two years is a long time between ... drinks

A mixed bag: a couple of stinkers, one that's all right, one that's very good, and an unexpected entry into "The Amy List." Hmm, I wonder if there would be any interest in me publishing 'The Amy List of Movies that No One has Heard of but Everyone Should See'...?

Guarding Tess (1994) - "A former U.S. First Lady wants a particular Secret Service agent to head her bodyguard detail, even though he can't stand her."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection.
I watched it because: Nic Cage is sometimes utterly ridiculous, and sometimes terrific
IMDB: 6.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 57% Audience: 47%

notable quote: "'Uh , Bobby—it's a two-for-one thing, so I suggest you go ahead and get both.'

'Uh, copy that, Doug, but I believe we've lost interest in peas. Repeat, lost interest in peas. Canned goods, out.'"

story: Tess, a president's widow, is under Secret Service protection. She wants a specific agent, Doug, for her detail. Doug cannot stand her. Conflict ensues.
costumes, hair & makeup: I don't know how old Shirley MacLaine was when this movie was made, but she looks like a middle-aged woman made up to look like a little old lady. The effect is unpleasant and artificial.
acting: oh boy

intangibles: not the worst movie I've ever seen. Not even the worst Nicolas Cage or Shirley MacLaine movie I've ever seen. Still, it's...not great.
overall: recommended only if there's nothing else on

Downhill Racer (1969) - "Quietly cocky Robert Redford joins the U.S. ski team as a downhill racer and clashes with the team's coach, played by Gene Hackman. Lots of good skiing action leading to an exciting climax."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I've been in a sports movie mood 
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 85% Audience: 58%

notable quote: "I'm the first one to admit that a good racer turns everybody on. But he's not for the team, and he never will be."
visuals: blergh! Way too much skier POV, which could be cool but in 1969 the technology just was not there to do it well. I had motion sickness through half of the film.
costumes, hair & makeup: exceedingly late-60s schuhwanky
acting: Redford is love-him-or-hate-him, and this is a hate-him role. He's a cornfed handsome actor who succeeded without having to work at it, playing a cornfed handsome skier who wins without having to work at it. 

intangibles: I could name twenty better sports films than this, or 20 better films based in winter, or 20 better films featuring either Redford or Hackman, or...
overall: not recommended

Pal Joey (1957) - "Based on the hit Rodgers and Hart musical of the same name, Pal Joey follows Joey Evans, a charming nightclub singer who is very popular with the chorus girls in the show. Joey has a comfortable relationship with Vera, a former dancer who is now a rich widow. But when Linda enters his life, Joey suddenly has to choose between convenience and something far more substantial."
Source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I've heard good things
IMDB: 6.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 80% Audience: 60%

notable quote: "We're alike, Joey and I: the same breed of cat."
story: skeevy entertainer arrives in town with no money and no job. He lucks into a spot with an old friend, and takes a liking to a chorus girl who falls for him. Unfortunately for her, she's overshadowed by a glamorous widow.
visuals: well done
costumes, hair & makeup: fun costumes (and lack thereof)
acting: Kim Novak is excellent as Linda English, a great combo of ingenue and effervescence. The other leads are stereotyped and crass.

intangibles: this seemed to be a sort of unpleasant movie. Each of the three main characters is unhappy and taking it out on at least one of the others. There's a lot of snide commentary that passes as jokes. 
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Art Direction—Set Decoration

• Best Costume Design

• Best Sound, Recording

• Best Film Editing
overall: not recommended

The Fugitive (1993) - "Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's definitely on the list of "people are dumbfounded when they hear that I haven't seen it" movies
AFI: 100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #33

IMDB: 7.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 96% Audience: 89%

notable quote: "I don't want to tell you how to do your job... but the guy is fish food!"
story: guy's wife gets murdered, and he is presumed to have done it. He becomes a fugitive (hence the title) in order to find the person responsible, and is hounded by the Marshals.
visuals: outstanding
costumes, hair & makeup: very good - and plot points abound
acting: wonderful. Tommy Lee Jones (Samuel Gerard) is at his best here, and even wooden Harrison Ford is sorta believable.

intangibles: I liked it a lot! Engaging and suspenseful. I wish I'd seen it earlier.
Academy Award winner: Best Supporting Actor—Jones
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Cinematography

• Best Sound

• Best Film Editing

• Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

• Best Music, Original Score
overall: recommended

Babette's Feast (1987) - "During the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I remember seeing the Oscar ceremony the year it won, and it's stuck in my head ever since
IMDB: 7.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 97% Audience: 91%

notable quote: "I have been with you every day of my life."
story: well, it sounds a little crazy—because it is. This all takes place in late-1800s Denmark. Two very religious ladies grow up with their father, who is head of their Protestant sect. One falls for a soldier, and the other for an opera singer, but for reasons known only to them, neither marries. Years pass, and eventually they take in a boarder/servant: a French gentlewoman named Babette. She becomes like a member of the family. More years pass. Through unexpected circumstances, Babette chooses to make a gift to the sisters. The meaning of the gift—to the three of them, and to their community—is what the film is about.
visuals: "very European". Bleak, simple, and not distracting from the story.
acting: Stéphane Audran (Babette Hersant) and Jarl Kulle (General Lorens Löwenhielm) are phenomenal. Erik Petersén (Erik the serving boy) was also very good.

intangibles: about a third of the way through this, I considered turning it off because it was so slow. By the halfway mark I was riveted and I'm not sure I even twitched for the last third. Tears streamed down my cheeks off and on at various points, and I know I was beaming, too. Very affecting, surreal, mood-altering.
Academy Award winner: Best Foreign Language Film 
overall: very highly recommended

[the title quotation is from Pal Joey]