On pace for a record year of going to the movies.....

Back in 1992, which I remember like it was yesterday; I did something that I thought I would never do again. I went to the theaters an amazing 36 times to watch movies. An average of 3 films a month. And it was not like that year was anything special but I was 22 and stationed in Germany in the army at the time. And the one thing we did on a regular basis was go to the movies. Some of the films from that year that I saw included Batman Returns, Basic Instinct, A Few Good Men (my favorite of the year), Patriot Games, Alien 3, Single White Female, White Men Can't Jump, Unlawful Entry, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Lethal Weapon 3, Aladdin, My Cousin Vinny, The Last of The Mohicans, Death Becomes Her, Singles (my second favorite film of the year) and A League of Their Own to name just a few. Looking back that was a pretty good year. And that record held forever. There were other years where I topped the 30 films mark but that was rare. Well, now in 2011, I am actually on pace to beat what I thought was an unreachable record. And you think with the higher ticket prices and the quality of films Hollywood has been cranking out over the last few years, this would not happen. But as of June 20^th, I’ve been to the movies 16 times. Seeing such notable films like Bridesmaids, X-Men: First Class, The Hangover 2, Thor, Fast Five, Pirates of the Caribbean and others. And based on what upcoming films I plan to see by the time summer is over, I will be sitting at around 25 films. So unless I cool off dramatically, it looks like I will set a new record for most movies seen at the theaters. Count me surprised. And I know some people may be like Monty actually tracked how many movies he saw when he was 22? Yes, no girlfriend and plenty of spare time. And I was and still am a full time comic book geek, so yeah I was counting stuff like that. That’s just me. And I still do it to this day. So if anyone is interested, I will be on a countdown watch for what I think is a cool record. But like I said, I might be the only one who cares about it.

*Actually I went to the theaters well over 40 times because I saw several of these films more than once.

The 60's are coming back to ALL GOOD THINGS in JULY

The 1960’s is my second favorite decade in terms of film. Just behind the 1930’s, when screwball comedies, my favorite genre, were at their zenith. I plan to do a six part series in July discussing that wonderful decade. Breaking down my favorite films, TV series, actors, actresses, directors and so on. Plus giving my thoughts on that decade in general. It will be my main feature for the entire month of July. I hope everyone will stop by and spend some time with me talking about All Good Things, 60’s style. The decade that changed everything from music to clothes to film. It will be the summer of love and fun. James Bond, Cleopatra, Natalie Wood, Valley of the Dolls, Paul Newman, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Sharon Tate, The Graduate, Beach Blanket Bingo, British "Kitchen sink" films, That Girl, Elizabeth Montgomery, I SPY, The Wild Bunch, Raquel Welch, Julie Andrews, Bullitt, Gilligan's Island, Dr. Strangelove, Elvis, Ann-Margret, Dean Martin, Star Trek, Hammer Horror Films, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Psycho, The Avengers, Brigitte Bardot and tons more. In fact the more I think about it, it may take more than six parts to tell the tale. We'll see, but I promise it will be a fun ride. But I will have some support from my best friends and co-bloggers Dawn and Irene, who plan to help with the festivities.




 

Be My Guest - Irene: Question #9 (What is your favorite classic movie series)

9. What is your favorite classic movie series?

Irene: I am pretty conventional in this: THE THIN MAN SERIES! 

Monty: Oh yeah. The Thin Man is my fave movie series of all time.

Irene: I also like Basil Rathbone in the SHERLOCK HOLMES SERIES and Peter Lorre in the MR. MOTO SERIES – but the THIN MAN is above them all.

Monty: Sherlock Holmes is good but I never watched Mr. Moto.

Irene: Nick and Nora are the best – and all these wonderful actors in minor roles!! 

Monty: Yes they are..William Powell and Myrna Loy are terrific together in everything they did.

Irene: As I once stated in one of my posts: Sometimes I get the feeling that you could relate almost any classic film to one of the THIN MAN SERIES..

Send Me No Flowers is my favorite Doris Day movie...

Don't exactly know why, but Send Me No Flowers is my favorite Doris Day film. Granted there are a lot of Doris films that I haven't seen, but still Flowers is the one I loved the most so far. That may change in time, but right now it's all about the flowers. I mean she gave more talented performances in other movies, especially her musicals, but I just love Flowers. Let me tell you why I love this movie. This was the third pairing between Doris and Rock Hudson. And Tony Randall returns as well. By now this trio could play these roles in their sleep. And I thought they all hit their comic notes perfectly this time around. Doris was especially good at making the perfect facial expressions and her timing with Rock was never better. Their previous pairings had the two as opposites before they finally fell in love. Well here in Flowers, they are a happily married couple with Rock hysterically funny as a hypochondriac. Tony Randall is a hoot as their next door neighbor who winds up going on a bender that has to be one of the best on-screen drunk performances this side of Dean Martin. This film reminded me of those glorious screwball comedies with Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Jean Arthur, William Powell and others. It is funny and lets everyone get their moments. Paul Lynde has a part as a funeral undertaker that loves his job a little too much. Clint Walker, usually a stoic tough guy in films like The Dirty Dozen gets to relax a little and have some fun. And Edward Andrews is amazingly funny as Rock's befuddled doctor. I know most fans rank Pillow Talk as their favorite of the Day/Hudson pairings, but I always go with Flowers. It captures the period of the 60's perfectly and the actors seems like they are having a ball. I wished Day, Hudson, and Randall made a few more films together. They made that rare comedy trio that were actually very funny. Also loved the title song performed by Ms. Day, naturally of course.

Classic Movie Actor Tournament (1950's Era) Round 2

After a huge upset in round 1,which saw 16th seed Alec Guinness take down toP seed Marlon Brando, we move on to round two with some interesting matches. This round starts immediately and will run through Wednesday 7 PM EST. Good luck to all competitors.

9 ROBERT MITCHUM

















VS


16 ALEC GUINNESS



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


4 BURT LANCASTER






















VS


12 FRANK SINATRA




















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


2 WILLIAM HOLDEN





















VS


7 MONTGOMERY CLIFT





















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


3 JOHN WAYNE





















VS


6 KIRK DOUGLAS

The force is strong with ALEC GUINNESS who upsets top seed MARLON BRANDO in the first round of the 50's classic movie actor tournament...

Well the first round of the 50's bracket in the classic movie actor tournament is in the books. And top seed Marlon Brando is gone. He was knocked out by Sir Alec Guinness 23-22 in one of the biggest upsets in any of the tournaments. What makes this upset even more amazing is that Guinness had to beat Richard Burton to even get into the tournament. Wow! I will be the first to admit, I voted for Alec. Another upset was 12th seed Frank Sinatra knocking off he-man Charlton Heston (5th seed) 24-22. 2nd seed and heavy favorite William Holden had no problem beating Danny Kaye 41-5, in the round's most lopsided match.  And I was heart-broken seeing my man Dean Martin lose to Burt Lancaster. Dang. Here are the complete results to all the matches.

1  MARLON BRANDO                     22
16 ALEC GUINNESS                         23

8  JAMES DEAN                               12
9 ROBERT MITCHUM                    34

4  BURT LANCASTER                    27
13 DEAN MARTIN                          19

5  CHARLTON HESTON                22
12 FRANK SINATRA                      24

2  WILLIAM HOLDEN                   41
15 DANNY KAYE                             5

7  MONTGOMERY CLIFT           23
10 ROCK HUDSON                       22

3  JOHN WAYNE                           30
14 GLENN FORD                          16

6  KIRK DOUGLAS                     35
11 ANTHONY QUINN                10

Be My Guest - Irene (And Then They Start To Sparkle): Question #8 - Name some of your favorite movie quotes

8. What is your favorite movie quote? Can be more than one.



There are so many - but I choose these (again in random order) :





1.

Mr. Banks: “Winifred, where are the children?”





~ I simply adore MARY POPPINS (1964) - sometimes when I am with my sister and I haven't said anyhing for a few minutes (I tend to daydream..) she usually quotes this.. ~


 2.





Elizabeth Imbrie: "We’ve come for the body of Macauly Connor."


C.K. Dexter Haven: "I’m so glad you came. Can you use a typewriter?"


Elizabeth Imbrie: "No, thanks. I’ve got one at home."






~ Elizabeth Imbrie of THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is one of my all-time favourite characters - maybe a little bit more if she is impersonated by the amazing Ruth Hussey.. and the dialogues are great in this play..~



3.



Miriam Aarons: "Well he could crack a coconut with those knees! - If he could get them together!"

~ Got to mention THE WOMEN (1939)! It’s full of awesome (and invidious) quotes - and amazing actresses. ~


4.

Susan Applegate (asked to speak Swedish): "I vant to be alone."





~ Hilarious! I like such film spoofs.. In case you do not know: It’s from THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (1942)~



5.

Finally - these two people of CASABLANCA (1942) breake my heart - I am quite sentimental..:





Mr. Leuchtag: "Liebchen - sweetnessheart, what watch?"


Mrs. Leuchtag: "Ten watch."


Mr. Leuchtag: "Such watch?"


Carl: "Hm. You will get along beautiful in America, mm-hmm."

Be My Guest - Irene (And Then They Start To Sparkle): Question #7 - Name a few of your favorite modern films

7. Name a few of your favorite modern films.




Okay I looked up the storyline for The Fall, one of Irene's favorite modern films
and I want to see this film immediately.





THE FALL (2006)


DRACULA (1992)


GOSFORD PARK (2001)


THE BOAT THAT ROCKED (2009)


CADILLAC RECORDS (2008)


CORPSE BRIDE (2005)


THE PRODUCERS (2005)

ALMOST FAMOUS (2000)


FROM HELL (2001)


IRON JAWED ANGELS (2004)


CRY-BABY (1990)





again: no specific order - and quite changing..

Happy Birthday Pier Angeli (1932 - 1971)

Happy Birthday to Pier Angeli, the Italian star of such films as Somebody Up There Likes Me (1958) with Paul Newman; Merry Andrew (1958) with Danny Kaye and Battle of the Bulge (1965).  Her life ended on September 10, 1971 as Pier was found dead of a barbiturate overdose in her Beverly Hills home. She was only 39 years old.

Be My Guest - Irene (And Then They Start To Sparkle): Question #6 - Name some of your favorite modern stars

6. Name a few of your favorite modern movie actors/actresses.




Helena Bonham-Carter


Kate Winslet


Sally Hawkins


Jemima Roper


Winona Ryder





Rhys Ifans


Johnny Depp


Richard E. Grant


Crispin Glover


Alan Rickman




See - I was pretty modest. :")