Reviews

This is a fun, silent film. I feel it is a very complete and compelling story of its time which brings to life the concept of train robbers & legions of the time. As far as the technical side of things, I really enjoyed the use of camera-work. The use of the different camera angles and locations of the film really makes it interesting. I also enjoyed the use of additive coloring. I did feel that it was a tad slow for my taste but I shouldn't be too critical because it came in out 1903. For silent films that I've seen, I felt The General & Nosferatu are a little smoother but considering that those both came out 20 plus years later that would be an unfair judgment. All in all, though it is a good film and I give it a 6 out of 10.

The magic and illusions of this film have people still wondering, how did he do that! This short film was truly a head of its time. The story is an intriguing adventure for audiences, young and old, to enjoy. In addition to the story, I found the film appealing because coming from a generation that grew up on computers, I find myself wondering how the shots and effects were conceived on such limited and preemptive technology. These thoughts and feelings of wonder can only be compared to the wonder after seeing a famous illusionist perform in Vegas today. For these reasons I give this film a 9 out of 10. Georges Méliès was a mastermind of his time!

The age old debate of whether you are a Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton fan, is still a popular discussion among movie fans, critics and students. For me I choose Keaton. No doubt Chaplin is funny, I just choose Keaton because in addition to his humor he is also doing amazingly, dangerous stunts. Growing up on Jackie Chan movies I've always found live stunts exciting and the stunts in The General are very compatible to today. These stunts add such suspense to the movie that you almost forget that it's a silent film, putting this film right up there with today's Hollywood blockbusters. Given the time period compared to today's safety and medical advancements, it's purely amazing that similar stunts were even considered in 1926 and thus I give it an 8 out of 10.

This is your average feel-good story. Due to the small town atmosphere of this movie I found it fun to watch. Also, I enjoyed the country scenery in the film. A person looking for a relaxing movie with a country feel will enjoy this movie. However, the story is fairly basic and the conflicts subtle. I felt the characters were a tad predictable. Also, I felt the jokes were a bit fake. The emotions of the characters weren't quite on either. The main characters were fine but the supporting characters real didn't have much substance and dragged the movie to a below average standard. For these reasons I gave the movie a 4 out of 10 rating.

The concept of this movie on the surface may seem a bit odd or maybe even a bit dorky in the beginning; however, the emotion of the characters; especially Abby played by Emma Stone, really help bring the story to life. As the story wraps up the characters' different stories, each story is portrayed in a clever way. I would have to say the movie tries a little too hard at times to be shocking which makes it a little harder to take serious for a movie of this style and caliber. Overall I felt the movie was a good very watch able movie and I give it a 8 for the courage of the acting and portrayal which raised this movie above average.