Must See Movies - The ones worth watching...

The Greek made me Bust a Gut

2010-06-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is but the Judd Apatow style of comedy really gets to be these days. It mixes clever wit with just classic crude humor and it just gets me. When I first saw the previews for this movie, I will be honest I didn't have much hope for it. Boy, was I wrong.

There were moments that I was laughing so hard breathing was hard and I was losing my voice. The script is made in just the right way so when you think that you are done with the hilarity it sneaks in brings it right back and cracks you up. Check it out if you are looking for a good chuckle filled time.

Ben-Hur (1959)

2010-03-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Renowned Biblical epic of enormous scale about adult enmity between boyhood friends, filmed in Italy. The 1880 novel by Lew Wallace had previously been made in 1927 as a silent film with Ramon Novarro.

A character-driven, action-filled, star-studded extravaganza and one of the cinema's greatest epics -- a compelling human story of revenge, bitterness, redemption and forgiveness. Heston is the Prince of Judea, Judah Ben Hur, who confronts the conquering Romans and tyrannical boyhood friend Messala (Boyd). His actions send him and his family (Scott and O'Donnell) into banishment and slavery - and an inspirational encounter with Jesus. As a galley slave, he saves the life of Roman nobleman/admiral Quintus Arrius (Hawkins), is adopted and becomes a respected citizen and a famed chariot racer under the tutelage of an Arabian horse racer (Griffith).

Heston finally meets his rival Messala in a justly famous chariot race - often regarded as one of the most exciting action sequences ever filmed. Upon his return to Judea, Ben-Hur also rescues his suffering, leprous family and witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus - on his way to Golgotha, and is inspired to convert to Christianity. Academy Award Nominations: 12, including Best (Adapted) Screenplay. Academy Awards: 11, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor--Charlton Heston, Best Supporting Actor--Hugh Griffith.

The Last Days of Pompeii

2010-02-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

The Last Days of Pompeii is one of the BEST movies ever MADE!!

This three-part, seven-hour TV adaptation of Edgar Bulwer-Lytton's 1834 best-seller The Last Days of Pompeii was arguably more faithful to its source than any of the earlier film versions -- and inarguably the most expensive version of all, boasting a 19,000,000-dollar budget and a truly spectacular cast. In recounting the events leading up to the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., the film, like the novel, introduces a veritable coliseum full of colorful fictional characters: stalwart Athenian Glaucus (Nicholas Clay), religious-zealot Egyptian Arbaces (Franco Nero), and mighty gladiator Lydon (Duncan Regehr), all of whom vie for the affections of high-born Ione (Olivia Hussey) and lowly, sightless slave girl Nydia (Linda Purl). Also around and about are Ned Beatty as wealthy merchant Diomed, Lesley-Anne Down as belly-dancing courtesan Chloe, and a handful of theatrical stalwarts like Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quayle.

Gone With The Wind

2010-02-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite movies of ALL times! Gone With The Wind stands among the greatest epic dramas ever filmed. Vivien Leigh is Scarlett to Clark Gable’s Rhett in cinema’s greatest epic of passion and adventure. With its immortal cast, magnificent cinematography and sweeping score, this cherished classic continues to thrill audiences today.

Scarlett O'Hara is in love with drippy Ashley Wilkes, and is devastated when he announces that he plans to marry his cousin Melanie. She pleads with Ashley to marry her instead, but then, on the first day of the Civil War, she meets mercurial Rhett Butler. A man to match her strength of character and romantic desires, Butler changes the course of her life. Despite hunger, and the burning of Atlanta, Scarlett survives the war and its aftermath, but ultimately loses the only man she really loved.

DIE HARD

2010-01-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve and New York City cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) is flying into Los Angeles. He's a nervous flyer, and as the plane lands the passenger sitting next to him suggests a tip: after the flight, he should take off his shoes and socks and make fists with his toes on the rug. A limousine has been sent to take John from the airport to the high rise offices of his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), who he is separated from. The chauffeur, Argyle (De'voreaux White), offers to wait in the building's car park while John decides whether he will be spending Christmas with his family or not, but as John gets ready to join the office party, there's a disturbance outside... some uninvited guests with guns...

It's safe to say that Die Hard was a crucial development in the action movie genre. Written by Jeb Stuart and Steven de Souza from Roderick Thorp's novel, it led to many lesser imitators (including its own sequels), which would be Die Hard on a ship, Die Hard on a plane, Die Hard in a stadium, Die Hard on a train, and so on. Despite looking well-worn now in terms of its plot, the original still stands up as reliable entertainment through its set pieces and excellent characters, ideal for watching again and again. It also turned Bruce Willis from a television star into a movie star, so how you feel about that depends on how you feel about Bruce Willis.

But even if you don't like Bruce, it would be hard to admit that he isn't perfect in his role. McClane is brought into a cat and mouse game with the gatecrashers, a bunch of German terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) who have decided to turn their talents to robbery on a grand scale. Around McClane is this feeling of a working class American absently maligned by a new society of slick big business that takes him for granted. Holly's bosses are Japanese, and the thieves are German who act like high flying executives making a lethal takeover bid, and the poor old Americans are caught in their way. McClane never asks outright, "Who won the Second World War, anyway?", but that's the attitude the film subtly projects.

American businesswomen are like Holly, now independent and dismissive of their men, and the American businessmen are represented by Ellis (Hart Bochner), an obsequious, coke-snorting asshole who tries to cut a deal with the baddies. So, it's up to the blue collar, dependable types like McClane and the patrolman who helps him (Reginald VelJohnson) to deliver America from evil. It's a conservative outlook, and for the film it works like a dream: McClane is underestimated by everybody, even us (see the scene where he finally meets Gruber), but he is more than capable of single-handedly conducting his own campaign against the odds, making him a classic hero.

It wouldn't be an action movie without action, and there's plenty on offer here. Of course the baddies are dispatched one by one by McClane, but not without painful cost to himself, as he almost masochistically suffers injury to foil the villains, being beaten up, having his bare feet cut by glass and being shot (the obligatory bullet in the shoulder in the last act). As the authorities display hard-headed ignorance or, in the case of the FBI, callousness, and the media endanger lives, it's left to McClane to work out Gruber's plan, set off explosives, and save the hostages. Add a strong line in humor, quotable dialogue ("No fucking shit, lady, do I sound like I'm ordering a pizza?!"), a hissable adversary (great work by Rickman) and intelligent plotting and the result is deserved, enduring success. Music by Michael Kamen.

Dances With Wolves

2009-12-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Dances With Wolves won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 1990. The storyline is about Lt. John Dunbar, played by Kevin Costner, who was exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost. He befriends wolves and Native Americans and in doing so becomes an intolerable aberration to the military. The film starts out with Lt. Dunbar performing his duty as a solider and nothing else, turns into a story of a man fighting for the people he has befriended and in the process finding himself as a man.

The 80's were a great time for movies

2009-10-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Blame it on my childhood but I really love movies from the 80's. Growing up on great movies from directors like John Hughes (The Brat Pack), Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon) and Steven Spielberg (Back to the Future), has spoiled me. I found an article that points out a few more classics movies and it brought back some good memories.

5 Great 1980s Movies

By Pam Donaldson

The 1980s were an absolutely great decade for the box office. There were so many hits, and so many great cult films, and you've probably heard about many of them. Anyway, with a younger generation growing up, it's occurred to me that many of these great films haven't been seen by people under the age of 23, and many of them should definitely be seen. There are some classic movies that paved the way for so many of today's great movies. Anyway, here are 5 that I've always loved.

5. Adventures in Babysitting. This was a great movie with Christina Appelgate and some other big names, and seriously took you on an adventure through the streets of Chicago.

4. Major League. A hysterical comedy about baseball that spawned two sequels after it.

3. The Breakfast Club. You've probably heard all about this if you haven't seen it. If you haven't seen it, you absolutely must. A true classic.

2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The legendary movie about the teenage boy who skipped an entire day of school to enjoy himself in Chicago with his girlfriend and best friend. You've probably seen this, but just in case, put this right at the top of your list.

1. Die Hard. This is a wonderful action flick that enjoyed a sequel as recently as two years ago. Bruce Willis was at his best in this movie, and you'll be very impressed with the loads of action this movie packs in less than two hours.

Pam Donaldson collects diamond drop earrings in her dreams, but hopes to get some other drop earrings while she's dreaming.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pam_Donaldson

Calling ALL Movie BUFFS!

2009-10-16T13:24:00.001-07:00

I love movies! It is so much fun going to the theater and escape from reality for a couple of hours. Every once in a while a movie slips through Hollywood that makes us realize why we are movie buffs :-) Name a few of your favorites and we'll name ours.