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Reviews
The List (2007)
Movie compiled of southern stereotypes and religious hokum
Truly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Start with every southern (and some just literary) stereotype you've ever seen:
Greedy southern aristocrats with legacy affecting today's descendants, black mammy who raises the white boy (and hums spirituals when troubled), pious mother praying for her spiritually lost son, cold distant father, beautiful blonde girl in latest fashion driving a beat-up old pick up, mysterious spirit guide who leads the main character to the right questions, blood oaths of fealty, selling one's soul for money, power mad despot, heavenly guidance via opening the bible at random and finding the right verse, Confederate decendent's obsession with THE WA-AHR, self sacrificial death to save another, William Falkner worship while writing crap, folksy black lawyer with spiritual knowledge and most of all, the same old southern accents that only exists in the minds of movie makers and yankee authors.
Add in hokey religious mysticism and lots of praying and you get one long, slow, stupid boring movie. The only people who will find this interesting are religious fundamentalists who haven't seen a movie since "Gone with the Wind"
Overwrought acting, idiotic plot, and hysterical music made it one boring movie.
What a Girl Wants (2003)
One stereotype after another
This was a silly movie that contained every possible stereotype of the British upper class that exist. They all live in huge guarded mansions, filled with masterpieces of art and gilt furniture. None of them have the ability to show affection, except to dogs and horses (even stated in the film!). There is always one royal who loves uninhibited Americans with bad manners. Their families will disown them if they marry outside their class--and of course the lovers will always be blissfully happy, though poor as church mice and produce charming, balanced children. The wicked stepmother/stepsister are always snobbish, social climbers. British politicians can always find the right words for the public but cannot manage a coherent sentence in their private lives.
There are plenty of American stereotypes as well. Hippy mothers are perfect, drive silly vans, etc.
What's with the obsession with Jane Austin? Why is Firth's character named Dashwood? I can't believe I am the only person to notice this!
Acting critique: Firth over-acted to the point of being laughable. The wicked steps were one-sided, silly characters. Amanda was cute, though, which is what I guess was the point of the movie.
Bottom line--harmless drivel, a film to share with your romantic 10 year old, if there isn't a good Disney film available.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Definitely a low in moviemaking
This movie ranks with the worst movies ever made. Frenetic movement, disjointed camera angles, song snippets, and goofy sets do not make a great movie. I'm not surprised that the MTV generation finds this compelling. It reminded me of nothing so much as the old Monkees' Saturday Morning TV show--except that the plot of Camille was thrown in and the action was speeded up. You could say, the Monkees on acid would be a fair description.
The slapstick comedy was boring, the acting abysmal, the plot made no sense, the sets looked like a second rate Disney animated film. Let's see, take a compilation album commercial for pop love songs, add a Laurel & Hardy Film, a high school production of Camille, the Blair Witch cameraman, "It's a small world" Disney Theme Park Ride, throw it in a blender, crank up the speed and add some acid. Then you would have the Moulin Rouge!
The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)
Impressive, emotionally moving film
This film is a companion film to The River, also directed by Pare Lorentz. It is beautifully filmed and has a wonderful score. The topic is soil erosion and the resulting dust bowl conditions during the U.S. depression. This film would be a marvelous choice to show young students who are studying the environment or who are studying U.S. history. It is available from several sources. My video came from Kino Video and also contained The River, a film on a resettlement camp and a film on rural electrification. All were excellent. There is another film Lorentz was involved with called The City. I have seen stills from the movie but have not been able to find a source for it.
The River (1938)
Beautifully filmed, wonderfully persuasive
I first saw this film 20 years ago in forestry school. This film vividly shows the effect of poor agricultural practices and poor timber harvesting in the water cycle. It has footage of the devastating flood on 1927 along the Mississippi River. I learned that the film had been used for years by foresters from the Yazoo-Little Tallahatchie Flood Prevention Project and other U.S. Forest Service foresters to educate the public on the value of planting trees to prevent soil erosion and help heal the land from years of crop production on marginal lands. I think every student of environmental history and management should view this film at some time in their career. It is available from a couple of places, but I found a video from Kino which has not only The River, but the companion piece, The Plow that broke the plains, and two other short documentaries. The River and The Plow that broke the plains were part of FDR's New Deal propaganda (in a positive sense) which promoted conservation using outstanding photography, outstanding scripts, and emotionally compelling scoring.