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MadShrubbery
Reviews
Ugly (2004)
"Ugly" Is A Beautiful Delight
Writer/Director Moon Unit Zappa's "Ugly" may be short, but it's time well spent in this beautiful dark comedy. Gwen is a young woman with an unnatural passion for knitting. From her own clothes to cozies for her several prescription pill bottles, Gwen is following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother's knack for the yarn arts.
After being discovered knitting in a park, Gwen and her new friend Kirk return to her apartment to work on Kirk's photography class project. Kirk, though, has ulterior motives, which Gwen finds out about when she overhears Kirk on the phone to a classmate. With the help of her daughter, Lola (*wink wink*), Gwen manages to make Kirk a little more than just a stranger off the street looking to take a few photographs for kicks. But heads up, there's a twist at the end.
Cinematography, lighting, and interesting angles make the film feel bright and fresh or dark and foreboding, depending on the mood of the action on screen. The music, by Matchbox Twenty's Paul Doucette, is versatile to the action as well, and reminiscent of the best of Danny Elfman ("Big Fish," "To Die For," "Edward Scissorhands"). Look for more of Doucette's independent work in the near future.
This 20 minute film, created for the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women, is one of 8 features for 2003-2004's program. Now showing at Cannes and at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2004, Zappa has taken her challenge and worked it well. "Ugly" is hopefully only the first start on Ms. Zappa's long directing career!
Magnolia (1999)
So many performances of a lifetime...so little time to see it all.
Frogs fall from the sky. Why that may seem odd to many in a movie, in some way it makes sense in Magnolia, the film about how the lives of several Californians intertwine in several delicate ways. Tom Cruise shines in his Oscar nominated performance, the music by Aimee Mann moves you, and the story is beyond compelling. From the director of Boogie Nights, Magnolia is the rare jewel in a mixture of dramatic films today. Throughout the film, we watch as lives blend together, watch people grow and die, love burn and fade, and we realize just what we are ourselves. Magnolia...perhaps the most touching film I've ever seen.
The Matrix (1999)
The X-Files has nothing on The Matrix!
In Keanu Reeve's best film to date (Not counting the fact he may star in both sequels!), The Matrix is a visual delight in it's revolutionary camera techniques, and a mind trip in it's thought provoking story line. Are we a part of the matrix, a complex computer system, designed to make the human race believe they're living their own lives, when in fact, they're used as the common Duracell battery for a race of artificial intelligence machines? Let Neo, the one chosen to free the human race from the machines, take to you to places your mind can't even imagine. An EXCELLENT example of sci-fi at it's best!
Forrest Gump (1994)
If I had to choose which movie changed my life, this one would be it.
An idiot savant. His girl lost in the world. And 3 decades of history. These three intertwine to define Forrest Gump, the film about a man who's experienced history in a way only he can. Not quite fully understanding the things that happen to him, Forrest makes it through schooling, college, the Vietnam war, a successful shrimping career, and most importantly, love with a girl who can't seem to find her way. Simple in life, simple in thought, he redefines our complex lives into what matters most. In Tom Hanks best film to date, he proves what humanity should be.
My Fair Lady (1964)
Audrey Hepburn beat Julie Andrews for the part...and I couldn't imagine it any other way!
In this screen adaptation of the classic play, Cinderella takes the form of Eliza Doolittle, turned into a spectacular lady in My Fair Lady. Audrey Hepburn adds that simple charm, loving innocence, and firey will to Eliza that makes us draw to her and watch her glow. With Rex Harrison as her just-as-headstrong match Professor Henry Higgins, the two are a delight to watch bicker, and a delight to watch while they grow to love each other. One of the finest of the popular period, and winning 8 Oscars, My Fair Lady is the fair lady of grand musicals. Visually spectacular, shining in performance, and "lover-ly" in story, My Fair Lady will leave you with a smile. It's certainly my cup of tea.