S
Charming and sweet and romantic, but not amazing. A Muslim woman now
living in Canada with her family lives under the rather oppressive
control of her brother, taking care of her mother. Trouble ensues when
she meets a handsome and appealing furniture maker while swimming who is
not only not Muslim, but white. *gasp* I totally enjoyed it. It's a film
that deals with the struggle between tradition and embracing new ideas
and new cultures. She ends up having to rebel against her family, first
in secret, and then later publicly. One could argue that it is one of
those "man shows up, ugly duckling becomes beautiful" movies I suppose,
but it didn't strike me that way. She led a plain life, but secretly
yearned to be different before she ever meets the man, which is
illustrated often in the longing looks she gives other women that she
sees and her love for swimming. She starts the swimming herself, which
was pretty daring, and her meeting him only serves to give her something
that she really wants enough to realize that she doesn't have to hide
her true self any more. There are some nice surprises though a few
unconvincing character shifts.
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A successful Chinese-American surgeon finds her life complicated by the
fact that her mother moves in with her after being kicked out of her
home by her highly traditional father. She is unexpectedly pregnant and
no one knows who the father of her child is, and she won't tell. On top
of that her mother is constantly trying to set her up with guys and
she's just fallen for a beautiful female ballet dancer.
This film is
really quite delightful. Not amazing or ground shattering by any means,
but strong and enjoyable performances (Joan Chen as the mother is
fantastic), an interesting and funny story, and a really wonderful look
at what it is to be Chinese in America. I love how the daughter will
talk in English and the mother will respond in Chinese, the two
languages used interchangably throughout the film. There is a lot of it
that is charmingly cliche' but in the kind of way that you just don't
mind because it's comfortable and familiar and still funny after all
these years. Though it's tagged as a "lesbian" movie, it's honestly more
about the relationship between and mother and daughter as much if not
more than that. Being close to my own mom, I found that aspect quite
compelling. It's going to get at least a small distribution and I think
it's worth checking out if you have the time and inclination.
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Serenity
The buzz on Serenity is pretty pervasive out there. The movie was
supposed to air in April, but got punted to now so as not to compete
with Star Wars. Good plan, that. Serenity is the better movie by far,
but Star Wars is, well, Star Wars. It has clout, even if it has betrayed
its origins and doesn't deserve anything other than the worst of
reputations by now. But that's another story. What those extra months
bought Universal is the opportunity to market the film in a way that
isn't done much really. Guerilla marketing and virus marketing. They
showed lots of special screenings of it. They put out fascinating little
video clips online, and they worked with the fans, not against them or
ignoring them, to create such a buzz about this film that people who
never heard of the TV series Firefly are suddenly asking, "Hey,
what's this Serenity thing I keep hearing about?" There's been so much
buzz that the Firefly DVD set has been hovering on Amazon's top
ten list now for a few months. That's some serious buzz.
So the question now becomes, is it worth it? Is it worthy of so much
buzz? That depends on who you are. I can say right now that if you're a
fan of the series, then you're going to love the movie. You can't not,
cause you need a Firefly fix so bad you're not going to be worried about
any less desireable side effects. That's the way it was for me at least.
I saw the 3rd preview screening and even though I had quite a few issues
with the film, I still loved it through and through. It's the kind of
devotion that's practically religious. So this review is kinda two
reviews - one for the fans and one for the newbies. You know who you
are.
For those of you unfamiliar with the series, you're still going to enjoy
Serenity, and even more important, you're going to be able to
understand it. Obviously you're not going to "get it" as much as someone
who has seen the show, but Joss Whedon takes careful pains to set up the
characters and the premise of the movie in such a way that it can stand
on its own two feet and be sensicle. It has great action, great
characters, very handsome and fancy special effects, and a plot that is
pretty much self contained. Of course, being a fan of the show I can't
necessarily trust that I can have a completely unbiased opinion, so I've
spoken with some people who saw the film but hadn't seen the series, and
their stance was pretty much the same. They saw it, they enjoyed it, and
some of them loved it so much that they bought the series on DVD and
have become raving fans.
The story is pretty simple. It's 500 years in the future and the human
race has settled on terraformed moons and planets in a new solar system.
Not unlike the settling of the old west in America, the central planets
are highly sophisticated and high-tech, but the planets further out are
rough and tumbled, settled by people with fewer means than most and as
such have returned to rough and humbled ways - thus you have a strange
fusion of high-tech meets the old west. Enjoy the dichotomy, it's part
of the flavor. Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew fly on a cargo
ship, Serenity, taking whatever jobs they can find just so they can stay
as far away from the Alliance (the law) as possible. The Captain and his
First Officer fought for the independence of the outer planets against
the Alliance, who wanted to unify all the planets under their rule. The
Independents lost. Life has been complicated by the fact that they have
taken on two passengers, refugees from the Alliance, who are far more
valuable to the Alliance and far more trouble than anyone bargained on.
Intense hijinks ensue. Secrets are revealed, villians come forth, and
things get busy.
For those of you familiar if not downright fond of the series, here are
a few warnings. There is a small, but I felt significant, break in the
cannon right at the beginning of the film. This vexed me mightily,
because I'm a big geeky fan. But it makes COMPLETE sense that Joss did
this. It is the simplest, clearest, and most convenient way to explain
Simon and River's past and present in the most tidy and terse of
nutshells. So I totally forgive him for doing it, but it took me awhile
to shake off my annoyance while watching the film. So when you spot it,
now you know and you can let go faster than I did. There are some other
small nitpiks that I have with new character choices, the big
secret, logic in the plot, some costuming choices, and the fact that
you simply can't do justice to the Firefly characters in just
two hours. But I won't put those things here, cause they're
spoiler-ish. If you're curious, you can check them out here
at a later date.
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My favorite film by Hal Hartley, Simple Men follows the journey
of two brothers. The elder is a thief betrayed by his partner and his
woman; the younger a college student who has decided to drop out of
school and find their infamous father, an anarchist bomber who recently
broke out of jail. The older brother is on the run from the law and
determined to seduce, and then abandon, some arbitary woman to get
revenge for the way he was hurt. So begins a convoluted tale, as each
brother seeks to reach his respective goal. They become involved and
embroiled in the lives and problems of the people they meet. This
quirky film toys with language, imagery, and symbolism. The dialogue is
priceless, turning in, around, and back on top of itself in patterns
that are more akin to Greek choruses, a poor man's Shakespeare, and
theatrical absurdity.
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Witty dialogue, snappy comebacks, and nary a false step! This film is a
gem with an amazing cast (Katherine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille
Ball), great acting, and engaging characters that draw you into the
world of women trying to make it in the theater. This is one of my
childhood favorites that has endured the test of time. Hepburn plays a
spoilt rich girl who is determined to make something of herself, for
herself, and throws herself into a rundown boarding house of women, all
of whom dream of becoming a star. Through sheer chutzpah she manages to
land herself a part in a play that really should go to one of the other
struggling girls. However, she is a terrible actress and the only reason
she remains in the production is that her father is paying off the
producer, wanting the play to flop miserably and for his daughter to
come back home where she belongs with her tail tucked between her legs.
But nothing ever goes the way it's supposed to in this story that is
three parts comedy and one part tragedy.
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This film was
cute and charming and funny and interesting but it certainly wasn't
really great or anything. Ah well. The movie is about a ghostwriter who
discovers that the woman he has held a torch for since college is dating
the subject of his latest assignment - a soccer player who is driving
him crazy. At the same time he is dating a woman who is challenging his
work, wondering why he has given up on his own writing to write books
for other people, about other people. Some of it is terribly cliche and
silly, but I really liked the lead actor (very sexy with sad eyes) and
especially the beginning was terribly witty and amusing.
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It's 1999, but in this case a little more violent and with some
higher-tech gadgets than we actually had in 1999. An
ex-cop-turned-hustler has a product for sale that is usualy only meant
for the police force: a new technology that allws one to record the
brain activity of an individual such that it can be played back to
anyone and recreate exactly the experience as if it were actually
happening.
Mix that up with a kick-ass bodyguard/chauffer, some determined cops, a
crazy music mogul, a bad-news ex-girlfriend, the murder of a prostitute,
and a gang killing of an infamous rap star, and you have the makings of
a gritty, intense, and stylish movie. It's a movie of lost love, lost
dreams, lost hope, all mixed up in a world gone a little wild and a lot
dangerous.
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Ohhhhh, how I love this film! This is a familiar story about people who
dare to be different, who dare to dream, and the obstacles they must
face and overcome to be true to themselves. Ballroom dancing is the
passion and the vehicle for this film, and it is truly a world unto
itself. The dancing, the characters, and the outrageous costumes are by
turns ludicrous and exquisite. This is a film not afraid to make fun of
itself or its subject matter and players, but at the same time it is
refreshingly honest about dreams, obsessions, obligations, and what is
really important - to live life free of fear. Every time I see the final
competition and the hero and heroine step onto the dance floor, a smile
curls my lips, my feet move to the music, and my heart races with
excitement.
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This movie gets points for being the most unique film, as it is all done
with marionette puppets. What was truly excellent about it is that the
fact that they are puppets is the entire point of the film. In this
world, the strings are what keep you alive, cutting them injures you,
and if you cut the head string, that will kill you. This created a very
interesting and unique sort of world and setting for the story to take
place in.
The downside of course is that they're puppets and as such
certain aspects of storytelling work less well. Like love scenes, for
example. Puppet love should never be shown. It just comes off silly.
There was a fair amount of giggling throughout the movie at moments that
were a bit silly or where being a puppet really interfered with one's
ability to act.
I think the main thing about the film that I find odd
was that it came from Denmark, but the dialog was all in English. The
voices were for the most part well done, but I can't help but think that
if it had been in Danish or some other foreign language, it would have
had a little more convincing and respectable. Silly, but true. The story
is fairly simple and familiar - nothing terribly unique there
unfortunately. But the world setting was most intriguing and the puppet
work was often beautiful and astonishing. Points also for having very
unique puppets that were people like without trying to be realistic. But
they eyes were very real, and a wonderful contact point from which to
connect with the characters. Well done.
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A coming of age/coming out film about a young man who realizes that he
is hot for his best friend, not his girlfriend. Over all an enjoyable
and well made film, with a lot of humor, angst, awkwardness, upset, and
sexy sex. Things come to a head when the two boys and their girlfriends,
all of whom are members of a local crew team (y'know, those long skinny
boats, Harvard vs Yale?), go to a campsite where they will compete with
other teams. During this trip they encounter one of the competing teams
(ironically called "Queerstrokes") who of course end up all being gay.
This creates a great deal of controversy for some crew members and of
course brings forth an awakening to his sexuality in our protagonist.
While there were a lot of moments that were a little too forced, or a
too overly dramatic, unrealistic, a bit stereotyped, and occasionally
heavy on the symbolism, I thought that film did a decent job of showing
the difficulty of coming out and the issues that surround it, both
positive and negative. If you're into this kind of a film, it was an
enjoyable exploration and there were some occasionally brilliant moments
of cinematography - especially when the camera touches upon and lingers
briefly upon the physical places of pivitol events throughout the film.
Very nice touch. Elegant and powerful.
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This is an intense and deeply personal film about a family who
lives on the border of Israel and Syria. Due to political confusion and
territorial rights issues, the town in which they live is "offically" on
the Israel side of the border, but most of it's inhabitants are Syrian
in ancestry. The town is so much divided that those who have passports
from there are noted as being "Undetermined" under their nationality.
This is both the happiest day of Mona's life. Happy, because it is her
wedding day. Tragic because once she marries her Syrian husband and
crosses the border she will NEVER be able to cross back over the border
and visit her family. There are of course on top of that complicated
family politics, relationships, and issues. It is beautifully acted,
with wonderful imagery and cinematography. A gripping and compelling
story about how politics and religion, both internal within a family,
and external between people and governments, does more to divide and
betray humanity and love than unite. It's really just an extremely well
made film with a really fascinating, at times frustrating, and mostly
bittersweetly beautiful story.
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