The Sting

Saw this movie for the first time tonight and I can't wait to see it again. I'll do my best to not spoil anything too major in the storyline.
First, I'd be remissed not to mention that the young Robert Redford is totally dreamy. However, that is the smallest reason to watch this movie. This 1973 movie is about Johnny Hooker (played by Redford) seeking revenge on Doyle Lannegan (played by Robert Shaw) for the death of one of his close friends. Hooker finds help in a friend of a friend, Henry Gondorff (played by Paul Newman). Together, Hooker and Gondorff manage to pull off a series off cons in order to get the best out of big time crime boss, Lannegan.
The costumes are impeccable, as are all the elements of the set. The integration of music into the movie is by far the most outstanding. The usual montage sequence was accentuated by these Scott Joplin tunes (performed and adapted by Marvin Hamlisch). The entire period feel is carried through in every element, but truly the music seals the deal.
The plot is perfect. I'm usually persnickety and look for holes, especially in these kind of caper flick. In this case, I can't imagine a more eloquent plot where the mystery of it all isn't revealed until the last 2 minutes of the movie.
I'm most impressed, however, that the makers of this new favorite showed some restraint. Unlike some current caper films, there were no extraneous romances, no obnoxious shots of everyone being pleased with themselves, and no need to leave open the possibility for a sequel.
But really, it's all about Robert Redford. Especially when he delivers this line -
"You know me. I'm the same as you. It's two in the morning and I don't know nobody."
*sigh*

Golden Girls

Hey

I thought my first post should be about my favorite TV show ever - Golden Girls. The pilot was not the best episode, but its too hard to choose my favorite, so I thought I'd just choose the first one. In the pilot, they had a gay housekeeper/cook, Coco but he was dropped before the regular season. Thank goodness, because his role in this episode is just to be an extra body. He plays no part in any of the jokes, or in the character development.
Rose plays the role of a grief counselor as she counsels Blanche through the devastating ending to this episode. Sophia arrives from in a cab from the home that burned down. Now, people, the woman is elderly and in a home because she had a stork that rendered her, as Dorothy put it, "completely annoying." If the retirement home burns down, would they really let their residents just hop in cabs off to wherever they want?
Well Sophia arrives just as Blanche is about to go out with Harry, who has proposed to her. Now, I was just a little one when this episode came out, but was the audience so gullible as to believe that one of the main characters would be married off in the pilot? This storyline fails to pass the gut check to this avid and devoted watcher.
Despite the poor plot idea, the episode ends with Dorothy, Rose and Blanche agreeing to always stay together - even if one of them gets married. With 25 million viewers, this first episode of Golden Girls launches a seven season long friendship that is nothing less than heart warming and inspiring. Maybe that's why it's my favorite show - a bunch of woman live together who do nothing but make fun of each other, but in the end (or at least at the end of 25 minutes), they go back to being live long friends. It also helps that this show is totally hysterical.

Thank you for being a reader!

Hi readers (of which there are none yet)

In order to justify my obsessive purchasing of DVD's and constant late night TV binges, I thought I'd write about them. Hopefully it's not totally inarticulate garbage, but I hope the title demonstrates I make no promises about the quality of my posts.

Please suggest movies and shows you think I'd like. I'm constantly looking for more distractions!

Thanks