dear God; it's bad to die five minutes too soon

Classic movies are just so different from modern films, eh?

Down to Earth (1947) - "Upset about a new Broadway musical's mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth and lands a part in the show. She works her charms on the show's producer and he incorporates her changes into the show. Unfortunately, her changes also produce a major flop."

source: DVD
I watched it because: it was in a box set of "classic film romances"
IMDB: 6.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 40% Audience: 50%
my IMDB: 4/10

notable quote: "'I thought you couldn't feel any pain.'

    'I've got a memory, haven't I?'"

MPAA rating: approved [TV-G]

directed by: Alexander Hall

my notes: It's just not very good.

overall: not recommended

We Were Strangers (1949) - "In 1930's Cuba, a bank clerk and an American mercenary assist a revolutionary group in a plan to kill the President but the Cuban Secret Police chief and the dictator's military complicate the plan's execution."

source: DVD
I watched it because: I plan to offer it for sale, and wanted to see it before I did
IMDB: 6.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 73% Audience: 67%
my IMDB: 5/10

notable quote: "Why is it that when you say what is in your heart, you always feel a fool?"

MPAA rating: approved

directed by: John Huston

my notes: John Garfield's Tony Fenner is the star of the show, and Gilbert Roland as Guillermo Montilla steals a few scenes, too. Jennifer Jones' China, though... ugh. Trapped in an angry/sad cycle, her woodenness brings the movie down.

overall: very mildly recommended

Angels Over Broadway (1940) - "A cuckolded embezzler on the verge of suicide is helped by a tout, an alcoholic playwright, and a pick-up girl to reimburse the money with a gambling sting."

source: DVD
I watched it because: I'd never seen a Douglas Fairbanks movie before
IMDB: 6.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 60% Audience: 52%
my IMDB: 5/10

notable quote: "An idiot - with a gun in one hand and a clarinet in the other."

MPAA rating: passed

directed by: Ben Hecht

my notes: not a terrible idea for a movie, but the result is a little weird. I didn't love it.
Academy Award nominee: Best Writing, Original Screenplay—Ben Hecht
overall: probably worth seeing, if only for the dashing Fairbanks

Brothers of the Wind (2015) - "The way of the eagle is to raise two chicks. The stronger is destined always to throw the weaker from the nest. Man also has his ways, often to hurt those closest to him. Lukas suffers at the hands of a father who has withdrawn since the loss of his wife. Killed whilst rescuing the infant Lukas, the boy now carries the burden of her death. Our eagle’s story begins in the nest. The first-born chick pushes his weaker brother to a certain death on the forest floor. But fate intervenes and the chick is found by Lukas. Naming him Abel, Lukas cares for the creature in secret, finding a love and companionship denied to him at home. But when the day comes to release Abel back into the wild, will Lukas find his own release into a new life?"
source: Tubi
I watched it because: I adore Jean Reno
IMDB: 6.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 49%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "He will never be free. Is that what you want?"

MPAA rating: TV-G

directed by: Gerardo Olivares, Otmar Penker

my notes: So bleak. Reno is very good, and perfect for the role of Danzer. Prehaps not the best choice for the English voice-over, though, as in this Austrian film his accent (which is somewhere between French and German, maybe?) becomes much stronger. Unlike anything I'd seen before, it was a mostly-good surprise.

overall:  recommended

[the title quotation is from We Were Strangers]