bigsleepj

I'm afraid that the legendary "Sherlock Jnr" has left me cold. It just not as good as Keaton's other movies (Our Hospitality, Steamboat Bill Jnr, The General) which doesn't feel as forced as this one. It's not that I have anything against surrealism but from the beginning of the "surreal" part of the movie (i.e. when he enters the cinema) the movie just stops being good (not that the beginning was all that great as well).

Sure, there are great parts (like when he jumps into an old lady's stomach) but eventually they don't amount to much. I'm sorry, I really wanted to love this movie but it just does not stand on its own like most of Keaton's silent movies.

Bob the Tomato is trying to produce a play (co-written by Larry) only to find that their opening night competition is a small church play. So they plan to sabotage the their competition. Oh yes, and the opening night is Christmas Eve.

The Star of Christmas has everything you'd want and expect from Veggietales videos: Silly songs, obnoxious humor, French Peas and a Christian message. Even some of the setpieces are great like the rehearsals for the play, and Larry and Bob's attempts to escape from the "hands" of Moyer the Destroyer. Or, in fact, the usual lines like that ring with silly humor. The Star of Christmas delivers up to a point.

Then the producers attempted one final "comic chase scene" in a rocket powered motorcar. This unfortunately fails to be funny and seems rather desperate for laughs. In all honesty the movie could have done without; it adds very little to the story. In the scene there are great moments but they don't help.

Other than that, the Star of Christmas is great entertainment. 7/10

I struggle (always) to get through the shoddy, slightly boring and occasionally badly shot 30 minutes of this movie. I don't know why (entirely) I feel this way about it, but it's just not engaging. Is it shoddy film making or am I just an idiot? There are funny moments (like the trial - by - knocking - on - the - head) and brilliant moments (when Kambei shaves his head) but they are few. On the whole the first part of the story is just shoddy.

The rest, however (from them leaving for the village) is pure movie magic. I can't even describe how brilliant the rest of this movie is. It's pure movie magic. This is certainly on of the BEST MOVIES EVER MADE. It deserves all the acclaim it receives. There is barely an equal.

Kurosawa is definetely the greatest director ever born.