Why don't you come up some time and see me?

In honor of reaching 600 movies watched from the 1001 movies you must see before you die list, I regale you all with a post!! How fun for you and me! I think the real reason I'm posting is cause I'm procrastinating. I have an assignment to finish up that's due tomorrow and I just can't get it finished. So I'd rather update the blog I haven't updated in many, many moons than just finish my homework, I'm a genius aren't I?

So the movie that ended up being my 600th movie is a very uncharacteristic movie for me. It was Rosemary's Baby. It isn't exactly the kind of movie I would seek out and watch; but I'll admit it was pretty good. It was weird seeing Ruth Gordon as a creepster, especially since she was so adorable in Harold and Maude. But she did a good job with the role, all the acting was great. Mia Farrow conveyed all the fear that one would be feeling if they were being lied to by everyone (including her husband) and carrying the spawn of satan. The ending was a little anti-climactic, but all in all a good movie. Anyway, back to the update:

1. First up is 42nd Street. I got this movie from Netflix in 2007. I was familiar with the story because in Middle School the theater group put on this play, and a boy I had a crush on had the lead roll. The movie was good, very entertaining.
2. I was very intrigued by Footlight Parade, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to see James Cagney in a musical of all things. I was pleasantly surprised. I also really enjoyed Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell. I got the movie from Netflix a few years ago.
   
3. I got Gold Diggers of 1933, from Netflix in 2007. I don't remember this movie that well. But I remember enjoying it. I'm a big fan of Musicals, especially Busby Berkley musicals. I can't help but wonder how those girls don't topple right over, I can barely walk in heels, yet they prance around and teeter atop stairs and platforms. Very impressive.
   
4. I saw, She Done Him Wrong (1933), during my Cary Grant phase. I actually bought the Mae West boxset for a friend of mine and she insisted that I watch a Mae West movie. I, of course, suggested this one. I really enjoyed the movie. It was fun to see Cary Grant before he was the Cary Grant. He was slightly doofy looking, but you could tell he would go on to do some exciting things. And it was so great to have a strong female lead, she was the one calling the shots and of course it was wonderful to hear the famous (and often misquoted line): "Why don't you come up some time and see me?"
   
5. Duck Soup was my first exposure to the Marx Brothers. I caught it on TCM in 2007. I love the silly wordplay and the insanity of it all. They're just so silly and ridiculous.

Well I should get back to my homework.

Next installment should include: Queen Christina (1933), Las Hurdes (1933), King Kong (1933), The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933), Sons of the Desert (1933), It's a Gift (1934)
Stay Tuned!

Hmmm

So I guess I just suck the most at updating, but tonight I feel like posting. I haven't watched a movie from the 1001 list in quiet awhile. I blame that on school and cause I'm simultaneously in love with Liev Schreiber and Jeff Bridges. I know, I'm strange, but I get into these actor phases and I just can't help myself. I've been through a Jeff Bridges phase before (in college) but after watching The Mirror Has Two Faces with my roommate's boyfriend, I fell back in love with 'The Dude.' He's just the cutest. And Liev Schreiber just blew me away in Wolverine (I know I sound like a teen-fangirl). Anyway here's a 1001 list update:

1. Scarface came to me in September of 2007 from Netflix. Some more Paul Muni, some more high octane drama. I was very glad that I hadn't already seen the Al Pacino version of Scarface. I think this is one of the first times I had the luxury of seeing the original before seeing the remake....very fun. I shall compare and contrast once I do get to see the Al Pacino edition of Scarface.
   
2. I had to track down Shanghai Express at Rocket Video. I ended up loving this movie. It had a nice love story, and fun times on a train. How can you go wrong with that?! And Marlene Dietrich was fantabulous. I wish this movie were available on DVD, I really do.
   
3. Lucky for me, Freaks was on TCM one fine day. This movie gave me the heebie-jeebies. It focused on some less than savory characters in a circus 'freak show.' What was most interesting was that the most vile and unsavory characters where the ones that would be classified as "normal." They were the most despicable and most inhumane. Worth checking out.
   
4. I got pretty desperate when it came to tracking down Me and My Gal. It's listed as not available on VHS or DVD, so I didn't know what to do. But then one day someone mentioned the site: ioffer, and I was lucky enough to track down this movie. To be honest though, I have yet to watch it, I think just tracking it down was the thrilling part for me, but I promise I will watch it eventually.
   
5. Rocket Video pulled through for me once again with Zero for Conduct I don't remember much about this feature film, just some school boy drama, but I liked it.
   

I think that's enough for this edition of: Very Late Updates to my Blog, tune in next time when I blather on about more movies that I've seen almost 2 years ago! :)

I know, I know

So, yes I haven't updated in, shall we say, awhile. For some reason I feel like updating today.

Today I watched The Burmese Harp. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, cause to be honest I haven't really been enjoying the Chinese or Japanese films that were on the list. I found them to be kind of slow and uninteresting (i.e. nothing happens) and full of characters that I couldn't relate to . The Burmese Harp was quite different, at least to me. There was an interesting story, and characters to engage with, I cared about what happened to them and what they were up to. I rented the movie from Netflix. This was after I took a LONG break from working through the list chronologically.

Here's a little sidebar: I moved to NYC recently. After living in Los Angeles for about 8 years, I decided it was time to move back to the east coast. It was quite an ordeal setting up an apartment, finding work, and getting just all together settled. Apparently when I'm not settled I don't like working on the 1001 list. For the last few months I've been biding my time watching mostly non-1001 list movies, at least when it came to movie rentals from Netflix. If a 1001 list movie was on TCM or IFC, I'd record it and watch it, or if it was a watch now title, but other than that I was pretty lazy about the 1001 list. But, I think I'm now back in the swing of things.

Anyway, watching the Burmese Harp got me thinking about the 1001 list again and made me want to get back to the task at hand: I don't think anyone has the time or patience for me to go through all the movies I've watched since my last update, at least not in one entry, so I'll try to space 'em out. Here we go:

1. Up next was my first experience with James Cagney and Jean Harlow. The movie was The Public Enemy. Let me start off with a weird observation, and something I'm not proud of, firstly you have to know of Eddie Izzard before I make this observation. Well he's a stand-up comedian who liked to dress up like a woman. In college me and my friends watched his HBO special titled Dress to Kill. The picture to the right is what Mr. Izzard looked like in that special. So now you have that image, well when I watched Pubic Enemy I could not get over how much Jean Harlow looked like Eddie Izzard in drag. I know she was around first, so maybe Eddie is paying tribute to her?! Who knows, but it weirded me out....a lot. Here's a picture of Jean Harlow in Pubic Enemy for comparison. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie, I like both James Cagney and Jean Harlow, since watching The Public Enemy I've seen MANY films with both of them. I got the movie from Netflix approx. 2 years ago.
2. The next movie on the list is M, which was a very dark, very interesting movie. It stars Peter Lorre and was directed by Fritz Lang (from Metropolis fame). I rented the movie from Netflix and was very impressed by the film.
3. Moving right along...next up is La Chienne, this was not one of those fun, whimsical French films I was talking about in my earlier post. The film was not available on DVD, I was able to find it on VHS at RocketVideo. I watched this movie in 2007, and just remember not liking it that much.
4. The next three movies on the list,Vampyr, Love Me Tonight, and Boudo Saved From Drowning didn't do much for me. I rented them all from Netflix in 2007 and don't remember anything remarkable about these movies. Although I remember being INFURIATED by Boudo Saved From Drowning, I tried to figure out why the character of Boudo bothered me SO much, but I didn't come up with much. I read that he was considered the french Charlie Chaplin, but that just made me madder, cause I LOVE Charlie Chaplin and found no similarities between the two men. This shall remain a mystery, and to be honest I wish Boudo had NOT been saved from drowning.
5. I thoroughly enjoyed the next film on the list, I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang. I was impressed by Paul Muni and the story, though it was a wee bit long it was still enjoyable to watch. It looks like this movie is now available on DVD, when I was looking for it in 2007 it was not, so I rented it at RocketVideo.
6. Trouble in Paradise is a great film. It's a very unconventional love story, complete with love triangles, robbery and hidden identities. It's stars are also wonderful, Kay Francis, Miriam Hopkins and Herbert Marshall and is directed by Ernst Lubitch, who can do no wrong. Great film! I rented it from Netflix in 2007, and thinking about it now makes me want to watch it again. :)

I think that's enough for now, I'll try to update again soon...but you know me, I probably won't