Juuuunnnneee

Features

La Dolce Vita ****
Indiscreet ***1/2
Le Samourai ***
Prometheus ***
Angel Face *****
Freaks ****
My Man Godfrey****
Masculin Feminin ****
John Carter ***1/2
Moonrise Kingdom ****1/2
A Star Is Born (the first hour, will watch the rest later) N/A
You Can't Take It With You *****

Re-watched

Bringing Up Baby ***** 

Television

Game of Thrones season 2
Mad Men season 5
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
Real Time with Bill Maher
The Ricky Gervais Show season 3
Seinfeld season 3
Downton Abbey season 2

Notes: Sorry for the lack of posts lately. The fact that I sit in front of a computer all day at work doesn't always grant me the ability to post consistently. That might sound like a shit excuse to some, but it's the only one I've got. Anyway, I hope to have something up on Moonrise Kingdom tomorrow or Sunday (and hopefully Jeff and I will see Brave soon). So far I've really enjoyed reading the Moonrise thoughts of Brandon, Jeff, and John; hopefully I'm not too late in joining in.

On my shortlist of favorite directors, Fellini would not crack it. I just prefer different directors. Even though I'm not a huge fan, I still respect him and acknowledge that he was a brilliant director/storyteller. I also admit that his films can be, at times, a lot smarter than I am. So this is me not calling something pretentious, but saying that La Dolce Vita is something bigger and better than I will ever be. I will say that the more I read about La Dolce Vita and Fellini, the more I like.

Indiscreet is a decent Stanley Donen romantic comedy. There are some nice twists and turns as the script unfolds. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are loveable, as usual. It's interesting to see them paired up during the latter stages of their careers - Notorious and Indiscreet would be a nice double feature.

I was actually disappointed by Le Samourai. I really enjoyed Le Cercle Rouge, but for whatever reason Le Samourai didn't do as much for me. I love Alain Delon and his badass persona, but there just wasn't much else for me to take enjoyment from. Oh well...we'll meet again, Melville.

Angel Face is a hell of a lot of fun; I'm glad Jeff told me to move it to the top of my Netflix queue a few weeks ago. Jean Simmons is sort of like a nefarious version of Audrey Hepburn - great performance. Hopefully John was able to watch this one in full. It'd be nice to have a conversation about. I wish we all could watch and discuss it.

Freaks surprised me...in a good way. I was actually surprised at how respectful the film was - not that I expected it to be brutally offensive or anything. But I knew of how the film ended and there was a part of me that was concerned that the stars of the film would be exploited for the purposes of frightening the audience. But the only thing truly frightening about this film is Olga Baclanova's character, Venus.

My Man Godfrey was enjoyable and worthy of all of those stars I gave it above, but I have to admit...I don't like it as much as Jeff does. Carol Lombard kinda annoyed me in this one :( In no way am I writing her off as an actress...I'm just saying I wasn't a big fan of her character. Maybe I'd change my mind if I saw it again (and I will see it again). I do like the message of the film.

There's quite a bit to love about Masculin Feminin. I'm not too big on Godard either, but this might be my favorite of the films I've seen so far by him. I just love those moments when Jean-Pierre Leaud is interviewing the girls. It leads to some very interesting conversations and ideas on love and life. And I don't know what it is, but there's something about Leaud that kinda makes me want to punch him in the nose. haha. 

John Carter probably deserves its own post but I might be too late to resurrect any sort of discussion. Maybe I'll have something more on it in the near future. I think it'll probably be on Brandon and John's top ten lists for the year (or both of you guys) so maybe we can talk more about it then. I liked it (3 and a half stars) but I'm not sure that it did enough for me. It was one of those mostly enjoyable experiences that ended with a "meh" reaction.

Moonrise Kingdom thoughts coming soon.

Again, I've only seen the first hour of A Star Is Born. It's on a DVR so I'll finish it at some point. More drunk James Mason please.

I really love You Can't Take It With You and the moment I fell in love is when Jimmy Stewart brings his snooty parents over to Jean Arthur's house for dinner 24 hours early. From that moment on, I don't think I ever stopped smiling. Again, I'm drawn to the theme/message. I must really hate rich people. Yeah, I kinda do.

The first time I watched Bringing Up Baby, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be...mainly because I thought it would be funnier/have better one-liners. Second time around I really enjoyed it. But throughout the film I kept thinking, "Oh, this must be why John doesn't really care for Katherine Hepburn." Not does she get under Cary Grant's skin, she got a little under mine at times. But because Grant plays such a square, we know he deserves he. Great performances from both actors.

Breaking Bad is almost here. I watched a couple of episodes from season 2 today. I really wish I had the time to marathon seasons 1-4.