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The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
Wonderful acting throughout
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934). Fine performances in this film adaptation of the play. Poet Elizabeth Browning (Norma Shearer), sick and shut in, corresponds with, and later meets the younger poet Robert Browning (Fredric March), who helps give her strength to live life, and gives physical form to a love between them already established through reading each other's poems. Wonderful performance by Charles Laughton as Elizabeth's strict, menacing, religious father, who delivers as much incestulous-glint into his eyes and creepy closeness as 1930's sensibilities would allow. Also, a very nice job by a young Maureen O'Sullivan, although her very voice draws me out of the film and leaves me expecting Tarzan to burst in at any moment. Finally, Uma O'Connor is my most favorite supporting character actress of all time.
Thor at the Bus Stop (2009)
Thor at the Bus Stop is a lot of quirky fun
Thor at the Bus Stop definitely exceeded my expectations, and, even though it's a low-budget (no budget?) independent film, I enjoyed it more than its far-more expensive distant cousin, Thor: Dark World.
Thor at the Bus Stop owes its success to two brothers, Jerry and Mike Thompson, who wrote, starred in, edited, and did nearly everything else in this oddly endearing film. A third Thompson brother helped them film it, as did their film-school teacher, David Schmoeller (Puppetmaster, Tourist Trap,
), who's guidance helped steer them toward success.
In the movie, the title character, Thor, God of Thunder, is on route to Ragnarök, the twilight of the Norse Gods, where he knows he is destined to die in a final battle with the Midgard Serpent. Thor's final journey takes him through a nameless town on the edge of Las Vegas. He must have lost his goat-drawn chariot somewhere along the way because he's just standing around waiting for the bus to take him to his last stop. And, well, as one might expect in a world that's forgotten him, Thor's kind of depressed about it all and feeling rather unappreciated.
But the real story here is a patchwork of eccentric characters slowly moving around Thor, and the crossing and interweaving of their lives and stories. We have the likes of White-Trash Chuck, who's spent a life trying to be cool, and failing miserably; One-Way Walter, a rather polite car jacker who nonetheless is intent upon murder; some bath-robed clad man, striding with unknown purpose, while carrying milk jugs; a girl who wants her overly laid- back boyfriend to be assertive, more of a "jerk"; a couple of unusual police officers who buddy together; fake news reporters; and even some punks who bully small children to steal their lunch boxes.
It's all
good, funny, enjoyable to watch. Don't expect great acting, elaborate props, special effects, and so on, but also be prepared to have a fun time and to be impressed with the art that can be created by a talented pair of young film-school grads with no budget, a cast of volunteer actors, and some excellent local band music.
Le avventure di Mary Read (1961)
Greatly Enjoyed This One
All that I really want to say that this movie was far better than I would have expected. Still, I need a minimum of ten lines to be able to post here. So, let me further recommend it to anyone who enjoys pirate movies. Try to track it down. The copy that I watched was not the cleanest, and it was filled with many scratches, broken-film like splices, and so on. However, that did not distract too much from my overall enjoyment. What made this one stand out for me was that it had a better story than most. Though it had many of the same elements that you will find in other female pirate movies, it felt more realistic to me. Mary is smart and believable. I could see a crew following her lead.
This one seems ripe for a modern remake.
The Spanish Main (1945)
Red Jacket Goof?
As mentioned as a goof, the Barracuda's hands are tied, yes, but then the red jacket is just draped over him. (Likely to hide that he's tied up from other people/tavern goers in the area.) When the scene cuts back to him, he's struggling to get free of his fetters.
The Jacket could have easily fallen off him as he struggled. I'm color blind, but there looks to be two objects on the bridge next to him, one that looks like a jacket crumpled behind him to the far left.
It does look, however, that his right hand comes free when he's standing on the bridge--whoops!--then it looks like he shoves it back again.
Anyway, so I wouldn't say goof. At best, we just didn't see the jacket fall off. Apart from that, my only comment is that this film is okay. Not Maureen O'Hara's best work, sure, and not even her best pirate movie (watch Against All Flags instead), but it's enjoyable and worth a look.