kchuplis-1 Reviews

The Hallelujah Trail (1965)

A family favorite and a great spoof

[7/10 · 20 January 2008]

It's sheer entertainment. I think (as an adult) judicious trimming would have made this film a real classic, but the performances and the very pointed outrageous humor are just really fun. I love the narration and the "maps" which don't really show anything, making fun of that old technique. I'm sure many audiences of today might not even get how this is kind of the Airplane of the sixties. My family actually went to see another movie with top billing at the drive in and we all loved this one much more. It's just plain fun. A bit too long, I agree, but well worth it for the giggles. It's quite star packed for the time as well, once again, reminding me of Airplane in later years. I'm not a western fan, but this is more than a western, it's really a spoof or satire, with no one taking themselves seriously and that gives it a great deal of fun quotient.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

A tragic painting in music and shadows

[10/10 · 26 December 2007]

I saw this yesterday. I'm a HUGE fan of the stage musical. I was a little worried that the brilliant score would be shoved back for the shock effect of gore and outrageousness . Oh. My. God. I have never seen such a perfect translation of a stage musical to film. It flowed seamlessly. Every person was perfectly cast. It was a visual feast. It was stylized, keeping the "melodrama" aspect, but still managing to paint an emotional, poignant portrait of people so broken by circumstance that you know they cannot be fixed and yet you follow willingly into their insane world. I could have sat and watched it over again immediately. I will definitely be seeing it again, probably at least twice before it leaves the big screen. Hopefully your theater has state of the art sound, because every bit of this should be heard. If you are familiar with the musical, you do have to accept that The Ballad is there only musically, because it's purpose is as a device for theater, and, IMO also to in some ways alleviate the horror of the story. Here, you don't have that, nor do you need it. It's unapologetic in any way about the tale being told. But it is not unsympathetic, which is the brilliance of this musical in any form and I think heightened in the film. Unlike the stage play, the humor is not there to break the tension, but unfolds naturally to underscore the madness. If you can accept that this is a painting, of a tragic story, in music and shadows, you will be in for a real experience, not just a movie.

The Dresden Files (2007–2008)

Good and getting better

[10/10 · 13 March 2007]

I'm really enjoying this show. It led me to the books which are FANTASTIC. I think it captures the atmosphere well. Paul Blachthorne is spot on in his interpretation of Harry. Perfect casting. Terrance Mann is delightful as the irreverent and irrepressible Bob personified (very glad the TV version didn't try to do a talking skull). As the writers don't have to educate as well as tell the story, the show should tighten up and become very good. One of the most impressive things about the books is Butcher's ability to have tremendous humor side by side with pathos - the definition of drama in the classical sense and the TV version shows promise of being able to do the same thing. No replacement for the books, but if you, like me, get to the books via the TV show, you won't be disappointed. I like the idea of seeing "other cases" that Harry handles.