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Reviews
Birth (2004)
Birth Defect
Any movie with Nicole Kidman is going to get a lot of attention, and Birth is no exception. First, don't be deterred or lured by the hoo hah surrounding the bathtub scene, etc. The media has overblown it. Now for the rest of the film.
Birth has a few great things going for it. The music, cinematography, casting are all top notch (Lauren Bacall, welcome back). The director established an intriguing mood and stuck with it. And if you are a New York City buff, you'll enjoy the Upper East Side location shots...I kept expecting Woody Allen to make a cameo.
Say what you want about Nicole Kidman, but she's got some great range and I found her quite convincing in the role.
But there is trouble in Paradise. This movie had excellent potential. Reincarnation is an interesting topic to play around with...but there were far too many loose ends that could have been tightened up with a little more attention to the script. I left the theater and wanted to read the Cliff notes...I guess we'll have to wait for the DVD because this writer has some explaining to do.
I don't mind ambiguity...but there really wasn't enough meat on the bone to create competing plausible scenarios that made any sense.
Too bad...but if you can get get over the absence of resolution, enjoy the performances and the setting.
Saved! (2004)
A True Believer
On the surface, "Saved" looks like yet another teen girl flick (Heathers, Mean Girls). But this one, with a Baptist/Christian fundamentalist high school as a backdrop, is in a league of its own. Without passing judgment, the movie uses solid writing, a winning cast, and humorous background details to poke fun at its own characters and the environment in which they live. Mandy Moore fans will be pleasantly surprised by her convincing performance.
"Saved" offers a message about tolerance and the cast does a great job delivering it. The ending is a bit hokey, but this film is more about the ride. I only regret it was such a sleeper...the film came and went far too quickly.
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
This One Makes Catwoman Look Good
There are plenty of PG and G movies that are equally enjoyable for children and adults. "Baby Geniuses 2" is not one of them.
I wasn't expecting Oscar material when I took my seven year old to see Bob Clark's latest film. But what unfolded was truly a bomb - neither funny nor coherent. Thank goodness these don't come along that often.
Other than a flatulence joke in the first 5 minutes of the film (now a requirement for children's cinema), the laughs were few and far between in the remaining 90 minutes of this movie. During the many long periods of boredom, many questions began racing through my head. Why are these babies talking? Why do we care? Why aren't they saying anything funny?
I can only assume that Jon Voight has a grandchild/godchild/nephew/niece, for whom he dedicated this performance. There really could be no other plausible reason for such an actor to associate with something with so little merit.