03/29/08
Brahmin And The Butterfly, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka La Chrysalide et le papillon
Georges Melies plays a man who uses a flute to lure a huge worm like creature out into the open where it is captured, put into a bad and transformed into a beautiful woman with wings. This is a somewhat bland short from Melies simply because it's Melies. Had this film been done by any other director of the era then I'd probably give it more credit but considering the talent of Melies the film comes off rather simple, lazy but still someone enjoyable. There's nothing too special with the magic tricks and what we see on screen appears quite simple when compared to some of the director's other films.
Extraordinary Illusions (1901)
Georges Melies
aka Dislocation mystérieuse
Neat little film from master director Meiles has him playing a clown who sits in a magic chair and various things begin to happen. The big key of magic in this film is that the clown stays in one spot while his arms, legs, head and eventually body begin to move to other places. There are two tables away from the chair and we get several gags of the arms having the move away from the body to get to these tables. The special effects must have really blown people's minds back when this was released because they remain quite good even after one-hundred years. There are some nice laughs as well but again, the main reason to watch this are the wonderful effects.
Magician’s Cavern, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka L'antre des esprits
Once again Meiles plays a magician who turns a skeleton into a dancing woman. This is yet another magic show from the master Meiles and once again he delivers a lot of great gags and some terrific effects. The highlight of the film is when he suspends the woman in air and then walks under her to show that there's nothing there holding her up. This effect holds up quite well as does another sequence where the magician gets sucked up into the air. Credit should also go to Meiles the actor because just watching how graceful he is adds a lot of character to these films. Just when you think the film is over there are a couple encore tricks, which are very entertaining as well.
Bachelor’s Paradise, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka Chez la sorcière
Lower Meiles film has him playing a man (the bachelor?) who goes a visits a witch but soon she is playing tricks on him. This film doesn't really contain any of the magic that we've come to expect from the great director. The biggest trick done in the movie is when the witch turns the man into some sort of animal but this brings no laughs and the trick itself isn't anything to get worked up over. The movie runs just over a couple minutes and for the most part it's pretty standard from start to finish.
Prince Of Magicians, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka Excelsior !
A magician (played by Melies) brings an assistant into his room where various tricks are pulled. This seems like a greatest hits package from the director who doesn't do anything too great here but all of the magic on display is quite good and makes for an entertaining film. One gag has Melies turn the man into a water fountain by spitting water out of his mouth into a bowl and then the director follows that up by pulling a fish out of the mouth. There's also a nice sequence where he turns a woman into two little girls. The final trick in the movie is also quite good and these are enough reasons to make this film worth viewing.
Hat With Many Surprises, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka Le Chapeau à surprise
Mildly entertaining film has a magician (once again played by Melies) needing to set a table so he uses his magic hat. We start off with some small things being pulled out but we then move onto the chairs and eventually people. There's nothing overly special about this film as we've seen this type of thing from the director before but even with that said the movie remains watchable due to the nice work from Melies. The special effects are pretty good even though you can see the editing during a few of them and the movie ends with a nice laugh.
Man With The Rubber Head, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka L'Homme à la tête en caoutchouc
This here is one of the director's best known and most loved films and that's understandable due to the wonderful magic created here. Meiles once again plays the magician who puts a head (again Meiles') on a table and blows it up to a large side, lets the air out and then blows it back up again. This is certainly one of the director's best films as it's guaranteed to keep a smile on your face the entire time. The special effects are very well done and hold up quite well today but the highlight is certainly the ending but I won't ruin that for you. If you're new to the director's work then this here would be a great place to start.
Devil And The Statue, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka Le Diable géant ou le miracle de la madone
A woman is alone in her bedroom when a statue blows up and the devil himself pops out. This here is a pretty disappointing film from the director because not much happens throughout it. The devil appears in a pretty good sequence but after that he just chases the girl around with nothing happening. There's no magic on display and there's really very little action and how they get rid of the devil is also pretty standard stuff. This certainly isn't one of the director's high points.
Dwarf and the Giant, The (1901)
Georges Melies
aka Nain et géant
Somewhat entertaining film has Melies once again playing a magician and this time he comes out on stage and morphs himself into a double. Once he's doubled, he makes on of them shrink to a dwarf while the other grows to a giant. That's pretty much all that happens in this film as it runs just under a minute so I guess you could say that time didn't allow for anything else to happen. What's here is pretty entertaining but it's nothing strong enough to rank this as one of the director's best films. The special effects are good though.
Death Wish (1974)
Michael Winner
A mild manured Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) turns vigilante after his wife and daughter are attacked by muggers. The 1970's were full of hard hitting and gritty dramas and while most of them get the credit they deserve this film has yet to get all the love I think it deserves. The film is certainly one of the most influential films of the decade but it's also one of the best and most underrated. The story itself has become quite familiar over the years due to countless sequel and rips but there's no denying that this first film still has enough power to make it stand up against all others. The acting of Charles Bronson often gets laughed at or called wooden but I think he was brilliant at playing the Bronson persona just like Bogart could do Bogart and McQueen could do McQueen. I think Bronson's performance here is downright brilliant from start to finish and the actor hits all the right marks no matter what the scene calls for. I think Bronson works the best during the silent moment where he's stalking the streets just waiting to get attacked. The look in Bronson's eyes is priceless and his gentle walk tells us all we need to know about him. The direction is also very strong and I love the way the story is handled with respect and care and doesn't try to make it exploitation like all the sequels. The film never becomes overly political but I'm sure some will try to pull or push it away due to their own moral beliefs and politics. The movie is a lot smarter than that and it just plays out and lets the viewer make up what they want.
Beach Girls and the Monster, The (1965)
John Hall
A bunch of teens just wanna dance to some good music and surf but a sea monster shows up to ruin their day. This is a rather infamous film that tries to mix with horror genre with any of the
Beach Party movies but the film is a flat out disaster but I must admit that it kept me entertained throughout its 65-minute running time. If you can't stand bad movies then there's no need for you to see this one but if you believe that some bad movies can be entertaining then this here is a must see. The performances are all incredibly bad but this does lead to some nice laughs as does the really bad direction. The monster has a cute rubber face and I admit that I enjoyed the few scenes that it's in but the twist in the plot can easily be spotted. The film is best remembered today for its Frank Sinatra, Jr. soundtrack and it's actually pretty good even though it's third-rate Beach Boys stuff.
03/30/08
Colonel's Shower Bath, The (1902)
Georges Melies
aka Douche du colonel
This film here runs just under a minute and is one of those one-joke films. We see a Colonel show up and start shouting orders to his men but the Colonel gets an unwelcomed shock when a bucket of water is dropped on him. Throughout the early days of cinema there were all sorts of films like this but this one here just didn't work for me. When the actual joke happens it didn't have me laughing so in the end the film was fairly worthless. The sets were the one good thing but this isn't the type of film you want to see from director Melies.
Dancing Midget, The (1902)
George Melies
aka La Danseuse microscopique
A couple magicians (one played by Melies) come on stage and do a few magic tricks but their encore involved taking an egg and turning it into a midget woman and then making the woman normal size. This is a pretty standard film from the legendary director as it has some mild charm but none of the tricks are anything we haven't seen before. The actual dancing that goes on with the midget is mildly amusing as is the way she's brought to life but the effects are standard for the director.
Trip to the Moon, A (1902)
Georges Melies
aka Le Voyage dans la Lune
George Melies' landmark film tells the story of a group of men who want to explore the moon so they build a rocket and fly there only to discover some moon monsters. There's no question that this is one of the greatest landmarks in the history of cinema and the amusing story just shows the wonderful mind of the director. This really is a fairy tale about what the moon would be like and this moon creation is something we've seen in the director's previous films but this time out we get to explore the fairy tale. I think the greatest thing about this movie is its visual look, which really blows ones mind when you consider how well it holds up today. The look of the moon is brilliantly done as is the underground creatures that attack towards the end. There's also the landmark scene of the ship flying into the face of the moon and there's no question this is one of the greatest scenes in film history even if it was made over a hundred years ago.
Shadow-Girl, The (1902)
Georges Melies
aka La Clownesse fantome
More magic tricks from Melies who this time has two magicians pull a sheet out of a box and then unravel it to reveal a woman. After a few more tricks they have the girl climb through a barrel and then a man appears. Considering this film was released just after the landmark
A Trip to the Moon one might call it a disappointment but it's actually pretty good for this type of film. The special effects are pretty good, although the final trick is easy to spot due to a poor edit. While the film isn't anything special and really doesn't stick out in the director's career, it's still worth watching for fans.
Treasures of Satan, The (1902)
Georges Melies
aka Les Tresors de Satan
Highly imaginative fil from Melies has Satan, with the help from two assistants, putting his gold into a wooden crate but when they leave a room a thief breaks in with plans on stealing the money. However, the thief doesn't know that Satan's magical powers still has a hold on the money. This is a very fun film that manages to use some of the same old magic tricks but do them in a way that they come off very fresh. There's one great sequence where the chest swallows the thief and how it ends is great fun. The scene with the money dancing is also nicely done. The special effects hold up quite well today and the charming nature of the story makes this a must see.
Maybe It's Love (1935)
William C. McGann
Predictable but amusing romantic comedy from Warner has Gloria Stuart (
The Invisible Man) playing a secretary who is waiting for the man she loves (Ross Alexander) to marry her but she must use another man to make him jealous. After they're finally married, both realize that the married life is harder than they thought. The story here certainly isn't anything new but the glowing charm of Stuart really makes this film a lot better than the script deserved. There's also some great character actors who add wonderful support and they include Cagney's buddy Frank McHugh as the brother-in-law, Henry Travers as the father and Ruth Donnelly as the sister. All three add some nice laughs to the film with McHugh stealing the film as the dimwitted sap. There are a couple problems with the film and one of them is Alexander who just isn't charming enough for the role. Another problem is that the film runs 63-minutes, which is too short because it leads to a major plot gap towards the end of the film. One scene the couple is happily married and then out of no where they are fighting and breaking up. This film certainly isn't a classic but if you're a fan of any of the actors then it's worth viewing once.
Wild and Woolley (1931)
Charles Dorian
Early Pete Smith short shows us what goes on at a rodeo where we see cowboys trying to break wild horses as well as trying to stay on the bulls. As far as information goes, this film offers some nice trivia but I think most will be shocked or turned off by some of the violence in the movie. There are some pretty ugly scenes involving the horses that I'm sure PETA members would throw a fit about. I'm certainly not a member but a few of these scenes struck me as cruel especially one where a horse gets caught on the gate and pretty violently hurts itself. What really sticks out in this short is the brilliant cinematography that captures all the action. A lot of slow motion is used so you can really see what's going on and the filming is downright brilliant and contains some of the best work I've seen from an early film.
Across the Singapore (1928)
William Nigh
Two brothers (Ramon Novarro, Ernest Torrence) who work on the sea fall in love with the same woman (Joan Crawford), which leads to tragedy in this silent melodrama. The main reason to watch this film is due to the early performance by Crawford but the rest of the movie offers very little in terms of entertainment. The biggest problem with the movie is that its story is so over dramatic that you can't help but hate each of the characters and in the end you really don't care what happens to them. All films like this are a tad bit over dramatic but this one takes the cake and might be the worst offender. We expect a jealous fit to happen (as they do in all movies like this) but the screenplay here takes it to a crazy, psychotic level that comes off more like a bad comedy more than a drama. Both Novarro and Torrence are good in their roles but the screenplay doesn't really offer them much to do. Crawford is cute in her role but again, the screenplay really doesn't offer her too much except to stand around and look shocked at what the brothers are doing.
Zoo (2007)
Robinson Devor
Controversial documentary about a Seattle man who died from internal bleeding after having sex with a horse. I don't think anyone can deny that there are some strange sexual acts carried out throughout the world and what might turn one off could turn another one off. With the internet it seems you can find just about anything and to a point I've always understood how some people might feel one way but that's not the case when it comes to bestiality and I was really hoping this documentary would explain how someone would be sexually turns on by an animal. I wanted to know why but the documentary really doesn't answer that. This is part film and part documentary as we get re-enactments of the incident with voice overs from some of the people involved including the dead man's brother and sister as well as two men who were at the house when the man died. Nothing graphic is ever shown but we hear the four tell their stories about what happened and in the end no one really knows what happened except that this man had sex with the horse and ended up dying. This is a rather strange documentary because it's not really presented as a documentary and I think this hurts the film overall. I think it would have been better to do a pure documentary or a pure film. This half and half business makes for a surreal movie but you sit through this disturbing topic and in the end you don't learn or find out anything. I think there could be a good documentary on the subject but this isn't it.
