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Track the Films You Watch (2007) (1 Viewer)

Joe Karlosi

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A Raisin in the Sun (1961) :star::star::star:1/2

I caught this on TCM and I really was affected by it. Very strong take on the play (which I'd heard of, but have never seen in any form) with mostly gripping performances. Sidney Poitier plays a 35-year-old limo driver who struggles hard to support his family - consisting of his wife, son, sister, and old mother - who must live in a cramped apartment in the ghetto but have a ray of hope when they come into a small insurance settlement after the death of the father. You really feel the frustrations, heartaches, and pain of the poor black family struggling to make ends meet and come together, and it's a very powerful situation. Mousey John Fiedler was the perfect actor to play the disingenuous and creepy man trying to buy back a home that the family has purchased in an exclusively white neighborhood. All the principle performers are terrific, especially the mother (Claudia McNeil) and the young wife (Ruby Dee). Sidney Poitier is interesting in the way he plays his frenzied part, but truthfully his overacting borders on the absurd at times, which is the only reason I felt inclined to shave a half star from my rating. I have no desire or need to see any of the other versions (including a new one supposedly coming soon with P. Diddy, LOL!) as this one affected me perfectly and it would be hard to top.
 

PatW

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The Game of Their Lives (2005) :star: :star: :star:

Interesting story about the underdog team, the American team that won against the British team in the World Cup in 1950. Interesting enough to watch for Gerald Butler's performance who is outstanding in this film.

Penny Serenade (1941) :star::star::star:1/2

Overly sentimental story about a young couple played by Cary Grant and Irene Dunn who adopt a baby. Both principals give superb performances but the little girl who plays their daughter is just too sweetly saccharin for my taste. Mostly though an enjoyable movie if somewhat manipulative.
 

Mario Gauci

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12/14/07: ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP (Dave Fleischer, 1939) :star::star::star:


12/14/07: POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS ALI BABA'S FORTY THIEVES (Dave Fleischer, 1937) :star::star::star:


12/14/07: POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINDBAD THE SAILOR (Dave Fleischer, 1936) :star::star::star:


12/14/07: POPEYE THE SAILOR WITH LITTLE SWEE' PEA (Dave Fleischer, 1936) :star::star::star:


12/14/07: CUSTOMERS WANTED (Dave Fleischer, 1939) :star::star::star:

I have an ambivalent attitude towards classic animation: I love the Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and Tex Avery efforts but am somewhat cool towards the rest. That said, I have virtually all the Walt Disney Tins (purchased mainly because of their Limited Edition status and, in fact, have yet to go through seven of them!) and have recently acquired Universal’s Woody Woodpecker set (a second volume of which has just been announced). Earlier this week, I received VCI’s SOMEWHERE IN DREAMLAND (a 2-Disc collection of Max Fleischer “Color Classics”) and the 5th LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION. I’m not sure I’ll have time to watch more cartoons over the Christmas period but, if I do, I’ll still probably go for the latter – even if I only checked out Volume 4 a couple of weeks ago…

Which gets us to Popeye, another Fleischer creation. These were (and still are) local and Italian TV staples growing up – but hadn’t watched any in years. Frankly, I only rented a budget DVD collecting 3 two-reel shorts featuring the pipe-smoking, spinach-eating sailor in Arabian Nights settings (and two other ‘normal’ black-and-white one-reelers) because I’ve a few similarly-themed films scheduled for the coming days. Even so, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by them – because, apart from a few corny touches, they were all quite entertaining.

Despite the faded quality of the prints, the essence of these two-reelers came through – since they followed well-known plots: incidentally, the villain in ALADDIN is played by a sinister-looking Arab character rather than by Popeye’s usual nemesis, Bluto; the latter does, however, feature as both Ali Baba and Sindbad which, true to his nature, the characters are turned into pompous louts as opposed to the adventurers of folklore. Of course, in all of them, Popeye’s lady love – Olive Oyl – is a damsel-in-distress…but, interestingly, ALADDIN starts off with her as a screenwriter for a movie company and the tale unfolds while she’s typing it in her office! In fact, it was this seamless clash of cultures and periods – with many a modern contrivance coming handy during those ancient times (after all, spinach tins weren’t around back then, nor the apparently unlimited supply of hamburgers consumed by Mr. Wimpy throughout for that matter) – which really made them for me.

Still, the black-and-white shorts offered their own pleasures: in LITTLE SWEE’ PEA, Popeye takes the obliviously troublesome toddler to the zoo and ends up having to save it from all the wild animals on display; CUSTOMERS WANTED sees Popeye and Bluto as the owners of rival sideshow attractions – the gag is that each presents the same series of brief films starring, naturally, the two of them…but the course of events for the various situations that arise depends on which tent one happens to visit at the moment!

All in all, then, I enjoyed these cartoons: the local DVD rental outlet has some more Popeye budget DVDs, but I probably won’t get to them just now – but that doesn’t mean that I won’t eventually spring for Warners’ first 4-Disc volume of this popular character’s ‘work’ (which, for the record, contains three of the titles I just watched!)…


12/16/07: BLACK CHRISTMAS (Glen Morgan, 2006) BOMB

I’m an admirer of the 1974 original, so it was out of mere curiosity that I decided to check out this remake. Several classic shockers of the 1970s have been revamped of late – I’ve watched THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2003) and, most recently, HALLOWEEN (2007); those two were nowhere near as good as the earlier films, but each had its points of interest. The same, however, cannot be said about the second version of BLACK CHRISTMAS. It is, easily, one of the worst films of its kind that I’ve come across; by changing a lot of the structure of the original, with it go a good many of its strong points – and the end result is hardly recognizable, let alone necessary: in short, a real travesty!

Perhaps the greatest coup of Bob Clark’s original film was that we knew very little about the killer; in fact, we don’t even get to see him except for his peering eyes. Here, on the other hand, everything is clumsily spelt out: from Billy’s backstory involving a typically miserable childhood to the revelation of having two maniacs – the other being Agnes, a character only fleetingly mentioned in the earlier film (the script, in fact, seems to have been concocted after one too many viewings of both HALLOWEEN [1978; which, ironically, was initially conceived as a sequel to the original BLACK CHRISTMAS] and CHINATOWN [1974]!). Also, one of the most disquieting elements about the earlier film – the obscene phone calls – are not only downplayed here but have been replaced with the dim-witted repetition of the line “She’s my family now”.

Besides, the Police – represented in the original by John Saxon – or the character played in it by Keir Dullea, boyfriend of the female lead (the setting is a sorority house) and who is suspected of being behind the crime spree, barely register here. In the same vein, the girls themselves remain an anonymous bunch (as opposed to, say, Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder from the 1974 film) – which doesn’t help audience identification any. Incidentally, Andrea Martin – who played one of the victims in the original BLACK CHRISTMAS – appears here as the house mother (whereas Bob Clark himself figured among the remake’s myriad producers!).


12/17/07: THE GNOME-MOBILE (Robert Stevenson, 1967) :star::star:1/2

A good many of Walt Disney Productions’ live-action movies would regularly turn up on Italian TV as I grew up, including this one – which I missed. That said, while it’s well enough liked by authoritative sources such as the late Leslie Halliwell and Leonard Maltin, the film is only average in my view; maybe I’d have enjoyed it more had I caught it during my childhood.

The plot (from an Upton Sinclair book) is simply too juvenile for one to be engrossed in it – with perhaps the corniest element of all being the belated introduction of romance among the gnomes. Even so, it’s all reasonably pleasant and colorful – though the special effects haven’t worn the passage of time all that well.

Veteran character actor Walter Brennan appears in a dual role – a lumber tycoon (who ends up in a lunatic asylum when he sets detectives on the trail of missing gnomes) and one of the latter, an elderly curmudgeon; Ed Wynn is the head of another of the species’ communities; Sean McClory, then, is the villainous owner of a freak-show (who kidnaps a couple of the little people for his act).

In the long run, Disney fared much better with this particular kind of whimsy in DARBY O’GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE (1959) – which, incidentally had the same director…and it’s doubly disappointing given that Stevenson, Wynn, the two child actors (Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice) and the songwriters (the title tune by the Sherman brothers ain’t no classic) had all previously worked on MARY POPPINS (1964)!


12/18/07: 10 (Blake Edwards, 1979) :star::star:1/2

I’ve watched relatively few of director Edwards’ non-PINK PANTHER films; among the ones I own that I’ve yet to catch up with are DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (1962), WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR, DADDY? (1966) and S.O.B. (1981).

This one proved among Edwards’ most successful films (though the curt, with-it title emerges to be rather meaningless), drawing attention to itself for treating a serious subject such as mid-life crisis in semi-comedic vein – though, ultimately, it’s nowhere near as incisive or cinematically deft as Luis Bunuel’s THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE (1977) wherein, likewise, a well-respected man continuously humiliates himself in his reckless pursuit of a much younger girl(s) – and, besides, results in being unbalanced somewhat by the slapstick passages.

Edwards wrote the script for 10 himself: among the more notable dialogue stretches involve an argument between leads Dudey Moore and Julie Andrews (the director’s real-life wife) regarding the definition of the ostensibly disparaging term “broad”, and another later on between Moore and Bo Derek – his character’s ‘object of desire’ – with respect to the girl’s casual attitude towards sex. Even if she doesn’t really feature in it till the last third, Derek became a sex symbol thanks to 10; that said, her contribution (mixing disarming naivete with effortless sensuality, like an updated version of Marilyn Monroe) is undeniably one of the film’s trump cards and, on account of this, I might even have to rent the two notorious vehicles her actor/diretor husband concocted for her in the early 1980s. Andrews does well enough by her relatively colorless role (which, naturally, sees her as a singing star).

Moore’s part had originally been accepted by George Segal, but he left the project for some reason; later, it was offered to Edwards’ former muse Peter Sellers who turned it down but, reportedly, did feature in a cameo – which scene, however, didn’t make the final cut! Moore, whose career up to this point had been sporadic (with BEDAZZLED [1967], which I’ve just watched, as his only notable starring vehicle) suddenly found himself much in demand after his scene-stealing cameo in FOUL PLAY (1978). This would eventually lead to his most famous role, ARTHUR (1981; for which he received an Oscar nomination and one he reprised for a less successful sequel 7 years later), another collaboration with Edwards – MICKEY + MAUDE (1984) – and the remake of Preston Sturges’ classic UNFAITHFULLY YOURS (1984).

Despite the ample nudity (removed or concealed for network showings of the film) allowed by the current permissiveness in censorship – and which is even referenced in the very final scene – 10 remains an old-fashioned entertainment at heart: not only is Moore’s character a musician (as the star was in real life, after all) who has a (thankfully non-stereotyped) gay songwriting partner in veteran Robert Webber – but this is also evident in the conservative i.e. tasteful choice of exponents for the soundtrack (original music and songs by Edwards stalwart Henry Mancini, who gave the film its only Oscar nods, and such standard classical pieces as Ravel’s “Bolero”).

Commendably, the writer-director also gives space here to the minor characters – notably when the scene shifts to Mexico, such as the sympathetic bartender played by Brian Dennehy and the woman with whom Moore has a clumsy fling (Dee Wallace). With this in mind, the film’s single greatest laugh-out-loud moment comes fairly early on in the picture and has to do with the senile servant of the priest who celebrated Derek’s marriage to future FLASH GORDON, Sam J. Jones (when he’s visited by Moore in an attempt to learn more about her).
 

Adam_S

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watch Days of Wine and Roses, I think it's actually better than The Lost Weekend. Lemmon gives one of his best performances.
 

PatW

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Titanic (1997) :star: :star: :star: :star:

It's been a while since I've watched this and since it has been 10 years since release, it was a perfect time to watch this film now.

It has been fashionable to beat up on this movie but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the story and I loved the romance. There are a few things, I would fix like the dialogue in places and I wish that Leo could have been a couple of years older or at least looked his age but no matter, still a great story. I shed tears every time I watch it.

Nothing Sacred (1937) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

It's classified as a screwball comedy. I don't know if I agree with that though it's an enjoyable watch. I can remember enjoying the Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin movie but this one is superior in script and direction. It's too bad that Carol Lombard had only a few short years left to live. She was amazing.
 

Mario Gauci

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12/13/07: CANDY (Christian Marquand, 1968) :star::star:1/2

One of the most maligned of the all-star “anything goes” extravaganzas typical of the late 1960s – this time with pretensions towards satire given its origins as a Terry Southern novel (here adapted for the screen by Buck Henry, who also appears briefly as a lunatic) – is not too bad, actually (somewhat in the same vein as THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN [1969] but slightly more entertaining), though it does run badly out of steam two-thirds of the way in.

18-year old Swedish “newcomer” Ewa Aulin plays the naïve but well-meaning heroine who’s taken advantage of by practically everyone she meets; actually, she had already appeared in two notable Italian movies both starring French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant – Tinto Brass’ DEADLY SWEET (1967; which I caught at the 2004 Venice Film Festival with its infamous director in attendance!) and Giulio Questi’s DEATH LAID AN EGG (1968) – and she would go on to star in two more worthwhile European movies which, incidentally, both feature Italian actress Lucia Bose` – Romolo Guerrieri’s THE DOUBLE (1971) and Jorge Grau’s BLOOD CASTLE (1973; with which I’m unfamiliar myself) – before bailing out of the film industry altogether to become a teacher!

The impressive supporting cast includes (in order of appearance): John Astin who has the triple roles of Aulin’s father, a hellish vision of same and her uncle; a somewhat embarrassing Richard Burton is MacPhisto, a poet-teacher (with wind is forever blowing in his face) who is worshipped like a rock star by his students and whom the script requires to lick champagne off the glass-plated floor of his limousine and make love to an inflatable doll!; Ringo Starr’s role isn’t clearly defined but he seems to be the Christians’ Mexican gardener (could he have been the inspiration for FAWLTY TOWERS’ Manuel?); Elsa Martinelli is Aulin’s promiscuous aunt; Walter Matthau the general commandeering a paratrooping outfit; James Coburn a celebrated surgeon; Anita Pallenberg his jealous nurse/lover; John Huston a colleague/rival of Coburn’s; Charles Aznavour a hunchback criminal with a penchant for magic tricks (climbing and moving along walls or literally diving into a mirror just like in a Jean Cocteau film); Marlon Brando as an Indian guru who practices his meditation aboard a truck rambling throughout America; also in the cast as a couple of Starr’s whip-wielding sisters were Euro-Cult favorites Florinda Bolkan and Marilu` Tolo.

The film is most notorious perhaps for being one of Brando’s weirdest acting choices during his lean years; then again, it seems that his presence was pivotal in securing the film its backing (he was friends with director/former actor Marquand who, unsurprisingly, never again stepped behind the camera); still, the best and lengthiest ‘episode’ is the one featuring Coburn, Pallenberg and Huston (in which Astin and Martinelli also turn up) – while Enrico Maria Salerno was hilarious as an obsessive cine-verite` film-maker who, when asked a question by a police officer, replies: “Who directed it?” and later even films himself as he is passing out! Frankly, one of the minor pleasures I derived from the film was the surprising appearance of the smaller scale actors – Bolkan, Tolo, Pallenberg and Salerno – among such Hollywood and European luminaries.

Offering psychedelic visuals and a terrific rock score by Dave Grusin (abetted by songs by such modish rock bands as Steppenwolf and The Byrds – who provide the very likable “Child Of The Universe”), CANDY moves at a fairly brisk pace but, at 124 minutes and with no plot to speak of, it eventually grows tiresome. The visually striking two-minute opening sequence (created by Douglas Trumbull!) alludes to the fact that Candy is less a real character than a concept – an alien embodiment of the carnal desires in man – and the Fellini-esque ending, grouping all the characters in a circus-like setting, only serves to bring the whole thing full circle. Ultimately, film critic John Simon’s memorable dismissal of CANDY is perhaps unjustified but worth mentioning here nevertheless: “As an emetic, liquor is dandy, but CANDY is quicker”! Curiousy enough, CANDY and Otto Preminger’s even more misguided SKIDOO (1968; which preceded this viewing) opened within days of one another; I wonder just what current audiences made of either of them…

Unfortunately, my experience with the film was further marred by the fact that the audio on the copy I watched went badly out-of-synch around the 90-minute mark (thus including Brando’s entire segment)…and no matter what I tried – usually, playing the same scene over again would fix the problem – I couldn’t get it to work properly!


12/16/07: BEDTIME STORY (Ralph Levy, 1964) :star::star::star:

Before tackling the film proper, I’d like to point out some fascinating trivia first: originally, this was planned with Cary Grant and Rock Hudson in mind who were to compete for Doris Day and, allegedly, it was almost revived as a starring vehicle for (brace yourselves) David Bowie and Mick Jagger (!!)…before saner minds prevailed and we got DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (1988) – with Michael Caine and Steve Martin replacing David Niven and Marlon Brando respectively – instead. Anyway, the premise was quite original at the time – rival con-men decide to collaborate but clash over fleecing a woman who turns out to be poor – and the film itself was actually better than I was expecting: in any case, “The most vulgar and embarrassing film of the year” – as The Daily Express had deemed the film on its release – it certainly wasn’t!

Given that BEDTIME STORY was one of Brando’s efforts from his lean period (and, uncharacteristically, a comedy at that), I didn’t have high hopes for it initially – especially since some of the other “comedies” I had seen Brando in had been pretty desperate attempts: A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG (1967) and CANDY (1968; see above). Still, that the Method actor was capable of handling lighter material than the brooding dramas he was best-known for, was already evident early on in his career with GUYS AND DOLLS (1955) and THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON (1956), but this is perhaps his most engaging performance in this field; that said, it’s rather disquieting to see him mugging like a Jerry Lewis wannabe (when posing as Niven’s half-wit brother)! His co-star isn’t particularly taxed by his role – having often played the roué, it’s one he could have done in his sleep – but he’s always good value in this type of light entertainment; ditto Shirley Jones, who plays it more or less straight.

The delightful opening, lending fairy-tale connotations to the narrative (hence the title) and the various schemes by which the two male stars attempt to outwit one another in order to obtain Jones’ favors (and, in the process, her money) constitute the film’s highlights; these include the famous scene in which Brando poses as a paraplegic – recalling his celebrated debut performance in Fred Zinnemann’s powerful social drama THE MEN (1950) – as a result of which Jones arranges for him to be “cured” by renowned shrink Niven!

I watched the film via the R2 DVD from Orbit Media, presenting the Universal film in a full-screen format; I haven’t been able to ascertain what the original aspect ratio was, but I didn’t find the compositions overly compromised; for the record, BEDTIME STORY is still unavailable on R1 DVD and one wonders what held it from being included in Universal’s four-film 2-Disc Set of “The Marlon Brando Franchise Collection”…


12/19/07: FORT ALGIERS (Lesley Selander, 1953) :star::star:

It’s been well over a year since I had mentioned I’d be renting this one on DVD, after being impressed with Lesley Selander’s neglected low-budget horror effort THE VAMPIRE’S GHOST (1945). At the time, I had even joked about the fact that the director’s filmography included six(!) pictures with the word “fort” in their title – this, of course, being one of them.

Despite the lowly rating, I enjoyed the film for what it was – a thoroughly unassuming romantic adventure. Its B-movie roots are evident in the ample stock footage (particularly during the final desert charge on an oil well – which also presents an incongruity in wardrobe, with heroes and villains dressed in outfits from different time periods!) but also the choice of leading man, Carlos Thompson: the Argentinian actor made only a handful of English-language films (none very notable, though his last film was the delightful French WWII comedy LA VIE DE CHATEAU [1966] with Catherine Deneuve) and committed suicide back home in 1990.

Anyway, FORT ALGIERS was really a vehicle for Yvonne De Carlo, who specialized in such forgettable exotic fare around this time; here, she’s a French agent who had forsaken lover Thompson for ‘the cause’ – but meets up with him again when she’s sent to spy on evil Arab potentate Raymond Burr (highly amusing in a turban). Leif Erickson delivers an unbelievably hammy performance as Thompson’s arrogant sergeant – though his character is eventually softened when selected for the hero’s buddy in a mission (in which Thompson has to rescue De Carlo from Burr when the girl’s cover is blown); the rest of the cast includes such familiar faces as John Dehner, Anthony Caruso and Robert Warwick.


12/19/07: LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY (John Cromwell, 1936) :star::star:1/2

I was familiar with the well-regarded 1980 made-for-TV remake with Alec Guinness and Ricky Schroder of this children’s classic. I wasn’t expecting this much earlier version to be inferior – especially given that it was a David O. Selznick production – but, as a matter of fact, I think it was just that!

The cast is typically well-chosen – Freddie Bartholomew, C. Aubrey Smith, Dolores Costello, Guy Kibbee, Mickey Rooney, Una O’Connor – but the film as a whole fails to rise to the level of contemporary Selznick titles in a similar vein, like DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935) and THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER (1938). Bartolomew was the top male child actor of his time (before he was superseded by co-star Rooney!) in such contemporary film adaptations of children’s classics as the afore-mentioned DAVID COPPERFIELD, CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS (1937), KIDNAPPED (1938), SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (1940) and TOM BROWN’S SCHOOLDAYS (1940).

The main problem here is that the story of a young New Yorker at the turn of the century who finds himself living with his aristocratic (and tyrannical) English grandfather – where his position as heir to the title is questioned by another child, subsequently exposed as an impostor – just isn’t all that interesting, and frankly quite corny (especially Freddie’s penchant for constantly calling his mother “Dearest” and the way the English-hating Kibbee eventually learns to tolerate them). Even so, I would still be interested in catching the Silent 1921 version with Mary Pickford playing both mother and child!

Ultimately, producer Selznick, director Cromwell and actor C. Aubrey Smith would, thankfully, fare much better on their next collaboration – the definitive screen version of another classic story, THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1937; with which I intend to re-acquaint myself in the coming days).


12/20/07: I DREAM OF JEANIE (WITH THE LIGHT BROWN HAIR) (Allan Dwan, 1952) :star::star:1/2

On the surface, this is a poor man’s SWANEE RIVER (1939) – the big-budget 20th Century Fox biopic of celebrated American songwriter Stephen Foster (played in that film by Don Ameche); actually, there had been an even earlier film version of the same events entitled HARMONY LANE (1935) and starring Douglass Montgomery!

This Republic production is, nevertheless, a colorful diversion – with a third-rate cast scoring quite nicely with their enthusiastic performances, and especially Ray Middleton (as famous minstrel man, E. P. Christy – portrayed in SWANEE RIVER by Al Jolson, and whom Middleton appears to be mimicking throughout), Muriel Lawrence (as Foster’s snobbish fiancée) and Eileen Christy (as her earthier younger sister, the Jeanie of the title). However, the actor who portrays Foster here – Bill Shirley – is rather weak and fails to do real justice to the troubled, short-lived composer! Rotund character actor Percy Helton has a nice supporting role as Foster’s sarcastic employer during his day job as a book-keeper.

The film starts off amiably enough, but the second half is mostly bogged down by an uninterrupted succession of musical numbers – although Middleton’s forceful, slightly campy portrayal of the flamboyant Christy does a lot to enliven proceedings nevetheless. Prolific Hollywood veteran Dwan dabbled in practically every genre; this, in fact, wasn’t his first musical – having earlier made the 1939 version of THE THREE MUSLETEERS (also known as THE SINGING MUSKETEER, and whose recently-released DVD edition I need to pick up, especially now that I’ve just acquired a number of his work via budget releases from VCI). For the record, three cast members from the film – Middleton, Shirley and Christy – were re-united with their director here for next year’s SWEETHEARTS ON PARADE.


12/20/07: THE MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (TV) (Robert Stevenson, 1955) :star::star:1/2

Frankly, I had never even heard of this condensed TV version (the first of four remakes!) of the original 1947 Oscar-winning classic when I chanced upon it at my local DVD rental shop.

While understandably not up to the standards of the earlier film, a capable director leads a rather remarkable cast: Thomas Mitchell, Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Hans Conried, Dick Foran, Ray Collins, Don Beddoe and Whit Bissell. The child actress playing the little girl seemed awfully familiar to me even though her name – Sandy Descher – didn’t ring any bells; it eventually transpired that she had been the girl dumb-struck by the giant ants’ attack at the beginning of the sci-fi classic THEM! (1954) – which, ironically, starred the original Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn)!

Although I quite liked this made-for-TV version overall, I think the brief 45-minute running time ultimately worked against it – as the narrative seemed awfully rushed in spots! Besides, the cast – while commendably entering into the spirit of the thing – seemed somewhat less sympathetic than the performers of the previous version (Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, etc.) had been.


12/21/07: DOWN AMONG THE Z MEN (Maclean Rogers, 1952) :star::star:

This independently-produced British army comedy is chiefly notable now as Peter Sellers’ film debut and for being the only starring screen vehicle for comic radio performers The Goons (of which Sellers himself was a member). Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated – given the unenthusiastic reviews online (chiefly because it’s said that their material has been heavily diluted in the transition); still, it’s not helped by the dated TV-style technique on display.

Curiously enough, the laughs come mostly from the characterization of a scruffy, absent-minded Professor played by Michael Bentine – the least-known and shortest-lived member of the group! Of the other three, Harry Secombe is the nominal lead – but his character doesn’t have a distinct personality (at least in this incarnation); Spike Milligan is a private whose dopey countenance and voice seems to have been inspired by Goofy, the canine star of Walt Disney cartoons!; Peter Sellers, surely the Goon with the most prominent subsequent career (I’ve just acquired a number of his work from the 1960s and 1970s), is reasonably impressive – if basically playing it straight – as an elderly Major.

The plot has to do with a secret gas formula devised by Bentine, which is coveted by enemy agents who infiltrate the camp (looking out for him is a female member of M.I.5 passing herself off as Sellers’ daughter); Secombe, then, is the everyman hero who unwittingly finds himself ‘drafted’. Unfortunately, most of the second half (the film runs for a mere 71 minutes) is taken up by a putting-on-a-show routine showcasing a number of resistible song-and-dance performers – though the busy climax, at least, shows three of The Goons all dressed in similar outfits to confuse the villains (a gag probably lifted from The Crazy Gang’s THE FROZEN LIMITS [1939], which I’ve recently watched)…while Sellers, somewhat irrelevantly, does a couple of impersonations on stage (a great talent he possessed and which he would constantly fall back on for the rest of his career).
 

george kaplan

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Jingle All The Way

Watched the extended version, which adds some nice exposition, but at the cost of changing the music, especially in the now longer montages. The new music is good, but I like the original music better. I think in the future, we'll watch the theatrical cut.

Miracle on 34th Street

The original classic version of course.

Scrooge

This is the 1970 musical version. I've seen a ton of versions of this story, and a musical version is a great idea. As for the execution, first the good. The first part of the Ghost of Christmas Future is great. The best song in the film (Thank You Very Much) and a very funny scene where Scrooge doesn't realize that they're thanking him for having dropped dead. The scene in hell is also a nice addition to the story. But then there's the not so good - the rest of the film has mediocre to bad songs, and a not terribly interesting version of the story. Overall, a disappointment, though if I could get a dvd with just those two great scenes on it, I'd rewatch that.

The Half-Naked Truth

Early talkie about a fast-talking con man has the lead talking faster than both leads in His Girl Friday put together, but nothing he says is terribly interesting or funny.

Guess Who

This comic remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, actually has quite a few genuinely funny scenes (e.g., the songs on the radio), but the story between the funny parts is weakly done, and overall, there's just not quite enough good to outweigh the bad.
 

Joe Karlosi

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I didn't buy for one second that they came from the early 1900's... they just seemed very 1990s-ish. Thought it was dopey as hell when the chick flipped someone the bird, too.
 

Michael Elliott

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I agree that moment was stupid but nothing stands out in my mind about how they acted for the times. I was 17 when this came out and going on dates a lot so I actually watched this thing six times in the theater. I always felt it was great but certainly not one of the greatest films ever made. I actually thought the love story was the best thing and the "disaster" was the least interesting thing. Yes, believe it or not.
 

PatW

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Fort Apache (1948) :star: :star: :star: :star:

Well done movie directed by John Ford about an unbending Army Colonel whose lack of diplomacy and failure to listen to wiser soldiers leads to a disasterous encounter with the Apaches.

This is my second favourite Ford movie of those of seen, Mister Roberts being my favourite. The acting was terrific here and I enjoyed how the atmoshere was lightened with the humour. I always regarded Shirley Temple as strictly a child actress but she does better here than expected.
An enjoyable watch.
 

PatW

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I thought that there were certain aspects of the screenplay and dialogue that seemed out of place but that's the fault of the screenplay and not the actors. I think both have proven that they can do material from other eras. I loved the romance in Titanic. I was thoroughly taken in by it when I went to the show and so was my husband. It remains just as enjoyable now as it was back then.
 

Michael Elliott

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Not to mention that the screenplay contains a few lines of dialogue from Bob Dylan songs. :)

Since 1995 I've been saying DiCaprio was the greatest actor of his generation but he was probably the wrong selection for this film. It was a tad bit too Hollywood for him and I think it shows in his performance. He's good in the role but not great like he is in various other films from THIS BOYS LIFE to WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE? and forward to his Scorsese films.

With all that said, I'd still like to watch the film again sometime soon. I've seen a lot of films dealing with the Titanic story and none of them were as great as they could have been but considering the 1997 version is the highest grossing film of all time, it's doubtful we'll get another version anytime soon.
 

PatW

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Chestnut: Hero of Central Park (2004) :star: :star: 1/2

Two young sisters are adopted by a New York couple who manage to conceal a Great Dane for a year.

Very unlikely story but it's not meant for me. I watched this with a 7 yr. & 12 yr. old. The 7 yr. old loved it but the 12 yr. old became quickly bored. I guess, I liked it a tad more than he did. Good movie to watch with young children. I guess, I'm getting softer in my old age or probably more tolerant.


Alpha Dog (2006) :star: :star: :star:

I was surprised I enjoyed this movie as much as I did at least enough to give it a mild pass. Justin Timberlake surprised me as much as he did in Black Snake Moan. Another good performance from him.
 

Michael Elliott

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12/20/07

No Other Woman (1933) :star::star:1/2 Dir. J. Walter Ruben

A poor married couple (Irene Dunne, Charles Bickford) get rich after making a steel dye but then their marriage starts to fall apart due to him finding a mistress in New York. There's nothing overly special about this film but it runs a fast 58-minutes, which is almost a tad bit too much time. The story is very predictable right down to the showdown in court towards the end. The real reason to watch this is due to the performances of Dunne and Bickford. The two have a lot of chemistry together and make for a great couple. Bickford steals the show as the iron hard man who doesn't know what to do when he gets all that money. J. Carrol Naish has a small role. Previously filmed in 1918 and 1925.

Kentucky Kernels (1934) :star::star::star: Dir. George Stevens

George Stevens directs this Wheeler and Woolsey film where the two take an adopted boy (Spanky from Our Gang) back to his relatives in Kentucky but soon finds themselves in a feud between two families. It's been hit and miss with me and these W&W films but this one here is clearly the best I've seen. The comedy ranges towards jokes about rednecks and some rather politically incorrect stuff but the duo brings some great comic timing and the added bonus of Spanky makes this a damn good comedy. There's some wonderful gags including a horse accidentally drinking moonshine and another scene where W&W try and talk themselves out of a speeding ticket. The jokes aimed at the Southern families work very well and Spanky steals the show with each scene that he's in. The running joke is that he likes to break windows so there's plenty of that going on. There's also a large shoot out at the end, which looks to have more bullets flying than any of Warner's gangster pictures. The film borrows a lot of Keaton's Our Hospitality but works well on its own.

Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) :star::star::star::star:
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) :star::star::star::star: Dir. Burny Mattinson

My 2-year-old cousin spent the night with me so I tried showing him this film hoping he would fall asleep but of course he didn't. He actually watched this thing four times in a row but I only caught the first two showings. EIther way, I think this is one of the best Christmas movies out there. I loved the film when I first saw it as a kid and the thing still works very well today. All of the Disney characters are perfectly cast in the story. The film moves along very fast, has plenty of comedy but also gets the message of the story across quite well. The animation is also beautifully done.

12/21/07

From the Ends of the World (1939) :star::star:1/2 Dir. Unknown

Somewhat interesting documentary short from MGM about how various items from around the world are imported in so that they can be featured in their films. Clips from The Women and Ninotchka are shown.

12/22/07

Great White Hope, The (1970) :star::star::star: Dir. Martin Ritt

James Earl Jones plays Jack Jefferson, a black boxer who must battle himself and white racists trying to keep him down. I've been meaning to check this film out for a while now but just now got to it and I think it's somewhat overrated but it's still an entertaining film. Perhaps due to the time it was released, the film beats the viewer over the head with the rebellious Jefferson and most of this comes from his relationship with a white woman (Jane Alexander). I'm going to guess this was an early film in showing a relationship between a black man and white woman but it seems like director Martin Ritt goes to the extremes in trying to say that there's nothing wrong in what's going on. After a while we certainly get the point and after a while it gets tiresome hearing more political talk. Jones is brilliant as the troubled boxer and the supporting cast is also very strong. I've become a big fan of Chester Morris throughout the year and it was great seeing him here in his final role. Hal Holbrook is also here and entertaining.

Western Union (1941) :star::star::star: Dir. Fritz Lang

Fritz Lang's film about the Western Union telegraph company trying to get its wires through Indian territory. Robert Young plays the man in charge of the mission and he hires an outlaw (Randolph Scott) to keep enemies off. You'd think someone like Lang wouldn't be too good at making a film about the Old West but with this, Jesse James and its sequel, he makes for some rather entertaining films, which certainly stand out in his career. The entire film pretty much works due to the performances with Young and Scott doing great work together. Scott steals the film whenever he's on the screen but Dean Jagger, John Carradine and Virginia Gilmore are also very good. You could complain about how the Indians are portrayed but I won't do that because the film is entertaining for these reasons. There's one scene where a drunken Indian looks for whiskey, which is so incredibly bad that it's hilarious. The big fire scene is excellent as is the big battle with the Indians.

When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950) :star::star: Dir. John Ford

John Ford's comedy about a man (Dan Dailey) who joins the Army to become a war hero but he ends up in the recruiting section back in his hometown, which gets the people there thinking he's a coward. I'm not sure what it is but these Ford comedies just aren't working for me. The whole idea is that the character is a very brave man but due to his placing, people thinks he's a coward. This one joke runs throughout the entire film and it just never made me laugh. I never got bored with the film but without any laughs there's really not much else going on. Dailey is very good in his role and keeps the film moving along. Colleen Townsend and William Demarest are also good as his parents. The film is a comedy but as expected Ford treats the war stuff very serious including during the opening when we hear about the attack of Pearl Harbor. This film shares a lot with Preston Sturges's Hail! The Conquering Hero but that film works a lot better. Vera Miles has her film debut here but I didn't spot her.

Three on a Rope (1938) :star::star:1/2 Dir. Willard Van der Veer

Pete Smith short talking about how three people use rope to climb a mountain. There's some nice footage of the actual mountain climbing but the comedic narration never really works and becomes annoying after a while.

Tall T, The (1957) :star::star::star: Dir. Budd Boutticher

Budd Boutticher directs this Western about a gang of outlaws who takes some people hostage including one played by Randolph Scott. This is a very impressive film but I think it doesn't quite come close to being excellent because I felt there wasn't any real suspense throughout the film. From the start I never really felt as if Scott was in any danger so this is a minor problem but not a major one. What really works are the performances by the entire cast. You have Scott in one of his best roles but Maureen O'Sullivan and Richard Boone are equally impressive. There's some very good shoot outs including one excellent death scene where Scott is wrestling over a shotgun inside a small cave. The outcome of this fight is very well done.

Vivacious Lady (1938) :star::star:1/2 Dir. George Stevens

Romantic-comedy from George Stevens has a Professor (James Stewart) marrying a a nightclub singer (Ginger Rogers) but their love starts to fall apart when he takes her home and can't get the nerve to tell his father (Charles Coburn). I found the film to be quite romantic due to the two leads but the comedy area left me a tad bit cold. There's one great scene where Rogers gets into a slap fight, which is real funny but other than this scene there weren't any laughs to be found for me. Rogers and Stewart are wonderful together and the supporting cast does a fine job as well but it just needed a tad bit more.

So You Think You're Allergic (1945) :star::star: Dir. Richard L. Bare

Joe McDoakes comedy has our hero allergic to everything so we hear what might cause these issues. This is one of the weaker films in the series that I've seen as there wasn't a single laugh to be found anywhere.
 

PatW

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Day After Tomorrow (2004) :star: :star: 1/2

The twins picked out this one and I had to suffer through it but it wasn't half bad. Sure the science is ridiculous but the special effects are pretty good. No more than what I would expect from a popcorn movie. It's no worse and maybe abit better than others of its kind.
 

SteveGon

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The Namesake (2007)

Viewed 12/17/2007 (first viewing)

Nicely done story of two generations of an Indian family living in America.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Underdog (2007)

Viewed 12/18/2007 (first viewing)

Adequate live action film chronicling the adventures of everyone's favorite canine superhero. Nothing special really, but I'm a sucker for beagles.

:star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)

Viewed 12/18/2007 (first viewing)

England's WMD is back and slapsticking his way through France.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Undead or Alive (2007)

Viewed 12/19/2007 (first viewing)

Fun little western horror comedy has two cowboys and a beautiful Indian princess fighting off an undead posse - victims of "Geronimo's Curse" who are spreading a plague of zombies.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


The Alien Dead (1980)

Viewed 12/19/2007 (first viewing)

Fred Olen Ray's masterpiece of drive-in cinema has the denizens of a swamp fighting water-logged zombies thanks to a freaky meteorite. Not very good, but charming in its own, schlocky way.

:star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Midnight Skater (2002)

Viewed 12/19/2007 (first viewing)

A day in the life of a college campus finds a group of friends searching for the mysterious title character, a late night graffiti artist who they think is responsible the drugs circulating around school. Meanwhile a serial killer stalks the students and two Silent Bob and Jay knock-offs (the real drug pushers) are selling pills that create flesh-eating zombies! Busy SOV effort would have been better with a little self control and refinement.

:star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Judge Priest (1934)

Viewed 12/20/2007 (first viewing)

Genial John Ford comedy stars Will Rogers as a southern judge who sticks up for the little guy and helps his nephew in his romantic endeavors.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Doctor Bull (1933)

Viewed 12/20/2007 (first viewing)

Another John Ford/Will Rogers collaboration, this one stars Rogers as a country doctor trying to keep his job and save his patients from an outbreak of typhoid.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Viewed 12/20/2007 (first viewing)

Latest installment in the Potter franchise has Harry and company trying to convince their superiors that the evil Voldemort has indeed returned. Dark, exciting entry is the best so far (at least it didn't put me to sleep).

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Once (2007)

Viewed 12/21/2007 (first viewing)

Very nice little drama chronicles the relationship between an Irish street musician and a Czech emigre. Full of good music and truthful moments, a real winner.

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


First Snow (2007)

Viewed 12/21/2007 (first viewing)

A fast-talking salesman is given something to think about after a roadside fortuneteller provides him with a fateful reading. Solid, well-cast thriller.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Robocop (1987)

Viewed 12/22/2007

Revisit.

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Dead at the Box Office (2006)

Viewed 12/23/2007 (first viewing)

Pretty good SOV (that's Shot On Video) zombie flick has the staff of a rundown theater fighting off a zombiefied movie audience. A blend of elements from Demons and the Masters of Horror episode Cigarette Burns, with a special nod to Night of the Living Dead. Movie buffs will get a bigger kick out of it.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Astro-Zombies (1967)

Viewed 12/23/2007 (first viewing)

Deadly dull oddity has scientist John Carradine creating solar-powered zombies. Meanwhile he's being pursued by govenment agents and a deadly Asian villainess. Book-ended by scenes of a toy tank battling toy robots. WTF? Co-written by Trapper John himself, Wayne Rogers. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

:star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Summer Cabin (2004)

Viewed 12/23/2007 (first viewing)

Grainy, fairly effective short has a guy fighting off a zombie in the titular dwelling. Too short to be of much consequence, but has a nice vibe.

:star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:
 

PatW

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Jingle all the Way (1996) :star: :star:

Liked this one better the first time I saw it. It has lost quite a bit over the years. I never really did buy Arnie in a comedy.

The Christmas Carol (1951) :star: :star: :star: :star:

My favourite of the Scrooge stories. This is a yearly watch for me. Unfortunately the version I just saw was colorized.

I Love You Too Death (1990) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

Supposedly based on a true story, a woman takes revenge on her cheating husband but unfortunately he just won't die.

Kevin Kline plays Joey, the cheating husband and he's hiliarious in this role.
Kline is so good at comedy especially physical comedy, it's hard to believe this is the same man who did Sophie's Choice which he was great in as well. Tracy Ullman was adequate as the long suffering wife but the one who's steals the movie is Joan Plowright who plays Ullman's mother. She's has some of the best scenes in the movie especially the scene in front of the two police detectives. Funny movie.
 

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