Film Reviews by CW

When I saw Female Trouble in the early 80’s I thought it was one big laugh after another and especially remembered the Christmas scene. It is not a movie that I think has stood the test of time. I still howled watching teenage Dawn stomp on presents and kick over the Christmas tree when she didn’t get the cha cha heels but the rest of the movie didn’t amuse nor interest me as much. It seems as though it would have made a good video, maybe 20 minutes long. Still, was fun to see if I would laugh at the same places.

Modern Times is arguably the best of the Charlie Chaplin Little Ttamp movies. As with his other films, he wrote, directed, produced, omposed the music and starred. There are the familiar and brilliant shots of him going through the cogs of the giant factory machines. Paulette Goddard who was his partner and muse for 10 years plays a feisty orphan survivor who becomes his friend and fellow traveler in life. There are startling scenes, including archival news footage of lines of unemployed , bread lines and people protesting unemployment. One scene has The Little Tramp dancing and singing a delightful song that he acts out. It is the only time Chaplin spoke in a movie. The movie is delightful and heartbreaking as you see them refuse to give up hope. Watching the special features I learned that Chaplin traveled to other countries meeting leaders including Ghandi to discuss employment. He believed that machines should be to enable people to lead better lives, not to take over jobs. Modern Times gives messages that are important for our own times.

I think really the best thing to say is watch this, experience The Salt of the Earth. We watched it twice and later watched the special features. His photographs and this documentary - life changing. I have told my best friends to please watch.

I saw Anne of the Thousand Days when it came out many years ago. Seeing it again I was just as impressed, maybe even more so, with the entire production. The casting, acting, screenplay, sets, direction all excellent. I highly recommend this movie, the slice of history.

Sweet movie, an excellent sorbet in between heavy fare. Delightful story without being cloying. All dog lovers will want to see this one. Any child who watches will want a dog to share her/his life. Good casting, for the actors who play the child, teenager and grown man played by Dennis Quaid have the same lovely smile. Story is tod from dog's point of view - dog's thought as well as dog eye level. A happily ever after story. Another reason to love watching movies on dvd, the special features were interesting. You watch snippets of the dogs being trained and the writer and his wife talking about how the story was developed. The whole story came to him as they were on a road trip and he made up the story to chher her for her beloved dog had died. Good movie for dog loving adults and for children. Bailey the reincarnated dog learns that his purpose in life is to bring joy.

The Grey Zone is a companion piece to the Hungarian movie Son of Saul. Both were based on reports from survivors of Aushwitz including a few Sonderkommando and the Hungarian doctor forced to work with Mengele. Unlike most American movies, this is not neatly tied up with a happy ending. There is no archival footage but the scenes give an unflinching visualisation of the funnels into the changing rooms, the rooms that were then filled with gas and the industry of burning thousands of corpses. There are a few quiet moments of friendship and compassion amongst the slave labourers.

It is not easy to watch, but only by reading about the concentration camps and seeing movies and documentaries about them can we learn about the planned extermination of people - Jews, Hungarians, Poles, Russians, gipsies and others. . I recommend The Grey Zone, Son of Saul and Shoah.

Well done documentary about the fastest man alive. It was so interesting learning about his early training and seeing his first major win at 15. Footage from trials, Olympics and other events. Even though I knew the outcome I was still on the edge of my seat. His coach, a second father figure is a no nonsense instructor and has worked with him for many years. Usian Bolt is close to his family and has kept his best friends with him. He comes across as cofident and yet humble and very religious. He is gracious and polite. He doesn't get caught up in the rude banter by a few other jealous competitors. Though he didn't criticise some of his competitors, Usian Bolt has never resorted to drugs or blood doping. Watching this makes you want to work harder, run faster, stretch yourself. The directors also gave a camera to Bolt so he could film himself and some of his friends.

Gosh this was marvelous. The other reviews were good at describing this heartbreakingly lovely movie. There were so many moments I loved. One I had to watch again is when our heroine is skating at night under a bridge, her long robe and scarf billowing out like a large predatory bird. I also highly recommend watching the extras. The deleted scenes showcased the extraordinary talent of the supporting actors. Scenes it must have been so hard to cut. The 3 best vampite movies - this one, Only Lovers Left Alive and Blood and Roses (Vadim, not released to dvd).