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Reviews
It Had to Be You (1947)
A movie to watch w/o trying to guess the outcome
I reviewed this around the Valentine's month for 2011. Notice it was coming on wee hours of the morning and set recorder to do so. I had never seen the movie – didn't know it existed, yet found it interesting after reviewing the recording. There was something about the write-up that made me think it would be interesting. I was thinking of Runaway Bride - but only thing they shares is that the bride did runaway. After that, the movies are different as it has fantasy and reality both in the plot. I think we need a tip for watching and enjoying the movie: The tip is to not to try to guess where the movie is going but relax and know it does have a happy ending. Enjoy how you get there.
I did some Google's and research for what inspired the song to the title of the move: It Had to be You. I found it was inspired by song writer Gus Kahn's wife Grace. Also there is a movie slightly about their life story together in: I'll See You in My Dreams" Interesting points – Both of the movies were done after the death of Gus Kahn who passed in 1941. There are some interesting/clean dreams in the movie that add to the story.
In It had to be You, I think they put some of Ginger Roger's life attributes in the movie - she fished and did sculpting/art though she never sold the art and kept for herself. Cornel Wilde was an acrobatic and plays dual role of both the as he calls himself in the movie Hot Indian and a fireman. Not sure if he did his own stunts, yet it sort of looked that way. He plays both roles differently too: the Indian is more outgoing and the fireman is a little reserved. I read Cornel's online biography and it seems he liked to see how he would play a character and he may have given those to interpretations/mindsets for the roles.
After you get over where was the movie going and trying guess ahead based on prior movies you may have seen: the movie becomes interesting the way it came together. The ending appears as if they are out of time and need to end it. Even the music suggests such; but it's OK - as it's a happy ending!
Fireproof (2008)
Great Movie
Viewed the movie in mixed company and I observed the male and female reaction to certain scenes. It seems one can learn something from that as each gender understood what their gender was going through but not much about the other gender. I thought it was a great movie showing dealings with marriage relationships and going the extra mile in spite of the present difficulties and misunderstandings. He never hit her but he could verbalize her and that was showing women there are different levels of abuse. I'm glad it had a happy ending of staying together and not leaving one's partner (married partner) behind. The title suggest that you don't leave the partner behind and they certainly kept with the theme. Amen to that!
Facing the Giants (2006)
Light hearted Christian Family Movie with a Moral Lesson
I found the movie to be a good movie with Christian morals and principles. I took the advice of a friend and viewed the movie in a church setting versus public movie setting. I think if I would have viewed in a regular theater - I may not have appreciated the theme as much. It was a simple movie that showed how families of a school dealt with their Giants in life. You could tell some of the movie was tongue-in-cheek type style - but I think you will appreciate its message that encourages us to face our Giants in life. Oh -- another plus -- the movie was free as the church did not charge admission - but you could purchase goodies to eat for a fee. Also - the movie was used as a witnessing tool where a you could bring others either Christians or not to fellowship.
Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
Good movie
Found movie interesting and enjoyable. Liked the statement about "some men come to restore" which was spoken by the bus driver/painter to the sister who was a poet. Took a while to understand - but it makes sense :) Some men come to restore women back to place of God's intention for that individual versus what the previous men may have tried to tear down to rebuild in "their" image. I don't think I'll ever look at grits the same again - yet in real life, one would hope the person doesn't have to use such a tactic to escape. I liked the way Madea kept the children in check and had the care and respect to tell the children when they were wrong. Of course, this was a movie and therefore what we saw was shown comical but I think in today's discipline - it may be considered out of bounds. It's just a different time and generation these days. Have to remember it's a movie that is expressing thoughts and opinions and hopefully is setting people straight without having to go through the experiences as the characters of the movie did.
White Christmas (1954)
An Uplifting and cute musical for Christmas!
I liked the movie very much. I've seen it so much that now I sing and dance with the actors/actresses. The musical is uplifting with some cute dance numbers. My sister and I especially like the "Sister" number in the movie. Though we first saw this movie some decades ago when we were kids, we will especially watch and sing the repeated verse of "Sister" when that song is being performed - whether it's the Haynes sisters or the Wallace and Davis version.