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Reviews
Animated Century (2003)
Interesting, but...
Unfortunately what was otherwise a very comprehensive overview, the producers obviously had a vendetta against Walt Disney. Every chance they had, they, in a rather passive aggressive sort of way, trashed him/the studio, which was a real disappoint to me because it otherwise was so good and offered so much non-mainstream information. I'm not some huge 'Disney-was-a-god' type, but the anti-Disney just got in the way. I swore when I was watching it that it had been produced by Mr. Katzenberg over at Dreamworks after he and Mr. Eisner had their fall out. That's the only reason I rated it so low. It really did a lot to offer and I learned a lot.
Romola (1924)
Let me know that Griffith knew what he was doing
I guess this isn't an awful film, but after recently viewing it, I was struck by how it really needed that Griffith touch. Especially since the script was something Griffith would have done. But they missed out on any chance for true suspense by neglecting everything they should have learned from Griffith about climactic cross-cutting.
Wow...I feel like I'm turning into a film geek or something. (I guess I like Griffith more than I thought...or I've just seen too many of his films.)
Anyway, if you want to see a movie worth watching with the Sisters Gish (and who doesn't??), watch (or re-watch) Orphans of the Storm. View this only as a comparison as to why Griffith was truly a master.
The Wizard of Oz (1925)
Oh man...Painfully and Terrible...
I love silent movies, and watch them all the time. Man, I just cannot think of enough bad things to say about this piece of tripe. If it were not for the 1939 version, this film would be completely and utterly forgotten about. The humor is just bad, the plotting is stupid, and the racial stereotype is relentless. If you're a fan of the 1939 version, watch it again, not this. If you're a silent movie fan, well...watch some Melies for some magic. Seriously, do NOT waste your time. Life is too short, and there are way too many good silents our there.
Over the Counter (1932)
Pre-Code Oddity
If you're into the sometimes just-plain-weird pre-code humor, this is a short for you. (And if you don't know what I'm talking about but get a chance to see it, do so...just to see what Hollywood was capable of in 1930.)
What follows isn't really a spoiler, but I sort of liked not knowing what it was all about when I saw it...good surprises.
Anyway, the son of department store owner replaces the regular sales girls with chorus girls...and song and dance wackiness ensues!!! Wives can now check their husbands (like they would their hat) to shop husband-free, which leads to a fantastic song and dance between the chorus girls and the men. And the new indoor sport is putting the best female shoppers in the ring to go after that one great sale item. Yea, it's sexist, and it's sexy innuendo all they way, and nothing like would ever be seen again once The Hayes Office came along.
The Last House on the Left (1972)
Wow, this is really a bad movie.
Enough people have already stated that it's a bad movie, so I'll get to the point at how little thought was actually put into this piece of tripe. As different actors approach the driveway to The Last House on the Left from the main road, it's on the Right side of the road. Never the left, not once. Obviously Wes and his cronies were out to make a movie that did nothing but shock people. Oh boy, there's creativity at it's finest! (That was sarcasm.) No real thought in this movie at all. Who cares. Also, notice how Wes shows a lot more scenes with the girls being tortured than the killers. Hmmm, makes one wonder if he just enjoyed making that part more.
The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)
Boring Boring Boring
This movie is not worth watching as even a curiosity. Seriously, it's not humorous, it's not shocking, it's not guilty pleasure, it's boring! If you're really curious, are bored on a stormy Saturday afternoon, go ahead, but only if it's free. If you want bad but fun, stick with Ed Wood.
Golden Dawn (1930)
Should be a Cult Favorite...
I recently saw a book on bizarre movies featuring cheap space monsters, Bad Biker Boys, and Bad Babes in Bikinis. That's not bizarre, that's boring! Now Golden Dawn, here's a bizarre movie for you! Prisoners of war in the middle of the African jungle with the natives wanting to do a human sacrifice...and in the middle of it all we have Lupino Lane (bless his soul) doing a happy go-lucky jig. Unlike most cult films, this had a budget, and was expected to be taken as serious film making when it came out.
Believe me, I can see why people would give this a low rating. But if you're into saying "Huh?" and wondering what people were thinking when they were creating something...this is for you.
Non-Stop New York (1937)
Surprisingly fun!
I bought the video of Non-Stop New York on a whim when I saw it was about a double-decker airplane with an outside deck(!). However, the plane only comes into play during the last half of the film, and when it does, the design of it is so downplayed that we assume double-decker planes were mainstream travel in 1938. The plot involves a chorus girl trying to free an innocent man from death row while being pursued by the gangsters that did it. Yeah, we've all seen it before, but the plane, and the way the movie uses it, truly make this trip worth it.
In my opinion, if you stumbled across a film as esoteric as this in the IMDb and actually are taking the time to read about it, you'll enjoy it. This is what all those Airport movies wish they were.
Four Hours to Kill! (1935)
Poor Man's Grand Hotel
Film of different people and how their lives interact in the lobby of a film theater. One of the many forgotten films (though obviously--and luckily--not lost)that makes me wonder how it is decided what is released on video. This should be!