you shoulda shot that fella a long time ago. Now he's too rich to kill

Putting away the numeric ratings, in hopes of getting back to my love of movies, has been a success thus far - at least from my end!

The Woman in the Window (1944) - "When a conservative middle-aged professor engages in a minor dalliance with a femme fatale, he is plunged into a nightmarish quicksand of blackmail and murder."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I have aspirations of a job change and "femme fatale" would look breathtaking on a business card
IMDB: 7.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 91% Audience: 84%

notable quote: "I don't want to make trouble for anybody. I can, of course, but I don't want to."
story: wait for it...
visuals: not the best reproduction I have ever seen, but certainly not the worst
costumes, hair & makeup: interesting outfits. That era was full of a certain pomp mixed with flair. Those hats!
acting: on the wooden side

intangibles: this was a fun one. Bizarre, kind of sexy - albeit in a straight-laced way - and smart.
Academy Award nominee: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
overall: recommended 

The Bucket List (2007) - "Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents
I watched it because: it seems like one of those movies that everyone needs to see before they die
IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 41% Audience: 77%

notable quote: "...never pass up a bathroom, never waste a hard-on, and never trust a fart."
story: clever enough to pull in a viewer, it is a tale of sickness, friendship, finding a sense of self, and figuring out what family means 
visuals: beautifully shot and well lit
costumes, hair & makeup: disturbingly well done
acting: Jack Nicholson (Edward Cole) and Sean Hayes (Thomas, i.e. Matthew) are a pleasure to watch

intangibles: I had expected it to be trite and easy, but there is some real depth there. It made me think.
overall: recommended 

Network (1976) - "A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents
I watched it because: it is supposed to be very good
IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 92% Audience: 93%
AFI: 100 Years...100 Movies (original list 1998) #66

100 Years...100 Movies (10th anniversary edition 2007) #64

notable quote: "'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'"
story: this is an upsetting film. The basis of it is making fun of, and making money off of, the obvious mental breakdown of a colleague. 
visuals: nothing extraordinary
costumes, hair & makeup: nothing to write home about
acting: William Holden, as Max Schumacher, is a revelation. He plays a TV executive who falls into a love affair with Faye Dunaway, as producer Diana Christensen. The affair itself is inconsequential, but the breakup is a marvel of extraordinary acting. That one scene made the movie for me.

intangibles: It is very...shrill.
Academy Award winner:
• Best Actor--Peter Finch (Howard Beale)

• Best Actress--Dunaway

• Best Supporting Actress--Beatrice Straight (Louise Schumacher)

• Best Writing, Written Directly for the Screen
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Actor--Holden

• Best Supporting Actor--Ned Beatty (Arthur Jensen)

• Best Director--Sidney Lumet

• Best Cinematography

• Best Film Editing
overall: recommended, with reservations

The Go-Between (1971) - "A tale of torrid and forbidden love between a couple in the English countryside."
Source: Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I have not seen a Julie Christie movie from her younger years
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 79%

notable quote: "I was a natural oyster."
story: a deceptively simple story. Classic English romantic drama!
visuals: nicely done
costumes, hair & makeup: dated but beautiful
acting: Alan Bates (Ted Burgess) was fantastic 

intangibles: an odd little movie that I liked very much
Academy Award nominee: Best Supporting Actress--Margaret Leighton (Mrs. Maudsley)
overall: recommended 

Giant (1956) - "Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection - which froze midway through. None of the streaming services offer it for free, so I paid full price for the second half of the movie. Imagine the eye-rolls here.
I watched it because: I've been on a Rock Hudson kick lately

IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 95% Audience: 87%
AFI: 100 Years...100 movies (original list 1998) #82

notable quote: "Whoever said love conquers all was a fool. Because almost everything conquers love--or tries to."
story: "Sprawling" is right, at a whopping 210 minutes
visuals: epic in all senses, this is a big movie. Wide shots, cattle & dust, fancy parties and homes, lots of horses, and theater-level acting. It is also noisily-scored (I will have "I've Been Working on the Railroad" running through my head for the next year!) and oddly lit.
costumes, hair & makeup: Elizabeth Taylor's formalwear is stunning. The makeup - particularly the aging methods - are awful.
acting: chunky and sour, like unripe banana in a milkshake

intangibles: it felt like homework, and not in a subject that interested me. Prehaps "worthwhile," but not to my taste.
Academy Award winner: Best Director
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Actor--James Dean (Jett Rink)

• Best Actor--Hudson (Jordan "Bick" Benedict, Jr.)

• Best Supporting Actress--Mercedes McCambridge (Luz Benedict)

• Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay

• Best Art Direction, Set Decoration - Color

• Best Costume Design - Color

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Dramatic or Comedy Score
overall: recommended, for historical cinema reasons

 

Stand By Me (1986) - "After the death of one of his friends, a writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I have not seen it since it first came out at the theater
IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 91% Audience: 94%

notable quote: "Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood."
story: lovely. A microcosm of friendship.
visuals: artful and visceral
costumes, hair & makeup: adorable, sweet, and realistic 
acting: Wil Wheaton (Gordie Lachance) & River Phoenix (Chris Chambers) utterly inhabit their roles

intangibles: it's one of those movies that I could watch once a year every year for the rest of my life, and never get tired of
Academy Award nominee: Best Writing, Based on Material from Another Medium
overall: so highly recommended 

[the title quotation is from Giant]