Positively Puzzled

A View to a Kill (1985) Day of the Jackal (1973) The Living Daylights (1987) 21 Grams (2003) You Can't Take It with You (1938) The Libertine (2004) Little Children (2006) The Three Lives of Thomasina (1964) The Mikado (1939) Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) Flesh and the Devil (1926) (silent) Rocky Horror Picture Show (1974) The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) Toy Story 3 (2010) The Da Vinci Code (2006) The Freshman (1990) The Prince of Tides (1991) Happy Go Lovely (1951) State of Grace (1990) Marlon Brando, Penelope Ann Miller, Bruce Kirby, Matthew Broderick in The Freshman Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Grayson Russell in Diary of a Wimpy Kid Martyn Green as Ko-Ko in The Mikado (filmed in color) Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in Flesh and the Devil (silent) Edward Fox and Cyril Cusack in Day of the Jackal Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Donald Meeks, Edward Arnold, Spring Byi...

Comedian (2002) Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2008) My Cousin Vinny (1992) A Single Man (2009) Octopussy (1983) The Blind Side (2009) Bee Movie (2007) The Reader (2008) The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996) The Purchase Price (1932) Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny Colin Firth in A Single Man Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent in The Purchase Price My movie-watching log is the only thing I seem to be able to keep up with these days, and even that's cursory. Hi ho, Technorrhetic Age!. Not pleased with the redesign of the IMDB pages. Comedian, Bee Movie, and My Cousin Vinny are the only films I'd seen before.

Since Meera signed up for Netflix, I find my film-watching frequency has increased...the watch-it-or-lose it effect. Miller's Crossing (1990) Pornography (2009) Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) Rachel Getting Married (2008) Planet of the Apes (2001) Stranger than Fiction (2006) The Shaggy Dog (2006) Other Men's Women (1931) Office Space (1999) Jabberwocky (1977) Grant Withers and Joan Blondell in Other Men's Women Pete Scherer in Pornography Anne Hathaway and Rosemarie DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married Nobody told me just how bad Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes was, but I probably would have watched it anyway. As clumsy as the pacing and tone of Other Men's Women , the kiss, a pivotal scene in the film, was done with passion, power, and sensitivity. From the Forbidden Hollywood DVD series of TCM, which I highly recommend. Miller's Crossing , an old favorite when I hadn't seen since it came out, still the stunning film I remembered. Pornograp...

For Your Eyes Only (1981) Alice in Wonderland (2010) The Little Princess (1939) Passion Fish (1992) Silver City (2004) Road to Bali (1952) Road to Hollywood (1947) Saturday Night Fever (1977) Orange County (2002) Charade (1963) Fran Drescher's brief appearance with John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever David Strathairn and Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in Road to Bali

Breach (2007) Night Nurse (1931) Man for All Seasons (1966) Female (1933) Where the Wild Things Are (2009) Lady Jane (1986) Milk (2008) Moonraker (1979) The Captain's Paradise (1953) The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell in Night Nurse (1931) Robert Shaw and Paul Scofield in Man for All Seasons (1966) Alison Drake in Female (1933)

The Cat Returns (2002) Look Back in Anger (1958) Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto) (1974) Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) Phffft (1954) Wall Street (1987) Ponyo (2008) Goldfinger (1964) From Russia with Love (1963) Dr. No (1962) Sandy Dennis, Cher, and Karen Black in Robert Altman's Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean And for good measure, a book I actually finished reading... Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2008 in 24 Hours , James Foxall Very useful.

The Italian The Italian (Итальянец) (2005) Chariots of Fire (1981) Gallipoli (1981) Best in Show (2000) Quantum of Solace (2008) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 2010 (1984) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Lost in America (1985) The Bridges of Toko-Ri (1954)

Darjeeling Limited (2007) The Front (1976) Sleeper (1973) Bananas (1971) Casino Royale (2006) The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) Nausicaa (1984) The Divorcee (1930) One Night with the King (2006) Kilomètre zéro (2005) Also, a rare event, I finished reading two whole books... The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism , Ron Suskind Moab is My Washpot: An Autobiography , Stephen Fry Both books I highly recommend for entirely different reasons. Ron Suskind, by describing the lives of various people, offers a positive approach to solving the world's most daunting and difficult problems associated with the so-called "War on Terror", and basically, his conclusion, with guarded optimism, comes down to humanity and understanding. Stephen Fry writes with candor and wit about his early life and education, when he grappled with sexuality, infatuation, and obsession, and fell into misadventures of petty theft that led to felonious credi...

The Vintage Shorts Index on this blog gets updated occasionally. I just added a bunch of entries from the wonderful box set: Astaire and Rogers: The Complete Film Collection , an invaluable addition to any DVD collection, full of extra features, numerous documentaries, a music CD, posters, etc., but the pure multifaceted artistry and genius of these two entertainers is priceless. I didn't pay much attention to musicals when growing up, so these classics are new to me. I'm truly awestruck, and I fall in love with Ginger Rogers every time. Oh, and the vintage shorts are fun, too. Unique and quirky at times, they give a fascinating glimpse of the times. Vintage Shorts ( Medieval Underwear )

The African Queen (1951) The Queen (2006) Beetlejuice (1988) Kung Fu Panda (2008) Shall We Dance (1937) Baraka (1992) Stormy Weather (1943) Spanglish (2004) Knocked Up (2007) To Catch a Thief (1955)

Titanic (1997) A Tale of Two Cities (1935) Follow the Fleet (1936) La Vie en Rose (2007) Much Ado About Nothing (1993) Biloxi Blues (1988) Nim's Island (2008) Fanny and Alexander (1980) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Treasure Island (1934) more stills And one book I finished reading recently... The Complete Calvin and Hobbes , by Bill Watterson

Dancing Sailors About to Get Bashed Originally uploaded by Positively Puzzled 1936 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Follow the Fleet In this scene, Astaire's character is teaching fellow sailors how to dance. Half are selected to lead. Those selected to follow oblige only after mild chagrin. Superior officers arrive to witness what looks like a gay dance party and then proceed to beat up the dancing sailors. Wah-wah-wah. This movie is just about as old as John McCain. Another weird part of the movie for me was a song in which the exceptionally dark biblical phrase "Get thee behind me, Satan" precedes a dilemma about giving in to sexual desires for an obvious cad. I've never heard of this song. It's Irving Berlin, so I suspect I'm just out of touch, but it really was weirdly incongruous. That said, it's a charming movie. The dance numbers in the latter half of the film are particularly good. One of Fred's pulsating syncopated tap routines, on th...

The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) Walkabout (1971) Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Advise & Consent (1962) A Face in the Crowd (1957) Juno (2007) L.A. Story (1991) The Americanization of Emily (1964) Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) Motorcycle Diaries (2004) more stills

Everyone Says I Love You (1996) National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) The Doors (1991) Get Smart (2008) Charlie Wilson's War (2007) The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) Something's Got To Give (1962, as realized 2001) I'm Not There (2007) Capote (2005) A Clockwork Orange (1971)