Thursday, October 20, 2016

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

What the Beck???

Bucket List Update
Academy Award Nominated Movies


1974     Chinatown
starring:  Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Peggy Lopez,                   John Hillerman, Diane Ladd, and Roman Polanski.
plot –     A story of lies, corruption, and murder. A private detective                   trails an adulterer.
I really liked this movie. Nicholson was perfect as the detective. Dunaway was quite secretive and mysterious in this one.

1949     The Heiress
starring:  Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Cliff, Ralph Richardson,                     Miriam Hopkins, Vanessa Brown
plot –     A young woman falls for a man that her Dad thinks is only                   after her for her money.
This was a really good movie. I felt so bad for her when her Dad said that the man she loved didn’t really love her. Heartbreaking.

1955     The Rose Tattoo
starring:  Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster, Marisa Pavan, Ben Cooper
plot –    Set in Louisiana, a smuggler is killed by the police. His wife                  withdraws from life. Eventually Mom tries to get her                    daughter to withdraw from life, too. The daughter rebels.
This movie was dismal and depressing. The story line was good, but it definitely will not lift your spirits.

1968     Rachel Rachel
starring:  Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Kate Harrington, Estelle                     Parsons
plot –    Woodward plays a “spinster teacher” who still lives at home                   with her Mom. Her life is mundane until she meets a big                 city man who asks her out on a date.
I liked this movie and discovered what a great actress Joanne Woodward really was in the movies. I only knew her as Paul Newman’s wife.  She’s great!

1952     High Noon
starring:  Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges,                     Lon Chaney, Harry Morgan, Otto Kruger, Ian McDonald
plot –     Gary Cooper plays lawman Will Kane. He and his wife (Kelly)                 are moving away until he learns that a freed criminal is                 coming for him. The townspeople chicken out, and he                   has to face him alone.
I loved this movie!  Gary Cooper is an amazing actor and so believable as the town marshal and the hero of the story.  This is one of those movies you should see again.

1974     Lenny
starring:  Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine, Jan Miner, Stanley Beck
plot –    The story of Lenny Bruce, a really bad comedian in the 50’s                   who becomes really edgy, but a hit. He is eventually                     banned and his life plummets down into the toilet.
This was not my cup a tea. I hated to see how much he wanted to succeed, but made choices that led to his own demise. What a waste.

1974     The Conversation
starring:  Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams,                 Teri Garr, Harrison Ford, Frederic Forrest
plot –     Hackman plays a surveillance expert paid to follow a couple.                 He and his partner tape a conversation and Hackman                     tries to figure out if the couple is really in trouble.
This was an okay movie. At times it was good, but it was a lot of following the suspects, etc. 

1976     Network
starring:  Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall,                   Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty
plot –     Finch plays an anchorman who the company wants to retire.                 He is so upset that he threatens to commit suicide on                   the air. Instead he throws an angry tantrum on air and                   the shows ratings go way up. This leads the producer to                 find crazy extreme ideas to use on the show to keep              the success going.
I never saw this movie before. I found the premise interesting and it is well cast. Holden, Duvall, and Dunaway were great.

1976     Taxi Driver
starring:  Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Cybil Shepherd, Harry Cohn,                     Diahnne Abbott, Frank Adu, Victor Argo, Gino Ardito,                   Garth Avery, Peter Boyle, Albert Brooks
plot –     The story of a New York City taxi driver. He is a mentally                     unstable Veteran who tries to save a child prostitute.
This was an interesting movie. I had heard a lot about it, but this was the first time I saw it. DeNiro was really good in this film, and it was not a “happy” movie, but it was so dark it made me really think about people who may have this life.

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