M-Mz Movies

Mackintosh Man (1973) British agent Joseph Reardon is recruited by spymaster Mackintosh to impersonate an Australian criminal and infiltrate a mysterious spy ring in an operation so covert that no one but Mackintosh and his secretary, Mrs. Smith, know the truth. Reardon robs a postman of a diamond shipment and allows himself to be caught and sentenced to 20 years in Chelmsford Prison, where he becomes acquainted with Slade, a notorious traitor serving a life term. Recruited by an organization that arranges escapes for high profile prisoners in exchange for half of their hidden loot, Reardon, along with Slade, soon finds himself out of jail and in a safe house in Ireland. Mackintosh makes the error of confiding part of his operation to his old friend and patriotic MP, Sir George Wheeler. Wheeler, a covert traitor, arranges to have Mackintosh meet with an accident and exposes Reardon to his captors. Finding himself on the run again. Reardon is aided by Mrs. Smith, who reveals herself to be Mackintosh's daughter, They both pursues Slade to Malta, where they hope to expose Wheeler for the traitor he is.

Made of Honor (2005)  Made of Honor revolves around Tom and Hannah, who have been platonic friends for 10 years. He's a serial dater, while she wants marriage but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think that he is relationship material after all, Hannah gets engaged. When she asks Tom to be her "maid" of honor, he reluctantly agrees just so he can attempt to stop the wedding and woo her.

Interesting role reversal idea here.  Obvious comedy-ends-in-marriage tale, but still enjoyable.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)  When their small village is once again attacked by the bandit Calvera, three Mexican farmers head north to try and buy guns. They ask Chris Adams to help them but he suggests they hire experienced gunmen instead. He soon recruits five others and eventually accept a sixth who he had initially rejected but made it impossible for him to say no. Together, they develop a plan to secure the town and defend it against Calvera's attack. In that time, friendships are formed and love blossoms between one of the men and a beautiful local girl. Not all of them will survive the attack.  An Americanization of the film, Seven Samurai.

A idealized western bad-guy redemption movie.  Well crafted and well acted.  It is an inspiration to the latent heros in all of us.

Maid in Mahattan (2002)  Marisa Ventura is a single mother born and bred in the boroughs of New York City, who works as a maid in a first-class Manhattan hotel. By a twist of fate and mistaken identity, Marisa meets Christopher Marshall, a handsome heir to a political dynasty, who believes that she is a guest at the hotel. Fate steps in and throws the unlikely pair together for one night. When Marisa's true identity is revealed, the two find that they are worlds apart, even though the distance separating them is just a subway ride between Manhattan and the Bronx.

A classic tale, not quite well told but intersting for other reasons.

Malayaya (1949)  After living abroad for several years, journalist John Royer returns to the United States just after the U.S. enters World War II. His boast that he could easily smuggle rubber, a key wartime natural resource, out of Malaya has him tasked with doing just that. He manages to get someone from his past, Carnaghan, sprung from Alactraz and together they head off to South East Asia posing as Irishmen. Once there, Carnaghan lines up some of his old cronies and with Royer and a few plantation owners plans to smuggle the rubber out from under the Japanese army's watchful eye.

Typical how we won the war movie.  Mostly a feel good movie, missing the true grittiness of war.  Still, it is worth seeing.

Mallrats (1995)  Mallrats gives us a viewing of a day in the life for two teenagers, T.S. and Brodie, as they wander around all day in a local mall while the girls who recently dumped them do the same. The two guys encounter characters like Jay, Silent Bob, 15-year old sex novel author Trish the Dish, 3-D visionally challenged Willam (the guy just wants to see the sailboat!) and many others. T.S. and Brodie have decided that they will attempt to win back the hearts of their ex-girlfriends before scumbags like Brodie's arch nemesis Shannon Hamilton get to have sex with them in very uncomfortable places, while Jay and Silent Bob attempt to wreck one of their ex-girlfriend's father's game show in the meantime.

More brilliance from the far-out mind of Kevin Smith.

Mamma Mia! (2008)  Set on a colorful Greek island, the plot serves as a background for a wealth of ABBA songs. A young woman about to be married discovers that any one of three men could be her father. She invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna, who was once the lead singer of Donna and the Dynamos. In the meantime, Donna has invited her backup singers, Rosie and Tanya.

Charming and tender movie with delightful music, full of warmth and love.

The Man from Laramie (1955)  Mysterious Will Lockhart delivers supplies to storekeeper Barbara Waggoman at Coronado, an isolated town in Apache country. Before long, he's tangled with Dave Waggoman, vicious son of autocratic rancher Alec and cousin of sweet Barbara. But he sticks around town, his presence a catalyst for changes in people's lives, searching for someone he doesn't know...who's been selling rifles to the Apaches.

Man of the House (2005)  Texas Ranger Roland Sharp is assigned to protect the only witnesses to the murder of a key figure in the prosecution of a drug kingpin -- a group of University of Texas cheerleaders. Sharp must now go undercover as an assistant cheerleading coach and move in with the young women.

Not great but believeable and Tommy Lee Jones gives a great performance.  Watch the DVD extras for the cheerleader training.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)  While attending a medical conference in Paris, American physician Dr. Ben McKenna, his wife, retired musical theater actress and singer Jo McKenna née Conway, and their adolescent son Hank McKenna decide to take a side trip to among other places Marrekesh, French Morocco. With a knife plunged into his back, Frenchman Louis Bernard, who the family met earlier in their bus ride into Marrakesh and who is now masquerading as an Arab, approaches Ben, cryptically whispering into Ben's ears that there will be an attempted assassination in London of a statesman, this news whispered just before Bernard dies. Ben is reluctant to provide any information of this news to the authorities because concurrently Hank is kidnapped by British couple, Edward and Lucy Drayton, who also befriended the McKennas in Marrakesh and who probably have taken Hank out of the country back to England. Whoever the unknown people the Draytons are working for have threatened to kill Hank if Ben divulges any information told to him by Bernard. With what little information they have on hand, Ben and Jo head to London to try and thwart the assassination attempt and more importantly find an alive and safe Hank. Scotland Yard is aware of some pieces to the puzzle, including the fact that Bernard was a French secret service agent and that there will be an assassination attempt on someone. They and the McKennas will have to work together as they hit a diplomatic roadblock, one that may be overcome with a special Jo Conway song.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)  When Senator Ransom Stoddard returns home to Shinbone for the funeral of Tom Doniphon, he recounts to a local newspaper editor the story behind it all. He had come to town many years before, a lawyer by profession. The stage was robbed on its way in by the local ruffian, Liberty Valance, and Stoddard has nothing to his name left save a few law books. He gets a job in the kitchen at the Ericson's restaurant and there meets his future wife, Hallie. The territory is vying for Statehood and Stoddard is selected as a representative over Valance, who continues terrorizing the town. When he destroys the local newspaper office and attacks the editor, Stoddard calls him out, though the conclusion is not quite as straightforward as legend would have it.

The Man With Two Brains (1983)  Recently widowed Doctor Michael Hfuhruhurr, the world's greatest neurosurgeon, injures Dolores Benedict in a car accident. He operates on her and saves her life using a technique of his own invention: cranial screw-top brain entry. As Benedict recovers, Hfuhruhurr falls in love with her and they are soon married. However, Benedict is only interested in Hfuhruhurr's money and Hfuhruhurr still yearns for his previous wife. They travel to Vienna to attend a medical conference where Hfuhruhurr finally divorces Dolores, meets a mysterious Doctor Alfred Necessiter and becomes entangled in a series of murders committed by The Elevator Killer.

Funny but a good idea overworked; still Kathleen Turner and Steve Martin are worth watching.

Manchurian Candidate (1964) Major Ben Marco is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He served valiantly as a captain in the Korean war and his Sergeant, Raymond Shaw, even won the Medal of Honor. Marco has a major problem however: he has a recurring nightmare, one where two members of his squad are killed by Shaw. He's put on indefinite sick leave and visits Shaw in New York. Shaw for his part has established himself well, despite the misgivings of his domineering mother, Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin. She is a red-baiter, accusing anyone who disagrees with her right-wing reactionary views of being a Communist. Raymond hates her, not only for how she's treated him but equally because of his step-father, the ineffectual U.S. Senator John Iselin, who is intent on seeking higher office. When Marco learns that others in his Korean War unit have nightmares similar to his own, he realizes that something happened to all of them in Korea and that Raymond Shaw is the focal point. 

The Manchurian Candidate (2002) When his army unit was ambushed during the first Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw saved his fellow soldiers just as his commanding officer, then-Captain Ben Marco, was knocked unconscious. Brokering the incident for political capital, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, while Marco is haunted by dreams of what happened -- or didn't happen -- in Kuwait. As Marco (now a Major) investigates, the story begins to unravel, to the point where he questions if it happened at all. Is it possible the entire unit was kidnapped and brainwashed to believe Shaw is a war hero as part of a plot to seize the White House? Some very powerful people at Manchurian Global corporation appear desperate to stop him from finding out. 

Manhattan (1979)  In Manhattan, Isac Davis is a divorced writer of TV shows unhappy with his job. His ex-wife left him to live with another woman and is writing a book about her relationship with Isac. He presently dates a seventeen years old high-school student, Tracy, who is in love with him, but he does not like her. When he meets Mary Wilkie, the mistress of his married best friend Yale, he has a crush on her. He finishes with Tracy and has an affair with Mary, affecting the lives of many persons including his own.

Woody Allen disliked his work in this film so much he offered to direct another film for United Artists for free if they kept "Manhattan" on the shelf for good.  Yet, this is among his better works.  Some of his angst may stem from the fact that he did *date* a woman in high school.

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)  Larry and Carol are fairly normal New Yorkers who have sent their son off to college. They meet an elderly couple down the hall and later in the week find that the wife has suddenly died. Carol becomes suspicious of Paul who seems to be too cheerful and too ready to move on. She begins her investigation. Larry insists she is becoming too fixated on their neighbor as all of the irregularities seem to have simple non-homicidal explanations. Ted, a recently divorced friend helps her investigation and Larry begins to become jealous of their relationship and agrees to help her.

Excellent Woody Allen.  Suspenseful and comedic.

The Manhattan Project (1986)  A nerdy scientist falls in love with a woman.  The woman's son breaks into scientist's lab, steals plutonium, makes bomb for science fair project.

Enjoyable if not believeable.  John Lithgow is still fun to watch.

Mash (1970)  November, 1951. The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is shaken up by the arrival of Captains "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Duke" Forrest...crack surgeons but lousy soldiers. Joined by renowned chest-cutter "Trapper" John McIntyre, the surgeons set about dealing with the daily carnage of the war by raising hell. From getting rid of the idiotic Major Burns to helping the camp dentist commit "suicide", there's no lengths the Swampmen won't go to to distract themselves from the horrors of war.

Very much an antiwar film, that pokes fun at all government stupidity.  Incrediby well done.  Give you a feeling of the horrors of war and the stupidity as well as the boredom of soldiers who resort to many hijinks to preserve their sanity.

The Mask (1994)  Stanley Ipkiss is a bank clerk that is an incredibly nice man. Unfortunately, he is too nice for his own good and is a pushover when it comes to confrontations. After one of the worst days of his life, he finds a mask that depicts Loki, the Norse night god of mischief. Now, when he puts it on, he becomes his inner, self: a cartoony romantic wild man. However, a small time crime boss, Dorian Tyrel, comes across this character dubbed "The Mask" by the media. After Ipkiss's alter ego indirectly kills his friend in crime, Tyrel now wants this green-faced goon destroyed.

Mask of Zorro (1998)  The original Zorro, Don Diego de la Vega, is captured and imprisoned just as Spain concedes California to Santa Anna. 20 years go by and his mortal enemy, Don Rafael Montero, returns to California with a plan to become wealthy at the expense of the peasants. The original Zorro escapes from prison and trains a new Zorro to take his place. Much swashbuckling and derring-do ensues.

Incredibly sensous dance scene and sword fight scene in the stables.

Master and Commander: Far Side of the World (2003)  During the Napoleonic Wars, a British frigate, HMS Surprise, and a much larger French warship, the Acheron, with greater fire power, stalk each other off of the coast of South America. Russell Crowe brings great intensity to the role of Captain Jack Aubrey. Lucky Jack, as he is referred to by his crew, is well regarded by his men, who trust him implicitly, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain. While the naval battle sequences are quite fantastic, the film is successful because director Weir chose to build the story to get to know the men who are locked aboard the tight quarters of a small ship and how they interact everyday. The officers and the mates are well-known by the time the final battle comes. Paul Bettany offers a strong performance as the surgeon and naturalist who balances the violence of his chosen life with the quiet demeanor of the scientist. He is the captain's friend and confidant, the two frequently playing violin and cello duets together. The horrors of the injuries from the war are frequently implied, but vividly depicted in the reactions of the characters.

This is a truly excellent film and captures the essence of the lonely, boring and sometimes deadly seafaring life.

The cast endured a two week boot camp where they literally learned the ropes, and what to do on board a frigate including the loading and firing of cannons. They also all learned basic sword skills.

To create an authentic sense of camaraderie among the cast, they were all housed in special quarters, away from the rest of the crew. Designed like a gentleman's club, there was no TV, and no crew member was allowed in without being invited. It was nicknamed "The Monkey Bar".

12 of the extras comprising the crew were drafted in from Poland as they had a "lived in" look and quite clearly hadn't been enjoying the life of plenty that most Westerners do. Weir was attracted to this as it would emphasize the privations and hardships of serving on a frigate.  

Match Point (2005)  The Irish former professional player Chris Wilton from the lower class gets a job as tennis instructor in an upper class club in London. Chris becomes close to his student Tom Hewett, who introduces him to his British upper class family, and Tom's sister Chloe immediately falls in love with him. The ambitious Chris keeps the relationship with Chloe, feeling lust for Tom's fiancée, the American aspirant actress Nola Rice, and they have a brief affair. Chris gets married to Chloe and climbs to a high position in a company of the Hewett's family, while Tom breaks his engagement with Nola. When Chris meets Nola by chance, he becomes obsessed for her and she becomes his mistress. When Nola gets pregnant and presses him, he balances the financial advantages of his marriage but he has to take a decision in his life and choose the woman he wants for his companion.

Excellent Woody Allen film with him directing and not starring.

Woody Allen's favorite film of his own.

Matchstick Men (2003)  Meet Roy and Frank, a couple of professional small-time con artists. What Roy, a veteran of the grift, and Frank, his ambitious protégé, are swindling these days are "water filtration systems," bargain-basement water filters bought by unsuspecting people who pay ten times their value in order to win bogus prizes like cars, jewelry and overseas vacations--which they never collect. These scams net the flim-flam men a few hundred here, another thousand there, which eventually adds up to a lucrative partnership. Roy's private life, however, is not so successful. An obsessive-compulsive agoraphobe with no personal relationships to call his own, Roy is barely hanging on to his wits, and when his idiosyncrasies begin to threaten his criminal productivity he's forced to seek the help of a psychoanalyst just to keep him in working order. While Roy is looking for a quick fix, his therapy begets more than he bargained for: the revelation that he has a teenage daughter--a child whose existence he suspected but never dared confirm. What's more troubling, 14-year-old Angela wants to meet the father she never knew. At first, Angela's appearance disrupts her neurotic father's carefully ordered routine. Soon, however, with his own unique spin on parenthood, Roy begins to enjoy a relationship he never dreamed of having with his daughter. But while he develops paternal feelings for the 14-year-old, she's developing a fascination with Daddy's questionable career.

Incredibly good crime drama with just the right comedy.

The Matrix (1999)  Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives. By day he is an average computer programmer and by night a malevolent hacker known as Neo. Neo has always questioned his reality but the truth is far beyond his imagination. Neo finds himself targeted by the police when he is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker branded a terrorist by the government. Morpheus awakens Neo to the real world, a ravaged wasteland where most of humanity have been captured by a race of machines which live off of their body heat and imprison their minds within an artificial reality known as the Matrix. As a rebel against the machines, Neo must return to the Matrix and confront the agents, super powerful computer programs devoted to snuffing out Neo and the entire human rebellion.

In spite of no acting ability on Keanu Reeves part, this is a great movie.  It introduces a new possiblity to our future or our past.  Of course my hero is Agent Smith.

Maverick (1994)  Maverick is recreated from the character James Garner created in the 1950s TV program. Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them. He needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a Winner Take All poker game that begins in a few days. He tries to win some, tries to collect a few debts, and recover a little loot for the reward, all with a light hearted air. He joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvelous, though fake, southern accent as the two both try and enter the game.

A bit long and over done in spots, but it captures the essence of TV show of the same name.

Me, Myself & Irene (2000)  It had all started when a patrol officer named Charlie Baileygates was married. Unfortunately, his wife left him for the short Black guy who was their limousine driver. Charlie is single again and taking care of three children. A series of misfortunes for Charlie developed an inner anger within him, then it came out in a form of another personality known as Hank Evans. While Charlie is nice, kind, and usually calm, Hank is is the polar opposite of Charlie, being outrageous, mean, and short-tempered. Luckily, Charlie told his doctor about this other personality, and prescribed him with medication to suppress Hank. One day, Charlie was assigned to personally escort a woman named Irene Waters to a prison in upstate New York. Then, a series of unfortunate events happen as both Charlie and Irene run into a group of corrupt cops and Irene's abusive ex-boyfriend. In the middle of it all, Charlie loses his medication and now fears that Hank will present himself and make the situation worse. While running, Charlie and Irene fall for each other (and so does Hank). Now, Both Charlie and Irene must stop the dirty cops, Irene's ex-boyfriend, and stay one step ahead of Hank.

Meatballs (1979)  Mr. Depressingly Unpopular Rudy goes to summer camp full of rowdy teenagers. The head counselor is Tripper Harrison, the prank pulling, girl seducing, fun lover, teasing both his boss and the counselors at the nearby rich kids camp. He and everyone else are sick and tired of always losing the Camp Olympics every year, Tripper must encourage all campers to try their hardest, and even convince young Rudy that this may be his chance to feel better about himself.

 Not great, but fun.  Especially if you have ever been to a low budget camp.

Melinda and Melinda (2004)  Over a meal in a French restaurant, Sy poses a conundrum to his fellow diners: Is the essence of life comic or tragic? For the sake of argument, he tells a story, which the others then embellish to illustrate their takes on life. The story starts as follows: A young Manhattan couple, Park Avenue princess Laurel and tippling actor Lee, throw a dinner party to impress Lee's would-be producer when their long-lost friend Melinda appears at their front door, bedraggled and woebegone. In the tragic version of what happens next, the beautiful intruder is a disturbed woman who got bored with her Midwestern doctor-husband and dumped him for a photographer. Her husband took the children away and she spiraled into a suicidal depression that landed her straight-jacketed in a mental ward. In the comic version, Melinda is childless and a downstairs neighbor to the dinner hosts, who are ambitious Indy filmmaker Susan and under-employed actor Hobie. Back and forth the stories go, contrasting the destinies of the two Melindas.

Memento (2000)  A memory inside a memory, Memento is a complicated head spinning adventure. Leonard is determined to avenge his wife's murder. However, unable to remember anything that happens day-to-day due to a condition he acquired, short term memory loss, he has to write himself note after note that still don't mean anything after he falls asleep. The film goes back in time to reveal each little bit of the puzzle as he tries to find out the person who killed his wife and makes the audience feel just as confused as he is. The narrative closely follows a phone call Pearce has in which he talks about Sammy Jankis a former client of his who he believed had the same condition. The film takes an unexpected twist as the two characters have a lot more in common than is initially put across.

Scary psychological thriller.

Men in Black (1997)  Men in Black follows the exploits of agents Kay and Jay, members of a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth. The two Men in Black find themselves in the middle of the deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies. In order to prevent worlds from colliding, the MiB must track down the terrorist and prevent the destruction of Earth. It's just another typical day for the Men in Black.

During the shoot, there was a script revision which changed the role of the 'Universe' in the movie -- the two Arquillians at the restaurant were originally warring species, who would exchange the galaxy to end a war which Edgar Bug wanted to keep going. Fortunately, some creative tricks could be used to avoid having to re-shoot several scenes. For instance, the Arquillian restaurant dialogue was originally in English, but were redubbed in post-production in an alien language that could be subtitled with a new explanation. Similarly, new expository lines were written for Frank the Pug, whose scenes had to go through post-production anyway. Director Barry Sonnenfeld could be heard on the DVD bonus material jokingly advising fellow directors to include a talking dog into every movie, which makes it easy to change the plot while filming.

When Edwards (Will Smith) jumps from the overpass onto the tour bus, he jumps from the same bridge where Robert Neville (also Smith) is attacked by the demon dogs after the sun goes down in I Am Legend.

Men in Black III  (2012)  When an alien confined to a penal colony in space escapes, he goes to Earth to get the man who placed him there, MIB agent K. He confronts K, K and J corner him but he disappears. The next day J goes to pick up K but finds someone else living at his apartment. When he goes to MIB; he looks for K but everyone there tells him. K died in 1969 after tackling the alien. But J says K captured him. That's when alien vessels which are from the planet of the alien whom K and J encountered and they're about to destroy the Earth. But J says that K placed a barrier that keeps them from entering Earth. It's obvious the alien went back in time and killed K before he could deploy the barrier. So J goes to sees an alien on Earth whose father was also at the penal colony, whom J assumes told the alien that he worked on time travel and his son has the device. J goes to see him and tells him about the invasion. So he sends J back just before K's death. J arrives in 1969 and fails to stop the alien and is captured by the younger K and J was told not to tell him anything. But with time running out J tells him but K doesn't believe him at first, so they go out to stop the alien. Only problem J doesn't exactly know what he is doing in 1969.

Message in a Bottle (1999)  A woman finds a romantic letter in a bottle washed ashore and tracks down the author, a widowed shipbuilder whose wife died tragically early. As a deep and mutual attraction blossoms, the man struggles to make peace with his past so that he can move on and find happiness.

This movie got a poor review for following the book.  I think it made it a better movie.

Merchant of Venice (2004)  In the Sixteenth Century, there was a great intolerance against Jews. In 1596, in the liberal Venice, Bassanio asks for a large amount to his friend, the merchant Antonio, to travel to Belmont and propose the gorgeous Portia. Antonio has invested all his money in his ships and borrows from the usurer Shylock, who proposes an unusual bond: if Antonio does not pay the money without any interest three months later, he might receive one pound of his flesh instead, at his choice. When Shylock's daughter Jessica runs away home with all his money and jewels, he becomes furious. Meanwhile, the load of Antonio sinks with three different vessels and he is not able to pay his debts with Shylock, and the Jew goes to court of Venice claiming the execution of his deal. In spite of many requests, his tough heart does not accept any other agreement further than the one established in their contract.

The bare-breasted prostitutes were not put in the film to make it more risqué, but rather to add a note of historical authenticity. Venetian law at the time required all prostitutes to bare their breasts because the Christian authorities were concerned about rampant homosexuality in their city.

Michael (1996)  Frank Quinlan and Huey Driscoll, two reporters from a Chicago-based tabloid, along with Dorothy Winters, an 'angel expert', are asked to travel to rural Iowa to investigate a claim from an old woman that she shares her house with a real, live archangel named Michael. Upon arrival, they see that her claims are true - but Michael is not what they expected: he smokes, drinks beer, has a very active libido and has a rather colourful vocabulary. In fact, they would never believe it were it not for the two feathery wings protruding from his back. Michael agrees to travel to Chicago with the threesome, but what they don't realise is that the journey they are about to undertake will change their lives forever.

Middle Age Crazy (1980)  Great tale that highlights the dangers of getting what you wish for and not appreciating what you have. Bruce Dern is terrific as Bobby Lee. It's strange to see him in a role where he isn't a scumbag, but his performance is brilliant and touching as a man who wrestles with latent immaturity and crushing loss. Ann-Margret was born to her role as adoring and then betrayed wife. My favorite lines will always be about being the "Daddy." I'm surprised that this movie doesn't get much play in rerun on television. It's the same coming-of-age genre as "10" except that Bo Derek didn't star as the lust interest. Both Dern and Ann-Margret pull off great performances as nouveau riche Texans who are basically down-home at heart.

Some awesome Walter Mitty moments in the movie.  I especially like his fantasy graduation speech.

Midnight Cowboy (1969)  Texas greenhorn Joe Buck arrives in New York for the first time. Preening himself as a real 'hustler', he finds that he is the one getting 'hustled' until he teams up with a down-and-out but resilient outcast named Ratso Rizzo. The initial 'country cousin meets city cousin' relationship deepens. In their efforts to bilk a hostile world rebuffing them at every turn, this unlikely pair progress from partners in shady business to comrades. Each has found his first real friend.

Before Dustin Hoffman auditioned for this film, he knew that his all-American image could easily cost him the job. To prove he could do it, he asked the auditioning film executive to meet him on a street corner in Manhattan, and in the meantime, dressed himself in filthy rags. The executive arrived at the appointed corner and waited, barely noticing the "beggar" less than ten feet away who was accosting people for spare change. At last, the beggar walked up to him and revealed his true identity.

The film was rated "X" (no one under 17 admitted) upon its original release in 1969, but the unrestricted use of that rating by pornographic filmmakers caused the rating to quickly become associated with hardcore sex films. Because of the stigma that developed around the "X" rating in the ratings system's early years, many theaters refused to run "X" films and many newspapers would not run ads for them. The film was given a new "R" (children under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian) rating in 1971, without having anything changed or removed. It remains the only X-Rated film ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture, be shown on network TV (although the R reclassification had taken place by then), or be screened by a sitting U.S. President, Richard Nixon.

Contrasting Opinions #1: Ratso Rizzo's famous line, "I'm walkin' here!", *was* scripted. The location was at 58th Street and 6th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The scene called for the taxicab (driven by a stunt driver) to turn east onto 58th Street from 6th Avenue as Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, walking north on 6th Avenue, crossed 58th Street. Dustin then was to yell at the cab as it almost ran into him. The scene was rehearsed, and then with camera and sound rolling, the shot was filmed. There was a pause, the cab reversed direction, backed up onto 6th, stopped, then proceeded to turn again onto 58th as Dustin and Jon once more crossed the street. This happened several times, each time attracting a larger and larger crowd of curious onlookers. The camera setup was just to the north, and the crew seemed to be greatly amused as the filming disrupted morning rush hour.

Contrasting Opinions #2: According to Dustin Hoffman himself, the taxi incident *wasn't* scripted. During an L.A. Times interview in Jan. 2009, he said that the movie didn't have a permit to close down the NYC street for filming, so they had to set-up the scene with a hidden camera in a van driving down the street, and remote microphones for the actors. After 15 takes, it was finally going well, but this time, as they crossed the street, a taxi ran a red light. Hoffman wanted to say "Hey, we're SHOOTING here!", not only from fear of his life, but also from anger that the taxi driver might have ruined the take. Instead, being the professional that he is, he stayed in character and shouted "Hey, we're WALKING here!" and made movie history. Jon Voight also backs up this version of the incident, saying that seeing how well Hoffman was handling the situation, he likewise stayed in character.  

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)   This panoramic tale of Savannah's eccentricities focuses on a murder and the subsequent trial of Jim Williams: self made man, art collector, antiques dealer, bon vivant and semi-closeted homosexual. John Kelso a magazine reporter finds himself in Savannah amid the beautiful architecture and odd doings to write a feature on one of William's famous Christmas parties. He is intrigued by Williams from the start, but his curiosity is piqued when he meets Jim's violent, young and sexy lover, Billy. Later that night, Billy is dead, and Kelso stays on to cover the murder trial. Along the way he encounters the irrepressible Lady Chablis, a drag queen commedienne, Sonny Seiler, lawyer to Williams, whose famous dog UGA is the official mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs, an odd man who keeps flies attached to mini leashes on his lapels and threatens daily to poison the water supply, the Married Ladies Card Club, and Minerva, a spiritualist. Between being Jim's buddy, cuddling up to a torch singer, meeting every eccentric in Savannah, participating in midnight graveyard rituals and helping solve the mysteries surrounding Billy's murder, Kelso has his hands full.

The Mercer House, the house Jim Williams lived in, was originally built for Hugh Weedon Mercer. Hugh Mercer was the great-grandfather of Johnny Mercer, who co-wrote most of the songs included in the movie's soundtrack. The movie's opening shot, by the way, is of Johnny Mercer's gravestone.

Most of the characters depicted in the movie were based on real Savannahians, but some details were changed for dramatic effect. Joe Odom was indeed a real person, an ex-lawyer who opened a piano bar with the real-life "Mandy," Nancy Hillis, but Odom and Hillis were never romantically involved, and Odom died of AIDS in 1991. Likewise, the character of John Kelso is loosely based on John Berendt, the author of the book, but he also never had a relationship with the real-life "Mandy" - Berendt is gay.

Midnight in Paris (2011)  The successful Hollywood screenplay writer Gil Pender is spending vacation in Paris with his fiancée Inez and her parents since his future father-in-law is on a business trip. Gil is an aspiring novelist that loves Paris, and dreams of living in the city after getting married with Inez. Furthermore, the romantic Gil believes that the golden age of Paris was in the 1920s and he loves to walk through the streets of the city. When Inez meets her former boyfriend, the pseudo-intellectual Paul, with his girlfriend Carol, they spend some time together visiting tourist attractions. In the night, they drink wine at a party and Paul invites the couple to go dancing with Carol and him. However, Gil prefers to return walking alone to the hotel. At midnight, an old car stops and the passengers invite him to go a party and sooner he realizes that he is back to the 20's, where he meets his favorite writers, musicians and artists and lives his dream. 

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)  Centred around a weekend party at the home of inventor Andrew Hobbs and his wife Adrian, attended by randy doctor Maxwell Jordan, his nurse Dulcy, renowned philosopher Dr.Leopold Sturgis and his fiancée, this is a light comedy concerning their various emotional, intellectual and sexual entanglements, loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's 'Smiles of a Summer Night'.

José Ferrer found himself the object of a practical joke while making this film. Dustin Hoffman visited the set while made up as Dorothy Michaels in the film Tootsie, and proceeded to make sexual advances on Ferrer, who politely refused--but was completely unaware that Hoffman was not in fact a woman.

Undeservingly nominated for a Razie award.

Mighty Aphroditie (1995)  Lenny and Amanda have an adopted son Max who turns out to be brilliant. Lenny becomes obsessed with finding Max's real parents because he believes that they too must be brilliant. When he finds that Linda Ash is Max' real mother, Lenny is disappointed. Linda is a prostitute and porn star. On top of that, she is quite possibly the dumbest person Lenny has ever met. Interwoven is a Greek chorus linking the story with the story of Oedipus.

Generally I like Woody Allen movies better if he isn't in them, but this is a major exception.  This movie played for over a year at a single screen movie theater in San Francisco when I lived there.

The Milagro Beanfield Wars (1988)  In Milagro, a small town in the American Southwest, Ladd Devine plans to build a major new resort development. While activist Ruby Archuleta and lawyer/newspaper editor Charlie Bloom realize that this will result in the eventual displacement of the local Hispanic farmers, they cannot arouse much opposition because of the short term opportunities offered by construction jobs. But when Joe Mondragon illegally diverts water to irrigate his bean field, the local people support him because of their resentment of water use laws that favor the rich like Devine. When the Governor sends in ruthless troubleshooter Kyril Montana to settle things quickly before the lucrative development is cancelled, a small war threatens to erupt.

Good movie that should have been great.  The book was absolutely awesome and shows one of the basic problems in modern society: the rich champion development to help the poor and get public money to accomplish their goals.  The result only displaces the poor and further enriches the promoters. 

I lived in Sorcorro, NM for almost four years.  A rural city of about 7000 situated on the Rio Grande.  Driving along the river you see a patch work of small farms, some lush, some fallow.  The fallow ones have sold their irrigation rights.  The land is still good but there is no water for them to use.

The Milagro Beanfield Wars could easily have been about Socorol

Minority Report (2002)  In a future where a special police unit is able to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes, an officer from that unit is himself accused of a future murder.

An incredibly brilliant portrail of the near future.  The director does an awesome job of making it and the technology believable.  Kathy Bates has a charming cameo role.  To some extent the action overwhelms the really good murder mystery.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)  At the Macy's Department Store Thanksgiving Day parade, the actor playing Santa is discovered to be drunk by a whiskered old man. Doris Walker, the no nonsense special events director, persuades the old man to take his place. The old man proves to be a sensation and is quickly recruited to be the store Santa at the main Macy's outlet. While he is successful, Ms. Walker learns that he calls himself Kris Kringle and he claims to be the actual Santa Claus. Despite reassurances by Kringle's doctor that he is harmless, Doris still has misgivings, especially when she has cynically trained herself, and especially her daughter, Susan, to reject all notions of belief and fantasy. And yet, people, especially Susan, begin to notice there is something special about Kris and his determination to advance the true spirit of Christmas amidst the rampant commercialism around him and succeeding in improbable ways. When a raucous conflict with the store's cruelly incompetent psychologist erupts, Kris finds himself held at Bellevue where, in despair, he deliberates fails a mental examination to ensure his commitment. All seems lost until Doris' friend, Fred Gaily, reassure Kris of his worth and agrees to represent him in the fight to secure his release. To achieve that, Fred arranges a formal hearing in which he argues that Kris is sane because he is in fact Santa Claus. What ensues is a bizarre hearing in which people's beliefs are reexamined and put to the test, but even so, it's going to take a miracle for Kris to win.

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)  Rose and Gregory, both Columbia University professors meet when Rose's sister answers Gregory's "personals" ad. Several times burned, the handsome-but-boring Gregory believes that sex has ruined his life, and has deliberately set out to find and marry a woman with absolutely no sex appeal. Greg thinks he's found what he's looking for in Rose, a plain, plump English Lit professor who can't compete with her gorgeous mother and sister. More out of mutual admiration and respect than love, Greg and Rose marry. Greg assumes that Rose understands that he is not interested in a sexual relationship. He's mistaken, and their marriage is nearly destroyed when Rose tries to consummate their relationship. While Gregory is out of the country on a lecture tour, Rose diets and exercises to transform herself into a sexy siren in a last-ditch attempt to save her marriage.

A great many married couples do not engage in sex.  What's up with that?

Miss Congeniality (2000)  Undercover FBI agent Gracie Hart shows no signs of having any femininity in her demeanor or appearance. Generally a bright and capable agent, she is in trouble at work when she makes an error in judgment in a case which results in a near disaster. As such, one of her by-the-books colleagues, Eric Matthews, who has never shown any inclination of thinking outside the box, is assigned to lead the high profile case of a terrorist coined The Citizen instead of her, while she is facing possible disciplinary action. Gracie pieces together the evidence to determine that The Citizen's next target will be the Miss United States beauty pageant. The pageant represents everything that Gracie abhors. Despite Gracie's mannish demeanor, Eric, with no other undercover female agent remotely fitting the demographic, assigns her to go undercover as a pageant contestant to see if she can flush out The Citizen, who is perhaps one of the other contestants. Although the pageant administration, led by former winner Cathy Morningside and long time host Stan Fields, provide the FBI with access to the pageant, Cathy in particular is less than thrilled to have a non-credible Gracie posing as a contestant which she feels will ruin the pageant. The FBI enlist the assistance of former pageant contestant coach Victor Melling, who is facing his own disgrace associated with the pageant, to do the near impossible task of transforming Gracie, not only into a woman, but a credible beauty pageant contestant. As Gracie proceeds in the transformation, she gets to know the other contestants, not only as potential criminals, but also as real people. She also discovers that another sinister element is present at the pageant. She will do whatever it takes to quash that element and protect her new friends, namely the other innocent contestants. But now displaying some femininity, Gracie begins to have more womanly feelings herself and in turn attracts the attention of men, one in particular about who she is happy.

Miss Firecracker (1989)  Carnelle isn't happy with her life, so in order to improve herself she enters a local beauty contest, trying to emulate her cousin Elain's win many years ago. Few think she can win, even her closest friends and relatives (e.g. slightly mad cousin Delmount) think she's heading for a big disappointment, but Carnelle is ever hopeful, seeing a win as a ticket to escape her small town in Mississippi.

I saw this movie with Ann, who would become my third wife.  We were movie buddies first.  This was our first date.   

Miss Potter (2006)  Thirty years old and single, Beatrix Potter lives in London with her social-climbing parents, who are exasperated that she has turned down any number of eligible young men. Her only real friends are the animals which since childhood she has lovingly drawn and made up stories about. She finally succeeds in selling a book of the stories, and it becomes Norman Warne's first project. He quickly falls in love with both the book and Beatrix and together they carefully arrange publication. This proves the first of many successes, offering her the possibility of escaping from both her parents' way of life and London.

Charming movie, based on the life of Beatrix Potter.

Mission: Impossible (1996)  Movie based on the television series finds Jim Phelps and his team charged with stopping a traitor from stealing and selling classified material. Everything was going well until the man they are following and all of the team are inexplicably killed except for Ethan Hunt. Ethan then calls the Director and goes to meet him when he discovers that the whole mission was to ferret a mole that they have been suspicious of for some time. The Director shows evidence that hints that Ethan's the one they have been looking for but Ethan knows that he is not, so he escapes. Ethan then arranges to meet the buyer and whom he warns against using the material he has and when they meet he offers to get what he paid for in exchange for telling whom the mole is. Ethan, along with Phelps' wife Claire recruits two disavowed agents to help him which won't be easy.

The movie has the same realness and believeability of the original TV series.

Mission to Mars (2000)  Commander Luke Graham is selected to lead the first manned mission to Mars. Upon setting foot on the red planet, the team discovers an ancient, domelike structure which appears to be a beacon. The dome destroys the team and leaves Luke injured. The recently widowed Jim McConnell leads the rescue mission. When they arrive, they find Luke surprisingly alive, and he has spent the time alone learning the secrets of the mysterious construct. The question now becomes: do they enter the dome and answer humanity's oldest question, perhaps risking their lives in doing so, or return to Earth with what they do know and return in force with equipment and supplies?

Mister Roberts (1955)  Mister Roberts is aboard a US cargo ship, working in the Pacific during the Second World War. He'd do anything to leave the quiet of the ship to join in the "action". Trouble is, the captain of the ship, is a bit of a tyrant, and isn't willing to sign Roberts' transfer requests. Also on board is Ensign Pulver, who avoids work as best he can, whilst living off the riches of his buying and selling. Roberts and the crew are in constant battle, even over the smallest of disagreements.

I saw this movie at Clawson High School in the summer.  I took a neighbor to it on a date.  She was 14 I was 15 or 16.  I had hoped my father would drive us but he wouldn't.  She was not impressed having to walk a mile each way in her high heels.

The Mists of Avalon (2001)  Based on the bestseller by Marion Zimmer Bradley It tells the story of the women behind King Arthur; including his mother, Igraine; his half-sister, Morgaine; his aunt Viviane, the Lady of the Lake; and his wife, Gwenwyfar.

Even though the book was a best seller, the movie is far better.

Monsoon Wedding (2001)  Lalit Verma is a father, who is trying to organize an enormous, chaotic, and expensive wedding for his daughter, for whom he has arranged a marriage with a man she has known for only a few weeks. As so often happens in Mira Nair's beloved Punjabi culture, such a wedding means that, for one of the few times each generation, the whole family comes together from all corners of the globe. The bride, Aditi Verma, is nervous as she has been having an affair with her married ex-boss Vikram. Ria Verma is a cousin of the bride, was sexually abused by her uncle, Lalit's brother-in-law and the family's patriarch some years earlier, and finally speaks out to prevent his abuse of another young girl in the family, Aliyah. The wedding contractor PK Dubey falls in love with the family's maid, Alice. The bride's brother Varun, struggles with his father's disapproval of his longing to be a chef and angst at his inability to satisfy the stereotypes of conventional Indian masculine characteristics, possibly stemming from a struggle to come to terms with the boy's homosexuality. Ayesha the youngest marriageable relative of the bride, flirts with Aditi's cousin Rahul, who has just returned from Melbourne. This is all set within the two days preceding the wedding, predominantly at the Verma's house.

Moonstruck (1987) Loretta Castorini, a Brooklyn bookkeeper in her late 30s whose husband died several years earlier in a bus accident, decides it's time to get married again. So she accepts the proposal of a nice, middle-aged fellow named Johnny Cammareri. Loretta is convinced her first marriage was cursed because she and her husband had gotten married at City Hall; this time, she's determined to do things right, even as she admits to her mother, Rose, that she's not really in love with Johnny. (To which Rose replies: "Good. When you love them, they drive you crazy, 'cause they know they can." Rose speaks from rueful experience; she suspects, with good reason, that her husband, Cosmo, is cheating on her.) Loretta is convinced that marrying Johnny is the safe and sure thing to do - until she meets his estranged younger brother Ronny, who tends the ovens in a neighborhood bakery. Loretta discovers that in startling contrast to the pleasant, mild-mannered Johnny, Ronny is moody and passionate; what follow are complications worthy of a comic opera.

Monkey Business (1931)  While stowing away on a ship to America, the boys get involuntarily pressed into service as toughs for a pair of feuding gangsters while trying desparately to evade the ship's crew. After arriving stateside, one of the gangsters kidnaps the other's daughter - and it's up to our unlikely heroes to save the day.

Early in the movie, the Marx Brothers - playing stowaways concealed in barrels - harmonize unseen while performing the popular song 'Sweet Adeline.' It is debated whether Harpo was actually singing or not.

Monkey Business (1952)  Barnaby Fulton, a chemist, is working on a youth formula for a chemical company by testing it on chimps. His very understanding wife, Edwina, helps him by being very supportive. His boss' secretary helps by displaying her legs, which are wearing Barnaby's indestructible hose. When Esther, the chimp, mixes her own formula, and it gets in the water cooler in the lab, the fun begins! Barnaby goes back in age twice, as does Edwina. Wild rides in a hot sports car, roller skating, jive dancing, and scalping Edwina's childhood boyfriend, Hank Entwhistle, all ensue. Barnaby and Edwina live happily ever after, supervising Esther's formula-making.

Mother (1996)  After two failed marriages, 40 year old science fiction writer (Brooks) decides coming to terms with his mom will improve his chances for a successful relationship, so he moves in with his mom (Reynolds).

Much better movie than the critics thought.

Mother, Jugs and Speed (1976)  Two privately owned ambulance companies compete for the city contract in LA. The focus, F+B Ambulance Service, has the wildest crew on the block. Cosby (Mother) plays the veteran driver to whom rules are meant to be bent. Keitel (Speed) is a cop on suspension for suspicion of drug peddling to minors who needs to pay the rent. Welch (Jugs) is the dispatch secretary with secret ambitions who won't give the boys in the bunkhouse the time of day. Drama and comedy bleed together over who makes the right decisions to land them in the money and keep them out of the hospital.

This movie is cute.  It could have been great, but you see the stars more than their characters, which is too bad.  It is funny, but there is an important subtext too.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)  Christian, a young wannabe Bohemian poet living in 1899 Paris, defies his father by joining the colorfully diverse clique inhabiting the dark, fantastical underworld of Paris' now legendary Moulin Rouge. In this seedy but glamorous haven of sex, drugs and newly-discovered electricity, the poet-innocent finds himself plunged into a passionate but ultimately tragic love affair with Satine, the club's highest paid star and the city's most famous courtesan. Their romance is played out against the infamous club - a meeting place of high life and low, where slumming aristocrats and the fashionably rich mingled with workers, artists, Bohemians, actresses and courtesans.

Outstanding movie.  You should plan on watching this movie at least once per year.

The Mountain Road (1960)  Based on a book by Theodore H. White, the film follows the attempts of a U.S. Army Major to destroy bridges and roads potentially useful to the Japanese during World War II. The story is based on White's novel, The Mountain Road (New York, 1958). His time in China as a journalist led to an interview for Time magazine with former OSS Major Frank Gleason Jr., who served as head of the demolition crew featured in the story and film. Gleason was later hired as an (uncredited) technical consultant for the film.

With his background as a World War II veteran, Stewart had vowed never to make a war movie, concerned they were hardly ever realistic. The Mountain Road was the only war movie set in World War II in which he starred as a combatant. Stewart, however, had been featured in a wartime short, Winning Your Wings (1942) and in a civilian role in Malaya (1949). Harry Morgan said he believed that Stewart made an "exception for this film because it was definitely anti-war."

Mouse on the Moon (1963)  Sequel to The Mouse that Roared; The Tiny Country of Grand Fenwick has a hot water problem in the castle. To get the money necessary to put in a new set of plumbing, they request foreign aid from the U.S. for Space Research. The Russians then send aid as well to show that they too are for the internationalization of space. While the grand Duke is dreaming of hot baths, their one scientist is slapping together a rocket. The U.S. and Soviets get wind of the impending launch and try and beat them to the moon.

Funny movie, funnier book.

The Mouse That Roared (1959)  The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force to New York (armed with longbows) which arrives during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets. Wandering about to find someone to surrender to, they discover a scientist with a special ultimate weapon that can destroy the Earth. When they capture him and his bomb they are faced with a new possibility: What do you do when you win a war?

When I was in the sixth grade, my teacher read part of this book to me.  I thought it was outrageously funny, so I read the whole book--I suspect that was her evil plot all along.  The movie is quite good too. 

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)   St. Louis based banker Roger Hobbs is writing a letter to his wife, Peggy Hobbs, about his true feelings concerning their just returned from month long vacation, the letter to be opened only after his death, whenever that may be. Mr. Hobbs wanted the vacation to be a romantic getaway for two, but Peggy insisted that it be a family vacation to a central California beach-side house, given to them for the month by friends. The vacation included all their offspring, and their offspring's respective families where applicable. Hobbs hated the idea as he felt he didn't know his offspring - and their spouses even less - and that they, in turn, no longer needed him. They include: daughter Susan Carver, who, with her husband, Stan Carver, have a permissive parenting style as per the latest child psychology books; daughter Janie Grant, whose husband, college professor, Byron Grant, has an academic view of everything in life; fourteen year old daughter, Katey Hobbs, who is self conscious around boys if only because of her new braces, that self consciousness which boys see as standoffishness; and preteen son Danny Hobbs, whose sole focus in life is watching television. The house ended up being a rat trap which exasperated their cook Brenda the most. But beyond that issue, Mr. Hobbs ended up learning the true nature of his relationship to his offspring and to Peggy. In the process, he had to endure the extended visit by an odd couple named the Turners, and learned that some problems can be solved purely by yelling "hey Joe" into an unknown group of boys. 

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)  It's about a five member family. The father is a conservative and traditional person who directs the family. The mother is at home, she tries to hold together the family, while Mr. Bridge works as a lawyer. The children have just grown up, and the complications are derived from that they have a more modern view of life.

Newman and Woodward were a couple in real life as well, married from February 2, 1958 until Newman's death in September 2008.

Much Ado About Nothing (1993)   Young lovers Hero and Claudio are to be married in one week. To pass the time, they conspire with Don Pedro to set a "lover's trap" for Benedick, an arrogant confirmed bachelor, and Beatrice, his favorite sparring partner. Meanwhile, the evil Don Jon conspires to break up the wedding by accusing Hero of infidelity. In the end, though, it all turns out to be "much ado about nothing."

Very clever adaptation of Shakespeare's tale.

Murder by Death (1976)  Despite not knowing him, the world's most famous detectives can't pass up the offer of a "dinner and murder" invitation from wealthy Lionel Twain. Each has no idea until their arrival at Two Two Twain who else will be in attendance. Those detectives are: amateur sleuths and New York socialites Dick and Dora Charleston, accompanied by their pet terrier, Myron; Belgian detective Monsieur Milo Perrier, accompanied by his chauffeur, Marcel; Shanghainese Inspector Sidney Wang, accompanied by his Japanese adopted son, Willie Wang; frumpish Brit Miss Jessica Marbles, accompanied by her invalid nurse, Miss Withers; and San Francisco gumshoe Sam Diamond, accompanied by his femme fatale sidekick, Tess Skeffington. The dinner part of the invitation runs into problems due to the non-communication between Twain's blind butler, Jamesir Bensonmum, and Twain's new deaf-mute and non-Anglophone cook, Yetta. On the murder side, the guests initially believe Twain will try to kill each of them. However, Twain eventually announces his rationale for the gathering: that one of the people at the dinner table will be murdered before midnight, and that Twain will consider himself the greatest detective if his guests, who are now trapped in the house until dawn, cannot figure out who committed the murder, that person also at the dinner table. If one does figure out who committed the crime, he/she will be the recipient of $1 million and the exclusive rights to the story. So the guests anxiously await the stroke of midnight, with those still alive after that time trying to figure out both motive and the opportunity to murder before the rise of dawn and before the murderer has the opportunity to strike again on one or all of them.

As the opening credits begin, a pair of black-gloved hands comes into frame to unlock and open a footlocker containing the cardboard cutouts of the characters. These characters are displayed with their respective name credit. As the closing credits end, the same pair of black-gloved hands comes into frame to close and lock the footlocker.

Immediately after completing the film, Peter Sellers was so convinced it was going to bomb, he convinced the producers to buy back his percentage share in the movie, thus depriving himself of a cut of the profits with the film when it went on to be a hit.

Murder in the First (1995)  Henri Young stole five dollars from a post office and ended up going to prison - to the most famous, or infamous, prison of them all: Alcatraz. He tried to escape, failed, and spent three years and two months in solitary confinement - in a dungeon, with no light, no heat and no toilet. Milton Glenn, the assistant warden, who was given free reign by his duty-shirking superior, was responsible for Young's treatment. Glenn even took a straight razor and hobbled Young for life. After three years and two months, Young was taken out of solitary confinement and put with the rest of the prisoners. Almost immediately, Young took a spoon and stabbed a fellow prisoner in the neck, killing him. Now, Young is on trial for murder, and if he's convicted he'll go to the gas chamber. An eager and idealistic young attorney, James Stamphill, is given this impossible case, and argues before a shocked courtroom that Young had a co-conspirator. The true murderer, he says, was Alcatraz.

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The Muse (1999)  What happens when a screenwriter (Brooks) loses his edge, he turns to anyone he can for help... even if it's the mythical "Zeus's Daughter" (Stone). And he's willing to pay, albeit reluctantly, whatever price it takes to satisfy this goddess, especially when her advice gets him going again on a sure-fire script. However, this is not the limit of her help, she also gets the writer's wife (MacDowell) going on her own bakery enterprise, much to the chagrin of Brooks, who has already had to make many personal sacrifices for his own help.

The Music Man (1962)  Professor Harold Hill likes a challenge and when the other salesmen on the train west tell him that Iowa is the biggest test of all of sales ability, he gets off at River City. We know it's the 20th century there, only because of a reference in one of the songs to Gary, Indiana. Marian the librarian doesn't buy the professor's line but he convinces many of his other potential customers that the new pool table that has just been placed in the billiard parlor could mean "trouble in River City." How to keep the youngsters "moral after school?" Form a boys marching band.

This is a favorite feel good movie of mine.  I lived in Mason City aka Rivercity, Iowa in 1977-1980.  I have seen the park, pool hall, library and foot bridge.  Mason City's nickname was River City long before Meridity Wilson wrote his play.

My Darling Clementine (1946)  Wyatt Earp and his brothers Morgan and Virgil ride into Tombstone and leave brother James in charge of their cattle herd. On their return they find their cattle stolen and James dead. Wyatt takes on the job of town marshal, making his brothers deputies, and vows to stay in Tombstone until James' killers are found. He soon runs into the brooding, coughing, hard-drinking Doc Holliday as well as the sullen and vicious Clanton clan. Wyatt discovers the owner of a trinket stolen from James' dead body and the stage is set for the Earps' long-awaited revenge.

Tombstone, Arizona, is not located in Monument Valley. John Ford "placed" it there because Monument Valley is where he liked to film his Westerns.

Director John Ford, who in his youth had known the real Wyatt Earp, claimed the way the OK Corral gunfight was staged in this film was the way it was explained to him by Earp himself, with a few exceptions.  I can believe that John Ford knew Wyatt Earp.  Wyatt moved to the L.A. area after the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral.  However, I have been to Tombstone and read the coroners inquiry into the matter and feel that John drmatized the gunfight to meet his own needs.  That said for more than 30 years Wyatt earned his living retelling the stories from his youth.

This film is worth watching inspite of its many inaccuracies.

My Fair Lady (1964)  Gloriously witty adaptation of the Broadway musical about Professor Henry Higgins, who takes a bet from Colonel Pickering that he can transform unrefined, dirty Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady, and fool everyone into thinking she really is one, too! He does, and thus young aristocrat Freddy Eynsford-Hill falls madly in love with her. But when Higgins takes all the credit and forgets to acknowledge her efforts, Eliza angrily leaves him for Freddy, and suddenly Higgins realizes he's grown accustomed to her face and can't really live without her. 

My Left Foot (1989) In this true story told through flashbacks, Christy Brown is born with crippling cerebral palsy into a poor, working-class Irish family. Able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttural sounds, he is mistakenly believed to be retarded for the first ten years of his life. Later, through the help of his strong-willed mother, a dedicated teacher, and his own courage and determination, Christy not only learns to grapple with life's simple physical tasks and complex psychological pains, but he also develops into a brilliant painter, poet and author.

My Life as a Dog (1985)  Ingemar lives with his brother and his terminally ill mother. He may have a rough time, but not as bad as Laika - the Russian dog sent into space... He gets sent away to stay with relations for the summer. While there, he meets various strange characters, giving him experiences that will affect him for the rest of his life.

Absolutely charming little movie.

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As he leaves at the end of the film, Cuthbert J. Twillie (W.C. Fields) says to Flower Belle, "Why don't you come up and see me sometime?", a reference to Mae West's famous line in an earlier film, She Done Him Wrong.

Dick Foran, who was being paid by the week, would go to Mae West and tell her that W.C. Fields was rewriting his lines to give himself more screen time and to try to steal the film from her. Then he would go to Fields and tell him the same thing about West. In this manner he was able to extend his employment from a few weeks to several months, as both Fields and West - who didn't like each other - would hold up production while they would rewrite their scenes.

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My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)  In New York, when the shy and lonely project manager of a design firm Matt Saunders meets Jenny Johnson in the subway, he invites her to date and have dinner with him. Jenny immediately falls in love for him, they have sex and she discloses her true identity to him, telling that she is the powerful superhero G-Girl. After meeting his co-worker and friend Hannah Lewis, the needy Jenny becomes jealous, controlling and manipulative, and Matt follows the advice of his best friend Vaughn Haige and dumps her, breaking her heart. Jenny turns Matt's life into hell, while he has a romance with Hannah. However, the archenemy of G-Girl and former high school sweetheart of Jenny, Professor Bedlam, proposes Matt to lure Jenny to strip her superpowers.

Part of the growing number of 21st century Superhero stories.  Charming comedy.

My Wife is an Actress (2001)  Paris can boast a population of 2,125,246. Of these 1,153,000 are women and 10,000 are actresses. Yvan, a young sports writer, is married to one who is very well known - Charlotte. They try to live a normal life, but her fame makes it difficult - autograph hunters interrupt their dinners, cops about to serve traffic summonses let them off with a warning and a smile when they recognize her, and impossible-to-get restaurant reservations magically appear when Charlotte makes the calls instead of Yvan. All this threatens and challenges his male ego, but Yvan is able to take her stardom in stride. Until, that is, a man at a bar asks him if he gets jealous watching his wife make love in the nude to another man on screen. It has never seriously bothered him before, but the stranger sows the first seed of doubt in his head..

It is a funny study in trust and jealousy.

Mystic River (2003) Summer, 1975: in a tight blue-collar Boston neighborhood, three kids are playing when one is abducted and sexually abused for several days. Jump ahead: the victim, Dave, is haunted by memories and protective of his own son. Jimmy's an ex-con, father of three. Sean is a homicide detective, estranged from his pregnant wife. When Jimmy's teen daughter dies, Sean investigates, Dave's a suspect, and Jimmy vows to find the killer before the cops. The dead girl has a boyfriend whose long-missing father has a history with Jimmy. The boyfriend's a suspect, and when ballistics turns up a link to a gun owned by the young man's father, the case breaks. In the background, wives move events along.

Friendship, trust, betrayal and more.  Excellent film.