The Jazz Singer

This post is also a bit late, seeing as we watched this on Friday night.  But I have a good excuse on this one - my sister was in town for the weekend from Colorado and I spent most of it with her, including all day Sunday at Disneyland and California Adventure.  :)

Okay, so, the Jazz Singer.  The first talkie!  Well, sort of.  This movie was not at all what I expected.  And I hated it.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

We watched this movie nearly two weeks ago, and I've just not had a spare moment to sit down and write my review.  But I have some time now, so I say better late than never.

Now I just have to try to remember what my original thoughts/impressions were.  :D

If you're like me, you probably assume that a movie with this kind of title must be a religious Adam and Eve sort of tale.  And if that's what you think, then you're wrong.  Haha.  Robin told me I was wrong but I didn't believe him.  So I was surprised when the movie started and sure enough, it's got nothing to do with Adam, Eve, or the Bible.  Thankfully.

The General (1927)

Sorry I'm late to this review - schedules been a bit messed up this week due to my awesome wife and awesome brother appearing in awesome productions of The Vagina Monologues and Jekyll & Hyde respectively (he was Jekyll).  Next week's (this week's) movie will be delayed a few days and we'll be back on schedule by next weekend.

The General (1927)

Okay, this one was weird.  I'd never seen a Buster Keaton movie before, so I was really looking forward to this.  I was expecting something like the earlier Charlie Chaplin film we'd seen, only a different face.  I fully expected to really like it, because Buster Keaton is a really famous name; practically synonymous with comedy.

But....

This. Was. Stupid.

The Big Parade (1925)

Those of you who read this blog faithfully most likely noticed that I did not post a review last week for "The Thief of Bagdad".  I wish I had a more noble excuse for this, but the truth is that I fell asleep numerous times during the film from sheer boredom and consequently felt awkward trying to write a review or response to something I mostly slept through.  :P

The same cannot be said for last night's film, "The Big Parade".  I will admit that this movie was not at all what I expected from the title.  Call me naive, but I rather figured the movie would be about...a parade.  War didn't even enter my imagination.  I knew this was the highest grossing film of the 20s, so I was expected a light-hearted, feel good movie about a parade complete with floats, marching bands, and excited crowds.  Upon further reflection though, there's really not much plot to be had with that kind of setting, is there?

The Big Parade (1925)

The Big Parade tells the story of a rich American boy, Jim Apperson, who goes to war.  Or does it?  The opening goes to some lengths to make clear that he is both rich and idle.  It also introduces two other men - who will become his buddies - one a bartender and the other a gangly construction worker.  The class distinctions here are obvious, so it's noteworthy that the film does nothing further with them.  You might expect some sort of friction to be caused, at least at first, whether dramatic or comical, but there's nothing.  Once they're all packed into their uniforms and sent to France (this is WWI of course), they're all the same.  Which I'm sure is the point.

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Finally we've reached the first film on this list that I've seen before, although it's been a long time.  And unfortunately it wasn't quite as good as I remember.  There were few things objectively wrong with it, but it just seemed... a little full of itself.  I thought I remembered a spirited adventure flick, but actually most of The Thief of Bagdad is quite sober and grandiose.  It's an Epic, and a Timeless Classic, with a clearly stated Moral Lesson.  A little too clearly stated, in fact.  Often these things are couched in flowery, period language.  "Happiness Must Be Earned" is so naked and straight-forward it pounds you in the gut like the butt-end of a pike.

The Kid (1921)

I'm going to write a different sort of review this week.  It occurs to me that my past few attempts have basically just been summaries of the films, with little personal reaction.  So this week I'm taking the opposite tack - no summary, and all personal reaction.  That way if you want to see the film, you won't have the whole thing spoiled for you by reading these reviews.  :)