Movies 2010, Week 2

January 10-16, 2010
My plan to watch 365 movies this year is going so well I'm just going to try to watch as many as possible.  I still haven't watched a movie I've seen before.  Maybe I'll keep that going, maybe I'll break out an oldie but goodie and maybe I'll take a break longer than my time in South Florida.  Who knows?
17) Food, Inc.  Documentary about how food is produced in America today.  Interesting if slanted portrayal of the factories our food is processed in and how it gets to our tables.  The "suggestions" at the end of the movie were definitely the worst part.  I liked that the film was organized by identifiable, distinct segments, there were some really cool graphics (particularly in the opening credits) and some great photography but toward the end I did feel almost like it would never end.  Some of the information felt old hat like it had been covered so much it probably didn't need to be mentioned, but for the most part I (surprisingly) didn't feel overwhelmed.  Though maybe that's not totally true because I felt like I couldn't do anything about it anyway.  3.7 stars
18) Cover Girl.  Rita Hayworth & Gene Kelly 1952 musical about a show girl turned cover girl.  Cute.  Hayworth was on it!  I loved her.  The chemistry between her and Kelly though... lacking.  Of the famous dancers, Kelly's cuter but Astaire's a much better actor.  Kelly's self-duet, though?  AWESOME!  He was magic while dancing, flat while acting.  I must say I was into the story line completely and enjoyed the film.  4 stars
19) High Noon.  Grace Kelly makes an appearance in a western about a band of "hooligans" (lol) on the noon train and the sheriff's efforts to stop them.  Some nice built-in suspense.  I could really see why my dad was so crazy about westerns and why this one in particular won 4 Academy Awards, including Best Actor.  4.4 stars
20) Role Models.  Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Sue Sylvester (I know that's not her real name but b/c of Glee, that's what she'll be forever known as to me).  A bad role model for cursing kids?  Ugh.  I know that was the point of it but it really could've been so much better with less of the garbage.  Some of it was hilarious and I was surprisingly pretty into it.  The last battle scene was awesome!  3.7 stars
21) Passing Strange.  Spike Lee joint (that's really just a play) about a musician who joins the music scene in Europe.  The keys song was clearly the longest of my life.  It became obvious why this movie was more than 2 hours.  The first 50 minutes or so moved quickly.  Let's move past the keys thanks.  I did enjoy the last 5 minutes of the actual show immensely which is such a change.  3.3 stars
22) Bye Bye Birdie.  Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh & Ann-Margaret star in this musical about a teenage girl chosen to kiss a heartthrob.  HILARIOUS!  Loved it.  So 60s camp!  5 stars
23) Pat and Mike.  Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy star as an athlete and her manager.  This may be my favorite Tracy role yet.  Amusing film.  3.9 stars
24) Summer Hours.  French film about an elderly woman divvying up her valuable collection (art and furniture, etc.) among her children who want to hear nothing about her dying.
25) High Society.  Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong.  YES CAST!!  1956 musical about a high society love quadrangle.  I'm getting this really strange feeling I've seen parts of this before.  I found out that's because it's a remake of "The Philadelphia Story."  The first version worked much better.  I want a dress like Grace Kelly's the night before her wedding!!  Gorg!  As was her wedding dress!  So dainty and classic!!  Amusing enough story.  Held my attention.  The end was strange though.  It didn't quite fit.  3.8 stars