Entertainment Review Of The Week: 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Entertainment Review Of The Week: Mogambo

Entertainment Review Of The Week: Mogambo

Filmed in 1953, Mogambo made a small hit with their stars Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly. Unfortunately, nowadays, no one has an appreciation for it. I'm here to beg differ with them.
The film begins with a single bachelor (Gable) living Africa. He captures animals for zoos and circuses and seems to enjoy what he does. Then, along comes Gardner. She's a beautiful New York gal who was sent to Africa to meet a dear friend that wasn't even there. Gardner's character is filled with many flaws making her a passionate real life character that many people overlook. Gable likes her, but Gardner falls for him. Kelly then enters into the scene with her husband who she has been having problems with. Gable and Kelly have a romantic affair which Gardner is the first to know about. Whether Gable chooses Kelly or Gardner, you'll have to find out, but I believe this film to be a classic because of 1) the way Gable treats the women is so classic that it's almost nonexistent nowadays and 2) The characters come to life in a complete different way characters do today. Not only that, but the film had a lot of thanks to the African government for allowing them to the opportunity to show Africa's everyday way of life. It's not just some wild country, but also a peaceful place for romance.

Check it out!

** Four Stars **
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046085/

Entertainment Review Of The Week: Splendor In The Grass

Splendor In The Grass stars Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in this film about teenagers in the 1920's facing a very hard factor in life: going against the mainstream of society. The main girl, Wood, and the main boy, Beatty, are madly in the love as many teenagers are. She's the well-liked girl at school. He's the football jock. They're the perfect couple. They do everything in apple pie order. They never go against the rules. But there's a problem: they want to go against the rules. Bud (Beatty) wants to marry Deanie (Wood), but Bud's father has different plans for him. His father wishes him to go to Yale and become a very studious student and then marry Deanie after college is finished. All Bud wants to do is marry Deanie and start a ranch. So, they're faced with the troubles of society, to be good and follow all the rules. Heartbreak follows soon after with a spiral of events happening from then on. The impact of this film leaves almost like a filmy crust on your thoughts about the way things ought to be and the way things are. Certainly not much of a happy ending, so if you're looking for one, don't look for it here. Excellent watch for the classy and the intellectuals. This movie shocks me though because of the amount of cussing in it when it was released in the sixties. I'm sure when it came out, it was a very controversial film that barely made it through the cut. All in all, a good watch for a night of interesting thoughts.

**Three Stars**

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055471/

P.S. The title's origin comes from this poem, "Ode: Imitations Of Immorality" by William Wordsworth:

What though the radiance which was once so bright

Be now for ever taken from my sight,

Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind...

Entertainment Review Of The Week: The Ordering Of Love

I know I've been slagging behind in my reviews, and since I'm going to Italy tomorrow, I got to catch up with things! So, I recently read this book about two weeks ago or so, and I immediately fell in love. So in love, that I'm planning to buy it. It's a collection of poems by Madeleine L'Engle (author of Newberry Award winning A Wrinkle In Time). Her poems are full of hope, love as the title suggests, and surprisingly, a lot of religious aspects. She writes several poems in the perspective of different Bible characters, her favorite one to write in is the perspective of Mary. Madeleine writes from the pure depth of her soul, and it seems like her hands were just made for creativity. Madeleine has always been a favorite of mine since I was little because of my obsession with A Wrinkle In Time. So, I got on her website to check to see if maybe she had an account for her fans to write to her because I desperately wanted to get a hold of her. Unfortunately, to my despair, Madeleine L'Engle died in 2007, and so my heart broke for my favorite author. So, in honor of the great Madeleine L'Engle, I pay tribute to her.

“Why is L’Engle one of the defining poets of our time? Because when life hurts, she does not shrink from the wounds. She clarifies the murk with hope as we feel the lift of grace.”

–Calvin Miller, Beeson Divinity School

Birmingham, Alabama

November 29, 1918-September 6, 2007

“Poetry, at least the kind I write, is written out of immediate need; it is written out of pain, joy, and experience too great to be borne until it is ordered into words. And then it is written to be shared.”

–Madeleine L’Engle

Entertainment Review Of The Week: Now, Voyager

Entertainment Review of The Week: Now, Voyager

Starring the FABULOUS and highly talented Bette Davis, this movie is actually comical in its own sense. It begins with a poor old spinster who has been haunted by her mother's law, and she has been submissive to her mother all of her life. Then, a psychologist comes to visit to encourage Davis to come to his sanitarium. She comes and lives there, and then finally when it is time for her to leave, the doctor leaves with a passage from Walt Whitman about spreading her wings, hence the title Now, Voyager. So, Davis climbs on a cruise ship and sails off. She meets a devilishly handsome man who sweeps her off her feet. Problem? He's married. Ouch. I do not care for any movie or book that involves adultery whatsoever, but the romance is more of a friendship that accidentally blossomed into a romance. Davis, of course, did a 5 star performance as usual and Henreid didn't do bad himself opposite of her. It's a great watch, and I'll highly suggest it.

**Three Star**

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035140/

Entertainment Review Of The Week: The Secret Life Of Bees

I had bough this book while I was in New York City as a deal with The Shack about a year ago, and I had never picked it up till now. (I'm very busy with my book schedules.) I wished I had read it a lot sooner. This book is BEAUTIFUL! The language and the diction flows so well like Kidd just weaved all together like a giant shawl that you can wrap around when you're cold and lonely. A little girl finds love in the most unexpected way from just following her heart and a small picture of the Black Madonna. The only thing that threw me off track was the worshiping of Our Lady In Chains since I have been raised Christian all my life and my dad is a pastor so the idea of worshiping a statue of the Virgin Mary is a little different. Of course, the black part doesn't bother me because it may have been that Mary was extremely dark complected, we don't know. Anyways, the relationship that Lily develops with the sisters, June, August, and May is very knit and even the relationship she had with Rosaleen becomes deeper. It's not much of a thriller book, so if you're wishing for lots of adventure, this isn't the book for you. This is more of an understanding of the deep South, relationships between a mother and daughter, and friendship in general. An excellent read, but for my more conservative friends, parental advisory. So, go and pick it up and dream of the thousands bees coming into your room and just circling around and around till you relax to the hum and buzz to the fluttering of their wings.

http://www.suemonkkidd.com/secretlifeofbees/

Entertainment Review Of The Week: Love In The Afternoon

I always enjoy a random day where I can just sit down and watch Audrey Hepburn movies all day long. So, that's just what I did. I believe this is one of her earlier films, certainly before Breakfast At Tiffany's, but after Roman Holiday. Which I just checked the IMDb, and I am correct. Haha! I love that. Anyways, Gary Cooper may look extremely old in this film, but the purpose of the film was to show an old bachelor who spent his time romancing young women fall in love unexpectedly. I'll actually be honest though, I didn't know that Gary Cooper aged so fast or maybe it was just my imagination because the last film I had seen him in was A Farewell To Arms which should be from the 1930's. I don't know, maybe I have a bad reception of age. Anyways, I keep getting sidetracked! Ariane (Hepburn) plays as a detective's daughter who has lived not a secluded life, but a fairly decent, not thrilling life. Her days are mostly spent reading her father's files on the cases he works or playing her cello. Ariane eavesdrops on of her father's clients about a threat to kill Mr. Flanagan (Cooper). So, Ariane finds a way to warn Mr. Flanagan, but it turns out Mr. Flanagan is more interested in her than he is being killed! The funny part of this film is that at first, Ariane gives off the real her at first to Mr. Flanagan in which he's interested, but not something to remember much. When he returns to Paris, Ariane changes her entire plan of attack to capture Mr. Flanagan. It's actually pretty cute, and Mr. Flanagan is certainly a memorable character. I would dub it the princess of romantic comedies since I dubbed My Fair Lady and Breakfast At Tiffany's the king and queen of romantic comedies.

**Three Stars**

Entertainment Review Of The Week: The Nun's Story

So this is also part of my Audrey Hepburn movie days (there will be more, believe me), and I actually watched this particular film with my mother as a movie night sort of thing. Well, I have to say 1) One of Audrey's greatest performances again. Bravo once again to wowing me. She can never cease to amaze me. 2) If you really would like to see what a nun's life is day by day, this is THE film to watch. I used to joke that I was going to become a nun. I'm not too sure after this film. I actually admire nuns a lot more after watching this. To begin, Gaby (Hepburn) decides to become a sister of faith, but from what I can infer, she mostly has become a nun to serve as a nurse and possibly go to the Congo as a missionary, not for the actual faith. Well, that's where it becomes a struggle for Gaby. Faith is all what a nun can rely on since they are poor on purpose and socialization is extremely limited. Sins can count from slamming a door too hard to talking unnecessarily to another sister. Gaby does eventually get to go to the Congo, but she does not end up exactly where she would like to be. Gaby faces the most difficult struggle that every human goes through is the sin of pride. At one point, there is a test that Gaby must take. Another nun becomes jealous of her abilities and so Gaby says something to the reverend mother. The reverend mother says that the only way to show that she is truly humble is to fail the test. To fail test, she would have to lie, and so, I believe that is completely wrong of the reverend mother to even say that. She knew all the answers on that test and if she said different, she would have to lie. So, since she did not, she is branded silently of the sin of pride. Excellent film, and deserved every award it received.

**Three and Half Stars**

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053131/

Entertainment Review Of The Week: Desk Set

Hmm...where do I begin with this movie? Should I begin of how many I had to start it all over again because it was so LAME! I have never had an affinity for Katharine Hepburn, but I expected a lot more from Spencer Tracy. Each did a fair job, but the movie was so lame that I wanted to cry. Typically I'm not so critical with older films because I love them so much, but this.....this was ridiculous. It's all based around this department where these women answer people's questions via telephone. They're very concerned when a man comes in with the idea of computers because they're afraid that they're going to lose their jobs to these new machines. Hepburn plays an intelligent and somewhat strange (in not a good strange either) character who works in this office. Lots of romance, which we should all know by now that Makayla doesn't care for romance much in films. I guess what really threw me off was the age difference between Tracy and Hepburn's characters. Tracy had to be in his 50's, but Hepburn was probably in her late 30's. Strange, very strange. This movie was a total sleeper, and I mean that I could sleep through the entire thing and still would have been able to tell you what happened.

**One Star**

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060522/

Entertainment Review Of The Week: How To Steal A Million

I haven't written in a while, as you can see, what with school starting and football games, etc. Anyways, I haven't had much time to even watch any movies, but I went to Costco and found an Audrey movie. Of course, I had to buy it. It's Audrey. So, here we are. My review for it. If you have an okay film, the way to fix it is to put Audrey Hepburn in it. You can't do that anymore, but that was the way to go back then. How To Steal A Million had me laughing from beginning to end. Peter O'Toole is a phenomenal actor, and he adds true character to the film as well. The movie begins with an auction for paintings. These paintings are not actual Van Gough or Monet paintings. They are forges made by Hepburn's father in the film. After a series of events, Hepburn's father decides to put a sculpture in the art museum, causing chaos and mayhem that turns Hepburn's life upside down. She meets the dashing burgular who is extremely crafty in his abilities, and together, they learn how to steal a million...and get away with it.

***Three Stars***

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060522/

Entertainment Review Of The Week: I Was A Male Order Bride

Entertainment Review Of The Week: I Was A Male War Bride

Starring my man, Cary Grant, and Ann Sheridan, I Was A Male War Bride was a cute little film. The only pet peeve I really have with this film is that it could have been really cut in half. It was an extremely long film, but the actual plot did not actually start until the middle of the film. It began that Grant and Sheridan have been assigned together on a mission in Germany. Unfortunately for them, they dislike each other very much and obviously have had a rough history. Grant and Sheridan continue to bicker and pull pranks on each other, but eventually their true feelings are revealed to each other, and they randomly decided to get married. SO BEGINS THE ACTUAL PLOT! Grant and Sheridan finally get married, but they discover very soon that Sheridan is getting deported back to the United States. Unfortunately for the couple, Grant is a French citizen, so they devise a plan for Grant to cross the Atlantic Ocean to be with his wife.

If I would have known before I watched the film that it was based on a book that a man had written about his actual experiences of being a male war bride, then I would have been more open-minded about the sequence of events, but I didn't. So, I'm still hard core about the fact that the film could have been cut in half. The beginning part was irrelevent, and therefore needed to cut. Sad part about reviewing old films, absolutely nothing can be done about it because practically all the actors are dead or dying, and they can never satisfy me. But maybe that is why I love them so much. : )

**Two Stars**

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041498/

Entertainment Review Of The Week: The Children's Hour

I was really dreading reviewing this film. This film consisted my two favorite actors, Audrey Hepburn and James Garner, and their roles in the film were just mind boggling, they were so good, but it's also the most controversial film I have ever seen. Before I say anything else, I will say, the best acting I have seen in a very long time in a film and excellent cinemotography.

So begins the issue of The Children's Hour.

Two teachers, Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (McLaine), have been best friends for several years and they decided to open a boarding school for girls. They have been struggling a bit due to financial problems, so this becomes the reason why Karen holds off on her engagment to the local doctor, Joe (Garner). Finally Karen agrees to marry Joe, but Martha is not too happy about this. A student, Mary Tilford, who is a trouble maker and a compulsive liar wil do anything to make Karen and Martha look bad. So, Mary spreads a nasty rumor that Karen and Martha are actually lesbians. Mary tells her grandmother who tells every parent who has their girls in the school. Eventually, every girl is taken out of the school, far away from the "unnatural" sights. Making this a tragedy, Karen and Martha suffer through dilemmas both internally and externally. After a long and tiring time, they go through the court, and they became nationally known as the lesbian teachers. Men come by in trucks and smash their windows or drop off random things just to get a "sight." A few strings begin to untie, and Mary, the student who spread the rumor, admits to lying. The grandmother has a large apology to the two teachers. This isn't enough though because Martha eventually begins to believe the rumor herself, and admits her love for Karen. Karen is appalled by this, and tries to knock some sense into her. Karen goes outside to take a walk, but when she comes back in, she finds Martha hanging from her bedroom ceiling.

So. This film/play has a lot good points. It proves how much it is important not to lie because things like this are born. In this sense, it reminds me a bit of Atonement, which stars Keira Knightley (why I put up the newer movie poster there) because of one child's lie, the whole world turns upside down. Another is the more you hear something, the more you think about it. The mre you think about it, the more you begin to believe it. Martha suffered from this, as well as Joe, Karen's fiance. They heard them being accused so much that eventually, they began to believe it themselves.

Bad points. I believe the film/play could have had a different scenario. I was shocked to even see such a controvserial issue in a 1960's movie., especially when it received 5 nominations at the Oscars. Typically, you didn't see this kind of stuff until the early 1990's, but I don't believe it promotes or demotes gays in any which way. I believe it just proved that lying isn't the way to get out of things. I won't express real opinions about it, but I'll say this much: I was highly uncomfortable watching this film. I will not be rating it, but I wanted to let people know ahead of time what it is about.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054743/