The Goodbye Girl (1977)

After she and her daughter (Quinn Cummings) have been abandoned for a second time by men, a woman (Marsha Mason) is hostile to the struggling actor (Richard Dreyfuss) who has (unbeknownst to her) subleased the apartment she lives in from her ex-boyfriend.  With no place to go, she grudgingly enters a room mate situation with him. Neil Simon's original comedy is typical Neil Simon: rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, an overdose of wisecracks and a soft center. But in this case, it's one of Simon's best vehicles. Perhaps because it's not based on one of his plays, the film doesn't feel so constricted (though most of the action takes place in an apartment). Simon tailored the title role for his (then) wife Marsha Mason so it fits her like a glove but it's Dreyfuss (in his Oscar winning performance) that gives the film its fuel. He's never been so likable but Drefuss doesn't play on that likability but instead gives his character some swagger and bravado that makes him even more appealing. One of the best romcoms of the 1970s. Directed by Herbert Ross. With Nicol Williamson, Barbara Rhoades, Marilyn Sokol and Theresa Merritt.

Hollywood Or Bust (1956)

In New York City, a film buff (Jerry Lewis) and a gambler (Dean Martin) both win a car at a raffle although the gambler's winning ticket is counterfeit. They take the car on a road trip to Hollywood, the gambler to avoid some gangsters he owes money to and the film buff to meet his favorite actress ..... Anita Ekberg! This was the last Martin & Lewis film. By the time the film opened, they had already ended the partnership and each went his own way. While the title is pure Frank Tashlin, the director is rather restrained in his lunacy here. The songs by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster are an unmemorable lot but there's a Great Dane that does the near impossible ... he steals the movie away from Jerry Lewis! It's not as consistently funny as the best of the Martin & Lewis vehicles but it's a decent swan song for one of cinema's great comedy teams. In addition to Anita Ekberg playing herself, the cast includes Pat Crowley, Maxie Rosenbloom and Kathryn Card in an amusing bit as a gun wielding old lady.

To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar (1995)

Three drag queens (Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo) are driving from New York to Hollywood to enter the Miss Drag Queen Of America pageant. But when their car breaks down in a small hick town, they are not prepared for what happens. Though the film is too close for comfort to the previous year's Australian road film ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, it stands on its own. This is primarily due to the three central performances especially Leguizamo's sassy and hilarious Chi Chi Rodriguez. It helps that of the three leads, Leguizamo is the most convincing as a female and one can see why the naive country boy (Jason London) becomes smitten with "her". The ending is pure fantasy, it's unlikely a small town in the mid-West would be so unequivocally accepting but hey, it's a movie, not real life. The situations may be cliched but the performances have some depth to them allowing us to see the men under the make up. Directed by Beeban Kidron. With Stockard Channing, Blythe Danner, Melinda Dillon, Chris Penn, Arliss Howard, Beth Grant, RuPaul and cameos by Robin Williams and Julie Newmar.

Calamity Jane (1984)

Martha Jane Canary (Jane Alexander), better known as Calamity Jane, falls in love with Wild Bill Hickok (Frederic Forrest). They marry in secret but he abandons her not knowing she is with child. While she gives the child up for adoption to an English sea captain (David Hemmings) and his wife (Gillian Eaton), she will never find the happiness she seeks. The life story of the real Calamity Jane is so rife with inaccuracies, exaggerations and mysteries that an honest to goodness film biography is probably impossible. On film, Calamity Jane has been played by Doris Day, Jane Russell and Yvonne De Carlo among others. Here, Jane Alexander (in an Emmy nominated performance) gives a more detailed performance in the title role. It's a story of a woman brimming with love but no one to give it to or at least no one who wants it. Alexander lets us see the lonely woman underneath the bravado veneer. The scene where she meets her daughter for the first time (though the child is unaware she is her mother) just about breaks your heart. It's Jane Alexander's performance that makes this worth checking out. Directed by James Goldstone (SWASHBUCKLER). With Ken Kercheval and Talia Balsam.

Next Time We Love (1936)

A journalist (James Stewart) whose career is on the rise and an aspiring actress (Margaret Sullavan) marry. But their careers place an obstacle in their marriage and sometimes love is not enough. Based on the novel by Ursula Parrott, this soap opera is a rather tired affair. Sullavan is radiant and the young Stewart, his mannerisms not yet settled in, make for a charming couple. But they can't breath much life into this hoary melodrama but they give it their best shot. Some of the issues raised in the film are still relevant (career over family, for example) but I just wish they had been executed better. The film's ending is so abrupt that it leaves issues unresolved or addressed. It's as if they ran out of time and simply just decided to end the film then and there! Directed by Edward H. Griffith. With Ray Milland as the third member of the triangle, Hattie McDaniel, Grant Mitchell and Anna Demetrio.

A Time To Love And A Time To Die (1958)

In 1944, as WWII winds down and Germany's defeat is inevitable, a German soldier (John Gavin) returns from the Russian front on a two weeks leave. But after finding his family home bombed out and his family missing, he meets a girl (Liselotte Pulver, ONE TWO THREE) and they try to forget the war for at least a little while and fall in love. Based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque (who also plays the professor in the film), this grim and poignant tale of two people finding love as their world crashes down around them. A TIME TO LOVE is an anomaly in Douglas Sirk's Universal career. Working in Germany for the first time since emigrating to the U.S., unlike the lush melodramas of WRITTEN ON THE WIND and IMITATION OF LIFE,  this film is a strong reminder that not all Germans were stark raving Nazis but everyday people caught up in a maelstrom beyond their control. I'm surprised that Sirk wasn't pressured to give the film a happy ending as its ending as it stands is incredibly painful to watch. Normally, John Gavin is the most wooden of all actors (though he worked with Kubrick, Hitchcock in addition to Sirk) but this is his best performance. He's not great by any means but entirely believable as the disillusioned soldier who just wants the war to be over. The strong underscore is by Miklos Rozsa and the excellent cinematography by Sirk regular, Russell Metty. With Keenan Wynn, Klaus Kinski, Jim Hutton, Don DeFore, Jock Mahoney and Thayer David.

The Phantom Of The Opera (1943)

After he has been dismissed from the Paris Opera House after 20 years, a violinist (Claude Rains) attempts to get his concerto published. But when he attacks the publisher (Miles Mander) for stealing his concerto, he gets acid thrown on his face. He hides out in the Paris Opera House and makes plans for the career of a young singer (Susanna Foster) he is infatuated with. Universal went all out for this extravagant remake of the 1925 Lon Chaney silent classic. This wasn't going to be another low budget Universal horror film! The budget neared two million dollars and the production design and costumes were detailed and done to perfection. It was a "prestigious" horror film to be sure. Unfortunately, we're treated to large chunks of poorly staged opera that only hold things up but even worse, that clunky baritone Nelson Eddy is barely tolerable when he sings but when he acts ..... where's Jeanette when you need her? Rains is fine but he seems almost peripheral to the film, too much opera and not enough Phantom! The film won Oscars for art direction and sound. Directed by Arthur Lubin. With Hume Cronyn, Edgar Barrier, Leo Carrillo, Jane Farrar and Steven Geray. 

Khartoum (1966)

After an Egyptian army under the command of a British Colonel (Edward Underdown) is slaughtered by Islamic fanatics under the leadership of a Sudanese Arab known as The Mahdi (Laurence Olivier), the Prime Minister (Ralph Richardson)  sends a national hero, the Major General Charles Gordon (Charlton Heston) to the Sudan expecting him to fail. But for the Major General, failure is not an option. Based on the almost year long Siege Of Khartoum in 1884, Basil Dearden's film is an intelligent depiction (its screenplay was Oscar nominated) of the events though, of course, there is much artistic license (there's no evidence that Gordon and The Mahdi ever met). The battle scenes are very exciting, Edward Scaife's 70 millimeter cinematography effectively composed and Frank Cordell's underscore is forceful. Heston is made for movies like this and he effortlessly brings a dignity and sense of righteousness to the part. The only downside is Olivier in brownface with a wonky accent. He's not bad per se, just horribly miscast. With Richard Johnson, Nigel Green,  Alexander Knox, Michael Hordern, Johnny Sekka and Peter Arne.

The Trip To Bountiful (2014)

Set in the 1950s, an elderly woman (Cicely Tyson) resents living under the thumb of her daughter in law (Vanessa Williams) and longs to return to her childhood home, the gulf town of Bountiful. With only her pension check in her purse, she impulsively hops on a bus and the long trek that will take her home. But sometimes, you can't go home again. Horton Foote's play first appeared on television in early 1953 with Lillian Gish and debuted on Broadway later the same year with Gish recreating the role of Carrie Watts. Geraldine Page won her Oscar for the 1985 film version, Lois Smith won several awards when she did the play off-Broadway in 2005 and Cicely Tyson won the Tony award for Carrie when she did it on Broadway in 2013. This film is an adaptation of that production with Tyson and Williams recreating their roles. It's a faithful representation of Foote's play, so much so that he's given sole screenplay credit. But as good as she is (and she's impeccable), Tyson can't quite inhabit the role effortlessly. You can see her acting "old" and you're always cognizant she's acting right down to her little old lady shuffle. The best performance comes from Blair Underwood as her son. He's terrific, you can see the frustration and unhappiness barely buried under the surface as he tries to please both wife and mother. Directed by Michael Wilson. With Keke Palmer (adorable) and Clancy Brown.

Interview With The Vampire (1994)

In contemporary San Francisco, a vampire named Louis (Brad Pitt) relates his story to a reporter (Christian Slater) and how in 1790, bereft at the death of his wife and child, he allowed himself to be seduced by another vampire (Tom Cruise). Eventually, Louis turns an 11 year old child (Kirsten Dunst) into a vampire and the three form a family. But they will never find joy in their eternal living Hell.  Directed by Neil Jordan (THE CRYING GAME) from the novel by Anne Rice (who also did the screenplay), the film doesn't romanticize vampirism as revisionists have done in recent years. It's a hideous, depressing lifestyle lived by "people" who had no choice in the matter. The film is permeated with sadness and melancholy as well as horror. There was much criticism at Cruise's casting initially but he's excellent here, one of only two of his performances (MAGNOLIA is the other one) that impress me. Pitt is also excellent and Dunst gives an amazingly poignant performance considering her tender age. The superb Oscar nominated underscore is by Elliot Goldenthal. With Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea and Thandie Newton.

It Happened Tomorrow (1944)

In the last half of the 19th century, a newspaper reporter (Dick Powell) is handed a newspaper with the next day's headlines by an elderly co-worker (John Philliber). But this ability to see into the future brings a multitude of problems rather than fortune. This slight whimsical fantasy courtesy of Rene Clair (AN ITALIAN STRAW HAT) takes a thin one joke premise and stretches it out over the course of an hour an a half. Surprisingly, however, it doesn't wear out its welcome. Clair's feathery touch  keeps everything light and playful and moving as quickly as the best of his farces. Powell's career was in transition from the young Warners juvenile to the harder persona he would acquire in the same year's MURDER MY SWEET and he's quite appealing here in a role not very different from his work in Sturges' charming CHRISTMAS IN JULY. The framing device of the 50th wedding anniversary does seem superfluous though. Apparently, Clair wasn't too fond of the film for some reason. With a lovely Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie, George Chandler, Sig Ruman and Edward Brophy.

Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

A Swiss family on their way to New Guinea are shipwrecked on a desert island after pirates chase their ship into a storm. Not knowing how long they'll be stranded there, they make the best of it. Based on the classic 1812 novel by Johann David Wyss and directed by Ken Annakin (BATTLE OF THE BULGE). This Walt Disney production is a first class affair all the way from its cast to the production values. The film updates the Wyss novel and the results are excellent. It's colorful with pirates, lush landscapes (it was filmed in the Caribbean island of Tobago), an assorted collection of wild animals and a nice mixture of action and humor with just enough sentiment, never going saccharine on us. The only downside is Kevin Corcoran's "adorable" kid brother that we're supposed to find so cute when all I could think of is, "This kid needs a spanking!". Good family fun and the film remains one of the most popular of Disney's live action films. The fine cast includes John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Sessue Hayakawa, Tommy Kirk, Janet Munro and Cecil Parker.