Finding Neverland (2004) 3.5/5 - My childhood years were spent on athletic fields, and not much time was spent playing fanciful, imaginative role playing games with other children. So it may come as no surprise that I have never read Peter Pan nor seen Disney's famous animated film of the same name. But after watching this rather creative and fanciful tale of the story's creation and creator, I'm probably going to give it a whirl. Granted, the historical aspects of the screenplay are dubious at best, but by the end of the film, I was bawling like a baby. There are moments that tend to drag just a bit, but it is all worth it once you get to the end of the story. There are two truly priceless moments that come towards the end of the film and should been seen by anyone who enjoys a creative twist to telling a story. The first comes when the author sets aside 25 tickets on opening night for selected children from an orphanage to come and see the play. They are randomly seated throughout the theater, and their presence is at first, looked upon with a sense of disdain by the entirely adult, upper class patrons who are there. But as the play begins, their spontaneous moments of giddy joy, break down the icy veneer of the adults, and for the remainder of the play, help to revert the adults to an earlier, innocent time in their lives, and this makes the play's opening night a success. The other moment deals with the death of a character, and due to being a an important spoiler in the film, I won't go into it. But it is used as a transition to a beautiful and touching scene involving the author and one of the children who was the inspiration for Peter Pan's character in the book. It takes place on a park bench and serves as a defining moment, not only in the author's life, but in the child's life also. As I said earlier, by this moment in the film, not only was I was shedding copious amounts of tears over the subject matter, but also at how beautifully created these scenes were projected. Some will probably say that it was all blatantly manipulative, and maybe it is, but I feel sorry for these people, because it is done so magnificently. I gave it a 3.5 rating out of 5, but it's a high 3.5. I would have rated it higher, but at times, the film become a little too fanciful and it can be a little too saccharine. But that being said, I recommend it to anyone with a powerful or creative imagination, it can make you feel young again.
Introduction--I got the idea for this back in 2006 and was going to do it in my blog but actually only did a review for one movie. Thus, except for the first movie, my reviews will be new. The idea is to review one movie for each year I've been alive. I was born in 1952 so that's the year my first movie is from...
Hangman's Knot Written & Directed by Roy Huggins Cast: Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, Claude Jarman, Jr., Frank Faylen, Glenn Langan, Richard Denning, Lee Marvin, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams
Hangman's Knot is the only film ever directed by Roy Huggins. He would later go on to create and produce such television series as "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files". As his sole directorial effort for the big screen, this was a fine effort. The film begins with a group of men (led by Scott's character) waiting for what we soon learn is a Union army shipment of gold. They attack, resulting in all but one of the Union soldiers being killed and we then learn they are undercover Confederate soldiers. The one surviving Union soldier surprises the youngest and untested member of the Johnny Rebs who fires out of sheer reaction. Before he dies, he tells them that the Civil War is over...it had ended about a month before. They're not sure they believe him but they find out this is the truth when they go to meet their contact. That man obviously was trying to cheat them of the gold and his reward is to be shot dead by the group's hothead (Marvin). They load the gold into the man's wagon (disguised as an elixir salesman's wagon) but on their way out of the area, they meet up with what they first think is a posse but later find out they are just drifters out for the gold themselves. They take off when the drifters are tricked into believing someone already captured them.
They lose the wagon (the horses break lose from it) but are able to stop and board a stagecoach. The drifters are soon back and giving chase but the band on the stage manage to reach and board up at a stagecoach way-station. The rest of the film deals with Confederates (and the civilians with them) trying to survive as the drifters try to get at them...and more importantly at the gold.
All the movies I will be watching will be on DVD and I hope they all look as good as this one. The picture quality is incredibly good, especially the outdoor chase scenes where they're riding out in the plains around huge rocks. Donna Reed isn't someone you expect to see in a western but she and Scott have good chemistry and the film has a fine cast with lots of familiar faces from Lee Marvin to Claude Jarman Jr. of "The Yearling". There is no music composing credit so perhaps they simply used stock footage for this film. The movie is fast-paced and clocks in at a mere 81 Minutes.
Usually movies that are this old don't come with extras (unless they're special editions of Oscar-winning films) but this DVD did come with a trio of movie trailers...not for this film but for Cowboy (the trailer introduced by Jack Lemmon), Once Upon A Time In Mexico and Silverado.
Synopsis: Lana tries to get into the "Tri Psi Sorority" at the Met U and gets accepted. But "Tri Psi" isn't like any other sorority anywhere and Clark and Chloe become concerned about their friend.
My Opinion: Great episode! I didn't really notice it before, but this episode was packed with cultural references, especially towards Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It begins with Chloe baptizing the head of the sorority as "Buffy Sanders". James Marsters (Spike in Buffy and Angel) declares in his role as Professor Fine that "there's no such thing as vampires". Then the "Daily Planet"'s editor (Carrie Fisher) calls her "Buffy the Vampire". And when Chloe starts as a reporter in the basement of the "Daily Planet", she declares that she will only go "up, up and away".
Exposed
Synopsis: Chloe investigates in a murder and Lois helps her with it. The trail leads to Senator Jennings who happens to be an old friend of Jonathan's. He claims that someone tries to frame him and not without good reason. Lex has just entered the race for the Senator's seat.
My Opinion: If the previous episode was a homage to Buffy, this one was definitively a homage to The Dukes of Hazzard. But I have to say that time has been more merciful to John Schneider (Bo Duke in TDoH) than to Tom Wopat (Luke Duke in TDoH). I really liked this episode, too. Not only because of the references, but also because that entire scene in the night club. I don't know what I would have done in Clark's place.
Splinter
Synopsis: Clark cuts his finger on a fragment of silver Kryptonite. From now on he's being paranoid that people could reveal his secret and that all people around him will betray him. He attacks his parents, Lex and finally Lana and only Professor Fine seems to be able to stop him.
My Opinion: I like Marsters. He makes an excellent villain. I saw him here on Smallville for the first time. I knew he was Spike in Buffy but at this point I had no real interest in the show. But his acting here convinced me to give it a try. His plot gave him the perfect foundation to gain Clark's trust. Well done. I also liked it how Clark mixed up real events and imagination during his exposure.
Solitude
Synopsis: Martha gets struck by something and Clark finds her unconscious on the driveway. Then she develops a weird bruise and Clark fears that his biological father has come to collect. In his fear that he might lose his mother he turns to Professor Fine who actually can help. But he can't stop the infection, just ease the pain. In order to prevent Martha's death Clark has to destroy the "Fortress of Solitude".
My Opinion: Fine played him perfectly. And if one wouldn't knew who Zod really is, who wouldn't believed Fine? We mustn't forget that Clark destroyed his own spaceship because there was a message that said he was sent here to rule this planet. Too bad that Fine's story has ended so soon (for now). Funny thing is I just found out that the voice of Jor-El belongs to Terence Stamp. Ok, that I knew before now but the name didn't ring any bells until IMDb told me that he was General Zod in Superman II:
But everytime I hear the name "Zod" I cannot help it but to think of Mallrats:
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May 21, 2024, 07:45:12 AM
