Sep 7 2012
Stagecoach (1939) Genre: Western Grade: A I’d heard about this movie for years. But somehow I’d managed to miss seeing it until very recently. When I watched it, I finally understood what makes it great. This is the film that got John Ford back directing Westerns. It introduced Monument Valley’s gorgeous vistas to moviegoers. It(…)
Aug 31 2012
Le Doublure (The Valet) (2006) Genre: RomCom Grade: B I’ve enjoyed lots of Francis Veber’s movies (and laughed at the nod to “Le dîner de cons” that’s mentioned here) but this one has romance as well as comedy. It’s a charming French farce that is very approachable. The actors are enjoyable, the action keeps moving(…)
Aug 24 2012
The Lady Vanishes (1938) Genre: Romantic Suspense Grade: B “Traveling aboard a transcontinental train, young Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) becomes alarmed when an acquaintance, elderly governess Miss Froy (Dame Mae Whitty), suddenly vanishes. Inexplicably, all the other passengers deny having seen the woman. So Iris turns to her lone ally — handsome music scholar Gilbert(…)
Aug 17 2012
Little Manhattan (2005) Genre: Coming of Age Romance/Comedy Grade: B I’ll be honest and say I took a chance on this one. I didn’t recognize any of the actors or the director and frankly given the subject matter, it could have turned out to be a disaster. But “Little Manhattan” ended up sneaking under my(…)
Aug 10 2012
Geordie (1955) (aka Wee Geordie) Genre: sweet romance/athletics Grade: sentimental B “Come away wee Geordie!” Marianne McA mentioned this film in the comments on “I Know Where I’m Going” as one she fondly remembered. I checked into it then but at the time it was unavailable to me to watch and, frankly, I sort of(…)
Aug 3 2012
Personal Best (1982) Genre: Sports/romance Grade: C I remember almost nothing about this movie when it initially was released but I got it in my head to try and find some movies about the Olympics and discovered that there aren’t too many Summer Games ones that could fit the bill. So, crossing my fingers I(…)
Jul 27 2012
Walk, Don’t Run (1966) Genre: Romantic Comedy Grade: C+ My quest for Summer Olympic themed movies turned up three that I decided to review. There are lots of Winter Games but surprisingly few about the Summer ones. Oh, well. Honestly, were it not for the fact that I needed another to round out the Friday(…)
Jul 20 2012
The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) Genre: Medieval Swashbuckler Grade: B- The second Friday Film Review I did was of “Captain Blood” and in the comments Kathleen MacIver described this movie and asked if anyone could help her figure out the title. I knew immediately what she was talking about as I’d seen it a(…)
Jul 6 2012
On Approval (1982 TV production) Genre: Witty Comedy of Manners Grade: B+ “I suppose I should warn you, I lock my door at night.” “Not to worry, . . . only the snow will be wanting to get in.” “On Approval” is a late 1920s play written by Frederick Lonsdale which has twice been made(…)
Jun 29 2012
Bridesmaids (2011) Genre: Comedy/Romance Grade: B+ “You kind of stole all the crazy.” “I out-crazied you.” Okay, the fact that I reviewed “Bad Santa” last year should tell y’all I have no shame about watching and recommending gross-out movies. Still I hesitated on this one awhile before deciding to give it a shot. The critics’(…)
Jun 22 2012
The Wedding Banquet (1993) Genre: Romantic/GLBT/Comedy Grade: B This is one of Ang Lee’s earlier movies and he uses it to show a cross cultural match up of Taiwanese and American, GLBT and straight. It’s got humor, love of many kinds, a bit of pathos and a lot of understanding – even if not everybody(…)
Jun 15 2012
Father of the Bride (1950) Genre: Comedy Grade: B I’ll be up front and admit that I prefer the original of this to the remake. The 1991 version isn’t bad and I actually think that it was updated very nicely but the original is what I saw first years ago and it’s hard to beat(…)
Jun 8 2012
Caramel (2007) Genre: Dramedy Grade: B- When I was thinking of more “wedding” movies for this month, I remembered this quiet little film from Lebanon. Though there is a wedding here, it actually focuses more on the intertwining lives of five women. And while it might lack the depth that would have come from limiting(…)
Jun 1 2012
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Genre: Romantic Comedy Grade: B/B+ “The bride or groom?” [pause] “Bride or groom?” “It should be perfectly obvious that I’m neither. Great God!” I can’t count the number of times I’ve caught bits and pieces of this film on TV over the years but I honestly don’t think I’d(…)
May 25 2012
The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love (1995) Genre: YA GLBT Grade: C+ It’s hard to find good GLBT movies without some guidance as to what’s worth it and what’s dreck. As such, I often go with average ratings at sites like Netflix and IMDB. “2 Girls in Love” is a movie that(…)
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