Slob with a blog. Vicariously join me on my movie viewing adventures! Visit my blog here: http://jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com
297 posts
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (Dir: Edward Ludwig, 1940).
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (Dir: Edward Ludwig, 1940).
A little seen RKO adaptation of the classic Johann Wyss novel. When Walt Disney produced his own feature film of Swiss Family Robinson (Ken Annakin, 1960) he also purchased the rights to this earlier version. Since then it has remained largely unseen but has recently surfaced on the Disney+ streaming service.
It tells the well known tale of a family fleeing the Napoleonic Wars who end up shipwrecked on a tropical isle. Learning to cope with island life, they build an elaborate treehouse and have various run-ins with the local wildlife.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
More Posts from Jingle-bones
LILO & STITCH (Dir: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders, 2002).
A heartwarming family drama/sci-fi hybrid from Walt Disney Animation Studios.
On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, misfit Lilo adopts an unwanted stray dog. Unfortunately, said dog, named Stitch by Lilo, is actually escaped extra-terrestrial genetic experiment #626, an invention of would be evil scientist Jumba. With Stitch causing havoc on the island, Jumba is dispatched to Earth with Terra-expert Pleakley to recapture the alien, but Lilo is not so eager to relinquish her pal.
Read the full review of LILO & STITCH on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Dir: Lewis Milestone, 1930).
A pre-code WWI drama adapted from German author Erich Maria Remarque's 1928 novel, All Quiet on the Western Front follows a group of students as they enlist in the army, detailing their transformation from idealistic boys to war weary soldiers, depicting the squalid living conditions and futility of the loss of young lives with a stark realism.
Told, unusually, from the perspective of German soldiers. At first the broad American accents are a little jarring and take some getting used to. But remember this is so early in the history of sound cinema that it is a miracle they are talking at all. Little else in the picture strikes a wrong note. Nowhere to be found are the static camera shots often associated with early talkies. With its inventive camera angels, practical special effects and hundreds of extras it presents a visual spectacle that more than holds its own against modern CGI aided blockbusters. The film is full of affecting imagery, from the sight of the rapt students stirred up by an impassioned indoctrination on the glory of serving the "Fatherland", to the poetic final frames of a butterfly on the battleground, fading to shot of a cemetery.
With the possible exception of Lewis Ayres, in the lead role of young soldier Paul, much of the cast is unrecognizable to modern audiences. This arguably lends the film more authority, as no preconceptions of star status are allowed to diminish the powerful performances. Director Milestone elicits sensitive, natural performances from the cast which compliments the brutally beautiful images that he and cinematographer Arthur Edeson have created.
Almost a century after its release All Quiet on the Western Front remains probably the most powerful indictment on the horrors of war ever put to celluloid. It was met with immense critical acclaim, receiving the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director in what was only the third year the ceremony was held. The movie is indisputably a landmark in cinema history and more than lives up to 90 years of hype. In short, it is a masterpiece.
A longer, more in-depth review of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is available my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
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.
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.
100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
