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Feeling a little spacey?

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell them what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

Hollywood loves space movies. Movie goers do too. There are almost no boundaries. Anything can happen in the wild, blue yonder. There is a slight shift in films made after we actually put a man on the moon. The fantasy films still employ tons of special effects and strange-looking aliens, but the more realistic ones are, well, more realistic. I’ve included both.

Apollo 13 (1995): Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon find themselves in serious trouble as they head for the moon. This film is based on fact. It is so well done that even though I knew how it ended I was on the edge of my seat. Ed Harris and Gary Sinise co-star.

Silent Running (1972): Bruce Dern plays a botanist entrusted to keeping trees alive on a space vehicle. When ordered to destroy his forest, he refuses. This action places him alone with his fellow crew members against him. This is a quiet movie with a strong message.

The Right Stuff (1983): This film, based on a Thomas Wolfe novel, is great stuff. It is interesting and sometimes funny. The guys with the right stuff are Mercury astronauts in the 1960s. The cast is very strong and includes Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Jeff Goldblum and Barbara Hershey.

Space Balls (1982): This film is a spoof of the Star War series and features “the power of the Schwartz.” Funny man Mel Brooks joins with Bill Pullman, John Candy and Rick Moranis for a little comic relief.

Gravity (2013): I haven’t seen this film yet, but it is certainly on my list. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney find themselves in a sticky situation.

Destination Moon (1950): John Archer, Warner Anderson and Tom Powers are successful in reaching the moon, but once there they realize they won’t have enough fuel to get home. Oh, what is an astronaut to do?

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): In this Stanley Kubrick classic, astronauts Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood are sent into space to check out monoliths that have been appearing throughout the universe. Little did they know that HAL, the ship’s computer, would try to take over. Stunning cinematography.

Countdown (1968): This is a Robert Altman film based on the novel, The Pilgrim Project, by Hank Searls. In a race to beat the Russians to the moon, James Caan finds himself on the moon with dead Russians. Caan thinks he will be dead soon unless he can find the shelter that was sent. At the last moment, he sees the beacon on the shelter and heads for it.

From the Earth to the Moon (1958):  Based on a Jules Verne novel, this film tells the story of the invention of a super material that is used to build a spaceship during the Civil War. Joseph Cotton, George Sanders and Debra Paget co-star.

Marooned (1969): Astronauts are stranded on the moon when their space vehicle develops problems. On the ground, Gregory Peck is charged with finding a way to bring them home. A stellar cast includes Richard Crenna, David Janssen, Gene Hackman and Lee Grant. Entertaining little movie.

Solaris (2002): This is a strange film directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars George Clooney and Natascha McElhone. The plot is so convoluted and bizarre that I won’t even attempt to try to relate it. All you need to know is that Clooney is on a spaceship.

Space Cowboys (2000): A Russian satellite is about to fall to Earth. Only one man can stop it. He agrees to take on the task if his buddies can join him. Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner and Marcia Gay Harden make this a fun film to watch.

Abbott and Costello go to Mars (1953): These two screw-ups accidentally launch a rocket destined for Mars, but it ends up in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. There, they are forced by bank robbers to fly to Venus, which is inhabited solely by women. Oh, if it were only that easy.

Capricorn One (1978): NASA astronauts are asked to fake a Mars landing. They do and become heroes with the public until nosy reporters discover the truth. Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Sam Waterston and Hal Holbrook star. Interesting concept. Could our government really pull this off?

Moon (2009): An astronaut sends to Earth parcels of Helium-3 that should help with power problems. The plot sounds simple but it’s not. What’s going on here? Sam Rockwell stars and Kevin Spacey is the voice of the robot.

Project Moonbase (1953): This movie is from a story by Robert Heinlein that is set in the future (1970). The US wants to build bases on the moon. Three astronauts are sent to look for sites. One of them is an imposter sent to sabotage the project. He dies. The US decides to use the spaceship as base. One astronaut is male, one female. Because this is 1953, they must marry to avoid scandal.

Happy Endings

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call and tell them what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

We all delight in happy endings. Maybe it was those fairy tales our mothers and fathers read to us as small children. Maybe it is our hope it will happen to us. What we do know is that in the movies happy endings are possible. We don’t dwell on what happens after the movie declares “The End.”  Here are but a few of the many, many movies with happy endings.

Pride and Prejudice (2005): This is not the best adaption of Jane Austen’s book. There is a dark, smarmy feel to it. Keira Knightley’s eye makeup made her look as though she was dying of a horrible disease. She did have a great supporting cast to shore her up: Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn and Judi Dench.

Jane Eyre (1944): Orson Welles is properly haunted by his dark secret and Joan Fontaine is properly wide-eyed in this adaption of Bronté’s novel. Margaret O’Brien and Agnes Moorhead fill out the cast. It does have a happy ending, of sorts.

Sleepless in Seattle (1993): Cute Meg Ryan and likeable Tom Hanks star in this sweet tale. You know from the first that they will find each other and live happily ever after. Rob Reiner and Bill Pullman costar.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961): This film is less sweet but more enchanting. Audrey Hepburn is at her waif-like best and blond George Peppard is hunky. Patricia Neal, Mickey Rooney and Buddy Ebsen

costar. Clever veiling of Hepburn’s real profession.

About a Boy (2002): Looking for new angles for meeting women, Hugh Grant signs up for single-parent meetings. When he meets a needy 12-year-old boy and his despondent mother, the film becomes charming and heartwarming.

Meet Me in Saint Louis (1944): Harken back to the good old days when girls sang about the boy next door. The 1904 world’s fair is the backdrop for this musical with Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Leon Ames, Tom Drake and Margaret O’Brien. In those days, happy endings were expected.

His Girl Friday (1940): Newspaperman Cary Grant is trying to keep wife Rosalind Russell from divorcing him to marry dull Ralph Bellamy. The dialogue is fast and witty. Great writing and a delightful film to watch.

 

An Affair to Remember (1957): Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr meet on the high seas and fall in love. They promise to meet in 6 months on the top floor of the Empire State Building. He shows up. She doesn’t. This is a tear-jerker with a happy ending.

Sabrina (1954): Billy Wilder’s wonderful film stars Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. Hepburn plays the daughter of the chauffeur for brothers Bogart and Holden. She has been away at school and when she returns, she has become a beauty. Which brother will she choose?

The Goodbye Girl (1977): Ex-dancer Marsha Mason has been dumped by her boyfriend. She and her daughter are living in his apartment, which has been sublet to Richard Dreyfuss. Although he is brash, he allows them to stay. Thus begins this nice tale.

Bringing up Baby (1938):  Scientist Cary Grant is the object of heiress Katherine Hepburn’s eye. She lures him to her home and the madcap adventure begins, which includes a dog with dinosaur bones and a pet leopard.

The Graduate (1961): Ann Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katherine Ross, and Murray Hamilton star in this great film with a great score (Simon and Garfunkle). Hoffman is seduced by Bancroft in some hilarious scenes. His heart lies with Bancroft’s daughter, Ross. As she is marrying her parents’ choice for a husband, Hoffman shows up and steals her away. How’s that for an ending?

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011): A sheik (Amr Waked) wants to introduce fly fishing in the Yemen. He enlists a hesitant fish snob (Ewan McGregor). The task is made more pleasant by the sheik’s assistant (Emily Blunt). Something a little different and very entertaining.

The Quiet Man (1952): Ex-boxer John Wayne returns to native Ireland with thoughts of living a quiet, settled life. He gets anything but.  He courts fiery Maureen O’Hara without her brother’s (Victor McLaglan) consent. Wayne and McLaglan fight a long, long fight. Wayne and O’Hara marry.

Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001): Much too cute for my taste, but a film with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant can’t be all bad. Reneé Zellweger continues to unimpress.

Sweet Home Alabama (2002): Reese Witherspoon leaves home for the Big Apple. Then she returns. Then she thinks maybe she should stay. What’s a girl to do? Josh Lucas, Candice Bergen and Mary Kay Place costar.

The Tender Trap (1955): This musical comedy stars Frank Sinatra as a womanizing theater agent who falls for Debbie Reynolds. Can he give up chasing women to win his true love?

The Searchers (1956): Although this is not a silly romantic comedy, there is a happy ending. John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood, Vera Miles, and Ken Curtis costar.

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

Cover your eyes. Grab a loved one’s hand. Clutch your teddy bear. We’re tiptoeing through some of the great, all-time chilling movies. What scares us? A very good book by Stephen King called Danse Macabre provides some answers. Do you make sure your closet door is shut before you go to sleep? Do you not allow your leg to drift off the edge of your bed? Do you not venture into an old, dark house alone—without a flashlight? If this describes you, you are aware of the dangers that lurk in our lives. There are those who love to be scared. These movies are for you.

The Shining (1980): Writer Jack Nicholson drags wife Shelley Duvall and son to a remote lodge for the winter so he can write undisturbed. Unbeknownst to him, this is a Stephen King novel and all sorts of mayhem ensue. Pretty scary stuff.  Nicholson is delightful.

Jaws (1975): The ocean as a place to swim lost its appeal this year. I suspect most of you know why. Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss head the cast as intrepid fishermen. I can hear that unforgettable theme.

The Changeling (1980): This movie was about as scary as I want to see. I can still remember scenes more than 30 years later. George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas and Jean Marsh star. Scott tries to discover truth about a boy who haunts a secluded house.

The Exorcist (1973): This is a famous film about possession, priests and pea soup. I found it more amusing than scary, but I think I was in the minority. Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair and Max Von Sydow star.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968): I loved this movie. Based on an Ira Levin book, the story revolves around Rosemary, who is pregnant. Boy, is she in for a surprise. What the devil? Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon and Ralph Bellamy costar.

The Thing from Another World  (1952): James Arness as the Thing is truly scary to a 12-year-old  girl. Arctic scientists Margaret Sheridan and Kenneth Tobey find a spaceship and man buried in ice. Oh, oh, he’s thawing out.

Carrie (1976, 2002, 2013): I liked the ’76 version with Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, and John Travolta. An unpopular girl with special talents gets revenge when a cruel joke is played on her. Way to go, girl.

 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Cannibal Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter is truly scary in this adaption of a Thomas Harris novel. Jodie Foster, a young FBI agent, is chosen to try to pick his brain, so to speak.

Halloween (1978): Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance star in this granddaddy of slasher films. Curtis must have taken screaming lessons from her mom.

Psycho (1960): This movie scared me so much that I have resisted seeing it again. I remember being scared every time I took a shower for months after I saw it. Anthony Perkins is perfect as the dutiful son. I don’t know who played his mother. Janet Leigh could scream with the best of them. John Gavin, Vera Miles and Martin Balsam costar.

Alien (1979): This is a sci-fi flick that really is chilling. There were parts of it I watched through fingers. The monster was disgusting but Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skeritt, John Hurt and Ian Holm were not.

Night of the Living Dead (1968): George A. Romero’s iconic zombie film is scary and gross.

Cape Fear (1962): The original film stars Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen and Martin Balsam. Mitchum plays the crazed ex-con looking for revenge. Peck plays the prosecutor who put him in jail. Obviously, the sentence should have been longer.

Night of the Hunter (1955): Mitchum again plays the crazed ex-con. This time he’s looking for money. I found this movie to be really scary. The image of Shelley Winters underwater with her hair floating with the current has haunted me. Lillian Gish plays the voice of reason.

Cujo (1983): Who will ever look at a Saint Bernard in same old way? Dee Wallace plays a mother who is caught in a car with her son while her normally friendly family pet, ravaged by rabies, keeps them hostage.

Deliverance (1972): Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty play city boys on a canoe trip from hell. All the while, banjoes duel in the background. If you’re a guy, this could be really scary.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956): The original film stars Kevin McCarthy as a doctor who sounds the alarm against aliens who replicate people in a small town in California. This film is downright creepy.

The Birds (1963): Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller is about birds (of the title) organizing and attacking humans. Tippi Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette, Rod Taylor and Jessica Tandy star in this scary film. The music is particularly good.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962): Bette Davis and Joan Crawford play actress sisters stuck in a crumbling old Hollywood mansion. Baby Jane (Davis) is accused of being responsible for putting her sister in a wheelchair. This is a creepy, scary revenge movie.

Seconds (1966): This is a John Frankenheimer film that explores the bad choices made during a mid-life crisis. John Randolph, Rock Hudson, Will Geer and Salome Jens co-star.

Justice for all

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

Movies have traditionally been used to expose social ills. By seeing on the big screen the injustices we may never witness in real life, we become more aware and ready to protest. I remember when I first saw Gentleman’s Agreement I was shocked and angered. Social justice films are an important genre—they entertain as well as send a message.

Iron-jawed Angels (2004): Hilary Swank, Frances O’Connor, Bob Gunton (as Woodrow Wilson), Anjelica Huston, and Julia Ormond star in this film about the struggle for women to obtain the vote. The outright cruelty is shocking. It seems men will do just about anything to keep their power. This is a must-see film for those who take your right to vote lightly.

Malcolm X (1992): Denzel Washington takes up the black cause with tragic results. Angela Bassett and Spike Lee costar.

Norma Rae (1979): Sally Field won an Oscar for her portrayal of a union organizer. This based-on-a-true story film demonstrates what one person can do to change circumstances—truly uplifting and inspiring. Ron Leibman and Beau Bridges are the men in her life.

Gran Torino (2008): Curmudgeonly Korean war veteran is less than pleased when Koreans move in next to him. Clint Eastwood knows how to play this role convincingly. He huffs and puffs and spits and scowls. Aha! He’s prejudiced. When Korean family’s young son tries to steal Eastwood’s prize car, the Gran Torino of the title, somehow our hero does an about face and becomes the boy’s protector. Go figure.

Cheyenne Autumn (1964): Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, James Stewart and more a-listers pursue a band of Cheyenne as they try to return home to Wyoming from a bleak Oklahoma reservation. There are several good Hollywood films that track the plight of Native Americans. Early films did not try to be fair, but as opinions changed, Hollywood did too.

Citizen Ruth (1996): This satire explores the abortion issue. Laura Dern is in prison. She has four children and discovers she is pregnant again. A judge offers her a deal if she will agree to an abortion. The lines are drawn and the fight begins. Burt Reynolds costars.

 A Civil Action (1998): Kathleen Quinlan stars in this based-on-a-true story about the dangers of polluted water. Her child dies of leukemia, along with several other children. She hires John Travolta to sue a major corporation that allows industrial solvents to be released into a river in Woburn MA. Robert Duvall and James Gandolfini costar.

Mississippi Burning (1988): When civil rights workers go missing in 1964, FBI agents Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe are sent to investigate. What do you suppose they find?

Erin Brockovich (2000): Another case of a single woman fighting against overwhelming odds to achieve justice. Although I think Julia Roberts is a lightweight, she did an okay job as the legal clerk fighting a power company. Albert Finney and Peter Coyote also star.

Grapes of Wrath (1940): The classic story by John Steinbeck is brought to the screen. Young Henry Fonda is Tom Joad who leads his family from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the orange groves of California. Journey’s end is disappointing. Instead of good paying jobs, they are exploited and resented. The term “Okie” is still a pejorative.

The Insider (1999): Hollywood takes on tobacco in this intense film starring Al Pacino as a television producer who urges researcher Russell Crowe to tell about the real dangers of smoking. The tobacco company Crowe works for tries to silence him.

Lone Star (1996): Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey and Chris Cooper star in this modern Western in which prejudice against Mexicans is a major theme.

Matewan (1987): Efforts to organize Virginia coal miners turns violent in this film about the 1920-21 Coal Wars. Racial hostility adds to the mix. Chris Cooper and James Earl Jones star.

Milagro Beanfield War (1988): Robert Redford directs this lovely film pitting Mexican farmers against big development. Throw in a little magic and voilá, you have a very interesting little movie.

Silkwood (1983): Meryl Streep knows that something bad is going on at the nuclear plant where she works. Unfortunately, her attempts to improve working conditions fail. Cher and Kurt Russell costar.

The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal (1979): Although this is a made-for-television movie, it is worth its place on this list. The 1911 New York fire at a shirtwaist factory killed 146 garment workers. This tragedy led to a growth of the garment workers union and new worker-safety laws.

American History X (1998): Edward Norton, Edward Furlong and Stacy Keach star in this film about the neo-Nazi movement in the U.S.  Norton is sent to prison where he changes his mind about the goal of the neo-Nazis. When he is released, he must try to save his younger brother.

Judgment at Nuremburg (1961): A cast of stars directed by Stanley Kramer bring to life the trial of Nazi war criminals. This is a tough movie to watch, but worth it.  Spencer Tracy plays the judge in the 1948 trial. He is supported by Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland.

Jasper, Texas (2003): This based-on-a-true story film traces the 1998 murder of an African-American man dragged to death in the title city. The white sheriff and black mayor try to keep the town from exploding.

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947): Gregory Peck plays a reporter assigned to explore anti-Semitism for a progressive magazine. He decides to pose as a Jew. He soon finds himself subjected to all manner of prejudice, some of it directed at his young son. Elia Kazan directs. Costars include Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield and Celeste Holm.