Chris and I are keeping track of every movie, dvd, and video tape we watch this year. During the month of January we ranked, as well as wrote quick reviews of most of the movies we watched. Some movies have an overall rating others are rated according to various different categories. I have also noted if we have seen the movie before and if we own the movie. Unless otherwise noted we watched the movies at home. Click on the title of the movie and you will be taken to TCM or Amazon where you can purchase the movies.
December 31 / January 1
White Zombie 1932
The Wizard of Oz 1939
We own. We have seen before.
January 1
The Walking Dead 1936
January 2
The Gorilla 1939
January 3
And Then There Were None 1945
We have seen before.
January 4
Torn Curtain 1966
January 5
Bulldog Drummond’s Bride 1939
&
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Two
We own. We have seen before.
January 6
Love Me Tonight 1932
Lulu: Costumes: 8 Sets: 8 Pace: 8 Humor: 9 Singing: 9 (Chevalier et al) Singing: 3 (Jeanette [we aren't fans of operettas in movies]). The bonus material featuring suggested deleted scenes and dialogue from the Hayes Office was interesting.
Chris: Costume: 7 Sets: 8 Pace: 8 Humor: 9 Singing: 10 (Chevalier et al) Singing: 2 (Jeanette [we aren't fans of operettas in movies]). The movie was striking and much to my liking.
& Looney Tunes
January 7
Cry Danger 1951(double feature watched at Whitsell Auditorium)
Lulu: Suspense: 7 Humor: 9, Pace: 8
Chris: Suspense: 6, Humor: 9, Pace: 9, Favorite Dick Powell movie. His sidekick was good. Good banter.
& Sleep My Love 1948
Lulu: Suspense: 9 Humor: 5 Pace: 7
Chris Suspense: 8 Humor: 8 Pace: 7
January 9
Possessed 1947
Lulu: Overall: 7 Good costumes.
January 10
The Gangs All Here 1943
Lulu: Costumes: 9 Great Hats & Headware, Busby Berkely: 10 Fun, Trippy & Surreal- it's great to see his visual extravaganza in color. Carmen Miranda is a lot of fun.
Chris: Overall: 8 Enjoyed Carmen Miranda’s kookiness. Visual effects interesting in color, maybe not as impressive as earlier (B.B.) films.
January 13
Where The Sidewalk Ends 1950
Lulu: Overall: 7.5 Unexpected ending.
Chris: Overall: 8 Pretty suspenseful & interesting.
January 14
Sudden Fear 1952
Lulu: Overall: 7.5 Suspenseful.
Chris: Overall: 9 Very suspenseful, one of the more likable Crawford movies. The chase ending was very good.
January 15
Les Bonnes Femmes 1960
We have seen before.
Chris: Overall: 7 Fun to see the cars, styles in Paris. Downer ending.
January 16
Brief Encounter 1945
Lulu: Overall: 9 I thought that because of the subject matter and it being a drama that it would be slow and not very enticing. On the contrary- it was well paced and easy to become enraptured in the story. The coffee shop owner and the train station attendant are entertaining and funny. There’s an unusual coffee pot in the movie.
Chris: Overall: 8 Interesting story in the form of a recollection.
January 17
Down Argentine Way 1940
Lulu: Singing: 8 Dancing: 8 Costumes: 9 Pace: 8 Humor: 6 Male dance duo (Nicholas Brothers) was pretty fun. Interesting to see Don Ameche in a role more normal to him after Sleep My Love. Betty Grable wears a unique selection of brooches.
Chris: Singing: 8 Dancing: 8 Costumes: 7 Pace: 7 Humor: 6 Great tap dance number by two guys (Nicholas Brothers). Kind of boring movie, weak premise, hammy acting.
& Looney Tunes
January 18
The Belle of New York 1952
Lulu: Overall: 7.5 It was fun to see Vera-Ellen dancing in a movie other than White Christmas. Near the opening the scene where Fred is sitting with all the Belle Epoque ladies is amusing. The Currier & Ives photo shoot is fun. I especially like the costumes in the ice skating scenes.
Chris: Overall: 6 Kind of boring. Dance and songs weren’t too memorable.
January 19
The Thomas Crown Affair 1968
Lulu: Overall: 8.5 The bank robbers at the beginning of the movie look like ska rude boys in their 1960’s suits, hats and dark sunglasses. Faye Dunaway has a great selection of hats. Faye wears short mod dresses and outfits with minimalistic flapper-esque details. They drive around in a dune buggy.
Chris: Overall: 7.5 Fun movie, especially the bank heist and getaway. Enjoyable seeing all of the men’s hats, listening to the music and seeing what was probably considered then the unique multiple frame views. Plenty of cheesiness including chess match and contemplative beach buggy drives.
January 20
Murder With Mirrors 1985
Lulu has seen before (a long time ago).
Lulu: It was fun watching this movie because Helen Hayes is the Miss Marple I grew up watching. Helen Hayes is teamed with Leo McKern again (they were both in one of my favorite childhood movies Candleshoe). Bette Davis, after her stroke and in one of her last roles, plays the lady of the house. I have been reading a lot of Agatha Christie books lately. I had read the book this movie is based on not too long ago and therefore I recognized some plot elements that they had changed. I didn’t like that in this film it was set in the current day, 1985, instead of the earlier era that the book is from. This has a huge effect on the clothing and interior styles/design. The movie was entertaining in a humorous way (some intended/some unintended). The newer Miss Marple series with period appropriate attire and sets are better.
Chris: No mirrors. Enjoyable but overly dramatic in a Dallas or Falcon Crest way. Great showcase of 80’s fashion. Lulu makes a cameo at the beginning of the film feeding pigeons when she was in England...
What Chris referenced in his review of Murder with Mirrors is that there is a young girl in an opening scene of the movie that looked like me from a photo that he had seen of my visit to London in 1983 (the photo is posted above).
January 21
Extra Features on Hollywood Cavalcade 1939
January 22 – January 24th We were on vacation.
January 25
With Six You Get Eggroll 1968
Lulu: Overall: 9 Judging by the cover this movie looked to be a lot of fun. The movie lived up to my expectation of kooky wacky flower power era good times. There’s a dance club scene full of hiply clad young people dancing, and fuzzy stuffed animal marionettes jiggling around. The oldest son in the movie drives a hot rod vintage Ford. George Carlin is a sassy drive in attendant at Ye Olde Drive In. There’s a wacky chase scene where some flower power hippies help Doris Day out of a fix.
Chris: Overall: 8.5 Enjoyable and goofy comedy of the late 60’s. Totally over the top interiors, vibrant, wacky colors. Some highlights include the scene at the club with the band performing, people dancing, and close-ups of marionettes! Also really enjoyed the huge dog, the youngest brother with the constant underbite, the Ye Old Drive-In & George Carlin.
January 26
Murder She Said 1961
We have seen before.
Lulu: Margaret Rutherford is my favorite of the Miss Marples. She is surprisingly spry, witty, and can go head to head with lively banter. Her facial expressions with her mouth and jiggling jowls are fun. Her male sidekick Mr. Stringer (who was her husband in real life) is cute and he rides around on a three wheel tryke bike. The music is kicky and enjoyable.
Chris: Overall: 9 All four very entertaining (see below for the other three movies in the set). Really enjoy Miss Marple’s character played by Margaret Rutherford and her companion Mr. Stringer with his trike is excellent as well. Even the inspector and other supporting staff is well played. Fun, cheeky humor, and 60’s harpiscord-esque music similar to The Avengers TV series.
January 27
Murder Ahoy 1964
We have seen before.
January 28
Murder Most Foul 1964
We have seen before.
January 29
Murder at the Gallop 1963
We have seen before.
&
Royal Wedding 1951
Lulu: Overall: 8 This movie contains the classic Fred Astaire dance scenes where he dances with a coat rack (seamlessly smooth and suave) and the dance sequence where he dances up the walls and onto the ceiling. This must have been a real spectacle back when it originally aired.
Chris: Overall: 7.5 The plot was entertaining enough. The song/dance numbers were not overly memorable with the exception of Fred Astaire in the gym on the boat and of course his dance routine in his hotel room in which he is dancing on the ceiling and walls- incredibly seamless and entertaining to watch!
January 30
Le Havre 2011 (watched at Living Room Theater)
& Good News 1947
January 31
Pygmalion 1938
If you are a fan of classic cinema then don't forget to mark your calenders for TCM's Classic Film Festival! Happening April 12th-15th.
