The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie
February 7, 2014
Warner Bros. etc.
Children's, Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
DVD
B+

I didn't see this at the time it came out, although the trailer looked good.  I didn't see it until this past summer, when I laughed my head off.  I'm not into the Lego culture, and I didn't get every joke in this, but I found it to be one of the best scripts in years, both witty and thought-provoking.  That I had absolutely no expectations made it all the more enjoyable, although on this second viewing I felt it held up very well.  Also, the look is wonderful, all CGI but looking like it's made from actual Lego bricks.

The movie is full of contradictions, like the "Everything Is Awesome" song that is both annoying and catchy, or annoying because it's catchy, with lyrics that boost both mindless conformity and creative teamwork.  It's a corporate production set in a sunny dystopia run by a fascist capitalist, who turns out to be a redeemable bad guy.  Normally, I have a low tolerance for Will Ferrell, but he does well with both his in-universe villain and the live-action father.  There are serious themes, but mostly it's a giddy, quotable, fast-paced ride.  I don't know that it would stand up to multiple viewings and I can't say I fell in love with it, so I won't say A-, but it's definitely at least a B+.

The voice-acting obviously is a big part of the enjoyment of the movie, with the stand-out being Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius, wise and hilarious.  Elizabeth Banks, who voices Wyldstyle, was Beth in 40 Year Old Virgin.  Liam Neeson provides the voices for Bad Cop, Good Cop, and Pa Cop.  Charlie Day is Benny.  Jonah Hill voices Green Lantern.  Dave Franco, who was Perry in Warm Bodies, does Wally.  Chris Romano was Little Druid in This Is Spinal Tap and does the voice of Joe here.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
July 7, 2011
Warner Bros.
Fantasy, Action
DVD
C+

Harry Potter regulars:

1. Afshan Azad as Padma Patil
2. David Bradley as Argus Filch
3. Scarlett Byrne as Pansy Parkinson
4. Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown
5. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
6. Louis Cordice as Blaise Zabini
7. Warwick Davis as Griphook/ Professor Filius Flitwick
8. Alfred Enoch as Dean Thomas
9. Amber Evans as Twin Girl 1
10. Ruby Evans as Twin Girl 2
11. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
12. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
13. Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore
14. Domnhall Gleeson as Bill Weasley
15. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
16. George Harris as Kingsley Shacklebolt
17. Guy Henry as Pius Thicknesse
18. Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
19. John Hurt as Ollivander
20. Ralph Ineson as Amycus Carrow
21. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy
22. Isabella Laughland as Leanne
23. Dave Legeno as Fenrir Greyback
24. Georgina Leonidas as Katie Bell
25. Katie Leung as Cho Chang
26. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
27. Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood
28. Helen McCrory as Narcissa Malfoy
29. William Melling as Nigel
30. Nick Moran as Scabior
31. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan
32. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black
33. James Phelps as Fred Weasley
34. Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
35. Leslie Phillips as the voice of the Sorting Hat
36. Clémence Poésy as Fleur Delacour
37. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
38. Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley
39. Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
40. Anna Shaffer as Romilda Vane
41. Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
42. Timothy Spall as Wormtail
43. Freddie Stroma as Cormac McLaggen
44. Natalie Tena as Nymphadora Tonks
45. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin
46. Suzanne Toase as Alecto Carrow
47. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
48. Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley
49. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley

Also, Christian Coulson and Ian Hart appear as Tom Riddle and Professor Quirinus Quirrell in archival footage.  Kelly Macdonald of Gosford Park appears as Helena Ravenclaw.  Gemma Jones and Miriam Margolyes are back, although not given much to do.  I put as many people under tags as I could.

While it's nice to see everybody one last time, I do feel that this is the weakest movie in the series since Goblet of Fire, and like that entry, it is sometimes unintentionally funny, as with the horrible makeup that Rickman wears both in present day and in flashbacks.  (I don't care that he was in his 60s.  It's distracting to see his expressive face puttied over like that.)  Also, the finale has far too many action sequences, which was perhaps true of the last third of the book, but there were more moments of humour and pathos.  Not that those elements are entirely missing, but the film does feel off and unbalanced at times.  (I do like Julie Walters's silent reaction to Maggie's Smith's "I've always wanted to do that," as if she still remembers McGonagall as her teacher some thirty years ago.)  The series as a whole still averages out to a B, and it remains an impressive achievement overall.

Lisa Osmond and Mark Sealey were also Gringotts Goblins back in the first movie.  Rusty Goffee was an Oompa-Loompa in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as well as a Goblin here and in Order of the Phoenix.  Jamie Dunlop is a Wizard, as he was in the first two movies.  Paul Davies is a Death Eater, as he was in Fire, Half-Blood Prince, and DH1.  Death Eaters who are just in the two Hallows parts are Jon Campling, Graham Duff, Emil Hostina, Tony Kirwood (also in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Penelope McGhie, Ashley McGuire, Peter G. Reed, Granville Saxton, Judith Sharp, and Bob Yves Van Hellenberg.  Ninette Finch was an unidentified extra in Prince but is Augusta Longbottom here.  Arthur Bowen was Boy at Chestnut Stand in Prince, but has the more prominent role of Albus Severus Potter here.  Sarah Jane O'Neill was a Ministry Wizard in DH1 but is a Wizard Parent here.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
November 11, 2010
Warner Bros.
Fantasy, Action, Drama
DVD
B

The Harry Potter regulars this time (* means newbie who will be back for the finale):

1. Afshan Azad as Padma Patil
2. Arben Bajraktraj as Antonin Dolohov (formerly playing an unidentified Death Eater)
3. Scarlett Byrne as Pansy Parkinson
4. Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown
5. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
6. Louis Cordice as Blaise Zabini
7. Warwick Davis as Griphook (new to the role)
8. Francis de la Tour as Madame Maxime
9. Amber Evans as Twin Girl #1
10. Ruby Evans as Twin Girl #2
11. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
12. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
13. Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore
14. Brendan Gleeson as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
15. Domnhall Gleeson as Bill Weasley*
16. Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley
17. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
18. George Harris as Kingsley Shacklebolt
19. Guy Henry as Pius Thicknesse*
20. Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
21. Rod Hunt as Thorfinn Rowle
22. John Hurt as Ollivander
23. Stanislav Ianevski as Viktor Krum
24. Ralph Ineson as Amycus Carrow
25. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy
26. Toby Jones as the voice of Dobby
27. Isabella Laughland as Leanne
28. David Legeno as Greyback
29. Georgina Leonidas as Katie Bell
30. Katie Leung as Cho Chang
31. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
32. Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood
33. Angelica Mandy as Gabrielle Delacour
34. Helen McCrory as Narcissa Malfoy
35. Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
36. Nick Moran as Scabior*
37. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan
38. James Phelps as Fred Weasley
39. Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
40. Clémence Poésy as Fleur Delacour
41. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
42. Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
43. Anna Shaffer as Romilda Vane
44. Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley
45. Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
46. Timothy Spall as Wormtail
47. Freddie Stroma as Cormac McLaggen
48. Natalie Tena as Nymphadora Tonks
49. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin
50. Suzanne Toase as Alecto Carrow
51. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
52. Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley
53. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley

Also, Miranda Richardson appears in photographs as Rita Skeeter.  Rhys Ifans appears as Luna's father Xenophilius, and Bill Nighy as Minister Rufus Scrimgeour, both very different roles than in Pirate Radio.  Other regulars who've done others of my films are under the tags.

My review of the book is here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2014/01/harry-potter-and-deathly-hallows.html.  The movie isn't as good but it is as solid as most of the series.  I think both the action scenes and the more dramatic scenes work, as do the moments of humour, such as the Seven Harrys transformation.  The sets and costumes, including at the wedding, are just right.  The most impressive visual aspect, however, is the animation for "The Tale of the Three Brothers." The central trio are all at the top of their game, which matters since much of the movie is about just the three of them, and even when they interact with others their dynamic matters.  Ironically, one of my favorite sections is the Ministry raid, where they've been Polyjuiced into middle-aged adults (Emma Thompson's sister Sophie among them).

What doesn't work?  Well, no offense to Nick Moran, but I don't see why the character of Scabior is built up here and in Part 2, when there are other Death Eaters (including Greyback) who could've been used more.  Also, with all the plot threads to be tied up in the finale, giving Harry the fragment of Sirius's mirror without explanation is odd.  And other details are rushed through, such as the eye on Umbridge's door.  Still, these are quibbles and this is the better half of Hallows onscreen.

Daisy Haggard is the voice of the Ministry Lift, as she was in Order of the Phoenix.   Elliott Francis is again a Slug Club Member, as he was in Half-Blood Prince.  Ifeoma Oboko was in Gryffindor in Prince but is just a School Child here.  Sarah Jane O'Neill is a Ministry Wizard here but would be a Wizard Parent in Part 2.   Paul Davies is a Death Eater, as he was in Goblet of Fire and Prince, and would be again in the finale.  Graham Duff, Emil Hostina, Tony Kirwood (who was Finckelgruber in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Penelope McGhie, Ashley McGuire, Peter G. Reed, Granville Saxton, Judith Sharp, and Bob Yves Van Hellenberg would all return as Death Eaters.

And Rose Keegan was Emma Pagent in Grint's Driving Lessons, while she's Red-Haired Witch here.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
July 11, 2007
Warner Bros.
Fantasy, Drama, Action
DVD
B

Harry Potter regulars this time (* for newbies):

1. Afshan Azad as Padma Patil
2. Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange*
3. David Bradley as Argus Filch
4. Shefali Chowdhury as Parvati Patil
5. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
6. Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick
7. Alfred Enoch as Dean Thomas
8. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
9. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
10. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore
11. Brendan Gleeson as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
12. Richard Griffiths as Uncle Vernon Dursley
13. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
14. Robert Hardy as Cornelius Fudge
15. George Harris as Kingsley Shacklebolt*
16. Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
17. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy
18. Katie Leung as Cho Chang
19. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
20. Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood*
21. Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
22. William Melling as Nigel
23. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black
24. Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory
25. James Phelps as Fred Weasley
26. Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
27. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan
28. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
29. Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley
30. Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
31. Fiona Shaw as Aunt Petunia Dursley
32. Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
33. Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew
34. Natalie Tena as Nymphadora Tonks*
35. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin
36. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
37. Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe
38. Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley
39. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley

My review of the book is here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2013/12/harry-potter-and-order-of-phoenix.html.  At the time this movie came out, it was mixed in with the feelings of the pending release of the final book.  Moments like when Voldemort tells Harry, "You're a fool and you'll lose everything," gave me shivers because we really didn't know how this was all going to end.  Also, coming after the disappointments of the fourth movie, this seemed like the best entry after Azkaban.

Now I'd put it on a level with the first two movies.  It generally doesn't wow me, although Evanna Lynch is amazing as Luna, Imelda Staunton makes Umbridge even creepier than in the book by making her "nicer" on the surface, and the Dumbledore vs. Voldemort battle kicks arse.  It's a good, solid entry.  My two main quibbles are that new director David Yates has overdone pulling everyone back from overacting and made some of the lines too soft-spoken (Yates himself is soft-spoken, quite a contrast to blustering Newell); and not only has Michael Goldenberg's script (or at least the editing) lost much of the book (this is always noted as the longest book turned into the shortest movie) but there are stray lines and even subplots that are just left hanging.  Most notably, Harry and Cho's romance, which is less awkward than in the book, fizzles out because of a misunderstanding that's never resolved.  Still, kudos for Yates in getting at the emotional core of the series in a way that no one other than Alfonso Cuarón managed.

Siobhan Ellen Williams was in Hufflepuff in Goblet of Fire but is now in Gryffindor.  Paije Richardson is also in both movies, as an unidentified student.  Sarah Harrison was a Schoolgirl in Goblet and here.  Nathan Clarke is in Gryffindor here and in Half-Blood Prince.  Christopher O'Shea was an unidentified extra in Chamber of Secrets and this one, while Tabatha St. Vincent is an unidentified extra in this and Prince.  Peter Best was the Executioner in Azkaban and is a Death Eater here.  Natalie Hallam was Professor Sinistra in Goblet and seems to be reprising it here, although she's uncredited.  Neil Findlater is a Ministry of Magic Panel Member here and would be a Wizard Teacher in Prince.  Rusty Goffe would again play a Goblin in Deathly Hallows 2.  Arben Bajraktaraj is an Azkaban Death Eater here and would be specifically Antonin Dolohov in Deathly Hallows 1.  Daisy Haggard would again be the voice of the Ministry Lift in Hallows 1.

Richard Cubison was the Head Waiter in Wilde and is a Death Eater here.  John Atterbury was Merriman in Gosford Park and plays Phineas Nigellus Black here.  Sam Beazley was a Very Old Man in Bridget Jones 2 and is Everard here.  Brigitte Millar was a Journalist in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and plays Emmeline Vance here.  Samuel Gaukroger was a Child at Church in Grint's Driving Lessons and plays a Hogwarts Student here.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
November 18, 2005
Warner Bros.
Fantasy, Comedy, Drama
DVD
C+

This time the Harry Potter Regulars include (with * for newbies):

1. Afshan Azad as Padma Patil* (new to the role)
2. David Bradley as Argus Filch
3. Shefali Chowdhury as Parvati Patil* (new to the role)
4. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
5. Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick
6. Frances de la Tour as Madame Olympe Maxime*
7. Louis Doyle as Ernie Macmillan
8. Alfie Enoch as Dean Thomas
9. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
10. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort*
11. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore
12. Brendan Gleeson as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody*
13. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
14. Robert Hardy as Cornelius Fudge
15. Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
16. Stanislav Ianevski as Viktor Krum*
17. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy
18. Katie Leung as Cho Chang*
19. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
20. Angelica Mandy as Gabrielle Delacour*
21. William Melling as Nigel*
22. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan
23. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black
24. Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory*
25. James Phelps as Fred Weasley
26. Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
27. Daniel Radcliffe
28. Clémence Poésy as Fleur Delacour*
29. Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
30. Charlotte Skeoch as Hannah Abbott
31. Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
32. Timothy Spall as Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew
33. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
34. Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe
35. Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley
36. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley

Shirley Henderson returns as Moaning Myrtle, again impacting the plot and flirting with Harry.  And Miranda Richardson plays Rita Skeeter just right.  Unfortunately, she's one of the few.

My review of the book is here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/search?q=goblet.  Like I said, this was at the time my favorite book in the series, and the previous movie entry had set the bar very high.  So imagine my disappointment when I saw this mess!  OK, the movie isn't terrible-- none of the HP movies are-- but it took me a long time to reconcile myself to this one.  Over the years, I've gone back and forth on it, as I have on Chamber of Secrets, but on this viewing the things that have bothered me (and many other viewers) over the past almost decade all stood out.  And I'm going to place the blame where I have usually placed it, on director Mike Newell, despite my fondness for Enchanted April.

The biggest flaw is that many of the characters are tonally off.  Even with generally solid performances, like those of Fiennes and Gleeson, there are over-the-top melodramatic touches.  Newell's biggest miscalculation is with Gambon's Dumbledore, who not only has none of the serenity of Harris's, but also none of the whimsy and dry humour of Gambon in Azkaban.  

Oddly enough though, Newell is successful with Wright's Ginny, which was especially important at the time since Half-Blood Prince had come out the previous summer and we now knew she was going to be Harry's love interest.  Wright here transitions well from the shyer, quieter Ginny of the first three films to a girl who is plausibly the sister of the Weasley twins.  Also, Newell merges the Choir Professor with the already established Flitwick, adding another layer to Davis's character, and leading to some funny jokes in the next couple movies, as well as giving him a look that is more consistent with what Rowling imagined than the bearded gnome of Columbus's movies.  Still, this doesn't balance all the characters that Newell gets completely or partially wrong.

The other issue I have with the film, not unrelated, is that there is too much spectacle, particularly in the form of action.  (And why have the very un-canonical dragon chase all over Hogwarts, but omit the Quidditch World Cup?)  Cuarón and to a lesser extent Columbus were able to offer thrills and chills without losing sight of who Harry and the other characters were.  It would be up to David Yates, who directed the second half of the series, to reestablish the importance of emotional authenticity, while still delivering intense chase scenes, fight scenes, and the like.  All that said, I can enjoy this movie in bits and pieces, even if I'm sometimes laughing at it.  (That it lends itself easily to satire is seen in this still funny Soup clip:  http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgzrx_harry-ron-slash-on-the-soup_fun)

Siobhan Ellen Williams is a Hufflepuff Student here but would defect to Gryffindor in the next movie.  Sarah Harrison and Paije Richardson would also return in Movie #5, as students of  unspecified houses.  Natalie Hallam, who plays Professor Sinistra, would also be back.  Lisa Osmond is a Quidditch Supporter here, but plays a Gringotts Goblin in both Sorcerer's Stone and Deathly Hallows 2.  Paul Davies makes his first of four appearances as a Death Eater.

Lucy-Anne Brooks, a Beauxbaton Student here, was a Factory Worker in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Campbell Graham was Hamish in the Bridget Jones movies and is a Ministry Wizard here.

Dr. Who reveals his nefarious scheme to turn Cedric Diggory into a vampire.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
July 15, 2005
Warner Bros.
Children's, Musical, Fantasy
DVD
C

I don't think it's just that I'm Gen X is the reason why I enjoy this less than the 1971 Gene Wilder version.  I can see flaws in the earlier version and I would argue that there are three ways that this is actually an improvement.  The songs, taking Roald Dahl's original verse and pairing with a wide variety of styles (including disco!), are much better here.  Related to that, I prefer Tim Burton's Oompa-Loompas, including the device of them all being played by one man (through the magic of CGI).  Also, Charlie's family (including Burton's wife Helena Bonham Carter as Charlie's mum) is generally more likable here.  (Although the one dotty grandmother is mildly annoying.)

However, it is with Willy Wonka and his home life that Burton goes seriously awry.  Wilder played Wonka with a twinkle in his eye but he was also genuinely scary at some points.  Johnny Depp plays Wonka as both creepy and insecure, and we get several back-story flashbacks to his childhood with his candy-hating father.  Ten years ago, I found this to be psychobabbling derailment, and my opinion hasn't changed.  Can't Wonka just be inexplicably weird, rather than someone who just needs love and acceptance?

Also, with the exception of Freddie Highmore who's quite good as Charlie (and would do a bunch of other adaptations of children's books, none of which I own, but some of which I've seen), none of the children are as good as the '71 cast.  The parents are mostly forgettable, although Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beauregarde gives it her usual perky/crazy touch.  As for the look of the film, I'd say the movies are about equally good.

Nayef Rashed, under the name Adam Hussein, was Mohamad the Camel Seller in Ishtar and here appears as a Moroccan Market Vendor.  Nitin Ganatra, who was so memorable as Bride & Prejudice's Mr. Kohli, has a much smaller role here as Prince Pondicherry.

There are some minor Harry Potter connections.  Harry Taylor, who's the Station Guard in the first two movies, appears briefly as Mr. Gloop.  Lucy-Anne Brooks is a Factory Worker here and would soon be a Beauxbaton Student in Goblet of Fire.  Ray Donn had very small roles in both Bridget Jones movies, is a policeman here, and would be a Ministry of Magic Panel Member in Order of the Phoenix.  Brigitte Millar, who's a Journalist here, would be Emmeline Vance in Order of the Phoenix.  Tony Kirwood, who's Finckelgruber, would be a Death Eater in both parts of Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
June 4, 2004
Warner Bros.
Fantasy, Drama, Comedy
DVD
A-

The Harry Potter regulars this time include (*means newbie to the series):

1. Peter Best as the Executioner*
2. David Bradley as Argus Filch
3. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
4. Violet Columbus as Girl With Flowers
5. Warwick Davis as "Wizard" (see below)
6. Alfred Enoch as Dean Thomas
7. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
8. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore*
9. Richard Griffiths as Uncle Vernon
10. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
11. Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
12. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
13. Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
14. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnegan
15. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black*
16. James Phelps as Fred Weasley
17. Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
18. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
19. Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley
20. Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
21. Fiona Shaw as Aunt Petunia
22. Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
23. Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew*
24. Danielle Tabor as Angelina Johnson
25. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin*
26. Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley
27. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
28. Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe
29. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley

In addition, Emma Thompson joins the cast as spacey Professor Trelawney.  (Which strengthens the Potter-Austen axis of course.)  This blend of old and new, including the shift of director Chris Columbus over to a producer role, so that the director's chair is filled by Alfonso Cuarón, really impacts the series.  As with Thompson's Sense & Sensibility, having a director whose first language is not English seems to both bring out the universality of what is a very British story and add an outsider's view.  

My review of the book is here
http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2013/11/harry-potter-and-prisoner-of-azkaban.html, but you'll note that I don't regard this as a children's movie in the way that that was a children's book.  This is very much a movie about a younger teen and his two best friends starting to really navigate their way through a more complex world.  The switch in directors also contributes to a less wide-eyed, warier tone.

As for that jump from B to A-, well, I thought then and continue to think that this is not only the best film in the series, but the only one that is on a level with The Wizard of Oz.  Everything is better-- the special effects, the acting, and the music in particular.  (Williams captures all the moods, from bittersweet to whimsical.)  Even the closing credits are much more creative than elsewhere in the series.

Radcliffe is making more effort, not always successfully ("HE WAS THEIR FRIEND" is notorious in fandom), but much better than under Columbus, while Grint and Watson continue to be solid, even as puberty complicates their bickering relationship.  And all the Gambon-bashers who are bitter about the loss of Richard Harris should take another look at his work here, which is much subtler and deeper than in the fourth film.  I also have to make special mention of Thewlis, who is just perfect as the avuncular but flawed Professor Lupin.  The only person who seems to be short-changed is poor Bonnie Wright with her one line as Ginny.  And the only one who is oddly treated is Warwick Davis, who apparently had nothing to do as Flitwick this time and so became the Choir Teacher, which would have a long-lasting effect on the appearance and to some degree character of Flitwick for the rest of the series, as I'll discuss under Goblet.

As for the special effects, it's partly that the CGI and other aspects had two and a half years to advance, but also that Cuarón and his crew are being more creative with them, as with the utterly believable Buckbeak, the Hippogriff who expresses everything from anger to affection to, well, defecation.

Interestingly, when I first saw the trailer for this entry, I had almost the opposite reaction to the trailer for the first.  I thought they'd really screwed up this time.  So it was a revelation when I saw the actual movie, which, yes, has a tone that takes some getting used to but is well worth the initial disorientation.  (And that the film starts with a tasteful masturbation joke was part of the surprise.)  I think the movie continues to hold up remarkably well, both within the series and as a stand-alone.  I was always disappointed that Cuarón did not return, but David Yates would make contributions of his own.  As for Mike Newell, well, stay tuned.

New York Minute

New York Minute
May 7, 2004
Warner Bros.
Comedy, Action
VHS
C+

This is so bad it's almost watchable.  Not that there isn't a lot to wince at, including some generally unfunny racism, but the whole thing is so implausible, it makes Spice World look carefully crafted.  There is a lot more plot here, and subplots, but the whole thing is so full of WTF moments that I'm going to try to limit myself to ten.  (At the time, I wrote a very lengthy review/inventory, listing about 70 cliches, stereotypes, and implausibilities.)

1. Why did they steal the dad as gynecologist father of two very different sisters thing from 10 Things I Hate About You? And then cast Dr. Drew and have there be no pay-off, plotwise or otherwise?
2. Why, after all the attempts to distinguish between Mary-Kate and Ashley, is there a section where they wear matching outfits?
3. Why does the more conservative twin keep ending up implied-nude?
4. Why is Jack Osbourne attempting an American accent, and not very consistently either?
5. Why, if you have a purple VW Bug, would you try to take the train into New York, especially since you don't have a ticket or any plan beyond hiding in the restroom?
6. Why is there a running motif of people getting things spilled on them?
7. Why does a small dog take an entire day and yet fail to crap out a secret microchip, and why doesn't anyone think to take it to the vet?
8. How is that Jane wins a scholarship on the basis of the notes for her speech?
9. If time is of the essence, shouldn't one version of a makeover at the House of Bling (no, I am not making that up) be sufficient?
10. How could they cast Andrea Martin as Senator Anne Lipton (owner of the dog) and Eugene Levy as a truant officer and give the SCTV-ers only one moment together?

Trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and I haven't even mentioned the Bob Saget cameo.

Jon Benjamin, who's the "I Love NY" Vendor, had provided the voice of the Can of Vegetables in Wet Hot American Summer (a role he'll be reprising on the TV series). This time animal-voice-actor Frank Welker provides Reinaldo Vocal Effects.  Jo Chim, who's got a very small role as Ma Bang's Assistant, had recently been the snooty Salesperson in Mean Girls.

Pre-bling

Mid-bling

Corporate bling

Two Weeks Notice

Two Weeks Notice
December 20, 2002
Warner Bros.
Comedy, Romance
VHS
B-

Marc Lawrence, who co-wrote Sandra Bullock's Miss Congeniality and would go on to Hugh Grant's Music and Lyrics, wrote and directed this formulaic but mostly satisfying rom-com that pairs Bullock and Grant.  They play respectively, a driven left-wing lawyer and a lazy but intelligent rich man.  Their chemistry fuels the movie, both of them playing off of their established personas, but putting little twists on the lines.  There is an extra layer of political subtext to the movie in that his character is named George Wade, and the W figures prominently.  But not much is done with this.  It's just sort of there.  And, yes, there should be an apostrophe after the S in "Weeks."  I think this is symbolic of how the movie feels thrown together but nonetheless works, most of the time.

Heather Burns has a much smaller role here than she did as Cheryl Frasier in Miss Congeniality, but she's again sweet and funny as Bullock's best friend, here named Meryl Brooks.  Jeannette Gould was an Audience Member in In & Out and is a Senior Center Woman here, while Adam LeFevre was a Bachelor Party Guest there and is the RV Man here.  And John Cunningham, who was great as the "Be a Man" Tape Instructor, plays a Justice of the Peace here.  George Gearhart King III was a School Child in Object of My Affection, and his appearance here as RV Son is his only other credit.  Iraida Polanco, who was Carmelita there, is Rosario there.

Steven Weisz, who's a Charity Ball Attendee, would be a Stunned Pedestrian in Enchanted.  Adam Grupper, who's the Lawyer for Wade's ex-wife, would in Gary in Music and Lyrics, while Charlotte Maier, who's Helen Wade here, would be Barbara there.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
November 15, 2002
Warner Bros.
Children's, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror
DVD
B

My review of the book is here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2013/11/harry-potter-and-chamber-of-secrets.html.  I have somewhat changed my mind about the movie, but first I want to cover the regulars for this entry.  (Stars indicate newbies.)

1. Sean Biggerstaff as Oliver Wood
2. David Bradley as Argus Filch
3. John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick
4. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
5. Eleanor Columbus as Susan Bones (still not speaking, since she's not British, but she does join Hermione in crushing on Lockhart)
6. Violet Columbus (another of the director's daughters) as Girl with Flowers in one of the moving portraits*
7. Emily Dale as Katie Bell
8. Warwick Davis as Professor Flitwick
9. Louis Doyle as Ernie MacMillan*
10. Alfred Enoch as Dean Thomas
11. Scott Fearn as Adrian Pucey (although Terence Higgs before)
12. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
13. Richard Griffiths as Uncle Vernon Dursley
14. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
15. Robert Hardy as Cornelius Fudge*
16. Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore
17. Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
18. David Holmes as a Slytherin Beater (although specifically Adrian Pucey before)
19. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy*
20. Toby Jones as the voice of Dobby the House Elf*
21. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
22. Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
23. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan
24. James Phelps as Fred Weasley
25. Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
26. Leslie Phillips as the voice of the Sorting Hat
27. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
28. Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley
29. Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
30. Fiona Shaw as Aunt Petunia Dursley
31. Charlotte Skeoch as Hannah Abbott*
32. Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
33. Danielle Tabor as Angelina Johnson
34. Harry Taylor as the Station Guard
35. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
36. Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe
37. Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley*
38. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley
39. Luke Youngblood as Lee Jordan

Also, Amy Puglia, who was a Quidditch Player last time, is just a Pupil this time.  Maria Coyne and Oliver Lavery-Farag again play unspecified students.  Ben Borowiecki is again a Diagon Alley Boy, here named Angus for no known reason.  (It's not like he has lines or anyone talks to him.)   Christopher O'Shea would again be an extra in Order of the Phoenix.  Jamie Dunlop makes another of his three uncredited appearances as a wizard.  

Shirley Henderson is the most in-jokily cast newbie, as Moaning Myrtle, soon after her appearance as another bathroom-weeper in the first Bridget Jones movie.  (She would return to both series.)  And Bridget's mother, an actual Ms. Jones, Gemma Jones, makes her first appearance as Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse.  Miriam Margolyes was in some of my other movies, and she first appears as Madam Sprout here.  (I had to limit tags, so Henderson and Margolyes are omitted.)

Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith both return (as Snape and McGonagall) and have their moments, although fewer than in the first movie.  Julie Walters, on the other hand, makes the most of the many more Weasley family scenes, in her role as matriarch Molly.

The main one-timer of note is Kenneth Branagh, as the vain Professor Lockhart.  Although not exactly handsome, he makes the role his own.  Along with Jason Isaacs, he shows that you don't have to be in the first movie to be impressive in the second.  (And of course there would be other later additions who would shine.)

I still have some gripes about this movie, yes, including "No Hogwarts without you," but I tried to be fair in my viewing this time.  Even with that scene, the line itself is OK.  It's the standing ovation that Hagrid gets that bugs me.  It is the first in a series of tone-deaf endings, and yet it is slightly balanced by the post-credit throw-away gag about Lockhart's latest book.  (The first movie's ending is just right though.)

The two main things I noticed this time were that the children's acting has generally improved (including Radcliffe's, who's less bland, although not at the level he'd attain later), and the movie is darker (although less than later of course).  I really do feel it is arguably both a mystery that we can solve along with Harry and friends (more so than the first movie), and a horror movie.  The latter is seen in the use of the spiders and the Basilisk.  At the same time, the movie is much more of a comedy than the first, especially in the first hour.  On the down-side, there's the beginning of the use of Ron for comic relief, which I don't resent as much as some in the fandom but it can be seen as a cheapening of his character.

There is less shiny wonder than in the first year, but this is compensated for by the general improvement.  Even the special effects and music are better than they were a year earlier.  (I like "Fawkes's Theme" best, capturing the healing and hope.)  I will admit that the pacing is not as good, but it's never dull.

So basically, it's a movie with growing pains, and good and bad mixed together, as suits the voice-changing twelve-year-old hero.

Near, far, in our motor car, oh, what a happy time we'll spend!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
November 16, 2001
Warner Bros.
Children's, Fantasy, Comedy
DVD
B

Since this series is known for a cast that is relatively consistent over the course of eight movies, we'd better start with a list of the performers.  And because the number of my tags is limited, I'm going to just use one tag of "Harry Potter regulars" for people who appear in at least two of the eight movies, although I'll note with each film who these regulars are for that time.  This will not include anyone who has made at least two non-Potter films I own, i.e., Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith, who play Professors Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall.  Plus Julie Walters, who plays Mrs. Weasley, would have two later non-Potter appearances.  So here in Stone, we have (in mostly alphabetical order)

1. Sean Biggerstaff as Oliver Wood
2. David Bradley as Argus Filch
3. John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick
4. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
5. Eleanor Columbus (the director's daughter) as Susan Bones
6. Emily Dale as Katie Bell
7. Warwick Davis as a Goblin Bank Teller and Professor Flitwick
8. Alfred Enoch as Dean Thomas
9. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
10. Scott Fern as Terence Higgs (but playing Adrian Pucey in Chamber of Secrets)
11. David Holmes as Adrian Pucey (but playing a Slytherin Beater in Chamber, no idea why the switch)
12. Richard Griffiths as Uncle Vernon Dursley
13. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
14. Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore
15. Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
16. John Hurt as Mr. Ollivander
17. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
18. Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
19. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan
20. James Phelps as Fred Weasley
21. Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
22. Leslie Philips as the voice of the Sorting Hat
23. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
24. Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley
25. Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
26. Fiona Shaw as Aunt Petunia Dursley
27. Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
28. Danielle Tabor as Angelina Johnson
29. Harry Taylor as the Station Guard
30. Julie Walters as Molly Weasley
31. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
32. Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe
33. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley
34. Luke Youngblood as Lee Jordan

More obscurely, Ben Borowiecki would return in Chamber as Diagon Alley Boy; Maria Coyne and Oliver Lavery-Farag would be students again in Chamber; Lisa Osmond would be a Gringotts Goblin again in DH2, as well as a Quidditch Supporter in Goblet; Amy Puglia who's a Quidditch Player here, would be a pupil in Chamber.  

Elizabeth Spriggs, who was Mrs. Jennings in Sense and Sensibility, is typecast as the Fat Lady, while Zoe Wanamaker, who was Oscar's friend in Wilde, is Madam Hooch.  Neither of them would return to this franchise.

My review of the book is here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2013/11/harry-potter-and-philosophers-sorcerers.html.  Note that I'm not using the alternate titles now, since I am reviewing just the American version of the movie (with everyone saying "Sorcerer's").  Less than two years later, I'm not sure I would describe myself as a huge fan per se.  I see flaws in the books and movies.

To some degree, I agree with those who say that Chris Columbus and Steve Kloves, as director and screenwriter respectively, made this too literal an adaptation of the book.  Furthermore, on this viewing, I'm really struck by what a kids' movie this is, in both good and bad ways.  Columbus did capture the wonder and, yes, magic of this world.  We see things through Harry's eyes and Radcliffe is definitely agog much of the time.  We're being introduced to every person, place, or thing that Rowling created.

There's no room for subtlety, and Columbus is not exactly getting nuanced performances out of the children, especially when they scream à la Home Alone.  But that's OK.  Not every children's movie has to be The Wizard of Oz.  That said, Grint and Watson impressed me even at the time, and they bicker like they've been doing that for forty years.  (Radcliffe gives a blander everyboy performance, but he'd come into his own later.)  It's funny to see the little quirks, like Felton's and Watson's over-enunciation, there from the get-go.

As for the adults, other than Smith and Rickman who are perfect out of the gate and would remain so for a decade, the main stand-out is Coltrane.  It's always a surprise to go back to this movie and see how prominent Hagrid is.  It's a natural, relaxed performance, full of warmth and humor, but also bite.  He becomes Harry's guide and surrogate uncle, far kinder than his relatives, who are also featured much more prominently than they would be later.

It would be easy to go on and on about the movie, but these are the main things I wanted to cover, other than John Williams's score, like so much of the film, is overdone but likable.

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
June 7, 1991
HBO/ Warner Bros.
Comedy, Romance
VHS
B-

Like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, this Stephen-Herek-directed Bush-I-era teen movie's parts are stronger than its whole.  In this case, I kept catching bits and pieces on cable and finding them entertaining (especially "The dishes are done, man!"), so I finally taped the whole thing.  I think DTMBD is a stronger movie than BTEA, but like its 1991 peer, Too Much Sun, it suffers from an inaccurate "ticking clock" plot.  We're told in the beginning that the Mom of the title will be in Australia for two months, but it seems like a month at most passes.  Having her come back "a week early" doesn't really help matters.  And it's never clear anyway what exactly her reaction to the shenanigans of her five bratty children might be.  She calls a couple times but the main concern is that if they tell Mom about the babysitter's death, then she'll come back early and spoil their summer fun and independence, even if there's not all that much fun or independence to be spoiled.

There are other plotholes, most significantly those centering around the main plot, that of 17-year-old firstborn Sue Ellen, nicknamed Swell, landing an administrative assistant's job with a faked resume.  Even when her cover is blown, in stages, her boss Rose manages to be remarkably forgiving.  So that's not really a threat either.  And it does seem odd that neither love interest Bryan, nor his bitchy sister Carolyn, realize until near the end that the Sue Ellens in their lives are one and the same.

In some ways, this is more of a fantasy than BTEA.  Little girls, and even grown women (like me in my mid 20s), may envy Sue Ellen.  Yes, her siblings are annoying, and yes, she's got work stress, but both her boss and her boyfriend are incredibly nice.  Also, Sue Ellen's fashion sense is given free range, even working for a company that manufactures uniforms.  (Her redesigns at the backyard fashion show are hideous, showing that that neon/citrus trend of the late '80s, as seen in Back to the Beach, was still flourishing in the new decade.  But the outfits she wears herself are great.)  Also, even when there's no food in the house, it is a wonderful big old house.

Swell is played by Married with Children's Christina Applegate, then 19, and she's paired with Josh Charles, also 19, as the warm, funny Bryan.  Their scenes together are surprisingly sweet and wholesome-- I mean on the level of Frankie & Annette-- despite the sex humor elsewhere in the movie.  (The 48-hour orgasm/ Santa Barbara exchange is great.)  Also, Swell smokes, and her brother Kenny does drugs, till he cleans up his act.  Nonetheless, I could see people letting little kids watch this movie.  They and you could do worse.  And, yes, this would be an interesting double feature with Zapped Again!, considering that fast food jobs appear in both.

David Duchovny plays Carolyn's boyfriend.  And, yes, Bryan Clark, here appearing as the doctor who's distractingly like Ronald Reagan (I mean, there's no comedic pay-off to it in this movie), occasionally played the by then former president.

Imagine: John Lennon

Imagine: John Lennon
October 7, 1988
Warner Bros.
Documentary, Musical
VHS
B

This biography, released close to what would've been Lennon's 48th birthday, and less than eight years after his murder, is not perfect.  It doesn't represent all of the important pieces of Lennon's life.  (There's no mention, for instance, of his dear friend Stu Sutcliffe.)  And while it's nice to get interviews with both of John's wives and both his sons, I wish that there had been contemporary interviews with his ex-bandmates.  (I mean, Ringo got along with everyone.  You'd think he at least would be here.)  That said, the movie does work as sort of a mosaic of sights and sounds of John Lennon's life.  You'll get more information from the various books on John Lennon (I reviewed a few on my reading blog), but you won't get the impact of his unique voice, by which I mean not just how he sang but what he had to say.

Beatles assistant/friend Mal Evans had small roles in A Hard Day's Night and Help!  Klaus Voormann was last seen in my movie collection as Von Schitzel in Popeye.  And Dick Cavett appeared in Annie Hall.

Hot to Trot

Believe me, there are worse comedy teams.

Hot to Trot
August 26, 1988
Warner Bros.
Comedy, Fantasy
VHS
B-

This goofy take on Mr. Ed and Francis the Talking Mule (with a stock brokerage, because it's the '80s) provided the first starring role for the sometimes irritating and sometimes endearing Bobcat Goldthwait, then 26.  The voice of the horse is provided by John Candy, who of course has some of the best lines and sounds like he might be ad-libbing some of them.  There are moments of great silly comedy, although by the time Bobcat has become the most implausible big-screen jockey since Harpo Marx, things are wearing a bit thin, and there are a few too many ethnic and other stereotypes (especially Hispanic).  If nothing else, you'll have fun with the cast, including Dabney Coleman as the villain (yeah, big surprise) and 80-year-old Burgess Meredith as Candy's equine father.  Buck Henry plays Goldthwait's father in a flashback.

Peter Hobbs, who plays the veterinarian, was Dr. Dean in Sleeper and the Doctor at St. Ambrose Hospital in 9 to 5 (yes, this is a reunion for him and Coleman).  Jocko Marcellino of Sha-Na-Na appears as Marvin.  Donald Hotton, the minister here, was Mr. Wicher in Soul Man.  Barbara Whinnery, who played Sister Sara in Hamburger, is Denise here.

James Hong who's "Boss" here, would be Frank, Sr. in Too Much Sun.  Kevin Furlong would play a jockey again in Wag the Dog.

There's also a fairly early role, as a dentist, for 33-year-old Gilbert Gottfried.  (He'd start hosting USA Up All Night on cable the next year.)  And 35-year-old Mary Gross (post-SNL) appears briefly as Ms. French.

Note, this movie has an incredible amount of profanity for a PG-rated movie.

Who's That Girl

Who's That Girl
August 7, 1987
Warner Bros.
Comedy, Romance, Action
VHS
B-

Released the same day as Back to the Beach, this was not and still is not anywhere near as well liked by the critics and public.  (Interestingly, feminist Kathi Maio gave it a mostly favorable review.)  As someone who has no strong feelings for or against Madonna (and an affection for Frankie & Annette that made me go see BttB at the time), it may seem odd that I'm giving this movie the same rating.  I wouldn't say that it's aged well-- it's even more '80s and it's chockful of stereotypes-- but there's something oddly appealing about it.

It's a screwball comedy that rips off Bringing Up Baby, which I never cared for, by the way.  (I'm in the minority in thinking that Sylvia Scarlett is the best Grant-Hepburn movie.)  WTG is also an action comedy.  And a manic-pixie-dreamgirl nightmare.  Griffin Dunne, as Louden Trott, a role not entirely dissimilar to his straight-arrow lawyer character in Johnny Dangerously, manages to be both the Goldblumian in-story commentator on the craziness around him and the won-over-in-less-than-24-hours victim/love interest for Madonna.  Who looks like Betty Boop, especially in the animated opening credit sequence that sets up the back-story.  (You know, while people are finding their seats.)

The title by the way has no question mark, so I guess it's a statement.  Madonna is who is that girl.  (Sorry, Marlo Thomas.)  But Nikki Finn isn't much like Madonna, except in creating controversy and being on the cutting edge of fashion.  You may not like Madonna or Nikki, but there's so much else going on here, weird little touches like the way the on-the-spot reporter interviews the kidnapped bridesmaids, and the Don'ts pictures for Louden's wedding night, that it won't really matter.  And I can't think of any other movie, in the '80s or beyond, that would resolve the bickering-cops subplot the way this one does.  Perhaps the fact that the script was co-written by Ken Finkleman and Andrew Smith, of respectively Grease 2 and the 1979 TV-movie Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party, explains the way cliches are almost subverted, but I doubt it.

Arthur Tovey, who has an uncredited role as the butler, was then 82 and had credits dating back decades, including as Military Man in Restaurant in A Night in Casablanca.  Shari Summers was Edith Phern in Harold and Maude and plays Nurse #2 here.

Carmen Filpi, Street Bum #1 here, would have a brief but memorable role as Old Man Withers in Wayne's World, while Sean Sullivan, who's the Gun Dealer here, would be Phil there.  Co-op member Robert Weil would be Mail Room Boss in The Hudsucker Proxy.  John McMartin, who plays Simon Worthington, would be Huntingdon Hartford in Kinsey.

A 26-year-old Stanley Tucci plays the 2nd Dock Worker.

Unfairly trashed by the critics.

One-Trick Pony

One-Trick Pony
October 3, 1980
Warner Bros.
Drama, Musical
VHS
B-

Although this is a melancholy, relatively realistic movie, it is no more the biography of Paul Simon than Can't Stop the Music is the biography of the Village People.  Yes, Simon wrote the script; yes, his nine- or ten-year-old son Harper plays his character in the opening flashback; and, yes, members of his real band play the movie band.  But 39-year-old Simon wasn't 34-year-old Jonah Levin; he wasn't a one-trick pony, a one-hit wonder who'd done nothing popular since the '60s.  This is more like a parallel-universe Simon, if he were unsuccessful but still needed to perform, in this case mostly on the road, despite the strain on his family life.  (The scenes with son Matty are all good.)  The negative view of the music-business world may be Simon's though.  Certainly he was at a crossroads then, although his songs, the title track and others, are under-rated in his portfolio.  There's a moment when we see the new wave of New Wave sweeping away Simon's relatively simple sound, when his band gets a tepid response and then the crowd goes wild for the B-52s performing "Rock Lobster."  (Their "Dance This Mess Around" was in Roadie.)

It's hard to make an entertaining movie about a protagonist who's depressed, and it doesn't help that the dialogue wasn't recorded with the same care and attention as the music.  It was a relief when always articulate 36-year-old Harry Shearer made a welcome return to my movie collection (27 years after Abbott & Costello Go to Mars), as Bernie Wepner.  Simon wasn't this subdued in Annie Hall, he was mellow but he wasn't mumbling.  I couldn't even hear Blair Brown half the time, except when she yelled at him.

This is obviously one of the 1980 movies where the '60s are reassessed, and there's a scene whose dark humor has only increased with time: Jonah and the band listing dead rock & rollers. When Jonah says there must be someone English on the list, it's like CStM not knowing about AIDS; OTP doesn't know who'd be shot a couple months later.  (Simon's "The Late Great Johnny Ace" would pay tribute to John Lennon, leading to a strange moment in the reunion concert with Art Garfunkel, which I'll discuss when we get there.)

Besides the B-52s, other musicians appear as themselves.  And Merv Griffin is one of the a cappella singers.

Mame

Mame
March 27, 1974
Warner Bros.
Musical, Comedy, Historical
VHS
B-

Yes, Lucy and the little boy can't sing.  Yes, she's miscast in other ways (age, appearance, demeanor, etc.), but I enjoy this film about as much as the 1958 non-musical Rosalind Russell version, and not just as cheese.  For one thing, it has the better Vera Charles, the wonderful Bea Arthur, who gets a good duet with Lucy and knows how to deliver a zinger, as she was then proving on Maude and would later prove on The Golden Girls.  (The duet does have a reference to Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, but on the surface the two of them are presented as straight.)  I also like seeing Don Porter as Mr. Upson, since even as a bigot he's fun to watch.  Oh, and I was pleasantly surprised that Ito, while still sterotyped, seemed to have more dignity and didn't giggle.

That said, I don't know why they cast John McGiver as Mr. Babcock and gave him less to do than Fred Clark did.  I don't know why Pegeen has been changed from an interior decorator to a maid and interacts even less with Patrick.  Or why Agnes Gooch has been blended with Norah Muldoon, and the father of her child made a complete mystery.  By 1974, unwed pregnancy was a lot less controversial or shocking than it was in the '50s, so this time Mame can open a home for "single mothers."

But, yes, it is campy.  Though it tugs at the emotions with what must be at least fifty hugs (there's even a hug montage towards the end), it's even less plausible than the Russell version, to say nothing of the Patrick Dennis novel, reviewed here http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2012/06/auntie-mame-irreverent-escapade.html.  I mean, there's a scene where Mame and her nephew are sitting on a spoke of the Statue of Liberty's tiara!  And what about the HUGE production number about how Mame has given the South back its pride by capturing a fox, with her charm!  The movie was considered, with reason, to be dated upon its release, but watching it now it seems more like a warm-up for the overdone musicals of the later '70s, such as Sextette and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Burt Mustin had a small role in a Merlin Jones movie and was 90 when he appeared here as Uncle Jeff.  Barbara Bosson, who plays Emily, had a minor role in The Love God?  Ruth McDevitt was in Change of Habit and plays Cousin Fan here.  Leonard Stone, who plays the stage manager, was Mr. Beauregarde in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.  Jerry Trent was a dancer in The One and Only...Family Band as well, while Kenneth Grant, Sr. would dance in Sgt. Pepper.

Cancel My Reservation

Cancel My Reservation
September 21, 1972
Naho/Warner Bros.
Comedy, Mystery
VHS
C

Louis L'Amour wrote the novel that this Southwest mystery was based on, with the less Hope-ful title of The Broken Gun.  I can only imagine what Dominic Frontiere would've done with that, since he sings the Jackson-5ish "Cancel My Reservation" over both opening and closing credits.  Bob H was pushing 70 at this point, but his character is supposed to be 42, and he's paired with 48-year-old Eva Marie Saint, who looks stunning.  (And she shows off a lot of skin for a middle-aged woman, including in hot pants.)  The two of them are unhappily married because she's a women's libber whose "own thing" is becoming co-star on his talk show.  (They interview a pre-Happy-Days Pat Morita as a karate expert.)  Even though he doesn't seem to like children (he says that two rude autograph-seekers, one played by the director's daughter, at the airport are a good argument for the Pill), she blames herself that they haven't had any kids.  The happy ending, after he's several times arrested and they both come close to dying, before he finally solves the mystery, is she's pregnant and can leave the show.  Even though she told "Crazy" (Anne Archer) that she hated being stuck at home while her husband went off to work, she seems pleased about this.

As for the mystery, it includes Forrest Tucker and Ralph Bellamy as villains, some Indian land rights, and a few murders.  Keenan Wynn plays the local sheriff, and Chief Dan George a really old Indian.  I haven't read the book, so I don't know how much of this was added by co-adapters Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, who'd teamed up for I'll Take Sweden.  I am fairly sure though that the joke, "I'll come back for my stomach later," when Bob is on the back of a motorcycle is a direct self-steal from Sweden.  And I suspect L'Amour did not include a rape joke.  (Eva MS, upon finding out that the Indian girl Bob H is accused of killing wasn't raped, says, "And that gets you off the hook with me.")  The movie is of course sexist and racist, although I suppose it could be worse.  It's incredibly dated, even for its time (the Twiggy joke for instance), and the cameos of Bing, John Wayne, Johnny Carson, and Flip Wilson are only slightly better than those in Birds Do It.  (At least they're given lines, although not good ones.)  Oh, and this time Herb Vigran plays Roscoe Snagby.

The movie isn't dreadful but it doesn't even have the camp appeal of Hope's '60s comedies.  It's just sort of there.  I guess see it if you're curious and/or a completist.

This is somewhat the chronological midpoint of this project, since I started with 1929 and I'm unlikely to finish before next year.  At the moment, I don't own any movies from after 2012, but that will probably change before I'm through.

Points for correct use of "whom"

Woodstock

Woodstock
March 26, 1970
Warner Bros.
Documentary, Musical
VHS
B+

Three hours of peace, love, and music.  And, yes, mud.  Although of course I wasn't there (I was a baby with parents over 30), this documentary seems to do a fine job of capturing the good and the bad of the (in)famous concert, mostly the good.  I like how we see not just the musicians, and all those hippies in the crowd, but the people who helped keep things running, from the middle-aged people providing food and Porto-Sans to the shirtless long-haired carpenters and litter-picker-uppers.  Although this isn't the first of my movies to use split-screen (it pops up in How to Commit Marriage, which is much squarer of course), the technique is used well, sometimes telling two (or more) stories at once.  It also provides visuals that underscore the music, as if you could watch every band member at once, or see simultaneous close-ups on a fast-strumming hand and a straining face.

The movie is mostly about the music, which ranges from competent to amazing.  My top three are CSN, Sly & the Family Stone, and Ten Years After.  I'd drop the Who and two or three other acts to make this a more manageable length.*  Yes, I know how important the Who were in rock history, but I've never cared for their sound.  Nonetheless, I'm tagging Keith Moon, because he gives an unforgettable performance in a movie eight years later, acting rather than singing, in Sextette.

Note: my copy of this movie is from the MTV showing for the 20th anniversary of the concert.  As such, it's book-ended by commentary before and after the movie, actually quainter than anything in the movie.  ("There was no MTV then," gasp!)  Also, every commercial break (of which there were of course many) had a disclaimer that MTV didn't condone the use of illegal drugs or the abuse of legal ones.  Since I haven't had cable in about 20 years, I have no idea if they still do that.  Or if they even show this movie anymore.  And, yes, more time has passed since that airdate than had passed between '69 and '89.


*No, I haven't seen the four-hour version of this movie, or the bonus two hours.  I'm not sure I want to actually.

The Cool Ones

The Cool Ones
April 12, 1967
Warner Bros
Comedy, Musical, Romance
VHS
B

Oh so mod movie that was probably dated a minute after it was released (or maybe a year before), this not only offers a mainstream look at mid-'60s teen and post-teen culture (with Warner Bros updating things slightly from their four-years-earlier vision of Palm Springs Weekend, although again much of the scene is set in that desert town), it also has a delightfully absurd script and mostly very watchable "stars."  Debbie Watson plays Hallie, a cute and charming but scheming and ambitious would-be singer, who hits clinkers right in the first minute of the film but no one notices.  She teams up with Cliff, a has-been singer played by wooden yet grouchy Gil Petersen.  They meet at a club run by Robert Coote, who was pushing 60 but not only uses slang like "groovy" and "don't blow your cool," but is supposed to be the brother of Roddy McDowall, who's "practically a teenager himself."  (The age difference is never explained, even though they were "kids" together, "unless one of us was suckled by a very kind stranger.")  McDowall was pushing 40, but he's playing the young and crazy genius music producer Tony Krum.  His "shadows" are played by Nita Talbot and Jim Begg.  There are some others in the cast (including Teri Garr), but it is the way these main six interact that is the core of the movie.  Every one has their own agenda, even the weakest link, Jim Begg, who since he's not given much to do will have moments like falling asleep and snoring in the limo.  Talbot is amazing, her very New-York accent adding to the fun of her lines, like "I like Frisco.  I spent a whole marriage there."  McDowall's character is unsympathetic, but he's so out there-- with his obsessions with purple, Napoleon, and his pregnant analyst, not necessarily in that order-- that I could watch him in this role for hours.  (Luckily, he'd have a similar role in Hello Down There a couple years later.)

OK, there are others to watch in this movie besides those six, notably Phil Harris as the producer of Whiz Bam! (think Hullaboo and Shindig) and Mrs. Miller, the offkey warbler of "Downtown," as Mrs. Miller the wardrobe lady with singing ambitions of her own.  The way McDowell and Talbot try to hide their giggles when she performs looks authentic.  The most ridiculous song & dance number is played straight, the tram-and-mountaintop-set "High."  No, it has nothing to do with drugs, although the Leaves' "In the House of Dr. Stone" probably does, like a less subtly titled answer to the Beatles' "Dr. Robert."  Another notable number is the one Tony, his brother, and his assistants sing, "Where Did I Go Wrong," which manages such rhymes as "Nappy did/happy, kid" and "ego/amigo/we go."  And of course, there's the dance sensation "The Tantrum," which we first see when Hallie leaves her go-go cage and interrupts Glen Campbell.  I'd love to know what Susan J. Douglas, author of Where the Girls Are, would make of this film, with its themes of love, hate, anger, rebellion, and containment.

Robert Kaufman surprisingly wrote the very sexist Ski Party, while this movie at least considers feminism, even if Hallie decides she'd rather be "Mrs. Cliff Donner" than a singing sensation.  The script was cowritten by Joyce Geller, so that may be a partial explanation.  Hallie is not only professionally ambitious but sexually curious, as when she exclaims, "Oo, naked men!" and when she tries to be sophisticated in her reactions to the Krum brothers.  The movie ends with the Krums and the shadows trying to convince Hallie to change her mind, Tony claiming that you can combine marriage and a career, offering Madame Curie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Virginia Woolf, and Lassie as examples.  (Roosevelt's bisexuality may not have been known back in '67, but Woolf's certainly was.  And Lassie has always been played by unmarried male dogs.)  This is what I mean about the craziness of the script.  It's hard to tell how much was intentional.  And I'm finding it hard to not quote more of it.  But it's better that you see it for yourself and be surprised.

Christopher Riordan, who'd done later AIP Beach Party movies and some other teen flicks, plays a student here.  James Milhollin, who gives a slightly Franklin Pangborn touch to his small role as the hotel manager, would be more Pangborny as the hotel manager on Mike and Carol Brady's honeymoon, but before then he'd play Stafford in Perils of Pauline.  Angelique Pettyjohn, who's one of the secretaries, would be a model in The Love God?  Phil Arnold, who plays the stage manager, would be the Mayor's Husband in Skidoo.  Annette Ferra would do one of the voices in Santa and the Three Bears.

Teri Garr on the far left, that guy who was Ann-Margret's "Swinger" roomie to Teri's right.

More of the fabulous choreography of "High," although stills can't do it justice.