Recent viewings

[Rev. Powell]

BLUEBEARD (2009): An aristocrat with a blue beard marries young girls, who always wind up dead.  There are a few startling images near the end that pop out because the rest of the story so flat, but the for the most part the matter-of-fact minimalist style fades the magic and mystery of the fairy tale.  2.5/5.

[JaseSF]

Watched a collection of Holiday Tales from Genius Entertainment. Yeah, another dollar DVD.

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen (1951): When Santa Claus falls asleep and fails to give the Fairy Snow Queen her promised sugar cookie, she decides to play a prank on him and brings all his toys to life. However she didn't account for unforseen circumstances such as the toys wanting to stay alive and two of them actually falling in love.

This musical/dance drama short very much looks like something you might see in a live performance. Yeah it's all pretty bad and painfully dull too. The characters are especially annoying too especially Santa's brownie Snoopy and the Jack in the Box. The best moments come from the toy soldier and his dance/marches with other characters.

Silent Night: The Vienna Boys' Choir perform "Silent Night". This is about two minutes and shows some delightful Christmas situations including old-fashioned toys and snowy scenery as the tune is being performed. At a little over two minutes, it's entertaining enough and the music isn't bad either.

Christmas Dream (1946): When a little girl throws down her old doll when she sees her brand new Christmas presents, Santa Claus sends her a special Christmas Dream to remind her of the doll's value.

This was a pretty cool short combining live-action and animation. The doll is a simple puppet animated in memorable fashion and this becomes a bizarre dreamlike experience. This appears to be the work of famed Czech animator master Karl Zeman. It's definitely magical, sometimes quite funny but also just a tad disturbing too I'd argue. My favourite bit here is when the toy giraffe comes to life and starts eating the Christmas tree.

Gift Wrapped (1952): When Granny receives a special Tweety bird surprise for Christmas, Sylvester the cat decides to switch the gift tags in hopes of getting a tasty meal.

This Merrie Melodies animated cartoon is a laughfest delight. It features Sylvester and Tweety at their best with Sylvester trying to dream up more and more ways to have a Tweety snack while Granny tries to get all her pets to just behave themselves on Christmas. A very entertaining cartoon short.

Christmas Fairy Tale: A little girl dreams about what goes on in Mother Goose's Fairyland on Christmas Eve. Soon she imagines many familiar fairy tale characters preparing for a Christmas celebration but eventually the story shifts to focus on the tale of "The Littlest Snowman" who has a candy heart.

This movie basically just uses moving figures/figurines to help illustrate its story as a narrator (Bob Leonard) explains everything. This short doesn't overstay its welcome at 11 minutes but is ultimately surprisingly forgettable and it seems very much the type of story one might be able to tell on their own in their own home albeit perhaps not with so elaborate moving figurines. This was directed by Jean Downing.

A Present For Santa Claus: Two kids try and dream up the perfect gift to give Santa Claus when their mom explains Santa's had a tough year this year.

This sweet-natured short is quite entertaining and definitely teaches a good message. It does however perhaps build expectation a little too high as to rewards for kind actions.

Little Gray Neck (1956): An injured little goose named Gray Neck must survive the winter months, heal his injured wing and evade an hungry fox if he hopes to see his family again in the Spring.

This animated short Russian film from director L. Amalrik runs about 20 minutes and is surprisingly entertaining and moving albeit perhaps just a tad too sickly sweet at times. Still there's some great moments here such as when Little Gray Neck outwits the fox, when Little Gray Neck is coaxed into flight after his wing is healed, etc.. Doesn't actually have anything to do with Christmas but may be the best short included on this DVD overall.

The Little King: Christmas Night (1933): The Little King, feeling a little glum, decides to sneak two tramps he befriends into the castle for Christmas.

This animated short is highly entertaining and very funny and amusing. Everything moves quickly in this nearly 8 minute short. There's many silly but fun sequences including the Little King and the two tramps taking a bath together, hanging their stockings and then playing with Christmas toys together the next day. I also really liked the scene where Santa Claus plants an Xmas Tree Seed and it sprouts a Christmas tree, bulbs, trimming and all! AKA: Pals (1933)

[Joe the Destroyer]

Reptilian- I didn't make it all the way through, though I might try to finish it later.  The bad acting was funny at first, but like any repeated punchline it got old.  I feel that this movie is one big disservice to the memory of Yongary.   

Trip with the Teacher- Not a bad exploitation film, but certainly not the best.  Far too many "get on with it" scenes.  [Thumb in the middle]

[Jack]

The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) - Some British archaeologists have discovered the tomb of Ghengis Khan, and among the artifacts are a mask and sword, which Dr. Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) wants to take from them so that he may use the items to lead a Chinese war against the West.  He kidnaps various people from the expedition and tortures them for information, and bargains with the archaeologists to exchange his captives for the sword and mask.  This started well and ended well, but it did drag a bit in the middle.  I thought the tomb of Ghengis Khan was pretty well done, especially for such an old movie.  The characters were fairly likable, and Karloff did a pretty fair job as the villain.  His daughter was a real nutcase, almost stealing the show actually.    3/5.

[JaseSF]

Watched another dollar DVD - this one a collection of "Pied Piper" cartoons. Actually these are from episodes of a Canadian children's TV series entitled "Mr. Piper" (made in 1963-1964). Mr. Piper was played by opera tenor Alan Crofoot. He would appear to introduce each segment dressed as a Pied Piper with a flower in his hat, a friendly smile and kind words of moral advice before and after each segment. Each cartoon short from the show runs about 6-8 minutes and there's 10 cartoon shorts [the show actually had other segments which don't seem to have survived] from the show included on this DVD from Genius Entertainment (AMC).

Included here are:

Mr. Piper and the story of Ali Baba: Ali Baba discovers the secret password to open a cave and gain access to the hidden treasure of forty thieves.

This story took on a surprisingly adult turn when Ali's greedy brother Kassim is caught red-handed in the cave by the thieves. The ending though involving the quick wit of Ali Baba's wife is quite a delight.

Mr. Piper and the story of the Magic Horn: A young man named Peter trades away all his worldly goods for an old horn. At first it seems as though he's gotten a rotten bargain until he discovers the secret of the horn's magic.

This was quite fun but there's nothing really too surprising or memorable about it.

Mr. Piper and the story of the Three Brothers: 3 brothers return from their time labouring each with special gifts designed to insure their family's continued good welfare. However the first brother's gift - a magic table that refills itself with food - and the second brother's gift - a donkey that brays out gold - are stolen by a greedy innkeeper. The third brother's gift though proves quite a surprise even to the innkeeper.

Another forgettable albeit charming little short.

Mr. Piper and the story of Brave Molly: a little girl named Molly, who had a kind and brave heart and an exceptional quick wit, uses her cunning and wile to elude capture by a giant determined to eat her and her sisters.

This was really quite good and surprisingly goofy fun. Still it does offer up some violent surprises that likely wouldn't make it to air on every kids show today.

Mr. Piper and the story of Hansel and Gretel: As punishment for being naughty, Hansel and Gretel are sent into the deep woods to fill up empty baskets with strawberries. However the two get lost and end up captured by an evil witch who lives in a gingerbread house.

Actually my reaction to this one pretty much mirrors my reaction the last.

Mr. Piper and the story of the Kindhearted Girl: a young girl is warned by a little bird she befriends that her stepmother and aunt are in fact evil witches out to get her.

This cartoon basically teaches the rewards of kindness and how being kind to others will lead to others helping you out in times of need. It's entertaining enough in its fashion and it offers up some fun surprises.

Mr. Piper and the story of Hasty and the Princess: a young country fellow named Hayseed trying to find his place in the world is intrigued by the challenge of trying to win a Princess' hand in marriage. However the challenges set forth by the King prove quite demanding indeed and if Hayseed fails to accomplish them, it may mean losing his head.

Again, this teaches the rewards of kindness, of being thoughtful and helpful to others and how that may then be returned in kind.

Mr. Piper and the story of Hassan the Simple: a wise old man, or is that a wise old fool, named Hassan helps settle a dispute between a logger and his assistant, who only helps by grunting and groaning and cheering the logger on, as to who is rightfully entitled to what earnings.

This was fun and goofy but also quite endearing. I loved the unexpected twist at the end where Hassan proves he may be a fool but yet he is still wise.

Mr. Piper and the story of the Proud Princess: a young prince, quite smitten with a young princess, sends her special items to show his affection including the two most beautiful possessions he owns, a nightingale and a red rose. The haughty princess however rejects these offerings outright thinking herself much too good for such items. Later the prince disguises himself as pig farmer and learns the truth about the princess and how she values things over people.

This story teaches the valuable lesson that outer beauty is no match for inner beauty. It's quite a fun little story.

Mr. Piper and the story of Ahmed the Merchant: an old merchant named Ahmed blames his poor donkey Jaffar for the loss of a chest of tea and his jacket when in fact a thief is to blame. Ahmed gets so angry he actually threatens to sell his beloved pet donkey for a penny which strikes up much interest in the village including that of the thief himself. In the end though, both Ahmed and Jaffar prove too clever for the thief.

Just another fun, goofy little tale with a moral edge.

That pretty much sums up most of these cartoon tales. Some of them though do have a surprisingly violent edge with most of the violent actions more implied than seen. Still death is mentioned in quite a few of these fairy tale style stories, an even seems to occur or have occurred off-screen in a few of them, which after all isn't too far removed from the original dark edge many fairytales do have in their original versions... still overall, this is charming, delightful fun from a bygone era.

[Joe the Destroyer]

The Burrowers- Decent western vs. creature flick.  My only problem was the ending, which felt very forced.  Other than that, it was decent. 

[Jack]

Head of the Family (1996) - Lance and Loretta are in love, or at least in lust, but they've got a problem:  Loretta is married.  They'd like to get rid of this problem, and as luck would have it, they discover that the local weirdo family, the Stackpooles, have been abducting people.  Lance uses this information to blackmail them into getting rid of Loretta's husband, and all is well.  Until Lance decides to continue blackmailing them for money.  Then the Stackpooles get a little ticked and set out for some revenge.  This was okay;  the characters were a bit too clichéd and the whole thing was so darned predictable.  It seemed to lack that special cheesy charm that I've come to expect from Full Moon.  It did have a lot of nudity though    3/5.

[lester1/2jr]

little girls - somehow european soft core movies that have young ladies who are blatantly under 18 are now avaiable in the US. It makes me uncomfortable maybe I am beinga prude here. I try to do the when in Rome thing and the SChoolgril report movie I saw was light hearted enugh to be enjoyable but this is just too edgy for me. The blonde gril looks to be like 14 and she is involved in really dark Anais Nin type role playing and S and M and soforth, black and white. It's like a new wavey euro version of a SW roughie but I couldn't deal and turned it off. and  watched "a Cold wind in August" lol

[3mnkids]

Killing Zoe~ A bunch of druggie half wits plan on robbing a bank... yeah, it doesn't go as planned. This is normally my type of movie but this was just disappointing.

The ceremony~ A college kid finds a book in his roommates room on the floor surrounded by burning candles.. he blows out the candles and reads from the book and weird things start happening... tv goes on and off, lights go on and off, footsteps      I dozed off a couple of times. boring.

Tiki~ Mean girls+victim who has an aunt that practices voodoo= Tiki.. The tiki was cute and its the only thing that saved this movie.

[JaseSF]

Chocolat (2000): A young woman named Vianne (Juliette Binoche), along with her daughter Anouk, arrives in a French village and stir things up quite a bit when she opens a chocolate shop, right in the midst of Lent, in the rigid and reserved Christian town.The town's mayor Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), not at all pleased with her presence and especially that of a tempting chocolate store in the town, plots to put a stop to her potential "immoral" influence on the town.

I caught this on TV late last night. It was quite a pleasant little surprise. Thematically it very much reminds me of 1998's Pleasantville with a town finally being challenged to dare to, for the very first time for some, live a little in their lives. Of course this feels much more stylistically a bit of a sexy, romantic escapist fantasy.  It almost feels fairytale like in its presentation with the beautiful French countryside and quaint little village seeming almost otherworldly at times. The cast is great and the acting is superb as one probably would expect from a cast that includes Binoche, Johnny Depp and Molina but I think the best and most moving/interesting performances here are given by supporting players Judi Dench and Lena Olin. Recommended especially to those who love a sense of romantic mystery and fantasy. *** out of ***** stars.

[Leah]

Roller Boogie- WTF were these people thinking "oh yeah, let's have a 70's them in the 90's" At least it wasn't bad as XANADU!

[retrorussell]

Just saw Machete last night.  I really, really didn't like it.  I went in knowing it would be cheeseball, but it went WAY too far for me.  A movie that is intentionally wall-to-wall with stupid dialogue I have a hard time sitting through.  Plus, some a**hole in front of me was screwing around with their cell phone (not calling OR text messaging, just staring at the damn thing), burning my eyes with the light.  Not a good evening for me.

[Jack]

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) - watched this again last night.  In the distant future, Earth has been invaded by alien spirits, and the handful of human survivors live in cities protected by electronic shields.  Dr. Sid (voiced by Donald Sutherland) and his female cohort want to learn the origins of the aliens via scientific means, while some whacko military guy just wants to blast them with his new orbiting mega cannon.  For a completely CGI movie, well...the characters were still a bit flat.  The main guy was voiced by Alec Baldwin - need I say more?   There was plenty of cool sci-fi action and stuff though.  It was moderately interesting overall.  3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

ARIZONA DREAM (1993): Johnny Depp plays a fish-tagger who reluctantly moves to Arizona to help uncle Jerry Lewis run his car dealership and becomes romantically entangled with emotionally unstable older fox Faye Dunaway and suicidal stepdaughter Lilli Taylor.  A meandering, whimsically surreal comedy with an indie/Euro sensibility that wants to say something important about Life but never really gets around to it; fortunately, there are some standout individual scenes from the top-notch cast, including a running NORTH BY NORTHWEST gag.  Vincent Gallo steals his scenes as Depp's would-be actor buddy.  3.5/5. 

[JaseSF]

Gran Torino (2008): A grizzled and disgruntled Korean war veteran named Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) surprisingly come to befriend a young Hmong teenager named Thao (Bee Vang), after said youth foolishly tried to steal Walt's prized 1972 Gran Torino, a young man who badly needs some positive guidance in his life.

Caught this one on the Movie Network last night. I was really surprised by how very good it was. Eastwood is superb as Kowalski, a man who often seems to be wondering how the world he fought so hard to preserve in his past could have turned out the way it has, how his family could become so distant and disrespectful of him. He feels like a real person, a very likable old badass/grouch who's no use for disrespect and how quickly the expected moral behaviour of yesteryear seems to have unfortunately been so often swept to the wayside in the modern day world. In the end, he finds friendship in a place he never expected and has to deal with his old demons and battle some new ones as well. The lead characters here just prove so immensely likable and we soon come to realize and understand the world they live in and how and why Walt and Thao are the people they are. The film also seems to promote the values of tolerance, understanding, friendship, discipline and hard work. **** out of ***** stars.