My Top Movies- Favorite 15 Review

Hollywood is known for its good and its bad. It's a place one can go and escape the troubles of the world for a few hours Following is a list of the 15 movies that I know fully well I can watch over and over again; Not in chronological order or years or importance. It is just a set of movies that I fell in love with and consider them favorites. For the most part, I ran into these movies via cable tv; some I saw once they came out, some I just took a chance on. Hopefully you will too.

1.Now, Voyager(1942)- I dont know about you, but seeing Bette Davis go from a straight up ugly duckling to a swan in the space of thirty minutes in quite interesting to watch. A soaper about a woman under her domineering mother's thumb so bad that she has a nervous breakdown and is sent to a rehabilitation center to recover. Once out of the woods, she is sent on a cruise where she meets and falls in love with the very married Paul Henried. In spite of it, they know they cannot be together and enjoy what they have and go their seperate ways. her to her meddling mother who she puts in her place, and him to help a daughter who is about to have a breakdown of her own and goes to the hmm same place Bette went to.

2. The Five Heartbeats(1991)- From the very first time I saw this until now, this still remains a treasured favorite. About a group of young men who rise to the big time in the 1960s and go through some good as well as bad times along the way. Star Robert Townsend(who also directed), Leon as his selfish brother, Tico Wells, Harry Lennix, Robert Wright, Harold Nicholas, Diahann Carroll among others. The songs, the plot just keeps you energized and focused.

3, Brown Sugar(2002).Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs light up the screen and  teams up again(The Wood, The Best Man)  as best buds who go through the best and worst times of their lives while sharing a tied love to hip hop and secretly each other.Mos Def, Queen Latifah, Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kudjoe also costar in this sleeper ode to hip hop.The chemistry is there and kicking.

4. Casablanca(1942).One of my absolute favorites. Has some of the best lines in movie history and if they played that over and over, I'd always get something new out of it. Bogie and Bergman play two ill fated lovers who meet just as Paris is about to capitulate to the Nazis in WW2; the only thing is she has a past and just as they get ready to leave, she leaves him. He ends up in Casablanca, opens a night club, and on the night that he  hosts the underground leader against the Third Reich, the man comes in with his wife who is (hmm) Ingrid Bergman. It dont help either when his sidekick Sam plays the song he tells him NOT to play "As Time Goes On". From there its a battle of intrigue and romance to the end. Paul Henried, Conrad Veight, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre costars.

5. A Million to Juan(1994), Comedian Paul Rodriguez stars and directs in this little known movie about a man who want to have the best in life like anyone else; For him, that is opening up a Mexican restaurant. But there are a few problems; He is a widower with a young son, two brothers, he knows he was born in the US but there's no proof on that, hence comes in Pollly Draper who plays his worker; Things get heated when a stranger gives him a check for a million dollars and folks start throwing themselves, their daughters, anything at him; In spite of things, he keeps moving on even when things look their worse for him; One of the best films on resilience and the human spirit.

6.Miracle at Morgan's Creek(1944). I believe deep down that Preston Sturges was one of the best directors of his time; just not appreciated; For one thing he was ahead of his time and in his movies, the word sex(which wasn't even mentioned much less talked about)was sprinkled in  and to be honest, I am surprised the Hays Office let him go. In this flick, Betty Hutton plays a small town girl named Trudy who just wants to go to the big party to see the soldiers off to war. One thing though, her father(played admirably by William Demarest)forbids her but she comes up with a plan to get Norvall(played by Eddie Bracken), a young shy misunderstood 4F fella to take her to the movies(in reality) he goes sits through all the features and waits on her to come and get him; Well, she goes to her party, gets plastered(among other things) and is late picking him up; matter of fact, she comes the next morning and gets him. Now if you ask me, if Wm Demarest didnt smell a rat when Hutton went to the movies in a party gown, I dont know what to tell u; In time, she finds she's pregnant with child; now today that ain't a problem, but the 1940s? uhh uhh; and then she sees this ring on her finger, but she dont know who it belongs to and has a vague recollection of getting married; Again, ole Norvall comes to her rescue to make an "honest woman out of her and marry her, but the thing gets funky when they marry under false pretenses; And from there, it takes plenty to undo. Paramount sat on this movie for two years before releasing it. Also stars Diana Lynn as her smart little sister.

7.The Women(1939 and 2008). This one is a bit complicated but I'm going to do it. The main reason I admire these two is that 1.It was cast with nothing but women, and 2. it seemed to me women were on top for once. But you may say that the main reason I couldn't stand the original was 1. All they talked about was the men. dang, wasn't there anything else? Both of these movies togehter would make for a great girls night out feature. And the comparisons, umm, that would make great discussion. Anyway, both films were about a group of women where one of the women, Mary(played by Norma Shearer and Meg Ryan respectively) was being cheated on by their husbands with some woman who worked a perfume counter named Crystal.(played by Joan Crawford-1939, and Eva Mendes-2008). In the original version, the women was a bit catty, chattier and messy, lead by Rosalind Russell who gets her own walking papers from her husband eventually. In the latest version, the women are toned down to four, and the leader of this pack is led by Annette Bening, a magazine editor who is on the brink of losing her job and betrays a confidence. Of course the two are as night and day, but the plot essentially remains the same. Only in the latest version, an African American lesbian played by Jada Pinkett Smith is included.both films are among my favorite.

8. Amazing Grace(1974). Not to be confused with the recent Amazing Graces. This movie is a whole other story. Moms Mabley, who was a fixture at the Apollo Theater in the early 20th century, plays a woman from Baltimore named Grace Teasdale Grimes, who come home from a family reunion to see a black man running for mayor in Baltimore right next door to her. Now today that is commonplace, but at that tme, though it was happening, change was slow. Only thing, this man Welton P.Waters(Moses Gunn) wasn't really running. He was a puppet set up by the man to get the votes swayed and in the end he gets a $10 million reward for his troubles. It doesnt help matters much that his wife(Rosalind Cash)aptly named Creola, is lightskinned, passed for white/Latina in the past, and is an alcoholic to boot. but the show goes on. Now Grace with the help of her new found friend Fortwith Wilson(Slappy White)who served as a signal corpsman in the Army in WW2 tapped the couple next door to get to the bottom of the mess, and do they. One of the best scenes in the whole movie is a scene where Grace makes a pitch for Waters candidacy at the local college. I feel if Grace was still living today, Obama would cover more ground. makes me smile.This movie also marked the debut  for Stan(Sanaa's dad)Lathan. Sadly, Moms didn't live too long after the film finished.

9.Claudine(1974).Before I go into this film further, I have to take a moment and give props where props is due. The late Diana Sands, who was a gem of an actress for her time wanted to do this movie, but sadly she was fighing a losing battle with lung cancer. She asked Diahann Carroll to take over the role and Carroll gave it a notable Oscar worthy performance;  With that said, its about a Harlem single mother of six on welfare, who also works and gets involved with James Earl Jones; Of course, he has his own problems, as she obviously do, but things come to a head when they decide to marry and the system as well as his own past crops up.From the looks of things, it sure dont look good, but keep on watching. Gladys Knight and the Pips does the soundtrack for this movie.

10. Rocky(1976). You may ask, well what does this sister have to do with liking Rocky? well, I tend to feel that Rocky was an underdog from start to finish; Most times he was down, but he kept his dignity throughout. And he wins. This one tended to grow on me. I have a cousin who is a major Rocky fan, and he grew on me. I have the whole six movies. To be honest, Rocky 5 will probably remain my favorite. But the story of a Philadelphia runner for a loan shark turned boxer; whats the likelihood of that happening? even today? written by Sylvester Stallone and sold to MGM; I don't believe they meant for this to be any good, they shot it for a mill point one and  it exceeded many expectations.The Academy Awards Best Picture for 1976.In spite of all, I believe that every once in a while you get a film, no one expects a bunch from it and it soars. that's Rocky. Also starring Talia Shire, Burt Young,Burgess Meredith.

11.Dreamgirls(2006). I will confess and admit right now that I'm sorry I never saw the original on Broadway. From what I heard, it was the best. And if Jennifer Holliday is any indication of that, I say Brava. Finally coming to the silver screen a full 20 plus years after it debut on Broadway, the movie opens at a talent show at the Fox Theater in Detroit. Curtis Taylor(played brilliantly by Jamie Foxx) is looking for talent, and finds it in three young girls, (Beyonce, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson) who performs in the talent show but loses to another singer; However, it just so happen that James Thunder Earlys backup crew got tired of his philandering(which was played oh too well by Eddie Murphy) and back up singers are needed; Curtis brokers with Danny Glover who plays Earlys manager to let the girls back him up, even though he has no managerial ties to the girls and all, but he smells paydirt when he sees it and the rest is history for Taylor and the Dreamettes. Now Jennifer Hudson, who gives a Oscar worthy performance as Effie White, gets kicked to the curb for the more commercial next to white looking Beyonce(Deena) and of course not without a fight from Effie(And I am Telling You, I'm Not Going).Of course, the show moves on, and in the end, Jennifer Hudson has her day. The saddest thing on this film is that it didnt go for Best Picture, but still a hit at the Box Office.Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Effie.

12. Jason's Lyric(1994). To me, one of the best  yet underrated  love films in African American history. About the story of a couple who dared to love in a world full of violence. Allen Payne is the good brother to Bokeem Woodbine's bad brother. they both share a painful past. In spite of it, Jason meets the cute little Lyric(played by a young Jada Pinkett)who is as lyrical and whimsical as her name suggests. He courts her in inner city Houston even though Jason's brother and Lyric's brother are doing underhanded business together. With one of the most graphic nude scenes ever put on film, Jason's Lyric is sure to keep you glued. Great score. also stars Eddie Griffin, Anthony "Treach" Criss, Forrest Whittaker and Suzanne Douglas.

13.Bad Day at Black Rock(1955) this has got to be one of the shortest little films around and a western to boot. Spencer Tracy plays this one armed WW2 vet who stops in a little California town(Black Rock) to find a certain farmer; come to find out the town is uncooperative, inhospitable and downright ugly to boot. Although he tries to get some on his side(namely Walter Brennan and later on Leif Erickson) he has to deal with the likes of Robert Ryan and his band. Lee Marvin, Ernest Borginine etc. It dont take long to know that a secret exists and things are about to change. Short film, but big wallop.

14, Madea's Family Reunion(2006). Tyler Perry's second movie about two sisters with problems of their own(one facing marriage to domestic abuse and the other a single mom with two kids). One facing demons and the other running far away from them. But in the midst, love comes. One of the best features of this film is Cicely Tysons speech and the wedding scene at the end. Nothing short of beautiful. If you ask me, I say, Hooray for Tyler Perry. He has taken a bunch of plays and parlayed them into an industry of his own. The fact that he has his own studio, makes them in record time ahead of Hollywood and maintains controls speaks volumes for him; All done before the age of 40. 

15. Last but not least, this last film is little known, but has been shown on PBS and directed by Debbie Allen. Also starring her sister Phylicia Rashad, the film, The Old Settler(2001) tells the story of two sisters during WW2 in Harlem; Rashad takes in a border to help with the bills, a young man from South Carolina looking for his old girlfriend(Crystal Fox)who has no intention of ever going back south; He instead turns his attentions to Rashad, who has never married and called an "old settler", one who never marries and have no prospects. Because of the differences in their ages, Rashad is given a second chance on love but not without its problems.

And that folks is it for me. But before I go I must mention one more. as an Honorable Mention I finally got to watch this film just this past Sunday, but I can also see why it is so celebrated. Directed by Marcel Camus and lauded at both the Cannes Film Festival and Academy Awards, Black Orpheus(1960)tells the story of Orpheus(Bruno Mello) who meets Eurydice(Marpessa Dawn) and fall tragically in love with one another amid Brazill's carnival, and the concernation of Orpheus fiancee Mina(Lourdes de Oliviera) and Death. based on Greek mythology and worth a look.