JWrider

I recently finished watching this 26 episode TV series,twice,and I will be watching it again soon. Last Exile,is Gonzo Studio's 10 th anniversary Vanity project and their efforts to make it something special shows.Take an epic story,characters you can care about,a fantastic score by Dolce Triad,production design that could teach George Lucas and ILM lessons, and then add some of the finest integration of hand drawn and computer animation through Gonzo's patented Gonzo Digimation that is nothing short of amazing. This is a TV series with Movie Quality Work.Anime fans and critics have been raving about this series for good reason. Last Exile is an Action ,Adventure, Romance, Retro Sci-fi, Fantasy Epic that tells the story of Claus Valca and Lavie Head,two couriers, who are swept in events that change the fate of their world,Prestale.Prestale is a world where two great Kingdoms,Disith and Anatoray, are locked in war fought in the skies by the massive air battleships that are fantastic.The battles are supposed be fought by the rule of Chivalry as supervised by the "neutral" Guild.Clause and Lavie while delivering a message to the Flagship of the Commander of the Anatorey are witness to a change that shows something has changed and not for better.Shortly afterwards , they find themselves taking over a mission from a dying Van ship pilot to deliver a little girl,Alvis Hamilton, to the Rogue Battleship Silvana.Who is Alvis Hamilton, and why is it that people will kill to posess her? What is the Significance of the Interferrance of the Guild in the struggle between Disith and Anatoray? Why is Prestale Dying? Well,you'll just have to watch and find out by yourself.Take it from me this is a journey worth taking.

See my Lawyer marks the fourth and final appearance in a Universal Movie by Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson.The Boys are up to their usual antics, first trying to break a contract with a night club owner with the help of some starving lawyers.Then having to use the same lawyers to save them from a lawsuit from the man they bought the night club from.The boys act and the show is Circus themed.Needless to say when they go to Court it really does become a three ringed Circus.As usual there is interspersed many wonderful specialty acts.The Nat King Cole Trio and Carmen Amaya and her Troupe are in fine form.The Rogers Adagio Trio are unique act,a comedy Ballroom Acrobatic Trio that even as you see it,it is hard to believe some of the things they manage to pull off.Sad to say this the hardest of Olsen and Johnson films to find,but it is worth the effort. I am glad to say they get to finish their movie career in great form.

I saw this short on TCM the other night and it was a pleasant suprise.First we have a charming June Allyson practicing her tap dancing to help get her a much needed job. She is two weeks behind in her rent and she is afraid to leave for fear of being locked out.She manages to attract the atttention of a sign painter played by Hal LeRoy who manages to perform some pretty fancy tapping on a narrow scaffold.She is distraught over him painting over the poster of Sir Lancelot as she has grown fond of it. But he promises to put something nice in its place.Just then Earlayne Schools,her friend,brings her some food and sings for her.Earlayne has great voice,but sad to say,this is her only film performance.The next day we see June talking to a poster of Scotsman advertising butterscotch.The poster come to life talks to her and soon we see some wee bonny lassies perform a jazzy Scottish number.Shortly thereafter Hal with aid of his Buster Keaton like helper manage to help her leave the apartment to go to the Sign Painter's Ball. We get some more fine singing and dancing and some how a happy ending.It would be nice if this and other wonderful Vitaphone Shorts were available on Video.

I have just seen a video of this little known Paramount Musical and what a luscious treat it is for anyone who loves Great Singing.From the opening title to The End,Jan Kiepura,sings with a magnificent power and beauty that even when heard,is hard to believe.Except for a choral acapella acompanied rendition of Di Quella Pira from Il Trovatore by Verdi.The Music is furnished by Erich Wolgang Korngold and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.The song "Sweet Melody of Love" and "I Mean to Say I Love You" deserve to be better known.The Garden scene from the fictional Opera Romeo and Juliet by Korngold brings the film to a great close. The Story is simple. That of simple Fisherman with a God given voice of gold who meets and fall in love with lovely singer played another fine Opera Star,Gladys Swarthout.He loses her and finally comes to his senses and finds her again.Almost half of the film's running time is music and great music at that.I have searched for this film for years and I can truthfully say."It was worth the Search."