"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

I have crossed a couple more movies off my film list:

11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)

It's a Wonderful Life is one of those movies that I should have seen long ago, since it is on TV every Christmas. But we never watched it in my house, and so I just never got around to seeing it. And to tell the truth, I was notreally looking forward to watching it; I just thought I'd tough it out to cross it off the list. I was not interested in the "#1 most inspirational movie" of all time -- too cheesey, too sappy, etc. But the truth is that I enjoyed the film quite a bit. Yes, it is sappy, but I liked it. It reminded me a little of what I like most about Our Town. And it is very hard not to like Jimmy Stewart.



Sunset Boulevard is a movie I have always heard about as a true Hollywood classic, and I loved it. Made in 1950, it is a bit of a satire of old Hollywood, with Gloria Swanson playing a washed-up silent film mega-star, which indeed she was in real-life. The film has a noir feel to it, with William Holden narrating the "detective" part, except he is a screenwriter. What makes the movie so incredible is Gloria Swanson's over-the-top performace as the has-been diva Norma Desmond. This is one of the best performances I have ever seen on film, and the final scene, which shows the downfall of a mind, is brilliant.