it's better to see it than to have it hide. Things that hide are more dangerous and scary

What an interesting group of movies! Not to everyone's taste (of course) but I liked the bunch.

No Man of Her Own (1932) - "Gambler Babe Stewart (Clark Gable) flees Manhattan when his mistress threatens to turn him in. He hides out in a small town, where he meets prim librarian Connie Randall (Carole Lombard). When Connie refuses his advances, Babe impetuously flips a coin to decide whether to marry her, and does. Returning to New York with Connie, Babe avoids the police and convinces his new wife that he holds a respectable day job. But when Connie discovers Babe's duplicity, she takes matters into her own hands."
source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: Lombard and Gable later married, and this is their only film together
IMDB: 6.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 91% Audience: 70%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "Oh, I've been busy leading my usual life of sin."

MPAA rating: Approved

directed by: Wesley Ruggles

my notes: Gable plays Babe with a lively immorality, and Lombard is almost believable as librarian Connie. Dorothy Mackaill, as the spurned Kay (in Babe's gang), steals it.
overall:  recommended

Toy Story (1995) - "Woody (Tom Hanks), a goodhearted cowboy doll who belongs to a young boy named Andy (John Morris), sees his position as Andy's favorite toy jeopardized when his parents buy him a Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) action figure. Even worse, the arrogant Buzz thinks he's a real spaceman on a mission to return to his home planet. When Andy's family moves to a new house, Woody and Buzz must escape the clutches of maladjusted neighbor Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten) and reunite with their boy."

source: I borrowed the Blu-ray from the public library
I watched it because: it's on the AFI list, which I often review before placing library requests
IMDB: 8.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 7/10

AFI: 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary edition, 2007) #99

    10 Top 10 (2008) Animation #6

MPAA rating: G

notable quote: "One minute you're defending the whole galaxy, and, suddenly, you find yourself sucking down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinette ... and her little sister. "

directed by: John Lasseter

my notes: clever, funny, fast-moving, and kind of annoying. It doesn't have an adult-humor level that I enjoy in animated features, but it's all right.

Academy Award winner: Lasseter, "For the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film."
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
• Best Music, Original Song—Randy Newman, "You've got a Friend in Me" (which will stick in your head like cat hair on black clothes)

• Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score

overall:  recommended

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - "When the idealistic young Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) winds up appointed to the United States Senate, he gains the mentorship of Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains). However, Paine isn't as noble as his reputation would indicate, and he becomes involved in a scheme to discredit Smith, who wants to build a boys' campsite where a more lucrative project could go. Determined to stand up against Paine and his corrupt peers, Smith takes his case to the Senate floor."
source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: it's about law, I hadn't seen it, and it's on the AFI lists
IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 97% Audience: 94%
my IMDB: 7/10

AFI:    100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary edition, 2007) #26

    100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains (2008) Hero #13, Jefferson Smith

MPAA rating: Passed (TV-G)

notable quote:  "I wouldn't give you two cents for all your fancy rules if, behind them, they didn't have a little bit of plain, ordinary, everyday kindness and a little looking out for the other fella, too."

directed by: Frank Capra

my notes: it seems petty to quibble with the brilliance that this movie is supposed to have, but.... Remember the adage, show don't tell? This movie is filled to the brim with speechifying. The script must have been ten times longer than the average (even in an age of dialog-heavy film) because every time a character opens his mouth, the volume of words is a deluge. feh
Academy Award winner: Best Writing, Original Story—Lewis R. Foster

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Actor—Stewart

• Best Supporting Actor—Harry Carey

• Best Supporting Actor—Rains

• Best Director—Capra

• Best Writing, Screenplay—Sidney Buchman

• Best Art Direction

• Best Sound, Recording

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Scoring
overall:  recommended with the caveat that your ears may be exhausted by the end of it

Minari (2020) - "A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home."
source: I borrowed the Blu-ray from the public library
I watched it because: it was nominated for Best Picture, another of my criteria for films to watch
IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 98% Audience: 86%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "Remember what we said when we got married? That we'd move to America and save each other?"

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Lee Isaac Chung

my notes: this is one hell of a movie. Longtime readers will know of my fascination with Korean film and the Korean immigrant experience - but this film is about more than that. It's about family and ambition. It's about openness to novelty. It's about self-identity. It's about love.

Academy Award winner: Best Supporting Actress—Youn Yuh-jung

Academy Award nominee:

• Best Picture

• Best Actor—Steven Yeun

• Best Director—Chung

• Best Original Screenplay—Chung

• Best Music, Original Score—Emile Mosseri
overall: highly recommended

[the title quotation is from Minari]