Cinema (101):
Tom Thumb ***+ (1958)
Tom Thumb ***+ (1958)
Summary: When the 2-inch-tall Tom Thumb arrives at a childless couple's door, it seems like the perfect family has been created. But a chance meeting with a pair of devious robbers soon has Tom acting as an unwitting accomplice in a robbery, thereby threatening his family's happiness. Only Tom (Russ Tamblyn of West Side Story) and his friend Woody (Alan Young) can prove the innocence of Tom's parents and bring the robbers to justice. This 1958 presentation of the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale won an Oscar® for its innovative special effects. Timeless scenes include the famous dancing shoes and the painted boy who peels himself off of a pad of paper to dance around the room. Peggy Lee and Fred Spielman provide a wealth of catchy songs that have Tamblyn, Young, and Peter Sellers singing, dancing, and performing impressive gymnastic feats. This fanciful tale will appeal to the entire family. --Tami Horiuchi
From the Back Cover
Come soar away on the wings of your imagination to a land where forest spirits dwell, star-crossed lovers have their fondest dreams come true, and a pint-sized young boy charms his way right out of a fairy tale and straight into your heart. This is the merry and magical, mystic and mythical, marvelous world of Tom Thumb!
Brimming with Oscar-winning special effects like magic shoes which dance a merry jig and playful toys which leap to vibrant life, Tom Thumb is a wonderfully fanciful motion...
Cinema (101): Places in the Heart *** (1984, Drama)
Summary: Few movies hit you so unabashedly in the heart with a melodramatic wallop as Benton’s Places in the Heart, yet manage to avoid feeling cheap. A deeply touching slice of the depression era, worthy of all the Oscars it bagged (screenplay, best actress for Fields) plus several nominations.
Sally Field weilds absolute acting prowess as Edna Spaulding, a wife and mother of two kids who becomes widowed after a drunk accidentally shoots her husband. So she decides to make some money by planting cotton. She takes in a very friendly black man (wonderfully played by Danny Glover) who helps her get and plant the cotton, and a smart blind man (played by John Malkovich in an Oscar-nominated performance) who's a paying boarder.
These three adults and the two children form a little family together, and this is the part of "Places in the Heart" that works best.
Other characters add to the story. Lindsey Crouse was also Oscar-nominated for her portrayl of Field's sister who comes to help out after tragedy strikes early on. Ed Harris plays Crouse's husband who's having an affair with another woman, which makes for a somewhat inessential subplot. But that's a minor grouse.
Apart from the top-notch performances, the film's stunning finale is an unforgettable cinematic statement about hope. Had everyone in the room jerking a tear.
HD Cinema (104): Nothing Personal *+ (1980, Comedy)
Summary: A college professor plagued with a difficult legal problem solicits the assistance of a beautiful female lawyer. She happily takes his case.
