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SATURDAY NIGHT OUT (Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis, 1964).
SATURDAY NIGHT OUT (Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis, 1964).
Saturday Night Out is a portmanteau movie made up of five loosely connected vignettes following the exploits of four merchant seaman and a ships passenger on a night out in the capital. An uneasy mix of the comedic and the dramatic, the movie's best sequences are those laced with humour and which are less concerned with courting controversy.
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More Posts from Jingle-bones
THE DARK TOWER (Dir: Nicolaj Arcel, 2017).
A kind of sci-fi/western/fantasy mashup based on Stephen King’s popular series of novels.
In alternate universe Mid-World, Gunslinger Roland (Idris Elba) battles bad guy Walter (Matthew McConaughey) for dominance over the Dark Tower, which Walter plans to use for evil means. After stumbling through a portal in abandoned house, troubled New York teenager Jake (Tom Tyler) teams up with the Gunslinger to assist him in his quest.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE (Dir: David Soren, 2017).
A longer, more in-depth version of the following review can be found on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
DreamWorks Animation’s Captain Underpants is a lighthearted superhero spoof based upon the successful series of children’s books by Dav Pilkey.
4th graders George and Harold accidentally hypnotise their strict school principle Mr Krupp into believing he is inept y-fronts wearing superhero Captain Underpants. Although distinctly lacking in superpowers, Captain Underpants soon finds himself battling evil school science teacher Professor P in his bid to rid the world of laughter.
Captain Underpants' bold animation style lacks the finer details of DreamWorks' best features but does a nice job of bringing Pilkey’s illustrations to 3D ‘life’. Further enhancing the visuals is an innovative use of varying animation techniques such as rod puppets and traditional 2D. Unsurprisingly, considering its subject, much of the humour is of the toilet variety. This may limit its appeal to younger audience members, although there are some unsophisticated laughs to be had by kids and grownups alike. Largely absent are the pop culture references which were once a staple of DreamWorks movies; instead we have some neat self-referencing humour and inventive breaking of the fourth wall.
Ed Helms is on vocal duties as Krupp/Captain Underpants and does a fine job of switching from insanely angry principle to authoritatively stupid superhero at the click of a finger. Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch also impress as best buddies George and Harold.
Subtitled The Fist Epic Movie, its underwhelming performance at the box office means it is unlikely we will see a Captain Underpants 2. Which is kind of a shame. The movie is no masterpiece but its embracing of different animation styles, along with its general good-naturedness, make it the most original and entertaining Dreamworks animation in recent years.
ZOMBIES 2 (Dir: Paul Hoen, 2020).
The Zombies of Seabrook High return in the imaginatively titled Zombies 2. Now with extra added werewolves.
When werewolves pose a threat to the newly integrated communities of Seabrook and Zombie Town, monster lockdown is back on. Much to the chagrin of Zombie Zed (Milo Manheim) and his human gal pal Addison (Meg Donnelly). In an attempt to force change Zed runs for school president. Meanwhile Addison is courted by a band of werewolves banished from Seabrook since olden times!
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON (Dir: Irwin Allen, 1962).
A longer, more in-depth version of the following review can be found on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
Loosely based on Jules Verne's 1863 novel of the same name, Five Weeks in a Balloon finds an unlikely crew of adventurers, including explorer Fergusson (Cedric Hardwicke), his youthful assistant (popstar Fabian) and US newspaper hack Donald O'Shay (Red Buttons), set sail for Africa in a hot air balloon with a gondola inexplicably shaped like a unicorn! Picking up kidnapped teacher Susan (Barbara Eden) and slave trader Ahmed (Peter Lorre) en route. Getting into scrapes involving various tribes-people, the odd slave and a pipe-smoking chimp, expect some outdated racial stereotypes and some decidedly pre-feminist representations of women. Nothing overtly offensive, however, be warned it is very much a product of its time!
Five Weeks in a Balloon was a conscious attempt by 20th Century Fox to repeat the success of their adaptation of Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth (Henry Levin, 1959). Irwin Allen would seem a natural choice for director, having previously helmed the hit adventure movies The Lost World (1960) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), both for Fox. Sadly, Five weeks in a Balloon would prove to be a disappointment, both artistically and commercially. It certainly isn't terrible, but it lacks the scope and grandeur of Journey to the Center of the Earth and even the more modest The Lost World. A smaller budget is evident; while there is nothing essentially wrong with the effects, the balloon for example is impressive, it just seems light on spectacle compared to earlier Verne adaptations.
Ultimately, Five Weeks in a Balloon is too slight a movie to be considered the epic adventure is promises to be. Neither is it the schlocky fun that so much of the Allen oeuvre is. It is lightweight entertainment, but perhaps a little too lightweight. As adventure and comedy it never quite takes flight and the end result is fun but a bit bland.
CAREFREE (Dir: Mark Sandrich, 1938).
A frothy RKO romance; the 8th pairing of the incomparable Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
This one has Fred as a psychiatrist and Ginger as his patient and fiancee of his best pal (Ralph Bellamy). Things get complicated when she falls for him and he hypnotizes her to remain faithful to the groom. The movie's outcome is clearly signposted from early on, but there is considerable fun to be had on the journey, nonetheless.
With only four full-blown song and dance numbers Carefree is less a musical than a screwball comedy with the occasional break for a song. The Irving Berlin score is pleasant enough, but by the composer’s own high standards is not especially memorable. 'Change Partners' and 'I Used to Be Color Blind' are the possible exceptions; both are considerably enhanced by Ginger and Fred's fabulous footwork. The highlight is undoubtedly Astaire's solo 'Since They Turned Loch Lomand into Swing' in which he ditches Rogers to partner a golf-club, proving as adept on the fairway as he is the dance-floor.
Allan Scott and Ernest Pagnos screenplay, while implausible, does include a fair amount of humorous moments. While director Mark Sandrich, by now a veteran of the Astaire-Rogers movies, handles the comedy and the dance numbers with equal aplomb. It is all a lot of nonsense, but all is forgiven when Fred and Ginger take the dance floor. There was never a classier screen couple than Mr Astaire and Ms Rogers and support is offered by a particularly distinguished cast, notably Ralph Bellamy and Jack Carson. Unbilled and underused in one of her many domestic help roles is the great Hattie McDaniel.
As its title suggests, Carefree is lighthearted, featherweight stuff. Often regarded as the weakest of the Astaire-Rogers partnership, it does pale in comparison to classics such as Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 1935) and Shall We Dance (Mark Sandrich, 1937). Still, at a little over 80 minutes, it doesn't outstay its welcome. The old adage "they don't make 'em like that anymore" certainly applies here; fluff it may be, but it is consummately produced fluff, expertly performed by its legendary cast.
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