*Get the film on Amazon here*
In this WWII comedy, Jack Lemmon plays a Lt. Rip Crandall, who finally gets command of his own ship- a small sailboat with an inexperienced crew. Ensign Tommy Hanson (Rick Nelson) is his second in command, and the ship must sail. This lightweight comedy is not over-the-top hysterical, but not bad, either.
The breezy feel of the film is helped by an almost complete lack of plot. Crandall takes the boat through dangerous waters watched by the Japanese, picks up an Australian spy who tracks Japanese navy positions from the jungle, and sails him to the jungle. The ship is captured, and our heroes must try to escape. Aside from the Japanese, the only other conflict is between Crandall and the hard nosed Lt. Foster (Richard Anderson), who is ready to take over the sailboat. The film works mostly because of Lemmon. He is so good and so likable here, you forget little things like a romantic subplot that never pans out. Nelson even finds a chance to croon a song, giving us a break from the loud, unsubtle musical score.
Despite the title, most of the humor here is derived from the men's war situation- not anything terribly wacky happens. There are laughs, two running gags involve people knocking themselves on the head, and a funny one involving Crandall's quest for a decent cup of coffee. Another light moment that is not pounded into the ground- the men dress as natives, complete with grass skirts and coconut shell bras, to fool the enemy into thinking they are a local trading ship. The scene is funny without being racist and offensive. The suspense about the mission is often undermined by a reliance on stock footage to show battle scenes. This is a comedy, yet we are watching actual footage of war, and this is a little unsettling. When director Murphy is allowed to shoot his own action sequences, they work, especially the cruise through the mined harbor.
"The Wackiest Ship in The Army" spawned a television show, and that is about the level of the script. This is nothing that will change your life, but watching Lemmon's comic skills and good nature make this an enjoyable enough time filler. Followed by a TV series.
Stats:
(1960) 99 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Richard Murphy
-Screenplay by Richard Murphy, Screen Story by Herb Margolis & William Raynor, Story by Herbert Carlson
-Cast: Jack Lemmon, Rick Nelson, Richard Anderson, John Lund, Chips Rafferty, Tom Tully, Joby Baker, Warren Berlinger, Patricia Driscoll, Mike Kellin, Alvy Moore, Joseph Gallison, Teru Shimada
(Not Rated)
Saturday, April 5, 2025
The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West (1976)
*Get the film on Amazon here*
To grasp the full awfulness of this western comedy, you could watch the "film," or hunker down with any four episodes of "Gilligan's Island." Either way- zero laughs.
"The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West" is four episodes of the short-lived series "Dusty's Trail" edited together. What was "Dusty's Trail?" Think of it as "Gilligan's Island" out west. Dusty (Bob Denver) is Gilligan, Wagonmaster Callahan (Forrest Tucker) is the Skipper, dance hall girl Lulu (Jeannine Riley, who keeps attempting a Mae West impression and failing miserably) is Ginger, schoolmarm Betsy (Lori Saunders) is Mary Ann, the rich Brookhavens (Ivor Francis and Lynn Wood) are the Howells, and the bland Andy (William Cort) is the Professor. You have probably read this exact same comparison in other reviews, but I thought I was being brilliant when I figured it out. I now realize my toddler could have come to the same conclusion while taking a nap.
The four episodes have little in common, let alone enough to string together into a "movie." The wagon train is captured by Indians after they save the chief's son; Dusty is brought up on horse theft charges after he finds an Appaloosa; Dusty and Callahan dress like women to fool some lonely criminals; and three outlaws take over a town where the wagon train has stopped. The running joke is that the wagon train consists of one stagecoach and one wagon, and they are hopelessly lost. The middle two episodes rely very heavily on unconvincing indoor sets that look suspiciously like a certain tropical island set. Callahan calls the terminal screw-up Dusty "lil' pal" instead of "little buddy." The "film" credits four directors, five writers, and less laughs than a Holocaust film festival. The DVD is in public domain, easily attainable in your local dollar store.
Fight the urge, and avoid "The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West."
Stats:
(1976) 86 min. (0 *) out of five stars
-Directed by Jack Arnold, Earl Bellamy, Bruce Bilson, Oscar Rudolph
-Written by Sherwood Schwartz & Elroy Schwartz & Brad Radnitz & Howard Ostroff & Ron Friedman
-Cast: Bob Denver, Forrest Tucker, Jeannine Riley, Lori Saunders, Ivor Francis, Lynn Wood, William Cort, Eddie Little Sky, Don 'Red' Barry, Buck Young, James Gammon, Ernest Esparza III, Dennis Fimple
(G)
To grasp the full awfulness of this western comedy, you could watch the "film," or hunker down with any four episodes of "Gilligan's Island." Either way- zero laughs.
"The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West" is four episodes of the short-lived series "Dusty's Trail" edited together. What was "Dusty's Trail?" Think of it as "Gilligan's Island" out west. Dusty (Bob Denver) is Gilligan, Wagonmaster Callahan (Forrest Tucker) is the Skipper, dance hall girl Lulu (Jeannine Riley, who keeps attempting a Mae West impression and failing miserably) is Ginger, schoolmarm Betsy (Lori Saunders) is Mary Ann, the rich Brookhavens (Ivor Francis and Lynn Wood) are the Howells, and the bland Andy (William Cort) is the Professor. You have probably read this exact same comparison in other reviews, but I thought I was being brilliant when I figured it out. I now realize my toddler could have come to the same conclusion while taking a nap.
The four episodes have little in common, let alone enough to string together into a "movie." The wagon train is captured by Indians after they save the chief's son; Dusty is brought up on horse theft charges after he finds an Appaloosa; Dusty and Callahan dress like women to fool some lonely criminals; and three outlaws take over a town where the wagon train has stopped. The running joke is that the wagon train consists of one stagecoach and one wagon, and they are hopelessly lost. The middle two episodes rely very heavily on unconvincing indoor sets that look suspiciously like a certain tropical island set. Callahan calls the terminal screw-up Dusty "lil' pal" instead of "little buddy." The "film" credits four directors, five writers, and less laughs than a Holocaust film festival. The DVD is in public domain, easily attainable in your local dollar store.
Fight the urge, and avoid "The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West."
Stats:
(1976) 86 min. (0 *) out of five stars
-Directed by Jack Arnold, Earl Bellamy, Bruce Bilson, Oscar Rudolph
-Written by Sherwood Schwartz & Elroy Schwartz & Brad Radnitz & Howard Ostroff & Ron Friedman
-Cast: Bob Denver, Forrest Tucker, Jeannine Riley, Lori Saunders, Ivor Francis, Lynn Wood, William Cort, Eddie Little Sky, Don 'Red' Barry, Buck Young, James Gammon, Ernest Esparza III, Dennis Fimple
(G)
Warrior Queen (1987)
*Get the film on Amazon here*
This godawful nightmare goes down in my personal cinematic history as one of the worst films I have ever seen.
Sybil Danning is Queen Berenice, who according to the plot summary, moves amongst the royalty in ancient Pompeii, secretly helping slaves escape from their masters. She is kowtowed to by Clodius (Donald Pleasence, hamming it up for that sweet payday), but in all actuality she doesn't really "help" any of the slaves escape thanks to the local volcano and an absolute buttload of stock footage.
Coming from director Chuck Vincent, and featuring an adult film star (Samantha Fox, who gives an okay performance), a certain level of cheesiness could be expected, but the film makers don't take advantage of their Italian locations, and don't seem to be trying to make a coherent film. This is a shortened 69 minute version (which feels twice as long), and I don't want to hunt down the 79 minutes director's cut anytime soon. At one point, Danning is yawning at Pleasence's efforts to impress her, and I thought maybe she was viewing a rough cut of the film to get her somnambulist reaction. Like Pleasence, she shows up for the check, delivering a handful of lines and taking part in embarrassingly staged fights. Watch out for bouncing boulders and smoke machines...
Stats:
(1987) 69 min. (0 *) out of five stars
-Directed by Chuck Vincent
-Screenplay by Rick Marx, Original Story by Harry Alan Towers
-Cast: Sybil Danning, Donald Pleasence, Samantha Fox, Rick Hill, Josephine Jacqueline Jones, Tally Chanel, Suzanna Smith, David Brandon, Mario Cruciani, Marco Tullio Cau
(R)
This godawful nightmare goes down in my personal cinematic history as one of the worst films I have ever seen.
Sybil Danning is Queen Berenice, who according to the plot summary, moves amongst the royalty in ancient Pompeii, secretly helping slaves escape from their masters. She is kowtowed to by Clodius (Donald Pleasence, hamming it up for that sweet payday), but in all actuality she doesn't really "help" any of the slaves escape thanks to the local volcano and an absolute buttload of stock footage.
Coming from director Chuck Vincent, and featuring an adult film star (Samantha Fox, who gives an okay performance), a certain level of cheesiness could be expected, but the film makers don't take advantage of their Italian locations, and don't seem to be trying to make a coherent film. This is a shortened 69 minute version (which feels twice as long), and I don't want to hunt down the 79 minutes director's cut anytime soon. At one point, Danning is yawning at Pleasence's efforts to impress her, and I thought maybe she was viewing a rough cut of the film to get her somnambulist reaction. Like Pleasence, she shows up for the check, delivering a handful of lines and taking part in embarrassingly staged fights. Watch out for bouncing boulders and smoke machines...
Stats:
(1987) 69 min. (0 *) out of five stars
-Directed by Chuck Vincent
-Screenplay by Rick Marx, Original Story by Harry Alan Towers
-Cast: Sybil Danning, Donald Pleasence, Samantha Fox, Rick Hill, Josephine Jacqueline Jones, Tally Chanel, Suzanna Smith, David Brandon, Mario Cruciani, Marco Tullio Cau
(R)
Way of the Puck (2006)
*Watch the film on Amazon Prime here*
Ever since "The King of Kong" was released, documentaries about passionate people participating in niche gaming tournaments or odd hobbies have come out of the woodwork: fooseball, air guitar, Olympic pin collecting, even rock-paper-scissors (which inspired the very funny mockumentary "The Flying Scissors"). Along comes "Way of the Puck," and like any supreme mainstream sports film, the viewer will find themselves sucked right in.
Shot by Eric D. Anderson, the film centers around four players who love air hockey, the game of plastic pucks and mallets played on a table dotted with tiny air holes so the puck can slightly levitate. Mark is the guru of the game. His father was an executive in the gaming business, and Mark took his love of air hockey and made the sport his life's work. He never married, and has a huge archive of material from almost three decades of competition. Tim is a clinical psychologist who was the young whippersnapper champion back in the day. He still competes, but also has a wife and kids, and must face the reality of life. Poor Andy is an artist and has been competing for years, although he has never won a tournament. His visibly disapproving wife Anna isn't very supportive, but Andy keeps plugging away, organizing tournaments and chasing that elusive first place trophy. Michael is the almost-villainous commissioner of a rival air hockey league. He wants to make money at the venture, and still competes in tournaments trying to drum up attention to the sport. The viewer will quickly realize Michael also loves the game, and his fresh ideas might work since not much else has. Anderson follows these four men through a few months in their air hockey lives, culminating with a big world championship tournament in Chicago. The suspense leading up to the event is real, and I found myself glued to the screen.
Although the films starts as a confused mish-mash of names and faces, Anderson quickly turns to his four subjects, and the film settles down a bit. These guys are achingly normal, and I found myself sympathizing with them immediately. They aren't pitiful by any stretch of the imagination; their love for the table game is genuine and a pleasure to watch. Many scenes stand out, especially the history of how air hockey was invented, told by half a dozen different people, and the intense Venezuelan contingent that briefly took the tournaments by storm. Anderson's pacing is almost as fast as the game, but even if you have never seen an air hockey table before, you'll enjoy this film. The musical score credited to Aaron Solomon, Brian Hawlk, and The Santiago Steps, is dead-on, and the use of archival and stock footage is perfect. I found all four men simply fascinating, and it was fun to have a philosopher put all of this into cosmic perspective.
If documentaries like "The King of Kong" and "Way of the Puck" are going to keep coming out, and be this good, then keep them coming. Praise the table!
Stats:
(2006) 81 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Eric D. Anderson
-Featuring Mark Robbins, Michael Rosen, Tim Weissman, Andrew P.C. Yevish, Lou Marinoff
(Not Rated)
Ever since "The King of Kong" was released, documentaries about passionate people participating in niche gaming tournaments or odd hobbies have come out of the woodwork: fooseball, air guitar, Olympic pin collecting, even rock-paper-scissors (which inspired the very funny mockumentary "The Flying Scissors"). Along comes "Way of the Puck," and like any supreme mainstream sports film, the viewer will find themselves sucked right in.
Shot by Eric D. Anderson, the film centers around four players who love air hockey, the game of plastic pucks and mallets played on a table dotted with tiny air holes so the puck can slightly levitate. Mark is the guru of the game. His father was an executive in the gaming business, and Mark took his love of air hockey and made the sport his life's work. He never married, and has a huge archive of material from almost three decades of competition. Tim is a clinical psychologist who was the young whippersnapper champion back in the day. He still competes, but also has a wife and kids, and must face the reality of life. Poor Andy is an artist and has been competing for years, although he has never won a tournament. His visibly disapproving wife Anna isn't very supportive, but Andy keeps plugging away, organizing tournaments and chasing that elusive first place trophy. Michael is the almost-villainous commissioner of a rival air hockey league. He wants to make money at the venture, and still competes in tournaments trying to drum up attention to the sport. The viewer will quickly realize Michael also loves the game, and his fresh ideas might work since not much else has. Anderson follows these four men through a few months in their air hockey lives, culminating with a big world championship tournament in Chicago. The suspense leading up to the event is real, and I found myself glued to the screen.
Although the films starts as a confused mish-mash of names and faces, Anderson quickly turns to his four subjects, and the film settles down a bit. These guys are achingly normal, and I found myself sympathizing with them immediately. They aren't pitiful by any stretch of the imagination; their love for the table game is genuine and a pleasure to watch. Many scenes stand out, especially the history of how air hockey was invented, told by half a dozen different people, and the intense Venezuelan contingent that briefly took the tournaments by storm. Anderson's pacing is almost as fast as the game, but even if you have never seen an air hockey table before, you'll enjoy this film. The musical score credited to Aaron Solomon, Brian Hawlk, and The Santiago Steps, is dead-on, and the use of archival and stock footage is perfect. I found all four men simply fascinating, and it was fun to have a philosopher put all of this into cosmic perspective.
If documentaries like "The King of Kong" and "Way of the Puck" are going to keep coming out, and be this good, then keep them coming. Praise the table!
Stats:
(2006) 81 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Eric D. Anderson
-Featuring Mark Robbins, Michael Rosen, Tim Weissman, Andrew P.C. Yevish, Lou Marinoff
(Not Rated)
The Werewolf Reborn! (1998)
*Watch the film on Amazon Prime here*
Charles Band of Full Moon Entertainment creates and executive produces the second of a proposed series of twelve films resurrecting great monsters of the past. The films were so bad, he only was able to get two made.
With a story that is a carbon copy of "Frankenstein Reborn," young and cute Eleanor (Ashley Tesoro) goes to Romania to visit her Uncle Peter (Robin Atkin Downes) while her parents are at a diplomatic conference. Everyone in the village hates Peter. Eleanor finds out it is because he turns into a werewolf every time the poorly rendered moon special effect is full. The villagers, led by Inspector Krol (Len Lesser), finally arrest Peter and toss him in jail, despite Eleanor's warnings that Peter will change again. A local gypsy boy (Bogdan Cambera) and his grandmother (Lucia Maier) get Eleanor the much needed gun and silver bullets, but Eleanor cannot bring herself to shoot her uncle.
As with "Frankenstein Reborn," "The Werewolf Reborn" has an "approximate" running time on the video cassette of seventy minutes. This running time includes previews for other films, plus a "making of" documentary for both films. Take these padding extras away and the film runs less than an hour. Charles Band wanted to create a new film series along the lines of "Goosebumps," and commissioned screenplays. This film sucks. Jeff Burr is a genre director who has done good work in the past, but here I firmly believe he was given a buck fifty and twenty-four hours to shoot this thing. Burr tries to make things interesting, but overuses shots involving mirrors (you see? werewolves are like dual personalities! brilliant!), and I even saw a boom microphone in one jail scene. The cast, for what it is worth, is okay. Tesoro can cry at all the right times. Downes growls at all the right times. Len Lesser reminds you that he played Uncle Leon on "Seinfeld" at all the wrong times. The screenplay is a joke. It dumbs down the werewolf story for kids. The band of angry villagers see the werewolf kill in the night, yet still do not believe Eleanor's warnings that her uncle is going to change. If they do not believe her, then why does everyone hate Peter? Krol blames Eleanor's predictions on too much television. Do you remember "The Naked Gun"? In one funny fight scene, a pillow is thrown at Frank Drebin, and he wrestles with it like his life depended on it. Here, werewolf Peter has a blanket thrown over his head, and wrestles with it long enough for Eleanor to get away. Oh, and don't worry, I have not spoiled the film for you. The fact that Peter is the werewolf is no secret. This film is so brief there are no mysteries, or laughs, or suspense, or gore, or good things.
"The Werewolf Reborn!" is another victim of Full Moon Entertainment's backward film making. The company gets an "original idea" from Band, comes up with cool posters, schedules to shoot everything at its studio in Romania, then shirks the viewer when it comes to the screenplay and direction. Full Moon Entertainment used to put out goofy but sometimes entertaining straight-to-video stuff, but Band finally bit off more than he could chew.
Stats:
(1998) 60 min. (1/2 *) out of five stars
-Directed by Jeff Burr
-Written by Neal Marshall Stevens
-Cast: Ashley Tesoro, Robin Atkin Downes, Les Lesser, Bogdan Cambera, Lucia Maier
(PG)
Charles Band of Full Moon Entertainment creates and executive produces the second of a proposed series of twelve films resurrecting great monsters of the past. The films were so bad, he only was able to get two made.
With a story that is a carbon copy of "Frankenstein Reborn," young and cute Eleanor (Ashley Tesoro) goes to Romania to visit her Uncle Peter (Robin Atkin Downes) while her parents are at a diplomatic conference. Everyone in the village hates Peter. Eleanor finds out it is because he turns into a werewolf every time the poorly rendered moon special effect is full. The villagers, led by Inspector Krol (Len Lesser), finally arrest Peter and toss him in jail, despite Eleanor's warnings that Peter will change again. A local gypsy boy (Bogdan Cambera) and his grandmother (Lucia Maier) get Eleanor the much needed gun and silver bullets, but Eleanor cannot bring herself to shoot her uncle.
As with "Frankenstein Reborn," "The Werewolf Reborn" has an "approximate" running time on the video cassette of seventy minutes. This running time includes previews for other films, plus a "making of" documentary for both films. Take these padding extras away and the film runs less than an hour. Charles Band wanted to create a new film series along the lines of "Goosebumps," and commissioned screenplays. This film sucks. Jeff Burr is a genre director who has done good work in the past, but here I firmly believe he was given a buck fifty and twenty-four hours to shoot this thing. Burr tries to make things interesting, but overuses shots involving mirrors (you see? werewolves are like dual personalities! brilliant!), and I even saw a boom microphone in one jail scene. The cast, for what it is worth, is okay. Tesoro can cry at all the right times. Downes growls at all the right times. Len Lesser reminds you that he played Uncle Leon on "Seinfeld" at all the wrong times. The screenplay is a joke. It dumbs down the werewolf story for kids. The band of angry villagers see the werewolf kill in the night, yet still do not believe Eleanor's warnings that her uncle is going to change. If they do not believe her, then why does everyone hate Peter? Krol blames Eleanor's predictions on too much television. Do you remember "The Naked Gun"? In one funny fight scene, a pillow is thrown at Frank Drebin, and he wrestles with it like his life depended on it. Here, werewolf Peter has a blanket thrown over his head, and wrestles with it long enough for Eleanor to get away. Oh, and don't worry, I have not spoiled the film for you. The fact that Peter is the werewolf is no secret. This film is so brief there are no mysteries, or laughs, or suspense, or gore, or good things.
"The Werewolf Reborn!" is another victim of Full Moon Entertainment's backward film making. The company gets an "original idea" from Band, comes up with cool posters, schedules to shoot everything at its studio in Romania, then shirks the viewer when it comes to the screenplay and direction. Full Moon Entertainment used to put out goofy but sometimes entertaining straight-to-video stuff, but Band finally bit off more than he could chew.
Stats:
(1998) 60 min. (1/2 *) out of five stars
-Directed by Jeff Burr
-Written by Neal Marshall Stevens
-Cast: Ashley Tesoro, Robin Atkin Downes, Les Lesser, Bogdan Cambera, Lucia Maier
(PG)
Thursday, April 3, 2025
West Side Story (1961)
*Get the film on Amazon here*
This overrated classic musical lifts Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" storyline, and muddles it with a cold romance and street gangs that were dated even at the film's world premiere.
Riff (Russ Tamblyn) is the leader of the Jets, who are constantly having run-ins with Bernardo's (George Chakiris) Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. Planes and fish don't mix, and things come to a head when the gangs are at a dance and Bernardo's sister Maria (Natalie Wood) meets the Jets' cofounder and Riff's best friend, Tony (Richard Beymer). Tony is trying to clean up his act, backing away from all the street dancing, but he is immediately smitten with Maria. A Jet and a Shark cannot be lovers, and since no one in the film has read "Romeo and Juliet," no one knows what will happen. Eventually, the film does ape Shakespeare, partially.
The positives are what made the film a classic. The songs are excellent, using Stephen Sondheim's lyrics to carry the emotions of the characters. The dancing and ballet choreography is superb. It may seem silly to have street gangs dance-fighting, but the pure athleticism on the part of the dancers is fantastic. Rarely have dance numbers been so physical, and so grand.
On the downside, the main romance takes place way too quickly. This is quicker than a whirlwind romance, this is a tornado wrapped in a cyclone being blown by a wind machine. The speed of the relationship, a day, takes any sympathy for Tony and Maria away from the viewer. Leonard Bernstein's music is good in the songs, but not as incidental background noise. He thinks he is scoring a bombastic Broadway song even in quiet moments. The pacing is a little slow, as this marked the beginning of the two and a half hour widescreen musical genre that spawned such bloated cinematic drivel as "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," "Paint Your Wagon," and "Doctor Doolittle."
"West Side Story" is not a perfect classic, and not a dud. It is squarely in the middle of the spectrum. If anything troubles the viewer, it is wondering how this film beat out "Judgement at Nuremburg" for the Best Picture Oscar. Followed by a remake.
Stats:
(1961) 153 min. (* * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
-Screenplay by Ernest Lehman, Book by Arthur Laurents, Play by Jerome Robbins
-Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Simon Oakland, Ned Glass, William Bramley, Tucker Smith, Tony Mordente, David Winters, Eliot Feld, Bert Michaels
(Not Rated)
*Academy Awards*
-Best Picture (won)
-Best Supporting Actor- George Chakiris (won)
-Best Supporting Actress- Rita Moreno (won)
-Best Director (won)
-Best Adapted Screenplay (lost to "Judgment at Nuremburg")
-Best Cinematography- Color (won)
-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration- Color (won)
-Best Costume Design- Color (won)
-Best Sound (won)
-Best Film Editing (won)
-Best Music, Scoring of a Musical (won)
*BAFTA*
-Best Film from Any Source (lost to "Lawrence of Arabia")
This overrated classic musical lifts Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" storyline, and muddles it with a cold romance and street gangs that were dated even at the film's world premiere.
Riff (Russ Tamblyn) is the leader of the Jets, who are constantly having run-ins with Bernardo's (George Chakiris) Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. Planes and fish don't mix, and things come to a head when the gangs are at a dance and Bernardo's sister Maria (Natalie Wood) meets the Jets' cofounder and Riff's best friend, Tony (Richard Beymer). Tony is trying to clean up his act, backing away from all the street dancing, but he is immediately smitten with Maria. A Jet and a Shark cannot be lovers, and since no one in the film has read "Romeo and Juliet," no one knows what will happen. Eventually, the film does ape Shakespeare, partially.
The positives are what made the film a classic. The songs are excellent, using Stephen Sondheim's lyrics to carry the emotions of the characters. The dancing and ballet choreography is superb. It may seem silly to have street gangs dance-fighting, but the pure athleticism on the part of the dancers is fantastic. Rarely have dance numbers been so physical, and so grand.
On the downside, the main romance takes place way too quickly. This is quicker than a whirlwind romance, this is a tornado wrapped in a cyclone being blown by a wind machine. The speed of the relationship, a day, takes any sympathy for Tony and Maria away from the viewer. Leonard Bernstein's music is good in the songs, but not as incidental background noise. He thinks he is scoring a bombastic Broadway song even in quiet moments. The pacing is a little slow, as this marked the beginning of the two and a half hour widescreen musical genre that spawned such bloated cinematic drivel as "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," "Paint Your Wagon," and "Doctor Doolittle."
"West Side Story" is not a perfect classic, and not a dud. It is squarely in the middle of the spectrum. If anything troubles the viewer, it is wondering how this film beat out "Judgement at Nuremburg" for the Best Picture Oscar. Followed by a remake.
Stats:
(1961) 153 min. (* * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
-Screenplay by Ernest Lehman, Book by Arthur Laurents, Play by Jerome Robbins
-Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Simon Oakland, Ned Glass, William Bramley, Tucker Smith, Tony Mordente, David Winters, Eliot Feld, Bert Michaels
(Not Rated)
*Academy Awards*
-Best Picture (won)
-Best Supporting Actor- George Chakiris (won)
-Best Supporting Actress- Rita Moreno (won)
-Best Director (won)
-Best Adapted Screenplay (lost to "Judgment at Nuremburg")
-Best Cinematography- Color (won)
-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration- Color (won)
-Best Costume Design- Color (won)
-Best Sound (won)
-Best Film Editing (won)
-Best Music, Scoring of a Musical (won)
*BAFTA*
-Best Film from Any Source (lost to "Lawrence of Arabia")
Whatever Makes You Happy (2010)
*Get the film on Amazon here*
Hollywood romances are a dime a dozen, but this independent drama, loosely based on "Anna Karenina," is about normal characters in a new loving relationship- and it's a refreshing change of pace.
Anna (Rachel Delante) is a graduate student living with her boyfriend Kevin (Jon Miquel) in Boston. Their relationship is mundane, neither happy nor sad. Anna's brother Steve (Jason Lane Fenton) is in a relationship with her best friend Donna (Kerri Patterson). The bickering couple are not very inspirational to anyone they come in contact with. Anna meets musician Alex (Tyler Peck), and the sparks fly. Anna hesitates before finally pursuing a clandestine affair with Alex, and both of their lives begin to be affected, as well as their relationships with friends and family.
A.T. Sayre has gone the micro-budget route to get his story told, and the viewer is better for it. Floors creak, there are no "sets"- apartments are small and cramped, and the cast is not decked out in designer clothes or driving sparkling automobiles. This lends gravitas and realism to Sayre's plot, and held my interest. The first forty minutes of the film are a mess, full of peripheral characters and some life minutiae that bored me silly, but once Alex and Anna meet and begin their relationship, Sayre gets down to business and I was engaged. Delante and Peck are very natural, and make Anna and Alex seem natural together. I liked their scenes together. The rest of the supporting cast is very good, from Anna's circle of friends- Miguel has a fantastic scene confronting Anna and Alex, to Alex's increasingly ticked-off bandmates. The title of the film hints at a selfishness Anna and Alex are falling victim to, but I never disliked them or their affair.
"Whatever Makes You Happy" has a few hiccups here and there, but it is a solid effort.
Stats:
(2010) 120 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by A.T. Sayre
-Cast: Rachel Delante, Tyler Peck, Jon Miquel, Jason Lane Fenton, Kerri Patterson, Jamie Renee Smith, Kachina Dechert, Phil Berry, Vanessa Leigh, Irina Peligrad, Dana Jay Bein, Mike Hastings, Casey Preston
(Not Rated)
Hollywood romances are a dime a dozen, but this independent drama, loosely based on "Anna Karenina," is about normal characters in a new loving relationship- and it's a refreshing change of pace.
Anna (Rachel Delante) is a graduate student living with her boyfriend Kevin (Jon Miquel) in Boston. Their relationship is mundane, neither happy nor sad. Anna's brother Steve (Jason Lane Fenton) is in a relationship with her best friend Donna (Kerri Patterson). The bickering couple are not very inspirational to anyone they come in contact with. Anna meets musician Alex (Tyler Peck), and the sparks fly. Anna hesitates before finally pursuing a clandestine affair with Alex, and both of their lives begin to be affected, as well as their relationships with friends and family.
A.T. Sayre has gone the micro-budget route to get his story told, and the viewer is better for it. Floors creak, there are no "sets"- apartments are small and cramped, and the cast is not decked out in designer clothes or driving sparkling automobiles. This lends gravitas and realism to Sayre's plot, and held my interest. The first forty minutes of the film are a mess, full of peripheral characters and some life minutiae that bored me silly, but once Alex and Anna meet and begin their relationship, Sayre gets down to business and I was engaged. Delante and Peck are very natural, and make Anna and Alex seem natural together. I liked their scenes together. The rest of the supporting cast is very good, from Anna's circle of friends- Miguel has a fantastic scene confronting Anna and Alex, to Alex's increasingly ticked-off bandmates. The title of the film hints at a selfishness Anna and Alex are falling victim to, but I never disliked them or their affair.
"Whatever Makes You Happy" has a few hiccups here and there, but it is a solid effort.
Stats:
(2010) 120 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by A.T. Sayre
-Cast: Rachel Delante, Tyler Peck, Jon Miquel, Jason Lane Fenton, Kerri Patterson, Jamie Renee Smith, Kachina Dechert, Phil Berry, Vanessa Leigh, Irina Peligrad, Dana Jay Bein, Mike Hastings, Casey Preston
(Not Rated)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960)
* Get the film on Amazon here * In this WWII comedy, Jack Lemmon plays a Lt. Rip Crandall, who finally gets command of his own ship- a sma...
-
# 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck (2012) 101 Dalmatians (1996) 101 Love Positions (2001) 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (...
-
* Get the film on Amazon here * Billy Bob Thornton plays Darl, a sheriff in a backwater Louisiana town who investigates a murder with plen...
-
* Get the film on Amazon here * In 1973, John Wayne continued making safe, similar westerns that really did nothing to change the genre, e...
