Pennies from Heaven (1936)

Pennies from Heaven is a pretty stupid film. But it was designed as a kind of pick-me-up during the Great Depression, and "Pennies from Heaven" is a gem of a song, especially sung by Bing Crosby.

The Thomas Crown Affair (the Original)

What sexy fun! I loved The Thomas Crown Affair. It's superbly directed, delightfully performed, with the perfect light touch by both Dunaway and McQueen, and it's just so pleasurable! It's also brilliantly scripted. Structurally, Alan Trustman (who also wrote Bullitt) has put the big set piece in the opening twenty minutes. It's a brilliant move that is so surprising and challenging, and it cleverly lets the rest of the film be about something else. So smart.

The Spy Who Loved Me

If Barbara Bach had been a better actress, this movie would have worked much better. The chief villain, too, leaves a bit to be desired (he's not very scary), but his number one henchman is very strange, and so he is quite interesting, and The Spy Who Loved Me turns out to be a fun Bond movie, with a great Bond girl (as scripted), a killer theme song (but then, we already knew that) and plenty of fun travel.

The Naked Spur

I really like Robert Ryan and Ralph Meeker. Actually I liked everyone in this. I am not sure I really buy Stewart as the masculine figure this movie wants him to be – this is a role much better suited to someone like Burt Lancaster or, at any rate, someone younger. But the script is good, the Colorado scenery is lovely, and the psychological mind-games are fun.

Village on the River (1958)

Fons Rademakers' Village on the River (Dorp aan de Rivier) is fine. It's not quite funny enough to really charm, though.

Music in My Heart (1940)

Both Music in My Heart and Rita Hayworth are very cute, and Tony Martin has a gorgeous voice. The main song of the film – "Punchinello" – is not the song that was nominated for an Academy Award. "Punchinello" is sung to a small monkey at a street fair. It's delightful.

My Sweet Little Village (1985)

There is a reason My Sweet Little Village is so beloved. It is very very funny and totally charming. Obviously Jiří Menzel had already made his name with the brilliant Closely Watched Trains in 1966, but this film is very very different than that movie, and it's a Chekhovian delight.

Also, I totally fell in love with the nerdy character who is sleeping with a young unhappily married woman in the village. He's played by Jan Hartl and he looks exactly like my ex Kevin. He's a nerd but a passionate lover (exactly how I always think of Kevin, too).

Postcard from London

I still love Harris Dickinson, and I am clearly the ideal audience for this movie, which was aimed directly at me, but Postcards from London does not work. It's this weird set of references to Fassbinder and Caravaggio and Oscar Wilde. Fine, but it's made cheaply and its tone never jells, and it has no score! This is boring and awkward. Dickinson and Jonah Hauer-King deserve better.

Wings over Honolulu (1937)

Wings over Honolulu doesn't have much to recommend it. A socialite young lady learns to be a good wife and sacrifice her own selfish desires. This was hard to enjoy.