Karin can see the players but other people can’t?  Ray plows down part of the cornfield to build a baseball field.  Annie tells Ray that they are in danger of losing the farm because they can’t pay the mortgage.  Ray’s brother-in-law Mark offers to buy the farm but Ray won’t listen to his offer.  Mark thinks Ray is crazy!!

     I was a little bit out in 'left field' with this movie because I didn’t know the baseball players or their history!!  I probably would be one of the people who could not hear or see the baseball players or understand the reason for the field.  If I owned this farm, I would worry every day about the mortgage!!  3* (This movie is OK) 

107 min, Drama directed by Phil Alden Robinson with Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan Gaby Hoffmann, Timothy Busfield, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Frank Whaley, Dwier Brown, James Andelin, Mary Anne Kean, Fern Persons, Kelly Coffield Park.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 86% critic 86% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 1084 reviews, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 18 critics 8.7 out of 10 with 118 reviews. 

Special Note:  Filmed in Dyersville, Farley and Dubuque, Iowa; Boston, Massachusetts; Galena, Illinois.  The title was originally Shoeless but test audiences thought it sounded like a movie about a bum or hobo?  Kinsella’s original book title was Dream Field.  The baseball diamond was built on an actual farm in Dyersville, Iowa.  The family kept the field and added a small hut where you could by inexpensive souvenirs.  As of 2012, visitors were free to come to the field and play baseball.  Burt Lancaster didn’t know Timothy Busfield was part of the cast.  Burt had Timothy fetching water and chairs before he realized they were in a scene together.  Lancaster was 74 at the time of filming and this is his last movie role.  Joe Jackson said that no one liked Ty Cobb when he was alive.  In real-life the players were close friends.  Cobb used to buy bourbon at Jackson’s liquor store in South Carolina.  Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were unknown at the time of filming and they are among the thousands of extras in the Fenway Park scene.  Thousands of pallets of green grass were brought in to make the field but because of haste in planting, all the grass died.  The production crew painted the grass green for filming.

Cat's Eye 1985

     This movie is divided into three separate stories and the same gray striped tabby cat is in each story.  At Quitters, Inc., experimental techniques are used to get people to stop smoking.  At the first session, the patient sees a cat jumping around in a separate room on a steel mesh floor with electric shocks.  If the patient doesn’t keep to the program and not smoke, the patient’s wife will be put in that room.  Her bare feet will get the electrical zap. With a second slip in smoking, the man’s daughter will be put into this room.  In The Ledge, a shady Atlantic City millionaire forces tennis pro Johnny Norris to walk a narrow ledge around the outside of his high-rise penthouse apartment.  For The General, the cat is in Wilmington, North Carolina and living with a young girl named Amanda.  A tiny, evil troll gremlin comes out of the baseboard at night and tries to take away her breath.  Her parents don't believe this is happening?

     The basic human fears of pain inflicted on loved ones, fear of heights and the tall tale about cats stealing the breath from sleeping children are the basis of these stories.  Special effects are added to bring up the fear level.  I was surprised that the loved one of the smoker is punished and not the smoker?  I would not walk around the building on the ledge!!  I've heard about cats and babies but not about trolls?  A lot of this seems funny now!!  3* (This movie is OK) 

94 min, Thriller directed by Lewis Teague with Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Kenneth McMillan, Robert Hays, Candy Clark, James Naughton, Tony Munafo, Court Miller, Russell Horton, Patricia Benson.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, 69% critic 49% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 205 reviews, Metacritic 70 out of 100 with 12 critics.

Special Note:  Filmed in Atlantic City, New Jersey; New York City, New York; Wilmington, North Carolina.  Originally, there was a prologue that explained the cat’s motivations in each of the three stories.  It was cut because it was considered “too silly?”  The cat is almost run over by the red Plymouth Fury Christine from the film of 1983.  A St. Bernard like Cujo of the 1983 film chases the cat.  Amanda’s mother is reading the Stephen King book Pet Sematary.  Previously in 1984, Drew Barrymore was in the film Firestarter.  Stephen King wrote this script with her in mind for the role of Amanda.  She was 10 years old in this film and 9 years old in Firestarter.

We Don't Belong Here 2017

     Nancy Green is the mother of Lily, Maxwell, Elisa and Madeline Green.  Nancy begins to unravel when her son Maxwell goes missing.  The three daughters come together to offer support for Nancy.  Lily is the youngest and she’s in therapy for bipolar disorder.  Elisa is the next oldest daughter and she’s estranged from Nancy.  Madeline is the eldest and she feels like she needs to take care of the family.

     There are times in this film when I didn’t know what was real and what was fantasy.  I didn’t understand what was happening a LOT of times??  There are some instances of time travel thrown into the mix??  At the end, I wasn’t sure what any of this was about??  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

92 min, Drama directed by Peer Pedersen with Catherine Keener, Anton Yelchin, Kaitlyn Dever, Riley Keough, Annie Starke, Molly Shannon, Justin Chatwin, Austin Abrams, Debra Mooney, Maya Rudolph, Cary Elwes.

Note:  Imdb 4.9 out of 10, 29% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 2.9* out of 5* with 12 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Westwood, Massachusetts.  This film was released April 4, 2017.  Anton Yelchin passed away June 19, 2016 at the age of 27.  His Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled back and pinned him to a brick pillar outside his home in Studio City, California.  This was a model under a recall notice for transmission errors leading to unintended rolling.  Recall repairs by the dealers had not started yet.  The director Peer Pedersen said he has had the same struggles as Maxwell.

Black Narcissis 1947

     This film is based on a novel by Rumer Godden published in 1939.  There is an Anglican convent of sisters in the city of Calcutta, India.  Sister Clodagh has been appointed to take the position of Sister Superior of the new St. Faith convent.  She will be the youngest sister superior in the Order.  The Reverend Mother believes Sister Clodagh is not ready for this assignment.  The Convent will be in a very isolated area located in a mountainside palace.  It is the remote Palace of Mopu near Darjeeling in the Himalayas.  General Todo Rai of Mopu was known as the Old General and he formerly kept his concubines at the Palace.  His son, the Young General is donating the Palace to the Order.  There will be a medical dispensary and schooling will be provided for children and young women.  Medical care will be offered to all the native residents living below the Palace in the valley.

     Sisters moving to the new location have been chosen because of their character assets.  Possession of strength, gardening abilities, able to project happiness and an increase of faith needed.  The one item not taken into consideration by the Reverend Mother is the atmosphere of the Palace.  The very high location, constant wind, the mountain air and isolation cause unusual mental distress in the Sisters.  They must also be very careful with how they interact with the natives.  They are prone to superstitions and emotional behavior.  This is a very different movie with beautiful scenery but also with conflict and tension.  It was surprising how beautiful Deborah Kerr is in her habit with very subdued makeup   3 ½* (I liked this movie)

100 min, Drama directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger with Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Jenny Laird, Judith Furse, Kathleen Byron, Esmond Knight, Sabu, Jean Simmons, May Hallatt.

Note:  Imdb 8.0 out of 10, 100% critic 89% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 162 reviews, Slant Magazine 4* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed in County Galway, Ireland, West Sussex and Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, England, UK.  Surprisingly, backdrops were blown-up black and white photographs.  The breathtaking colors were from pastel chalks applied as a layer on top.  The works of 17th-century Dutch painter Vermeer inspired the color palette.  The Himalayan scenery was all created in the studio with glass shots and hanging miniatures?  The cast thought they would have a location shoot in Asia?  The title of comes from a British perfume used by the character the Young General.  A flower also has the same name after a youth in Greek mythology that died of because of his vanity.  The intricate embroidery being done by Sister Clodagh depicts St. Francis of Assisi.  Oscars were won for Best Cinematography and Best Art-Set Decoration.

Room at the top 1959

     The setting of this film is 1947 in Yorkshire, England.  Joe Lampton was taken prisoner in WWII.  He’s from an English factory town of Dufton but he’s started a new job with a future in Warnley.  He has a secure but poorly paid post in the Borough Treasurer’s Department.  Joe is interested in Susan Brown and she’s the daughter of the local industrial magnate in town.  Mr. and Mrs. Brown are not keen on Joe’s social climbing with their daughter.  They send Susan abroad to ‘rescue’ her from Joe.  While Susan is away, Joe starts to see Alice Aisgill.  She’s married but her husband treats her horridly.  Alice asks her husband for a divorce but he says he will never let Alice go.  He will ruin them both socially and financially.  Now, Joe has a choice, Alice or Susan?

     Joe pushes and pushes for what he thinks he wants but is it really what he wants?  He just knows he never wants to be poor or work in Dufton again.  Class is very important and your perceived class is the basis for your treatment.  With your mates, you’re OK but don’t try to mix with those above your station!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

117 min, Drama directed by Jack Clayton with Simone Signoret, Laurence Harvey, Heather Sears, Donald Wolfit, Donald Houston, Hermione Baddeley, Allan Cuthbertson, Raymond Huntley, John Westbrook, Ambrosine Phillpotts, Delena Kidd.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 35 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 4* out of 4* average user rating 4.26* out of 5*, letterboxd 7.2* out of 10* with 459 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in West Yorkshire and Surrey, England, UK.  Hermione Baddeley in the role of Elspeth, Alice's friend, was nominated for an Oscar.  Her performance is the shortest for an award at 2 minutes and 19 seconds.  There is a LOT of cigarette smoking and both Harvey and Signoret died from smoking-related cancers.  Claudette Colbert was the first French actress to win an Academy Award in 1934 and Simone Signoret was the second.  An Oscar was also won for Best Writing.  Signoret was 37 years old at filming, Heather Sears was 24 years old and Harvey was 30 years old. 

Bonjour Tristesse 1958

     This film is based on a novel by Francoise Sagan.  Cecile lives with her wealthy father Raymond.  Ceclie is having a lot of fun at the seaside and she’s met Philippe.  He's studying to be a lawyer and is on summer break.  An old friend of Raymond, Anne Larson comes to visit them.  Raymond decides to ask Anne to marry him.  Cecile is all for it in the beginning.  After the announcement, Anne begins to pressure Cecile to study for exams and to stop seeing Philippe.  Cecile doesn’t want to do either of these things.  She failed her exams and she doesn't care??

     The scenery of the Riviera is very beautiful.  The plot is slightly weak and it’s been done with different nuances many times.  I liked the cars, attitudes, clothing and hairstyles of this period.  There is a LOT of drama about everything!!  Wealth may be a necessity in this area??  3* (This movie is OK)

94 min, Drama directed by Otto Preminger with Jean Seberg, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Mylene Demongeot, Geoffrey Horne, Juliette Greco, Walter Chiari, Martita Hunt, Roland Culver, Jean Kent, David Oxley, Eveline Eyfel.

Note:  Imdb 7.0 out of 10, 86% critic 69% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.7* out of 5* with 62 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Cote d’Azur, Saint-Tropez, France; Surrey, England.  Otto Preminger liked this film but he felt American critics did not do it justice.  Americans felt it wasn’t French enough but it was a success in France.  Eveline Eyfel plays three roles as a maid, sisters Albertine, Leontine and Caludine.  Scenes in Paris are in black and white and the scenes on the French Riviera are in color.  David Niven was 48 years old, Deborah Kerr was 37 years old, Jean Seberg was 20 years old and Geoffrey Horne was 25 years old at filming.

The Last Word 2017

     Harriet Lauler wants to control everything about her life and everyone in her life.  She starts to feel burned out and she tries to kill herself.  She didn’t take enough pills or drink enough wine and she lives.  She starts to think about her obituary and what it would say.  She reads one about a woman she knows and none of what was said is true.  Harriet would like to have control over what is said in her obituary before she dies.  She talks to Anne Sherman, the obituary writer for the local newspaper.

     Shirley MacLaine definitely has not had plastic surgery or a face lift and she is 83 years old.  She would control the weather every day if she could?  People who know her should cross the street when they see her headed their way.  She hasn’t given up bothering her former husband and they have been divorced 22 years.  She hasn’t seen or spoken to her daughter (her only child) for many years.  Amada Seyfried must be living in the past (maybe 1988) and that’s how she can devote herself to obituaries?  She dresses like 1988 and her Volvo station wagon may be older?  3* (This movie is OK) 

108 min, Comedy directed by Mark Pellington with Shirley MacLaine, Amanda Seyfried, AnnJewel Lee Dixon, Thomas Sadoski, Philip Baker Hall, Gedde Watanabe, Tom Everett Scott, Joel Murray, Yvette Freeman.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 37% critic 67% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 699 reviews, Metacritic 40 out of 100 with 23 critics 7.4 out of 10 with 7 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Pasadena, Santa Clarita and Los Angeles, California.  Warren Beatty is MacLaine’s brother, 3 years younger.  Veteran British actress Millicent Martin has a quick cameo as Margaret Dumont.  Martin and MacLaine appeared together in What a Way to Go of 1964.  There is a mistake with KOXA the local radio station.  The frequency number is 107.2 FM but in the US FM stations have odd frequencies.  It would need to be 107.1 or 107.3.  The neighborhood is supposed to be Bristol but there isn’t a neighborhood or suburb in LA with this name.  Andalusia is mentioned and it’s an autonomous region in southern Spain with eight provinces.  There is another film with the same title from 2009.

Trouble Makers 1948

      Bowery Boys Terrance Aloysius ‘Slip’ Mahoney and Horace Debussy ‘Sach’ Jones are hawking being able to look through a large telescope on the sidewalk.  They see a murder committed in a room at the El Royale Hotel and it’s several blocks away.  Slip and Sach and their Police Officer friend Gabe Moreno search the murder room and they don’t find any evidence of a murder.  They learn “Silky” Thomas occupies the room.  Gabe receives a reprimand from Police Captain Madison for leaving his beat.  Later, in the newspaper there is an article about the murder of Professor Prescott.  Slip and Sach go to the morgue to make sure this is the same murder victim.  They meet the professor’s daughter, Ann Prescott.  They promise to find her father’s killers.  Because of Ann, Slip and Sach get jobs as bellhops at the hotel to further investigate.

     This is the first film I've watched with the Bowery Boys and I had never heard of them before?  Almost everyone has a nickname in this film.  Slip is always mixing up his words on purpose especially if they are long words.  For example, instead of saying it was his imagination, he will say imaginatation?  Everyone is standing up straight in a lineup for inspection of the bellhops for uniforms and posture.  Slip is the only one not standing straight but he has his shoulders sagging forward and it looks like his uniform is too big?  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

66 min, Comedy directed by Reginald Le Borg with Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Frankie Darro, Lionel Stander, John Ridgely, Helen Parrish, Fritz Feld, William Benedict, David Gorcey, Cliff Clark.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, TV Guide 2* out of 4*, TCM Leonard Maltin 2* out of 4* average user rating 3.3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  This is the 12^th movie in a series of 48 Bowery Boys movies.  There is a mistake when the vice squad raids a supposed Flower Shop.  A bunch of suspects file out into a paddy wagon.  The open door reveal there’s no roof inside because the whole block is a false-front movie set.

The Southerner 1945

   This film is based on the novel, Hold Autumn in Your Hand by George Sessions Perry and published in 1941.  Sam Tucker has been working as a migrant picker on a cotton field in Texas in the early 1940’s.  His uncle Pete passes away in the field.  He’s just worn out.  Pete tells Sam to plant a field for himself and work for himself.  There is a nearby field that has not grown cotton in several years.  Sam arranges to rent the land and he moves his family to the house on the property.  Sam’s family is Nona his wife, Granny, daughter Daisy and son Jot.  They all wonder about the dry well and the decaying shack.  Sam visits Henry Devers the nearest neighbor and learns Henry is probably the worst neighbor in the world!!  The family lives on game that Sam is able shoot.  Jot becomes sick with Spring Sickness and the doctor says he needs vegetables, fruit and milk to survive.  Sam doesn't know how he's going to afford any of this food?

     Sam and Nona are working as hard as they can but they have limited resources.  Neighbor Devers is worse than having no neighbor.  The only luck the family seems to have is bad luck!!  There aren’t any luxuries here and just barely the necessities.  At least they are a happy family, not sour and mean like Devers.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

93 min, Drama directed by Jean Renoir with Zachary Scott, Betty Field, J. Carrol Naish, Beulah Bondi, Percy Kilbride, Charles Kemper, Blance Yurka, Norman Lloyd, Estelle Taylor, Paul Harvey, Noreen Nash, Jack Norworth, Nestor Paiva, Jay Gilpin.

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10, 91% critic 78% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 45 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 4* out of 4* 3.5 average user review.

Special Note:  Oscars were won for Best Director, Original Music Score and Best Sound Mixing.  The National Board of Review named Jean Renoir Best Director.  The film was the third best film of 1945.  Jot has Spring Sickness and it’s really Pellagra caused by lack of vitamin B3, niacin and the amino acid tryptophan.  He has inflamed skin, dementia and sores in his mouth.  Areas of skin exposed to the sun or rubbed by cloth are affected. 

Fifty Shades Darker 2017

     This film is based on the second book in a series by E. L. James.  Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey had broken off their relationship and Ana’s mother is wondering why?  Ana and Christian meet again and they decide to begin again with the relationship but with differences.  They will not have any rules or any punishments.  Ana and Christian are drawing closer to each other but women from Christian’s past begin to cause them to struggle.

      It was inevitable that this book series would be filmed since the books were so popular!!  This second film seems to be more of a soap opera than the first film Fifty Shades of Grey of 2015.  It may be because more members of Christian’s family are included and there is more about the women in his past?  I think there is a very real possibility that if Christian had boring desk job with little influence and he made little money, he would not be so attractive to everyone???  Money and loads of it adds a lot of appeal!!  Ana is not as stern or as serious as Christian and she doesn’t care about his money, she’d rather give it away!!  3* (This movie is OK)    

  

118 min, Drama directed by James Foley with Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson, Elosie Mumford, Bella Heathcote, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Max Martini, Bruce Altman, Kim Basinger, Marcia Gay Harden, Andrew Arlie, Robinne Lee, Amy Price-Francis.

Note:  Imdb 4.6 out of 10, 10% critic 49% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 802 reviews, Rolling Stone 1.5* out of 4* review by Peter Travers, 33 out of 100 with 39 critics 3* out of 10* with 196 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  Melanie Griffith is Dakota Johnson’s mother and in the film Working Girl of 1988, Melanie says a line that Ana also says to her assistant.  “I expect you to call me Ana, I don’t expect you to fetch me coffee unless you’re getting some for yourself, and um, the rest we’ll just make up as we go along.”  Johnson and Dornan had a private conversation before some of their scenes.  Johnson would also have a glass of whiskey and Dornan would do push-ups.  Dornan worked out more and packed on more muscle for this film than the first film.  He wasn’t happy with his physique in the first film but he was cast 5 weeks before filming.  Fifty Shades Freed will be released in 2018.  The screenwriter is Niall Leonard and he is the husband of the author E. L. James.

Home from the Hill 1960

     This film is based on a novel with the same title by William Humphrey and the setting is Clarksville, Texas.  Captain Wade Hunnicutt is the wealthiest and most powerful citizen in this East Texas town.  He’s married to Hannah and they have a teen son Theron.  It’s well known to everyone that Wade’s other son is Rafe Copley.  Hannah has raised Theron and he doesn’t know much about being a man.  In high school, Wade tells Hannah that he is going to take over the  education of Theron and teach him how to hunt.  Rafe works for Wade and he’s given the job to work with Theron. Rafe knows they are brothers but Theron hasn’t learned this yet.  Theron's new freedom and lifestyle leads to him finding out information about his family that he wasn’t aware of before.

     Wade is very bold, Hannah is exactly the opposite and she’s very restrained.  Wade believes since he’s the man of the house, he can do anything with his life that he wants.  Wade has never acknowledged Rafe as his son because he believes he can claim who is his own and who is not.  Hannah has been hurt many times by his behavior and she wants nothing to do with Wade.  She is only staying in the home because of Theron.  The scenes of the countryside and the town are beautiful.  The Hunnicutt’s live in a very lovely house with beautiful hunting dogs but it was and becomes emptier inside.  I didn’t see the twists coming in the ending.  4* (I really liked this movie)

150 min, Drama directed by Vincente Minnelli with Robert Mitchum, Eleanor Parker, George Peppard, George Hamilton, Everett Sloane, Luana Patten, Anne Seymour, Constance Ford, Ken Renard, Ray Teal.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 100% critic 93% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 175 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4* 4.79 average user rating,

Special Note:  Filmed in Oxford and Greenwood, Mississippi; Clarksville, Paris and Dallas, Texas.  A lot of scenes were filmed near the University of Mississippi campus.  William Faulkner was a writer-in-residence at the university.  He would climb up a tree and stay there for several hours to watch the filming.  Originally, Bette Davis and Clark Gable were suggested as stars.  Eleanor Parker was unhappy when she learned that Robert Mitchum was getting $200,000 plus a percentage of the gross.  She was getting only a flat $75,000 and no percentage.  The premier was at Radio City Music Hall and this film was the American entry at Cannes.  The budget was $1,818,688 and gross was $2,184,558 plus $1 million more in foreign rentals.  MGM recorded a loss of $122,000 ($1.02M in 2017)?  Robert Mitchem is the father of George Peppard in the film but he was only 11 years older than Peppard.  The title is from the last line of Robert Louis Stevenson’s short poem Hamilton.  Vincente Minnelli directed 40 films between 1942 and 1976.

Kong: Skull Island 2017

    During WWII in 1944, two fighter pilots, an American and a Japanese pilot parachute onto an island in the South Pacific.  There was a dogfight in close combat but a very large ape became involved with the battle.  Bill Randa was the American pilot and twenty-nine years later in 1973, he hires former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad to guide an expedition to map out Skull Island.  They have a military escort by the Sky Devils, a former Vietnam War helicopter squadron.  As soon as they reach the island, they drop explosives developed by a seismologist to begin their mapping.  Conrad believes the earth is hollow and filled with beasts predating the dinosaurs.  Right away, they encounter the same large ape from 1944.

     The scenery is very beautiful and I knew it was filmed in Vietnam when the rock formations in the water were shown.  There is not much of a story, a LOT of repetitive fighting with monsters, repetitive fighting by Kong and a LOT of CGI.  There is also a tribe of mute people who worship Kong as a protector-god.  I’m not sure how all these name actors were talked into appearing in this film.  Maybe there was a big paycheck waiting??  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)    

118 min, Action directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Thomas Mann.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 76% critic 70% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 1184 reviews, Metacritic 62 out of 100 with 49 critics 6.7 out of 10 with 39 reviews,

Special Note:  Filmed in Quang Ninh, Vietnam; Queensland Australia; Oahu, Hawaii and Los Angles, California.  Sets were built at Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii near the same filming locations as Jurassic World of 2015.  The actors didn’t know how big Kong would be until after production.  They asked but every time they were given conflicting answers.  The actual height was 104 feet (31.6992 meters) and the biggest of the American versions.  Michael Keaton was originally cast in the role played by John C. Reilly.  J.K. Simmons was cast in the role played by Samuel L. Jackson.  At the premiere in Vietnam, there was a 16-foot tall display model of Kong.  It became engulfed in flames caused by models of small volcanoes surrounding the statue.  The two-armed lizards are called Skullcrawlers and they were modeled after lizards from King Kong of 1933.  The original screenplay was set in 1917 but it was changed to the Vietnam War era like Apocalypse Now of 1979.  Total gross worldwide was $566.7 million, budget was $185 million and $136 million for marketing, $450-500 million profit needed to break even.

The Children's Hour 1961

     This film is based on a stage play written by Lillian Hellman and partly based on an actual case in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1810.  Karen Wright and Martha Dobie are the owners of a boarding school, Wright and Dobie School for Girls.  Karen and Martha have known each other since college.  They have twenty students and they are finally out of the red and have $90 in the black.  Karen is engaged to Dr. Joe Cardin and they have finally set a date for their wedding.  Karen would like to have a baby after 12 months.  Karen and Martha are having a problem with Martha’s aunt Mrs. Lily Mortar.  She lives at the school and helps with the students.  They are also having a problem with Mary Tilford.  She is one of the students and she’s very impressionable.  She tells lies, she makes up pains and illnesses.  Mary lives with her wealthy aunt Mrs. Amelia Tilford and Mary's cousin is Dr. Joe Cardin.  One, day on the way home from school, Mary starts to tell her aunt some stories. 

     This is a very complex and deep movie.  When a story is told, it begins to grow and take on a life of it’s own.  It’s told to one person and it continues on until every parent of a child in the school knows about it, everyone in the town and everyone reading newspapers will know about it.  Of course, it must be true!!  How could it have grown so big and spread so far if it was a lie?  4* (I really liked this movie) 

      

108 min, Drama directed by William Wyler with Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins, Fay Bainter, Karen Balkin, Veronica Cartwright, Mimi Gibson, William Mims, Sally Brophy, Hope Summers.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 86% critic 84% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 220 reviews,

Special Note:  Filmed at Shadow Ranch, Vanowen Street, West Hills, Los Angeles, California. William Wyler had some of the scenes cut because he wanted the seal of approval from the Motion Picture Production Code.  Mary is secretly reading a book and it is Mademoiselle de Maupin by Theophile Gautier published in 1835.  It’s about a woman who sometimes dresses as a man and at other times she dresses as a woman.  She has both men and women fall in love with her.  The Children's Hour title is from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The Broadway production of the play opened November 20, 1934 and ran for 691 performances.  This film was re-titled The Loudest Whisper for the UK release to avoid confusion with the popular BBC program Children’s Hour on both radio and TV.

Between Two Women 1937

     A man is trapped in an explosion on the job.  Allen Meighan is a hospital intern and he becomes a resident at General Hospital after he amputates the man’s arm.  There was no way to save the arm because it was trapped under a collapsed steel beam.  Clair Donahue also works at the hospital and she’s married to an abusive alcoholic husband.  Patricia Sloan is admitted to the hospital with a burst appendix and she has peritonitis.  Dr. Meighan and Nurse Donahue take care of her.  She will need to stay in the hospital several days because of the possibility of infection.  Nurse Donahue needles Dr. Meighan about Patricia and that leads to Patricia asking Dr. Meighan to marry her.  They do marry but there are complications because Patricia likes to attend parties and Dr. Meighan has a lot of on-call evenings. 

      I didn’t think hospital soap operas were filmed in 1937?  The first American hospital TV series was City Hospital starting in 1951 and ending in 1953.  There are newer releases like Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs, Nurse Jackie, The Night Shift, St. Elsewhere, Code Black, Chicago Hope, M*A*S*H, Nip/Tuck, Chicago Med, Casualty and Private Practice.  This film has all the requirements, emergencies, disasters, complications, doctors arguing with each other, doctors and nurses in love plus hospital gossip.  3* (This movie is OK)

88 min, Drama directed by George B. Seitz with Franchot Tone, Maureen O’Sullivan, Virginia Bruce, Leonard Penn, Cliff Edwards, Janet Beecher, Charley Grapewin, Helen Troy, Grace Ford, June Clayworth, Edward Norris.

Note:  6.2 out of 10, TCM Leonard Maltin 2* out of 4*, 5* user ratings, Letterboxd average 2.5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  There are three other movies with the same title filmed in 1945, 1986 and 2004.  Filmed at MGM Studios in Culver City, California. 

The Misfits 1961

     This film is based on a short story written by Arthur Miller.  Roslyn Taber has been renting a room from Isabelle Steers.  They’ve become friends and Isabelle is going with Roslyn when she goes to the courthouse to obtain a divorce.  Roslyn is nervous but Isabelle has been a witness many times before.  The women meet Guido and Gay Langland.  Guido is a mechanic, his wife died and he came to fix Roslyn’s car plus he gave them a ride to the courthouse.  Gay is a divorced aging cowboy friend of Guido.  Guido takes everyone out to his unfinished house in the desert of Reno, Nevada.  Gay and Roslyn decide to live there.  Later they all run into Perce Howland and he’s headed to the rodeo.  Gay and Guido know Perce and they all go to the rodeo together.  Later, they go out into the desert to look for wild horses.  

     Roslyn is very beautiful and she can't take it if any people or animals are hurt.  She doesn't want Gay to kill a rabbit that's eating the lettuce Gay planted.  She has a very difficult time when the men round up the wild horses.  She didn't know for a while what was going to happen to the horses after they were sold.  She thought people would train them and ride them?   3 ½* (I liked this movie)

125 min, Drama directed by John Huston with Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter, Eli Wallach, James Barton, Kevin McCarthy, Estelle Winwood.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 100% critic 78% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 202 reviews, TCM average rating 4.23 out of 5, The Guardian 4* out of 5* review by Peter Bradshaw, 3* out of 5* review by Mark Kermode.

Special Note:  Filmed in Pyramid Lake, Dayton, Stagecoach, Reno, Nevada and Los Angeles, California.  At the end of filming, Clark Gable said Marilyn Monroe almost gave him a heart attack.  The next day, he did have a real heart attack and he died ten days later at the age of 59.  Gable smoked four packs of cigarettes a day for thirty years.  Marilyn Monroe died 1 1/2 years later.  A doctor was on call 24 hours a day for Monroe and Clift because both had health problems from alcohol and medical stimulants.  Production was shut down for two weeks when Monroe went to the hospital to detox.  Thelma Ritter was hospitalized the last day of shooting for exhaustion.  Monroe, Clift and Eli Wallach all practiced method acting and Gable thought this was like an alien religion?  Miller wrote the story while he was waiting for his own divorce in Reno prior to marrying Monroe in 1956.  Monroe and Miller became estranged and later divorced after making this film.  The temperatures in Nevada were over 100 degrees during production.