Classic Movie Mondays: Rear Window

Title: Rear Window
Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Genre: Suspense, Thriller
Year: 1954
In Color

Summary: "Rear Window" is a classic Hitchcock suspense film about a photographer, L. B. Jefferies (James Stewart), who is confined to a wheelchair for weeks due to an accident. He is cared for by a nurse, Stella, played by Thelma Ritter and by his girlfriend who wants nothing more than to settle down with him, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly). Due to the extensive confinement, Jeff finds a not so common hobby in spying on the neighbors. He gets their schedules down to a 't'. He is warned against it numerous times by Stella and Lisa, but he continues to allow his peeping to occupy his time. Finally, he becomes convinced that one of his neighbors has killed his wife. He explains his theory to Lisa, Stella and a friend, Detective Doyle, but all of them insist that this is just a side effect of the heat and his confinement. But is his imagination just running away with him or is it possible that a killer is in the neighborhood?

The Stars: In this brilliant masterpiece directed by the king of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart stars as L. B. Jeffries, a thrill seeking photographer. James Stewart worked with Hitchcock several times and even if you have not seen many classics, you might know him as George Baily from "It's a Wonderful Life," which is a Christmas classic that is played on television every year around Christmas, several times. James Stewart was known for his boy scout persona and 'awe shucks' charm. He is suited for this role because he brings to life the idea of an average guy thrust into a situation most people think will never happen to them. Also starring in this film is the beautiful princess, Grace Kelly. I am not sure that you will really know her from anything, but she brings elegant sex appeal to every role she plays. She also does not allow herself to be the typical stereotype of women this is too often portrayed in older films. She shows a brilliance in her roles and was also a favorite of Hitchcock's.

The Director: It is a shame that some people do not know who Alfred Hitchcock is anymore. He was a master of suspense. He knew how to keep the audience on their toes and had a specific vision for every film he brought to live. At one point, he was one of the most recognizable directors because he made a cameo appearance in every one of his movies. His most recognizable work would be "Psycho," a Halloween classic that you may have seen. His movies are able to capture suspense in ways that many modern directors have yet to achieve.

Why should you watch this? This is my absolute favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie, and I am a fan of of Hitchcock. I have seen almost all of his films. Many of my friends do not even know who he is and that is just a shame. If you like suspense, you will love this. There is something for everyone in this film. There is suspense and Grace Kelly for the guys and suspense, romance, and James Stewart for the girls. I love James Stewart and he is a delight in this role as is Grace Kelly, who is gorgeous and has a fabulous wardrobe in this film. Once again I would says this film is not too dated, yet it is older than my first Classic Movie Monday pick. It is, however, still in color (a am working my way to black and white, though, so get ready). You should also watch it to see if you can spot Hitchcock's cameo appearance. It is quite fun to try and spot him, just make sure you know what he looks like, first.

I hope you enjoy this movie, so let me know!

Classic Movie Mondays: The Odd Couple

Title: The Odd Couple
Stars: Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon
Director: Gene Saks
Genre: Comedy
Year: 1968
In Color


Summary: "The Odd Couple" is a comedy about two friends, Oscar (Walter Matthau) and Felix (Jack Lemmon). Oscar is divorced and hosts a poker night every week for some friends. One poker nigh his best friend, Felix, does not show up and Oscar gets a phone call from Felix's wife saying they are getting a divorce and that Felix said he was going to kill himself. When Felix arrives at the poker night, Oscar tries to cheer him up and offers him shelter. They move in together because Felix has nowhere else to go. This sets things up for them to be the odd couple and conflict ensues between the Oscar the slob and Felix the neat freak. This is a touching comedy about friendship full of comedic goodness and touching moments.

The Stars: You might know Walter Matthau as the grumpy Mr. Wilson from "Dennis the Menace," but he has had a variety of different roles, including some dramatic roles. His dramatic acting is what makes him so good at comedic roles because of his deadpan delivery. Jack Lemmon might be familiar to you because of "Tuesdays with Morrie." He also has comedic and dramatic roles and plays the pathetic, sympathetic, nervous type very well. I find him to be quite lovable.

Why should you watch this? I just recently discovered this movie and fell in love with it. Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon work well together and it is full of intelligent comedy. It is not full of cheap comedic attempts. Instead, the characters a funny without being aware that they are funny. I am starting out easy for you, so this is in color and not as dated as some other classic movies. It also has some actors that I think you would be more familiar with. I hope you choose to watch this and let me know what you think.

Happy Watching!

Don't know where to find it? If you have Netflix, it is available to watch instantly, or you might be able to find it at Blockbuster or your local Library.

Introducing: Classic Movie Mondays

It has been brought to my attention that fewer and fewer people are taking it upon themselves to watch classic movies. By "classic movies," I don't mean the movies that people go watch in the theater and say, "that's going to be a classic." I mean old movies. The movies that inspired modern filmmakers and those that started it all. That includes black and white movies. I feel very passionate about this. I have known many people that just will not watch black and white movies. I know some readers of this will probably feel that way, so I just want to express my feelings on this subject. I think it is unfair to exclude an entire collection of films simply because they are not in color. Believe it or not, color was not always an option just like HD was not always an option. It took a lot of work to perfect it. Just because a movie is not in color does not mean that it is not good. They are worth watching and after time, you don't even notice it anymore. I have seen so many black and white films that I have to check the DVD case to remind myself if it is color or black and white. I also feel that when films are black and white, they allow you to focus more on character development and on the story. If you can learn to appreciate this, then you can open your world up to a whole lot of wonderful films.

For some, black and white is not the problem. Some people just do not know where to begin with classic movies because they don't know what actors are good or what movies are worth seeing. This is why I decided to create Classic Movie Mondays. I will (hopefully) lead you in the right direction. Like with modern movies, you have to find the actors you like, because not everyone will like the same actors. I am a huge fan of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn, but not everyone is going to like these same actors. Because of this, I will try to get a good variety of movies.

Here is how Classic Movie Mondays will work:

Each Monday I will do a post about a Classic Movie. I will give you basic information on the movie, a summary, why I like it and a bit of information about the stars and director. I will also let you know if it is in black and white or color, because some will be in color. Hopefully, it will be enough information for you to decide if you want to watch it or not. If you choose to watch it, let me know how much you liked it and why, or let me know if you did not like it and why. I hope this will encourage more people to watch classic movies and come to love them the way I do.

(Not Little) Red Riding Hood

Movie Title: Red Riding Hood
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Released: March 11, 2011


Hoot Rating: I give this film One Hoot. It is classified as a horror film, but I never really felt like it was one either time I saw it. The film was mostly a fantasy-romance flick. It was enjoyable and it did keep me guessing as to who the wolf was till the very end which kept me intrigued. Some of the acting was a little laughable on the supporting end as well as some of the plot. Some of it was just a bit of a stretch. I do think it is worth seeing, but don't expect it to be the best movie you've seen in a long time or to be very traditional when it comes to the story.

The Critical Eye: "Red Riding Hood' is not the fairytale you were read as a kid. It takes the usual cautionary story and turns it into a romance. Amanda Seyfried stars as Valerie, who lives in a small village that lives in fear of the wolf. This fear is so strong the villagers sacrifice their best animals to it in order to stay safe from its wrath. This however, does not seem to worry Valerie, who is more focused on her love affair with Peter (Shilo Fernandez), who she is in love with but cannot be with because she is to marry Henry (Max Irons). As Valerie is frolicking in the woods with Peter, the Wolf defies the village's agreement and kills someone close to Valerie. This causes the village priest to seek the help of Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), who is an expert at hunting werewolves. Before he arrives, the villagers go do some wolf hunting of their own and are lead to believe they were victorious when they have only killed a normal wolf. Father Solomon arrives and tells them they have made a mistake, but they ignore his warnings and celebrate anyway. When they learn they are still in danger, they turn all power over to Father Solomon, who conducts a Salem Witch Trial-esque hunt. He informs the village that the wolf could be anyone, even those you are closest to. This makes Valerie suspicious of everyone and even places Valerie in danger herself.

"Red Riding Hood" is, overall, an entertaining movie. Although it focuses on the forbidden romance between Valerie and Peter, it does provide suspense about who the wolf is. We get the sense that Valerie knows it is someone close to her and therefor she is conflicted throughout the movie as to who to trust and love. It is directed by the same woman who directed "Twilight," so that says something about the movie. The camerawork is better in this than in "Twilight," though. I had a similar feel as "Twilight" which could be attributed to the soundtrack. The special effects are good (minus one obvious puppet wolf head) and there is little gore, which is good for some people and disappointing for others. There are some humorous parts, whether they were intentional or not is hard to say. The plot is pretty simple and straightforward, until the ending, which I find problematic in terms of Valerie's emotions, but I won't get into it because I would have to spoil the ending. I would say, though, that the end leaves room for sequels, if they choose to go the saga route.

The Bottom Line: The movie is entertaining, but if you want 'can't sleep for weeks' horror and 'pee your pants' thrills, that is not what you are going to get. It is more so a movie about relationships and trust with a CGI wolf thrown in. It is worth seeing once, but you might want to wait to rent it. Don't see it twice. The second time is quite boring. If you want to take kids to see this, I would say it is okay if you are worried about gore, but be careful because there are a few parts (maybe two parts) that are quite sexual, especially during the village celebration, which is a bit like Mardi Gras.