How Green Was My Valley - So you got a village in Wales with a coal mine. Everything's real traditionalist. Men work, women stay home and tend to the men. The focus is on one family, and a lot of things happen to them over the course of the movie. It's all seen through the eyes of their youngest son who mysteriously never ages, unless we're to believe things like marriages, births, and deaths all occur within about a one month period. It all moves at a snail's pace. I have no problem with a movie that takes things slowly, but this movie places no urgency in the events that place. So much happens to this family, but it's all treated like minor details. First, we never get to really know anyone in the family. It's more like we get to know the family as a character and the community as a character, but the only individuals who stand out are the ones who get more lines of dialog than the others. This makes it so when a major life event occurs to one of the characters, we don't feel much of an attachment and we miss out on the emotional payoff of the moment. A couple times, the mine runs out of work and some of the older sons are forced to split and move to America (fuck yeah!) They just kinda walk off and are never seen again. Another son dies in a mine accident. What's the next scene? The birth of his son. No funeral, no mourning, no payoff. Life just goes on. It's not a movie hated, I just don't have much admiration for it. I do like some of the Welsh names. More people should give their kids Welsh names. Next person on the forum to have a kid must name it Gwilym if it's a boy or Angharad if it's a girl. I have spoken.

Did it deserve to win?: No. There was a little movie called Citizen Kane that came out the same year. Not to mention The Maltese Falcon.

(out of 5)

It's the Crash of the 40s.

Mrs. Miniver - It's been said that Oscar loves an epic. In the early days, it loved a rah-rah patriotic war story more. Mrs. Miniver is a well-off British woman with an American accent and a nice family. She spends her days in the typical upper-class fashion: shopping and making sure the help takes care of her kids properly. She's a good woman, though, and her husband is a good dude and her kids are only annoying when they speak. She's perfectly charming, and it's understandable when the local stationmaster creepily names a new rose he's cultivated after her. It's an ordinary life until war breaks out. He eldest son enlists and her husband gets volunteered for some dangerous duty, as well. She has a run-in with a downed and still hostile German pilot. Despite the new danger in their lives, they try to continue to live their lives as normal. Before this point, I wasn't much into the film, but once the war started, I grew more interested, mostly because the reactions of the characters were not of the typical hand-wringing, woe-am-us type. They remained upbeat despite having a bombed out dining room. I think back to Cavalcade and how melodramatically the parents dealt with losing their kids to the war. Yes, the Minivers are concerned for their son, but what can they really do about it other than hope he comes back alive? The best scene, for me, is when the family is hunkered down for the night in their backyard bomb shelter. They get the younger kids to sleep, then they step outside for a smoke and watch the bombs fall over the city from far away. They step back inside and talk a little. The explosions get closer. They talk some more. Even closer. They're starting to worried when the bombs suddenly feel like they're falling all around them. The kids wake up screaming. Shit starts falling around them, and all they can do is hold the kids and hope the bombs don't fall directly on them. It's an extremely well-done scene where the panic slowly creeps in and also in a nutshell describes how ordinary people would deal with extraordinary circumstances. Basically, hold your piss until it's time to panic. Immediately after they get their shit bombed, there's a flower show. Then they get bombed again. The only thing that rang kind of false for me was the ending. A character we really like gets killed in one of the bombings and there's a mournful service in a bombed-out church. In this final scene is where the propaganda kicks in. The priest gives a big sermon about duty and everyone stands and sings Onward Christian Soldier as the camera pans up to a hole in the roof and allied planes fly over in a V-formation. Then you get the end titles with a reminder to buy war bonds. It's about as subtle as a fart in a bombed-out church.

Did it deserve to win?: No. Looked like a weak year, and the film has its merits, but it's clearly of its time. They really loved their war movies back then, especially when they were inspirational. This was the biggest hit of the year so they gave it to the crowd-pleaser. Yankee Doodle Dandy and Pride of the Yankees have proven to have more lasting legacies. Also Casablanca had a small release late in the year, but was considered for the Oscars in 1943 instead, since that's when it had its wide release. Under current rules, it would've only been eligible in 1942, and had it lost, it would've been a Crash-like travesty.

(out of 5)

Casablanca - If you've never seen Casablanca, then the first thing you should know about it is it's as good as everyone has been telling you all these years. The first time I saw it was at the Inwood in 1992 for its 50th anniversary re-release. I'd heard all the hype, but after sitting there and letting the story unfold for me, I realized it lived up to it. I know some people don't get what's so great about Citizen Kane, and I myself liked but didn't see what was so great about Gone with the Wind. But Casablanca just does it for me. I've watched it several times since and it's still one of my favorites. Great script that has a little bit of everything in it. Most important about the script is that it's about WWII and feels no need to be overly patriotic or preachy. Yeah, the Germans are bad, but there's actually a begrudging co-existence with them. The plot involves outsmarting them rather than making those evil bastards pay. Bogart's Rick Blaine is absolutely NOT a noble fighter for the cause, and he only gets involved in the cause when Ingrid Bergman shows up at his club. Pretty selfish reason, even if he eventually performs a selfless act for her. I've seen too many movies already from the era that prefer to take a few moments to wave the flag and let you know how proud they are of our boys over there fighting the good fight. Casablanca takes such an moment to further the plot, as when the Germans start singing at Rick's and Laszlo stands up and leads the rest of the place in a rousing version of "Ca Plane Por Moi". It's a bit of patriotism for the Allies, but more importantly, it causes the Germans to make a decision about Laszlo, and the 3rd act now begins to move toward its resolution. It's great stuff. If you've never seen it, watch it. If you have seen it, watch it again.

Did it deserve to win?: Yup. I don't even know what else came out that year, but it didn't deserve it over Casablanca.

(out of 5)

(out of 5)

I had a preconceived notion about what it was about, watched it, and fell in love with it.
It is NOT a sappy ass '40's romantic movie or weak war movie at all.

The Stu approves of this review.

Casablanca earned every bit of it's acclaim. Great characters (main and bit players), great writing, great everything

Being rude, with the food is that something you might be into?

It's the new Stu review coming right at you.

Going My Way - From now on, 1944 is going to be known as the Year of the Dumbass. They're dumbasses because they thought this pointless movie deserved not only the highest attendance in the theaters that year, but also 7 fucking Oscars! Seven is an impressive haul in any year, but back then it was huge. Bing Crosby won Best Actor. Let me tell you, he had a great singing voice, but acting-wise he was bland as a fucking rice cake. He's Father O'Malley, the new priest at St. Dominic's, a poor church in the shittiest shithole section of NYC. There's no problem he can't fix with a tune. Are you a small town girl who wants to be a big-time singer in the city? Sing like Father O'Malley. Hey look! Your shit's fixed! Are you one of two dozen street kids with no future? Join the choir and sing like Father O'Malley. Hey look! Your shit's fixed! Church behind on mortgage payments? Father O'Malley will write a song and use the proceeds to pay it off. Hey look! Your shit's fixed! Thanks, Father O'Malley! Thanks for slightly nudging us in the right direction with a breezy tune, you great underhanded motivator. Oh, and thanks for not hammering us over the head with that Bible shit. I notice you don't carry one, or ever quote one, for that matter. And when troubles arise, why bother us with a parable or an uplifting verse when a quick pop tune will do? Ya know, if it weren't for the collar, I'd probably think you're a shoe salesman. You're the most secular priest ever, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

But let's get back to the Year of the Dumbass thing. Barry Fitzgerald plays the antiquated Father Fitzgibbon. He was nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. I'll repeat that: He was nominated for Best Actor AND Best Supporting Actor...FOR THE SAME FUCKING ROLE! It seems by 1944, all the smart people had died in the war. Or maybe they didn't care. I'm leaning toward the latter since it's the only thing that makes sense about the heap of praise this movie received. He won Supporting Actor, btw. He didn't deserve it. As an old Irish priest who doesn't understand the young people of 1944 (really, who did?), I couldn't comprehend a single word that came out of his mouth. All I ever heard was "grumblegrumblecrotchetyballscratch". Learn to carry a tune, old man. He's also about 109 in this movie. It closes with him reuniting with his mother. She's 148. Would've brought a tear to my eye if it weren't so damned ridiculous. Father O'Malley seemed to agree as he slipped out quietly once the mother and child reunion was only a motion away. His work here is finished and he's headed to another town. It's Christmas Eve, it's snowing, and 1944 is almost over. Good fucking riddance. Dumbasses.

Did it deserve to win?: Did you ever read the fucking review? The answer is no. N-N-N-N-N-NOOOOOO. Here's some lyrics I wrote to the tune of "Swinging on a Star": No-no-no no no no-no-no/No-no-no no no no-no-no. Catchy, isn't it?

(out of 5)

You should write reviews for the Morning News.

That was the inspiration for the greatest sitcom of all time, bitch!!!

So, um, was it better than Crash?

Crash is better.

I like Barry Fitzgerald.

Go ahead and defend this movie. I dare you!

It was right in the middle of WWII. People just wanted to have a little peace. This movie gives that.

If you like Bing, you'll enjoy hearing him sing a few pleasant tunes. Is it worthy of winning an Oscar, no. Thirty Seconds over Tokyo and Gaslight were better flicks.

Google > Bing

Don't forget Double Indemnity. Everything you said is right. It's kinda A Beautiful Mind winning right after 9/11. There were better movies, but it was safe and made everyone feel good. Difference is ABM had some good stuff in it. GMW should have been long forgotten. It reminded me how painful this whole thing is gonna be at times.

You would.

Solid character actor. Greatness in The Quiet Man, The Naked City, The Dawn Patrol.

The Lost Weekend - This is the story of a dude who drinks too much. No, it's not about Walt. It's about this writer who could never get his shit together, and now he's addicted and a pain in the ass. He spends a weekend drinking and avoiding everyone who gives a crap about him. A lot happens in that weekend, moreso than is probably realistic, but it's a nice journey into hell. Ray Milland is awesome as Don Birnam, the tormented drunk, who'll do anything for another shot of booze. Things really spin out of control when he's out of money and the pawn shops are all closed for Yom Kippur. (That's a joke that's funny everywhere but New York.) It's a bit much that he goes from sneaking shots to hospitalization to the DT's in one weekend, but it never feels that he's incapable of spiraling down so far. And it may look silly when he begins hallucinating and there's a rubber bat flying around on a string, but a bat eating a mouse through a hole in the wall til the wall bleeds was shocking as hell back in 1945, by golly. These days we've seen Leaving Las Vegas and Requiem for a Dream so our stories of addiction have to go pretty far to surprise us, but back then this movie had balls. I kinda wish it had gone full balls-out and avoided the happy ending, but maybe audiences weren't ready for that yet. Or maybe one of those Hollywood code things had to be followed. He should've blown his brains out and made it a cautionary tale instead of the deus ex machina crap with the bartender and the typewriter that we got. Even better, maybe he accidentally shoots Jane Wyman then jumps off the Empire State Building in despair. That would've been kickass. Probably would've ended Billy Wilder's career too.

Did it deserve to win?: Yes, the aforementioned balls are enough for me. Plus so far in the 40s they'd wimped out so much it was high time for something with some meat on it.

(out of 5)

what in the hell?

The Best Years of Our Lives - I knew going into this movie that it was about three soldiers returning from WWII, and admittedly, I was expecting some "ain't our fightin' boys grand" kinda kissassery. It was a nice surprise when it turned out a bit more complicated than that. It's more about their struggles with adjusting to civilian life and finding acceptance among those who never left to go fight. While you always know where the story is heading, it's nice that it doesn't smash home its points with a big friggin' hammer. Fredric March's character begins drinking a lot, but never does he become a destructive drunk. He simply drinks to help himself cope with the changes in his world. I've seen other coming home-type movies where the returning soldiers are complete loons. While I would never expect a movie from 1946 to be too radical, I appreciated its sense of normalcy. This was the movie in which Harold Russell receive two Oscars for his performance--Supporting Actor and an honorary one for bringing hope to veterans. Both were completely deserved. Yes, there were times when his line readings were a bit wooden, but he drew plenty of emotion during his tougher scenes when he's coping with having no hands. You really feel for the guy. And some of the things he could do with those hooks were fun to watch. I give him 2nd best cigarette lighting scene by a handicapped dude, only behind the caterpillar guy from Freaks. That guy deserved an honorary Oscar too.

Did it deserve to win?: Yep. It definitely had right place and right time going for it, and it was a good film that was about something from the moment. It's a Wonderful Life came out the same year, but it wasn't too highly regarded at the time. Some people may prefer that instead.

(out of 5)

I liked that movie better when it was called First Blood.

I liked you better when you were known as "Rockme".

Gentleman's Agreement - Gregory Peck plays a writer who changes his name to Jewy von Jewenstein so he can write a piece on anti-semitism. Naturally, he finds it everywhere and it's baaaaad. This movie was extremely controversial in its time, but it's pretty dated now. It's main problem is that it's heavy-handed and preachy. As soon as Peck mentions he's a Jew, suddenly the anti-semites are everywhere, and oddly, he's shocked like he's never seen it before. I'll give the movie credit for one important thing: it identifies that the problem is not with the anti-semitic d-bags themselves, but with the people who silently disapprove and don't shout down these bastards. Ironic that Elia Kazan included this point in his film only to give in and rat out some people to HUAC a few years later. The movie itself is a little slow at times and it spends too much time on the romance between Peck and Dorothy McGuire, but in the end their story has a nice overall arc. The biggest problem, I guess, is that, like Crash, it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Maybe in its time, this movie was profound. I don't know that for sure, but I do know it's better than Crash.

Did it deserve to win?: I have a hard time saying yes, but I can't fault a movie if it was important and topical when it was released, but dated now. Nothing else from the year stands out to me, so I'll just accept it and move on.

(out of 5)

^thought the jews were kinda being sissies^

If you can't stand the heat, stay outta the oven.

Hamlet - It's kinda unfair to go after Oscars when you're working on a version of Hamlet. You already have a kickass story. If you get some good actors and some competent production values, you can get fitted for your tux while the thing's still in the editing room. That's about what happened here. It's Laurence of Olivier's show. He directed and starred, and managed to grab Best Actor. He's as good as you'd imagine he'd be, especially starting halfway through once Hamlet goes apeshit. It's kinda dull while he mopes around, but it's a lot of fun when he's rhymin' and schemin'. Directing-wise, he makes a few interesting choices with shots and camera movement, but mostly he keeps the camera still and lets the actors do their thing. One scene I did like was the play-within-the-play. Normally, Hamlet describes the action, but here, the scene is entirely silent. We can see what's happening. No explanation is needed. They let it unfold with nothing but action and reaction shots. It's also a nice respite from the dense dialogue. I could've used subtitles on this one, but I streamed it through Netflix and they don't offer that yet. Sometimes it wasn't easy to understand what they were saying, but the plot machinations were still easy to follow. Don't ask me how it compares to other filmed versions of Hamlet because I don't know.

Did it deserve to win?: It won Best Picture but The Treasure of the Sierra Madre won Best Director. Usually that means they were 1 and 2 and pretty close. I've seen both now and enjoyed Sierra Madre more. It and The Red Shoes are still widely-considered and viewed while no one talks much about this version of Hamlet, so no, it probably didn't deserve it.

This movie comes on tonight at 7pm on TCM.

Already seen it.

Just in case others might want to enjoy it.

Already seen it.

I've been watching WWII in HD all day. I'm warred out.

I'm about to go swimming. Then I'm gonna come home and watch the next movie.

All the King's Men - This is the story of an idealistic small-town hick named Tony Stark, who, tired of the corruption he sees among his town's political leaders, runs for office as an honest man unafraid to tell the truth about what's happening with the taxpayers' money. He's viewed as a sucker who can be duped into running for governor so he can split the hick vote, guaranteeing a win for another candidate. Once he realizes the machinations at work behind him, he goes apeshit, becomes a more charismatic speaker, and eventually wins the governorship. Once in office, idealism goes out the window and he becomes just as corrupt as everyone he railed against. It's loosely based on the story Louisiana governor Huey Lewis. I don't know how much is really true, but the assassination at least seems on target. I was hoping maybe the movie would have some relevance or parallels toward the way politics work today, but all I found was that things were the same back then as they are now. Power ultimately corrupts. Politicians, despite their ideals, must protect themselves first. And the people still believe there's someone out there serving their best interests. Suckers.

Did it deserve to win?: No, The Third Man is your one and only deserving winner from that year. The acting awards for Broderick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge were deserved, however. McCambridge especially made an impression. She eventually did the voice of the demon in The Exorcist. If you had to pick an actress from the 40s to deliver a line like "Your mother sucks cocks in hell," she's the one. Ok, maybe Bette Davis could've done it too.

(out of 5)

I'm sure he did a lot of good for the state by exercising the power of love.

Looking for the post of the year? Well This Is It.

You're obviously using a new drug, Opie.