The Apartment (1960)

Though just a cog at his company, C.C. Baxter has stumbled onto a shortcut to the top: allowing executives to use his nearby apartment for extramarital entertaining. The problem is that it's become less of an "allow" situation and more of a "can't refuse" one, making it very difficult for him to get a full night's sleep. The arrangement gets even more inconvenient when Baxter finds one of the women passed out on his bed.

Despite the tawdry set-up, there's a real hopefulness to this. TCM's Mank had a quote from Lemmon saying that Billy Wilder grew a rose in a garbage pail with this one. I couldn't have said it better myself.

A-

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

When Gary and I first got married, we bought of those huge "sit on the floor" console TVs for like $10 at a garage sale. One of the tubes was bad, so everything we watched had a pinkish hue and that's how I originally saw this film. All of the underwater missile scenes were impossible to decipher because it came over as just an unbroken wash of mauve. This viewing was much more interesting!

Great tension in this story about a handful of men in a Russian submarine executing their plan to defect to the United States. They have to hope that the Americans are smart enough to realize this while the Russians (including the bulk of the men on board their own craft) are kept in the dark. They're also having to deal with an on-board saboteur! Luckily, Jack Ryan's figured it all out. Now, will the American brass listen?

Though the special effects look a bit silly now, everything else still works pretty well. I did, however, get a little tired of the repetitive scenes that boiled down to Jack arguing that his gut is telling him they're defecting only to be slapped down by his superiors with the "too risky" argument. 

And wow -- Alec Baldwin was such a pretty young man.

B-

The Candidate (1972)

Bill McKay, though son of a former governor, has no political ambitions but is hand-picked by a strategist to run for senate. Rather than winning, the goal is to simply shake up the race, giving McKay freedom to be bold. Welp, boldness works a lot better than expected.

The acting is strong and the pseudo-documentary style works, but it's too dated to be anything other than a time capsule at this point. What was probably groundbreaking and audacious when it came out simply cannot retain that now that we're so used to unqualified, unpolished everymen running for office and winning.

C+

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Though it's full of over-the-top personalities -- a hypochondriac television writer, an ex-addict flitting from job to job, a happy husband who nonetheless cheats with his wife's sister, boozy, elderly ex-showbiz parents who can't stop recounting their glory days -- it's also grounded in realism. None of these people seem like fictions, just unsatisfied and unsure.

Even though I was frustrated at the messiness of these lives and annoyed with their dissatisfaction, it's still a hopeful film. Yes, it's worth it to pursue happiness because, every once in a while, we catch it.

A-

Babe (1995)

Piglet Babe catches a lucky break when Arthur Hoggett wins him at the county fair. Though he's longing for the mother from whom he was separated, he is accepted into the litter of puppies by their mom Fly (much to the chagrin of the puppies' sire, Rex). He's such an affable little presence that he makes friends with all of the farm animals, even the sheep.

It's one of the most charming movies ever made. It's got some truly tense moments, a few sad ones, and some that are full to bursting with joy. I've seen it several times now and it has never failed to make me cry. James Cromwell plays it completely straight, which only adds to its effectiveness. 

What a treasure.

A+

A Room with a View (1986)

Lucy and her chaperone are vacationing in Florence when Mr. Emerson and son George offer to trade rooms with them so that the women can enjoy the view. Unlike the other British travelers staying in the same hotel, the Emersons lead with joy and passion for all the world offers. Lucy, like the rest, isn't sure how to navigate such unexpected behavior, but can't help but get briefly swept up by George. Once back home, Lucy goes back to coloring within the lines again and gets engaged to the snobbish Cecil.

I started this at the end of the night, planning to just watch 30 minutes or so before turning in. But then, there I was, watching the credits and crying lovely happy tears.

B+

The Godfather Part II (1974)

We watched this directly after The Godfather and I do not recommend following our lead. Not only is it a LOT of time in front of a screen, but it makes this feel like a letdown rather than the extremely good film that it is.

The most riveting portions of this movie are Vito's origin story. After he's marked for death as a young boy in his small Sicilian town, he's sent to the states on his own. He's a quick-thinker with a strong sense of justice who eventually becomes known as the guy who can help. As a juxtaposition to that rich storyline, Michael's rise (or descent?) in the "now" feels dirty rather than triumphant. I was rooting for Vito and mourning for Michael -- I basically wanted to stay in the flashbacks.

In short: it's a decent follow-up to a magnificent film.

A-

The Godfather (1972)

I believe I first saw this in my 20s and, though I gave it an "A+" rating, all I had retained were a dozen or so visual memories (e.g. Michael dropping the gun as though it had burned him,  Sonny trapped at the toll booth, Kay's defeated face as a door shuts her out of the room). I was fully expecting to drop the rating upon rewatch, but found that I was just blown away -- probably even more impressed this time around than I was the first. There's simply nothing to fault here.

One of the most surprising discoveries is that it feels as though it could've been made this year. The storytelling and cinematography is timeless rather than dated. And, even at nearly 3 hours, I was never waiting out the clock. I was engaged and impressed for its entirety.

A+

Sentimental Value (2025)

After the death of their mother, two women have to deal with the fact that their estranged father still owns the family home and wants to shoot his next film there. The story unfolds one little bit at a time, giving us big impressions before we know their genesis. 

Though the motor in this story is generational trauma and the hurt that we share with our kids even if we struggle not to, it's the genuine attempt the father makes to drag those he loves into some shared healing that places this far above a typical family drama. Even Elle Fanning, playing his temporary surrogate, is scalded by this trauma as she struggles to grasp it.

Though we all need grace, it's so difficult to give or accept -- especially to those who caused our trauma or from those who suffered trauma because of us. So magnificently human.

A

Frankenstein (2025)

Visually stunning and unexpectedly deep. I was especially taken with the creator's journey as what I initially interpreted as callousness revealed itself to be something else: a scientific mind disgusted at his latest failure -- unable to see the striking achievement and beauty of his creation because it didn't match up to what he'd hoped. Victor's disinterest in nurture masked the creature's capacity to wonder and learn and, although it's tragic enough that he doesn't realize the miracle until he's nearly dead himself, it'd be even more of a tragedy if he'd never grasped it.

My cheeks were so wet when this was over. I'm not sure when the tears started as it could've been at almost any moment after the creature was animated. Elordi definitely earned that nomination.

A-

Hamnet (2025)

Gary bailed on this halfway through, which is too bad since it really turns into something beautiful and affecting in the latter third or so. But, that's the whole problem with this: it's such a slow burn for the first hour or so that it takes real determination to keep going. All of the characters felt as though they were deliberately being kept at a distance -- even the extremely powerful scene depicting the birth of Agnes's first child felt like I was witnessing it from the nosebleeds. Why?

The only thing that's likely to stick in my memory from this is the beautiful and astonishing work of Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet. I haven't been this enthralled by a child actor since Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. I hope Jupe continues to land work like this. I'll be watching.

C+

F1: The Movie (2025)

Brad Pitt plays an aging driver known for his out-of-the-box risky style who's brought in as a last-ditch attempt to turn around a failing F1 team. It's extremely predictable and would've been a complete waste of time if it weren't for a handful of driver's-view race segments.

C-

One Battle After Another (2025)

A far-left revolutionary group wreaks havoc on the establishment, including a facility holding immigrants on the Mexico/U.S. border. Lockjaw, the bigoted head honcho at the facility, takes an interest in Perfidia, a black leader romantically involved with Pat, the explosives expert for their group. When she has a baby, Pat's ready to scale back the work to prioritize parenthood, but she is uninterested and is eventually scooped up by authorities and pressured to talk, causing Pat to leave town with his daughter to live under assumed names.

I am not a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, but I'm also not a hater -- he's just so inconsistent that when I hear his name I think neither "must see" nor "skipping it," but just "we'll see." For me, this one is definitely nearer the top of the list than the bottom. DiCaprio is paranoid magic here: just doing everything he can to keep his daughter safe, while coping with the mess that more than a dozen years of anti-sobriety have made of his memory. Penn also holds his own in a role that's much less fun.

This was a fun ride for sure, but Anderson needs to learn to kill his darlings -- there was no reason for this to be as long as it is.

B

Being There (1979)

Simple-minded gardener Chance is forced to leave the only world he's ever known when the master of the house dies. He has literally no experience outside of that house until he's forced to exit it and has spent all of his time either gardening or watching television. After being backed-into by an automobile, the ultra-rich owner of the car decides to take him back to her home since they've already got a team of doctors there caring for her husband. "Chauncey Gardiner" soon has a reputation as wise and careful due to his agreeability and tendency to speak in what is assumed to be gardening metaphors.

I mean... yeah. I get it. If you look the part, people make a lot of assumptions. They'll also peg you as wise when you're reflecting their own ideas back at them. But it got a little icky and a lot repetitive before it was over.

C+

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

A couple of years after a a very public divorce, socialite Tracy is set to marry the "up from nothing" George. Her ex Dexter now works for Spy magazine and, in order to quash a story about Tracy's father's philandering, he has convinced his editor to send a reporter and photographer to cover the wedding instead.

With Cary Grant as Dexter (still beloved by the family), Jimmy Stewart as Mike the reporter (and frustrated "serious" author with little regard for the useless rich), and Katharine Hepburn as Tracy (trying to move on if her emotions would only let her), there's never a dull moment. I mean, what a trio. It's witty, silly, passionate, lovely and deeper than I understood when I first saw this in my teens.

B+

The Facts of Life (1960)

A friend group of upper middle class suburbanite couples are constantly together for events. Kitty has little patience for her best friend's husband Larry, but when a vacation for three couples -- due to illness and unexpected work -- winds up stranding them alone together for a week, their feelings for each other change. Upon their return to real life, there's lots of sneaking around and fear of getting caught, but no actual forward motion in their relationship, so they make plans to get away together to an isolated cabin where the reality of what they're doing catches up with them.

What really works here is the very last scene where Kitty comes home, hoping that her husband hasn't yet read the Dear John letter she's left for him. What doesn't is pretty much the entire relationship between Kitty and Larry and the sad state of each of their marriages and self-centered families. The aimed-for humor in several of the scenes were always tinged with sourness. I was not a fan.

C

Laura (1944)

When Laura is shot dead in her apartment, Detective Mark McPherson launches a no-nonsense investigation. Trouble is, her friend Waldo and fiancé Shelby feed him constant nonsense as he attempts to piece together what happened and why. We meet the lovely Laura in flashbacks from both of their perspectives and, along with Mark, can't help but fall a little bit in love.

I've seen this several times over the last 35 years or so and enjoy it every single time.

B+

Weapons (2025)

All of the students from an elementary school class -- except one -- run away during the night and have been missing for weeks. The police are stymied and tension in the town is high. Though, honestly, not nearly so high as I'd expect it to be. The classroom's teacher is an obvious target of suspicion and it's a nice touch that she's kinda messy. The shifting perspectives going over some of the same beats was an effective way to tell the story. 

But, nearly the entire time, I was frustrated by the laziness of the investigation. I mean, why on earth did it take so long for the idea to triangulate the children's destination from the trajectories recorded on ring cams to come up? And why was it a parent rather than a detective who figured that out? Also, a voiceover explaining that it was all covered up doesn't suffice, since the families SHOULD'VE been screaming about it non-stop. 

In the end, it was too big of an ask to suspend disbelief. Maybe it would've worked a bit better if we would've seen some kind of spell being cast over the parents/cops to explain why only a couple of people seemed to be interested in solving the case? 

C+

The Usual Suspects (1995)

I was alone in a hotel room watching PayPerView in my 20s the first time I saw this. I don't remember what I thought during the watch, but I do remember that the ending blew my mind and my rating was an "A-." I was in my living room with my husband of more than 35 years the second time I saw this and, though I knew the twist couldn't surprise a second time around, I was excited to revisit it. After all, I've enjoyed repeat viewings of several movies that depend on a reveal (e.g. The Sixth Sense, L.A. Confidential, Fight Club). So, why did this film just flatten out?

My guess is that most of the high ratings are from people who remember fondly their first viewing and either haven't seen it since or, if they have, chalked up any disappointment experienced during a rewatch to the fact that the surprise was ruined.

C

It Happened One Night (1934)

Colbert is a famous "poor little rich girl" who eloped against her father's wishes and is now being pressured -- on the family yacht in Miami -- to annul. Instead, she jumps overboard with no other plan other than to get to New York to reunite with her husband. Though her father has dispatched dozens of men to find her, she's savvy enough to stay on the downlow while pawning what she had on her to get travel clothes and a little bit of cash for a bus ticket. Clark Gable is a newspaper man who stumbles across this naive and entitled traveler and only realizes who she is after they've antagonized each other. It becomes a sort of "Planes Trains and Automobiles"-type story with everything possible going wrong, which gets them at each others' throats and hearts. 

It's impossible not to root for these two: they are clearly having fun on the road together even while grappling with problem after problem. Colbert goes from "I don't need you" to a grudging realization that she'd be in over her head without him while Gable is surprised at how capable and savvy this sheltered heiress actually is.

This is one of those movies that could probably still please a crowded theater.

B+