The Iron Giant (1999)

RARELY DOES A FILM COME ALONG like The Iron Giant that ignites a passion in people.

Part of that passion comes from the fact that it’s a terrific film on all levels – a fantastic story featuring rollicking action, touching relationships, and the last gasp of top-notch 2D animation (only the Iron Giant himself is computer-animated).

Another part of that passion is even more fascinating: Watch the reaction of someone who’s seen The Iron Giant when another person tells them, “I’ve never seen it.” The first person will start to stammer, eyes widened, falling over themselves to tell the other person how great it is, and that they must see it immediately. That reaction is justified by the person, and earned by the film.

Set in Maine at the height of paranoia surrounding the Cold War, The Iron Giant follows nine-year-old Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal), an avid reader of comic books and watcher of the many B-movie sci-fi flicks of the era. When a giant metal alien (voiced by Vin Diesel) lands in Hogarth’s town, he hides him as best he can from prying eyes, primarily those of sneaky government agent Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald). While it feels like a childhood dream come true for Hogarth (“My very own robot!”) and the two start forming a bond, he seeks help from a local beatnik (the perfectly cast Harry Connick, Jr.) whose scrapyard provides a safe haven from the paranoid townfolk and the US Army…but for how long?

Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) does a masterful job of developing the relationship of Hogarth and the Giant (via Tim McCanlies’ terrific script) as Hogarth explains the ways of Earth as he sees them – from the awesomeness of Superman, to the joys of doing a cannonball into a lake, to the violence and sadness of guns.


Cynics may dismiss The Iron Giant as nothing more than E.T. with a robot, but they’d be wrong on several levels, the biggest one being that the source material for The Iron Giant – the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes – predates E.T. by nearly 15 years. However, there is one similarity: If you cried at the ending of E.T., you’ll probably blink back tears during The Iron Giant’s finale.

Warner Brothers’ mishandling of The Iron Giant’s theatrical release in 1999 is one of the more colossal blunders in the history of the business. The studio barely promoted or advertised the film, so it vanished from theatres in weeks. Luckily, it found a second life through home video and word of mouth, and is now considered a classic.

The Iron Giant is a tremendous, powerful story featuring lessons on life, death, friendship, love, and sacrifice. Simply writing this review makes me want to watch it again. If that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Rating:

What did FilmBoy think?

He and I share the rating. He couldn’t put his finger on any favorite part, but he thoroughly enjoyed The Iron Giant – laughing at several scenes of Hogarth and the Giant bonding and playing, and getting caught up in the finale when the Giant must evade and ultimately face off against the US Army, who are determined to destroy him.

Is it suitable for your kids?

The Iron Giant is rated PG for “fantasy action and mild language.”
Violence/Scariness: Hogarth gets a nosebleed after running into a tree branch; a deer is shot and killed (we hear the gunshot then see the lifeless body); Mansley knocks Hogarth unconscious with a chloroform rag; two boys are in peril of falling off the top of a building; the army shoots a mass amounts of weapons at the Giant, including guns, tanks, and missiles; the Giant responds with his own catalog of weapons that destroys several tanks and army trucks (no soldiers are killed). The finale, involving Hogarth’s town, the Giant, and a nuclear missile, may be emotionally intense for very young children.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: There are passing mentions of alcohol that will probably go over young kids’ heads. Mansley smokes a pipe on occasion. Hogarth gets comically wired after drinking an espresso.
Language: There are mild profanities: “hell” (2x), “damn it” (2x), and in the finale, Mansley declares, “Screw our country!”

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

Yes. And if she’s not sure, make her. It’s a great film she shouldn’t miss.

 

That's either the Giant, or the squirrels are

throwing an all-nighter in their penthouse suite.

The Iron Giant
* Director: Brad Bird
* Screenwriter: Tim McCanlies
* Stars: Eli Marienthal, Vin Diesel, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney
* MPAA Rating: PG


Rent The Iron Giant from Netflix >>

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

RECENTLY, JACK-JACK’S kindergarten class went on a field trip to see a children’s play.

But when I heard the play was Sleeping Beauty, I grew concerned. I’ve documented my boys’ track record of anti-princess sentiment, so I was worried he may not care for the play. Turns out, he really liked it.

Hoping to capitalize on this, I showed Jack-Jack my pristine, barely used, 50th anniversary DVD of Sleeping Beauty I bought from our local library for $3 (that’s not a typo). He was fascinated, carrying it around the house for several days, staring at the box art.

Yet as the whole family sat down to watch Sleeping Beauty, I wondered if it could capture the attention and imagination of two young boys more than half a century after its release…

Sleeping Beauty follows 16-year-old Princess Aurora, who’s put in the care of three bumbling fairies to avoid the curse of being cast into a deep sleep by the evil witch Maleficent – a curse that can only be broken by true love’s first kiss.

Some of the plot developments in Sleeping Beauty are a bit odd by today’s standards…

• When Maleficent declares, during Aurora’s infancy, that she will curse the princess on her 16th birthday, the king and queen give her to the three fairies to raise until she turns 16 (though parents of teens may agree with this technique).
• On the eve of Aurora’s 16th birthday, the fairies send her out into the woods – unchaperoned – so they can plan her birthday party. (What could possibly go wrong?)
• Prince Phillip, who’s destined to wed Aurora in an arranged marriage, may want to check the statutes in his kingdom concerning his plans to wed a 15-year-old minor.

What’s interesting is that while Sleeping Beauty (aka Princess Aurora) gets top billing, it’s the three fairies who carry the film. In fact, Aurora is virtually a bit player in her own movie; she’s more of a plot device than a fully developed character.

Is this movie old? Yes, it is. But thanks to an amazing transfer full or rich, vibrant colors, it looks very new. And the animation is classic Disney in every way possible: fluid character movements surrounded by gorgeous set pieces and backdrops.

Aside from the antics of the fairies, the wickedness of Maleficent, and the climactic battle, Sleeping Beauty plays a bit quiet. However, the last ten minutes are truly exciting as Prince Philip faces off against Maleficent in the form of a fire-breathing dragon (her, not him).

With Sleeping Beauty, there’s not much more you could ask for from a classic Disney movie: a prince, a princess, cute and funny animals, comedic relief, an evil queen, and a fairytale ending.

So did it capture the attention and imagination of my boys? The answer is yes. Maybe not a resounding yes…let’s call it a confident, admirable yes.

Rating:

What did Dash and Jack-Jack think?

Sleeping Beauty was a tougher sell for Dash than Jack-Jack. He almost declined to watch it with us, but finally agreed. While he did sit through it without protest (and actually seemed to enjoy it), I doubt he’ll ask for a second viewing.
For his part, Jack-Jack did like Sleeping Beauty. But due to my hard sell of the dragon, he asked “Where’s the dragon?” or “Is the dragon coming soon?” several times.

Is it suitable for your kids?

Sleeping Beauty is rated G, and is largely appropriate for all ages. Some minor concerns for small children: Maleficent can be menacing at times; one of the king's servants gets tipsy on wine; Maleficent declares that she is summoning “all the powers of Hell;” a dragon is stabbed by a sword, with some blood coming from the wound.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

Hmm...does she like Disney? Does she like princesses? Do you know I’m asking these questions rhetorically?

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Sleeping Beauty
* Director: Clyde Geronimi
* Screenwriter: Erdman Penner
* Stars: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen, Taylor Holmes, Bill Thompson, Marvin Miller
* MPAA Rating: G


Rent Sleeping Beauty from Netflix >>

Suddenly (1954)

IN THE YEARS BETWEEN the end of World War II and his Oscar-winning role in From Here To Eternity, Frank Sinatra was in a slump. Women didn’t need to fawn over him now that their boys were back home from overseas.

Perhaps desperate to try anything – and maybe not knowing the comeback he’d enjoy from Eternity – Sinatra played against type as a villain in Suddenly.

Plot:
• The town of Suddenly, California is a quiet, small place where not much happens (“They’re thinking of changing the town to Gradually,” jokes a cop to an out-of-towner). But today is special: The President is arriving by train at 5pm.
• In town, sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) pines for Ellen (Nancy Gates), who lost her husband Pete in “the war” three years ago (I’m guessing Korea, since it’s 1954). She’s overprotective in raising her scrappy (and mouthy) 8-year-old son Pidge (Kim Charney) while sharing her hilltop home with her father-in-law (James Gleason).
• That afternoon, a trio of sharp-dressed men (led by Sinatra) visit Ellen’s home, announcing themselves as Secret Servicemen who need to inspect the house because of its direct view of the train station in the town below.
• During their “inspection,” Tod shows up with the real head of the Secret Service (Willis Bouchey). Sinatra’s crew opens fire, killing the Secret Serviceman and wounding Tod. It’s here we learn that Sinatra’s character, John Baron, is a hitman hired to assassinate the President for half a million dollars. He and his team hold Ellen, Tod, Pidge, Pop, and an unsuspecting TV repairman (James Lilburn) hostage. Baron’s rules are simple: Anybody tries to stop him, and he kills Pidge.

Critique:

Director Lewis Allen plays out the events of Suddenly within a four-hour span (and a taut 75-minute film) with very little musical score, providing a relatable level of realism – and an atmosphere of tension, helplessness, and fear. The script by Richard Sale (The White Buffalo) offers clever tricks and turns, as well as many memorable lines of dialogue. (Ellen: “Haven’t you any feelings at all?” Baron: “No, I haven’t, lady, they were taken outta me by experts.”)

It’s intriguing and entertaining to see cinematic “good guy” Sinatra and film noir heavy Hayden both play against type. Sinatra is terrific as Baron, an unbalanced killer who tries a bit too hard to prove his toughness. He’s a villain that's easy to despise – a scrawny weasel who assaults kids, menaces women, and kicks people in their bullet wounds. (It’s a shame he didn’t take more chances like this.) And Hayden does a great job of using Sale’s dialogue to “get” to Sinatra’s Baron in an attempt to throw him off his game.

Contrary to popular belief, Sinatra did not try to have prints of Suddenly removed from the marketplace following John F. Kennedy’s assassination; Sinatra’s family has gone to great lengths over the years to debunk this popular rumor.

Suddenly is an edgy, grim thriller for its era. Get past the dated, hokey intro and you’ll be rewarded for your time.

Where to watch Suddenly:
• Suddenly fell into the public domain years ago and now exists in many ultra-cheap versions of poor quality. However, a newly restored version of Suddenly was released this summer, featuring the original black and white film and a colorized version (see below).
• You can also view or download Suddenly free from Archive.org.


On a side note…I requested interviews from two of the surviving stars of Suddenly, Nancy Gates and Kim Charney. I never heard back from Gates, and Charney (who’s now a surgeon) declined my request.

Rating: 4.5 stars
(out of 5)

Will your kids want to watch it?

Teens might find Suddenly entertaining if they give it a chance, but I can’t imagine young kids wanting to watch it – unless they’ve got some kind of early fascination with black-and-white crime dramas. And while there’s no actual bloodshed in Suddenly, it has plenty of gunplay (including several shooting deaths and one injury), plus a rather nasty electrocution.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

I don’t know how your FilmMother feels about classic movies; my wife admittedly has trouble staying awake for black and white films. But if your other half has a thing for film noir or Ol’ Blue Eyes, she’ll enjoy Suddenly.

A man so powerful, he owned the world's first invisible cigar.

Suddenly
• Director: Lewis Allen
• Screenwriter: Richard Sale
• Stars: Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, Nancy Gates, Kim Charney, James Gleason, James Lilburn
• MPAA Rating: N/A


Buy Suddenly for less at Half.com >
Netflix

Peter Pan (1953)

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE a review of Disney’s 1986 animated film The Great Mouse Detective – I had sold Dash on the idea of watching it because (I thought) Mickey Mouse was in it. A valid assumption, yes?

Well, after ordering the film from On Demand, and the intro credits showed which actors voiced what characters, Mickey’s name was nowhere in sight. Sorry, little man. On to plan B: our 2-disc Special Edition of Peter Pan, still in the shrinkwrap.

Plot:
• In 1897 London, kid brothers Michael and John (Tommy Luske and Paul Collins) are “playing Peter Pan” based on the stories their older sister Wendy (Kathryn Beaumont) has told them. Their dad (Hans Conreid) says it’s all nonsense and tells Wendy it’s time for her to grow up: Starting tomorrow, she’s sleeping in a room of her own.
• After the parents leave to see a play, Peter Pan (Bobby Driscoll) arrives to retrieve his shadow, which the family dog Nana had taken the last time he visited.
• When Wendy tells Peter about her dad’s plan, Peter (with help from Tinkerbell’s pixie dust) makes Wendy, Michael, and John fly with him to Neverland, where they’ll never get old or have to grow up.
• Meanwhile, in his boat just off the island of Neverland, Captain Hook (also Conreid) is plotting how to get rid of Peter Pan once and for all. His focus is broken occasionally by a crocodile who’s stalking him, waiting for another taste of Hook since Peter cut off Hook’s hand and fed it to the croc.
• Multiple plots evolve from here, including Tinkerbell’s banishment by Peter for trying to get rid of Wendy, Hook’s kidnapping of Indian princess Tiger Lily and framing Peter for the deed, and a double-cross by Hook as he dupes a scorned Tinkerbell into helping him locate Peter’s secret hideout with the intention of killing him.

Critique:
• Peter Pan is something that’s a bit of a rarity: a Disney classic whose story, characters, and pacing have actually held up over time. It’s adventurous fun that didn’t have me glancing at the clock before it ended.
• It’s an odd feeling to revisit classic Disney films like Peter Pan. It really is magical and worthy of “classic” status, but it has so many elements that will make many parents today raise an eyebrow (see “Will your kids like it?” below), including the whole “redskins/Injuns” subtext – a blemish that can’t be erased or ignored.
• Strangely, the whole “never-grow-up” theme (what most people remember about Peter Pan) is barely mentioned beyond the beginning and end – and mostly by Wendy and her parents, not Peter.
• The story of Peter Pan’s voice, kid actor Bobby Driscoll, is a sad one. Just 16 when Peter Pan was released, Driscoll followed it with TV work and an occasional movie until his arrest in 1961 for forgery and narcotics possession. He entered rehab, but the drugs ultimately took their toll; he died in 1968 at age 31 in an abandoned building in New York City’s East Village (his body was found by two playing kids). Believed to be a homeless person, he was buried in an unmarked mass grave at Potter’s Field in New York and remained unknown for a year until fingerprints revealed his identity.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5).

Will your kids like it?

Most definitely. It’s the kind of movie that has an unmistaken magic woven in its fabric. That being said, there are several elements in the film that may have you quickly making up answers in your head if your kid asks about any of the following:

• Random pirate knife/gun action
• Calling the native Americans “redskins” or “Injuns”
• A cigar-smoking Captain Hook, who shoots one of his own men off-screen (albeit comically)
• Peter Pan bragging about how he cut off Hook’s hand and fed it to the crocodile
• At the celebration between the Indians, Peter, the kids, and The Lost Boys, a peace pipe is passed around and the kids each take a puff; also, the chief leads the group in the song, “What Makes the Red Man Red?”
• Hook makes Wendy walk the plank of his ship
• Female jealousy rears its head, mostly around Wendy; Tinkerbell tries to have her killed, and a group of mermaids splash and verbally abuse her

Am I overreacting? I don’t know. This stuff didn’t bother or influence me as a kid, and Dash didn’t ask me about any of it. I welcome any thoughts on the subject.

Will your FilmMother like it?

Yes. For once, Disney’s overused slogan to “relive the magic” actually applies here. As a mom, she may have issues with what I listed above, but as an adult she’ll have to admit it’s a fun fantasy film.

Oh, grow up.

Peter Pan
* Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
* Screenwriters: Ted Sears, Erdman Penner, Bill Peet, Winston Hibler, Joe Rinaldi, Milt Banta, Ralph Wright, William Cottrell
* Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conreid, Bill Thompson, Paul Collins, Tommy Luske, Candy Candido
* MPAA Rating: G


Buy this movie for less at Half.com >>