you don't got to be Stonewall Jackson to know you don't want to fight in a basement!

I'm back, and watching movies again. Went through a flurry of films, many of which were borrowed from my parents' collection. (My dad and I share a joy for movies and especially love to discuss those we've seen, both good and bad!) This is the first installment of several, in the latest batch.

Leap of Faith (1992) - "Jonas is a fraudulent faith healer, who uses all the tricks in the book to con the people attending his shows. Jonas and his team of helpers, including Jane who is in need of some romance, travel the country stopping at big towns and cities to put on their show. When one of the trucks breaks down in a small town, Jonas is quick to accept the challenge of making money in this town. His other goal is to seduce Marva, a waitress in the town, but she's a hard nut to crack, as is Will, the local sheriff who's determined to expose Jonas as a fraud."
source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: some of Steve Martin's movies are good. Others stink like bad cheese. I was hoping...
IMDB: 6.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 64% Audience: 46%
my IMDB: 3/10

notable quote: "You really don't care about anybody or anything except yourself, do you?" 

    "Oh ... I never pretended I did."

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Richard Pearce

my notes: in the battle between deception and obtuse smugness, who wins? Not the viewer of this awful film.

overall: not recommended

The Lion in Winter (1968) - "It's Christmas 1183, and King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) is planning to announce his successor to the throne. The jockeying for the crown, though, is complex. Henry has three sons and wants his boy Prince John (Nigel Terry) to take over. Henry's wife, Queen Eleanor (Katharine Hepburn), has other ideas. She believes their son Prince Richard (Sir Anthony Hopkins) should be King. As the family and various schemers gather for the holiday, each tries to make the indecisive King choose his or her option."
source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's a classic, about which I've heard much. I could not resist the opportunity
IMDB: 7.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 90% Audience: 90%

MPAA rating: PG

directed by: Anthony Harvey

my notes: I couldn't watch it. I thought the first half hour was awful.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Actress—Hepburn

• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from another Medium

• Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a musical)
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Actor—O'Toole

• Best Director—Harvey

• Best Costume Design
overall: not recommended

Miss Congeniality (2000) - "When a serial killer indicates that his next target is the Miss United States beauty pageant, the F.B.I. decides that they must get an undercover Agent as a participant in the contest. A search uncovers no suitable candidate other than a bumbling female Agent. Reluctantly, her Captain agrees to let her join the team working the case. The team is led by a womanizing Agent who has an apparent reluctant attraction to Bullock's character. She enters as Miss New Jersey, replacing a contestant who was discovered to have acted in a porn movie. The pageant managers are immediately aghast about the Agent appearing in the pageant, but arrange a top handler to come give her a quick make-over, with the expected outstanding results. Unfortunately, she still is bumbling. When the killer is suddenly caught, everything seems to be over, except the female Agent tries to convince her boss that something is still not right. She has discovered that the pageant managers are being dismissed after twenty-one years for younger people, and Bergen's character may not be as solid as she seems on the surface."
source: it was on TV at a convenient time (when I had access to a TV)
I watched it because: it's a fine way to pass the time 
IMDB: 6.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 41% Audience: 69%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "You think I'm gorgeous, you want to kiss me... You want to hug me... You want to love me... You want to hug me... You want to smooch me... You want to..."

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Donald Petrie

my notes: silly, cute fun

overall:  recommended

Inglorious Basterds (2009) - "In German-occupied France, young Jewish refugee Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the slaughter of her family by Colonel Hans Landa. Narrowly escaping with her life, she plots her revenge several years later when German war hero Fredrick Zoller takes a rapid interest in her and arranges an illustrious movie premiere at the theater she now runs. With the promise of every major Nazi officer in attendance, the event catches the attention of the 'Basterds', a group of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers led by the ruthless Lt. Aldo Raine. As the relentless executioners advance and the conspiring young girl's plans are set in motion, their paths will cross for a fateful evening that will shake the very annals of history."
source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: my companion assured me that it would be the perfect thing
IMDB: 8.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 89% Audience: 88%
my IMDB: 9/10

notable quote: "I'm more than just a uniform."

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Quentin Tarantino

my notes: my favorite of QT's films. I was enthralled, and absolutely loved it. Not for everyone, it is violent and thought-provoking, disturbing and sad. Christoph Waltz' portrayal of Colonel Hans Landa is chilling, funny, and devastating. The complexity of the relationship (?) between Shoshanna and Zoller is intriguing, sad, and wistful. Brad Pitt and the Basterds are hilarious and disgusting, and inspiring. I loved this film SO much!

Academy Award winner: Best Supporting Actor—Waltz
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Director—Tarantino

• Best Writing, Original Screenplay—Tarantino

• Best Cinematography—Robert Richardson

• Best Film Editing

• Best Sound Mixing

• Best Sound Editing
overall: most highly recommended

The Fifth Element (1997) - "In the twenty-third century, the universe is threatened by evil. The only hope for mankind is the Fifth Element, who comes to Earth every five thousand years to protect the humans with four stones of the four elements: fire, water, Earth and air. A Mondoshawan spacecraft is bringing The Fifth Element back to Earth but it is destroyed by the evil Mangalores. However, a team of scientists use the DNA of the remains of the Fifth Element to rebuild the perfect being called Leeloo. She escapes from the laboratory and stumbles upon the taxi driver and former elite commando Major Korben Dallas that helps her to escape from the police. Leeloo tells him that she must meet Father Vito Cornelius to accomplish her mission. Meanwhile, the Evil uses the greedy and cruel Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg and a team of mercenary Mangalores to retrieve the stones and avoid the protection of Leeloo. But the skilled Korben Dallas has fallen in love with Leeloo and decides to help her to retrieve the stones."
source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: my companion had not seen it, and I enjoyed it the first time around
IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 70% Audience: 86%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "Quiver, ladies. Quiver!"

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Luc Besson

my notes: it's dumb, and Gary Oldman is visibly uncomfortable with the character of Zorg, but I still kinda like it.

Academy Award nominee: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
overall: recommended

[the title quotation is from Inglourious Basterds]