Hi all, this tumblr 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.
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
#351/#68 The Madness of King George
When King George III (Nigel Hawthorne) begins acting irrationally and showing signs of a mental breakdown, the Prince of Wales (Rupert Everett) takes this opportunity to try and have the British Parliament appoint him as the Prince Regent in his fathers stead. In order for the King to regain his faculties and the Kingdom, the Queen (Helen Mirren) sends for the help of Dr Willis (Ian Holm) and his unorthodox methods of treatment.
Despite playing a little fast and loose with the actual history, this film works as a compelling drama looking at the declining sanity of the King. You feel both empathy for, a great disliking of and a whole raft of other complicated emotions for King George and the Prince of Wales depending on each individual scene. It’s a fairly compact story looking at just one aspect of the man’s life but it’s interesting enough just seeing how each person within the royal family is affected by it.
Hawthorne does a wonderful job with his role, invoking all of these different responses from the audience. Mirren and Everett are fairly standard in their portrayals but this doesn’t stop either of them being great within their parts either.
It’s a little murky, and overall left me feeling a little unsure if I was actually happy with the ending that transpires, but there is no denying it is an interesting character study with some wonderful performances to boot. 3.5/5
#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
