Strangers on a Train consists on two total strangers, Guy (Farley Granger) and Bruno who meet. They come to discuss who they hate most in their life. For Bruno it is his father, and for Guy it is his ex-wife. Bruno comes up with this absurd idea of creating a "criss-cross," meaning each kills eachothers targets thus eliminating the motive. Guy, who is a well known tennis player, takes it as a joke and doesn't think much of it. However, Bruno is serious. He imagines that they have in fact made a bargain with one another. Guy tries to stay as far away from Bruno as possible. Bruno gets tired of waiting and takes matters into his own hands by strangling Guy's ex-wife. When the blames on Guy, Bruno tries to force Guy into killing his father. Guy refuses. Bruno also has Guys gold cigarette lighter, so he tries to use it as an excuse on pinning it on him. Guy & the police then hunt down Bruno in an attempt to prove Guy's innocence.

Throw Momma From the Train is the modern re-tell starring to classic comics, Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal. This move will have you rolling on the floor in laughter. Just like Hitchcock's film it involves the exchange of murders and highlights the famous saying "criss-cross." Larry Donner (Crystal) is an exremely arrogant man and bitter about his ex wife. He teaches a creative writing class for adults. In his class is Owen Lift (DeVito). Owen, a little strange, is constantly begging Larry to read his writings and tell him his feedback. Finally, Larry agrees and tells Owen that his murder stories are terrible. In an attempt to explain why they are bad, Larry gives him an example. Owen takes it the wrong way and thinks that Larry really wants him to kill his ex-wife for him for the exchange of Larry killing Owens mother. Now Larry has become a suspect in the eyes of the police. Fleeing and residing at Owens place, Larry fights off Owens urge of killing his mother. This hilarious comedy will have you laughing from beginning to end.

Another Hithcock classic, North by Northwest captures the effects of a mistaken identity. A NY man of advertisement, Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), is mistaken for a CIA agent George Kaplan. The men trying to capture Kaplan, grab Thornhill. Thornhill is able to escapes but finds himself in more trouble after being falsely mistaken for murder. Roger flees immediately. Trying to prove his true self, no one believes him. He is helped by Eve Kendell (Eva Marie Saint), who he falls in love with at first sight. But She goes against him by delivering a message that nearly kills Thornwall by telling him to follow a clue to a remote rural highway, where he is attacked by an armed plane. This was one of the most famous scenes in Hitchcock's entire film career. Thornwall gets very angry at Eve, but little does he know that Eve is actually a double agent playing both roles. Roger battles the majority in order to prove his identity.

Eagle Eye starring Shia LaBoeuf and Michelle Monaghan. JerryShaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) were complete strangers at the beginning, but that changed the instant they each got a telephone call from a strange woman called to threaten both their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Jerry was seen as a terrorist. Suddenly forced into a series of dangerous situations, Jerry and Rachel had to take orders from a woman who's using technology all around them to control their every move. As the situation intensifies and the duo are turned into country's most wanted fugitives, they must work together in order to discover who it was that turned their lives upside down.

In September, we watched
Rear Window. Rear Window was directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954. Starring screen favorites such as James Stewart and Grace Kelly, Rear Window is known to be one of Hitchcock's best and most thrilling pictures. It's about a man, L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries (Stewart) who has broken his leg, and is stuck to sitting and staring out his window all day. With nothing else to do to pass the time he begins to overlook all his neighbors. He comes to the conclusion that his neighbor, Lars Thorwald, is more than just a jewlery salseman... he is also a murderer! At first his socialite girl friend, Lisa Carol Fremont (Kelly) thinks he is losing his mind. However Lisa will do whatever it takes to win over Jeff, and prove to him she is a serious woman. Together Jeff and Lisa go through numerous events to devise a plan to catch Lars in the act... before it's too late. I enjoyed this film because of its witty dialogue, and great plot. It astonishes me to know that Hitchcock had used only one stage set to film the enitre movie.

Disturbia is its modern re-tell of Rear Window. In this DreamWorks Picutre, Kale (Shia LeBeouf), is stuck in his house as well, but for different reasons. After losing his father, Kale is pyschologically altered and when his teacher makes a harsh comment about his father Kale punches him out. Now under house arrest, Kale has nothing better to do then mope around from room to room. Then his new neighbor moves in. Ashley is a pretty blonde, whom Kale cannot keep his eyes off of, so he decides to put his binoculars into use. However he begins to pick up on someone else with these binoculars, Mr. Turner (David Morse), a serial killer. With the help of AShley (Sarah Roemer) and his old pal Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), slowly but surely they all work together to solve a murder that no one seems to believe is true.

The Lady Vanishes is what put Hitchcock's name into Hollywood. He started this British film with no intentions of it becoming a hit in the U.S., but it did.
After the Europen train breaksdown, Iris Henderson and many others are forced to stay in a nearby hotel for the night. Here she meets a sweet, old woman Miss Froy because of their concerns over the noise being to loud. In the morning they meet again and board the train together. They converse over a cup of tea and later return their seating car. Iris tired from the night before, falls asleep. She wakes up and realizes Miss Froy is gone. At first she thinks nothing of it, but then begins to search for her. She cannot find her anwhere. She begins to ask the people around her and they say their was no record of Miss Froy ever entering the train. Iris, flustered, think they are absurd. She begins to realize there is something strange going on, that everyone doesn't want her to know about. With the help of her musician friend Gilbert, she puts together the clues in order to find poor old Miss Froy and prove that she is not hallucinating.


Tied in with The Lady Vanishes, is Jodi Foster's suspense role in Flight Plan. Kyle Pratt (Jodi Foster) boards a plane with her young daughter Juli. Kyle falls asleep during the flight and when she awakens her daughter is missing. In a scurry of fear and concern she searches the plane from nose to tail. The crew members, including the captain all tell her that there was no record of her daughter ever boarding the plane. She refuses to believe that. Everyone on the plane starts panicking because they all think shes phsycologically imbalanced. But as Kyle fights to discern the truth, she takes matters into her own hands.
I had never seen nor heard of this movie until this class. I loved it. It was full of suspense and moments that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Goodfellas

Year of Release: September 19 1990

Director(s): Martin Scorsese

Writer(s): Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese

Cinematographer(s): Michael Ballhaus

Producer(s): Irwin Winkler

Distributor(s): Warner Bros.

Actor(s)/Actress(es): Ray Liotta, Robert Di Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino

Why I chose this: The Italian classic done by Martin Scorsese is one that can be seen more then once, and still I can't get enough of it. Starting off young Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and Tommy De Vito (Joe Pesci), are bred to be mobsters under the all mighty boss, Pauli (Paul Sorvino). Slowly climbing the ladder, the boys go from making small crimes into violent murders. As they get older they are rolling in money, and do "hits/wags" on a constant basis. Then they meet Jimmy Conway (Robert Di Niro). He is one of the greast Irish-Italian mobsters around. Pauli warns Henry and Tommy, mainly Henry, to stay away from Jimmy because he is bad news. They don't listen. In a mob, one cannot turn on the other or bad things will begin. They rise and fall in a twisting and intimidating true story, based on the "blue-collar mob." Goodfellas is an excellent film for all mob/drama/crime loving movie-goers. It won one Oscar for "Best Supporting Actor" (Joe Pesci), and was nominated for four others.

The Departed

Year of Release: October 6 2006

Director(s): Martin Scorsese

Writer(s): William Monahan and Alan Mak

Cinematographer(s): Michael Ballhous

Producer(s): Brad Grey, Graham King, Brad Pitt

Distributor(s): Warner Bros.

Actor(s)/Actress(es): Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack

Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin

Why I chose this: This is my all time favorite crime/ mystery/ thriller movie. Located in Boston, a young undercover cop, Billy Costigan (Leo DiCaprio) is assigned a new task: to infiltrate the mob. The mob is run by head gangster, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), who was taken under Frank's wing at a very young age, is Franks number one man. Colin's task is to infiltrate the police and their SI Unit.  Billy quickly gains trust from Frank, and vice versa for Colin. But as both Billy and Colin get too caught up in their double lives, their duties leak, and both the mob and the police smell a "rat," they just don't know who. The film goes on to see who is brave enough to reveal their undercover positions. The Departed quickly became a box office hit, and racked in 4 Academy Awards including: Best Editor, Director, Picture of the Year, and Screenplay. Also winning one Golden Globe. This film covers lies, betrayal, and sacrifce, and keeps you at the edge of your seat with the sudden twist that you don't see coming.

Changeling

Year of Release: October 31 2008

Director(s): Clint Eastwood, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard

Writer(s): J. Michael Straczynski

Cinematographer(s): Tom Stern

Producer(s): Clint Eastwood

Distributor(s): Universal Pictures

Actor(s)/Actress(es): Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, Gattlin Griffith

Why I chose this: Another one of Eastwoods sentimental dramas, Changeling, a true story, tells the events of a woman, Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), whose son Walter Collins, (Gattlin Griffith) gets kidnapped. Once she contacts the corrupted LAPD, and persists them to help her find her son, they take the easy way out. They find a "look-a-like," and force the media into believeing that this is her son. When Christine tries to tell the public that this surely is not her son, LAPD turns against her by saying shes mentally paranoid and stick her in one of their cruel mental facilities. In order to save both herself and her sons life wherever he may be, Christine must attempt what no one else has. She refuses to give up hope. Since this movie is based on a true story, it really touched me. It's something that makes you sit and just blankly stare at the screen as the credits roll by.  Changeling was nominated for 3 Oscars including: Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Cinematography, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

300

Year of Release: March 9 2007

Director(s): Zack Snyder

Writer(s): Zack Snyder

Cinematographer(s): Larry Fong

Producer(s): Frank Miller, Gianni Nunari

Ditributer(s): Warner Bros. Pictures

Actor(s)/Actress(es): Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham

Why I chose this: 300 is my all time favorite action/war movie. Based on a true story, 300 retells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The king of the Persians, Xerses, has much control of many Hellenistic city-states. Then Xerses threatened the Spartans. Not allowing this to happen, King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), puts together a group of 300 men. In order to win, they have to defeat an army of 170,000 Persians. The Spartans show motiviation throughout the entire battle. They show "honor & glory." The battle was a suicide mission for the Spartans. However, that didn't stop them Spartans from throwing their hearts onto the field. This gruesome battle shows the determination of an army who feared nothing. This film had 9 wins & 27 nominations. Some wins including: Saturn award's: "Best Director," "Best Make-up," "Best Actor," and many more. It is a film that describes and shows the significance of one battle that changed history forever.

Million Dollar Baby

Year of Realease: January 28 2005

Writer(s): F.X. Toole (stories) Paul Haggis (screenplay)

Director(s): Clint Eastwood

Cinematographer(s): Tom Stern

Producer(s): Clint Eastwood, Albert E. Ruddy

Distributor(s): Warner Brothers

Actor(s)/Actress(es): Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman

Why I Chose This Movie: Clint Eastwood has done it again with another one of his inspirational and moving films. To me, it's one of the best dramas. This film is about a man, Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood), who is a top notch and well known boxing trainer and coach. After being dumped by his extremely skilled client, Frankie is left with just his gym. Always looked after by his long time pal, Scrap (Morgan Freeman), Frankie is a unemotional and unfriendly "old coot." Once a female Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) arrives to his gym and asks for his permission to train her, he immediately says no because shes a woman. Eventually able to convince him, the story goes on to tell about a man not just training this female, but loving her as if she were his own daughter. The main moral of the story is to "Above all, always protect yourself." Clint Eastwood's tearjerker struck Hollywood racking in 4 oscars, 29 nominations, and another 49 wins. It shows how a woman goes from being nothing to something, and how she was able change the life of a man who thought there would be no one else left in the world to love him.

It's A Wonderful Life

Year of Release: January 7 1946

Director(s): Frank Capra

Writer(s): Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett

Cinematographer(s): Joseph Walker

Producer(s): Frank Carpa

Distributor(s): RKO Radio Pictures

Actor(s)/Actress(es): James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers

Why I chose this film: To me this is the classic traditional Christmas movie. The film begins on Christmas Eve with a very depressed man, George Bailey (James Stewart). Near suicidal, he begins to pray. Suddenly an angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), hears his prayers, and comes down to Earth in hopes of saving him. His duty is to help George realize all the good he has brought to his community. Clarence takes him back through time in flashbacks. George see's the troubles such as rescuing his brother from the ice pond leading him to going deaf in one ear, as well as the good times like meeting his wife Mary (Donna Reed). George needs to obey to Clarence if he wants to be with his family again. It's A Wonderful Life was nominated for five Oscars. It has been since recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, and placed number one on their list of inspirational films of all time. That is why I chose it, because it reveals so much inspiration to anyone who watches it. It teaches one to reflect on life when times are bad, and realize all the good times. Everyone around the world can easily connect to it because it portrays the same moral.