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Reviews
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969)
Two Old Pros Hoist a Potboiler Several Notches
Really just another attempt to squeeze some juice out of the aging-diva-as-murderous-nut-job genre, this one gets quite a sizable lift from two memorable actresses. Ruth Gordon doing her patented, deceptively off-center, crazy-like-a-fox character, and making the most of it. She's delightful.
And the extraordinary Geraldine Page giving conviction and ultimately a scary poignancy to the role of the murderess. Her last scene could have been so easily overplayed by another actress, but she gives it an unsettling aura of truth. Page never had quite the film career one would have hoped for, but here she gives you a taste of what she was capable of, for those who never got to see one of her legendary stage performances.
Worth a look for those interested in the genre and in the two star performances. Gordon had won her Oscar for "Rosemary's Baby" the year before, and Page would ultimately win one for "The Trip to Bountiful."
Mulan (1998)
An unfortunate disappointment
With all the wealth of Chinese art and history to draw upon, Mulan, in its visual style, looks like 1950s Disney: bland, slick, and bright. Only the opening title gives any hint of rich beauty of Asian art. Closer attention to traditional silk painting, scrolls, screens, etc. might have helped lift this one a notch.
As it is, its manner of storytelling is only a b-level imitation of other Disney flicks of the late '80s and 'early '90s. Standard stuff, though Eddie Murphy provides a little (very little) relief.
Still, Asian-American kids might (MIGHT) get a kick out of seeing one of their most revered cultural legends come to life onscreen. For the rest of us, it's slow going, though at least the heroine is not some airhead princess.
Pocahontas (1995)
2 and a half out of five.
This is middle-level Disney. While the true story of Pocohontas is interesting, this is not. Not even with a stunningly designed and animated title character. (Animator Glenn Keane has come a long way since Ariel of "The Little Mermaid.) Songs are so-so, ditto the supporting cast. Some real visual interest is there in "Colors of the Wind," and the scenes of the shaman's predictions illustrated by shifting designs in the smoke. Grandmother Willow (literally a willow tree) is merely an annoyance, partially animated by computer, and therefore a visual anomaly compared with most of the rest of the movie's look. The language barrier between Smith and our heroine is solved in a completely unconvincing way.
Better than Mulan, I guess.
It's a Gift (1934)
Funniest movie ever made. Period.
The Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup" comes close to this in terms of sheer lunacy. After that, you have to go forward about 30 years for the golden age of Peter Sellers.
I weep with joy at this one.
So what are you waiting for!???!!
Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
Great kid stuff
When I was a kid, I wanted every movie to be like Jack The Giant Killer. It was indeed intended to cash in on the success of 7th Voyage of Sinbad, but it has its own charms and delights. Though I'm still not sure exactly how the viking fits in.
Some of the costumed creatures and animated monsters may be a little too much for VERY young kids, but otherwise it's rousing, harmless fun that does the job very well. Especially considering the state of effects work at the time, and its low budget.
Mysterious Island (1961)
Some great stop-motion effects from Ray Harryhausen.
This movie doesn't have that much to do with the Jules Verne novel on which it's based. But it's an entertaining adventure from the early 1960's with delightful stop-motion animated special effects by Ray Harryhausen and a forceful music score by Bernard Herrmann. My favorite moments: that crab, and the beehive. And just who is it that is making the Island so mysterious? If you know something about the author, you'll probably guess. Good fun. (Though the actor playing the confederate soldier sounds like he's from the south alright -- South Dublin!)