youngsteve Reviews

Christopher Columbus (1904)

BIG BUDGET EPIC FOR THE TIME

[5/10 · 30 April 2024]

Impressive looking biopic about the famous explorer, though much of the plot in the latter part of the film seems made up. Color printed and lucious looking, which no doubt was popular with audiences of the times. Acting stagey as most was at the time, but in most part is okay,

Long film, of around 12 minutes, with around 8 scenes, & story seems to be quite easy to follow. European, & particularly the French were in the forefront of cinema at this time, though in four years DW Griffiths would arrive & change filmaking & advanced American cinema. If you are interested in old movies, this is one of the better ones of the time.

The Outcast and the Bride (1903)

Confusing Plot

[4/10 · 27 April 2024]

I am unsure if all the film is here. On IMDB it says it is three minutes long, but only print available is around two minutes, & it does seem slight & not full story going on, though many of these early films were like that. Film quality though is good, certaily on the print I watched, & acting is okay for time.

My interpretation is that the two young girls in the beginning are sisters. When they grow up one leaves, though you don't know what happens to her. The other sister later marries, & finds a woman collapsed outside the church, who seems to be her sister, & is the outcast of the title. She takes her home, puts her in her bed, & she seems to die, with angels seen in picture.

Strange film, though the makers seem to have put a plot with different scenes together, though it struggles to work. Have to give them credit for trying, as plots & stories were the future of filmaking.

Marie Antoinette (1904)

Luscious looking fragment

[5/10 · 24 April 2024]

From the five minutes that seem to be available, this looks like a big budget film for the time. Luscious sets, with realistic looking costumes, with good looking cast, even if most of the men seem to be played by women, which seemd to be par for the course in French cinema at the time. Melie films in particular.

I am not sure how long the whole film is supposed to be, but as it covers the revolution, trial & execution of Marie Antoinette, I expect was a big length film of the day. It would be nice if the rest of the film was found, for us all to watch. It does seem strange though that even though this large fragment has been avaialble for nearly a decade, & the interest in this part of history, that so few people seem to have discovered it yet, hence my review.

People will probably think my score quite low, but it is very difficult to rate part of something, so in these cases usually give an average score like this.

Les Levanni, barristes comiques (1903)

It's time had gone

[3/10 · 24 April 2024]

Positively, you can say that the two sort of clowns in this film were athletic, & very good acrobats. The film was also three minutes long, which was above average for the time. I expect if audiences had seen this five years before they would have been quite mesmerized. Problem was time had moved on & audiences would have been looking for more entertainment like from Melies, Zucca etc, rather that these actuality type films, even if this one added comedy to it.

These one scene films were soon to be history, with filmakers slowly moving away from these cardboard sets into the real world. For a view into an old world this is probably worth a look, then best forgotten.

AAA Championships at Fartown, Huddersfield (1901)

Informative & interesting early sports film

[6/10 · 14 April 2024]

One of the earliest films about athletics covering the AA Championships of 1901. Film shows many of the leading athletes at the championships, who between them had won many titles & records. As of now many of the best were from America, but had come over here to compete, which showd the event must have been prestigious even then. They did all look remarkably fit, including the field events.

Film quality is very good & like many Mitchell & Kenyon films the modern voice overs about what is going on are rather good. They were certainly better at actualities than fictional films. I do recommend this & all Mitchell & Kenyon films.

Not Forgotten (2009)

Certainly forgotten

[4/10 · 8 March 2024]

I really wanted to like this movie, & watched it all the way through hoping it would be good, but unfortunately it never did. Plot, with young daughter getting kidnapped was good, & the reveals about who the main character really was, but it never really got going, & the conclusion was poor. Simon Baker was good, whith Chloe Moretz giving her usual watchable performance. Weakest part was his wife. Paz Vega, who whispered & mumbled throughout, & struggled to hear what she was saying, despite keep turning the sound up.

All in all a disappointing film, & one I wont be watching again, like so many others that promise much & fail to deliver.

The Living Ghost (1942)

Just dreadful & annoying

[1/10 · 3 March 2024]

Sometimes poverty row movies can be good, even in a bad way, but this is just an awful attempt with no redeeming features at all. Supposed to be a mystery of sorts, but from the off you realise this is just bad, particularly the so called leading actor who is shocking & awful throughout. The leading lady is probably the best of a bad bunch of actors, but has zero chemistry with the main clown, who looks way older than her. The film is only around an hour long but seems far far longer, & kept looking at my watch to see how much of this travesty was left, until finally put out of my misery as it ended. One of the worst films I have seen in a long time, & I have seen plenty of bad ones.

The Black Raven (1943)

Lacklustre Mystery, which is soon forgotten

[3/10 · 29 February 2024]

I must admit not expecting too much from poverty row films, though you can sometimes find a gem, but unfortunately not here. Lame plot where every villian in the area seems to meet up together at same time, wandering around & talking nonsense throughout. Acting is quite poor, with the exception of the classy & clever George Zucco. Bland leading lady & her partner who add nothing. Glenn Strange plays a sort of dimwitted servant, but compared to the sheriff, who must be one of the biggest imbeciles in movie history, he seems intelligent. Might pass away an hour, though only real reason to watch is the impressive Zucco.

The Box (I) (2009)

Interesting initial premise, then goes off the rails.

[2/10 · 16 February 2024]

This was a short story, which was made into a nice Twilight Zone episode a few years back. This film starts well with the same plot, but unfortunately manages to take another 90 min to resolve it. The film got dumber & dumber, with strange things happening with no answers. I even waited for the titles to come up to see if there was a revelation at the end but no such luck.

The other major problem with the film was understanding what people were saying as the fool director had the habit of thinking it was fun to have loud music in the background to drown out the voices, to make things even more confusing.

Awful film that was good first 30 min then lost the plot. Luckily the director doesn't seem to have been let lose on anything since.

The Vampire Next Door (2024)

Expecting Fright Night clone, but instead just a fright

[2/10 · 5 February 2024]

I wanted to like this film, despite having a tiny budget & cast, but in the end was so relieved when it finished. Lead actor was actually quite good & likeable, but most of the rest of the cast were awful, especially the boring vampire next door. Girl in burger store was at least cute. The girl they all lusted for was certainly attractive in a porn star like way, with her breasts constantly centre stage, & had the only interesting scene in the film when she got together with the vampire chick, but then she closed the curtains so couldn't even see Miss porn star getting seduced by Miss vampire chick. Like another person mentioned, all the men were lame, probably except for the lead who was cute, & women were all strong, though boring.

This is a poor film & already scoring well under 5, which will soon go down alot more when people start watching this. Avoid, unless you really like bad films.

Poltergeist III (1988)

Although no where as good as original, certainly better than sequel

[5/10 · 2 February 2024]

This is different from the first two in that it is set in a towerblock rather than single house, & Carol Anne is the only one of orignal family in it. This though is not a downside as tragic Heather O'Rourke is probably the best in it, though many of the other characters are not too bad, in particular her Aunt, Uncle & Cousin.

First half is good with build up of things happening, but once Carol Anne & others go missing it seem to lose its way, & the ending was quite abrupt, not really explaining anything.

I was also confused with Nancy Allen's character, the Aunt, who kept changing her opinion of poor Caral Anne. Early on she was kind, seeming to really like her, then when she disappeared seemd to think she was bad & not worth saving, then end part really loving her again. Wish she made her mind up.

All in all worth watching, even though not great, but certainly a big improvement from the second movie. Not sure why that ranks higher.

Forget Me Not (II) (2009)

Surprisingly Good

[7/10 · 15 January 2024]

I must admit to really enjoying this film, far more than I expected. Like others I thought the first half hour was pretty boring, full of tedious characters, & not great acting. The lead was also pretty uninspiring. Her brother & Angela were though good, as was Barbara Bain, a blast from the past.

It then picked up well once in the graveyard & the unknown girl appears. Then they started getting picked off one at a time, & ingeniously only Sandy the main character remembering that they even existed. Sandy also started remembering Angela, & near end what had happened years before. One thing I would point out to others who are confused, is each time a character died they joined the ghouls attacking a character, which is why there were more each time another died.

I also really liked the end. & would reccomend the film, despite the mainly unknown cast, & not very likeable characters.

Bull Shark (2022)

Makes Ed Wood look like Spielberg.

[1/10 · 8 January 2024]

I don't do many reviews lately, but had to reply after watching this load of rubbish. Ignore the massive amounts of 10's, obviously from the director & his family. This film is an utter turd, with shocking acting, & characters, none of which you care a dime for.

If you watch a shark movie, you expect at least some gore in it, but this film has none, & is as frightening as a kids cartoon. Makers should be prosecuted unter the trade description act for false advertising. The main actor is bad in this, with his boring personal issues, but he looks Shakesperian in comparison to the rest of the cast, most of whom can't act to save there lives.

This is one of the worst films I have ever seen, seeing many turkeys over the years, & advise anyone who hasn't seen it, to avoid at all cost.

The Keep (1983)

Oh dear, Oh dear

[3/10 · 20 June 2022]

I have heard many negative comments about this movie, particularly from fans of the book, so wasn't expecting much, but even so had forgotten how poor this film was. The film meanders all over the place, not too surprising since it was originally three hours long, which explains a lot, with both the writer & director disowning it. Having just read the book I can certainly understand the authors annoyance with this adaptation, clearing removing everything that made the book good.

The film has a quality cast, with many well known actors, but despite that the acting generally is poor throughout, with the possible exception of Jurgen Prochnow, who at least tries. Surprisingly, the worst culprit is Ian McKellen (not something I ever thought I would say) who spends all the film acting like Victor Meldrew shouting around, & nothing like the intelligent, frail character of the book. The actress playing the daughter is nearly as bad, lacking the innocence & beauty of the character in book. Contains a completely irrelevant 80's sex scene, which adds nothing to film.

Although there are two units of troops, regulars & Nazis, you wouldn't have thought so as people just wander in & out of the keep at will. Luckily there are no partisans nearby as they certainly would have no resistance. The foreboding & dread everyone has is completely missing,as is the use of the dead troops. The worst thing of the film has to be the constant music being played, which makes the film sound like a 80's music video, instead of a tense horror film. Now I like Tangerine Dream music, but it is completely wrong for this film.

All in all, avoid at all costs, & just read the book. If you are going to adapt books like this at least do it properly. Perhaps a remake is due.

Eragon (2006)

An enjoyable fantasy film

[7/10 · 7 June 2022]

Unlike many on here I haven't read the novels film is based on so cannot get upset of what isn't the same, though do understand why people do. I found the film a pleasant experience & a film that can be enjoyed by the whole family. The acting is good, filled with many British stars, that do a decent job overall. Robert Carlyle & Jeremy Irons stood out, though the lead was quite wooden & didn't do it for me. Dragon was nice, & well voiced by Rachel Weisz.

One thing that did amuse me was the that in most hollywood films throughout history, the leading man is usually years older than the leading lady, but here it was surprisingly reversed, with the teenage hero interested in the older princess (Must admit did think she was his mother at first, but didn't seem to be). Mind you Sienna Guillroy is an attractive older woman so can understand him. Kept thinking she was going to gun everyone down as Jill Valentine.

There were some things that I didn't understand such as why send the egg to him, what happened to his cousin & parents, & why the king just skulked in his palace. All in all though a pleasant experience, & sad no other films of the series were made, which would probably have answered the plot holes.

Darkness (2002)

Sounds good, but flatters to deceive

[3/10 · 23 May 2022]

On the surface this had the potential to be a good film, with good plot & alot of good actors, but just shows how wrong you can be. Film starts off jumping all over the place, not helped by a cameraman who seems to have servitas dance, as he cannot keep the camera still, & goes downhill after this.

The acting is quite frankly poor, with only the small boy, who seems to have only done this role, & Anna Paquin showing any energy to put themselves in their roles, whilst the rest seem to be going through the motions. Lena Olin is particularly bad, & seems to be in a trance throughout.

Plot has many plotholes & makes little sense, although I can understand the ending, I had lost all interest long before that. It was also a bit creepy, that Paquin looked like a schoolgirl, though not sure of her age in film, & was going out with a bloke who looked old enough to be her father.

All in all yet another very average horror movie, with a director who is average at best, & not one I can recommend.

On Secret Service (1912)

Well made American Civil War Espionage Film

[7/10 · 7 November 2020]

I stumbled upon this seemingly not to well known & low rated film, which I found entertaining & well made for the era. Thomas Ince made alot of good films in this period, normally westerns or others made around this period, which is one of those.This is yet another American Civil War plot, with espionage involved, but what makes it will made is the characters are fleshed out, & there is a serious plot for once, all of which come together well & makes sense.

The acting is good for this period, particulalry Ann Little, who was a prominent feature in westerns & action films. & who obviously was a fit girl. The locations are okay, & an early battle scene was very well done, with lots of troops involved. Not sure if part of it was from other films though. The characters stay in part, & even though the Northern Agent gets involved with the Southern girl, neither betways what they believe, like they normally do. Indeed the girl brings about her lovers death in another surprise from normal.

All in all a good watch if you are into early civil war stories, & at around 33 minutes quite a long film for the day.

The Post Telegrapher (1912)

Exciting Western of the period

[27 June 2020]

By the look of this film, this seems to have been a big budget western of the time, & fairly long for the period. The plot that there is involves a Post Telegrapher played by Francis Ford, who also directed, who receives a message about the Sioux Indians looking like they are going on the warpath, & is sent with a unit to try to put them down. The Indians in the meanwhile massacre settlers, though never seen killing the women & children. One of the Children seems to have been Mildred Harris, who a few years later would become Charlie Chaplins wife. The unit gets massacred, but fort is warned by the injured Ford, & an army patrol is sent out with his beloved, Ann Little, the Colonel's daughter tagging on.

The plot is a basic one featuring Cavalryman & Indians fighting each other, with no real reason for the violence, as they happily slaughter each other. That said the set pieces are well done & direction is good, with a cinematic feel. The acting is average for this time, though secondary to the action so nothing really lost. I would add that Ann Little might have not been a great actress, but she certainly knew how to ride & handle herself, & was actually the real thing as a action girl from the west, playing many such roles & also Indian maidens. She was also it seems very interested in the Indian culture & was supportive of them, as they were of her.

The version I watched was from Eye Films, & unfortunately there were no English sub titles. In fairness there is good outline of plot from this website & it is not hard grasping what is happening. Overall a good exciting film for the time, & just showed how westerns were advancing as a staple diet of American films.

Love Amongst the Lions (1912)

Heavy going Drama

[26 May 2020]

I have viewed a few of this directors films & it was clear he was a decent storyteller of this time. Although this is not among his best, it is watchable & was probably well received when it came out.

The plot is mainly a three way love triangle, with a married professional lion tamer, seduced by a rich exciting lover, who seems to be a better catch than her loyal but duller husband. Too late, she realises her error, with tragic consequences. The acting is well done, particularly the classy & attractive wife, & adds to the story.

Not bad & good for a viewing, but if you are looking for something out of the ordinary you won't get it here.

Wide Brimmed Hats Are Fashionable (1912)

Forgettable Comedy

[22 May 2020]

As there were no reviews for this early comedy I thought I would add a few notes on it.

It is basically a succession of comedic scenes involving a guy whose headwear is laughed at, who then gets an even more outrageous hat, with chaotic results. It would be nice to say this was funny, but unfortunately not, & made in a macabre way only Italians can make. The only scene which did gain a laugh was when he sliced a persons, who was walking by, head off with his massive hat , & the headless individual picked it up & carried on walking.

It might have been better if the comic wasn't so tedious & unfunny, thinking all he has to do is smirk like a village idiot. Certainly a film left forgotten, but interesting in an historical sense.

The Lieutenant's Last Fight (1912)

Gritty Early Western

[2 April 2020]

As there are no reviews for this film, I thought I would add a few comments.

Interesting story of chiefs son who enrols at officers military school, where after many years he leaves as a lieutenant. Unfortunately upon leaving he has his first commission at Fort Custer, where is fellow officers seethe with prejudice & dislike for him, leading to a downward spiral.

The acting in this is good for its time, particularly from Art Acord, Francis Ford, & the commanders daughter ' Ethel Grandin, who is the only one nice to the Lieutenant as well as very attractive. Except for a fight midway through the main action scenes are at the end of the film, & are well done & gritty.

Westerns were starting to become a big part of the film industry by this time, & were certainly improving all the time, as this one shows. Certainly worth a watch if you are looking for an early Western a bit out of the ordinary.

The Engagement Ring (1912)

If you are looking for laughs I suggest go elsewhere.

[20 December 2019]

For some reason this is listed as a comedy, which is probably to do with the actress & director, but it isn't, & expect this is why scores are low on here. The plot is a basic one where two suiters go after a girl, one rich & one poor, & you probably have an idea which one the girl goes for. The rich guy is a not nice & goes out of his way to get his rival ridiculed & out of the way.

Picture quality has also faded in parts. The acting is adequate for the era, with many of D W Griffiths troupe involved. Probably the only real reason to view it is for Mabel Normand, who though early in her career here, is on the brink of stardom. One to watch if only to see early Mabel & like viewing old films

As a Boy Dreams (1911)

Best forgotten Pirate Movie

[12 September 2019]

As others have written this is not a very good film, & coincided with Mary Pickford leaving Biograph for IMP. She made a series of equally poor value films with her family on location. This one she stars with her brother Jack Pickford, who is the cabin boy, kidnapped onto a ship. The acting in it is quite poor, with the exception of the divine Mary & her brother, both of whom look really young here. He was nearly 16 when the film was made

Weirdly brother Jack is Mary's romantic interest, in this bizarre tale, when in the end they actually marry each other. Certainly the only time I have seen a real life brother & sister marry each other on screen. Not only is this a bit sinister for todays audiences, it doesn't help him looking so young as well, which he was. I notice they hardly kiss each other, before it jumps to another scene. Obviously they weren't ready for incest at this stage.

None of these Mary Pickford IMP films are anything to recommend, & only thing in this ones favour is the weird love interest.

Frank Merriwell in Arizona; or, the Mystery Mine (1910)

Early Impressive Western

[4 September 2019]

As there are no reviews or ratings for this title I thought I would do one. Strange as there is a very clear print from Eye on youtube since 2014. The character Frank Merriwell started as stories in Magazines from 1896 & ended up in novels & comic books until mid 1930's, selling millions of copies of the various stories. There is actually a 12 episode film serial in 1936. This though seem the only other film made.

This film as the title mentions has Frank Merriwell buying a mine in a small town in Arizona, where he has to avoid the attention of a sleazy businessman & his henchman, as well as trying to help out a heroine whose father seems to be the town drunk. Obviously there is a romantic angle between them, as time goes on. There is also a reference to the temperance campaigner 'Carrie Nation, who the hero disguises himself as, & later the real one turns up. Not sure if it is really her or not, as all the cast are not listed, though I expect not.

By all accounts this seems to be a quite large production of the time, with well made sets, & a cast who play their roles quite well, considering the time period. There is a quite a few scenes in the film, & it goes on for around 27 minutes, which was really long at this time. The quality of the film is also very good, & you can clearly see what is happening.

I haven't rated the film, as never do with shorts or early films, but this is a well made film for this time, & if you want to see an early western this is as good as any.

Animated Cotton (1909)

Early British Animation

[23 May 2019]

Like the two previous reviewers I have also seen a version of this film on YT which is around 3.5 minutes in length though looks fairly complete. This version didn't have the cotton moving around the house, which either means it isn't the same version or has scenes missing, which I expect is the latter.

Man in the foreground playing with the cotton is probably the Director Walter Booth, & probably his wife who is seen later on. The film is quite detailed & skilful, but in the main it is just building up pictures, & there is relatively little action, unlike Emile Cohl films of this time. Obviously this was top quality in techniques & animation but overall pretty boring, & not really to be recommended unless you want to see the history of animation.