Straw Dogs (1971)

Star Rating: 3



 Length of Film: 118 minutes
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna, Del Henney, Jim Norton, Donald Webster, Ken Hutchison, Len Jones, Sally Thomsett, Robert Keegan, Peter Arne, Cherina Schaer, Colin Welland
Oscar Nomination: Jerry Fielding (music)








Mathematician David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman), and wife Amy (Susan George) move back to her hometown. David has some issues adjusting to life there, especially when Amy and David disagree on each other's roles in their marriage. David wants to work and be the bread winner where Amy should wait on him hand and foot.

The couple hired workers to restore the barnhouse, one of them being an ex of Amy's; Charlie Venner (Del Henney). Frustrated with her husband, she decides to take off her sweater, and purposefully place herself in front of the window where the workers could see her.

The men taunted and teased David because of his intelligence, to try to win their friendship, he invites them on a hunting trip, where Charlie stays behind. At first he flirts with Amy, then he goes too far.

Amy fights the rape, but soon gives up, and allows him to have sex with her.

David comes back and fires the men. Later that week, they went into town for a town social.  A young woman flirts with the town idiot,Henry and they leave with each other. These two characters reminded me of Lennie from Of Mice and Men. All hell breaks loose, when David and Amy take David home, and the town is pissed and start banging on their door. For the first time in the movie, he grows a pair and stands up to the townies. They broke the windows, so David boiled water and threw it at them.

Glory (1989)

Star Rating: 3
Length of Film: 122 minutes
Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Jihmi Kennedy, Andre Braugher, John Finn, Donovan Leitch, J.D. Cullum, Alan North, Bob Gunton, Cliff De Young, Christian Baskous
Oscars: Denzel Washington (actor in support role), Freddie Francis (photography), Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson, Russell Willliams (sound)
Oscar Nominations: Norman Garwood, Garrett Lewis (art direction), Steven Rosenblum (editing)



Colonel Robert Shaw (Matthew Broderick) a liberal blue blood is in charge of the first all black volunteer company. Colonel Shaw is accompanied by a dick, whom we do not like, Major Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes).

Matthew Broderick

The other main characters of the movie are former slave Sargeant Major John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) and Private Trip (Denzel Washington). Trip is the arrogant young black man who runs his mouth and gets himself in trouble. There's a scene where get he gets lashed in the back by a whip, while John Rawlins is the level headed, older gentleman with all the life experiences and is the "father figure" to all the young military men.

Morgan Freeman

Denzel Washington

The movie was quite boring in the beginning, it has been a month since I've watched this movie and all I can remember about the movie is how good my pint of Ben & Jerry's was. I was bored... I understand that in the beginning of the movie, you have to allow the audience to get to know the characters, but oh my goodness... the good stuff didn't happen until the last 15 minutes of the movie! Before the soldiers marched off to fight at Fort Wagner, they were eating dinner at the campground by fire and they sang a spiritual titled "Oh my Lord, Lord, Lord". As a music fanatic, I loved this song! This is the part of the movie where everything turned around for me. Here's a link to the Youtube video of this scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K83kzZJ5v0&feature=related


The end battle scene at Fort Wagner was unbelieveably good! The only thing I did not like, was that it was at night, and it was hard to see everything, but you can't change history. When it comes to war movies, this is one of top ones I've seen. I've already watched Platoon, and was not impressed by it, this movie, I thought it was great, other than them spending too much damn time for the audience to get to know the characters.

Glory- #253 out of 1,001

The Red Shoes (1948)

Star Rating: 3

Length of FIlm: 133 minutes
Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Leonide Massine, Albert Bassermann, Ludmilla Tcherina, & Esmond Knight
Oscars: Hein Heckroth, Arthur Lawson (art direction), Brian Easdale (music)
Oscar nomations: Mmichael Powell, Emeric Pressburger (best picture), Emeric Pressburger (screenplay), Reginald Mills (editing)






The Red Shoes is the ultimate ballet movie. It focuses manly on the dancing, but of course, there's a love triangle between the three main characters; Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), Boris Lemontov (Anton Walbrook), and Julian Craster (Marius Goring). Boris is the owner and director of the ballet company, he meets Victoria at a party, and her Aunt got Victoria an audition. In the meantime, composer Julian Craster got his chance. They base a ballet after Hans Christian Anderson's "The Red Shoes" about a girl who can't take off her shoes and dances till she dies.

Anton Walbrook- Doesn't Sean Penn look like him?!

Marius Goring

Moira Shearer

Boris finds out about Victoria and Julian, and so he fires her. He then tells Victoria it's either dancing or Julian... she picks Julian. They marry and move to London where Julian composes an opera. Boris allows Victoria to come back to dance in the revival of The Red Shoes. Julian finds out, and storms into her dressing room.

The cinematography in this movie is beautiful, same with the dancing and music. I will admit that it didn't keep my attention, 100%. I got bored. Be prepared for slow parts, but the ending is tragically good!  

On the Town (1949)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 98 minutes
Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, Vera-Ellen, Florence Bates, Alice Pearce, George Meader, & Judy Holliday
Oscar:Roger Edens, Lennie Hayton (music)



Three sailors, Gabey (Gene Kelly), Chip (Frank Sinatra), and Ozzie (Jules Munshin) only have 24 hours leave, and want to get laid. Cab driver Brunhilde (Betty Garrett), finds Chip and puts the serious moves on him; inviting him to sit in the front with her.

Gabey sees a poster advertising Miss Turnstiles and makes it his mission to track her down; Miss Turnstiles, whose real name is Ivy (Vera-Ellen).

While visiting the Museum Of Natural History, Ozzie stands next to a statue of a caveman, and anthropologist Claire becomes fascinated with Ozzie and how much he looks like the statue and that's how a "true man" looks like.

It's a cutesy, feel good movie that's funny and has a very sexual context for being 1949. It's worth watching!