Annie (Aileen Quinn)

(Amazon UK link)

The only reason we have the 1982 musical 'Annie' in our collection is that it came as a special offer combined with a different musical film. And although I am sure I had watched it at some point in the past, our DVD version sat on our shelves for at least a couple of years. Finally I watched it a few weeks ago with some friends, including children down to the age of four.

The children's mother remembered enjoying it very much in her childhood, and the rating was 'U' ('G' in the USA). While we vaguely remembered a tense moment at the end, we assumed this film would be entirely suitable for children of all ages.

The story is a classic, and the DVD was based on the broadway stage show, which was itself apparently based on a cartoon comic strip. The precocious orphan Annie (Aileen Quinn), who loves to sing, longs to be adopted. She is fostered for a week by a wealthy man, and turns his life upside down in many ways.

So we were rather shocked - given the rating - that there was some bad language (albeit minor) in the film. There was also some drunkenness (supposedly humorous, but rather extreme) and even some sexual references. We felt that the rating should have been at least PG, possibly even 12/PG-13.

While I don't mind musicals, I have to admit that I don’t particularly like the music in this film. In addition, I found Annie slightly annoying rather than adorable. Perhaps it was the old-fashioned style, despite having been made in the 1980s. The ending is melodramatic and rather predictable by the time it appears.

But still, it's a likeable film in some ways. I didn't give up in boredom but watched it to the end, and might even consider re-watching it again one day.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Educating Rita (Michael Caine, Julie Walters)

(Amazon UK link)

We first saw the film 'Educating Rita' many years ago - probably the mid 1980s shortly after it was made - in the cinema. I hadn't really thought about buying the DVD, but was pleased to be given it by a family member who had it free from a newspaper in the UK.

Michael Caine stars in this movie as Frank, a heavy drinking university lecturer, who finds his students tedious and arrogant. Into his life comes the lively Rita (Julie Walters). She is an intelligent, free-thinking girl with a traditional, almost caricatured working class background who is determined to study for an Open University degree in order - she hopes - to improve her lot.

Unfortunately, Rita's husband strongly disapproves of her ambitions and wants to keep her just the way he is. Moreover, the other more traditional students don’t know quite what to make of her. During the process of the film Rita goes through some very difficult patches as her marriage starts to fall apart, but through it all she is determined to keep learning about literature.

It’s a classic story on the Cinderella theme; or perhaps, as it’s usually classified, more like story of Pygmalion. The difference being, of course, that Rita is the one who chooses to apply herself to learning, rather than being forced into a mould by someone else.

The acting is excellent, the story entirely believable, and the ending bittersweet. It all looked rather dated; we assumed it was probably made in the 1960s, and were a bit startled to learn that it was produced as recently as 1983.

Definitely recommended. Rated PG in both the UK and USA; probably due to some tense scenes, and the implied drunkenness. However it would probably not interest anyone younger than about ten or eleven, perhaps older still.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Quantum Leap series 5 (Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell)

(Amazon UK link)

We have been watching the entire five series of Quantum Leap on DVD for nearly four years now – one or two at a time, usually once or twice per month. And, at last, have finished watching the fifth and final series.

Wow.

'Quantum Leap' was originally an American TV series in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I became quite hooked on it for many months. I was therefore delighted when they were all, gradually, released on DVD enabling me to re-watch episodes I had enjoyed, and catch up with those I had missed.

The series features Sam (brilliantly played by Scott Bakula) as a quantum physicist. In the first series he was caught up in a time travel experiment and found himself leaping around from person to person in different dates within his own lifetime, ‘putting right what once went wrong’. He is aided - and sometimes hindered - by his hologram sidekick Al (Dean Stockwell) who co-ordinates between Sam's new reality and the computer back home. Al, as a serial womaniser, provides much of the humour of the series.

We started watching this fifth and final series in the middle of 2009, slowing down our pace as we reached the last DVD, not really wanting it to finish. It's a powerful set of episodes, including one about Marilyn Monroe, one about John F Kennedy, and a few slightly odd (and tense) ones when another time traveller becomes involved... with aims opposite to Sam's.

We finally watched the last two episodes a few days ago. The penultimate one shows Sam becoming Elvis Presley just before he was discovered. He is supposed to help someone else, but also must ensure that Elvis does not lose his chance of fame. It was more light-hearted than some, and I particularly enjoyed that episode. However, I was less impressed by the final one which was rather confusing, and ended, in my view, rather too abruptly.

Still, this series was well worth watching, if only because we learn rather more about the whole 'Quantum Leap' experiment. I’m no fan of science fiction in general, but I love the interactions between Sam and Al, and the wide range of scenarios covered. Character development is good too, and there are some amusing moments, as well as some clever references to history, from time to time.

Definitely recommended.

Quantum Leap Series 5 is rated 12 in the UK (in other words, not suitable for children under that age) but is not rated in the USA.

Links to reviews of the other seasons of Quantum Leap:

• Quantum Leap season 1
• Quantum Leap season 2
• Quantum Leap season 3
• Quantum Leap season 4

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Northanger Abbey (Felicity Jones)

(Amazon UK link)

'Northanger Abbey' is the most light-hearted of Jane Austen's novels. It's a little different from the others in that it’s overtly amusing, rather than the humour being in the irony and deliciously ghastly people. It's also something of a spoof on the ‘gothic’ novels of the time.

This adaptation – made originally for ITV – is fairly true to the book, with characters who seemed very realistic to me. The heroine, Catherine Morland (Felicity Jones) seemed particularly believable. The story shows her longing for adventure and romance, then seeing plots and dastardly deeds in the most ordinary of circumstances.

My husband watched this film with me and despite not having read the book, enjoyed it too. I wasn't sure if it would be understandable without knowing the story already, but he had no problems. There were a couple of moments when we both laughed out loud - all in all, a pleasant film.

Rated PG in the UK, and not rated at all in the USA.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Billy Liar (Tom Courtenay)

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(Amazon UK link)

Billy Liar' is a popular classic film from 1963, which I hadn’t seen before. Possibly I would never have done so, but for a free offer in a Saturday paper, passed on to us by relatives.

Billy (Tom Courtenay) is a young man who dreams of a better life. He has a fantasy world which he escapes to at times. Unfortunately, despite being an adult working as a clerk, he has still not learned to distinguish fact from fantasy. So he makes up stories not just for his parents but also tells them to his friends and colleagues.

Billy has managed to get engaged to two different young women, due to this bizarre character quirk. He is also in big trouble for having forgotten to post a large number of calendars some months previously.

We had no idea what to expect, and were surprised that it felt extremely old-fashioned in style, more like a 1950s film. This may have been, in part, because it's black-and-white rather than colour, but that doesn't usually bother us. 

There are a few amusing moments, and it was interesting to see the film that – apparently – was the first one featuring the young Julie Christie. But on the whole I thought it silly rather than humorous. It is basically a sad reflection of someone living such a boring life that he has never grown up.

Rather a discouraging ending, too. Not really recommended. I don't think we'll watch this one again. 

Rated PG in the UK, but not rated at all in the US, apparently.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

The Glass Virgin (Emily Mortimer)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve read a few of Catherine Cookson’s historical novels, though quite a while ago. I have usually found them a bit too full of gritty reality, and sometimes with rather depressing endings. So I wasn’t too sure what to expect of this DVD. It came free in a newspaper and was passed on to me by a relative. I had not read the book so had no idea of the story. It was originally a mini-series on British TV.

The story opens with Annabella, a ten-year-old child of luxurious circumstances in the 1870s. She doesn’t understand that her beloved father is a promiscuous, violent spendthrift. The first part of the film shows her background, and uncovers a few family secrets. Annabella's naive innocence gets some of the servants into big trouble.

Then the plot leaps forward seven years, and Annabella’s life takes on a very different form. Her father is threatened with bankruptcy, and she finally learns the shocking truth about her past.

I thought the production was extremely well done. I was particularly impressed with the young Annabella, and also with Nigel Havers as her unpleasant (but attractive) father. I would have been happier without one violent boxing scene – I averted my eyes – but other than that, it was, on the whole, an enjoyable film.

Since it was originally a series, the film was quite long, at two and a half hours. I was relieved that the ending was much more satisfactory than I had feared.

This was rated PG in the UK, although I would personally have thought that a 12 rating would be more appropriate. It does not seem to be available in the USA.

Worth seeing once, perhaps, but I doubt if I'll see it again.   

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Yours, Mine and Ours (Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda)

(Amazon UK link)

'Yours, Mine and Ours' is an American film from 1968. It is based, apparently, on a true story.

The story is about two widowed people with large families who meet and fall in love. Frank (played by Henry Fonda) has ten children, while Helen (Lucille Ball) has eight. With so many children, it takes much discussion and indecision before they decide that they really do want to get married.

Trying to blend the two families together (eighteen children in all, aged eighteen down to about two) produces significant difficulties, as might be expected. The children are not particularly unpleasant. But they're all quite lively and none of them is keen on the idea of a whole host of new step-siblings.

There’s some humour, and quite some touching moments, with a fairly predictable resolution. It feels comfortably dated. It's rated PG in the UK due - I assume - to some alcohol and sexual references. In the United States it is not rated at all.

There's nothing too deep in the storyline, which keeps moving along at great pace, so it makes a pleasant evening’s viewing for a couple or family, without any great mental strain.

Recommended.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews