Cinema Cycle - Strictly Ballroom

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 08/15/2014

TITLE: Strictly Ballroom

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 31 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 23.5 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 441.9 miles

SYNOPSIS: A young up and coming ballroom dancer seeks to dance his own way and abandon the rigid ballroom crowd that he trains and dances with.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: You will never regret breaking the rules and going your own way.  Rigid organizations become autocratic and repressive over time.  Break the mold.

PROS AND CONS: This film was a pleasant surprise.  I didn't know what to expect when I watched it, but it quickly swept me up in its comedy and story-line.  Before Baz Luhrmann did Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby, he cut his teeth on this film.  

This film is a bit of a docu-comedy in the vein of Best in Show and Trekkies.  It looks at the professional ballroom circuit as a bunch of over obsessed old fogies and the young turk who wants to shake up the dance world with his unconventional moves.  

The film is fast paced and while somewhat predictable, it is funny with all the over the top characterizations and dialog between the dancers.  

The core of the plot is that institutions grow old and rigid and need to be shaken up once in a while to sweep away all the old deadwood and remain relevant.  Anyone that has been stuck in a dead end job or long frustrating experience will be able to relate to this film.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

The summary of the project and a glimpse of what is coming up next can be found on my public LaserDisc spreadsheet.

Cinema Cycle - That Darn Cat

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 08/12/2014

TITLE: That Darn Cat

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 30 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 21.5 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 418 miles

SYNOPSIS: A kidnapped maid attaches a help message to a cat who eventually leads its owner and the FBI to her rescue.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Light fluffy hometown comedies will always have a place at Disney studios.  If it worked in 1967, lets do it again in 1997.  Christina Ricci moves from the Adams Family to Disney remake in the exact same character.

PROS AND CONS: My second Disney Movie in a row and this one is not as good as the last.  Remakes seldom are.  While the premise for this film is interesting, the execution leaves something to be desired.  

The concept of a cat roaming through a small town at night uncovering all the odd and twisted behavior of its residence is interesting and fun to watch, but it is so sanitized by the censors at Disney that it isn't very believable.  I had the kidnapping case solved about 20 minutes into the film, but had to watch the next 70 minutes to get to the inevitable silly car chase through town (filled with one-liners about all that had come before) before the final happy ending.

Christina Ricci’s acting ability is wasted here.  She plays the same basic angst ridden teen that she did in Adam’s Family.  It is apparent that by this time in her career she should have been moving on to more substantial and sultry roles, but I suppose she was required to do this film under contract.  The lead male role played by Doug E. Doug is just odd and not at all engaging.  

There is a tip of the hat to Dean Jones, who starred in the original, along with some interesting cameos such as Dyan Cannon, Peter Boyle and of course John Ratzenberger (who I believe is required to appear in ALL Disney movies)  If I had kids I would let them watch this.  I don’t have kids, so I doubt it will ever be watched again.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

The summary of the project and a glimpse of what is coming up next can be found on my public LaserDisc spreadsheet.

Cinema Cycle - The Absent-Minded Professor

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 08/06/2014

TITLE: The Absent-Minded Professor

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 36 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 23.4 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 396.9 miles

SYNOPSIS: A small town college professor invents a substance that has limitless energy, but loses his fiance in the process and spends the remainder of the film trying to woo her back.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Small town life was golden back in the 1950s. Everyone was caucasian, good and evil were easy to spot, and college is where all the smart, cool people hung out.

PROS AND CONS: Like many my age, I had seen this movie when I was a kid.  I have fond memories of it, but recalled little except for the flying Model T powered by ‘Flubber’.  After watching it again, I was pleasantly surprised.  

While it is not ‘Gone with the Wind’ or ‘Laurence of Arabia’, this is a competent movie.  Disney churned out dozens of these types of films back in the 1950s and 1960 and most are considered rather ‘fluffy’ and not that artistic in nature.  But a second look revealed something that is often lost on today’s viewers.  The folks at Disney were craftsman that knew how to mass produce quality film in a studio system.

This film flows well.  It carries you along on a humorous ride through 1950s America.  The acting is exceptional, especially Fred MacMurray and Keenan Wynn.  The concept that a smart maverick can still make scientific breakthroughs in his garage is alive and well here.

The special effects are rather hokey, meant to be funny and yet, they just ‘work’ in the film.  You actually want to believe that people can jump 20 feet high while wearing Flubber shoes.  And just like I did back in 1962, I want a flying Model T all over again.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.