Crazy Movie Lady 47

December 13-19, 2009
Now that I'm in the 700s it's REALLY crazy to me that I'm SOCLOSE to completing this GOAL!!  I am seriously going to do whatever it takes to complete it!  I watched so many movies this week because they're shorter than 2 hours, some an hour and 10 minutes.  Most in the 90 minute range.  Some good some bad.
694. Stand By Me.  Rob Reiner movie about 4 kids who go camping in the woods on an adventure to find the body of a dead kid.  It started out as a cute coming of age movie with roles from River Phoenix & a young butterball Jerry O'Connell.  Some very adult concepts for little kids to deal with which would explain some of the terrible acting.  The end was a bit lame but overall the movie was still cute and engaging.  3.7 stars
695. Following.  Black and white British film about a man who follows people.  Seems to be trying to hard to be strange and different in just the first 2:30.  The chronology is ridiculous as the main character seemingly indiscriminately switches battle wounds, clothing, hair length and scruffiness from scene to scene, looking like an unemployed potential beggar then a still slightly sketchy unemployed person looking for a job wearing a cheap suit.  Pretty disturbing when it all unfolded and mildly interesting.  3.4 stars
696. Royal Wedding.  Fred Astaire & Jane Powell are a brother/sister dancing duo who go to England in advance of a royal wedding.  There were some horrid gags, bad dialogue and uncomfortable moments when the supposed brother & sister looked a little too intimate.  Of course the dancing was fun but the plot was pretty bad.  Rarely is the focus on plot in an Astaire flick, but this one was ridiculous.  The film felt like it would never end.  Don't feel bad about skipping it unless you have a burning desire to watch any and every thing Astaire.  2.9 stars
697. Wall-E.  Futuristic animated film about what happens when all the people leave earth because there's too much trash.  They're also too fat and into digital so much they're completely unaware of their surroundings.  Kind of depressing when you think about it.  Very little dialogue and still a robot love story.  Lol.  Then it's time for the robots to help save the world.  The roach story line = yuck.  Made me itch.  I just liked this movie okay.  I really hope we're not dumb enough for something like this to happen.  3.4 stars
698. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.  Gene Tierney plays a widow who refuses to be frightened or intimidated by a sea captain ghost.  Very interesting and amusing at times but dragged on about 10 minutes too long.  I enjoyed the end especially.  3.4 stars
699. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.  Cary Grant and Myrna Loy? YES!!  Except Loy wasn't utilized very much.  This movie looks like the classic version of why America's economy is where it is right now.  Much more boring than I expected. 3.3 stars
700. El Mariachi.  Mexican film about a musician who finds himself on the run from gangsters when he's mistaken for another gangster who carries his guns in a guitar case.  Hot mess of English voiceovers provided by Netflix rather than subtitles.   NOT COOL.  Looks pretty low budget.  And judging by the music, it is.  Pretty bad technically though still mildly entertaining.  The comedic parts were the worst.  2.2 stars
701. The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner.  Werner Herzog documentary (in German) about an awesome ski flier from Switzerland.  Is the title to suggest Steiner sculpts the air?  Because there's not enough of him sculpting pottery to really justify that title.  I have no clue but it's easy to see why Herzog chose this film.  Allows for the sweeping vistas and dramatic slo-mo shots under emphatic music he so loves.  Some great suspense built into the film, maybe too much considering what happens.  I'm glad Herzog now does only voice over narration and no longer appears on cam because that was incredibly awkward.  Pretty interesting doc and I enjoyed the sparsity of the narration.  Just enough to keep the story moving without being overly obtrusive.  3.6 stars
702. Four Christmases.  Vince Vaughn.  Reese Witherspoon in a rom com about a couple who will do anything to get out of holidays with the family.  It works until this year!  Now they have to go to the homes of each of their divorced parents.  RW & VV were very cute together.  Great start.  Really funny and strange for the first hour or so.  Then it kind of disintegrated.  3.5 stars
703. House on Haunted Hill.  Original classic version of a horror film about a millionaire who offers people $10,000 to stay one night in his haunted home.  I loved the opening screams!  There was a little too much talking at the outset, though.  And wow cheesy effects and music!  Lol.  Laughably campy and bad.  2.4 stars
704. The Headless Woman.  Argentinean film about a woman who loses it when she gets in a serious accident.  Very ambiguous plot in the first third of the film.  I had no clue what was happening for the first half hour.  Very frustrating.  It got better and I might watch this again.  Interesting ending I suppose.  Wandering would be the perfect adjective for this film.  3.3 stars
705. H.eidi F.leiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal.  HBO documentary portrait of the Hollywood M.adam as she was trying to get her b.rothel for men off the ground.  I know.  It's kind of shocking to me that I'm watching it, too.  But subject matter and some (surprisingly sparse) gratuitous images aside, this film is pretty nicely arranged for the first half hour.  I know you're saying, it's about a madam!  How could it be gratuitous?  The story really wasn't about that.  There's some good drama but then it starts to unravel, I'm assuming as a parallel to her life.  Riveting at times.  The text cards became oppressive as a means of advancing the story because there were so many.  The film was actually kind of sad.  4 stars
706. The Atom Smashers.  Documentary about Fermilab-- home of the  U.S. atom smasher.  There was a lot of history of the atom smasher early on and some really complex ideas.  Nice use of graphics to explain it... but can you imagine the blank stares in the scientific discussion?  And then you put it in a documentary?  Umm...  Too many talking heads.  They probably should've started with the machine instead of all the talking.  Scientists and probably science teachers would love this.  Maybe science nerds.  Simply people who like to learn might struggle with this.  See: me.  I wanted to say, whatever you're searching for won't be the answer because you'll find something else.  That doesn't mean don't search but they're so crazily excited about it and for some sure it will change life as we know it.  It's kind of cute.  The budget discussion felt interminable and ultimately was.  I struggled to care which was probably more about the length of the film, story organization and the style of production.  I definitely cared more at the end than at the beginning but that does not mean I enjoyed the experience it took to get there.  3.2 stars
707. The Fly.  Classic 1958 horror film about a man who develops a machine to switch atoms of matter.  Things go awry when a fly goes into the machine with him.  Some awesome clothes.  The part to explain what happened takes too long.  Way too much build up.  Pretty funny, though.  Even if it's not meant to be.  Lol.  3 stars
708. Yours, Mine, Ours.  Original version of this film with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda who have billions of kids each (8 and 10 respectively) when they meet and fall in love.  This version is much better than the newer one.  MUCH until you get to the end when it's tied up too neatly and has a beautiful bow attached in a way that could only happen in a time prior to this one.  Still pretty cute.  3.4 stars
709. Ghost Town. Ricky Gervais, Kristen Wiig (SNL), Tea Leoni, Greg Kinnear.  RG is dismayed to learn he can see dead people who all want something from him.  Kind of hilarious at times but the story line drags a bit.  And boy what a shark-jumping end.  Sigh.  Such a waste of an interesting plot.  3.4 stars
710. Boudu Saved From Drowning.  1932 French film about a homeless man who tries to commit suicide in the Seine River but is saved by a do-gooder (to his chagrin of course).  Netflix had a horrible print of this film-- crushed blacks, difficult to read subtitles.  Really bad.  Boudu was mildly interesting but the rest of the characters essentially just existed.  Pretty boring as a whole.  2.8 stars
711. Meet Me in St. Louis.  Judy Garland stars in this classic musical about a family with three courting teenagers living in St. Louis in the buildup to the World's Fair.  I've wanted to see this movie for at least a year!  Happy Christmas scenes?  Score!  Starts out with them making ketchup?  Sounds GREAT to me!  I really enjoyed this film!  So cute!  I could watch this regularly!  4.3 stars
712. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  Classic musical about a man who marries, inspiring his six wild brothers to also seek brides.  AWESOME barn-raising dance sequence!  Loved it!  Very fun film.  4 stars
713. George Washington Slept Here.  Jack Benny & Ann Sheridan star in a comedy with Hattie McDaniel (my soror) about a couple who buy a house because the first president slept in a bed their home.  Of course McDaniel's role was degrading.  Reminiscent of 'Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House' in 2 city-dwellers buying a ramshackle house and having to spent an inordinate amount to fix it up.  3.2 stars