Cinema Cycle - Swiss Family Robinson

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: A shipwrecked Swiss family is stranded on an island in the south seas, circa 1780. 

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A bizarre look at the world through the Disney lens from the 1950s. Arguably one of the first theme park based films that led to all the rest. 

PROS AND CONS: An odd film to watch by today’s standards. It borders on politically incorrect on several levels; its depiction of asian pirates, cruelty toward animals, white conquest of uncivilized lands, misogyny, the list goes on and on. 

I never realized that John Mills stars in this Mouse Epic and the acting isn’t half bad, but the characters are written so stiffly in the Disney universe that they come off as unbelievable. 

The use of animals as playthings and the staged ‘fun’ sequence were two full grown Great Dane’s are playing with a Bengal Tiger (that they are obviously trying to run down and kill) are hardly enjoyable to watch.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - The Civil War: Vol. 5

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: The Battles of Gettysburg, Fredericksburg and Chickamauga are chronicled. 

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The true horror of war and human sacrifice. 

PROS AND CONS: I literally could not find anything negative to say about this documentary series. I have seen it several times and it never gets old. 

Ken Burns’ documentary of the war between the states set a new standard for the concept of television documentaries and he has never looked back. 

After each successive viewing of the series, what comes across that I find so compelling is the insight into the daily lives and feelings of the people of the age. Something that makes the current American culture appear to be a bunch of wimpy whiners.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - Shallow Grave

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: The relationship of three roommates turns sour when they come into great / illegal wealth.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Money corrupts just about everything, especially if you are shallow, condescending and stupid.

PROS AND CONS: I believe that this my first outing watching a Danny Boyle film. I have never seen this film before and it was probably purchased in a large lot that I got some years back.

That said, I didn’t much care for this film at all. Primarily, because there is no identification with the primary actors on the screen. They all behave like self-centered and egotistical jerks.

The film has an interesting ending, although it leaves a lot of questions for the viewer. A good morality tale of what happens greed is elevated to the highest position among friends.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - Miles Davis - Miles in Paris

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: Track List (from Wikipedia)

1. "Human Nature" (Steve Porcaro)
2. "Amandla" (Marcus Miller)
3. "Tutu" (Miller)
4. "New Blues" (Miles Davis)
5. "Mr. Pastorius" (Miller)[1]

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Savant jazz in front of a live audience along with commentary from Miles Davis.

PROS AND CONS: Pros? Great music, genius on display. You don’t have to like Jazz or being a Miles Davis fan to be impressed with this concert. 

Cons? Very few. Miles is a bit hard to understand, tending to mumble a lot, but you can tell he is a deep thinker and an artist totally focused on his music.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - Dark City

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: The protagonist in a Matrix like alien world discovers that he is the chosen one.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Another overly stylized dystopian view of a society ruled by an unseen presence.

PROS AND CONS:  

A rather odd film that relies more of style and visuals than a coherent plot.

The storyline is similar to the Matrix Trilogy, in that a chosen / special person discovers that they have the power to expose and defeat those that enslave them.

This may be considered a cult classic by some, and may well be in it’s genre. However, I found it rather tedious to watch.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - Random Harvest

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: A World War One veteran loses his memory, then gets it back.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: An odd love affair that appears to have no real driving force, save for infatuation.

PROS AND CONS:  
Didn’t know what to make of this film when I started watching it. The acting seemed off and the character’s motivations were not really comprehensible.

By the time the movie was half over, it started to get a little interesting, but in a sort of “WTF” way. Again, the motivations and actions of the main characters were just surreal and made little sense.

By the time the happy ending comes around, it is fulfilling but you are still left scratching your head. This film relies heavily on the concept of total amnesia and loss of memory.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - The Long Hot Summer

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: A young drifter interrupts the staid life of an aging southern good old boy and his family.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A star vehicle for Newman and Woodward with a rather strange look at the rural south in the 1950s.

PROS AND CONS: On odd film where character motivation and acting are often in question. As a viewer I did not identify with any of the characters on screen.

A strange tale of the remnants of the old south and the good old boy Jim Crow era. The father figure played by Orson Wells is particularly odd and hard to understand.

In the end, they all live happily ever after, once the patriarch finally arranges to have Newman’s character ‘seed’ his daughter in order to improve the lineage of his family, much like breeding horses.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - Gossip Girl S1 E1

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: 

The lives of the young social elite on the east coast is dramatized.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: 

Rich kids and the very messed up fantasy lives they believe they want to live.

PROS AND CONS:

Based on the pilot, a truly awful series that lasted for 6 seasons(?!). 

What you have here are rich, ignorant, shallow children who are supposedly in high school, who do nothing but party, gossip and cheat while never attending school or working at a job. 

Clearly a fantasy series aimed at young millenials. The center theme is an anonymous texter that dishes dirt on all the social elite, before the days of Twitter and Facebook. 

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.

Cinema Cycle - Throw Momma From The Train

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

SYNOPSIS: A misinterpretation of a concept from a teacher to a student has unexpected consequences. 

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: After more than one viewing, the film is only worth watching for Momma.  Gawd, she is hilarious. 

PROS AND CONS: There are times when this film is really engaging and fun to watch, and then there are scenes that just go off the rails and you lose interest.  

It goes off the rails, probably because of the script, since the directing by DeVito is actually pretty good, and both he and Crystal know how to act these roles.  

But it is Anne Ramsey as momma that you just can't get enough of.  She is the Nurse Ratchet of the dysfunctional parent set.  

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.

Cinema Cycle - Vienna in Music

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 01/05/2018

TITLE: Vienna in Music

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 93 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 19.6 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 8439.9 miles

SYNOPSIS: Johann Strauss, father and son, and all the music they made famous


CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: It is like going back to the old country.  If your old country was Bavaria in the 1930s.


PROS AND CONS:  A classical concert film that is oddly mixed with scenes of everyday(?) Viennese life.  Only the scenes are obviously staged with out of work Opera extras or second rate actors.

It shows Vienna to be a very clean city, populated with very polite and rather restrained Caucasians that may or may not be medicated.

The music was excellent, as is usual with the Vienna Philharmonic, but after about 10 minutes, this video became background music while I checked email on my phone.

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.

Cinema Cycle - Final Analysis

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE REVIEWED: 01/04/2018

TITLE: Final Analysis

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 126 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 26.7 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 8420.3 miles

SYNOPSIS: A psychopathic woman uses her psychiatrist to help her murder her mobster husband.


CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Cross and double-cross and why doctors should never sleep with their patients.  Kim Basinger can be a real bitch.


PROS AND CONS: I didn't have high hopes for this film in the beginning and the first 60 minutes didn't convince me otherwise.  This appeared to be a 'chick flick' where the good looking doctor saves the poor patient from her monster of a husband. 

However, by the second hour of the film, the plot got a bit twisted and unexpected.  This is a well thought out piece with a good script that you really can't see coming at you.

While Basinger shines in this role as does Uma Thurman, Richard Gere seems to walk though the part with little charisma  Ow, and the production concepts suck.  Heads up, but there is no abandoned lighthouse, that is still functional, adjacent to the Golden Gate Bridge. 

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.