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Brats (1930) - a Laurel and Hardy Review

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 The cartoon research has ended. Now we get back to films. I started with Laurel and Hardy (something I grew up with because my Dad loves this comedy duo). I did a blog on those two actors ( click here for that blog ) and now I'm reviewing more of their films. This one is called Brats from 1930.  Fineartamerica.com This one started slow, but got funnier the longer I watched it. I was also struck by the practical special effects in this short. They would achieve being the size of children by acting a huge set. Not to mention the water effect at the end and the mouse that shows up. You can also spot a stuntman rather easily (falling down stairs). The mouse looked like early CGI.  I loved the physical comedy, as usual. The joke set-ups were great. For example, the billiards joke with the marshmallow and the chalk, the skate on the stairs, and the running water. I give this 10 stars (rounded up because I'm somewhere in between 9.5 and 10). It started slow, but definitely got ...
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Villette by Charlotte Bronte - A Book Review

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 Villette is a book I don't hear much about, so let's talk about it. Written by Charlotte Bronte, it is about Lucy Snowe. I went into it knowing nothing.  When I started getting more into it, I discovered that Lucy Snowe was without family and looking for work. She gets on a boat on a guided whim, goes to a French speaking country, and ends up at Villette. She has money, but not very much. This is the story of a woman looking for work, who also has nothing to lose. She is going on whims, or if you read it as guidance, God's guidance. Every whim or guided suggestion pays off, so I would classify it as God's guidance.  Here's the thing about Charlotte Bronte's life when she wrote Villette; she wrote this after her sisters died. The hope you saw in Jane Eyre is definitely not the same because the author was not as lonely then. It explores her depression and ill mental health. You know Lucy is mourning, you know Lucy is alone, and you know she's not okay. Neithe...
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Chapter challenge: Making progress on a classic

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 This challenge is for me, to make progress on Villette at the very least. I've discovered that Villette is not the easiest book to finish, but I think it'll be worth it. I'm reading one chapter of Villette for every five chapters of another book. I'm including three books in this challenge. Let's get into it.  My eyes are wandering to other books, while I have Villette open and unfinished. I need to close that tab in my brain. For every five chapters of another book, I read one chapter of Villette. I can either stop at every five chapters to read Villette or tally up the chapter count and read it later. The point is that I need motivation to keep going. I also don't need a reading slump early in the reading year.  Any books on this blog will be reviewed individually in other blog posts. The reviews are not going to be found on this post. Why? Because this is a post about logging how many chapters I read.  The books First up is Midnight In Death, part of a serie...
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Pride And Prejudice And Zombies - a book review

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 Pride And Prejudice is great, but let's see what this adaptation brings to the table. Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is by both Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. Let's dive into a classic unlike the original.  Shockingly, it doesn't go as differently as you would expect. It is the same love story - but with a few zombie fight scenes, some surprise zombie attacks, and some hilarious sentences that definitely made Jane Austen turn in her grave. Some will look at this book as an abomination, but others will laugh and enjoy the contrast between a calm regency romance and a zombie regency romance. I suggest you read the original classic before you read this, simply to see what changed.  If you want my thoughts on the original love story itself, here is the original review of Pride and Prejudice:  click here  . I'm not talking about that here because I already talked about it.  Overall Thoughts I was in love with this hilarious book the minute I started readi...
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Gulliver's Travels (1939) Review

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 This film was the project where Dave and Max Fleischer didn't speak to each other. Yet, it turned out adorable and fun. Gulliver's Travels is about a shipwrecked sailor coming upon a village of tiny people. It's silly, it's fun, and it wasn't enough to save Fleischer from going under.  Courtesy of alamy.com I watched this last (since the shorter cartoons are easier to fit into a busy morning). I loved it. It was adorable, silly, and family-friendly. This was one Fleischer cartoon that the whole family could watch. It was re-released in later years. I'd watch it again.  The Review What was so great about it? The silly characters, physical comedy, and fun music. Fleischer is known for music and animation together. This was no different. You could tell the animation took time. Gulliver being entertained by his tiny host country was delightful. He stops a war, saves a wedding, and creates a new song mash-up. It's so sweet.  10 stars, easy. I was entertained by ...
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A Silly Symphony Review - The Ugly Duckling (1939)

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 I'm loving the Silly Symphonies. So much emotion in such a short cartoon. This one was The Ugly Duckling, which is exactly the story that you think it is. Let's dive in.  Courtesy of Pinterest Silly Symphony storylines are usually expressed without words (and in this case, no intelligible words). All you have is a duck quacking, bird sounds, and a swan crying. This is the tale of a little swan that got hatched by a duck, left by the duck mother, and picked up by a swan mother. It's incredibly sweet. There isn't too much to say.  After the little duck wanders off, it gets in another nest. After being chased out of the other nest, it finds a duck decoy and gets bonked on the head by it. This makes the ugly duckling (swan) a little traumatized and sad. It sobs its little eyes out until a swan mother and her little ones hear it. Once he finds a loving home, he never returns to the duck who hatched him. Our little swan swims off with the loving adopted mother and her hatchl...
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Clock Cleaners (1937) - Cartoon Review

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 Today I watched Clock Cleaners (from 1937), a Disney cartoon featuring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Let's talk about it.  Courtesy of D23 As I research cartoons, I find that Disney can be hard to find in some cases (at least the full version, anyway). I don't have Disney Plus and don't intend to get it. It's true that Disney doesn't play around with pirated media. Even so, I found this one from 1937 on YouTube. The older the media, the higher the chance you can get it in a full version.  This cartoon is about Mickey, Donald, and Goofy cleaning a clock. That's it, that's all. Mickey encounters a sleepy stork while Donald fights with a spring. Goofy has the longest adventure and the fewest lines of dialogue as he cleans a bell and does it when the clock hits noon. Two statues hit the bell several times while he's in it, then hit him. Mickey then tries to help Goofy not fall off the clock tower. By the last moment, they are all sprawled on the floor together...
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