tracery Reviews

North Country (2005)

I am from the Minnesota Iron Range - it REALLY DID HAPPEN

[9/10 · 13 March 2006]

Both sides of my family come from the Iron Range and lived in a town (Babbitt, MN) that was created for miners and their families. Several other towns in the area were the same - mine communities where nearly every home had at least one family member working at the mine.

Both of my grandfathers worked for the mines. My boss was a safety inspector for one of the mines only a couple years ago and experienced sexual harassment even as an administrator with a master's degree. She said that the mines were still a bad and unwelcoming place for women. However, because of the sexual harassment laws that now exist, she was able to make the money she deserved with some assurance that she would be protected by the law.

Northern Minnesota is still one of the ugliest and most unwelcoming places when it comes to diversity, women's rights and tolerance. It's a rough terrain with an ugly past full of dirty secrets that still exist today. One individual posted, "Is North Country in My Country?" It is in your country and continues to be a place where women are second-class citizens and the truth is hard to find. Don't fool yourself by the sometimes comical Northern Minnesotan dialect and idea of "Minnesota nice." The aggression and hatred are buried deep in these communities where equality is still a dream.

Monster-in-Law (2005)

A few laughs, but mostly dull

[5/10 · 16 September 2005]

This film showed some promise in the category of comedy when the first trailer appeared. I have yet to see Jennifer Lopez do any acting that compares to her work in "Selena." In that role she played a singer with great dancing ability, which is what J-Lo does best. Jane Fonda was funny at times with her over-the-top hysterics, but this innocent cat fight turned very ugly and dark at times. Both characters do and say things that seem over the line even for a comedy such as this. Absolutely no chemistry between Michael Vartan and Jennifer Lopez on screen. In terms of revenge, it was somewhat satisfying to see the victim stand up for herself - but that was about it. By far the BEST element of this entire film was Wanda Sykes. She was hilarious.

Sahara (2005)

Finally a family-friendly action movie

[8/10 · 11 September 2005]

I was pleasantly surprised to see how fun, fast-paced and witty this non-R rated movie came out. Beautiful scenery and Indiana Jones-like action mixed with humor and drama. Great film. I wish there were more films like this that lack the need for explicit sex, violence, drugs or swearing to get noticed. I believe strongly in movies that contain the aforementioned elements and are for adults; it's just sad to see few family films that don't involve animated cookie-cutter characters. Nice jobs by both Zahn and Cruz. The supporting characters were likable and not too cliché. Admittedly Zahn has fallen into a role of the crazy side-kick, but in this film I think he finally finds the balance of kooky and serious in the way a action movie "buddy" should.