GBGoodies 2015 Movie Logbook

Donnie Brasco (1997)

This is a good movie with a great cast, but the problem for me is that all of these gangster movies seem the same to me. I think I liked this one a little bit better because it added the subplot about Donnie and his wife. It made the movie a bit more personal than some of the other gangster movies.

I usually find Al Pacino annoying, but I actually liked him in this movie. Another plus is that this movie is from when Johnny Depp could pick good movies, before he started making terrible movie choices.

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The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)

Before I watched this movie, I knew that it was written by Dr. Seuss, but I did not know that it was a musical, so that was a bit of a surprise. This is a strange movie with a cute ending.

In a strange way, Dr. Terwilliker reminds me a little bit of Dr. Smith from "Lost in "Space". But in a different strange way, I could almost picture this movie with Vincent Price as Dr. Terwilliker, if it was done as an old-style horror movie instead of as a musical fantasy.

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The Natural (1984)

I think this is one of the better baseball movies. It's a fantasy, but it has a great dramatic side too. It's about a player who could have been the best, but his career was sidelined by an unexpected incident.

I think they glossed over the incident a bit too quickly, and it would have been nice to know a little bit more about his missing years, but overall, this is a great movie.

If you like Field of Dreams, I highly recommend giving this movie a try.

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Pat and Mike (1952)

I liked the concept of this movie, but the movie itself dragged on at times. The first half of the movie seemed too slow, but it picked up in the second half of the movie, but overall, this movie was only okay.

My biggest problem with this movie is that I think golf and tennis are extremely boring sports to watch, so it felt like it took forever to get through those scenes. But even those scenes picked up when her fiance showed up, and she lost her confidence.

I generally like Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn movies, but IMO, this is one of their weaker movies.

However eagle-eyed viewers will love watching this movie for a treasure trove of stars in minor roles, including Charles Bronson, Jim Backus, Chuck Connors, and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer.

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Sylvia Scarlett (1935)

This movie features an impressive transformation of Katherine Hepburn to a boy, but other than that, this was a pretty boring movie.

I love Cary Grant, but this movie is my least favorite Cary Grant movie.

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Holiday for Lovers (1959)

This is an enjoyable movie, but it's not a great movie. It's just an average rom-com. It has some fun scenes, but mostly, it's just a forgettable movie.

However the flamenco dance scene with Jose Greco is terrific.

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Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

This is a very good tension-filled story that will hold your attention until the very end.

Unfortunately Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney both only give average performances, making the movie good, but not very memorable.

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You Can Count on Me (2000) - I had never heard of this movie before, but it was recommended to me by Cricket, so that was good enough for me to give it a chance.

This is a nice, simple story about a brother reconnecting with his sister and her 8-year old son. It has some emotional moments that pull at your heartstrings, and it's a perfect blend of drama with just enough comedy to make it a great movie.

Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney are terrific as the brother and sister. Rory Culkin does a good job as Linney's young son, and Matthew Broderick is also very good as Linney's boss.

Thank You to Cricket for this great recommendation.

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Cinderella Liberty (1973) - This movie was recommended by Mark F a while back, and I finally got around to watching it.

This movie is a depressing, gritty romance drama, but it doesn't seem to have much actual romance in it. A lonely Navy sailor and a barroom hooker seem to just kind of drift together, with the help of the woman's 11-year old son.

This is a good movie because it feels more realistic than a fairy-tale romance, but it's a bit too depressing for me. But it has some great scenes, and I liked the ending a lot.

It features great performances by James Caan and Marsha Mason.

Thank You to Mark F for this recommendation. It was on my watchlist for a while because I like James Caan in his lighter roles, so I'm glad that I finally watched it.

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Awakenings (1990) - This movie was recommended by Mark F, and seconded by both Honeykid and SilentVamp, so it seemed like a "no-brainer" to give this movie a chance.

This is an amazing story of how a brilliant doctor brought several patients out of a catatonic state by using a drug to "awaken" them. This movie is an emotional and heartbreaking story. It reminded me a little bit of the movie Charly, but without the mouse.

Robin Williams was terrific in this movie, maybe even better than he was in Good Will Hunting. I've never been one of Robert De Niro's biggest fans, but he was outstanding in this movie.

Thank You to Mark F, Honeykid, and SilentVamp for this terrific recommendation.

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My 2015 Movie Logbook:

January 2015 Movies
February 2015 Movies
March 2015 Movies
April 2015 Movies
May 2015 Movies
June 2015 Movies
July 2015 Movies
August 2015 Movies (Scroll Down)
September 2015 Movies


August 2015 Movies:
434) August 1st: Three for the Show (1955)
435) August 1st: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
436) August 2nd: Tight Spot (1955)
437) August 2nd: Winchester '73 (1950)
438) August 3rd: Bogus (1996)
439) August 3rd: Father of the Bride (1950)
440) August 3rd: Father's Little Dividend (1951)
441) August 4th: The Tall Target (1951)
442) August 4th: Fire Down Below (1957)
443) August 5th: The End of the Affair (1955)
444) August 5th: Cowboy (1958)
445) August 6th: The Steel Trap (1952)
446) August 6th: Calamity Jane (1953)
447) August 7th: The Happy Time (1952)
448) August 7th: White Nights (1985)
449) August 8th: Donnie Brasco (1997)
450) August 8th: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)
451) August 9th: The Natural (1984)
452) August 9th: Pat and Mike (1952)
453) August 10th: Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
454) August 10th: Holiday for Lovers (1959)
455) August 11th: Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
456) August 11th: You Can Count on Me (2000)
457) August 12th: Cinderella Liberty (1973)
458) August 12th: Awakenings (1990)
459) August 13th: Radio Days (1987)
460) August 13th: The Narrow Margin (1952)
461) August 14th: Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)
462) August 14th: Margaret (2011)
463) August 15th: The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)
464) August 15th: John Loves Mary (1949)
465) August 16th: Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)
466) August 16th: Adam's Rib (1949)
467) August 17th: To Catch a Thief (1955)
468) August 17th: Indiscreet (1958)
469) August 18th: People Will Talk (1951)
470) August 18th: Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
471) August 19th: Real Steel (2011)
472) August 19th: The Frisco Kid (1979)
473) August 20th: Real Genius (1985)
474) August 20th: Noises Off... (1992)
475) August 21st: Oh, God! (1977)
476) August 21st: Oh, God! Book II (1980)
477) August 21st: Oh, God! You Devil (1984)
478) August 22nd: Wishful Drinking (2010)
479) August 22nd: To Find My Son (TV Movie - 1980)
480) August 23rd: The Comeback Kid (TV Movie - 1980)
481) August 23rd: Father Figure (TV Movie - 1980)
482) August 24th: Freebie and the Bean (1974)
483) August 24th: The In-Laws (1979)
484) August 25th: Divorce American Style (1967)
485) August 25th: The Awful Truth (1937)
486) August 26th: Holiday (1938)
487) August 26th: Finnegan Begin Again (TV Movie - 1985)
488) August 27th: Some Came Running (1958)
489) August 27th: Rio Bravo (1959)
490) August 28th: The Bishop's Wife (1947)
491) August 28th: The War of the Worlds (1953)
492) August 29th: Hit the Deck (1955)
493) August 29th: Silk Stockings (1957)
494) August 30th: Pal Joey (1957)
495) August 30th: No Way Out (1950)
496) August 31st: Detective Story (1951)
497) August 31st: The Killing (1956)

Though I liked it, I must admit I wasn't huge on Awakenings, but mark was right recommending it to you. I could also see it as your type of film.

Glad to see you enjoyed You Can Count on Me and Donnie Brasco

Creepy poster! And that "Not much meat on her". Not sure if it's aa film about a rapist, or cannibal.

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San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

Wow! You've watched a great deal of movies recently, I'm impressed...and you've watched a bunch of Film Noirs too, very cool! Some I've not seen.

I love Calamity Jane. I could watch that over and over. Howard Keel is great in that and so's Doris, who does an excellent and humorous western twang accent. Dick Wesson who's forced to perform as a woman is hilarious too.

Winchester 73 is my favorite character performance by Dan Duryea. He's such a crazily bad guy in the film, that I liked him. I actually own a 1873 model Winchester, like the one in the movie, only not a one of a kind.

It looks like a lot of movies, but that's just because I got backed up on posting here. I'm still averaging about two movies a day. I'm almost caught up, so hopefully I'll be able to get back on track with this thread soon.

I started watching 1950's movies because I forgot that the documentaries list was scheduled before it. I'm hit or miss on documentaries, so I haven't decided whether or not I'll submit a list for that countdown. Right now, I'm just enjoying the 1950's so much that I don't want to stop to watch other stuff.

I hear ya I see all those 1950s films you're watching and I wish I could watch them right now too. I'll try to cherry pick a few to watch...I understand about a back log of films for your thread...I've been saving a list of all the films I've watched and keep thinking I will make my own log type thread but so far I've never done that. Maybe one of these days.

Geez, woman! You post too many at one time that it is almost hard for me to keep up!
Spencer Tracy is great in everything. He is one of my all-time favorite actors. And he is a native Milwaukeean (if you happened to have read the comments during the TV song tournament, you'd know why that matters to me ).

I really like Frank Sinatra in this role. And I don't think he ever gets enough credit for the good actor that he actually is.


I just love this so much! Especially the part between 3:05 and 3:20. Why I like that bit so much, I have no idea. I just do.

I am so glad that you liked "Awakenings". The one difference between "Charly" and "Awakenings", though, that makes it a little harder for me to watch is that "Awakenings" is based on a true story. That fact makes the movie a little tougher to deal with.

Yes! Another "Calamity Jane" fan! I am just going to admit it now. I have the biggest crush on Howard Keel in this movie.

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

I think the only reason that I started this thread was because last year someone asked me how many movies I watch every year, and I had no idea. I wasn't writing about all the movies I watched back then, so I couldn't even just count my posts. I just wanted to get an idea of how many movies I watch, and this seemed like the best way to do it at the time.

There are still some movies that I don't include here because I'm working on other stuff while they're on, so they don't get my full attention, but it gives me a basic idea of my actual movie watching. (For example, TCM is running a Marx Brothers marathon today, and I've had it on as background movies all day, but I probably won't include them in this thread because I've been in and out of the room and doing computer work at the same time.)

Sorry about that. I had a long list of movies to post, and I was trying to catch up. I think I'm just about caught up, so hopefully I won't ever have to post that many at one time again.


I love this song too. My favorite part is starting around 3:35 when she slaps Wild Bill Hickok, but I love the whole song. (But for some reason, when the bartender says "Drinks on the house", it always makes me think of The Muppet Movie.


Yes, Awakenings is definitely a harder movie to watch than Charly. Not just because it's true story, but also because it affects more people than just the one person (and the mouse) in Charly. But I've been a big fan of Charly ever since I read "Flowers for Algernon" in school, and we watched the movie. It's one of the reasons that I'm such a big fan of Cliff Robertson.


I like Howard Keel a lot in both Calamity Jane and in Annie Get Your Gun, but I never thought that he had "leading man looks". But he's got an amazing voice and screen presence.