Yes, minister series 1 (Paul Eddington)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s a very long time since we watched the series ‘Yes, Minister’. I recall seeing them - or some of them - on TV when they were first broadcast in the early 1980s. And I’m pretty sure we watched the series on DVD about fifteen years ago; but I have no record of it. And only a general recollection of the content.

So we started watching in early August. Each episode is only about half an hour, so we watched two at a time. The first episode shows the results of the general election when Jim Hacker (Paul Eddington) is elected, and a new party takes office. 

We never learn which party they are supposed to represent, and while that bothered me in the past, I think now that this was wise. The point is made, often, that even if political parties have different aims or goals, the way they function (and the role of the civil service) is much the same. 

Little women (Winona Ryder)

(Amazon UK link)

We have two DVDs with films based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel ‘Little Women’. We watched the 2019 version - updated for a modern audience - in 2020, and I liked it much more than I had expected to. But it was over twenty years since we watched the 1994 version which is rather closer to the original. So we decided to see it again. I am very familiar with the story, my husband much less so as he has never read the books.

On the whole, this is quite true to the original, although inevitably a lot has been cut out. The four March sisters are realistically portrayed: Trini Alvarado is the responsible Meg, and Winona Ryder is the impetuous Jo, who never quite manages to look tidy, and who spends most of her time writing. I thought Beth (Claire Danes) was the least believable of the four; but a lot of her story is removed from the film. Kirsten Dunst is an excellent young Amy; she’s the only sister who has a different actress (Samantha Mathis) playing her as an adult. But then Meg and Jo were older teenagers anyway at the start of the story.

Nim's Island (Abigail Breslin)

(Amazon UK link)

We’ve picked up a lot of DVDs over the years, many of them second-hand. Since we have regularly had young friends coming to watch a DVD, we made sure that there was a good collection with U rating for them to select from when they were small. There were some which we were familiar with, of course; I bought quite a few children’s classics when our own sons were younger. But others were completely new to us. 

Recently I thought it would be a good idea for us to watch some of them - not the 3d animated ones which I dislike intently, but the ones with real people. Last night we decided to watch ‘Nim’s Island’.  I had no idea what it was about, but I know our young friends quite liked it a few years ago. 

The star of this film is Abigail Breslin, who is perfectly cast as 11-year-old Nim. She narrates the start of the story, illustrated with cartoons, showing how her mother was eaten by a whale when Nim was three. So she lives with her father, Jack (Gerard Butler). They went around the world a couple of times on his boat, as he’s a marine scientist, always looking for new forms of microscopic life.  And now they have settled on a tiny island which doesn’t have any other human inhabitants. 

My dog Skip (Frankie Muniz)

(Amazon UK link)

Just over three years ago, I came across the DVD of ‘My dog Skip’ - and probably some others - in a thrift store, and bought it inexpensively. It looked like a pleasant family film, rated U, but for some reason we didn’t get around to watching it until last night. 

I was slightly concerned that it might be a ‘weepy’, but was relieved that it really wasn’t. The film was made in 2000 but set in the 1940s in Mississippi. It's based on a true story which was written in a book of the same name by Willie Morris. 

There’s an introductory voiceover from an adult, talking about looking back to his childhood. And then we meet young Willie, who is brilliantly played by Frankie Muniz. Willis is only supposed to be eight at the start of the film, and the actor must have been thirteen or fourteen, but he’s totally believable both then, and as he starts to grow up. 

The Bishop's Wife (Cary Grant, Loretta Young)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s six years since we saw the classic 1940s black-and-white Christmas film ‘The Bishop’s wife’. We had recalled the basic outline - that an angel in human form is sent to help a bishop and his wife - but had forgotten all the details. So we decided to watch it again. 

I did remember the opening scenes: a smiling man (Cary Grant) is wandering through a busy town, where lots of people are busy Christmas shopping, or admiring displays in shop windows. Three or four potentially dangerous or tragic incidents are averted at the last moment by this character’s quick reactions - and possibly by what seems to be a little magic. Or maybe a miracle. 

Then he discovers that Julia (Loretta Young), the wife of the local bishop, is feeling sad. She has all she could want materially, and a lovely young daughter. But she feels as if her husband has grown away from her, and that his work is more important than she is. And her daughter is usually looked after by her nanny. 

White Christmas (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye)

(Amazon UK link)

Nearly two years ago, we were given several early classic DVDs by a friend who was downsizing. We’ve watched several of them, but had put aside ‘White Christmas’ for the festive season. So we finally decided to watch it. We knew the theme song, of course; but as far as we recall, neither of us had any idea what the film was about. 

We did know that Bing Crosby was one of the stars; we had not realised that Danny Kaye was the other main male lead. The two work together extremely well in this film, with Danny Kaye demonstrating his sense of humour and excellent comic timing more than once. 

The film opens in an army camp on Christmas Eve during World War II when a concert is happening. Bob (Bing Crosby) is clearly an experienced entertainer, and Phil (Danny Kaye) is a new recruit. Their major-general (Dean Jagger) is retiring, and is clearly beloved by the whole troop. We see some of the concert before bombing begins, and Phil manages to drag Bob away from a falling wall. 

The Princess Diaries 2 (Anne Hathaway)

(Amazon UK link)

Towards the end of July, we rewatched the 2001 film ‘The Princess Diaries’, and liked it very much. So last night, wanting something light, we decided to rewatch the 2004 sequel, ‘The princess diaries 2: royal engagement’. We last saw it in 2014, and had only vague memories of the story.

This film starts as Mia (perfectly portrayed by Anne Hathaway) graduates from university. And then, accompanied by the security guard Joe (Hector Elizondo), she flies back to Genovia. As well as studying academically, Mia has been trained to take over as queen, as her grandmother Clarisse (Julie Andrews) wants to retire. 

Genovia is a small, loyal (and imaginary) country. It’s supposedly another European microstate, and royalty is very important, with all the pomp of parades. Mia had been reluctant at first, but now she is looking forward to her coronation. However, she discovers a law that states that she can’t be queen unless she’s married. And she has just one month to find someone…

The Princess Diaries (Anne Hathaway)

(Amazon UK link)

We watched the 2001 film  ‘The Princess Diaries’ back in 2009, and liked it very much. It’s a film for the whole family, made by Disney, so it’s quite light-hearted. We wanted something light, so thought it was time for a re-watch. 

Anne Hathaway stars as the awkward teenager Mia Thermopolis. Apparently this was the first film that shot the actress to stardom, although she was only about eighteen when it was made. She makes an excellent fifteen-year-old who has wild, frizzy hair and doesn’t really fit in with her classmates. Her mother (Caroline Goodall) is a bohemian artist who makes very strange creations, and they live in a converted fire station. 

Mia does have a good friend, the equally awkward and odd-looking Lily (Heather Matarazzo). Neither of them particularly enjoys school, and Mia particularly dislikes public speaking, and is very bad at team sports. She’s quite a klutz, too; but she mostly ignores teasing and rudeness from her peers.

In a move reminiscent of both Cinderella and Harry Potter, Mia receives an unexpected summons to tea from her grandmother. She knows that her late father’s mother lives in a small European nation called Genovia, but she has never met her. She doesn’t much want to meet her, but her mother persuades her to go. And when Mia arrives at the largest, poshest house she has ever been in she is given information so startling that she doesn’t really take it in at first. 

Julie Andrews is perfect for her role as Mia’s Genovian grandmother Clarisse, living a life about as far removed as possible from the one Mia has always known. There’s a lot of tension at first, as Clarisse and her employees try to instil some deportment and table manners into Mia, rather to her disgust. I particularly appreciated her friendship and rapport with the man who becomes her chauffeur for a while, known as Joe (Hector Elizondo). 

It’s extremely well done. Anne Hathaway is excellent as Mia, even if her inevitable transformation seems a bit over-dramatic to be believable. But she manages both sides of her appearance with style. There’s some low-key humour in the film, partly involved in Mia’s mother’s bizarre art, but there are also some quite poignant and moving moments. 

It’s a teenage film primarily, so there is some love interest and a fair amount of kissing (though nothing more). And there’s some loud music and dancing, and much that shows the shallowness of many high school students. At the same time, there are some difficult choices that have to be made. Popularity or loyalty? Safety or adventure? Friendship or romance? 

I loved the chemistry between Mia and her mother, and also between Mia and her grandmother. And I thought the pace was perfect. I was totally engrossed, and surprised to learn that the film is almost two hours long. It felt like a much shorter movie. 

Our DVD has some extras; we watched a documentary about the way the cast and crew had a lot of fun together as well as working hard, and some of the reasons for the cast choices. We also watched some interesting deleted scenes, introduced and explained by the director, Garry Marshall. 

Definitely recommended for older children, teens, or adults like us who like slightly schmaltzy, clean and light-hearted films with great acting and a positive ending.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Carousel (Gordon MacRae)

(Amazon UK link)

One of the films we were given by a friend downsizing at the start of last year is ‘Carousel’. It’s a 1950s classic musical, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and just over two hours long. We decided we would watch it last night, making sure to allow plenty of time. We have the 50th anniversary edition, with two discs. I don’t know if it was digitally remastered, but the quality of both sound and picture seemed to be very good. 

We had no idea what the story was about when we started watching. However, the opening sequence shows a fairground after dark. There are crowds of people, mostly adults, buying street food, or playing games, or converging on the carousel. It’s an old-fashioned one with wooden horses and other animals going up and down to loud music. It’s impossible to hear any dialogue over the general noise, but apparently that was deliberate.

But then the film moves to a very different scene. Billy (Gordon MacRae) is sitting on a ladder, polishing and hanging stars. I thought at first he was decorating for Christmas, but quickly realised that these are supposedly real stars, set in the sky, and that he is in some kind of afterlife. Someone tells him he’s heard rumours that his family on earth are having trouble, and tells him that he might be able to go down for a day. Billy isn’t sure about this, but consults the person in charge…

This is a good device for letting the viewer know Billy’s back story, as he supposedly recounts it, to explain why he has a family, and why he is no longer with them. Billy was the ‘barker’ (a term I didn’t know) for someone else’s carousel at the fair. That meant he stood at the side, proclaiming the wonders of the experience, to draw people in to buy tickets. He was evidently very good at this, until he became distracted by an attractive young woman called Julie (Shirley Jones)...

Billy is quite a womaniser but Julie is rather smitten, although insisting that she is respectable. And as they flirt a little, they burst into song. I should have expected it - this is, after all, a musical - and they both have good voices. But I found this, and some of the other songs in the film, rather slow and long-winded. The first one is mildly amusing, perhaps… and then the action takes us back to Billy in his afterlife scenario. To remind the viewer, perhaps, that something evidently happened to cause his death.

Back to earth, as he continues talking about what went on, and he’s married to Julie, but all is not well. Billy has no job now, and hates being idle. All the town is going on a ‘clam bake’ (something else I had never heard of) which starts with a trip out in boats… and Billy is persuaded to go by a disreputable ‘friend’ who has proposed a method of making them both wealthy…

I did enjoy the dance sequences, which were cleverly choreographed and extremely well executed. I was also quite surprised to find that I knew a couple of the songs in the film. ‘June is bustin’ out all over’ was written for this musical, as was the quite well-known ‘I’ll never walk alone’. I also quite liked Billy’s gradual change of heart, as circumstances change, although it’s not until the very end that he does something totally altruistic.

We appreciated the settings too; it was filmed in Maine, on the coast and there are quite a few scenes on the beach, or on sailing boats. Despite the title of the musical, the carousel itself only appears at the beginning of the film, as the place where Billy and Julie first meet. 

While there’s some humour and a lot of caricaturing, it’s a bit dark for a musical. I gather that it wasn’t as popular as the writers had hoped when it was first in the cinemas. Perhaps that’s because Billy isn’t all that likeable, and because there is a tragic scene when things go wrong. It’s one which we know is going to happen, but it stops the otherwise light-hearted film being truly family-friendly, despite the U rating. 

While I’d have liked it better if it wasn’t quite so slow-moving, it was very well done, in a 1950s way. The way actors in films spoke - as if they were on stage - seems quaint to us now, as does the way that the women are all perfectly made up at all times, even at the end of a day’s fishing and then smoking sea-food. 

We didn’t watch all the extras, but were interested in one about the making of the film, with some clips from the writers and people involved in the production. Apparently it was based on a much darker Hungarian film called ‘Liliom’ which didn’t have the somewhat uplifting ending of ‘Carousel’. Initially ‘Carousel’ was a stage musical which ran for quite a long time before it was turned into a film. 

Worth watching once, as it’s a classic, if only for the excellent dance sequences. But it’s not one I’m likely to want to see again.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Hotel for dogs (Emma Roberts)

(Amazon UK link)

About eighteen months ago, when we bought some extra DVD shelving (used), we were offered a selection of children’s DVDs. Some of them are of no interest to me, although visiting children sometimes like them. But I thought that the 2009 film ‘Hotel for dogs’ sounded quite interesting, based on the blurb. So last night we decided to watch it.

Andi (Emma Roberts) is sixteen, and very close to her ten-year-old brother Bruce (Jake T Austin). They were orphaned three years earlier - we don’t learn why - and are living in foster care. It’s clearly not working well for them; their foster parents, Lois and Karl, provide a lot of the comedy in the film as they are so dreadful, and clearly unsuited to the role. She makes extremely unappetising food, and the two of them spend most of their time trying to record bad quality music.

Andi and Bruce have a dog called Friday, whom they adore. But no dogs are allowed in their foster home, so they have to sneak him in at night-time. And since they have no money, they try to ‘earn’ enough to feed Friday, through very dubious scams. Their social worker Bernie (Don Cheadle) is excellent; he clearly cares about them, and regularly gets them out of trouble. Although he knows their foster parents are neglectful, there are very few foster families willing to take on siblings of their age. And they are desperate to stay together.

In their neighbourhood there is a van that goes around collecting stray dogs, and unfortunately they come across Friday and impound him. And while they manage to release him, they’re shocked to see that there are many other delightful dogs, and that they’re only allowed to be there, uncollected, for 72 hours…

It’s quite poignant at first, contrasting the young people’s love of dogs, and concern for strays with the rigidity of the dog police. Andi and Bruce discover an abandoned hotel where some of the dogs have made themselves at home. And they decide to take it over, with the help from some friends they gradually acquire. Bruce is a technological genius, and makes some impressive devices from items left behind in the old hotel, and also things he has taken from his foster home…

There’s a lot of humour in this film, which we thought was beautifully made. The dogs are wonderful, more and more of them appearing and being adopted by Annie and Bruce. There are scenes showing the dog police wondering where all the stray dogs have gone. And we loved the way Bruce gradually manages to automate not just the dogs’ feeding time, but their exercise, toilet needs, and other preferences. It’s quite surreal, of course, but while we were watching, we felt quite drawn into the film, rooting for the teenagers and the dogs.

Naturally enough, things can’t continue this way forever, and there’s some tension and an exciting race towards the end. Bernie makes a heartfelt speech which makes for a happy ending - this is, after all, a children’s film - and an even more surreal conclusion, which we thought very amusing.

The acting is excellent, and the dogs are amazing. We watched some of the ‘extras’ on the DVD, which included a section about the dog training, which was impressive. And there was a heartfelt comment from the actor who plays Bruce, saying that there were times when he did everything correctly, but the dog with him didn’t. So they had to do seventeen takes. 

It was clear both from the film and from the ‘making of’ extra that the cast loved dogs - and the crew, too. Some of the dogs used were themselves strays, who were then adopted by cast or crew members. I am not, in general, a dog person. But I thought that, as well as being a well-made and amusing film, it gave a very important message about the responsibility that comes with having a dog. 

Overall, I would recommend it to adults as well as teens and children who want something light-hearted, so long as you don’t mind a bizarre storyline that’s a bit like a 21st century fairy-tale. Apparently this was loosely based on a book of the same name. The teenage actors - or those portraying teenagers - are excellent, carrying the film entirely. Other than Bernie, most of the adult characters are either caricatures, or in some way against the teens' efforts. 

The rating is U, which reflects the lack of anything ‘adult’. There are one or two very minor uses of bad language, and the film might, perhaps, be disturbing to a child who had problems in foster care, or who had lost a dog. I think I would probably rate it PG, suggesting that parents should take responsibility for deciding whether or not their children would be likely to find it upsetting, or funny.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Annie (Alicia Morton)

(Amazon UK link)

Towards the end of 2009, we watched the DVD of the 1982 version of the musical ‘Annie’, with Aileen Quinn in the title role. We liked it on the whole, and thought it well-done. But I didn’t feel that it was entirely suitable for young children. There was some extreme drunkenness, some innuendoes and a very tense scene towards the end.

Last year, when we bought some extra DVD shelving, we also acquired, inexpensively, some more children’s films on DVD. One of them was the 1999 Disney version of ‘Annie’, with Alicia Morton in the title role. We wanted something light to watch last night, and this was the DVD my husband chose.

The story opens in the orphanage, showing interactions between the half dozen or so children. One of them cries for her mother at night, and Annie comforts her, while reminding everyone that she is not an orphan. She has a letter that was left by her parents, and part of a locket. She believes that, one day, they will come to find her.

As with some other Disney films, the action is quite rapid. Even so, I was a bit surprised that almost immediately Annie decides to get out of the orphanage to look for her parents. She creeps downstairs and is unlocking the front door when Miss Hannigan (Kathy Bates) appears. She is the owner of the orphanage, and appears to be the only member of staff. The children have to say, repeatedly, that they love her, although in private (including in song...) she expresses how much she loathes little girls.

Everyone else is woken up to be punished, by extra thorough cleaning of the floors. Nobody seems to resent Annie for having brought this on their heads… instead, musical style, they launch once again into song. There seem, in my view, to be rather an excessive number of songs in this film, although they’re very well done.

The plot is, as far as I recall, reasonably close to the story in the 1982 version. A wealthy bachelor wants to foster an orphan for a week, and Annie is chosen, much to Miss Hannigan’s disgust. It all happens rather rapidly, and Annie is thrust into a world of wealth, with new clothes, toys and plenty of food. And she becomes quite attached to the rich Mr Warbucks (Victor Garber). Again, this happens a tad too quickly, it seems… 

There’s low-key tension as Mr Warbucks and his PA Grace (Audra McDonald) attempt to locate Annie’s parents, and a sneaky plot is hatched by Miss Hannigan and her scheming brother Rooster (Alan Cumming), along with his intellectually challenged girlfriend Lily (Kristin Chenoweth). They are delightfully wicked, and I liked their song-and-dance routine, with Miss Hannigan, as they discuss how to go about getting rid of Annie.

There’s more humour in this than I recalled in the earlier version, and it’s generally more family-friendly, so that the rating of U seems appropriate. Miss Hannigan makes a lot of threats to the orphans, but it’s clear that she has never actually hit any of them. She’s unpleasant, but there’s no hint of drunkenness. Lily is dressed proactively, but there’s no nudity or any bad language. The tense scene in the 1982 version isn’t there at all. And the dog is very cute.

It’s undoubtedly ‘Disneyfied’, with that feel-good sense, and little time to think about or anticipate anything very much; it’s under 90 minutes in length, and I thought it could have benefitted from being a bit longer. However, as a piece of light-weight entertainment, it certainly filled the bill. And since it takes place in December, with the (inevitably) happy ending on Christmas Day, we’ve decided to put this with our Christmas DVD collection for the future.

Recommended if you like this kind of child-centred musical with some caricatured villains and a positive outcome. 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

That touch of mink (Doris Day)

(Amazon UK link)

Over a year ago, now, we were given a selection of DVDs by an older friend who was downsizing. We have watched some of them, but not all. Last night we decided to watch another Doris Day movie, ‘That touch of mink’. We were surprised to learn, after watching it, that it was made in 1962. It had a much older ‘feel’ to it, as if it were a 1950s or even 1940s film (albeit in colour).

The film opens with a sequence showing Cathy Timberlake (Doris Day) standing on a street corner in pouring rain, only to be splashed quite badly by a car driving past. Nobody stops, and she is furious. 

After the title sequence, we see Cathy - still rather dripping - in an unemployment benefit office, claiming her cheque and insisting that she is trying hard to find work. She talks to the rather sleazy Everett (John Astin) who clearly wants to take her up to his apartment and seduce her. She is not remotely interested, and makes that clear.

We then see her ordering lunch in a cafe where her flatmate Connie (Audrey Meadows) works. Connie is full of advice, and annoyed on her behalf when she hears about her being splashed.

Meanwhile, in an expensive-looking office, Philip Shane (Cary Grant) is feeling slightly guilty about the incident in which he was involved that morning. He looks out of the window and happens to see Cathy as she goes into the cafe. So he asks his assistant Roger (Gig Young) to go and apologise on his behalf, and also to offer to pay for any damage or cleaning that is necessary.

I liked Roger enormously. A lot of the humour in the film comes from his insistence that he was happier in his previous job, and coerced to stay with Philip due to salary increases and benefits. Perhaps the joke is dragged out a bit far, but it was bizarre enough that I smiled, and sometimes even chuckled at it, each time. Roger also has some sessions with a therapist, Dr Gruber (Alan Hewitt) which lead to an amusing misunderstanding, one which would probably have been considered very risqué in the early 1960s.

I didn’t much like Philip Shane, however. Cary Grant was often typecast in this kind of wealthy businessman role, but I don’t think he’s all that good-looking. It was hard to see why Cathy fell for him when she was planning to give him a piece of her mind (much to Roger’s approval). All we could see was her facial expression, as it changes from one of righteous anger to a somewhat goofy star-struck look . Doris Day’s expressions are believable and very well done; but Philip is rather sleazy, and a known womaniser. His eventual plans for Cathy are a long way from the principles she absorbed from her small-town religious upbringing. 

The plot is somewhat predictable and stereotypical, but there are lot of asides and subplots that make this a surprisingly amusing and enjoyable film. The rating is U as there’s no nudity, no bad language, and nothing explicit. But a great deal is implied; it's full of innuendoes. It’s not a film I would recommend to children, even though most of the implications would probably go unnoticed. 

Having said that, there’s a bit of slapstick humour when the unfortunate Roger is mistaken, by Cathy’s flatmate, for Philip - again, more than once. It’s also very well done, and although I gasped, some viewers might find it very funny. 

The pace is good, if typical for films of this type, and the script very clever, with some excellent timing from the principal actors. There's not much chemistry between Philip and Cathy, but although it's a boy-meets-girl story, the focus is more on comedy than romance. 

All in all, we liked it a lot more than we expected to.  

x Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Nativity 2: danger in the manger (David Tennant)

(Amazon UK link)

We have over thirty Christmas DVDs, and we like to see at least four or five of them each Christmas season. I pulled out the ones we hadn’t yet seen, or hadn’t seen in a while, and my husband selected ‘Nativity 2: danger in the manger’. We saw this film in December 2014, and I recalled being somewhat unimpressed at the time. It didn’t seem like a worthy sequel to ‘Nativity’, which we thought excellent.

However, we’ve been watching season two of Doctor Who, with David Tennant in the title role. So we thought it might be amusing to see him in the rather different role of classroom teacher in ‘Nativity 2’. And I was interested to see whether I would find it better or worse than I did ten years ago. 

The film opens to a domestic scene. David Tennant plays a young man called Donald Peterson who has just moved house and has a new job. His wife Sarah (Joanna Page) is expecting their first baby. He’s a bit concerned about the school where he’s going to work, but says that the head seems very pleasant, and she has assured him that the children are well-behaved.

The action then moves to the classroom, where Mr Poppy (Marc Wootten), the classroom assistant, is in charge. There have been several teachers replacing the excellent Mr Maddens and we see brief cameos as each one comes into conflict with one or other of Mr Poppy’s wild ideas. The children adore Mr Poppy, but he’s like an overgrown four-year-old and has no concept of boundaries, or of education. He only has the job because the headmistress (Pam Ferris) is his aunt. 

Clearly Mr Poppy should not have the job, despite his relationship to the head. Whereas we found him somewhat amusing in the first Nativity film, he is somewhat irritating in this one. He encourages the children to think they can take part (and win) a singing competition, despite lack of talent, and little time to rehearse. The head refuses permission but Mr Poppy goes ahead and applies. Then, when the day comes for the contest, he uses sneaky methods to get the children away - kidnapping Mr Peterson at the last moment, to accompany them.

The journey to Wales is fraught with mishaps, as might be expected. And it starts to delve into silliness as the ridiculous bus turns into a boat which then runs out of fuel, and the children have to embark on a long walk. Mr Poppy urges them to hurry at times, and insists they take breaks at others. The distance is shown as extremely long, and some of the children have to be carried. But most of them make it without seeming at all tired, and they’re somehow ready to perform when they eventually arrive.

There are some amusing scenes in this film. David Tennant is excellent in his role, so much so that we didn’t even think of him as the Doctor. He is an excellent actor who becomes the person he’s portraying - and we thought of him during this film as the young, rather apprehensive Mr Peterson. At least, we did until the appearance of Donald’s twin brother Roderick, a high-flying and very snooty choirmaster who  also has a competing group. 

They have not spoken to each other in years, and Donald has felt like a failure as their father (Ian McNiece) always favoured Roderick. David Tennant plays Roderick brilliantly, a tad caricatured (but then that's the nature of the film). Moreover, he does this so differently from the way he plays Donald that I sometimes forgot, for a moment, that the same actor was playing both brothers. 

In the last half hour or so of the film we get to see the other acts that are competing, performing their song and dance routines. A couple of them are (deliberately, we assume) pretty bad - twee, schmaltzy and with costumes in bad taste, although the singing and dancing as such is mostly good. Roderick expects to win with his highly trained boys’ choir, dressed as church choristers, and he isn’t averse to a bit of cheating…

And yet, despite the surreal nature of a lot of the film, it’s very well done. The pace is good, the timing is great, and the conversation - most of it improvised rather than scripted - realistic. The humour is somewhat slapstick, but we smiled several times and laughed once or twice. And the finale - which we had completely forgotten, after the concert - is moving, and encouraging, sharing (in a low-key way) the real meaning of Christmas. 

So despite the complete lack of compliance with safeguarding laws, with the head and parents having no idea where the children are, and the annoying nature of Mr Poppy, I liked it rather more than I did last time. David Tennant’s brilliance means I would recommend it on the whole and expect to watch it again in a few years time.  The rating is U which seems about right, although I don't suppose that very young children would find much to interest them in this film. 

There are a couple of extras, including some deleted scenes, on our DVD, which we thought well worth seeing after watching the film. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Heidi (Emma Bolger)

(Amazon UK link)

As a child I loved the book ‘Heidi’, which I had initially in abridged form. It’s the classic story of an orphaned girl who is sent to live with her hermit-like grandfather who lives high in the Swiss alps. Grandfather is rather spurned by the people of the local village, who fear him due to some damaging rumours. 

Heidi is lively and friendly, and her grandfather, despite his rather dour appearance, becomes very fond of her. She loves the simple life in the mountains and befriends Peter, the goatherd, who is the son of their nearest neighbours. When her aunt appears to take Heidi into the town to work as a companion to a wealthy disabled girl, Clara, Heidi is heartbroken… 

It’s a delightful story, one which I think I should read again some time soon. We watched the 2005 film adaptation on DVD over twelve years ago, and decided to watch it again last night. And it sticks pretty closely to the original story. The scenery is stunning, and given that it’s not a long film (not much over an hour and a half) it packs in plenty without adding anything unnecessary. The pace is good, and we were both engrossed in the story. 

But we were both disappointed by the three main child actors. We weren’t sure if they were over-directed, or if they weren’t involved enough in the story to be really believable. Emma Bolger plays nine-year-old Heidi, and she does it as an enthusiastic, animated child. She has a slight Irish accent, which is a little weird, but I quickly got used to that. However she shows little emotion at the more poignant times. When she has to wait (more than once) outside her grandfather’s chalet, she doesn’t look at all anxious or afraid. When she’s supposedly crying, there are no tears - just some artificial-sounding sniffs. When she’s tossing and turning in bed, it doesn’t look real at all. 

Worse is Clara (Jessica Claridge), who comes across as likeable but rather twee, as if she’s repeating her lines rather than acting. And although Peter is more believable, he seems much too clean to be a believable goatherd. And his jealousy of Clara, later in the film, is not really explored at all and doesn’t seem to fit with what we see of his character in the earlier scenes. 

However, I thought that Heidi’s grandfather (Max von Sydow) was excellent. I could believe in him entirely as a lonely, irritable old man whose heart is softened by his lively granddaughter. I wasn’t sure why he seemed so old - he could have passed for eighty, which seems to me the age of a great-grandfather to a nine-year-old girl. But that wasn’t a huge issue and only occurred to me towards the end. 

Diana Rigg is also very well cast as Clara’s grandmama. She comes across as a delightful, realistic woman who looks as if she’s in her late sixties. She’s kind and understanding, and quite lively too.  And I liked Sebastian (Del Synott), the servant in Clara’s household, who befriends Heidi. His face is very expressive at times, as he attempts to be discreet and almost invisible serving at table, but also reacts to Heidi’s liveliness and naivete. There are one or two quite amusing scenes involving Sebastian, where his facial expressions made us chuckle. 

There are two obviously caricatured adult characters in the film. Pauline McLynn plays Heidi’s strict, penny-pinching aunt, and Geraldine Chaplin is the appalling Miss Rottenmeier, who for some reason is employed as housekeeper at the house where Clare lives. Neither is supposed to be liked, and the exaggerated nastiness is a good ploy in a children’s film, so that - hopefully - they’re not taken too seriously, and therefore won’t provoke nightmares.

It’s a story about families, and friendship; about loyalty and the importance of looking out for other people.  Despite the rather wooden acting of the younger people, I would recommend it, on the whole. The rating is U, and that reflects the wholesome story with a lack of anything that would merit a stricter rate. I don’t think it would be of much interest to anyone younger than about seven or eight, but for older children and teens (and adults who loved the book as children) it’s a good adaptation. 

Our DVD doesn’t have any extras. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Young at heart (Doris Day)

(Amazon UK link)

Another Tuesday evening, another opportunity to watch a film with my husband. We had quite liked ‘Pillow talk’, with Doris Day, when we watched it in September. So we decided to watch another film with the same star, which we were given by a friend who was downsizing earlier in the year. 

Doris Day plays a young woman called Laurie in this film. She lives with her father, her father’s sister Aunt Jessie (wonderfully portrayed by Ethel Barrymore), and her two older sisters in a large mansion. Her father Greg (Robert Keith) is a musician, and all three girls have learned to play instruments so they often play together in an ensemble. Fran (Dorothy Malone ), the oldest of the girls, arrives back from a date with Bob (Alan Hale Jr) and announces that they are engaged.

Laurie and her middle sister Amy (Elisabeth Fraser) talk about having a double wedding, or staying old maids together. Laurie has no young man in mind, although it’s clear that their plumber Ernie (Lonny Chapman) is very keen on Amy. Into their lives - via a litter of puppies at their neighbour’s - comes a competent, confident young man called Alex (Gig Young). He composes musicals, rather to Greg’‘s disgust, but he’s full of charm and very persuasive. He not only has dinner with the family, making it clear that he’s very attracted to Laurie, but becomes a house guest.

All three of the girls like Alex very much, despite him being somewhat overbearing at times, but he has eyes only for Laurie. We see them at the beach, and there are some light-hearted moments - it’s not a comedy, exactly, but there were places where I smiled. There might have been amusing comments that I missed since the dialogue was quite fast and strongly accented, so I realised that I missed quite a bit. 

We knew that Frank Sinatra was billed as Doris Day’s co-star but he doesn’t appear until quite a way into the film. He plays Barney, a cynical, rather depressed musician who plays in restaurants, and who does the arranging of Alex’s music. Barney is convinced that life is against him, that he will never have a ‘hit’, and that if anything good happens, he’ll soon be brought down. 

Laurie, who is cheerful and upbeat, can't believe that anyone can be quite as cynical as Barney. She does her best to persuade him to smile, and to be more positive, not realising that he is starting to fall for her. She and Alex seem made for each other...

The acting, 1950s style, is over-played, and we didn’t think there was much chemistry between any of the characters, let alone the ones who ended up getting married. There’s a fair bit of singing - not ‘musical’ style, but in appropriate situations; mostly in the house, as part of a family get-together, or elsewhere, trying out a new song. Both Doris Day and Frank Sinatra sing very well, of course, and I liked the music sections of the film. 

It’s quite a complex story, too. It includes some traumatic scenes, with a jilting at the altar, almost literally, and a marriage that is very one-sided. There's also a dangerous drive through a snowstorm, with increasingly ominous background music… and more. It’s perhaps a bit slow-paced by today’s standards, and some of  the direction and filming seemed a bit crude. But the story is well-told, the ending quite satisfactory.  

I doubt if we’ll watch it again, but it was worth seeing once. The rating is U, although I’d have thought PG would be more appropriate, given the tense nature of some of the incidents. But there’s no bad language, no nudity or even innuendoes.  There’s a lot of cigarette smoking, but that’s not unusual for this era.  It’s not the kind of film likely to appeal to anyone under the age of about 12 anyway. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Loving You (Elvis Presley)

(Amazon UK link)

While we did, of course, know of Elvis Presley as a famous American singer, I don’t think I had realised that he was also quite a talented actor. I probably wouldn’t have come across the film ‘Loving You’, had it not been offered as a freebie in a UK newspaper many years ago. A relative acquired it, and passed it on to us. It’s taken us more than a decade to get around to watching it, but we finally did so yesterday evening.

The film was made in 1957, when Elvis would have been in his early twenties. He stars in this film as Deke Rivers, a young man who was orphaned young and grew up in a children’s home. He’s finally managed to secure a job in a delivery company, and wants to keep it. He’s somewhat shy, but is persuaded to sing in a small country show, and it’s clear that he has a lot of talent.  

Glenda (Lizabeth Scott) is the other main character: she’s an attractive but tough-minded woman who works as a press agent for a politician. When she hears Deke singing, she decides to work for her ex-husband Tex (Wendell Corey) who runs a band, if he will include Deke as an extra member.

Inevitably there are a lot of Elvis songs in this film, but it’s not a typical musical as the songs only happen when the band are on stage. Nobody breaks into song and dance at other times. Well, other than when Deke is persuaded to sing in a restaurant. There’s a low-key love interest, as the girl singer in the band becomes close to Deke, and there’s also a lot of romantic tension between Glenda and Tex.

But there’s a great deal more than that. Glenda is quite manipulative, often at the expense of Deke’s happiness; she persuades people to behave in specific ways so as to gather extra publicity. And she pretends to be a lot more interested in him as a man than she really is. 

Deke is a well-rounded character - we were very impressed with Elvis Presley’s acting - whom we could quite believe in. He’s in a world he knows little about, surrounded by people who insist they have his best interests at heart. He is lonely, longing for a real friend, and isn’t entirely sure who to trust. Nor does he know whether he wants stardom, when he was happy being a small part of a band. 

I understand that the storyline somewhat mirrored Elvis’s own journey into becoming a musical legend, although he was not an orphan, and was close to his parents as a young adult. But he was, apparently, quite shy as a teenager; perhaps that’s why his character seems so authentic. 

There are some deeper themes touched upon lightly, which I thought were well handled in this film. In particular, a passionate plea is made for understanding by the older generation who considered rock and roll to be disgraceful, with a well-crafted argument that is quite persuasive. 

There’s a bit of violence in the film, involving some fist fights as well as some general public rioting; but nothing gory. There are some quite passionate kisses too, and implications about nights spent together, but nothing explicit is shown. There’s some minor bad language, but nothing too shocking.  This is probably why it’s rated U although the storyline wouldn’t be of the slightest interest to children. 

Neither of us is a huge fan of Elvis music, though we don't dislike it. From the perspective of 2024 it feels nostalgically old-fashioned and quite tame by contrast with some of today’s trends in music. We were surprised at how much we liked this film. 

Recommended. 

You can find more information about this film, and see a brief trailer, here at the IMDb site: Loving You.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Jane Powell)

(Amazon UK link)

In our gradual quest to watch the DVDs we were given by an elderly friend who was downsizing, we decided on ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ last night. I knew of the film - one of my brothers would watch it whenever it was on television, when I was in my teens. But it didn’t appeal to me then, and I had not come across it until our recent acquisition.

I had little idea what it was about, although the title rather sums it up. Adam (Howard Keel) is the first of the main characters whom we meet in this film. He’s walking through a ‘Wild West’ town in Oregon, doing some trading in stores, and also - as he tells everyone - in search of a wife. He and his brothers are farmers who live in the mountains, and they never meet women. The story is set in the 1850s. 

The reason Adam wants a wife is extremely sexist - his male-only household needs someone who can cook, and clean, and create some semblance of order. It doesn’t sound at all appealing. He breaks into song as he wanders through the town, criticising the local girls for being the wrong size or shape. Then he spots Milly (Jane Powell) who works for an inn. He sees her serving delicious food, dealing with dozens of men at the same time, and also chopping wood. She seems ideal, and fortunately she likes the idea of getting married to this handsome stranger, and leaving her life of drudgery.

Adam does not mention his brothers, so it’s quite a rude awakening when she meets them. There are some amusing (albeit somewhat gross) scenes as she discovers exactly what she has let herself in for. This causes some inevitable stress with Adam too… 

So Milly sets to work, not just to clean the place and provide some nutritious food, but to reform Adam’s brothers. She teaches them about ‘courting’, and tells them to avoid fighting if they want to attract young women. She also supposedly teaches them some basic dance steps; they learn remarkably rapidly. It’s clear that the actors playing the brothers are talented dancers. There are some excellent dance/gymnastic scenes which I very much appreciated. 

There’s singing, too; this is, after all, a musical. It’s not over-done, but every so often someone breaks into song, usually as part of the story. It’s not the kind of musical where the story stops as random people appear to sing and dance, for no apparent reason. The songs in this film don’t go on too long and on the whole I thought they added to the story. 

The acting is slightly overdone, as was typical for films of this era, but that wasn’t a problem, as far as we were concerned. ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ was made in 1954, so I was quite surprised that it’s in colour. Some of the backgrounds look a bit artificial, but they didn’t detract from the story. 

If the film weren’t so well-made, and basically light-hearted, some sections would be quite shocking. Not just because of the way Milly is expected to work every minute of her day to look after seven men, but because of the way the other six ‘brides’ are acquired… to say more would be to give too much of a spoiler. 

Other than Adam and Millie it wasn't particularly easy to recall who was whom out of either the brothers or their potential brides; even less so with the many townsfolk who were involved. The only brother who stood out was the youngest, Gideon (Russ Tamblyn). The others looked - and behaved - rather too similarly. 

A bonus which we were not expecting was an ‘extra’ feature on our DVD: a short documentary about the making of the film. It has interviews and snippets filmed in the 1990s with several of the cast and crew. Apparently the production costs were slashed in half, although the amount spent still sounded huge for a film made eighty years ago. 

Nobody expected this film to be a success, but it was very much so. Still popular in the 1970s when my brother watched it; still popular in the 1990s when the bonus material was made. The DVD has been remastered and the quality seemed pretty good. We enjoyed the film and are happy to add it to our collection.

Recommended. 

You can read more about this film on the IMDb site: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Mary Poppins returns (Emily Blunt)

(Amazon UK link)

When the film ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ was released a few years ago, I didn’t think I would want to see it. But after re-watching the original 1964 ‘Mary Poppins’ a few months ago, and reading some reviews, I decided to put this sequel on my wishlist. I was given it for my birthday, and we watched it last night.

I knew that the story was about the next generation of the Banks family: mainly Michael Banks, who was a child in the original film, and his children. I also knew that Mary Poppins was played by someone different - obviously Julie Andrews was too old to be in the role again but I wasn’t at all sure how anyone else could take it on. 

Emily Blunt, however, succeeds. She doesn’t look like Julie Andrews - even her hair is a different colour - but her costume, her way of relating and even her speech patterns are the same. It didn’t take me long to adjust to her in the role - which she does excellently, dancing and singing as well as playing the strict nanny. She doesn’t have quite the voice that Julie Andrews did, but it’s still very pleasant.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is also extremely good in his role as Jack, the young man who rides a bicycle around and does any odd job that needs doing. Jack mentions that he was a young lad when Michael and his sister Jane were young, and that he worked with Bert, the equivalent in the first film. 

The three children (Pixie Davies, Nathaniel Saleh and Joel Dawson) are confident, believable and at times amusing. Julie Waters is perfect for the role of Ellen.  Ben Whishaw is the grown-up Michael Banks, father of the children, and we quickly learn that his wife Kate died a year earlier. No details are given, but he’s still grieving. He’s also struggling financially, and has failed to keep up payments on a loan. His sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) doesn’t live with him but is often at the family house to help out. 

The underlying story is about the potential loss of the family home. There’s much that mirrors the original film, including several visits to the bank. Colin Firth is the apparently genial manager; indeed, the minor characters are something of an all-star cast. We loved seeing Meryl Streep as Mary Poppins’ eccentric cousin, and Angela Lansbury as the balloon lady at the end. It was also amazing watching Dick van Dyke in a cameo role towards the end. He was 93, apparently, but still full of life.

Like the original, some of the song sequences felt a tad over-long to me, but perhaps that was deliberate. There are a couple of lengthy fantasy scenes which work well with animated sequences interacting with the real characters. I don’t suppose PJ Travers would have liked them, but she’s no longer around. And the animations emphasised the nature of the surreal parts of the story that were more for children.  

I thought some of the songs were good, again reminiscent of the originals, but different. We didn’t think they were quite as catchy as, for instance, ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’, or ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’, but then we’ve only heard them once. Perhaps, if we hear them again a few times, they will start to feel just as memorable.

Overall we thought this was a very enjoyable and well-made film, one that adults can appreciate as much as children, if they don’t mind some silliness and animation. The rating is U in the UK, PG in the more cautious United States, possibly because there are some mildly perilous scenes towards the end (there was one scene where I had to look away as I am somewhat phobic about heights).  But there's really nothing inappropriate for young children. 

Definitely recommended if you like the original ‘Mary Poppins’. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Let's Make Love (Marilyn Monroe)

(Amazon UK link)

We’ve had several DVDs of films from the middle of last century given to us by a friend who was downsizing. Having watched a film starring Marilyn Monroe for the first time a couple of weeks ago, we decided to watch another last night. ‘Let’s Make Love’ was billed as a comedy romance, made in 1960, nearly two hours long.

Although the film is in colour, the opening few minutes feature still black and white drawings depicting the (theoretical) French Clement family who have built up an empire in New York over several generations. The current owner, Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand) is a billionaire, and very arrogant. He speaks several languages and has very little time to himself. 

Then he learns from his press agent Alex Coffman (Tony Randall) that an off-Broadway theatre company are going to produce a show that satirises several famous people, including Jean-Marc. His instant reaction is to get it closed down, but Alex points out that this would be counter-productive. He suggests that they go and see what exactly is happening, showing good sportsmanship by being amused rather than offended.

Rehearsals are only just beginning, but Jean-Marc is smitten with Amanda (Marilyn Monroe) who is the main female star of the production. So when the director assumes that he is auditioning for the part of Jean-Marc, he goes along with it, hoping to get to know Amanda better.

It’s an amusing premise, and one that’s done very well. We thought the pace of the film excellent; perhaps the musical numbers in the show rehearsals are a bit long and tedious, but everything else works very well. The acting is a bit overdone, but that is typical of the era, and adds to the humour in a film that’s not meant to be taken seriously. 

We very much liked the comedy of errors that results, as Jean-Marc starts to fall in love, and discovers that being (apparently) an impoverished actor is a very different proposition to being an autocratic billionaire. Nobody laughs at his jokes, and Amanda doesn’t fall into his arms; she’s romantically involved with someone else, and she’s quick to point out Jean-Marc’s failings. It’s quite poignant as he realises that his power and money have attracted women and hangers-on, and he tries to figure out who he is, as a person. 

There are some amusing interludes as Jean-Marc tries to learn to tell better jokes, and to dance and sing, with cameo roles by Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly playing themselves. I didn’t particularly like Tony (Frankie Vaughan) who is Amanda’s co-star in the show, and romantic partner, but felt quite sorry for him towards the end. 

I was surprised at how very engaging and enjoyable this film was, and felt quite immersed in it despite the rather alien settings of a risqué show and a billionaire’s huge office block. Definitely one to watch again in a few years. 

I had wondered if the phrase ‘make love’ was still used in the Jane Austen sense of chaste flirting in the 1960s. But apparently the usage moved over to the current understanding in the 1940s, so the film and its contents are far from innocent. The rating in the UK is U, probably because there’s nothing explicit, no bad language and no real violence. But the theme isn’t appropriate for children, and it’s not something I would show to anyone under the age of about twelve or thirteen. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn)

(Amazon UK link)

Working slowly through the twenty-five classic DVDs given to us by a friend who was downsizing, we decided to watch ‘Sabrina’ last night. We had never heard of this film, which was made in 1954, but we had certainly heard of both Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart who were billed on the cover as the stars, along with William Holden (whom we had not heard of).

We had no idea what to expect from this seventy-year-old film. It was in black-and-white which sometimes bothers me for a minute or two, but no more - I was quickly absorbed in the storyline. 

The main character is a girl called Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) who must be about seventeen or eighteen at the start of the film. She is the daughter of a chauffeur called Tom Fairchild (John Williams), and they both speak with English accents of the mid-century slightly upper-crust style that was informally known as ‘BBC English’. However they live in New York, at a stately home owned by the very wealthy Larrabee family. There are two adult sons in the family: Linus (Humphrey Bogart) and David (William Holden).

It quickly transpires that Sabrina has been in love with David for as long as she can remember, but he barely notices her. He’s quite a playboy, who has been married and divorced three times already, and is always ready for a flirtation with an attractive girl of his class. Sabrina is almost in despair, feeling that her heart is broken, so her father decides to send her to Paris for a couple of years, to do a cooking course with a celebrated chef. 

There’s a surprising amount of humour in this film, alongside some poignancy and very engaging characters. It could have been a bit schmaltzy but the dialogue is good, and the pace excellent. Some films of this era tend to drag, with over-done shots and lengthy scenes that could have done with some editing. But I didn’t find anything dull or long-winded in this film which, apparently, was one of Audrey Hepburn’s first major successes, launching her as a star. 

David can be quite charming, though he is clearly unreliable. His brother Linus is much more serious, and works every hour possible for the family business. And when Sabrina returns from her course, much more sophisticated and confident than she was two years earlier, both brothers find her rather attractive. I found it very interesting that, despite being set in the theoretically egalitarian United States, it was considered rather shocking that the son of a well-established and wealthy family could fall in love with the chauffeur’s daughter.  

There are some delightful secondary characters in the other staff at the Larrabee home, all of whom adore Sabrina, and think it wonderful that she might marry one of the sons of the house. There are some amusing scenes involving them which we appreciated very much. 

The rating is U, probably due to the lack of any intimacy or bad language, although there’s one potentially disturbing scene near the start of the film, and a few punches thrown between the brothers (with no gore). I can’t imagine it being of any interest to children, but feel that PG would have been more appropriate.

Apparently there was a re-make of this film in 1995, with Harrison Ford, but reviews suggest that it wasn’t as good or as well-made as the black-and-white original from thirty years earlier.

Recommended if you like this style of film, or if you are interested in seeing Audrey Hepburn in one of her earlier roles.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews