Jamie Daily

Rio (2011)

Rio (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Music, Song ("Real in Rio," Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett).
Watched February 10, 2013.

 

Photo Source: The 360 Degree Review

One of the last animated films that I am watching from this year, Rio, is not the strongest film, but was certainly a better option than last week's Bullhead.  There is action, humor, romance, and culture--these four positives mixed with excellent animation makes for a fairly good evening movie option.

 

Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) is one of the last two blue Macaws left in the world.  When he was a young hatchling, he was stolen from Rio de Janeiro, but somehow finds his way into the loving hands of Linda (Leslie Mann).  The two grow up together in small town Moose Lake, Minnesota, and eventually own a book shop.  When Tulio comes around, everything changes.  He convinces Linda that she and Blu need to travel to Rio so that he can mate with another blue Macaw.  When they arrive, in the midst of Carnival, we discover that the tropical bird smugglers are still at it, and Blu and his ravishing counterpart Jewel (Anne Hathaway) are the targets.  Through thievery, colorful jungles, and touching attempts to teach Blu how to fly, we watch as both Blu and Jewel, and Linda and Tulio grow closer as they search frantically for the other pair.

 

Although the film is beautiful and the idea seems legit, it turns out to be a pretty forgettable film.  It won't wow you like Shrek or  entertain you like Nemo.  It is a fun filled adventure where you root for the good guy and want the right people to fall in love.  There are small side parts that bring a little amusement, and none are overdone.  However, the whole film is so low key and so not over the top that once it was over, I promptly forgot about it.  

 

I liked the characters, the voices, the animation, and even the story.  The execution was lacking, and that was what hurt Rio.  If you have some time to kill, it wouldn't be a bad film to watch, but I would rather curl up with an old classic than add this one to my Netflix list.

 

Sources: The 360 Degree Review, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, NY Times, The Film Reel 

Puss In Boots (2011)

Puss In Boots (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film (Chris Miller).
Watched January 29, 2013.

 

photo source: FanArt.TV

Puss In Boots had the potential to be the Zorro for kids and a great family movie that everyone could enjoy.  The classic character from the successful Shrek films was fabulous as a secondary character, but when placed in a leading role, his charms run thin and the depth of his character is questionable.  

 

Puss borrows the theme of fairytale creatures from Shrek and puts its own spin on it.  Puss grew up in an orphanage where he was friends with Humpty Dumpty, an evil mastermind in the making.  They dream of one day finding the magic beans of legend and climbing the bean stalk to find a golden egg.  Things go awry, however, when Puss saves the Comandante's mother and suddenly becomes the town hero.  Friend turns on friend and once Humpty forces Puss to become a fugitive, things will never be the same.  Years later, Humpty finds Puss again and through some genius tactics and a gorgeous feline sidekick, he pulls him back into the dream of chasing those golden goose eggs.  

 

Every character has the potential of being heroic, deep, and screen worthy.  Perhaps the writers held back because it was a kids movie, or perhaps their ideas did not translate well into reality, because every character and plot line fell short.  Humpty was the only character who came close to his full potential.  At the same time, the motivation seems forced, the circumstances unreal, and some scenes are so out if place it completely throws off the balance and pacing of the film.  For example, within the first few scenes, Puss and his feline counterpart Kitty Softpaws have a dance off in an underground cat bar.  The circumstances, dance off, and bar itself seemed so out of place and unreal that it was astonishing the script even got funded.  

 

The rest of the movie is fairly entertaining and held my attention pretty well.  There was a bit of meandering and some unnecessary action, but all in all it went over well.  The ending was obvious, but perhaps this made it rewarding.  It seems as if the character of Puss was not able to maintain being the main character.  Unlike his compared human likeness, Zorro, his stereotypical Latin personality traits get old a little fast, but still tend to amuse.  The humor is definitely more childish than what one might find in Shrek.

 

The animation, was of course, lovely.  I am always a fan of an animator capturing the giant eyes of an animal and how we all fall under their spell.  There was a great use of lighting and texture, and again, I really enjoyed how they brought so many more fairytale creatures to life in a new and unique way.

 

All in all, it might be a good movie for the kiddos, but I'm not such a big fan.  I wouldn't exactly seek out this film to see it again.

 

Sources: FanArt.TV, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, NY Times, Every Oscar Ever

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film (Jennifer Yuh).
Watched January 26, 2013.

 

photo source: Wikia

I am a sucker for Pixar, but especially for Kung Fu Panda.  The main character Po reminds me so much of my brother-in-law that he is perhaps the best character ever.  That being said, we all know that sequels, especially of late, are generally prime examples of trying too hard to better one's self.  The simplicity and wit of the first is lost or overextended and the character arcs take on more and more drastic turns.  The first time I saw Kung Fu Panda 2 when it came out, I was severely under-whelmed.  This time, thankfully, my expectations were lower and thus I enjoyed it much more.

 

Once again we travel to China to see its beauty and its tradition in almost exaggerated ways, thanks in part to Hans Zimmer's compositions that play tribute to past kung fu films.  We get to see some of our favourite characters again and watch them, in all their amazingly animated glory, perform incredible feats and fight more beautifully than we can imagine.  We see the characters interact again, and more importantly, we get to learn more about them.

 

The fact that we maintained the old cast from part one and then gathered many more in part two makes the plot a little heavy to begin with.  Po (voiced by Jack Black) and the Fabulous Five are clearly great friends at this point.  Po is having the time of his life, being The Dragon Warrior and always seems to pair up with Tigress (Angelina Jolie) to successfully bring down their foe.  Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) continues to guide Po's training and in this film encourages him to find his inner peace.  It is only then that he can defeat the new villain.

 

Shen (Gary Oldman) is a particularly troubled Peacock who has committed genocide and stolen the throne.  When the Fabulous Five learn that he has killed a great kung fu master and is using a new weapon to destroy all that they hold dear, they immediately set out to bring him to justice.  Through much revelation, heartache, and unbelievable peace, they will bring Shen down or die trying.

 

The character relationships, for the most part, were a bit too friendly in comparison to the first film, in my opinion.  Po and Tigress are suddenly best friends, for example, which is very far from what they were previously.  Shifu has a very small role but stays true to himself, and the development between Po and his father is very touching.  Po, despite what he discovers about himself and his past, seems to have slipped backward a few notches and the humor the writers give him is much more idiotic and slap stick than it was before.

 

If only for the love of the first film, I would suggest Kung Fu Panda 2 for you.  Its animation is outstanding, its cast is phenomenal, and the kung fu is amazing.  If you have low expectations and just want some fun, this would be a good family movie choice.

 

Sources: Wikia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, NY Times, John Likes Movies

Rango (2011)

Rango (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award, which it won.
Won Best Animated Feature Film (Gore Verbinski).
Watched January 25, 2013.

photo source: Wallpoper 

We all know characters who experience an identity crisis.  "Who am I?"  

Rango is your classic lizard in a glass box who fancies himself a thespian--the hero.  The one problem is that the hero doesn't know his motivation.  In fact, before the movie really gets going, we aren't even sure if the lizard has a name.  He lives in a tank with a small pool of water and a couple plastic friends, but when his road tripping owners swerve to avoid some roadkill, he is sent flying and the adventure begins.  He finds himself in a vast desert where water is valuable currency.  

 

After wandering for a day, he encounters Beans, a ranch owner, who takes him into town.  Dirt is a modest western town down on its luck.  The bank has almost run dry and even the kids are tough gun slingers.  Deciding to finally become the man and the hero he wants to be, the lizard creates the character of Rango and wows a whole saloon with his fearsome tales.  Suddenly he finds himself sherif and protector of the water.  This leads to mysterious thieves, fighting giant rattlesnakes, and a high speed chase involving rodents on bats.  

 

The animation of Rango is undeniably brilliant.  Just when we thought that Pixar was going to hold the lock on blockbuster worthy, pristinely gorgeous animation forever, Paramount in the form of Nickelodeon comes out with this number and sweeps us all away.  Its win for animation is definitely deserved, and possibly a statement to throw Pixar down a rung or two.  

 

Rango himself is voiced by Johnny Depp, who is always a classic with brilliant comedic timing.  I enjoyed his depiction of the character.  In fact my favourite scene in the film is when he creates the character of Rango for himself in the saloon.  

 

Despite these two wonderful aspects of the film, there was little else about it that I enjoyed.  The beginning had immense promise, but once it got past his accidental killing of a hawk that vaulted him into the (not so coveted) position of sherif, it went downhill quickly.  It was predictable, long, and meandering.  It almost felt like it was trying too hard to be too many things.  When the film isn't even two hours long but can't hold your attention for half of it, it is not competing with the generally engaging story telling of Disney Pixar's masterful creations.

 

I wanted so much to be a fan of Rango.  The beginning had me hooked--an animal stuck in a cage and wondering "who am I?" is hardly original, but at the same time I saw the promise and loved it.  But like I said before, once he was sherif, they didn't do enough with the story and let the beginning fall to waste.  If it wasn't for this blog, I wouldn't have finished the film.

 

Rango deserves the two stars because of the beginning and the animation, but otherwise the story and characterization needed a lot of work.  I might encourage you to watch this film just in case you disagree with me, but otherwise it isn't something I will actively seek out to watch again.

 

Sources: Wallpoper, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, The Best Picture Project, John Likes Movies

A Cat in Paris (2010)

A Cat in Paris (2010)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film (Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli).
Watched January 18, 2013.

photo source: Movies Cut

A Cat in Paris is a short, sweet little French animated film about a cat who is a girl's companion by day and a thief's accomplice by night.  The creators combined a simple animation style with a clean story to entertain both kids and adults in their just hour long film.  

 

Zoé (voiced by Oriane Zani in the French version), hasn't spoken a word since her father was killed by one of the biggest crime lords in Paris--Victor Costa (Jean Benguigui).  Her mother Jeanne (Dominique Blanc) is a police detective and is all encompassed by finding Costa.  This leaves Zoé home with her outspoken nanny Claudine (Bernadette Lafont) and her cat, Dino.  Once it is bed time, however, Dino is let out through the window to climb rooflines and fences to the night time cat burglar's house.  Nico (Bruno Salomone), we will soon find, is an honorary thief who might just learn to care for Zoé as much as Dino before the film is up.

 

The animation is simple in a lot of ways.  Just a few curved lines and a series of drawings pieced together to form a sort of cartoon.  Certain things are off kilter a bit--feet are too small and supposedly stationary objects have movement.  There is a brilliant bit when Nico turns off the lights in Costa's hide out and all of a sudden people become inverted silhouettes, white on black.

 

I enjoyed the animation, but didn't quite care for the story or the characters.  The story was very simplistic and predictable, for the most part.  There was very little mystery in it, and although the film was only an hour long, I got bored quickly.  Most of the characters are also very simple.  They are typecast a certain way and they do not change.  Nico was the only surprise in this area.  Once Zoé was in trouble, you forget almost instantly that Nico is a thief as he becomes the biggest hero of the film.  Dino himself is also a cute and mischievous character who helped tie the story together.

 

All in all, I would say it was a cute film with interesting animation.  If you are a cat lover, it might not be an hour wasted to seek out this film.  Otherwise, I would rather find something else to do with my time.

 

Sources: Movies Cut, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, NY Times

Beginners (2010)

 

Beginners (2010)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award, which it won.
Won Supporting Actor (Christopher Plummer).
Watched November 3, 2012.

photo source: Seongyong's Private Place 

There were bits and pieces of this film that I really enjoyed, but the rest of it was a significant let down.  The only things I knew going into watching it were that Christopher Plummer must have given an amazing performance to beat my favourite competitor, Jonah Hill, and that it must be awesome if only for the sake of Ewan McGregor being the main character.

 

It was not awesome.

 

After reading reviews, I wanted very much for the film to be a success.  It is an adaptation of the life of the director, Mike Mills, whose father came out to him shortly before he passed away while Mills had yet to direct his first film. 

 

Hal Fields (Plummer), a 75 year old man whose wife passed recently has finally come out to his son and wants to experience life as a homosexual after playing straight for forty plus years.  Back in the 50s, being a homosexual was considered a mental illness, so Georgia (Mary Page Keller) offered to "fix" him by getting married.  They loved each other, but it was different, and now that Oliver (McGregor) knows the truth, he looks back on his mom's bitterness and his dad's half hearted goodbye-kisses in a different light.  

 

Watching his dad explore, dress differently, learn new phrases, and experience having a younger boyfriend is not enough for poor Oliver, but the devastating news of stage four cancer clinches it.  Oliver, who is surprisingly supportive and unquestioningly encouraging of his dad's new lifestyle choices, is constantly at his dad's side through his last years.

 

photo source: Inspired Ground

If that was the entire plot, it would have possibly won me over.  Beginners employs one of my favourite techniques--a non-linear timeline. However, in this case, I feel as if it was used poorly.  The real time events are a few months after Hal has passed.  Oliver's character is fairly one note, and even when he finds himself in a new relationship with a Jewish French girl, the cutesie bits and supposed personal emotional dysfunctions aren't very believable or romantic.  It isn't exactly presented as a relationship that you root for or grow emotionally attached to--it's just there, an unnecessary timeline that doesn't lend to the story of Hal, but rather distracts.  This is a hard thing to say about McGregor, who is one of the great actors of our time, but unfortunately I was very disappointed, not in his acting but in the flat character he was given.

 

My favourite character by far was Arthur, Hal's precious Jack Russell Terrier.  He is very needy, but his relationship with Oliver and others is very real.  Oliver speaks to him as if he were human and you can almost hear Arthur speaking through his expressive eyebrows.  He goes everywhere with Oliver because if he is left alone he begins crying immediately.  After Hal passes, he is a constant companion to Oliver, and is present in most scenes after the death.  

 

To be honest, I wouldn't recommend Beginners for most people.  The dog was cute, and for that I might be convinced to watch the film again.  Plummer's performance was of course very good, but it has been suggested that he may have won for his body of work and not necessarily for this film alone.  This controversial topic alone might be inspiration enough for you to see the film and judge for yourself.

 

 

Sources: Seongyong's Private Place, Inspired Ground, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, NY Times, The Guardian, Every Oscar Ever, John Likes Movies

Airport '77 (1977)

Airport '77 (1977)
50th Academy Awards 1978
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 2 awards.
Nominated for Art Direction (George Webb, Mickey S. Michaels) and Costume Design (Edith Head, Buron Miller).
Watched November 1, 2012.

photo source: iSKY 

I have heard tales of these films, the popular series that began with a study of the chaos at airports and gradually made its way to basic blockbuster adventure stories involving airplanes.  If any of you have seen the popular comedy Airplane and did not know, it is a parody of the Airport movies of the seventies.  After watching Airport '77, I want to watch the rest, not because it was a brilliant feat, but because of the hilarious parodies of Airplane that I noticed while watching the film.  

 

Airport '77 is about a group of privileged people who are taking the first flight ever on a new luxury 747.  The owner has invited them all to his place in Florida to view his art collection.  Among the passengers are his daughter and grandson, whom he has not seen in years.  The adventure and suspense in this film starts from almost the very beginning, when we are introduced to men wearing disguises and sneaking suspiciously through the airplane.  Really what they are doing is hijacking the plane. 

 

photo source: xfinity

The copilot and his fellow theifs are stealing the art pieces in the cargo.  They knock everyone out with gas and are intending on getting the pieces off the plane before anyone knows what has gone down, but inevitably, during the copilot's maneuvers to stay below the radar in the Bermuda Triangle, they hit an oil rig and crash land in the ocean, sinking beneath the surface and landing on top of a ledge.  There is plenty of panic, death, and cut away shots to the Navy's control room where they orchestrate the search and rescue.  There is, of course, a doctor on board the plane (isn't there always in the movies?), but they at least add a little twist in that he is a veterinarian.  The film even ends in an epic attempt to raise the plane in the same manner that the Navy would raise a distressed submarine.  

 

Apparently they had a stacked cast for this film, among them Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Olivia de Havilland, and Christopher Lee to name a few.  Despite their talent pool, the demand of the characters was limited and there was very little study of how individuals might react if they suddenly awoke to find their plane at the bottom of the ocean.  The storytelling was typical and predictable.  How many times can you show water leaking into the plane and expect the suspense to build?  There are a few sequences that are exciting and interesting, although it reminded me drastically of other unlikely stories such as Poseidon.  

 

To be honest I am curious how the film earned itself its nominations.  Looking at the art direction and costume design by themselves I am thoroughly unimpressed by their mediocrity.  This may be a matter of societal distance, as the criteria of films in the 70s and films in the 21st century are quite different.  

 

Airport '77 has become one of those bad movies you might watch part of on TV, but beyond that it is nothing impressive.  If you like unrealistic disaster movies like Poseidon you might want to look up this film, but otherwise it is not something I would advise for your list.  

 

Sources: iSKY, xfinity, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Sam Hawken

Albert Nobbs (2011)

Albert Nobbs (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 3 awards.
Nominated for Best Actress (Glenn Close), Supporting Actress (Janel McTeer), and Makeup (Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, Matthew W. Mungle).
Watched October 7, 2012.

 

photo source: Cinespect

 

In a winter setting in Dublin, a small group of maids and waiters serve an assortment of guests while watched carefully by the mistress of the house.  Among them is a waiter who from the beginning seems to have an uncanny talent at his trade, which is certainly commented on multiple times within the opening scene.  A man of small stature, he is the utmost of propriety, quiet and polite, even among his coworkers.  It is obvious that he has a secret, this Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close).  At first we have reason to believe that it is only his stash of money underneath the floorboards, but when a certain Hubert Page (Janel McTeer) has to stay in his room for a night, we find out that he is hiding something much bigger.

 

Albert Nobbs is actually a woman.  Her guardian passed away when she was 14.  After being gang raped by five men, she sought work at a nearby party that was short staffed.  She got her hands on a second hand suit, disguised herself as a man, and never turned back.  As an adult, Albert is not only quiet and polite, but fairly naive of modern gender roles and sexuality.  His only aim is to save enough money to buy his own business, but after meeting Mr. Page, things change.  Mr. Page, it turns out, is also a woman dressed as a man, but instead of living a life of solitude, Page is married--to a woman.  Completely dumbfounded, Nobbs begins to dream of having a wife of his own.  Unlike one might presume, he views it purely as a business transaction--an ideal of having a wife sitting by the fire, and working the counter at the shop.  He sets his sights on the prettiest maid, Helen (Mia Wasikowska), but unfortunately she is deeply in love with the new handyman, Joe.  

photo source: Metropulse 

 

I have no hesitation in saying that Albert Nobbs has not been one of my favourite films so far.  I am a huge fan of BBC, Downton Abbey, and other British shows, and this certainly would fall into a similar category.  Its cinematography, characterization, and pace all reflect that of a BBC made for TV movie.  Generally something that I enjoy a lot, especially when it is set in the winter months, I was incredibly bored by the pace and the limited, transparent plot twists.  

 

Much of the appeal for this film was certainly Close and McTeer, two wonderful actresses playing women who both dress and pass as men.  I'm not sure if i agree with the nomination for makeup, but I do understand it.  The film is not done in an experimental style, but is certainly experimenting with gender roles in early English culture.  It is a sad world indeed when women must disguise themselves as men to be able to fend for themselves and create a good life beyond being a maid.  Poor Helen discovers the tragedy of her gender in her career and unmarried motherhood.  That is a fate that both Nobbs and Page did not want for themselves.

 

Albert Nobbs is not something I would recommend on most occasions.  It's intriguing on some level, with a good Christmas feel, but depressing.  If the plot is simply seen as a woman dressed as a man hopelessly chasing another woman who is in love with another man, don't watch it.  However, if your interest was piqued by the gender comments, it might be a good fit for you.

 

 

Sources: IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Picturenose, Roger Ebert, John Likes Movies, Metropulse, Cinespect

Pentecost (2011)

Pentecost (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film (Peter McDonald, Eimear O'Kane).
Watched October 1, 2012.

 

photo source: Beyond Hollywood

Our first live action short on this blog is an Irish favourite, but a flop in my eyes.  The eleven-minute film was too long (seems impossible, I know), and its parallels were so incredibly obvious that I lost interest much sooner than anticipated.

 

I wanted to like Pentecost so badly, but couldn't.  The humor needed better timing and the ending needed work, but the acting and cinematography were very well done.  It is the story of a young altar boy named Damien (Scott Graham), who "accidentally" almost hits the priest with an incense burner.  Furious, his father grounds him and tells him he cannot watch any more soccer.  Damien emphatically opposes his father's punishment because it is his favourite team's first time in the European Cup Final.  

 

Luck, it seems, is shining down on him, when there is an emergency and Damien must once again be the altar boy.  Cue the long, drawn-out humor and obvious parallels between the church and shorts.  The priest gives a pep talk to a row of altar boys for over three minutes, which in an eleven-minute film is excessive.  

 

It is cute and deserving of a few laughs.  As it is a short, I would encourage you to see it if you have an interest in Ireland, the church, or European soccer, but otherwise you might want to find something else to do with your eleven minutes.

 

Sources: Beyond Hollywood, IMDB, Travis Pflanz, 411mania, Opinionless, Paste Magazine, Reeling Reviews, Smells Likes Teen Spirit, 

Sadie Thompson (1928)

Sadie Thompson (1928)
1st Academy Awards 1929
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 2 awards.
Nominated for Best Actress (Gloria Swanson) and Cinematography (George Barnes).
Watched October 4, 2012.

  photo source: Doctor Macro

I have mentioned films not standing the test of time several times on this blog, and expect to mention it several times over, but I believe this is the first time I will say it in reference to a silent film.  Although Sadie Thompson does indeed deserve both of its nominations, the story is reminiscent of something you know is a nightmare but are unable to wake up from it.  

 

It starts well, with an island and a group of marines who have not seen white men, or more importantly white women in months.  In comes a ship, carrying a reformer (Lionel Barrymore) and his wife, a tourist couple, and a single woman (Gloria Swanson) who is a breathtaking beauty and a flirt right from the beginning.  All of the serving men are taken, especially the bashful Sergeant O'Hara (Raoul Walsh).  Unfortunately, it turns out that Sadie's "connecting" ship is quarantined for small pox and she has to stay on the island, much to the chagrin of the reformer, Mr. Davidson, and his wife.  Immediately he assumes that she is a whore because she comes from San Francisco. 

 

Using his incredible influence over the governor, he won't allow her to proceed onto her final destination, but forces her back to San Francisco.  Terrified and angry, she uses all of her whiles, every trick in the book, but Mr. Davidson will not budge.  He believes that in order for her to repent, she must return home.  

 

Although Swanson occasionally falls into the trap of overacting, she does very well at communicating through only body language.  You can tell that she is a free spirited, energetic woman that cannot be tied down, and her chemistry with Walsh, who is also the director, is wonderful.  The cinematography is remarkably better that the other silent films I have reviewed so far, without counting Sunrise.  

 

photo source: Barewalls

The storyline, as well as Barrymore, are the two aspects of the film that were unbearable.  It is supposedly a testament to hypocrisy, but really all I saw was a power hungry, crazed man whose actions and religion were both portrayed very negatively.  Any Oscar-nominated film seems as if it should be making a statement, but I just felt hate toward the man and saw little connection with the alluded hypocrisy.  Barrymore did fairly well with what was given to him, and he really is a terrifying villain, but his end does not seem fitting. 

 

Toward the climactic finale, Sadie falls under Mr. Davidson's spell, but eight minutes before the end, all that we see are still images stitched together to replace the corroded film.  As saddening as this always is, it was a bit of a relief for me not to see the final scenes, although I know I lost of lot of analysis and understanding because of it.  It almost feels like they created an ending because theoretically there has to be an ending to the story, but in reality the result seems disjointed from the rest of the story.  However, my belief that it is disjointed doesn't hold much water because I haven't actually seen the final minutes of the film.  I will give Walsh the benefit of the doubt and say that the actual ending of the film was probably much better and conclusive.  

 

As far as films go, this isn't one that I would eagerly recommend.  If you are looking for a more energetic and engaging silent film than the romances I have reviewed so far, this could be an option for you.  My favourite part was the very endearing character that Walsh himself played.

photo source: Doctor Macro

Sources: Doctor Macro, Barewalls, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Silents are Golden