Alfred Hitchcock Silent Movie: **^ The Manxman (1929)

 This is an early Alfred Hitchcock.  In this movie there are two best friends, and one woman.  One is a lawyer and very loyal.  Pete (Carl Brisson) is in love with Kate (Anny Ondra).  Phillip (Malcolm Keen) is a lawyer and his trusted friend.  When Pete proposes marriage, Kate's father says absolutely not.  Pete determines to go over seas to get rich, and asks Phillip to keep and eye on Kate for him.  Kate and Phillip love each other, but are loyal.  when they hear Pete is presumed dead, they let go however.  However Pete is not dead and returns, and marries Kete.  However Kate is pregnant with Phillip's baby.  She has a baby girl, which Pete assumes is his.  They continue life until everything reaches a head for Kate.  She is married to Pete but loves Phillip, who is the father of her baby.  She attempts suicide by drowning.  She would like to be with Phillip but his lawyer, judgeship aspirations do not allow this.  But when Kate comes before him for trial, everything falls apart; or comers together based on your viewpoint.  

Early Alfred Hitchcock Movie: *** The Farmer's Wife (1928)

This is a very early Alfred Hitchcock, before he caught onto the suspense genre.  It is a romantic comedy of sorts with the Farmer, widowed, seeking a new wife after his daughter marries, leaving him at home alone.  Howevrer our farmer has terrible luck.  He is helped in his endeavors by his house maid and his handyman, who in the end are as funny as the farmer in his pursuits.  It takes him a while to com to his senses, but the maid and he have been in love for some time.  He is just shy around her.  

As noted Alfred Hitchcock direts.  This is a silent film, except for a serenade song.  

Movie Review: **** Jumper (2008) with Hayden Christensen

 David Rice (Hayden Christensen) has a miserable life.  The brunt of teasing at school, a mother who left him when he was five, and an abusive father.  while being teased at school, he falls through the ice and floats away.  But he doesn't drown, but teleports himself into the library.  He begins oracticing, and realizes he doesn't need to stay home.  He can teleport away, so he does.  He also develops a habit of teleporting into bank vaults, and thereby living a pretty good lifestyle.  However he doesn't show himself to anyone so they think he has died.  Several years later he is quite established.  However there is a secret group intent on killing the jumpers, no one should have such power.  Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) heads this group of Paladins.  He has a big knife he uses, but he slows the jumpers with electricity.  

He returns to his hometown, and looks up Millie (Rachel Bilson) and decides to bring her with on his next trip to Italy.  However in Italy he is attacked, but he also meets another jumper, Griffin (Jamie Bell).  David accidentally follows Griffin to his lair.  In the end they team up and the capture the Paladins without their device that helps them trap jumpers and also move about.  However Roland captures Millie.  david wants to save Millie, Griffin wants to blow u the Paladins.  A fight ensues, and david come away on top.  He rescues Millie and does not blow up the Paladins, prooving he is different from other Jumpers.

This movie jumps around a lot (pun intended).  They travel to sevreral different countries, Egypt and Italy among them.  There is some fine fighting and special effects with electricity.  

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara Movie Review: **** Rio Grande (1950)

 This is the first of five collaborations of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  Lt. Col Kirby York (Wayne) is osted on the Rio Grande, and dealing with Apache Indians.  Mrs. Kathleen Yorke (O'Hara) his estranged wife comes to camp after her son, Trooper Jefferson Yorke (Claude Jarman Jr.)  He had arrived in camp a few days earlier as a new recruit.  The relationship between Yorke and his wife evolves during the movie and it is fun to watch, as too the growth of their son.  Other characters are Trooper Tyree (Ben Johnson) who in addition to being a trooper is wanted on manslaughter charges.  Trooper Boone (Harry Carey Jr.) starts in a fight with Trooper York but they fast become best friends.  The movie is also graced with the serenading of the regimental singers (Sons of the Pioneers.)  

Great story telling.  In Black and White.  John Ford directed.

Tom Cruise Movie Review: **** Minority Report (2002)

 This is a science fiction that is a bit hard to understand.  It is a futuristic movie, taking place in 2054.  In Washington, D.C. pre cogs (peope with cognitive functions where they dream of future murders, and are used by the police to prevent future crimes.  Many people have been arrested as a result, and placed in a comma.  The murder rate has dropped to zero.  However one of our police, Chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise) shows up on a future crime report, killing someone he doesn't know.  He runs, and eventually gets to the bottom of a murder which was miss handled in the past.  A woman was murdered twice, once prevented by the precogs, but the second did happen, Ann Lively (Jessica Harper) was drowned.  One of the Precogs was her daughter (Samantha Morton).  Anderton steals this precog.  She is considered the strongest. 

Someone has been manipulating the system, and that person is very powerful.  A coworker (Colin Ferrell), rival of sorts, also started questioning and goes to the director (Max Von Sydow), and is murdered.  Anderton's (Kathryn Morris) wife is also involved, and is the person who discovers the true murderer.  

Directed by Steven Spielberg.  Even though this is hard material, with futuristic computers and such, I think is comes off well.  

Movie Review: **** Coach Carter (2005)

 Coach Carter (Samuel Jackson) takes a position as basketball coach even though he knows it is a tough neighborhood and the team has n9t had much success.  He sets some conditions for the players, 2.3 GPA and attend classes and sit in the front and wear a tie on game day.  They actually find a great deal of success on the court, but when the progress reports come to the coach, he realizes most of the team is not fulfilling the conditions of the contract.  He locks the gym and suspends games.  The forfeit a few games as a result; and the community has a conniption.  They go to the school board who overrules the coach and says games will restart.   Coach Carter chooses to resign.  The issue is important to him as too many kids do not go on to colege in Richmond, California where this story takes place.  However the players stivck with him.  They bring their grades up and get back to basketball.  This movie provides some exciting play.  They lose to the best team in the state in the playoffs by a last-second basket.

Samuel Jackson is very good.  Channing Tatum and Rick Gonzalez play basket ball players.  Robert Ri'chard plays Coach carter's son and als basketball player.  

Music Review: Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Columbia Records, 1967.

Bob Dylan is most known for his writing the iconic song, "Blowin' in the Wind."  That is the feature song of this C.C.  However there are only ten songs on the C.D.  The other on that s pretty popular as an anti-war movement song is "The Times, They Are a-Changin'."  Who knew that Bob Dylan wrote the song, "It Aint Me Babe" which Johnny Cash and June Carter recorded.  Another song in the same category is "Mr. Tambourine Man."  Dylan recorded this several times but the Byrd's version reached Number one.  The other song that is quite popular is "Like a Rolling Stone."

Dylan sings with a raspy kind of voice.  Some of the songs have a blue grass feel.  However the song that makes this C.D. enjoyable is "Blowin' in the Wind."  I sand this song with the Jr. High choir many moons ago.