Good movies, part 1

Soon I hope to get back to listing the good books our family reads, but first I have to get back in the habit of keeping track of them throughout the month! Last October, though, we got a book from the library with Leonard Maltin's reviews of movies from the 1920s onward. We wrote down some that sounded good, as well as some we'd seen before but wanted to see again, and we've been watching one or two a week. Here are some of the best ones we've discovered or re-discovered in the past few months:

Cheaper by the Dozen (the 1950 version) - comedy about a large family with parents who are efficiency experts.

Belles on Their Toes (1952) - comedy, the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen. I had read the book but never knew they'd made a movie of this one.

Born Yesterday (1950) - comedy/drama about a clueless girl whose shady-business-dealing boyfriend hires a reporter to educate her. Judy Holliday does a great job.

The Circus (1928) - silent Charlie Chaplin comedy where he competes with a trapeze artist for a girl's affection. We had to rewind and re-watch the scene where Chaplin is walking the tightrope with monkeys attacking him!

Easter Parade (1948) - musical with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire.

Heartland (1979) - drama about a woman who goes to Wyoming in the early 1900s to keep house for a rancher, but what she really wants is to homestead her own land.

Hondo (1953) - Western based on a Louis L'Amour book and starring John Wayne.

Singin' in the Rain (1952) - musical with Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly, and Donald O'Connor, a classic that our kids had never seen and got to enjoy for the first time. They loved it!

Ushpizin (2004) - drama, an Israeli film (with English subtitles) about a couple who pray for a miracle and get it, but also get guests who cause them problems. A very interesting movie.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2005) - documentary about a man who studied and befriended a wild parrot flock in San Francisco. Gorgeous to watch, funny and interesting.