THE WARE CASE (Robert Stevenson, 1938).

THE WARE CASE (Robert Stevenson, 1938).

The Ware Case is a creaky crime drama from the early days of the Ealing Studios; the second release from producer and studio head Michael Balcon’s tenure.

It features none of the hallmarks and belongs to none of the genres of filmmaking generally associated with later Ealing. Not a comedy in their classic mould, nor a wartime drama or social-realist piece, and is presumably a holdover from the Basil Dean era.

Based on the play by G P Bancroft, The Ware Case opens with a courtroom sequence set in the Old Bailey where we find society scoundrel Sir Hubert Ware (Clive Brook) on trail for the murder of his brother-in-law, the events leading up to which are subsequently told in flashback.

It’s lighthearted enough and some of the dialogue is humorous but a romp this ain’t. The central character of Ware is an unlikable fellow and the rest of the characters are all a little too one dimensional to really relate to. As an example of embryonic Ealing it certainly has curiosity value but, to be honest, I found the whole thing rather dull.

Robert Stevenson directs with efficiency but shows little of the flair for the fantastic he would display in his later career association with Walt Disney Productions. Responsible for Mary Poppins (1964), The Love Bug (1969) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) among others, he would become the most commercially successful film director in Hollywood.

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RISE OF THE GUARDIANS (Dir: Peter Ramsey, 2012).

What would get if you crossed Marvel’s Avengers with a 1970s Rankin/Bass holiday special? Probably something not too dissimilar to DreamWorks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians as Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Toothfairy, the Sandman and new recruit Jack Frost assemble Avengers-style to defeat evil Pitch Black, aka The Boogeyman, as he attempts to take over the world by filling children’s heads with nightmares and suppressing their belief in the ‘Guardians’, threatening the imminent Easter celebrations to boot.

Director Peter Ramsey’s movie is action adventure on an epic scale rarely seen in animation. The glib humour and pop culture references that often mired DreamWorks’ early features is thankfully absent here. Certainly there is humour, yet there is also pathos, as when Jack learns of his forgotten past and why he was chosen as a Guardian.

With genuinely exciting action set pieces and excellent voice work from a star studded line up including Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Jude Law, it is difficult to see how Rise of the Guardians could fail at the box office. But fail it did. Much to the detriment of cinema audiences who possibly found the Christmas/Easter mash-up aspect unappealing. Perhaps its winter release date was also misjudged, although it is certainly the most Christmassy of Easter movies.

While perhaps not quite in the same league as their ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda’ franchises, Rise of the Guardians is still one of DreamWorks’s best movies to date. Its visuals are often breathtaking and its nod to vintage Rankin/Bass shows, where Santa is as likely to crop up in an Easter or a Groundhog Day special as he is a Christmas one, gives it a nice nostalgic feel befitting of a movie which deals with childhood and tradition. While this movie was designed as a franchise opener, Rise of the Guardians was destined to remain a one off. As a stand-alone feature film it is an often exciting, warm-hearted treat and is highly recommend viewing at Easter, Christmas or any other time of year.

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SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (Dir: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman, 2018).

Produced in a distinct style utilising 2D and 3D animation techniques, Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the most visually spectacular feature film in recent memory. Unconnected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or, indeed, any of Sony’s many incarnations of the Spider-Man universe; it has its roots in Marvel’s Ultimate Marvel Comics, a series set in an alternate universe to the regular comic lines.

The set-up - high school student is bitten by radioactive spider, struggles with newfound powers before using them to fight evil - is a familiar one, but here the bitten is not the expected Peter Parker but new kid at school misfit Miles Morales. Parker does appear, as a mentor to Miles. But this is an older Parker; a sweatpants wearing, out of shape, midlife crisis Parker from an alternate universe. They and a bunch of other alternate universe Spideys team up to fight his (their?) old adversary Kingpin.

This sounds complicated but Rodney Rothman and Phil Lord’s screenplay is brought to life with surprising clarity. The movie is never difficult to understand and doesn’t get bogged down by its complex multiverse concept. In fact its story is unexpectedly moving, dealing with Miles’ difficult family relationships and his seeming inability to find acceptance in new social surroundings.

The voice work is also exemplary. Shameik Moore is a suitably hip, streetwise yet vulnerable Miles and Jake Johnson brings a worldweary charm to the middle-age Parker.

In a cinematic landscape littered with superhero movies, here is one that really stands out from the crowd. With its humorous, thoughtful storytelling, action set pieces that are genuinely exciting and beautiful graphics Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one the most satisfying comic book adaptations to grace the big screen.

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Happy birthday Audrey Hepburn!

Movie number 38: A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, 1964). With the distinctive opening ‘twang’ of George Harrison’s Rickenbacker guitar The Beatles hit the ground running, chased by a horde of screaming fans. The world is changed forever. This is no exaggeration. A Hard Day’s Night is undoubtedly the most influential British film of the 1960s. Possibly of all time.

Supposedly depicting an average day in the life of the band, the plot concerns some nonsense about the shenanigans of Paul’s grandad (an excellent Wilfred Bramble) and the disappearance of Ringo before a live TV recording. But who cares about the plot? We are really here for the music and it is sublime. ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘She Love You’ and the title track all feature in this long-form prototype of the music video.

American Richard Lester pretty much invented ‘Swinging London‘ with his cinéma vérité directorial approach. Alun Owen’s screenplay is both witty and surreal and cemented the band’s lovable cheeky chappie personas in the public consciousness. The musical movies of Elvis and Britain’s own Cliff Richard all of a sudden seemed hopelessly dated in the wake of this film which 55 years after release still feels fresh and inventive. Within a couple of years it’s influence would be strongly felt in TV’s groundbreaking The Monkees. It would also encourage Walt Disney to insert a beat-combo vulture quartet into his classic animation The Jungle Book (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1967). Gilbert Taylor’s crisp black and white photography is beautiful and John, Paul, George and Ringo, while no actors, all hold their own among the more seasoned supporting cast.

Lester and The Beatles would reunite once again the following year for the less essential but still entertaining Help! After which the quartet would ditch movies, forgo touring and record the masterpiece Rubber Soul taking the art of the LP to higher standards than anyone before them and probably since.

WINNIE THE POOH (Stephen J Anderson & Don Hall, 2011).

Disney’s 5th cinematic feature-length venture into the Hundred Acre Wood acts as a direct sequel to the compilation feature The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Wolfgang Reitherman & John Lounsbery, 1977). Roughly separated into three sequences, the bulk of the movie concerns the search for the mythical Backson, a fearful creature to rival Heffalumps and Woozles, who Pooh and pals mistakenly believe has kidnapped Christopher Robin after misreading the phrase ‘back soon’ on a note from Christopher to Pooh.

Thematically Winnie the Pooh covers much of the same ground as the straight-to-video sequel Pooh’s Grand Adventure (Karl Geurs, 1997). However, where that movie was dark and at times somewhat depressing, this one is an inventive, humorous and warm-hearted delight.

Animated in handcrafted 2D, the movie is visually pleasing throwback to the original Pooh featurettes (the 3 shorts comprise ‘The Many Adventures... movie). It is more faithful to Milne and to Walt Disney’s original vision of Pooh than any of the intervening features or TV adaptations.

While Sterling Holloway will never quite be replaced as the voice of Pooh, nor Paul Winchell as Tigger, Jim Cummings does a decent job of imitating both. Likewise, John Cleese is a welcome choice of narrator, although perhaps not quite possessing the warm yet authoritative tone of Sebastian Cabot. However, to criticise a fine vocal cast for not replacing the childhood memory of now deceased actors in one’s mind would be churlish; younger audience members will neither notice nor care.

The subtle ‘hums’ of Richard and Robert Sherman are missed, although Frozen songsmiths Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez’s more elaborate musical numbers are a satisfactory substitute.

At little under an hour before the end credits roll, the movie could stand being a mite longer. As it is, Winnie the Pooh is still a winning tribute to the Pooh movies of the past. A short and sweet old-school treat that should appeal to original Pooh fans as well as newcomers.

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