STARS:4
As far as I can tell this is the original romantic comedy. Which makes the now rather cliched refined woman falling for the dirty sea captain storyline excusable. Both Kathrine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart perform excellentally in this story of an English missionary trying to escape the wilds of the forest, not because of the "native savages" but the imported savages (that is German Nazis) who are trying to conquer Africa along with everywhere else in the world at this point in time (early 1940's). This movie has some great dialogue and witty one liners as we see both characters change with love. It's refreshing to see not just the lonely restricted woman learning how to live but see the horny old sea captain have a good time learning some "manners". The reason I saw this movie was because it's on the AFI's 100 list, but believe me, the reason I watched it again was just because it's a fun movie about the excitement of two people falling in love.
Airplane! STARS:4
Every movie parody made after this one premiered in the 70's has only tried to live up to not just the physical, and verbal comedy but the irony and punny wit that makes this movie a joy to watch over and over. In a time when man-made distasters were big at the box office the Zucker brothers put together a touching and appropriately sappy story of lost love being rediscovered in the midst of an incredible stressful situation. Namely a plane full of food-poisoned passingers and crew. Everyone has their own favorite lines or scenes from this movie, many of which were stolen from other classic films. The largest accomplishment of this film is that it somehow never manages to get tiring. When hilarious joke follows hilarious joke it would seem that it might get old after a while, but this movie is classic from beginnig to end. A note to viewers: just because you've seen this on TV doesn't mean you've seen the whole thing. I can think of at least two incredibly funny jokes that have been edited out. If you're in the mood for a good laugh, you can't go wrong with Airplane!
All the Presidents Men STARS:4
In a time period where ever single part of the president's life is known it seems almost unbelievable that just 25 years ago he kept a secret which led to so many different people who were so high up in the American government. This incredible, true story of the two reporters who uncovered the Watergate scandal is full of suspense, and is written well enough that even someone like me, born more than a few years after this occured and knowing little about politics in the 70's other than something bad happened, can keep track of all the key players and get the whole point of why what was going on was so wrong. The shots of the type writer recording what exactly happened and the final one describing the results of the investigation over the next three years are really effective in this story that's not just about the unfortunate actions of a president but the way media has permeated all facets of human society.
Amadeus STARS:4
This movie is different from a lot of other biographical movies in that the opinion is slanted. Okay maybe it's not that different from other biographic movies but at least this one's honest. From the opening gruesome scenes of Saleri's attempted suicide and the insane asylum we are taken into his twisted world of jealous obsession focusing around the brilliant young upstart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. F. Murray Abraham gives a touching performance of a genius in his own right who is forced to live in the shadow of a child. Not only does this movie have great music and a good storyline but it's an interesting psycological study in obession as you see Saleri grow more and more desperate to reclaim his dignity and performing acts which do truly seem to cause the death of one of the greatest composers in the history of man.