They Just Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To

Colby and I have always been big into movies. I was really disheartened to move away from the Orem Public Library because they have a gigantic collection of all sorts of movies. I am pleased that our new public library has a pretty good movie collection as well. I don't ever have much time in the library because I walk there with Jackson and he quickly gets bored of seeing rows of books that he can't pull off, so I do a quick snatch and grab and go on my merry way. Recently, I grabbed "The Sting" starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. It won Best Picture in '79 and if you haven't seen it, go out and get it! It's a great movie. Well, we decided that we'd watch all of the winners for Best Picture that we could. So I grabbed "From Here to Eternity" (that movie with the two people rolling in the surf kissing), "Rebecca", "Bridge on the River Kwai", and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". We've come to the conclusion that while we don't always like these movies, they are always interesting to watch and provide excellent conversation for days to come. For example, we didn't like "From Here to Eternity" because it was a rah-rah-army movie about Pearl Harbor. We concluded it was merely because we were from a generation that doesn't glorify war or the army, but the acting was phenomenal! Frank Sinatra did a great job as a plucky private and Burt Lancaster! I'm a fan!
"Bridge on the River Kwai" has actually turned out to be one of Colby's favorite movies. Now he knows his obscure actors because this movie features the pirate from Disney's "Swiss Family Robinson" as the main antagonist and Alec Guiness (Obi Wan) as the main protagonist. It's got some great situations that really get those ethical gears moving and unlike "Eternity" depicts war as I think it should be. It shows a situation and lets the viewer try and come up with the rest.
"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was my favorite so far! I've never really liked Elizabeth Taylor, but what a beautiful lady! As Maggie the Cat in Tennessee WIlliams' Pulizter Prize winning play, Colby and I were fascinated. The drama that unfolds between the characters is sultry, tense, and very real (without being overwhelming). The characters are so dynamic and Paul Newman and Burl Ives do a great job! If I could choose a part to play though, I'd choose Mae, the naggy, "breeder" who is pushing so hard for an inheritance and her children are just terrible "no-neck monsters". This movie was so character driven that it left us sad to think that today's movies rely more on gore, special effects, and steamy/awkward sexual situations to entertain.
"Rebecca" is next and although I've seen it before, it's been years since I have. I'm excited. Who knows what out next movie night will bring! I've never really wanted to watch these movies when I grabbed them from the library shelves. In fact, I grabbed them just because I recognized the title and knew it was famous. Well worth the hours spent!
And by the way, there is a new Tennessee Williams movie coming out called "Loss of a Diamond Earring" starring the guy from Fantastic 4 (Fireboy) and Bryce Dallas Howard. We'll see if it lives up to "Tin Roof". I don't think anything could really beat Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, though. What a movie!
They just don't make 'em like they used to!