Divorce Italian Style

 

Marcello Mastroianni plays a man who lusts after the young Stefania Sandrelli. However, he is tied down to his wife and divorce is impossible to get in Italy. So, he hatches a plan to get his wife to have an affair with an artist. The end shows him getting what I felt was justice for his behavior. This was pretty funny as was also Seduced and Abandoned also made by Pietro Germi, an underrated director indeed. 

Seduced and Abandoned

Stefania Sandrelli was in three of the best Italian movies of the 1960s (Divorce Italian Style and I knew her well are the others.). Despite this I feel she is not as well-known as she should be. She was an excellent beautiful actress. In this she plays a teenager who gets knocked up and the family tells the man he has to marry her. What follows is a pretty funny comedy. The best scene involves a kidnapping. I was kind of alarmed though at how many times she was called a tramp. I felt it was overdoing it. 

Chandni

 

This is a pretty good Indian movie despite the ending. A beautiful woman is engaged to a man who becomes a cripple from an accident. The cripple becomes a jerk and puts the blame of the accident onto her. She leaves him and gets a new job with a wealthy man who adores her. His family loves her as well. The cripple and the rich man become friends. Soon the cripple begs for her back, leaving her wit the decision to decide which man she should choose. I wasn't pleased with who she chose and most people on Netflix agree with me. 

David and Lisa

 

Don't watch the remake put out by Oprah. It was wretched stick with the original. This is a classic. This is a movie about two misfit teenagers in a mental institution. David is afraid of being touched and Janet plays a schizophrenic who speaks in rhyme. Janet Margolin should have become more of a star. I watched her in Take the money and Run recently too. She had some roles but never as compelling as this. 

Har dil de Pyar karega

 

This had a pretty low rating on imdb.com. It was generic. I'm not saying it was good, but I've seen worse. Salman Khan plays a man who is mistaken for being the husband of a girl in a coma. In the meantime, he falls for her friend Preity Zinta. But things get complicated when the Rani Mukherjee wakes up from her coma and likes him too. This is an attractive cast but there are better movies by all of the actors involved.

The Silver Chalice

 

My sister wanted to watch this movie because of Paul Newman. If I looked on imdb and saw its 4.6 rating I wouldn't have bothered. This was really bad and incredibly stagey and boring.  This was Paul Newman's debut. This movie doesn't show his potential at all and that's surprising considering that he was an excellent charismatic actor. He later apologized for this movie! Paul Newman plays a sculptor who makes a cup for the last supper. This really has a great cast Virginia Mayo, Jack Palance, and Pier Angeli. But you can't tell. All of their talent is wasted. I've always had a fond spot for Pier Angeli and wow she is gorgeous in this movie and that was the best thing about this movie. 

Karthik calling Karthik

 

This was a pretty good Indian movie until its cop out ending. Karthik is suicidal and down on his luck. But everything changes when he gets a phone call from a stranger. Soon he is dating the girl he admires from his office and his business life has never been better. Until he starts questioning the stranger on the other line and realizes they might not as be as great as he thought. The screenwriter should have put their script to the side and waited for a more original ending. It feels rushed and it ultimately could have been better. It deserved that. 

Therese Raquin

 

I have to agree with Leonard Maltin that this movie while not bad never becomes special either. Marcel Carne made better movies. It's about a wife who has an affair with a truck driver who eventually kills the husband. Simone Signoret does a good job. Frankly my favorite part of the movie was the discovery of the minor film actress Lina Genneri who also did a lovely performance in Umberto D. This just wasn't memorable.

Umberto D.

 

This was a pretty good Italian classic. It concerns a suicidal man suffering from poverty who can't afford his rent anymore. His only friends are his dog and his maid. The maid was played by Lina Genneri. I saw her in a minor role in Therese Raquin and then immediately saw this. Here she gets more of a role. She was a pretty talented actress. I wonder why her career didn't really take off. Vittorio De Sica managed to do some of the most beautiful films of his day. 

Animal Farm

 

This was just an ok adaptation of Animal Farm. It followed the book well, but something was missing. I found it to be too cutesy and didn't capture all the creepiness that I felt was associated with the book. It didn't capture all of the sharp satire in the book. It was short though, only 72 minutes. It was all right. I didn't care for the changed ending.

Il Sorpasso

 

This is one of the better road movies I have seen. The little plot involves a bachelor and a law student. There's a subplot with the bachelor's fifteen-year-old daughter played by the gorgeous Catherine Spaak. I've only been familiar with Spaak through her excellent music, so it was nice to see another aspect of her entertainment career. I completely agree with Leonard Maltin that the movie ends on a sour note that destroys the free spirit of the movie. 

Chak De! India

 

This movie about a hockey star coaching a female field hockey team was just ok. He sets out to redeem his wrecked reputation and succeeds. The problem with this movie was that the personalities of the women weren't really all that memorable. Shahrukh Khan though has such a large presence. He really steals the movie like he usually does. 

Aaja Nachle

 

I've been watching a lot of Madhuri Dixit movies. It's nice to see that she was given the chance to be the lead later in her career. In this movie a choreographer goes back to India after hearing that an old theatre is going to be torn down. She makes sure to have another play performed there. I liked the storylines of the people cast in the play - their love stories and such. This movie was cute.   

The Big Clock

 

This was an ok noir where Charles Laughton commits a murder and tries to pin it on editor Ray Milland. The real reason to watch this is Elsa Lanchester. She plays an eccentric artist. There were some really hilarious moments with her. This isn't essential noir but it's worth a watch. 

Gregory's Girl

 

This was a cute British comedy about a teenager who has a crush on the girl who just made it on his soccer team. But he begins to realize it isn't just particularly her. It's simply the emotions that he's just started having towards girls. This movie embraces the awkwardness one feels in adolescence. The only thing I didn't care about it in the movie was the opening scene of nudity especially since this is PG. But it's still worth a watch.   

Broadway Danny Rose

 

Woody Allen plays an agent of mostly losers which includes a has a been crooner. Once the people who he represents go somewhere they usually dump him, and the crooner is no exception. Half the movie is spent with the crooner's mistress (Mia Farrow) and Woody running away from the mob. I really like the ending where Farrow goes to Allen for forgiveness. This isn't one of the major Woody Allen works that people talk about, but it is one of my favorites. It's subtle but charming and Woody Allen's character is pretty likable in this one.   

Take the Money and Run

 

This was one of the starts to Woody Allen's film career. It has potential but it doesn't successfully pull it all off. The romantic relationship with Janet Margolin is what kills the movie. I just didn't care. It's sad because I like Janet Margolin as an actress. I loved in David and Lisa which I plan to watch again. The movie is about an unsuccessful criminal and there are funny moments especially with the cello. It's a mixed bag. 

Topaz

 

This spy thriller by Hitchcock is one of his worst movies. I didn't really get involved or care about the characters. I can't recommend it. 

Pyaar Impossible

 

This was a cute comedy. It's about a nerd who saves a beautiful girl played by Priyanka Chopra (now Mrs. Nick Jonas). Years later he becomes her nanny in order to get to know her. However, she is dating the villain of the movie a man who stole his software. Only the man convinces Priyanka that the nanny is the one who stole the software. But by the ending she's figured out the truth and they're in each other's arms. This movie didn't change my life, but it was fun. 

Break ke baad

 

The only good thing about this movie were the jokes I read online making fun of the title's resemblance to the show Breaking Bad. The title translates to The Bad Break. It's just a coincidence.  There is way too much drinking in this movie. A person online mentioned this, and I agree. I felt like it was a commercial or something. The woman in the movie wants to find her own path and puts her boyfriend to the side only to be drawn back to him. You can skip this one. 

Yaranna

This is one of the worst Indian movies I have ever watched. The only good thing about this movie is the beauty Madhuri Dixit other than that it is a mess. It's inspired by Sleeping with the Enemy, but it can't decide if it wants to be a thriller, a musical, or a comedy. It doesn't have the right balance to juggle all of its genres.  Avoid.

Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani

 

This was an ok Indian movie nothing extraordinary. However, the last thirty minutes are pretty bad. It's about a carefree guy who falls in love and has to convince the girl that the man she is about to marry isn't the one. 

Saajan

 

This was a good Bollywood movie. I've been watching movies with Madhuri Dixit lately. She was quite a beauty in the 1990s. This is a movie about the friendship between a cripple and a playboy (Salman Khan). The playboy's family took the cripple into their household when he was a kid. He feels he is obligated to his friend even agreeing to let Khan take the woman he loves. Dixit comes to realize the deception since the cripple is the poet that Khan claims himself to be. I like the speech that she gives them at the end, and it serves them right. Anyway, it was pretty good.

For the Defense

 This was a short precode running around 63 minutes. It concerns William Powell playing an attorney protecting his girlfriend from manslaughter. He ends up becoming a criminal himself when he tampers with the jury. This was all right. Kay Francis steals the few scenes she's in. 

City of Fear

 This was an ok noir. It's about a convict who grabs something radioactive instead of heroin and the police try to rush to save him and the city's life in time. It kept my interest throughout. I don't know why Leonard Maltin gave it a 1.5. I mean it wasn't Double Indemnity, but it had ideas I hadn't seen explored in a noir movie before. It's worth a watch.

Saawariya

 

I hate Luv Storys

 

This got a lot of hate on imdb. It doesn't really contribute anything new to Indian cinema, but I thought it was cute. It's about two crew members who work on a Bollywood set. The woman believes that she has the perfect relationships while the guy doesn't really believe in love. Eventually the woman realizes she has feelings for the guy and that her perfect relationship isn't so great. I thought the two leads were great. Sonam Kapoor definitely has a presence.  

Bathing Beauty

 

This was an ok Esther Williams movie. Esther is getting married to Red Skelton in the beginning of the movie when a woman wrongly accuses Skelton of already being her husband and the father of her children. Esther goes back to being a college swim teacher, but Skelton is determined to get her back. He becomes the only male student at the college. I wanted more from this movie. Someone really should have made a great movie with Esther Williams. Most of her movies are just passable. I just wish that someone would have put the same effort that was put into some of Judy Garland classic MGM musicals. If that happened Esther Williams may be better known today. 

Gun Fury

This was a standard western starring Rock Hudson. It would be completely forgettable except for the fact that the person who kidnaps Donna Reed is a total creep. He is played by Phil Carey and man he does a good job. Rock Hudson of course saves the day.

The Tall Men

 

This was a pretty boring western. I got it because I felt in the mood for a Clark Gable movie but even he wasn't of much interest here. The movie is about two brothers who join a cattle drive. Along the way they fight Indians and each other over Jane Russell. The only good thing about this movie is Jane Russell as she tries to bring life into this dull movie. She even sings a couple of tunes. 

Birdman of Alcatraz

 

This was a pretty good prison movie about a convict who takes a special interest in birds and becomes an expert on them. I read a bit about the guy, and it looks like the movie made him more of a saint than he was. Karl Malden does a good job as his enemy, the prison warden. The movie is kind of long. It was two hours and a half, but it was worth the watch. 

Kiss and Make-Up

 

This was a cute precode with Cary Grant. Grant plays a beautician who turns Genevieve Tobin into an attractive but shallow girl. Her husband Edward Everett Horton says she isn't the person she used to be and dumps her. Cary Grant marries her only to react just the way that Horton did. Soon Cary Grant not only wants out of the marriage but his profession too. He wants to be with the "plain" (she really isn't) girl at his job Helen Mack but Horton wants that girl too. It turns out by the end that everyone is not what they seem. 

Play Girl

 

People are harsh on Kay Francis on the internet. Whenever there's a list of the ugliest old actresses, she's included. I think she looked all right but she had a lot of charisma, charm, and class. This movie was pretty fun. Kay Francis stars as a gold digger, and she takes a young girl Mildred Coles under her wing. The girl plays along as a gold digger, but her heart is set on a simple man she met earlier in the movie. When she finds out that he's really a rich rancher she's disappointed. I guess she wanted him to be different or something. It takes a while for things to be sorted out. I recommend this for Kay Francis fans.  

Thrill of a Romance

 

This was a pretty mediocre Esther Williams movie. She looked pretty in this though. Esther marries this boring workaholic. When he leaves their honeymoon for business matters, she takes up with Van Johnson. I didn't like the laidback attitude the movie has that adultery is ok. I couldn't look pass this. The main highlight of the movie was when an African American teenager sang. That guy could really sing. Tommy Dorsey's numbers were probably the second best thing in this movie. This movie did apparently well at the box office that year.   

Hangover Square

 This was a pretty good movies about a composer who commits murder during blackouts. He's enamored by singer Linda Darnell and when he suspects her of infidelity, he finds himself in one of these blackouts. Linda Darnell is very good in this role. She uses him for songs himself but even he sees through her lies in the end. The actor Laird Cregar died before his performance could be acclaimed. He died out of tragic circumstances, a crash diet. It's sad because he's pretty good in this. 

Gold Diggers of 1935

 

The small plot in this movie concerns Dick Powell who has his eye on Gloria Stuart, but her mother wants to marry a millionaire. This movie is more about the dancing. The last half hour is dedicated to "Lullaby of Broadway" which is sung by Winifred Shaw. It's worth watching the movie just to get to that last number. However, I've seen better Busby Berkeley movies. 

Winter Meeting

 

This was a pretty mediocre Bette Davis movie. Bette Davis plays a poet, and she has a romance with a war hero. The guy isn't all that great. Frankly he's kind of a jerk. Bette Davis does a good job, but this isn't essential watching.

The Lost World

 

This silent movie was just ok. Leonard Maltin said it was a precursor to King Kong and I can see that. It's just not as good. The special effects are pretty cool though. The little plot is about a mad anthropologist who says there is a place in the Amazon with dinosaurs. Some people travel with him and see he is right. There is also a love plot that I didn't care much for. 

The Ten Commandments

 

Cecil B. DeMille made both versions. I like the 50's version more. It is more entertaining and pretty hammy This was all right. The first hour of this silent movie deals with telling the story of the scriptures. The second is more of a modern take showing a man's descent into sin as he breaks the commandments and finally kills. I miss silents. I need to watch them more often. 

Son of Kong

 

I agree with Leonard Maltin that this was a rushed sequel to "King Kong" that involves King Kong's son.  However there were some funny moments. This is no way a classic like the "King Kong" movie. If you have low expectations you might enjoy it.