Clue

"He couldn't have been dead."
"He was. At least I thought he was, but what difference does it make now?"
"Makes quite a difference to him."

On a dark and stormy evening, a group of six strangers travel to a secluded mansion. Each have been invited by an anonymous person and given a unique moniker (like in the game).

Colonel Mustard (Mull) is a an retired colonel with a temper.
Mrs. White (Kahn) is a widow with a secret.
Mr. Green (McKean) works for the State Department and is clumsy / awkward.
Mrs. Peacock (Brennan) is the wife of a senator who over-shares and screams a lot.
Professor Plum (Lloyd) is a former psychiatrist who is also a womanizer.
Miss Scarlet (Warren) is a madam and extremely blunt.

After all the guest arrive, Wadsworth (Curry) the butler, explains why they are all present: they are all being blackmailed. They were brought together to expose the blackmailer, Mr. Body (Ving), and send him to jail... which would also expose their secrets. After dinner, Mr. Body gives each guest a deadly weapon (from the game) to kill Wadsworth and keep their secrets. Unfortunately, when the lights go out someone kills Mr. Body... as the evening wears on, it is up to the guests, Wadsworth, and Yvette (Camp), the maid, to identify the murderer before the cops arrive or the death count rises.


The first, as far as I know, film based on a board game, Clue / Cluedo. Like Murder by Death, this film features big names in comedy. The cast looks they are having a blast, especially Lesley Ann Warren as Miss Scarlet and Tim Curry as Wadsworth.

The characters repeatedly run across the screen, making every second count, as they try to find the murderer... the film starts slow, with the staff preparing for the evening and the guests arriving. But after dinner, the story picks up.

To mimic the feel of the game, besides having all the same characters and weapons and rooms, the filmmakers shot three endings. When the film was initially released, one ending was shown at each theatre. To get the full effect, you needed to see the film at multiple theatres (which was a great money making scheme). While I appreciate the three endings (which can all be seen on the DVD), I wish there were 7 endings to have the full range of options. Overall a fun (if that's possible) murder mystery.


*This film is often compared to the 1976 film "Murder by Death." To read a review specifically comparing these films, go to http://www.fernbyfilms.com/2009/07/20/movie-review-murder-by-death-vs-clue/

Clue (1985) 94 minutes
Director: Jonathan Lynn
Starring: Eileen Brennan as Mrs. Peacock
Tim Curry as Wadsworth
Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White
Christopher Lloyd as Professor Plum
Michael McKean as Mr. Green
Martin Mull as Colonel Mustard
Lesley Ann Warren as Miss Scarlet
Colleen Camp as Yvette
Lee Ving as Mr. Body

Murder by Death

"Locked, from the inside. That can only mean one thing. And I don't know what it is."

The five best detectives in the world, and a guest, are invited to "dinner and a murder" at the home at the mysterious Lionel Twain (Capote). The guests are,

-The first arrival is Sidney Wang (Sellers), China's star detective, who speaks in riddles. He brings his adopted Japanese son Willie (Narita). Who get a room with a roaring fire...on one of the beds.
-Next is married couple Dick (Niven) and Dora (Smith) Charleston, the well bred detective (and spouse) who follow the rules of decorum. Their room is decorated with candy cobwebs, powdered sugar dust, and a live "fake" rat.
-Then Belgium detective and lover of food Milo Perrier (Coco) and his driver / assistant, Marcel, (Cromwell). They argue about most things, such as pronunciation (their accents get in the way), and Perrier is offended when people thinks he's French.
-Followed by hardboiled American detective Sam Diamond (Falk) and his long-suffering girlfriend / assistant Tess Skeffington (Brennan). He is suspicious of everyone, including Tess, and knows a lot about everyone else.
-The final arrival is detective Jessica Marbles (Lanchester) and her former nurse (Winwood), who is elderly (93ish) and hard of hearing. Jessie now cares for her in addition to solving crimes.

Twain has called these detectives together to prove that he is the greatest criminologist in the world. He challenges the detectives to solve a murder: he tells them when and where it will occur. He also hints that the murderer and victim are in the room (although he doesn't tell them who it is). Twain is aided by his blind butler, Bensonmum (Guinness), and his deaf mute maid (Walker) who can't read in English (but can't write). Hilarity ensues while the detectives try to outmaneuver each other.


A gathering of the biggest names in comedy (see Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and Clue)... how could it be bad? In addition to the comic talents of the cast, the characters are spoofs of classic detectives. Two of the detectives are spoofs of literary characters by mystery author Agatha Christie: Milo Perrier and Jessie Marbles are Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple respectively. The rest of the detectives are spoofs of film detectives: Sidney Wang is Charlie Chan (created by Earl Derr Biggers), the Charleston's are Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man films (and the novel by Dashiell Hammett), and Sam Diamond is a combination of all the detectives portrayed by Humphrey Bogart. If you are familiar with any of these characters, it is interesting to see how they are portrayed in the film. The cast is amazing, with the exception of Truman Capote, who was not an actor and is the only low point in the film. He can't really act and is just annoying, thankfully he is only on screen for a few scenes. Nancy Walker, who plays the maid, is great and practically steals the show, but is sadly in less of the film than Capote. However, she has some great moments such as meeting and trying to communicate with the butler and her "scream" a few scenes later. Excellent film, chalked full of laughs. Not the easiest to find, but worth the search (try TCM).

*This film is often compared to the 1985 film "Clue." To read a review specifically comparing these films, go to http://www.fernbyfilms.com/2009/07/20/movie-review-murder-by-death-vs-clue/

Murder by Death (1976) minutes
Director: Robert Moore
Starring: Eileen Brennan as Tess Skeffington
Truman Capote as Lionel Twain
James Coco as Milo Perrier
Peter Falk as Sam Diamond
Alec Guinness as Bensonmum
Elsa Lanchester as Jessica Marbles
David Niven as Dick Charleston
Peter Sellers as Sidney Wang
Maggie Smith as Dora Charleston
Nancy Walker as the Maid
Estelle Winwood as the Nurse
James Cromwell as Marcel
Richard Narita as Willie Wang

Junebug

"God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way."

When a promising new artist emerges in North Carolina, gallery owner Madeleine (Davidtz) is advised to make the trip to the sticks to meet and sign him. As chance would have it, her new husband, George (Nivola), is from the same town, so they decide to kill two birds with one stone and combine the trips.

After meeting eccentric, self-taught artist David Wark (Taylor) and seeing his other worldly paintings, the couple (only married for a few months) go to see the Johnsten family and are met with a chilly reception. His mother, Peg (Weston), takes an immediate dislike to Madeleine, who calls her Pat. His father, Eugene (Wilson), is a man of few words, more content to spned time in the basement with his woodworking tools than to interact with his family. His brother, Johnny (McKenzie), is bitter and detached and has not spoken to George in three years. Johnny's wife, Ashley (Adams), is very pregnant (due any day). She is excited about George's homecoming and the chance to meet her new, big city sister,

"I wonder what she looks like. I bet she's skinny. She probably is. She's skinnier'n me and prettier too. Now I'll hate her. Oh, I can't wait!"

As the rest of the family, including George, remain distant, Ashley and Madeleine become friends. After an incident with Peg's favorite craft and a shared habit, Ashley is glued to Madeleine. But when complications arise, will the bonds of family survive?


Amy Adams continues to amaze me... she has yet to disappoint me. Perhaps I haven't enjoyed all of her films, but she delivers every time. This is no exception, her Ashley is the sweet center of this film and steals every scene she is in. The rest of the family is good (it is an excellent cast), but there is something about Ashley that pulls you in and deserves all of the recognition she received for this part!

The film moves a leisurely pace, focusing on empty spaces in between scenes and occasionally leaving or entering a room while a character is talking (the dialogue remains during these shifts). If you don't like slower films, this probably isn't the film for you. Each character has little arch, and is given the opportunity to react on their own to different situations. Not all backstory is explained, such as why don't the brothers get along. The characters grow, slightly, over the course of the story and you understand them better... they don't fix everything at the end, but some characters are redeemed. A well made film, with a new, realistic take on family.

Junebug (2005) 106 minutes
Rating: R for sexual content and language.
Director: Phil Morrison
Starring: Embeth Davidtz as Madeleine
Amy Adams as Ashley Johnsten
Ben McKenzie as Johnny Johnsten
Alessandro Nivola as George Johnsten
Celia Weston as Peg Johnsten
Scott Wilson as Eugene Johnsten
Frank Hoyt Taylor as David Wark

Get Smart

"I think it's only fair to warn you, this facility is surrounded by a highly trained team of 130 Black Op Snipers."
"I don't believe you."
"Would you believe two dozen Delta Force Commandos?"
"No."
"How about Chuck Norris with a BB gun?"

Maxwell Smart (Carell) is a top CONTROL analyst, spending most of his time painstakingly translating Russian chatter. Despite being the best at his job, Max dreams of becoming a field agent. After seven failed attempts, the Chief (Arkin) finally acknowledges Max would make an excellent agent, but he is needed more in his current job. However, after CONTROL is attacked by Russian agency KAOS (CONTROL's biggest threat) the identities of CONTROL agents have been compromised. The only agents left are Agent 99 (Hathaway), who recently changed her face, and Max as Agent 86.

Agent 99 does not want to be paired with a rookie...but Max is thrilled. They are sent to Russia to find KAOS' nuclear bombs. Their adventure begins when they jump from a plane, Max without a parachute, while being chased by a KAOS assassin. With Agent 99's field expertise, and Max's knowledge of KAOS agents, they infiltrate a party hosted by Krstic (David S. Lee), the arms dealer. After a danceoff, they continue to follow the trail of the bombs, realizing the attack on CONTROL was an inside job. Meanwhile, back at CONTROL top agent 23 (Johnson) tries to adjust to life behind a desk, while terrorizing Agent 91 (Crews) and obnoxious Larabee (Koechner).


I tend to have mixed feelings about TV shows becoming feature films... normally, they just don't translate well. The jokes and feel of 30 - 60 minutes just aren't enough to fill 2 hours. Most bomb, or are painful to watch (I'm thinking "Wild, Wild West" among others)... Thankfully, the writers and filmmakers made "Get Smart" the film work. The cast is terrific. Steve Carell is an excellent Max, with enough of Don Adams and his own spin on the part to make you believe the character. The classic lines and gags are present, including the memorable gadgets...with an update. Anne Hathaway works well as Agent 99... and Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a "The Rock") is well cast as Agent 23. The two techies, Bruce (Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence), are adorable and funny... and apparently were popular enough to have a straight to DVD short. Overall, an excellent homage to the original show and the people who brought it to life. Look for a cameo by the original Siegfried, Bernie Kopell.

Get Smart (2008) 110 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language.
Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart / Agent 86
Anne Hathaway as Agent 99
Dwayne Johnson as Agent 23
Alan Arkin as The Chief
Terence Stamp as Siegfried
Terry Crews as Agent 91
David Koechner as Larabee
Masi Oka as Bruce
Nate Torrence as Lloyd

Time Bandits

"If I were creating the world I wouldn't mess about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers, eight o'clock, Day One!"

Strange things have been happening to Kevin (Warnock). After going to bed one evening, a knight on a horse rode burst from his closet and rode across his room. The following evening, he voluntarily goes to bed early, armed with a flashlight and his trusty camera. Shortly after going to bed, his closet is opened by six small men with a strange map. The map shows all of the holes in time, and they convince Kevin to join the adventure.

The men are planning to become international criminals, by using the map to travel through time and steal from different time periods, with the ability to disappear after the heist. They are Randall (Rappaport) the leader, Fidgit (Baker), Strutter (Dixon), Og (Edmonds), Wally (Purvis), and Vermin (Ross) who eats everything. While they travel through time and have adventures, they are watched by Evil (Warner) who wants the map for his own purposes. He is disappointed with creation,

"God isn't interested in technology. He cares nothing for the microchip or the silicon revolution. Look how he spends his time, forty-three species of parrots! Nipples for men!"
"Slugs."
"Slugs! HE created slugs! They can't hear. They can't speak. They can't operate machinery. Are we not in the hands of a lunatic?"

and is imprisoned in the dark fortress. He wants the map to overthrow the Supreme Being (Richardson), who imprisoned Evil and owns the map.


Probably my favorite Terry Gilliam film. This film inspired me to watch other Gilliam films... The sets are fascinating (the dark fortress set is amazing) and the costumes are great. While the whole cast is excellent, David Warner as Evil steals the show. He has some of the best lines (like the one below the picture) and gets to zap his lackeys (I'm not giving away anything else that is cool about this character). The historical figures are also memorable: Ian Holm is the height obsessed Napoleon, " Little things hitting each other. THAT'S WHAT I LIKE!" John Cleese is Robin Hood, "Oh you must meet them. I'm sure you'll like them. Of course they haven't got two pennies to rub together but that's because they're poor" and his slapstick merry men. And Sean Connery is the fatherly warrior King Agamemnon. Michael Palin pops up several times as the pathetic Vincent looking for love with the clueless Pansy (Shelley Duvall). The bandits are an interesting group: funny and loveable, quite able to carry the film.

It is an interesting concept, the type of film only Terry Gilliam could pull off. There are some places where the plot drags a bit (the giant is cool, but not necessary), but overall you can't tear your eyes away from the screen. It is better the second or third time because you catch so many new things (some things are obvious, but he did some cool subtle things as well). Love it!

Time Bandits (1981) 116 minutes
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Craig Warnock as Kevin
David Rappaport as Randall
Kenny Baker as Fidgit
Malcom Dixon as Strutter
Mike Edmonds as Og
Jack Purvis as Wally
Tiny Ross as Vermin
David Warner as Evil
Sean Connery as King Agamemnon
Ian Holm as Napoleon
John Cleese as Robin Hood
Michael Palin as Vincent
Shelley Duvall as Pansy
Ralph Richardson as the Supreme Being

Jabberwocky

"It is the middle of the dark ages, ages darker than anyone had expected"

The kingdom is besieged by the dreaded Jabberwocky. Most people have fled to the capital city to hide behind it's strong wall... Dennis (Palin) and his father (Curran) live in one of the surviving communities outside the wall and make barrels. Dennis dreams of a different life, and his wish comes true when he is disowned by his dying father. Before leaving, he goes to see the woman of his dreams, the fat and rude Griselda (Badland) who is not interested and throws a rotten potato at him (which he believes is a token of her love). With his faith renewed, he goes to the city.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in the city has risen to the point that the Chamberlain (Le Mesurier) asks the king to do something, if only to keep the number of tax paying citizens from decreasing more. King Brutus the Questionable (Wall) decides to hold a joust-to-the-death to find a knight to defeat the monster, but changes to a game of hide-and-seek because he lost too many knights. In addition to killing the monster, the victorious knight also wins "win half of the Princess's hand and all of the kingdom" or "the King's hand and half the Princess's land" or "the Princess's hand and half of the King's land" (the herald isn't quite sure). The Princess (Fallender) has other plans, she resides in the East tower and waits for a heroic prince to wisk her off her feet. Instead, she is charmed by Dennis. Will Dennis be forced to face the mysterious beast? Will he ever be reunited with his beloved Griselda? Will he find a job in the city?


Two years after the success of the first Monthy Python film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (co-directed by Python's Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam), Terry Gilliam embarked on his solo directorial debut with another medieval film. Other Python's appear in the film, Michael Palin is Dennis and Terry Jones begins the film with a short cameo (picture below).

Terry Jones as the Poacher

And Gilliam appears in a brief cameo as the Man with a rock (he thinks it is a diamond). Other than these appearances, the film bears little resemblance to the works of the Pythons. Using the Lewis Carroll poem "Jabberwocky" as the background, Gilliam shows the world that his films will be different from what he had done to that point.

Palin's Dennis is an innocent man with small goals, who never fully realizes what is happening around him. Over the course of the film he is beaten by various characters, impersonates a nun, is almost a sacrifice to the monster, and leaves a wake of destruction in his path. In spite of all this, you can't help but hope he meets his potential (and figures out the truth of his love life). King Brutus is another memorable character, with is love of carnage and oblivious / apathetic response to the chaos around him. He has a few funny lines and some great facial expressions. A good film, but at some points it feels a little long. Don't expect it to be a Monty Python film, and you will enjoy it.

Jabberwocky (1977) 105minutes
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Michael Palin as Dennis Cooper
Max Wall as King Bruno the Questionable
Deborah Fallender as The Princess
Harry H. Corbett as The Squire
John Le Mesurier as The Chamberlain
Warren Mitchell as Mr. Fishfinger
Annette Badland as Griselda Fishfinger
Paul Curran as Mr. Cooper
Neil Innes as the 2nd Herald
Terry Jones as the Poacher
Terry Gilliam as Man with Rock

Mamma Mia!

"Typical isn't it? You wait 20 years for a dad and then three come along at once."

Sophie (Seyfried) has a dream: to have her father walk her down the aisle at her wedding. However, she doesn't know the identity of her father. Hoping to find out, she reads her mother's diary and learns there are three candidates: Sam (Brosnan), Bill (Skarsgård), and Harry (Firth). Sophie believes she will know her father as soon as she sees him, so she invites all three to visit her mother's hotel in Greece. They don't know why they are being invited (but believe the invitation comes from Sophie's mother), and her mother, Donna (Streep), doesn't know about her three guests. Her fiance, Sky (Cooper) is also left in the dark.

A few days before they wedding all three arrive, and Donna is not pleased. She retreats to the support of her best friends, impulsive writer Rosie (Walters) and wealthy divorcée Tanya (Baranski), while Sophie spends time getting to know the men.

The candidates: Adventurous Bill, Businessman Sam, and Banker Harry

Sam left Donna to marry someone else and she vowed to never speak to him again. He is a successful businessman in New York. Bill was a free spirit (who had an Aunt Sophia, who left her money to Donna), and now travels the world seeking adventures and writing travel guides. Harry was a rocker, but now works as a banker and is never spontaneous.

Meanwhile, Rosie and Tanya remind Donna of the fun they used to have singing together. They plan to keep the three men away from Donna and the wedding. At Sophie's bachlorette party, the night before the wedding, all three men realize why they were invited to Greece and assume they are the father. They all offer to walk Sophie down the aisle, and she still isn't sure who is her father.


I love ABBA! The tunes are infectious and fun... is it possible to be sad while listening to ABBA? I think not. I knew there was a Broadway musical based on ABBA songs, but wasn't particularly interested... and then it became a film. I heard the soundtrack first, and was interested (read: addicted) enough to see (read: buy without seeing) the film (which I saw for the first time a few hours ago). Overall I was impressed.

It is hard to take a show with so much presence / atmosphere and bring that feeling to a film. Apparently this is the kind of show that is excellent live... with a room full of people singing along with the cast, waiting for the encore of ABBA songs not featured in the show. But I think those feelings translated to the film. It is fun, you are sorry to have it end (even with the encore performances during the end credits)... you feel great and ready to go back and rewatch the film with the "sing-a-long" option.

Prior to seeing the film, my biggest concern was the cast. With the exception of Christine Baranski, they do not have musical / theatrical backgrounds... but the majority of the cast rose to the task. Amanda Seyfried is excellent as Sophie, with a strong singing voice (Random trivia: Benny and Bjorn, of ABBA, were so impressed with Amanda they offered to write music for her, if she ever wanted to have a career in music!). Meryl Streep is also noteworthy. We knew she could act, but who knew she could sing too! But Julie Walters steals the show... she is amazing and gets the most laughs (although her partner in crime, Christine Baranski is also a scene stealer).

In my opinion, the only casting misfire was Pierce Brosnan. He tries, but it just doesn't work. His singing is painful, but that isn't the only problem... I never buy him as the character. Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth (who I love in pretty much anything) work as their respective characters... but not Brosnan. If it was necessary to secure a big name for the part, there are many other actors (including Broadway vets) who could fill the void. That issue aside, it isn't technically well made (not impressed with some of the camera work / staging)... but you don't dwell on that as soon as the cast belts out the next tune. Worth the price of admission (or in my case, the price of the DVD)!!

Mamma Mia (2008) 108 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Starring: Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan
Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael
Colin Firth as Harry Bright
Stellan Skarsgård as Bill Anderson
Julie Walters as Rosie
Dominic Cooper as Sky
Amanda Seyfried as Sophie Sheridan
Christine Baranski as Tanya