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Reviews
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Doris Day almost ruins it
Not my favorite Hitchcock, but still very entertaining with some enjoyable moments of pathos. On a recent viewing, I realized that this film's unfortunate weakness is the performance of Doris Day, especially in the early part of the movie. She just isn't on par with the rest of the excellent cast. Her makeup in the early scenes is pretty awful, too.
The film also has more plot holes than the average Hitchcock thriller (he wasn't generally known for being concerned with seamless stories, in any event, but this one has some whoppers). For example, we aren't treated with a cutaway to explain how Stewart ends up at Albert Hall, nor why he chose the belfry over some other means of escape from the church. Rien's use of a semi-automatic pistol instead of a rifle seems rather ludicrous to anybody who knows the first thing about firearms. Also, why does Rien drop by the McKenna's hotel room, and how does Scotland Yard already know about Hank when the McKenna's land in London? These lapses are convenient for the story, but they bother you afterward.
Two sequences from the movie stand out as classic Hitchcock. One is Stewart's errant visit to the taxidermist's. Nice combination of suspense and comedy. The other is the Albert Hall concert from Stewart's arrival to the end. It plays out like a silent movie, where you see, but cannot hear, people talking, yet you know pretty much exactly what they are saying.
Boundin' (2003)
Loved it!
We just got the "The Incredibles" DVD. I hadn't seen the theatrical release (can't stand going to movie theaters anymore). "Boundin'" is among the extras on disc 2. I saw it for the first time last night and already I've watched at least eight times.
It's very sweet, and the music and cadence is appealing. Something about the innocence of it reminds me of early Disney material, but it's not so sentimental as that. Writer/director/narrator Bud Lucky is obviously a gentle soul with a keen sense of character. I hope he gets to helm more projects for Pixar.
All in all, it's a delightful 4 minutes and some-odd seconds.