Welcome everyone. This blog mainly exists as a way of tracking all the movies I've been watching and some of the initial thoughts and general feelings I've had about them.
Rating System
5/5 - Fantastic movies; movies which need to be seen and enjoyed by everyone.
4/5 - Movies which are very good but don’t have that spark which compels you to make others watch them as well.
3/5 - Average movies; watchable and enjoyable, but nothing which elevates them higher. The baseline all movies are given before watching.
2/5 - Can be watched but really bland and forgettable.
1/5 - Minimal to no reason to watch these films. It may have some redeeming factors e.g. it’s so bad it’s good or there’s one character that’s awesome enough to make it not a total waste of time.
0/5- Total waste of time. Nothing redeemable about these films.
As with every review blog/site, this is all my own personal opinion so feel free to take everything with a grain of salt.
Also I'm Scottish so all reviews will be in UK English. Get used to theatre, colour and words ending in -ised.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
#323/#40 Disney’s Tarzan
(Rewatch)
Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn) is a man raised by gorillas in 19th century Africa after his parents are shipwrecked and killed. Growing up he is rejected by his adopted gorilla father Kerchak (Lance Henriksen) but eventually gains his grudging respect when he kills the leopard Sabor. Around this time however other people, including the hunter Clayton (Brian Blessed), Professor Porter (Nigel Hawthorne) and his daughter Jane (Minnie Driver), all arrive in the jungle and Tarzan is increasingly drawn between his ape family and the woman he loves.
A lot of people bitch about this one because of the music. They don’t like that Phil Collins is doing the entire soundtrack or that it’s him doing the soundtrack at all. I like the music though so it’s never been an issue for me. I think 3 of the best sequences in this film showing the opening shipwreck/family deaths, Tarzan becoming an adult and Tarzan learning about mankind are all enhanced by the addition of the songs that accompany them. Could it have included a couple more traditional African songs/instruments like the Lion King? Sure. Does it make it unlistenable by there absence? No.
I really like the animation of this film as well. The models and foreground are all hand animation but the background jungle is all a blend of CGI and hand drawn. It makes all the frames deeper and the jungle feel richer. The way in which Tarzan moves through the trees as well is by far the best interpretation I’ve seen, and can only really be truly captured by this style of animation.
Briefly on the characters: Goldwyn’s Tarzan is well developed, Driver’s Jane is funny and appealing, Blessed’s Clayton is just the right mix of villain and pompous and Hawthorne’s Prof Porter is great comic relief. I’m not the biggest fan of Terk (Rosie O’Donnell) and Tantor (Wayne Knight) now that I’m older but I get their appeal for kids so they don’t bother me that much.
All in all, an enjoyable end to the Disney Renaissance and still one of my firm favourites. 4/5
#153 Henry V
This film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s work shows the journey of King Henry V of England (Kenneth Branagh) as he establishes his rights to the French throne and the march to, and the battle of, Agincourt.
I hold the belief it is almost impossible to truly understand a Shakespearean play without first having been taught about the play by an English teacher. To wit, I can understand Twelfth Night, the Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet. All other Shakespeare plays I can gleam the main points from but the language will always bar me from truly understanding the rest.
With that stated, what I understood of Henry V was rather good. There is a strong purpose throughout the film, a good scene dealing with traitors, some rousing speeches (specifically the ‘we few, we happy few, we band of brothers’ one) and a climatic battle/finale.
There is also more British thespian talent in this film than you can shake a stick at. You’ve got Branagh, Brian Blessed, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Holm, and a baby Christian Bale. Branagh is both Henry and the director (gaining an Oscar nod for the latter) and he excels in both. There’s something about Shakespeare which just makes these actors better for some reason. Jacobi as the narrator especially shines in the role, despite only being in a few scenes. Similarly Blessed is the best I’ve ever seen him in his role.
Superbly directed film and well acted performances all around, sadly it’s my own limited knowledge of the play which I think will have lowered my score. 3.5/5
