this one is for romance! this one is for Elizabeth Barrett Browning!

Average rating: 9! This is a very special collection of movies.

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) - "Long-buried missives from the island reveal the stories of the Japanese troops who fought and died there during World War II. Among them are Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker; Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), an Olympic champion; and Shimizu (Ryô Kase), an idealistic soldier. Though Lt. Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) knows he and his men have virtually no chance of survival, he uses his extraordinary military skills to hold off American troops as long as possible."
length: 2 hours, 21 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: war is much on my mind these days, and I needed to see something from a different perspective

    previously reviewed here
IMDB: 7.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 91% Audience: 86%
my IMDB: 10/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "I promised myself to fight until death for my family, but the thought of family makes it difficult to keep that promise."

directed by: Clint Eastwood

my notes: one of the best films ever made. Absolutely brilliant. The cast is fantastic, top to bottom, though I particularly loved Tsuyoshi Ihara as dashing, decent Baron Nishi, and of course Ken Watanabe as intellectual, conflicted, abandoned Kuribayashi. Stunning.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Sound Editing—Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Robert Lorenz

• Best Director—Eastwood

• Best Writing, Original screenplay—Iris Yamashita (screenplay/story), Paul Haggis (story)
overall: most highly recommended

 

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975; TV Short) - "It's Valentine's Day again, and Charlie Brown dreams the seemingly hopeless dream to receiving a valentine from anyone. All the while, the rest of the gang have their own trials, whether it be Linus' struggle to get the biggest card he can for his beloved teacher, or Lucy trying to get some token from Schroeder, while Snoopy and Woodstock are having fun spearing valentines on each other's nose. "
length: 25 minutes

source: I own the DVD, in a set with various other Peanuts holiday specials
I watched it because: it's a little chunk of my childhood
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 71%
my IMDB: 10/10

MPAA rating: not rated

notable quote: "Do you know the tortures of the memory of lost love?"

directed by: Phil Roman

Daytime Emmy Award nominee: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Progamming—

    Charles M. Schulz
overall:  most highly recommended

You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967) - "With the school year coming to a close, Charlie Brown is trying to work up the courage to meet his dream girl, whom he only knows as "The Little Red Haired Girl." However, he's too nervous to go meet her upfront and all his attempts to impress her at school backfire disastrously. His friends, Linus and Peppermint Patty, try to help, but only aggravate the situation, while Charlie Brown desperately tries to find a solution to this romantic conundrum."
length: 30 minutes

IMDB: 7.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 82%

my IMDB: 10/10

notable quote: "There's nothing like unrequited love to take all the flavor out of a peanut butter sandwich."

directed by: Bill Melendez

Primetime Emmy Award nominee:
• Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming - Programs—Lee Mendelson (producer), Melendez (producer)

• Special Classification of Individual Achievements—Melendez (director)

• Special Classification of Individual Achievements—Charles M. Schulz (writer)

It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977) - "At the school homecoming, Charlie Brown learns that he is be the escort at the banquet for the red headed girl that he has pined for all his life. With that added pressure, he hopes to put in a good showing at the football where he is placekicker. Unfortunately, Lucy is supposed to hold the ball for him... "
length: 24 minutes

IMDB: 7.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: N/A%

my IMDB: 6/10
notable quote: "You're on the five yard line, and nobody could miss such an easy kick ... not even you."

directed by: Phil Roman

my notes: most of these specials are sweet and redemptive. This one is just a pack of shrill bitches being horrible to the well-meaning C.B.—in particular, the irredeemable Lucy, whose petty vengeance really cost the game.

 

[the title quotation is from Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown]