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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Swing Time (1936) in Movies
Aug 14, 2020
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.
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.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) in Movies
Feb 9, 2018 (Updated Feb 9, 2018)
Gender on the Agenda
Hammer's second swing at a Jekyll and Hyde movie boasts a good cast, a capable director, and an inventive script that takes what sounds like a risible premise just seriously enough to keep it interesting. Dr Jekyll, intent on finding the universal cure for all diseases, realises he will die long before he completes the project, and so starts searching for an immortality serum - the recipe for which happens to include large quantities of female hormones. When he drinks it the inevitable happens.
Well, what ensues is a struggle between the moral but weak Jekyll and his ruthless, psychotic alter-ego, which somehow develops to include the real-life grave-robbers Burke and Hare and a somewhat unlikely solution to the mystery of Jack the Ripper's true identity. It's not exactly the subtlest or most refined piece of work, but neither is it completely sleazy or ridiculous.
The cast, director, and production values give the movie a touch of class (the punishingly low budget is concealed rather well) and the main weakness is that the script often seems to almost be treating the idea as a black joke, and doesn't explore some of the potential of the premise. Still, far from the travesty or spoof it sounds like.
Well, what ensues is a struggle between the moral but weak Jekyll and his ruthless, psychotic alter-ego, which somehow develops to include the real-life grave-robbers Burke and Hare and a somewhat unlikely solution to the mystery of Jack the Ripper's true identity. It's not exactly the subtlest or most refined piece of work, but neither is it completely sleazy or ridiculous.
The cast, director, and production values give the movie a touch of class (the punishingly low budget is concealed rather well) and the main weakness is that the script often seems to almost be treating the idea as a black joke, and doesn't explore some of the potential of the premise. Still, far from the travesty or spoof it sounds like.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated Bottled Goods in Books
Aug 18, 2018 (Updated Aug 18, 2018)
Life in Ceausescu’s Romania.
Set in Romania in the 1970’s, this portrays life for Alina and her husband, Liviu, under the Communist Ceausescu regime. Life for them becomes even harder when Alina’s brother in law defects to Germany. Her husband is a head teacher and is transferred to a difficult, failing school and seems to rely heavily on the alcohol that he drinks on the long train journey home. Meanwhile, Alina is harassed by a Secret Service agent, and this becomes very sinister.
The bottled goods of the title could be used as a metaphor for different aspects of this story: the perfumes Alina covets from the West; Liviu’s reliance on alcohol; how the couple (and probably their countrymen) bottle up their emotions and desire to defect; and a final, more fairytale bottling up - which I won’t give away.
This was all presented in the form of flash fiction that joined together to make a whole story. I liked this approach. It made the whole book feel uncomfortable (you never quite get in to the swing or the rhythm of the story), probably how Alina and Liviu felt, constantly under threat of arrest.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for my copy of this book.
The bottled goods of the title could be used as a metaphor for different aspects of this story: the perfumes Alina covets from the West; Liviu’s reliance on alcohol; how the couple (and probably their countrymen) bottle up their emotions and desire to defect; and a final, more fairytale bottling up - which I won’t give away.
This was all presented in the form of flash fiction that joined together to make a whole story. I liked this approach. It made the whole book feel uncomfortable (you never quite get in to the swing or the rhythm of the story), probably how Alina and Liviu felt, constantly under threat of arrest.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for my copy of this book.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Ratcatcher (Matthew Hawkwood, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
I picked this book up for something like 99p in a Clearance sale in my local WH Smiths, and I have to say: it actually proved to be a better read than many other books that I've paid full price for.
Set during the late Regency period, this is the era of the Napoleonic Wars, Affairs of Honour (i.e. forbidden duels), Highwaymen and the Bow Street Runners. Starting with the robbery of a coach, this builds up into a plot surrounding a (historically correct) invention that agents of France hope to use against Great Britain to swing the balance of power in their favour. Matthew Hawkwood - the hero of the tale - is a former army officer from the Rifle Corps, who now works as one of the Bow Street Runners (few in number, and who have since been called London's first professional police force), who is initially charged with investigating this robbery. While I did find elements of the plot to be obvious - one reveal, in particular, I saw coming from about a mile away - there is still plenty to enjoy in the novel.
Based on this one, I may be convinced pick up a few more of the sequels ...
Set during the late Regency period, this is the era of the Napoleonic Wars, Affairs of Honour (i.e. forbidden duels), Highwaymen and the Bow Street Runners. Starting with the robbery of a coach, this builds up into a plot surrounding a (historically correct) invention that agents of France hope to use against Great Britain to swing the balance of power in their favour. Matthew Hawkwood - the hero of the tale - is a former army officer from the Rifle Corps, who now works as one of the Bow Street Runners (few in number, and who have since been called London's first professional police force), who is initially charged with investigating this robbery. While I did find elements of the plot to be obvious - one reveal, in particular, I saw coming from about a mile away - there is still plenty to enjoy in the novel.
Based on this one, I may be convinced pick up a few more of the sequels ...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) in Movies
Apr 9, 2020
Not bad, but confused
I'd heard a lot of good things about this and never got round to seeing it at the cinema so was glad to see it had finally made it onto Prime. However whilst it wasnt bad, it was a little disappointing.
My main problem with this film is that it seemed to be very confused about it's audience. Is it a scary kids film like Goosebumps? Or is it a more adult horror? And sadly it never really answers these questions and seems to swing between the childish to adult. As the main characters are children, this leans a lot towards a younger audience especially with their conversation and humour and the basis for the entire story does feel a little younger. However some of the actual scares and horror aspects feel a lot more adult. Some of the monsters are actually rather creepy and there is a bit of violence, which I'm guessing is why this has been given a 15 rating.
I enjoyed the actual stories themselves, especially the monsters as they were very well done and the CGI was quite impressive. The cast were okay and overall the film held my attention and was enjoyable to a point, I just found the mixed audience level rather frustrating.
My main problem with this film is that it seemed to be very confused about it's audience. Is it a scary kids film like Goosebumps? Or is it a more adult horror? And sadly it never really answers these questions and seems to swing between the childish to adult. As the main characters are children, this leans a lot towards a younger audience especially with their conversation and humour and the basis for the entire story does feel a little younger. However some of the actual scares and horror aspects feel a lot more adult. Some of the monsters are actually rather creepy and there is a bit of violence, which I'm guessing is why this has been given a 15 rating.
I enjoyed the actual stories themselves, especially the monsters as they were very well done and the CGI was quite impressive. The cast were okay and overall the film held my attention and was enjoyable to a point, I just found the mixed audience level rather frustrating.
Bible Stories for Children: Noah's Ark
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***READ, LISTEN, INTERACT!*** Why do we believe that our Bible stories will inspire you and...
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