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Reviews
Across the Universe (2007)
Extraordinary
I have become quite jaded when it comes to movies. This one blew my socks off! Not even kidding . . .
The concept is contrived (we saw it before with Momma Mia, i.e. shoe-horning in a story around songs written in an entirely different context), however here, in this movie, the use of the Beatles songs did not feel contrived. Rather, the viewer was left with the opposite impression -- how creative a team must have been behind this movie to make the musical interludes work so well! In addition, the production, performance and singing on all of the songs was outstanding.
It's a little slow getting going, but if you let yourself get about 30 minutes in, you will laugh, cry, fall in love and generally have a great time. Another reviewer mentioned that after finishing watching this movie, he felt like he'd experienced a "moviegoing moment," i.e. where a movie so touched you, you felt changed at the end. That's how I felt after watching this movie. I can't wait to get my friends to see it as well. If I had to describe it in a few words, using other movies as comparisons, I'd say "A historic romance in the vein of "Moulon Rouge" crossed with "Once" and interpreted through the music of the Beatles." Loved it!
Crossing Delancey (1988)
Dated yet Satisfying.
I've been watching a lot of romantic comedies lately, and they all have their conceits. This one is by nature dated, as the lower east side of Manhattan's old Jewish community has largely been displaced by gentrification. I lived in NYC in the 1980s, and it was fun seeing film of communities that have largely been lost since then.
That said, while I liked this film, it felt like a take on Hello! Dolly or the like. It was a well-acted, charming romantic comedy with a predictable plot. Girl goes after guy-out-of-her-class, while rejecting perfectly nice guy in her class. Upper class guy comes after her for shallow reasons, and she realizes the value of blue collar guy. The movie or the plot never really made clear why the self-confident and satisfied mid-thirties woman would abandon her lifestyle for the "old-school" guy, especially when the writer "wanted her" albeit for the wrong reasons. In a way, it reeked of the "desperation" that men tried to put on 30-something women in the late 1980s, where any "nice" guy was better than none, and a pretty 34-year-old woman with a career should be happy to end up with the "pickle guy," no matter what her other options might hold. This, even though the writer and director were women.
I probably would have rated it a 6.5 if that was an option, as it's a decent flick, for acting, writing and dialogue, and because of the charm of the pre-gentrification NYC settings. But it's certainly dated, almost as if it were out of the 1950s rather than the late-1980s.
Friday Night Lights (2006)
Without a Doubt the Best Show on Television
I think that Friday Night Lights is by FAR the best show on television right now. I'm not a teenager, I don't live in Texas, and I don't even like football and I LOVE this show. The writing, the direction and the acting are all top-notch. It is the only show I watch where I regularly get goose-bumps because the stories are so poignant and ring so true. I consider it to have the potential to be one of the all-time great shows ever produced for television, and it would be a CRIME if they didn't renew it for a full second season and give it every chance to succeed.
I am reminded of other really great shows, such as Freaks and Geeks, My So Called Life and Firefly -- in this case lets hope the network gives Friday Night Lights the chance to catch on and make it!
World Trade Center (2006)
I'm a little stunned, frankly.
I actually generally like Oliver Stone as a filmmaker, or at least give him some begrudging respect for taking on the political moments of our time. He did a good job with Platoon and Salvador, at minimum.
I think this film was a travesty, under the title of "World Trade Center." Although the film itself was really quite touching, in the sphere of the tragedy that it touched (i.e. the impact upon first responders, and the successful rescue of two of them), I think it demeaned the entire experience of everyone involved to title it "World Trade Center," and I also think that, because of the title, and the notoriety of the director, that the "take" on the tragedy was made needlessly narrow.
Basically, Oliver Stone turned one of the tragedies of the ages into a movie of the week.
I'm thankful that the story of the men who gave their fortitude and courage was told to the public.
But otherwise, I found the basics of the movie lacking in a big way. It was NOT the story of the time, day, period, or otherwise. It gives no insight. It simply tells a story of heroism and rescue. You'd barely even know the context if the movie weren't titled "World Trade Center," and that context doesn't really play into the telling of the rescue story.
I was disappointed in a major way. I think because I expected a broader story.
A Chorus Line (1985)
One Singular Disaster
I admit to having been a fan of the original stage production. I never saw the movie version until very lately on cable, and watched it with anticipation, to see my memories brought alive again, because I adored the original show. Imagine my dismay.
This has to be the worst translation of a Broadway show to film ever made. They changed the story, they changed the songs, they lost the soul. I was expecting a trip down memory lane, singing to the extraordinarily touching Music and the Mirror, At the Ballet, and Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen. Not! Not only did they adulterate the music to an almost unrecognizable point, but they messed up the storyline, adding songs and exterior plotlines (hello Cassie and Michael Douglas) not present in the original, and injecting "drama" where it wasn't necessary. The original had enough pathos on its own. If you were a fan of the original Broadway show, don't bother. I'm sorry I wasted my time, and diluted my memories, watching this tripe.
American Beauty (1999)
Think Carefully About This Film
This film is beautiful, very much worth watching. Elements of life are touched upon in ways that movies rarely touch. However, don't be overwhelmed by the hype. Be a critical viewer. This movie celebrates the pure unadulterated goal of white middle-aged heterosexual men to "throw off" their chains. Other elements of life are overlooked. If you like the beat generation of writers I am sure you will love this. If you think that Kerouak et. al. missed something about the meaning of life, well, this film does too.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Why do filmmakers feel like they must manipulate viewers so?
Prior to seeing this film, I had heard only positive feedback. I went into it expecting great things. And I guess, yes, it was a good film. The action sequences are awesome--very realistic. The fighting scenes are incredibly moving and (as far as I can tell, I wasn't there) authentic. But, geez, what was with the beginning and the end? It would have been a great film without those shmaltzy sequences. Do we really need the director to SHOW us just how much of an impact Captain John had on Private Ryan? Can't anything be left to the imagination?
This film reminds me of Forrest Gump in its (blatant) manipulation of the viewing public. My plea to directors is let us watch and judge the merits of the characters, don't tell us he's everyman, so then we will melt, cry and react emotionally! We are smarter than you think. Really! We will get it without the affectations and overt pulls at the heartstrings. What ever happened to subtlety in film? I am sorry for those of you who think this is the best film you've ever seen. Watch a few more movies before you make such comments. Or maybe, just learn to watch what you do watch more critically. Don't let yourselves be manipulated.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Celebration of Mediocrity
Perhaps one of the most overrated movies I have ever seen. I fear for a society that adores and embraces a movie without looking beyond the surface. This movie is, at its core, a celebration of mediocrity. Sort of like the current popularity of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," (which lets the average person feel smart because they can answer easy questions) this movie is designed to make the average person feel great about themselves for being nothing more than average, just like Forrest.
I agree with the comments that infer a fascist or totalitarian subtext to this movie. This movie is designed to sedate the viewer into feeling as if the world is fine and dandy just the way it is, and that they too, without doing anything at all to improve, educate or enlighten themselves, can be a "success" without trying. A satisfied public is easy to control, for better or for worse . . .