The Red Shoes (1948)

I'm surprised about how many awesome ballet movies there are out there. I've seen a couple of twisted ballet films: Black Swan (2010) and Suspiria (1977). The Red Shoes is not nearly as disturbing as either of these two films, but it does contain the element of determined dancer who is possessed by the thought of becoming the perfect ballerina protege. In fact, it's much more similar to Black Swan than I was expecting it to be. Not to the extent where I was freaked out by what I was watching, but the amount of devotion to the dance that both of the main characters exhibit is frightening similar.

The Red Shoes is about an amazingly gifted ballerina, Victoria Page. She loves the art of ballet and is entirely devoted to perfecting her technique in order to become the best in the business. Boris Lermontov, the overbearing director of the ballet company, recognizes her potential and is intent on pushing her to be the best prima ballerina ever. Everything seems to be working out perfectly, but life changes once Vicky falls in love with the brilliant music composer, Julian Craster. Boris is excruciatingly jealous of and against the love affair and decides that he will do anything to end the romance. As a result, Vicky is torn between her two loves, ballet and Julian.

This film is so pretty. The colors are vibrant and the dance scenes are absolutely beautiful to watch. Even if you're not a big fan of ballet, I'm sure that you will be able to recognize the true beauty of it if you watch this film. The scenes are that glorious.

My favorite scene, besides the Red Shoes scene, in this film is the Swan Dance scene. I've always loved that song and the ballet dancing that goes along with it. It's powerful and it's lovely.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Comedies about life during high school are generally pretty great. Who doesn't like The Breakfast Club (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986), Carrie (1976), Risky Business (1983), Donnie Darko (2001), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), or Mean Girls (2004)? Chances are, you like at least one of those films, if not all or the majority of them. Dazed and Confused is another high school comedy that's worth seeing.

Dazed and Confused is about the adventures of both upperclassmen and incoming freshmen students on the last day of school in 1976. The upperclassmen have taken it into their own hands to make sure the freshmen are hazed, just like they were when they were freshmen; it's tradition. All of them are set on partying as much as possible in order to celebrate the last day of school, by getting high, drunk, and/or laid. 

This film has an awesome soundtrack. In fact, I think it's safe to say that it's my favorite thing about the film. It went perfect with all of the scenes, especially the party scenes. I also love the 70s clothes and hairstyles. Awesome time period! I wish I had been alive during it. The hazing that happens in this film looks like it would be dreadful to partake in, especially if you're the freshman (obviously). I never had to deal with any myself, but that doesn't mean it didn't exist at my school. It just seems more like a thing that high school guys get involved with.   

Heaven Can Wait (1943)

I first watched Heaven Can Wait a couple of years ago. I didn't know much about the film, but it was playing at a local theater near me, so I decided to go and see it. I absolutely loved it then and I still do now. It's full of wit and romance. If you haven't watched it yet, then you should try to watch it soon; it's fantastic.

Heaven Can Wait is a film about a man, Henry Van Cleve, who, upon his death, believes that he should be put into Hell. The Devil doubts that Henry's sins are that severe, but agrees to listen to his life story anyway. While telling his life story, he emphasizes on the times where he is cheating someone or being a womanizer.

The infidelity in this film is only hinted at, nothing is shown, we don't see him with any lovers, yet it seems obvious that Henry hasn't been fully faithful to his wife. I find this hard to believe because his wife, Martha, is played by Gene Tierney, so she is very pretty, quiet, and kind. Why would that prompt anyone to cheat? That must have been Henry's point though, he just didn't treat her the way he felt she should have been treated. However, he did truly love his wife.

The best character in this film is the Grandpa. He's the coolest grandpa ever! He didn't buy into the phony and uppity lifestyle that Henry's silly parents and cousin were so intent on being a part of. I love how he mocks these people, but they don't catch on to the sarcasm. The cousin does eventually, but not all the time.

RoboCop (1987)

Earlier this year, a viral Internet campaign was created in order to raise money for a RoboCop statue to be placed in Detroit. In less than 10 days, the campaign reached its $50,000 goal. The estimated 8-foot tall RoboCop statue will be bronze and it will be revealed to the public during the spring next year. Will it be awesome or ridiculous? Probably both, but we'll just have to wait and see!

RoboCop is a science-fiction film about a cop, Alex Murphy, who is brutally murdered by a street gang and then reconstructed into a robot-cop named, what else, RoboCop. RoboCop was created in order to fight dangerous criminals and he proves to be very successful. However, because of his success, he becomes the number one target of the evil and severely violent, Clarence Boddicker. Will RoboCop be able to defeat him or will he be destroyed by Boddicker? Watch to find out.

I found RoboCop to be a pretty ridiculous movie. Just because I thought it was ridiculous doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I liked watching RoboCop defend the city of Detroit from the cronies who kept trying to destroy it from being peaceful. I also enjoyed watching RoboCop recall memories from his human life. There's a lot of gore in this film and I think some of those who have not seen this will not want to see this film because of it, even if the gore is a bit over-the-top and fake looking.

Le Corbeau (The Raven) (1943)

Have you ever been a recipient of a 'poison-pen' letter? A cryptic letter that has been sent to you anonymously in order to insult you, frighten you, or accuse you of committing a terrible or vicious deed?  I sure hope not because that'd be awful! Can you imagine if everyone in your town was sent one of these by an anonymous source? I bet it would cause a lot of tension, suspicion, and fear to be felt by everyone involved.

'Le Corbeau' is about a town's society's attack by an anonymous and cruel poison pen writer. The writer has been sending out letters to everyone in town, degrading some and exposing others darkest secrets. No one is safe from the poison pen's venomous messages and everybody is a suspect. Why is one of the town's citizens so intent on defaming everyone living there? Do they like causing chaos, fear, and tragedy to strike and destroy lives? Why would anyone like to cause these issues? No one but the poison pen writer him or herself knows the answers to these questions.

This film is an excellent 'whodunnit' thriller. I changed my mind a couple times about who I thought the culprit was and you all know how much I love a mystery. A lot happens throughout the film that allows you to keep guessing until the end. This makes for a fun and intriguing film viewing experience. If you haven't watched this film already, please do. I highly doubt that you will be disappointed by it.

The Third Man (1949)

The Third Man is one of the best film noir thrillers out there. It's one of Joseph Cotten's best films and it's my favorite from Orson Welles. I'm all about Welles' cuckoo clock scene! Forget about Citizen Kane (1949), The Third Man is where it's at! It's full of suspense and awesomeness.

The Third Man is about an unemployed pulp novelist, Holly Martins. He decides to travel to post-World War II Vienna in order to visit an old friend, Harry, who has offered him a new job. Upon his arrival, he learns that Harry has died in an accident. However, something about the death seems extremely fishy. He decides to talk to some of Harry's associates, only to find that none of the stories are consistent with each other. Holly realizes that if he wants to uncover the truth about his friend's death, then he's going to have to do quite a bit of investigating on his own.

I don't know how anyone could watch The Third Man and find it to be boring. The story is interesting and Joseph Cotten gives a brilliant performance as Holly Martins. I love following Holly's story and how his investigations unravel the truth of his friend throughout the film. The black-and-white world being exhibited in this film is gloomy, dark and fantastic due to the different angles, as well as the use of both light and shadows. This film is sensational.

Underground Parties

Have you ever watched a show or a film that has an underground party or bar? There is a Skins episode that features an underground party/bar and it looks like it'd be pretty cool to go to. I'm not sure if that place actually exists, but the underground bar featured in Bell, Book, and Candle (1958) apparently does. However, I'm not sure if it's as cool as it looks in that film. I love when Jimmy Stewart finds it because of the music and the lit, colorful sidewalk to the Zodiac Club.

I must find one of these underground parties or bars one day! However, I doubt it will be as awesome as the one in Bell, Book, and Candle because Jack Lemmon won't be there playing the bongos. Oh, how I love Jack Lemmon!