The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968)

This movie was a lot of fun for being a war movie. It had a great setup, great characters (the one Italian guy was hysterical), and even a happy ending. And yet with all that I can't actually remember that much about it. But I do seem to remember it was quite good. And I guess I'm going to have to leave it at that. 3 stars.

Three Guys Named Mike (1951)

I saw a portion of this on TV when I was about eight, back when we had TV reception. Ever since then I've wondered from time to time about "that movie where the airplane stewardess had three guys named Mike who all wanted to marry her". So when I was at my grandfather's house and was browsing through channels for something to watch and saw this... I shrieked, "OH MAN! I saw this when I was little and always wanted to know how it ended!" So I jumped over to that station and watched it from beginning to end. The story behind this being told, on to the review. It was... eh, okay. I didn't much care for the heroine, she seemed pretty oblivious/naive/something. She doesn't even seem to have an inkling that the guys like her, even though they're asking her out on dates and stuff. I will say, however, that the ending surprised me. She didn't go for the guy I thought she would. Now that's a plus on a romantic comedy. Surprise "No I think I'll marry this guy" twists always are fun. 2.5 stars.

An Easter Carol (2004)

Eh, I've seen better Veggie movies. It got rather hokey at times, although I did enjoy Rebecca St. James' accent and the "Boids" song (a tribute to The Music Man's "Rock Island", perhaps?). But I wouldn't own it or anything. 2 stars.

Gidget (1959)

*blink* Goodness. A surfer movie. Haven't seen many of those, actually. I think my parents generally shielded me from them, and this must be why. This movie had like... three seconds of anything actually interesting to watch. The rest of the time I amused myself by laughing at the whole thing. I mean, really, HOW can you take a movie seriously when its leading man goes by "Moondoggie"? Come on now... 1 star.

The Glass Menagerie (1973)

Reading a play is never quite as fulfilling as seeing it on stage. However, since there are no performances of The Glass Menagerie anywhere around, I was willing to settle for a movie production of it...and I was not disappointed. A dark play, after Tennessee Williams' style, it delves very carefully into issues such as hopes and expectations, a fear of growing old, the yearning to be something more... All four cast members put in superb performances and made their characters incredibly real. This goes on my list of great movies, definitely. 4 stars.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)

Although this is not one of the great sporkings the MST3K crew has done, it's definitely not one of their bad ones either. Several moments made me laugh out loud. The in-between bits are also great, from the opening where Crow tries to tunnel through outer space, to the ending where everyone laughs heartily at a piece of terrible news before realizing they shouldn't be laughing. If you've never seen Mystery Science Theater 3000, but you like making fun of bad movies, or, if you're like me, sitting around listening to wittier people do so, this is a great one to watch. Good intro to the TV show or addition for those who already fans. 4 stars.

Barefoot in the Park (1967)

Neil Simon's dialogue is as snappy as ever in this film adaptation of his play. Robert Redford and Jane Fonda both are well suited to it, and manage to create characters who are fascinating to watch interact, in all their idiosyncrasies and unexpected connection to each other. By the end, as everything comes to a head, we do want to see these two smooth out their rough past. Although this is not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination -- some plot points seem awkward and unnecessary -- there are some near-perfect moments, such as when Redford first gets a glimpse of the home which they are to share. He goes around discovering everything that is wrong with it, despite Fonda's attempt to put a good face on it. Definitely worth watching once. 3.5 stars.