Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, The Boxtrolls and The Illusionist

10/5/14 National Velvet, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, 1944, National Film Registry

As I was watching National Velvet I thought it was a terrible shame that I had grown up in the era where it was fashionable to make fun of Elizabeth Taylor for being overweight, for being with Richard Burton (AGAIN) and for drug addiction, but not really understanding her body of work (BUtterfield 8, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Cleopatra, among others). As I watched a very young Elizabeth Taylor (who was 12 and in her first successful film), I was kind of reminded of Jodie Foster who also began acting a very young age and seemed so effortless while doing it. I'm kind of surprised that this movie doesn't get shown more often when you consider the utter crap that is run ad nauseum, this is a great family movie with a classic cast, in addition to Taylor as Velvet Brown, Mickey Rooney is Mi, a young man who knows horses; a very young Angela Lansbury as Edwina Brown; Donald Crisp as Herbert Brown; and Anne Revere in her Oscar-winning role as Araminty Brown. National Velvet is based on the book by Enid Bagnold and is set in 1920s England (although interestingly the film was made in California). Mi is wandering the roads after his father's death, looking for someone who was in his father's address book, the someone happens to be the somewhat mysterious and Yoda-like Mrs. Brown. Velvet and Mi meet 'The Pie' as he is escaping from his farm, with his exasperated owner, Farmer Ede chasing him. Farmer Ede is so tired of The Pie's escapades he raffles him off, and Velvet is the lucky winner. Mi is convinced The Pie has what it takes to run in the Grand National steeplechase, although Mr. Brown is extremely skeptical, but Mrs. Brown, who is the quiet authority in the family, provides the entry fee and entrusts Mi to take it to London and also find a rider. Velvet is the electric current that supplies the electricity and energy and unwavering faith in The Pie's abilities. That's really the high level summary, there are other little things that happen throughout the movie that you kind of have to see, like Anne Revere as Mrs. Brown, she is subtle and strong and aside from not speaking in inverted syntax, she possesses a clear-eyed wisdom of the world. The category for Best Supporting Actress in 1945 was chock full of great performances, including Angela Lansbury nominated for her role in The Picture of Dorian Gray (she was nominated the year before in Gaslight), and Eve Arden and Ann Blyth both for the roles in Mildred Pierce. I'm glad I didn't have to vote. Elizabeth Taylor held her own and her charm comes through and she has a great relationship with Mi. Mickey Rooney is Mickey Rooney, he was born acting but when he's really on, he doesn't seem like he's acting. One thing that may seem odd is that Mi doesn't really have anything of an English accent; in this day and age, we would have expected him to adopt some kind of Irish brogue or something, but perhaps back then, and with Rooney, that would have seemed so unbelievable. He was so well-known to the American movie-going public as Andy Hardy and other 'American' characters, I would not have believed any kind of accent. It's really not critical to the movie anyway. I watched this movie shortly after the #heforshe campaign came out and as more dialogue was being had about girls and women and equality, and while you can disagree with me, I think this is a great movie that showcases the strength of women and what they can do when they are 'stubborn', and it's not a bad thing. Mrs. Brown and Velvet are strong, free-thinking women who have their own opinions and thoughts and are willing to take risks for what they want. And the support and encouragement that Mi gives to Velvet is great, and devoid of malice or jealousy. Not that you have to sit down and have some kind of heavy metaphysical discussion, but it's a nice thing to keep in mind. This is a great family movie and as we are quickly coming into the holiday movie season and you're looking for a movie to watch on a cold autumn or winter weekend with the kids, cast yourself back to 1944 and enjoy this one.

10/12/14 The Boxtrolls, 2014 not yet nominated

Well, this could have been really weird and creepy. In my head I knew that The Boxtrolls was geared towards kids, but in my universe, the kids had already seen in and I would be alone in the theater on a Sunday at 10:45. Um, no. I have no idea what thoughts went through the parents' heads as I made way to my perch in the last row, by myself, sans child(ren). The theater was far from packed, but there were plenty of rugrats, and for once, I was zen about it, after all, this was their movie, I was just visiting. And, when I think about it, the kids were more well-behaved than I could have imagined; it was their parents who could not leave their smartphones in their pockets. Anyway, you probably want to know about the movie. The Boxtrolls takes place in an imaginary land, Cheesebridge, inhabited by people and scary, unknown creatures called "Boxtrolls" who go through the town late at night and take things, kind of like "The Borrowers", like wheels, gears, boxes, etc. Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Sir Ben Kingsley occasionally sounding like Michael Caine) is the Boxtrolls' nemesis and wants to wipe them out and is almost successful with his henchman, Mr. Pickles, Mr. Stout and Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan). They don't count on Eggs, a boy who has been raised by the Boxtrolls, and Winnie, the daughter of one of the town fathers, to fight back. There is a lot going on in the movie, and while it may appeal to little kids with the wonderful stop-motion animation and some of the silly, physical humor, there are some bits that adults can enjoy as well, like the existential issues raised by Mr. Stout and Mr. Pickles, the drag queen-esque bit with Madame Frou-Frou, and the oblique and obvious cheese references (or maybe it's just me who enjoyed the references a fromage). There are some 'scary' moments, but unless your child is really sensitive, I think they'll be okay, because all's well that end's well (kids do like to be scared just a little). I loved the underground world of the Boxtrolls, I found it creative and novel and wonderfully fun. I think there is a good chance the movie will be nominated for Best Animated Feature and possibly nominated for Best Song (you never know) "The Boxtrolls Song" written by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. If you see it in the theater (it was actually a 3D movie), stay until the very end, there is a little treat for those of you who read the credits.

10/12/14 The Illusionist, nominated for Best Animated Feature, 2010

I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but I kind stopped paying a lot of attention to The Illusionist about 25 minutes into it. I think it would have been better off as an animated short. The Illusionist was done by the same creative team who did The Triplets of Belleville, which I actually liked and thought it was really clever. The Illusionist is based on a story/play by famous French comedian/writer Jacques Tati, and is drawn in the style of The Triplets, and like The Triplets, it has very little dialog, and so relies on the visuals alone to tell the story, and I think that's where it lost me. The illusionist of the title, Tatischeff, is a down on his luck magician who befriends a young girl who thinks he really is magical. They leave Paris and head to a small Scottish town where Tatischeff takes on odd jobs to support them. There is something very sad about the movie, it's possible I missed the funny bits. Like I said, I think it would have gone over better in a short format. If you're an animation enthusiast, I would suggest The Triplets  of Belleville over this one since the styles are similar and both have a bittersweet storyline.

I really have a lot of current movies I want to see, and I'm going to try and knock some of those out next week (I wish they weren't over two and half hours, though). I also have a lot of classics coming from the library, so look for more activity in the coming weeks.