TOY STORY 4 (Dir: Josh Cooley, 2019).

TOY STORY 4 (Dir: Josh Cooley, 2019).

Since the first movie was released in 1995, the Toy Story franchise has proven to be one of the most robust, not to mention most lucrative, Hollywood franchises of all time. The original film, a Pixar Animation Studios production released through Walt Disney Pictures, was a massive critical and commercial success, spawning a further two equally successful sequels. After the fairly definitive conclusion of Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010), the prospect of a fourth entry seemed to many unnecessary, albeit not entirely unwelcome.

Toy Story 4 reunites Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the gang and introduces new character Forky. Forky, made by the toys' new owner Bonnie from a plastic spork, pipe-cleaners and other discarded items, is determined to throw himself into the trash where he believes he belongs. Determined not to let this happen, Woody places himself in charge of the spork, a decision which results in the pair becoming separated from Bonnie and their pals. As lost toys they encounter the sinister doll Gabby Gabby and her ventriloquist dummy cohorts and Woody is reunited with old flame Bo Peep.

Happily Toy Story 4 is a sequel which lives up to its mighty predecessors. Director Josh Cooley and screenwriters Stephany Folsom and Andrew Stanton have created a movie that is by turns witty, exciting and ultimately moving. Its message is certainly as poignant as others in the franchise and comes with a climax that that seems pretty darn final.

It goes without saying that the computer generated animation in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 4 is beautiful. Once again, the vocal performances, notably Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Annie Potts as Bo and Tony Hale as Forky, are exemplary.

This latest episode of the Toy Story saga thankfully does nothing to tarnish what is arguably the most consistent franchise of them all, while its finale suggests that this really will be the last we see of the gang. If this is the case then more's the pity, although Toy Story 4 definitely provides them with a high on which to go out on.

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THE MAN IN THE SKY aka DECISION AGAINST TIME (Dir: Charles Crichton, 1957).

In 1955 the Ealing Studios were sold to the BBC for use as a production facility. Production of Ealing Films was moved to the MGM British Studios at Borehamwood and a distribution deal with MGM was secured. The deal was short lived; only 6 films were released through MGM and Ealing’s days as a production company were numbered.

The first movie to be released under the new deal was The Man in the Sky, retitled Decision Again Time for US audiences.

Ealing regular Jack Hawkins stars as a test pilot who must make a difficult, life threatening decision when the engine of his aircraft fails. Elizabeth Sellars co-stars as his wife who believes her husband puts himself at unnecessary risk.

Hawkins does well in one of his many stoic action hero roles and is ably supported by a fine supporting cast including Brit acting legends Lionel Jeffries, Donald Pleasence and Megs Jenkins. Charles Crichton, better known for helming comedy classics Hue and Cry (1947) and The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), proves adept at combining highflying thrills with the earthbound familial trails in what might have been an uneasy mix of domestic drama and disaster movie.

The suspense is held to the final reel in this fairly tense and absorbing drama which, while perhaps not quite top drawer Ealing, is still a quality product with much to recommend it. Aircraft connoisseurs will enjoy the location footage shot at Pendeford Airfield and the Bristol Freighter plane which Hawkins pilots.

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DR NO (Terance Young, 1962).

NOTE: The following is an edited version of a review available in full on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Check it out! Link below.

The film that launched the longest running franchise in movie history. Sean Connery stars as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in this adaptation of the sixth novel in the series.

Investigating the disappearance of fellow MI6 operatives, Bond heads to Jamaica and is soon on the trail of the titular Dr No, an underground dwelling, Nemo-esq scientific genius with plans to wreck the US space programme. Fist fights, shoot-outs and car chases ensue!

In many respects, Dr No is Bond in its purest form. Before the over reliance on gadgets, before the campy, double entendre laden humour, before the over the top action set pieces. Connery is perfect in the role: suave yet cool, a lover and a fighter. He is surrounded by a classy supporting cast. As Island girl Honey Ryder, Ursula Andress set the standard for Bond girls, emerging like Venus from the ocean in a two-piece swimsuit and creating one of the most iconic images of the entire series. Jack Lord and John Kitzmiller make appealing allies for Bond, while Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell make their first appearances as Bond’s MI6 boss M and his flirtatious secretary Miss Moneypenny, respectively.

Director Terance Young never lets the pace flag. Dr No is one of the shorter Bonds but Young never wastes a second as he delivers a gripping, intelligent thriller.

Rewatching the movie almost 60 years after release it is fascinating to see how much of what we associate with the series is already present. Refinements were made to the formula over the coming films but I don’t think this series opener was ever bettered. Equalled maybe, but it has a certain economic, raw, unpolished appeal that box office success and bloated budgets would not allow for in the future. Six decades on this is still a fantastic piece of popular cinema. Intelligent in a way action movies rarely are today, shot through with streak of sardonic humour. If you are only familiar with later entries than this original classic should really be next on your Bond viewing list!

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Dr No (1962)

Dr No (Terance Young, 1962) The film that launched the longest running franchise in movie history and made a star of Sean Connery

ALADDIN (Dir: Guy Ritchie, 2019).

Disney raids its back catalogue once again for their latest remake of an animated classic. Released in 1992, Aladdin (Ron Clements and John Musker) is one of the Disney Studios most critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies. With an excellent musical score, groundbreaking animation and a magnificent performance by Robin Williams as The Genie, it is also a difficult act to follow, not least for Will Smith stepping into the winklepickers of Williams.

This version of the Arabian Nights story of the boy who finds a magic lamp and the genie within who will grant him three wishes sticks close to Disney’s previous telling, although adding a further 40 minutes to its runtime. Surprisingly these extra minutes do not feel superfluous. Jasmine and Jafar both gain a little deeper character development and the Genie gets a love interest. Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice’s song score remains mostly intact with the addition of a new number, ‘Speechless’, co-written by Menken with songwriting duo Pasek and Paul.

Brit Guy Richie seemed an unlikely choice of director but acquits himself admirably with his first family friendly musical fantasy. As do the cast; Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Naomi Scott as Jasmine make attractive leads and Smith is reassuringly great as Genie. Thankfully, Disney cast actors who can also sing and the soundtrack is mercifully free of the auto-tuning that has plagued previous features.

What Aladdin lacks in originality it makes up for in spectacle. This is a very good looking movie with lavish song and dance numbers, exciting action sequences and top line special effects. Does it supplant the beloved animated version? Of course not. But it does hold up as a visually stunning, tuneful, wholly entertaining 130 minutes. While perhaps not as essential as its animated predecessor it is still a lot of fun and well worth a watch.

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Movie number 61: The Feminine Touch aka The Gentle Touch (Pat Jackson, 1956). A late period Ealing drama, variously retitled The Gentle Touch and A Lamp is Heavy in international markets; The Feminine Touch follows a group of student nurses as they embark on careers with the greatest of British post-war institutions, the NHS.

Unusually for an Ealing Studios production, the main protagonists are female. The narrative focuses largely on nurses Susan Richards (Belinda Lee) and Pat Martin (Delphi Lawrence) through initial training, exams and their inevitable romantic liaisons with doctors.

Told in the pseudo-documentary style often favoured by Ealing, the sense of realism is all slightly undone by the impossibly glamorous nurses who look every inch 1950s starlets and not hardworking medics.

Occasionally the movie threatens to deliver a worthwhile statement on gender inequality, such as addressing the injustice of female nurses having to quit their job when married. However, this important issue is undermined by the pat suggestion that by supporting their doctor husbands they will still be performing a valuable service to the medical profession!

While the idea of movie projecting a positive image of women in the workplace is to be applauded, its ultimate message seems to reinforce the notion that it is a man’s world and a woman’s place within it is to make her hubby happy. Such was the word in 1956. Indeed, even in a film about women top billing is given to man, co-star George Baker.

The Feminine Touch was to be director Pat Jackson’s only film for Ealing. This is probably no loss to Ealing. Where their earlier movies were often seen as promoting socialism and progressiveness, The Feminine Touch seems to be content with looking backwards rather than forwards. As entertainment it is pleasant enough, albeit slightly dull and hopelessly dated. As a tribute to NHS nurses it fails miserably a group of women who deserved so much more recognition than a middling, routine drama.

Movie number 58: The Long Arm aka The Third Key (Charles Frend, 1956).

The final movie shot at Ealing Studios before production shifted to the MGM British Studios. The Long Arm, retitled The Third Key in the US, stars Jack Hawkins as phlegmatic detective superintendent Tom Halliday, busy pursuing a safecracker while neglecting his family.

Charles Frend directs in a somewhat low-key documentary style which recalls earlier Ealing police drama The Blue Lamp (Basil Dearden, 1950). The attempted realistic portrayal of unglamorous, often mundane police work results in a movie which is less a thriller and more a police procedural drama.

Hawkins is as dependable as ever in the lead and the film benefits from its use of real life locations, in particular an exciting climax at the Royal Festival Hall.

While not quite as satisfying a movie as the classic The Blue Lamp, The Long Arm is still a neat little drama; notable for both its place in British film history and its considerable entertainment value.