A few random movies

I've been trying to catch up on my movie watching over the holidays and have seen a rather random assortment of films.

The Prince of Egypt. I decided to watch this because I wanted to hear Brian Stokes Mitchell sing "Through Heaven's Eyes." It was an animated movie about Moses. Not my favorite, but it was not bad. The best part (other than BSM's song) was the plagues. That was very well done.

Bye, Bye Birdie. This was the original movie from 1963 with Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh and Ann-Margaret. Rock star Conrad Birdie is drafted, and as part of his farewell performance, he kisses one of his fans. I think it was a parody of Elvis hysteria. Mostly, I thought it was lame. The songs weren't even very good.

Arsenic and Old Lace. This is a Frank Capra Halloween movie. It's a strange mix of comedy and murder. A man (Cary Grant) figures out that his aunts have been murdering lonely men. His brother is crazy and thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt. The aunts trick him into digging the Panama Canal in the basement and burying all the "yellow fever" victims there. Then a third brother shows up, a murderer, and he looks like Boris Karloff. It's ridiculous, but Cary Grant is really good.

Mission: Impossible III. Action, explosions, Tom Cruise. Need I say more? Yes, it was directed by J.J. Abrams, and at the very end of the credits (for all of you who were paying attention) there is a Lost reference.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. A beautiful movie, although not as good as The Lord of the Rings. The fate of middle earth is not at stake, so it doesn't feel as important, if that makes sense. I need to see it again because there is too  much to take in during just one viewing. The casting and acting were good, and by the end I really enjoyed it.

Lincoln. I LOVED this movie. It was perfect. I was nearly in tears several times. It's the story of the passage of the thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery. All the acting was excellent, and it was well written. I thought the way they handled Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination were very interesting and unusual. Daniel Day-Lewis was great. I particularly liked the way he walked. It's just how I imagine Lincoln would have walked.