GBGoodies 2015 Movie Logbook

Hotel (1967) - I watched this movie for the upcoming 1960s movies list. I hadn't heard of this movie, but I found it while looking through some of Rod Taylor's movies, and it sounded interesting.

This is a very good movie that is based on Arthur Hailey's novel of the same name. It follows several different storylines of the employees and guests of a hotel in New Orleans. As the movie proceeds, the storylines start to intertwine.

It seems like everyone in the hotel is up to no good. There's The Duke and Duchess of Lanbourne (Michael Rennie and Merle Oberon) who are hiding out after a hit-and-run accident, the hotel's detective (Richard Conte) who is blackmailing the Duke and Dutchess, Curtis O'Keefe (Kevin McCarthy) who wants to buy the hotel to modernize it, and he brings along his secret weapon, Jeanne Rochefort (Catherine Spaak) who catches the eye of the hotel's manager (Rod Taylor).

But it's Karl Malden who steals the movie as a thief who uses various methods to obtain room keys so he can break into the guests' rooms and steal their money, only to find that most people don't carry much cash anymore due to credit cards. It's kind of ironic if you remember Karl Malden in the old American Express Travelers Checks commercials.

This movie is very entertaining. It's not a masterpiece, but it's enjoyable to watch everything unfold. The weak link was the relationship between Taylor and Spaak, as they had little chemistry together, but it doesn't hurt the movie much. The jazz music suited the movie well in the New Orleans setting.

Attachments

 

Ask Any Girl (1959) - This is another movie that I found while looking through some of Rod Taylor's movies. He's not the star of this movie, but it has a great cast.

This movie is kind of a combination of the movies Sabrina and My Fair Lady. The Sabrina part has David Niven as Miles, the older brother who is the hard-working and responsible brother, and Gig Young as Evan, the younger brother who is the care-free, womanizing, and irresponsible brother. The My Fair Lady part has Miles trying to change Meg Wheeler (Shirley MacLaine) into the woman that Evan loves, not realizing that he is falling in love with her instead.

This is a good movie, but it's not great. It has some laughs, but nothing that's 'laugh-out-loud' funny. The acting is very good, but there's not much romantic chemistry between Miles and Meg. There was more chemistry between Shirley MacLaine and Rod Taylor, but his character is not right for her either.

This movie is worth watching, but it's not the best movie for any of the actors. If you like rom-coms, and you're just looking for a fun movie, give it a try.

Attachments

 

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) - It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Cary Grant, so I usually watch his movies when they air on TCM. I hadn't seen this movie in a long time, so when it aired on TCM recently, it seemed like a good time to re-watch it.

This is a bit different than most of my favorite Cary Grant movies because it doesn't focus on the romance part of the story. This movie is a darker movie that focuses more on the pilots who make delivery flights in dangerous conditions. It's interesting to see the way the characters react to the death of a pilot, like it's a normal occurrence that they've all learned to live with.

This is an excellent drama with a lot of action, excitement, and some very tense scenes. Cary Grant is the star of the movie, but the acting is great from everyone, including a breakout performance by Rita Hayworth.

+

Attachments

 

A Patch of Blue (1965) - I watched this movie for the upcoming 1960s movies list. This is another movie that I didn't know anything about, but it stars Sidney Poitier, and that was enough for me to check it out.

This movie is an excellent movie that makes you feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster while following Selina (Elizabeth Hartman), a blind white female teenager, between her abusive home life with her mother Rose-Ann (Shelley Winters) and her grandfather Ole Pa (Wallace Ford), and her new relationship with Gordon (Sidney Poitier), a black man who wants to help her.

The scenes with Selina and Gordon are wonderful as he teaches her how to do things on her own. These two have great chemistry together, but it gets kind of awkward as her love is romantic towards him, but his love is more of a very close friendship towards her. The scenes with Selina at home are heartbreaking. Watching the way she is treated at home makes you want to just reach through the screen and rescue Selina from her home and family.

The acting is top-notch across the board, especially Shelley Winters who is superb as her mother who has no redeeming qualities. This movie is one of Sidney Poitier's best performances as well. I highly recommend this movie.

Attachments

 

The Big Chill (1983) - This is a movie that I've probably seen at least 50 times. It's a movie that I don't need a reason to watch, so when it aired on TCM in the early morning hours, I watched it again just because it was on.

If you haven't seen this movie, it may be hard to understand how a movie about the death of a friend could be called a "feel good movie", but this movie is a fun movie about a group of college friends who come together for the funeral of one of their friends who committed suicide. It's about life, death, friendship, love, and more.

The movie starts with the funeral, but it quickly changes to a movie where we meet the characters, and learn about their various relationships. The dialogue is great, and there are a lot of funny one-liners that are very important to understanding the characters. Throughout most of the movie, they talk about themselves and their lives. They laugh, they play, and they have sex. It's not until close to the end of the movie before they all sit down and have a serious discussion about their friend and why he killed himself.

The all-star cast includes Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams, and they all give excellent performances. (Kevin Costner was cast as Alex, their deceased friend, but his scenes were cut from the movie.) The soundtrack is filled with some of the best pop/rock oldies, and it fits the movie perfectly. The movie was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and there's even a fun reference to his movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. This is one of my favorite movies, and I highly recommend it.

Attachments

 

If you've not seen this, gbg, you might like it.


Peter's Friends.

__________________
5-time MoFo Award winner.

I haven't heard of Peter's Friends, but I'll look for it. Thanks.

I have wanted to watch A Patch of Blue for so long! Ever since I read about it and recorded it like 3 years ago. But somehow I just haven't been around it though I defiantly want to see it.

I think I'll just aim to get it watched for the 60's list.

You should definitely watch A Patch of Blue. I think it has a chance to make the 1960s list if enough people watch it.

Dead Heat on a Merry Go Round (1966) - I watched this movie for the upcoming 1960s movie list.

For a crime movie, this is actually a pretty boring movie. There are no exciting chase scenes, shootouts, or even any scenes that make you feel like the James Coburn's character is in any danger. He just goes about his business without any real confrontations. The majority of the movie is just the setup for the actual crime at the end of the movie. The movie just lacks anything of any real substance to hold the viewer's interest. There's an interesting twist at the end, but it's just not worth the wait getting to the actual caper at the end of the movie.

The acting is okay, but nothing special. However, eagle-eye viewers might spot a young Harrison Ford making his movie debut in his first role (uncredited) as a bellhop.

Attachments

 

In my best SC impression:

Oh, like a movie like that ever had a chance to make the sixties list to begin with,

The Best Man (1964) - I watched this movie for the upcoming 1960s movie list. I'm not usually a fan of political movies, but this movie stars Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson, so that was enough to catch my attention.

This is a very good movie showing the behind the scenes side of politics. Henry Fonda is perfectly cast as the good guy candidate, who wants to do what's right without compromising his principles. Cliff Robertson is also excellent as the smart candidate, who will do what's necessary to win, even if he has to cross an ethical line to get the support he needs to win. Lee Tracy gives a standout performance as the outgoing president, who has to make a decision of which of these two very different candidates to support.

The movie is paced very well, with great dialogue and great performances. The ending was a bit unrealistic, but it was an interesting twist.

Attachments

 

I've always been a fan of classic movies, and the 1960s is one of my favorite decades for movies, so I've probably already seen most of the movies that will make my 1960s list. Now I'm watching a lot of movies from the 1960s that look interesting, either because the actors are favorites of mine, or because they just sound like my type of movies.

Chances are most of the 1960s movies that I see between now and when I submit my list won't make my list, but I'm going to enjoy seeing a wide variety of movies that I might not normally watch.

Mine too, though I suspect it's for very different reasons.

Wait Until Dark (1967) - This movie is one of my favorite thrillers, so this is a re-watch of a movie that I've seen many times before, but it aired on TCM recently, so it seemed like a good time to re-watch it.

This movie is a fantastic thriller with some of the best suspense scenes ever. The movie starts off a little bit slow as the story roles out, but it quickly picks up speed, and gets better and better as the movie goes on, building up to a terrifying final confrontation scene.

Alan Arkin deserved the Oscar for his performance terrorizing Audrey Hepburn in this movie, but as he so cleverly stated, "You don't get nominated for being mean to Audrey Hepburn!".

Attachments

 

City of Fear (1959) - This movie aired recently on a local cable channel, and the commercial made it look like a pretty good thriller. I decided to watch it mainly because it stars Vince Edwards, who is best known for his role as Dr. Ben Casey.

This is an interesting thriller about a thief who steals a canister that he thinks contains drugs, but unknown to him, it actually contains a very dangerous radioactive substance that could kill everyone in the city if he opens the canister.

The movie is pretty good, but it's not as good as I had hoped. It gets more and more suspenseful as the movie goes on, but you never really feel the danger at the level that you should. I was hoping for a clever twist at the end, but unfortunately the ending is kind of predictable.

I grew up watching Vince Edwards in reruns of "Ben Casey", so it was interesting to see him in a role as the bad guy, rather than the brooding doctor. I especially liked the way he uses a hat and glasses to disguise himself, kind of like Clark Kent/Superman.

Attachments

 

I Deal in Danger (1966) - I watched this movie for the upcoming 1960s movie list. I grew up watching Robert Goulet mostly as a singer, and as an occasional guest star on "The Carol Burnett Show", so this movie was a chance to see him as a dramatic actor.

This movie is categorized on IMDB as a war drama, but it's really more of a spy thriller. It's a pretty good movie, but it's not great. The story is interesting, and it rolls along at a good pace. It has some suspenseful moments, and a pretty good ending.

Robert Goulet's performance as a double agent is probably the best thing about this movie. I didn't really know what to expect from him, but he does a very good job in the role. The rest of the cast is okay, but there are really no standout performances.

Attachments

 

Not with My Wife, You Don't (1966) - This is another movie that I watched for the upcoming 1960s movie list. It's a comedy starring Tony Curtis and George C. Scott, so it sounded like it could be a fun movie.

Based on the IMDB rating for this movie, I didn't have high hopes for it, and unfortunately, the rating is pretty accurate for this movie. Both Tony Curtis and George C. Scott are great actors, but even together, they just can't save this movie. Unfortunately this is just a boring movie with very few laughs. The story isn't interesting, the characters aren't likeable, and the movie isn't funny.

Attachments

 

Is it just me or have I not seen or heard of any of the films posted on this page?

But +rep because of the time and effort you take in writing about them.

In the Shadows (2001) - I was flipping channels and this movie was coming up on Showtime. It didn't really look like my type of movie, but I like both Matthew Modine and James Caan, so I decided to give it a chance.

This is an interesting story about a hit man who is hired to kill a Hollywood stunt coordinator, but he falls in love with the intended victim's daughter while trying to get close to the intended victim. It's a movie that has a lot of potential, but sadly, it falls kind of flat. The basic story is interesting, but the dialogue is pretty bad, and the ending is very predictable.

Matthew Modine is the most boring hit man in any movie. He seems to spend half the movie just staring off into space. Joey Lauren Adams is pretty good, but she has no chemistry at all with Matthew Modine. James Caan is probably the main reason to see this movie.

This movie isn't bad, but I think I just expected a better movie than this.

Attachments