The Play House (1921) - Movie Review

Buster Keaton is probably my absolute favorite comedic actor of all time. And his movie short, The Play House, is one of his funniest. In it he plays many different roles, from an orchestra conductor to the members of the orchestra. He also plays as the different member of the audience, showing his versatility. Fortunately or unfortunately, he is awakened from his dream returning him to his real life role as a stage hand.

Although his playing the many different roles in his dream are pretty funny, it is his real life role as a stage hand that makes this movie hilarious. He is to dress an orangutan in a suit, but the orangutan escapes. Buster has no choice but to dress as if he is the orangutan and dresses in the suit. This makes for a great comedic sequence.

While Buster is playing his role as a stage hand he is also trying to get one of the new actresses at the play house to fall for him. Unfortunately for Buster he keeps mixing her up with her twin. At the end of the short he finally gets his girl as we see him dragging her to the Justice of the Peace.

This movie is only about 20 minutes long, that is why it is called a short. However, in that 20 minutes a lot of story is told. There is comedy, action, drama, and romance.

It is not just this movie that makes Buster Keaton one of my favorite comedic actor of all time. It is nearly all of his movies. It is his ability to deliver a hilarious scene without breaking his "stone face". Buster was adept at not breaking into smiles or laughter on screen in order to make the scene that much more funny.

Using the Internet Movie Database scale of 1 to 10 stars, I give this a 10. It may be a silent 20 minute movie but it packs a punch.

The 10th Kingdom - Movie Review

Do you like fairy tales? Did you ever wonder what happened after the end of the story, after "happily ever after"? Did you ever wonder what happened to Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty or any of the others? The 10th Kingdom tells the story after "happily ever after", which wasn't as long as some would like to think. John Larroquette, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Dianne Wiest, and Ed O'Neill along with an all-star cast bring this fairy tale to life in this television mini-series.

Anthony Lewis (Larroquette), also known as Tony, is a janitor in New York City who is overworked and under appreciated. His daughter, Virginia (Williams-Paisley), is a waitress. On her way to work Virginia accidentally runs into a dog, who is actually Prince Wendell the grandson of Snow White. Prince Wendell is turned into a dog by his evil step mother (Dianne Wiest), but he escapes and travels to New York where he meets Tony and Virginia. From that moment on Virginia's and Tony's lives won't be the same.

After some strange, and sometimes hilarious, events in New York, Virginia and Tony, along with Prince Wendell travel to the Nine Kingdoms. The Nine Kingdoms are where the fairy tales come to life in this tale. Once Tony and Virginia enter the Nine Kingdoms their adventures become more hilarious and harrowing.

Wendell's step mother enlists the help of many henchmen including Wolf (Scott Cohen) and Huntsman (Rutger Hauer). Wolf switches sides a few times along the way as he is in love with Virginia. He spends nearly the whole movie wooing Virginia.

There are many twists and turns along the way. But in everything that happens to Wendell, Virginia, Tony, Wolf and the Evil Queen happens for a reason. They are all connected in one way or another. Destiny has brought all these characters together. These connections are what make this story so amazing.

The different actors play their roles perfectly. Ed O'Neill is great as the Troll King. Dianne Wiest is very convincing as the Evil Queen. John Larroquette is a convincing imbecile, but proves he is less of one than he lets on. Kimberly Williams-Paisley does a fairly decent job as a character who is constantly trying to keep things under control and to stay invisible.

According to the Internet Movie Database ranking of 10 stars I give this a 10. As a fairy tale story this movie is a little hokey, but being able to see what happens after "happily ever after" is pretty amazing. The sets and scenery are breathtaking. The script is fascinating.

Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg- The Campaigns That Changed the Civil War - Book Review

It has been 150 years since the end of the American Civil War. But time does not diminish the fascination thousands upon thousands have for this war. The Civil War was fought between the north and south, the Union and the Confederacy, brother and brother, cousins, friends. Many times soldiers who fought together as Union soldiers before the Civil War fought against each other in the Civil War.

The Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865. There were over a hundred battles and skirmishes of varying sizes and intensities. Two campaigns during the Civil War happened roughly during the same time period; the Vicksburg Campaign and the Gettysburg Campaign. Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg - The Campaigns That Changed the Civil War, written by Edwin C. Bearss and Parker Wills, tells the story of these two campaigns.

Bearss and Wills do a wonderful job of telling the story of these two campaigns. However, or probably fortunately, Bearss and Wills spend a significant amount of the book delving into the campaign of Vicksburg. More than half of the book covers the campaign of Vicksburg.

The different skirmishes and small battles that make up these two campaigns are described in detail.

The different names that each side were called throughout the Civil war were used extensively.

I, however, found fault with one thing. When Bearss and Wills tell of the Gettysburg it seems quick. At least in the first few chapters the Gettysburg Campaign is described at a glance. It wasn't until the last two chapters that Gettysburg takes a starring role.

For an avid reader of history, especially Civil War history, and a historian I applaud the authors for writing this book in this manner. Of the two campaigns the one that almost always gets the majority of the press is Gettysburg. Vicksburg is almost always talked about as an after thought.

For that matter, all battles fought in the east, especially Virginia, get more coverage than any other battles. The west gets some coverage but not as much. Battles in the south, in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia are hardly talked about.

On a scale of 1 to 5 Stars, based on the Shelfari.com ranking, I give this 4 Stars.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter - Book Review

I had a hard time reading this book. Not because I couldn't understand the words or follow the plot, but because it went against everything I know to be true about the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.

As a historian, and a Lincoln fan, I cringed when I heard about this book and then about the movie. I cringed because I had read everything about Lincoln's life and Presidency practically from the first time I learned to read. He is my favorite President.

With that said the author, Seth Grahame Smith, blended the real life experiences of Abraham Lincoln very well with the legend of the vampire. Smith turns every traumatic event in Lincoln's life into an event involving vampires in some way. Even events that didn't directly involve Lincoln were attributed to vampires or events not involving Lincoln at all. The earliest event to involve a vampire had nothing to do with Lincoln, the Roanoke Colony disappearance was attributed to a single vampire who had been one of the Roanoke settlers.

A significant event that occurred in real life but was attributed to vampires in the book was the murder of Abraham Lincoln's grandfather, also named Abraham. In real life the older Abraham was killed by a band of Indians while he was clearing a portion of his land. His son, Thomas, witnessed this tragic event. Smith changes the details of this event in that the Indians became vampires.

It doesn't end there, when Abraham Lincoln is nine years old, his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, dies of an illness called milk sickness. Milk sickness, also known as tremetol vomiting or, in animals as trembles, is characterized by trembling, vomiting, and severe intestinal pain that affects individuals who ingest milk, other dairy products, or meat from a cow that has fed on white snakeroot, which contains the poison tremetol. This event to Nancy dying because she ingested the blood of a vampire which kills humans.

Abraham begins to train to kill vampires. He meets a man that helps him after he is injured during his first vampire hunt. The man nurses him back to health and helps train him in tracking and killing vampires. His friend sends him on missions to kill vampires. Later he finds out his friend is a vampire himself.

Several more events are changed, very significant events. Abraham Lincoln's first finance, Anne Rutledge, died before they could get married. This event was changed to Anne being killed in the same manner as Nancy. The death of his son Willie is another significant event as he is killed in the same manner. 

One of the most significant events to be changed is that of Abraham's assassination. John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln in the head, but before he dies his old friend turns him into a vampire and the continue to hunt their own kind, this is depicted at the end of the book when Abraham and his friend are present at Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech.

There are some interesting changes to historical fact that Smith uses. I won't divulge them here. I would suggest that you read the book, if for no other reason than it is a decent story. Pure fiction interwoven with dozens of major and minor historical events.

That being said, I award three stars out of five, based on the Shelfari.com website's rating system. 

The Last Star Fighter - Movie Review

In 2009, Universal Studios released a 25th Anniversary Edition to one of my all time favorite movie, The Last Starfighter. Before the release of this edition I had been searching for several years for a DVD copy and when it finally was released I couldn't wait to buy it.


The Last Star Fighter stars Lance Guest as Alex Rogan. Alex lives in a trailer park with his mother and brother and has big dreams of one day of moving away to the big city. All the inhabitants of the trailer park look to Alex as a sort of live-in handyman as he is constantly asked to fix several of his neighbor's maintenance issues. After yet another frustrating day in which he sees his girlfriend, Maggie, leave for a day at the lake and not being able to join her he begins to play an arcade style video game. While playing the video game Maggie comes back from the lake and they argue about her staying all day and being driven home by another guy, after they hash out the argument Alex breaks the high score in front of all the neighbors at the trailer park.


When Alex's mom gets home he tells her about the video game. Unfortunately his mom has some bad news that was delivered to her instead of Alex. He runs off in frustration and ends up by the video game. A strange car arrives and the driver asks if Alex knows the person who broke the high score, to which he answers it was him. The driver, Centauri, asks Alex to get in the car and listen to an opportunity of a lifetime. Alex does and he is whisked away on an adventure.
Centauri takes Alex to Rylos, another planet, to join the Star League. Alex refuses the opportunity and wants to return home. Centauri reluctantly agrees to bring Alex back to Earth. 

When Alex arrives home he forgets that a Beta unit had been left behind to take Alex's place. Alex calls for Centauri to come and collect the Beta Alex. Alex is attacked by an alien bounty hunter and Centauri arrives in time to save both Alex and Beta Alex; however, Centauri is wounded.

Alex returns to Rylos with Centauri because he realizes that the enemies of Rylos will stop at nothing to kill him and to prevent that from happening and to protect his family he has to leave. When they arrive on Rylos Centauri dies of his wounds. Alex is again whisked away to begin his training, limited as it is. His navigator, Grigg, forces Alex into fighting the Ko-Dan Armada singlehandedly. Singlehandedly? This is because after Alex left to return to Earth the other Star Fighters were all killed in a surprise attack.


Alex succeeds in defeating the Ko-Dan Armada and secures the safety of Rylos, at least for the time being. But he can't help thinking about Maggie, who by now knows that the Alex she has been with lately is a replacement. Maggie witnesses Beta Alex sacrificing himself to save Maggie and Alex. Maggie decides it is time to tell Alex's mother what has been going on as best she can, but before she does the wind kicks up and interrupts her.


All of a sudden a spaceship arrives and it turns out to be Alex who is piloting it. Alex briefly explains to everyone what is going on and finally asks Maggie to come with him to Rylos where he has been asked to rebuild the Star League. Maggie at first refuses to go and leave her grandma, but decides she loves Alex too much to not go. 


This movie was made in the early 1980's and released in 1984, so the graphics aren't like what we would see today. The story line is hokey and stereotypical, why not when a spaceship lands in a trailer park, but it is a fun little movie. I love it as much now as I did watching it growing up.

The Goonies (1985) - Movie Review

The Goonies is another of my favorite movies of all time. Who hasn't watched this many times over the years? When I was growing up many friends wanted to go on adventures like the kids in this movie.

Mikey, Mouth, Chunk, Data and Brand are the Goonies. They find a treasure map and all except Brand think it will lead to something. Something that will save their homes. They have to over come obstacles and booby traps as well as being chased by three dangerous criminals, the Fratellis. They enlist the help of Andy and Stef along the way. Another enlistee is an unlikely ally in Sloth, who is a Fratelli, but is mistreated because he is physically and mentally impaired.

The Goonies first encounter the Fratellis at an old restaurant along the coast. The restaurant is the starting point for the treasure map. They decide to wait until the Fratellis leave to explore the restaurant. The Fratellis come back unexpectedly while the Goonies are in the basement. Their only way out is to go through a secret passage in the fireplace. Chunk is left behind because he got trapped in a freezer when they found a dead body. Chunk escapes the basement through a window but is later picked up at the side of the road by... the Fratellis.

Meanwhile Mikey, Mouth, Data, Brand, Andy and Stef continue on with the treasure hunt. They come across several booby traps and the remains of a former treasure hunter. They find a key around the neck of Chester Copperpot, the dead treasure hunter, and then set off a booby trap that drops large boulders from high above that are meant to crush intruders.

Next the Goonies find a well and they think for a split second that they have found the treasure. Unfortunately all they found was a wishing well. A suitor of Andy's, Troy, happens to toss a coin in the wishing well. The Goonies throw the coin back up and he offers to help them out of the well. Mikey talks the others into continue on the treasure hunt.

Back at the restaurant the Fratellis question Chunk. After finding out that the tunnel in the fireplace really exists the Fratellis leave chunk tied up in the same room where Sloth is kept. Chunk and Sloth become friends. Sloth breaks free and helps Chunk to get free. Sloth hears his echo coming from the tunnel in the fire place and follows it, leaving Chunk no choice but to follow.

While in the well the Goonies find another booby trap that nearly kills Data, but he saves himself by using his "pinchers of Hell". They climb down into another tunnel. Having decided to get a pitstop out of the way Andy decides that it is time to make a move on Brand. Brand sends Mikey to see what Andy wants and ends up getting kissed by Andy. Andy thinks it was Brand that she was kissing.

The next obstacle is a log bridge over a raging river. Data is the last to cross and he sprays oil along the log to slow the Fratellis down. It works.

The next booby trap the Goonies find is a piano made of bones with a skeleton as the a head piece. Andy has to play the notes on the back of the treasure map in order to help the rest of the Goonies to continue on their quest. If Andy fails to play the correct notes the floor will drop away and they will fall to their deaths. Each correct note opens a door little by little so they can keep going. Andy is able to play the correct notes just in time as the Fratellis are right on their heels.

The Goonies escape and come to a water slide type obstacle. The treasure map turns out to be real. The Goonies find the treasure of One Eyed Willie. The Goonies start loading the treasure into their pockets. Mikey empties his marble bag and puts several jewels inside. But before they can gather any treasure and get away from the Fratellis, the Fratellis show up and capture them. Chunk and Sloth catch up to everyone and help the Goonies to escape.

As the Goonies and the Fratellis escape the cave that One Eyed Willie's ship is in the cave walls begin to fall in, eventually allowing the ship to set sail again. The police find the Goonies and the Fratellis walking up the beach. The Goonies' parents are called and they all have a joyful reunion. Eventually the jewels are found in Mikey's marble bag and they help to save the homes of the Goonies' families.

I was six years old when this movie came out. I loved watching this movie every chance I could. Now that I have it on DVD I can watch it every day if I want to. For a kids movie it's pretty good, even nearly thirty years old. The acting is pretty good for a bunch of child actors, not forced. The action is pretty good; the story was pretty good. A lot of comedy; a lot of laughs.

On a scale of 1 to 10, like Internet Movie Database, I give this a 10.

April Fool's Day (1986) - Movie Review

One of my favorite movies of all time is April Fool's Day. It is billed as a horror movie, particularly a slasher flick, where several characters disappear. As the story unfolds these characters that disappear turn up dead. But before all of these murders begin there are a series of practical jokes, some hilarious, some very inappropriate and hurtful.

Muffy invites some friends from college to her families home for the weekend to have a good time. Things don't start off so well as the first mate of the ferry that brings the group to the island Muffy's house is on is injured in an accident after a practical joke. The first mate is whisked away to the nearest hospital and the vacationers continue on their way.

At dinner more practical jokes are shared. Nan sits on a whoopee cushion. Archie sits in a chair that is rigged to have the back legs fold up and deposit the person on the ground as they do a back-flip. Later as everyone heads off to sleep other tricks are played. Hal is smoking a cigar and it eventually blows up. Archie again gets deposited on the floor after someone moved the trick chair into his room. One of the cruel jokes is played on Nan when someone played a recording of a baby crying in her room.

It's after all these practical jokes that some of the characters start disappearing, starting with Skip. Someone attacks him from behind in the boathouse. And apparently kills him because the next we see of him is of his lifeless body floating under the boathouse freaking out the couple that was making out in the boathouse.

The rest of the group, the men at least, decide to find out where Skip is or find out who is responsible. Nan confronts Muffy about the tape, alluding to some dark secret she has been carrying around inside. Archie is searching the woods when he hears some noise and steps into a trap hoisting him into the air and is attacked by a mysterious figure. Muffy begins to act strangely and progressively gets worse.

Hal and Nikki head out to the well after they find out the pipes in the house are producing sludge. Hal drops the bucket in the well, and Nikki drops the flashlight. Nikki climbs down into the well where she falls in and finds the dismembered bodies of Arch, Skip and Nan after she falls into the water. Hal climbs into the well and rescues Nikki.

Everyone is under the impression that Buck, the first mate of the ferry, is the culprit. After talking to the Sheriff they find out that Buck is still in the hospital. As they are securing the windows, Kit finds an old photograph of two children, she is startled by Muffy. The rest of the vacationers are starting to snap at each other.

Rob and Kit go down to the dock to wait for the sheriff, leaving the rest in the house. Chaz is next to be killed by having his penis chopped off. Nikki is attacked and apparently killed. Rob reveals that the sheriff said not to trust Muffy. Seeing the flare from the sheriff Rob and Kit try to gather the rest of the vacationers but find they are the only ones left. Kit and Rob find Nikki and Chaz... dead. They enter Muffy's room to find Hal has been hung and they run.

Arriving at the dock they call for the sheriff, but don't find him. They find the boat but no key. Rob and Kit find medical papers describing the mental state of a Ms. St. John; they realize that Muffy might not be who she says she is. Rob and Kit return to the house to get the keys for the boat. They climb in through the basement window and find a trail of blood leading to a furnace where they find Muffy's clothes inside. They see height measurements on a wall and the names Muffy and Buffy. They realize that Buffy is the one who was in the mental institute.

They find Muffy's body. Buffy nails shut the basement window. Rob and Kit run up the stair looking for a weapon or a place to hide. Rob gets locked in a closet while Buffy chases Kit through the dining room and into the living room where Kit finds Hal, Skip, Nan, Chaz, Nikki, Arch and all the others mingling as if nothing has happened. Kit realizes that it has all been a joke. Buck reveals himself to Rob who freaks out. Buck releases the lock on the door and Rob comes running out to find out that the joke was on him and Kit.

Muffy reveals that she will inherit the house and turn it into a bed and breakfast that specializes in one in a lifetime experiences. Everything was an elaborate joke designed to frighten and mystify. And Muffy succeeded.

I love this movie. The acting was great, not forced. The plot was awesome, not telegraphed. I give this a 10 out of 10.

Bridge to Terabithia - Movie Review

Bridge to Terabithia, what can I say about this movie? Watching it I was filled with a mix of emotions, from happiness when Jesse was able to make a new friend, to sadness when his friend died. I was also proud of Jesse when he finally stood up for himself to his dad and to the bullies that were harassing him. When Jesse included his little sister in the secret that is Terabithia I was again proud of him because it allowed the imaginary world that he and his friend created to carry on.

Bridge to Terabithia begins with students returning to school after summer vacation. Jesse has been training all summer to win a race against two of his tormentors. When the race is set to begin a new student, a girl named Leslie, joins the line for the race. Jesse does well in the race beating his tormentors, however, he comes in second to Leslie.

Despite the loss of the foot race to Leslie, Jesse and Leslie become friends. Leslie helps Jesse to unlock his imagination and they create an imaginary world called Terabithia. The entrance to Terabithia is an old rope they use to swing across a creek. Here they creat their own little world.

As time goes by they have many adventures. They slay a giant troll, based on another bully, by tickling it's feet. They fight off many imaginary enemy soldiers.

They have fun until tragedy strikes and Leslie dies while trying to get across the creek. With this loss, probably the first in Jesse's life, he learns a hard life lesson.

After this tragedy Jesse begins to stand up for himself more. He begins to include his little sister in Terabithia in hopes of passing the torch one day.

I give this movie an 9 on a scale of 10. The story line is great, the graphics are awesome, and the acting was fantastic.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Movie Review

I know this came out 22 years ago, but this still my favorite Robin Hood movie. I like this even more that the Russell Crowe movie. I think the casting of the characters was exceptional in that Kevin Costner, Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio were perfect for their roles.

I have several favorite parts in this movie but at the top of the list is when Azeem (Morgan Freeman) gives his speech toward the end of the movie asking all the commoners to fight for their freedom. Another favorite scene is when Robin Hood finds out he has a brother, Will Scarlett. And finally, the scene where Robin and the Sheriff fight at the end. Those are my top three favorites.

But who can forget the Sherwood Forest scene where Robin first meets Little John and Will Scarlet. The First part of it is great especially when Will trips Robin and send him into the river and then says... "There was a rich man from Nottingham, he tried to cross the river, what dope, he tripped on a rope, now look at him shiver." Robin Hood, Azeem, Marian, and the Sheriff are the central figures of this movie, but you can't get caught up in the main story and forget the secondary stories. I love the secondary stories because they are so interwoven in with the main story.

Although I like him, I think the scene at the very end where King Richard "crashes" the wedding between Robin and Marian was an after thought especially when King Richard was played by Sean Connery. If you're going to have a huge actor in such a small roll to make it seem bigger, why choose Sean Connery.

Still a great movie! Timeless!

My Bloody Valentine (1981) - Movie Review

This movie began like almost all slasher flicks; there's a legend about the town, a love triangle, and the first of many murders. At first I began to think that the man that was depicted in the legend, Harry Warden, had come back to exact his revenge as he said he would if the town celebrated Valentine's Day with any parties or dances. 

The town sheriff and the Mayor thought the same thing. As the story continues and the body count climbs I began to think the killer is someone from the town that took the persona of Harry Warden to drive fear into the townspeople, but it wasn't who I thought. The love triangle comes into play towards the end when the killer is unmasked and it turns out to be one of the two men in the triangle.

Good plot, telegraphed though. Acting was OK, for something that is nearly 35 years old. I'll have to see if the remake made in 2009 was better. On a scale of 1 to 10, on Internet Movie Database, I give this a 7, the plot saved this one for me. Also this is the first time I have seen this one.

Gettysburg (1993) - Movie Review

This is one of my all time favorite movies. It was released in 1993 and stars Martin Sheen, Tom Berenger, Stephen Lang and Jeff Daniels. For those that aren't history buffs or Civil War buffs this movies tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg fought during the Civil War on July 1 through July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg, PA. For those that are history buffs or Civil War buffs you might agree that there are some discrepancies but not enough to make this movie a complete disaster in the telling of this battle.

Gettysburg is based on a book called Killer Angels written by Michael Shaara, published in 1974. Michael Shaara passed away five years before the release of Gettysburg in 1988. Usually the adaptation from book to movie is quite different, names are changed, scenes are changed, but this is not the case with Gettysburg.

It would be counterproductive to give a detailed account or retell the whole story about this battle based on what is depicted in the movie. I say this because the movie is four and half hours long. I will point our the three scenes I find most poignant.

The first scene I like is actually a collection of scenes that lead up to the death of Major General John F. Reynolds, played by John Rothman. A Union Calvary unit under Brigadier General John Buford has engaged the Confederate Army at Gettysburg and has held his ground waiting for Reynolds to bring his unit to Gettysburg. When Buford finally sees Reynolds' unit arrive Buford visibly is relieved.

The second scene is of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's 20th Maine Infantry defending their position at Little Roundtop. After several hours and successfully repulsing the Confederates at least a half dozen times the 20th Maine Infantry is dangerously low on ammunition; this prompts Chamberlain to make the decision to have his soldiers to fix bayonets and charge down hill into the Confederates. Do this catches the Confederates off guard and many surrender.

The final scene I like another collection that depicts Pickett's Charge. I won't go into detail about this scene as I would like very much if you watch the scene for yourself. I will say that in 2010 I took a course for my Masters in which we took a tour of nine Civil War battlefields in seven days. Gettysburg was the final battlefield we visited and we walked the route that was used for Pickett's Charge. It is a march of more than a mile over open ground, in which the Confederate soldiers were within range of Union Artillery. Imagine walking more than a mile wearing wool in heat, probably near 90 or 100 degrees, with high humidity and high dew point.

I recommend this movie highly for those that are interested in Civil War history or history in general. I recommend this movie for those that even like war or action movies. There are some very graphic scenes, especially after the second days fighting is done and General Longstreet is walking through a makeshift hospital where amputations are being depicted.

On the scale IMDB.com uses I give this a 10 out of 10.