It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s a Wonderful Life
Call No: TEMP 1649

I have a confession to make. I have never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Now I know what you’re thinking: How? It’s aired every Christmas (multiple times) and is easily considered to be a classic holiday film. The answer is: I don’t know. I’ve seen parts of it, bits of scenes here and there, but never the whole thing. When one of my housemates watched it for a class and I was left behind in the “Haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life” corner, I decided to see it. I’m glad I did.

As you may know, the movie is about an angel named Clarence trying to earn his wings. He needs to save George Bailey, a man at the end of his rope. To do this, Clarence shows George what life would be like if he had never been born. Most people know this. I knew that was the general idea when I sat down to watch it. What fascinated me was that Clarence’s encounter with George only covers the second half of the movie. There was much more going on in the film than I had originally anticipated there would be.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

BUBBA HO-TEP
Call No: PN1997.2 .B83 2002

There’s something about Bruce Campbell that I can’t seem to avoid. It’s not that I don’t enjoy watching him – it’s quite the opposite. I find him a treat to watch, like that snack in the cupboard that you know is terrible for you but you can’t seem to quit. I first discovered him when a friend insisted that I watch Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness. Even though it was the third part of the Evil Dead trilogy, my friend insisted that I didn’t need to watch the first two to enjoy it. He was right, and to this day I still stop for Bruce Campbell when channel surfing. When I came across Bubba Ho-Tep, I was excited to watch.

Don’t get me wrong -- this is not the witty and clever Shaun of the Dead, nor is it the gory and entertaining Zombieland. Watching this film and expecting anything but what it is could sour the viewer. The premise of the film, however, is enough to make any fan of these movies consider giving it a shot. I wish I could have been in the room when they first pitched the idea for this film: Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy fight off an undead mummy at a retirement home. Of course, not all the residents of the retirement home are still playing with a full deck so their real identity is suspect, but the stories that Elvis and Jack spin about themselves are so entertaining that you can’t help but hope they might just be telling the truth.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon
Call No: PN1995.9.D4 M253 2000

Since the last two films I reviewed were both in colour, I decided to choose something a little less colourful. I’ve chosen The Maltese Falcon for three reasons. The first is that my housemate has put together a “must see” list of films for herself, and this film is on it. The second is that I spent some time watching two Marx Brothers movies earlier in the week, both of them black and white. Third and finally, the curators from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have released their top 100 films to watch, and The Maltese Falcon is on it (#85).

Based on the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name, The Maltese Falcon is the textbook definition of a film noir.  It has all of the basic requirements. It’s dark, it contains a serious crime, murders, a femme fatale, and has a cynical private detective.  Humphrey Bogart, whom many people will recognize as “that guy from that Casablanca movie”, plays Sam Spade, a private detective caught up in a web of intrigue surrounding the legend of the Maltese Falcon.

According to legend, the Falcon was a bird created by the Knights Templar of Malta, made of gold and encrusted with priceless jewels and intended as a gift for the King of Spain. It never reached him, stolen before reaching its destination.  The Falcon was covered in black to hide its true value.  Over the centuries it has been lost, stolen and bartered. Finally it has landed into the lives of Sam Spade and three other people. There’s Joel Cairo, a suspiciously quiet and soft spoken criminal. Then there’s Kasper Gutman, a heavyset man whose desire for the bird is stronger than anyone else. And there’s Brigid O'Shaughnessy, a woman involved who wants nothing more than to get out... or does she?

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Howl’s Moving Castle
Call No: TEMP 1686

I’ve always been a fan of cartoons. I spent countless hours of my childhood with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Animaniacs gang. As I grew older, I still enjoyed cartoons and their longer relatives, the feature-length animated film. Soon I began to recognize a difference between the types of animation, and such a type is “anime”. As many Japanese animation fans will testify (as will Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory), anime is not a cartoon. Anime is the term used to refer to Japanese animation, be it shows or films. One of, if not the, most influential animator in Japan is Hayao Miyazaki.   Considered to be the Walt Disney of Japan, Hayao Miyazaki has enriched and perfected the art of storytelling in his films by combining heartfelt drama, comic relief, dynamic characters and stunning animation. Howl’s Moving Castle is no different.

For those who have never been exposed to anime before, this is an excellent place to start. While some fans of anime might recommend the classic Academy-Award winning Spirited Away instead (which I will review in the New Year), it would be better to start with Howl’s Moving Castle. It has a more linear approach to the story than other anime films and, as someone pointed out to me, can be considered more Westernized and universal in terms of content. A large part of that comes from the fact that it’s based on the British novel of the same name, written by Diana Wynne Jones.

The story is about a young woman named Sophie who is the victim of a spell that makes her appear old and prevents her from talking about the curse. Her only hope in reversing it comes in the form of a talented but irresponsible young wizard named Howl, who rather than fight or defend anything instead prefers to run using his magical moving castle, powered by an ancient fire demon named Calcifer. Throw in a witch after Howl’s heart, a ruthless wizard instructor and a war-torn kingdom where wizards are used as soldiers. Add in the fact that Howl might not be all he appears to be and you have an intriguing story full of fantasy and adventure.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Call No: PN1995.9.A75 M66 2003

I had a difficult time deciding which film to review first. I went through the shelves carefully. I looked at old films, newer films, imported and animated. I made notes of films on my “to watch” list, and considered donating my DVD copies of Casablanca and The Shawshank Redemption to the library (mental note: see if that is allowed). When my housemates asked about my progress, I spouted off the most recognizable movies I’d come across. The Day After Tomorrow. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

One of my housemates stopped me. “I haven’t seen that movie.”

Bingo. Problem solved.

Now I know what some of you are going to say. “How has somebody not seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?”. As someone who hadn’t seen any of the Terminator movies until last year and The Exorcist this past Halloween, I’m not about to pass judgement. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Holy Grail in high school. My friend had the same reaction. “How have you not seen it?”, he said. He began spouting off lines about coconuts and the average wing speed velocity of a swallow, and started saying “Ni” incessantly. After seeing the movie, I understood, and found myself doing the same thing to my housemate.

Greetings Fellow Movie Fans!

Hi there! Welcome to the blog. My name is Laura, also known as The Film Geek, and this is the Nipissing Library Film Collection. This is a movie review blog. But here's the catch -- the reviews that you'll find here will be for movies that you can find right in the Nipissing Library.

When I was first coming up with an idea for this blog, I wanted it to have something to do with movies. Movies are something that almost all of us enjoy. We use them for entertainment, we use them to escape. Some of us like our horror, some of us like our romantic comedies, but all of us at one time or another have sat back and put on a great movie. You may be surprised to know that some of those great movies can be found at our library. I'm not saying that all of the movies are good or that we have entire sections dedicated to James Cameron or Arnold Schwarzenneger (pre-governor, of course), but there are some good movies on those shelves. Not all of them will be good movies, but some.

Now I have to warn you -- you may not recognize some of the movies I review. They're not all going to be blockbuster hits or have incredible special effects (though I have a definite weakness for action films). Some of them will be older. Some will be newer. Some you may never have even heard of. My job is to help make you aware of these movies and tell you a bit about them. Maybe you'll go and watch it for yourself, maybe you won't. But at least you'll know it's there.

My one word of advice is this: don't judge a movie until you've seen it. Don't let the content, year, actors or directors keep you away from a good movie. If I review it, don't even take my word for it. I may dislike a movie that you think you might enjoy. Prove me wrong. Take a chance. I'll keep my reviews fair if you keep your mind open. I can't count the times I've heard someone say "You know, that's not the kind of movie I would normally go for, but actually it was pretty good". Believe me, you may be surprised.

I'll try to make sure that I cover every genre as much as possible, but every once and a while I may do a theme week, either by genre, director, or anything else you might think of to suggest. And please, DO suggest. I became a movie fan by moving out of my comfort zone and taking other people's recommendations. If you read a review and think "Hey, if she liked that one, she might like this movie" or "I can't believe she didn't like that movie! This one is worse!", then tell me about it! If I haven't seen it, I'll probably want to.

I'll post a review every Wednesday to start. I'll also be categorizing the films by major themes using the labels. Feel free to look for other movies of a similar genre, director, etc. And if you're suddenly faced with a paper that wants examples of redemption in popular culture, you can check out the labels and have somewhere to start.

In any case, I hope you all enjoy this blog. If you have any recommendations, requests, suggestions, or anything else, don't hesitate to drop me a line at atellix@gmail.com.