Home Movie Reviews

This is not to diminish the rest of the cast. Michael Hordern is the match of Alec Guiness as Jacob Marley and his ghost, Hermione Baddeley is as fine a Mrs. Cratchit as we have seen, Francis De Wolff is a boisterous Ghost of Christmas Present, and Glyn Dearman is a perfect Tiny Tim. But we keep coming back to the point that Alastair Sim is Scrooge. This film is only 85 minutes long, but it covers the entire classical story by Charles Dickens. Screenwriter Noel Langley sticks close to the original (he would adapt "The Pickwick Papers" the following year), but tampering with this one is not advised. Director Brian Desmond Hurst's film is in black & white, but that hardly seems important (and colorization is a clear cut case of heresy) given C. Pennington-Richards's beautiful cinematography and Ralph Brinton's gorgeous art direction recreating old London town.

But we keep coming back to Sim in a performance that sometimes has you wondering why anybody ever dared to essay the role again. Whether he is playing the heartless boss of Bob Crachit, the stingy miser who wants the poor to hurry up and die, the terrified old man confronting the ghost of his dead partner, the remorseful old man looking back at the happy days of his youth, the sobered figure looking at his own grave, and the giddy soul who keeps Christmas in his heart all the rest of the days of his life. You can enjoy many different versions of "A Christmas Carol," but this one remains extra special, and we all know who gets the credit.

Alastair Sim's Scrooge is among the very best portrayals, and the film on the whole is the best film version I've seen. I am reviewing the other versions individually, so I won't rehash them here, but this one is the best and my favorite film version.

Give me this one along with Patrick Stewart's solo performance and I'd be a very happy camper.

I've even grown fond of the errors in the film, like the stage hand that appears in the mirror reflection on Christmas morning.

A tremendous cast and a wonderful atmospheric quality make this film so memorable and re-watchable.

This is not to diminish the rest of the cast. Michael Hordern is the match of Alec Guiness as Jacob Marley and his ghost, Hermione Baddeley is as fine a Mrs. Cratchit as we have seen, Francis De Wolff is a boisterous Ghost of Christmas Present, and Glyn Dearman is a perfect Tiny Tim. But we keep coming back to the point that Alastair Sim is Scrooge. This film is only 85 minutes long, but it covers the entire classical story by Charles Dickens. Screenwriter Noel Langley sticks close to the original (he would adapt "The Pickwick Papers" the following year), but tampering with this one is not advised. Director Brian Desmond Hurst's film is in black & white, but that hardly seems important (and colorization is a clear cut case of heresy) given C. Pennington-Richards's beautiful cinematography and Ralph Brinton's gorgeous art direction recreating old London town.

But we keep coming back to Sim in a performance that sometimes has you wondering why anybody ever dared to essay the role again. Whether he is playing the heartless boss of Bob Crachit, the stingy miser who wants the poor to hurry up and die, the terrified old man confronting the ghost of his dead partner, the remorseful old man looking back at the happy days of his youth, the sobered figure looking at his own grave, and the giddy soul who keeps Christmas in his heart all the rest of the days of his life. You can enjoy many different versions of "A Christmas Carol," but this one remains extra special, and we all know who gets the credit.

Alastair Sim's Scrooge is among the very best portrayals, and the film on the whole is the best film version I've seen. I am reviewing the other versions individually, so I won't rehash them here, but this one is the best and my favorite film version.

Give me this one along with Patrick Stewart's solo performance and I'd be a very happy camper.

I've even grown fond of the errors in the film, like the stage hand that appears in the mirror reflection on Christmas morning.

A tremendous cast and a wonderful atmospheric quality make this film so memorable and re-watchable.

This is not to diminish the rest of the cast. Michael Hordern is the match of Alec Guiness as Jacob Marley and his ghost, Hermione Baddeley is as fine a Mrs. Cratchit as we have seen, Francis De Wolff is a boisterous Ghost of Christmas Present, and Glyn Dearman is a perfect Tiny Tim. But we keep coming back to the point that Alastair Sim is Scrooge. This film is only 85 minutes long, but it covers the entire classical story by Charles Dickens. Screenwriter Noel Langley sticks close to the original (he would adapt "The Pickwick Papers" the following year), but tampering with this one is not advised. Director Brian Desmond Hurst's film is in black & white, but that hardly seems important (and colorization is a clear cut case of heresy) given C. Pennington-Richards's beautiful cinematography and Ralph Brinton's gorgeous art direction recreating old London town.

But we keep coming back to Sim in a performance that sometimes has you wondering why anybody ever dared to essay the role again. Whether he is playing the heartless boss of Bob Crachit, the stingy miser who wants the poor to hurry up and die, the terrified old man confronting the ghost of his dead partner, the remorseful old man looking back at the happy days of his youth, the sobered figure looking at his own grave, and the giddy soul who keeps Christmas in his heart all the rest of the days of his life. You can enjoy many different versions of "A Christmas Carol," but this one remains extra special, and we all know who gets the credit.

Alastair Sim's Scrooge is among the very best portrayals, and the film on the whole is the best film version I've seen. I am reviewing the other versions individually, so I won't rehash them here, but this one is the best and my favorite film version.

Give me this one along with Patrick Stewart's solo performance and I'd be a very happy camper.

I've even grown fond of the errors in the film, like the stage hand that appears in the mirror reflection on Christmas morning.

A tremendous cast and a wonderful atmospheric quality make this film so memorable and re-watchable.

What "The Great Race" is not, is a gag-a-minute clone of "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines". The race is important only as a McGuffin to get the action rolling and bring the characters together for their mutual interests. "The Great Race" is a clinic on various types of movie genres -- slapstick, western, adventure -- that were antiquated by the mid sixties (a time when most moviegoers probably had a nostalgia for those types of movies, which they'd have seen as children). "The Great Race" not funny in the way 1990's and 2000's movies are, with the unearthly wildness of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey or the "if-this-laugh-doesn't-work-another's-coming" approach of Abrahams and Zucker and the Farrelly brothers. Rather, the comedy is is the lighthearted approach to the various subjects introduced (though there are plenty of wisecracks to go around). The only problem is that, along the way in the "Prisoner of Zenda" spoof, Blake Edwards seemed to have forgotten he was making a comedy. Even that does not particularly detract from the movie as a whole, as Max (Peter Falk) comes into his own in this segment and Tony Curtis' "Great Leslie" proves he's more than just a pretty face, but will put his life on the line for Right with a dueling scene foreshadowed much earlier.

And there are two -- count 'em, two -- places where the movie pauses for a breather to give a fine Mancini/Mercer song. Mancini may be the best movie composer ever; certainly his incidental music is wonderful throughout this movie.

The cast makes the movie hit on all cylinders. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, reteamed a few years after their comedy success "Some Like it Hot", fully understand their roles and play them to the hilt (Lemmon's Fate is quickly tiresome, but since Lemmon has the duel role in the "Zenda" spoof he must work hard to differentiate the characters). Natalie Wood is refreshing and brings excitement to every segment she's in. Along the race route, some excellent supporting players make cameos: Arthur O'Connell, Vivian Vance, Marvin Kaplan (New York); Larry Storch, Denver Pyle, Hal Smith, Dorothy Provine (Boracho); Ross Martin (Pottsdorf). And, as the sidekicks of Leslie and Fate (respectively) Keenan Wynn and Peter Falk couldn't have been better chosen for their parts. Falk, whose part at first looks small and unrewarding, becomes one of the funniest characters in the movie; while Wynn's character, mostly buried in blustering, provides one of the biggest (and necessary at that point) laughs in the movie. And director Blake Edwards, just coming off "The Pink Panther" and "A Shot in the Dark", is at the pinnacle of his career.

If you haven't seen this movie in widescreen, you've never seen this movie. Repeated television showings have cropped fully a third of the movie by taking away both ends of the screen. To be fully appreciated, "The Great Race" requires viewing on the canvas Blake Edwards envisioned for it. The DVD is remarkably well done, with vibrant colors (Natalie Wood's wardrobe is one of the finest things in the movie), and the whole shebang looks good as new. The sound effects (for which, believe it or not, the movie won an Oscar) were given a good brush up and sound great. Extras for the DVD release are so disappointing they're barely worth mentioning; except to say that the original trailer is one of the worst I've ever seen. An audio track with Blake Edwards and Tony Curtis would've been welcome, and maybe a comment or two by Peter Falk if he'd do it.

All in all, "The Great Race" is a superb movie, with the caveat that it must be taken for what it is, rather than judged by what it's not.

"The Great Race" was the funniest movie I've seen since "My Blue Heaven" with Steve Martin. This isn't a movie to be taken seriously whatsoever, as the plot is rather basic, but Jack Lemmon is an amazing actor, playing two eccentric characters in the film.

Some of the wackiest, most "out there" humor I've seen, "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" included. This film is saturday morning cartoons come to life.

And yet, all we get is a poor DVD transfer with only a theatrical trailer for an extra?

Home Alone is a great movie. Every kids dream to have the run of the house, especially if you do have a large family. The movie has humor, slapstick action, warmth...it's a great movie.

Certainly, since all of the particulars are still living and active (except John Candy) we should be able to get some kind of commentary, maybe some current interviews, deleted scenes, etc..

Hopefully the studios will come around on this one soon.

The movie is about a boy named Kevin McCallister[Macaulay Culkin] who accidently gets left behind in his home in Chicago when his family goes off on a trip to France. While Kevin is at home, two burglars are trying to break in. The burglars are played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. One of the burglars was at the house at the beginning, pretending to be a policeman, to check out the house. After Kevin finds out, he sets up a set of booby traps on the night they arrive. Meanwhile, Kevin's mom[Catherine O'Hara] wan'ts to get home as quickly as she can when she finds out that Kevin was left behind. So, instead of going on a plane she travels back to Chicago on a truck with a group of musicians and their polka king of the midwest[John Candy] when they offer to take her home. After the burglars get arrested with one of Kevin's plans, Kevin's mom arrives home with the rest of the family including his dad[John Heard] and they all feel so grateful to see him.

This is a movie your whole family will enjoy!!!

She manages to finagle money from her parents and takes a trip to Hibiscus Island where her four former friends are vacationing. There, she runs into an old friend from high school, Rhonda.

It is here that her life changes. She tells Rhonda that she is engaged to Tim Simms, a fictional man, just so Rhonda will think she is a success.

Upon her return to Porpoise Spit, she finds that her family has found out that she stole money from them for the vacation, and she skips town and heads for Sydney to be with Rhonda. There, she changes her name to Mariel, to represent her new life.

But life in Sydney has its own ups and downs. And Mariel is now dreaming of her wedding day again, as she equates getting married with being happy.

This movie is a great light-hearted comedy with a few dark moments. One really begins to feel for the characters and hopes that they figure out their challenges.

I recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see a serious, yet funny movie about learning who you are and how to get there.

Starring Kevin and Robert Duvall (Secondhand Lions, Deep Impact, Sling Blade) as two life long friends with a quiet and peaceful dimeener and a sense of Justice that no one will interfere with. Each character has a past and each character has an expertise and emotional stick of dynomite inside them.

Kevin's character finds comfort and trust in the sister of a Doctor, actress Annette Benning (The American President, Mars Attacks, Bugsy) plays the most warming and strong sister to her brother a Doctor played by Dean McDermott (Critical Choices, Evidence Of Blood) who together patch up scrapes, scars and wounds.

This is a gritty film about the lives of people on the range and even gives you a perspective a young mans ambitions and abilities in wanting to emulate Kevins and Robert's characters...played by Diego Luna (Frida, Los Vampires).

Overall the film is interesting but it didn't hold the majesty of Costner's Dances With Wolves. Good performances by Duvall, Benning, Luna and Costner and even the films bad guy played by James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, Redemption).

There is even a charming performance by Abraham Benrubi (ER, Twister) as the side kick who trains Luna character - although something does happene to him.

Good film for the family, but it runs a little long in couple of places but I liked the chemistry the characters had which really made the film interesting. A good video movie - I'm sure. Check it out. (11-10-03)

There's just something about a good old-fashioned Western. The standard formula never really gets old: underdog good guys vs powerful landowner bad guys, a righteous cause, and a showdown on main street. Add a dose of rugged individualism and a lovely lady to stir things up a bit, and you have the makings of a classic American story.

The things about Open Range that differ from past Westerns are in the silent details. The first thing that impressed me was the stunning cinematography of our unspoiled American landscape. I don't know if it's because of improved moviemaking technology or not, but OR just looks much more beautiful than any other film of its type. Perhaps the location scouts have gotten more sophisticated in recent years - or more daring. We are treated to some views of the West that depart from the traditional deserts, canyons and prairies; raw mountainsides, green foothills, semi-forested valleys, etc. that were common sights back in the days of the cattle runs. Another new aspect of OR is in the way the cowboys' everyday existence is portrayed in all its gritty hardness. Little things like how they makeshifted shelters out in a downpour, the numbing cold at night, what tasks and drudgeries made up their in-between times, and the gruff camaraderie between them lends an intimate sense of the actual times and pace of life for cowhands back in the 1800s. Life was at once a struggle and a precious thing, and we are not spared the starkness of it all in this movie.

While I'm mentioning departures from tradition, I'd like to congratulate the makers of this film for choosing some leads that don't fit the cookie-cutter 20 something image of most heroes and heroines. Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner and Annette Bening play level-headed, mature people that have experienced enough of life to know how not to waste it. Yes, there's a romantic subplot between Costner and Bening, neither of whom are any less sexy for being past their 30s. Of course, Duvall is talilor-made for the role of the toughened, cynical older cowboy that has become Costner's mentor and best friend.

There is some uneven pacing in this film that would put off some people who might be expecting the sort of action-packed rollercoaster rides that made up the last decade's few Western films. See this film instead for its honesty and fascination with another century's way of life, and you will get some action as a bonus along the way. And, if at all possible, see this movie on a very large screen for the maximum visual effect it has to offer.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle