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Passport to Pimlico, a review by Antares

Passport to Pimlico





Year: 1949
Film Studio: Ealing Studios, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Genre: Comedy
Length: 85 Min.

Director
Henry Cornelius (1913)

Writing
T. E. B. Clarke (1907)...Original Screenplay

Producer
Michael Balcon (1896)
E. V. H. Emmett (1902)

Cinematographer
Lionel Banes (1904)

Music
Georges Auric (1899)...Composer

Stars
Stanley Holloway (1890) as Arthur Pemberton
Betty Warren (1905) as Connie Pemberton
Barbara Murray (1929) as Shirley Pemberton
Paul Dupuis (1913) as Duke of Burgundy
John Slater (1916) as Frank Huggins
Jane Hylton (1927) as Molly
Raymond Huntley (1904) as Mr. Wix
Philip Stainton (1908) as PC Spiller

Review
       Post-war England is in the midst of an extended heat wave, and the local residents of the Pimlico section of London are sweltering under the oppressive heat. Their lives are guided by rationing, shortages and measured allotments of the day-to-day staples that all must live upon. Little do they know that fate is about to turn their normal way of life on its ear. When the last unexploded German bomb of the Blitz is accidentally detonated by a harmless childhood prank, the locals stumble upon an underground chamber filled with treasure. Amongst the valuables is a painting of an unknown nobleman and a charter signed by King Edward IV. The charter leads an historian (Margaret Rutherford) to proclaim that the nobleman is the French Duke of Burgundy, who was thought to have been killed at the Battle of Nancy in 1477. After escaping the battlefield, the Duke had settled into an estate on the outskirts of London and the King has granted him sovereignty over his estate as an extended part of Burgundy. The charter also states that in perpetuity, the residents of the estate are henceforth Burgundian citizens.

       At first the locals do not know what to make of these findings, but when the local bank executive informs his boss that he does not have to adhere to British rules because of his Burgundian residency. He sets off a wave of anarchy amongst the population of Pimlico as they decide that maybe being Burgundian might have its advantages. No longer do they have to abide by rationing and curfews and can live their lives unfettered from the rules that all other Englishman must endure. But when the general population of London realizes that Pimlico is a haven from domestic authority, anarchy spreads to create a black market of profiteering on their streets, and they subsequently appeal to Whitehall to solve their growing problem. The government, in a dispute with the citizens over the treasures ownership, decides to and orders the residents to leave their homes. After surviving the terror of the Blitz, this indignity unites the Burgundians in defiance and as one resident puts it, A Run for your Money, Passport to Pimlico, Kind Hearts and Coronets and Whiskey Galore!. Each is a genuine classic and if you are a fan of British humor you can rest assured that each of these films is an excellent way to spend a couple of hours in screening.


Ratings Criterion

(From Passport to Pimlico (1949) on January 16th, 2010)

Scary Movie 4 , a review by samuelrichardscott

Scary Movie 4 (2006) R2 United Kingdom

Overview:
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to watching movies...Scary Movie 4 rears its ugly head and delivers the outrageously hilarious extended and unsanitized version, never before seen in cinemas. It's no-holds-barred as this laugh-packed hit spoofs Hollywood's most frightening blockbusters...and stars Anna Faris (Scary Movie 1-3, Lost In Translation), Regina Hall (Scary Movie 1-3, Malibu's Most Wanted) and Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man), with uproariously funny cameo appearances by Carmen Electra, Michael Madsen and Leslie Nielsen! Remember, no grudge is strong enough, no village is safe enough, no saw is sharp enough to keep these laughs from killing their intended victims!

My Thoughts:
I'm sure most people here have seen an entry of the Scary Movie franchise at some time or another and there really isn't that much to say other than if you enjoyed the previous films, you'll enjoy this, as it's just more of the same. For me, the comedy was more miss than hit with the best scene being the opening one with Shaquille O'Neal and Dr. Phil in a parody of the first Saw movie. The acting is pretty bad throughout, especially that Tom Cruise lookalike Craig Bierko. However, the bad moments are split up by some funny ones and it is enough to stay moderately entertained. According to imdb, a fifth is in production and I'm sure I'll eventually see it, but the fourth gets a 2.5/5

Previous editions of the series:
Scary Movie - 3/5
Scary Movie 2 - 2.5/5
Scary Movie 3 - 2.5/5

(From Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews) on August 29th, 2011)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Ah! My Goddess: Season 1
Kosuke Fujishima's unforgettable story of every hapless college boy's dream comes to life! Keiichi Morisato is an engineering student, top driver of his campus racing club, and not very lucky with the ladies. While calling for take-out food one evening, a wrong number puts him in contact with the "Goddess Hotline." One misplaced wish later, Keiichi find himself blessed with Belldandy, the perfect girlfriend and a goddess in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any idea how to act in the human world, and her presence quickly gets Keiichi kicked out of the dorms. Fortunately for Keiichi, his troubles have just begin!

My thoughts:
Finally I have seen the complete first season of this series (24 episodes + 2 OVAs). I had seen the first few episodes a while ago on YouTube after I had watched the old OVA from 1993 and the Ah My Goddess movie. Then I thought it looked interesting but didn't think it could hold up for a complete 26 episode season. Boy was I wrong. This is a great series, which got better and better with each episode! And the 2 bonus episodes were a great conclusion to this season after the Lord of Terror story arc. I came to love the humor of the series "Adventures of Mini-Goddess" with the meddling of Urd and Skuld which was also true for this series. As a matter of fact, this season has me put again in the mood for anime series (which the last few months was not the case). Probably some of my next reviews will focus on those.
Currently I am rewatching the old OVA and I noticed something which I didn't know before: In the second episode there is a little cameo of Gan-chan 
For those of you knowing this new series: Is it true, that Gan-chan will appear (maybe in the second season). In the Wikipedia article he is listed as appearing in this series with the same voice actor as in Mini-Goddess. I loved his character in Mini-Goddess. But I couldn't find any evidence at all on the net about this. First I thought it was supposed to be the spirit who transformed himself into a rat early in this first season, but it is a different voice actor.

I was couragous and switched to the English dub for a few minutes to see how it is. But I must say: Horrible! Especially Belldandy is totally off. I will continue to stick to the original audio tracks.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 28th, 2007)