GBGoodies 2015 Movie Logbook

Good night.

I watched some Elvis movies when I was younger, but I forget which ones. I seem to remember one of them being on an island or something. I wish I knew to watch Viva Las Vegas before sending in my list; that sounds awesome. I'm going to put it on my watchlist anyway.

Viva Las Vegas is a very good movie, but I'm not sure that it's top ten good, if you know what I mean. I'll know tomorrow when I make my list.

But it's definitely worth watching, especially if you like Elvis.

Well I love Elvis, Las Vegas, fast cars, and looking at Ann Margret.

In that case, it definitely sounds like your kind of movie.

The Moon-Spinners (1964) - This was the last movie that I watched for the 1964 movies list before submitting my list. I had never heard of it before I started the list, but I had high hopes for it because it's a Disney live-action movie, and I usually like those movies.

A young woman (Hayley Mills) and her aunt go on vacation in Greece. The hotel owner and her brother (Eli Wallach) don't want them there, but the hotel owner's teenage son (Michael Davis) convinces his mother to allow them to stay. The young woman meets a young man (Peter McEnery), and they make plans to meet the next morning, but he doesn't show up. She goes looking for him, and finds him, but he's been shot. This is where the adventure begins, as she tries to unravel the mystery of what's going on, and how he's involved.

I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't feel much chemistry between the two main characters. It didn't feel like there was any romance blooming between the two, just friendship. There are some exciting scenes, most notably the windmill scene, but nothing that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Overall, this is a pretty good movie, but it's not one of Disney's best live-action movies.

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Wolf Children (2012) - (Recommended by Cricket) - This is a wonderful animated movie about a young woman who falls in love with and marries a man who is a werewolf, but she is left to raise their two young children alone after he dies in an accident.

The young mother struggles to teach the children about life as a human vs. life as a wolf. I found the daughter to be loud and kind of annoying at times, but she got less annoying as she got older. In contrast, the son was quiet and shy when he was younger, but he got more outgoing as he got older, and learned his where he felt he belongs in the world. And there was an underlying feeling of romance throughout the movie, as if the father was still watching over his family.

The movie is not perfect, and I have mixed feelings about the ending, but overall, this is a very good movie, and I would definitely recommend it. Thank you to Cricket for recommending it.

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The Chumscrubber (2005) - (Challenge by Zotis) - At first glance, I wasn't even thinking about accepting this challenge because, based on the title of the movie, I thought this was a horror movie. But I decided to give it a chance, and I researched it a little bit, and found out that it isn't a horror movie. It's a drama, with some comedy mixed in, so I decided to give it a chance.

Jamie Bell plays Dean, a teenager whose friend commits suicide. It turns out that his friend was a drug dealer, and the people who he supplied drugs to want the drugs that he left behind, so they come up with a plan to kidnap Dean's younger brother to force Dean to bring them the drugs. There plan goes awry when they kidnap the wrong kid.

In a strange way, this movie kind of reminded me a little bit of the movie Over the Edge (1979) due to the way the adults in the town are all oblivious to the problems that are plaguing the kids in their idealistic world. The parents of the kidnapped boy are so wrapped up in their own world, that they don't even realize that their child is missing. And the kids go on with their troubled lives until tragedy strikes.

This is an interesting movie, with Jamie Bell doing a very good job as the main character, but it's a bit of a darker theme, so it's not my normal type of movie. Having said that, overall, I liked the movie, and I would recommend it if you're looking for something that's a bit different. Thank you to Zotis for recommending this movie.

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Did you find it odd that Disney had scenes with a murder attempt and a shooting? As well as having a teen star drink alcohol? I did. I thought the movie seemed to end and the scenes on the yacht were an after thought.

Yeah, it didn't have the feel of a Disney movie. The murder attempt didn't really surprise me because it wasn't successful, but overall, the movie seemed to have a little bit more mature tone to it. I usually like Hayley Mills, but I found her kind of annoying in this. For one thing, she seemed too young for the guy who played Mark so it didn't feel like they belong together. I didn't think this was one of her better movies.

It's not a bad movie, but I think Disney missed their mark on this one. Maybe they were aiming for a mature audience? The problem is that it seems to be in some middle ground, too mature for kids, and too childish for adults.

I agree with all of that, except I liked Haley in it. I might have said this before but I get the impression that Disney was inspired to do a spy thriller, as at the time spy theme movies were big.

Yeah, it almost felt like a James Bond wannabe, but it just didn't work for them.

I've always been interested in Chumscrubber; I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Glad you liked Wolf Children, although I was hoping you'd love it. You do seem to be a tough grader though.

I liked Wolf Children a lot, but "love" is a very strong word, even for a movie, and it just didn't get that high for me.

I'm very hit or miss on movies for some reason. I'm not really sure why. I rarely rate a movie 4 stars or higher, unless I'm prepared to include it in my favorites.

I tend to like musicals and rom-coms more than other types of movies, but I also enjoy a good heavy drama or sci-fi (as long as it doesn't cross over into horror).

The Art of Love (1965) - After finishing the 1964 movies list, I decided to start early for the 1965 movies list, so I started with the comedy The Art of Love. Dick Van Dyke stars as Paul Sloan, a struggling artist in Paris, who fakes his own death to increase the value of his paintings, and James Garner is his friend Casey Barnett, who continues to sell his paintings after his "death". When Casey starts dating Paul's fiancée, Paul decides to get revenge when he hears that Casey is suspected of murdering Paul.

This is a very funny movie that co-stars Elke Sommer and Angie Dickinson, and also features appearances by Ethel Merman, Carl Reiner and Roger C. Carmel, (who is best known to Star Trek fans as Harry Mudd). The last ten minutes of the movie are hysterical, as Dick Van Dyke rushes to save his friend from the guillotine.

If you're looking for a fun movie, I highly recommend this wonderful hidden gem.

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Sounds like my kind of movie! I can't say that I've seen Angie Dickson or Elke Sommer in much.

Double Indemnity (1944) - I watched this movie for the Film Noir HoF. It's a re-watch because I've seen it before, but it's been a long time since I saw it, so it wasn't fresh in my mind before watching it again. Fred MacMurray stars as Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who gets involved with Phyllis Dietrichson, (played by Barbara Stanwyck), a woman who wants to take out an accident insurance policy on her husband, without her husband knowing about it. Together, they plan to murder Phyllis' husband, and make it look like an accident. (The insurance policy has a double indemnity clause that pays double the amount if the husband's death is an accident.) Edward G. Robinson is Barton Keyes, Neff's co-worker, a claims adjuster who is very good at his job of finding phony claims.

This is a great suspense film that will keep your attention from start to finish. It moves at a slow, steady pace, so don't expect a bunch of action scenes, like car chases, but that works well for this movie. It has some minor issues, not plot holes, but just a few little annoyance type of things, but nothing that hurts the movie even a little bit. Overall, this is an excellent movie with great performances from the entire cast.

I'll add more thoughts about this movie, (with some details about the minor issues I mentioned), in the Noir HoF thread. I highly recommend this movie for anyone who likes a good mystery/suspense movie.

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I haven't seen that in a long time either; maybe an upcoming weekend viewing with wifey is in order.

I was going to join with Double Indemnity as my nomination, but I was too late. That is a top 100 film of all time for me.

In a Lonely Place (1950) - I watched this movie for the Film Noir HoF. This is another re-watch of a movie that I haven't seen in a while, so it wasn't fresh in my mind before watching it.

Humphrey Bogart stars as Dixon Steele, a screenwriter who is suspected of murder when the girl he was with the previous night is found dead. Gloria Grahame plays Laurel Gray, his neighbor who is his alibi for the night of the murder. She falls in love with him, but begins to have doubts about his innocence when she sees his violent temper.

This movie is a suspenseful drama with emotional ups and downs like a roller-coaster. It's a brilliant story with excellent performances by both Bogart and Grahame, maybe even the best performance of Bogart's career. I highly recommend this movie.

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