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A Chairy Tale, a review by Antares

A Chairy Tale (1957) 3.5/5 - One part of my film watching regimen that I sorely am lacking in is live action short films. Maybe it's the fact that so many are not available on DVD, or the fact the only outlet for these creative snippets of celluloid are to be found on TCM. This is an interesting conceptual film about a chair that refuses to allow a man to sit upon it, until the man meets the chair on its own terms. The man is played by Claude Jutra, who comes across as part Charlie Chaplin, part Roberto Benigni and is certainly up to the task of performing the quite physical pantomime with the chair. The music is provided by the then unknown Ravi Shankar, and fits the films frenetic pace quite well. This was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short film, but could have also been nominated for Best Editing. Some of the transitions in this are quite remarkable to look at, and make the subject very entertaining. If I have one complaint with this film is its length, something you would think wouldn't be much of a problem with a short film. But the director probably could have shorn away about 2 - 3 minutes and the film would have not suffered for it. Even so, at ten minutes, you should give this a look see, it's available on YouTube.

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 27th, 2012)

Down Periscope , a review by Dragonfire

Down Periscope



Veteran skipper John Dodge (Kelsey Grammer, TV's "Frasier") will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine. Instead, he's given the helm of the Stingray, a diesel-powered World War II sub crewed by a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits (Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Harrry Dean Stanton), then ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best in a crucial war game. Batten down the hatches for unmistakable hilarity that takes 200 years of naval tradition and throws it all overboard!

My Thoughts

I first saw this movie when it originally came out.  I fully admit that the movie is silly, but I think it is fun and entertaining.  The plot is rather simple and not that realistic, but it manages to be entertaining.  The silly stuff does add a good amount of humor to what is going on.  Some of the jokes are a little on the gross or crude side.  The humor won't work for some viewers.  Most of what happens is predictable, but the movie still manages to be entertaining.

The character are interesting, especially Dodge.  He knows what he is doing for his job, but he's made a few questionable choices in the past that are still held against him.  I think Kelsy Grammar does good with the part.  He may have ended up with more of a film career if this movie had done better.  Pretty much every character has some sort of quirk.  Those things do make things more entertaining and interesting. 

The DVD doesn't have any extras.  As far as I know, the movie isn't available on Blu-ray.

Even though the movie is very silly and predictable, I still think it is fun and entertaining.  Fans of the cast might find something to like.  This one isn't going to appeal to everyone though.



I did get a longer review posted on Epinions.

Down Periscope




(From Down Periscope on January 18th, 2011)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

4. Untouched
Original Air Date: 10/17/2000
Angel unknowingly crosses paths with Wolfram and Hart when he comes to the aid of a young woman, Bethany , who possesses telekinetic powers far beyond her control.

Guest Stars:
Julie Benz
Stephanie Romanov
Sam Anderson
Daisy McCrackin

My Thoughts:
Not a bad episode. But not great either. While the storyline was entertaining to a point... I found I really didn't care for the Bethany character enough to really get into it.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 2nd, 2010)