thank God, I'm glad I weren't on fire—I would've burned to death before you got one button undone

Average rating: 7, from four very different sorts of movies.

Mystery, Alaska (1999) - "A publicity stunt turns into the ultimate lopsided competition, when the world famous New York Rangers face off against the team from Mystery, Alaska—a hockey-loving town of only 633 people. Team Mystery is a rag-tag collection of eccentric locals including the town's sheriff, its grocer, a deliveryman and a high school senior who play for the love of the game, not fame or big money."
length: 1 hour, 59 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I was working on something dead-boring and wanted a movie that I could focus on instead (also reviewed here and here)
IMDB: 6.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 37% Audience: 66%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "If nothing else, it's good for morale."

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Jay Roach

my notes: charming, funny, and incredibly sweet - I love this one. Russell Crowe is terrific, Mary McCormack is wonderful, and this time around I was particularly taken by Lolita Davidovich as the mayor's wife.

overall: highly recommended

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) - "New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan (Susan Harrison), who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas (Marty Milner). Hunsecker strongly disproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method."

length: 1 hour, 36 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD through the public library
I watched it because: it got great reviews
IMDB: 8.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 98% Audience: 91%
my IMDB: 5/10

AFI: 100 Years … 100 Heroes and Villains (2003) Villain #35

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "I want that boy taken apart."

directed by: Alexander Mackendrick

my notes: massively overplayed. Horribly, scene-chewingly overplayed. Tony Curtis was no great thespian anyway, but Lancaster is usually better than this. The script blows ("Susie ... Susie ... Susie" - it's "oh Mortimer" all over again) and the music, oddly, doesn't quite match the action. 

    It's a good story, but I did not like the movie. I can't say that it's bad, exactly, but it was not for me.

overall:  recommended for people who might disagree

The Last Picture Show (1971) - "High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating local beauty, Jacy, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife, Ruth. As graduation nears, both boys contemplate their futures. While Duane eyes the Army and Sonny takes over a local business, each boy struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else."
length: 1 hour, 58 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD through the public library
I watched it because: I had seen it a really long time ago (October 2006?), it stuck deep in my mind, and it crossed my path again
IMDB: 8.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 98% Audience: 89%
my IMDB: 9/10

AFI: 100 Years…100 Movies - 10th anniversary edition (2007) #95

notable quote: "'Is being married always so miserable?'

    'No. Not really. About 80 percent of the time, I guess.'"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Peter Bogdanovich

my notes: different from anything else I've ever seen. Cloris Leachman (Ruth Popper) is outstanding. Ben Johnson (Sam the Lion), in only a few scenes, is unforgettable. I could not be less surprised that those two won the Oscars, and they are a credit to the Award. Clu Gulager (Abilene) is also marvelous. And Timothy Bottoms (Sonny) is the emotional heart of the film. 

    It's beautifully shot, and has gives the desolate and stark impression of a movie like Hud (1963, reviewed here) thanks to the choice to film in black and white, rare by the 1970s. I'm not a huge fan of this director, who stamps what he does with his own "vision" (as do they all) in a heavy-handed and needlessly quirky way. In any case, it's a good one, and worth seeing.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Supporting Actor—Johnson

• Best Supporting Actress—Leachman
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Stephen J. Friedman

• Best Supporting Actor—Jeff Bridges

• Best Supporting Actress—Ellen Burstyn

• Best Director—Bogdanovich

• Best Writing, Screenplay based on material from another medium—Larry McMurtry, Bogdanovich

• Best Cinematography—Robert Surtees
overall: highly recommended

A Night at the Opera (1935) - "The Marx Brothers run amuck in the world of opera when Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) meets aspiring singer Ricardo (Allan Jones), who is determined to win the love of fellow performer Rosa (Kitty Carlisle). Aided by Fiorello (Chico Marx) and Tomasso (Harpo Marx), Otis attempts to unite the young couple, but faces opposition from the preening star Lassparri (Walter Woolf King), who also has his sights on Rosa. Traveling from Italy to New York, Otis and friends rally to try and win the day."
length: 1 hour, 36 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD through the public library
I watched it because: I was looking for comedies, last time I placed holds, and realized this is one Marx Brothers film I have not seen
IMDB: 7.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 97% Audience: 90%
my IMDB: 6/10

AFI: 100 Years…100 Laughs (2000) #12

    100 Years…100 Movies - 10th anniversary edition (2007) #85

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "'Do they allow tipping on the boat?'

    'Yes, sir.'

    'Have you got two fives?'

    'Yes, sir!'

    'Well, then you won't need the ten cents I was gonna give you.'"

directed by: Sam Wood, Edmund Goulding

my notes: typical for the Marx Brothers, this is complete mayhem tied together with a terribly sketchy, dumb plot and, this time, a whole lotta opera singing. If you dig opera, then this is the movie for you. If not, well.... As with Groucho, a little of that genre goes way too far. 

    The high points: Allan Jones as the lovelorn Ricardo, and of course Harpo, the underrated musical genius. (See this review of Cocoanuts, 1929, for more about my love for Harpo.) Some of his terrific performance from Opera is below.

overall:  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from The Last Picture Show]