Reviews

The last movie I fell asleep while watching was Out of Africa. This kid really stinks up the joint and the movie is so slow-moving that it makes Warhol's Empire State film look like a thriller. Only seven of us unsuspecting subjects were in the theatre. Visually the movie was very nicely done. the sound was great. But the plot was thinner than a five year old t-shirt. Will Smith was completely wasted in a thankless role. After a fine start this poor director has just produced one bomb after another. Best sequence should have been the enormous bird scene, but gave way to gross sentimentality as her eggs and young were destroyed by these cat-like creatures. Walked out after about 70 minutes. Eschew.

An historic piece of film. You must forgive the primitive special effects which, for example, make the cyclops appear to be only eight feet tall. In its day it was probably considered an amazing film. The acting is silent-movie style overdone. The costumes and special effects are laughable. The film has been chopped down to only the barest of the original Homer story. As a high school English teacher, I show parts of this film to my class after we read Book 9 (the cyclops story). The class alternately howls and laughs at what they are watching. Nonetheless, movies like this set the stage for all the big extravaganzas that were to follow. If you want to preview this film, you can find snippets of this movie on several online sites.

This film shows up occasionally on cable but has never, to the best of my knowledge, come out on video. It's a lot of fun and Webb, as usual, does a great job as a goofy angel who fancies himself a cowboy. The premise of this movie is that all children are designated, in heaven, a time to be born. If the parents aren't getting along, as in this film, the kids continue to develop mentally. If born years after their designated birthdates, they end up as "one of those horrible child prodigies." Webb and Edmund Gwenn (the original "Kris Kringle") are angels on a mission to ensure that their little wards are successfully delivered. I think Webb is one of the most under-appreciated comics and recommend, if you enjoy this film, checking out "Sitting Pretty" and the original "Cheaper by the Dozen" which are available on home video.