His Girl Friday

QUICK NOTE: If you look to the right of your screen, you will see ‘List of Movies’. I’m sorry it took me so long to work out how to get something there lol. So, basically, there is the list of the 212 films I hope to watch, along with links to the reviews I’ve done. I just think its a bit more organized and will save anyone who’s reading this time and hassell of having to go through pages and pages of ramblings to get to the review they want. Next to the films I’ve yet to watch will be ‘-coming soon’. They might not be watched in the order written there but they will be watched. There are also, I think, 2 spaces which I will fill with whatever movie I want to see in the cinema. Just to let you know ^_^ Anyways, onto the review:

This is a very good movie, fast paces and I wasn’t bored once! Its about an ex-newspaper reporter who’s about to get married to a boring insurance salesman until she gets roped into covering the biggest news story in years by her ex-husband the editor.

The characters are perfect, especially the lead female role who is one of the strongest, wittiest female characters I’ve seen. It was also interesting to see a woman in the 1940s being so accepted in the workplace; the rest of the journalists were male but treated her like an equal. It was funny though when she got really angry and screamed at them and broke the phone, you could tell the men were a little scared of her [when they should of be scared of the felon who was a ’murderer’.] However, she does have a little crying session when she realizes all her ex-husband has done to try and get her back with him which gives her another side women can look up to.

The script is very well written, and it works with two different plot lines; the ex-husband trying to get rid of his ex-wife’s future husband and the escape of a felon. Also, the dialogue often overlaps giving it a great sense of realism and natural pace. Also, I notice that there are really only 3 sets, the newspaper offices, the reporter room of the prison and the local jail [where the dull soon-to-be husband keeps landing in, its quite funny, feel slightly sorry for him]. That just shows the power of the script, that we were fine with them not jumping from place to place.

Sorry, the review is a little short but it is a very good movie, I advise you to watch it!

164/212

Kate
xoxo

North by Northwest

Finally! A Hitchcock movie I actually really enjoyed! Hurrah! Anyways, it’s a movie about mistaken identity which is a mixture of great scriptwriting and terribly cheesy lines which make you hide behind your cushion.

James Mason! Makes me think of Eddie Izzard and his impression of him and how he normally uses James Mason’s voice as God. “I created the world in 6 days… 7th day rested, 8th day I actually rested as well, 9th day rested, actually, I rested from then on, really…”

I liked that I very quickly got an idea of what the character was like because that made the ‘jumping into the complicated plot points’ a lot easier.

However, 7 minutes in and I could already spot 2 very obvious continuity mistakes.

I love the brownish-blue tint this film has… or it could just be everyone got a complimentary spray tan before they went on set…

Had a tiny problem when he was kidnapped and in the library because… well… there’s a bloody phone right there! What the hell stopped him calling the police?!

I was a little confused by Cary Grant’s accent but then I looked him up and he was well known for his weird American-English accent which I guess I’ll probably get one day as I’ve moved from England to the US.

Loved Grant’s drunken faces as he was driving!

“You gentlemen aren’t REALLY trying to kill my son, are you?” Oh, mother’s can be rather embarrassing can’t they…

$2 fine for a DUI?! Bloody hell…

The script is very cleverly written because they have the scenes that if you didn’t know what the man was like then you would get the wrong idea and the characters did get the wrong idea and Cary Grant is like “no, you don’t understand!” and the audience is like “we understand, why don’t YOU understand!” and its all very frustrating in an entertaining way!

“I’m a big girl.” “In all the right places.” This is just one of the many examples of BAD script writing that made me want to hurl, especially the way the actors say it, its just wrong! “Taste in women…” “I like your flavour.” Oh my God, NO! NO!!!

I can see why the airplane scene is so iconic. I actually knew about it before I watched the film because I saw Seth Rogen do a photo shoot and one of the photos was that one.

I watched ‘Great Movie Mistakes’ on BBC iPlayer and one of them was in this movie and I spotted it again. When Cary Grant and the woman are in the cafeteria place towards the end of the movie and she pulls out a gun, look for a little boy in the background who puts his fingers in his ears because he knows there’s going to be a few big bangs!

The ending is just crap. It was so good till he was leaning down to get her and then it cuts to them on the train. No, it was just crap. They could of done a much better ending!

131/212

Kate
xoxo

Notorious

I think I’m the only film nut who dislikes Hitchcock movies. I understand why his movies are classics and stuff but it just does not do it for me. I was bored the whole way through and almost fell asleep. Mum liked it though, she says that maybe you have to be a certain age to like his movies.

88/212

Kate
xoxo

Charade

It’s a great movie with two Hollywood greats; Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. This film has more twists and turns than any movie I’ve ever seen!

Hepburn and Grant have fantastic chemistry together and just bounce off each other. Their scripted banter is brilliant, very quick and witty, bit like Gilmore Girls though obviously far better and less annoying. Hepburn’s character may look elegant but she’s got a sharp tongue with a cheeky twinkle in her eye.

We have three people come into Regina’s [Hepburn] husband’s funeral, all seeming to check whether the body is actually dead and are not there to pay their respects. Turns out, these men want Regina’s husband’s money that they claim is theirs. These three men are quite terrifying in their own ways; we have the tall one with a hook for a hand who’s scary for obvious reasons, we have the short old man who’s scary with words and the average man who’s scary because he’ll use torture without twitching. They hunt Regina down who is helpless as she does not know where the money is and the mad men won’t believe her. Its frustratingly good to watch.

I’m a girl who loves fashion so I can’t help but make a note on Hepburn’s wardrobe. As always, she’s effortlessly elegant. I’ll be honest, this is the first Hepburn movie I’ve watched the whole way through but I still know her as an icon. One outfit that really made me go “ooooo!” was her gorgeous bright pink coat and leopard print hat. I really want a pink coat but there’s no point in really owning a coat here in Florida. Though, the past few days have been a bit chilly but not coat weather. Sorry, totally off topic there!

There’s one characteristic that Regina has that I think a lot of women can relate to and that is that whenever she’s nervous, anxious or upset, she eats. Obviously, she doesn’t gain a single pound like the rest of us but whatever. It’s a simple thing that many women [and indeed some men] can relate to.
There’s this weird game that they play in this restaurent/bar thing. One person has an orange under their chin and has to pass it to the next person without dropping it or using their arms. I’ve never heard or seen this game before. It would be fun to do if the person you have to pass it to was someone you fancied but even not, it would be dead awkward!

This movie made stamps incredibly exciting! I don’t want to give it away but even people who despise stamps will find the ones in this movie very interesting.

There are so many more notes but they’d ruin the movie. This movie relies on the twists and turns of the plot so its best if I shut up. Its on Netflix, on demand so watch it!

Regina: “You don’t really need these” *tries on his glasses, going cross-eyed* “You really DO need these!”

33/212

Kate
xoxo