I know things about pigeons, Lilly

Average rating: 8.25. A great bunch.

Great Expectations (1946) - "In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip (John Mills) discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers (Francis L. Sullivan) that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt), and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella (Valerie Hobson), he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker."

length: 1 hour, 58 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: gentle and stately was the order of the day 

    (previously reviewed here)
IMDB: 7.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 88%
my IMDB: 8/10

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "Strike me down on the spot if I split in any way whatever!"

directed by: David Lean

my notes: a wonderful movie, based on a wonderful story, well acted and set. Alec Guinness (Herbert Pocket) is marvelous, as is Bernard Miles (Joe Gargery). A classic for good reason.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Cinematography, Black and white—Guy Green

• Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Black and white—John Bryan, Wilfred Shingleton
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Director—Lean

• Best Writing, Screenplay—Lean, Ronald Neame, Anthony Havelock-Allan
overall:  recommended

 

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) - "A Roman Catholic nun and a hard-bitten US Marine are stranded together on a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific during World War II. Under constant threat of discovery by a ruthless enemy, they hide in a cave and forage for food together. Their forced companionship and the struggle for survival forge a powerful emotional bond between them."
length: 1 hour, 47 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I needed a dose of religion, and an unrequited romance 

    (previously reviewed here)
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 83% Audience: 82%

my IMDB: 9/10

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "No matter how many miles apart we are, or whether I ever get to see your face again, you will be my dear companion always. Always."

directed by: John Huston

my notes: so good. Smart, surprisingly funny, terribly romantic. Sweet. 

    It would take a very special movie indeed for me to be left with warm, fuzzy feelings about both the Roman Catholic Church and the U.S. Military.

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actress—Deborah Kerr

• Best Writing, Screenplay based on material from another medium—John Lee Martin, John Huston
overall: highly recommended

In the Line of Fire (1993) - "Veteran Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) is a man haunted by his failure to save President John F. Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas, Texas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself 'Booth' (John Malkovich) threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past."
length: 2 hours, 8 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies, and I wanted something newish and

exciting, and maybe a little rowdy (previously reviewed here)
IMDB: 7.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 96% Audience: 79%
my IMDB: 9/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "Well, maybe I vowed to never again let my career come between me and a woman."

directed by: Wolfgang Petersen

my notes: surprising, weirdly funny, a little sexy, and super smart. It has its moments, like all movies have their moments, that don't quite work. All in all, though, it's a good one.

    Roger Ebert's review is here - and he agrees with me.

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Supporting Actor—John Malkovich

• Best Writing, Screenplay written directly for the screen—Jeff Maguire

• Best Film Editing—Anne V. Coates
overall:  strongly recommended

The Man from the Alamo (1953) - "As the Texan militia inside the Alamo braces for Gen. Santa Anna's attack, soldier John Stroud (Glenn Ford) is chosen to go to the nearby town of Oxbow to warn the women and children. He arrives to the scene of a massacre, with his wife and young son among the victims, perpetrated by a gang of Texans fighting for the Mexican side and led by the outlaw Jess Wade (Victor Jory). Branded a deserter for having left the Alamo before its fall, Stroud infiltrates Wade's gang to extract his revenge."
length: 1 hour, 19 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I thought I'd seen it before, but can't find any mention of it in the blog or FB
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 65%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "'What did he say, Colonel?'

    'He just said if we don't walk out of here right now with our hands in the air, we won't walk out at all.'

    'What are you going to tell him, sir?'

    '. . . is this cannon loaded?'"

directed by: Budd Boetticher

my notes: Glenn Ford is awesome, gruff and very powerful. He also rode like he was born in the saddle (that doesn't even make sense, but you get where I'm going). He plays the conflicted, complex Stroud with a smirk and a plan. I also liked Chill Wills (for serious, that was his name!) as John Gage. This is an engrossing film that pays off.

overall:  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from In the Line of Fire]