Slob with a blog. Vicariously join me on my movie viewing adventures! Visit my blog here: http://jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com
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ZOMBIES (Dir: Paul Hoen, 2018)
ZOMBIES (Dir: Paul Hoen, 2018)
Girl meets zombie in this musical romcom for the tween set.
Afraid of the undead? Fret thee not! As a Disney Channel Original Movie, the zombies in Zombies are only likely to induce fear in those terrified by the prospect of perky teens singing and dancing.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME at the link below.
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‘TWAS THE NIGHT (Dir: Nick Castle, 2001).
The following review and 100+ more reviews are available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
Made for TV Christmas movies have become inexplicably popular in the last two decades. Seemingly hundreds of them litter the television schedules from September to January every year. This entry in the genre, a Disney Channel Original Movie, has become something of a festival staple on the Disney Channel and can usually be found in their December lineup.
On Christmas Eve, heavily in debt conman Nick Wrigley (Bryan Cranston) escapes his gangland creditors by hiding out in the home of his brother. After mistaking Santa for an intruder he knocks the fat man out cold, ties him up and steals his high-tech sleigh. Taking advantage of his close relationship with nephew Danny (Josh Zuckerman), the pair go on a burglary spree. Unbeknownst to Danny who believes the pair are helping the concussed Santa by delivering Christmas gifts.
There is a certain amount of cynicism mixed in with the inevitable sentiment in ‘Twas the Night, lending the movie a somewhat uneven tone. Its self-centered wise guy characters are a little hard to warm to. Their redemption, when it comes (as is always certain), is neither empathetic or particularly heartwarming, suggesting that the ending is there merely to placate viewers expectations of family Christmas movies.
The visual effects are above the usual TV movie standard, although it never quite overcomes the feel of an extended Disney Channel sitcom. The screenplay by Jim Lincoln, Dan Studley and Jenny Trip has its funny moments, but little in the movie really rings true. It has all the glitz one would expect of a Christmas movie but is oddly lacking in heart.
Bryan Cranston is the standout among the cast. His amiable performance here is the best reason to watch this passably entertaining but unexceptional movie.
While ‘Twas the Night is not exactly unmissable festive fare, it should appeal to tweens and younger teens who feel they are above sentimental Christmas movies. Younger children, meanwhile, may be a little upset seeing Santa hit over the head with a shovel! Not a Christmas classic but you may find its worth a watch if you come across it while flicking through cable.
THE DARK TOWER (Dir: Nicolaj Arcel, 2017).
A kind of sci-fi/western/fantasy mashup based on Stephen King’s popular series of novels.
In alternate universe Mid-World, Gunslinger Roland (Idris Elba) battles bad guy Walter (Matthew McConaughey) for dominance over the Dark Tower, which Walter plans to use for evil means. After stumbling through a portal in abandoned house, troubled New York teenager Jake (Tom Tyler) teams up with the Gunslinger to assist him in his quest.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
WE’RE NOT MARRIED (Dir: Edmund Goulding, 1952).
Covering similar ground to the earlier Mr and Mrs Smith (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941), We're Not Married is a portmanteau comedy in which, due to a jurisdictional error, five couples discover they are no longer married.
On Christmas Eve, a newly appointed justice of the peace (Victor Moore) marries the first of five couples, ignorant to the fact that his appointment does not take effect until January. This comes to light a few years later when each pair is informed of the mishap. The movie follows each couple as they respond to the news in different ways.
Although its strands are loosely connected, We're Not Married cannot overcome feeling like a series of sketches, some of which are, inevitably, better than others. For me the weakest of the bunch was the one which is granted the most screentime. Top billed Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen star as the Gladwyns, a pair of radio hosts whose contracts deem they are a married couple. I found the constant bickering between the two rather tiresome, although it does feature some neat satirical swipes at commercial radio.
Far more appealing is the sequence with Marilyn Monroe as a Mississippi beauty queen and her stay at home husband David Wayne. Monroe's appeal, in what was one of her first significant roles, in readily apparent; easily holding her own among a cast of much bigger names. The other highlight is the episode with soldier Eddie Bracken and his pregnant wife Mitzi Gaynor. With Bracken about to be shipped to Hawaii, the sequence is a sweetly old fashioned reminder of the mores of an earlier age.
Less successful are the remaining segments, with Eve Arden as the long suffering wife of philanderer Paul Douglas and, Louis Calhern and Zsa Zsa Gabor as a warring couple on the verge of divorce. Both have their amusing moments but suffer from dated, some would argue sexist, humour.
Not a perfect movie, and some ways off from being a classic, We’re Not Married is still worth a watch thanks to some genuine high spots and its roster of vintage Hollywood stars.
A longer review of WE’RE NOT MARRIED is available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
SATURDAY NIGHT OUT (Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis, 1964).
Saturday Night Out is a portmanteau movie made up of five loosely connected vignettes following the exploits of four merchant seaman and a ships passenger on a night out in the capital. An uneasy mix of the comedic and the dramatic, the movie's best sequences are those laced with humour and which are less concerned with courting controversy.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read the full review! Link below.
SCHOOL OF ROCK (Dir: Richard Linklater, 2003).
Jack Black is in family friendly mode for this kinda broader comic version of Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir, 1989).
School of Rock (A late name change means the on screen title remains The School of Rock) is the tale of would be rock star Dewey Finn. Kicked out of his band and in need of cash, Dewey posses as a substitute teacher and takes a job at a fancy prep school. With no background in education he firsts lets the students do as they please in lessons. On hearing their performance in music class he seizes the opportunity to form the kids into a rock band and enter them in to a battle of the contest, without the prior approval of the parents or the school Principal (Joan Cusak).
Let’s be honest, the plot involves a great deal of suspension of disbelief. But it is so warm-hearted, well played and genuinely funny that you won’t really care.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
