#27-29.To Sir, With Love (James Clavell, 1967) -
Two reasons I should have seen this film. One: It is about a first time teacher handling a rough neck of the woods class. Two: It's Sidney Poitier, a famous actor who, amazingly enough, I have not seen on screen before. I had a good time with it. It's a classroom drama so I pretty much knew where it was going to go. It was different seeing it from the perspective of a 60s school in London, but other than that it hit all the classroom drama hotspots. Fresh teacher with troubled kids. Struggles at first, overcomes and finds a way to connect with them. Everyone lives happily ever after pretty much. I easily go for these given my prospective profession and I really could relate given my field placement this quarter in a urban Cincinnati school. The characters were good though and they were acted very well. Poitier is a movie star though. His presence on screen is known as it should be. His character was really nice to watch on screen. And Gillian (Suzy Kendall) was looking good, I don't blame Mr. Thackeray. Overall a good experience.
I loved the way he was able to finally connect with the students. Having gone to a private Catholic school, the idea of basic manners and being treated as an adult is very familiar and something I can really relate to. I liked the structure of his class too. How he just has them ask questions and talk about whatever they want. Content is very important, but I almost feel like the real reason to get through high school at least is to learn about life and get prepared for the real world, and that was the kind of stuff they talked about. A basic education is important, but what good is it if you don't know how to use it. Creativity and critical thinking skills are just as important and college is where you add to that and learn most of that content that is specific to your interests. Maybe I'm crazy.
P.S. The dancing is amazing to watch. Kind of really funny given the era.
Rating: ***The Great Mouse Detective (Clements, Mattinson, Michener & Musker, 1986) -
This one was fun. Basil makes for a better Sherlock Holmes than Robert Downey Jr. did(and I really liked him). His wit and thought process is charming. The story is pretty basic and maybe a little formulaic, but it is accented by two really great scenes. One is the scene where Basil and Dawson are tied up and must escape and the other is the clock tower scene. Such a cool scene seeing the action inside the clock and atop Big Ben. Top 2 clock tower scene. At least.
Rating: ***The Rescuers Down Under (Butoy & Gabriel, 1990) -
Oliver & Company didn't play right so we jumped to this in the marathon. This is pure nostalgia for me. I watched this so much as a kid, it is one of the few films in the marathon that I have been able to remember most of the film. I had such a connection with it that I could remember my sense of smell, of touch as a kid. I was transported to the room at my Grandmother's house that I always used to watch it in. The lighting in the room. It was a great experience finally seeing it again after all of these years. It really is a great improvement on the original. The story is great and original. The new characters of Wilbur, Jake, Joanna, McLeach were all spectacular. I loved watching every minute of it. And this was one of the very few films thus far that I have noticed the achievement in animation. There were some really cool things here. Some really cool scenes that took place. The best of which was the opening shot flying past the flowers in the Australian outback. That is shot is just breathtaking. As is the following sequence of Cody flying on the back of the eagle. This film is great and one of the reasons why I am loving this marathon. I can't wait for two weeks; it'll be
Aladdin and
The Lion King on the same night. It might blow my mind. Especially since I hardly remember them and haven't seen either since my childhood.
Rating: ***1/2I watched 5 movies today. I need help. Where do I get help? I'm already up to 29 movies this month/year. Help me. Please