FilmPolice Reviews

The Night the Animals Talked (1970 TV Movie)

Christmas Classic - available to watch on YouTube!

[10/10 · 19 November 2023]

I'm not allowed to post the link but the best version I found is by user Aeolus 13 Umbra.

I remember seeing this once as a child. I always remembered it but never saw it again on TV. As far as I know, it was never remastered or released on DVD. I have looked for it over the years and I always wished it would be rebroadcast, available to stream- something! FINALLY I found it on YouTube, and while it's not "remastered" it certainly has better video/audio quality than other vintage shows, commercials, etc., that I've dug up in the past.

This show is just as good as I remember! Cute animation, a few songs, and a universally great message about coming together for greater good.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda are EXCELLENT!

[10/10 · 5 January 2019]

Blunt and Miranda are excellent as Mary Poppins and Jack, the lamplighter. The rest of the cast is great, too -- Ben Whishaw as the grown-up Michael Banks, Emily Mortimer as grown-up Jane, Colin Firth as the manager of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, Julie Walters as Ellen, the Banks' maid... everyone's great! And with supporting turns by Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke (at the first screening I went to, the audience broke into applause when he came on screen)... this is one of the best films of the year! No wonder it's one of the top-grossing movies of 2018! The musical and dance numbers are reminiscent of the ones in the original "Mary Poppins" without being rip-offs. The whole look of the movie, the songs, the storyline -- this is not a copycat of the original, but rather an appreciative tip of the hat to the classic film that we grew up watching! A stand-out musical number is "Trip A Little Light Fantastic" -- what a fun and energetic scene! And one more thing about Emily Blunt -- I love that she plays MARY POPPINS instead of playing Julie Andrews playing Mary Poppins. Ms. Andrews had her interpretation of the character (which was a classic performance and won her the Best Actress Oscar) and Ms. Blunt has her own. I was so glad that Ms. Blunt inhabited the character rather than trying to imitate Ms. Andrews' characterization. I've seen this movie more than once and will DEFINITELY see it many more times! It's (yes -- I have to say it --) "Practically Perfect In Every Way"!

I Married Who? (2012 TV Movie)

Fun Movie

[9/10 · 21 October 2012]

I enjoyed this movie... I remember Kellie Martin as a teenager on "Life Goes On" back in the late 80s -- nice to see she made a successful transition from child actress to adult actress. And despite what another review on this board says, she's actually younger than Ethan Erickson... and I think she looks great! The movie takes off right away with Jordan (Kellie Martin) and her friends heading to Vegas for her bachelorette party, and keeps your interest throughout the rest of the story. It was also nice to see Bess Armstrong (an actress I've always liked, but I've always been surprised at how little I see her) and Erin Gray (who I have liked since she was "Silver Spoons" in the 80s).

Mamma Mia! (2008)

My review (some of my comments may be considered spoilers)

[10/10 · 1 August 2008]

I never got to see the play when it was in town, but I'm glad the director (Phyllida Lloyd) of the original Broadway production also directed the movie version...makes me feel like the project hasn't lost anything in the stage-to-film translation. It definitely is a "feel good" movie, as most early reviews said it was... and how could it not be? It's set on a beautiful Greek island, it has a fun story, and it gives us established actors who show us their light and sometimes silly side... and they're good sports enough to do their own singing, even though most of them are not seasoned vocalists. But the musical numbers (all ABBA songs, mostly hits with a few lesser known selections) work, because they help to move the story along, and, except for the ballads, they are so energetic and fun that you'll practically dance in your seat to the familiar tunes. If there's one number that encapsulates the "feel good" spirit of this movie, it's "Dancing Queen", a scene which starts in a hotel room in which two friends (Christine Baranski, Julie Walters) are trying to cheer up a third (Meryl Streep), and ends with the three friends -- and seemingly every female inhabitant of the island -- singing and dancing toward the water. Some of my other favorite upbeat numbers are "Lay All Your Love On Me" in which the young couple who are about to get married (Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper) playfully sing to each other on a secluded beach; "Does Your Mother Know", performed by Baranski, as she discourages the advances of a young man who won't take no for an answer; and "Money Money Money", in which Streep's character imagines life "in the rich man's world". "SOS" and "The Winner Takes It All" are not exactly upbeat, but are worked nicely into the story, sung by people who are trying to figure out how they can deal with feelings they have for each other, feelings they thought they had put to rest 20 years earlier. If this movie doesn't remind you how much you enjoyed ABBA music, nothing will!

Penelope (2006)

a modern fairy tale

[2 March 2008]

I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for some time... apparently it finished filming two years ago and has finally been released. I don't know why the studio waited so long to let us see it... it's great! Christina Ricci plays Penelope Wilhern, a girl born to high society -- but under a curse... and as she grows up, her family tells her that the curse that can only be reversed if she marries somebody of her social stature. The curse is that she was born with a pig snout, and for this reason it proves impossible for her parents (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant) to find her a suitor, even though any man who marries her would be entitled to a sizable dowry. Penelope's parents have always kept her hidden from the world, so she has grown up behind the estate's walls and is therefore quite sheltered. She does know, however, that no man wants to marry her, because any time young men come to the house with hopes of becoming her betrothed and thereby securing the dowry, they bolt from the house as soon as they see her. A tabloid reporter named Lemon (Peter Dinklage) hears of a society-boy-gone-bad named Max Campion, a guy born to riches but who has squandered his money due to a gambling problem. Lemon goes to the poker hall where Campion plays and asks around to find out which one he is, and finally someone points across the room and Lemon sees a young man (James McAvoy) heading for the door. He catches the young man before he is able to leave, tells him that he knows he's former rich socialite Max, and then makes this down-on-his-luck gambler an offer he can't refuse: a huge sum of money will be paid to Max if he will pose as a would-be suitor for Penelope, thereby gaining access to the inside of the Wilhern estate so he can take a photo of Penelope. If Lemon can get a photo like this for his paper, it would make the tabloid the first publication to ever show what she looks like. Max is aware of the "Penelope Phenomena", because anyone who has read the papers knows about this rich girl who must marry a socialite in order to break her curse, although nobody but the young men who have been invited into the house and seen her actually know what she looks like... and Max suspects that the horror stories they tell have been exaggerated. Although he feels bad for tricking this girl, he accepts Lemon's offer because, truth is, he needs the money. He goes to the Wilhern estate to meet Penelope, but this time Penelope doesn't reveal herself; she talks to him through a two-way mirror so she can see him, but he can't see her... and because they instantly feel a connection, he continues to come over every day, engaging in conversations, chess games, and even jam sessions (during a sequence when she asks him to play several instruments because she believes him to be a musician)... but she remains behind the glass, so although he knows he feels an attraction for her, he still doesn't know what she looks like. He does know that he is feeling more and more guilty about the prospect of photographing her for the tabloid. I won't give away any important plot points, but I believe the movie takes off when Penelope finally reveals herself to him, because that's when everything changes... not just between Penelope and Max, but between her and her parents, and between her and the world -- because she finally goes out into it. She experiences what it's like to have a draft beer in a pub, to walk down the street among perfect strangers, and what it's like to make a friend (Reese Witherspoon). She does all this while wearing a scarf to conceal her pig snout... but still, she experiences real life, and learns more during this short "emancipation" than she had ever learned in all the years she was kept hidden in her family's estate. And eventually she learns the most important lesson of all: being happy to be yourself is the only true key to being happy.

The Kite Runner (2007)

Nice transition from book to film

[10/10 · 26 October 2007]

I know that to include everything in the book, the film would have to have been several hours long, so I think they did their best to include things that were crucial and pivotal to the story. I thought the casting was great, the children who played Amir and Hassan were very good actors. And the guy who played Amir as an adult was great! The scenes between him and Baba were especially touching. I thought the locations they used were interesting... scenes set in Afghanistan were shot in China, and one scene that took place in Fremont, CA (the graduation scene) was actually shot on Treasure Island in San Francisco. I worked one day as an extra on "Kite Runner" and it was that day, the day they shot the graduation scene. We reported to Treasure Island in the morning, they checked everyone's wardrobe to make sure it looked like the late 80s, an then we took our places in the audience. They shot the scene over and over again until they were happy with it. It was cool to see the actors up close and also to see the book's author, who was on hand as a story consultant. I thought this book was excellent and I recommend both the book and the movie to anyone. This is a moving story about friendship, love, guilt and eventual redemption. "There is a way to be good again."

B.J. and the Bear (1978–1981)

Excitement in a small town

[23 July 2003]

I was going to high school in Ukiah, California when this show was on the air, and one week they came to the town to film at the fairgrounds in that town. We didn't see much filming up there, so this was quite a lot of excitement for us! They filmed mostly at the fairgrounds, and a lot of students (including myself) cut school to go and watch. They filmed some shots with onlookers in the background so it was even more exciting for us to think we would be on TV! But my best memory of this time was one day as Greg Evigan was signing autographs (I had already got one from him the day before) and my mother and I were standing off to the side and talking about whether or not they may shoot somewhere else in town after they were finished at the fairgrounds. And Mr. Evigan talked to us, as he was signing an autograph for someone, joking that sometimes he was the last to know where they would be going next. I was about 16 and to have a TV star talking to me was really a big deal. And he was nice to all the fans who were there, and to this day when I see him on TV I think of him as this nice guy who gave a lot of people in a small town a good image of famous people.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

a unique motion picture for the new millennium

[15 January 2002]

Not only is it unusual to see a musical nowadays, but with major motion picture stars who do their own singing...and they have good voices! I agree with "Rob" from New York that this is a one-of-a-kind movie, and worth repeated viewings. I have seen it 3 times and will see it again.