Erin's Movie Musings - July 6, 2006
Greetings movie fans!
See, I really didn't forget all of you. I've seen three new
movies in the last week (X-Men 3 (stay to the end of the
credits; it will knock your socks off), Cars, and Superman
Returns; all worth seeing), but I haven't had a chance to write
them up yet. But, I know I've left you all hanging for months
now, so here are a few to keep you occupied until I have a
chance this weekend to sit down and write up the new stuff.
Consider this the "classics edition."
Films Reviewed:
* Titanic - 1953 (Not Rated)
* Ocean's 11 - 1960 (Not Rated)
* Holiday Inn (Not Rated)
* Dangerous When Wet (Not Rated)
Titanic - 1953
(Not Rated)
In a Nutshell: Excellent! Not very historically accurate, but oddly
compelling nonetheless.
Quick Plot: The trouble and strife of a ficticious family
onboard the ill-fated maiden voyage of the famous luxury liner.
In Detail: I was extremely interested in finally seeing this
film. It is *the* classic version of the story, and I can
clearly see its influence on James Cameron in his versions.
Some shots were taken almost frame for frame from this film,
which I consider a very nice touch on his part. The historical
accuracy is rather pitiful, though. The costumes are off (too
much 50s style comes through), the sets, though lavish, are not
even close to the pictures we all know by heart (not even an
accurate grand staircase, for goodness sake), the ship doesn't
break apart (though there is still some controversy as to
whether that happened above or below the water)... I could go on
and on. But still, for all that, it really is quite a good
movie, with the kind of intense and layered performances that
you simply don't see these days. There are many characters who
are obviously supposed to be other people (like a Molly Brown
type who isn't named that), and with the historical
inaccuracies, if you just ranamed the ship and thought of it as
a sort of take-off on the Titanic story, I think it would come
off much better. The special effects are also quite excellent,
all things considered, years if not decades ahead of their time.
Worth seeing if you like classic movies or are a Titanic buff
(so you can pick it apart, hee-hee).
Will I Buy It? I may, simply because I'm a Titanic nut. On its
own merits as a film? Probably not. Too many classics are
better, IMO.
Ocean's 11 - 1960
(Not Rated)
In a Nutshell: Shockingly, I was bored out of my skull! We
watched about 45 minutes of it and were falling asleep. We
didn't even finish it! A huge disappointment.
Quick Plot: Eleven friends who know each other from World War II
service plan to rob five of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas in
one night.
In Detail: Not a lot of detail to give, especially when we only
watched about 35% of the movie. I was so stunned. We started
watching it around 8 PM, and by 8:45, we were both falling
asleep in our recliners. The movie was just that slow and
boring. I had heard such great things about it, and besides,
this is THE Rat Pack, ya know? Surely their greatest film is
worth watching, right? Sadly no, it just wasn't for us. I
wanted a heist film. Instead, I got 45 minutes of backstory
that wasn't even very interesting about characters I didn't care
for at all. This is one of the few times I have ever preferred
the remake to the original. If someone can convince me that it
is worth a retry, I might reconsider, but at the moment, I am
just fine never finishing it.
Will I Buy It? No.
Holiday Inn (Not Rated)
(Not Rated)
In a Nutshell: Cute premise that unfolds in a very standard
fashion, typical of 40s rom-coms. Still, it's Bing Crosby and
Fred Astaire; how bad can it be?
Quick Plot: A singer separates from his dancing partner to open
a country inn that is only open on holidays, with themed shows
for each one.
In Detail: An enjoyable 40s musical rom-com, interesting in the
premise department, but rather boring in execution. There are
some interesting historical aspects to it, though, like
Roosevelt's attempt to change the date for Thanksgiving, or
Lincoln's Birthday and Washington's Birthday being separate
holidays (i.e. no President's Day). Also, the war footage shown
during the Independence Day number was from World War I, with
biplanes and everything! The film was only made in 1942, so
there probably wasn't much WWII footage to go around yet,
certainly not in Hollywood. And if you do get a chance to see
it, keep this in mind while watching the drunk dance: Astaire
had two drinks of burbon before the first take, and one drink of
burbon before each additional take. The 7th and final take was
the one used. Method dancing, anyone? LOL A good one if you
like these kinds of movies, but not the best example of the
genre I've seen.
Will I Buy It? Unlikely.
Dangerous When Wet
(Not Rated)
In a Nutshell: No, not a thriller; an Esther Williams musical
from 1953. Pretty typical of the era. Nothing to rave about.
Quick Plot: A small-town farm girl is convinced by a slick
promoter to participate in a contest to swim the English
Channel.
In Detail: Ah, but what is there to say of this movie? A very
straight forward 50s era musical, though I do like Esther
Williams (much prefer Take Me Out to the Ballgame, though; at
least it has Sinatra and Kelly). It was interesting to finally
get to see Fernando Lamas in action, though. I had heard much
about him, but had never actually seen him in anything. I
actually think he'd make a better seductive bad guy than leading
man. Ah well. Nothing inspiring or amazing here, most
especially the music, which was dismal. It was quite lacking in
both quality and variety (there were like only three songs
repeated over and over in the whole thing). This film is
probably best known for the underwater dream sequence with her
and Tom and Jerry (mouse and cat, respectively; and yes, this
*is* an MGM picture, why do you ask?). If you like this kind of
thing, then it's fine to watch, but nothing to go out of your
way for.
Will I Buy It? Couldn't even if I wanted to (and I don't). It
is not available on DVD at all or VHS (except in Canada,
apparently).
Okay, that's it for today's edition. Thanks for hanging in
there with me! Brand spankin' new reviews next time, I promise.
Hope you are enjoying the summer movie season so far!!
-Erin, Movie Muse
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