Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Sidney Lumet directed this film about a bank-heist gone awry based on a true incident. Al Pacino (Sonny) and John Cazelle (both from The Godfather) decide to rob a bank and take it over, holding everyone inside hostage. The robbers use guns to scare and intimidate but Pacino's character doesn't want to hurt anyone. It's a great performance and you are convinced that he's this character, who wants the money to pay for his lover's sex change surgery. Chris Sarandon plays the lover who calls Sonny on the phone a few times; it's a small part but memorable. Charles Durning is also good as a cop who wants to negotiate and deal with Sonny to let the people out. Meanwhile, the local crowd outside gathers and even cheers on Sonny as a hero, and the hostages inside are getting hungry. In one of my favorite scenes, Sonny decides to order a pizza and cokes; the pizza delivery guy comes and you get the sense that this is his greatest claim to fame so far in life. The ending is sad, as the police follow Sonny and Cazale to the airport where they think they are going to be let go and fly away. It's an interesting film that shows how one criminal incident can grow into a cultural and news media sensation. 

Bullitt (1968) and The Peanuts Movie (2015)

I really enjoyed Bullitt, with Steve McQueen playing the title role, who is cool and slick. 

I like the way the blogger at Just Hit Play describes the movie:

It is a smart, stylish cop drama/thriller that gets better with each viewing. For starters, it was filmed in San Francisco, setting the stage for Dirty Harry, McQ and a whole cop genre to move into the city. It is an ideal backdrop for the story; a polished, good-looking city that is nonetheless hiding secrets. The score from Lalo Schifrin is a good mix of quiet, soothing jazz and faster-paced, more traditional yet still exciting musical cues. The style in an almost documentary-like fashion reflects some of the French crime thrillers that I’ve really come to appreciate, giving ‘Bullitt’ a different edge more than just the same old, same old cops and robbers story.

• Full  blog post about Bullitt from Just Hit Play here 

What was really interesting is that in one scene, a hospital is shown, and a Peanuts calendar is on the wall. It was really interesting to see that Snoopy and the Peanuts comics were already a cultural landmark back in 1968.

Incidentally, I also did see  The Peanuts Movie (2015), a brand-new computer animated iteration, and I really liked it; it wasn't bad. It wasn't the best movie ever but it captured the feeling of the original television and film characters. It's really a different kind of animation than the South Park or Family Guy series.

Guilty pleasure movies

OK, So I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but some of my favorite "guilty pleasure" movies are the Police Academy series, the Problem Child movies, and Nothing But Trouble.

I know some of you like these films too. LOL

Police Academy series (but I like parts 3-4 the best)



Problem Child 1 and 2



Nothing But Trouble