Aug 27 2010
(National Lampoon’s) Vacation (1983) Genre: Spoof/Dark Comedy Grade: B Back in 1983, a friend and I had nothing better to do one Saturday than catch some movies. We chose “Krull” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” You can see which movie I’ve chosen to review. [nggallery id=102] When Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) decides to take his(…)
Aug 20 2010
Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) Genre: Silent Swashbuckler/Romance Grade: B- Based on yet another Rafael Sabatini novel, “Bardelys the Magnificent” must have wowed audiences of 1926 with its dashing star John Gilbert wooing lovely Eleanor Boardman before escaping death at the hands of the evil villain. Long thought lost except for a few key scenes, an(…)
Aug 13 2010
Raising Arizona (1987) Genre: I can’t categorize this one. Comedy, drama, screwball? Grade: A My initial exposure to “Raising Arizona” was in the theater when it was first released. A friend talked me into going to it and thus I had no clue what I was getting myself into. At various parts of the movie,(…)
Aug 6 2010
The Spanish Main (1945) Genre: Pirate romance Grade: B- After my review of “Captain Blood,” I began looking back into my pirate movie collection for another one to write about. Here’s a lesser known swashbuckler from the golden days of pirate movies complete with a Dutch pirate hero and a woman pirate! Dutch Captain Laurent(…)
Jul 30 2010
Last of the Mohicans (1992) Genre: gritty historical/war/romance Grade: B+ I’ll be the first to admit that I love this movie because of the plethora of good looking men. You know I’m shallow, I’ve admitted it more times than I can remember. Go ahead and say it with me, “Jayne is shallow and likes to(…)
Jul 23 2010
Wo de fu qin mu qin (The Road Home) (1999) Genre: Drama/Romance Grade: B Ever since I first rented “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “House of Flying Daggers” among others, Netflix has been pushing this one at me. I’d always resisted because frankly it didn’t sound that interesting. Finally I threw up my hands and(…)
Jul 16 2010
While You Were Sleeping (1995) Genre: romantic comedy Grade: A The first time I saw this film was with a dear friend of mine who told me I’d love it. Me, I was skeptical since I wasn’t really into romantic comedies then but by the end of the movie, I was in love with it.(…)
Jul 9 2010
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Genre: Hollywood romantic musical Grade: B Yes, this one is dated and seems terribly sexist but how can you go wrong with two BFFs who do some fab Parisian shopping then find love. And while at first it looks like nothing else except tight tops and tighter skirts, if you listen(…)
Jul 2 2010
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) Genre: Comedy, Action, Crime, Romance Grade: B “What we have here is a complete lack of respect for the law.” Sheriff Buford T. Justice I’m going to date myself by admitting that the first time I saw this movie was during its initial release in theaters. Some school friends and(…)
Jun 25 2010
Baran (2001) Genre: coming of age drama Grade: B+ Baran is another foreign film that Netflix kept pushing at me relentlessly until I finally put it in my queue. Honestly, I thought at times they were going to send me an email saying, “Listen, we know you’ll like it so we’ve gone ahead and put(…)
Jun 18 2010
Bend it Like Beckham (2003) Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance/Sport Grade: A- Jess: Anyone can cook aloo gobi, but who can bend a ball like Beckham? What better time to post this review then during the World Cup? Though as I’ve stated before footie/soccer isn’t a sport that gets me excited, I do love this movie. Jess –(…)
Jun 11 2010
The Rage of Paris (1938) Genre: Romantic Comedy (slightly screwball-ish) Grade: B I put this one in my Netflix queue because it was linked to another film in the “if you like that you may like this” manner. I didn’t have great expectations for it but thought, “eh, it’s only 78 minutes and it has(…)
Jun 4 2010
Hot Fuzz (2007) Genre: police/action movie spoof Grade: B+ Okay, did everyone take my advice last October and watch “Shaun of the Dead?” Because here’s another movie from the same crew that spoofs just about every police movie ever made. Again, don’t worry if you haven’t seen the spoofies. I haven’t and had a blast(…)
May 28 2010
Trouble in Paradise (1932) Genre: comedy Grade: wonderful The first time I watched “Trouble in Paradise” I fell in love with it. It’s smart, sophisticated, cultured and urbane. And it’s about two crooks who meet, fall in love then take advantage of a situation to instill themselves into the household of a wealthy widow in(…)
May 21 2010
Bride and Prejudice (2004) Genre: Comedy/Drama/Musical/Romance Grade: B Jane Austen meets (modified) Bollywood and the result is delightful. This is one of the best adaptations of Jane Austen to the contemporary setting I’ve come across. It’s fun, it’s lighthearted and does a great job compacting the novel into 112 minutes. [nggallery id=49] The plot is(…)
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