Before watching the movie:
I don’t think I’ve paid much attention to anything with James Garner. He was in Move Over, Darling!, but I don’t really remember who was in it, just what happened, which movies of that time seem to be particularly susceptible to.
So, James Garner comes into town and gets mistaken for a notorious outlaw, and things get even more mixed up. So kind of like The Shakiest Gun in the West, but less neurotic.
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Before watching the movie:
There’s a tendency for the family comedies Disney made in the 50s-70s to blend together, unless they reached you early enough to trigger nostalgia. At this point, it’s hard to say if that’s the classics rising to the top, or one generation passing their nostalgia to the next.
This is not one of the well-known ones. At least, I only learned about it by finding it on a shelf. It stars Dean Jones, but so does almost every movie Disney made back then. Disney’s stable of reliable actors reminds me these days of the contract system of the Golden Age of Cinema, where actors contracted to do so many movies of whatever kind they were assigned to with the same studio before they were free to leave or renew their contract, which also created a kind of repertory effect.
Before watching the movie:
So here’s another Don Knotts vehicle. This time, corrupt politicians are trying to cover up their embezzlement by hiring the most inept bookkeeper so they can pin it on him. Unfortunately, they hired a Don Knotts character, and we all know Don Knotts characters are the blind pigs that find the motherlode of acorns.
I hope when he does figure it out, he’s more proactive. Knotts roles tend to just be buffeted by the sweep of plot and partnered with someone competent.
Before watching the movie:
My first thought, from the description about an extraterrestrial disease threatening to become an epidemic, was that this film would be rather like Outbreak, but with sci-fi elements. Then I read a little further and found out it’s mostly in a top secret containment facility. So it’s more like… other things that aren’t coming to mind right now. I also have a sneaking suspicion it’s rather like the Michael Crichton book of the same name.
Robert Wise has a terrific reputation as a director, so I expect this will be well put together.
September is Stage Musicals Lunar Cycle
Before watching the movie:
Skin and Nazis. Music and propaganda.
I’m not really sure how the setting correlates with the show, but it’s probably in ways that ask tricky questions that add up to “the Holocaust was bad, mmkay?”
September is Stage Musicals Lunar Cycle
Before watching the movie:
Pretty much everything I know about this show is from the songs. I can guess that there’s poverty, generational shift, and probably a changing world. Meanwhile, an older man stands on his roof and plays his violin. Why? Maybe because, what else can he do?
This is the last entry in this series which was made available to me through my great aunt’s estate.
Before watching the movie:
No, it’s not about the band, but it did inspire the name. George C. Scott plays a modern-day man who believes he’s Sherlock Holmes, hence the Don Quixote reference title.
I think it’s time I admitted I have a problem where it comes to Sherlock Holmes stories, but I’m interested in seeing what George C. Scott does with the role.
If the poster image this week looks cheap and slapped together, it’s because it’s from the DVD release. I try to pick a poster version most faithful to the theatrical release, but I found that one far too nonindicative. The same could probably be said for last week’s.
Before watching the movie:
I apologize for again having very little to say about this movie beforehand. I’m a little drained from writing my Nanowrimo novel (which I promised myself I’d stop mentioning here).
The closest I’ve come to experiencing this film is watching the complete two-season run of Sledge Hammer, a cop-based sitcom that was made as a parody of the genre Dirty Harry spawned. I don’t really know much about the serious version. Should be good for drama and action.
On a side note, I’ve finally started a Suggestions page where readers can put their suggestions for movies to watch in one handy place. I’ll add suggested movies to the main body list and link to them as I review them.
Before watching the movie:
Here’s a film (and hit title song) that’s often parodied, been remade relatively successfully, and launched an entire genre of movies, but how many people have actually seen it?
I know that Shaft is a detective, and that he’s awesomely cool. Also he’s black. That’s supposed to be important.
Yesterday's Movies 