What Movies Did You Watch in March 2021?

Coming 2 America (2021) 3/8 A couple of laughs, but really a letdown as the original is one of my all-time favorite comedies. I did like how much of the original cast they brought back (even though some of them are just Murphy and Hall in makeup). Probably a sequel that didn't need to be made.
 
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) - Very different and eye popping film. The rich and vibrant colors, the radiant beauty of Catherine Deneuve and the singing of all of the dialogue (in French) makes this a rather unique film. All of those things, except for the French, inspired the 2016 musical La La Land.

7/8
 
Allegiant (2016) 3/8 The final chapter of the Divergent series. My wife swore she hadn't seen it, though I know we went to the theater to watch it. She bought it online, so we watched it again. A definite letdown for the finale, I really liked the first two.
 
Purplemojo said:
Charade (1963) - I watched this based on last month's review by eastisbest. It was a very fun movie to watch. Audrey Hepburn is beautiful in this film. The banter between her and Cary Grant is reminiscent of movies from the 30's and 40's like the Thin Man films. Many interesting twists.

6/8

A Family Affair (1937) -Although aware of the very long (16 films) Andy Hardy film series, I had never seen one until now. This is the film that started the series, starring Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy. It was an okay family dramedy involving some political intrigue and domestic drama as well as Andy's teenage antics. I'll have to see one of the films that included Judy Garland as Andy's romantic interest.

5/6
Click to expand...


Charade is often mistaken as a Hitchcock film
Stanley Donen (the film's director) does not pull a Hitchcock visual Cameo but does two
voice overs; notable as the U.S. Marine Embassy guard near the end of the film.
~ the MacGuffin is the $250,000 ~

--------------------

Andy Hardy Films with Judy Garland

Love Finds Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
Life Begins for Andy Hardy

From Love Finds Andy Hardy...

There were 16 films in all, released over 9 years with the same actors in all
the major roles. (the first 2 do not have the 'Hardy' name in the title;
A Family Affair and You're Only Young Once )

en.wikipedia.org

Andy Hardy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

---------------------

The 1st Teen-Beach-Surfer movie...

In 1959 Cloumbia Pictures released the film Gidget. (has a twist at the end)


It received decent reviews and at the time it was thought that it would spawn
a series akin to the 'Andy Hardy' films.

Unlike the 'Hardy' series the roles were mostly played by different actors;
(which IMO hurt the reception of the later 2 films)
save for 'Jeffery Matthews AKA Moondoggie' played by James Darren who also sang
the title song 'Gidget' in the film; his 45 single climbed to #41 on the charts.


Only two additional films were made Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget
Goes to Rome.

There were 2 short lived TV series (first with Sally Field) and a several
made for TV films depicting Gidget as an adult.

Gidget's (James Darren in all 3)
Sandra Dee - Gidget
Deborah Walley - Gidget Goes Hawaiian
Cindy Carol - Gidget Goes to Rome

Sally Field - TV sitcom series Gidget
Karen Valentine - TV telemovie Gidget Grows Up
Monie Ellis - TV telemovie Gidget Gets Married
Caryn Richman - TV telemovie Gidget's Summer Reunion
Caryn Richman - TV sitcom series The New Gidget

:>---

SALT
 
Last edited:
Captain Blood (1935) - Best pirate movie ever. No need for supernatural gimmicks like those Pirates of the Caribbean films.

6.5/8
 
Cherry- 6.5/8. Excellent acting from Tom Holland & Ciara Bravo (from NKY). It pulls no punches regarding PTSD and addiction, the ending is a bit abrupt, but still worth the watch.
 
Purplemojo said:
A Matter of Life or Death (1946) - A really strange film that is considered by the British to be one of the best British films of all time. I thought it was just ok. The quirky start devolves into a tragic war time scenario. A pilot is in his disabled bomber after his living crew members have bailed out and he is alone, without a parachute. That part of the film is compelling, but all of the supernatural stuff that follows leaves me a bit cold. David Niven is always a plus, which is why I watched it to begin with.

5/8
Click to expand...
I saw that on TCM a couple of times in the past year, never heard of it before. Actually, the supernatural part of it made it very interesting to me, similar to The Adjustment Bureau more recently. It did get a bit unwieldy trying to keep up, but I thought it was pretty high-concept for the times.

Somewhat in the same vein is 1947's "Down To Earth", where Rita Hayworth plays Terpsichore, one of the Greek Muses, who gets permission to come to Earth to help out a few mortals, and ends up falling in love with one before having to return whatever the Greek equivalent of Heaven is. I thought it was an interesting take on what would have been a run-of-the-mill love story.
 
Last edited:
Gangster fest this past weekend:

Public Enemy (1931) - Great Warner Brothers gangster film. Cagney is great in it. My only complaint, not enough Jean Harlow.


Jean Harlow



6/8

Little Caesar (1931) - Edward G. Robinson in his role as the quintessential 1930's gangster and with his distinctive voice (yooouuu dirty rat). Has one of the best ending lines in movie history.

6/8
 
Clerks: 3.5/8


I think this was the first time I watched all the way through. As a Kevin Smith fan, this is easily my least favorite of anything of his I’ve seen.
 
Freaky (3.5/8) 2020 Without Vince Vaughn this would have easily been a 1 or 1.5. He played a teenage girl better than could be expected. One of my favorite actors of all time. Otherwise, just a goofy movie.

The New Mutants (3/8) 2020 Another disappointment. Thought there might be an X-Men tie in or something. Even the big final battle was just so so. This was suppose to be an origin story for the group and I'm sure they were setting it up for a sequel but there were a lot of loose ends they never tied, really too many for my taste.
 
Zunardo said:
I saw that on TCM a couple of times in the past year, never heard of it before. Actually, the supernatural part of it made it very interesting to me, similar to The Adjustment Bureau more recently. It did get a bit unwieldy trying to keep up, but I thought it was pretty high-concept for the times.

Somewhat in the same vein is 1947's "Down To Earth", where Rita Hayworth plays Terpsichore, one of the Greek Muses, who gets permission to come to Earth to help out a few mortals, and ends up falling in love with one before having to return whatever the Greek equivalent of Heaven is. I thought it was an interesting take on what would have been a run-of-the-mill love story.
Click to expand...

Elysium ? Not the one with Matt Damon.



Waterloo Bridge (1940) 7/8 Thought I was about to watch a WWII or pre-war movie. A lot more powerful than I thought it would be. Googled, turns out to be a remake of a 1931 and both off a play. All highly regarded.
 
eastisbest said:
Elysium ? Not the one with Matt Damon.
Click to expand...
Lol - I just learned from a game show last week what Elysium meant. I tried to watch the Matt Damon movie once, but it was much darker and more confusing then I originally thought. When the movie released, it sounded like a futuristic drug.

IIRC, they used the word "Heaven" in the Down To Earth movie. Probably didn't want to confuse the quaint viewers in Peoria with exotic vocabulary.
 
Phenomenon 7/8 - 2020 documentary about alien encounters around the globe and government cover-ups. I thought it was well done.
 
Misfits (1961) - Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe's last film (he had a heart attack two days after the film rapped and Monroe's decent into alcohol and drugs started well before the filming started). This story is mostly about how noble actions can become something else due to changes beyond our control in our culture and our society, whether it be the institution of marriage or wrangling mustangs. It is also a movie about redemption and resilience. Monroe's figure and sexuality is put to good use and is an important element in the film. There is a scene in a bar where she picks up a boy's paddle ball and starts pounding away on it, bringing her bounteous assets into focus. One can't help to notice her figure in the final scene where she is out in the Nevada desert in a white cotton blouse and no bra. Anyway, she is fun to look at, but she also turned in a very good performance, as did Gable, Eli Wallach and Montgomery Cliff.

7/8
 
Last edited:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 7/8. Wasn't quite as good as I'd placed it in memory but when it was good, it was REAL good. Particularly Fletcher and Dourif. And one of my favorite final scenes in cinema.
 
Cotton Club: 5/8 somehow I remembered more "Cotton Club" scenes and less other. Watching Cage and Gere chew scenery wasn't much entertainment.

Ragtime 5/8 another that held up less than I recalled. Rollins was terrific. I realize this was historically based but it was only the story within the story that was interesting and that was based on an idiot making idiot decisions, though terrrifically portrayed by Rollins.

A Soldier's Story 7/8 followed the imdb of Rollins over to this one. Solid performances all around. A great roster of good to great actors in their early role. Best Supporting Actor was easily the toughest of the top four acting categories. Many years Adolph Caesar would have won for his performance.
 
Free State of Jones (2016) - Great story, in fact, three great stories. My only complaint is that they attempted to do too much. The Civil era story of Knight disserting and then setting up a pro-union community in the heart of the South is compelling. So is the postbellum rise of the KKK and the start of the Jim Crow laws. So may be the story only hinted at about Knight's biracial descendants who "passed". All together though it was a bit disjointed and the greater took away from the smaller stories. McConaughey did a fantastic job in the male lead. The period authenticity also gets a big thumbs up.

I lot of people who do not understand the politics of race in the US should see this film to get the understanding and wisdom that today's media does not want you to have.

6/8
 
Zach Snyder's Justice League 3/8 I didn't run out of reasons for subtracting one. Just figured not to be too cruel. Dialogue was laughble as was the music and the hero entrance music. WW's got particularly silly after the first hundred times. Drawn out posing while the world burns and something I really dislike, the climatic story isn't the ending. Not even close to the ending. They could have easily incorportated all the premonition into the main storyline. 4 hours of bad you kind of feel you should watch anyhow if vested in the genre.
 
Boogie (2021) 3/8 Story of an Asian American kid trying to make it to college as a high school basketball player in NYC. Story wasn't bad, had some good parts but overall it wasn't well done. Definitely thought it had potential but ended up falling short.
 
Minari - Outstanding family drama, involving the a in some ways unique but in some ways universal immigrant story. Beautifully acted, beautifully filmed, it is simply a beautiful film.

7/8
 
eastisbest said:
A Soldier's Story 7/8 followed the imdb of Rollins over to this one. Solid performances all around. A great roster of good to great actors in their early role. Best Supporting Actor was easily the toughest of the top four acting categories. Many years Adolph Caesar would have won for his performance.
Click to expand...

Patti Labelle singing and a young Denzel Washington and Robert Townsend, man this was a good one. You could feel how hot it was through the screen.
 
hubman said:
Patti Labelle singing and a young Denzel Washington and Robert Townsend, man this was a good one. You could feel how hot it was through the screen.
Click to expand...

I enjoyed going through the cast list to identify those "I think I've seen that face" actors. Lot of young stars to be. Grier was another. That C.J. don't know if that was really him singing and playing but wow. His life a bit tragic. The guy who played the "victim," didn't have long to go either. Rollins another one down the difficult road, would have been a great one. Not the presence of Washington but leaps above in acting.

IMDB is sometimes how I pick my next movie. I'll be looking up an actor, see what else they've been in and look for something interesting. Hence two Rollins movies.
 
Oliver! 7/8

"Oliver!" was on TCM last night. My sister-in-law knows all the lyrics to all the songs.

It was my all-time favorite movie when I was in grade school...but then I saw "Billy Jack" and had a new all-time favorite. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top