Film #7: Singin' in the Rain

Film #7: Singin' in the Rain (1952) - Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly

Roomie Rating: 9.5/10

One-Sentence Synopsis: Gene Kelly triple-threats his way to the top while Jean Hagen triple-threats her way to the bottom.

Favorite Character(s):
Cosmo, the best friend

Favorite Quote(s):
Lina Lamont: Whaddya think, I'm dumb or somethin'?!


Lina Lamont: No! No! No!
Movie Villain: Yes! Yes! Yes!
[repeat endlessly and out of time with the film]

Other Comments:
Hilarious and heartwarming. As it should be.

Film #6: Four Jills in a Jeep

Film #6: Four Jills in a Jeep (1944) - William A. Seiter

Roomie Rating: 7/10

One-Sentence Synopsis:
Four women, three continents, two flights, and one puttering escort.

Favorite Character(s):
Martha Raye, as Martha Raye
Eddie, the incorrigible buffoon

Favorite Quote(s):
Carmen Miranda: Oh, I like your lips and I like your eyes.
Would you like my hips to hips-notize ... you?
Other Comments:
Although this movie is quite theatrically entertaining, do not be fooled by the title. The four "Jills" are in a jeep for about only thirty seconds! Lies.

Film #5: Top Hat

Film #5: Top Hat (1935) - Mark Sandrich

Roomie Rating: 8.8/10

One-Sentence Synopsis: Fred Astaire overcomes obliviousness through commendable resolve.

Favorite Character(s):
Jerry Travers, the triple-threat

Favorite Quote(s): [While commandeering the bridal suite.]
Horace Hardwick: But, Jerry, you shouldn't be in here. It isn't cricket.
Jerry Travers: No, Horace, it isn't tiddlywinks either.

Other Comments:
The dancing was great, the plot was hilarious, and Fred Astaire's facial expressions were incomparable. You should definitely tap into this one. (;

Noteworthies: The Rule of Love

For those of you looking for a quick, thoughtful read, I will let C.S. Lewis do the talking:

"The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. There is, indeed, one exception. If you do him a good turn, not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show him what a fine forgiving chap you are, and to put him in your debt, and then sit down to wait for his 'gratitude', you will probably be disappointed. (People are not fools: they have a very quick eye for anything like showing off, or patronage.) But whenever we do good to another self, just because it is a self, made (like us) by God, and desiring its own happiness as we desire ours, we shall have learned to love it a little more or, at least, to dislike it a little less."

-from Mere Christianity

I got this great book of C.S. Lewis quotes last Christmas and there are so many good tidbits in it! Sometimes good thoughts happen upon us, and what a wonderful feeling it is when they do. But I believe that it takes hearing others' good thoughts to develop better ones for yourself. However, the trick is to not get stuck behind the other people's thoughts: "Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." -Einstein.

Acquire enough knowledge to understand and then think for yourself. When you hit a wall, there's nothing wrong with looking for inspiration, but once you find it, remember why you went looking.