jkd6019 Reviews

Rocks with Wings (2001 TV Movie)

Compelling Surprise

[10/10 · 12 March 2008]

When I first saw this film, the subject matter caught me off-guard. I'd never seen anything quite like it. I found it to be a compelling and engaging look into the lives of the girls on an Indian reservation, their black coach's back-story and motivations, the team's dynamics, and conflicts over the course of several seasons. As I was watching it I was thinking, "This ought to be a movie (fiction film)." Anyway, it's a great documentary that is as good or better than something like Hoop Dreams.

It would be nice to get this film back on air. I'm going to email my local PBS station about that.

LAX (2004–2005)

I like it

[29 September 2004]

I like LAX, I think it's a decent drama. It's got some humor and some dramatic situations. It's like Moonlighting--a romantic dramedy. I don't think it's any better or worse than similar shows.

I caught the episode this Monday where Blair Underwood is on a plane that is having electrical problems. It had a good deal of dramatic tension, even knowing that Underwood isn't going to be killed. So, we'll see if the show has any legs. NBC seems to be interested in these sort of blockbuster-type TV shows (Las Vegas).

The Believer (2001)

Biting study in Judaism, self-loathing, and the search for meaning

[23 June 2002]

This struck me as an above-average film because it is actually saying something worthwhile about society, however controversial. Danny is a young Jewish man who becomes a Nazi skinhead because he thinks Jews are weak, soft. Still, he holds onto his Judaism in secret. Ebert and Roeper said that Danny's argument was too convincing, but I don't agree. The challenge of the film is that Danny's arguments are full of true premises, but questionable conclusions. Underneath the questioning of Judaism, Danny is just like the person who you knew in school (it might have been you) who questioned the teacher to the nth degree. The only problem I had with the film is that I wondered how Danny lived day-to-day with all that nihilistism inside of him. It seems like he should have melted-down before the film even started. There's alot of aggressive self-loathing in the film, but the by-product is that it made me think about fascism, anti-semitism and the conflict inside every person between authority (God, doctrine, the majority) and the individual will.

A Woman, Her Men, and Her Futon (1992)

Woman writer deals with a screenplay and romantic conflicts

[29 March 2001]

I first saw this movie late one Sunday night when I was in college. I was looking for something to watch and thought it was the standard Cinemax Late Night fare, but it surprised me. It had a decent plot and character development. There is a well-done love triangle between the female writer--Jennifer Ruben, her producer friend--Lance Edwards, and her ex-husband and new boyfriend. The dialogue is above average and it doesn't rely on gratuitous sex scenes as crutch. There are a couple of sex scenes, but they fit the story. It is mostly about tension and attraction. If your looking for an above average movie, rent this one.