Week 4- Casablanca

Last week, we watched the 1942 classic, Casablanca. One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion.

Week 3- The Dark Knight

A few weeks ago we watched The Dark Night. The follow-up to the action hit Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. In the new film, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker.

Week 2- Stand By Me

Last night we watched the 1986 Rob Briner film Stand By Me based on the Stephen King novella "The Body". The movie stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell. Gretchen had seen this film before, but Joe and I had not. I really liked the movie, but it made me kind of sad. I'm not sure that I liked it as much as most people seem to like it. But...I definitely love the soundtrack!

Week 1 - The Princess Bride

"The Princess Bride" is the 1987 comedy/ action -adventure film by Rob Reiner that features Cary Elwes as Westley, our hero and the true love of Buttercup, played by Robin Wright Penn. The movie is known for a few of its quotes, such as "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." and "Inconceivable." 

I had seen the movie on a couple of occasions, but Gretchen and Erin had not. I enjoyed the movie again, and I remembered much of it from before. The women, on the other hand, didn't "get it." In Erin's words, it wasn't that they disliked the film, rather they just didn't see what the big deal about it was. With just about everyone saying what a great movie it was and how it was a "classic," it didn't live up to the hype for Gretchen and Erin.

It's a classic in my mind. 

Next week: "Stand By Me"

A new movie a week

After finding ourselves out of the loop so often when the conversation turned to movies, my wife Gretchen, our friend Erin, and I decided to increase our cinematic knowledge. We've turned to our friends, family and coworkers to provide us with a list of movies they think we should watch over the coming year. The films need not be masterpieces and they need not have won a single award. The selection of our first movie speaks to that point. We chose the 1980s "classic" film "The Princess Bride." 

And away we go.