Gandhi [51]

First off, I didn’t know squat about Gandhi before watching this. Just that he was a very influential and peaceful person. And I have to say that after watching this film I really want to know all there is about him and his life.

Film starts off with his assassination and takes us back to who he was before he was named “Father of the Nation” in India. Then we get to the major highlights of his life and his movement; all at a sort of slow pace to throw more details and such into the story.

The film really moved me, mainly because I never heard of the harsh killings and the “non-violence” movement depicted in the film. I was rooting for Ghandi from the beginning; I was dying to know how much he accomplished. Seems the guy was just too good to live in such a world. He was surrounded by so much violence and oppression, it just really just blew my mind that he could stay so peaceful.

I’m sure it’s a great film whether you know nothing about him or if you do. It’s an epic story of one of the most significant and influential people the world has laid eyes on.

"Mahatma Gandhi had become the spokesman for the conscience of mankind, a man who made humility and simple truth more powerful than empires." And Albert Einstein added, "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."

A Hard Day's Night [40]

[Haha, picture reminds me of Vampire Weekend]

“ What would you call that hairstyle you're wearing?”

“Arthur.”

Ah, the Beatles <3.  This film takes place in the height of their career; they’re just boys looking for a good time. They parade, sneak and run around through most of the film and shoot some funny lines here and there. Sort of reminded me of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in the sense that it’s innocent and the guys just want to have a good time, relax and bend the rules for a bit.

I loved their sense of humor, some of it I didn’t get but when I did understand it I was just in awe of their quirkiness. They seemed like all around good guys who didn’t like being bossed around (which they were, a lot) but when it came down to it they really loved performing (not like anyone could hear them over the screaming fans).

The soundtrack consists of some of their most familiar songs, the simpler/sweeter ones. Like “All My Loving,” “She Loves You,” and “I’m Just Happy Dancing With You.” Highly recommended for Beatles fans, just in case you haven’t seen it for whatever reason but hey it was my first time watching it. And for anyone looking for that Ferris Bueller innocent sense of humor.

Born Yesterday [39]

I really enjoyed watching this movie. Our girl, Billie, is a “dumb broad” but she doesn’t give a damn, “I’m stupid and I like it,.. as long as I know how to get what I want that’s all I want to know,” she say’s herself. Anyways her corrupt and very wealthy boyfriend hires a journalist to get some smart into her. So he won’t be ashamed of taking her out to meet all the high class people he’s messing with.

Bille gets down talked day in and out, hard to believe she stays with Brock. All they do is scream at each other from rooms away and play card games, sort of amusing to watch but you begin to wonder how she can handle it. Even when she starts picking up a few things here and there and getting more confident about being able to read and understand what it is she’s reading he’ll still call her stupid and make her feel bad.

Bille starts falling for the journalist, who encourages her to keep trying and has nothing but faith in her, and starts to see how corrupt her boyfriend really is. Brock thinks she’s been reading too much and now understands more than she can handle but that’s not even half of it. He’s trying to buy these high-class congressman and she won’t let him take things further. But how do you expect a “dumb broad” and a petty journalist to beat a boss-man like persona at his own game?

The Apartment [38]

“That's the way it crumbles... cookie-wise.”

C.C. Baxter [Jack Lemmon] rents out his apartment to married men so they can… have some extramarital affairs. They’re all guys in the office so they refer him to the boss man and he slowly gets his way up to the higher floors. Doesn’t sound too bad right? Well his world comes crumbling down once he finds out that the elevator girl, Fran [Shirley MacLaine] he’s falling for has already been to his apartment, and he didn’t lead her there.

Fran’s been seeing the boss man and thinks he’s going to leave his wife for her. She tries to push him away but keeps falling into his tricks. He’s been at this for years, seeing a different girl from the office, breaking their heart then moving on to the next one. She finds out about this and as you can imagine, is devastated. She takes one too many sleeping pills over at Baxter’s apartment the night he’s about to get lucky.

He takes care of her, first because the boss asked for his help but then he gets over his heartache and keeps at it with Fran. Too bad for him she’s still too wound up with the bad guy.

This movie is very appealing because it’s elegant, somewhat innocent, quirky and funny. Baxter is a really good guy who keeps a smile on his face, jokes around and can’t really say “no.” But by falling in love he slowly starts overcoming that and starts putting his foot down. You can’t help but hope that Fran opens her eyes and sees how in-love Baxter is with her.

Winchester '73 [37]

 

 

McAdam [James Stewart] enters a shooting competition and wins a sweet Winchester rifle. Too bad he doesn’t even get to engrave his name on it, next thing he knows he’s beaten to the floor and the rifle’s stolen.

[I love movies where different stories intertwine, or when just a bunch of stories/people surround one thing.] And this is one of those, we follow the rifle through many hands. Sometimes people don’t survive the next person who gets it or end up in a very troublesome position.

McAdam is searching for the man who stole his rifle, happens to be the same guy he’s been on the trail of for a while now. What he doesn’t know is that the rifle is switching owners all around him and causing a whole lot of trouble.

Surely a great classic western, with a twist I won’t dare ruin. But my favorite aspect of this movie is really the fact that the rifle sort of plays a main character, might as well be the antagonist.

My Fair Lady [36]

Eliza,[Audrey Hepburn, who’s charming and adorable.. even in rags]who has a horrible London accent, lives on the streets and sells flowers for a living. One night she bumps into Professor Higgins who claims that he could have her speaking so properly that she could go as a duchess to a ball. Hearing this she knows she doesn’t want to live in rags forever and goes to him seeking help. Higgins can be a real sleaze ball and really inconsiderate but when it comes down to what he knows, he knows his stuff.

At first he doesn’t think he’s going to get anywhere with Eliza but keeps on trying now that this has turned into a bet. Soon enough she starts learning phrases in a proper accent. Poor girl is taken for granted though, she gets no credit for all the hard work she’s put in.

This is a very moving story, it’s a musical and I usually am not big on those but all these songs added more to the on-going script and soon enough they were stuck in my head. Other than it being charming its very amusing, with Higgins being such a bachelor and not caring who listens in to what he thinks about women. With lines such as “I find the moment a woman makes friends with me she becomes, jealous, exacting, suspicious and a damn nuisance..” and Higgins singing his own song “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” the story can’t stay serious.

Little Big Man [35]

Jack Crabb [Hoffman] is a centenarian aging 121 years who tells his AMAZING life story. He watched his parents get killed when he was 10 by Pawnee Indians. Then was taken in by Cheyenne Indians and grew in their lifestyles. He was named Little Big Man because even though he’s little, he’s still strong and brave.

He talks about all the different stages and turning points he’s gone through. From being raised by Indians to being taken into the Christian lifestyle, to being a gunfighter, apprentice, and to his business and wife getting stolen right under him. Just goes to show how random and all over the place life can be, along with love.

This film really impressed me because it could have me rolling around laughing and in a few moments have me cringing at how tragic it gets. Mr.Crabb sees a lot in his days, meets a lot of people who don’t do much good for him and some that help him out immensely. He lives a long life and has been through so much, seems like too much for him to handle when we see him staring off sadly into space in the last few shots. Wonder how someone can deal with copious life lessons, heartache, and deaths and still live to be more than a hundred years old.