Looney Toon joe

IMDb member since March 2001
    Lifetime Total
    10+
    IMDb Member
    23 years

Reviews

Hornblower: The Even Chance
(1998)

One of the all time great seafaring adventures!
I Have just finished watching the entire series of Hornblower and must say that few seafaring adventures can beat it.It ranks up there with the original Mutiny on the Bounty,The Sea Hawk and Master And Commander as one of the greatest of its kind. Ioan Gruffudd is perfectly cast as young Hornblower,a seasick midshipman who tranforms gradually into a courageous leader of men. Robert Lindsay offers great support as Capt.Edward Pellew,one of the most important characters in the story who guides Hornblower along his journeys.Jamie Bamber,Paul Copley and Sean Gilder are all excellent as Hornblower's loyal shipmates. Ireally can't pick any one episode as they are all magnificent.I also liked Paul McGann who portrays Lt.Bush. All in all i just hope that in the future their will be more parts to this truly brilliant adventure series!!! EASILY 10 OUT OF 10 !

Adventures of Don Juan
(1948)

Flynn's Last Great Swashbuckler....
THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN was the last of the great swashbuckling classics Flynn would star in.Though Flynn isn't exactly in his prime here nobody was ever better as the dashing devil may-care swashbuckling hero! Once again Flynn is reunited with his greatest screen sidekick Alan Hale,who is always a delight.Viveca Lindfors plays the Queen with grace and a strong will and her beauty further enhances her performance. Robert Douglas is no Basil Rathbone but he still makes a fine villain.The score by Max Steiner is very fast paced and exciting and the duel between Flynn and Douglas is also nicely staged. All in all this is a truly entertaining adventure with Flynn as dashing and heroic as only he could be!

MY RATING: 9/10

Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
(1942)

Enjoyable Adventure!!!!
SON OF FURY is a truly enjoyable if somewhat underrated adventure.Dashing Tyrone Power stars as Benjamin Blake who for many years vows to avenge himself against his cruel and tyrannical uncle(brilliantly portrayed by George Sanders).And so Benjamin sets forth on an adventure to the south seas to find his fortune.He is accompanied by Caleb Green(John Carradine).Together they find more than they expect in a remote pacific island when Ben falls head over heals for a local native girl which he calls Eve(played by the extaordinaraly beautiful Gene Tierney).

This film also features the late Frances Farmer before her tragic ordeals began and also Elsa Lanchester who aids Power and Harry Davenport as Ben's kind hearted grandfather.A great saturday afternoon movie with all the right elements of a classic adventure. One of Tyrone Power's best films even if it never got the recognition it deserves!!! A+

p.s. Alfred Newman's score is also highly recommended.

The Mark of Zorro
(1940)

The Best Of All Zorros
This is my all time favourite Zorro film.Tyrone Power is a great and dashing Don Diego/Zorro.The scenes with him playing a foppish dandy to hide his true persona are both hilarious and wonderfully enjoyable.THE MARK OF ZORRO starts off at a fast pace and never lets up for a moment. The villains are played by J.Edward Bromberg

as the corrupt and cowardly Don Quintero who bleeds the californian people dry with over taxation and Captain Pasquale,the superb Basil Rathbone,adding further menace.Linda Darnell is once again cast as Power's love interest,the lovely Lolita Quintero. Eugene Pallette reprises his role in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD by playing yet another lovable friar and Montagu Love plays Diego's deposed father.Solid and stylish direction from Rouben Mamoulian with a brilliant score by Alfred Newman. This film also contains one of the greatest duels ever captured on screen from two of hollywood's most agile swordsmen,TYRONE POWER AND BASIL RATHBONE. A great swashbuckling adventure!!!!!!

P.S.Also worth noting is the nice performance by Gale Sondergaard as Lolita's obviously jealous Aunt Inez!

10/10

The Sea Hawk
(1940)

ONE OF THE GREATEST SWASHBUCKLERS!
There are many reasons why The Sea Hawk is one of the great swashbuckling films of all time.To begin with the ever dashing Errol Flynn is the lead assisted by great character actors including Claude Rains(Don Alvarez),Henry Daniel(Lord Wolfingham),Flora Robson(Elizabeth 1) and of course Alan Hale as Flynn's sidekick. Brenda Marshall is well cast as the love interest Dona Maria and though she's no DeHavilland she is still very charming and beautiful.Michael Curtiz once again proved himself a great and skillful director and the score by Korngold is one of the very best from Hollywood's golden age.If you are a die hard fan of Errol Flynn(as i am)or simply love classic adventure films you'll want to see The Sea Hawk. As the original tagline goes: IF YOU MISS IT YOU WILL OWE YOURSELF AN APOLOGY!

MY RATING: 10/10

The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938)

The greatest of all Robin Hoods!
There is very little i can say about this film that hasn't been heard before but i will anyway.Errol Flynn was and always will be the greatest swashbuckling adventurer the cinema has ever known. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD is by far his most fondly remembered role. Nobody was ever better as the dashing rogue swinging from trees,waving his sword or flirting with Maid Marion(the beautiful OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND).But Flynn is not alone.He is joined by what is my opinion the best supporting cast ever assembled in an adventure film. Claude Rains is brilliant and the evil and despicable Prince John.Basil Rathbone(one of the very best screen villains)plays Sir Guy of Gisbourne to the max. Little John is played by the always wonderful Alan Hale(Flynn's on and off screen buddy),Eugene Pallette is a hilarious Friar Tuck and Montagu Love adds to the fun as the corrupt bishop.The film is further enhanced by the early use of three color technicolor and the outstanding music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.William Keighley and Michael Curtiz both sat on the director's chair for this film and both give their touch to it.The climactic duel between Robin and Sir Guy is by far the most imitated and influential sword fight in cinema history. So for those out there who want to see something worthwhile i recommend THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD,not only for being Flynn's greatest role or being the best of all Robin Hoods but for being one of the greatest adventure films of all time!!!!!!

AN EASY 10 OUT OF 10

Captain Blood
(1935)

ERROL FLYNN'S FIRST SWASHBUCKLING ADVENTURE!
This is the film that introduced Errol Flynn to the adventure genre.He plays Peter Blood,the most feared pirate of the caribbean,who at one point was a slave after being wrongfully accused of treason while aiding a rebel,enemy to the corrupt King James II. Olivia de Havilland made a startling debut as the young and proper Annabelle who helps Peter Blood escape from the cruelty and opression of her uncle's(Lionel Atwill)plantation in the West Indies.Not only was this the first screen pairing of Flynn and de Havilland(it would not be their last)but also one of the very first of the great films directed by Michael Curtiz. It also was the first film that Erich Wolfgang Korngold wrote the score for. Also starring are Henry Stephenson as Lord Willoughby and the great Basil Rathbone as the french pirate Capt.Levasseaur who teams up with Capt.Blood in an ill fated partnership. A superb pirate film with many action highlights and romance to spare thanks to its makers and especially to ERROL FLYNN!

RATING: A+ 10/10

We Were Soldiers
(2002)

A GREAT WAR FILM
First off i would like to say to all you out there who didn't like this movie that you don't know what a good movie is.How can anyone watch WE WERE SOLDIERS and not be heartbroken as to what these men and all vete- rans went through.My father did two tours in VIETNAM and he for one can tell you that this movie is as authentic as they come.Many people comp- lain about the lack of historical accuracy.Isn't seeing men getting blown to S**** or flesh melting off ACCURATE ENOUGH.And as for all those who say that this is just another patriotic war film,you don't know what you're saying.SO if any soldier in a non american film waves the flag, it isn't patriotic BULL but if an american waves the flag it is.I mean come on.Personally i think that everyone involved did an exellent job in WE WERE SOLDIERS.Mel Gibson is definitely one of the greatest act- ors of all time and i couln'd imagine anyone else playing LT.Colonel Hal Moore.Great also is Sam Elliot as Plumley.

This is surely the best NAM movie i have ever seen along with Born on the 4th of July(my father' favorite).So those of you primadonna's out there who think this only to be a SAPPY AMERICAN PAT-RIOTIC LOAD OF CRAP , get a life.And for those out there who do like this movie CONGRADULATIONS.You not only know what a great war movie is but you are honoring the great men who fought and died in battle when many others were sitting on their ASS in the meantime. GOD BLESS ALL VETERANS PAST AND PRESENT!



100/10

Red River
(1948)

one of the greatest westerns
This 1948 Howard Hawks classic is one of the greatest westerns of all time.John Wayne has rarely been as good as he is in this film.The story is clearly a western Mutiny on the Bounty with Wayne's Tom Dunson serving as Captain Bligh and Montgomery Clift(BRILLIANT IN HIS FIRST FILM)as Matt Garth is Fletcher Christian. However good Wayne and Clift are they are supported by a superb cast including Walter Brennan who's always great in these kind of films. The cinematography is truly breathtaking and Dimitri Tiomkin's beautiful score is among his best works.I at first watched this movie cause Monty Clift was in it but i was astonished to find out that John Wayne could really ACT.All in all this is my personal western favourit and a must for all John Wayne fans.

Sworn to Justice
(1996)

Cynthia's best
I've Seen this movie recently and i must say i was really impressed with Cynthia's skills not only as a martial artist but her growing skill in acting.

Ok she might not be an A list star, but she surely deserves more credit

then people give her.The best bit about this movie is her acting which by far is her best work.I recommend this movie to all Cynthia fans and anyone who likes a good martial arts movie.

The Thief of Bagdad
(1940)

i just love this movie
I just love this movie. It's as simple as that.Every thing you could want in a fantasy, The Thief Of Bagdad has.Sabu is perfectly cast as the boy thief.John Justin who plays Ahmad the King is brilliant and let's not forget villain Conrad Veidt and genie Rex Ingram in standout performances.

Many might complain about the special effects but you must remember that this is 1940,long before Industrial Light and magic came out.Another standout is the beautiful musical score by the great Miklos Rozsa.A true masterpiece. I give it a 10+

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