How the Grinch Stole Christmas/Horton Hears a Who (1965) (Not Rated)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas & Horton Hears a Who (1965) (Not Rated)
Directed by Ben Washam & Chuck Jones
Voices: Boris Karloff, Thurl Ravenscroft, Hans Conreid, June Foray

Daddy Says:

Yes, I know it's full-on Summer outside (at least here in the United States it is... turns out we've got some readers from all over the world. Hello, everybody!). But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying some good animated short films, especially if you're wanting to keep your movie choices somewhat family-friendly due to the young age of your partner movie reviewer.

The stories should be fairly familiar to most readers. How the Grinch Stole Christmas tells us about the Whos down in Whoville getting ready to celebrate Christmas, and the Grinch far above who can't stand all the happiness and noise, and comes up with the idea to try and steal Christmas to keep it from coming.

Horton Hears a Who may be less familiar, simply because it isn't shown on television every year in December. It's the story of an elephant named Horton who, with his large ears, is able to hear a voice calling for help emanating from a tiny dust speck. Horton talks to the speck and finds out that there are Whos in there with a whole city of their own. Unfortunately, the Moral Majority, I mean, uh, a kangaroo and some gossipy birds conspire to put Horton in a cage and destroy the dust speck, because obviously since they can't hear anything, Horton must be crazy, and he must be stopped before he brings down property values and family values. I'm probably reading too much into a simple Dr. Seuss story, but it really does seem like he's ranting against the group think mentality here, and is strongly in the corner of the individualist.

The animation doesn't really compare to a movie like Pinocchio. These are Chuck Jones films, and if you look at them you'll see how much like Looney Tunes they resemble. Many times a character will look out at the audience and blink a couple of times, with the accompanying sound effect (a violin being plucked, I believe), just like good ole Wyle E. Coyote does in his cartoons.

Many times the backgrounds are loops which repeat as the foreground moves in place in front of it. This is done as a cost-saving measure and it shows, but we're not really watching these for the quality of the animation. We're watching these for the quality of the story and for characters which we can identify with, and enjoy being around for a short amount of time. And on that basis, these succeed wonderfully. On one aspect, I admit to being slightly confused: If the Whos are actually living inside a dust speck in Horton Hears a Who, does that mean that the entire story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas takes place inside a dust speck? That actually kind of makes sense now that I think about it.

Rating for How the Grinch Stole Christmas & Horton Hears a Who: *****.

My Son Says:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic, lovable Christmas story. It's nice to just curl up on Christmas Eve and just enjoy a short film. My favorite part was when the x-ray thing that showed his heart inside was broken apart by his heart expanding three sizes that day. My second favorite part was the song that the Whos sing. My third favorite part was when the Grinch is slithering on the floor like a snake. My least favorite part was when Cyndi Lou Who came into the room.

Horton Hears a Who is also a classic, lovable story. My favorite part was when Horton was struggling, holding the clover with the dust speck on it, being caged and pulled on, when the Who was rushing through the town and found the small boy who couldn't decide between a "yip" or a "yapp".  My second favorite part was when Horton first heard the Whos. My third favorite part was when everybody else found out there were actually Whos on the dust speck. My least favorite part was when it ended.

Rating for How the Grinch Stole Christmas & Horton Hears a Who: *****.

Pinocchio (1940) (Not Rated)

Pinocchio (1940) (Not Rated)

Directed by Ben Sharpsteen & Hamilton Luske

Voices: Dick Jones, Cliff Edwards, Christian Rub, Walter Catlett

Daddy Says:

Pinocchio is one of my all-time favorite animated features. In my family, I seem to be the only one of that mindset, but I shall attempt to explain why I find it to be such a wonderful film.

I'm sure I don't have to go into a great deal of explaining when it comes to the story. When a film like Shrek can simply stick a little wooden boy into a scene, have him tell a lie and have his nose grow, without having to explain who this is supposed to be, I think it's safe to say that as a culture we've all come to know the story of Pinocchio.

But if it's possible, when watching this great film, try to see it through fresh eyes, the way people saw it for the first time seventy years ago when it was released. Even for it's time, this was groundbreaking animation. Walt Disney was one of the first pioneers of using different layers in his animation. Watch how the scene almost looks 3D when we get the first-person perspective of Jiminy Cricket as he hops over to Geppetto's workshop. Also, watch when Honest John and Gideon are walking down the street singing with Pinocchio. It's not done the usual way of having them walk sideways against a moving backdrop. We see them from above in a three-quarters perspective and the camera travels down and to the right diagonally, then back up and to the right. Just another example of not following the traditional rules of animation.

The dialogue is also very amusing. Jiminy Cricket's dialogue especially. As he warms his posterior near a lump of fiery coal, he says "As I stood there warming my (pause)... myself", as if he realizes there might be young ears in the audience and doesn't want to offend their sensibilities. Another throwaway line of his ("What does an actor want with a conscience anyway?") made me laugh out loud. This is really good writing, the kind I've come to expect only from Pixar these days. Great animation, great characters, great writing, what more could you want from a classic animated film?

Rating for Pinocchio: *****.

My Son Says:

Pinocchio is kind of funny, but in one scene it's scary. The scene that I'm talking about is when you see the shadow of a boy and he turns into a donkey. It scares me. I liked the part where they're fighting Monstro the whale. I liked it because it was action, and I love action. I liked the part where Jiminy Cricket is finally falling asleep when all the clocks ticking and the snoring and other sounds are keeping him awake, so he yells "Quiet!" and suddenly everything stops moving. The old man was quite forgetful.

Rating for Pinocchio: ****1/2.

Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures (1989/1993/1995) (Not Rated)

Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures (1989/1993/1995) (Not Rated)
Directed by Nick Park
Voices: Peter Sallis

Daddy Says:

Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures is the DVD release featuring three of the short films by claymation animator Nick Park. The set includes A Grand Day Out, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, as well as A Close Shave and The Wrong Trousers, both of which took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

For anyone unfamiliar with the animated duo, Wallace is the human  and Gromit is the dog, although since Gromit is the more mature, intelligent and less scatter-brained of the pair, their roles aren't really that rigid. They're English, meaning they enjoy a nice cup of tea in the afternoons, along with some cheese and crackers. Their first short, A Grand Day Out, revolves around what to do when they're out of cheese. Now everyone knows that the moon is made of cheese, so the logical thing to do is to build a rocket ship and fly to the moon to get some cheese, right?

Park's second short, The Wrong Trousers, takes place on Gromit's birthday. For a present, Wallace invents a pair of mechanical pants that will be happy to take Gromit out for "walkies". Soon, a new lodger in the form of a penguin shows up, and it looks like Gromit may be being replaced as the favorite pet. But the penguin may have ulterior motives, and it's up to Gromit to come to the rescue.

A Close Shave tells the story of a lost sheep named Shawn, some sheep rustlers, a forced shortage of wool, and a possible love interest for Wallace. Then there's the Knit-o-Matic, which will wash the sheep, give him a "close shave", process the raw wool, knit a sweater and even put it on for you. Anyone who's seen Park's Chicken Run will recognize this device as an early prototype for the Pie Making Machine in that film.

All three of these shorts are at least worth watching. The latter two, especially, show a marked improvement in the animation of the first one. Their stories as well become more complex, yet not hard to follow in the slightest. Even the jokes get more elaborate as they progress, sometimes building off of things that happened either earlier in the same film or sometimes in the prior ones.

Ten years after these shorts were made, Nick Park made a full-length feature featuring this lovable duo. It's possible that you'll be able to find the feature easier than these short films, but if you've never seen a Wallace & Gromit film I'd recommend you start with these three classic short films.

Rating for Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures: *****.

My Son Says:

Wallace & Gromit is probably the best claymation I've ever seen. My favorite part of A Close Shave was when there were a bunch of sheep in his house and at the very end of the scenes where he was crying about Gromit being put in jail, the sheep started crying as well. In The Wrong Trousers, when Wallace was trapped in the mechanical trousers and the pants were walking up a wall with him inside them, there is a very funny part when he gets inside the building and nearly trips a burglar alarm. Also, when Gromit is spying on the penguin from the inside of a cardboard box through cut-out eye holes, you think the penguin sees him looking out, but then he thinks otherwise and leaves. It's then that we see that the eye holes that Gromit cut out exactly match the eye holes of the picture on the outside of the box. It's very funny.

Rating for Wallace & Gromit: *****.

Ratatouille (2007) (G)

Ratatouille (2007) (G)
Directed by Brad Bird
Voices: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy

Daddy Says:

It's no secret to anyone reading my reviews that I'm a huge fan of Pixar's films. I'll take them over any other studios animated offerings on any day. And to reiterate my biggest reason for preferring them over others, it's because they put so much time into making absolutely sure that the story is right before they ever start animating a single frame.

Ratatouille is the story of an unlikely chef. Unlikely, because, well, he's a rat. Remy, the rat, has a gifted sense of smell, and a refined palate, and he discovered long ago that if "you are what you eat", then perhaps you really shouldn't be eating all that garbage. His hero is a chef named Gusteau, who has written a book called "Anyone Can Cook". Remy is inspired and wants to be a great chef, but how? In a world where humans don't think twice about killing rats, this could be very difficult.

Luckily, Remy stumbles upon a human with the same dream as he, to become a great chef. But where Remy is a great chef trapped in the body of a rat, this human named Linguini has no cooking skills at all. So a plan is hatched, and together they will work together as one to create culinary delights (how they work this process out, I leave for you to discover yourself).

That's just the setup to a film which contains many incredible scenes. I'm always amazed by the visual complexity of a Pixar film. Instead of just doing what is necessary for each scene, they always seem to take it further, putting in more and more visual detail just to enhance your repeat viewing pleasure. For example, this time around watching it (I've seen it a few times now), this was the first time I noticed that Anton Ego's office (the food critic) is shaped like a coffin when it is seen from above.

Truly a delightful film and another Pixar classic not to be missed.

Rating for Ratatouille: ****3/4.

My Son Says:

Ratatouille is hilarious. I encourage you to watch this. It is a fun filled, family adventure. As a good friend of mine would say "it is an action-packed adventure of a thrill ride". I liked pretty much the entire thing, like the beginning where he tells us what's going to happen very shortly. And the impossible happens, like a rat controls a human with only his hair, and the rat can actually cook and understand humans. Once again, this is going to be a short review.

My rating for this movie: *****.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) (R)

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) (R)
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig

Daddy Says:

It's the question I always ask myself as a parent: Should I really be letting my young child watch an R-rated movie? I try to research the content to help me make my decision, and I was told that the violence in this film was mild for an R-rated film, so I gave it a chance. Luckily, the statement turned out to be true, and it is pretty mild. I originally planned to watch this with my daughter, but hey, summer camp happens.

The Last of the Mohicans is based on the book by James Fenimore Cooper. Having never read the novel, I can't speak to how well it follows the story. And from what I've heard, director Michael Mann hadn't read it either. I can tell you that this is a fairly riveting action/romance movie. I'm not sure how I missed seeing this when it came out, but I'm glad I was able to catch it now.

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Nathaniel Poe (or Hawkeye as he's known), a trapper in the new colonies in the midst of the French and Indian War. He resists joining the British "volunteer" militia, which is a good thing since he and his adopted Indian family are there when things go badly for a British troop being slaughtered by Indians. He rescues the daughters of a British commander and guides them through a dangerous landscape to return them to their father.

If it all sounds a bit stuffy, don't worry. There's plenty of battle scenes sprinkled throughout to help keep the adrenaline pumping. It's exciting, and visually the movie is gorgeous. Michael Mann and his cinematographer Dante Spinotti do an incredible job of capturing the raw beauty of the area, as well as the visceral intensity present in every battle. It really is one of the most beautiful movies I've seen in quite a while.

Quite simply, this is a terrific action film. Not to be missed (even if, like me, it's taken 18 years to get around to it).

Rating for The Last of the Mohicans: ****3/4.

My Son Says:

The Last of the Mohicans was very good from my perspective. And I'm not going to discourage you from watching this. I liked pretty much every bit of it, mostly because of the action. The scenery was also very good. But there is some things I didn't like. First of all, I didn't like the ending. It wasn't a happy ending. Second of all, we never get to find out why the first attack ever happened. Sorry I don't have as much to say about this film.

Rating for this movie: *****.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (PG)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (PG)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Stubby Kaye

Daddy Says:

Well, we only got one comment below, and he seemed alright with my 9-year-old son sitting in for my daughter for a couple of weeks while she's away at summer camp. This is his first attempt at writing anything for anything other than a school grade, so we'll cut him some slack.

Our first movie we watched was Who Framed Roger Rabbit. For those few of you who've never heard of this movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a modern-day film noir which takes place in an alternate reality where cartoons are real and shot like any other movie (with a camera, on a set with toon actors). When a human is murdered, and the titular character is framed for his murder ("Killed by a safe dropped on his head. Just like a toon..."), Bob Hoskins' detective Eddie Valiant is forced to reluctantly solve the case.

Hoskins may be listed first on the starring list above, but, let's face it, the real stars here are the toons and the special effects which allow them to interact physically with the "real" world around them. Pretty much if you've got a favorite cartoon character from either Disney or Looney Tunes, they're in this movie (a lot of them interacting for the first time ever -- I can't imagine the legal logistics that went into making this happen). There's a classic scene in the first half of the movie featuring a piano duet between Daffy and Donald Duck ("Thith is the lath time I work with someone with a speeth impediment" says Daffy).

The special effects are phenomenal (even more so in this day and age where everything is done on a computer). All these effects were done on-set, with the cartoons being put on afterwards. That means that if a chair gets moved on-set physically, it had to be moved as it was being filmed. A behind the scenes documentary on the making of the effects for this film would be almost as fascinating as the movie itself.

This is a truly great family film. If you've never seen it, don't miss it. If you've already seen it before, you could do worse than to watch it again. You won't be disappointed.

Rating for Who Framed Roger Rabbitt: *****.

My Son Says:

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was one of the most weirdest movies I've ever seen, next to Yellow Submarine. But, I'm not discouraging you from watching it. It's about a guy and he's a police officer who hates toons because one of them dropped a piano on his brother's head. And all he knows about this guy is that he's got red eyes and a really screechy voice, kind of like chalk on a chalkboard.

And there is a bunny who is a toon. His name is Roger Rabbit. He's got a friend who is a baby, but sounds like an 80-year-old man. His name is Baby Herman. He is a toon as you probably guessed. Well, Roger Rabbit has a little bit of a problem. He's not performing well because he hasn't seen his wife much.

Here's the stuff I liked. I liked the end. I also liked when we go into Toontown, because it is the weirdest thing you'll ever see.

My rating for this movie is ****, because at first it kind of scared me (the toons are scary, well at least some of them).

Summer Camp Begins

Sammi is away at Summer Camp for the next two weeks. She'll be enjoying the summer days riding horses, hiking, swimming, and lots of other fun stuff.

Unfortunately, that means she won't be here to watch movies with her Daddy (luckily, I haven't had to make her watch any of these Clockwork Orange style. At least, not yet). So one of two things is going to have to happen. Either there won't be any new reviews posted here for the next two weeks (sad), or I'll have to bring in a guest reviewer (my 9 1/2 year old son has volunteered, but only conditionally. He's really not wanting to watch the Japanese drama with subtitles that arrived in the mail today).

So what do you think readers? Do we hold out reviewless for two long weeks? Or do we turn this temporarily into The Daddy/Son Movie Project? Comment below, please.

Until then, enjoy the two latest reviews below, and thanks for reading our reviews!

Bullitt (1968) (PG)

Bullitt (1968) (PG)
Directed by Peter Yates
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon

Daughter Says:

I’ve heard of Steve McQueen before. We all know what I said about him in The Great Escape. I feel in love with him. He was my big hero. So when Dad brought home Bullitt and McQueen was on the front cover I was all gung-ho to watch it. I would never have thought McQueen could have played such a serious role like a detective, but he sure did pull it off. In this movie, he and his two partners are hired to protect a witness from the mob, but all goes wrong when the witness opens the door and the mob walks in shooting up the witness and Bulitt’s partner. For all who care, the cop who got shot wasn’t a major character so no worries, but the witness on the other hand was a major part. Now, the district attorney wants Bullitt fired for many things that I wouldn’t tell you. You’ll just have to watch the movie, won’t you?

I am in love with this movie. I would watch it over a million times. Mystery/crime movies are my favorite genre, so I generally like any of these kinds of movies. There have been exceptions, but this movie is not one of them. It had the perfect set up and great actors. There weren’t even really big names (I mean like Brad Pitt or someone like that) to waste their money on, so they could spend their money on good directing, writing, and cinematography.

Bullitt certainly deserved the Academy Award for editing. Its chase scene was so amazing. Bullitt was heading down the road when two hit men start tailing him. He turns the tables, so that Bullitt is now following the hit men. That’s where the chase begins. Watching two really nice sport cars running through the hills of San Francisco made this movie something else. It was so perfectly shot that the scene almost seemed like it could have been on one of those reality cop shows. Whoever did the stunt driving for this scene was amazing, because I’ve heard that driving at a normal speed on those hills can be a pain in the butt.

So if you haven’t guessed it yet, I do highly recommend this movie. So go see it.

Rating for Bullitt: *****.

Daddy Says:

The 60's were a pretty good decade for actor Steve McQueen. In 1963, he turned in a star-making performance in The Great Escape. Five years later, he made this film which many people, myself included, consider to be his best.

If you've seen Bullitt, or even have heard of it, you'll probably remember that it has a famous car chase in it. And it does. But there are many other things to recommend other than one lengthy, really great car chase through the steep slopes of San Francisco. Robert Vaughn makes for a great antagonist to Steve McQueen's ultra laid-back detective. And his girlfriend, the exquisitely beautiful Jacqueline Bisset, supports him as best she can, while still wondering if all the carnage he sees daily has affected his ability to emotionally connect with another person. That's pretty deep for a part that could have been just another pretty face.

The story is essentially a simple one: detective is assigned to protect a federal witness, then must follow-up after the witness is killed. But it's the unexpected twists to the story that make it great, such as hiding the body as a "John Doe" in the morgue and lying to the District Attorney about it's whereabouts to make him think the witness is still alive. And getting the doctor in charge to go along with the plan, because of the hurt feelings he has after the aforementioned District Attorney tries to have him replaced because he's "too young and inexperienced".

Bullitt is a great example of late 60's action filmmaking at it's finest. This is the film that Steve McQueen is most known for. Highly recommended. And as I may have mentioned, it has a really, really great car chase scene right in the middle of it.

Rating for Bullitt: ****3/4.

Thunderball (1965) (Not Rated)

Thunderball (1965) (Not Rated)
Directed by Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi

Daughter Says:

Once again I am forced to watch another James Bond movie. Thunderball is one of the movies in a line of many Bond movies. (And I’m sure that they all have Bond as a man hoe.) This one has tons of water, scuba diving, and man-eating sharks. Bond is sent on a mission where he is to protect this guy’s sister. (But I’m pretty sure he also had other things in mind.) Bond soon gets a lead that takes him to a private place where the bad guy owns man-eating sharks and really cool underwater stuff. The only problem is the bad guy wants to blow up some major cities. So what does James Bond do? Saves the world and gets the girl, or does he? (Haha left you on a cliffhanger. I guess that means you’ll have to watch the movie.)

Now for my opinion, I would say I surprisingly liked it, but I’m starting to think that if I have to see another Bond movie I’m going to like it. (So much for my dislike of Bond.) This Bond movie wasn’t like the rest of the ones I’ve seen. We had exotic islands, casinos, and Russia. But this time, Bond gets to work in the water. I’m not sure what a Thunderball is but I guess it has something to the movie.

Just like every James Bond movie, the action was great. It gave you tons of suspense and always made you want more. The beginning of this movie is twisted. I won’t give it away but I didn’t see it coming. I like surprises like that. Sean Connery does an amazing job as Bond (as usual). Claudine Auger also did a good job at being the girl stuck in the middle, although I don’t recommend hiring her as your spy. She screws things up easily.

But let’s talk about the bad things in this movie. There was only one complaint for it, and I always complain about it. James Bond is a major Man Hoe. End of story. He went through like twenty girls before he even got to Domino. Okay maybe I exaggerated just a little, but still he goes through a lot of girls.

Other than that, I must say I really enjoyed this one. I highly recommend watching Thunderball because it is one of Sean Connery’s best Bond movies.

Rating for Thunderball: ****.

Daddy Says:

This was pretty much the end of the truly great James Bond movies. The series went downhill pretty fast after this (at least until the series reboot Casino Royale), and Sean Connery only made two more Bond films before calling it quits (I don't count the "comeback" Never Say Never Again, as it seems like Connery's mostly doing the job for the paycheck). Because of all this, this will probably be the last James Bond movie I force my daughter to watch with me. And with the financial troubles of MGM Studios, it may be the last Bond movie we watch for quite some time.

Still, Thunderball remains an important film in the Bond series. Many of its elements were parodied in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, which now cause this to be unintentionally funny in parts. For instance, the opening action sequence features Bond at a funeral which could have been his own, as the deceased and he share the same initials. Bond follows the grieving widow of the deceased assassin, whose funeral they just left, to her home. It is here that he reveals that he's seen through "her" disguise and that, you guessed it, she's really "a man, baby!". That James Bond makes his escape after dispatching the assassin by way of a rocket pack only serves to heighten the scenes silliness.

Our villain, Emilio Largo, is serviceable. He has the requisite secret hideaway, complete with a pool of man-eating sharks (no frickin' laser beams on them, but you can't have everything). A lot of Thunderball takes place underwater, and it's to the credit of the filmmakers that the viewer is never lost as to what's happening and to whom, which is quite a feat since everyone's wearing almost identical wetsuits.

Thunderball is a very entertaining movie with a complex plot, and I recommend it along with the three Bond movies that preceeded it highly. The other Connery Bond films aren't bad either, but they do get more and more routine and a lot less fun after this.

Rating for Thunderball: ****1/2.

The Great Escape (1963) (Not Rated)

The Great Escape (1963) (Not Rated)
Directed by John Sturges
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald

Daughter Says:

The Great Escape is a war movie about escaping a prison. When held captive by the other side, what do Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, and more do? They make a great escape. For a prison camp, the prisoners didn’t seem to get treated too badly, but they still wanted to escape. Steve McQueen plays a fighter pilot that likes to test the boundaries. He’d see how far he could get before the captors threw him into the cooler. The cooler was where people were taken if they disobeyed the rules. Let’s just say for most of the time McQueen spent it in the cooler bouncing a baseball against the wall.

Now to start with the dissecting process. Hold on, give me a minute. It’s still not coming. Why can’t I think of anything? Oh, that’s because this movie was bloody brilliant. The whole thinking process put into this movie made The Great Escape well, GREAT. I loved this movie from the moment it started. I must say I’m in love with Steve McQueen and I hope to see more of his movies. He made the mood light in The Great Escape. He’d find the funniest ways to get thrown into the cooler and how to waste his time. He really brought his character to life on the big screen.

He wasn’t the only one to bring this movie to life. Everyone in this film and involved in it did such a brilliant job with it. I just can’t get over how great this movie was. I never thought that any war movie could be so fun and adventurous at the same time, but The Great Escape executed it perfectly. The setting, color, casting, and timing were all perfect. Even the ending was satisfying. It had a good and bad ending, but you still feel like the movie had a point. (I can’t even bash on a bad ending. I don’t know whether to like that or hate it.)

Rating for The Great Escape: ****1/2.

Daddy Says:

The Great Escape is wonderful entertainment on a grand scale. These days when a movie has an all-star cast, you can almost count on being disappointed. If the studio spends all its money on the actors, something else usually suffers, and most of the time it's the script. But here everything works. You've got some of the biggest stars of the time, along with one of the best scripts I've heard in a long time, along with the steady direction of John Sturges (who had also directed the Steve McQueen action film The Magnificent Seven previously).

It's also a film that has influenced many other over the decades. From The Goonies to Indiana Jones to Hogan's Heroes to Chicken Run (itself almost a direct copy in animated form), it has become a part of our cinematic collective unconscious. It's theme music has become synonamous with pulling off a plan either breaking out, or breaking into, somewhere that is considered impregnable. If a character starts humming it in a film or TV show, you immediately know what they're thinking.

I can't honestly remember many of the character's names, but it's not really their names that are important, its their jobs that are essential. One's a forger, another's a scrounger, there's experts in digging tunnels and hiding them from the German guards. The leader mentions a complication, and just like that someone comes up with a solution to it.

With the recent trend at the movies of remaking everything Hollywood can get their hands on, I can't imagine what this movie would look like if it were remade today. The Nazis would probably be a lot more evil than they are here. And there would probably be a lot more explosions. And there would probably be some kind of social message mixed in, to give it that extra weight a movie about the evils of the Third Reich should have, sucking all the fun out of what is essentially a lightweight entertainment. A "popcorn" movie if you will.

Here's hoping that they leave this one alone. It's one of the greatest "popcorn" movies ever made.

Rating for The Great Escape: ****1/2.

In the Line of Fire (1993) (R)

In the Line of Fire (1993) (R)
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott

Daddy Says:

In the Line of Fire stars Clint Eastwood as Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan. Haunted by his own past, as part of the Presidential guard around John F. Kennedy on the fateful day of his assassination, Frank is determined to not make the same mistake he made all those years ago. Lately, he's been doing his undercover job of catching counterfeiters, but when a would-be assassin makes a threat on the President's life, Frank wants back in the game, determined to stop the bullet -- this time.

One of the great things about this film is how Eastwood isn't afraid to show that he's aging. When he asks to be put back on Presidential guard duty, his superiors frankly tell him that that's a job for a much younger man. Whether Frank is running alongside the President's limo in a parade, or chasing down suspects, he really does look like he could collapse at any moment. But because he's played by Clint Eastwood, he also has that determined look, the one that says no matter how much this hurts, I'm going to prevail.

John Malkovich makes a wonderful villain/assassin. I won't spoil the surprise, but when we find out why he's able to get away with as much as he is able to it somehow makes perfect sense. That the person explaining it to us is played by an uncredited Steve Railsback, who played Charles Manson in Helter Skelter, also makes perfect sense.

The only negative I can see in the film is an unnecessary romance with Rene Russo's fellow agent character. Eastwood is nearly 25 years older than her in real life, and it makes for a somewhat uncomfortable plot thread that I think the movie could have done without. Still, this is wonderfully entertaining.

Rating for In the Line of Fire: ****3/4.

Daughter Says:

In the Line of Fire could have been really great, but I just didn’t enjoy this movie as much as the last Clint Eastwood movie I watched. I didn’t understand some of the parts in this movie such as the romance. The relationship between Eastwood and Russo didn’t affect the rest of the movie whatsoever. I could understand if they went deeper into the relationship. If they wanted to put it in there at all they should have made it so either the bad guy targeted Russo and Eastwood make a mistake, causing more trouble than needed. Or they could have made it so the President was clearly targeted but instead of protecting the President he tried to protect Russo. But noooo, instead they just left it at these two have an attraction toward each other. I’m starting to think that some movies just put it in there so it lets them reach a larger group of people. (New genre: Action/Romance/Clint Eastwood movies.)

There were some good parts to this movie, believe it or not. I enjoyed the plot of the movie a whole lot. The intense setting involved with Eastwood trying to catch the terrorist that’s trying to blow the President’s head off. I must praise John Malkovich for making a very good bad guy out of the story. He was beyond creepy during the movie. I enjoyed watching that a lot, but even he couldn’t save this movie.

If you are looking for a classic Clint Eastwood movie don’t get this one. If you are looking for romance with drama don’t get this one. If you are looking for an action-suspense type of movie then you might (and I mean might) want to check this one out. So I don’t really suggest this movie for anyone looking for a good time. But it’s up to you really.

Rating for In the Line of Fire: ***.

Green Zone (2010) (R)

Green Zone (2010) (R)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan

Daddy Says:

From the director of the last two Bourne movies, and with Matt Damon (the star of the Bourne movies) playing the lead, and with a trailer that makes it seem like this could be just like the Bourne movies, I'd say most people were expecting to see another Bourne movie when they went to see Green Zone. And unless I'm mistaken, I'd say most of them left disappointed. Bourne, this ain't.

Green Zone has Matt Damon playing a rogue U.S. Army officer in Iraq, getting faulty intelligence reports on the whereabouts of those illusive Weapons of Mass Destruction we were led to believe existed. Damon's soldier cares about the men in his platoon and doesn't want to send them into an unstable area, under the constant threat of sniper fire, on the words of an undisclosed source. A chance meeting sends him on the right path, but will he be able to get the truth to see the light of day?

I really wanted to like this movie a lot, but it just doesn't have the same dramatic impact of the Bourne movies. I know it's also not fair to compare it to those movies, but as I said above, that's the way it was marketed, so they're inviting the comparison. The action scenes are all shot with the by-now standard handheld "shaky cam", which can be effective when done properly, or can be nausea-inducing and confusing when done improperly, like was done here.

The script could have used some work too, as we are introduced to a number of characters which are not well written. They're like thumbnail sketches of real people. The film also takes on the interesting subject of why we invaded Iraq to begin with, but it never really tackles the subject with any great depth.

Rating for Green Zone: **3/4.

Daughter Says:

I feel in love with Matt Damon straight off the bat, when I saw him in the Bourne series. I thought he could do no wrong. Well I think that statement is still sort of true, but for this movie it might not be so.

Green Zone was just not as good as the Bourne series and I was sure that it might at least come close. Overall there wasn’t really anything wrong with Green Zone. I just didn’t really care for it. I was lost through the whole movie. I didn’t know who I was supposed to root for in this film. Another confusing part was who was the bad guy. To me it was supposed to be the other side, but in this case the problem was also on our side.

This movie is definitely not like any other war movie I have ever seen. I usually know exactly who to cheer for and who to dislike, but not in this case. Maybe my problem is I had too high expectations. Being in love with Damon and thinking he is an amazing actor (don’t get me wrong he is), but even he couldn’t save this movie. I don’t even know how they got the name of the film. Apparently it was where the story took place, but it didn’t seem to be about what I thought this movie was about. I was sure that Green Zone was about the war in Iraq, but there was very little shooting. Most of it was searching and looking for the right path to take; Republican or Democrat?

So if you ask me, I don’t think this movie was all that great. I wouldn’t recommend it for the great war movies of all time. There have definitely been better movies than Green Zone. I would put this on my list of if I didn’t have anything else better to do and wanted to watch a movie that made me think, then get this one. But I probably won’t ever watch Green Zone twice. It just wasn’t good enough to watch a thousand times over.

Rating for Green Zone: **.

Jennifer's Body (2009) (R)

Jennifer's Body (2009) (R)
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody

Daughter Says:

Jennifer’s Body is Woah! I can’t describe how messed up this movie is. There was nothing better to watch so we decided to watch Jennifer’s Body, but man was that a bad idea.

I was horrified. Who thought this movie was a good idea? Here I thought we’re dealing with vampires again. (I’m so sick and tired of those stupid vamps.) But noooo! We we’re dealing with a monster. Jennifer is bizarre. This band, from the city, decides to send her to Hell as a gift. In return they wanted good fortune. They sure did get that, but Jennifer definitely didn’t get the good fortune. She comes back from Hell with one thing in mind. “I’m going to eat all the boys I can!”

Ahhhhhh! I’ve never found something more disturbing than watch Megan Fox’s mouth open the wrong way and eat a guy. It’s giving me the creeps just thinking about it. This was probably the worst horror film I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t scary at all. It was just grotesque.

There is a good point to this movie. You get to see Megan Fox walk around all sexy like and flirt with boys. That’s about the only plus. I know everybody seems to think that Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried making out is hot, but I don’t see the attraction. I’ll never understand that kind of thing.

I don’t know whether to highly suggest this movie or warn you to stay clear of it. Hmmm, let me think. I think I’ll leave it up to you. I don’t think it’s a requirement to life to watch this movie. It’s just not as good as some of those classics, but it wasn’t so bad that I hate it. I liked it for a one-time thing. "I go both ways."

Rating for Jennifer’s Body: **1/2.

Daddy Says:

Some movies come with built-in expectations. Jennifer's Body is one of those movies. Casting Megan Fox in the lead would seem like a good thing. Show her walking in slow-motion at a high school looking like she just stepped out of a Britney Spears music video: check. Add funny dialogue (You're killing people. No, I'm killing "boys"): check. Add a few cheap scares and you've got yourself the perfect summer movie.

So what went wrong?

The dialogue isn't terribly written. At least here the students sound like I think kids their age should sound like. It's kind of stylized, but I can see high-schoolers watching it and picking up some new cool phrases they can add to their vocabulary. The acting, while not stellar, is acceptable. I don't think anyone expected Megan Fox to pull out an Academy Award worthy performance, but she's able to pull off a high-schooler fairly well. I've watched Amanda Seyfried in HBO's Big Love, so I knew she could pull this simple part off rather easily. And I liked seeing Adam Brody in the role of the band's lead singer (having moved up from his role as guitar player Dave Rygalski on TVs Gilmore Girls).

However, there are big problems with the plot. We don't find out what's causing Jennifer to kill people until very late in the film, so for the majority of the movie we're left wondering what's going on with her. My wife thought the band she's got the hots for were vampires, and that's the reason for her behavior. Luckily for me, there were no vampires here, but the actual cause for her killing spree is just as bland. The "scares" (quotes intentional), when they come, are just not very scary. There's no suspense to speak of, so all we're left with is the occasional gross-out moment.

I really wanted to like this movie. Being let down after having my expectations raised sky high: check.

Rating for Jennifer's Body: **.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) (PG)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) (PG)
Directed by Chris Columbus
Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel

Daughter Says:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a freakishly long title and also a really good movie, in my opinion. It’s made with my age and younger in mind. I probably wouldn’t have watched if my brother didn’t want to. It’s one of those types of movies that you watch if someone else gets it and you have nothing better to do.

This movie is about a young boy named Percy Jackson who is a demi-god. He is related to Zeus's brother, Poseidon. At the beginning of this movie, Percy gets blamed for stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt and he wants it back. Now known as the Lightning Thief, Percy has to save his mother from Hades and return the lightning bolt before Zeus and Poseidon fight among themselves.

I really liked this movie. Yes, it has a lot of the same stuff as Clash of the Titans but it’s still good. (Plus, I’ve always wanted to see the remake of Clash of the Titans) There are a lot of famous actors in this movie such as, Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings), Steve Coogan (Night at the Museum), Rosario Dawson (Descent), Melina Kanakaredes (CSI: NY), Catherine Keener (Where the Wild Things Are), Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy), Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix), and Uma Thurman (Duh… Kill Bill I and II). So I just figured that this movie was going to be crap.

My parents are always telling me that if there is a lot of money spent on the acting then there won’t be a good script. Well, I think their theory failed on this one. I liked the whole story line of this movie. It makes me want to read the books at least. I hear those are really good. But that’s off subject. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes Greek mythology and enjoys a movie that doesn’t involve any thinking whatsoever.

Rating for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: ***1/2.

Daddy Says.

You know you're in for a ponderous viewing experience with a movie that has a title this clunky. For better or worse, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is this year's version of Clash of the Titans. The irony that this year also featured a remake of Clash of the Titans isn't lost on me. Call this the kid version.

I didn't have any expectations going in, other than the title which did set me off. However, I was prepared to overlook that if the movie was a good time. It wasn't really. The kids in it just don't act like real kids. And maybe I'm just remembering it wrong, but high school was never like this when I went to school. Percy attends all of one class, just so we can be introduced to the creepy substitute teacher, then spends the rest of his time at the bottom of the swimming pool, or on a field trip to a history museum (do they still take kids to these in high school?). I know, I know, it's just a fantasy film, it's not supposed to be realistic. But then why try to make it seem realistic? Why not set it in another time and place?

Nobody in the film really seems like they want to be there. Nowhere is it more obvious than on the face of Pierce Brosnan. We first see him in a wheelchair at the museum, then later as the front half of a centaur. His reading of lines like "I've got a real horse's ass" are about a flat as you can imagine. Of course, with lines like that I'm not sure how much effort I'd be able to muster up either.

Most of our time in the film is spent collecting three magical pearls that will transport our three heroes back from Hades where they are going to rescue Percy's mom. A quick head count should have told them that they'd need a fourth pearl if they wanted to rescue someone, but I'm probably putting too much thought into the matter. I do wish someone involved with the script would have put some thought into it though.

Kids will probably like it a lot. As for me, I liked this movie better twenty-five years ago. It was called Clash of the Titans then, too.

Rating for Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: **1/2.

The Big Red One (1980) (PG)

The Big Red One (1980) (PG)
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Starring: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco

Daddy Says:

Writer-director Samuel Fuller puts his memories of serving in World War II on film in The Big Red One. The movie stars Lee Marvin as the sergeant of the platoon in one of his trademark tough guy roles. Robert Carradine should be familiar to many (from TVs Lizzie McGuire if you're young, or from Revenge of the Nerds if you're my age), but the real coup of the film was getting Mark Hamill fresh off his success in the original Star Wars. If you've ever wondered if he could play any part besides Luke Skywalker, check this film out.

The plot of the film is a loose collection of incidents in World War II. There's a memorable scene where the platoon is resting in a cave when a division of German panzer tanks rolls by outside. The troops hope to go undetected, when the bombs start falling outside on the Germans, who then decide to run into the cave for safety, while our heroes pick them off one by one as they enter. And, of course, there's a sequence depicting D-Day and Normandy Beach, that at the time must have seemed intense, but having seen Saving Private Ryan's opening version of events, this one doesn't have the same visceral intensity. On the other hand, this is a PG movie, so at least you could show it to your kids safely.

Robert Carradine is the narrator of our journey, the part nearly autobiographical for Samuel Fuller. Most of the war is seen through his eyes. Only on occasion do we break away from him to see something else happen, such as when Mark Hamill's character finds a German soldier hiding in one of the ovens that were used to kill hundreds of captured Jews. His response could be seen as overkill, but I think it fits with what these men must have been feeling at the time.

I'd like to say that it all adds up to a great statement about the war, but in the end it's just a collection of moments lived through by a small group of soldiers. Not that that should stop you from watching it. It's scenes are memorable, and the acting is first-rate.

Rating for The Big Red One: ****1/2.

Daughter Says:

The Big Red One is a different kind of war movie. I’ve never seen a film like this before. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t like this movie but once again I was proven wrong. I was absolutely positive that this movie was going to be a disaster movie about the war. Probably extremely cheesy and violent. I hate violence. But it was exact opposite. There was no cheesiness to it and little violence.

This movie was well planned out. The story line was easy to follow and very understandable. There was a deep meaning behind the movie, but I just have one problem. I forgot it.

I couldn’t remember what this movie was about to save my life. I had to be reminded about it over and over again. So either I have too much stuff in my head or this movie wasn’t that memorable. First of all, there isn’t that catchy title. The Big Red One refers to the leader of the groups past battle. I didn’t really get the impression that they really covered the guy's past. I know the guy had one incident that reoccurs at the end of the movie, but other than that I didn’t see anything about The Big Red One that referred to the rest of the movie.

But other than that major thought (when I remembered it), I liked this movie. It was surprisingly enjoyable. And like I said it is very deep. At one point one of the soldiers goes a little insane and starts shooting his gun over and over again. I won’t give too much away if you want to see this movie, but I do suggest this movie if you like war movies and if you like Mark Hamill.

Rating for The Big Red One: **1/2.