I've watched 8 classic Hollywood movies, most of them from my lists.
To Catch a Thief, 1955
A famous movie starring two famous actors. I think that its overrated. I found it interesting enough, and I laughed, but the humor isn’t particularly witty. The identity of the thief isn’t surprising (and I’m easily mislead or at least allow myself to be easily mislead), and I just didn’t find the mystery exciting or the romance strong.
The Thin Man, 1934
I wanted to watch this after this review highlighted the main couple. They are adorable as described. This mystery is more complex than the above movie because of all the characters and all the complex intrigue. The movie had some humor, but not tons or at least not my kind of humor. And I thought it quite dark and scary, especially near the end. However, I still would like to watch more of this series.
Laura, 1944
Dana Andrews plays the detective in this film, but with his looks, clothes, and worldly persona, he appears like a gangster. I liked that juxtaposition of “bad guy” feel on a good guy character. I enjoyed the film noir aspect of this film. But the dramatic, suspenseful music keyed my nerves so tight! The plot may seem absurdly convoluted and simple, but like I said, I’m easily fooled with mysteries, and I don’t think the plot is everything (or even the main thing).
Holiday Inn, 1942
I found the humor in this film to my taste; the sabotaging that goes on amongst the various characters is outrageous and hilarious. The dancing is excellent but of a different type than the grand numbers in White Christmas, but the music (except for the song I'm Dream of a White Christmas) is decidedly inferior. The plot is much inferior too. A younger Bing Crosby is nice to look at though.
Funny Face, 1957
Meh, and I’m not a Fred Astaire fan.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
Jimmy Stewart looks so sweet and often plays such sweet, honorable, naïve characters. I felt that his character in this film, Jefferson Smith, exhibits these qualities the highest I’ve seen yet. While the plot overall (not enough romance) isn’t really my thing, the naivete of Jefferson Smith and his endurance and sweetness added to the plot made the film enjoyable.
The Ox-Bow Incident, 1943
In comparison to Lonesome Dove, this Western seems almost saintly; it has a solid moral framework. It clearly indicates that vigilantism isn’t justice. However, I don’t believe that the guilty men murder the innocents in purely hot-blood mob mentality (as the film and DVD cover imply) because they have plenty of time to cool down and plenty of opportunities to listen and observe. It’s clearly murder, not manslaughter. I’m not sure that it is great to focus so solely on violence in movies.
Labels: Movie Reviews