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Mike Richards
Reviews
Ten to Chi to (1990)
A wonderful Samurai film!
I happened to get a chance to see Ten To Chi To or Heaven And Earth, as we knew it here, on the big screen when it debuted in Calgary in the spring of 1990. After having worked many long hours on the movie for a good part of the late summer in 1989 as one of the 2000 Samurai infantry extras, it was amazing to see the finished product on the big screen. As mentioned in one of the earlier reviews, for fans of the Samurai movie genre, this is a must see. The large battle scenes are spectacular.
Trivia note. Actor Ken Watanabe was originally cast as one of the lead actors in Heaven and Earth. While filming Ken was diagnosed with acute myelogenic leukemia, a life-threatening disease of the bone marrow, that put an end to his part in the movie. Ken had to return to Japan for treatment that kept him away acting for a few years. He came back in 1994 only to have a relapse, but once again battled back. Ken has been nominated for Best Actor in a supporting role at this year's Academy Awards for his outstanding performance as Katsumoto in The Last Samurai. I wish him all the best!
BTW, I was one of a handful of extras who worked all through the filming from July to early Sepetebmber 1989, here in Alberta. During the last few days of filming there was only about 50 or so of us left. On the final day, final scene, a Saturday afternoon IIRC, some production people came around and handed each of us a cold beer. Director Haruki Kadokawa came out and toasted us. He smiled and said, "Very long. Very hard. Thank you!"
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding = Big Fun!
I won't say too much, since there is about 150 thread ahead of this one. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is big fun. I laughed out loud many times during this wonderful film. The acting is great. Nia Vardalos (Toula) and John Corbett (Ian) are spirited in their roles. Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan as the parents are very good. Andrea Martin as Aunt Voula is hilarious. I think everybody has an aunt like that somewhere in their family. Gia Carides is also funny as cousin Nikki. Go see this movie. Nothing blows up. There is no foul language and no gratuitous sex here, just lots of laughs with a real nice story line.
I read recently that Nia Vardalos held out on having this movie made until she could get it done, with the Greek story line. At one point an offer was made to her to make the film and switch the family background to Italian and have Marisa Tomei play the lead. I'm glad and not surprised that Nia held out until the movie was made the way it should have been. You see, she's from my home town, Winnipeg. :) I look forward to her next project.
Rating: 4 out of 5
A la medianoche y media (2000)
A great atmospheric movie
I just finished viewing A la medianoche y media (At Midnight and a Half) at the Hispano/American film festvial here in Calgary. This was one of the best films that I saw at the festival this weekend.
The story centers around three main characters, who along with a handful of other people, stay behind in a small coastal town in Venezuela being threatened by a ginormous tidal wave. Everyone else has left and the highways are jammed.
Salvador del Solar is intense as Sebastián, the late 20 something, cynical loner. He decides not follow everyone else out of town. He turns around, and heads back into town where he finds a little girl (Constanza Morales). She was somehow left behind her family. Sebastián lets the girl stay with him. Throughout the film, the little girl thinks she can avert the disaster by winning points in a game she invents. She uses the town as a big game board. The third main character is Ana (María Fernanda Ferro). Ana is a sensual, mysterious woman. She walks around the streets of the town photographing people and places, and has a wooden model of the town in her apartment. Sebastián sees Ana from a distance and becomes distracted by her. He follows her around, always keeping his distance, never having any direct contact with her.
Is there some sort of history between Ana and Sebastián? Is this all a fantasy or a dream? It is left it up to the viewer to decide.
The film features some great Latin percussion as well a fine pop tune, Hace Calor by the Argentinian band Los Rodriguez that plays throughout the movie in Sebastián's car.
Marité Ugas and Mariana Rondón were in attendance and answered questions following the screening. They shared with us an interesting bit of trivia. The main highway used in the traffic jam scene was a year later washed out by a huge tidal wave and subsequent mud slide.
Rating: 7.5/10.
Enough (2002)
Better than expected
Going by some reviews I'd read in the newspapers and entertainment publications, I was a little skeptical about seeing Enough. What made me decide to see it was what I saw in the trailers, particularly with Billy Campbell. Previously seen in the fine TV show Once And Again as nice guy Rick Sammler, I wondered if he could play the villain. Campbell delivers the role with intensity. His character Mitch, is creepy and frightening as the possessive/control freak husband who starts physically abusing his wife Slim (Jennifer Lopez), after she finds out he's cheating on her.
There are no surprises in this story, but I didn't go to this film expecting to have the plot of an Insomnia or Lantana. All the actors turn in good performances including: Noah Wylie who is also very good as a bad guy, Juliette Lewis, Dan Futterman, and young Tessa Allen. Credit here goes to director Michael Apted. In someone else's hands this film could have turned out to be a very average, generic, spousal abuse movie of the week. Enough is much more than that.