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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Swing Time (1936) in Movies

Aug 14, 2020

Swing Time (1936)

1936 | Classics, Musical, Romance

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Entertaining Despite Some Flaws

Fucking blackface, am I right? I’ll warn you now if you plan to watch Swing Time: There is a blackface scene. In spite of this touch of ignorance, as a black man, I have to say that I rather enjoyed the movie. The plot: When John Garnet (Fred Astaire) gets cold feet on his wedding day, his fiance opts to give him another chance if he can find a way to earn $25,000. John is all for it until he falls in love with a dance instructor and tries to find every way in the world to avoid making the money.

Acting: 10

Beginning: 6
In the beginning John’s dance troupe tries to distract him by keeping him from getting married. They feel like if he doesn’t go through with it, he can keep working with them. Despite their efforts, it was much more annoying than it was funny. Not a great way to kick off the story.

Characters: 10

Cinematography/Visuals: 8
For the most part, the movie is cinematically gorgeous. I loved the dance numbers, well most of them anyway. It all reverts back to that damn blackface scene. It was an unnecessary piece of the film that did absolutely nothing for the story. Other than that, the movie is shot in a gorgeous fashion.

Conflict: 10
Most of the conflict stems from John’s rising feelings for Penelope the dance instructor (Ginger Rogers). You get the sense that they are meant to be together but John is working towards trying to be with another woman. You hope before the story’s end that he ends up in the right place. It’s a journey getting there.

Entertainment Value: 8

Memorability: 10

Pace: 10

Plot: 2
The premise and the way it unfolds is a miss for me. Fortunately the characters and setpieces were enough to carry the movie. it was a really hard buy-in for me.

Resolution: 10
While not perfect, the ending is a satisfying completion to the story. You can definitely see it coming the closer you get, but it’s still good. Great closure for the main characters.

Overall: 84
Not my favorite of the classics, Swing Time still deserves its place in history. As far as the blackface is concerned, I think we owe it to ourselves not to shy away from things that happened in history. Even the bad things. In spite being on the wrong side of history, I enjoyed it.

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Lord of the Things Book I: The Mellow Hip of the Thing in Books

Nov 20, 2019

Lord of the Things Book I: The Mellow Hip of the Thing

Dave Seaman | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Science Fiction/Fantasy

5.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This is by no means the first parody of Professor Tolkien's enduring (and weighty) fantasy tale, nor will it be the last. This is a broad retelling of the first book of the classic trilogy, and as such it's really only for people who are familiar with the source book.

This started as an online creation of a discussion group, later edited and extended by the author to the published version. The history shows in the writing, the first half being distinctly uneven in tone and with plenty of things that were no doubt funny to the group, but don't work so well without the background.

However once past Rivendell, things get a lot better (if no less silly), although the story does feel a little rushed. There are some good chuckles to be had throughout as fun is thoroughly poked at some of the rather po-faced pontification of the source text. Yes the jokes use the scattergun approach but enough hit the mark - certainly more later in the story - to make this an entertaining read.

This won't be to everyone's tastes - it is very very silly and the start can be a bit hard going - but this book is there purely to entertain, not to win any literature prizes. The thing is, for all of it's disposable puns, references and silly jokes just occasionally there's a glimpse of some real wit underneath it all.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated A History of Heavy Metal in Books

Jan 7, 2020 (Updated Jan 7, 2020)

Knockabout trot through the history of the genre makes up for in enthusiasm what it lacks in objectivity, probably. Full disclosure: I'm not a huge fan of metal, but I'm always interested in learning new stuff , and you'd think that would make me the ideal audience for this book. However, there's an in-jokeyness here, a level of gushy fannishness, and a way in which the book prioritises jokes over facts, that leads me to suspect it's aimed at the devoted rather than newcomers.

It is good on the origins and early years of the music (or so it seems to me), but as it gets closer to the present day the narrative becomes increasingly fragmented and coloured by the author's personal tastes. Do you really need to try to be funny when writing about a genre featuring artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Lawnmower Deth? The book keeps the one-liners coming regardless. The blokey familiarity of it also feels inappropriate sometimes - subjects are referred to by their first names, even when they are white supremacists and convicted murderers (oh, the metal lifestyle). It's okay, but I didn't learn as much as I hoped and am not even that inspired to listen to more of this music after finishing the book.

(It may be a bit more satisfactory if you just approach it as a comedy book for metal fans. Didn't really make me laugh though.)