2007-2008 Winter Movie List
This winter's movie viewing list covers the gambit from mob movies to baseball to opera. Not all of the following are masterpieces of film making, but they are all on my favorite list for entertaining movie watching. Get out your HDTV, your Blue Ray player, and non-chemical popcorn, and have fun.
White Christmas (1954) - I can hear the groans from here. Ohh Nooo!!!!. But on a snowy December night cuddling with your honey, it don’t get much better than this. Start with a great Irving Berlin score. Add Rosemary Clooney when she still had a figure, and Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye yukking it up. Put in a dash of nostalgia for when and where you first saw it plus years of Christmas memories, and you have the feel good movie of all time. C’mon now…everybody sing: “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas….” I can’t hear yoooouuu.
Risky Business (1983) – Makes you want to quit your job and be a pimp. Who knew how weird Tom Cruise would turn out to be when we first saw him making big bucks with hookers for a class project while dancing in his underwear. This movie is a moody hoot with an easily identifiable musical score. Critics looked for heavy duty social commentary on greed in our society. I say a buck is a buck. My grade for Tom’s class project: A++.
I Want to Live (1958) – Rita Hayward plays the real life Barbara Graham, sentenced to death for the 1953 murder of Mabel Mononhan. Will the governor call and commute the sentence? Don’t bet on it. Filmed in black and white, we see Hayward camp it up as she worries about her makeup while being hauled off to the gas chamber. Robert Wise directed this period pot boiler playing a little fast and lose with the facts. Although there are many who believe there was reasonable doubt and Graham shouldn’t have been convicted, it was the mid 1950’s and if she was accused, she must be guilty. After all, who did she think she was, OJ? Music score is sexy….so is Rita Hayward. Great for Saturday afternoon viewing.
A Mighty Wind (2003) – Mockumentary about a 1960’s folk singing reunion on public television. Be prepared to see spoofs of the Kingston Trio, The Captain and Tenille, and The New Christy Minstrels, and laugh all the way. This is one of a series of parody documentaries (Best in Show/Waiting for Guffman) by Christopher Guest, who skillfully walks the line between truth and lunacy. Spoof or not, the music will get your toes a tappin…and make the rest of your day a real hootenanny. Speaking of which, did you know that John Denver was the lead singer in The Chad Mitchell Trio after Chad Mitchell flew the coop??
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) – Critics panned it, but I loved it. Clint Eastwood does a masterful job directing John Berendt’s New York Times southern gothic bestseller. Based on the true life murder of hustler Danny Hansford at the hands of respected Savannah, Georgia, art dealer Jim Williams, the movie overflows with characters who make all the nutso people you know look totally sane. The murder takes place in Mercer House, the ancestral home of lyricist Johnny Mercer, and his music sets the tone for the film. Although the movie compacts the four real life trials into just one, it contains my most favorite movie line of all time. When Jim Williams is asked why he chose to stay in Savannah after the trial, his response was “It pisses off all the right people”.
Young Frankenstein (1974) – The Mel Brooks tour de force spoofing early monster movies is probably one of the most widely quoted movies of the past 35 years, at least in my lexicon. “Put the candle back!”; “Frau Blucher….”; and “What hump?” are used more than anyone cares to admit in punch lining modern conversation. The movie reunites Blazing Saddles’ Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn; and Teri (“What Knockers!”) Garr is thrown into the mix with laugh out loud hilarious results. Peter Boyle is the Puttin’ On the Ritz singing and dancing monster as Gene Hackman teaches him how not to light a cigar. Taffeta anyone?
Night at the Opera (1935) – I have never been a Marx Brothers fan, but this one got me hooked. The plot is a little complicated with two Italian opera singers being signed to sing in New York by misidentified business agents, who then try stow away to New York in the midst of unrequited love. Highlights include the famous “sanity clause” contract signing, and the open and shut the door state room chase. But the following explanation given in the movie by Chico Marx as to how they finally “flew” to New York had me laughing so hard I cried: “Friends...how we happened to come to America is a great story. But I don't tell that. When we first started out, we got-a no idea you give us this-a grand reception. We donna deserve it. And when I say we donna deserve it, believe me, I know what I'm a-talkin' about...So now I tell you how we fly to America. The first time we started, we get-a halfway across when we run out-a gasoline and we gotta go back. Then I take-a twice as much gasoline. This time we-a just about to land - maybe three feet - when whaddya think? We run out-a gasoline again and a-back we go again to get-a more gas. This time I take-a plenty gas. Well, we get-a halfway over when what-a you think-a happened? We forgot-a the aeroplane. So we gotta sit down and we talk it over. Then I get-a a great idea. We no take-a gasoline. We no take-a the aeroplane. We take a steamship. And that, friends, is how we fly across the ocean”. I rest my case.
Goodfellas (1990) – Martin Scorsese hits it out of the park with my favorite mob movie of all time. Based on the true life story of mobster/murderer turned rat fink Henry Hill, this blood soaked and death packed masterpiece succeeds in showing the horror of these very bad guys and their lifestyle. The boffo cast includes Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino. By the end of the movie, you learn blood is thicker than water, and never to violate the code of “made” men. The musical score is as good as it gets. The piano movement of Eric Clapton’s Layla will never be the same. By the way, Henry Hill has a cook book out. I bought it. The Veal Picatta is “the best in the city” to quote another mob movie.
Midway (1976) – Charlton Heston throws away his robe and sandals to star in this movie version of what is considered to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific with Japan. Yes, it is a tad hoaky. Yes, the Japanese actors are stilted and caricature. Yes, it raises patriotism to the level of diabetes. But it does a body good to watch the brave heroes of World War II thump the bad guys as Japan loses most of its aircraft carriers dealing the death knell to the Japanese war effort. The cast is rounded out with Henry Fonda (of course) and Glen Ford. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
The Sandlot (1993) – This is a sappy, sugary reminiscence of a group of boys who played pick up baseball on a makeshift baseball field, and you won’t regret one tear you shed at the end of the movie. In one summer, the boys learn about girls, facing fears, scary dogs, history, family love and Babe Ruth. A cameo by James Earl Jones is worth the price of the rental. Those of you who have been lucky enough to go through life being friends with someone you have known forever will identify with the poignant ending. On a snowy day, it moves you to thoughts of summer, and life. Great family fun.
White Christmas (1954) - I can hear the groans from here. Ohh Nooo!!!!. But on a snowy December night cuddling with your honey, it don’t get much better than this. Start with a great Irving Berlin score. Add Rosemary Clooney when she still had a figure, and Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye yukking it up. Put in a dash of nostalgia for when and where you first saw it plus years of Christmas memories, and you have the feel good movie of all time. C’mon now…everybody sing: “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas….” I can’t hear yoooouuu.
Risky Business (1983) – Makes you want to quit your job and be a pimp. Who knew how weird Tom Cruise would turn out to be when we first saw him making big bucks with hookers for a class project while dancing in his underwear. This movie is a moody hoot with an easily identifiable musical score. Critics looked for heavy duty social commentary on greed in our society. I say a buck is a buck. My grade for Tom’s class project: A++.
I Want to Live (1958) – Rita Hayward plays the real life Barbara Graham, sentenced to death for the 1953 murder of Mabel Mononhan. Will the governor call and commute the sentence? Don’t bet on it. Filmed in black and white, we see Hayward camp it up as she worries about her makeup while being hauled off to the gas chamber. Robert Wise directed this period pot boiler playing a little fast and lose with the facts. Although there are many who believe there was reasonable doubt and Graham shouldn’t have been convicted, it was the mid 1950’s and if she was accused, she must be guilty. After all, who did she think she was, OJ? Music score is sexy….so is Rita Hayward. Great for Saturday afternoon viewing.
A Mighty Wind (2003) – Mockumentary about a 1960’s folk singing reunion on public television. Be prepared to see spoofs of the Kingston Trio, The Captain and Tenille, and The New Christy Minstrels, and laugh all the way. This is one of a series of parody documentaries (Best in Show/Waiting for Guffman) by Christopher Guest, who skillfully walks the line between truth and lunacy. Spoof or not, the music will get your toes a tappin…and make the rest of your day a real hootenanny. Speaking of which, did you know that John Denver was the lead singer in The Chad Mitchell Trio after Chad Mitchell flew the coop??
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) – Critics panned it, but I loved it. Clint Eastwood does a masterful job directing John Berendt’s New York Times southern gothic bestseller. Based on the true life murder of hustler Danny Hansford at the hands of respected Savannah, Georgia, art dealer Jim Williams, the movie overflows with characters who make all the nutso people you know look totally sane. The murder takes place in Mercer House, the ancestral home of lyricist Johnny Mercer, and his music sets the tone for the film. Although the movie compacts the four real life trials into just one, it contains my most favorite movie line of all time. When Jim Williams is asked why he chose to stay in Savannah after the trial, his response was “It pisses off all the right people”.
Young Frankenstein (1974) – The Mel Brooks tour de force spoofing early monster movies is probably one of the most widely quoted movies of the past 35 years, at least in my lexicon. “Put the candle back!”; “Frau Blucher….”; and “What hump?” are used more than anyone cares to admit in punch lining modern conversation. The movie reunites Blazing Saddles’ Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn; and Teri (“What Knockers!”) Garr is thrown into the mix with laugh out loud hilarious results. Peter Boyle is the Puttin’ On the Ritz singing and dancing monster as Gene Hackman teaches him how not to light a cigar. Taffeta anyone?
Night at the Opera (1935) – I have never been a Marx Brothers fan, but this one got me hooked. The plot is a little complicated with two Italian opera singers being signed to sing in New York by misidentified business agents, who then try stow away to New York in the midst of unrequited love. Highlights include the famous “sanity clause” contract signing, and the open and shut the door state room chase. But the following explanation given in the movie by Chico Marx as to how they finally “flew” to New York had me laughing so hard I cried: “Friends...how we happened to come to America is a great story. But I don't tell that. When we first started out, we got-a no idea you give us this-a grand reception. We donna deserve it. And when I say we donna deserve it, believe me, I know what I'm a-talkin' about...So now I tell you how we fly to America. The first time we started, we get-a halfway across when we run out-a gasoline and we gotta go back. Then I take-a twice as much gasoline. This time we-a just about to land - maybe three feet - when whaddya think? We run out-a gasoline again and a-back we go again to get-a more gas. This time I take-a plenty gas. Well, we get-a halfway over when what-a you think-a happened? We forgot-a the aeroplane. So we gotta sit down and we talk it over. Then I get-a a great idea. We no take-a gasoline. We no take-a the aeroplane. We take a steamship. And that, friends, is how we fly across the ocean”. I rest my case.
Goodfellas (1990) – Martin Scorsese hits it out of the park with my favorite mob movie of all time. Based on the true life story of mobster/murderer turned rat fink Henry Hill, this blood soaked and death packed masterpiece succeeds in showing the horror of these very bad guys and their lifestyle. The boffo cast includes Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino. By the end of the movie, you learn blood is thicker than water, and never to violate the code of “made” men. The musical score is as good as it gets. The piano movement of Eric Clapton’s Layla will never be the same. By the way, Henry Hill has a cook book out. I bought it. The Veal Picatta is “the best in the city” to quote another mob movie.
Midway (1976) – Charlton Heston throws away his robe and sandals to star in this movie version of what is considered to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific with Japan. Yes, it is a tad hoaky. Yes, the Japanese actors are stilted and caricature. Yes, it raises patriotism to the level of diabetes. But it does a body good to watch the brave heroes of World War II thump the bad guys as Japan loses most of its aircraft carriers dealing the death knell to the Japanese war effort. The cast is rounded out with Henry Fonda (of course) and Glen Ford. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
The Sandlot (1993) – This is a sappy, sugary reminiscence of a group of boys who played pick up baseball on a makeshift baseball field, and you won’t regret one tear you shed at the end of the movie. In one summer, the boys learn about girls, facing fears, scary dogs, history, family love and Babe Ruth. A cameo by James Earl Jones is worth the price of the rental. Those of you who have been lucky enough to go through life being friends with someone you have known forever will identify with the poignant ending. On a snowy day, it moves you to thoughts of summer, and life. Great family fun.
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