Scott's Movie Reviews

A remake of Around the World in 80 Days opened in theatres a couple weeks ago, so I decided to watch the original movie version, adapted from the Jules Verne novel of the same name. The movie stars David Niven as Phileas Fogg, a mysterious man who may or may not have robbed the Bank of England, who bets the other members of the stuffy Reform Club that he can make it Around the World in 80 Days. He then immediately sets off around the world, travelling with his newly acquired servant Passepartout(played by the Mexican comedian Cantinflas). Along the way they run into their usual array of mishaps and you don't know until the very end whether they are going to make it or not.
I was never really able to get into this movie. I just didn't find it very interesting. David Niven's character was rather dull, as was the love interest, played by Shirley MacLaine. I rather enjoyed the character played by Cantinflas, but the adventures that the characters got themselves into just weren't exciting and didn't hold my interest. It didn't help that the movie was three hours long, either.

Scott's Rating:
Around the World in 80 Days: 2 stars

Chevy Chase never fails to amuse me. His facial expressions combined with his dialogue are hilarious. And several times in his career he has saved movies simply by his presence. One such example is the sequel to his popular "Fletch", "Fletch Lives", which I just saw. Fletch Lives is in the same vein as the original, about a LA newspaper reporter named Irwin Fletcher (Fletch for short) who adopts a variety of disguises to try to solve a case. In this movie, Fletch moves to Louisiana and must try to solve the murder of a realtor in which he is the only suspect. He encounters a variety of characters, including Cleavon Little, playing the servant on his plantation, and R. Lee Ermey, who plays a greedy televangelist. The actual plot of the movie and the cast of supporting characters is pretty stupid but Chase saves it just by being his usual goofy self. I found myself laughing at just about every line that Chevy Chase said, including this one, in which he's being interrogated by a policeman:

Cop: Do you have a statement?
Chase: A statement? ...Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Scott's Rating:
Fletch Lives : 3 stars

I have recently gotten caught up in the Fred and Ginger craze of the 1930s, watching a lot of Fred and Ginger movies. Every single one of these movies (I have seen 4 of the 10 they have done) is just awesome. The movies are musicals without feeling like the musicals of the 1950s. They might have only 4 or 5 songs throughout the whole thing and they are accompanied with dancing numbers from Fred and Ginger that will just blow you away. I am currently reading Fred Astaire's autobiography, which provides a great insight into his life and his movies. He was originally a stage actor, performing with his sister Adele from a very early age until he was 32, and then he made a transformation to the movies. He did many pictures from the 1930s through the 1950s. He is simply one of the most talented, if not the most talented, dancer I've ever seen, and Ginger Rogers is among the best as well.
One thing about their movies is that they are very funny. The supporting cast, especially Edward Everett Horton, who is in 3 of their movies, is hilarious. The plots of the movies are all similar: they involve at least one case of a mistaken identity, Fred usually falls in love with Ginger, Ginger repels him, Fred wins her over with his dancing, something happens in the plot to bring them apart, and then they end up together in the end. It sounds really simple and cliched but they really pull it off very well, and I never fail to be amused every single time. Oh and the songs are great, most of the scores being by either Irving Berlin or George Gershwin.
The Fred and Ginger movies that I have seen are Shall We Dance, The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, and Carefree. I just watched Carefree yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't tape it at the right time so I didn't get to see the last 10 minutes or so. My favorite of these movies is Shall We Dance, which I think has both the best plot and the best music (George and Ira Gershwin scoring). If you ever get a chance to see a Fred and Ginger movie, don't hesitate to!

I have been watching a lot of movies lately but just haven't had time to write reviews so I will try to be a little better about them. The other day I watched a film that has become almost a cult classic: The Blues Brothers. The Blues Brothers are Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Akroyd). Jake has just gotten out of prison and he and Elwood decide that they must get the band back together to raise $5,000 for the orphanage that they grew up in. They must dodge the police, a group of Illinois Nazis, and a country band as they travel to get the members of the band back together and then perform to raise the money.
This movie had some very funny moments, most of which included John and Dan dancing in their outfits of black suits, black ties, black hats, and black sunglasses. Their dances are so ridiculous that they are just hilarious, especially the one near the beginning in a black church. Like most movies like this, the plot isn't exactly stellar, but the supporting cast is pretty good (including John Candy, Ray Charles, and Carrie Fisher) and the movie is very entertaining. The only thing I regret is that John Belushi died tragically at a young age, dismissing the possibility of a sequel.

Scott's Rating:
The Blues Brothers : 3.5 stars