The Movie Journal

Dr. No (1963) 1963’s Dr. No is the first of many James Bond films to come. This particular version is the cheapest one of the series and perhaps one of the more fun ones. The plot is very James Bond-like which means the series generally run on Cold War tropes-but I like the sense of adventure in the movie. We were also introduced to Sean Connery, a relatively unknown actor then. People consider himself one of the greatest James Bond to date, and I completely understand why. What fascinates me about this movie is what it took to bring this movie to the cinema screens. The author of the James Bond books, Ian Fleming wrote his first Bond book in 1952. He believed that his character was more suited to TV or movie screens than on page. Many film producers agreed, but had a hard time bringing the now iconic character to the silver screen. Two producers, Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were key to making this work. Saltzman was able to purchase the rights, but he had no money to...

The Birds (1963) Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is another strong film in a filmography that is nothing but strong films. This 1963 horror thriller is Hitchcock’s second horror film after the chilling 1960’s Psycho . This movie is the weaker of the two, but that is nothing to scoff at. This film’s imagery of the birds swooping down and attacking the folks of Bodega Bay is iconic. Hitchcock enjoyed bird-watching as a child and he was fascinated what would happen if birds were to turn evil. I do not believe that Hitchcock added any messages or allegories in the film, but some people suggest the attacking birds are actually Greek Furies attacking those people who dwell in evil. The movie may not be as good as other Hitchcock movies like Rear Window , but the movie has this eerie tone that works, the acting is solid thanks to newcomer Tippi Hedren’s soaring performance, and the visual effects are especially great. I could do with less of the oddly tedious love story and the change o...

Arrested Development: Season 1, Episode 14 "Shock and Aww" March 07, 2004 For the first time all series, Arrested Development can now look forward to its future instead of looking back in the past as previous episodes may have done. “Shock and Aww” feels like a new beginning for the series. New characters are introduced, and we have quite a few guest stars in the lineup. Heather Graham plays George-Michael’s ethics teacher whom every Bluth male seems infatuated with. Jane Lynch plays Cindi Lightballoon who seems like a crazed fan of George Sr’s teachings, but is actually an FBI agent. Finally, we meet one of my favorite new characters-Annyong who is a Korean kid that Lucille adopted in a drunken stupor. These new characters added more life to the episode and Heather Graham is the episode’s MVP. I wish she was in more episodes, because she is the perfect actress for the serie’s overall quirkiness. Miss Baerly is George-Michael’s new ethics teacher. Michael attemp...

Arrested Development: Season 1, Episode 13 "Beef Consomme" February 15, 2004 “Beef Consomme” is a very entertaining episode of Arrested Development . This is the thirteenth episode of the first season, and it would have been the last episode of the series if the 22-episode season order was not picked up by Fox. Understandably, there is a lot to digest in this episode. Fortunately, the episode being jam-packed did not affect its quality in the long run because this episode had many consistent laughs, especially when it came to the climax of three Bluth brothers rolling around on the ground and fighting each other in public. The episode uses more visual gags and slapstick when compared to the last few episodes, and it works well! The acting remains fantastic-especially from Jason Bateman, Tony Hale, and Will Arnett. This episode continues the story from the previous episode, “Marta Complex.” GOB finally figures out what “hermano” means. Now that he understands tha...

The Longest Day (1962) 1962’s The Longest Day is one ambitious, comprehensive war movie. The care that was put into the film making it as realistic as possible is very commendable. With that realism in place, I think the movie suffered just a tad bit. The movie is three hours long, and there are long stretches of build-up leading up to the famous Allied D-Day landing in Normandy. That said, the rest of the movie works well and I really liked the ambition put forth into the film. The film had the largest budget for any black-and-white film, a whopping ten million dollars (a lot for its time). It would hold that title until 1993 when Schindler’s List came along. The film made use of many famous actors from all around the globe-48 actors to be exact! One of the things the movie does differently when compared to other films is that it is divided into different sections. Each section represented a different country and was directed by a person from that country. The main sect...

The Hustler (1961) If you are an actor of any sort, first-time actor just starting out or a veteran actor trying to hone in acting skills, look no further than 1961’s acting masterpiece, The Hustler . Robert Rossen’s feature is a clinic for acting. Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, and Jackie Gleason all came to play. The characters they play are so realistic, that they can be referred to as touchstones. Even though this film features billiards, do yourself a favor and disregard any notion that this is a sports movie. The film itself doesn’t care about the pool table or if any audience member even knows the rules of the sport. Although first conceived as a sports movie, Rossen decided to change the film into a character-driven drama midway through filming….and for the better. He wanted to focus more on a love story and themes such as redemption and the strengthening of character. That is a good thing too because I could care less for the actual sport and most likely ...

Arrested Development: Season 1, Episode 12 "Marta Complex" February 08, 2004 We just had a fantastic four-run episodes of Arrested Development that can be considered classic. Does the run continue with “Marta Complex”? Yes and no. The episode does not quite reach the heights of the previous four episodes, but I would still consider this episode to be a minor classic. This is a Valentine Day-themed episode and the romance takes the reign as the A-plotline which basically has Michael trying to understand what on earth does “hermano” mean? It’s Spanish for brother, but of course Michael does not realize that. The episode starts off at the anniversary party for Lindsay and Tobias. Michael makes a speech where he says, “you can’t really heal yourself until you stop living a lie.” After that statement, the family decides it is time to make some changes. George-Michael will act on his feelings for Maeby, Buster will reach out from the grasp of his mother, and Lindsay...

Arrested Development: Season 1, Episode 11 "Public Relations" January 25, 2004 After “Pier Pressure,” Arrested Development must have had some pressure to follow up that episode. Never fear, because “Public Relations” mostly succeeds on what is yet another magnificent episode. Not only do the writers remain sharp and the acting from the nine leads remain great, I liked the overall theme of having a family name tarnished by the media causing the public to dislike the family. This episode also cranks out two memorable supporting character turns; The Bluth’s publicist, Jesse (played wonderfully by Jill Ritchie) and Carl Weathers ( Rocky, Happy Gilmore ) as himself. How the media and the Bluth family’s reputation interferes with everyone’s daily life is the central theme of the episode. Michael is set to have George-Michael attend the Milford Academy-a school where the entire Bluth family previously went and has the motto- “children should not be seen nor heard.” How...

North by Northwest (1959) Over the course of his career, Alfred Hitchcock has made many highly-regarded works and every film of his was treated like an event. After a very successful decade of the 1950’s which includes famed works such as Rear Window and Vertigo , Hitchcock closes out the decade with perhaps his greatest work, 1959’s North by Northwest . After the dark erotic film that was Vertigo , Hitchcock decided to make something more fun, action/adventure-oriented, and something light-hearted in general. This film is essentially the first James Bond film, even though the first James Bond film would be produced several years later. This is an incredibly tense and suspenseful spy thriller that boasts two of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history-the crop duster scene and the dramatic rescue upon the rocks of Mount Rushmore. This film has lots of incredible talent working on camera and behind the scenes. In addition to Hitchcock, we have great acting from the likes ...

Mister Roberts (1955) In the late 1940’s-1950’s, many war movies were produced, which isn’t surprising considering World War 2 had just ended. 1955’s Mister Roberts is one of those war movies, but it takes on a different perspective. There are no battles, no gory deaths, or anything similar. Instead, we have a crew of 62 men spending almost a year on a battleship yearning for a little piece of the action. Essentially, this movie goes in detail about how life is on a warship away from battle. Story-wise, this isn’t the best Broadway adaptation as there were some clunky moments. The film mostly works thanks to the tremendous acting of the four leads: Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon. The film also experienced behind-the-scenes drama that was almost interesting as the movie itself. Mister Roberts has two credited directors: John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy. John Ford has long been known as a director no one gets along with. Ford often clashed with the actor...

Arrested Development: Season 1, Episode 10 "Pier Pressure" January 11, 2004 “Pier Pressure” is the tenth episode of Arrested Development and may be the best episode of the entire series. This is one of those episodes that is instantly rewatchable and also propelled the entire series to comedic greatness although the show never got the necessary viewers to be labeled as a smash hit. But that is a story for another day. The episode has it all. Excellent writing, capable direction from Joe Russo, fantastic acting, biting dialogue, an anti-drug message, and the introduction of a one-armed man named J. Walter Weatherman (love that name!). The episode basically begins with a flashback. If any of the Bluth children did something wrong, George Sr would use the one-armed man to teach them lessons. This parenting technique was quite gruesome and…perhaps just a tad immoral. But this flashback explains the awkward parenting techniques of Michael and Lindsay. You can see the...

Arrested Development: Season 1, Episode 9 "Storming the Castle" January 04, 2004 This ninth episode of Arrested Development when paired up with the next episode, makes for two of the funnier episodes this season. There is much to like here, and a lot to think about. The show mainly focuses on GOB’s life as a (failed) magician, and this is what I was looking forward to seeing. What also intrigued me here is seeing Michael portrayed as a bad guy (after all, he is a Bluth). Up to this point, Michael has been made out as a sympathetic character despite his shortcomings, but here we see a more treacherous side of him. He takes an office chair home from work (which George-Michael points out as stealing), and he schemes away to take Marta from GOB once and for all. It was funny seeing this side of him. There were also B-storylines concerning Maeby’s interest in leather and Buster continuing his relationship with Lucille Austero. These storylines were solid and provided laugh...