MASH

"MASH" #56/54, 1970

Oh Mash. The movie. 
I am much more familiar with the TV show. This show was on during many dinners at my house growing up. I gave most of the seasons' DVDs to my dad for Christmas. (I should check to see if there are any he still needs... notes for next December...)
So, I was pretty familiar with the characters - Hawkeye, Trapper, Houlihan, Frank Burns, Henry Blake, Father Mulcahy, Radar. It's just that I didn't recognize any of them except Radar. I think he was the only actor in the film that continued on in the TV series. 
There were some well know actors in this, but they were much younger versions of Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Robert Duvall than I am used to seeing. 

This movie is worth watching if you have any love for the TV show. I would guess that if you don't like the show, you wouldn't like this movie.

For me, and my dad who watched it with me, it was entertaining. 

The Gold Rush

"The Gold Rush" #74/58, 1925

I took no notes on The Gold Rush. 
Rediscovering that the writer, star, and director was Charlie Chaplin assures me that it was a great movie.

The movie takes place in the Klondike area. Lots of snow. 
I remember one of the recurring jokes including the intense cold outside, and the nice warmth inside the cabin. 

I remember a cute girl that the tramp likes. Sorry. Charlie doesn't play that tramp in this one. The lone prospector. I remember a cute girl that the lone prospector likes. 
I remember a dance hall. 

And I do remember liking it. I would watch it again. Which is what I would need to do in order to tell you anything more about this. 

High Noon

Well, it's been another year... and a half. Yikes...
One post in the last three years. That is not a good track record.

Turns out I kind of needed a break from this little project of mine. There were so many other things to watch. I started getting together with a group every other week to watch a movie from RedBox. i.e. recent popular movies. Netflix and all their TV shows. (I couldn't figure out the plural of series...)



"High Noon" #33/27 1952 

Also, remember how I was going to use this blog as a way to remember all of these movies?
That would require blogging about a movie soon after watching it. And not waiting over a year...

I had at least started this post, with some random thoughts that I wanted to get in here.

Okay, High Noon.

A Western.

The movie includes a lot of conversations. Over the course of one day. There is this bad guy coming back into town. And everyone is terrified. Except the Marshal Will Kane. (Cue Gary Cooper)

The Marshal is ready to take the guy on. (again, that's why the bad guy is not currently in the town). 

And he starts recruiting help. He goes around, struggling to get people on board, people who were on board jump ship. And basically every would rather run away and hid in fear than face the baddie and his buddies. 

So, the Marshal takes him on alone. Well, not entirely, his wife is actually there, which is kind of awesome. (played by Grace Kelly. Also awesome)

When the gang arrives, in the final moments leading up to the big fight, there was intense background music and long shots of every character. Every single character. And it was this big climatic moment, and I found it hilarious. Did we need to get everyone's individual reaction shot on that?

Well, like any good western, the good guy wins! He and his wife take down the group. And the people of the town crawl out of their cowering places and surrounds them as they climb onto a horse-pulled carriage. This was the Marshal's last act, he is leaving town.

Before going, he needs to give his Marshal badge to his successor. He takes it off, and looks around at the people who deserted him, and throws it onto the ground.

Which was epic.

I felt so good that his final small gesture was so powerful. 

Now, I don't know that the awesomeness of those three seconds is worth watching the whole movie. But, I know that I do love a good ending. 

Titanic

"Titanic", New/#83, 1997


Well hello there. To say it's been a while would be an extreme understatement. It's been over a year since I've posted. And, in 2012, I only managed to watch three of these movies. But, good news is I'm feeling a little fired up about it, so I'll start to watch them again. And I'll get the write-ups about those few done soon!
Also, I'm going to be using the public library to help me! Though, my discovery of the joys of the public library may have contributed to the lack of movie watching in general. But alas, now I'm going to use it help my movie watching endeavor. 

So Titanic, one of those movies I've seen a few times previously. In fact, I saw it in theaters when it was released. Little 8 year-old-Paula out for an evening with the family.
I'm sure I'm not the only one with some sentimental attachment to Titanic. It was a huge movie at it's release, and huge for years after that. Also, literally huge, as it took two VHS tapes to contain the awesomeness of the movie. Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was played non-stop on the radio (every radio station) for an entire summer. And it continued on in my house for long after that once the piano sheet music was purchased (bless you Mom & Dad).

I will admit, that I usually would only watch the first tape. Right up to where they hit the iceberg. Because it just gets so sad. And it continually gets worse and worse. And I can't stand it.
But, it needed to be watched in its entirety! And, lucky me, I got to do that in a theater again. Since 3D is the big sweeping trend, Titanic in 3D was re-released. [[Side-note, I kind of hate this digital 3D thing, and it really needs to stop]]
But to the theater I went, to see Titanic in 3D for the first time ever, and for the first time in it's entirety for several years.
And guess what. It was spectacular. There's no denying that it is an awesome movie. In storyline, dialogue, cinematography, special effects... I really could go on. 

If you haven't seen it, please crawl out from under rock and get that taken care of ASAP. Just be aware you are in store for a long, emotional ride.
And I don't at all feel bad for any spoilers I've just given away, because you seriously had 16 years and two theatrical releases to get your act together.

For now, I leave you with a link for Titanic vs. Aladdin : http://themetapicture.com/aladdin-vs-titanic/ 
Click on it... it's funny.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", #20/33, 1975
This movie is about McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, who is a criminal who moves from prison to an insane assylum. And he makes friends with the other patients there, and makes enemies with one particular nurse (with a fitting name), Nurse Ratched.
As you can image, there are great antics that arise from McMurphy stirring up trouble. The actors that make up the wide variety of insane patients are brilliant, and the character dynamics really are tremendous.
Shout outs specifically to Christopher Lloyd (Taber), Will Sampson (Cheif), Josip Elic (Bancini), Vincent Schiavelli (Fredrckson), and especially Danny DeVito (Martini) who I didn't recognize until well into the movie, and even then, it was only with the help of imdb.
So... I liked this movie until probably the last 10-15 minutes. Then I did not like it. At all. And I don't really appreciate a movie with a bad ending.
Watch it if you want to, because the majority of the movie is good, but just know that the end of the movie is not the main character against all odds triumph that you really hope happens.

Tootsie

"Tootsie", #62/69, 1982
This is a funny movie! I mean, come on... it's Dustin Hoffman in drag. He plays the role of a struggling actor, who dresses up as a women to get a role. Then (standard dressing up as the opposite gender storyline), he befriends a girl and than falls in love with a her, and a man falls in love with him, and it all falls apart in the end.
The funniest part of this movie surrounds what role Hoffman's character plays as a women. It's for a soap opera. And the movie makes fun of soap operas so, so much.
It's hilarious.
Watch it!

Do the Right Thing

"Do the Right Thing" New/#96, 1989

Interesting tidbit... this is the first movie from the 1980's that I've watched on the list so far. There are others on the list, but it's the first one I've watched so far.

I actually really liked this movie. It takes place during one ubber-hot-summer day in Brooklyn. And it follows Mookie, a pizza delivery guy and all the characters along the street and those at Sal's pizza place. One of the best things about this was all the character names: Da Mayor, Mother Sister, Buggin Out, Mookie, Radio Raheem, Pino, Coconut Sid, Sweet Dick Willie, Smiley,  Mister Senor Love Daddy.
And the other notable thing about it, is it has a ton of black actors in it (and a couple noteworthy non-black actors): Martin Lawrence, Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Bill Nunn (the cop in "Sister Act"), John Turturro (the Sector 7 Special Agent in "Transformers" and a bunch of Adam Sandler movies, like "Mr. Deeds"). It just seemed like every new character that was introduced was an actor I recognized.

Anyways, the movie has a ton of swearing, specifically using the f-word about once every two minutes. And it's about racism and violence, specifically one big violent mob at the movie's climax.
But, I like that the movie showcased one day of this neighborhood. And it really showed how violence was not a way to fight racism. So, I did like it, and I would recommend it in certain contexts. But it's not exactly a family- or kid-friendly movie.

At the very end of the movie, two great quotes, one from Martin Luther King, Jr., and one from Malcom X that finish out the film. They are:

"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral brecause it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys communinities and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

I think there are plenty of good people in America, but there are also plenty of bad people in America and the bad ones are the ones who seem to have all the power and be in these positions to block things that you and I need. Because this is the situation, you and I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn't mean that I advocate violoence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don't even call it violence when it's self defense, I call it intelligence." - Malcom X