Child Star - The Shirley Temple Story (2001) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)When this movie was first played on TV, I was so excited because I have been a major Shirley fan since I was 9(I'm now 21) but when I was watched I was highly dissapointed. The story is supposed to be based on Shirley Temple Black's autobiography "Child Star" and I only saw a handful of items that were actually taken from the book, the rest of it was just fluff. Plus they didn't go past Shirley's early teens when the book covers up until after she marries her second husband. They seemed to only want to focus on the happy aspects of Shirley's life but she and her family were not always so happy go lucky. Ashley Orr is horrific at playing Shirley-first of all she's too old to play 5,6,7 and even 8 year old Shirley and she was too sticky sweet, I know Shirley was too but not that sweet. I would have actually given this movie 0 stars if I had the option, it was horrible. So if you want to know the real story find her book "Child Star" and if you want to see the real Shirley work her magic on the screen go find any of her movies and stay away from this one.
"Bright eyes" , "Heidi" , and "Poor Little Rich Girl" are good movies to start off with.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Child Star - The Shirley Temple Story (2001)

Get 66% OFF

Click here for more information about Child Star - The Shirley Temple Story (2001)

Read More...

Alice in Wonderland (1933) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am tired of Universal putting out these crappy versions of releases. UCLA has an entirely RESTORED print of this film in their library and it could easily have been used as a resource for this dvd release. This so-called restoration per other review sites, lists this dvd release's picture as minimal with crack and speckles on the film. As for the 90 minute version, I can tell you for a FACT the original film was 90 mins. The missing scenes involved Alice's sister and the Reverend and his concern about Alice's strange behavior. I saw it on television back in the late 1970's in Baltimore. There was a man who had the entire print who lived in DC and he allowed the local station to use it to show. What happened to the man's print, I don't know, but UCLA also has a complete audio soundtrack on tape for this film and also a separate sound effects and music track which could EASILY have been used on this DVD as an extra and very well may have the extra minutes.They are just trying to make a quick cash in because of Burton's release. I had approached Universal over the past 5 years on 3 occassions asking them to release this and was basically told to bug off. NOW they release it??? Give me a break. Greedy bunch of #$%$^&.There is no love behind this release AT ALL.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Alice in Wonderland (1933)

Alice's fantastic adventures lead her straight to some of the most memorable characters ever imagined including the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, Humpty Dumpty, the Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in the original Alice in Wonderland.Based on Lewis Carroll's beloved story, this live-action fantasy features Hollywood icons Cary Grant, Gary Cooper and W.C. Fields along with Charlotte Henry as 'Alice".Filled with spectacular sets and imaginative costumes, the classic Alice in Wonderland is a timeless adventure for the whole family!

Get 22% OFF

Click here for more information about Alice in Wonderland (1933)

Read More...

Holiday (1938) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There was a big controversy earlier this year with "The Cary Grant Box Set" which is a great collection in its own right. Many people were upset that it included the first release of "Holiday" which was new to DVD (unlike the other films in the collection), but no stand alone disc was being offered. Well, good news. If all you wanted was "Holiday" and you held out, here it comes ten months later.
Now, I've always had a soft spot for "Holiday." It hasn't achieved quite the classic status as a couple of other Hepburn and Grant pairings--"The Philadelphia Story" and "Bringing Up Baby"--but I actually think that works to its advantage. I might get into trouble for this, but I somewhat prefer this to the more antic "Bringing Up Baby" (Don't shoot me, I know it's a great film too).
Cary Grant plays a carefree soul that becomes engaged to a millionaire's spoiled, socialite daughter. He is expected to take life more seriously and responsibly--but that's not necessarily in his master plan. Grant, as always, is charming--the quips and physicality that were his trademark are used to good effect here. Katherine Hepburn, as the girl's sister, is obviously a better match for him! Hepburn uses her rapid fire delivery and plays smart and wry better than anyone else in her era. Of course, Grant and Hepburn have great chemistry and it's a joy to see these two masters banter. There's plenty of slapstick, but part of "Holiday"'s charm is that it balances this with real romance. It's funny and sweet.
Any fan of Grant, Hepburn, director George Cukor, classics and/or screwball comedy needs to check this film out. It'll make you smile. KGHarris, 10/06.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Holiday (1938)

Johnny Case (Cary Grant), a free-thinking financier, has finally found the girl of his dreams ' Julia Seton (Doris Nolan), the spoiled daughter of a socially prominent millionaire ' and she's agreed to marry him! But when Johnny plans a holiday for the two to enjoy life while they are still young, his fiancée has other plans - she wants Johnny to work in her father's bank! As he tries to decide whether to follow his head or his heart, Johnny can rely on at least one Seton in his corner. She's Linda Seton (Katherine Hepburn), the down-to-earth younger sister of his soon-to-be-wife, and she likes Johnny just the way he is.

Get 50% OFF

Click here for more information about Holiday (1938)

Read More...

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Comedies (Adam's Rib / Woman of the Year / The Philadelphia Story / Bringing Up Baby) (2009) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is one of 27 sets of four movie packs that Warner Home Video plans to release in the next few years. Their purpose is to introduce classic film to people previously unaware of these films via very affordable bare bones versions of these movies. This set has four very good films, all featuring Katharine Hepburn.
Woman of the Year (1941) - The film that introduced Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and sparked a long relationship both on and offscreen. Here Hepburn plays an early feminist who goes around collecting causes. Spencer Tracy is the sportswriter that loves her. They marry, but things go downhill quickly since Kate is really already married to her causes.
Adam's Rib (1951) - Ten years have passed and Hepburn and Tracy have aged a bit, but the spark and the chemistry is still there. This time the pair are married lawyers. He is a prosecutor and she a defense attorney. Problems arise when Hepburn defends a woman who shot her husband when she caught him cheating on her and Tracy is the prosecuting attorney in the same case.
Bringing Up Baby (1938) - One of the original screwball comedies. Stars Cary Grant as an anthropologist who gets mixed up with a very dizzy young woman played by Hepburn. The plot involves a tame leopard - Baby - and a dinosaur bone buried by a dog - the exact whereabouts are unknown.
The Philadelphia Story (1940) - Reteams Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant as a divorced pair of socialites. Hepburn's character is about to marry a man of the people who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, and also happens to be one of the most annoying people who has ever lived. James Stewart oddly won a Best Actor award for what is essentially a supporting role. It is especially odd when you think about all of the other great performances in which he was the undisputed lead and he wasn't even nominated.
The only drawback to this set is that - if you want all the extras - you might want to consider Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be) in the case of Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. Hepburn and Tracy fans might want to consider The Hepburn & Tracy Signature Collection (Woman of the Year / Pat and Mike / Adam's Rib / The Spencer Tracy Legacy). However, both of these sets are considerably more expensive than this basic four-pack, and low cost is really the point of this set in the first place.

Click Here to see more reviews about: TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Comedies (Adam's Rib / Woman of the Year / The Philadelphia Story / Bringing Up Baby) (2009)

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Best Actor Academy Award winner James Stewart star in the tale of a faultfinding, bride-to-be socialite who gets her come-uppance. George Cukor directs this screen pinnacle of sophisticated romantic comedy.BRINGING UP BABY When scatterbrained heiress Katharine Hepburn meets mild-mannered museum curator Cary Grant, the results are riotous. Howard Hawks directs a giddy romp thats been hailed as the most glorious laughter-inducing movie ever!ADAMS RIB Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play a married prosecutor and defense attorney assigned to the same sensational attempted-murder trial in this clever courtroom battle of the sexes. Judy Holliday co-stars and George Cukor directs.WOMAN OF THE YEAR Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn show what chemistry is all about as George Stevens directs this witty Oscar winner about the bumpy romance of a meat-and-potatoes sportswriter and a world-renowned political pundit.

Get 61% OFF

Click here for more information about TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Comedies (Adam's Rib / Woman of the Year / The Philadelphia Story / Bringing Up Baby) (2009)

Read More...

Katharine Hepburn: Film Collection Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)One would assume, from the title, that this DVD perhaps contained a few Hepburn films. No such luck. It's nothing but a collection of trailers / previews of numerous B&W Hepburn films. By the time I took this purchase out to view, it was too late to return.
I feel ripped off.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Katharine Hepburn: Film Collection

Click here for more information about Katharine Hepburn: Film Collection

Read More...

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Comedy (Arsenic and Old Lace / A Night at the Opera / The Long Long Trailer / Father of the Bride 1950) (2009) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This collection contains four very different comedies from four very different types of comics. It is part of over a dozen sets produced by Warner Home Video to bring classic film to the masses by making inexpensive sets of the better films in their libraries that have no extra features.
The oldest in the bunch, "A Night at the Opera" (1935), revived the career of the Marx Brothers after they were released from their contract at Paramount. Irving Thalberg thought that the brothers' comedy still had merit and that part of their problem was that "they never helped anybody". The test of time has shown that, although not profitable at the time, the Paramount Marx comedies were the best film work that the brothers did. However, that doesn't mean that this film isn't great. It is also available in a more deluxe form in the collection The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room Service/At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store).
"Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944) stars Cary Grant in a classic dark comedy. Grant plays a newlywed who finds out that his aunts have made a habit of poisoning their elderly male boarders and burying them in the cellar. This has only been available in the past as a single DVD, and it is an older one at that - released in 2000 I believe.
"Father of the Bride" (1950) has Spencer Tracy as a man who begins to feel his age and his pocketbook when his daughter (Elizabeth Taylor) gets married. It shows Tracy has a knack for comedy even if Katharine Hepburn is not involved. This is available in a more deluxe edition in the now out of print The Elizabeth Taylor Signature Collection (National Velvet / Father of the Bride / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof / Butterfield 8).
Finally there is "The Long Long Trailer" from 1954. Made to capitalize on the popularity of the TV series "I Love Lucy", the film is pretty funny in its own right even it is basically Lucy and Desi playing their TV characters under other names. The two play newlyweds who buy a motor home instead of a house and almost ruin their marriage by going on a cross-America trek in the thing. This is also available in The Lucy & Desi Collection (Too Many Girls / The Long Long Trailer / Forever, Darling). By and large I don't think that the movies ever figured out what to do with Lucille Ball, but this is one of her better efforts in film.

Click Here to see more reviews about: TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Comedy (Arsenic and Old Lace / A Night at the Opera / The Long Long Trailer / Father of the Bride 1950) (2009)

Get 66% OFF

Click here for more information about TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Comedy (Arsenic and Old Lace / A Night at the Opera / The Long Long Trailer / Father of the Bride 1950) (2009)

Read More...