Reviews of Classic and Modern Movies in a Flash!
Imagine who had a chance to not only discover your future, but then had the choice to change your past. Young genius Lewis is given such a chance.
As a baby he is left by his mother at an orphanage. Ever since, his one desire is to be adopted. When it seems that will never happen, he invents a machine where he hopes he will be able to “see” his mother and then find her. Before he can do that, he is approached by a boy that says he is from the future and that he needs Lewis’s help.
1hr. 35min.
The Robinson family is on their way to a new life in New Guinea, when they are chased into a storm by pirates, resulting in their being shipwrecked on a deserted island. How the family survive and eventually thrive on the island is imaginative and believable in this adventure. They’ve only forgotten one thing, the pirates. During a mission to discover if they are truly alone and on an island, the oldest Robinson boys (James MacArthur and Tommy Kirk) run across the pirates and rescue one of their captives (Janet Munro). This sets off a chain of events that lead to the story’s exciting climax.
Filmed on the island of Tobago.
2hr. 6min.
This animated classic stars Peter Ustinov as Prince John who is constantly being out-witted (or in this case “out-foxed”) by Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) as he robs from the rich (“borrow a bit from those who can afford it”) and gives it back to the poor. Robin Hood is aided by his faithful side-kick Little John, Frier Tuck and Maid Marion.
1hr. 23min.
During the French Revolution the Scarlet Pimpernel (Anthony Andrews) is ingeniously saving families from the guillotine, while back home in England he plays the part of the rich fool Sir Percy. While in France he meets the beautiful actress Marguerite (Jane Seymour). The two fall in love and marry, but the rumors started by the jealous Chauvelin (Ian McKellen) threaten to tear them apart. All the while the Pimpernels most dangerous and daring rescues are about to commence.
2hr. 22min.
Set during the late 1800s in India, Rudyard Kipling’s timeless story about the boy raised by wolves is given a lush screen treatment. Jason Scott Lee stars as Mowgoli who is orphaned and grows to adulthood in the jungle. He is content but curious about the humans he sees, particularly Kitty (Lena Headey) who he new as a child. The two form a friendship that blossoms into a sweet romance that is threatened by the greedy and jealous Cpt. William Boone (Cary Elwes). Things get even more complicated when William learns that Mowgoli knows the location of a fabulous treasure.
This film was shot mostly on location in Bombay and Jodhpur, India.
1hr. 51min.
The story tells of Jim McKay (Gregory Peck) a sea captain, who meeting Pat Terrill (Carol Baker) back east, decides to come out west to meet her family and marry her. Once there, he finds himself in the middle of a bitter and potentially deadly land dispute involing a watering hole. It involves Pat’s father (Charles Bickford), and a poor white trash clan, lead by Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives) and his son Buck (Chuck Connors). Jim also meets the local school marm, Julie (Jean Simmons), who owns the land in question. Rounding out the cast of characters is Steve Leech (Charlton Heston), the foreman in love with Pat.
Burl Ives won best supporting actor for his convincing performance in this intense western. William Wyler directed and co produced with Gregory Peck.
2hr. 46min.
Elizabeth Gaskell’s story follows Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell) as she must navigate through her widowed fathers remarriage, the exploits of her reckless stepsister (Keeley Hawes) and her own romantic feelings for her friend (Anthony Howell).
At once a social commentary of the time; full of secrets and gossip. It is also a timeless story of love, the relationships in families and (of course) wives and daughters.
5hr. 1min.
Based on the classic fairytale, this underappreciated animated film tells the story of Princess Odette who is sought after by two suitors; Prince Derek and the evil Rothbart. It’s long been planned for Odette and Derek to marry and they are constantly brought to visit each other. On the way back from one such visit Odette and her father are attacked by Rothbart, (who has changed into a “a great animal”) he kills the guards, mortally wounds the king and then kidnaps Odette. Rothbart’s plan is to force her to marry him, thereby allowing him to take over her fathers kingdom. While trying to convince her, he casts a spell over her where she is transformed into a swan by day and can only be a human by night if she is on the lake where he has her captive. Although everyone in the kingdom believes her dead Derek is determined to find Odette.
1hr. 30min.
A mischievous fox named Todd (Mickey Rooney) and a young hound dog named Copper (Kurt Russell) become fast friends but are quickly separated by their masters. After all, they are natural enemies. When their paths cross again in adulthood they learn that even though they can’t live side by side, they will still have the memories of their bond.
Although serious and somewhat dark, this animated classic has plenty of humorous and touching moments. A must.
1hr. 23min.
Beau Bridges stars as Lt. Harry Faversham, the son of a career army officer, who has been bullied by his father to join the army. He is planning to resign and marry the beautiful but somewhat childish Ethne Eustace (Jane Seymour), but on the eve of his resignation he receives orders to move to the front in Sudan with his three close friends (also officers). In a rash act he burns their orders and resigns the next day. He is found out and branded a coward by his friends and the woman he loves, who each give him a white feather. Determined to in some way make them take them back, he travels to the front alone and realizes that his three comrades are all in peril. He decides to save them on his own, in a dazzling display of his military prowess and unflinching courage.
1hr. 40min.