High Society (1956)

Star Rating: 3
Length of Film: 107 minutes
Director: Charles Walters
Cast: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, John Lund, Louis Calher, Sidney Blackmer, Louis Armstrong, & Margalo Gillmore
Oscar Nominations: Edward Bernds & Elwood Ullman (screenplay)*, Johnny Green & Saul Chaplin (music), and Cole Porter (song)
*Nomination declined when the Academy realized it had confused Bernds and ullman's High Society with Sol Siegel's production







My process for movie choices, is looking through my book, typing the titles into netflix, and be surprised when I get the movie in the mail. I never would have thought that I would watch the original movie, "The Philadelphia Story" then the remake, "High Society" in a 3 month time period.

The characters are still the same. C.K. Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby) and Miss Tracy Lord (Gene Kelly) were once married, they are no longer together. This movie is about Tracy's second marriage to George Kittredge (John Lund). Mike Connor, a tabloid writer (Frank Sinatra) and Liz Imbrie, a photographer (Celeste Holm) from Spy Magazine came to wedding, to write a story about the happy couple.


Mike Connor, spent time with Tracy, getting to know her for the story, and he fell for her! Mike (Frank Sinatra) sang a total of 3 songs in the movie. 

1. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" - Mike, Liz
2. "You're Sensational" - Mike
3. "Well, Did You Evah!" - C.K., Mike

One of my favorite songs from the movie was C.K. Dexter-Haven's (Bing Crosby)"Now You Has Jazz" where he performed with Louis Armstrong and his band.



Read my synopsis of The Philadelphia Story, to know what happens in the movie. I'm not going to waste my time repeating exactly what I typed in the blog post of The Philadelphia Story. Gene Kelly is so pretty! High Societ was her last film she ever did, and the first and only movie she sang in.

Here's a list of the songs from this musical.

1. "Overture"
2. "High Society Calypso" - Armstrong & his band
3. "True Love" - C.K., Tracy
4. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" - Mike, Liz
5. "I Love You, Samantha" - C.K.
6. "You're Sensational" - Mike
7. "Well, Did You Evah!" - C.K., Mike
8. "Little One" - C.K.
9. "Now You Has Jazz" - C.K., Armstrong & his band, individually introduced by name
10. "Mind if I Make Love to You?" (Sinatra)

Let The Right One In (2008)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 115 minutes
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, Peter Carlber, Ika Nord, & Mikael Rahm
BAFTA Nomination: Carl Molinder, John Nordling, &Tomas Alfredson (best film not in the English language)
Language: Swedish

Be prepared...this movie is in a foreign language, you will have to watch this movie in subtitles.

This movie is set in the 1980's in Blackberg, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. The movie is set around Oskar, a 12 year old only child, living with his mom, and visits dad on the weekends. Oskar is bullied at school, and doesn't really have any friends. With a pocket knife, Oskar practiced stabbing his "bullies" on a tree. That's when he met his new neighbor, Eli (she's a girl).

Eli is a vampire. Their eyes glow green when they're around blood, cats hate them, they can't eat human food, they burst into flames in the sun.

This movie is so interesting, and there's so many good parts in it, that this review is going to be super short! I don't want to ruin it, it's that good! It's a memorable movie!

Eli and Oskar first bond was over a rubik's cube. Oskar insisted that Eli borrow it, and in a day, she successfully solved the puzzle. Their relationship starts out friendly, learning morse code, through their shared wall, but then it escalates to inappropriate behavior for 12 years old. After a kill, Eli knocks on Oskars window, asks to come in, takes off all her clothes, and lays in bed with Oskar.

The horror isn't too graphic, or gross, it's done tastefully well. There is slight nudity of Eli's va-jay-jay. Eli was changing out of her bloody clothes, and Oskar sneaked a peek.The ending reminded me a lot of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror (1922), That vampire traveled by a wooden box, and in the end, when Eli left the town of Blackberg, she too, traveled by a wooden box.

I will tell you...the scene where find out that cats don't like vampires, is it shocking! And when Oskar's in the pool, and the bully's big brother stepped in, there was a moment of panic on my part. Curious? Rent the movie!

The Untouchables (1987)

Star Rating: 3
Length of Film: 119 minutes
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro, Richard Bardford, Jack Kehoe, Brad Sullivan, Billy Grago, Patricia Clarkson, Vito D'Ambrosio, Steven Goldstein, Peter Aylward, Don Harvey, & Robert Swan
Oscar: Sean Connery (Actor in Supporting Role)
Oscar Nomination: Patricia von Brandenstein, William A. Elliott, Hal Gausman (Art Direction), Marilyn Van (Costume), & Ennio morricon (music)

From Left to Right: Agent George Stone, Jim Malone, Eliot Ness, & Agent Oscar Wallace

The Untouchables is a movie re-telling the story of the famous mob boss, Al Capone (Robert De Niro). Knowing this is based off of American history, I knew that it wouldn't be 100% correct to what really happened, so I just watched the movie, with no judgment that all the facts in the movie, is false.

Eliot Ness(Kevin Costner), an Agent of the Bureau of Prohibition, was called to Chicago to help eliminate Al Capone's grasp on the state of Chicago by selling low-quality liquor at high prices. Eliot was in the park, where he was approached by police officer Jim Malone (Sean Connery) and Eliot become fast friends, especially since Jim knows whats been going on in the Chicago area. Together, Eliot and Jim go to the police academy and pick up George Stone, who has the best shot in his class. They later joined the 4th member of their team; Agent Oscar Wallace, an accountant.

They successfully joined a team, and they had a mission to bring Al Capone down, by showing that he has not turned in his taxes, and turn him in for tax evasion. On horses, the police ride after the mafia in cars, and have this huge gun fight. The music in this scene is very odd. It's heroic and positive, letting the audience know that the good guys are going to win. This was a HUGE fight scene and the music didn't portray that it was a big deal, it gave away that the winning side was already decided. During this battle scene, the team captured the bookkeeper. To get him to talk, Malone picked up a dead guy, put a gun in his mess, and "pretended" to interrogate him, and gave him a choice to talk, when the dead guy didn't say anything, he shot him. Through the window, the bookkeeper saw it, agreed to talk, and they took him into custody.

My 2nd favorite scene was with Al Capone with his men, he got mad at one of his men, and beat him with a baseball bat. Yikes!!!! Robert De Niro is such an amazing actor. When commits to a role, he REALLY commits. Robert De Niro insisted on wearing the same style of silk underwear that Al Capone wore, even though it would never be seen on camera. He also didn't have much time to gain the extra weight needed for this role, so he had to wear pads and pillows for the desired effect of looking like the chunky Capone.

The Real al Capone



Robert De Niro as Al Capone

My third and favorite scene is the death of Jim Malone. Jim was alone in his apartment, and a mafia man, with a knife, came in through his window to kill him. With a shotgun, Jim chased him out of his apartment, at the front door, he yelled very confidently that they can't outsmart him, then a mafia man on the roof, shot and killed him. :o(

This movie is based on building the personal relationships with the characters, and we don't see the mafia side, only the cop side. They could've done a lot more with the movie, but they didn't. They also could've used more facts on what actually happened. The screenwriters, should've done more research, because after watching the movie, I looked into what really happned, and they left out A LOT of details. Watch the movie, and make an opinion for yourself.



Rushmore (1998)

Star Rating: 2
Length of Film: 93 minutes
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka, Stephen McCole, Connie Nielsen, Luke Wilson, Dipak Pallana, Andrew Wilson, Marietta Marich, Ronnie McCawley, & Keith McCawley








This movie is so strange, but not in a good way. It's a movie about a 15 year old student, Max Fisher in a private school who focuses more on extra curricular activites than his actual school work. Max lies to everyone at the school saying he father is a neurosurgeon, even though he's just a barber. While at the library, he was looking at this book, where someone had written a quote in the book, he found out that it was written by a 1st grade teacher, Rosemary Cross. The two became friends and he innocently started having a crush on her.

After a speech, Max became enthralled with millionaire Herman J. Blume. Herman a married man, started hanging out with the two, and started having feelings for each other. Max, told Herman's wife, and he moved into a hotel room. Max stole a hotel uniform, and Rushmore's Bee Keepers and let it loose in his room. They do these childish back and forth pranks to win over this woman's heart, even though NEITHER of them should have or deserve her.

The synopsis of the book says, "this slow, turn-of-the screwball comedy is Murray's finest hour, allowing him at last to be profound, wounded, and funny, all at the same time". I disagree. He did not steal the show, and truthfully the character is worthless and not a role that I would want play, as an actor. I have no idea why this movie is in this book, and I'm actually quite disappointed. Don't see it...it's not worth an hour and a half.

The African Queen (1951)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 105 minutes
Director: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morely, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell, Peter Swanwick, & Richard Marner
Oscar: Humphrey Bogart (actor)
Oscar Nominations: John Huston (director), James Agee, John Huston (screenplay), Katharine Hepburn (actress)









The African Queen is based off of the 1935 novel written by C.S. Forester. It's based in Africa (obviously) where missionary Rose (Katharine Hepburn) and Reverend Samuel Sayer (Robert Morely) were working with an African tribe when World War 1 broke out. Charlie (Humphrey Bogart) delivers the mail and supplies to the tribes, and decided to rescue the damself in distress to take refuge on his boat, Rose agreed after Reverend Sayer died.


In the beginning, Rose wanted nothing to do with Charlie. It was pouring outside, Rose was covered under a tarp. Charlie woke up, soaking wet and went in her space, and she freaked out. She later apologized and let him be under the tarp, out of the rain. She even gave him, her umbrella. She was a stuck up Christian and thought Charlie should have the same virtues as her. One of the biggest disagreement was his drinking. She dumped his gin into the river.



After experiencing her first white water experience, she let her hair down and started loosening up. She even let Charlie call her "Rosie". They saw a group of hippopotamus' and Charlie imitated a hippo. It was the first moment, where sparks were flying.

The Germans who attacked the African village has a gunboat, the Queen Louisa, that patrols a lake downriver. The boat is perfectly located where no British boats can come and counter-attack. Rose comes up with an idea to convert the Queen into a torpedo boat, and sink the Louisa boat themselves! It was a brillant plan, but they did not expect the queen to travel in the mud and reeds. The only way to get through the channel is to pull the boat by hand. Which caused Charlie to have leeches covered all over his body. Rose happily grabbed salt and helped removed the leeches.

Two individuals, from separate backgrounds couldn't deny their love anymore. They fell in love with each other, worked side by side, and successfully filled the Queen with explosives to help their home country, England.

Setting up the torpedos, they did not put in thought the impact the torpedos weight would put on the Queen, and the boat started filling up with water, and the boat sank. Charlie and Rose got separated in the water and Charlie was captured by the captain of the Louisa. I

 will tell you this...at the end of the movie, two nooses were involved, explosions, and "I Do's".

Watch the movie...it's great!

La Vie En Rose (2007)

Star Rating: 2
Lenghth of Film: 140 minutes
Director: Olivier Dahan
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Sylvia Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gerard Depardieu
Oscars: Marion Cotillard (actress), Jan Archibald & Didier Lavergne (makeup)
Oscar Nomination: Marit Allen (costume designer)








This movie depicts the life of the famous French singer, Edith Piaf. Not knowing any of her music, or knowing she was famous, the movie didn't mean anything to me. It is in French, so you have to watch the movies in subtitles. I appreciate this movie, for all its hard work. If I knew French history, and seen pictures of the real Edith, I would have appreciated the movie much more. This movie made me think of Whitney Houston. I would watch this movie portral of Whitney, because I know her music, and seen her life spiraling down through the media, I would want to see the movie portraying her life. I have to think the same for the people of France, and also the people from the era that Edith Piaf was from.

Edith's mother was a street singer, who was taken away by her father who was a circus performer. Her father took her to live with his mother, who was a madame who owned a whorehouse. The ladies became very attached, as did Edith. Her father came back, and ripped her away from her new family.

Edith was found by a music manager, as she was singing on the streets and became a star!Edith falls in love with a married boxer, and when she sent for him to visit her, he died in a plane crash. When she finds out he died, it is a powerful scene and I am glad that Marion Cotillard won the oscar. It was moving! Goosebumps...very powerful.  

The real Edith Piaf

Marion Cotillard

I am also glad that makeup artists won an Oscar, because Marion Cotillard is gorgeous and they truly did transform her into looking like Edith Piaf, and a great job in the transformation of her last years, as a drug addict, and just the crippling decline in her health.

Marion Cotillard winning Oscar for Best Actress

If you're interested in hearing the vocals of the real Edith Piaf, and Marion Cotillard, here are 2 youtube videos.


Edith Piaf "Non, je ne regrette rien"

Marion Cotillard singing "Non Je Ne Regrette Rien"

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 119 minutes
Director: Stephen Frears
Cast: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, Mildred Natwick, Uma Thurman, Peter Capaldi, Joe Sheridan, Valerie Gogan, Lauren Benson, Joanna Pavlis
Oscars: Christopher Hampton (screenplay), Stuart Craig, Gerard James (art direction), & James Acheson (costume)
Oscar Nominations: Norma Hayman, Hank Moonjean (best picture), Glenn Close (actress), Michelle Pfeiffer (actress in a supporting role), George Fenton (costume).

Dangerous Liaison's is based off the critically acclaimed novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Lacios. There have been multiple movies and miniseries based off this novel. The most famous that comes to my mind is Cruel Intentions.



Marquise de Merteuil- Glenn Close
Vicomte de Valmont- John Malkovich
Madame de Tourvel- Michelle Pfeiffer
Cecile- Uma Thurman
Chevalier Danceny- Keanu Reeves

Dangerous Liaison's starts out with servants taking care of Marquise de Merteuil, dressing her and waiting on her hand and foot.

Marquise de Merteuil & Valmont have this sexual tension, but Marquise has been making him wait and torturing him. Marquise seems very upstanding, and virtuous, but she's a manipulator,egotistical, and flat out mean! Marquise made a deal with Valmont that if he seduced the virginal Cecile with proof (through written letters) . You might ask why Marquise would want Valmont to seduce Cecile? Well...Cecile is being arranged to marry Marquise's former lover. So she wants to get revenge of him, and have his new bride not be a virgin. HA! So devious! Valmont was unsure whether or not he should go along with this plan, because he has his own plan to seduce the married Madame de Tourvel, but changes his mind knowing that the reward, Marquise, would be worth it.

Valmont is sleazy and very clever when seducing Madame de Tourvel. He went to a small village, and gave money to the poor.Yet Madame was warned about Valmont and his "ways" with women. Valmont tried everything. "I love you, I adore you. Please help me." He leaned to kiss Madame on the cheek, and she pulled away. She was not going to fall for his tricks, so she thought...

Cecile is played by Uma Thurman, the virginal young girl. She falls in love with Chevalier Danceny, a musician, and her teacher, who's not in the same class, and so they will never marry. They pass love letters back and forth to each other, hoping that one day they'll be able to be together.  

Valmont uses Cecile's love for Danceny to get his foot in the door (or her pants, ha!)  with Cecile to fulfill his conquest. He gives Cecile a fake copy of her bedroom key that her mother keeps in her room. Valmont tells her to switch the keys so he could hand deliver Danceny's love letters. Naive Cecile, thinks that Valmont is actually trying to help her. He sneaks into her bedroom, startles Cecile and tells him he'll leave if he kisses him. He pushes for more, but nothing happened.

Marquise was called by her cousin (Cecile's mom) to help get Cecile out of this funk. Marquise tells Cecile to allow Valmont to continue "instructing" Cecile. "As long as you take a few elementary precautions, you can do it or not, with as many men as you like, as aften as you like, in as many different ways as you like".

This yellow dress is my favorite outfit from the movie

Valmont begins instructing Cecile so she can "impress" her future husband and also her lover, Danceny. Valmont also instructs Cecile to write a very spicy love letter to Danceny, a letter she writes on the naked body of Valmont. (You get to see Uma Thurman's boob)

Madame de Tourvel finally gives in and confesses her love to Valmont and they spend a beautiful night together. Something happens to womanizer Valmont that he's not expecting...he falls in love with Madame. Marquise and Valmont meet up and he demands that he gets to spend the night with her...TONIGHT. She weasels herself out of it and tells him that she wants him to break it off with Madame, THEN they'll have their night, if he doesn't agree, she'll ruin his reputation.


Watch the movie. You'll be pleasantly surprised to see what happens to our 5 main characters, but you're gonna have to watch it, because I'm not going to tell you. The ending, right before the credits, is my favorite. Marquise is so raw and delicate, a side of her we don't see at all throughout the movie. I believe THAT moment, is why she was nominated for best actress.

Favorite Quotes:

"If I want a man, I have him"

"It's beyond my control"

"I wanted you before we'd ever met. My self-esteem demanded it. Then when you began to pursue me, I wanted you so badly"