secondhand lions

the year: 2003

the genre: dramedy


the cast: Michael Caine (Garth); Robert Duvall (Hub); Haley Joel Osment (Walter); Kyra Sedgewick (Mae)


the plot: Before going on yet another husband-hunting trip, 13 year old Walter's mother drops him off at the house of his great-uncles Hub and Garth. They disappeared for quite a while in their youth, and are rumored to have acquired a great fortune, which Walter's mother hopes to get her hands on if he can ingratiate himself enough to the two cantankerous men. Though reluctant to put up with him at first, Hub and Garth grow to accept Walter, and even tell him fantastic stories of what they were up to while they went missing. When his mother returns, Walter must take charge of his own life, and decide what he's going to do with it.


don't miss: what is suspected as the cause of death for Garth and Hub at the end of the movie.


listen for: "We're fix'in to die anytime, so if we kick off in the middle of the night, you're on your own."


did you know: In the fight scene with Robert Duvall one of the actors was hit three times in the face by Robert. Due to a miscommunication, Robert thought he was a stunt man and was supposed to hit him. The cut used was the final one when the actor's nose finally started to bleed.


extra bonus points: if you know which animal attacked Haley Joel Osment during filming.


also listen for: "Well. We'll see what the man's sellin'. THEN we'll shoot him."

guess who?

He was born in Omaha, Nebraska.

He appears on the sleeve of The Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.

He was of the first Kennedy Center Honorees in 1978.

He owned Blue Valley Ranch, a thoroughbred horse breeding farm in the San Fernando Valley. He maintained a racing stable of four or five horses which competed at racetracks in California. His most famous racehorse was Triplicate, winner of the 1946 Hollywood Gold Cup.

He is credited with two important innovations in early film musicals. First, he insisted that the (almost stationary) camera film a dance routine in a single shot, if possible, while holding the dancers in full view at all times. Second, he was adamant that all song and dance routines be seamlessly integrated into the plotlines of the film. Instead of using dance as spectacle as Busby Berkeley did, he used it to move the plot along.

He famously wore a necktie around his waist instead of a belt, an affectation he picked up from his friendship with actor Douglas Fairbanks.

the italian job

the year: 2003

the genre: action


the cast: Mark Wahlberg (Charlie Croker); Charlize Theron (Stella Bridger); Donald Sutherland (John Bridger); Jason Statham (Handsome Rob); Seth Green (Lyle); Mos Def (Left Ear); Edward Norton (Steve)


the plot: After pulling off a gold bullion heist from a heavily guarded palazzo in Venice, Italy, Charlie and his gang -- inside man Steve, computer genius Lyle, wheelman Handsome Rob, explosives expert Left Ear and veteran safecracker John Bridger - are double-crossed by one of the group. Enter Stella, a beautiful nerves-of-steel safecracker, who joins Charlie and his former gang when they follow the backstabber to California, where they plan to re-steal the gold by tapping into Los Angeles' traffic control system, manipulating signals and creating one of the biggest traffic jams in LA history. Now the job isn't about the payoff, it's about the payback.


don't miss: Lyle's mad motorcycle skills.


watch for: Spiderman when the explosives go off around the armored truck in L.A.


listen for: "And then he's just the media darling... He's on the cover of all the magazines, I should of been on the cover of wired magazine. You know what he said? He said he named it Napster because it was his nickname because of the nappy hair under the hat. But he-It's because I was NAPPING when he STOLE it from me. He didn't even graduate."


did you know: The principal actors in the movie did most of the stunt driving themselves. While all of the principals needed stunt driving lessons - Mos Def needed a little more work because he didn't have a driver's license at the beginning of the production. All the cast members acknowledged that Charlize Theron was easily the best driver among them.


extra bonus points: if you ALSO have the urge to shave that ugly little beard off of Steve's face.


also listen for: "James Hymen? Come on man, just once give me a cool name!"



disclaimer: there is some brief violence and language.

the boatniks

the year; 1970

the genre: comedy


the cast: Robert Morse (Ensign Tom Garland); Stefanie Powers (Kate Fairchild); Phil Silvers (Harry Simmons); Norman Fell (Max); Mickey Shaughnessy (Charlie); Don Ameche (Commander Taylor); Wally Cox (Jason)


the plot: Young and awkward, Coast Guard Ensign Tom Garland suffers from attacks of clumsiness and comparison with his late father, a war hero. He falls for pretty Kate Fairchild, who runs a local sailing school - and while trying to impress her, must also deal with a trio of bumbling jewel thieves.


don't miss: how Ensign Garland and Kate meet.


watch for: Harry, Charlie & Max's attempt at chartering a sailboat to escape to Mexico.


listen for: the pearl diver's forray into English.


count: how many times Joe E. Ross (a.k.a. Gunther Toody) crashes his boat into the dock.

to catch a thief

the year: 1955

the genre: suspense


the cast: Cary Grant (John Robie); Grace Kelly (Frances Stevens); Jessie Royce Landis (Jessie Stevens); John Williams (H.H. Hughson); Brigitte Auber (Danielle Foussard)


the plot: American expatriate (and retired cat burglar) John Robie lives in high style on the French Riviera. When a wave of copycat (Scott and Blaine, that was for you) jewel thefts begin, he must find out who the copy cat is to keep the thefts from being pinned on him. High on list of prime victims is Jessie Stevens, in Europe to help daughter Frances find a suitable husband.



don't miss: how John uses a roulette player to get Jessie's attention in the casino.



watch for: Mrs. Jessie Stevens' changing room number at the hotel. On the list of jewelry owners, the room number is given as 541, but when John Robie accompanies Mrs. Stevens and her daughter to their rooms, the numbers on their doors are 625 and 623 respectively.



did you know: Cary Grant came out of retirement to make this film.



listen for: "Are you sure you were talking about water skis? From where I sat it looked as though you were conjugating some irregular verbs."



extra bonus points: if you know what's interesting about John Robie mentioning that as a youth he was in a trapeze group that traveled around Europe.



also listen for: "What do you say?" "My only comment would be highly censorable."



And a special thanks to Scott for making sure this was on my "to see" list!

enchanted

the year: 2007

the genre: disney


the cast: Amy Adams (Giselle); Patrick Dempsey (Robert Philip); James Marsden (Price Edward); Timothy Spall (Nathaniel); Susan Sarandon (Queen Narissa); Idina Menzel (Nancy Tremaine)


the plot: The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home - she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?




don't miss: when Prince Edward "meets" the group of cyclists.





watch for: the green pepper slices shaped like Mickey Mouse ears on the pizza Robert and Giselle are served at the Bella Notte restaurant.



listen for: "I seek a beautiful girl. My life partner, my one coquette, the answer to my love's duet." "I-I'd like to find one of them too, you know?"




did you know: In the scene where Edward is on top of the bus, the people riding on tour buses next to him laughing and pointing at him weren't extras, but actual real tourists.




extra bonus points: if you know the relevance of the names of the law firm where Robert works: Churchill, Harline and Smith.



also listen for: "Nathaniel likes the way I leap? I'm handsome even when I sleep?"