Batman (1989) - Comic to Movie #22

"I made you; you made me first."

Director

Tim Burton

Cast

Michael Keaton - Bruce Wayne/ Batman

Jack Nicholson - Jack Napier/ Joker
Kim Basinger - Vicki Vale
Robert Wuhl - Alexander Knox
Pat Hingle - Commissioner Gordon
Billy Dee Williams - Harvey Dent
Michael Gough - Alfred Pennyworth
Jack Palance - Carl Grissom

I reviewed the 1992 movie "Batman Returns" - the sequel to Tim Burton's 1989 movie "Batman" - back in 2022. Well, after hearing some negative comments on the '89 Batman, I felt compelled to comment. I wanted to write something up about this movie after seeing Michael Keaton return as Batman in "The Flash." So, I'm just now getting to this.
I was a month short of being nine-years old when I saw Burton's "Batman" in the theater. That theater was the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, California and it was one of the most intense movie experiences I've had.
I still remember the parts where the audience laughed.
I still remember the entire theater cheering at the scene when the Batwing flies above the cloud cover to juxtapose against the moon to create the bat emblem before soaring full-speed back down to Gotham City to take out the Joker.
Above all, I recall the Bat-hype this movie caused back in 1989. It got a hold of me, too. My nine-year old self grew obsessed with Batman thanks to this movie. Of course, it has subsided quite a bit since then.
Even so, after all this time, I have a special place in my heart for the 1989 "Batman."
In this movie, the masked vigilante, Batman, is just beginning to grace the dark crime-ridden streets of Gotham City.
News reporter, Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) is covering Batman sightings around Gotham, with little to no cooperation from Commissioner Jim Gordon (Pat Hingle), Harvey Dent (Billy Dee Williams) and Mayor Borg (Lee Wallace).
Photojournalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) wants to work with Knox in covering the Batman.
They both attend a fundraiser at Wayne Manor hosted by billionaire Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) as Gordon, Borg, and Dent will be in attendance. 

Knox and Vale hope to find out what the police and city hall know about "the bat." And Vale wants to meet with Wayne, whom she's never seen.
When they finally meet, Wayne becomes infatuated with Vale. 

Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson in "Batman."

Meanwhile, mob leader Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) sends his psychopathic top henchman, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) to raid the Axis Chemical Factory and steal incriminating evidence. What Napier doesn't initially realize is that Grissom is setting him up for murder by police in retaliation for sleeping with his mistress, Alicia (Jerry Hall).
Grissom has corrupt Lieutenant Max Eckhardt (William Hootkins), whom he has in his back pocket, to conduct an unauthorized police raid in order to shoot and kill Napier.
However, Commissioner Gordon receives an anonymous tip about what's going on and shows up to take over.
Batman also shows up as he eavesdropped on Gordon receiving that anonymous tip during the fundraiser.
During a confrontation at Axis Chemicals, Napier's life changes forever when an encounter with Batman leaves him horribly disfigured and transformed into the Joker.
While Grissom thinks Napier is dead, Jack surprises him, reveals what some plastic surgery can do, followed by a shower of bullets. 

Now, calling himself "Joker," he immediately pays Grissom a visit, kills him and takes over his operations.
Joker unleashes a wave of terror over Gotham City when he takes over the Axis Chemical Factory.
He starts manufacturing beauty and hygiene products at the chemical factory with chemical agents that, when different products are used together, create a lethal gas called Smylex. This causes victims to laugh uncontrollably until they die, leaving a permanent grin on their faces just like Joker's.
Joker also takes an interest in Vicki Vale, trying to lure her to his side.
However, once Batman breaks the Joker's deadly plans and hands his findings over to Vicki to be printed in the newspaper leaving Gotham to wonder if this Batman is a friend or foe, the Joker unleashes his fury on all of Gotham.
As the mayor postpones Gotham's 200th anniversary celebration parade, the Joker decides to hold his own parade.
He lures Gotham residents to the downtown area by promising to dump $20 million in cash during his parade. And, of course, the people come.
What they don't know is that the Joker's parade balloons are actually filled with Smylex which he begins releasing into the crowd since his plans with his cosmetic products didn't work out.
But Batman doesn't waste time in fighting for Gotham City and taking out the joker.
This movie is entertaining right from the credits. The opening soundtrack by Danny Elfman couldn't fit the movie any better.
The dialogue and entire production quality design is amazingly unique and unforgettable. 

The time of the movie's release is worth mentioning.
As the popularity of the "Superman" movies waned after "Superman II" - the worst of the Superman movies being "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" followed closely by "Superman III" - a Batman movie must have been a major risk.

Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale in "Batman."

While comic book enthusiasts might have been very familiar with dark Batman stories as seen in Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) and "Batman: The Killing Joke" (1988) by Alan Moore, the general public were much more familiar with the campy television series "Batman" the theme song of which was written by Neal Hefti, who also wrote the theme to "The Odd Couple."   

The show ran from 1966 to 1969, and starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the dynamic duo. The show was anything but dark. So, coming up with a dark Batman was certainly ambitious.
And Tim Burton's "Batman" sure has a lot of ambitious decisions behind it beginning with Michael Keaton as Batman/ Bruce Wayne, as mentioned millions of times before. 

Putting Tim Burton in the director's chair was another decision that could be called such. Before "Batman," Burton was known for directing the comedies, "Beetlejuice" and "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure."  And making Batman a complete revision, again for general audiences whose idea of Batman is what they watched on T.V., was a big one. How would audiences take to such a reimagining of their beloved Batman?
It's dark and dank, but with a little splash of color which adds to the contrast between the shadow tone of Batman and the vibrant in-your-face personality of Joker. A lot of scenes and angles look like they're straight off comic book pages.
I love the tone of the film and atmosphere of this movie. The set design is dirty, gritty, dystopian, semi-futuristic as well as vintage. The movie has a dystopian vibe to it, similar to movies like "Blade Runner" with a little fairy tale feel to it. 

There's a wounded hero and a fair maiden whose affection becomes the object of rivalry between hero and villain.. In "Batman," that's a side story that's also used to bring the hero and the villain into battle.
When Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" movies arrived, Burton's "Batman" remained appreciated by some, and pushed aside by others because something "better" was now among us. 

The story gets unfair criticism for Alfred bringing Vicki into the bat cave. My retort to that is that Bruce was going to tell her the truth anyway. Why does Vickie's presence in the bat cave bother people?
With the presence of British actor Michael Gough as Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred, along with Jack Nicholson's performance that he surely borrows inspiration from his role in "The Shining," "Batman" is a movie that has improved over time. Maybe it's not as good as Nolan's films. But it doesn't need to be. It's a solid, foundational, strongly constructed and highly entertaining film. To be fair, if I must complain about one thing it's Prince's awful music video "Batdance" written for this movie. Cringe isn't a big enough word! 

More than three decades later, "Batman" remains one of the most influential superhero films ever made. What makes it stand out as the standard for what a superhero movie should be is the insanity and ridiculousness of the premise, while the characters take the situation with such seriousness and intensity. That's what pulls the audience in and want to go along with it.
It may not possess the realism of Nolan's films or the scale of modern comic-book epics, but Burton's gothic vision, Keaton's understated performance, Danny Elfman's superb and iconic film score, and Nicholson's unforgettable Joker still make it a solid foundational comic-book film.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) - Comic to Movie #21

"Ultimate mastering comes not from the body, but from the mind. Together, there is nothing your four minds cannot accomplish."

Director

Steve Barron

Cast
Brian Tochi - Voice of Leonardo

     *David Forman - Leonardo performer
Josh Pais - Voice and performer of Raphael

Corey Feldman - Voice of Donatello

      *Leif Tilden - Donatello performer
Robbie Rist - Voice of Michelangelo

      *Michelan Sisti - Michelangelo performer 

Kevin Clash - Voice and puppeteer of Splinter

James Saito - Oroku Saki / The Shredder

Toshishiro Obata - Master Tatsu
Judith Hoag - April O'Neil
Elias Koteas - Casey Jones
Jay Patterson - Charles Pennington
Michael Turney - Danny Pennington

If there's one thing I can say about the 1990 comic-based movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," it's that the movie is much better than a lot of folks and critics give it credit for.

Sure, the idea of four mutated talking juvenile turtles named after Renaissance painters is an outlandishly silly idea. Creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird knew that when they created these characters as a lark back in the early 1980s.  

I recently watched the 1990 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" with my kids. And I've seen it several times before. So, obviously it was time for me to say something about it.

While I enjoyed this movie in my youth, it has taken some deeper meaning in my adult years. I'm not referring to any nostalgic investment I have in this movie specifically, or in the Ninja Turtles in general. 

This movie brings together the style of a children's movie against a gritty, dark comic book action story.

In this movie, New York City is suddenly plagued with a crime wave...as though crime waves are a new problem in the "Big Apple." 

April O'Neill (Judith Hoag), a news reporter for channel 3 news, has been reporting on this silent wave of crime involving a high level of theft and juvenile delinquency. 

She suspects that hotheaded Police Chief Sterns (Raymond Serra) knows more about the group behind this rise in crime than he's letting on. 

After getting off work one evening, April happens to catch a group of young thugs stealing from one of the news vans. 

They jump her, but she's saved by unseen vigilantes which are obviously the Ninja Turtles. Who doesn't know their names by now? Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello. Incidentally, Donatello - the brains of the turtles - was almost named after Italian sculptor and architect. Gianlorenzo Bernini. After a coin toss, Eastman and Laird decided on Donatello instead. So, the world almost got Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini. Doesn't quite have the same effect. 

Anyways, the turtles live in a liar in the sewer along with their mentor, Master Splinter - a mutated rat who is a master of ninjutsu. He taught the turtles this form of martial arts while raising them himself. 

After the turtles rescue April, they return to their lair where Splinter instructs them to master the art of invisibility. 

Raphael, meanwhile, returns in a bad mood because he lost one of his weapons - a sai - during the rescue. She happened to see it just as the police arrived and stuck it in her purse. 

He decides to head to the street surface, disguised of course, to catch a movie and cool off. While up on the street, he gets into a fight with another vigilante called Casey Jones (Elias Koteas).

April keeps digging into this crime wave, discovering that the group behind it all is known as the "Foot Clan" who use an abandoned warehouse as a hideaway. As she reports it on television, the head of the Foot Clan, the Shredder (James Saito) orders some of his clan to silence her. 

The Shredder has been recruiting wayward kids to commit these crimes all around the city. 

Some of the Foot Clan ninjas attack April on a subway platform. Little do they know that Raphael happened to follow her down there. After they knock her out, Raphael attacks them, rescues the

unconscious April and takes her back to the sewer lair.

Thinking he took down all the ninjas, Raphael doesn't realize that one of the Foot Clan is following him back to the turtles' lair only to report back to the Shredder. 

After April wakes up and freaks out at the sight of four talking mutated turtles and a rat, Splinter reveals their origins to her. 

As odd as the situation is, she lets the turtles escort her home where she invites them in for pizza. As luck would have it, that's their favorite food. So, how could they say no.

After hanging out and having a laugh, they head back to the sewer only to find the place sacked and Splinter missing. 

They return to April's to hide and figure out what to do next. 

When April's boss, Charles Pennington (Jay Patterson) and his delinquent son, Danny (Michael Turney) drop by April's apartment to check in after her attack. 

The turtles hide like the ninjas they are. But Danny happens to catch a glimpse of one of the turtles, who disappears just before he can get a good look. 

Danny, who's involved in this Foot Clan, tells Shredder about what he saw and where he saw it. 

The Shredder sends his Foot Clan to April's apartment just as Raphael is up on her roof blowing off some steam. 

They outnumber him, and then attack the rest of the turtles. Casey Jones, who's up on his own apartment roof, happens to spot the Foot Clan attack Raphael from a distance. 

So, he goes to help. 

The fight leaves April's apartment up in flames. She and the turtles are forced to escape and hide in an abandoned farmhouse that belongs to April's family. Casey Jones joins them there. 

Danny quickly feels immensely guilty that his actions have caused so much chaos. 

He goes to speak to Splinter, who's being held captive by the Shredder inside the hideaway. 

Splinter's words give Danny a change of heart about the life of petty crime he's picked up, as well as a change in attitude towards his father whom Danny thinks has no interest in him. 

The turtles receive a message from Splinter through astral projection which spurs them to return to their lair back in the city.

There, they find Danny in hiding. 

Later that night, when everyone's asleep, Danny sneaks off back to the Clan's secret hideout to go talk to Splinter. Casey Jones catches him sneaking out and follows him there. 

Splinter confides in Danny, explaining that before he mutated, he learned ninjutsu from his master, Hamato Yoshi. A rival of Yoshi named Oroku Saki was immensely jealous of Yoshi as he had won the love of a woman named Tang Shen whom Oroku Saki also loved. 

Shen and Yoshi moved to New York together in order to escape Saki's jealous wrath. 

But Saki found out they were in New York, and killed them both. 

In retaliation, Splinter attacked Saki and scratched his face leaving a scar. Saki tried to kill the rat, only to slice Splinter's ear. 

Danny asks what became of Oroku Saki. Splinter replies that no one knows, but his emblem is on the headband Danny's wearing. 

Just then, Shredder catches Danny leaving Splinter's company and can tell he's hiding something. He pulls out a picture April drew of Leonardo from Danny's pocket. Shredder figures out that the turtles have returned. 

Now, the turtles are forced to face Shredder in order to save Splinter and severe the Foot Clan's grip on the city. 

This movie was made at the height of Ninja Turtle popularity. And as a comic book-based movie, it was released in the shadow of Tim Burton's popular 1989 comic book-based movie "Batman." I'll get to that movie in a later post. 

Jim Henson's creature shop does an amazing job at the designs of the turtle costumes and puppetry. Not only does each turtle bear a different color head band to distinguish them, but their facial features are distinct as well. 

On top of that, each performer gives their respective character a unique personality. 

Brian Tochi gives Leonardo a leadership attitude who calls the shots, but not without some uncertainty and trepidation as to whether he's making the right choice or not. 

For the first time, he's left to lead without Splinter's guidance. 

Josh Pais gives Raphael a closed-up personality. He needs his brother turtles, but he doesn't want that need to show. He's gruff and angry. Pais gives him a lower east-side New York accent which makes Raphael sound very sure of himself. But his vulnerabilities aren't as hidden as Raph thinks they are. 

Corey Feldman makes his character, Donatello, the brains of the turtles. He acts as their support. He gives the other turtles a silent respect as he lets them figure out their issues but not without a shoulder or extra ear. 

Robbie Rist makes Michelangelo the most juvenile of the turtles, as his character is more fun-loving and the most teenager-like, especially with his crush on April. He also comes across as the most emotional. 

Cartoon sound effects and corny gags are sprinkled within the gritty tone of the movie. Yet, some scenes are intense, such as the Shredder's initial entrance onto the screen with the camera above him as he walks into frame with a long dark shadow appearing before him. Youth surround him awaiting his instructions. The camera moves from above to behind the Shredder giving his entrance a strong feeling of dread and intimidation. 

There's a warm sense of family through the movie. It starts with Splinter and the four turtles against Shredder's Foot Clan and the wayward children he instructs to steal and terrorize New Yorkers for his sake operating under the false pretense that they're a family. 

The Foot Clan's hideaway, full of stolen goodies like stereos, video games, and electronics, is like a dark inner-city version of Pleasure Island from "Pinocchio."  The Shredder's recruitment of these kids while convincing them that they're all family and he's their father parallels the story, "Oliver Twist" in which children are trained to be thieves and pickpockets by the infamous criminal Fagin. 

On top of that, we see April's boss, Charles Pennington, trying to keep his relationship with his son Danny, who's involved in Shredder's Foot Clan, together.

It's not clear where the fracture in their tumultuous father and son relationship comes from. Maybe a divorce? But it's clear that Danny is looking for guidance and a father who's not too busy for him. He tells Splinter, "My father could care less about me." 

Splinter's response makes him think about himself from his father's point of view.

"I doubt that. All fathers care for their sons." 

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" may be a movie tarnished just a little by the ludicrous but highly imaginative idea of four anthropomorphic turtles who practice ninjutsu, the movie works well thanks to its writing and masterful puppetry and costume designs from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. This movie spawned two sequels, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" which I reviewed back in 2020. 

The film is certainly well cast. And the chemistry between the actors is clearly present. In my opinion, Hoag portrays April O'Neill the best compared to the following sequels. Her version is lively with personality, likeability and great chemistry with the four turtles she has to work alongside with. Her April is the most unforgettable. 

Sure, comic book enthusiasts and Ninja Turtle fans give this movie the most credit. Looking past the concept of "teenage mutant ninja turtles," this movie is well executed and deserves that credit and attention. 

Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)

"My reputation precedes me. Otherwise, I'd be late for all my appointments."

Director
Paul Flaherty

Cast

John Candy - Harry Crumb
Jeffrey Jones - Eliot Draisen
Annie Potts - Helen Downing
Tim Thomerson - Vince Barnes
Barry Corbin - P.J. Downing
Shawnee Smith - Nikki Downing
Valri Bromfield - Detective Casey
Renée Coleman - Jennifer Downing
Wesley Mann - Tim

John Candy is a comedian I still miss. 

I was 13-years old when he died in 1994, and I recall being sincerely sad over hearing of his death. His performances in "Uncle Buck," "SpaceBalls," "Home Alone," and "Cool Runnings," along with his Saturday morning cartoon, "Camp Candy" made impressions on me in my younger days. 

There are a lot of his movies I haven't seen but intend to. Others, I haven't seen in years and want to revisit them. 

One of those movies is his 1989 comedy "Who's Harry Crumb?" I hadn't seen this before. 

When it comes to John Candy's style of comedy, he often plays a variety of characters that are so versatile and realistic, often relatable and likeable. 

His way delivering jokes along with his knack for timing is fantastic. Candy is a comedian unlike any other, and I mean that sincerely. And "Who's Harry Crumb?" is a rare movie that Candy produced. 

In this movie, Candy plays a private detective hired to investigate the kidnapping of a Beverly Hills fashion model named Jennifer Downing (Renée Coleman). The kidnapper is demanding a substantial ransom. 

Jennifer's father, P.J. Downing (Barry Corbin), who's a multimillionaire, is desperate to find her. So, he turns to his close friend, Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones) for help as Draisen is president of the Crumb & Crumb Detective Agency. 

Downing, though, is completely unaware that Draisen happens to be the kidnapper. 

So, to make it look like he's helping his buddy, he hands the case over to Harry Crumb (John Candy), the last descendent of the agency's founders.

Crumb's office is out in Oklahoma, away from the home base. Crumb, a master of disguise, is too clumsy and stupid to be a decent detective. Of course, Downing doesn't know that. 

Crumb starts his investigation by first meeting with the Downing family. He connects with Jennifer's younger sister, Nikki (Shawnee Smith) who quickly takes the role of an assistant. 

He also meets with P.J. and his wife, Helen (Annie Potts). 
Helen is having an affair with her tennis coach, Vince Barnes (Tim Thomerson). 

John Candy in "Who's Harry Crumb?"

Under disguise, Crumb sneaks into the health salon where Jennifer was kidnapped. There, he learns that Jennifer used an appointment that originally belonged to Helen. This arouses his suspicions that Helen and Vince kidnapped Jennifer.

Meanwhile, Draisen admits to Helen that he has been in love with her since they were in school together. 

But Helen isn't interested. Rather, she only loves money which he doesn't have enough of to win her love. 

As Crumb's sites are on Helen and Vince, he and Nikki start investigating the illicit couple. 

Helen and Vince think P.J. will break down and pay the ransom. So, they plot to murder P.J. so Helen will inherit his wealth. 

Vince cuts the brakes on P.J.'s car. However, P.J. lets Crumb borrow it so he can follow Helen and Vince. 

Since the breaks fail, Helen and Vince assume Crumb is chasing them. 

When Crumb crashes P.J.'s car, Harry and Vince think he was trying to kill them, so they put a stop to his investigation. 

But Crumb isn't stopped so easily. The movie is a whodunnit with Crumb thinking one thing while the audience is in on the real goings-on. 

While "Who's Harry Crumb" is unique with Candy given the opportunity to play a variety of characters, some of whom made me laugh, it took effort for me to stay interested. 

Candy is clearly enjoying his role. That's no surprise as it's reminiscent of his sketch comedy from the show SCTV where he got his start. 

Candy does well with what he's given. But the entire film falls short for a comedy. It resorts to throwing Candy around in slapstick situations with dopey humor that's beneath Candy's talent.

Most of the jokes are corny gags and one-liners. It's not as funny as I anticipated. 

I felt like someone was standing off camera with a shotgun pointed at him and demanding he act funny or die! It's a disappointing Candy movie, but I can't blame him for that. 

The film has a solid supporting cast including Annie Potts, Jeffrey Jones, and Tim Thomerson. As talented as these comedians are, they offer little to the movie. They're just...there. It's not their fault. This cast isn't used to their full comedic potential. I especially wanted to see more from Annie Potts. How disappointing.

In one scene on a bus, there's a pointless cameo from James Belushi. He appears and does absolutely nothing but read a newspaper. And then...he's gone. What a waste! 

I didn't care enough about the characters to take interest in what was happening. In fact, I was getting bored waiting for the movie to end. 

John Candy is a comedian unlike any other before or since. He's immensely likeable and truly missed. While the movie showcases Candy's comedic talent rather well, "Who's Harry Crumb?" doesn't live up to his more notable roles.  

The Cocoanuts (1929)

"Three years ago I came to Florida without a nickel in my pocket. Now I've got a nickel in my pocket."

Directors

Robert Florey
Joseph Santley

Cast
Groucho Marx - Mr. Hammer
Harpo Marx - Harpo
Chico Marx - Chico
Zeppo Marx - Jamison
Mary Eaton - Polly Potter
Oscar Shaw - Bob Adams
Margaret Dumont - Mrs. Potter
Kay Francis - Penelope
Cyril Ring - Harvey Yates
Basil Ruysdael - Detective Hennessy

Being asked who my patron saint is, aside from my name's sake patron, goes with the territory of being a Catholic. My reply is often "Groucho Marx." 

The reactions I receive from this differ. Once I was told, "He wasn't Catholic." My response to that was, "Maybe that's why he never answers my prayers." Still, that hasn't stopped me from being a Marxist. 

I should mention that I'm writing this review under the pretense that my readers (all three or four of them, plus mom) are familiar with the Marx Brothers. For those who don't know who these guys are, I'm too lazy to write up a brief biography about them. Instead, watch this video before moving on - Legends of Comedy - The Marx Brothers.

The 1929 comedy "The Cocoanuts" is the Marx Brothers' first film. Four of the Marx Brothers appear in this movie - Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo. 

Incidentally, Zeppo appears in the first five Marx movies, with their 1933 movie "Duck Soup" being his last film role before leaving the act. After his departure, Groucho, Harpo, and Chico appear in the rest of their films. And the fifth brother, Gummo, doesn't appear in any of their films.

My first review on this blog was the 1932 Laurel and Hardy movie "Pack Up Your Troubles" for its unique story that's unlike other Laurel and Hardy films. After that, I wanted to include at least one Marx Brothers movie on this blog. But I didn't know which movie to start with. I didn't want to just pick any movie. I thought about "Duck Soup" but my mind eventually gravitated towards "The Cocoanuts." I'll get to "Duck Soup" eventually. 

I also considered their satire of the 1943 classic "Casablanca" titled "A Night in Casablanca." That deserves a lot of attention.

Left to right: Zeppo, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo in "The Cocoanuts."

If there's one thing that appeals to me about the Marx Brothers' comedy, it's their irreverence and ribbing towards the upper-class and all their formalities. 
"The Cocoanuts" takes place in a resort, Hotel de Cocoanut, down in Florida. 

The movie opens with Irving Berlin's song "Florida by the Sea." 

"In the lovely land of Florida

Sunny Florida by the sea.
All the sunshine in America
Is in Florida you'll agree," as the song goes. It should be the state anthem! 

The resort is run by Mr. Hammer (Groucho) along with his assistant, Jamison (Zeppo). 

Harpo and Chico show up to the hotel posing as guests. However, their suit cases are empty as they plan to rob the hotel guests.

One of those guests is the wealthy Mrs. Potter (Margaret Dumont). Her daughter, Polly (Mary Eaton) is staying with her at the hotel. 

Polly is in love with a down-on-his-luck architect named Bob Adams (Oscar Shaw) who's working at the hotel to keep himself afloat, financially speaking. 

Adams's ultimate plan is to develop the entire Hotel de Cocoanut into a large complex called "Cocoanut Manor." 

However, Mrs. Potter wants Polly to marry Harvey Yates (Cyril Ring) as she thinks he's among a higher social standing more suitable for her daughter.

 Little does she know that Yates is really a con artist. He and his partner, Penelope (Kay Francis), are plotting on stealing Mrs. Potter's diamond necklace. And hilarity ensues.  

I consider their first film "The Cocoanuts" to be groundbreaking in the comedy genre. Aside from being their first movie, I can't think of any other comedy before this one with the same whirlwind of non-stop jokes and on-liners that steps over the story to make itself the primary focus of the movie. The comedy here leaves the thin storyline as secondary. 

At the time, audiences couldn't make sense of the story, written by the legendary George S. Kaufman, as the comedy stood in its way. The comedy doesn't support the story. Rather, the story, as thin as it is, supports the comedy. And, really, the story needs to be thin. Otherwise, it would distract from the comedy. It wouldn't be as entertaining if that were the case. 

And what's even more impressive is that it doesn't really matter. I can't take my eyes off the energetic Marx brothers, nor do I want to. 

And as a big bonus, the songs are written by none other than Irving Berlin. That's some classy high caliber music!

The movie doesn't pull any punches, comedically speaking. It introduces the Marx Brothers, in all their impudent, cheeky, impressively talented ways to a wide range of audiences. They were already known to a lot of audiences through stage productions.

In their film debut, they're not presented in small doses. They're comedy, which relies more on one-liners and some sight gags, wasn't necessarily slapstick like other comedians at the time. Their comedy depended on comparing their jokes and behavior contrasted against the upper crust of society, and seeing the reactions that come about.

What audiences saw on screen in 1929 is what they got. The Marx Brothers as introduced to audiences like a novice swimmer is introduced to the deep end of a pool in order to learn how to swim. These are the Marx Brothers audiences would see again and again, in movie after movie.  

As Groucho Marx once said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, go ahead and say it." And it all starts with "The Cocoanuts."

In one seen, Chico tells Harpo, who never spoke in any of the Marx's movies, "Right now I'd do anything for money. I'd kill somebody for money. I'd kill you for money."

Harpo's face becomes dejected which Chico laughs off. 

"Ah, no. You're my friend. I'd kill you for nothing," Chico says, which makes Harpo smile and nod.

The best comedy in this movie comes from exchanges between Groucho and Margaret Dumont, who would be his leading straight lady for several films to come for Groucho to bounce insults off of. 

I could listen to hours of dialogue between Marx and Dumont and be entertained by each and every minute. 

In one seen, Mrs. Potter says to Hammer, "I don't think you'd love me if I were poor."

Hammer replies, "I might, but I'd keep my mouth shut."

Later, he asks to meet her in private.
"I'll meet you tonight under the moon. Oh, I can see it now - you and the moon. Wear a neck-tie so I'll know you."

But, perhaps, my most favorite line Groucho ever said to Dumont in all of their movie history together is delivered in this movie.

In one scene when Hammer is trying to flirt with Mrs. Potter, he says, "Did anyone ever tell you that you look like the Prince of Wales? I don't mean the present Prince of Wales; one of the old Wales, and believe me when I say Wales, I mean Wales. I know a whale when I see one."

Fantastic!

As a comedy, "The Cocoanuts" is a movie that deserves a lot more attention both in general as a comedy and as a Marx Brothers movie. It's an unforgettable introduction to the Marx Brothers which doesn't just pave the way for their humor, it drops their cynical style right in the laps of audiences again and again. I would have loved to see audience reactions back in 1929. It's a truly groundbreaking comedy movie with humor unlike comedies that came before. 

Wonka (2023) - My thoughts relatively quick

In my review of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," I pointed out, and correctly so I might add, how the 1971 movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," is a far more superior movie than Burton's mess. 

So, I was completely on-board when news broke that a prequel movie to the original Wonka film was in the works. There's a lot to be explored in Wonka's past. 

What I liked most about this recent movie, "Wonka," based on the 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl, is that it sticks to the source material and doesn't try to beat the audience over the head with some socio-political ideology. Too many movies, even children's movies, these days consider it mandatory to preach some modern ideology, only to fail miserably. 

"Wonka," which cost $125 million to make, managed to earn $39 million on its opening weekend alone. 

Are you paying attention, Disney? I bring this up because that possibility played in the back of my mind as I brought my children to this movie. 

Seldom are current films made to tell an entertaining story or for any artistic credibility. Hollywood seems more and more to be making films for political credibility instead. 

Anyways, this movie tells the story of young Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) whose an aspiring magician and chocolatier. 

His dream to be the best candy maker and set up a shop in the Galeries Gourmet where three other major chocolatiers have already established their candy businesses.

Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) are three corrupt businessmen who operate the biggest candy shops in the Galeries Gourment. Though the three are rivals, they've developed a chocolate cartel by which they pressure the Chief of Police (Keegan-Michael Key) to keep Wonka from selling chocolate on their turf and drive him out of town. 

The cartel secretly meets in the catacombs underneath St. Benedict's Church where the parish priest, Fr. Julius (Rowan Atkinson) is paid in chocolate to aid these corrupt businessmen and allow them to meet in secret under his church. 

And that's my biggest gripe about this movie. Though I'm often thick-skinned, even as a practicing Catholic, about the all-too-often poor depictions of Catholics and Christians in general in films, I didn't care for this priest character being portrayed as a simp so easily paid off in candy to help the corrupt businessmen. I felt the movie went out of its way to make this poor depiction. It's often open season on Catholics in Hollywood, and that vendetta sadly continues in this movie. 

Anyways, Wonka moves into a boarding house operated by Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman) after her behemoth of a henchman, Bleacher (Tom Davis), tricks him into moving in. 

Scrubitt requires Wonka to sign a lengthy contract that forces him and other boarders into working in launderette underneath the boarding house. Wonka doesn't read the small print before signing, which is how he's conned into this predicament. Scrubitt also requires Wonka to pay an outrageous fee in order to get out of his contract, which he obviously can't pay. 

At the boarding house, Wonka meets a young girl named Noodle (Calah Lane) who ends up helping him get his business off the ground. 

Wonka is also attempting to capture a little green faced, orange haired man (played by Hugh Grant) who keeps stealing his chocolates during the night. This guy, of course, is an Oompa-Loompa, who wants restitution for "stolen" cocoa beans Wonka took from Loompa Land.

Timothée Chalamet as Wonka in the "Wonka."

Right away, I found the story enjoyable with a smooth flow and memorable characters. It has the feel of an old-fashioned musical. Most of the songs are catchy and pulls ears in straight away. "Wonka" is successful at being a fun family movie. 

While Gene Wilder plays an unpredictable and hard-to-read Willy Wonka in the original film, Chalamet makes the titular character a more ambitious beginner who carries a convincing eager determination. Despite his masterful craft as a magician and candy maker who so naturally can wow crowds, there are scenes where he's still human and vulnerable. 

It struck me at various parts of the movie as to why Wonka would later take to young Charlie Bucket in the 1971 movie. Both come from humble backgrounds, are attached to their respective families from whom they draw inspiration, and both have self-less attitudes. They also have their shortcomings and recognize them as such.  

Unfortunately, Grant's performance as Lofty, the Oompa Loompa, is dull and uninspired. It was as though Grant was going through the motions to get his parts over with as fast as he could, grab his paycheck, and go home. Thankfully, that didn't spoil the movie for me. 

Aside from Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key is the most entertaining actor in the story. Key is hilarious in his role as he has a knack for putting a lot of character and effort into his comedic roles. He is a natural at comedy.

"Wonka" sets out to amuse and charm audiences, which it pleasantly accomplishes. It tries to pull on the emotional heartstrings of its audience, but the feel-good elements hinder that. 

The story is full of optimism as Wonka doesn't allow any out-of-the-ordinary difficulties, such as being suckered into involuntary servitude at a launderette, hinder him from working towards his goals. He simply plans around every obstacle to do the work he needs to do. It's a moral I can get behind. There's a ton of room for a fascinating story about how Wonka gets his factory and his reputation off and running. This movie manages to depict something imaginative and worthwhile. 

Don't fast forward this one: Ralphie's Old Man and The Wizard of Oz

After watching movies and programs based on the writings of satirist Jean Shepherd and posting my thoughts on each one here on this blog, I wanted to include my thoughts on the latest movie based on Shepherd's work - "A Christmas Story Christmas."

I reviewed this next "official sequel" to the 1983 comedy, "A Christmas Story" for the Junction City Union newspaper last year. It's about Ralphie losing his father just before Christmas. So, it's fitting to add my thoughts about a particular scene in "A Christmas Story" that I never paid attention to until I watched it with my kids last week. Then it hit me. 

After Ralphie and his kid brother Randy go to visit Santa at the mall, and one of Santa's elves push Ralphie down a slide, the shot switches to actors dressed as characters from "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) parading down the mall past Santa's set-up. Ralphie's "Old Man." as he's referred to, skips along with these characters singing "We're off the see the Wizard." He concludes his rendition with, "I'll see you in Oz, folks!" 

It's a brief scene, but it's memorable.

Ralphie's dad doesn't seem like the kind of dad who would care about seeing a children's movie like "The Wizard of Oz." During the post-World War II time period "A Christmas Story" seems to take place in, from what I've been told, parents often dropped their kids off at movie theaters while they ran errands and such. The kids would stick around the theaters until their parents were ready to pick them up. 

Darren McGavin in "A Christmas Story."

So, the kids would watch their kid movies and the parents would run around town to do whatever they needed to do. Kids could easily catch two movies, along with a bunch of cartoons and whatever else they played in theaters back in the 1940s during afternoon matinees. 

The Old Man isn't really the singing type. In an earlier scene when the Parker family are driving back home from the tree lot after picking out their Christmas tree, everyone in the car is singing "Jingle Bells"... except the Old Man. 

While Mrs. Parker and the kids are singing their lungs out, Mr. Parker looks like he just wants everyone to hurry up and finish so he can get back to a quiet car ride.

So, maybe the Old Man not only caught "The Wizard of Oz," but he actually enjoyed it. After all, there he is signing and parading with the characters out in public, arm in arm with Mrs. Parker. He's certainly embracing this small moment. And he's not in front of his kids. He and Mrs. Parker are heading over to collect them from visiting Santa. 

Maybe the Old Man has a difficult time connecting with his boys on their level. Rather, he wants to come across in their eyes as tough, hard working, and as the leading family patriarch he is, setting aside the things of his childhood. 

This makes the ending of "A Christmas Story" all that more thoughtful. That is, the one person who gives Ralphie his BB gun, after all the other adults in his life shoot him down (no pun intended) and tell him "you'll shoot your eye out" is the adult he never asked - his dad. 

This one brief Oz scene shows that Ralphie's dad does have an inner child which does come out to shine once in a while, even if just for a few seconds. He knows how to connect with his young boys! 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) - My thoughts relatively quick

* Spoilers ahead *

I was just as intrigued as anyone else, but not overly excited when trailers for the recent movie "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" dropped earlier in 2023. 

I considered seeing it in the theater but figured it would eventually stream on the Disney+ streaming app, so I would just catch it there. And I did. 

I love the Indiana Jones movies generally speaking, particularly the third movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989). It's my favorite of the five movies in the franchise. 

My first impression was that "Dial of Destiny" would just be another franchise revival movie. And it was, for all practical purposes. 

Franchise revivals of older series is all the thing now in Hollywood. They're certainly a novelty, but often feel forced and repetitive often resulting in a box office crash and burn. Not all of them. Some are decent enough, but I can't think of a franchise revival movie from the last ten years that really blew me away. 

In this movie, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) chases down a powerful artifact invented by the ancient mathematician and inventor, Archimedes (d. 212 BC) that's able to send people to another time period. 

The movie opens in 1944 as Indiana Jones is attempting to rescue the holy lance of St. Longinus from the Nazis. While all that's going on, a Nazi Astrophysicist named Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) finds part of Archimedes's dial. 

Indy and Voller fight, resulting in Voller's death, or so Indy thinks. 

Now, during the late 1960s, Indy finds himself chasing down Voller again, who is now a NASA scientist. He's really trying to obtain the entire dial so he can travel back in time and change the outcome of World War II in Hitler's favor. 

In the beginning of the movie, a younger Harrison Ford appears thanks to the "magic" of AI or CGI (something along those lines). The movie accomplished that task rather well. That was certainly the talking point when the movie was playing in theaters.  

The action is entertaining. Nothing more. Nothing less.
My main issue with this movie is Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character, Helena Shaw, the daughter of Indy's old friend and colleague, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). She's also Indy's estranged goddaughter. She accompanies Indy in this adventure, more often working against him as she has her own plans in mind for the dial. Namely, monetary gain.  

Shaw is unrealistic, annoying, and I wanted to see her less on screen. She's not charming, nor is she intriguing or inspiring. She serves more as an obstacle for Indy than an asset to the story. The audience isn't supposed to cheer for her, yet she has scenes that seem like the audience is supposed to cheer for her. Shaw is a mess of a character.   

Also, gone is Indy's son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) from the last movie "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." He evidently died during the Vietnam War. I certainly didn't miss him. His death causes Indy and his wife, Mutt's mom, Marion Ravenwood (played again by Karen Allen), to divorce prior to the story. 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford in
'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.'

Before sitting down to watch this movie, I anticipated a time travelling voyage to Indy's past in some sort of nostalgic adventure. I anticipated something like what took place in "Back to the Future II." If you know, you know. 

Thankfully, that didn't happen. What did take place as far as time travel goes took me by surprise. Much to my appreciation, they saved that for the final act. Everything leading up to that, with Indy trying to find the dial and make sure the Nazis don't obtain it, felt like classic Indiana Jones. He's already squared off against Nazis in two previous movies - "Last Crusade" and "Raiders of the Lost Arc." 

This movie isn't Jones at his best but it's certainly not terrible. I think the previous movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" still carries that banner. 

The urgency of the entire story seems a little forced. Yes, Indy and everyone are going after the other half of the dial and take it out of the hands of Nazis, but the seriousness of the situation isn't convincing enough. I don't recall him even knowing he was chasing Nazis until later in the film. 

He just has to get it before the bad guys do something bad with it. It's not clear until later in the movie what the Nazis plan on doing with it. And once Indy realizes what's really going on, then his mission feels like it has real purpose. 

A few days after my second viewing, the ending became sensible. To have Jones actually witness a major historical event (i.e. the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC) and meet Archimedes face to face felt like a proper sendoff for the character rather than simply have him save a small yet significant piece of ancient history. 

As the movie concludes with Indy returning comfortably to his home and spend his days in restful retirement with the Marion is fine but not the sendoff I imagined Indy to have. 

Personally, I wish he would have stayed in that period in Italy, with Archimedes, rather than have his annoying goddaughter force him to return to his own time. That would have been an ending audiences would talk about for sure.  

It was enjoyable to see Indiana Jones one more time, especially after the disaster that was, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Surely, fans of the franchise are glad that last flick wasn't Indy's sendoff film. While "Dial of Destiny" has its issues, it's a passable film. 

It's entertaining and hits some of the right spots despite feeling like too much like a franchise revival film. It's time for Indy to hang up his hat, which he thankfully did at the end. 

I'm trying to determine if it's better or worse than "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." I'd say "Temple of Doom" is better by a nose. A real nose. Not a CGI one.