the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California

Average rating: 6.5, but don't let it fool you. There's some good stuff here!

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - "Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) has an uncanny skill at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to make one last duck-out before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, 'borrows' a Ferrari, and embarks on a one-day journey through the streets of Chicago. On Ferris' trail is high school principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), determined to catch him in the act."
length: 1 hour, 43 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I've only seen it about 25 times, and I needed a dose to buck me up
IMDB: 7.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 83% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 8/10

MPAA rating: PG-13

notable quote: "I had a grandmother once! Two, actually."

directed by: John Hughes

my notes: it's still laugh-out-loud silly and takes-me-back wonderful. It makes me wistful for a high school experience that I didn't come close to sharing, but that still feels like home.

    Roger Ebert's review is here, with which I—as an adult—fully agree.

overall: highly recommended

 

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962) - "Argentinian patriarch Julio Madariaga (Lee J. Cobb) urges his German-born nephew, Heinrich von Hartrott (Karl Boehm), to give up his Nazi allegiance on the brink of World War II, but the request is refused. Madariaga's debauched grandson, Julio Desnoyers (Glenn Ford), joins the French Resistance, risking his life to fight the Nazis in honor of his grandfather, who died shortly after von Hartrott's Nazi leanings were exposed. The war brings the cousins together for a final showdown."
length: 2 hours, 33 minutes

source: I owned the DVD
I watched it because: Glenn Ford....
IMDB: 6.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 43%
my IMDB: 3/10

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "'Do you go to Notre Dame regularly?'

    'I went to pray for him. But I think I may have been praying for myself.'"

directed by: Vincente Minelli

my notes: oh my good God, what a strange film. VERY American Glenn Ford (Julio), handsome and earnest, cannot play a convincing Argentinian, nor can he dance. Ingrid Thulin (Marguerite) is wan and lifeless. Yvette Mimieux (as the hilariously misnamed Chi Chi) is bright, eager, and unbelievable as a member of the French Resistance. 

    On the plus side, Paul Henreid (Laurier) and Charles Boyer (Marcelo) bring the whole thing up a notch or two. They can't carry the film with their slight roles, though. The makeup is thick and realistic as frosting, most of the sets cheap, the effects hilariously overblown times ten thousand, and the race and sex discrimination rampant. And the story is just not good. Three stars for Henreid, Boyer, and the eye-popping cheese factor.

overall: not  recommended

Contract Killer {Hitman} {King of Killers} {Sat sau ji wong} (1998) - "When a Japanese tycoon suspects that he may be murdered, he establishes a huge reward fund for the person who will find his killer. When the man is murdered, an out-of-luck con man and a struggling 'newbie' hitman band together in hopes of a big payday, as they work to discover the identity of the 'King of the Hitmen.'"
length: 1 hour, 44 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: it's a Jet Li film I haven't seen, and I was in the mood for his sweet face
IMDB: 6.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 53%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "The list of Tsukamoto's enemies reads like a Genghis Khan birthday bash!"

directed by: Wei Tung

my notes: it's an action-drama-comedy-thriller whirlwind. Jet Li is fast, ferocious and lovely as Fu, Eric Tsang is fun and adorable as Nick (Ngok), and Simon Yam (a favorite from The Thieves {2012} and Bodyguards and Assassins {2009}) suave and engaging as Officer Chan Kwan.

overall:  recommended

The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) - "Famous retired detective Nick Charles (William Powell) takes his wife, Nora (Myrna Loy), and their dog, Asta, to visit Nick's parents in their small, quiet town. Determined that Nick's father respect Nick's profession, Nora urges him to find a crime to investigate, unaware that Nick's presence has already frightened spy Edgar Draque (Leon Ames) into action. After Nora buys a painting for Nick's birthday and the artist is murdered, Nick discovers that the murder is connected to espionage."
length: 1 hour, 40 minutes

source: I own the DVD (series)
I watched it because: I've seen lots of newer movies lately and wanted to balance with a good older one
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 75% Audience: 79%
my IMDB: 8/10

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "I was just thinking about a little gal by the name of Alice Brody. We used to come out here often on hot summer nights and play on her banjo."

directed by: Richard Thorpe

my notes: madcap, verbose, and sincerely tricky. It's sweet to see Nora's devotion and pride for Nick's work, and also to see Nick's affection and care for Nora—couched as it is in teasing and clearly feigned unconcern. Nick's expression while watching Nora dance with the wonderfully talented Bert May is fantastic and revealing. And what a dance!

overall:  strongly recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Ferris Bueller's Day Off]