What classics did you see last week ? (23 Dec - 29 Dec 2018)

  5/10

Hi all, hope you all had fun or peace at Xmas (depending on your preference of course). Time off work ensures plenty of viewings >


The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0043733/reference 
- Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw1833291/?ref_=tt_urv 10/10


Planet of the Apes (1968) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0063442/reference 

I'm a seeker, too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be.
 
Planet of the Apes is directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and adapted to screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling from the 1963 Pierre Boulle novel La planete des singes. It stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison. Music is scored by Jerry Goldsmith and Leon Shamroy is the cinematographer.

3978 A.D. and a spaceship and its crew crash down on a distant planet. Three astronauts survive the crash, they appear to be on a planet not unlike their own, Earth. But soon they come to learn that this planet is ruled by intelligent apes, the human being is the lesser species, mute and of basic intelligence..

It was a tough sell to studios back in the 1960s, not only was the premise that formed Pierre Boulle's novel a tricky one, but the technical aspects, cost and quality of, also had the men in suits backing away from producer Arthur P. Jacobs and beefcake actor Charlton Heston. Eventually Dick Zanuck over at Fox nervously agreed to make it as long as significant tests ensured that farce would not follow. Stumping up $50,000 for John Chambers to develop the ape make up and masks, and a successful test run acted out by Edward G. Robinson as Dr Zaius opposite Heston, Planet of the Apes was given the green light. The script went through a number of changes as Serling and Wilson tossed around ideas to improve on Boulle's page turner, while Heston himself felt that the novel as written was unfilmable. Elsewhere, when director Schaffner came on board, he himself went for a more primitive ape world as opposed to the one under consideration that featured futuristic high rises and super advanced technology. What came out at the end of it all thankfully is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time.

What would follow the success of the film is well known, a number of inferior sequels, a TV series, a remake and even a prequel in 2011. Then of course there was the toys, models, comics, cartoons and T shirts - it at times felt in the 70s that there really was a Planet of the Apes, only this one was driven by commerce. The aftermath of the original film has not done it any favours, the lines have become blurred, with so much muck and tack about, it often gets forgotten just how clinically great Schaffner's movie is. If ever there was a film that deserves to be a standalone, this is the one. Follow Heston's brawny Taylor from the pitiful planting of the stars and stripes at the beginning, to that monumental ending, and then leave it at that, do not pass go, do not venture further into any sort of monkey business. No sequel necessary, for Planet of the Apes to truly hit you with maximum impact, it all needs to end right there on that shoreline. As the great Rod Serling intended in fact.

Thematically the picture is acknowledged as being caustically strong, a sociological allegory, with pinches of racial animus just for flavouring. It might be under the guise of a sci-fi movie, but the makers aren't trying to hide it. Whilst the narrative twitches with comment, whoosh was that an aside to the Scopes trial? Film is also full of visceral thrills, pop-culture references and unnerving (alienation like) photographic beauty. The former comes with the hunt sequence, where we first meet gorilla's on horses, with guns and attitude, the latter with Shamroy's Panavision/De Luxe colour lensing of the California and Arizona locations. All enhanced by Goldsmith's aural pinging percussive led score. And while we continue to remember some of those famous bits of dialogue, we also pick up on each revisit to the film those little slices of humour slotted into the story - human see, human do indeed and the visual cheek of hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil...

Film of course hinges on Heston's central human performance, of which he delivers athletic guts and subtle nuances in equal measure. Taylor's character arc demands repeat viewings to fully appreciate what Heston brings to the role. Take in the cynical Taylor who wanders through the Forbidden Zone in the first quarter, then marry it up to the Taylor fighting for his life in the middle, and finally to the Taylor at the denouement, it's a three pronged acting turn of some undervalued distinction. Not all muscular "presence" actors are/were able to be credible, Heston was. Around him in the monkey suits are true professionals, Hunter, McDowall, Evans (coming in for Robinson who feared for is health in the suit) and Whitmore, while Harrison in the non speaking human role of Nova does her job of looking gorgeous! All that's left to say is that Schaffner, who would win the Academy Award for Best Director two years later for Patton, pulls it all together neatly. 10/10


Die Hard (1988) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0095016/reference - Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw2361629/?ref_=tt_urv 10/10


The Frighteners (1996) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0116365/reference


When a man's jawbone drops off it's time to reassess the situation.
 
Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is an odd blend of outright comedy and supernatural thriller, if able to get onside with that then there's a whole lot to enjoy. Plot essential has Michael J. Fox as a psychic who really can see dead people, so much so in fact that he has befriended three ghosts and makes a living out of setting up hauntings and charging people to exorcise the spirits. However, things turn decidedly deadly when he encounters a grim reaper like spirit that is killing people and putting a number on their foreheads. It seems there is a serial killing spirit on the loose.

Frank Bannister (Fox) is grieving from the death of his wife and he has become a conman, this is an interesting characterisation for Fox to play and he does so with relish. Initially the pic is all about the comedy, with Bannister's interactions with the three ghosts devilishly funny. Ok, the effects work now look a bit crude, but there's a vibrancy on offer both visually and orally.

Come the second third the pic shifts into a serial killer investigation and the narrative gets dark. Oh there's still fun in the mix, but Jackson and his team are toying with the very real facet of a celebrity serial killer (ebulliently played by Jake Busey). Trini Alvarado (what happened to her?) is playing what ends up as Bannister's side-kick and love interest and the pair of them are thrust into a frantic final third of a life and death battle with Busey's psychotic spirit Johnny Bartlett. Bartlett in turn is aided by mentally ill Patricia Bradley (horror icon Dee Wallace Stone), while an outrageously over the top Jeffrey Combs is in the mix as a damaged FBI agent intent on destroying bannister and all he stands for.

When you strip it down it's a live action horror comedy cartoon, which when you look in context to Jackson's early work is not surprising. It's also not surprising that The Frighteners has become a cult movie of some standing. The bonkers plot, the close to the knuckle humour and choice narrative threads make it a fascinating viewing experience. 7.5/10


Gone Baby Gone (2007) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0452623/reference 

Do you know people in the neighborhood who don't talk to the police?

Gone Baby Gone is directed by Ben Affleck and Affleck co-adapts the screenplay with Aaron Stockard from the novel of the same name written by Dennis Lehane. It stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, John Ashton and Amy Ryan. Music is by Harry Gregson Williams and cinematography by John Toll.

Private Investigators Patrick Kenzie (Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan) are hired to find missing child Amanda McCready (Madeline O'Brien). It appears to be a simple case of a kidnapping, but the deeper the investigators go the darker the truths become.

A potent drama, Gone Baby Gone offers up a mystery that is propelled by moral murkiness. Unsurprisingly given it's from a Lehane novel, the twists and deep characterisations dovetail seamlessly with the very real feel of a Boston neighbourhood, the sense of place and community superbly marshalled by Ben Affleck (in what was his debut as a director). The story is so strong it makes us the viewers part of the search for missing Amanda, which in turn forces us to answer the ethical quandaries thrust upon Patrick Kenzie.

With tech credits firmly in the plus column and the director un-showy and assured enough to keep the key third act from dragging the picture down, this proves to be very good film making. Pic only has minor faults to be bothered by. Monaghan is a fine actress but she is hard to take here in a street wise role, though with a nicely cast Casey Affleck dominating their scenes she gets away with it. The sharp of mind should pick up on what is driving the mystery forward, whilst the ambiguity at resolution point can go either way for respective viewers appreciation or otherwise. But this is all told a rewarding piece of adult cinema and recommended for sure. 8/10


Moon (2009) - www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/reference 

Gerty, we're not programmed. We're people, do you understand?

Directed by Duncan Jones and starring Sam Rockwell, Moon finds Rockwell as Sam Bell who is coming to the end of his three year contract on a lunar station working for Lunar Industries. His only companion is an intelligent computer named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey). When Sam has an accident he awakens to find he is now not alone and all he thought and believed in is just not as it seems.

Forget any fears about a low budget and any plot similarity to 2001: A Space Odyssey, for this is a cracker jack of a science fiction picture. Film quickly fills us in on Sam Bell the man and his function up there on the lunar station. His relationship with GERTY the computer grabs our interest whilst the production design has a sort of medicinal sheen to it. Once Sam's solitude is established, the minimal contact with Earth explained, the pic then spins into another dimension, dragging both Sam and us viewers into the vortex.

To say more would be churlish, but this is adult science fiction, clever in existential whiles and scathing with observations on corporate shenanigans. Narratively it's evocative in its telling, even haunting and philosophical, where a brilliant Rockwell nails every inch of Bell's search for being, and crucially, the truth. It's all building towards a finale of some devilish substance, no cop outs or easy fed answers, just a pertinent question asked of the viewers. Moon comes highly recommended to sci-fi fans who are after a bit more than mere sparkly fluff and robotic chaos. 9/10


Cowboys & Aliens (2011) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0409847/reference - Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw2544995/?ref_=tt_urv 7/10


Dredd (2012) - www.imdb.com/title/tt1343727/reference  

Incendiary!

Dredd is directed by Pete Travis and written by Alex Garland. It stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey and Wood Harris. Music is by Paul Leonard-Morgan and cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle.

Review for 2D Version Only.

Sylvester Stallone' 1995 attempt at bringing Judge Dredd to the big screen was met with a critical mauling, both professionally and by serious fans of the 2000AD comic books from whence the character came. On its own terms it's a fun popcorn piece, but one that totally missed the fascist grime of the source. Here however, under the guidance of Travis and Garland, Dredd gets the picture the fans and the character deserves.

Plot is simple, we are in a dystopian future in a place known as Mega-City One. The only law and order are the Judges who are able to act as judge, jury and executioner. One such feared judge is Judge Dredd (Urban) and when he and his partner in training, Anderson (Thirlby), answer a call to a triple homicide at the multi storey slum tenement known as Peach Trees, they are locked in by crime boss Ma-Ma (Headey) and forced to defend themselves against practically everyone who resides there.

This is stripped down to the essence of what makes Judge Dredd such a beloved character in comic book lore. There's no need for backstories, love interests or comedy side-kicks, this is bad ass characters from either side of the law going at it full throttle. The action is unrelenting and explosive in its construction, bloody and brutal into the bargain as well.

Dredd the character is rightly kept to a basic level, he's a hard dude in a suit and helmet, with an arsenal of weapons upon his person and he delivers short sharp shock pieces of dialogue with gruff assertiveness. Anderson is a mutant of sorts, she can read minds, which superbly adds spice to this fight for survival narrative. Ma-Ma is a damaged villain, disgustingly menacing without histrionics, it's her calmness that's so terrifying.

At the core of the criminal activities fronted by Ma-Ma is a new drug called Slo-Mo, a drug that reduces the brain's perception to 1% of speed. This allows the makers to bring some dazzling effects into play whilst setting up some blood letting scenarios. The production design is top draw, where Mega-City One has a perfect totalitarianism sheen to it, which in turn is boosted by Dod Mantle's excellent colour lenses.

With Urban perfectly cast and his two lady co-stars also firing, Dredd is a thrilling action sci-fi movie. It doesn't push new boundaries and raise the bar per se, but it keeps the fires well and truly burning in the genre whilst appeasing the fans wholesale. 8/10

The Magnificent Seven (2016) - www.imdb.com/title/tt2404435/reference - Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw3633642/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10

Better Watch Out (2016) - www.imdb.com/title/tt4443658/reference - Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw4535867/?ref_=tt_urv 7/10

The Shape of Water (2017) - www.imdb.com/title/tt5580390/reference

Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me! 

Guillermo del Toro directs and co-writes with Vanessa Taylor what would turn out to be the Best Picture Academy Award Winner for 2017. A much loved film that's not without dissention in certain quarters, it's a picture that warrants dissention but it should be noted that just because someone doesn't like it, that doesn't make it a bad film. I'm certainly in the camp that finds it over praised, even annoyingly disappointing, whilst appreciating many of the facets within its production.

Story in simple terms is a Beauty and the Beast like fable where Sally Hawkins' mute cleaning lady Elisa Esposito falls in love with a captured Amphibian Man. Amphibian Man is known by the government types as The Asset, and as the Cold War rises and 60s paranoia takes a hold, the American big wigs want to vivisect the special species to learn from it. Elisa, after courting "The Asset", enlists the help of close friends and plots to free the creature from its captivity in the underground medical bunker labyrinth place.

Now as simple as that sounds, there is more to it than that, del Toro and Taylor whilst enveloping the pic in a fantasy realm feel, ensure messages are thrust hard at the viewers. Be it the racial disharmony, the quest for different walks of life finding love with each other, the cry for humans to stop being bad and killing things because they don't understand them, torture is evil and etc etc. It's all right there in your face and we get it. So plot maybe simple but for sure there's a lot being said in the narrative.

Yet as great as it looks, and it's superbly acted by Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer, it just to me loses its way come the mid-point, getting daft and even getting a little icky into the bargain. I have no problem with improbabilities and outrageous contrivances here, this is del Toro painting one of his fantastical worlds - only on Earth in the early 60s! But the pay off is poor, hinging on a twist that's not only ridiculous, but insulting as well because otherwise the pic would be very troubling indeed. No art deco eye orgasms or vibrant characterisations can compensate for a film that runs out of steam.

That said, I was glad to have watched it, there's even a possibility I could return to it in the future - this is very good film making. But it's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination and not for the first time in the Academy's long history, many are baffled by their choice of Best Picture winner. 6/10
 
TV Episodes

The Twilight Zone - The Night of the Meek (1960) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0734666/reference - Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw3381817/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10

Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) - www.imdb.com/title/tt0094754/reference - mdf covered this on last weeks thread. It's 10/10 for me, only I was angry beyond compare to find that the 2005 Box Set features a version that has one of the best jokes edited out. Shameless censorship. 

Hi all,I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and my festive viewings were:

X-Mas TV specials:



The X Files: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (1998) 10

The episode with the lowest budget of season 6 and the smallest cast list of any X-Files episode made up to now, writer/director Chris Carter uses this unusual minimal set-up to his advantage by brewing a ghost stories for Christmas atmosphere in lighting the house with festive red lighting and coiled camera moves from the corners of rooms capturing the confined state Mulder and Scully are in. Backed by a chiming score from Mark Snow, Carter slants the ghostly CGI wounds (which has actually aged well) with comedic Hijinks of disappearing doors and sitting back in chairs chats with ghosts. One of the more comedic eps of the season, the script by Carter shines black comedy merriment on the house, in the odd couple exchanges between the agents and ghosts Maurice and Lydia, whilst the limited time the haunting is allowed to take place, gives the ghost a slithering unpredictability. Joining the excellent Duchovny and Anderson, Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner give utterly splendid turns as the ghosts, whose funny, off the cuff one-liners is thrown with a screw-ball slickness by Asner and Tomlin, along with an excitement of being the ghosts who stole Christmas.



Father Ted: A Christmassy Ted (1996) 8

Praying for double the runtime of a normal Ted, the script by series creators Graham Linehan & Arthur Mathews take on the extra time with an impressive ease, thanks to the main plot-line of a sudden rush of fame going to Ted's head tugging at character comedy over Ted's suspicion of jealousy from others, which opens up the paths for very funny physical Comedy set-pieces, when someone claiming to be from Ted's past, arrives to take advantage of his star-struck state in wacky Mission Impossible 1-inspired set-pieces. Hunching Ted (played by a hilarious Dermot Morgan)and his fellow priests down like they are on a battlefield in a whip-pan along a lingerie store, director Declan Lowney takes the set-pieces to high heaven with rubbery, frantic slap-stick over Christmassy time on Craggy Island.



Knowing Me Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge 10

Bringing the curtain down on the Knowing Me era of the series, writers Steve Coogan,Armando Iannucci,Patrick Marber & Rebecca Front pull a cracker of a final ep, which satirically mocks all-star chat show specials, with hilarious, sparkling dialogue that sends Partridge falling into every mishap and uncomfortable long pause with his guests.Done as a extravagance special for the chat show, director Dominic Brigstocke breaks Alan's show with fantastic visual sight-gags of would-be set-pieces falling apart, and ill-judged attempts at underhanded product placement. Becoming a throne in the series in the next series, David Schneider gives BBC head Tony Hayers a fittingly slimy manner which causes Steve Coogan to have Partridge be wonderfully ill at ease, as Alan pulls the cracker on his career.

X-Mas films:



Night Before Christmas (1961) 8

Continuing a run of Fantasy titles, auteur writer/director Aleksandr Rou enchants with an utterly delight Christmas atmosphere, spun by Rou & cinematographer Dmitri Surensky weaving the camera down the streets of the snow-covered village. Gliding by on a 66 minute runtime, Rou rolls into the surreal with sparks of primary colours shimmering on the screen from lush dissolves, and Rou skilfully blending rustic Comedy into the tale, such as the cute, mischievous Devil being used as a mode of transport. Sending Vakula out to find the Tsaritsa's slippers for his love Oksana, the screenplay by Rou's adaptation of Nikolay Gogol is strung with whimsical flourishes which thread Vakula and the Devil into the bustling small-town dramas, as the locals prepare on the night before Christmas.



Don't Open Till Christmas (1984) 6

Stuck in delays, (filmed in 1983,put out in 1985) which led to extra murder set-pieces to be filmed for a final high-end body count of 14, and the first two directors being sacked, the third, and final director Ray Selfe sows it all together with a grubby Grindhouse atmosphere. Filmed round the crumbling outskirts of London, Swlfe sniffs up the seediness in panning shots round the dark, dank locations and swift first-person tracking shots of the psycho stalking (and then killing) sexy ladies, and down and outs dressed as Santa. Rid of the gloss of US Horror of the era, the Slasher slay bells ring on a ugliness of dry red smeared across the screen. Chopping some of the US Slasher clichés off, ("The Final Girl" not being the pure and innocent type, the victims being largely rough round the edges) the screenplay by Alan Birkinshaw & Derek Ford follows the spreading of good cheer in the directing by giving the dialogue an unshakeable mean spitefulness, where even the cops treat survivors with a bullying contempt. Pulling off the beard, the writers carve the motives of the nutter with a unrelenting wide-eyed psycho harshness which leaves the police with an open case till Christmas.



Better Watch Out (2016) 8

Building up a snowstorm from a plot twist pencilled in at the half-way point, the excellent performances by Levi Miller and Ed Oxenbould as Luke and Garrett really make the twist work, thanks to Miller giving Luke an ambiguity between childish teasing, and an increasingly unsettling wide-grin, blank stare void, while Oxenbould gives Garrett a casual slacker state open to manipulation. Reuniting with Oxenbould after M. Night Shyamalan's return to praise and box office success with The Visit (2015), Olivia DeJonge gives a live-wire turn as Ashley, whose initial babysitting of Luke is given a pointed comedic edge by DeJonge, which breaks into horror by DeJonge turning the screws on Ashley's sinking fear, and scarping to survive.

Returning to the screen for the first time since the torture- Horror Undocumented (2010), co-writer/(with Zack Khan) director Chris Peckover & cinematographer Carl Robertson imaginatively use Christmas decorations and the scenery to give the flick a macabre edge that leaves the pure driven snow red, and (excluding the mid-credits scene) frames the final shot like the front of a Christmas card with a wry grin. Continuing to have torture be an element in his films, Peckover wraps the film in the psychological effects of it in tight close-ups on faces giving the horror a tense chill,along with sound effects and dabs of paint and blood on the floor suggestively drawing what has taken place.

Hanging up the decorations with a comedic playfulness in the opening, the screenplay by Peckover and Khan superbly snowballs comedy with Home-Invasion thrills, via Ashley's relaxed attitude to babysitting creaking under unexplained noises and broken glass. Opening up the present to the viewer, the writers wonderfully free the twists and turns to glitter, by continuing to gradual build the fraught relationship between the trio,as Ashley discovers that it is better to watch out.



Maria Chapdelaine (1934) 8

Sailing to Canada with a cast and crew from France, co-writer/(with Gabriel Boissy) directing auteur Julien Duvivier lands with style in vast wide-shots breathing in the great earthy outdoors of Quebec. As fellow IMDber dbdumonteil mentions in his terrific review, Duvivier cuts down the fir trees with an almost musical stylisation, layering the soundtrack with the national heritage of the locals in songs such as A la Claire Fontaine and Marianne s'en Va-t-Au -Moulin swaying to the gatherings of the towns people. Continuing to build the major visual motif across his credits of impending tragedy laying await behind the sun, Duvivier fills Maria full of grace with glowing, poetic white lighting, and Paradis's walk in the rugged terrain being followed in a tightly-held tracking shot.

For the first of (currently) three filmed adaptations of Louis Hémon's novel, (who died at just 32, via getting struck by a train when walking near the tracks) the screenplay by Boissy & Duvivier wrap this version in a magical elegance, thanks to Chapdelaine and Paradis's blossoming love being balanced by the shadow of death getting ever nearer to Chapdelaine's family. Teaming up for the first of seven times with Duvivier, the fresh-face Jean Gabin gives a very good turn as Paradis, who is given a surprisingly sensitive, delicate edge by Gabin. Looking angelic in close-up, beautiful Madeleine Renaud gives an enticing performance as Chapdelaine, with Renaud subtly casting a down-cast glimmer across her face, as Maria finds herself not full of grace.

The first bunch of films (save for the first two) are my traditional XMAS viewings. After that, I watch films that made their premieres this month or year. I also wish to note that I saw the Edison short A WINTER STRAW RIDE (1906) earlier this month but forgot to list it.

SIR ARTHUR CANON DOYLE’S SHERLOCK HOLMES (1968) “The Blue Carbuncle” 50TH ANNIVERSARY The final episode of Television’s first canonical Sherlock Holmes series and Peter Cushing's penultimate association with Holmes and Nigel Stock's last watson. A & E Video DVD.

DARK SHADOWS (1968) Episodes 650-655 50TH ANNIVERSARY Joan Bennett leaves for a play, putting Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in a catatonic trance courtesy of Angelique (in her final appearance in her Cassandra guise). Meanwhile long mainstay Joel Crothers begins his departure. MPI Video DVD.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING ENDLESS WALTZ (1997) There were two versions of this climactic storyline for the GUNDAM WING Franchise. One was a three-part OVA (two of which I saw) and the other was a feature-length with new footage (Ice Queen Dorothy Catalonia makes a cameo) and a different epilogue (with different songs by Two-Mix). After watching the first two OVA episodes, I saw the remainder of this story in the feature version. Bandai DVD.

KING OF KINGS (1961) Like BEN-HUR, even though the majority of this film is non-Christmas, my experiences with it have usually been around the holiday. I first saw parts of it on Christmas on Cinemax (in 1989), saw more on Cinemax near Christmas 1990, and although I saw the majority on Cinemax on Easter 1991, I’ve been more comfortable watching it on Christmas since 1994 (preferably on December 23). Warner BluRay

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY (1931) Short subject of Jackie Cooper hosting a party at the MGM Studios with his kid friends being served by Clark Gable, Jimmy Durante, Marion Davies, Charlotte Greenwood, Roman Novarro, Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Anita Page, and Lionel Barrymore. Warner DVD.

JESUS OF NAZARETH (1977) Unlike BEN-HUR and KING OF KINGS, I limit my Christmas viewing of this 6-hour TV miniseries to just the portion of the Infancy Narrative (about an hour long), usually on Christmas Eve since 1994. BluRay

THE BOX OF DELIGHTS (1984) “Leave Us Not Little, Nor Yet Dark.” The conclusion. Will Kay Harker find and rescue his aunt, friend, and Cole Hawlings and prevent Abner Brown from stopping the Christmas Mass at Tarchester Cathedral? BBC PAL Video DVD

BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST (1925) The climax of my Christmas viewings is the 1925 silent version of Lew Wallace’s novel. I first watched it on TNT on Christmas Eve 1989 as part of its ‘Silent Night’ marathon (1989 had NOAH’S ARK and DON JUAN; A repeat marathon in 1990 had BH and NA but also included THE WIND and THE BIG PARADE) and since 1994 felt the tradition to continue. This is the 2nd Thames Silents Print with Carl Davis music, viewed on the Warner DVD. I also watched the last ten minutes of a VHS recording of the 1st Thames Print that includes scenes that are not included in the available cut (a crucified hand, the Psalm Title). This recording was from March 1992 as part of TNT’s MGM WHEN THE LION ROARS marathon.

TOMBSTONE (1993) 25TH ANNIVERSARY Probably my favorite of the OK Corral films, first viewed on PayPerView back in the Summer of 1994. This is the extended version from Buena Vista DVD.

7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958) 60TH ANNIVERSARY this month. Ray Harryhausen’s first foray in the Arabian Nights. Remember reading pictures of the Skeleton duel in my monster movie books, then saw bits and pieces of the film in the early 1990s on Cinemax and TNT. With my Lego Pirate ship, I would mimic the film’s ending of the sailing ship humming Bernard Herrmann’s opening music. Columbia Tri-Star DVD.

THE WIND IN THE WILLOW (1983) 35TH ANNIVERSARY. The pilot of the Cosgrove Hall stop-motion series, with Ian Carmichael’s only time as a character (Ratty) before being narrator for the actual series. A&E Video DVD.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1988) 30TH ANNIVERSARY this month. The second feature film of the Granada series with Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke was my introduction to the series back in August of 1992 (as well as my first HOUND, although I do have dim memories of the Peter O'Toole animation). I remember being a little surprised Brett (who was going through some heavy medication for his manic depression, resulting in the haircut and bloated look) not wearing the deerstalker in this. MPI Video DVD.

AUNTIE MAME (1958) 60TH ANNIVERSARY this week. Rosalind Russell reprises her stage role as Patrick Dennis’ eccentric aunt. First viewed this on A&E back in 1993. Warner VHS.

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2003) “Flame VS Fullmetal” 15TH ANNIVERSARY After several fillers, the story returns to the present day and to the main arc, introducing a character that emphasizes the series deviation from the Manga. Funimation DVD.

THE FOUR FEATHERS (1978) 40TH ANNIVERSARY this year. TV production of the Mason Novel (using footage from the 1939 Korda film) with Jeff Bridges, Robert Powell, Jane Seymour, and Harry Andrews. EMI Thorn Media VHS.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923) 95TH ANNIVERSARY this month. Cecil B. DeMille’s first version of the Exodus, with the storyline as a 50-minute prologue to a modern day story. I only watched the 50-minute prologue (also the extras of the 2-strip Technicolor and Hand-drawn tints of several scenes). Paramount Blu-Ray

WINNIE THE POOH AND THE BLUSTERY DAY (1968) 50TH ANNIVERSARY this year. Disney’s second (also Award winning) Winnie the Pooh short adapts three of A. A. Milne’s Pooh stories, introducing Paul Winchell’s Tigger and John Fielder’s Piglet. I may have seen this when I was young, although my later memories were as a showing at my Elementary’s Tuesday Movie Day at the Library. Later in 1990 this and the other Pooh shorts were bought and shown to my sister. I have one memory of this short being played and rewound three times while I was reading the coffeetable books of THE MGM STORY, THE UNITED ARTISTS STORY and THE PARAMOUNT STORY I got from the Library. Disney VHS.

I also watched parts of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941 TCM TV), THE SANTA CLAUSE (1994 Freeform TV), A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983 TNT/TBS TV), RICH LITTLE’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1978 The Ghost of Christmas Future/Inspector Closeau part YouTube), THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993 Disney DVD), WEIRDMAGEDDON: TAKE BACK THE FALLS (2016 Cartoon Network), THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS (2001 NBC TV), RAPID FALLS (Cartoon Network TV).

Porky's Railroad (1937) I realized I had never seen a solo outing from Porky Pig, he either appeared with other characters or his signature sign-off at the end of most WB cartoons. So I made a point of seeking out some. Here he costars with Toots the train.




Porky Pig's Feat (1943) Porky and Daffy Duck keep trying to check out of a hotel without paying their bill. Non-stop laffs. Porky is the star, but Daffy steals the show and would soon go on to surpass his popularity with the public.




Christmas Inheritance (2017) has that ole timey classic film feel, big city girl goes to small town at Christmas and her experience there turns around her world view and she falls in love. Contrived and yet lovely. It's Christmas and I fell for it.



Almost Christmas (2016) Danny Glover's entire family comes home for Christmas, each with their own problems. A comedic drama that works.



Bird Box (2018) The most watched Netflix movie ever, an apocalyptic sci-fi movie involving some alien force that forces you to kill yourself if you see it, so everyone stays indoors and blindfolded. Made for great Christmas viewing though!



Christmas Eve (1947) The things I do for Randolph Scott! He doesn't even appear until the last half of the movie, which is not as Christmasy as I was hoping it would be. Still, it was entertaining enough. Joan Blondell steals every single moment she appears in.



Christmas Eve (2015) The things I do for Patrick Stewart! I had to watch this after seeing the original movie called Christmas Eve. These movies are totally unrelated, however. This one is okay too, although it all takes place in various trapped elevators.



Rent (2005) The famous movie version of the famous musical. It didn't blow my mind or anything, and I was a little bored at times, but the music was mostly okay. It was leaving Netflix so I thought I should check it out.



A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018) is the sequel to Netflix's unexpected big hit from last Christmas. It was such a big success that Netflix commissioned a sequel and a ton of other Christmas-themed movies. It's harmless fluff and enjoyable.



Thumper (2017) Nothing says Christmas like a little movie about drug dealers. This was a random selection that turned out surprisingly good. It also stars Eliza Taylor, who also starred in the very different Christmas Inheritance earlier in the week.



Hold the Dark (2018) was a very dark, very violent (and shockingly so!) neo-noir Alaskan crime thriller, the best thing I saw all week. Highly recommended!



We're No Angels (1955) The story of my trying to see this movie over the years could be a movie itself. FINALLY I got to see it from beginning to end. It's charming, a bit like a stage play really, but fun holiday viewing. Very different from the De Niro/Penn version.



Dead Man Down (2013) And so begins the out-for-revenge portion of my Christmas viewing. I had a relative here who only watches action movies so I went along with him. I like them too. This one was very good, with some twists and great acting.



Once Upon a Time in Venice (2017) This was more of a comedic action movie, almost sort of like a Carl Hiaasen novel meets the Coen brothers kind of mashup. Bruce Willis seems like he got his mojo back, while John Goodman seems to be on medication that makes him drowsy, or maybe that was just his choice for the character?



Pottersville (2017) At first it seems like a Christmas movie that may be riding the coattails of It's a Wonderful Life, but that movie never had Bigfoot sightings and a furry sex club! My first Ian McShane movie of the week. Here, he spoofs Jaws in a scene that simply has to be seen.



Woman Wanted (1999) The things I do for Holly Hunter! I only watched this because of her and also my friend was a production assistant on the movie too. She couldn't say enough good things about Kiefer Sutherland, and quite the opposite about Michael Moriarty. Let's just say, she never worked on another movie afterwards. The movie is a meandering mess, although not the worst I've ever seen.



This Christmas (2007) This was very similar to Almost Christmas, which came out later and I liked it better. However, this seemed to be more fun for the cast to make, the outtakes at the end were great.



Uncle Nick (2015) This movie makes Bad Santa look like A Charlie Brown Christmas. Quite raunchy at times, somewhat funny, then ends on such a downer. Definitely qualifies for the title of anti-Christmas movie.



Mr. Holmes (2015) An aged Sherlock Holmes revisits his last case. Ian McKellen is superb, as always. Had this movie sitting around for eons waiting for me to watch it, finally, I did.



The Hollow Point (2016) A violent neo-noir modern day western. If Sicario and Hell or High Water could have a one night stand, the offspring may look like this. Okay, so it's not as good as either of those two movies, but it's quite good. Ian McShane is in this too, and has all the best lines.



Vengeance (2017) Nic Cage is out for vengeance! Not too bad, but not too good either. Cage might just be the weakest link here, his character never emotes while all the other characters get to emote up a storm.



Acts of Vengeance (2017) This movie was chosen because it had vengeance in the title and I had to continue to entertain my uncle with a fresher and fresher supply of action movies. I was impressed with Banderas and his fighting skills. The filmmakers did a good job of tricking us into believing this was filmed in NYC and not Bulgaria.

For Christmas:
A Christmas Carol (1951)--the Alastair Sim version, by far the best. Since one station was showing this in a Christmas Eve/Day marathon over and over again, I made sure to watch the scene near the end (when Uncle Ebenezer crashes Fred's dinner) several times--I can never get enough of Scrooge doin' the polka.

The Dean Martin 1968 Christmas Show--of all the variety shows of decades ago, Martin's was one of the few that are still enjoyable to watch, and not only for nostalgia value. Martin was a great host, because his tongue-in-cheek, boozy insouciance was
so easy to take. Sure, the sketches may be not that funny anymore (if they ever were) and the dance routines are a little dated, but if ol' Dino treated them with a good-natured contempt, the audience could laugh along with him if not the script. There's a singalong with a
gathering of little kiddies of the staff--one of the little boys is apparently guest Dom DeLuise's son and has a funny moment with Dean. A little girl in a blue dress who hugs Martin and later corrects guest Dennis Weaver on a song is a very young Melissa Gilbert (whose father was a writer for the show). It's a nice little glimpse of a 50-year-old variety show.


After Christmas:
  Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991)--maybe not such a classic, but a nice little time-waster about a teenager who has to provide for her siblings after Mom goes away for the summer and the elderly harridan she hires to babysit the kids dies unexpectedly. Christina Applegate and Keith Coogan (best known for being Uncle Fester's grandson) are the older kids, while the three younger kids are refreshingly, unredeemingly bratty. The plot is silly, but kind of fun to watch. 

Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)--okay directorial debut of Penny Marshall, starring Whoopi Goldberg in some nonsense about spies. A few laughs, some suspense, and a look back at the technology of the mid-'80s (old computers, brick phones, and telephone booths). Some familiar faces turn up--Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman, Garry Marshall, Michael McKean, Tracey Ullman, etc. Worth a look.


 

Pearl of the South Pacific we arrive at the same rating. I imported the Allan Dwan box set from France and that's one of the weakest titles in the set. Review > www.imdb.com/review/rw2752912/?ref_=tt_urv

Ouch, 5/10 for The Longest Yard. You ok with sports films otherwise though? I love it but I'm a fan of director and star > www.imdb.com/title/tt0071771/reviews?ref_=tt_ql_op_3