BoyActors - Reviews/Ratings by diogenes

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Reviews by diogenes

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346 reviews/ratings - 18 pages (20 reviews/ratings per page)

Oliver Twist (1999)

Bleasdale, who wrote this four-part miniseries, took it into his head that he could 'improve' Dickens' original story, in particular by explaining away a couple of plot twists in the novel which otherwise seem like incredible coincidences; but the result is a somewhat tortuous and over-lengthy rewrite, made worse by his adding a tedious and uninteresting back story, which occupies the whole of the first episode. The casting is not quite right either. I'm sorry, but Robert Lindsay just isn't Fagin, and never could be. In Bleasdale's version, Fagin is a conjuror who does tricks, but this gets rather wearisome after a while. As for the Dodger, they really did find the most unprepossessing boy imaginable to play him! And Bleasdale has transformed his character to make him quite unpleasant (this comes out more strongly in the final episode). On the other hand, Sam Smith makes a lively and appealing Oliver. And some of Bleasdale's decisions are certainly very interesting - for example, his decision to give Monks a more rounded character and to present him in a much more sympathetic light. I rather liked him, and was glad that Bleasdale gave him a happy ending. I also quite liked the idea that Brownlow is in the habit of taking in boys off the street. And the narrative definitely picks up considerably in the second half of the series, as Bleasdale settles in to Dickens' story. Worth a view, I think.

My Movie Rating:

7 / 10

Oliver Twist (1985)

An absolutely stunning BBC TV series, absolutely faithful to the novel. Scott Funnell plays Young Oliver for the first episode (he's the one whose photo seems to be in all the publicity, perhaps because it is he who goes up to ask for 'more'); and then, ten minutes into the second episode (after a 'passage of time' sequence), Ben Rodska takes over as Oliver, for the remaining 11 episodes. He is an absolutely wonderful Oliver, perhaps the best there's ever been. Indeed, all the performers are wonderful - it is difficult imagining this miniseries being bettered.

My Movie Rating:

10 / 10

Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)

There is no doubt that this film seems disappointing, and I was recently trying to think why this is so. I think there are a couple of reasons. First, this is billed as "The Final Conflict" - so by now you would expect Damien to be President of the US, or at the very least Vice-President plotting the murder of the President, and preparing for World War III. But no. Instead he's a rather humble diplomat who gets sent off to sodden old Blighty! - where, incidentally, he spends a considerable portion of his time having rough sex with a journalist and trying to recruit her son as one of his minions, despite the fact that the boy in question is even more powerless than he is! (Actually, the first time I saw this movie I mistakenly thought that the boy, played by Barnaby Holm, was a girl!) Second, there is at least one lengthy scene in a room where he keeps his general clutter (including a fascinating reverse crucifix thing - it's amazing the stuff you can get off ebay), involving a monologue where Damien attempts to justify his evil, and wraps himself in the mantle of victimhood. Oh dear. You know, I really think that if he were Pure Evil he wouldn't bother with the tedious handwringing of "justifying" himself. Perhaps the scene is supposed to invest him with the nobility of Milton's Satan, but he just comes across as a whinger. At the climax of the film, Damien bafflingly goes to some ruins where he is supposedly to find the reborn Christ Child. But what does Damien think the baby is doing there? Does he think that His parents just deposited Him there to be brought up by wolves or something? I'm not sure I understood this. And then (after he finally realises that the whole thing was just a ruse), Damien stamps about calling to Him, saying things like "where are you? Show yourself!"...um, but isn't the reborn Christ at this stage still a baby? At this point I completely lost the plot, but then so did the screenwriter, so it doesn't matter. The best thing about this film was the inadvertent humour of the "assassins", who are clearly incapable of organising a piss-up in a brewery, let alone dispatching the Anti-Christ, and just end up wrapping themselves in burning plastic, etc. Hilarious! In fact, I'm going to give it a 6 for this reason alone!

My Movie Rating:

6 / 10

The Omen (2006)

Strangely lifeless retelling, with lots of dull, greyish colours. The original version is better by far. There really was very little point to this film.

My Movie Rating:

4 / 10

Onán (2002)

My Movie Rating:

9 / 10

One Day I'll Become... (2017)

Way better than any of the actual Star Wars prequels. Beautiful cinematography.

My Movie Rating:

9 / 10

El Orfanato (2007)

An engaging mystery and a serious, cerebral 'ghost story' with a poignant conclusion.

My Movie Rating:

8 / 10

Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937)

One of my all-time favourite Our Gangs.

My Movie Rating:

10 / 10

Our New Errand Boy (1905)

14-year-old Tom is more a force of nature or a mischievous imp than a human being - a sort of amoral boy-deity, who causes mayhem without the slightest sympathy for those he torments. A lesser director would have turned the tables on him at the end in order to deliver a moral lesson. But in this film, he joyfully outwits his pursuers, and we end with him laughing uncontrollably at his victims' misfortune. And the wonderful thing is that we side with the boy, we share in his delight, so that the whole film becomes a celebration of irrepressible vitality. A truly extraordinary work.

My Movie Rating:

10 / 10

Our Time (2014)

My Movie Rating:

2 / 10

Le P'tit curieux (2004)

Not at all what I was expecting, which was something a little fluffier... Fluffy, this is not! I like the conceit of the film, which is that a child naturally thinks that the adults have the answers and he's frustrated because it seems that they are hiding the answers from him. Clément gradually learns that actually the grown-ups are pretty miserable much of the time. Writer/director Jean Marboeuf deserves credit for portraying a nine year old's thoughts without the sentimentalising lens through which most adults view children. Milan Argaud completely steals the show as young Clément. N.B. A lot of the entertainment of the film arises out of word play, so fluency in French would be helpful.

My Movie Rating:

8 / 10

P'tit Quinquin (2014)

An oddity, but it definitely grows on you.

My Movie Rating:

8 / 10

Padre Padrone (1977)

I'm surprised at some of the comments on this film. Far from being either "surreal" or "unrealistic", it seems to me very earthy and realist. I see no reason for having a moral spasm just because it depicts things as they were. As for the bestiality scene - this was how things were; boys were horny, and the available options were either farmyard animals or each other. I don't suppose the animals suffered more than mild discomfort at most. As for it being 'disgusting', my feelings are the same as Terence, "Homo sum; nil humani alienum mihi puto." In any case, the film definitely scotches any notion of peasant life as a bucolic idyll - the Taviani brothers side more with Marx's "idiocy of rural life". The protagonist's father isn't demonised, though - he is simply an outcome of his own upbringing; if anything is to blame for the brutishness of it all then it's the poverty and insecurity of peasant life. I found the whole film wonderful and enlightening. A definite 'must-see'. (Get the Arrow Academy Taviani blu-ray set whilst it's still available!)

My Movie Rating:

10 / 10

The Paper Lads (1977-1979)

With excellent, thoughtful scripts, superb acting from the whole cast, and plenty of outdoor filming, this was definitely one of the better kids' TV series of the 1970s. My favourite character was Gog, played by Peter Younger. Highly recommended.

My Movie Rating:

9 / 10

Pelle der Eroberer (1986)

My Movie Rating:

10 / 10

Penrod and Sam (1937)

My Movie Rating:

7 / 10

Penrod and Sam (1931)

Absolutely the best thing about this movie was Billie Lord as the 'sissy' Georgie Bassett - he was great! (Georgie's father - played by Johnny Arthur - was also marvellous.)

My Movie Rating:

7 / 10

A Perfect World (1993)

A superb film. The narrative is somewhat similar to "Martin's Day" (1984). Butch (Kevin Costner) comes to be everything a decent father should be to the boy. He respects the boy's autonomy, is never patronising, never lies to him 'for his own good'. There's a wonderful scene where the boy reveals that he has been made to feel inadequate about the size of a certain part of his anatomy. Butch asks the boy to show him and is able to reassure him that there's nothing wrong with him. In conversation with the boy, he emphasises the boy's abilities, what he can do rather than what he can't do. In consequence of all this, a bond of love begins to develop between them. There's a scene early on in the movie where Butch's partner in escape, Terry, seems to try to molest the boy. However, this doesn't quite fall in with modern mythology, because Terry's character has already been signalled as aggressively heterosexual. The message of the film is thus rather more complex than would be that of a similar film made in today's febrile climate. There's another strand in this film's plot involving Eastwood's character and his relationship to Butch that gives added depth and meaning to the narrative. T.J. Lowther is utterly wonderful in his role as Phillip Perry. Overall, a definite 'must-see'.

My Movie Rating:

9 / 10

Le Petit poucet (2001)

A wonderful cinematic realisation of a fairy tale. The French do this kind of thing so well! Highly recommended.

My Movie Rating:

8 / 10

Le petit roi (1933)

A great film, with an exceptional performance from Robert Lynen.

My Movie Rating:

10 / 10

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