Viewed April 15, 2006
Gidget is a cute little film and may just be the progenitor of the entire “beach” film genre. It tells the story of young Francis Lawrence (played by squeeky clean Sandra Dee). Unwilling to shamelessly chase boys like her friends, she becomes interested in surfing and is “adopted” by a […]
Viewed April 12, 2006
My Favorite Spy is the third and final of Bob Hope’s “My Favorite” movies (after 1942’s My Favorite Blonde and 1947’s My Favorite Brunette) and probably suffers somewhat from comparisons to those films.
My Favorite Spy is a classic example of an impersonation comedy. In this case, Hope’s Peanuts White, a burlesque […]
Viewed April 11, 2006
What a surprise 13 Going On 30 turned out to be. While I was hoping to find it mildy amusing, I certainly didn’t expect to see such a strong, well though out film. It wasn’t marketed as anything more than “Big with a girl”, but I think it’s somewhat deeper […]
Viewed April 6, 2006
Sense and Sensibility is another one of those films that I haven’t bothered to watch, even though I don’t really have anything against it. Jane Austen just doesn’t really appeal to me. That said, I found this adaptation to be excellent.
Most of the credit goes to Emma Thompson, who not […]
Viewed April 3, 2006
They say that in the years following the death of Walt Disney, the company that bears his name became listless and without direction. It, in fact, became something of a joke in the industry, unable to make any serious headway at the box office or in people’s minds. Well, if […]
Viewed March 28, 2006
Anything Else is something of a return to form for Woody Allen. A hallmark of his more recent work has been a certain looseness in his style. Both his camera work and scripts have been much less precise than they were in the past. Anything Else may not stand […]
Viewed March 27, 2006
After watching and thouroughly enjoying the original Love Affair, I became determined to watch all of the remakes before the 356 Films project is over. First up is perhaps the most famous incarnation of the story, An Affair To Remember.
It’s always interesting to see how different filmmakers handle what is essentially […]
Viewed February 27, 2006
It’s impossible for me to watch All Creatures Great and Small without thinking of the long-running TV series of the same name. Based on the novels by James Herriot (real name Alf Wight), the series was a staple in my house from its first airings on public television. The characters […]
Viewed February 22, 2006
Love Affair is the kind of movie that can cut right through my hard, acerbic, wise-cracking exterior and expose my soft, romantic underbelly.
The story (later remade as An Affair To Remember (1957) and again as Love Affair (1994)) is somewhat melodramatic, but the humor brought to it by the leads more than […]
Viewed January 30, 2006
I avoided Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when it first came out mostly because it was friggin’ everywhere. I had already seen more than my fair share of Hong Kong martial arts/revenge flicks, so I was dumbfounded at the treatment the film recieved. I didn’t see anything in the trailers or […]
Viewed January 29, 2006
Watching the (so far) mostly disappointing Roscoe Arbuckle / Buster Keaton shorts put me in the mind to see something with a bit more substance. The only Keaton feature that I owned, but had not seen, was his final film before going to work for MGM, Steamboat Bill, Jr., so I […]
Viewed January 13, 2006
Okay, so I’ve been on a bit of a “Kong” kick this past week. After watching the new King Kong (2005) in theaters and the original on DVD, I was in the mood for more giant gorilla antics, so I also watched the two classic follow-up pictures. (I’ll save King […]
Viewed January 12, 2006
What do you do when you’ve just produced a groundbreaking film that captivates audiences and inspires a generation of filmmakers? Obviously, you pump out a quickie sequel using the same sets, models and as many actors as you can round up. So when RKO and producer / director Merian […]
Viewed January 11, 2006
Since I will be writing a full-blown review of King Kong for theLogBook.com, I’m going to just state a few observations about Peter Jackson’s $200M remake.
If Peter Jackson loves the original King Kong (1933) so much, why did he feel the need to change it’s fundamental theme and why does he portray […]
Viewed January 6, 2006
The Butcher Boy stars silent screen legend Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and marks the screen debut of Buster Keaton, who would eventually far eclipse his friend in both popularity and influence. Already a popular vaudville star when he met Arbuckle, Keaton became immediately fascinated with the world of film and agreed […]