The second film by Little Crew Studios. I have watched their first film The Runner from Ravenshead several times and thoroughly enjoyed it each time. Thus when I learned that Little Crew Studios had made a second film, I was quite excited. Prompt shipping landed the DVD in the mailbox and we sat down to watch the film the day it arrived. Let me say: It did not disappoint! With an all child cast, this film reiterates, via an allegorical story, the importance of staying grounded in "The Book". Follow one-armed Alec as he joins the Defense Agency in what becomes a wild ride as they battle to save New Haven from the menacing and mysterious Raiders. Suspense and emotions run high in a film featuring biblical truth, knee-slapping one-liners, and the cutest kid to ever sport a mustache. (So I think the character Eddie is just adorable.) Moving on to the sets and production values--both are excellent, giving a sense of realism while also keeping within the bounds of childish imagination. Speaking of children, the Steege children are really quite good actors. There is a small amount of dialogue that is a little hard to understand, but that is due primarily to the young age of the speaker(s). Otherwise, the lines are delivered convincingly and in a natural fashion (neither rushed nor laboriously slow). Every single character you see on screen is one of the seven Steege children.
The soundtrack was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra. I look forward to watching this one again (soon!) and hope that Little Crew Studios will be making more films!!
0 Comments
This 1974 film has some potential--the story that is. Due to the vintage, the acting and historical accuracy left something to be desired (as well as the script), but the actual story isn't that bad.
The film follows the true story of the Sager family, but most particularly the eldest son, John, as they head out for Oregon from Missouri. John, at the age of 13 or thereabouts, has potential, but he is lazy, mean, and even disrespectful (at least in the film version. I would be interested in reading the book...) After a couple of disasters, John is left, the eldest of seven children, to take care of his siblings. He determines to fulfill his papa's dream and go on to Oregon. The way is frought with danger, difficultly, and disease, but still he presses on, with his six younger siblings, one a babe in arms, to his goal. The story has great potential--particularly when you take into account the fact that Christianity is not entirely absent. But this is where the real disappointment comes in. The Christianity which could have been clear and present is only marginal and not as orthodox as it could have been (there is some clearly unorthodox theology in one particular scene). The growth that John could have shown is lacking--there is character growth implied, but it's not really shown. Instead of seeing a John that learns to be a man and to love his siblings, we only get sundry glimpses of it, to be covered back over by the harsh, bossy John. It's somewhat confusing actually... There is an distinct element of 1970's children portraying 1840's children that just doesn't work. This, among other things, makes me wonder how much of the 1970's twist was put on the story and how different the book is. I would not bother watching this film a second time because it wasn't really that great of a movie, but the story...that I would like to see made again from a distinctly reformed, Christian persepective. I had heard some good things about this film so I was interested in seeing it, superhero movie and all. I'd never seen a superhero flick before nor have I ever had much interest in them. I can't say that Captain America necessarily made me eager to see more. My reaction when it was over was, "Well, that was alright...but I wouldn't bother watching it again." The story follows Steve Rogers, a humble, brave, but weak and sickly young man who wants nothing more than to be able to serve his country in the Army during WW2. He finally gets in under some rather odd circumstances and after being proven weak, yet smart during training, he willing under goes a medical/scientific procedure/experiement that transfroms him from this: To this: Meanwhile, Scmitt (the antgonist), the man in charge of Hitler's "Hydra" project, has discovered and put to use some stone which has some sort of electrical (and/or magical) powers that allowed him to create an atom busting firearm. (People get disintergrated with this thing.) With his acquisition of this power and his super-strength (he got the same treatment as Steve before the muscle-pumping serum was perfected), he turns himself to conquor the world. He is evil straight through. Steve, after hauling in a Nazi spy, becomes the hero of the hour and lands a job selling war bonds as Captain America (where he gets that fanciful suit of his). After a particular incident he realizes this is not what he wants and that he could be doing something "better" and "more important" for his country. Thusly, he basically goes AWOL and storms the Hydra headquarters alone. From there things are one fast paced ride to what I considered something of a unsatisfying ending. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly First the good: Steve is a humble guy for the most part, even when he goes from little shrimp who can't get a punch in during a fist fight, to a guy who can do practically anything. He is very loyal to his friends and quite patriotic (a touch I personally found appealing). He is a moral character, though apparently with no foundation for his morality. There is no "God" in this movie, not in the sense of the One Triune God. Which leads me to the bad. Remember that rock I mentioned? It has something in it--some sort of power. Whether it was supposed to be some sort of radioactive or electrical force within it or some "magic" stone that the "gods" (these would be the Germanic gods) left behind on earth (like Scmitt thinks), I'm not exactly sure. However it appears to me that, like the stuff that turned Steve from a shrimp to a blowed-out of proportion muscle man, when used for evil it is really evil and when used for good, it makes things better. (I was watching this movie and thinking: "Boy, some of this stuff is reminiscent to Star Wars!") This particular aspect of the film I certainly didn't like--this power source is just downright weird and other-worldly in a non-biblical fashion. The filmmakers could have had the same outcome with a simply "scientific" something or other, but they decided to mix in the Norse mysticism for some reason. The ugly...well, I'll throw the historical inaccuracies here. I understand that this is a superhero movie so it's most definitely not "real", but some of the stuff (Hydra developments) looked way too modern for the setting. (For instance, Scmitt's getaway plane looks like a Stealth fighter!) The Hydra soldiers look oddly enough something like more streamlined (and black) Star Wars stormtroopers. However, the worst is Scmitt after he literally (spoiler!) removes his own face. He looks like a devil (purposely I'm sure, but all the same, I don't enjoy looking at such evil-looking heads). There is a certain amount of langauge in this film (mostly in the form of the H- and D- words; which as I have recently discovered where not as uncommon for the WW2 generation as I once thought--not that that excuses the use). There is some amount of shirtlessness amongst the men (if that is bothersome), but it is all in-context of military inspection and medical procedure. The chorus girls in the war bond shows have enough leg sticking out--but once again, that is in-context of the setting (and yes, the dresses would have been that kind of short!) Very minimal kissing. There is just one more thing I'd like to touch on...the romance between Steve and Peggy Carter. Peggy plays a big role in prepping Steve for becoming Captain America. She is a British agent of some sort (I never quite caught who exactly she worked for) joined with the American's in their super-man project. They have a rather subtle and even awkward romance. They share but one kiss throughout the film (slightly surprising since it's clear pretty early on that these two are attracted to each other) and that is very close to the end. All in all, I find their romance rather nice because it isn't one that is, well, "Hollywood". It's not fast and free, but slow and guarded.
I think that Peggy has (historically speaking, as well as biblically) too much of an out-front role. I cannot argue against any and all female agents (particularly in a time of war), because they most certainly can (and do!) play a supporting role to men, but Peggy occasionally passes that (like when she goes into combat with the men). I would not necessarily recommend the film but I wouldn't scream "NO!!! Don't watch that!!!" either (there are films that I would do that with) Like I said earlier, it was "alright", but it does have some problems (honestly, most films do). I would classify this 1943 film as "war movie with a lot of comedy and a little romance". Destroyer is the story of the USS John Paul Jones II from the day her keel was laid to her acceptance as a fighting ship. Steve Boleslavski (more commonly known as Boley), is an old has-been sailor with a long and interesting history--much of which we discover throughout the film. He "built" the second John Paul Jones and manages to get himself aboard the new ship as First Chief. In the process, he pushes out the younger Micky Donohue. Old Navy and New Navy clash as the "Jonesy" goes out for her sea trials--twice. Regarded as unfit for duty, she's relegated to a mail carrier--much to the disgust of the crew. Lt. Commander Clark (the ship's captain and an old friend of Boley's), finds himself with numerous transfer requests on his hands. Boley manages to save the ship--in a figurative sense and literally--twice simply because of his love for her and the Navy. His little history lesson about Captain John Paul Jones was really one of my favorite scenes. (I persist in calling the ship "her" because it fits with the tenor of the film as the following quotation will show: When Kansas [played by the inestimable Edger Buchanan] asks Boley, "Why do you call a ship a 'she'?" Boley responds, "Because she's like a woman--she curves in the right places, wears a coat of paint, and squawks loud in an agrument.") While Old Navy (Boley) and New Navy (Donohue mainly) butt heads, Commander Clark sets up a little scheme to try to get them to work together--knowing both are good men and could learn a lot from each other. The scheme includes Boley's pretty daughter Mary, who just adores her dad and knows that if he gets kicked off the "Jonesy" it would break his heart. Not to give too much away, the scheme doesn't work out exactly like it was supposed to.... All told, I really enjoyed this film. The story was quite engaging. There was character growth in both the main characters, Dad is not portrayed as dumb (maybe a little set in his ways, but not stupid), and of course, Edgar Buchanan provided plenty of humor as Kansas. Brave, sacrificial manhood is encouraged, even while the old sailor tells the scared kids that it's alright to be scared--and even to cry! "It'll do you good..."
No language, no gore, a small amount of kissing...See below for my one big area of 'issue-taking'--it's a spoiler. Beware: spoiler! I don't agree with the "underhanded" way the Micky and Mary got married--most particularly Micky's chicken-ness in telling Boley about it. It's an example of how not to get married, even though there really was nothing wrong with the match so to speak--and if Boley hadn't been serving with Donohue, he probably would not have had any real objections. This 1990 adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's book, ranks high up on the scale of my "favorite" movies. This movie is quite accurate to the book (which I have read--Stevenson being one my favorite "children's" authors). It is rare, at least in my viewing experience, for films made from books to be as closely aligned as this one is. The story follows young Jim Hawkins from the day the mysterious (and drunken) "Captain" Bones arrived at the Admiral Benbow Inn. When the Captain dies, Jim comes into the possession of the famous pirate Flint's map of Treasure Island, under some rather dangerous and disturbing circumstances. Soon he is aboard the Hispanola with Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, Captain Smullet, Long John Silver, and a crew of (mainly) pirates. Upon reaching Treasure Island, the pirates and the remaining "loyal" men match wits and trade lead. At the center of the action is Jim Hawkins, acting with bravery and presence of mind. Ben Gunn also makes an apperence and helps in the fight against the pirates. There are a few things I would like to note: 1st--there is some language in this movie. One could cut it and not really lose any dialogue. It could certainly be worse, but that does not excuse profanity. (Most of it is in the form of the D- word.) 2nd--the music is outstanding and really adds to the film. Without the "olde English" style music, this movie would not quite have the 'real' feel that it does. Speaking of feeling real, there is one scene where Jim gets his first taste of being a sailor. I found myself rocking in the rhythm of the "Heave! Heave!"--partly due to the music, but partly because of the angle of the shot. (Not that this has anything to do with the storyline exactly...) 3rd--Jim is a manly youngster. In fact, Long John declares at one point (to the pirates), "He's more of a man than the lot of you!" (or something to that effect). This is quite encouraging and pleasing. He shows fear, but he overcomes it rather than succumbs to it. He is an honorable lad to the point that when he gives his word he will not go back on it, even if it results in his death. Jim is a loving, respectful son to his mother and a respectful young man towards his superiors. He's also not a bad hand with a pistol... 4th--there are some scenes that might frighten a young child. The main ones I'm thinking of occur close to the beginning with Blind Pew....he's scary enough looking with the rag over his eyes, but once that gets removed and one sees the makeup job, it can really give one a jolt. I remember the first time I saw this movie, I nearly jumped out of my skin. It's not so bad the second or third time around, but it's still startling. This is one of those movies that I want to watch again as soon as I'm finished with it, because it is just that good. |
RachealA Reformed Presbyterian girl who enjoys a good movie or a good book any ol' time. Archives
November 2016
Categories
All
Note: All images picked up online. No copyright infringment intended.
|