Film Friday - Westerns

Top Ten Westerns

This was a tough one; hard to decide which one made the list.

So, here goes:

10. Shane (1953)

9. Pale Rider (1985)

 

8. El Dorado (1966)

7. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

6. Seraphim Falls (2006)

5. The Searchers (1956)

4. The Magnificent Seven (1960)

3. How the West Was Won (1962)

 2. Rio Bravo (1959)

And my number one pick for Western Movies is:

1. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Film Friday - Catholic Movies

Today's Film Friday list.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 

St. Patrick was a Catholic Priest, so I thought it would be appropriate to list some of my favorite catholic movies.  I could have created a list of Irish films but I haven't watched enough to generate a worthy list here. 

My Top 10 Catholic Movies:

10. Angles in the Outfield (1951)

9. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

8. When in Rome (1952)

7. Trouble Along the Way (1953)

6. The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)

5. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

4. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

3. Going My Way (1944)

2. The Song of Bernadette (1943)

1. The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)

Film Friday - Comedy/Romance

Valentine's Day is in a few days. I thought posting my top 8 comedy - romance movies would be appropriate. In romance, you must have a sense of humor. And as always, they are classic films.

Top 8 Romance-Comedy Films:

#8 Holiday Affair (1949)

#7 Living on Love (1937)

#6 The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

#5 The More the Merrier (1943)

#4 The Philadelphia Story (1940)

#3 Marty (1955)

#2 One Way Passage (1932)

#1 You Can't Take It with You (1938)

My Top Movie Couples

Film Friday - my top-rated movie couples in no particular order.

Vivien Leigh & Clark Gable

Barbara Stanwyck & Fred MacMurray

Katharine Hepburn & Humphrey Bogart

Elizabeth Taylor & Paul Newman

Myrna Loy & William Powell

Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy

Donna Reed & Jimmy Stewart

Jane Russell & Robert Mitchum

Ingrid Bergman & Cary Grant

Jean Arthur & Gary Cooper

Mr. Smith the Politician

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 film directed by Frank Capra. The main characters, Jimmy Stewart (Mr. Smith), Jean Arthur (Saunders), and Claude Rains (Sen. Joseph Paine), are the main characters.

It's one of my favorite movies. The story goes as Mr. Smith is elected as Senator and goes to Washington with a great sense of doing some good for a country he loves. He discovers early the deep corruption of the senior politicians who try to oust Mr. Smith because he is not going according to the rules of corruption within the political world. But he resists and continues to fight for the truth and the duties of his position. And with persistence, he prevails and becomes a model Senator.

Politics, especially at the higher levels in Washington DC, have a certain amount of corruption, and I'm sure there are a few "Mr. Smiths" in the office today, or at least I would like to believe. Politicians should represent the people who elect them, but that does not necessarily reflect everyone because some didn't vote for the elected. But the majority rules, and if you live in a district where your representatives do not reflect your values, you should move to another city or state. In America, we can elect those who best represent our values.   

Mystery Movies

 Top Ten Mystery Films

10. Keeper of the Flame (1942)

9. Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929)

8. Harper (1966)

7. Citizen Kane (1941)

6. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

5. The Thin Man (1934)

4. And Then There Were None (1945)

3. Rear Window (1954)

2. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

1. Gaslight (1944)

Comedy Films

My ratings are usually based on my surfing the channels and always stopping to watch these movies in their entirety or just the last thirty minutes. 

Here are my top ten comedy films:

10. Adam's Rib (1949)

9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)

8. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

7. Living on Love (1937)

6. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

5. Modern Times (1936)

4. The Gold Rush (1925)

3. The More the Merrier (1943)

2. You Can't Take It with You (1938)

1. Groundhog Day (1993)

 

Top Ten Western Movies

 Here is a list of my top 10 Western movies:

10. The Shootist (1976)

9. Shane (1953)

8. Seraphim Falls (2006)

7. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

6. The Magnificent Seven (1960)

5. The Man from Laramie (1953)

4. High Noon (1952)

3. El Dorado (1966)

2. Rio Bravo (1959)

1. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Soylent Green

I haven't seen this movie yet, but it looks interesting, made in1973, about the year 2022.  The plot summary below seems to echo what is in the news currently.

Soylent Green (1973)

Plot Summary by Mystic80

A tale of Earth in despair in 2022. Natural food like fruits, vegetables, and meat, among others are now extinct. Earth is overpopulated, and New York City has 40 million starving, poverty-stricken people. They only survive with water rations and eating a mysterious food called Soylent. A detective investigates the murder of the president of the Soylent company. The truth he uncovers is more disturbing than the Earth in turmoil when he learns the secret ingredient of Soylent Green.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/plotsummary?item=ps0199925

Wag the Dog - the movie

(1997)

Movie Trailer

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi920715545?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

The movie scenarios could easily fit into the current political environment as well as past presidencies.  It was about an election year and the current President poll numbers were falling due to a sex scandal. So, the President calls in a specialist (Robert De Niro) to sweep the scandal away and improve his poll numbers. He recruits a movie producer (Dustin Hoffman) to create a fake war to distract the American public by using the news media to help convince the public to re-elect a failing President, sound familiar.  

Over-all, I liked the movie, didn't really care much for the progress-left actors, but a good movie.  

I watched this movie for the first-time last night. I will have to say it was thought provoking and at times funny and other times alarming.

I will usually take what I hear in the news with some analysis of history, some knowledge of politics, past experiences (comes with age) and critical thinking. Watching it I could not help thinking, could this happen in real life? And especially now with the current president (not my president).

Take a look that the pictures from a recent Press Conference with Biden.

    

Who is in charge of this actor? and more importantly who is the producer?

 

Oscars 2022 - real or fake or do you care?

 

First, I did not watch the Oscars last night and have not in years.

I saw the Chris Rock vs Will Smith exchange. I really don't care if it was fake or real. 

I am a fan of classic movies from silent film of the 1920's up to movies in the 1960's. After the 60's, movies seem to go downhill from there, with some exceptions. 

Why does everything have to be dramatized. This incident, fake or not was not good for the movie industry.  The Oscars have been struggling to get there ratings up and this didn't help. And for those who watched it and thought it was good entertainment, your acceptance of this is why our country is in the shape it is in. 

We cannot continue to go down the path of just accepting everything as it happens, there has to be consequences to actions. I realize this was just one show but when does this type of action result in some form discipline.  I would believe if this happened in the 1950's the actors involved would be banned or fined from the film industry.

Just my opinion. 

photo -  onkelglocke - pixabay    

Bogart and Hepburn

 

One of my favorite movies with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.

A classic movie from 1951

A great story of love and struggles in wartime. Be sure to check it out. A movie of adventure, drama, and romance.

Escape to the Movies

The events of current times can be overwhelming and with the multiple outlets for news, sometimes its good to just escape, and one of my ways is TCM (Turner Classic Movies).  I have be a fan of the channel for many years. I mostly watch movies from the 1920's up to late 1960's.  

The genres I follow:

• Westerns
• Drama
• Film Noir
• Military
• Sports
• Comedy
• Silent

And to just name a few of my favorites movies

• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
• 12 angry Men (1957)
• His Kind of Woman (1951)
• The D.I. (1957)
• Knute Rockne All American (1940)
• You Can't Take It with You (1938)
• Safety Last (1923)

TCM does an excellent job with introductions and details about the directors, actors, and actresses. The programming is all about the classics - a lost art in film making, they don't make them like they the like they used to

The fans of the TCM channel are like no other, on Twitter follow #TCMParty. Movie fans can comment while watching a movie. Other official Twitter accounts to follow

@TCM  @TCMPR  @NoirAlley @TCMUnderground   

The next time you are surfing the channels wondering what to watch, take a look a Turner Classic Movies   

Film Noir

 

Definition: The term Film noir is French for 'black film or 'dark film was first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946 is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations.

November in the social media world is Noirvember month dedicated to recognizing this era in movies.

I have been a fan of the classic movies with a focus on those produced from 1930 to the mid 1960's. 

So, here is my top ten Film Noir movies.

1. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
2. His Kind of Woman (1951)
3. Key Largo (1948)
4. Criss Cross (1949)
5. White Heat (1949)
6. Too Late for Tears (1949)
7. The Wrong Man (1956)
8. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
9. D.O.A. (1949)
10. High Sierra (1941)

 

 

 

Christmas Movies

 I've been a classic movie fan for awhile, so I thought I would post some of my favorite Christmas movies.

1. Its a Wonderful Life (1946)

2. It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)

3. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

4. A Christmas Carol (1938)

5. The Greatest Gift (1942)

6. Miracle on 34th Street (1942)

7. White Christmas (1954)

8. Holiday Affair (1949)

9. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

10. Holiday Inn (1942)

11. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer (1964)

12. Frosty the Snowman (1969)

13. The Little Drummer Boy (1968)

Stay At Home - what to watch

Here is a short list of some movies to watch during the pandemic. 

These are mostly comedy's so we can laugh during this difficult time.

• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
• It's a Mad Mad World (1963)
• Modern Times (1936)
• You Can't Take It with You (1938)
• Living on Love (1937)

Classic Movies - Military

Here is a list of my top classic military movies in no particular order and always subject to change

The D.I. (1957)

Patton (1970)

The Great Escape (1963)

The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

The Sand Pebbles (1966)

Top Ten - Movies

Thought I would list my top ten movies

This is an overall list

 I have more that I'll list later in category by comedy, drama etc..

It was difficult to pick just ten.  I based it mostly on channel surfing and what I would stop to watch.

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
2. Mr. Smith goes to Washington (1939)
3. The Crowd (1928)
4. You Can't Take It with You (1938
5. The Postman (1997)
6. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
7. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
8. Rio Bravo (1959)
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. Modern Times (1936)