House of Games (1987)

Once you get used to Mamet's slightly odd, deliberately wooden dialogue, there's a wonderful movie here. Fascinating characters played beautifully by the lead actors, with a very satisfying, if not exactly uplifting, ending. This was one of those movies that just keeps me interested all the way through, even though it's certainly not nonstop action. Interesting character flick. 4 stars.

Boys Town (1938)

Wow. Okay, this was revered and got Spencer Tracy an Oscar... *he* certainly deserved it, but the rest of the movie was over-the-top, entirely unbelievable, and actually had me giggling during some parts that were clearly supposed to be serious. I was impressed Tracy did as well as he did with it, given the fact that he had lines such as, "It was a sad, bad day when you came to us. Yes, indeed." The first half of the movie was fairly interesting, but then it just became silly and sentimental without feeling at all like the characters were someone I could care about. It wasn't actually PAINFUL to watch, but it certainly wasn't worth it. Too bad, because with a cast like this and a possible good plotline, it should've been much better. 1 star.

The Stepford Wives (1975)

A fairly interesting movie here. I intend to see the new one at some point so I can compare them. The story is actually fairly creepy, with a few moments in particular that sent shivers up my spine. (This is a subject that is especially frightening for me - I seriously fear any sort of loss of self and/or control.) Aside from a few moments that were a bit cheesy, it was played intelligently, as well. The main character isn't stupid - she knows something's wrong, she just can't figure out how, and although we as an audience know that something's CLEARLY wrong, it takes her awhile to come to the conclusion that she's not just being paranoid. Nice pacing on that end. And I'm fairly partial to the ending. 3.5 stars.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

I was slightly disappointed with Shaun of the Dead, but this one was just exactly right. Lots of wit all the way through. A very cleverly constructed comedy that hit all the right notes. I look forward to seeing what these guys do in the future! 4 stars.

Network (1976)

Ooh. I did like this movie. I was actually expecting one of those critics' favorites that I don't usually like (I'm not deep enough or enough of a movie snob yet to appreciate them or something, heh) but this was a fascinating movie from beginning to end. Even if you didn't buy into the point it was making about media, I think it would still be a really good movie, and one definitely worth watching. Faye Dunaway's character was fascinating as we watched her evolve, only to realize at the end, she's been that way all along. I just didn't notice it most of the way. Good movie. 4 stars.

A League of Their Own (1992)

Plot: Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.

Wow. Someone managed to make an interesting movie about baseball. This is not an easy feat, considering baseball is the most boring sport in the entire world. This movie managed to be a pretty interesting look at the game. Of course, 3/4 of it was about the players and not about the game (like most sports movies pretend to be - but, no, this REALLY was about the players). So this was quite a well-crafted movie. That being said, however, it never touched me emotionally. I think it's because sister relationship movies make me tense. Heh. So it gets the rating that a lot of movies I've seen lately have gotten - 3.5 stars. A good movie, but I didn't actually connect to it.

Band of Outsiders (1964)

Hmm. Quite interesting. It was a very lovely film visually, with a very stark contrast between black and white all the way through. The story itself felt like it should be more than it was, but also felt like a story I might have to grow to like. (Er. Not grow UP, just grow.) The characters confused me, and that tends to cloud my enjoyment of movies quite a bit. I will have to watch this again sometime and see if it works better for me knowing what to expect. 3 stars.