This film follows the true story of Sarah Rector, a young 11-year-old black girl, who is given a plot of land that she believes God is telling her oil is on. When she hires a company to check for if there is oil on her land, they try to swindle her out of her land.
What makes this movie work is that it shows us the ugly side of humanity, while still remaining hopefully about the future. The film never sugarcoats when it comes to racism and human greed. We see the absolute worst of both of them here and some of these scenes can be heartbreaking to watch. Yet this is a movie about how sometimes human decency and kindness can sometimes overcome hatred and greed. We may know that this may not always be the case but knowing it can happen sometimes gives us hope, especially as sadly this kind of hatred and can sadly still exist.
This movie also benefits from some strong concise storytelling that doesn't waster a moment, as well as some strong acting. While Zachary Levi gives one of his better performances here, it is young Naya Desir-Johnson as the titular character who steals the show. She is so charming, likable and completely believable here that she makes the whole movie work very well.
I will say though that this movie is very predictable and it is very often that you can see exactly where it is going. There are no surprises in the whole movie.
This animated movie from France and Belgium is one of my favorite movies of the year.
This movie falls a little girl from her birth to three years old, with the girl narrating the story for us.
From this simple premise comes one of the smartest and most insightful films, I have seen in quite a while. Telling this story directly from the point of view from such a young child proved to be a brilliant idea. When you are a child, everything is new to you and because of this, the joyous moments feel more joyful, and the sad moments feel sadder. Very early on, this movie puts us directly in this state of mind. We feel these emotions in that exact same way. There are times when this movie makes us feel the greatest joy at the absolute simplicist of moments such as running through the flowers on a spring day or feeling rain fall down upon you or seeing the ocean. At the same time, you feel great sorrow over the idea of someone you love having to leave. This is one of the most emotional rides I have had in a movie theatre in a long time. All of this is helped by a gorgeous art style that captures how beautiful the world can look to us when we are that young.
Even if this movie focuses on a young child, its insights into life are very important to anyone any age. It talks about how nothing and no one is truly lost if they live on in our memories. This is a very real and insightful message that helps us with the painful emotions we experience without sugarcoating anything. The message is also told to us in a very intelligent and insightful way, with some truly well-written dialogue.
As smart and mature as this movie is, it is not one of those artsy animated films that can only be enjoyed by adults. This film is completely approachable to a child of any age, and it is never too early to introduce them to a great work of art.
If you watch this film in theaters, it will be accompanied by a short film, titled Éiru, from the Irish animation studio, Cartoon Saloon. This is a delightful short film that is well written, very creative and full of fantastic artwork.
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is a must see for fans of mature, smart and insightful animated films. It is a pure masterpiece.
This movie is quite a departure for this franchise. One of the predators is actually this film's protagonist and there are virtually no horror elements to be found. Despite this the movie is actually quite good. Though there are more characters in here, the majority of the movie focuses specifically on two characters. These two characters are very likable and very well defined. While the movie shows their flaws, we like them and root for them right from the start. The relationship between these two characters is also quite well defined. We feel these characters' relationship growing over the course of the film and see the ways they change each other for the better. This all happens at a very believable pace. Caring for these characters makes it so that the emotional moments hit just right. The movie also benefits from some fantastic visuals that look incredible on a Dolby or IMAX screen. These visuals really help this setting come to life and make it feel like we have fully entered this sci-fi world. There are also plenty of truly great action scenes.
Unfortunately, the humor falls flat almost consistently. Likewise, the film is very predictable at times.
Many writings on Buster Keaton tend to focus on his silent movie work. It is very easy to see why. During the silent era, Buster enjoyed the most creative freedom over his films. It was also during this time that Buster released what are considered his greatest masterpieces. However, Buster had a much longer career, and one should not overlook his sound films. Even if his sound films never reached the heights of his silent work, there are moments of Keaton brilliance found in them.
This is why I greatly appreciate Jim Kline's book, The Complete Films of Buster Keaton. As the title states, this book covers every single film Buster Keaton ever made ranging from The Butcher Boy (1917) to The Scribe (1966). After an introduction giving an overview of Buster's career, this book adopts a very simple format. It goes over each film individually and in order. For each film Kline provides a list of credits, a story synopsis, his own personal opinion on the film and some background information. All this makes for a fun, easy and approachable read. While I greatly enjoyed reading about the all the classic silent films here, it was the looks at the underdiscussed talkie films that made me love this book. Though very well-written everything he has to say about the silent films has also been said in other books. However, to read such well-written reviews of such little discussed films from the career of one of the movies' finest comedic talents is truly fascinating. I especially enjoyed his reviews of Buster's shorts for Colombia, where Three Stooges director/producer Jules White gave Buster material more fitting of the Stooges (though as us Stooge lovers know, White was hardly the Stooges' best director). However with his writings about Buster’s silent era work, I enjoyed what the author had to say about the early shorts he made with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle as he gives great insight into how both comedians' personal styles came together to create these films.
One thing you can't hold against this book is that there has been a lot of research done since it was written, therefore film buffs may know more about Buster's most popular films than is said here.
This is a delightful read for any fan of classic movie comedy.
Hello, my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church.
Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing, Sweet Hour of Prayer. The words of this hymn are believed to have come from William W. Walford, a blind preacher from Warwickshire, England. It is believed that when fellow minister and friend, Thomas Salmon visited him in 1842, he asked Salmon to write down the words of a poem he had written about prayer. When Salmon was in the United States, three years later, he showed the poem to an editor of The New York Observer. It was then printed in an issue dated September 13, 1845. In 1861, William Bradbury would write the music for this hymn. Bradbury had also written the music for such Hymns as Just as I Am, He Leadeth Me and The Solid Rock. This recording of the hymn was the title track of Roy and Dale's 1957 gospel album.
This is followed by Jean Shepard with Where No One Stands Alone. This song was written by Mosie Lister, one of the most influential and important gospel songwriters of the 1950's. Mosie was also one of the founding members of the gospel singing group, The Statesmen Quartet. Not long afterwards he left the band and performing to concentrate on songwriting and that is when he wrote many of his finest compositions, including this one.
Afterwards is Patty Loveless with You Burned the Bridge. This recording comes from her 2009 gospel album, Mountain Soul II.
Then is The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis with Too Much to Gain to Lose.
Next is the Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Heavenly Airplane. This song was written by Bob Nolan, one of the founding members of the group and one of my favorite songwriters. Bob also has the lead vocals on this song. Hugh Farr's fiddle playing here is truly wonderful. This recording was done when Roy Rogers was still a member of the group before embarking on his solo career.
Afterwards is Washington Phillips with his 1927 recording of Paul and Silas in Jail.
It is hard to believe that a song like The Man Comes Around was so late in Johnny Cash's career. Most of the time singer/songwriters don't release and certainly don't write their best music in their sixth decade, but as all music fans know Johnny was one of the rare artists with such a long career, who left this world at the top of his game musically. At this time John was on fire for the lord. No longer was he the wild crazy man he had been in the 1950's and 60's, instead by this time he had become a true man of God, and wanted to do all he could for the lord before he passed away. He knew he had wasted too much of his life being controlled by sin and finally wanted to be a servant to God instead of to his own fleshly desires. At this time he was also seeing a musically resurgence, where he was more popular than ever and young audiences were embracing his new music just as much as they did any younger artist of their generation. What he wanted to do was to create a modern day gospel song that would speak directly to this younger audience and The Man Comes Around more than fit that bill. Because this song was so near and dear to him he spent more time writing it than any other song he had composed. In his book, Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon, Pastor Greg Laurie wrote "Personally I think it is the strongest song Johnny ever wrote. It is both biblical and personal, powerful and poetic."
Today's musical selection ends with Anne Wilson with Still Do. This comes from Still Do. This song is from her 2025 album, Stars.
Now for a message from S.M. Lockridge.
Now for the Red Ryder movie, Vigilantes of Boomtown (1947).
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection starts with a delightful early Mickey Mouse short, The Gorilla Mystery (1930). This short film was somewhat spoofing the 1925 play The Gorilla which also involved a dark house and a sinister gorilla. This play had been made into a silent feature film, The Gorilla (1927). The same year as this cartoon was released a talkie remake, The Gorilla (1930). A more comedic approach to this story was the later Ritz Brothers feature, The Gorilla (1939). The gorilla used in this Mickey cartoon (according to studio documentation) is the same one who would appear in the future Mickey Mouse shorts, Mickey's Mechanical Man (1933) and The Pet Store (1933). This movie benefits from some great atmospheric touches that show just how advanced the Disney studio was even at this point. Those of you who have seen the Mickey Mouse short film, Get a Horse (2013), should note that that Mickey's shout of "Minnie" in this cartoon was reused in that film. Mickey's cry of "Bring her back Mr. Ingagi" is a reference to the movie, Ingagi (1930), which also featured an evil gorilla.
Up next is the Terry Toons cartoon, A Truckload of Trouble (1949). I really like the three main characters in this short and wish they could have been used in more cartoons.
Now for the Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon, Foolish Follies (1930). The following is a review from an issue of Motion Picture News, "Van Beuren's stock of pen and ink animal characters provoke a load of laughter with their version of 'Foolish Follies' on the stage of the Casino, where they burlesque the more popular types of vaude acts. Running time, 6 minutes. Good stuff for heavy feature."
Next is the early Porky Pig cartoon, Plane Dippy (1936). This is the film in which we learn Porky's full name, Porky Cornelius Washington Otis Lincoln Abner Aloysius Casper Jefferson Philbert Horatius Narcissus Pig. I'm sure you all will memorize that name. As well as Porky this film also has some other characters that also premiered in the Merrie Melodies cartoon, I Haven't Got A Hat (1935) such as Little Kitty (who plays an important role here). Comic fans may also notice that the character of Professor Blotz looks extremely similar to a character from the Mickey Mouse comic strip, Professor Ecks. Though this movie is directed by Tex Avery, don't except the pure insanity of his later cartoons, as this was still early in his directorial career and he hadn't fully developed his style yet. Still this cartoon has many very funny gags in it, I especially love Porky writing his name. The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "PLANE DIPPY: Looney Tune—This is a very comical cartoon. Above the average.—Paul J. Pope, Avon Theatre, Geneva, Ala., Small Town and Rural Patronage."
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Now for a silent classic, Mutt and Jeff in The Globe Trotters (1926). The more of these Mutt and Jeff cartoons I watch, the more I am convinced that they are some of the best cartoons of the silent era.
Motion Picture News, 1917
Now we join Andy Panda in Crow Crazy (1945). This is the first of two cartoons to feature Andy's dog Milo. The other was Mousie Come Home (1946). Andy would have different dogs in other cartoons, but I think Milo is the most memorable.
Now for Dudley Do-Right in The Centaur (1969).
Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Jumping Bart (1987). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the animated family received their own TV show.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another selection of animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein.
Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin
A flawed movie that works because of a masterful performance by Jennifer Lawrence.
Jennifer Lawrence truly shines in the role of a woman who is having a mental breakdown after having a baby. She is absolutely incredible here. This is one of those performances in which you forget you are watching an actress or a fictional character. All you see is a real person on the screen. And though sometimes I found myself getting angry at the character's actions (she can be selfish and downright cruel), I could feel the authenticity in every one of these moments. Though Lawrence has always been a very strong actress, this movie shows the depth and maturity she is capable of. Robert Pattinson and Sissy Spacek (a personal favorite actress of mine) are great as well, but this movie is Jennifer Lawrence's time to shine. And shine she does.
I am also greatly impressed with the very cinematic way this movie is told. The rural setting and the way this setting is shot and often lingered on, greatly enhances the feeling of isolation. Meanwhile the soundtrack is very effectively used. There are moments that are almost silent and moments that are deafeningly loud, both of which are used masterfully to put us in the mindset of the main character.
However, this movie is relentlessly depressing. While there have been many great sad movies most of them have at least a few moments that relieve you from the sadness or offer a faint glimmer of hope. That is not here at all. We simply see our main character fall further and further down the rabbit hole of misery. Many of the ways this is done feel completely unnecessary. Did we really need the whole subplot about the dog or having her husband cheat on her, when the focus of this movie is on the effect motherhood has on her? These subplots only exist to tie her down with even more misery. It gets to the point fairly early on, when it is easy to become fed up with the misery this movie constantly heaps on its characters that we simply find ourselves wanting this movie to just end. This can make this movie feel much longer than it actually is.
This movie is also brought down by the use of unnecessary symbolism and avant-garde visuals. This is a film that works best when it tells its story and a more realistic and relatable fashion. The more abstract and artsy scenes seem to be too much in contrast with the majority of the film.
This is a very flawed movie but also one that is held down by a truly great lead performance.
