"I Know Where I'm Going" 1945

Powell and Pressburger, so of course it's good. Wendy Hiller is young, and radiant. Roger Livesy is charming. And the Scots are oh so Scottish.

Romantic comedy (well, reasonably comedic), the way they don't make anymore, and the way the Americans never really did. And yes, that's Petula Clark at about twelve years old, in the glasses.

"It" 2017

Nice job here. I have a few minor quibbles, but they really are minor - Beverly should have either not worn makeup, or should have worn badly applied makeup, as the perfect eyeliner on the young girl not quite sure if she welcomes her womanhood was pretty jarring to me, for instance.

But that's not a big deal, really. On the whole, very enjoyable. Not terribly scary, but some really creepy bits.

"Crimes and Misdemeanors" 1989

When Martin Landau died a few of his films were talked about as his greatest performances. "Ed Wood" was one, this was another. I tried to watch "Ed Wood" but just couldn't - it was possibly a mood thing, and I might be able to give it another chance in a few months. And this one? Yeah, it's a fantastic performance.

Not quite as charmed by this as I have been by the last couple of Woody Allen movies I've seen. It's good, but... Possibly because the central problem of the film - the existence of God, the source of morality - doesn't seem to me to be as either/or as laid out here. There are other ways to look at the universe than those given in this film.

But man what a lot of talent we've got here, and how well they all do their jobs. And I have to wonder - is this a fantastic performance from Alan Alda, or is he just playing himself?

"The Seven Year Itch" 1955

Our film society is closing its doors, and they are going with all the old favourites for their last season.

I'd seen this again not that long ago, but what the heck. And it really isn't as badly dated and borderline offensive as many 1950s "sex comedies without the sex". I laughed out loud half a dozen times - Tom Ewell really is hilarious in this.

And Marilyn...man, she was a terrible actress. But in certain comedies, where her job was to present exactly this character, her innate adorableness makes up for the fact that she just can't act. "How to Marry a Millionaire" "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" "Some Like it Hot" and this one - it's essentially the same character, with varying degrees of savvy-ness. And it's a character she can deliver better than anyone else, possibly because it's who she was.

"Cloudburst" 2011

Cute road trip movie about an old lesbian couple on the run, off to Canada to get married. Not flawless in plot or execution, it's a pleasure to watch anyway, just to see Olympia Dukakis having the time of her life playing the butchiest butch you ever saw. Brenda Fricker is the other half of the couple, hilarious in her own way. And what on earth is wrong with Hollywood that Ryan Doucette is not a big star? Really good looking young guy who's a good actor, too - he holds his own against these two old broads who know every trick in the book and then some.

"Radio Days" 1987

Sweet, sweet nostalgia from Woody Allen. Just loved this.

"The Trip" 2010

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, more or less. Really quite a lot of fun, and I get the feeling that if I watched more British TV I'd have had even a better time than I did. Will be watching the rest of these.

"Topkapi" 1964

Now this was fun. Caper movie from Jules Dassin, who gave us "Riffifi", a very different caper movie. That one was grim and highly realistic, this one is fluffy and silly in all the best ways.

All the performances are pretty great, but Peter Ustinov stands out as the inept conman Simpson. And Akim Tamiroff! I've only seen him in two movies, I think, and he steals the show in both of them, for the short bits he's in.

It's all very amusing, and Istanbul seems to be a lovely city. Oh, and Turkish wrestling? Wow.

The last film i watched was "The Quick And The Dead" (1995)

The new Blade Runner. I'm still not quite sure what I think of it. I loved the original, but I've never seen the (two?) director's cuts.

"Get Out" 2017

No huge surprises in this thriller - if you've heard anything about it at all, you won't be startled by any of the plot developments - but some well trodden ground is faultlessly explored from a different angle. Echoes of "The Stepford Wives".

If you're not a horror fan, this is not really a horror movie. It's a scary one, though, with a lot to say about a scary subject. See it.

"The Long Kiss Goodnight" 1996

Geena Davis, Sam Jackson in a fun action movie where the "action hero" most definitely is the woman. Good chemistry between our leads, good dialogue, lots of explosions and gunfire.

Truefans over on IMDB insist that there are no plot holes, but honestly you couldn't tell by me, I couldn't find enough of a plot to tell if there were holes in it or not, so there is that downfall. If you really don't need your movies to make any sense, though, this is fun.

"Out of Sight" 1998

OK, this is twice the movie the last one was. Good chemistry, good dialogue, AND a tight plot. Likable characters who act like real people - smart people doing stupid things, for instance. Though any woman would have at least a moment of weakness for George Clooney in this one - he's being the definition of a charming rogue.

Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, so more of a caper than an action film, this was really enjoyable.

"Jackie Brown" 1997

Had such a good time with "Out of Sight" that I wanted more of the same, and while this is quite a different film, they're both based on Elmore Leonard novels, and set in much the same universe, and with some of the same sensibility.

This is a really good movie. The three leads - Pam Grier, Robert Forster, Samuel Jackson - give fantastic performances, and even the supporting parts are played by people like Micheal Keaton, Briget Fonda, Robert DeNiro, all just playing the heck out of their parts.

I think it's time for me to have an Elmore Leonard film festival all by myself.

"After the Thin Man" 1936

This is as much fun as the first one. A very young Jimmy Stewart does a fine job as one of the suspects in this murder mystery along with Elissa Landi. William Powell and Myrna Loy debonairly drink their way to a solution.

Myrna Loy is a national treasure. Everybody is good in this, but she is amazing.

"The Hanging Tree" 1959

An aging Gary Cooper in this one, with a very young George C Scott in a small but pivotal role. And Karl Malden having the time of his life, playing Frenchie, who I guess is the bad guy.

This is a better than average western, With male/female relationships that reflect some of the complexity of real life ones, unusual for westerns of the period. It's got all the cliches of the genre, but for some reason doesn't really FEEL cliched.

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri" 2017

Whoa, this is a good one. So many imperfect people, so much human pain - and it's pretty funny, too. Lots of complexity here.

And Townes Van Zandt on the soundtrack, which is an extra special bonus.

"What We Do in the Shadows" 2014

Pretty hilarious pseudo-documentary about vampires living in New Zealand.

"Mr Deeds Goes to Town" 1936

Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.

One of the most feel-good of Frank Capra's feel-good films, telling Americans myths about themselves, about their values, about decency and common sense.

Looked at one way, this is a pretty benign myth, and helps Americans, maybe, be their better selves because they believe it. But in light of recent politics, I found myself seeing a darker side to it. The notion that the small town man, with his small town values, is more honest, more forthright, more "real" than those fast talking city folk, those "vultures" - there's a danger there. The idea that newspapers just tell lies to sell copies, that lawyers and doctors and snooty opera-goers are all phonies who can be seen through by the simple honest decent small town man - there's a danger there.

This movie was made in a different time, and it's a bit of a fools errand to look at it through a modern lens. But in some recent trends toward anti intellectualism, anti elitism, you can see how this myth can go sour.

I'm a big believer, myself, in decency, honesty, and common sense - but I know they are not solely to be found in small towns and among simple folk.

"Song of the Thin Man" 1947

William Powell is looking a little older, but this is still just about as much fun. An impossibly young Keenan Wynn plays a jazz man to comic effect. And Dean Stockwell, everybody's favourite child star, is little Nicky.

"Murder on the Orient Express" 2017

Had a nice time with this. Poirot is not quite the man we have gotten to know through the books, but he's filled out in an interesting way, I can accept this version of him. This movie is visually wonderful - and yes a lot of it is CGI, but it's nice CGI. All in all I enjoyed myself though no one is going to call it the best movie of the year. And it's fine if you know whodunnit before you go in, they keep the suspense going well enough.

"The Others" 2001

Nice creepy ghost story with Nicole Kidman. Slow and quiet, the way a ghost story should be.

Showtimes for The Greatest Showman - 2017

Huge Jackman is the best actor

"All the President's Men" 1976

Oh, dear, Watergate seems like such a simpler, more innocent time....

Y'know, for such an acclaimed movie, I didn't think it was all that good, as a movie. It's a great story, though.

"The Post" 2017

Makes a nice double feature with last night's movie. Gotta admit, got me all riled up about freedom of the press....

Is it a good movie, as a movie? Honestly, with the political climate right now, and how I *feel* about the political climate right now, I can't tell you. I liked it, a lot, but not sure how much was because it was telling me things I want to hear, about the press, about women's voices. And the negative reviews I saw seemed to be because they did NOT like what it was saying, about those things. I guess all I can saw is that if you believe in journalism, see it, because it will bring a tear to your eye.