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     The Parent Trap

1961  NR  COMEDY  2h 8min

CAST— Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith, Charlie Ruggles, Una Merkel, Leo G. Carroll, Joanna Barnes, Cathleen Nesbitt, Nancy Kulp, Frank DeVol

MUSIC— Paul Smith  DIRECTOR— David Swift  BASED ON— Lottie and Lisa (novel), by Erich Kästner

     Hayley Mills stars opposite herself in this charmer from Walt Disney Pictures. When young Mills meets herself at camp she soon realizes that she has a long lost twin. One twin lives with her mother in Boston, the other with father in California. They begin to devise a plan that will reconcile both parents, one that will lead to marital bliss and one big happy family. They switch places on their parents, the Cali girl headed for Boston and vice versa. But things have changed on the fatherhood front; it seems that he’s found himself a new fiancée, a nasty young gold digger who throws a monkey wrench into the twins’ plans. The solution: eliminate her. The comedy kicks into overdrive when sister #2 arrives. They sabotage any and all efforts for Dad’s new girl to become one of the family, while simultaneously working on their parents’ romantic dilemma. A first rate family comedy with heart, as only Disney can produce.

OUR RATING— ** ½

FOLLOWED BY— The Parent Trap II (1986), The Parent Trap III (1989), Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon (1989)

REMADE AS— The Parent Trap (1998)

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     Pardon Us

1931  NR  COMEDY  56min

CAST— Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Wilfred Lucas, Walter Long, James Finlayson, June Marlowe

MUSIC— Leroy Shield  DIRECTOR— James Parrott

     Until this point in their career Laurel and Hardy let their comedic talents shine through in a catalogue of short films, silents and talkies alike. By the time of this film (their first full length picture) the boys decided to move ahead, to “Be Big” as it were. L&H put on their old thinking caps and become entrepreneurs. But when they sell a bottle of their home brew to a cop problems soon mount up. Sent to prison they become too much for the guards to handle. Predictable high jinks ensue: making enemies of inmates and staff alike, leading to the inevitable breakout. The guys take refuge in a very politically incorrect zone (complete with cotton and blackface). A step below your average L&H but still worth a viewing for their fans.

OUR RATING— **

     The Paradine Case

1947  NR  DRAMA  1h 54min

CAST— Gregory Peck, (Alida) Valli, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, Louis Jourdan, Leo G. Carroll, John Williams

MUSIC— Franz Waxman  DIRECTOR— Alfred Hitchcock  BASED ON— The Paradine Case (novel), by Robert Smythe Hichens

     A somewhat substandard Hitchcock film, this legal drama unfolds haltingly. A beautiful yet mysterious young widow is accused of murdering her blind husband by poison. A brilliant attorney is assigned the case, and before you know it he begins to fall in love with her. All of London is abuzz with gossip of the two and their dealings behind closed doors. The lawyer is tortured day in and day out by his desire for his client, continuing until the trial itself, an emotional whirlwind. This soap opera crawls along until culminating in a confession that is all too predictable. For Hitchcock freaks only.

OUR RATING— **

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     Paper Moon

1973  PG  COMEDY  1h 42min

CAST— Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, P. J. Johnson, Burton Gilliam, Randy Quaid

MUSIC— N/A  DIRECTOR— Peter Bogdanovich  BASED ON— Addie Pray (novel), by Joe David Brown

     A terrific comedy in which a slick con man (Ryan O’Neal) reluctantly joins forces with a nine year-old girl (O’Neal’s daughter, Tatum O’Neal), who’s even more talented in the art than he is. An odd relationship develops, as they start bringin’ in the bacon and growing to learn a little about each other, life on the road, even morals (of all things!). Join the misadventures and enjoy every scam that they can conjure in this original, touching comedy. A well deserved Oscar went to young Tatum O’Neal for her performance as the sweet ‘n’ sassy con girl in this instant classic.

OUR RATING— ***

     The Pagemaster

1994  G  FANTASY  1h 20min

CAST— Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Ed Begley, Jr., Mel Harris

MUSIC— James Horner  DIRECTORS— Maurice Hunt, Joe Johnston

     Low key mix of live action and animation barely registers on the radar. Macaulay Culkin plays a boy afraid of his own shadow who takes shelter from a raging storm in his local library, a sprawling, Gothic old place made of marble and dust. He slips in a puddle, knocks himself out and dreams that he is a cartoon boy who must traverse the land of books to find the library’s exit. He must survive horror, adventure and fantasy (accompanied by animated books of the same names) if he has any hope of returning to his own world. Promises to instill in children a love of reading but who knows with such a hollow film? Voices include Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Stewart and Leonard Nimoy.

OUR RATING— **

     Pack Up Your Troubles

1932  NR  COMEDY  1h 8min

CAST— Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mary Carr, James Finlayson, Charles Middleton, Grady Sutton, Billy Gilbert

MUSIC— Marvin Hatley  DIRECTORS— George Marshall, Ray McCarey

     Minor league Laurel and Hardy feature set in the early days of World War I. While fighting in the trenches the boys meet a fellow soldier named Eddie Smith, a single father who adores his young daughter. During a raid he’s captured by the enemy, never to be heard from again. Stan and Ollie vow to find a loving home for Eddie’s daughter; but first they must find her family. Easy; how many “Smiths” could there be in America? From here on it’s one misadventure after another, all in the name of “Smith”. Less satisfying than other L&H films but still enjoyable to fans of the genre.

OUR RATING— ** ½

     Pacific Rim

2013  PG-13  SCIENCE FICTION  2h 12min

CAST— Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, Ron Perlman

MUSIC— Ramin Djawadi  DIRECTOR— Guillermo del Toro

     Clichés abound in this enjoyable escapism from the visionary director of Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo del Toro. The Kaiju’s a-comin’, the Kaiju’s a-comin’! The Kaiju are big ol’ building-shredding monsters in the Gojira vein. When they appear from the depths of the ocean mankind has little to protect themselves with. That’s when they build the Jaegers: towering, dual-piloted, bottom-kicking robots that bring the pain to the gi-normous Kaiju… for a while, at least. The Kaiju soon become bigger and badder than anyone anticipated, nearly wiping out the Jaegers and their pilots. Enter Charlie Hunnam, former Jaeger pilot who lost his brother to the Kaiju menace. Hunnam and a small band of defunct pilots plan on dropping a nuke down the throat of the interdimentional rift that spawns the beasts before humankind becomes Kaiju K-rations. It’s Transformers (2007) meets Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995) meets Godzilla (1954) meets Cloverfield (2008) (with a bit of Top Gun [1986] thrown in for good measure). A touching mood piece that will have the viewer crying… for destruction! Dedicated to Ray Harryhausen and Ishirō Honda.

OUR RATING— ** ½

FOLLOWED BY— Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)