My 150 Favorite Films - #2

'I Know Where I'm Going!' (1945)

Involving a headstrong young woman, played by the late, great Wendy Hiller, determined to marry a wealthy older man, when she gets waylaid by a storm off the coast of Scotland (on the way to their wedding). Invariably she meets up with a local Scotsman, played by Roger Livesey, who manages to turn her head. Written and directed by the filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, this romantic comedy embodies charm and grace, and is a vast pleasure to watch.

My 150 Favorite Films - #3

A New Leaf (1971)

There are lines of dialogue in A New Leaf that I have been using in my everyday life for years, among them, "she has to be vacuumed every time she eats," and "I've never spent a more physically destructive evening in my life." Although the director, Elaine May, has all but disavowed this film after the studio took it away from her and recut it, I still think this is by far, the best thing she has ever done, and considering her illustrious career, that really is saying something. The plot, concerning a playboy who spends all his money, and has no choice but to marry a wealthy woman, is but one factor. The acting by May and Walter Matthau is superlative. The denouement is one of the most satisfying ever committed to celluloid. A cult classic and a hidden gem.