Weekend always seems to fly by so darn fast, but after the week I’ve had it was definitely a treat.
Friday: Our monthly girls’ movie nite is here, which is something I always look forward to. Nothing beats a great meal shared amongst friends, followed by a flick we’ve selected weeks before. Just to change things up, this time we decided to watch a classic movie and settled on 
To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Grant is John Robie, a reformed burglar who’s forced out of his serene life in a plush villa when a series of burglaries bearing his signature moves rocked the Riviera. As he’s a natural suspect, Robie set out to catch the thief himself to prove his innocence. Not exactly well-versed in Hitchcock movies, I didn’t even know this was one of his famous movies. It’s the two stars that sold me on this one, and it’s easy to see why. I mean, it’s tough to find anyone more charming and handsome than Cary Grant, or more devastatingly beautiful than Grace Kelly — even by today’s standard. Though this is more of a rom-com than a typical Hitchcock-ian thriller, it did keep us guessing until the very end. Beautiful cinematography of the French Riviera makes the scenery a star in itself in the movie, and the witty and humorous dialog between Grant and Kelly are delightful and fun. One thing though, as dashing as Grant is, his overly tanned-skin is almost distracting, we’re probably the only ones who notice this, but we all thought it was downright ridiculous to see how dark he was, even more so compared to his porcelain-skinned leading lady. Kelly is also distractingly beautiful, she’s so gorgeous we’re all so in awe of her beauty it took our focus away from the story. Even when she was swimming, she was still as regal as ever. She could be an extraterrestrial she’s so beautiful!
Verdict: Great movie overall, but we all thought the pace was just too slow — which is no fault to the movie of course, we’re just not accustomed to it. Makes us want to book our next vacation in the French Riviera!
Saturday: Spent most of the evening watching and reading about Love Never Dies, the Phantom of the Opera sequel that Andrew Llyod Webber just unveiled last Thursday. Ok, so my blog has been mainly for movies/TV but for POTO I’m making an exception (I’m sure you can guess why). I’ll post more about this in the coming days.
In the meantime, check out a preview of one of the songs ‘Till I hear you sing,’ performed by Iranian-born Canadian actor Ramin Karimloo, who’s currently playing the role of Phantom in the London shows:
Sunday: CBS Three Rivers finally aired 45 minutes late due to an NFL game overrun. Review in a separate post coming later today.
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
I love this movie. This is my favorite Grace Kelly role (second to Rear Window) where she is at her most glamourous. Cary Grant is pretty awesome as usual as the ‘Cat’. The scene where Kelly is driving crazy on the Riviera countryside is an ominous foreshadowing of her demise later in life. This was the last Kelly movie, I believe. She went off to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco (where this film was shot.) Hitchcock tried desperately to replace her in later films (North By Northwest, The Birds, Marnie). Eve Marie Saint was excellent in NBN. Tippi Hedren held her own in The Birds but was lacking in Marnie.
Man, you should start a noir blog, Vince! It’s amazing the kind of info you’ve got on classic stuff. Yeah, that is eerie watching Kelly driving on the countryside, somehow I thought her daughter Princess Stephanie was driving at the time of her crash. Thanks for correcting me that she actually had a stroke… how tragic. I have to check out NBN one of these days.
hey rocker “double” dad, very impressed with what you know about the classics. NBN is one of my favorites, a very interesting plot. though the locations aren’t as glamorous as the Riviera, there are still memorable. Who could ever forget the flat, dusty, empty field after seeing the scene between Grant and the airplane, and Mount Rushmore plays a prominent role too.
rtm, as you say, NBN should certainly be your next classic!
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