Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

This movie is about a family who lives in St. Louis. All is going well, more or less, for the members of this family. They are a family of 9. Five girls, one boy, a mother, father, grandfather, and a housekeeper Katie. Esther (Judy Garland) and her sister Rose have their minds on men, and they each have their own targets. Judy Garland is of course the star and her love life takes center-stage, but she does share the spotlight with Margret O'Brien, who plays the youngest daughter Tootie. She actually has one of my favourite scenes in this movie, the Halloween scene. All of the kids dress up, but unlike Halloween today, the kids would 'kill' people. They rang the doorbell, but instead of getting candy, they would yell 'I hate you So-And-So' and throw flour at them. It's a great scene.

Anyway, their world is turned upside down when their father tells them that his work is sending him to New York, permanently. No one takes the news that they will have to leave St. Louis well, they're down right resistant to the idea. Eventually they all sadly come to terms with it, but they're heart-broken. Will they really have to leave their beloved St. Louis? Right when the Worlds Fair is about to open? Even though they may have prospective beaus?!?!?

I enjoy this movie every time I watch it. It has great songs and is an overall feel-good film. It's mainly a romance, but it has a family dynamic that adds another level to the film, making it that much more endearing.

Kira- Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Katie is an 11-year-old girl living with her family in the States circa 1950. She lives with her mother, father, sister Lynn, and later, her brother Sammy. Her parents were born in Japan, and back in those days, visual minorities weren't as socially acceptable as they are today. Katie's parents have to work in chicken hatcheries, because in those days Japanese- Americans couldn't do much else in terms of employment. Her sister Lynn eventually shows signs of a strengthening sickness and the story deals with the family's poverty, and the struggles her sister's illness cause, both on an emotional and an economic level. The novel's title, kira-kira, means to sparkle in Japanese. Her very intelligent sister sometimes showed Katie how the world could be amazing, how certain things in life would have a kira-kira.

I wasn't really impressed with this story. It won a Newbery award so I was expecting something good, I didn't end up getting it. Katie was an average kid, with an average intelligence level, and average thoughts, and an average life... which made this story an average book for me. The author would constantly have Katie notice how intelligent other people around her were, how good other people were, or hint at how interesting other people's lives must be. As the author kept doing this throughout the novel, and didn't make Katie's life any more interesting, I began to wish she had told the story from a different perspective. This story could have had a lot to say and could have been very emotional. It takes place in a very interesting time, from the perspective of people who would have struggled at that time, and on top of that their family had a major tragedy. Even with all of this potential, it was still a struggle to keep picking the book up. The author didn't do a good job establishing a connection between the reader and the characters, and as a result I didn't care about what happened to any of them. I kind of wished their situation would keep getting worse, hoping that that would engage me.

At the end of the book Katie talks about the whole kira-kira philosophy of the book and I felt like the concept didn't have enough weight to be presented as though it was present throughout the entire book. The author didn't spend enough time developing that idea or tying it into the events in the book. There were a lot of depressing, unfortunate situations, but no sparkling outlook from Katie's perspective. Maybe in the eyes of another character this idea was more developed... but that really doesn't help the reader as we are only privy to Katie's thoughts.

The book wasn't bad by any means. I know my review is somewhat... completely bashing it, but it wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't what I associate with Newbery books, or great books in general. The story was an average kids book, and I'm sure some kids would enjoy reading it, but the book might not make it to anyone's favourites list any time soon.

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958)

This is the story of an unhappy couple who are called back to the husband's childhood home, a wealthy estate in the south, because his father is not expected to live much longer. We learn very quickly that the couple, Maggie and Brick, are not getting along and have in fact been fighting for some time. From their interactions we get the sense that Maggie has done something in the past that is so unspeakably despicable in the past that she is lucky to still be with him at all. She comes off as a potentially sensual woman, but acts only with contrite concern for her husband. She loves him dearly and seems to want nothing else save his love in return.

As if their private situation isn't enough, they must also deal with the other people in the house. Brick's brother and sister-in-law are vicious people who are only there for the family fortune, and Brick isn't exactly on speaking terms with his parents. Maggie must deal with a conniving sister-in-law, who is constantly reminding her that while she and her husband have managed to have many children, she and brick have none. Her mother-in-law also seems concerned that they are without child. What lie in Maggie and Brick's past that keep them at arm's length? And what will happen to that family fortune? Or the family it belongs to?!

This isn't my favourite Elizabeth Taylor movie, but it's pretty good. Maggie was an interesting character. Strong, but quietly so. She was independent, but desired dependency, and though I'm sure she could have played the same games as her sister-in-law, she seemed to exist on another level entirely. And on the subject of Brick, who has an issue with not only Maggie, but his father as well, he's just a drunken, immature, lay about. His father is somewhat forceful in his dealings with him, but Maggie is completely willing to meet him half way, and go further than that just to make up with him. Despite how she is with him, he just completely shuts her out, not even in company. When I did find out what was between them he seemed even more immature than his behaviour lead me to believe, and if I were Maggie I wouldn't be that forgiving. Overall it's a good movie though.

You Can't Take It With You (1938)

This movie is about a young couple who fall in love, but are from two very different families. The man, Tony, is the son of a big time banker. The family is wealthy and ruthless, and proud of it, but Tony never felt like he belonged. The woman, Alice, is Tony's secretary and is from a middle class family, but not just any middle class family. Her grandfather is a revolutionary in his perspective on life. He lives every day of his life doing what he wants to do, and encourages others to do the same. As a result, their family is far from normal. Alice's sister is constantly dancing around to crazy music, being played by her husband. Her father and two other men make fireworks in the basement, and there are always minor explosions going off, and her mother writes plays. Not because she wants to, but because a typewriter was mistakenly delivered to the house one day. Needless to say this is a very bizarre household.

Alice and Tony are very much in love, but Tony's parents aren't very keen on having Alice for a daughter-in-law, and Alice won't marry Tony unless she has their consent. After an unfortunate meet the parents episode, they all end up in jail and Alice's grandfather winds up telling Tony's father off, instructing him on what's really important in life. During the court hearing, Alice decides that she's had enough and dumps Tony then and there. How will the two ever be together now?! And will Tony's father always be the heartless man we know him to be? Who knows?!?!?

This is one of my favourite movies. It's a bit of a romance and that's always nice, but the main theme deals with what one values in life, and how one should live in accordance with those values. We all work so hard in life, trying to be happy. Some of us work really hard at our place of occupation while others just worry themselves sick. It's so common to hear people complain about how much they hate their jobs, the dreams they have of what they would do if only they had this or were that, things they could have done but gave up on for various reasons. So many people settle for jobs they hate, people they don't like, places they can't stand, and for what? Because they're too afraid of what might happen?

This film was made 70/80 years ago and it's still relevant. Timeless I'd say. It's funny and romantic, but thought-provoking at the same time. A definite must watch.

Dungeons and Dragons

I bought this show for a dollar on a whim, thinking it would be the worst thing I've ever seen. It was however shockingly close to par in terms of 80's cartoon goodness.

The premiss of the show is that six kids go on a Dungeons and Dragons ride at an amusement park and get magically transported to the dungeons and dragons world. When they get there they are in immediate danger, facing a huge five-headed dragon, and then the evil villain of the series, Venger. Then this little man (the dungeon master) appears out of no where and gives them all magical items that grant them special powers. The items all coincide with types of characters are in the dungeons and dragons game, so there is a ranger, acrobat, cavalier, thief, barbarian, and magician. In each episode,  the dungeon master gives the gang a hint, telling them which way they should go to get home. They meet a lot of people on the way and each character is explored a bit.

It's not an amazing show by any means, but I have to say, it's a lot better than I thought it would be. And it might not be the best show of it's era, but I would watch it if it was on tv.

Kaseifu no Mita

This drama was about a dysfunctional family that hires an emotionless housekeeper. Apparently the ratings were very high for this show... but I've personally seen better.

The story opens with four children and their father dealing with the death of the mother of the family. It's been a couple of weeks and the father decides to hire a maid to do the housekeeping. What with the mother gone the work around the house wasn't getting done as it used to. When the housekeeper arrives, the family is kind of taken aback by her appearance and presence. Unlike other housekeepers, she has a heavy coat and a baseball cap and she is very curt with the family, speaking without any trace of emotion. Despite this though, she was excellent at what she did, so the family decides to keep her. As the story progresses, the family learns that there is something kind of off about this housekeeper, Mita-san. One of the things is that she will do anything that is commanded of her, anything, and this of course is one of the central plot points of the story. As the plot progresses we learn more about each of the children, and their father, and of course, Mita-san plays a role in fleshing out each of these discoveries. Usually being directed to do something immoral or illegal. We also learn more about the mother's death, was it an accident? and of course about Mita-san and why she is the way she is.

All of the main characters in this story annoyed me. First off, the father and the youngest daughter look kind of weird. The father looks like a snake, literally, and it's sort of unsettling to look at him. Sometimes I find myself looking at him just to find what I don't like about his face. In addition to that his character on the show is a pathetic, spineless loser. Harsh but true. The youngest daughter doesn't look odd at first glance, but there's something weird about her teeth. They're too perfect for a kid her age. Also, she whines constantly. The oldest daughter is sort of weak-willed. There's a funny part of the show where she orders Mita to kill her, and then runs away in fear as Mita pursues her and tells her to stop. Then she orders Mita to kill her again. Its filmed like a horror scene... but it's just ridiculous. The Oldest son has huge anger issues. I can easily see his character in an abusive relationship. Never before in one drama have I been so dissatisfied with the cast.

This drama is watchable, but I was tempted to drop it half way through.

Powerpuff Girls

This is a really great cartoon about test tube triplets with superpowers. The girls, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were born in a freak chemical experiment combining sugar, spice, everything nice, and an accidental dose of chemical x. The girls use their super powers to save their city, Townsville, from the numerous villains that try to rob the townsfolk, take over or just destroy the city. And each episode you can be sure that the day will be saved thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!!! In most episodes anyway.

This show is so exaggerated it's almost a satire of the superhero genre. That's not to say the show doesn't take itself seriously, because it does. It's a legitimate show in its own right with original characters and problems (as much as that's possible), but there's also a sense that they play up every theme in the show. The characters personify their personality traits in an almost hyperbolic way. A good example of this is the way Mojo Jojo talks. He doesn't just speak, he states something, and then restates it, either explaining it or using more expressive words, which is an example of his personality. The up-tight genius that pays too much attention to detail, to the point where he over does it. The characters are all subtly well-thought out in this manner.

The show itself is pretty clever. Sure, when you look at it to looks so childish and cheery (almost falsely so), and on some level it is, but there's another level of the show to be appreciated if you look for it. For example, the show plays around with different animation and film styles, paying homage to some of the styles that have come before. There's actually a whole episode shot like a silent film, one shot with the old west in mind, etc.

Also, this show has one of the most terrifying villains I've ever seen, Him. Him is an amazing villain, probably the scariest super-villain in your father's eyes as he's a cross-dresser. Looking back I can't believe I didn't question it when I was younger... In addition to Him, Mojo Jojo has to be one of my favourite villains of all time. He's like Wlie E Coyote, but with a voice. Diabolical, intricate, genius plans executed energetically, that always backfire. One of my favourite episodes shows us the life of Mojo, and he's like a crotchety old man who just wants to eat breakfast, read the paper, and kill him some Powerpuffs- 'Just Another Manic Mojo' is the episode's title. But really, they're all gems.

If you're a fan of cartoons you'll like this one, and if you like superheroes you'll like this too. Fun for all ages, this is a great show.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a woman from Paradise Island, an island that has been forgotten by the rest of the world, and by time itself. Wonder Woman and the women on Paradise Island are supposedly amazons from ancient Greece. They have super human strength and speed, the speed is used in an activity called bullets and bracelets where one person shoots a gun and the other uses their special bracelets to knock the bullets away. How a race that has been isolated for thousands of years not only knows what a gun is, but got a hold of one and developed a weird defense against it is beyond me. Wonder Woman is the daughter of the queen of the amazons, next in line to be exact.

The story begins with a German plot and American retaliatory actions during WW2. An officer, Steve Trevor, from the US army's plane goes down over the ocean, right by Paradise Island, and he washes up on its shore. Wonder Woman takes it upon herself to return him to his homeland (as there can be no men on Paradise Island) and returns him in her invisible jet (also.. how an ancient civilization managed this I'll never know). When she's there she eventually learns of the Nazis and decides that she had better stay where she is and help defeat the Nazis. She creates an alter ego for herself named Diana Prince, and works as the secretary of the man she saved earlier.

From that point on Wonder Woman find out about Nazi schemes through the war department office or when she's out with Steve, and then Wonder Woman will miraculously appear when there's trouble. As for the role gender plays in her superiority, Wonder Woman has a huge naiveté. She doesn't know anything about the present day and this often humbles her or gets her into compromising situations. From a not-so-accepting-of-female-independence perspective, it was ok that she was physically superior to men because she was really ignorant and still needed male guidance. This kind of thing came up several times in the show and was kind of annoying. For a princess she wasn't exactly regal. On the other hand, she was pretty pro-feminism for the time.

The pilot was very long and almost boring, with several parts dragging on and on, but the actual show is very watchable. It's not my favourite superhero tv show, but it's pretty good.

Love Boat

This is a really good show from the '7o's/ '80's about the romances that take place on a cruise ship. Each episode features three storylines about three different couples and the troubles they're having in their romantic lives.

The couples are usually passengers on the ship so we never really have a continuous storyline, but we do have a steady crew that we meet each episode and slowly get to know better as the show progresses. When watching this for the first time I was surprised to find how relevant it was. It may have been my prejudice of the time, but I wasn't so sure that what I was sure was to be cheesy romance plots from the '70's would be able to stand the test of time. However, most of the stories are still plausible... even though we may use different language today to describe it.

What I love about this show is the guaranteed happy ending in a short amount of time. Actually, you get three for the price of one. Usually if you want that happy ending feeling you have to wait an hour and a half and you probably have to go through a couple of unhappy scenes to get there. With this show however, there isn't enough time for a lengthy unhappy scene, especially with two other stories to share the space. There's just enough time for one problem to arise and be solved. And you get three happy endings every time!

Haken no Hinkaku (Haken's Dignity / The Pride of the Temp)

In Japan there are apparently two kinds of workers that allow offices to function smoothly. There are the full-timers, the salary-men Japan is so well-known for, and there are the temp workers, called haken in Japanese. As one would expect, temp workers are not regarded with as much  respect as full-time workers, and this show plays with that dynamic.

There are two main characters in the show. One is the narrator, Mori Miyuki. She is just entering the haken profession and isn't that good at it. She has no skills, no friends, and no confidence. This show is partly about her personal growth. The second main character is named Oomae Haruko, and she is a class A haken, which means she is extremely good at what she does and is very qualified. We never hear her perspective or thoughts as the show progresses, but see her only as an outsider would.

These two enter into a 3- month contract at the same time with a company. Mori is shy, nervous, and extremely willing to please, which is closer to what full-timers would want or expect from a haken. Oomae on the other hand is the extreme opposite. She refuses to work overtime (a big deal in Japan)  and refuses to extend her contract. She only responds respectfully to her boss, either ignoring everyone else or curtly telling them to get back to work, or to do their jobs better. All of this is put up with however because she is the best at what she does. The two haken are put into the newly formed marketing department with a very good-hearted, well-meaning manager. The manager's friend however, in the sales department, seems really upset with Oomae's attitude. He goes out of his way to prove that full-timers are better than haken, and that he is better than her. He obviously ends up having a crush on her.

Each episode discusses some of the injustices haken's face... it's not an overtly political show by any means, but the premise is based on injustice. In every episode there is also some huge catastrophe that can't be solved by anyone in the company, and Oomae always comes to the rescue with her many random qualifications, like midwifery, or elevator technician. As the show progresses we discover that Oomae is the way she is because of a past event in her life, and she only treats full-timers with such perceived disrespect because they disrespect hakens, even though hakens do the work full-timers are unable to or don't finish.

When I was watching the show, I didn't really think Oomae's attitude was so very bad. Japanese society is really concerned with group activities and togetherness, for example when work is done, sometimes all of the employees of a department will go out for drinks to strengthen their bond, or if one person has a problem, everyone on the team will try ease the burden.. because as a group it's everyone's concern.  Oomae's attitude was more North American in that she was only concerned with working exactly the amount of hours she was getting paid for. She also didn't want to see her peers outside of the office and was mercilessly disinterested in her fellow employee's troubles. She of course always ended up playing an important role in ending their troubles as well. In the end, everyone is affected by Oomae and she changes many people's lives, especially Mori's. Oomae also changes a bit, but the change isn't as apparent as it is in the other characters.

Japan's a pretty hierarchical society and it's interesting to see how this plays out in a professional setting. The show is only 10 episodes long and is worth the watch.

You can watch the first episode here. The first minute is just explaining the haken situation, and then we meet Oomae for the first time backpacking in Spain. If you want to skip right to the show's 'intro' it's at 10:18.

The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

This is a movie about two thieves who target an old and wealthy castle for their next gig where they think a counterfeit money operation is happening.

The main character is named Lupin, a charismatic, clever master thief with almost as many tricks up his sleeves as batman. Lupin takes his partner to the Duchy or Cagliostro where the rumoured counterfeit bills are supposedly being made and meets Princess Clarisse. When Lupin first meets her, Clarisse is in something of a predicament and is trying to escape a group of men. Lupin is oddly drawn to her and bumps into her again later, discovering that she is being forced to marry a count. As it turns out, the count is also at the center of the whole counterfeit operation. In addition to the counterfeits, there is also rumoured to be a hidden treasure somewhere in the castle of Cagliostro, a treasure that may be tied to matching rings both the count and Clarissa wear, and the count wants dearly to find it. Lupin gets into more and more trouble with the count as he tries both liberate the princess and wrest the mysterious treasure from his power, after he finds it of course. In addition to all this, there is a police officer on Lupin's tail, hoping to catch him and throw him into jail for all the past offenses he's committed.

I first heard of this movie a while back, but delayed watching it. It was directed by Hayao Miyazaki before Studio Ghibli came together, so I knew there was a good chance the story would be good, but the animation style really isn't my favourite, and the first five minutes didn't really grab me. Fortunately, the story is  done well enough that I was able to look past the animation style and appreciate the story. Once the plot gets going it really draws you in. It's intricate, but fun. There's mystery, suspense, action, and just a hint of romance. A hidden gem, don't pay much attention to the packaging, this one is worthy of a watch. The dubbed version is currently on Youtube.

Child Bride (1938)

This movie was made as a sort of social statement against men marrying girls, which was apparently common practice in some places. The story takes place in a hillbilly community up in the mountains somewhere and the local teacher who was born to the town but went away for school, Ms. Carol, is determined to stop child marriage.

We are first introduced to Jennie and her family. Jennie is a young girl around 9 or 10 years old who lives with her mother and father. She does her chores, likes school, and plays with her childhood sweetheart Freddie whenever he happens around, which is often. Jennies father is a good man who runs a local logging or milling business. His partner Jake on the other hand, is a mean sort and bullies those weaker than himself. One day, Ms. Carol goes around a little too vocally trying to convince people that child marriage is bad and Jake gets together some of the other men in the village to send her a message. They kidnap her at night and drag her into the mountains to what I assume would be tar and feather her, but Jennie's father steps in and stops them. Ms. Carol has a fiance back in the big city who happens to be a lawyer and though he desperately wants her to marry him, she will not leave this town until her mission is complete, and she asks him to try to get a bill passed that will end child marriage.

In the meantime, Jake cooks up something to get back at Jennie's father. He gets some of the other men in town to say that Jennie's mother had been fooling around with Jake. The father of course gets drunk and mad and goes home to beat his wife and pass out. Jake slips in and out when the ruckus dies down and stab's Jennie's father, killing him. Jennie comes home to find her mother huddled in a corner and her father passed out, but when she goes to put him to bed she finds that he's dead. Jake walks in at that moment and says that he'll blame Jennie's mother for the murder if she doesn't let him marry Jennie. Will Jennie have to marry the man? Will Ms. Carol be able to do anything to stop it? Will Freddie be forever without Jennie?!

This movie was pretty good. The acting was alright, the message was clear and the story was plausible. It was made in the 30's so it's not as graphic as something that might be made today, but the movie doesn't even suggest any sort of sexual harassment. It's more ideological than physical in making it's statement. I mean there is still the engagement between Jake and Jennie and it's suggested that the two will have relations when they marry, and that others have before them. And there of course the domestic abuse, but there is no suggested man on girl action taking place, so there's no worry on that account.

 

This is the trailer but the whole thing is actually on youtube so you can watch it there.

Ladyhawke (1985)

This movie was recommended to me as something on par with The Princess Bride and Legend, and I like both of those movies so I checked it out... but it's an unknown for a reason.

The story is about a pickpocket who breaks out of an inescapable prison. When he's a good distance away, he brags of his escape at a local inn, not noticing the prison guards also stopping for a drink. Before they kill him, he is saved by a mysterious cloaked stranger, who later forces the boy to accompany him in hopes of being lead into the city the pickpocket just escaped from. The cloaked stranger always has this hawk with him, and every night the stranger disappears as does the hawk, and a strange woman appears, sometimes in the company of a wolf. The pickpocket discovers that he has stumbled upon a tragic love story... and it is eventually up to him to set things in motion to reunite the estranged lovers.

Matthew Broderick plays the pickpocket, and he really wasn't that good in this role. I've only ever really liked him in Ferris Beuller.. and maybe he just lucked out with that role. I felt that he was too superficial, trying to hard to portray some happy-go-lucky ne'er do well. Not that all of the actors in this film were amazing, but if they had chosen someone else the film might have been better.

The plot had potential, who doesn't like a good tragic romance? But I felt like they could have done so much more with the plot than they did. They could have gone into more detail about the lover's past. The male lover's motivations could have been clarified. I understand the angle they were trying to get, but he came off as a selfish, almost petulant individual, and they could have definitely gone into Michelle Pfeiffer's character in greater detail. They seemed to more note her beauty or tell stories about her, but we aren't able to get to know her as well as we do some of the other characters... which is unfortunate as she's central to the plot. When the time came for the curse to be lifted, I didn't feel enough of a connection with the pair to care whether or not they were free or doomed.

Another thing that dates the movie a bit is the main character's ongoing dialogue with God. I don't really mind this personally, but I don't think something like, bring God into the everyday, would be likely to show up in theaters today. Society isn't as accepting of religion as it used to be. It's tolerant, most of the time, but leans more toward the absence of religion than it's presence.