So, I made a lot of promises yesterday, so let’s start tonight with reviews of two movies we watched this weekend.

Argo

Of the two movies, I give this one a slight edge because I have a soft spot for Ben Affleck-directed movies.  I loved The Town and Gone Baby Gone, and this one is just as amazing!  Argo is the story (if you don’t already know because I am a bit late to the party on this one) about rescuing 6 Americans who are being held in Iran in 1980-81 by pretending to be a film crew.  Sounds kind of crazy, but trust me, it’s a great plot.

I loved the characters, I thought it was a fun and thrilling ride, and it really kept my interest.  Despite the events being a bit before my time, I was enthralled with the preparation and escape, and was definitely on the edge of my seat.  James and I had some discussions about what we would have done in that situation, if we would have wanted the other one to be there with us (yes for the company, no because we wouldn’t want to put each other through that), and well as how we take airport security for granted when we think it takes us a long time to get through.  Yeah right.

This story is super interesting and enjoyable.  I don’t know if fun is the right word because of the plot, but it has some laughs (often courtesy of the wonderful Alan Arkin) and it’s definitely an exciting ride.  Ben has done it again, this was a great movie and now one of my favorites!

Zero Dark Thirty

Although Argo came out on top, I still loved this movie.  If you don’t know, ZDT is about the CIA agent who worked for years to find Osama Bin Laden, as well as the Seal Team 6 mission that led to his death.  And trust me, this movie is good!

Because the events of 9/11 are still so fresh in my mind and always will be, I wanted to see this movie for that reason.  I also remember exactly where I was (laying on our apartment floor, studying) when we found out Bin Laden had been killed.  For those reasons, this movie is a must see.  However, there is more beyond that.

I thought the elements of the CIA and their investigations were fascinating   I also found it incredibly interesting out they discovered Bin Laden — the thread that led to him.  It was such a great, well acted story, and I was so interested in every element of the story even though it began in 2003.  And the Seal Team 6 mission — on the edge of my seat!  I thought the portion of the movie from the time the helicopters took off until Bin Laden was killed was just amazing — so much emotion, and even though you know what is coming, it is suspenseful.

Both of these movies were so wonderful and deserved all the awards and acclaim they received.  I would recommend both and look forward to watching both again!

That’s it for tonight!  Tomorrow I have a food/fitness blogger meet up that I can’t wait to post about on Wednesday, so tomorrow I’ll be coming atcha with two breakfast recipes.  Until then!

Hi everyone!

First of all, let me apologize for not commenting on your blogs this week!  I will explain next week, but please know I have neither stopped liking them nor stopped reading them!  I promise I’ll be back next week, commenting like crazy, so thanks for taking an interest in mine while I’ve been less than stellar this week!

Now, onto the post.  I hate winter!  I would be perfectly content with 80-90 degree days everyday — but if it has to be cold and snowy, what better way to spend the day than watching old movies!

I’l back on my crusade to get everyone to watch old movies and to share my thoughts on some more AFI Top 100 Movies.

Today, I have to super well-known ones, so maybe I’m the only one (and James) who hadn’t seen them, but just in case there are more of you, here goes.

The Graduate

I’m assuming everyone knows what The Graduate is about — college graduate is seduced by and begins an affair with an older woman (family friend) and then deals with the consequences when he falls for the woman’s daughter.

I had heard so much about this movie, knew the entire plot (ending included), and all the music even though I had never seen the movie.  Needless to say, I wasn’t superrrrrrr impressed.  I mean, the movie was good.  It was unexpectedly funny, it was pretty interesting and kept my attention, and for crying out loud MR FEENY (fee-he-he-he-ny!) was in it.  I can see why people think it’s a good movie, maybe even the top 100, but not as high on the list as it is — top 10.

I would definitely recommend seeing this because of how big of a deal the movie is, and I loved the music, and it was interesting, but I wouldn’t have your expectations as high as I did.  Honestly, it was a bit simpler and weirder than I was expecting.  But it had funny parts and wasn’t dull, so go for it!  Here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson!

Casablanca

Again, this is a big deal movie that appears on every top movie list and is always talked about as being one of the best — I now understand why!  Right now, Casablanca is battling with Sunset Blvd for being my favorite movie of all time.

This. Movie. Was. Amazing.

I should say that I love Ingrid Bergman (so beautiful!), and Humphrey Bogart is no slouch, but the story, the filming, the quotes, everything was perfection!

For those of you who don’t know (and honestly, I didn’t know before I watched it), Casablanca is more than a love story.  It takes place around the time the Third Reich was infiltrating part of Europe, and people were escaping to Casablanca to catch planes to Lisbon, and then to America.  So basically, this beautiful movie takes place during my favorite time period — WWII.

So basically, everything about this movie was perfect.  Great story, great actors, great comedy — LOVE!

If you haven’t already seen this, do it now!  There is a reason why it is always rated so highly (which I can’t say about some of the others), so you need to check it out!

Hi everyone!

Ready for those movie reviews I mentioned?  You’ve probably been on pins and needles

As you know (or don’t know), I decided I wanted to watch all 100 movies on AFI’s Top 100.  I had already seen a good amount before I started this “challenge,” but I have a lot to go.  Well, I recently (like, in the past month) watched three, so here we go.

A Place in the Sun

I’m reviewing these in reverse order of how I liked them, so I’m starting with this one.  A Place in the Sun is about a man who gets a job from his wealthy uncle and falls in love with a “common” girl and a socialite (a young Liz Taylor!  She was super pretty!).  As you can imagine, some drama ensues.

I did like this movie, even though it was my least favorite of the three.  I loved seeing young Liz, the drama was super interesting, and I love  all movies from the 50′s that I’ve seen.  However, I did think it was a little drawn out and was a bit slow moving at times.  It was definitely a well-done movie, but it wasn’t as good as some of the others on the list.  If you want a movie from the 50′s (and you should, because they are AWESOME), check out Rebel Without A Cause or Sunset Blvd instead.  This movie is good, but not as good as those (in fact, Sunset Blvd is one of my favorite movies of all time).

Network

Network is about a TV network that exploits a TV anchor’s ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.  I really liked this movie!  It was fun, fast paced, interesting, and as a former Journalism major, I loved seeing this behind the scenes look at a news station.  I also felt like the movie was true to life and the need for ratings and what networks will do for ratings even though the movie is 37 years old.  The story never got boring, and I was interested the entire time.

I also liked seeing William Holden because I loved him in Sunset Blvd, and Faye Dunaway was great in it.  I would definitely recommend this one because, not only is it a great movie, I think it’s definitely relatable for anyone who watches TV and wonders (or knows) about how the networks work.

The Gold Rush

And the last one is the one I liked the best — even though it is from 1925 and is a silent movie!  Who knew that would be my favorite?  The Gold Rush is a Charlie Chaplin movie in which he is searching for gold and love in the Yukon.  The movie started out a bit slow, but quickly picked up (it’s a short one), and I loved it!

If you have never seen a Charlie Chaplin movie, do yourself a favor and rent one/buy one/Netflix one.  Chaplin is a great comedian, and I find myself laughing out loud at him as much or more as I do with comedic actors today.  His humor is good clean fun, but it is genuinely funny.

I didn’t like this one quite as much as City Lights (LOVE), but it had the same sweet, endearing quality that I loved about CIty Lights.  If you come across either of these movies, check them out!

Hello everyone!

I hope your first day back to work/school went well, and if you are still on break, I’m jealous

I was a little overly ambitious yesterday when I said I was going to post about several things today.  It’s already getting late, and I’m super tired, so I’m going to limit this post to two AFI Top 100 movie reviews and three random movie reviews.  The theme of the Top 100 reviews are: Hepburn!

My Fair Lady

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I’ve been watching most of the musicals from the list lately because James hasn’t been able to watch with me, and I wouldn’t subject him to a bunch of musicals (except for West Side Story because that has gangs ), so I tuned into My Fair Lady.

My Fair Lady is about a woman (Audrey Hepburn) from the “wrong side of the tracks” who asks a phonetics professor to teach her to speak properly.  He agrees and bets his friend that he can turn her into a member of high society.   Hijinks and hilarity ensue.

I really enjoyed this movie much more than I thought I would.  For one thing, I’m not a huge fan of musicals.  Additionally, it is really long, and I was a little worried about it keeping my attention, but I didn’t even notice the length. I was familiar with the story, but I appreciated seeing it on screen.  Audrey Hepburn’s poor girl accent did get a little grating at times, but I loved her when she cleaned up.  She was funny and, of course, beautiful.

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Seriously, so classically pretty!

Although this wasn’t my favorite musical (nothing will ever top Mary Poppins), I definitely enjoyed it and had fun watching it.  If you like British musicals, this will be right up your alley!

The Philadelphia Story

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I saved my favorite of the two movies, and my favorite Hepburn for last.  I love old black and white films, especially comedies, and I am a big fan of Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and especially Katharine Hepburn, so I was really excited about this movie, and I was not disappointed.

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Such a fun cast!

The Philadelphia Story is about a socialite, popular in the tabloids, who is about to marry her second husband at her parents’ grand home.  Her ex-husband shows up with a gossip reporter and photographer, and well, hilarity and hijinks ensue!

I loved this movie!  It was fun, funny, and a bit nutty/zany, which is exactly the kind of humor I enjoy.  I think that is part of the reason I like older comedies — things were funnier in the 30′s, 40′s, 50′s, etc.  I highly recommend this movie!

I think Katharine Hepburn is wonderful, and after watching her crazy character in Bringing Up Baby (also with Cary Grant), I enjoyed seeing this more straight-laced version of her — although she is great as both characters.  And Jimmy Stewart has a great scene after one too many glasses of champagne, and I loved the ending.  It ended exactly as I wanted it to from the beginning!  Watch this movie!

****

Now, neither Hepburn nor Top 100 related, but I had a chance to watch a few other random movies in the past few weeks.  (The sources for the following photos are IMDB, so if you want more info about a movie, you can click that link).

The Help

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Although I liked the book much more (it had more time to develop the characters), I love Emma Stone and the story in general, so I enjoyed this movie.  I also love the 60′s era, so I liked she the dresses, cars, houses/kitchens, etc. from that era, so that definitely kept my attention.

HappyThankYouMorePlease

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I heard good things about this, and even though Ted Mosby is my least favorite How I Met Your Mother character, I thought I would give Josh Radnor (wrote, directed, and acted in this) a chance, and I’m glad it did.  This is kind of a simple movie — straight forward story lines about relationships — but it was cute, funny, and endearing.

New Year’s Eve

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I know, I know, not critically acclaimed, but honestly, I was entertained.  This is a who’s who of Hollywood, which is always fun, and although predictable, it kept my attention.  Not a masterpiece, but a fun, no thinking type movie.

****

Well that’s it for tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow I can hit on the comedy album and an update on my first few weeks of an actual gym experience (instead of apartment gyms and at home gyms).  Until then, have a great Thursday!!