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Reviews
Army Wives (2007)
Men not understanding women
I watched some of it. Typical of Lifetime movies and series', the women are the heroic, set-upon victims. Virtually every dialog involved either women bonding, or men failing to understand some problem encountered by a woman. It's simple. The men (and, for the sake of fairness, some women) get to be soldiers and make grand, bold sacrifices somewhere off-camera. In the meantime, the women, the ones left behind, are the ones with the real problems. Viewed from this framework, it is entirely too predictable to constitute good entertainment. Don't get me wrong here - the real Army/Navy/Marine wives here and now are making sacrifices that we should all honor. I just wish the program were more compelling.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
String of Events
I look for character, plot, and some insight into the human condition. None of these elements were present in this movie. It was essentially, a string of distantly-related events in a life lived backwards. OK - I get it. An episodic movie: "Forest Gump" with a plot twist. It may have been a nice short story, but there just isn't enough content to fill up an almost 3-hour movie. We never delve beneath the surface of any character. People dance, make buttons, or play the piano because that's what they do. Now, there are many highly charged moments, and they are portrayed with stunning visual poetry. The tugboat, for instance, almost becomes a separate character because of all the angles and focal lengths at which it's photographed. Outside of the plot device of a life lived backwards, it's a rather plain tale.
Northern Exposure: Cicely (1992)
Absolutely the best you can do!
Wow. I'm kind of surprised there isn't more interest in this particular episode. I haven't seen it since it originally aired, but I remember it as the best series TV I've ever seen. The ensemble cast takes on roles of characters from the 1909 founding, and, significantly, naming of Cisely. Although the characters are different, the essential elements of the characters remain the same. Right on down to Chris - now a gunslinger - asking, "But wait, doesn't that assume free will?!" All the elements are there: humor, irony, drama, strong character and plot development. Better than Hill Street Blues. Better than ER, you name it, this is better.
The Waltons: The Gift (1974)
Ron Howard as Guest Star
At about this time, Ron Howard did this episode for "The Waltons", and another episode for "M*A*S*H". He was excellent in both. Part of his success then, as now, is that he can pick great material. "The Waltons" specialized in inspiring, heartwarming stories, and this was near the top in that category. The Grandfather gives Jason some wisdom that few people ever acquire, and Jason goes on to go on living, even bearing a terrible sense of loss and injustice. This episode was especially touching for me because I saw it while I was working on a Doctoral Dissertaion which I was to eventually dedicate to 3 cousins who died while young and full of promise.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Matt Damon's Erdos Number
Paul Erdos (1913-1996) was a remarkably prolific mathematician. He collaborated on publications with over 500 mathematicians. In a semi-serious way of keeping track of Erdos' impact on the field, authors are assigned "Erdos Numbers" indicating how "close" they were to Erdos. Erdos' immediate co-authors are assigned Erdos Number 1. _Their_ co-authors (numbering over 6000!) are assigned Erdos Number 2, and so on.
It turns out that Matt Damon collaborated with Dan Kleitman (Erdos Number 2) while Kleitman served as technical adviser to "Good Will Hunting". So Matt Damon has Erdos Number 3 - a distinction many mathematicians envy!
Juno (2007)
You have to be kidding.
"Dramatic validity": Do the characters behave like real people would in these circumstances? No. Juno behaves like a grown-up, and an emotionally reserved one, at that. The adoptive parents behave like self-absorbed teen-agers.
"Well-drawn characters": Are the character's actions dictated by some internal logic? No. The author just pushes them around the set like cardboard cut-outs. Juno decides she's in love with the guy at the end - not because it makes sense - but because it's cute. The step-mom bad-mouths the ultrasound tech, not because there's any reason for it, but because it's cute.
When I read that the writer got an Oscar for this abomination, I thought it was a joke. The author clearly doesn't know anything about plot, character development, or dialog. She just knows how to be cute.
Now, then, the movie does deal with a serious issue. Yes, unprotected sex can lead to unintended consequences. You can get so upset, you have to pull your family's mini-van on to the shoulder and just C-R-Y! I'm giving it 3 stars only because the Ellen Page did a great job acting. It must have been very difficult for a teen-ager to behave like a 35 year old. Oh, yes, the author told us, in so many words, that she has an old soul. Well, that explains it all.
This was 90 minutes of "Look at me I'm so cute when I'm knocked up."
Der blaue Engel (1930)
Touching Details
I saw this masterpiece maybe 20 years ago. I've never forgotten it. Marlene Dietrich is fantastic. There are some details that may be lost on some viewers. The sequence where the calendar is used to clean the curling iron is the first instance of showing the turning of a calendar's pages to indicate the passage of time. Now it's a cliché' - then it was near-genius. When Rath returns to his town, the students chant "Unrat!", which is a pun on his name, and means "rubbish". In the final scene, the bells are playing Papageno's aria from Die Zauberflote, "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen". Papegeno is a comic character who dresses up like a bird, and is singing about his simple desire to find a wife. It's a perfect reference to Rath, but in total innocence.