The Remains of the Day (1993)

I was in my 20s when I first saw this and I liked it a lot then, but it hits even harder now that I've got some mileage on me.

Stevens, as butler to a large estate, is all about his work; he is there to serve, not to agree or disagree. When Miss Kenton joins the staff as housekeeper, he recognizes her as extremely capable ("I'd be lost without her") while also being able to speak her mind in a way that he refuses to, even in private conversation. And they fall deeply in love, though the emotions are so bottled up that you'd not notice them from the outside -- in fact, they don't even notice that their love is reciprocated by the other until decades after they've parted.

In addition to the tragically muted love story, we've got a political B story about the lead-up to the second World War and the rise of Hitler. It's a scary time for the world with people making honest yet terrible errors leading to huge consequences. Basically, it's life: the personal moments shake a few people as violently as the worldwide events shake millions.

A

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-

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-

Thrashin' (1986)

Corey is a meathead who has two things going for him: his physique and his skateboard skillz. His friends -- aka the "Ramp Locals" -- run afoul of the L.A. group "The Daggers" when they come to town to participate in a pool competition and the gnarliest downhill board race THE L.A. MASSACRE. The Daggers take an instant dislike to Corey because he's a threat competition-wise and he's got eyes for Chrissy, who turns out to be the sister of Tommy Hook, leader of The Daggers.

The skating sequences makes this almost watchable. Almost.

D-

Against All Odds (1984)

Jeff Bridges plays a footballer who's upset at being released from his contract, but his skeevy buddy has a job for him: track down the girlfriend who left him. Bridges is pretty and when he finds the girlfriend, she's pretty too so they get pretty naked together.

There's some big conspiracy with the team owners and the team lawyers and bookies and shaving points and everyone's involved (including the girlfriend) and people die... just why did it need to be so complicated? We could've stuck with underworld asshole tasks his friend with finding his girlfriend and they fall in love. Instead, it gets all convoluted and lost me completely.

D+

The Drama (2026)

Emma and Charlie are about a week out from their wedding when they're swapping "what's the worst thing you've ever done" stories with their friends. Emma's answer sends her maid of honor into a rage and Charlie into a tailspin. 

This really worked for me, mostly because it felt so original. Where do we draw the line? Why do we struggle so much with extending second chances in real life while giving it freely in the abstract to ex-convicts, etc.? But, if nothing else, this works as a screed against big weddings -- so many moving parts and so much expense means that postponing or calling it off becomes nearly impossible.

B+

Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

Novelist Richard and Ellen get together almost immediately after meeting on a train. Her family seems to characterize her more reckless decisions as normal for her -- a sign of free-spirited fearlessness -- and Ellen's mother even tells Richard that Ellen loves too hard. But they marry and Ellen throws herself into domestication. It's only when Ellen's family comes to visit that Richard seems to notice Ellen's mask slipping a bit, while mother and sister recognize her impatience and rudeness as Ellen being Ellen.

Long story short: things go very badly and I think undiagnosed Borderline Personality Disorder is to blame. Gene Tierney is both gorgeous and chilling as the calculating Ellen.

B

Indiscreet (1958)

Stage actress Anna meets suave banker Philip and they are drawn to each other immediately. He discloses up front that that he's married and cannot divorce, but both are willing to move forward with the relationship anyway. Soon they're either with each other daily or on the phone when they can't be. 

I'm not sure why this left me so cold. It's based on a stage play and kind of feels that way: lots of talk and many, many scenes in Anna's living room. I had trouble feeling any sparks between the pair -- perhaps it was that they were a tad too old for me to believe either would allow themselves to fall head over heels when there's no future. Also, the comedy here is more of the "polite chuckle" variety (though I don't think I ever even cracked a smile).

It's not terrible, but there are just so many films that do romance, comedy and chemistry better, there's just no reason to bother with this one.

C

Mean Girls (2024)

First: Jenna Fisher and Angourie Rice truly look like mother and daughter -- just A+ casting there. Second: the "Stupid with Love" number (watch it below) is so charming and singable that I can't stop listening to it. 

This is a really solid remake and probably would be rated higher if the first movie didn't exist at all. But, since it does, comparisons are inevitable and the big detriments for me are the non-Regina "Plastics" (they barely register as individuals) and Cady's transformation to mean girl, which was about as convincing as Sandy's transformation in Grease.

B

Much Ado About Nothing (2012)

You can't fault the dialogue. It's clever and it has worked for literally hundreds of years. But putting the words into the mouths of pretty people in the settings and hairstyles and clothing of the 2000s is wrongheaded, to say the least. And if that were the only problem with this, I might have been able to see past it -- but that's far from the only issue. I mean, the very first scene completely negates both the entire culture of chastity as well as the premise of mutual annoyance of the central couple for each other. What was that about?

Maybe it could've worked in a modern-day setting that deliberately refuses to evolve, perhaps a fundamentalist Mormon compound or in an Amish community, but a woman being put to death for an accusation of promiscuity is not traditional suburban behavior. The overall effect is complete affectation, including the choice to present in black and white. 🙄

D

Bull Durham (1988)

Crash (Kevin Costner) is a veteran catcher in the minor leagues, brought on to mentor the Bulls' new pitcher (Tim Robbins) who's got a million-dollar arm and a five-cent head. Local Annie (Susan Sarandon) chooses one player each season with whom to hook up and guide and with a 100% success rate in improving that guy's game, she's earned some club respect. Crash takes himself out of the running, leaving her with the pitcher who adopts the nickname "Nuke" at Annie's insistence. But neither Annie nor Crash is comfortable with the arrangement.

What a fun story. Though Costner's line readings aren't as loose as they should be, it almost doesn't matter because the other points of this triangle are absolutely wonderful (probably didn't hurt that they were falling in love offscreen at the time). "Nuke" is dumb as a bag of rocks, but he grasps -- after much trial and error -- that Annie and Crash know their stuff and he's better when he follows their instructions. Meanwhile, Annie and Crash are committed to improving the kid but can't help what their hearts want.

On top of all of the relationship stuff, there's the baseball stuff. I admit that the first time I saw this way back when (I had this poster up in my dorm room senior year of college) it was all about the relationship and those "long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days." But this time I also appreciated hearing the internal monologues of the players as they walked up to the plate or wound up for the pitch. Yes, it's about romance, but it's also about ball. They're only together because they love this glorious game played on cool spring evenings and hot summer afternoons that only really works live, not through a screen. Magic.

B+

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+

Adam's Rib (1949)

Lawyer Adam Bonner is tapped to prosecute a woman who shot at her husband while he was in the arms of another woman. His wife, Amanda Bonner (also a lawyer), decides to defend the wife as she believes a man in the same situation -- fighting for his family -- would be lauded rather than maligned. Though they've got a solid marriage full of mutual respect, a contest of lawyerly skills in the courtroom is a strain.

Though the courtroom scenes are a lot of fun, the datedness of the material makes it so much of a time capsule that it's difficult to take it at face value. Case in point: the primary reason given for the husband's infidelity is that his wife got fat. Judy Holliday (left in this on-set picture) plays his wife. Also, talk about the wife getting regularly knocked-around by her cheating husband isn't even treated as a point against him. Yeesh.

B-

The Sapphires (2013)

Gail, Cynthia, Kay and Julie sing together as young girls in a tight-knit aboriginal community. Though light-skinned Kay is “stolen” to be raised as white, the other three continue to sing together and eventually compete in a local talent contest. They’re the only black act in a very white venue so they, of course, cannot win the competition, but they kind of win anyway since the messy, soul-loving (and, for some reason, Irish) emcee sees their potential. 

There are some BIG subjects here: ever-present racism, the continuing legacy of Australia's "Stolen Generation," and the horrors of war.  But, damn - they're stuck inside an inept script with amateur actors. My interest in the real story is strong, but I know this isn't it, mainly because I was compelled to do some reading after viewing. My main complaints are 1) the invention of Chris O'Dowd's character: why is a white savior necessary and why, exactly, must he be such a mess? 2) the romantic subplots, especially the one between Gail and David, which felt both gross and out-of-nowhere. Also, why did they write him as already married? Is this supposed to be feel-good or feel-sick?

Anyway. Despite my strong ick reaction to this movie, I think that -- in someone else's hands -- this could've been a fantastic family film if the romance had been excised. It felt cheap and distracted from the actual big topics.

C-

Song Sung Blue (2025)

Mike and Claire meet as struggling musicians taking what jobs they can to scrape by doing what they love: singing. Together the two divorceés form "Lightning and Thunder," a Neil Diamond tribute act. Though it's slow going, eventually the band gains a following and rises to the point of opening for Pearl Jam. And that's when tragedy strikes.

It's a pretty crazy story and it could've been a wild a ride, but it's just so -- I don't even know -- basic? Despite the surprises, I somehow never really felt anything. There was always the question mark of "how popular could they have been really?" I mean, it was a Neil Diamond tribute band in Milwaukee. If it weren't for Claire's accident, no one would remember them.

C+

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+

Train Dreams (2025)

This felt more like having a book read aloud by a gifted reader, with the images my own brain might have conjured as the words' accompaniment. A lovely celebration of a small life as full of tragedy and beauty as any "big" life could possibly be.

A-

Murphy's Romance (1985)

Emma and her son are going it alone after her divorce, working hard to turn their ramshackle farm in a new town into a horse boarding/training business. Murphy (popular widower and owner of the local drugstore) takes an interest and his no-nonsense advice and support turn out to be just what she needs. After buying a horse, he starts spending a lot of time with Emma, her son, and her freeloading ex, who has blown into town and is making himself at home.

It's pretty dang charming. Usually an age gap of this size would annoy me, but it's undeniable that these two good people deserve happiness and they're well-suited. Who am I to say otherwise?

A-

Romancing the Stone (1984)

Successful romance novelist Joan lives a solitary life -- her idea of a celebration is opening a bottle of wine and chatting with her cat. When she has to be out in public, she's ill-at-ease and uninterested in the men who are obviously interested in her. But, when her sister needs her urgent help down in Colombia, Joan doesn't hesitate even though she is ill-equipped for the adventure. Good thing the dashing Jack Colton shows up to take things in hand.

It's a fun, lightweight adventure -- I mean, Danny DeVito's one of the bad guys, so we're never truly worried that anything bad will happen. It's just silly fun with Douglas and Turner at their sexiest.

B

Pat and Mike (1952)

Pat, a natural athlete, has some success once she starts working with a manager -- but she's still getting the yips when her fiancee is around. Though there are some fun bits with mobsters and a jealous boxer working under the same manager, it's rather thin and very dated. Not one of the better Tracy & Hepburn outings.

C+