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Tigger63
Reviews
Le martien de Noël (1971)
I grew up watching this at Christmastime
I'll echo someone else's comments. I grew up with this movie. Much like watching the Grinch cartoon and listening to the Norad report tracking Santa, this movie was watched whenever it was on the TV. Campy...yes. Low budget...yes. but enjoyable because of the bad makeup, poor special effects and everything hokey. Saw it again last year on a visit back to Canada and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Great!!! - as good as IV
A movie on a par with the original -well done Lucas! I was leery of the pre-release hype, of the dire last minute warnings, and the over-anticipation - it was for nothing! Lucas has done a terrific job dealing with the characters, creating new ones and creating a sense of foreshadowing for what will follow. Many things are explained, maybe too much, and yet the film seemed over before I sat down. I think it will generate as much philosophical discussion as New Hope. Jar Jar Binks wasn't as annoying as I anticipated, but there were times when I couldn't understand him. His role is one of comic relief, and his presence seems purely superfluous. He could be easily replaced by anything, or cut completely. Strong point - he seems to be there purely for commercial tie-ins - my kids love him, he's funny, I bought my son a shirt with him on it and he loves it. He's the Ewoks all over again.
Regardless of this, the character of Queen Amidala was amazing. Natalie Portman was fantastic and the character development was intriguing too.
Thanks to my boss for letting us take the morning off to go see it together. We all went to see it 10:15 Wednesday morning. I can't wait till tomorrow night when I see it with the family.
A definite 9.
Pleasantville (1998)
nice, but missing something
Caveat - I'm a white, middle aged male. These are my thoughts as such.
Saw the movie two days ago. I didn't know what to expect, the trailers seemed more like a comedy. It was an engaging movie, and it gave me much to think about - primarily the concept of race, which was an obvious theme especially considering the signage "No coloreds allowed" which highlighted the climax of the movie. Yet I left the movie with little peace over the solution. I can't recall one African-American person in the movie, and yet that angle could have been a powerful means to address what continues to be a sensitive issue. If there had been African Americans in the movie and they had appeared in both greyscale and colorized, it could have been a powerful statement that would have allowed me to accept the moral conclusion of the movie. I accept the determination that we are all the same on the inside, but not because of this movie. When you bring this theme into a movie, I believe you are forced to properly deal with it - I feel unsatisfied with the movie becuase it doesn't really do this.
Technically, the contrast between grey and color is just as powerful as Schindler's List. While the movie is thematically quite different to Schindler's List, the appearance of color is just as powerful. I've always valued my sight above my other senses - this movie reinforced that.