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Reviews
The General's Daughter (1999)
Screen Play Took Away From the Book
Before renting the movie, I listened to Nelson Demille's audiobook. The book got me hooked. I got up at 4:00 a.m. and treked out to the car to pick up the last few tapes.
Overall, as a father, the effect of this book was to make me realize there are certain things that a father can't say, actions a father can't take if that father wants to avoid destroying the trust between himself and his daughter. It's not just a question of career over family.
It's a question of being in touch with emotions, and understanding feelings.
The compromise General Campbell made in West Point, to not stand up for his daughter, to not rock the boat, to ask his daughter to forget, was more understandable in the book. All the West Point Brass was pressuring him to not destroy the school. Convince his daughter not to make a stink.
I find few movies as good as books. Books allow me to use my imagination. The whole rape area, as I envisioned it, was much more rural, much more out of the way.
Paul's confrontation with the General in the end, his getting the general court martialed seemed just too politically correct. After all, if you go for the general, go for the West Point staff that was pressuring the general to shut the incident up. Go for them all.
John Travolta and Madeline Stowe did a fine job. However, the sexual tension and underlying passion between them was pretty much avoided between the book and the movie. That made a big loss.
Nelson Demille is a great writer. I look forward to reading more of his works.
It's hard to turn a great book into a good movie.
Get Over It (2001)
Wonderful Movie!
Vitamin C, Sisqo, Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Shane West, Martin Short... what a great cast. One of the few movies that is really funny and also heart warming. If you've ever had to get over a relationship and found it difficult, you will find meaning in this moving.
Kirsten sings a magical song, great opening and closing musical numbers, great dancing.
If you liked 'Bring it On', you will probably like this movie.
I'm over 50 but a teen a heart!
A Walk to Remember (2002)
A moving story of faith
After seeing this movie today, I walked out of the theater in tears. Jamie and Landon create a miracle. Landon lacks faith in himself, in the wonder of life and in God. Jamie has the faith that Landon lacks.
Teen peer group pressure in the form of a dare causes a young man to be hospitalized. Landon is partially responsible. His punishment is dealt out by the school principal. The principal wants to somehow reach him, to teach him humility. Landon has to do math tutoring for resistant kids, perform janitorial duties around his high school, and perform in the school play.
He's known Jamie all his life. However, his attitude as a cool kid, is to ignore her in public. But due to his community service responsibilities he really gets to know her. And he needs her help in rehearsing his lines for the school play. Through working on the play, Landon starts to fall in love with Jamie. He is softened. He sees her faith. She develops faith in him, and he then finds faith in himself. Mandy reaches her audience in portraying a ministers daughter whose faith helps her to resist peer pressure.
Why she warns Landon not to fall in love with her... that's the point of the movie. The movie will help remind people of the value of life and of simple things!
I give this 5 stars! But I'm a sentimental guy who likes romantic movies.
A Walk to Remember (2002)
A moving story of faith
After seeing this movie today, I walked out of the theater in tears. Jamie and Landon create a miracle. Landon lacks faith in himself, in the wonder of life and in God. Jamie has the faith that Landon lacks.
Teen peer group pressure in the form of a dare causes a young man to be hospitalized. Landon is partially responsible. His punishment is dealt out by the school principal. The principal wants to somehow reach him, to teach him humility. Landon has to do math tutoring for resistant kids, perform janitorial duties around his high school, and perform in the school play.
He's known Jamie all his life. However, his attitude as a cool kid, is to ignore her in public. But due to his community service responsibilities he really gets to know her. And he needs her help in rehearsing his lines for the school play. Through working on the play, Landon starts to fall in love with Jamie. He is softened. He sees her faith. She develops faith in him, and he then finds faith in himself. Mandy reaches her audience in portraying a ministers daughter whose faith helps her to resist peer pressure.
Why she warns Landon not to fall in love with her... that's the point of the movie. The movie will help remind people of the value of life and of simple things!
I give this 5 stars! But I'm a sentimental guy who likes romantic movies.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Great Romantic Dialog for Romantics!
Cary is the Thief whom Grace catches. The romantic give and take between Cary and Grace is the great charm of the movie and why I rank it as one of the top Romantic Comedies! The picnic scene, the ride through the mountains surrounding the French Riviera, the tremendous dialog, should have won the movie Best Screenplay, not Best Cinematography.
This isn't saying that the Cinematography wasn't also wonderful. When my family took our 'European Vacation' and saw the French Riviera, viewing this movie as we wound down the hills to Monaco from the perfume factory stirred great memories.
They don't write scripts like this anymore.