Welcome to the Archives

These are the posts for Monday, the 7th day of November in the year 2005 of the common era.

The Princess Bride (1987)

Monday, November 7th, 2005

There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours.

There are very few movies that, after 18 years, I react to the same way I did when I first saw it. The Princess Bride is definitely one of those movies. I get exactly the same feeling of giddy delight from watching this that I did back in 1987. As a fantasy, it takes its fairy-tale elements just serious enough that it doesn’t feel condescending while still managing a knowing wink at a normally cynical modern audience.

The Princess Bride

Rob Reiner‘s fourth movie is as different from the three that came before it as they are from each other and nothing much like the many he has directed since. He obviously brings a great deal of love and respect to William Goldman‘s original novel and successfully communicated his enthusiasm to a talented cast.

(more…)

Director:  | Released:  | 98 min. | Rated:  | Genres: 

North By Northwest (1959)

Monday, November 7th, 2005

I’m an advertising man, not a red herring. I’ve got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don’t intend to disappoint them all by getting myself slightly killed.

North By Northwest is one of Alfred Hitchcock‘s glossiest, most strictly entertaining films of his career. After the brooding study of obsession that was Vertigo, this film doesn’t seek to probe the depths of the human psyche. It’s content to be a superbly-crafted roller coaster and better for it.

North By Northwest

(more…)

Director:  | Released:  | 131 min. | Rated:  | Genres: