What was the last film you watched?

[Crimson]

after sitting quietly through the film my partner (usually happy to take films on face value without thinking too deeply about them or voicing opinions) pulled the film to pieces for being overlong, boring, making no sense and having no plot.

Put me down as agreeing with your partner. I thought the movie was atrocious. I'll add another adjective to his boring, overlong and nonsensical: gross. She knew she stole another man's life with her wish and still went along with it. Gross.

Cheetah was wasted. The Golden Armor was wasted (so much build up for something that got shredded in minutes). Lynda's cameo was nice but, also, wasted. The plot felt nonexistent and cumbersome at the same time, as if it has been contributed to by a dozen people but no one ever bothered to make all the plot points flow or connect.

Bottom of the DCU, and that's saying a lot.

As much as I like Gal as Wonder Woman, I hope James Gunn blows up the entire DCU and starts from scratch.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

Put me down as agreeing with your partner. I thought the movie was atrocious. I'll add another adjective to his boring, overlong and nonsensical: gross. She knew she stole another man's life with her wish and still went along with it. Gross.

Cheetah was wasted. The Golden Armor was wasted (so much build up for something that got shredded in minutes). Lynda's cameo was nice but, also, wasted. The plot felt nonexistent and cumbersome at the same time, as if it has been contributed to by a dozen people but no one ever bothered to make all the plot points flow or connect.

Bottom of the DCU, and that's saying a lot.

As much as I like Gal as Wonder Woman, I hope James Gunn blows up the entire DCU and starts from scratch.

I haven't seen this, but I saw the first one, which I thought was very good. It's a shame the sequel didn't up to the first.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

There was a scene where she wore a long white dress and glided majestically across the screen like an angel descended to earth (which in a way is a bit like who Wonder Woman is)

I agree - she looked stunning in this scene.

She knew she stole another man's life with her wish and still went along with it.

Oh - it didn't even occur to me that she had any idea about the "price" of her wish fulfilment.

Cheetah was wasted.

Given my love of the Cheetah (especially early Barbara Minerva) I was surprised how tolerable I found this very different version.

The plot felt nonexistent and cumbersome at the same time, as if it has been contributed to by a dozen people but no one ever bothered to make all the plot points flow or connect.

It's funny, but as I watched I found myself somewhat immersed in the story. It just worked for me.

(Perhaps it's telling, though, that it hasn't resonated with me since watching. Already it's quite faded in my memory banks).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

For Christmas Eve I had a double-bill of Christmas-classics-I've-inexplicably-never-watched.


The matinee was...

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

Rather like Psycho, this is a film that's so entrenched in pop culture, I almost felt like I knew it inside out before watching. Clips of it seem to have been shown everywhere and the story (itself a twist on the already-familiar A Christmas Carol) is one of those that's been told and retold again and again.

Of course, I knew the premise. And the Bedford Falls town name. And the ending with Jimmy Stewart running through town calling out his greetings to the various buildings is firmly embedded in my mind (I couldn't swear, but I think I know it best from Gremlins).

Also like Psycho, it was surprising to realise there's so much more to the film than the best-known bits. Indeed, I think it took over 90 minutes for George to meet his guardian angel and express a wish that he'd never been born.

The film grabbed me from its opening scene with the heavenly communication (I've since realised it's familiarity is from similar conversation in A Matter Of Life And Death, released several months before this) and the wonderfully rich cinematography of Bedford Falls in the snow. It filled me with hope about the film just beginning.

Sadly, my feelings about the film overall are more mixed than I'd hoped. Much as I enjoyed the opening scenes of young George saving the pharmacist from making a fatal error, it went a bit downhill after that. I found it very slow and sluggish, which in itself would have been fine were it not for the cloyingly saccharine tweeness prevalent in American films of the era. I know George's optimistic spirit needed to be there to be broken but he was so damned chipper that I found him very irritating. Then there was all that business with his brother and the stupid honking noise and accompanying gesture they'd do upon parting (these are actual adults). And every time Donna Reed sang at him I heaved (I really wasn't sure what to make of her character. She came across as manipulative and shrewish much of the time which didn't garner much empathy).

Once things went down the pan it was compelling again, thanks almost entirely to a combination of Jimmy Stewart's performance and Frank Capra's direction. Depressed, angry, lashing out George was terrific. It was wonderful to see him going full-on Arthur Fowler on Christmas Eve and in the last third of the film I had an epiphany which took me from feeling that it was interesting to see a young Stewart still learning his craft to feeling that actually this is the finest performance I've seen him give.

Perhaps the film needed the tweeness to really contrast with the darkness that came later (and it was pleasingly grim at times). Perhaps it's even a statement about twee Hollywood fluff. Whatever the case, watching George's joyous evening run through Bedford Falls in context, suddenly realising just how significant his seemingly throwaway lines are, gave me chills.

This isn't a film I'd care to watch annually. I don't think I'd feel I was missing out if I never watched it again. But I'm very glad I've finally seen it.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Last night's never-before-viewed-Christmas-classic was...

Scrooge (1970)

In Miriam's Dickensian Christmas, Miriam Margolyes watched the 1951 version of Scrooge with joy, declaring Sim to be the best in the role on film. I had been intending to watch that but (appropriately) was too mean to fork out to stream it and opted for the one that was free on the same service.

I'm fairly sure I haven't seen this version. I'm not even sure I knew it existed, but at the same time it feels very right to have a musical interpretation of this Dickens work to follow up Oliver!

Alarm bells rang when the first thing that appeared on-screen was the name of the production company: "Cinema Center Films". Knowing nothing about this film, the spelling made me fear this was going to be a Hollywood translation with mid-Atlantic accents. Fortunately, as the cast was listed in the titles and I saw everyone from Anton Rodgers to Roy Kinnear and Gordon Jackson I knew I was in safe hands. And while I wasn't entirely sure about the musical aspect, Leslie Bricusse's name reassured me.

This was intended to be a bit of a time-filler, and I was very surprised to find myself enjoying it quite as much as I did. There was so much to like.

First to grab me were the colours, which look muted, as though a grey-brown image has been coloured in with pastels. It looks beautiful, with long shadows making it look gloriously gothic at times. Helping tremendously were the sets which created a special world.

As promised in the opening titles, the cast was wonderful. I don't know that Albert Finney is how I envisage Scrooge, but he's memorable enough. Alec Guinness, Edith Evans and Kenneth More play various ghosts (respectively, Jacob Marley, The Ghost Of Christmas Past and The Ghost Of Christmas Present), so there's that. Derek Francis (best-known to me from his various Carry On film appearances) and Roy Kinnear made a terrific double-act.

Hazel The McWitch and William Fields were among those owing debts to Scrooge. In fact Anton Rodgers was a bit of a revelation here, singing the only song that was familiar to me (Thank You Very Much, which I think I know from Quality Street adverts of the Eighties) while he danced on Scrooge's coffin as it was pulled through the streets atop a moving cart. He's quite the mover.

I'm not big on musicals, but the songs were fine. None felt as memorable and special as those Lionel Bart had composed for Oliver! two years earlier, but they all fitted well and weren't unenjoyable. Even the kids in the film were fine with many of the urchins looking familiar and cheeky, and minimal annoying cutesy-wootsy precociousness (though you have to expect a touch of that when dying Tiny Tim is singing a song of hope).

The effects were decent for the time as well. Some of the flying ghouls encountered by Scrooge were pretty scary, and hats off to this film for having some scenes taking place in the bowels of Hell.

Overall, it not only ticked the charming British period film box, but also felt warm and Christmassy without ladling on the saccharine. Most enjoyable, and I would definitely watch it again in a few years.​

 

[DallasFanForever]

Last night's never-before-viewed-Christmas-classic was...

Scrooge (1970)

In Miriam's Dickensian Christmas, Miriam Margolyes watched the 1951 version of Scrooge with joy, declaring Sim to be the best in the role on film. I had been intending to watch that but (appropriately) was too mean to fork out to stream it and opted for the one that was free on the same service.

I'm fairly sure I haven't seen this version. I'm not even sure I knew it existed, but at the same time it feels very right to have a musical interpretation of this Dickens work to follow up Oliver!

Alarm bells rang when the first thing that appeared on-screen was the name of the production company: "Cinema Center Films". Knowing nothing about this film, the spelling made me fear this was going to be a Hollywood translation with mid-Atlantic accents. Fortunately, as the cast was listed in the titles and I saw everyone from Anton Rodgers to Roy Kinnear and Gordon Jackson I knew I was in safe hands. And while I wasn't entirely sure about the musical aspect, Leslie Bricusse's name reassured me.

This was intended to be a bit of a time-filler, and I was very surprised to find myself enjoying it quite as much as I did. There was so much to like.

First to grab me were the colours, which look muted, as though a grey-brown image has been coloured in with pastels. It looks beautiful, with long shadows making it look gloriously gothic at times. Helping tremendously were the sets which created a special world.

As promised in the opening titles, the cast was wonderful. I don't know that Albert Finney is how I envisage Scrooge, but he's memorable enough. Alec Guinness, Edith Evans and Kenneth More play various ghosts (respectively, Jacob Marley, The Ghost Of Christmas Past and The Ghost Of Christmas Present), so there's that. Derek Francis (best-known to me from his various Carry On film appearances) and Roy Kinnear made a terrific double-act.

Hazel The McWitch and William Fields were among those owing debts to Scrooge. In fact Anton Rodgers was a bit of a revelation here, singing the only song that was familiar to me (Thank You Very Much, which I think I know from Quality Street adverts of the Eighties) while he danced on Scrooge's coffin as it was pulled through the streets atop a moving cart. He's quite the mover.

I'm not big on musicals, but the songs were fine. None felt as memorable and special as those Lionel Bart had composed for Oliver! two years earlier, but they all fitted well and weren't unenjoyable. Even the kids in the film were fine with many of the urchins looking familiar and cheeky, and minimal annoying cutesy-wootsy precociousness (though you have to expect a touch of that when dying Tiny Tim is singing a song of hope).

The effects were decent for the time as well. Some of the flying ghouls encountered by Scrooge were pretty scary, and hats off to this film for having some scenes taking place in the bowels of Hell.

Overall, it not only ticked the charming British period film box, but also felt warm and Christmassy without ladling on the saccharine. Most enjoyable, and I would definitely watch it again in a few years.​

I enjoyed reading your review Mel. I found it interesting as I haven’t seen this particular version since the 80s. The Alistair Sim and George C. Scott versions were always my favorites and for some reason this one never quite measured up for me. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not exactly a big fan of musicals myself but I would like to go back and see this one now after about 35 years just to see if I would enjoy it more now at this age. I have a feeling I just might.

 

[Angela Channing]

For Christmas Eve I had a double-bill of Christmas-classics-I've-inexplicably-never-watched.


The matinee was...

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

Rather like Psycho, this is a film that's so entrenched in pop culture, I almost felt like I knew it inside out before watching. Clips of it seem to have been shown everywhere and the story (itself a twist on the already-familiar A Christmas Carol) is one of those that's been told and retold again and again.

Of course, I knew the premise. And the Bedford Falls town name. And the ending with Jimmy Stewart running through town calling out his greetings to the various buildings is firmly embedded in my mind (I couldn't swear, but I think I know it best from Gremlins).

Also like Psycho, it was surprising to realise there's so much more to the film than the best-known bits. Indeed, I think it took over 90 minutes for George to meet his guardian angel and express a wish that he'd never been born.

The film grabbed me from its opening scene with the heavenly communication (I've since realised it's familiarity is from similar conversation in A Matter Of Life And Death, released several months before this) and the wonderfully rich cinematography of Bedford Falls in the snow. It filled me with hope about the film just beginning.

Sadly, my feelings about the film overall are more mixed than I'd hoped. Much as I enjoyed the opening scenes of young George saving the pharmacist from making a fatal error, it went a bit downhill after that. I found it very slow and sluggish, which in itself would have been fine were it not for the cloyingly saccharine tweeness prevalent in American films of the era. I know George's optimistic spirit needed to be there to be broken but he was so damned chipper that I found him very irritating. Then there was all that business with his brother and the stupid honking noise and accompanying gesture they'd do upon parting (these are actual adults). And every time Donna Reed sang at him I heaved (I really wasn't sure what to make of her character. She came across as manipulative and shrewish much of the time which didn't garner much empathy).

Once things went down the pan it was compelling again, thanks almost entirely to a combination of Jimmy Stewart's performance and Frank Capra's direction. Depressed, angry, lashing out George was terrific. It was wonderful to see him going full-on Arthur Fowler on Christmas Eve and in the last third of the film I had an epiphany which took me from feeling that it was interesting to see a young Stewart still learning his craft to feeling that actually this is the finest performance I've seen him give.

Perhaps the film needed the tweeness to really contrast with the darkness that came later (and it was pleasingly grim at times). Perhaps it's even a statement about twee Hollywood fluff. Whatever the case, watching George's joyous evening run through Bedford Falls in context, suddenly realising just how significant his seemingly throwaway lines are, gave me chills.

This isn't a film I'd care to watch annually. I don't think I'd feel I was missing out if I never watched it again. But I'm very glad I've finally seen it.​

One of my all time favourite films. Yes it's a bit cheesy, yes it's overly sentimental, yes Mr Potter is more of a pantomime villain than a fully formed character and yes some of the characters are annoying (I want to slap Uncle Billy every time I watch it) but for me it's like having a long term partner, you love them not in spite of their flaws but because they make them more interesting and relatable.

 

[Angela Channing]

Last night's never-before-viewed-Christmas-classic was...

Scrooge (1970)

In Miriam's Dickensian Christmas, Miriam Margolyes watched the 1951 version of Scrooge with joy, declaring Sim to be the best in the role on film. I had been intending to watch that but (appropriately) was too mean to fork out to stream it and opted for the one that was free on the same service.

I'm fairly sure I haven't seen this version. I'm not even sure I knew it existed, but at the same time it feels very right to have a musical interpretation of this Dickens work to follow up Oliver!

Alarm bells rang when the first thing that appeared on-screen was the name of the production company: "Cinema Center Films". Knowing nothing about this film, the spelling made me fear this was going to be a Hollywood translation with mid-Atlantic accents. Fortunately, as the cast was listed in the titles and I saw everyone from Anton Rodgers to Roy Kinnear and Gordon Jackson I knew I was in safe hands. And while I wasn't entirely sure about the musical aspect, Leslie Bricusse's name reassured me.

This was intended to be a bit of a time-filler, and I was very surprised to find myself enjoying it quite as much as I did. There was so much to like.

First to grab me were the colours, which look muted, as though a grey-brown image has been coloured in with pastels. It looks beautiful, with long shadows making it look gloriously gothic at times. Helping tremendously were the sets which created a special world.

As promised in the opening titles, the cast was wonderful. I don't know that Albert Finney is how I envisage Scrooge, but he's memorable enough. Alec Guinness, Edith Evans and Kenneth More play various ghosts (respectively, Jacob Marley, The Ghost Of Christmas Past and The Ghost Of Christmas Present), so there's that. Derek Francis (best-known to me from his various Carry On film appearances) and Roy Kinnear made a terrific double-act.

Hazel The McWitch and William Fields were among those owing debts to Scrooge. In fact Anton Rodgers was a bit of a revelation here, singing the only song that was familiar to me (Thank You Very Much, which I think I know from Quality Street adverts of the Eighties) while he danced on Scrooge's coffin as it was pulled through the streets atop a moving cart. He's quite the mover.

I'm not big on musicals, but the songs were fine. None felt as memorable and special as those Lionel Bart had composed for Oliver! two years earlier, but they all fitted well and weren't unenjoyable. Even the kids in the film were fine with many of the urchins looking familiar and cheeky, and minimal annoying cutesy-wootsy precociousness (though you have to expect a touch of that when dying Tiny Tim is singing a song of hope).

The effects were decent for the time as well. Some of the flying ghouls encountered by Scrooge were pretty scary, and hats off to this film for having some scenes taking place in the bowels of Hell.

Overall, it not only ticked the charming British period film box, but also felt warm and Christmassy without ladling on the saccharine. Most enjoyable, and I would definitely watch it again in a few years.​

One of the best film adaptations of A Christmas Carol . The best is The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) but this is joint second with the 1951 version with Alistair Sim.

In my opinon, what lets this film down is it's songs, other than Thank You Very Much and the brilliant ensemble cast scene that goes with it, and Father Christmas, every other song is instantly forgettable and for a musical that's a near disaster. If it only had a couple more really good songs I think this film would be a Christmas classic, annually screened on TV.

 

[Seaviewer]

The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas (1996 telemovie)
I saw this on Tubi and couldn't resist.
With the makeup, Sam MacMurray is virtually indistinguishable from Fred Gwynne and does a pretty good job of copying his mannerisms. Anne Magnuson, as Lily, however, like Lee Meriwether in The Munsters Today, seems to draw more inspiration from Carolyn Jones than Yvonne DeCarlo.
The plot is remarkably like that of one of the Bewitched Christmas episodes: Santa is trapped in the house by one of grandpa's spells gone wrong and can't leave until he gets it right; hijinks ensue.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

One of my all time favourite films. Yes it's a bit cheesy, yes it's overly sentimental, yes Mr Potter is more of a pantomime villain than a fully formed character and yes some of the characters are annoying (I want to slap Uncle Billy every time I watch it) but for me it's like having a long term partner, you love them not in spite of their flaws but because they make them more interesting and relatable.

That's a really nice way of looking at it.

I enjoyed reading your review Mel. I found it interesting as I haven’t seen this particular version since the 80s.

Oh great, and thanks.

The Alistair Sim and George C. Scott versions were always my favorites and for some reason this one never quite measured up for me. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not exactly a big fan of musicals myself but I would like to go back and see this one now after about 35 years just to see if I would enjoy it more now at this age. I have a feeling I just might.

I did hesitate about watching when I saw it was a musical, but I'm really glad I did. As @Angela Christmas said many of the songs are forgettable, which is a shame, but I loved the performances, the atmosphere created in the film and the balance of darkness and humour. I think it works really well, especially in the non-musical moments.

The best is The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) but this is joint second with the 1951 version with Alistair Sim.

The 1951 will be on my list to watch in future. Come to think of it, I'm not sure which versions of A Christmas Carol I've actually watched.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is great. My biggest bugbear with it (as with many Disney-related films) is the nannying aspect ("Gee. This moment's a bit frightening for younger children. Let's have two daft narrators to diffuse it by saying something lighthearted"). Apart from that it's brilliant.

In my opinon, what lets this film down is it's songs, other than Thank You Very Much and the brilliant ensemble cast scene that goes with it, and Father Christmas, every other song is instantly forgettable and for a musical that's a near disaster. If it only had a couple more really good songs I think this film would be a Christmas classic, annually screened on TV.

Agreed. Still, at least there was wisdom enough to reprise both the songs you mentioned later in the film.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

When I added Nativity! to the queue, I also added the second and third films in the series. But now I see that the key character to appear in all three is the teacher's aid. Freeman - the lead character here - doesn't appear in any more, so I wonder if there's any point in continuing. Certainly I feel like I've seen more than enough of the kids and the man-child. I am curious enough to watch on to see how it's re-framed but, given the rule of diminishing returns, I can't help but wonder if continuing would be an act of pure masochism.

Well, what better time for masochism than Christmas. I ploughed on with...

Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger (2012)

There's very little I can say about this that I didn't say about the first. Pam Ferris and Jason Watkins are back and remain enjoyable, though Pam's role - sadly - is much smaller than in the first film. With David Tennant it can go either way for me, and there are TWO David Tennants here, playing both lead role and antagonist as twin brothers. Fortunately, this is a project in which I quite enjoyed him.

Marc Wooton's Mr Poppy remains supremely annoying and (as expected) dominates the film. Mark Kermode apparently described the character as "more threatening and weird than funny and entertaining", which about sums it up. This film sees him abduct a class full of children and a baby, kidnap a teacher, tying him up and stealing his wallet to fund things. Oh, and throwing said teacher's mobile phone - his only means of contacting his heavily pregnant wife - out of the back of the speeding minibus. I get that kids probably find him entertaining, but any sane adult would be glad to see this idiot getting locked up (though I'd settle for a sound thrashing).​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey? (2014)

Since I know what to expect by now I have no-one to blame but myself. Taste almost prevailed and I came extremely close to switching off a few minutes in, the second or third time someone said "shopping maul". But then Celia Imrie's name popped up on-screen which confused me into watching.

The plot is thinner than ever and the characters thicker. The songs are abysmal. Seven year old British kids singing in terrible faux American accents and trying to give attitude. There's no Pam Ferris this time, either.

Despite having Martin Clunes, Catherine Tate and half the cast of Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV (Celia, Susie Blake and Duncan Preson are present and correct, with the latter two playing Tate's parents), the entire film centres around the useless, annoying lump carried over from the first two.

Never again. Never.​

 

[darkshadows38]

1stly the (1946) film It's A Wonderful life is a favorite of mine, for me the 1st time i remember watching it was back in the 90's i think? we had watched it in school during x-mas time i'm sure. at that time i hadn't seen that many black and white movies and i remember thinking how good it was and how different it was from films i watching at the time. and for many years i think it was the only Jimmy Stewart films i ever saw but i've seen i'd say bout maybe 50% or 60% of his films since than i think?

anyways i just got done watching one called Meet Me after the show (1951) with Bette Grable & Eddie Albert he wasn't the lead though nor did he play the husband either. it was about a wife who walked in on her husband with another woman but he actually wasn't cheating on her she was kissing him and Grable mistunderstood so she divorced his ass & later on in the film we find out she's still married to him? but she was getting Alimony from him. they spent a lot of time bickering over this and that until she decided to Fake amnesia and it was too get him back, it's a pretty damn good movie check it out it's on you tube of all places. 10/10 and i really needed to see a damn good movie these past few were either decent or just plain outright awful i really needed a good one

 

[Angela Channing]

Violent Night (2022)

This is a Christmas film for people who don't like Christmas films. It's part comedy, part action adventure, part horror, so it's not your typical Christmas film. However, it does have some of the familiar Christmas tropes:

• a couple destined to be together but there's an obstacle which stops it from happening
• there is a redemption story,
• Christmas seems doomed until someone saves the day
• the real Santa Claus appears.

A rich family gather to celebrate Christmas when a group of armed intruders get into their house to rob the millions of dollars that are in their safe. While the crime is being carried out, the real Santa Claus is visiting the house and he gets drawn into saving the family. Although the plot sounds outlandish, I couldn't help but being drawn into the film and accepting what was I was seeing as being perfectly normal. The film has strong Home Alone vibes at times when the child of the family sets booby traps for the robbers, some of which are so horrific that I couldn't watch the screen, something that I've never experienced before while viewing a film. Overall, I liked this film way more than I expected I would.

 

[Angela Channing]

Matilda (2022)

I've not read the book, I've not seen the previous film nor the stage production, so I was coming to this film with no knowledge about what it was about. It was remarkable good. It's a really strong story, the acting is superb, the musical numbers are entertaining and the film looks beautiful with close attention being paid to the colour palate they used.

Matilda is a bit of a child genius who has been home schooled until the authorities insist she needs a more conventional education. She's sent to school where she regularly gets into conflicts with the bullying headteacher, Mrs Trunchbull (Emma Thompson,) however, kindly teacher Mrs Honey (Lashana Lynch) is on her side. I often find child actors really annoying and hammy but they were fantastic in this, especially Alisha Weir in the lead role.

The film wasn't bogged down with too many songs which is often the case in stage to film adaptations, so it wasn't overly long and it flowed really well, so I suspect that many songs in the stage production were cut for the film. This may irritate fans of the theatre show but I think it made for a better film.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Cars 3 (2017)

I was going to watch Cars 2, but then noticed the steelbook was unsealed which suggested I'd watched it, so I cracked open the second sequel instead.

Looking back through this thread, it's almost four years since I watched Cars 2 (February 2019 - no wonder I can't remember it). I'd bought both at or around the same time, so my Cars 3 steelbook has been on my shelf, unopened for many years. It'd be longer still since I watched the original. That would be back on the old site somewhere.

Anyhow, while not exactly groundbreaking or earth-shattering, it satisfactorily killed the best part of two hours so I'll say it was worth the very long wait.​

 

[Biggie]

Frozen, 2013.

Happened across this while flicking about on the telly. It was 5 minutes in and decided to give it a few minutes of my time.

Frozen was simply excellent. Just magnificent.
The plot was very easy to buy into, with comedy and touching moments balanced.

The star of the show was the music.

 

[darkshadows38]

i have nothing against Frozen but i hate with a passion the song Let it Go it's easily one of the most annoying and among the worst Disney songs ever written, for me it's like nails on a chalkboard it's so bad. the characters i have nothing against though playing Disney's Dream light Valley on my x-box it's got Anna, Kristoff and i forget the leads name lol. i get the impression that Kristoff is an idiot. ]

and watch Matilda (1996) i haven't seen the new one to be fair so i can't say on how good it is but read the book i read that in one sitting when in read it in my teens.
than after you read the book and watch the (1996) film than tell us how good or bad the remake is. The (1996) film is really follows the book really well and honestly i can't think of what's left off but than i haven't read the book in years either.

i watched 2 the first was one called "Let's Dance (1950) with Fred Astire and Betty Hutton that was a really good one about 2 characters it starts out in WW2 in (1944) and Fred and Betty are in an act and he out of nowhere announces they are getting married to the crowd, she ends up telling him she married a soldier and the act breaks up, 6 years later in (1950) she's got a kid that of course was her husbands and he was killed not that longer in combat. he ended up being a rich mofo too and his evil mother was trying to get her grandson into living there with her without the mother. one of those i am rich and i can do what i want way of thinking. i'm not gonna say the whole movie but some of the music was good some of it was forgettable too, the film opens with her and Fred doing a number with them singing fast and they were frankly awful at it plus the song was terrible.

the next one i watched was also from (1950) called Everybody's Dancin' and it was awful the only name in it i know was Roddy Mcdowall who plays himself in a 2 minute scene. that easily took him 5 minutes to film at least and than he left. a really awful film about the saving of a place called Waltzland which is a place well you can do the Waltz in and it opens in (1917) and ends in what i assume is (1950) it's only about 65 minutes and not worth watching at all my rating for that is 3/10\

with Let's Dance (1950) i would say that's 8/10 with it being lower than 10 due to some really awful songs

 

[Angela Channing]

Glass Onion: An Knives Out Mystery (2022)

I was a big fan of Knives Out so was very keen to see this sequel. There is no real connection with the original film apart from the presence of Daniel Craig's character, detective Benoit Blanc, so it's not a true sequel more of a new story featuring the same character. I didn't expect to like this film more than the original but I did.

It's hard to say much about the film without giving away spoilers but from the beginning things aren't as they appear. The plot is straightforward but also quite complex at the same time. It's a really entertaining, interesting and watchable film from start to finish.

 

[Willie Oleson]

DR. NO
A scary spider scene ends with a hilarious killing.

Every hit is accompanied by a John Barry score! I tried it myself but nothing happened.

It's been a long time since I've watched the first Bond movie and I was surprised to see that Dr. NO only shows up in the last installment.
The underwater mansion looks gorgeous in that sixties-kitsch sort of way.


His evil laboratory looks positively wacky, and that's the way I like it.

Everything is labelled which makes me wonder if Alfred Pennyworth had something to do with the design.

But the most jaw-dropping scene happens in THUNDERBALL.
The view of James Bond in a towel on a massage/stretching machine is pleasant enough, but when a villain tampers with the speed control....the situation gets out of control.
Our super spy-hero SCREAMS for help; I'm pretty sure this is the first and also the last time he does that.

But why do electric/hydraulic/heat devices in films always have a Danger Mode? What's the point of it if you're not supposed to use it?
Anyway, someone should edit this into a 10 hours shaken-not-stirred video.