DUMBO (Dir: Ben Sharpsteen, 1941).

DUMBO (Dir: Ben Sharpsteen, 1941).

Walt Disney’s 4th animated feature is the story of the circus elephant born with oversized ears who uses his disadvantage to his advantage when he discovers his ears enable him to fly.

At 64 minutes it is one of the shortest Disney movies but is a masterclass in storytelling. Not a second of screen time is wasted; in fact its tight narrative and snappy pace make it an advocate for shorter movies!

It is also the most emotionally moving Disney feature. Many a tear has formed in audiences eyes as Dumbo is separated from his mother and ostracised by the other elephants. It is a credit to writers Joe Grant and Dick Huemer that the emotion never descends into false sentiment and there is also much humour to offset the heartache.

The animation too is exemplary, as one incredible animation set piece follows another. Highlights include the shadowy roustabout sequence, the tragicomic disastrous pachyderm pyramid, Dumbo’s inaugural flight and best of all the surrealist Pink Elephants On Parade. The character animation, opting for a more ‘cartoony’ look than in previous features, is also among the studios best as are the beautiful watercolour backgrounds against which the action takes place.

Add to this a fantastic score by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace, including the tender Baby Mine and the clever wordplay of When I See An Elephant Fly, and a powerful message of acceptance and the result is one of the greatest movies, animated or otherwise, of all time. In my opinion only rivalled for greatness by Walt Disney’s Pinocchio (B Sharpsteen & Hamilton Luske, 1940). Dumbo is unarguably a masterpiece and a work of art.

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Dumbo (1941)

Dumbo    (Dir: Ben Sharpsteen, 1941).  Walt Disney’s 4th animated feature is the story of the circus elephant born with oversized e

Movie number 48: The House of the Spaniard (Reginald Denham, 1936).

Based upon Arthur Behrend’s novel The House of the Spaniard is a hopelessly dated comedy thriller set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Peter Haddon hams it up as hapless David Grey, accidental witness to some dodgy goings on on Liverpool marshland who then gets mixed up in some nonsense about Spanish revolutionists. The confusing plot is peppered with coincidences and contrivances and for much of the movie I was in the dark as to what was happening as the narrative jumped from one incredulous event to another.

The Marlene Dietrich-esq Brigette Horney is appealing as Margarita, Mr Grey’s love interest and the daughter of his employer and eventual kidnapper Pedro de Guzman (Allen Jeayes) and the movie is not wholly unentertaining; some enjoyment is to be found its frankly ludicrous situations and eventual denouncement. But to be honest the film has little else going for it.

Told in a jolly, lighthearted manner unbefitting of it somber real-life backdrop of civil unrest, The House of the Spaniard is a largely missable b-movie that leaves a slightly bad taste. Those with an interest in pre-war British cinema, or with a peculiar fetish for bad movies, may find it worth a watch.

Bunny crumpets! Happy Easter! 🐇

PET SEMATARY (Dir: Mary Lambert, 1989).

Probably to my detriment I have never read a Stephen King novel, although I have enjoyed many movies based upon his works notably Stand By Me (Rob Reiner, 1986), Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990), Shawskank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994) and the recent It (Andy Muschietti, 2017). So I sat down to this, my first viewing of Pet Sematary, with reasonably high expectations.

King’s novel was first published in 1983 to critical and commercial success so a movie adaptation was inevitable. The plot, which concerns the resurrection of dead pets and - whoops!- one or two humans, should have made for a creepy, maybe even darkly humorous horror. Instead we have a movie that feels cheaply made, is both schlocky and hokey and is occasionally unintentionally funny. Herman Munster himself Mr Fred Gwynne is a welcome familiar face and offers easily the best performance from an otherwise no star cast. He and the decent end-title song by a past their prime Ramones are the undoubted highlights of this sorry affair.

To be honest, I am not particularly a fan of the horror genre; gore does nothing for me but I do enjoy a creepy atmosphere. Pet Sematary has its share of gore but unfortunately little atmosphere, unless the atmosphere is that of a made for TV movie. Although critically reviled upon release the movie did spawn a sequel: the largely forgotten Pet Sematary Two (Mary Lambert, 1992). A remake was released in April 2019 and for once, perhaps, a remake is justified as it will almost certainly be an improvement on the original.

Perhaps I am being a little too harsh on a film belonging to a genre of which I am admittedly not fond. I realise this movie has its fans and if you can see something in it that I cannot then fair play to you. Ultimately I just expected more than Pet Sematary was able to deliver.

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Happy birthday Audrey Hepburn!

VENOM (Dir: Ruben Fleischer, 2018).

It is rare for a superhero villain to have the lead in a superhero movie. The disastrous Catwoman (Pitof, 2014) is one example, the upcoming Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019) is another. Then we have Venom.

You may recall Venom as Spider-Man’s nemesis, portrayed on screen by Topher Grace in 2007’s Spider-Man 3. In this latest adaptation Tom Hardy stars as Eddie Brock, the investigative journalist who, while attempting to take down corrupt scientist Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), is infected by an alien symbiote transforming him into super-strong, super-hungry super-villain Venom.

However, Venom isn’t really the bad guy here. Perhaps sensing that audiences would have trouble identifying with a baddie, the character is more ambiguous here, an anti-hero rather than an all out no-good. Gone is the white Spidey logo emblazoned across his chest and indeed any obvious connection to the world of the friendly neighbourhood arachnid. Although a future onscreen hook-up is said to be in the works.

As a Marvel character to which Disney does not hold the movie rights, Venom is not destined to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in spite of the fact that Spider-Man is now part of the MCU. What this means for future films in the series is uncertain. What is certain is that Venom as a stand-alone movie is a lot of fun. Granted it is not particularly original or groundbreaking. This may account for its lukewarm critical reception. It is certainly no Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018). However, the effects are top notch, the action set pieces are thrilling and the movie is genuinely funny, reminiscent of a somewhat moodier The Mask (Charles Russell, 1994). Tom Hardy is also great in the title role.

While the movie does not rank among the greatest superhero titles neither is it one of the worst. Its relatively short runtime (90 odd minutes if you discount the title sequences) means Venom is a fun, exciting action movie which never gets too dark and doesn’t outstay it’s welcome.

With a positive audience response and a worldwide box office exceeding $850 million a sequel is guaranteed. Venom 2 is set for release in Autumn 2020.

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