Saturday, March 19, 2016
The Ballad of Josie (1967)
A young woman stirs things up in a western town by raising sheep instead of cattle, and organizing the local women to demonstrate for women's suffrage.
Likable gender comedy typical for its star, this time staged as a Western, convinces thanks to Doris Day's professionalism; the male chauvinism presented, however, is hardly bearable by today's standards.
Halliwell (no star): "Tediously whimsical, unsuitably cast women's lib comedy with so few laughs that it may require to be taken seriously."
Maltin**1/2: "Uninspired Western spoof..."
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)
A young girl catalyzes the rescue and rehabilitation of Sonador, a race horse with a broken leg.
Feel-good family movie, all tastefully done, but just not adding anything new to the often-told story.
Maltin**1/2: "Routine account...Pleasant enough family film, although it's corny and awfully predictable."
Friday, March 18, 2016
New Stuff: Anna Högberg Attack!
Saw them play live last November at the Wels Music Unlimited festival.
Queen of the Desert (2015)
A chronicle of Gertrude Bell's life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist,
explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire at
the dawn of the twentieth century.
Strangely
stodgy and undramatic illustration of an otherwise highly fascinating
biography; at least, first-rate production and some wonderful
photography compensate for the tedium.
First Lines: Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
When I was three and Bailey four, we had arrived in the musty little town, wearing tags on our wrists which instructed - "To Whom It May Concern" - that we were Marguerite and Bailey Johnson Jr., from Long Beach, California, en route to Stamps, Arkansas, c/o Mrs. Annie Henderson.
