Houseboat - Cary Grant, Sophia Loren (1958)

To ease my soul--and my allergies--I downed a grilled cheese sandwich and settled in to watch one of my all-time favorite classics, Houseboat starring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren.

The back story on this is almost as good as the story itself: Cary Grant was deeply in love with Sophia Loren, having ended his marriage to the movie's uncredited screenwriter, Betsy Drake, to be with her. Then, before filming even began, Sophia ended it all to marry Carlo Ponti (he latered produced Dr. Zhivago).

And everyone thinks that Angelina Jolie was the original bad girl.

The movie, Houseboat, tries to sell itself as a frivolous romantic romp. But it is actually quite touching, addressing morality, parenting and family.

Newly widowed Tom Winters (Cary Grant) decides to take custody of his children, despite offers from his former wife's parents and sister. Abandoning the offer to stay in the country guest house, Tom returns to Washington DC with his 3 children, David (Paul Peterson), Elizabeth (Mimi Gibson) and Robert (Charles Herbert). 

Crammed into his a tiny bed-sleep in downtown DC, he is hard pressed to bring the youngest, Robert, around, who ends up running away. 

Meanwhile, Cinzia (Sophia Loren) is traveling with her father, who is guest conducting through the US. Tired of being trapped with him, she ducks out the window and just happens to find a stow-away, the young Robert. 

Cinzia and Robert strike up a friendship and as a result, little Robert insists that Cinzia becomes their housekeeper.

SPOILER: Sophia Loren's wedding dress is simply gorgeous!

Heist Love: Headhunters (2011) - Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

The Norwegian film Headhunters, with Aksel Hennie and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, is probably the best heist film I have seen in a long time. Aksel Hennie is a well-known Norwegian actor, director and producer, while Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is most well-known as Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones.

My sister and I love to watch heist movies. And this one didn't disappoint. Full of goony characters and slick art thefts, this movie kept me guessing until nearly the end.

Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie) is a headhunter at one of the top agencies in Norway. But he has a short-man complex and a very tall and beautiful Norwegian wife whom he doesn't quite feel worthy of. So he over-compensates by spending astronomical amounts of money on homes, jewelry and an art gallery for her. So he has to subsidize his salary by stealing art.

He has a spectacular system going by scoping out possible heists by interviewing targets as clients. Then at his wife's art gallery opening he meets the taller, better-looking, more successful Clas Greev (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). He finds out from his wife that Clas owns a Ruben and also happens to be looking for a new job. So Roger decides he has to interview him as his next target.

And that's just the beginning.

Warning: it has subtitles. But even if you are averse to reading your movies don't let that keep you away. It's worth every word.

2012 - John Cusack

Heart Rate: YY

My sister and her bf and I always go to the movies on Friday. This time, said bf picked 2012.

He's so funny. He says he hates all movies and that actors should retire after acting over a certain number of years. Then you start to give him the benefit of the doubt and start thinking he is making some sense then you ask him what his favorite movie: Rambo. And he loses all credibility.

But I would have to agree with him in this case.

This movie was terrible.

I was really hoping to hear some ancient symbolism revealed or some great science. But instead all I got was an escalated Poseidon adventure.

Plus John Cusack.

That was the only redeeming quality of the whole movie.

Otherwise, it was a wash; a real disaster movie.

Puns intentional.

This Is It - Michael Jackson

Simply amazing.

Mind you, I have never been a big fan of Michael Jackson. But after watching this 2-hour movie of what might have been, I was fervently wishing it could have been.

Jackson's creative vision, musical talent and genius choreography spilled out over the screen, making me yearn to see the final masterpiece.

It will never be seen.

The movie begins with the montage of the opening, demonstrating in drawings how a robot would drop down like a Deaux Ex Machina. Projected on all sides of the robot would be slices of video, creating a collage of images across its body. When the machine touched down, it would open up to reveal Michael.

And the show would begin.

This theme of showing Michael's multi-faceted talent, vision and persona played through out the film. Editing between 2-3 days of Michael's performances to show one complete song, you saw how Michael was the ultimate showman even in rehearsals.

I always sort of understood he was talented but it wasn't until I saw this movie that I saw how brilliant he was. A truly gifted man, this 50 year old man could dance and keep up with his 20 year dancers. It was hard to remember that he was 50 years old when he died.

He was so light on his feet, so effortless. In many ways, he reminded me of Sammy Davis, Jr. Remember that Sammy was a dancer, too? That same effortlessness was so apparent. Just like the brilliant Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly.

And his voice, too, is amazing. To be able to retain that beautifully high tenor at his age--it made me wonder how he did retain that voice.

But singing and dancing aside, what shone through was his deep kindness and goodness. A perfectionist in all things, he spent days trying to convey the vision in his head to the people around him. That can be a very hard thing to do. But he never once raised his voice, lost his temper or showed any anger.

Over and over again, he spoke of love, of God and with kindness.

Sure, it could have been edited out but after discussing this it was agreed that it was too entrenched in his personality. He was just a very, very kind man.

The production was brilliant. Full of completely executed videos in 3-D, merged montages with classically famous video footage, the breadth and depth of the artistry and talent in him and around him to execute this film is breath-taking.

One of the most brilliant moments in the film for me was when Michael demonstrates a dance ONE TIME to a circle of 12 people. Immediately, the choreographer and a few of the dancers dance it right back to him--EXACTLY mimicking his moves. Then IMMEDIATELY, the entire circle of 12 repeat the dance back again. Now that is master craftsmanship--genius.

But perhaps the most poignant piece of the film is the opening credits when we hear and watch dancers from around the world flock to the opening auditions for his show.

This is it: when we truly see the Man in the Mirror reflected upon those around him.

War, Inc.

Heart Rate: YYYY

Well, you all know that I love John Cusack.

So I had to see this, seeing as he starred in it, co-wrote it and produced it.

He's just so damned cute. and it was pretty funny, too.

War, Inc. is a political satire, Brand Hauser (Cusack)--don't you love his name?--walks onto the scene to the tune of a whistlin' Western song, strolls through town and makes his way to the local Greenland saloon.

He sits at the bar, orders a shot glass, fills it with triple-A grade hot sauce, slams it down, then shoots a bullet hole into the side of a German's head, taking down a row of Germans like a bunch of dominoes.

So the movie opens and we see Cusack reprising his role of a disenfranchised assassin.
The opening credits warn us of what is coming, the rebuilding of a mythical country, Turaquistan, destroyed by a war funded by a corporation, now to be rebuilt by that same corporation.

Hauser is hired to kill the soon-to-be president of the newly rebuilt company. His cover? Oversee the company's opening ceremony to introduce their new brand of freedom.

But plans quickly fall awry when Brand, while being chaperoned by his colleague in crime Marsha Dillon (played by the ubiquitous and always funny Joan Cusack), spots the lovely reporter Natalie Hegalhuzen (played by Marisa Tomei) and Yonica Babyyeah (played by Hilary Duff) spots him.

Funny, clever and ridiculous, some of my favorite bits were the relationship forged between Hauser and is OnStar guide (played by Montel Williams), Hauser's explanation for why he drinks tobasco sauce and Hauser's final conversation with Turaquistan's would-be president Omar Sharif.

Marisa Tomei is always delightful. Hilary Duff does a passible and even entertaining take on a Middle Eastern version of Britney Spears -- her performance of "Blow Me Up" is nothing short of explosive. Ben Kingsley and Dan Aykroyd have small, entertaining but important roles.

A little emerald in the sea of movies.



Best quote:
Did you know that the word "person" comes from the Latin word "persona", which means mask? So maybe being human means we invite spectators to ponder what lies behind. Each of us will be composed of a variety of masks, and if we can see behind the mask, we would get a burst of clarity. And if that flame was bright enough, that's when we fall in love. What's your opinion on these divine matters?