I've Loved You So Long

E:
Kristin Scott Thomas, she of the big doe eyes and high cheeks bones. Screen debuted in a Prince vehicle of all things. Hit her stride with the weddings and the funerals moobie, and rode the zeitgeist of The English Patient (whether you like it or not). She's still around, just not around our neighborhood.
Since Gosford Park, she's mainly stayed at home and made French films. This latest, after the phenomenal Tell No One, validates Kristin as an acting presence to be reckoned with.
She plays a woman re-entering a public life after 15 years in prison. Her sister holding her hand as she takes her first steps, as they rekindle their relationship, learning about each other, learning about their pasts.
She had become a closed book after all those years alone in prison, now she has the chance to slowly unfold. The people she meets on her journey back into society are as varied as her reactions are not. But she learns to let them in as they learn about her time locked up and the reasons behind it.
The moobie crescendos to an emotional breakthrough with her sister. And the hope that our beloved Kristin will have a life filled with the promise of her second chance.

His Girl Friday

E:
I know this is supposed to be a classic, and G actually enjoyed it, but I just couldn't get into it. There was just so, much, TALKING! Non-stop, wall-to-wall talking. Instead of anything actually happening, they just talked about it. It was exhausting. It was directed by Howard Hawks who was famous for his snappy dialogue. And I've even seen (and enjoyed, mind you) several other Howard Hawks films - To Have And Have Not, The Big Sleep, and Bringing Up Baby just to name a few. But this was too much.
I know other women who like the film. At the core of the story (and it took me viewing it a second time when G watched it to get this), it's about a woman who ends up realizing her true destiny as a newspaper reporter rather than succumbing to the average 1940's woman's ideal existence as a housewife and mother. So I can see how the theme is appealing. And women love to talk so maybe it's easier for them to watch, so if you're a woman check it out. If you're a man, just skip it.

Let The Right One In

E:
Man, what a crazy picture. It's about a kid who gets bullied at school. He keeps to himself at home (his mother doesn't pay him much mind). He meets another kid in the building where he lives. Turns out, she's a vampire.
The title refers to an age-old superstition that a vampire must be asked before he (or she as the case may be) can enter, and it's a telling moment when she asks the question and he finally relinquishes a deliberate answer.
In it's own way it's a new sort of romance. It's touching. These two form their own relationship on their own terms. Sure, the terms take place in darkness and take the lives of others, but each has found someone that fills the voids in their little hearts.
In the end, I didn't know whether to be happy or sad at their fates. But it felt like theirs was unavoidable.
this is definitely one to watch.

Dark Passage

E:
The last of the Bogey & Bacall onscreen pairings, Dark Passage is an interesting entry into the film noir canon. Bogey plays Vincent Parry, a man escaped from San Quentin to find the real person behind the crime for which he was committed - murder. Bacall plays a woman who helps him along the way.
The first third of the film is shot in first person point of view. A novel new method in the 40s. Now it looks like a gimmick. Once the camera shifts to a narrative function, the film gets better. Overall it isn't Bogey's best, but there are a few twists that surprised me, especially that window - whoa! But really...you can't go wrong with a Bogey moobie.

The Way Home

E:
G had seen this years ago and wanted me to check it out, so I netflixed it. It's about a young boy from the city forced to spend some time with his grandma out in the country. He brings his gameboy and robot toys - she lives out on a farm in the middle of nowhere with no running water and no electricity.
First of all, this kid is a major brat. Unforgivably ungrateful, self-centered and full of false pride. If G hadn't been the one to suggest I watch this, I would have turned it off half-way through. Second, the grandmother is far too passive, letting the boy talk smack to her, steal her few possessions, and allowing him to continue his ungrateful ways.
In the end, he does learn some gratitude and love but I don't feel like there was enough redemption to make the moobie worthwhile.

Laura

E:
Starring Gene Tierney, this Oscar winning (for best cinematography) film noir classic is credited to Otto Preminger. Apparently somebody named Rouben Mamoulien started the picture, but some behind the scenes shenanigans nipped him in the bud. And watching the special features about Gene's life...man! She led a tragic existence.
The film starts with police detective Mark McPherson investigating Laura's murder. Through flashbacks we get to know her, and through the memory lenses of her various beaus we see that she was very deeply loved.
The more McPherson learns about her, the more he too becomes enamored with her.
Then she turns up.
It's a good twist for this moobie.
Together, McPherson and Laura piece together who was actually murdered and who committed the crime.
I've been on a film noir kick lately (it rears its head periodically for me) and this one didn't disappoint. The femme fatale, the chiarascurro lighting, the cop, the fedoras, the dialogue...it takes me back to a time to which I have no real experience - I wasn't born until the '70s. But the distinct lines of masculinity and femininity are very appealing. The conviction with which these characters conduct themsleves is such a far cry from the ambiguity of the '00s.
Murder is a line that shouldn't be crossed but sometimes someone oversteps that boundary in the name of love. The reasons behind crimes of passion always run deeper, and sorting out the intriguing mess can be absolutely riveting.

This Gun For Hire

E:
A film noir classic. We Netflixed this one to watch more Veronica Lake and she delivers. This picture has two main plots that intersect. Alan Ladd plays Raven, a hitman. After being double-crossed by the man who hired him - he hunts him and his boss down. Meanwhile, Lake plays Ellen, a girl hired by the double-crosser to entertain the boss. Ellen and Raven meet on a train. He takes her hostage to aid in his escape from the police (one of which happens to be Ellen's boyfriend).
I love the hard-boiled attitude. Alan Ladd plays it straight and cool the entire time. And Veronica Lake is no slacker. She plays it just cool.
I think the big boss rolled over too quickly near the end, but all in all it makes for a great popcorn picture.