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Movie Monday: Strangers on a Train (1951)
Movie Mondays have covered several different genres of film, actors, and directors in the time this series has ran. However, there is one director who Movie Monday has not highlighted quick enough. That legendary director is Alfred Hitchcock. This week’s Movie Monday is all about the classic film Stranger on a Train. The most important part of this movie is the plot. There are no superstar, celebrity actors starring in this Hitchcock classic and that really helps to keep the focus on the storyline in this movie. Another reason it was crucial to the plot of Strangers on a Train to not have any well known actors is because there…
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Movie Monday: Laura (1944)
There has only been one Gene Tierney film that I have ever reviewed here on Faintly Familiar. But that is all about to change today! This Movie Monday is featuring the Tierney fanbase classic called Laura. This will come as a shock to a lot of Gene Tierney fans, but I do not love the film Laura. Although it does highlight some unique aspects of Tierney’s acting abilities, Laura does not hold the attention of an audience well enough for me. The plot is not well conceived and there is things are happening before the viewer can even decipher the entire situation. Laura is a noir film, so I do…
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Movie Monday: The Mummy (1932)
Halloween is the time of year where you see all of the usual suspects: vampires, zombies, werwolves, and mummies. Whether these typical characters are for costumes or decorations one thing is for sure, it makes for a spookier holiday. It only makes sense that having the story of these supernatural types in films create a great feeling of fear and fun Halloween spirit! Today’s Movie Monday is another Halloween appropriate classic movie for October. I am reviewing the 1932 edition of The Mummy starring Boris Karloff. It would seem to me that Boris Karloff had the knack of creating legendarily scary characters. Not too long before becoming the mummy, Karloff…
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Movie Monday: Special Birthday Edition!
Today is a very special edition of Movie Monday because it is my birthday! Don’t worry, this is not the new formula for our film review series here every Monday. Today is 20th birthday and it happened to fall on a Monday this year so I thought I would do something to mark this day. So I am giving you all a list of my top ten favorite classic films that have been reviewed here on Faintly Familiar! #10. Paris When It Sizzles (1964) You are all probably wondering how an Audrey Hepburn film made it to number ten on this list, but I just have to say that the…
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Movie Monday: Giant (1956)
Today I am reviewing my first my Elizabeth Taylor film! This is my favorite movie that she starred in and Taylor is not the only one who is well known. Giant has a star studded cast with a story just as memorable as the talent. Giant is a rather long film, but if you have nothing better to do on a Saturday it is the perfect movie to watch! In my opinion, this is Elizabeth Taylor’s best film but at the same time I have not seen many of her other works. Until I watch another Taylor film that tops my list, Giant takes the Elizabeth Taylor cake. What really…
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Movie Monday: Woman of the Year (1942)
Probably one of the most iconic Old Hollywood duos, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy created several films together that went on to become classics. Today’s Movie Monday is all about one of those famous films call Woman of the Year! Created in a time era when it wasn’t particularly fashionable to have women in the workforce let alone being the boss, Woman of the Year is a film that was way ahead of its time! Despite having more modern sensibilities, I wouldn’t say that this movie is interested in advancing any kind of agenda. Instead, Woman of the Year has a message to send to viewers about cherishing the people…
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Movie Monday: Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)
Today’s Movie Monday film review is about the movie that got my love for all classic films started. Gentleman’s Agreement was a movie I just happen to stumble up one Saturday about four years ago. Since initially watching this movie I have become a huge advocate of all things Old Hollywood! I could not be more grateful for this film and getting the opportunity to see it. A ton of thanks goes to the Turner Classic Movies television network for simply existing because that is how I have explored almost all of the classic films I have watched. Now that I have got that off my chest, let’s get this…
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Movie Monday: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is one of my all time favorite films. James Stewart gave a iconic performance in this Frank Capra movie so it only made sense to review this movie on the week of the Fourth of July holiday! This film is full of impactful scenes and deep meanings. Like all Frank Capra movies, there is a deep sentiment of American pride laced within all of the actors lines. What we as an audience see and hear is the “American Dream” embodied in Mr. Smith. Besides the inspiring plot of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (which we will continue reviewing momentarily), the cinematography in the scenes where…
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Designers That Changed Fashion: Edith Head
Today I am starting an exciting new series that I am calling “Designers That Changed Fashion”! This new series will featured and is dedicated too designers that I feel have fundamentally changed the fashion industry forever. Today I wanted to start off with a designer that seems to be forgotten all too often. Edith Head was a fashion forward, sophisticated designer whose vision for the looks she was trying to create has gone down in history. Best known for her Old Hollywood costumes, Edith Head was always able to create a feeling and atmosphere that surrounded each character she dressed. Something I have picked up on after watching several films…
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Movie Monday: Notorious (1946)
I have noticed that on Movie Mondays I do not feature the talented Alfred Hitchcock enough. Well, today I am going to change that! Today’s film review is all about the Hitchcock classic called Notorious. As with all Hitchcock films, Notorious is full of amazing camera angles and interesting audience perspectives. One of my favorite scenes is where the amazingly talented Ingrid Bergman looks through binoculars and you can see the race she is watching reflected in the lenses. There is something very mysterious as well as creative in that scene that makes you wonder if Bergman’s character is in fact on the good side or bad side of this…
