Letter T

TAKEN-2008

"I will find you, and I will kill you." A nice man, who just wants to see his daughter (who now lives in a mansion with her bitchy mom and very rich step dad), is taken advantage of by spoiled daughter and bitchy ex so daughter can go to Europe. Oh, the man is an ex-CIA operative and the daughter and her friend are promptly kidnapped by nasty men who want to sell them off into the sex slave trade. Daddy is not happy and goes after them.

Liam Neesom (hubba hubba) stars as the ex CIA operative who is not a man one wants to meet if he is not happy with you. He took this role as a fun flick so he could spend time in Paris and take up karate. He never expected it to be a hit or to be another kick ass action star. This is a film that, once the girls are taken (her friend), never lets up and you are on the edge of your seat. It is fun to watch even with the body count. It produced 2 more sequels which are ok but not as good as the first which is typical.

Letter S

THE SHINING-1980

A man with a disturbing past, takes on the role of the caretaker with his freaky wife and disturbed son at a hotel that shuts down during the winter. It’s just the 3 of them with the wife checking on the hotel, the redrum kid travelling on his big wheel through the halls and the man writing his novel. He becomes anything but a dull boy when he starts seeing spirits who want him to come to the dark side. The kid keeps running into those spooky twins and the wife is oblivious to everything until the blood hits the elevator.

I was scared out of my booties as soon as those devil girls showed up and had to turn the channel. I finally did see it and it is a great film with so much imagery. The actors really carried the film although I felt so bad for good ole Scatman Crothers who travels to the hotel only to......see the film.

Letter R

RIO BRAVO-1959

I can’t do a film series without mentioning John Wayne who stars in this fun western as a Sheriff who comes to town to make sure a nasty villain gets his due justice. He has to deal with his old friend (Dean Martin) as the drunken deputy sheriff, an old coot with no teeth, a limp and a lot of gumption (Walter Brennan), a young kid who wants to help (Ricky Nelson) and a saloon gal with nice legs but talks way too much (Angie Dickinson). If you like a western, or even don’t but like fun camaraderie, you’ll love this movie.

This was John Wayne’s and Howard Hawks’s (director) answer to High Noon because they thought it was stupid that a sheriff would ask for help so in this film, the hero doesn’t ask but gets help anyway. Oh and as a prank and an initiation, Wayne and Brennan got a pile of manure and threw Ricky Nelson into it. I love the musical interlude and hope you'll have a listen...

Thursday Movie Picks-Meltdowns

We all have had meltdowns some time in our lives, some serious and many others, over something stupid(put the toothpaste cap back on will ya!). These 3 picks I have chosen are a bit more serious but still great to watch. head on over to Wandering Through the Shelves to see what the others have chosen.

1. WHITE HEAT-1949

A brilliant film with an outstanding performance by James Cagney who should have won the Oscar. He plays a clever but psychopathic leader of a gang who is married but is way too dependent on his mom. The cops send a man undercover to break their operation and gain Cagney's trust. There is a prison scene where Cagney's character has a huge meltdown after hearing some news which makes you almost feel bad for the guy. The ending is a true blow out!

2. THE CAINE MUTINY-1954

Humphrey Bogart leads a great cast as the captain of a ship during World War 2. His antics makes many men on board the ship question if their captain is truly sane. It all comes to a head and a trial ensues but one still questions the sanity of the captain. Bogart's acting is stellar and you are left wondering if he was right or if he was nuts or both. A film worth seeing for sure especially when Bogart is on the witness stand.

3. FALLING DOWN-1993

An every day man, waiting in his car in a traffic jam just leaves his car and goes for a walk but along the way he creates much mayhem with gangsters, a convenience store owner and his ex-wife. Michael Douglas is the main man who we see fall down that well of anger and frustration and takes it to a whole new level. Another superb performance that, I think, was overlooked. I did not expect to truly like it all that much but I do and it keeps your hold for sure.

What 3 films come to your mind?

Letter Q

THE QUICK AND THE DEAD-1995

A woman with a grudge rides into the town called Redemption that is ruled by meanie Gene Hackman. He holds a contest about who is the quickest draw. You have a bunch of idiots combating for the prize and most get shot to death. Hahahaaaa.....pretty stupid flick but I enjoy watching it because it’s stupid as F#*&. This stars Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio and in his American film debut, Russell Crowe as a preacher but was a former henchman for Hackman.

Sharon Stone was big back then and demanded Leo and paid his fee personally so she could have him in the film and she also fought for Russell Crowe to be in the film. On the other hand, her pants were so tight she couldn’t sit down but when her stand in got more whistles from the crew, she fired her.

Letter P

THE PRESTIGE-2006

2 men are magicians and friends until the wife of one is killed during a performance. The one blames the other and they become bitter rivals each trying to outdo the other. It stars Christian Bale and Hugh, be still my heart, Jackman as the 2 magicians who hate each other. Scarlett Johanssen is the girl between both and Michael Caine as the trusty partner of Jackman...not Bale’s butler:). It was up for a couple a Oscars and is considered an excellent film about one-upmanship, magic, mystery and David Bowie. Yes, David Bowie, who didn’t want to do this movie until the director, Christopher Nolan, talked him into it playing Nicholas Tesla-brilliantly, I might add.

Letter O

OLIVER TWIST-1948

A young, very pregnant woman gives birth to a boy in a workhouse and dies. The boy grows up in that horrible place and, one day, asks for more gruel and is punished. He escapes and ends up on the streets of London where he is taken in by Fagin, the head of child thieves. The Artful Dodger takes Oliver under his wing to teach him the fine ways of being a pickpocket.

This is the best, in my opinion of all the versions I have seen (we shall not mention that musical) and it is a book I still must read. Have any of you read this book? Alec Guinness created his Fagin look by using the illustrations in the first edition of the book which caused much consternation among the Jewish community for being too anti-Semitic. David O’ Selznick lunged at Guinness when he saw him at some party. Both Israel and Egypt banned the film.....Israel was upset by how anti-Semitic it was but Egypt said it was not strong enough...ya can never win.