The Princess Bride

Does this get better with age? Or is nostalgia that much stronger with age? In this rewatching (my first in a decade), I am amazed at how many quotable one-liners that are part of my lexicon originate with this film. "You've mocked me once, never do it again".  Every generation needs a signature cult film... this is mine.

5 stars (out of 5)

Big

Tom Hanks vehicle from 1988. I don't think I have seen this since 1988 either. I remembered a couple of the key scenes (Zoltar, the piano, ...) but most of the middle plot was "new again". I few laugh out loud moments and lots of "sweet" scenes. 

4 stars (out of 5)

The Princess Bride

It still stands alone among giants. 

5 stars (out of 5)

In the Heat of the Night

1967 and Sidney Poitier is a Philadelphia homicide detective passing through a small town in the deep south. Of course there is a murder, he is accused, and then reluctantly ends up sticking around to solve the case and show everyone that they really do have the wrong idea about race. A classic for a good reason.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Italian Job

The 1969 version where a bunch of gold is stolen out from under the noses of Italian police and mafia bosses who know it is going to be stolen. Moderately good heist planning, quite good chase scenes with the mini's and obviously 1960's pacing.

3 stars (out of 5)

Roman Holiday

Still one of my favorites and worth watching every few years. Princess Ann is traveling across Europe, and when she is in Rome is fed up with her royal obligations. She sneaks out and sees the town.
5 stars (out of 5)

Charade

Audrey Hepburn finds herself recently widowed in Paris with several scary men following her around looking for something her husband left. They don't know exactly what it is, and she certainly doesn't. Fortunately, mysterious stranger Cary Grant is on hand to help her navigate the treacherous Paris streets. But the mysteries of Grant also pile up. A fun caper/thriller/romance that has just enough tension to keep us engaged throughout. Way to simple for a modern film, but for 1963, it is perfect.
4 stars (out of 5)

The Outsiders

Every once in awhile I am reminded at how many seminal films I have not seen. Last year it was Footloose an this week it is The Outsiders. I don't know how many times I have said "Stay golden Pony Boy" without ever having seen the film or read the book. So now I guess I can say it with integrity. The story is a typical two-sides-of-the-tracks tale, with the greasers and the socs battling it out. Pony Boy is a greaser and his friend Johnny gets into some trouble with a Soc and they have to skip town for awhile. A heroic turn later, the two return and Pony Boy somehow begins to bridge the gap between the two rivals, more in his own thinking than in reality. But he makes the effort. Not particularly amazing as a film, but groundbreaking for its time, and probably more so for the number of careers that it launched. While watching, I kept getting a sense of East of Eden, perhaps from the coloring and dialogue cadence, but I am not sure.
3 stars (out of 5)

Clerks

I suppose that a seminal or groundbreaking movie should hold up to time. Clerks was one of the first slacker films and unfortunately, the slacker film is so much a part of filmdom these days that there was nothing really interesting about watching Clerks now. After seeing the first 2/3, I got bored, feeling like I had seen this all before. The plot puts a couple of minimum wage grocery/video store clerks on center stage and tries to amplify the drama of their life by amplifying every minutiae. Well done, but not watchable 15 years later.
2 stars (out of 5)

Footloose

Annika couldn't believe that I had never seen this seminal film, so we watched it one night. Amazingly, it holds up. Kevin Bacon plays the new kid in a sleepy, conservative town dominated by the local pastor (John Lithgow). Based on a past event, the town has outlawed dancing (since it obviously leads to all kinds of actual sins). Unfortunately, Bacon loves dancing and is a bit of a rebel. Controversy, protest, and rebellion ensue. The dancing is pretty good and the 80's music (that was current when the film was made) is actually pretty good 80's music. The film maintains the appropriate amount of cheeky humor and was enjoyable. A fun little flashback...

3 stars (out of 5)

The Maltese Falcon

A definite classic film noir. Bogart plays independent detective Sam Spade who stumbles onto a who-done-it and who-has-it mystery. A golden statue of a falcon believed to be covered in an ugly ceramic covering. This ancient artifact is obviously valuable and Spade gets involved with a woman who has it, or stole it, or knows who did, or who might. Murder and intrigue abound. Bogart is, of course, the smartest one on screen and seems to just be playing with everyone, always one step ahead. I am sure that it is a sign of the times, but I don't really see what is so great about his acting. He is a grizzled old guy with a really over-the-top method of acting. Any emotion that he needs to convey is super explicit on his face, as if the director said "Ok, now we will hold the camera on your face so you can show anger for a couple of seconds". It doesn't seem natural at all. Like I said, I am probably just not in touch with what good acting was back then. But whatever it was, it doesn't really hold up.
2 stars (out of 5)

Roman Holiday

In one of my all time favorite films, Audrey Hepburn plays a royal princess on an official state tour of European countries. Gregory Peck is an American journalist stationed in Rome, and he seems to be the class clown - can't quite get it right - kind of journalist. Finally he has his big break. Hepburn sneaks out from under the control of her handlers one night and runs into Peck on the street. He takes her in, recognizes a scoop, and for the next day, they do whatever they want in Rome (as Peck's friend tags along taking photos). Of course, this is a simpler time in film, so no one takes advantage of anyone and everyone is quite respectful. Not exactly the Hollywood ending that you would expect of any romantic comedy produced today, and satisfying in its honesty. Probably worth seeing this every couple of years just to enjoy a great film chemistry that is hard to find in this genre today.
5 stars (out of 5)

Splendor in the Grass

Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood star in this 1961 coming of age story. Set in the late 1920's, the protagonists are high school sweet hearts struggling with "how far to go" and how physicality affects relationship. The social norms include two sets of rules: one for men and another for women, both contradictory. Probably the strangest part of watching this was how a gang rape scene was essentially condoned. At least in modern film making, the rapists would be seen as morally deficient. We also get to see some stereotypical parent-child relationships, where parents are completely out of touch or are completely controlling, or both. Funny how some stereotypes never change. I wonder what a modern telling of this story would look like, with hooking up and friends with benefits more the norm among teens? I wonder if current social norms now have one set of rules for both men and women?
3-stars

The Wizard of Oz

Yes, this is actually the first time I have sat down and watched the entire film. And this time with a twist. Instead of listening to the audio track, my friend Joel discovered that listening to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon soundtrack synced to begin on the third roar of the MGM lion and a second time through on the third roar of the cowardly lion provides a unique movie watching experience. I would say that this experience was Art (intentional capital A), and while enjoyable, would probably have been much better if everyone watching had been smoking something.
3-stars