Thanks for giving me a lot of new ideas for my Netflix que! While I was adding "The Long, Long Trailer" I saw two other comedies that I forgot to mention: "Harvey" which is like a Depression era time capsule but still an unforgettable performance by Jimmy Stewart. I saw it as a stage play, it is such fun. Also the "Father of the Bride" series of movies, which I think the remakes of are also good. Those would be a fun set of "then and now" movies to compare. The plot description of "The Long, Long Trailer" reminded me of another one of my favorite movies, although it is an 80's film so technically doesn't count as an old enough "oldie" but it is still a fun film if you have a sarcastic sense of humor--"Lost In America." I like a lot of the films Albert Brooks is in, he has good taste picking roles and has actually written some good films, but I digress, he's still living and not that much of an "oldie." Speaking of Ida Lupino and Bogie, one of my all time favorite movies for Bogie is "High Sierra" featuring a kick butt performance by Ms. Lupino! I saw a TV documentary years ago on Bogie and Ida Lupino was still alive and they interviewed her about working with Bogie and she gave the most complimentary description of working with him, how he helped her in scenes, particularly that last one which is a doozy. He said something like "You've got to cry, and you've got to make it believable or else I'll steal that scene" and then he gave her some ideas on what to do, etc. and it must of worked because she rocks. Anyway, ya gotta love a movie where one of the characters is a gal with a club foot named Velma. Speaking of Velmas, a sort of fun movie is "Mildred Pierce" with bratty daughter Veda or something like that. I think it is a horribly sexist film, with strong entrepreneur Mildred Pierce getting her comeuppance, but it's still fun just for the camp value. I guess "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" is in a similar vein, but not being a fan of either Crawford or Davis I've never seen it.

I loved Chicken Run, and realized I'd missed many good lines the first time, when we watched it again. The line I laughed hardest and loudest was 'Captain, we've got a cling-on, the engines can't take much more'. Gods must be Crazy is wonderful and still stands up over time - I showed it to my DH a few years back. The sequel is a disappointment btw I love silent movies, btw. Some of my fav include Sunrise, Metropolis (for the 'a head of its time' design, not so much for the acting), The General, The Wind and Greed. Also love some original silents of later popular movies: Wizard of Oz and Oliver Twist are very interesting, and Scarlet Letter is probably the best version I've ever seen. I have a huge collection of these movies and often find myself drawn to the time and place, and the acting of those days.

Not sure if this was mentioned above, but I would rather have a root canal than have to sit through another viewing of "Into The Woods" from a couple years ago. It had an impressive cast and I was looking forward to seeing a musical, but I kept checking my watch hoping it would soon be over. It was SO lame & it just went on & on... I love Meryl Streep, but didn't feel her performance in it warranted the nominations she received.

Story telling through film has evolved over the decades and that evolution is what we see when we watch films from each decade. We see that evolution in story telling, filming, dialogue and music. So much has changed! I like to see the movies of those late 20th century actors who I consider to be the last of the real talented ones. But a film made in 1990 is vastly different from one made in 1930. The old pre mid century ones had lots of dramatic music for each drama scene. We recently watched a Bogart film that I had never heard of. Bogart was very young and I think it was just pre WWII, The name of it is "Black Legion" and it is a drama of a real happenign here in America and it has an errie and unsettling parallel to what is going on in our political and social climate today. I had never heard of the Black Legion. It was just an awful organization based on hate and violence. Lots of relevance to the present day. Bogart was almost unrecongizable as the actor that he came to be known as. It was on one of those "you might like" list under Casablanca. I find so many modern movies to be just brain droppings and trashy cheap humor. Or, they are action or fantiasy flicks with no real character development but lots of "action". How utterly boring!