good man to shoot at

The great, the awful, and the ugly.

Doctor Zhivago (1965) - "The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution."
source: DVD (previously reviewed here)
I watched it because: it's an outstandingly romantic film, and I was in the mood to be swept away
IMDB: 7.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 82% Audience: 88%
my IMDB: 8/10

AFI: 100 Years…100 Movies (original list 1998) #39

    100 Years…100 Passions (2002) #7

notable quote: "'Wouldn't it have been lovely if we'd met before?'

    'Before we did? Yes.'

    'We'd have got married, had a house and children. If we'd had children, Yuri, would you like a boy or girl?'

    'I think we may go mad if we think about all that.'

    'I shall always think about it.'"

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: David Lean

my notes: terribly romantic, heartbreaking, and gorgeous. The cinematography is outstanding. I love it (even though it makes me cry).

Academy Award winner:
• Best Writing, Screenplay based on material from another medium—Robert Bolt

• Best Cinematography, Color—Freddie Young    

• Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color—John Box, Terence Marsh, Dario Simoni

• Best Costume Design, Color—Phyllis Dalton

• Best Music, Score - Substantially Original—Maurice Jarre
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Carlo Ponti

• Best Supporting Actor—Tom Courtenay

• Best Director—David Lean

• Best Sound—A.W. Watkins, Franklin Milton

• Best Film Editing—Norman Savage
overall: very highly recommended

Jeremiah Johnson (1972) - "An American soldier goes west to escape the Mexican War and becomes a mountain man. He is befriended by a wily old trapper who teaches him how to survive. After unavoidably violating an Indian burial ground, he loses his new Indian wife and their adopted child to the Indians' revenge; a vendetta between him and the Crow tribe ruins his idyllic life as a fur trapper. Gorgeous scenery and a great role for Will Geer in a thoughtful meditation on the American West."

source: DVD
I watched it because: I used to know someone who sang the title theme....
IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 91% Audience: 89%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "I got the prettiest gal, fastest horse, ugliest dog this side of Hell! I can out-jump, outrun, throw down, drag out, and whip any man!"

MPAA rating: GP

directed by: Sydney Pollack

my notes: beautifully and realistically filmed. Devastating, funny, and real.

overall: strongly recommended

Mildred Pierce (1945) - "When Mildred Pierce's out-of-work husband leaves her for another woman, Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. Despite Mildred's financial successes in the restaurant business, her oldest daughter, Veda, resents her mother for degrading their social status. In the midst of a police investigation after the death of her second husband, Mildred must evaluate her own freedom and her complicated relationship with her daughter. "

source: DVD
I watched it because: I'm interested in Joan Crawford's movies
IMDB: 7.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 88% Audience: 90%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "'Friendship's much more lasting than love.'

    'Yeah, but it isn't as entertaining.'"

MPAA rating: approved (TV-PG)

directed by: Michael Curtiz

my notes: a surprising one! Crawford plays a realistic working-class mother of two in the title role. Ann Blyth, as the scheming Veda Pierce, is a terrific little monster. And Eve Arden, as Mildred's sidekick Ida Corwin, is marvelous.

Academy Award winner: Best Actress—Crawford
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Supporting Actress—Eve Arden

• Best Supporting Actress—Blyth

• Best Writing, Screenplay—Ranald MacDougall

• Best Cinematography, Black and White—Ernest Haller
overall:  recommended

Our Mutual Friend (1998) - "The tongues of London high society gossips begin to wag when John Harmon—a young man whose inheritance depends on his marrying a woman he has never met—is found dead in the River Thames. The fortune passes into the hands of the working-class Boffins, who take into their new home both Bella Wilfer (Harmon's would-be bride) and a mysterious secretary known as Rokesmith. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of the boatman suspected of Harmon's murder, is pursued by two suitors: obsessive and self-righteous Bradley Headstone and roguish and lethargic Eugene Wrayburn. An expansive and varied cast of characters create an epic intertwining tale."
source: DVD
I watched it because: it's been a while since I saw it (reviewed here) and I loved it the first time
IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: N/A%

my IMDB: 9/10

notable quote: "...by resolving not to set right the wrong he has done you."

MPAA rating: [originated on BBC]

directed by: Julian Farino

my notes: I adore this series! This time around, it was Eugene (Paul McGann) and Mortimer (Dominic Mafham) who kept me mesmerized.

Four-time BAFTA Award winner, with five more nominations.

overall: very highly recommended

 

Simple Men (1992) - "Bill McCabe, a vaguely misogynistic ne'er-do-well who has just been double-crossed by his girlfriend during a heist, is reunited with his younger and more reserved brother Dennis on a quest for their father. Along the way they encounter a lonely bar owner with whom Bill falls in love, an epileptic young woman with a big secret, a psychotic ex-husband, a bitter sheriff, and several other colorful characters. This 'road movie with a twist' aims to explore men's attitudes toward both women and themselves."

source: DVD
I watched it because: it was written, directed, and co-produced by Hal Hartley
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 92% Audience: 89%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "I'm not gonna fall in love with her."

MPAA rating: R

my notes: I've seen this before, though I did not review it. It is typical Hartley—verbose, twisted, pessimistic, yet undeniably romantic and very smart. Robert John Burke is tremendous. Karen Sillas, too, though she's not to everyone's taste. Elina Löwensohn is kind of hard to take, especially in the eye-candy role. It's not a movie for everyone, but I like it and would watch again.

overall: recommended

Slattery's Hurricane (1949) - "A pilot wants a life of ease, flying for drug smugglers and looking the other way until his conscience is tweaked by a woman he has misused. The story unfolds in flashbacks as the pilot battles the storm and recalls his failures, including a love affair with the wife of his best friend."
source: DVD
I watched it because: Veronica Lake is in it
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 38%
my IMDB: 1/10

DNF

MPAA rating: NR

directed by: André De Toth

my notes: weird, disjointed, seemingly pointless. Hated it. Even Veronica Lake couldn't save this shitshow.

overall: not  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Doctor Zhivago]