True Grit

Loved this one. Very strong female character (although she did drive me a little crazy). After her father is killed by one of his employees, who then hides out on Indian Territory, she hires John Wayne to go in after him because she heard he has true grit. Justice is finally served and I would watch this one again.

The High and the Mighty

Decent John Wayne movie. A departure from the westerns I've been watching. He plays the co-pilot on a plane going from Hawaii to California that experiences some engine trouble. It comes down to a matter of minutes on whether they'll make the shore or have to ditch. Enjoyed very much, but won't be adding to my collection as I prefer the westerns.

3 Godfathers

How cute is this movie! John Wayne actually plays a good bad guy in it. He and two others ride into town with the intention of robbing the bank. A cute house catches their eye and the nice man who owns it happens to be out front...and turns out to be the marshal. They successfully rob the bank, but on the way out of town the kid gets shot in the shoulder. They start heading across the Arizona dessert in search of water, but the marshal and his men beat them to their destination, so they backtrack to another water source. Once there, they discover a disabled wagon with a pregnant woman inside. When her husband found the well was dry he blew it up seeking water below the surface. When that didn't work he set off on his own, but perished. The woman was in labor. She gave birth to a son, but she didn't live much beyond the delivery. She named her son after each of the three men, who she made his godfathers. They set out with the baby in tow, but by the time the end of their journey was in site, only John Wayne and the baby had survived. The marshal and his men finally caught up with them and brought John and the baby back to town. John was sentenced to one year and a day because he refused to break his promise to a dying woman and sign over custody to her aund and uncle, who happened to be the marshal and his wife. Great movie!

Stage Coach

Enjoyed this one. Opens in a little western town with a stagecoach pulling in carrying a woman and a man. The woman is a calvary officer's wife on her way west to join him and the man is a whiskey seller. While the stage coach changes its horses, the woman goes into the cafe with some friends who are also with the calvary and the man goes into the bar. When they are ready to push on, they are joined by a drunken doctor, a wanton womam, a notorious gambler, and the sheriff, who is seeking John Wayne, an escaped prisoner. Because Geronimo is in the area, a calvary detatchment escorts them to the next town over and leaves. Upon arrival, the woman learns her husband is no longer there, but at the next town over, and wounded. She is ill and passes out, later giving birth to a little girl. They planned on waiting another day to let her rest, but the sight of indians forces them on. The wagon train is attacked and just as they run out of ammo, the cavalry arrives to save the day. John is released and he and the wanton woman head to his ranch across the border. The drunken doctor is played by the man who played Gerald O'Hara in Gone With the Wind and one of the other characters sounds like the guy that played the drunk Santa at the start of Miracle on 34th Street.

Fort Apache

Loved this movie! Will Danaher was back and Shirley Temple was in it, too. Hated her father, though. He was such an arrogant jerk and responsible for an entire contingent's deaths because he wouldn't listen to my beloved hero...Keeper!

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

Awesome movie! Totally a keeper. John Wayne's a calvary commander a few days shy of retirement when he's told his final mission is to bring his commanding officer's wife and niece to the next major town to catch the stage home. Along the way they are set upon by Indians and eventually must turn around when they find the town is no longer inhabited and the stage coach has been burned. What I loved about this one was that it co-starred two of my favorite actors from the Quiet Man. The actor who played Will Danaher and the actress who played the wealthy widow that owned White-A-Morning. Lots of laughs. Loved the ending! Gotta get this one! Next up are Fort Apache and Stagecoach.

Red River

Red River starts our promising but peeters out. Half the movie is spent driving about 10,000 head of cattle. Shortly before the end it finally picks up when they come across a wagon train of women and gambling equipment headed for Nevada. Not going on my keeper list. Hopefully She Wore A Yellow Ribbon will be better.

Hondo/The Searchers

Hondo is probably my favorite of the ones I've rented so far. He was delivering a message when his horse died. He and his dog, Sam, walked to the nearest ranch, where they came upon a woman and her son. She claimed her husband was up in the hills trying to track down lost sheep, but he could tell it had been months since a man was around. He stayed on to do some things for her and tried to convince her to come into town with him because of the rising problems with the indians. She refused, saying they'd lived in peace. He rode on and when he reached town, he happened upon her husband, drinking and gambling. He delivered his missive and made to head back out to ranch when the husband noticed he was riding one of his horses. He accused him of being a horse thief and Hondo said he hadn't stolen it, he'd borrowed it, and he was on his way back to return it. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the formerly friendly indians weren't so friendly any more. The only thing that saved mother and child was the son's attempt to stand up to them. The chief made them blood brothers and would periodically check in on them to make sure she was raising their brave right. The chief also thought she should marry one of his warriors as the brave needed a man. Hondo stopped to water the horse and the husband followed him. As they were talking they were set upon by the same indians that had claimed the son. Hondo thought all he had to worry about was the indians, but it turns out the husband wanted to kill him, too. Since it was kill or be killed, Hondo had no choice and killed the husband. He found a picture of the son on the man and took it with him. Shortly thereafter, the indians over powered him. They were about to kill him when they found the picture. They brought him to the mother and son and asked if that was her husband. She said yes and they pretty much lived happily ever after from there. My favorite of the rentals so far! Keeper!

The Searchers was tough. John returns to Texas from the war to stay with his brother, his wife and their three kids. There's an illusion that John and the sister-in-law may have had some feelings for each other. The indians in the territory are uprising and John sets off to help a nearby ranch. He's not long gone when he realizes his brother's ranch may be the true target. By the time he gets back it's too late. His brother, sister-in-law and nephew have been brutally murdered and the house burned. His two nieces have been kidnapped. John and his adopted nephew set out after the girls. Eventually they find out the oldest niece has also been murdered. It took 5 years for them to find her. By then she considered herself an indian. She didn't want to leave with them. But, in the end, she did go home with them. I was very touched by this movie and can't wait to add it to my collection.

The Sons of Katie Elder

Katie Elder was the beloved member of a little Texas town. She had four boys. The oldest three had left home when they were old enough to survive on their own and none of them had amounted to much. John was a rumored gun fighter and the others were thieves. But she was bound and determined that the youngest was going to go to college and make something of himself. Upon her passing, all four returned to town. Expecting this, the town's blacksmith brought in a hired gun in case John showed up. The boys learned that after their father died six months before, their mom had lost the ranch and had no assets. Then they found out his Dad had been shot in the back. John was going to find out who murdered his dad and took his mom's ranch. He was also going to make sure the youngest went to college and made something of himself. When they got too close, the blacksmith murdered the sheriff and made it look like the Elders had done it. They were arrested by the deputy and as he was bringing them to next major town for a fair trial they were ambushed. One of the brothers was killed and another wounded. Eventually it was all straightened out and the truth was revealed. Loved this one, too. Keeper!

Big Jake/The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Finally! The man who started it all arrives! For the next few weeks John Wayne movies will be pouring in and out of my mailbox and I couldn't be happier about having The Tall Man come to call!

Big Jake was great...up until Dog was viciously killed by a psycho with a machete. Maureen O'Hara (love her!) only has a bit part in this movie, which was a little disappointing because I love the two of them together! She plays Jake's wife, but they haven't seen each other in many years. They have three sons together and one of those sons has a son. One day some riders come in, shoot up their ranch and kidnap the grandson. The ransom demand was one million dollars. Maureen sends for Jake. He and the two sons who weren't shot set out after the kidnappers, eventually rescuing the grandson without any exchange of money. Great flick-going on the purchase list!

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was ok and different from his other movies because it was told as a flashback. It also co-stars Jimmy Stewart and I don't really care to much for him. Jimmy plays a Senator who's returned to town with his wife to bury John. A newspaper reporter asks what's so special about John and they flash back to when Jimmy first arrived in town. He'd been on a stagecoach that was jumped by Liberty Valance and his gang. He'd been beaten and robbed. John found him and brought him into town. He took a job at the diner and fell in love with John's girl, whom John intended to marry after he'd put the addition on his house. Jimmy was the only one in town who would stand up to Liberty. This was set at the time when the ranchers and the farmers were battling over whether Texas should become a state or remain a territory and Jimmy encouraged the town to get involved and vote for statehood. Eventually the battle with Liberty came to a duel. He'd avoided using a gun for a long time, thinking to settle it with the law, but when it became clear that wasn't going to happen he picked up a gun. He thought he killed Liberty, but it was actually John. And after that John encouraged Jimmy to marry his girl and head to Washington. Probably not going to buy this one, but glad I saw it!

August Rush/Confessions of a Shopaholic

August Rush was recommended by my sister-in-law. It stars Keri Russell and the guy from The Tudors-Johnathan something-or-other. It was sooooo good and totally gets a "go out and buy this now." This surprised me because at first I didn't like it. It was about this kid in an orphanage-type place who was convinced his parents were coming back for him. He heard music in every sound. Flashback 11 years and you see Keri as a concert cellist and Johnathan as a guitarist in his rock band. They meet at a party, have an amazing night together and never see each other again. She finds out she's pregnant, gets into an accident and is told by her father the baby died (he thought the baby would ruin her career). It's only on his deathbed that he confesses the baby lived and she goes looking for him. Robin Williams also stars, but he doesn't play a very nice man in this movie. Eventually Mom, Dad and son find themselves together in Central Park. A predictable ending but extremely heart-warming to watch unfold. Loved this movie and it was worth the wait. I say it was worth the wait because this was the only movie to date Netflix screwed up on me. The said it was sent to me and returned to them on the same day. On the right-hand side of their web page is a little Your Account/Help button. I clicked on that, clicked on August Rush and clicked on the button that said it wasn't received. They put it back on my queue and I had it two days later, in time for weekend viewing. It was nice to see this corrected so quickly, however it did offset my whole get two movies/return two movies rhythm. I continue to find Netflix easy to use and customer-friendly.

Confessions Of A Shopaholic....was ok. I'm glad I watched it on-line instead of waiting for the DVD to come. The movie's exactly like the title. A girl is $16,000 in debt due to her obsession with shoes and clothes. It all comes to a head when the magazine she was working at suddenly closes. She's been trying to get into Elite magazine forever, but the only one of their subsidiaries that's hiring is a money magazine. She gets a trial there and eventually takes care of her bebt and finds love. It was cute, but not going on my "get this" list.

The Deadliest Catch Season 1-3

This was my first foray into online viewing. I've caught episodes of this show here and there and was anxious to see the entire season. What's handy about this feature is that I can watch something I like while using my TV to transfer over Monday Night Raws onto DVDs for my brother-in-law. Or while my husband watches one of his shows, which I rarely have any interest in.

The first half of Season 1 is about the Red King Crab season, which takes place in October. The second half is about the Opi season that takes place in January. Here we meet the staples of seasons to come-the crews of the Northwestern, the Time Bandit and the Cornelia Marie (so sad about Phil Harris!). We also meet some other crews, including hottie Blake Painter of the Maverick! You gotta give props to these guys. I wouldn't do what they do. And suddenly $30 for some legs doesn't seem like too much. Glad I took the time to watch this and love the online feature, but must make mental note to myself to swirl the mouse around every once in a while so the screensaver doesn't kick in.

Season 2 brought more of the same, but a ship and lives were lost and a dramatic rescue was caught first hand.

Season 3 saw some changes. Blake was captaining the Maverick and under-estimated their haul by almost 5,000 lbs. He didn't come back for Opi season and I'm currently watching season 4 and they aren't one of the featured boats. The Time Bandit pulled a guy out of the water and everyone was catching crab like crazy. There was a drawback to this season. For whatever reason Netflix did not have episodes 3 and 4, which basically amounted to missing half of the King crab season. Still, we got to see more of the guys senses of humor in this season and I'd totally hang out with them-off their boats.

Couples Retreat/The Hurt Locker

Ok...so my first two movies were not on my co-worker's list, but they were movies I really wanted to see, so I bumped John Wayne down a few slots. That's another bonus. You can take anything in your queue or anything new to your queue, and re-number it to move it up or down on your list.

Couples Retreat was not the comedy I thought it would be, but it was really good. It did have some funny parts (with Vince Vaughn how could it not?!). One couple was having marital problems and contemplating divorce because of infertility strains. They found this great resort that caters to couples with problems and offers counseling and activities geared at strengthening their marriages. The problem was they could only afford to go there if they could get three other couples to go with them so they'd get the group discount. One couple was happy and didn't feel the need to go but wanted to help their friends. One couple was waiting for their daughter to go to college so they could finally divorce and the other couple was new. He was recently divorced and was rebounding with a late teens-early 20's girl who insisted upon calling him "Daddy." After landing, they learn the island's split into two-one side for marriages in trouble, the other for singles. The ending was predictable with the original couple realizing they could have sex for more than just baby-making, the second couple realizing their marriage wasn't as good as they thought, the third couple realizing they don't want to divorce afer all, and the cradle robber reuniting with his wife. What surprised me was that some of the goofy things the counselors said and had the couples do opened my eyes up to some things I'd like to change about my own marriage because 15 years together and hectic schedules have caused us to become a little complacent and lose some of the romance. Will put this one on my "to be purchased list."

The Hurt Locker was particularly sensitive for me right now with my brother-in-law just over half way through his third tour in Afghanistan and my only brother in his third week of boot-camp as a new Army Reservist. It's about those heroes of heroes who are called in when IEDs are found and dismantle them with frequently disasterous results. After the EOD specialist who's been with them the entire tour is killed with only a few weeks left to go, his replacement arrives and he's not exactly a team player. He takes chances, goes off his mike and generally does whatever he can to cause heart failure in the man that's supposed to keep him alive. This was also a good movie, but not one I'll be adding to my "to be purchased" list. Once was enough, but it certainly made me aware of a specialized group of men I wasn't aware of before. I may not believe in the cause, but I believe in our men and women and will support them with all of my heart.

Returned these two on Tuesday (President's day) and got the next two Thursday. So far only draw-back has been the fact that it's an extra $3.99/month if you want Blu-Rays. I've chosen to forego this option, but it's a personal preference.

It All Started With Lunch...

So every year my office hosts a Perfect Attendance luncheon for those of us who have failed to become sick enough during the year to justify staying home. This year, lunch was held at Black and Blue, a steak and seafood restaurant.

Due to my unfortunate left-handedness, I chose a seat at the far end of the table thinking if I was going to be hacking away at a steak, I'd rather not do it bumping elbows with the person sitting next to me.

I was surrounded by others from my department and one of our loss prevention consultants.

Somehow, talk turned to movies, then classic movies, then John Wayne movies. Ed and Jeff named movie after movie that I "MUST" see and they all sounded irresistible.

The next day, Jeff e-mailed the list to me and I was anxious to get started, but where would I find all these classics with just about every video store closed or closing? And suddenly it hit me-why, the same place those stupid, annoying red pop-ups come from-Netflix!

I've held off on Netflix because I generally prefer to own my movies rather than rent them. I'm a chronic re-watcher/re-reader. But if I tried to do this with this list it would cost me a fortune.

For those of you not familiar with Netflix, they have a variety of packages to meet everyone's needs. I chose to go with what is probably their most popular package. For $13.99 (plus any taxes...) a month I can get 2 movies at a time with unlimited viewings and unlimited online viewing. By unlimited viewings I mean I can get as many movies in a month as I can receive, watch and return. Some packages limit the number of movies you can get each month.

I joined on a Thursday night and found their website to be very user friendly. You can search by title, actor, etc. You can search by new releases, recommendations, etc. It took me little time at all to start amassing a queue, which after less than three weeks has grown to 126 discs. I say discs because I have several TV series on my list and they list each disc in the season separately. By Saturday I had my first two movies.

From here on out I'm going to tell you all about the movies I've received, watched and returned. I'm not going to hold back, so read at your own risk as there will be spoilers if you haven't seen them yet. But I can tell you this...Netflix is the best thing I've done in a long time (besides getting my beloved Kindle for my birthday two years ago) and I highly encourage everyone to give it a shot.