Lanning : ) (binky013)

Which disappointment to list first . . . Well, whoever cast the grown son and the replacement wife should be entombed. What horrible choices. The son has zero camera chemistry and delivers lines the way a mummy or other living-dead entity might. Maria Bello, whom I generally enjoy, was terribly -- dare I say abominably -- miscast here -- pun intended. She and Fraser do not click at all. I'd rather they'd written the part out if they couldn't convince Rachel Weisz to reprise her role.

And maybe the biggest disappointment of all was the waste of Jet Li. He's one of my favorite martial arts stylists. Very little of that here. Really not worth seeing once, even if you enjoyed the first two.

Not my favorite Almodóvar to date, but the dark humor, when it's working, is very good. I asked you all a few weeks ago if you could think of a movie where the Catholic Church comes out smelling like a rose. I'm still thinking about that.

The wrong war at the wrong time.

Still one of the best "futility of war" movies ever made. Holden's performance holds up so well. Those last desperate minutes are gripping, even after many viewings and more than 50 years. And there's Grace Kelly, too. Possibly the best performances ever given by both Mickey Rooney and Earl Holliman.

Mr. Lundie: They were indeed horrible destructive women. I dinna suppose you have such women in your country?

Tommy Albright: Witches?

Jeff Douglas: Oh we have 'em. We pronounce it differently.

One of my all-time favorites. Absolutely non-reality based, this musical touches on that deep-seated human desire to escape time. And what better way to escape time than to spend eternity with your one true love.

I tell you, if Kelly could sing like Robert Goulet, this would be a six-star movie. Don't misunderstand me: Kelly can sing well enough. But if you get a chance to listen to the TV version where Goulet sings "There but for You Go I," one of several beautiful songs that were left on the cutting room floor in this version, you'll get a sense of what I mean.

Cyd Charisse! Of all Kelly's dance partners through the years, Charisse is the most stylishly elegant. She's a for real dancer, baby. If I ever make it to Scotland, I'm going looking for her in this secret little town :)

Van Johson is superb as the jaded and cynical anti-romantic foil. I always feel sorry for him when he decides, at the end, not to cross the bridge. If it were me, I'd go with Kelly. Plenty of single women, Van. Just do it.

The momentary New York City scene is well-done and so appropriately paced and placed. Even for a first-time viewer, it will be clear where Kelly is headed after listening to his city girlfriend rattle on.

For die-hard romantic escapists, there are few better films boasting such great music and passion with which to leave the real world behind.