Anne of the Thousand Days (1970)

Rating: 80%
I first saw this movie a few years ago in my Europe history class. So I decided to see it again since we have it and here's the review for it.

Plot: The movie is set is flashback over how Henry VIII after having a lot of miscarriages with his first wife Catherine, save for their daughter Mary, falls in love with Anne Boleyn and tries to woo her to become his wife, divorce Catherine and have her be the one to give Henry a son to rule England after her dies.

This got a few rotten reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but I still enjoyed it. It was a nicely laid out film giving us an idea about the world that people lived in at that time and with the all around story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. The one issue where I side with the critics that didn't like it is that it is rather slow paced. I mean when I saw the movie again, I was surprised to find out how long it was and I didn't really like how long it took for a lot of events I remembered from the first time I saw it, to actually happen. There was quite a few stuff where it was just dialogue or something like that. I liked some of them because of how they were giving us some historical stuff about what was happening or the life at that time, but there were still a few scenes that were not necessarily needed. I think my favorite part *WARNING SPOILER* was at the very end when Anne claims that Elizabeth was going to be queen and rule a better England then Henry ever could with a son, and how they replay the audio to that scene when Elizabeth is walking away, kind of ending the movie with making it reflect that this was part of the story about Queen Elizabeth. It may not be historically accurate that Anne said that, but it still was nice. *END OF SPOILER*

Acting/Characters:
Richard Burton/King Henry VIII: He did a very excellent job portraying Henry VIII. He was selfish, stubborn and whiny and desperate as living heck. Even if his portrayal is not as historically accurate as I think, it still gives you a pretty darn good idea.
Geneviève Bujold/Anne Boleyn: She did a very good job too. Anne was clever, knew how to not to take crap from anyone but at the end of the day had a way of being just as selfish and determined as Henry.

Music:The music was good in terms of giving us music that was from that time.

Editing: I thought it was well done.

And that's my review for Anne of the Thousand Days. It may not be entirely accurate and slow paced, but it still gives us an enjoyable, good idea about what historically happened and an enjoyable film  altogether.   

The African Queen (1952)

Rating: 100%
Now I've seen most of this movie, but I had yet to fully see it until earlier today. So here's my review for The African Queen.

Plot: Rose Sayer is a missionary working in a village in East Africa with her brother. Their mail and supplies are delivered by Canadian boat captain Charlie Allnut who in his most recent visit, warns them that World War I has just started. No sooner that he told them about this that the German army comes and destroyed the mission houses and drives the natives away. Rose's brother dies of a fever so Charlie helps bury him and takes her to set of on his boat, The African Queen.

Honestly, I just think it's a very nice well put together movie. When I say that, I mean that I completely agree that it was very well put together, the story was nice, the acting was good, and the romance was nicely made. So I completely know that it's an awesome film which is why I gave it 100%. The situation for me was that I probably didn't enjoy it too much because since I saw the last...more than an hour of the movie, it was probably a little spoiled for me because I already knew full well what was going to happen in the end. So the movie is still good, it's just that I kind of wish I didn't see so much of it before I finally fully saw it.

 
Actors/Characters:
Humphery Bogart/Charlie Allnut: So this is the first movie I've seen with Bogart after finally seeing Casablanca. I thought he was much more interesting as a character here because of how Charlie has his drink-like-a-sailor attitude but also has his fun and lovable side.
Katharince Hepburn/Rose Sayer: She was smart, she was energetic, she was plenty stubborn at some point but had just as much of a fun and lovable side at the end of the day.

Music: As far as the music all around, it was pretty good. I personally liked how the music was played when Rose finds out that Charlie drinks gin, because the music made it set like she just realized something important or that she just discovered the murderer or something like that, that would happen with that kind of music playing.

Editing: I thought it was good. Nothing really stood out, but they did their part.


And that's my review for The African Queen. While it probably is spoiled for me, it's still a very nice, well put together movie to enjoy.

Titus (1999)

Rating: 100%
Now when my mom said she and my brothers where going to watch this movie when I just came home from work a few hours ago, I eventually said I will too...I made a VERY good choice tonight.

Plot: We start off with a boy playing with his toys. But then a bomb goes off scaring the boy but is rescued and taken to an Amphitheatre where we enter the story of Titus. Titus has just come home from a won battle at the cost of 21 of his sons. During this war, he also took the Queen of Goths, Tamora, her secret lover Aaron the Moor, and her three sons, and despite the queen's pleas, he sacrifices one of her sons during his sons' funerals. Later the emperor of Rome dies and so the people squabble over who will succeed him. The people choose Titus but he declines and so one of the emperor's sons, Saturninus becomes the next emperor. Eventually, Satuninus marries Tamora who secretly vows revenge against Titus. Later, Tamora's remaining sons Chiron and Demetrius reveal that they lust over Titus' daughter Lavinia. So Aaron devises a plan where with the help of Tamora, they kill Lavinia's husband, rape her, and frame two of Titus' sons for murdering her husband. To top it all, Chiron and Demtrius also cut off Lavinia's tongue and hands so she can't reveal who did all of this to her. When Titus finds out, he vows vengeance on whoever was responsible for what happened.

In terms of story, this movie was very, very dark. I mean it gets bigger than what I said about the plot as the movie goes on. The visual design is where the movie becomes amazing but just as messed up. They keep throwing in locations, costumes and imagery from various periods and a lot of them just happen out of the blue. But it's not just artsy. Because the story all around to me was very complex in a very well done way. I mean it was dark, but it also had its funny moments, clever moments or just use of choreography and things like that to display the story that just were really well done.

Actors/Characters:
Anthony Hopkins/Titus: What do I have to say? It's Anthony Hopkins. He gave us this amazing complex character that's getting driven almost completely made at some points, over his desire for revenge and for everything that is happening to them. Titus is a sad yet entertaining character and Hopkins really pulled it off.
Harry Lennix/Aaron the Moor: Good grief this guy was evil. I mean as the movie went on, this guy kept on shocking me on how he's twisted, clever, despicable, cold-hearted, and how to top it all, never regretted a shred of it up to the very end. At the end of the day, Lennix gave a villain that I could hardly stand at the fact that he truly was that evil.
Osheen Jones/Young Lucius: I liked how he started off as just being some kid that's observing all these events while turning out to have a part in it. And I really liked how that changed with the part where he killed that fly and then all of the sudden he's an actual character while we find out all of the sudden with his dialogue with Hopkins that follows.


Music: Just as messed up and the movie itself. I mean one moment you're listening to some normal dramatic music, the next you might hear punk rock or something like that.

Editing: I liked a lot of the editing. There wasn't any cuts or transitions that really stood out, but I think they displayed the story with the editing very well.

And that's my review for Titus. Out of the Shakespeare play, we get an awesome movie with wonderful acting, amazing visual effects, and a story that just messes you up.  

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Rating: 70%
Now I remember seeing a trailer to this on a VHS tape to - I think it was Alice in Wonderland - whenever I was watching that movie when I would visit my grandparents when I was a kid. So after recently remembered that, I decided to settle the matter over finally seeing the movie for myself. And here's how that turned out.

Plot: Kiki is a thirteen year old witch, where it's custom for witches her age to leave home and find a city without witches where she is suppose to take a year training to become a witch and also use her magic to earn her living at that city. Kiki settles to a port city where she lives in a room at the bakery where she watches over the shop for the pregnant owner Osono, and decides to create a delivery service.

Now the first thing I really liked about this movie was how they were giving us a completely different take on the concept on witches. I mean that's one of the things I really enjoyed about Howl's Moving Castle with the concept on Wizards. However I wish they elaborated a little more on it. I mean they cover her earning a living for herself, but I didn't get how she was suppose to be training per say while this was happening. Maybe making a living is how she's suppose to train, maybe not. But personally I would've liked to have that elaborated on more. But I also liked some of the voice actors they had, mostly that they had Jeff Bennett, Kath Soucie, and above all, Corey Burton.


Characters:
Kiki: Now the interesting thing that I found out about this character was that she was voiced by Kristen Dunst. I think she did a nice job voice acting. Not spectacular but not bad. As for the character itself, I thought she was nice. She did have her really stubborn side but she was also friendly, smart, and surprisingly independent, or that is to say, it's surprising how much she was responsible to take care of herself for the most part for someone her age. Really that idea for witches in the world of Kiki's Delivery Service, is messed up considering how girls are making their living at only age 13. Maybe I'm thinking too realistically, (actually I'm sure I am,) but...yeah. But nice character all around.
Jiji: you know the sad thing about this movie was that apparently the voice actor for Jiji, Phil Hartman died the same year Disney released this version in 1998. In fact, I just decided to borrow from the library and then review Small Soldiers because A) that's a movie that I remember seeing once when I was a kid, and B) That was apparently, officially Hartman's last role before his death. As for how Jiji, his second to last character was, I kind of liked him. I mean his tone made his voice sound a lot like one of my best friends, but he did have that likable character in him. He's not the best character, but he wasn't the worst.

Music: I was okay with the music. There was nothing bad or good about it so it was just nice.

Editing: Now I've basically made it a rule for myself not to have an editing section for an animated movie because there usually is never anything to talk about. But there are a couple of points in this movie where I thought the editing that I didn't think needed to be in the movie. For example, when Kiki and Jiji spend the night on that train, there was a part where a train passed by the train they were on and THEN they got to the part where their train started moving a few second after that whole other train passed by. To me, I thought that whole part with the other train had no purpose editing wise. I thought they should've just cut to when their train moved. And later about 2/3rds of the way in the movie, Kiki walks from the beach all the way to her room after hanging out with Tombo. The way they edited it at the end was a shot of the bakery and then the table inside the room, and then the shot of her entering her room. I don't think the shot where it's just her table inside her room had much of a point in terms of the editing either.

And that's my review for Kiki's Delivery Service. It's a nice unique film with a couple of things I either thought where messed up or wished they elaborated more on, good ol' voice actors that I know, but an all around enjoyable film at the end of the day. 

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Rating: 100%
Yeah. I remember the first time I saw the first teaser for this movie. There's plenty of things that I remember back when this movie coming out or was out, but since a lot of us have been there, let's not waste anymore time and move on to Pixar review # 2...*dramatic voice* Toy story....2....(see what I did with both of the 2's and...oh never mind.)

Plot: Andy is about to go to Cowboy camp with Woody, but as he plays with him and the rest of his toys along the way, he accidentally rips Woody and so he goes to camp without him. Shortly afterwords, Andy's mom starts a yard sale and Woody goes to save a toy from being sold. But along the way AL, the owner of Al's Toy Barn finds him and secretly steals him from Andy's mom where he begins to work on selling him to a museum to Japan along with other toys from a TV show that Woody was created form. Meanwhile, the rest of the toys head out of Andy's room and try to rescue him.

It's a bigger deal then what the first movie, but it's just as awesome. Well...maybe not just as awesome, but I guess what is to say is that you have to love this film just as much as the last one, just in different ways. I mean the story is completely different with Woody and Buzz being complete friends now, we get a look more on Woody with basically how he came to be as a toy, we get a lot more characters to love, I could just go on. One thing you can like better than the film movie is how the animation is SOOO much better. Plus you might like it better because one of the new characters could be one of your complete favorites or you may like how it's more fun or adventurous something like that. But either way, it's really hard to now love this movie.

Characters:
Woody: Still love the guy. Plus it was really nice to look more into what Woody is.
Buzz Lightyear: Yeah he's still awesome. Plus it's nice to have Buzz being a completely different person now that he has totally accepted that he's actually a toy.
Jessie and Bullseye: Jessie was a lot of fun and I liked what happened to her in the past...at least with how it was somewhat similar to what Woody went through in the first movie.

Music: Same deal as last time. And I will add that the song "When somebody loved me" was well made and very moving. It's not a surprise that it was at least nominated for best original song that year.

And that's my review for Toy Story 2, You may prefer the first, you my like this better, or you love them both...just in different ways. Either way, it's a spectacular film and when it came to films to grow up with, this was another fine addition for so many of us back in those days.

Toy Story (1995)

Rating: 100%
Well Brave is only less than two months away. So with that being said, I want to be ready reviewing wise. And since I've only reviewed Toy Story 3, it's time to see to it that I've reviewed all of Pixar's films and even update my review to Toy Story 3. So keep a good eye on what I'm posting guys, because this is the start of my Pixar films marathon. And what else would be Pixar review #1 then the one movie that started it all: Toy Story.

Plot: Of all the toys that belong to the young boy Andy, his favorite is his cowboy doll named Woody. But when Andy is out of the room, all the toys turn out to be alive and Woody is the leader. But Woody's place as Andy's favorite toy is being questioned when Andy gets a sci-fi action figure named Buzz Lightyear.

Okay what do I say and how do I try to elaborate on why I say it when I'm talking about a film everybody who is anybody has grown up with? It's an awesome movie. The 3D animation is marvelous considering its time, the characters are lovable, the music is unforgettable, and the story itself is awesome (I mean that fact that Joss Whedon took part in writing it is part of how he especially got my attention aside from Avengers) cause it all around gives us a good idea about the life of being a toy. I would say more but, let's face it, you probably have already seen it.

Characters:
Woody: I remember very well that Woody was my favorite as a kid. He was funny, smart and was a leader. His motives in the film may be selfish, but at the end of the day, he's still awesome.
Buzz Lightyear: If there was at least on character that tested my favoritism on Woody, Buzz would be it. I mean he may not be a real space ranger, but still, he was cool as a toy, like Woody said: "you got wings, you glow-in-the-dark, you talk, your helmet does that- that...whoosh thing." As far as the character himself goes, he was awesome with how he thought he was real, and with all the stuff that happened because of that throughout most of the film.

Music: The score is spectacular. And while I don't like Randy Newman too much anymore after he wrongly took the Oscar for best original song back in 2011, I cant' deny how good and how unforgettable he was in this movie with "you got a friend in me".

And that's my review for Toy Story. It's a clever, fun film with so many lovable characters. If you have yet to see Toy Story, you really should go check it out. Because it was a wonderful film for a lot of people like me to grow up with and it was a beautiful start for Pixar.

Rashomon (1950)

Rating: 100%
Now this is a movie I have hardly heard about until recently. It mostly came to my attention when a few people from this group I follow on Facebook called Film Buffs was talking about it (I don't remember how for sure), so with just about little to no idea at all about this movie, I borrowed it from the library and watched it.

Plot: the movie is set in the city of Rashomon, where a woodcutter and a priest are taking shelter beneath the gate of the city. The woodcutter is disturbed about the case of a recent murder. A commoner comes by to take shelter with them and when he notices the woodcutters disturbance, he allows him and the priest to tell him how the woodcutter discovered the body of the murdered man and of the separate testimonies about what happened to him from the bandit that killed him, the murdered man's wife, and another testimony that should not be mentioned for those who haven't seen the film.

This was a very well put together movie. The acting was well done, the cinematography was nicely put, and the sort of meaning behind the story - while I won't give it away- was a little interesting. And I liked how the testimonies differed from each other from what it actually turned out to be.


Acting/Characters:
Roshiro Mifune/Tajōmaru: Now I am not an expert on actors and stuff from Japan back in those days (or even now for that matter) but I do remember Mifune before when I watched Seven Samurai. And it's nice to see him basically being the same sort of personality that he had in that film. That while he had his serious side, his character is also rather wild, and while his character was drunk in the Seven Samurai, we still get that kind of energy from him. So it was nice to see that and having someone I could recognize from any other Japan film from back then.
Machiko Kyo/Kurosawa Akira: Her character was interesting when it came to how it was different during every story. This was roughly the case with Mifune too, but I think the change was a little bigger for her.
Takashi Shimura/Woodcutter: He did a good job. It was interesting in the end when the commoner makes all those accusations against him and what he does after the commoner leaves. And to top it all, he's played by the guy that played Kambei Shimada, the leader of the samurai in Seven Samurai.


Music: The music was good. Or at least as good as Japanese music can be as far as I can tell since I'm not from Japan and all that.

Editing: Now there's something really odd and kind of interesting about the editing. Apparently, when a scene was shot, it was done with several cameras at the same time, so that the director could "cut the film freely and splice together the pieces which have caught the action forcefully, as if flying from one piece to another." and he also used short shots edited together that trick the audience into seeing one shot; and it got to the point where there being a total of 407 separate shots in the body of the film which is more than twice the number in the usual film, and yet these shots never call attention to themselves. Do I have to explain how that's interesting yet messed up? I mean if they actually tricked the audience to thinking some of the shots were actually shown all in one shot...then I'm left wondering how they did it and when are the actual cuts on those "shots"

   
And that's my review for Rashomon, it has a clever story, a couple of familiar faces from Seven Samurari, and apparently some clever but messed up editing.