Change Your Image
christine_p2
Reviews
A World Apart (1988)
Apartheid from a white point of view
Told from the point of view of an adolescent girl whose parents are active in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa in the 1960s. She's left in the dark about her parents' activities, as is the viewer, mostly. The performances are good and the depiction of whites during this time ranges from sympathetic and helpful to willful ignorance to outright hostility. Still, the story is mostly Molly's. While there's nothing wrong with this, it's still a mostly white point of view of apartheid.
Spoiler ahead:
There is a character who is killed, and while it is intended to be a cathartic final moment, the viewer, like Molly, is very much apart from the event, not in it. There's something rather willfully ignorant about filming an anti-apartheid movie from a white point of view. I know that there were whites helping during this time period, but all of the whites in this movie are so sanctimonious and the blacks so saintly and good, that I found the movie rather hard to take.
The Great Gatsby (1974)
I've always wondered about studio involvement in this film
Once you can get past the horrific miscasting of just about every character, you may realize what potential this film had. The screenplay is a decent adaptation of the novel, and the sets are gorgeous and reinterpret the setting of the novel effectively. I'm not one of those who gets snobby about books always being better than the movies; in fact, sometimes the best film adaptations are very good reinterpretations of the books they were based on (think Field of Dreams and Shawshank Redemption).
However, with this film, I've always had the sneaking suspicion that the studio got involved and said something like, "We want GIGANTIC stars for this! Get Redford! Get Farrow! Get Dern!" There's absolutely no connection between these stars and their characters. All three of these actors are good, but they really weren't right for this...worse, it seems that either the studio or the director indulged their every little whim. The shirt scene with Farrow is about as horrific as any scene in any movie. Why they kept it is beyond me, unless they were trying to appease Farrow or her agent.
I teach high school English, but I never even show clips from this movie because it spoils the novel so completely.
So here's my dream cast using the same script and still going with the big stars:
Gatsby: Ralph Fiennes or George Clooney Nick: Paul Dano or Paul Rudd Daisy: Naomi Watts or Kate Winslet Tom: Liev Schrieber or Aaron Ekhart Myrtle: Diane Lane
So that's my two cents...
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
Sonata for a Good Man indeed!
This is one of the best films I've seen recently. I won't add a summary; many have done a better job of this than I could. However, what I do want to add is that what makes this such a great film is not simply that it is a political film. If you enjoy a surprising love story, subtle and realistic character development, and an outstanding film score, see this film. You might learn something about East Germany in the process, but that's not the entire point of the film. At its heart, this is a film about people and its themes transcend the time period.
************SPOILER ALERT********One of my favorite parts of the film is the way that Wiesler, the Stasi agent, reveals very slowly how he is affected by his observation of "Lazlo" and "CMS." He becomes more and more involved in their love affair, which emphasizes his own lonely life. Clumsy attempts at human closeness are made: with a prostitute, then with a child, until he finally begins to contact the subjects themselves. At first this contact is electronic, by rigging a doorbell buzzer to ring at a crucial point. He then talks directly with Christa, showing complete understanding of her needs, while also understanding exactly how far he can go. Where he goes next is for you to see, but he sacrifices his own career to become a "good man." *****************END OF SPOILER***********************
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Worth checking out!
This has been playing on HBO/Cinemax forever, but I just always avoided seeing it...Jim Carrey, the darkness (both of the story and of the film stock) turned me off. But this morning, with nothing better to do, I finally watched it. And I couldn't stop! It's one of those gems that was a victim of its own promotion and never really found an audience.
It is dark, and yet I think I would have really liked it when I was a kid. I've never read the books, though I've certainly heard of them. The Edward Gory-like end credits are fabulous, as is the art direction--in these ways, the film reminds me of a Tim Burton-lite. This film sort of has a "Big Fish" feel to it.
I think what I liked the most was that these kids depend on two things: persistence and knowledge, to help them along. In this age of Paris Hilton wannabes, that's really refreshing.
Anyway, read other reader reviews for more about the story, but if you've just never thought you'd like it, try it out. I was really surprised by the joy I found in watching it.
Stevie (2002)
Is Stevie exploited?
I had a tough time watching the scene where the camera is on Steve James as Tonya tells him that at least something good came of all this, that at least a film was made about Stevie. I didn't like how long they allowed the camera to catch Steve's emotional reaction and it seemed a little too obvious...like the scene in Broadcast News where William Hurt whips up some tears to show on camera. I don't like that kind of manipulation. However, that being said, I don't mean to imply that Steven James wasn't sincere in his reaction; it was his editing choice that seems insincere.
It's a complicated film. Just like Stevie the person, there are no easy answers; unlike Stevie the person, life is not simply black and white. I do think the title reflects many things: the subject as he is now, the director's memory of Stevie the little boy, and the director himself. I don't believe that Stevie was exploited, but there is something in the intention of the film that is unsettling. And I think that unsettling feeling is an okay thing to have. If I taught a film class, this is a film I would definitely want to use to explore the nature of point of view, the ethics of documentary film-making, and the nature of simply being human.
I adored Tonya's friend in Chicago. Tonya, her friend, and Wanda reflect the very best about people and shatter easy stereotypes. These are all smart, independent, warm, thoughtful women, which is just wonderful to see in a documentary film.
200 Cigarettes (1999)
Terrible and full of stereotypes
Basically, you have a story of a woman throwing a New Year's Eve party and panicked that no one will show up. Meanwhile, ALL (as it seems) of the invitees are meandering around NYC killing time until the party begins, having really meaningful conversations about nothing, and, at one point or another, getting into the cab driven by Dave Chapelle. These people are loosely connected by their cab ride and the party at the end.
There's no payoff, as we only get to see the party through Polaroid snapshots during the credits. Meanwhile, we're treated to the most god-awful stereotypes of human beings: a whiny and neurotic single gal, Jersey girl snobs--with accents to match, a morose poet type, punk rockers, a cute but dumb bartender, two best friends (one of which always sleeps with the other's boyfriends--and yet they're still best friends), a handsome young man who has the curse of women falling all over him, and, worst of all, the wise and flawed Black person to offer commentary on all these white people. Ugh.
One good thing: the soundtrack!
The Wedding Date (2005)
I don't get it...why do people like this????
Seriously, I'm all for gooey romantic comedies and will get sucked into Miss Congeniality as easily as Goodfellas...but this movie? It doesn't make any sense!!!! And I'm not even talking about the willing suspension of disbelief kind of not making sense. Why does her family live in England? Or, at the very least, why doesn't she have a British accent? She's sure cozy with her dad and he's surprisingly forgiving of her not being around for the last two years. (On that subject, no one ever makes much of a deal about her being away for so long). And what was with the goofy outfits at the bachelorette party? I'm not even going to get into the fact that the escort she paid for falls in love with her--that could've been overcome by better movie-making. I'm just saying that the characters, the setting, and the plot aren't fleshed out enough to make an even somewhat cohesive story. Oh, and the worst part, in my opinion, is the filmmaker's consistent use of the most unflattering angles on Deborah Messing's nose--I'd have sued the filmmakers if I were her! I mean, honestly, I'm all for women being who they are, but why, in seven loyal years of Will and Grace viewing, have I not ever noticed how incredibly odd her nose is? Oh! Because those producers are kind to her! This movie, like my other least favorite movie ever, Armageddon, is the fault of the filmmakers, not the actors. I can see both Messing and McDermott in these roles with a better writer, director, and producer.
This easily gets my vote as one of the worst movies I've ever wasted time on. I'm just glad a friend loaned me her DVD, so all I wasted was time. If there were a way to make this review ZERO stars, I'd do it.