Moana 2 with the great grandkids (he’s 11, she’s 8). All the stars, they loved it. The audience applauded at the end (home crowd - wife and I are back in Hawaii). As an adult, you can see the themes and actions coming from a mile away - fine - not talking greatest film category here. Two! villains sort of. No one dies. Enjoyable and the kids were really into it. Go see it with your children.
Transformers ONE was pretty good. Yards more entertaining than almost all of the ugly live action ones except for Bumblebee. I’d recommend it for a pleasant time. A lot of shooting and fighting, if that matters to you.
Continuing through my stockpile of as-yet-unwatched DVDS, today I watched Douglas Fairbanks’ silent version of Robin Hood (1922) I was expecting a relatively low-budget film, but this was a long (it had an intermission!) epic film with huge sets and extravagant special effects reminiscent of Fairbanks’ later Thief of Bagdad (1924). The extremely tall sets look like the ones Williuam Cameron Menzies came up with for Thief of Bagdad. I didn’t see his name in the credits, but according to iMDB and Wikipedia he did work on the film, but went uncredited.
It starts out in England before King Richard goes on his crusade, and introduces Fairbanks as the Earl of Huntingdon and shows his prowess at jousting and how he meets Maid Marian, then follows the soldiers of to the CRusade, then shows King John’s odious rule, a message sent to HUntingdon, about conditions back home. He appeals to Richard to go back, is thrown into a prison for his insubordination. He escapes, and becomes Robin Hood. He indulges in a lot of very athletic stunts defeating and taunting King John’s guard. And so on. A very long flick.
Alan Hale, father of Gilligon’s Island’s Skipper, plays Little John for the first time. He was so poplar in the role that he did it again in the Errol Flynn version 16 years later, and in Rogues of Sherwood Forest in 1950. Wallace Beery is unrecognizable to me as King Richard.
I liked it better than Fairbanks as Zorro or The Black Pirate. I’ll have to see how he is in The THree Musketeers
Seconded by my granddaughter, who will be 5 in a couple of weeks. Her aunt and her grandma also enjoyed it.
I stayed home and watched football.
We watched “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” on Thanksgiving.
Nice period drama. If you like the feeling of going back to another time, you might enjoy it.
My wife really liked it.
We watched this little gem a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Guernsey was one of two islands in the English Channel that were occupied by the Germans during World War 2. In order to save their sanity (and perhaps their lives) the islanders form the organization mentioned in the title. There’s humor mixed with pathos and a mystery involved too. It’s a nice movie, well told, with a solid cast.
The Italian Job 1969 Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Benny Hill
On Paramount+
It’s an early caper, heist movie. Caine made a bunch of films. He’s said in interviews that he liked working and rarely turned down any roles. Some roles are very good and others blah
Caine and his gang plan to rob a armoured truck in Turin. Each member has special skills and tasks to perform in the robbery. They have to outwit the police and Italian Mob.
I liked this one. There’s some comedy and a lot of action. The extended car chase at the end is a film classic.
A 2003 remake with Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham is also on Paramount+. I haven’t watched it yet.
Caine is very good in British gangster roles. Get Carter from 1971 is excellent. It’s much different film from the Italian Job. Get Carter is very dark and full of tension. I’ve seen it several times. Highly recommended
Wicked - generally a spectacular film, particularly Cynthia Erivo. Mixed feelings about Ariana Grande, whom I couldn’t understand when singing in her higher range. It’s only Part 1 and there are a number of threads and characters I hope will have more of a role in Part 2.
However, I found myself coming out of the film feeling…incredibly angry. I will cite someone else’s description of the film to explain why:
I just watched Wicked Little Letters on Prime. A period comedy about a pious woman who receives insulting mail and the neighbour who was accused of the crime. A great cast, playing great characters, with rather a lot of creative swearing.
Really, we’re going to have to suffer through the same avalanche of hype when Part 2 comes out?
In part two, the kids are adults now and they kill Pennywise, don’t they? 
And Mrs. A women on the verge of getting married winds up with a dead boyfriend. Her reaction is … atypical. She wants to go ahead with the wedding.
Aisling Bea is the woman. Billie Lourd (Star Wars films, daughter of Carrie Fisher) is the worst future sister-in-law in history, A wreck of a human being who shows up for “comic relief”. Yeah, right. Colin Hanks is the dead guy (who appears in flashbacks and what not).
Watching Hanks was at times quite creepy. His boyish looks are fading and he is looking a lot more like his father. He is also sounding a lot like his father. He even was doing that frustrated stuttering thing such as “I … I … I … I…”. If you weren’t watching the screen you’d think you were watching a Tom Hanks film.
It’s a comedy-drama. First third was fairly good. 2nd third fell off. Last third was a struggle. There is noticeable comparisons to Four Weddings and Funeral. Esp. the Partridge Family thing. Worse, it only did 2/5 as much rituals.
Give it 2.6 Kevin Wus.
I hated that movie. I’ll avoid this one like the plague.
Some people love it…a love there is no cure for.
I don’t really care for any of that guy’s movies – Richard something?
Curtis. He did make Blackadder, though.
Well, then, he did do something good!
I hope so!
lol who knows I guess part II is in the can?
I saw Wicked yesterday was a first for me
Not that familiar with the leads or story
But I was glad to See this one in the theatre. PG rating 2 hours and 30 minutes
I want to see it again.
Saw it as well. Good but dragged. The whole Broadway show Wicked, including both Acts and the 15 minute intermission, ran less than this Part 1.
I didn’t think it dragged. Yes, they added a lot but nothing seemed superfluous to me.