Released: 25 May, 1966
Language: English (mostly, there's some Russian spoken, duh.)
Country: USA
Film: Colour
Genre: Socio-Political Comedy
Starring: Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint
Filmed on location in Bodega Bay, Caspar, Fort Bragg, Mendocino, and Westport, California, as well as Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The General Plot:
During the Cold War, Russian submarine captain forces his crew to drive the boat perilously close to an American island, and accidentally gets it stuck on a sandbar. In a desperate attempt to free his ship and avoid inadvertently starting a very "hot" war, he sends a small party ashore to commandeer some motor boats to tow the sub off the bar. When the party lead by Lt. Rozanov (Alan Arkin) try to get information from a local family (Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint), misunderstandings take place, panic ensues, and the next thing you know the entire island is up in arms, literally!
My Take On It:
A madcap comedy from start to finish. Appropriate for the whole family, though it may be too slow for little kids, let's say it's for ages 7 and up.
Alan Arkin has always been one of my favorite actors, and a man I would readily marry, so I may be a little biased, especially when it comes to any movie where he's using a Russian accent. That said, I maintain that he and the entire cast, and director Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof) are en pointe! Watching the entire town become overcome with gossip and fall completely to pieces will leave you in absolute stitches. It's the perfect flick to brighten up a dreary, blah day. All in all, I give it 5 out of 5 remotes.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
My Life So Far (1999)
Released: 26 August, 1999
Language: English
Country: UK
Film: Color
Genre: Drama
Starring: Colin Firth, Rosemary Harris, Malcolm McDowell, Irene Jacob, Robert Norman.
Filmed on location in Ardkinglas House, Cairndow, Argyll, and Bute Scotland.
The General Plot:
Based on a true story, the film is narrated by Fraser Pettigrew, the ten year old son (Robert Norman) of an inventor (Colin Firth), and treated as a memoir of a fairly crucial year in his life. It takes place post WWI, in a castle in Scotland, owned by Fraser's grandmother (Rosemary Harris), his mom and dad, and siblings. Life is fairly easy, and straight forward, until the elder son, Uncle Morris (Malcolm McDowell) comes home and announces that he is engaged to a very young French woman named Heloise (Irene Jacob).
Heloise's obvious sexual appeal sets the house on end, as she both ignites new and undiscovered desires in Fraser, as well as, jealousy and lust in his father, which of course stirs up a good deal of issues in his marriage.
My Take On It:
Overall, it's not a bad movie. Like most British drama's it has a tendency to move slowly and kept the larger portions of the drama somewhat swept under the rug. Fraser's revelations and discoveries are hysterical; however, for me, it was somewhat ruined by Colin Firth's bad behavior. I guess, I just love to love him, so when he does something awful, I have such a hard time enjoying the film afterwards. He just shouldn't be allowed to do bad things while he's portraying what is, overall, a good guy.
All in all, I'd say it is worth renting, seeing it at least once, but not necessarily a buyer. I'm going to give My Life So Far 3 out of 5 remotes.
Language: English
Country: UK
Film: Color
Genre: Drama
Starring: Colin Firth, Rosemary Harris, Malcolm McDowell, Irene Jacob, Robert Norman.
Filmed on location in Ardkinglas House, Cairndow, Argyll, and Bute Scotland.
The General Plot:
Based on a true story, the film is narrated by Fraser Pettigrew, the ten year old son (Robert Norman) of an inventor (Colin Firth), and treated as a memoir of a fairly crucial year in his life. It takes place post WWI, in a castle in Scotland, owned by Fraser's grandmother (Rosemary Harris), his mom and dad, and siblings. Life is fairly easy, and straight forward, until the elder son, Uncle Morris (Malcolm McDowell) comes home and announces that he is engaged to a very young French woman named Heloise (Irene Jacob).
Heloise's obvious sexual appeal sets the house on end, as she both ignites new and undiscovered desires in Fraser, as well as, jealousy and lust in his father, which of course stirs up a good deal of issues in his marriage.
My Take On It:
Overall, it's not a bad movie. Like most British drama's it has a tendency to move slowly and kept the larger portions of the drama somewhat swept under the rug. Fraser's revelations and discoveries are hysterical; however, for me, it was somewhat ruined by Colin Firth's bad behavior. I guess, I just love to love him, so when he does something awful, I have such a hard time enjoying the film afterwards. He just shouldn't be allowed to do bad things while he's portraying what is, overall, a good guy.
All in all, I'd say it is worth renting, seeing it at least once, but not necessarily a buyer. I'm going to give My Life So Far 3 out of 5 remotes.
Texas Across the River (1966)
Released: 26 October, 1966
Language: English
Country: USA
Film: Colour
Genre: Western/Comedy
Starring: Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Rosemary Forsyth, Alain Delon, Tina Aumont, and Peter Graves.
Filmed on location as well as in the studio, including Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, San Diego, California, and Universal Studios.
The General Plot:
The movie opens on a plantation in Louisiana, where a traditionally lavish, Southern wedding is taking place. Unfortunately, as the bride (Rosemary Forsyth) descends the stairs to wedding, it is interrupted by some cavalry men lead by Peter Graves, claiming that the bride is already engaged to his cousin. While the bride retreats to her room, and is surprised to find her other fiancee, the cousin, there; the groom (Alain Delon) is nabbed by the cavalry men. He breaks free, runs to his brides side, fights for her, which leads to the accidental death of the cousin. Forced to flee for his life, the groom hot-tails it to Texas. Before getting there he runs into a cowboy (Dean Martin) trying to organize a party of riders at any cost, and his partner in crime, and Indian named Kronk (Joey Bishop). These three join forces, cross the river into Texas, and tons of hijinks pursue which I don't care to spoil for you.
My Take On It:
A not to be missed, perfect family film! There's a running gag you will find yourself playing with in real life, tons of slapstick, special effects that are so obvious and outdated that you can't help but laugh, and just plain silliness. If you aren't one for Westerns, it's one of the perfect introductory film. All in all, I give it 5 out of 5 remotes.
Language: English
Country: USA
Film: Colour
Genre: Western/Comedy
Starring: Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Rosemary Forsyth, Alain Delon, Tina Aumont, and Peter Graves.
Filmed on location as well as in the studio, including Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, San Diego, California, and Universal Studios.
The General Plot:
The movie opens on a plantation in Louisiana, where a traditionally lavish, Southern wedding is taking place. Unfortunately, as the bride (Rosemary Forsyth) descends the stairs to wedding, it is interrupted by some cavalry men lead by Peter Graves, claiming that the bride is already engaged to his cousin. While the bride retreats to her room, and is surprised to find her other fiancee, the cousin, there; the groom (Alain Delon) is nabbed by the cavalry men. He breaks free, runs to his brides side, fights for her, which leads to the accidental death of the cousin. Forced to flee for his life, the groom hot-tails it to Texas. Before getting there he runs into a cowboy (Dean Martin) trying to organize a party of riders at any cost, and his partner in crime, and Indian named Kronk (Joey Bishop). These three join forces, cross the river into Texas, and tons of hijinks pursue which I don't care to spoil for you.
My Take On It:
A not to be missed, perfect family film! There's a running gag you will find yourself playing with in real life, tons of slapstick, special effects that are so obvious and outdated that you can't help but laugh, and just plain silliness. If you aren't one for Westerns, it's one of the perfect introductory film. All in all, I give it 5 out of 5 remotes.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The Big Lift (1950)
Released: 26 April, 1950
Language: English
Country: USA
Film: Black and White
Genre: Drama/War
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Paul Douglas
Filmed on location all over, including Berlin, Germany; O'ahu, Hawaii, USA; Azores, Portugal; and a bunch of other places I just don't feel like listing.
The cast also features over 30, real life, military pilots. Sadly, this accounts for some of the bad acting.
The General Plot:
It takes place in 1948, during the Soviet blockade of Berlin, and the beginning of the Berlin Air Lift. This acts as the backdrop for 2 USAF pilots, Sgt. Hank Kowalski and Sgt. Danny McCullough, to explore the beaten down city and come to terms with both their own and other inner demons. Hank (Paul Douglas) struggles with his hatred of the Germans, partly caused by PTSD (which no one had heard of then, and even "shell-shock" didn't cover everything). Meanwhile, Danny (Montgomery Clift) falls for a German war widow, that you can't decide whether or not is legit.
My Take On It:
As for drama, it moves so slowly, and the characters are fairly forgettable, so it makes it really hard to sit through and actually finish. I didn't get caught up in the story, which is sad, because it has a good, workable storyline. What's worse, is the film can't seem to make up it's mind whether or not it wants to be a dramatization for documentary or actual entertainment.
As for the tech side of the film, it's pretty good. You can tell that they probably skimped on equipment and didn't use the best available so that they could afford to film with the cooperation of the military and on all the various locations, but it's not so bad as to distract you.
Overall, I'd like to see this movie remade. I'm usually not a fan taking perfectly good movies and redoing them simply because they're old or people can't think of anything new (as much as I love Harrison Ford they should never have remade Sabrina), but this one missed it's potential. I think in the right hands (Spielberg or Cameron), with some work on the script, maybe and one or two more twists, a flashback here or there, it could be a real blockbuster, possibly rise to the glory of Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan.
While I wouldn't recommend this film for everyone, it is worth looking at if you're history or movie buff. Due to it's great potential and unfortunate failure to achieve it, I'm giving The Big Lift 2.5 out of 5 remotes.
Language: English
Country: USA
Film: Black and White
Genre: Drama/War
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Paul Douglas
Filmed on location all over, including Berlin, Germany; O'ahu, Hawaii, USA; Azores, Portugal; and a bunch of other places I just don't feel like listing.
The cast also features over 30, real life, military pilots. Sadly, this accounts for some of the bad acting.
The General Plot:
It takes place in 1948, during the Soviet blockade of Berlin, and the beginning of the Berlin Air Lift. This acts as the backdrop for 2 USAF pilots, Sgt. Hank Kowalski and Sgt. Danny McCullough, to explore the beaten down city and come to terms with both their own and other inner demons. Hank (Paul Douglas) struggles with his hatred of the Germans, partly caused by PTSD (which no one had heard of then, and even "shell-shock" didn't cover everything). Meanwhile, Danny (Montgomery Clift) falls for a German war widow, that you can't decide whether or not is legit.
My Take On It:
As for drama, it moves so slowly, and the characters are fairly forgettable, so it makes it really hard to sit through and actually finish. I didn't get caught up in the story, which is sad, because it has a good, workable storyline. What's worse, is the film can't seem to make up it's mind whether or not it wants to be a dramatization for documentary or actual entertainment.
As for the tech side of the film, it's pretty good. You can tell that they probably skimped on equipment and didn't use the best available so that they could afford to film with the cooperation of the military and on all the various locations, but it's not so bad as to distract you.
Overall, I'd like to see this movie remade. I'm usually not a fan taking perfectly good movies and redoing them simply because they're old or people can't think of anything new (as much as I love Harrison Ford they should never have remade Sabrina), but this one missed it's potential. I think in the right hands (Spielberg or Cameron), with some work on the script, maybe and one or two more twists, a flashback here or there, it could be a real blockbuster, possibly rise to the glory of Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan.
While I wouldn't recommend this film for everyone, it is worth looking at if you're history or movie buff. Due to it's great potential and unfortunate failure to achieve it, I'm giving The Big Lift 2.5 out of 5 remotes.
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