P-Pz Movies

The Paleface (1948)  Someone is selling guns to the Indians and in order to find the culprit Calamity Jane and a secret agent go undercover posing as man and wife. When the agent is killed Jane recruits a new husband -- none other than innocent dupe "Painless" Peter Potter, a totally inept dentist and confirmed coward who's main goal is to leave the barbaric west far behind. When their wagon train is attacked by the Indians it's Jane's sharpshooting that saves the day, but she gives the credit to Potter making him an instant hero to the townspeople and instant target to both the Indians and the gunrunners.

I saw this in the theater when I was five years old and loved it.  I still love it.  The song, "Buttons and Bows" won an Oscar and was a hit for several years.

Though the story here is fictional, there was a real dentist who called himself 'Painless' - 'Painless Parker'. Edgar Parker was a dentist who struggled to run a street dental business, and so he took his practice on the road. He worked in the 1890s, in the era of 'amusement'. Inspired by P.T. Barnum, he had a horse-drawn office, show girls and buglers. Parker promised that he could extract a rotten tooth painlessly for 50 cents. If the extraction was not painless, he would give the customer $5.00. Parker had a band that he used to attract people to his office. The band also served to distract the patients and to drown out any moans of pain emitted from the patients. Patients were served with a cup of whiskey or a solution of cocaine (called 'hydrocaine'). Parker is said to have legally changed his first name to 'Painless' to avoid charges of false advertising.

Papillion (1973)  Henri "Papillon" Charierre is sentenced to life in prison and transported to the penal in French Guyana. Aboard ship on the voyage over, he meets Louis Degas, a forger. They form a bond that will last them a great many years. The conditions at the penal colony are horrific and Papillon desperately wants to escape. He first attempt ends quickly in failure and as a result he spends 2 years in solitary confinement. His next attempts is somewhat more successful and he actually spends a idyllic time with a tribe of Central America Indians. Once caught however, he does 5 years in solitary confinement. Once released, he decides to make one final attempt at freedom.

Good story but not true.  Based sort of on a true story.  Papillion was the technical consultant on the movie.  Book is very entertaining as is the sequel Banko but they should be read as works of fiction.

The Parent Trap (1961)  Thirteen year olds prim and proper Bostonian Sharon McKendrick and tomboyish Californian Susan Evers meet at summer camp. It's hate at first sight as besides the differing length of their hair, they look exactly the same. After the girls carry out one battle after another against each other, the camp administrators ultimately place the two in solitary confinement, the two eating, sleeping and playing only with each other. It is during this confinement that they finally get a chance to know each other and learn that they are indeed twins, separated when they were babies when their parents, Maggie McKendrick and Mitch Evers, divorced. Wanting to get to know and ultimately love the parent they never met, Sharon and Susan decide to switch places - Sharon will go to California and pretend to be Susan, and Susan will go to Boston and pretend to be Sharon. The other thing they believe is that their parents still love each other - why else had neither ever remarried. The two parents would ultimately have to 'un-switch' them, when the girls hope their parents will fall in love all over again. Both Sharon and Susan are initially able to carry off the ruse, but in California their plan hits a snag when Mitch introduces his daughter to a young woman named Vicky Robinson, Vicky who aspires to be the second Mrs. Mitchell Evers. Sharon and the domestics in the Evers household think Vicky is merely a gold digger out for Mitch's money. Sharon and Susan have to figure out a way to get rid of Vicky and bring Maggie to California more quickly than planned so that their parents can reconcile and the foursome can be one big happy family.

Enjoyable but highly predictable Disney teen fantasy about divorced parents being reunited.  Well worth watching.

 Paris Blues (1961)   Ram Bowen and Eddie Cook are two expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris where, unlike America at the time, Jazz musicians are celebrated and racism is a non-issue. When they meet and fall in love with two young American girls, Lillian and Connie, who are vacationing in France, Ram and Eddie must decide whether they should move back to America with them, or stay in Paris for the freedom it allows them. Ram, who wants to be a serious composer, finds Paris more exciting than America and is reluctant to give up his music for a relationship, and Eddie wants to stay for the city's more tolerant racial atmosphere.

Parenthood (1989)  The story of the Buckman family and friends, attempting to bring up their children. They suffer/enjoy all the events that occur: estranged relatives, the "black sheep" of the family, the eccentrics, the skeletons in the closet, and the rebellious teenagers.

Pay it Forward (2000)  Young Trevor McKinney, troubled by his mother's alcoholism and fears of his abusive but absent father, is caught up by an intriguing assignment from his new social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet. The assignment: think of something to change the world and put it into action. Trevor conjures the notion of paying a favor not back, but forward--repaying good deeds not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people. Trevor's efforts to make good on his idea bring a revolution not only in the lives of himself, his mother and his physically and emotionally scarred teacher, but in those of an ever-widening circle of people completely unknown to him.

The Party (1968)  After getting fired from General Federal Studios, Junior Artiste, Hrundi V. Bakshi, ends up getting invited to an upscale party thrown by the wealthy Clutterbuck family. After his tryst with his shoe, he is aided by an inebriated butler and a baby elephant to create hilarious chaos for the hosts and their chic guests.

This film was improvised from a 56-page outline. Each scene was shot in sequence, and built upon the previous scene. To aid in this experiment, the film's producers had a video-camera tube attached to the Panavision camera and connected to an Ampex studio videotape machine, allowing the actors and crew to review what they had just filmed.

Payback (1999)  Porter is bad, but his neighbours are worse. Street-wise and tough, an ex-marine, he is betrayed by a one-time partner, and shot in the back by his junkie wife. He survives and returns, looking to recover his share from the robbery of an Asian crime gang. The money has passed into the hands of "the Outfit", a slick gangster organisation that runs the city. He has to make his way through a world populated by heroin dealers, prostitutes, sado-masochists, gunmen and crooked cops, a place where torture is a way of life. His only friend is a former employer, a prostitute, and her loyalty is in question, given she now works for the Outfit. He makes good early progress, but then falls into the hands of Fairfax, the crime boss.

Fairly stratight forward never ending crime drama.  Porter is a bad man but he has been wronged and he is fighting other bad men so you root for him.  Worth seeing.

The Paper (1994)  Henry Hackett is the editor of a New York City tabloid. He is a workaholic who loves his job, but the long hours and low pay are leading to discontent. Also, publisher Bernie White faces financial straits, and has hatchetman Alicia Clark, Henry's nemesis, impose unpopular cutbacks. Henry's wife Martha, a hugely pregnant former reporter of his, is fed up because he has so little time for his family. He is therefore considering an offer from Paul Bladden to edit a paper like the New York Times, which would mean more money, shorter hours, more respectability...but might also be a bit boring for his tastes. But a hot story soon confronts Henry with tough decisions.

Deals with tabloid mentality and the realities of running a paper.  Great cast, great tale well told.  Enjoy.

 The Pelican Brief (1993)  Two Supreme Court Justices have been killed. Now a college professor, who clerked for one of the two men, who's also having an affair with one of his students, is given a brief by her, that states who probably, wanted to see these two men dead. He then gives it to one of his friends, who works for the FBI. When the FBI director reads it, he is fascinated by it. One of the president's men who read it, is afraid that if it ever got out, the president could be smeared. So, he advises the president to tell the director to drop it, which he does. But later the professor and the girl were out and he was drunk and when he refused to give her the keys she stepped out of the car. When he started it, it blew up. She then discovers that her place has been burglarized and what was taken were her computer and her disks. Obviously, her brief has someone agitated. She then turns to her boyfriend's friend at the FBI, he agrees to come meet her but before he does someone shoots him and takes his place. At the meeting, he was about to kill her when someone shoots him. She then decides to turn to Gray Grantham, an investigative reporter, who was contacted by someone who says he has info on the killings but backed out at the last minute. He then meets her and tells her what her brief is, and basically, the man she suspects is a good friend of the president, who is trying to manipulate the outcome of a trial that is now before the Supreme Court. Grantham tells her that her brief can harm the president and all what they have are theories, he asks her to help him but she wants to leave the country. Then Grantham's editor tells him that they have nothing; that he should drop cause the man she implicated is extremely powerful. Grantham's about to drop it when she says that she will help him. But can they stay alive?

The Pearl of Death (1944)  After recovering the famous Borgia pearl from shipboard thieves, Sherlock Holmes is held responsible for its theft. While visiting the museum where it goes on display, Holmes shows the curator how easily it could be stolen by simply cutting the electrical wires. During that demonstration, Giles Conover, a well-known thief, snatches the pearl and runs off. He's soon caught but the pearl is nowhere to be found. Soon after, homes are being broken into with the occupants having their backs broken. There also seems to be a large amount of china broken in the process. After several such break-ins, Holmes realizes that several similar pieces of porcelain, all of a bust of Napoleon, are found at each house. Realizing its significance, he sets a trap for the thief.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)  Forty-three year old Peggy Sue Bodell née Kelcher is in an unsatisfying marriage to her high school sweetheart, Charlie Bodell, a marriage which includes money issues and infidelity. They got married when she got pregnant at age eighteen. He still dreams about the musical career he wanted that never materialized. She feels he blames her for that failure. They are on the verge of divorce. At a pivotal moment related to her high school life, Peggy Sue mysteriously gets transported back twenty-five years to her senior year of high school. Initially, she is most concerned about what has happened to her, not knowing if what she's experiencing is real or if perhaps she's dead. But after the initial shocks of revisiting her youth, Peggy Sue thinks that she can rewrite her past and make different decisions that will affect her future, one she hopes will be happier than that she experienced the first time around. But she also learns some things about why Charlie made the decisions he did.

This is a great movie.  Many fans disagree, I know, but it is well crafted, acted, directed and edited.

Nicolas Cage based his character's voice on Pokey of The Gumby Show. Francis Ford Coppola and the producers hated the voice and Cage was nearly fired. But Cage managed to convince Coppola he was making a good choice.  Movie would have been better had Penny Marshall been allowed to continue as director.

The poem quoted by Michael Fitzsimmons on the hill is 'When You Are Old' by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Phenomenon (1996)  The main character observes a strange light on his birthday at a bar. The following days he becomes very intelligent and puts the intelligence to good use in his community. When word gets around he becomes known as a freak and everyone wants to figure out why this happened to a car mechanic. The government also wants to get their hands on it to put it to other uses.

Almost a great movie. 

Nate Pope (Forest Whitaker) is an Amateur Radio operator with the call sign WB6QLF. QLF is amateur shorthand for "I am sending with my left foot", a reference to someone whose Morse Code sending skill is very bad. This is normally sent as a question "QLF?" meaning "Are you sending with your left foot?" to an operator who is very difficult to understand in Morse.

Brent Spiner has a minor role.

Philiadelphia (1993)  Andrew Beckett, a gay lawyer infected with AIDS, is fired from his conservative law firm in fear that they might contract AIDS from him. After Andrew is fired, in a last attempt for peace, he sues his former law firm with the help of a homophobic lawyer, Joe Miller. During the court battle, Miller sees that Beckett is no different than anyone else on the gritty streets of the city of brotherly love, sheds his homophobia and helps Beckett with his case before AIDS overcomes him.

The 80s were a different time, AIDS was rampant in the gay community.   There was no cure and a great deal of prejudice.  This is an awesome movie about the struggle for justice on the same par as To Kill a Mockingbird.

The Philadelphia Story (1940)  Philadelphia socialites Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven married impulsively, with their marriage and subsequent divorce being equally passionate. They broke up when Dexter's drinking became excessive, it a mechanism to cope with Tracy's unforgiving manner to the imperfect, imperfections which Dexter admits he readily has. Two years after their break-up, Tracy is about to remarry, the ceremony to take place at the Lord mansion. Tracy's bridegroom is nouveau riche businessman and aspiring politician George Kittredge, who is otherwise a rather ordinary man and who idolizes Tracy. The day before the wedding, three unexpected guests show up at the Lord mansion: Macaulay Connor (Mike to his friends), Elizabeth Imbrie - the two who are friends of Tracy's absent brother, Junior - and Dexter himself. Dexter, an employee of the tabloid Spy magazine, made a deal with its publisher and editor Sidney Kidd to get a story on Tracy's wedding - the wedding of the year - in return for Kidd not publishing a salacious story with accompanying photographs of Tracy's father, Seth Lord, with a New York showgirl named Tina Marra. In reality, Mike and Liz are the reporter and photographer respectively for Spy. Mike and Liz don't particularly like this assignment or working for Kidd, but they need to make a living as their chosen other fields as serious writer and painter don't pay the bills. A suspicious Tracy is onto them, the entire truth which Dexter admits to her. Tracy decides to turn the tables on Mike and Liz. However, hours before the wedding, as the more self-assured Dexter and Liz get to work on how to get the Lords out from under Spy's threats, Tracy and Mike, both inebriated, go on a journey of self-discovery with Tracy ultimately coming to her realizations a little faster than Mike,

 Definitely a must see picture.

Pieces of April (2003)  In a very poor zone of New York, April Burns and her boyfriend, the Afro-American Bobby, are preparing to receive April's family for a thanksgiving dinner. While Bobby tries to borrow a suit for him, April realizes that her stove is broken and she tries desperately to find a neighbor that can let her cook the turkey, since she does not want to fail (again) with her family. Meanwhile, in a suburb of Pennsylvania, her dysfunctional family is preparing to travel to New York. While driving in the road, the relationship between the Burns and the black-sheep April is disclosed through the conversations between her father Jim, her resented mother Joy, her brother, her sister and her grandmother.

Funny but thoughtful.  We all have relatives like these.

The Pilgrim (1923)  When Charlie escapes from prison he dons a preacher's clothes. By mistake he becomes the new minister for the town of Devil's Gulch. Later, discovered as the convict, the sheriff takes Charlie to the Mexican border where he can choose to return, a convict, or face Mexican bandits at war with each other.

The bratty boy was played by Dean Riesner, associate director Charles Reisner's son. In later years, Dean recounted how he did not want to slap Charles Chaplin's face, even though the story called for him to do so. So Chaplin and his brother/co-star Sydney Chaplin continually slapped each other's faces to convince Riesner what fun it was.

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)  Pirates of the Caribbean is a sweeping action-adventure story set in an era when villainous pirates scavenged the Caribbean seas. This roller coaster tale teams a young man, Will Turner, with an unlikely ally in rogue pirate Jack Sparrow. Together, they must battle a band of the world's most treacherous pirates, led by the cursed Captain Barbossa, in order to save Elizabeth, the love of Will's life, as well as recover the lost treasure that Jack seeks. Against improbable odds, they race towards a climactic confrontation on the mysterious Isla de Muerta. Clashing their swords in fierce mortal combat, Will and Jack attempt to recapture The Black Pearl ship, save the British navy, and relinquish a fortune in forbidden treasure thereby lifting the curse of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

This movie is better than it should be.  Disney's quest ws to make money from a popular ride of the same name.  If you have been on the ride you will see every aspect of it.  Johnny Depp changed that.  He turned Jack Sparrow into a character that you care for AND he makes you care for the others too.

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)  When his sister Elizabeth dies suddenly, Francis Barnard visits his brother-in-law Don Medina to find out exactly what happened to her. Don Medina lives a lonely life since his wife's death. He loved her dearly and can't explain what she died of. Francis clearly isn't welcome and it is only Don Medina's sister Catherine that seems to have an interest him. As Francis and Catherine explore the events surrounding Elizabeth's death, Francis learns of Don Medina's horrific childhood experiences and discover an attempt to drive him mad.

Loosely based on Poe's tale.  Good horror flick for its time.  This was the first sneak preview I ever saw:  Big Spring, Texas 1961.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)  "Can your heart stand the shocking facts about Graverobbers from Outer Space?" That's the question on the lips of the narrator of this tale about flying saucers, zombies and cardboard tombstones. A pair of aliens, angered by the "stupid minds" of planet Earth, set up shop in a California cemetery. Their plan: to animate an army of the dead to march on the capitals of the world. (The fact that they have only managed to resurrect three zombies to date has not discouraged them.) An intrepid airline pilot living near the cemetery must rescue his wife from this low-budget terror. "Can you prove it *didn't* happen?"

Worst movie ever, so bad it is fun to watch.  Watch the movie Ed Wood to get a glimpse of the director's life.

Play It Again Sam (1972)  Allan Felix, a neurotic San Francisco movie critic has just broken up with his wife, Nancy. This devastating event has caused him to spiral into a deep depression and look for solace in the classic movies that he loves, particularly the romantic saga CASABLANCA. Allan begins to have conversations with the fantasy ghost of his film idol, Humphrey Bogart, who gives him advice on romance and masculinity. Worried about their insecure friend, Linda and Dick spark Allan into action, which leads to a series of disastrously funny blind dates in which Allan tries, but fails, to be as cool as Bogie. Allan's love life is clearly going nowhere, until his quest for romance unexpectedly leads him into the arms of Linda.

Excellent movie.  Woody Allen wrote and starred but did not direct.  Based on the play.  The title is a misquote from movie Casablanca.  The correct quote is, "Play it, Sam."

The original Broadway production of "Play It Again, Sam" opened at the Broadhurst Theater on February 12, 1969 and ran for 453 performances. Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts and Jerry Lacy reprise their roles in the movie.

Pocahontas (1995)  Capt. John Smith leads a rag-tag band of English sailors & soldiers to the New World to plunder its riches for England (or, more precisely, for Governor Ratcliffe, who comes along for the ride). Meanwhile, in this "New World," Chief Powhatan has pledged his daughter, Pocahontas, to be married to the village's greatest warrior. Pocahontas, however, has other ideas. She has seen a vision of a spinning arrow, a vision she believes tells her change is coming. Her life does indeed change when the English ship lands near her village. Between Ratcliffe, who believes the "savages" are hiding the gold he expected to be plentiful, and Powhatan, who believes these pale newcomers will destroy their land, Smith and Pocahontas have a difficult time preventing all-out war, and saving their love for each other.

Historically very inaccurate but still a good Disney flick for the whole family.

Pocket Money (1972)  Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy gets mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked rancher.

Lee Marvin and Paul Newman pretend to be cowboys.

The movie's publicity still with Newman and Marvin (IMDb's main page display) was photographed by British photographer Terry O'Neill. (The photograph also appears on the jacket of O'Neill's 2003 compilation coffee-table book "Celebrity"). In the book, O'Neill recounts how when he arrived on the Pocket Money set to shoot his publicity stills, Lee Marvin was hungover and in a foul mood. Most of the production personnel were steering clear of him. When O'Neill gingerly approached Marvin and introduced himself, Marvin asked, "Are you English?" What O'Neill didn't know at the time, was that Marvin was a lifelong Anglophile - he LOVED the British. After that brief encounter, Marvin's mood changed and, according to O'Neill, he couldn't have been more cooperative for the rest of the photographer's assignment.

Police Academy (1984)  New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

Classic farce.  Think of it as the training grounds for the Keystone Kops.

Pollyanna (1960)  Even after having lived the hardscrabble life of a missionary's daughter all her life and seen the loss of both parents, young Pollyanna Whittier refuses to be depressed. Instead, she must be glad about anything she can think of, and it's paid off big time. Now, however, she must go to live with her cold, spinsterish aunt in a town inhibited by embittered, unfriendly souls. Can she use her glad game to win over everyone and transform the town?

The film opens with a close-up of a naked backside of young blond boy, who swings from a rope swing away from the camera jumping into a river. The boy is played by William Betz, who was 7 at the time of filming, who recalled in 2009 that at the time of filming, people weren't really allowed to swim in that river, White Sulfur Springs. He said his mother also had a very brief background extra role as one of the ladies at the train station where Pollyanna is picked up. Neither of them were actors but just locals where the movie was filmed. He is amused that the small Vermont town depicted in the movie was actually a mix of various locales miles apart in Napa Valley and Sonoma County, California.

Popeye (1980)  Buff sailor-man Popeye arrives in an awkward seaside town called Sweethaven. There he meets Wimpy, a hamburger-loving man; Olive Oyl, the soon-to-be love of his life; and Bluto, a huge, mean pirate who's out to make Sweethaven pay for no good reason. Popeye also discovers his long-lost Pappy in the middle of it all, so with a band of his new friends, Popeye heads off to stop Bluto, and he's got the power of spinach, which Popeye detests, to butt Bluto right in the mush. Watch as Popeye mops the floor with punks in a burger joint, stops a greedy tax man, takes down a champion boxer, and even finds abandoned baby Swee'pea. He's strong to the finish 'cause he eats his spinach!

Postcards from the Edge (1990)  Substance-addicted Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale is on the skids. After a spell at a detox centre her film company insists as a condition of continuing to employ her that she live with her mother Doris Mann, herself once a star and now a champion drinker. Such a set-up is bad news for Suzanne who has struggled for years to get out of her mother's shadow, and who finds her mother still treats her like a child. Despite these problems - and further ones to do with the men in in her life - Suzanne can begin to see the funny side of her situation, and it also starts to occur to her that not only do daughters have mothers, mothers do too.

Written by Carrie Fisher, the story line is based on her own life and battle with fame, family and addiction.

When the doctor played by Richard Dreyfuss asks Meryl Streep's character out to a movie, she replies, "Sure, we could go see 'Valley of the Dolls.'" Valley of the Dolls marked one of Dreyfuss's first film appearances.

Prarrie Home Companion (2006)  A Prairie Home Companion, hosted by humorist Garrison Keillor, is a down home radio variety show recorded and performed live in front of an audience in a theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. A show from another era, The show has been canceled. The regulars are performing on the last show, including Dusty & Lefty, singing/guitar playing cowboys with a risqué sense of humor, and the Johnson Girls, a sister singing duo of Rhonda and Yolanda who have a penchant for talking over each other. As the show goes on, the regulars, backstage, talk about their lives in relation to the show. Other goings-on include Yolanda and others trying to convince her shy somber daughter, Lola, to sing on this last show. As all this goes on, a mysterious woman in a white trench coat who is on a mission wanders around the theater, while the show's dim security guard, Guy Noir, who usually has nothing to do security-wise, follows.

Shot largely on-site at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the actual A Prairie Home Companion radio show. When Kevin Kline's character pops the cork off a bottle of champagne, the cork shoots off-camera and hits director Robert Altman in the forehead. A small cry of "OW!" can be heard and Kline says, "Sorry!" without breaking character.

During the movie, after the character of Chuck Akers dies mid-broadcast, the Keillor character refuses to stage an on-air tribute to him or even to announce the death on the air on general principle. The real Keillor does not share any such compunction against paying tribute to departed friends and colleagues on his actual radio show, as he spent a portion of the November 25, 2006, broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" memorializing director Robert Altman.

Presumed Innocent (1990)  After his former girlfriend is killed and he becomes the prime suspect, D.A. Rusty Sabich goes on a search to find the real killer and finds out he/she may be closer to him than he thinks.

One of the rare cases when I liked the movie better than I did the book.

Pretty Woman (1990)  Vivian Ward has found a way of living by working as a prostitute on Hollywood Boulevard. When she runs into the prince of her dreams, who comes along on his wild horse, she first does not recognize him as her saviour. The prince, a ruthless and wealthy businessman by the name of Edward Lewis, does not know that she could be more than just a girl from the sidewalk, but he changes his decision after the first night with the beautiful stranger. Her being the first person in a long time who could surprise him, Edward can slowly feel the light at the end of the tunnel. He is on his way to become a better person, whereas Vivian has got a new chance to start over again.

Predictable feel good romantic comedy but a bit far fetched.

Half of Hollywood either wanted to be in this movie or turned down a role.  IMO the original darker script would have made for a better (but probably less successful) movie.

Primary Colors (1998)  This work is the barely fictionalized account of candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 via the character Southern Governor Jack Stanton. Joe Klein joined Newsweek as a political reporter and columnist during the 1992 US Presidential race, and followed then candidate Bill Clinton on the road. As such, Klein dutifully conveys the youthful exuberance for a new candidate, along with the sense of awe at his determination, drive, and intelligence. All along, he also displays the shocking lack of personal morals of a "natural" candidate for the office. Further, he shows the inner deal-making that everyone connected with the campaign makes to achieve the vision they started with, no matter how ugly the cheating, talented candidate gets on his road to the election. Klein tells the story from the 1st person perspective of a sophomorish campaign manager, Henry Burton, that just happens to be a grandson of a black civil rights leader. They join the Southern Governor at a talk given on adult education, in which Gov. Stanton cries as he tells the students how they were braver than his uncle--a World War II veteran that earned the Medal of Honor, but went home and never took a job because he was too embarrassed to tell anyone he was illiterate. We next find out this story is not true! Despite this, Burton decides to join the campaign, and works many of the standard issues--such as fighting off scurrilous attacks by opposing candidates, and captured and doctored cell phone conversations, etc. Burton walks into the campaign headquarters (a hotel suite) to find the Governor coming out of a bedroom not completely dressed, and a disheveled librarian they had just met at a school they had attended. Of course, Susan Stanton, the Governor's wife, is nowhere to be found. The team flies to another destination to meet up with Mrs. Stanton, as she has been campaigning for her husband among their party elite in that state. Burton is eventually introduced to Libby Holden, whose job is to defend the President by combating the attacks from all comers. She does so with ruthless abandon, but also with a strict moral code: There apparently is something noble about stopping the attacks of others, but it is almost reprehensible about digging up the dirt on others -- essentially attacking them first. We come to know that Gov. Stanton is a philanderer of extraordinary magnitude, but an inspired genius at politics. Unfortunately, this extends to sleeping with a 17-year-old babysitter, the librarian they just recently met, a long-term affair with another woman, and the list goes on.

Like other movies of this ilk, Secuction of Joe Tannon, Bulworth, The Candidate the real question is how much of your soul and values do you have to sell to gain enough power to make the changes you want.  If you watch any election, you will see the same paths attempted.  The public is very strange they want their candidates to be better than they are.  This movie is well worth watching.  I would suggest seeing Wag the Dog with it.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brody (1969)  A liberated young schoolteacher at an Edinburgh girls' school in the period between the two wars, instructs her girls on the ways of life. Ignoring the more mundane subjects, she teaches them of love, politics and art. Her affairs with two male teachers become known and she finds herself fighting to keep her job. She believes that she can always count on the 100% support of her favourite pupils, but one of them does not feel that Miss Jean Brodie is in her "prime" any more. No longer swayed by her teacher's eloquence, she begins to learn about life and love herself.

Seventy-five girls were needed for the film, and about 500 showed when auditions were held in London. Faced with such an overwhelming number, the director's assistant separated the girls into more manageable groups of twenty. The director then asked each girl to giggle, and he made his selections based on how well the girls could do so.

The original play was offered to Maggie Smith first. Because of film commitments she declined and Vanessa Redgrave played Miss Brodie on stage. However, when the movie was being made, the role of Miss Brodie was offered to Redgrave first. This time, she had prior commitments and declined and Maggie Smith took the role, offered her originally, and won an Oscar for playing it.

Prince of Tides (1991)  Tom Wingo is unhappy with his life. His wife doesn't understand him and he also doesn't get along with his dominant mother. When his sister attempts suicide, her psychologist Susan Lowenstein consults him. Patiently and cautiously she uncovers the terrible secret hidden in Tom and Savannah's childhood. On the other side she's unhappy too and so both help each other to find their way back to life.

This is a story of haunting memories and the path forward to freedom from them.

The Princess Diaries (2001)  Mia Thermopolis is the average teenager - sweet, a little geeky and pretty much invisible to everyone with the exception of her mother, best friend Lilly and Lilly's older brother Michael. Making it through high school without throwing up is a challenge in itself for Mia, so it doesn't come as welcome news when her estranged grandmother shows up out of the blue and calmly informs her that she is in fact the heir to the throne of a European country called Genovia. Suddenly Mia's life is thrown into complete overload. She's being taught about scarves, waves and pears in order to become a perfect princess, she gets a makeover and a tough looking yet sweet bodyguard/limo driver called Joe. Things get out of hand when the media gets a hold of the story and suddenly Mia is thrust into the spotlight in both the newspapers and in school. On top of all that Mia has a choice to make.

A bit simplistic but much better than the typical Disney fairy tale.

The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)   This is a classic swashbuckler. Rudolph Rassendyll, Rudolf V's identical distant cousin, is asked to risk his life and impersonate the would-be king when his relative is kidnapped before his impending coronation. If Rudolf V isn't present at the ceremony, he will forfeit the crown to his younger brother. Complications ensue when Princess Flavia, the cousin's betrothed, begins to notice a "personality change" in her fiancé.

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)  This is a classic swashbuckler. Rudolph Rassendyll, Rudolf V's identical distant cousin, is asked to risk his life and impersonate the would-be king when his relative is kidnapped before his impending coronation. If Rudolf V isn't present at the ceremony, he will forfeit the crown to his younger brother. Complications ensue when Princess Flavia, the cousin's betrothed, begins to notice a "personality change" in her fiancé.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. initially wanted the double role for himself and actually tested for it. He was devastated when it was awarded to Ronald Colman. Instead he was offered the part of "Rupert of Hentzau" and, according to David O. Selznick, "Nobody else stood a chance!" His father, Douglas Fairbanks convinced his son that it was a blessing in disguise, as it was the best part in the piece, and advised him on billing and costume.

The film was made partly as a rebuke by director George Cukor to the Duke of Windsor for his recent abdication of duty in favour of love.

The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)   English trout fisher Rudolf Rassendyll is about the only tourist not coming for the coronation of Central-European King Rudolf V at Strelsau, but happens to be a distance relative and is approached on account of their canning resemblance to stand in for the drunk king, in order to prevent his envious half-brother Michael, who arranged spiking his wine to seize the throne when the reputedly less then dutiful Rudolf stays away. The ceremony goes well, and he gets acquainted with the charming royal bride, related princess Flavia, but afterward the king is found to be abducted; he must continue the charade and once the hiding place, the castle of Zenda, is found is involved in the fight between political parties for control over Rudolf V, his the throne and his bride, for which a formidable third candidate, Michael's disloyal co-conspirator Rupert of Hentzau, was waiting in the curtains.

The Producers (1968)  Max Bialystock is a washed up Broadway producer given to romancing old ladies to stay solvent. Leo Bloom is a mousy PA (public accountant). When the two meet, their combined expertise points them toward the ultimate scam: Raise more money than you need for a SURE-FIRE Flop Broadway Show. No one will expect anything back and you can pocket the difference. They need the worst play to do this. They find it in the musical "Springtime for Hitler".

Zany comedy that the Marx Brothers would have loved.

 Prometheus (2012)  This film is set in 2093 and takes place in the same universe as the 'Alien' movies. A group of explorers, including some archaeologists, are on an "undisclosed" mission. They arrive at a planet millions of miles away from Earth. The team spot what they believe to be signs of civilization. They go to investigate and find more than just signs, they find conclusive evidence. But some of them have an ulterior motive for being there, including the Weyland Corporation. They believe that this is where the human race actually came from. Things soon turn from excitement to survival once inside their discovery.

Good Ridley Scott movie with Alien DNA, certainly, but it could have been awesome.  A creation encounters their creator and have no questions it truly a missed opportunity.  Even a simple idea like Job's exchange with God would have added tremendously.

 Pulp Fiction (1994)  Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield are two hitmen on the hunt for a briefcase whose contents were stolen from their boss, Marsellus Wallace. They run into a few unexpected detours along the road. Marsellus is out of town, and he's gotten Vincent to take care of his wife, Mia. That is, take her out for a night on the town. Things go smoothly until one of them makes a huge error. Butch Coolidge is a boxer who's been approached by Marsellus and been told to throw his latest fight. When Butch ends up killing the other boxer, he must escape Marsellus. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny (not their real names) are two lovebirds/thieves who have decided to rob the restaurant they're currently eating at. But the restaurant doesn't turn out to be as easy as the other places they've robbed.

This is a ground breaking film.  If you have read any of the many mass produced crime drama books, you understand the cardboard cartoon like makeup of the characters and story.

Excellent Woody Allen all star cast and fun to think of how movies could break the fourth wall.

Woody Allen has said more than once that this is his favorite of the movies he's made.

Jeff Daniels opened a playhouse in his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan called "The Purple Rose."

 Pushing Tin (1999)  Nick and the other boys (and Vicki Lewis) working the hotspot of air traffic control in New York are impressed with themselves, to say the least. They thrive on the no-room-for-error, fast-paced job and let it infect their lives. The undisputed king of pushing tin, "The Zone" Falzone, rules his workplace and his wedded life with the same short-attention span that gets planes where they need to be in the nick of time. That is, until Russell Bell, a new transfer with a reputation for recklessness but a record of pure perfection shatters the tensely-held status quo. The game of one-upmanship between the two flies so high as to lead Nick into Russell's bed with his wife. His sanity slipping just as fast as his hold on #1, Cusack's controller is thrown out-of-control when Thornton's wanderer quietly leaves town. Nick must now find a way to regain his sanity and repair his marriage before he breaks down completely.

Good high testosterone movie.  Charming and very funny.

Pygmalion (1938)  The snobbish & intellectual Professor of languages, Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend that he can take a London flower seller, Eliza Doolittle, from the gutters and pass her off as a society lady. However he discovers that this involves dealing with a human being with ideas of her own.

When Shaw died in 1950, his home in Ayot St Lawrence became a museum. One of the artefacts in it is his Oscar, which initially had become so tarnished that the curator assumed it had no value and had been using it as a door stop. That situation has since been rectified.
George Bernard Shaw is the only person to have won both the Academy Award and the Nobel Prize. Some sources incorrectly list former US vice president Al Gore as another person who won both prizes. Al Gore did win the Nobel Peace Prize; however, the Oscar for Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth was given to the film's director, Davis Guggenheim.