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Pompeii (2014)
Very satisfying disaster presentation
I've been trying to come up with a good reason as to why "Pompeii" should receive something less than a "10" but after giving much thought, I couldn't come up with anything. There wasn't anything about it I didn't like. You have to have your obligatory love story, with intrusion by the villain who wants to ruin everything so this must be expected. The acting was very descent and big name stars were not needed to carry it, though Kiefer Sutherland does play a convincing Roman senator, determined to take our Princess heroine back to Rome. She's not interested as she has the eye for "The Kelt", the gladiator who seems invincible and also determined to claim his love interest. All the while, the famous eruption is building and when all breaks lose, it's a feast for the eyes. The special effects crew deserves special credit for their work on "Pompeii". Some of the finest effects I've seen. Nothing hokey, just a good old fashioned disaster flick that leaves no room for cheesy humor. The movie wasn't overly long, running at about 1:45 hrs so things moved along at a good clip. I will not share the ending as you must see for yourself. All in all, I'm thrilled to have this on Blu Ray.
Bird of Paradise (1951)
Beautiful and underrated!
From my early growing up, I remember Bird of Paradise as one of the truly beautiful love stories of the screen. Debra Paget is simply gorgeous as the island girl Kalua who gets involved in doomed relationship with Louis Jourdan. The island spirits do not smile on the couple as you would hope. Jeff Chandler plays Kalua's ever watchful brother who has doubts about the affair from the beginning. You will need to watch for yourself to see how it all turns out and as you do, you will be treated to beautiful island scenery, a stunning and gorgeous musical score and pretty decent acting from all concerned. The volcano effects are impressive for its time. I'm only sorry that film has not received very much air time and the DVD versions are severely under par. I would like to see Fox or someone take hold of this classic and dress it up in a restored format to bring out all the beauty and tragedy of our doomed characters.
Gorgo (1961)
England's "Godzilla"... and then some! (SPOILERS)!!
Surfacing about 7 years after "Godzilla", Gorgo was the U.K. counterpart about a beast who rises off the coast of Ireland to menace little Nara Island. Our human leads who just happened to be at Nara for ship repairs, decide it would be a great idea to capture the beast and sell it as a circus attraction in London. Great idea! But wait!.... Once the monster is safely delivered to its London enclosure and ready for viewing and dollars to be made, a shocking revelation changes everything. This animal is just a BABY! UH OH!!! We soon discover there is a much larger and extremely ticked off parent who trashes Nara Island and sets off for England to rescue her child. Bad news for London! As the destruction commences, we are in for a visual treat as the effects are not bad at all for its time. Plenty of destruction of major landmarks as the angry Gorgo Mom makes her way to her captured baby. We are treated to crashing buildings, bridges, and general mayhem throughout the English capital. All efforts to slow the animal obviously fail. Even a million volts of electricity will not bring it down! At last, parent and child are reunited and together they start back to the sea, leaving London in shambles. I'm always glad when the monster isn't killed. This was an underrated film as it lives in the shadow of the original "Godzilla" film from a few years prior and that was a tough act to follow. Check out Gorgo!
Godzilla (2014)
Could have been better... (Contains SPOILERS!)
I had high hopes for this new edition of "Godzilla", but sadly, it fell short of my expectations. It was hyped that it would be more like the original 1954 classic but I didn't see it that way. Though the effects were quite good and Godzilla as vastly improved from the 1998 turkey with Matthew Broderick, the story was lacking character and depth. The story flow was disjointed and at the end, I felt that Godzilla was more of a sideline than the main attraction. His presence until near the end, was overshadowed by the insect things he was chasing and the story seemed to be about them. The acting was OK, but the characters seemed to be just killing time while trying to figure out if we could be saved. If I were to write this screenplay, it would have gone back to the original story with the love triangle between Imeko, her new boyfriend and Dr. Serizawa, and Godzilla would have appeared from Japanese legend, with only one thing in mind... destruction of a city. The film would have been re-done in black and white and it would basically be an updated version of one of the classic monster films of all time. One thing I was grateful for at the end of the Godzilla 2014, was that he was not killed. All in all, it was an entertaining 2 hours, but to think this film bore resemblance to the 1950's original, is off base. Hopefully someone will take hold of this wondrous story and do justice to it. In the meantime, I would suggest you get hold of a Blu Ray copy of the original Japanese version (no American scenes with Raymond Burr) and you will be treated to a monster classic.
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
Outstanding!
From the first time I saw it, Dolores Claiborne became on of my favorite films. I'm surprised there wasn't more Oscar recognition as everything about met or exceeded expectations. Kathy Bates turns in a stellar performance as the frumpy recluse with a past and a daughter who is not sure whether to love or hate her. Christopher Plummer stars as the vengeful detective with his own agenda. But the real star was Judy Parfitt as the wealthy, eccentric Vera Donovan. Having not seem her before, I was pleasantly pleased with her performance as her character was the cornerstone of the story. I couldn't have casted Vera's role any better. All cast members came together to make one great story about dark events from the past coming forward. I have not read the book from which the film was made but I'm thinking this may be one of those rare cases where the film is as good as its book.
Gojira (1954)
Simply the Best Monster Flic! (contains SPOILER!)
Contains SPOILER!.....
As a youngster watching "Godzilla" the first time, I remember being terrified and still get chills watching it today. Of course, in America, we saw the re-cut version with added scenes with Raymond Burr so as to appeal to American audiences. While this was all fine, nothing compares to the original, unedited Japanese version. I was so pleased when this version came available in America and it was like watching a whole new movie. The character development is so much deeper and the scenes are in different order which give a whole new look to the film. Obviously computer graphics were still far off so our lead character was a man in a costume but you don't really notice this. The somber black and white photography and fantastic lighting effects make up for any technical deficiencies. Our monster is frightening and cold. You feel for the people caught up in this nightmare as they are also dealing with inner conflicts as well as the disaster around them. To get the full flavor of the story, view the original Japanese version which also is about 10 minutes longer than the American version.
SPOILER>>>>>>>
Though Godzilla was a destructive creature with only one mission, it's sad at the end when he is 'killed'. The only thing I would have changed would have been the ending where he would have survived all attempts at destruction so that he returned to the sea. All in all, a great monster story!
Titanic (1953)
The BEST "Titanic"
I saw this when I was very young but it always stayed with me. Though the story has been told many times and the movie remade several times, this edition sticks with me as the best as the characters and cast are unbeatable. The Stanwyck / Webb duo is one of the best match-ups a film could ask for. The special effects are surprisingly good for its time and this, combined with a good storyline make it my favorite rendition of this sad tale. We see a very young Robert Wagner and the ever brash Thelma Ritter as vital supporting characters. Though the James Cameron version got more hype with some better graphics, our 1953 films far surpasses it for story and character substance. It's a winner all around.