Starring: Jack Lemon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray
Directed by: Billy Wilder
Number on the AFI List: 80
Year: 1960
Don't let my title fool you, this movie is nothing (or, not a lot) like the musical/movie How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. However, C. C. Baxter, played by Jack Lemon, does use his apartment as a means to rise to the top of Consolidated Life; he allows the executives of the company to use his apartment as a place where they can meet up with the women they're having affairs with. He wins their affections, too, and eventually becomes an executive assistant. I hate the subject matter. While Baxter is a forgivable character, misogyny reeks from this film at every turn. The only struggle for Fran Kubelick (a fantastic Shirley MacLaine in one of her earliest roles) is for her to choose fake love from the top executive, Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), or from pushover Baxter. Yes, this movie has its sweet moments and is thoroughly entertaining, I just couldn't jump completely on board.
I will say that its nice to see how acting is becoming more and more grounded; this movie was one of the first ones where I never found any of the acting over the top or unconvincing.
Favorite moment: When the doctor is trying to wake Fran up from her drugged up stupor (trying not to give spoilers!)
"And I felt his voice take the sword out of my hand." - Judah Ben-Hur
I was skeptical when I started this movie because of the length of it.
However, now I am FLOORED. Absolutely floored. What a
beautiful story of redemption and hope. I’ve had a chance to study
the Inter-testamental period and the Gospels over the past month through my
internship at Reality LA, so it was really cool to be able to follow the
historical context in a fresh light. Judah Ben-Hur, played by Charlton Heston
in his Pre-Moses days (PM for short), is the prince of Judea. He is friends with a Roman tribune, Messala (Stephen Boyd), but their friendship is torn apart by Ben-Hur's loyalty to God and Messala's loyalty to the state. Messala falsely accuses Ben-Hur and his mother and sister of trying to harm him after a roof tile accidentally falls on his parade. Ben-Hur is taken as a slave, and then we follow his epic journey to seek revenge on Messala and find his mother and sister. The Lord is gracious to Ben-Hur, giving him favor with other Roman soldiers, until he becomes a hailed tribune himself. It is not until witnessing Jesus' death on the cross that Ben-Hur finally forgives Messala, in a beautiful ending that I will be thinking about for a long time.
I loved the concept of following a man’s
life during the same time as Jesus’ life on earth without
focusing on Jesus, and yet Jesus saves the day. How could he not? Ben-Hur’s
story is every man’s life, living a life of
reliance upon self and strength, envy and revenge, until the Suffering Servant
breaks the cycle. I love how when Ben-Hur prayed for God to give him strength,
Jesus gave him water. I literally hollered when that happened. Jesus gave
Ben-Hur strength to do the task set before him when giving him water, and Ben
Hur returned the favor on Christ’s walk to Golgotha. The
beauty of the ending still has me in awe. The kingdom of God came down upon
Ben-Hur and his family and changed the course of their life. As the blood of
Jesus fell with the rain, healing, forgiveness, and grace reordered their
future to one of hope and love. “By His stripes we are
healed.” Isaiah 53:5. All of the fighting Ben-Hur had to do to
redeem himself was lifted off of His shoulders as the freedom of Christ fell
upon his household.
This movie was a tremendous encouragement to me in the midst
of a difficult health and life battle of my own. The beauty of seeing the
kingdom of God has renewed my hope. So thank you, William Wyler, for creating a
truth filled movie.
Thank you, Jesus, for suffering for the sake of our
forgiveness.
Favorite moment: The ending *spoilers!*
Will I watch it again: I’m tempted to start over
the whole 3.5 hours!
This is the first Hitchcock movie that I thoroughly enjoyed
(I know, I know. I spent a good 30 minutes talking to some friends about how I
haven’t resonated with Hitchcock yet, but I’ve
wanted to). From the beginning of the movie, poor Roger Thronhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken for a CIA agent, George Kaplan by foreign spies led by Phillip Vandamm. The joke is on Vandamm, however, because Kaplan doesn't exist! Vandamm is a master at setting up Thornhill, even to the point of Thornhill being framed for murder. However, what
Vandamm doesn’t know is that the CIA is just as
masterful at playing tricks on people, and Thornhill ends up working with
the CIA and Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) in order to get microfilm from Vandamm. The movie ends with a climactic chase down Mount Rushmore. The
rescue is a typical deus ex machina which kind of drove me crazy, but really,
how else can you save people from falling to their deaths off of George
Washington’s nose? (Ok, it wasn’t exactly like that, but
close!)
If that plot synopsis confused you, don't worry. I'm still confused, too...and probably missed a few vital moments.
The cinematography was remarkable, with many shots being
filmed from high above or in a crowd of people, giving the audience a feeling
of claustrophobia and (harkening back to one of Hitchcock’s
other films) vertigo. The movie is an endless cat and mouse chase, and is
beautifully directed and acted. Eva Marie Saint steals the movie when she
enters as the seductive, undercover agent Eve. If Cary
Grant’s character was brighter, he would have become aware
that she was sent to seduce him, but of course he just falls for it. Men.
Favorite moment: The “first dinner date”
on the train.
I'm glad to say that I've seen this movie a few times before and I love it more and more each time! Some Like it Hot is a quick witted, hilarious situational comedy starring Marilyn Monroe as Sugar, Tony Curtis as Joe/Josephine, and Jack Lemmon as Jerry/Daphne. Jerry and Joe find themselves being witnesses to a hit job by the mob in Chicago (led by Spats Colombo), so in order to get the heck outta dodge they dress up as women and join a women's band playing at a hotel in Florida. Both have to overcome their manly desires to maintain their disguises, although Joe/Josephine creates another alter ego in order to pursue Sugar as man. Part Twelfth Night, part gang movie, Some Like it Hot starts off with a bang (multiple bangs from guns, to be precise) and ends with some of the funniest dialogue in movie history.
It's interesting to watch this movie in light of recent events in America with transgenderism and same sex marriage pushing against cultural comfort. This movie was made when both of those things were taboo. In fact, the movie affirms cultural hegemony by making sure both men are attracted to women, even when dressed up as women, and when Jerry/Daphne is proposed to by Osgood Fielding, there is no question that the marriage won't work out.
Political and social notions aside, this movie is hysterical from start to finish and is a prime example of great comedy.
Question: Why do all gang members have weird noses? Can we talk about this for a second? These two are prime examples (notice how Spats Colombo, on the right, looks totally normal, while his henchmen look a bit...more interesting).
Anyway, thats neither here nor there.
Favorite moment: When Daphne and Osgood are dancing the Tango, juxtaposed with Joe and Sugar having a good time on the yacht. Hysterical.
Title: Vertigo
Starring: James Stewart and Kim Novak
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Number on the AFI List: 9
Year: 1958
Due to health issues and other pressing matters, I actually watched this movie about three-four weeks ago, so this review may be a bit spotty. I do know that this movie is crazy. How does Jimmy Stewart, playing Scottie Ferguson, keep finding himself in impossible situations? In Vertigo, his friend Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) hires him to follow his wife, Madeline Elster (Kim Novak), in order to make sure she's not going crazy...but really, in order for him to stage her suicide so Gavin can get away with murdering her. Or at least, I think that's what I remember. This movie really does create a sense of spiraling confusion, as Scottie becomes more and more obsessed with Madeline to the point where he finds a woman who looks just like her and forces her to dress up as her. In order to not spoil the movie, I'll leave it there. But it was just weird. Well acted, well written, well directed, but weird.
Typical Hitchcock.
Unfortunately that's all I have to say about this one. I enjoyed it, but I need to watch it again.
Favorite moment: Probably the build up to the end.
Will I watch it again: I should!
MOVIE NUMBER 40! Here's my "top 40" on the AFI list thus far:
1. City Lights
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Modern Times
4. The Bridge on the River Kwai
5. Sunset Boulevard
6. Sunrise 7. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 8. Wizard of Oz 9. Gone with the Wind 10. On the Waterfront 11. A Streetcar Named Desire 12. The African Queen 13. Angry Men 14. Citizen Kane 15. All About Eve 16. Sullivan's Travels 17. Double Indemnity 18. Casablanca 19. Singing in the Rain 20. Vertigo 21. Bringing up Baby 22. The Gold Rush 23. The Best Years of our Lives 24. The Maltese Falcon 25. Yankee Doodle Dandy 26. It Happened One Night 27. High Noon 28. A Night at the Opera 29. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 30. The Grapes of Wrath 31. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 32. The General 33. Rear Window 34. King Kong 35. The Philadelphia Story 36. Intolerance 37. Swing Time 38. Duck Soup 39. The Searchers 40. Shane
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins
Directed by: David Leon
Year: 1957
Number on the AFI List: 36
Although criticized for being historically inaccurate, The Bridge on the River Kwai is a
fantastic war film that explores themes of perseverance, honor, and pride…that
eventually goes too far. Colonel Nichols (Alec Guiness) and his squad of
British soldiers have been captured and taken to a Japanese POW camp in order
to build the Burma-Siam railway bridge. Nichols is insistent on remaining in
command over his men, to the point that he and all of his commanders underneath
him are placed in “hot boxes”
for over a month, while the rest of his men sabotage the building of the bridge.
Eventually, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), the commander of the POW camp,
gives into Nichols’ demand to be in charge, since he
is running out of time to get the bridge built. Nichols’
begins to view the project as a sign of British pride, and demands his men
build with excellence. At the same time, the allies are planning to blow up the
bridge once its finished. The movie builds to an explosive ending that leaves
many men, allied and Japanese, dead, and with Nichols’
bridge, and pride, in a heap of rubble at the bottom of the Kwai river.
This film explores many questions, including: how long
should a man suffer at the hands of his enemy for the sake of dignity? And if
he wins, can he avoid working in favor of the enemy and forget his loyalty to his
country?How long before pride leads to
disgrace? What seems honorable is actually a snare. The movie ends with
haunting laughs from the British soldiers as everything goes awry. I was left
saying “wow…wow…WOW.”
Madness. True madness.
For a movie that only ever names two characters (at the end) and takes place primarily in one room (the jury deliberation room), this movie is SO well done. The director and cinematographer did a fantastic job keeping the movie interesting with the different shots, many of them so jarring and uncomfortable it made me claustrophobic just watching. The heat in the room was palpable, not only in temperature but also between the actors. The writer did a great job writing moments of intensity followed by moments of ease, creating an ebb and flow that kept the film entertaining and yet intense. Henry Fonda, as Juror #8, does a fantastic job keeping the other men on track, but the movie is a great example of a true ensemble performance.
The crime: a juvenile minority has been accused of stabbing and killing his father. Not to give anything away, each of the men has to overcome their prejudices and assumptions to come to a more accurate verdict. Some of the actors have an easier time overcoming this than others. Each of the men's walls are so beautifully built up and then torn down until the climactic conclusion. I only hope and pray that all citizens take their responsibility of jurors as serious as these men did, especially when someone's life is on the line.
"It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's sure."
Favorite moment: Hard to choose, the movie doesn't have scenes as much as continuous moments, more like a play than a film. However, when Juror #9 speaks and the camera does an up close shot of his face...I found that fascinating. And he has some pretty awesome speeches, too.
