80s Movie Review - Clue

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Genre: Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 1985
Starring: Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp

Description: Six guests are invited to a strange house and must cooperate with the staff to solve a murder mystery.

Review: The movie “Clue” is based on the board game Clue. The setting is perfect: a remote, spooky mansion in New England, USA. In this gorgeous, atmospheric décor a true murder mystery takes place, where the characters from the board game come to life.
The guests are welcomed by butler Wadsworth. Every character that’s is invited, has a secret they are blackmailed with. Host Mr. Boddy will join later. What they don’t know, is that somebody is about to be murdered and one of them is the killer….
The ingredients are simple: a group of strangers locked in a remote mansion, a murder takes place and one of them did it. It’s a typical ‘whodunit’, but who doesn’t love a good murder mystery?
In this detective it’s all about the humor. It could be seen as a mockery  of the genre. To start with the characters names. The victim is Mr. Boddy, Mrs. White is dressed all in black and Mrs. Peacock is all covered in feathers. With that, the many comedy moments filled with screaming, falling and madness. The best thing about the film is the climax, where Wadsworth tells everyone what happened. But that’s not all, because there are many possible scenarios.
The humor is great, very classical comedy. I can watch “Clue” over and over again. It’s so much fun!

Rating: 5 / 5

00s Movie Review - The Cat Returns

Director: Hiroyuki Morita
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Drama/ Fantasy
Runtime: 75 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Judy Greer, Kristen Bell, Peter Boyle, Elliot Gould, Tim Curry

Description: After helping a cat, the seventeen-year-old Haru (Anne Hathaway) finds herself involuntarily engaged to a cat Prince in a magical world where her only hope of freedom lies with a dapper cat statuette (Cary Elwes) coming to life.

Review: “The Cat Returns” is one of Studio Ghibli’s lesser known films, but it is on that the real cat lovers should not skip. And it contains a lot of magic.
Don’t you ever wonder where those cats wander off to, when to go out? Well, in “The Cat Returns” it’s a secret cat kingdom, hidden behind some narrow alleys. Studio Ghibli plays with this idea, very skillfully. Th concept was conceived by Hayao Miyazako himself, but directed by Hiroyuki Morita, who worked on several other anime and Studio Ghibli films as animator.
Haru’s life is not that different from any other teenage girl. She’s regularly late for school and has a crush on one of the classmates, who unfortunately already has a girlfriend. Haru would like her life to have a little more happiness, since everything seems to go well for others but not for her.
Everything changes after she saves a cat. The cat walks on two legs and talks to her, but of course no one believes her. As if that’s not strange enough, a cat parade appears in front of her door at night. The king of the cat kingdom has come in person to thank her for saving his son, the cat prince. The gift that the cat king has brough is also quite strange… she has to marry the prince!
“The Cat Returns” is a witty film which features The Baron, who we met in “Whisper of the Heart”. This character is the star of the film. It’s a fun, magical and adventurous story that will be perfect for the entire family. Visually is looks good and the soundtrack is atmospheric and fitting. It’s not one of Studio Ghibli’s best film, but certainly one to check out.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 135: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Director: Jim Sharman
Genre: Comedy/ Musical
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 1975
Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meat Loaf, Charles Gray, Jeremy Newson, Hilary Labow, Perry Bedden, Christopher Biggins, Gaye Brown, Ishaq Bux, Stephen Calcutt, Hugh Cecil, Imogen Claire, Tony Cowan, Sadie Corre, Fran Fullenwider, Lindsay Ingram, Peggy Ledger, Annabel Leventon, Anthony Milner, Pamela Obermeyer, Tony Then, Kimi Wong, Gina Barrie, Rufus Collins, Petra Leah, Frank Lester, John Marquand, Koo Stark, Henry Woolf

Description: A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

Review: When “The Rocky Horror Picture” was released, the audience ignored it and the movie was taken out of the theaters after a few weeks. It wasn’t until the early eighties that this movie got fans and praise. It’s one of the most extravagant, provocative and strange musical ever made.
The story itself isn’t very special. A newly engaged couple has car trouble and ends up in a castle, where they are trying to find a phone. It belongs to Frank-n-Furter.
The film is filled with catchy songs and dance routines, like “Time Warp” and “Sweet Transvestite”. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a celebration of sexuality, glitter and glamour.
Dr. Frank-n-Furter is played by Tim Curry, who shows how versatile he actually is. He steals every scene and has a surprisingly good singing voice. Meatloaf also shows up for one song, which is my highlight of the film. But for the rest “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a weird mess. It’s a daring musical, that I was exciting to finally seeing. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. It’s very kitschy and feels incoherent. Maybe this is one of those movies you have to experience on the big screen or as a live action stage musical.

Rating: 2,5/ 5