Posted by barb on Oct 12, 2003 in
Movies 3.5/5 stars
Two LAPD officers (Joe Gavlin (Harrison Ford) and K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett)) investigate the murder of a rap group who was just about to make it big. Gavlin moonlights as a real estate agent, and has all his money tied up in a house that just won’t sell. Calden moonlights as a yoga instructor, which also provides a ready-supply of women.
The movie was fun, though at times a bit confused. This is Ford’s first real foray into comedy, and while I had reservations going in, I found him to be up to the challenge of a new genre. Of course, I’m still more at home with the action hero Ford or even romantic lead Ford, but I think that he could certainly pull off more comedies.
Posted by barb on Sep 28, 2003 in
Movies 4/5 stars
According to legends among the Whangara people, Paikea rode on the back of a whale, leading his people to New Zealand, where the tribe still resides today. Modern times, though, are difficult on such an old tribe. The chief is always the first born son. However, the first born son of the existing chief, Koro, has only one living child — a girl, Pai (acutally Paikea, after the ancient whale rider). Koro refuses to see that Pai could be a wise leader, simply because she’s a girl.
I must confess that part of the reason I wanted to see this film was because I love whales, and was hoping for gratuitous whale footage, and I got it (though it wasn’t really gratuitous). Whale Rider is an excellent story, and one that can be applied to so many different areas. Women continue to struggle to prove themselves in every profession, including that of tribal chief. And I must admit, that even after the film was over, I was still angry with Koro. He represents the worst obstacles that so many women have had to overcome just to do what they know in their hearts they are meant to do.
[Odd note — IMDB says that if I liked Whale Rider, I might also like The Godfather Trilogy. Hmmm. Methinks there’s something seriously wrong with their recommendation system.]
Posted by barb on Sep 28, 2003 in
Movies 4/5 stars
I was beginning to feel like the only person in the world who hadn’t seen this one. I kept putting it off, because I knew that it was long, and didn’t end happily. But I’m glad I finally saw it.
Braveheart is the story of William Wallace and his journey to free Scotland. As a boy, his father and brother are killed trying to free Scotland. When he grows up, though, Wallace wants to remain out of the fight, until his secret lover is taken from him by a noble.
I imagine that this film would have been spectacular on a large screen; though, it would have also been harder to watch. There is a lot of fighting and blood, which started to get to me (I had to stop paying close attention during the third or fourth big battle). Overall an excellent film, despite that.
[Odd note — IMDB‘s page on Braveheart has this note at the bottom: “If you like this title, we also recommend… Conan the Barbarian.” Yeah, because Conan has the same high cinematic standards as Braveheart.]
Posted by barb on Sep 7, 2003 in
Movies 3.5/5 stars
The Ring is another horror movie, but one that succeeds more than others have for me. The premise is that once someone watches a certain video tape, that person dies seven days later. When a journalist’s (Rachel Keller, played by Naomi Watts) niece dies, her sister asks her to investigate. Naturally, Keller sees the video, and receives a call within a few minutes telling her she has seven days. Keller must frantically search for the origin of the tape, and a way out of death, before her seven days are up.
I think that in a dark theater with a big screen, I might have been drawn in completely to this film. However, I’m not generally drawn in to horror films, though I enjoy watching the more intelligent ones (read: not the Freddy or Jason films). Overall a good, enjoyable movie.
Posted by barb on Sep 6, 2003 in
Movies 2/5 stars
What an odd documentary.
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control is a documentary featuring four men from very different and somewhat eccentric fields. Dave Hoover is a wild animal trainer, George Mendonca is a topiary gardener, Ray Mendez is a mole-rat specialist, and Rodney Brooks is a robotics scientist. I connected most, of course, with the robotics scientist — since he was a bit out of touch in similar ways to me. The wild animal trainer rubbed me the wrong way, because of my feelings about using wild animals purely for our entertainment.
I’m pretty sure that the documentary was trying to make connections between these disparate-seeming men. While I will agree that they were all eccentrics, any other connection was lost on me. By themselves, the stories of these men were quite interesting — how they got into their chosen field, what accomplishments they’ve made, and how their field will be perpetuated (or not perpetuated) through future generations. However, it’s beyond me why these four in particular were chosen and why their stories were told as an intertwined narrative.
Also, I was confused by the origin of the title. Brooks mentions it as a title to a paper submitted to the Planetary Society, in which he proposes to use armies of very small robots to explore the planets in our solar system. However, fast, cheap and out-of-control are not adjectives that I would use to describe any of the subjects of the film.
Posted by barb on Aug 25, 2003 in
Movies 4/5 stars
Wow. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this was far better.
Tom Hanks plays Mike Sullivan, a hit man working for a mob boss, John Rooney. One night, Sullivan’s son sneaks along on a job, to see what it is that his dad does. He sees everything in gory detail. This puts the entire family at risk, and Sullivan does what he has to to ensure the safety of his son.
Andrew’s comment that he wishes we’d seen it on the big screen, since many of the scenes would have been more spectacular. I must agree.
Posted by barb on Aug 24, 2003 in
Movies 4/5 stars
This is not a film to go see if you want a pick-me-up. Though dark, it was quite good, though.
The Magdalene Sisters follows three girls who are forced to become Magdalenes in an Irish convent. These Magdalene laundries were places that devout Catholics could take girls who were thought to be “going down the wrong path”. The three girls we follow each get there for differing offenses — Rose has a baby out of wedlock, Bernadette was an orphan who flirted with guys who hung out around the fence of the orphanage, and Margaret was raped. At the laundry, the girls (there were many women there of all ages — some old and gray) are forced to work from dawn to dusk, they are fed gruel while the nuns eat heartily in the next room. Disobedience is not tolerated, nor are attempts to run away. The only way for a girl to go home is for a family member to come and get her. Since often the only family the girl had was the one that put her there in the first place, we don’t see many girls go home. The essentially become slaves of the church for life. Of course, all of this is done in the name of God.
The scary part is that the Magdalene laundries were real, and the last one was only shut down in 1996. Its amazing how many atrocities have been committed by the Catholic church in the name of God. What’s more of a wonder is that they continue to get away with it.
Posted by barb on Aug 23, 2003 in
Movies 4/5 stars
This was a fun, fluffy movie. Borrowers are little people who live between the floor boards of people’s houses (at least the “innies” are), and they borrow things from the house to survive. They are never to be seen by the beens (human beings). The Clock family lives in the floor of the Lender’s house, but after the Lender’s grandmother dies without a will (supposedly), they have to move to make way for Ocious Potter’s luxury apartment complex.
Posted by barb on Aug 23, 2003 in
Movies 0/5 stars
(too bad I can’t assign negative numbers…)
I want those two hours of my life back.
I’m not sure where to start, since so much of this production was bad. The characters were incomprehensible, the script dull, and the plot incoherent. There was not one character that I liked, and like The Brotherhood of the Wolf, Andrew and I often looked at each other with puzzled looks, trying to figure out what the hell was happening.
Don’t bother. You’d be better off counting the hairs on your head for amusement.
Posted by barb on Aug 15, 2003 in
Movies 3.5/5 stars
This is a somewhat depressing documentary following Terry Gilliam’s failed attempt to mount a production of Don Quixote. He started with too little money and an impossible schedule. The actor’s were squeezing this job into their busy schedules, with little leeway on either side, and were taking a cut from their normal pay. Then, on the second day of filming, a rain storm ruins not only equipment but the landscape of the location. In addition, the actor playing Don Quixote is stricken with a prostate infection. Without a leading actor, and with the schedule already behind, the production dies.
It was a pity, because what we saw of the vision Gilliam had for the Don Quixote story, it looked like it could be an incredible movie. Rumors are that he is still looking for money to resurrect the production, but for now it is the property of the insurance company.