Man on a Ledge

Four Stars: ˜˜˜˜

The title seems pretty self-explanatory but there is so much more to this movie. It turned out to be a delightfully complicated heist thriller. Replete with duplicitous plot twists, even if it seems nothing is happening, there’s always something afoot. Nobody is who they seem, but one man has managed to figure out how it all works in order to perfectly manipulate every circumstance.

TRAILER

MEMORABLE QUOTES

“You hit like a girl—where you from, Jersey?”

“Anyone who creates traffic like this in Midtown should be shot!”

“Women jump for love; men, we jump for money.”

Midnight in Paris

Four Stars: ˜˜˜˜

The first four minutes of B roll of Paris pedestrians set to jazz would have been sufficient to make this movie fabulous but they proceeded into the past. Then they pushed even further back. As the characters each search for their own Golden Age in the past (from 2011 to 1920 to 1890 to 1760), the audience confronts their own denial. After all, the danger of nostalgia is that in an effort to escape the pain of the present, you also miss all the possibility.

TRAILER

MEMORABLE QUOTES

“I actually had a professor that dined there and saw James Joyce like a million years ago and apparently James Joyce was eating sauerkraut and frankfurters.”

“The artist’s job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence. Don’t be such a defeatist.”

“You always take the side of the help, as usual—that’s why Daddy says you’re a Communist!”

Joyful Noise

Five Stars: ˜˜˜˜˜

They put Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in the same movie, nuff said! Then they threw in some Sly & the Family Stone and Usher for good measure. There’s just something about good music that never fails to bring a smile to one’s face while simultaneously producing a tear in one’s eye—and this movie is a prime example of such excellence. They also nailed church politics to a hilarious perfection!

TRAILER

MEMORABLE QUOTES

“There’s always free cheese in the mousetrap, but trust me, the mice in there ain’t happy.”

“You are so country you been married three times and still have the same in-laws!”

“Didn’t Jesus say, ‘suffer the little children?’ Yes, he did! They are young and resilient and they will get over it—ya’ll can donate to Save the Children later.”

The Court Jester

Three Stars: ˜˜˜

This little gem from 1956 isn’t just another musical comedy—it is in fact a brilliant satire on the melodramatic films of the time. Medieval romances were particularly popular and producers took every opportunity to hyperbolize that pageantry, ceremony, and amour. They even got one of the top villainous actors to play the bad guy. Add in a few songs and lots of plot twists and you’re all set for a ridiculously good laugh.

TRAILER

MEMORABLE QUOTES

“We did research, Authenticity was a must! Did we search, and what did we find? A lot of dust!”

“Get it?” – “Got it.” – “Good.”

“A jester unemployed is nobody’s fool.”