Phil's Film366 Film List - November

Day 306 - November 1st - King Vidor died 11/1/1982

There are certain areas in silent film that I tend to struggle with, because of the believability factor found in some of them. It is mostly caused by sign-of-the-times circumstances, which cause me to lean towards the positive side, because it is something the director can't control. It is a struggle nonetheless. In the case of this film and really any film made before 1960, there is a loss of believability, because stories tend to push people into love a little too quickly than what is a believable amount of time. I really do not believe people fall in love on their first date or get married within a week of meeting each other. It happens a lot in classic film cinema, but it probably stems mostly from outside elements, such as censorship and the need to tell a story in an hour and a half. This continuous assault on viewer sensibilities in the story is what made things tough for me. I was however impressed with the use of the word "pregnant" in this film, considering the fact that you couldn't even use the word on television until about 1965.

On to the good stuff; There is plenty of excellent camera work seen throughout the film. Many of the shots were done well and provided unique perspectives, with the way the camera would be set up. Certain shots like, young Johnny on the steps framed by the walls, the crowd at his father's passing and all the other compositions looked fantastic. King Vidor used great camera trucking shots, like the camera man riding backwards down the slide in front of the actors at Coney Island. The shot trucking up the building, over the desks in the office, was so informative. The shot, pulling back, over the audience in the theater at the end of the film was a perfect finale. It was great stuff that King Vidor pulled off.

Many great close-ups are utilized to emphasize tension in a still silent world. They really perfected the use of close-ups by this time in film history. The scene at Niagara Falls was A+ stuff. Even though the story seemed familiar, it still was executed perfectly by hitting all the aspects of life; romance, love, work, birth, tragedy, despair and resolve. Excellent use of paradox with the juggling clown and the sleight of hand. An interesting touch was the magic cleaner slogan. The future and the past coming together at once. I really wanted to love this film, because of all the great things I heard about it. Maybe if it was shortened by about 20 minutes, than the usual struggles I felt from the film would have been lifted. All-in-all, a great commentary for the silent film era. This film leaves you with something to think about. It still deserves an excellent rating.

8.9 (A- MyGrade) = 9 IMDB

Day 307 - November 2nd - Steve Ditko b. 11/2/1927

The MCU just keeps on rolling along. They continue to keep their fan base energized and happy. Even the general audience is totally into it too. Kevin Feige and his group are still able to improve upon the already incredible heights that they have already achieved. Their new Disney+ shows have been exactly what they needed to be, fresh and entertaining. Their slate of films since Spiderman: Far From Home (2019), have been pleasantly, surprisingly good.

Since the new stuff is humming along, in order to really preserve the franchise for a long time, is you need to preserve some of that early history that got you there. You don't want everybody saying, "Well, I don't want to watch the old Spiderman movies. They aren't part of the MCU". No! You want them to watch all your stuff, old and new. Plus, it helps that in the real world, Disney, Sony and Marvel had to come to some kind of a compromise with their IPs, the use of Tom Holland, etc., so why not make that compromise a fitting homage to what Sony started.

So, in the MCU universe, why not create this idea of a multi-verse. You can satisfy Sony by bringing back a huge chunk of the elements from their original films and engage with fans across three "generations" of different Spiderman franchises, thus making all of them canon with the MCU. A brilliant way to continue generating cash from that amazing IP, known as Spiderman.

So, as we left off from Spiderman: Far From Home (2019), we are already treated with a taste of the Sony Spider-verse when J. Jonah Jameson (played by J.K. Simmons, who played JJJ in all three of the Sam Raimi/Tobey McGuire Spiderman films from 2002-2007), shows up to reveal to the world that Peter Parker is Spiderman. Already the audience is thinking multi-verse plot lines, alternate timelines and the possibility of an amazing team up coming. Couple that with some of the events in Avengers: Endgame (2019), the MCU series Loki and everything you have heard in the press and the trailers for Spiderman and Dr. Strange and you are ready for what looks like a multi-verse event coming next. With Spiderman: No Way Home (2021), you will not be disappointed.

Now that the world knows who Peter (Tom Holland), is, his life has been a disaster. But, it's not so much his life he is worried about, but the effect it is having on his friends and loved ones. He decides to enlist the aid of Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), to see if he can go back in time to fix his problem before Jameson can announce to the world his secret but, Strange thinks the best way to solve this problem is to use a spell to make people forget he is Spiderman. Unfortunately, Peter's meddling screws up the incantation, which causes a disruption in the multi-verse, sending Spiderman villains from everywhere to Tom Holland's doorstep.

That is where the film goes from there. Director, Jon Watts, who has now directed all of the MCU Spiderman films, gives us a great story that answers all the questions, pays homage to the other incarnations and ties up things nice to move the MCU forward. Be ready for plenty of surprises, lots of good funny moments and it even tugs at your emotions at some points in the film. It's a culmination of the last 20 years of Spiderman films and brilliantly collects a cast together that will make you thrilled.

8.9 (A- MyGrade) = 9 IMDB

Day 308 - November 3rd - Charles Bronson b. 11/3/1921

Day 309 - November 4th - Doris Roberts b. 11/4/1925

Day 310 - November 5th - This Date is relative to all three movies 11/5/1955

Day 311 - November 6th - Director, Mike Nichols b. 11/6/1931

Day 312 - November 7th - Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid killed in Bolivia. 11/7/1908

7.7 (B-) = 8 IMDB

Day 313 - November 8th - Norman Rockwell d. 11/8/1978 - Did the art for the film poster.

Day 314 - November 9th - Carl Sagan b. 11/9/1934

9.0 (A-) = 9 IMDB

Day 315 - November 10th - Claude Rains b. 11/10/1889

Lots of birthdays.

Day 316 - November 11th - Leonardo DiCaprio b. 11/11/1974

Lots of birthdays. Also, Veteran's Day.

8.7 (B+) = 8 IMDB

Day 317 - November 12th - Grace Kelly b. 11/12/1929

8.2 (B) = 8 IMDB

Day 318 - November 13th - Fantasia gets its NYC World Premiere 11/13/1940

My exposure to Fantasia (1940), is scattered at best. I saw the film in the 1970s as a kid and like most kids, didn't quite get it. Then I saw it in my early 20s in film school and I finally understood what all the talk was about. I then revisited the film about 15 years ago and that is when I really started to appreciate the magnitude of this film's existence. After watching Fantasia (1940), again, recently, I still come to the same conclusion. Do you really think something containing this amount of work could be done today? Sure it could, but proportionately, no. The amount of work needed to draw, design and animate this beautifully produced piece of art in 1940, would be the equivalent today of spending one billion dollars and the film would probably be a 12 hour long movie. Today's CGI is nice and almost flawless, but you can clearly see the talent, personality and determination, needed to get this film produced, emanating from the screen. Fantasia (1940), utilizes hand drawn artwork, camera lens filter techniques and brilliant, classical music recordings, that brings everything together in the film, including the spirit of the filmmakers themselves. That is something you could never see in computer generated animation.

There are seven different sections to the film. They have breaks in-between the various chapters of the film. They are moments of introduction for each piece. They range from the bright mood of the Nutcracker Suite to the darkness of Night on Bald Mountain. It features the story about the beginning of Earth's history in the Rite of Spring, which also covers the extinction of the dinosaurs. There also is a now-famous chapter featuring Disney's favorite mouse, in the Sorcerer's Apprentice. In some instances, the introductions before each section may feel a little long-winded, but you almost need the break, in order to catch your breath. You need to catch your breath, because the images seen, are mind-blowing, artful representations, coupled with a kaleidoscope of colors and beautifully, fluent, hand-drawn animation. Sound film was slightly over a decade old by 1940. The music and the audio is fantastic in this film. It is awe-inspiring seeing these images move, with synchronized audio/music, highlighting the brilliant displays of animation on the screen. It is important to remember this is just a dozen years after sound film technology was born. Remembering that, makes the experience of Fantasia (1940), even more mesmerizing. 8.8 (B+ MyGrade) = 8 IMDB

Day 319 - November 14th - Mariner 9 enters orbit around Mars 1971

Day 320 - November 15th - Ed Asner b. 11/15/1929

Day 321 - November 16th - Burgess Meredith b. 11/16/1907

Day 322 - November 17th - Martin Scorsese b. 11/17/1942

Day 323 - November 18th - Owen Wilson b. 11/18/1968

Day 324 - November 19th - Jodie Foster b. 11/19/1962

Sometimes there are movies that you always seem to miss seeing. They just get set into your "to-do" list or get pushed aside as time goes by. Films that you know everything about, have heard the hype, have seen almost the whole film in pieces through film school or in film compilations or even at the Oscars, but never got around to seeing the film from beginning to end. A film like this, which is part of film history, as much as the real history, that it would later effect (the attempted assassination of President Reagan). It should be a great film to see, but sometimes there is a bit of a let-down.

I thought the climactic gun scene at the end was silly and completely unbelievable. I thought the film dragged in parts. . DeNiro was excellent. 7.3 (C+ MyGrade) = 7 IMDB

Day 325 - November 20th - Sean Young b. 11/20/1959

Day 326 - November 21st - Harold Ramis b. 11/21/1944

Day 327 - November 22nd - Scarlett Johansson b. 11/22/1984

Day 328 - November 23rd - Harpo Marx b. 11/23/1888

Boris Karloff also b. 1887 Run Run Shaw b. 1907

Day 329 - November 24th - Freddie Mercury died 11/24/1991

Day 330 - November 25th - Creator of the 1970s, 2nd wave of X-Men characters, Chris Claremont b. 11/25/1950

Day 331 - November 26th - First formal proclamation of Thanksgiving in the United States was declared by George Washington on November 26, 1789

When you combine strong comedy, with even stronger writing/directing, you get one of the best comedies of all time. The strength comes from the participants, being Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy. In Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), the stronger glue, that holds all of that together, comes from the writer/director, in this case, John Hughes. This film takes the road-trip genre to new levels.

Neal Page, played by Martin, just wants to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving with his family. It is actually not a long trip, even for 1987. He is leaving from New York City, but it is Thanksgiving. Even in the 1980s, airports got jammed up during Thanksgiving. As the snow is falling, shower curtain holders end up being the bane of Neal's existence, especially when they have a guy like Del Griffith, played by Candy, selling them. For Neal, Del is causing havoc across the country, from New York to Chicago and won't go away. The audience spots the dislike Neal has for Del right off the bat. It is why Steve Martin is so good. It's all in the facial expressions.

After having his flight to Chicago canceled, Neal makes the mistake of aligning himself with Del, who offers up annoying conversations, bad jokes and poor hygiene, all rolled into one. Del does what he can to try and make things work for the two of them as they go from vehicle to vehicle, trying desperately to get to Chicago. This film never disappoints. It is entertaining, amusing, and fun. It also has a pleasing soundtrack. There is a smattering of nice travelogue-type scenery, plenty of cool cameos and does what a road-trip movie is supposed to do. It shows you the world, with that great Hollywood snap. It also has a message, a certain charm to it and makes you feel good. As we peel away the layers that reveal what Neal and Del are, that no matter how bad things become for them, they are still alive, almost. I have been laughing at this film, at a consistent rate, for over 35 years and the film never gets old. You will be entertained.

9.0 (A- MyGrade) = 9 IMDB

Day 332 - November 27th - Bruce Lee b. 11/27/1940

Day 333 - November 28th - Composer, Randy Newman b. 11/28/1943

Day 334 - November 29th - Both born, Chadwick Bosman (1976) and Don Cheadle (1964)

Day 335 - November 30th - Ridley Scott b. 11/30/1937