richardlancemot8 Reviews

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

Good family film

[8/10 · 2 July 2022]

Good family film - fifteen or so years later, I've rewatched it, having become familiar with Henry Selick's other work. And this time I really enjoyed it.

The animation is high quality, despite being less ambitious than Selick's two other major films (the animated parts of James and the Giant Peach make up a film only about half the length of Coraline, and there aren't any of the huge crowds of characters that filled The Nightmare Before Christmas).

The songs, however, are nowhere near as good as those of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The less said about James' solo song at the start of the film the better. The only really good song in the movie also happens to be the only one that takes its lyrics from a rhyme in Dahl's book.

Now that this film has surprised me by being better than I remembered, despite its big changes from the book, perhaps I should give Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory another chance to do the same...

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Gene Wilder is great in this

[9/10 · 2 July 2022]

The movie's plot is about the titular Willy Wonka who owns a mysterious chocolate factory that nobody can have access to. Soon, Wonka announces that there is a contest that involves people buying his chocolate bars and finding golden tickets hidden inside. The winner receives a tour of his strange factory, but since there are only 5 tickets in the entire world, it's way easier said than done. A modest boy named Charlie is the story's unlikely protagonist, he is humble enough to not let the temptation of finding a golden ticket control his life. He doesn't expect to find one, and his family is much more important to him than a bunch of candy. As time goes by, the golden tickets start getting discovered by lucky children from various locations around the world, but the kids who win are all spoiled and don't really deserve them. A gluttonous German kid named Augustus is the first winner, followed by Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teevee. Finally, Charlie manages by pure luck to find a ticket after the original fifth winner is proved to be a fake. Out of all the children who win, Charlie is the only decent one that doesn't have a snarky, in-your-face attitude, and it makes the audience sympathize with him. The rest of the movie involves Charlie being taken on a tour (along with the other children) of Wonka's factory while he is chaperoned by his formerly bedridden grandfather. Wonka shows them all kinds of strange candy related things, from waterfalls made of melted chocolate to drinks that allow the consumer to float. There's a shocking false ending where Charlie, as the only remaining member of the tour after all the other kids have been eliminated, asks Wonka about the promised lifetime supply of chocolate, and Wonka tells him he's not getting any as he "broke the rules" by stealing the lifting drinks. Charlie's grandfather suggests to Charlie he should get even with Wonka by giving the recipes for some of his secret Candy to his adversary Slugworth, but Charlie returns the gobstopper to Wonka instead. As it turns out, this whole part was just a test of morals that only Charlie was decent enough to pass, and Wonka tells Charlie that his family now has legal ownership over his factory. The performances in this movie are all amazing, especially Wilder's, and he was without a doubt the best Willy Wonka ever.

Freedom (II) (2014)

Just watched it

[9/10 · 30 December 2019]

JUST WATCHED It. I was going into this thinking it was gonna suck and I wouldn't know what's going on and be confused and bored. NO. I WAS WRONG. BEYOND FASCINATING. and that is coming from someone who has zero interest in anything slave-related. I didn't know anything about John Newton but I learned soooooo much in this movie. Not only was it interesting but the cinematography is absolutely stunning. This movie was made so well. I enjoyed this so much more than I expected. GO SEE THIS. I agree with the others 10+

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Loved this musical!

[9/10 · 21 April 2012]

This is my favorite movie musical with no stage forebear.

Consider what's in the mix: A cachet of songs, all tried-and-true from other movies. A cast that was at the top of its form, all the way from Kelly himself to the supporting leads played by Rita Moreno and Millard Mitchell. A script that is, at once, romantic and exciting and sharp and funny.

Stir together with a generous heaping of MGM color and a dash of a director with a stellar pedigree and the result is, well, something like "Singin' in the Rain." There's not a misstep in the movie's entire 103-minute running time. I love the pokes at early filmmaking ("She never *did* figure out where that microphone was, boss!") and the sheer energy of the musical numbers ("Fit as a Fiddle," "Good Mornin'").

Not only that, but there's not a more romantic scene in all of filmdom that can compare with Reynolds and Kelly dancing to "You Were Meant for Me." Their side-by-side tap dancing says more about how they feel about each other than pages and pages of dialog.

Great stuff! If you think this movie is just the sequence of Kelly splashing like a five-year-old in a puddle, you obviously haven't seen the entire film. Do so--now! You won't regret it! PS: In the "rent-this-too" category, if you've seen and love "Singin' in the Rain," check out "The Band Wagon." It skewers the world of theater in much the same way as this film roasts Hollywood!

Suing the Devil (2011)

Can anyone confirm a sequel?

[9/10 · 21 April 2012]

I heard there's a sequel for this film in the works after the success on VOD. Anyone hear of this? I agree that most of the time sequels to great movies are no good. Get to the third installment and it's become a joke. One of the lone exceptions to this rule is Back to the Future Part III. It's just a perfect movie. Entertaining, intelligent, and funny it is a hoot for fans of the first movie.

I really hope they bring Malcolm back and this time do it in front of the Supreme Court! Yak! Yak! :)

Btw, where will Malcolm pay? If you can explain the plot hole I'd be grateful cause I want to rate this film 10 out of 10 cause otherwise it is great.

Richard L. (also a screenwriter if the producers are interested!)