aalia Reviews

Virtual Sexuality (1999)

It's a fun film! Watch it for entertainment, not a thesis...

[8/10 · 17 November 2001]

This is a great film for pure entertainment, nothing more and nothing less. It's enjoyable, and a vaguely feel-good movie.

A minor, but nonetheless irritating thing about the movie is that we don't know why Justine and Chas broke up. Okay, most first relationships don't work for one reason or another, but they more or less seemed like a nice couple.

In a nutshell, it's worth a watch to escape reality.

Patch Adams (1998)

Patch the film first, but nonetheless it's hilarious

[7/10 · 17 November 2001]

Patch Adams is an enjoyable laugh-out-loud film.

Something about it, perhaps the few typical two dimensional characters, makes me find it very hard to believe that it is based on a true story. Too much of it would have been fabricated. Patch Adams would probably ashamed at how he is portrayed, but somewhat honoured. It is still a story of achievement that must be told.

Boxing Helena (1993)

Boxing Controversy...

[7/10 · 17 November 2001]

Boxing Helena is a highly controversial film about a man's sexual obsession.

Kim Basinger was initially offered to act as Helena, but she declined because she believed it was degrading to women. However, we should decide for ourselves what our own opinions are.

It appears to be more degrading to men. Nick is obsessive, Ray is the typical slob, the other men are more or less submissive or weak. Aside from the relatively poor cinematography, the film conveys a side of life that many film makers seek to avoid, and for this it should be given credit.

Pretty Woman (1990)

They are human after all..

[10/10 · 17 November 2001]

This is a beautiful film, and definitely worth a watch for all of the romantics out there...

It's important to remember that Vivian and Edward are individuals, and not dismiss the film as unrealistic merely because, "No, that would never happen between a prostitute and a rich guy". Both of them aren't the typical stereotypes. They are individuals, and what began as fondness grew to something a little deeper. Edward is swept away by Vivian, who leads him away from a life that had revolved around work for years (with the unheard of day-off, walking around with bare feet), and Vivian is swept away by her "Prince" (with the money to shopshopshop, the trip to the opera). The story is beautiful yet plausible because they are who they are, despite their faults, and they can see through each other's occupations to the person underneath.

Okay, in the real world this won't happen to everybody, and whether it will last or not is another story... "Some dreams come true, some don't." We'll just kept crossing our fingers.

In Love and War (1996)

Excellent film, but just one thing..

[9/10 · 6 November 2001]

This is an amazing film with an ending that is so true to life... It deserves a 9/10 for portraying a side of reality which Hollywood rarely dares to show.

One piece of criticism I have is that there is an implication at the end of the film that Hemingway suicided because of his failed relationship with Agnes. However, it is unlikely that this is the case. After writing brilliant pieces of literature, especially in the late 1920s, Hemingway's writing took a downward turn and he could no longer meet the high standards in the literature world that he, himself, had set. Depressed, he was often writing under the influence of alcohol in an attempt to 'enhance' his work. Nonetheless, these pieces were still unable to please his critics, and it was during this stage in his life that he committed suicide.

For interest: Ernest and Agnes occasionally wrote to each other afterwards, but one of Agnes' boyfriends burnt the letters that Ernest wrote to her, including the his reply to her letter breaking up their love relationship.

The Player (1992)

What about...? *vague spoiler ahead*

[8/10 · 28 October 2001]

As a Hollywood movie lover, watching Altman's 'The Player' definitely gave me a shock. The film ensures that the audience is not only fully aware that they are watching a film, but also that they will ironically acknowledge the qualities of the typical Hollywood movie. The blunt reality of life cannot be avoided - criminals are not always punished, and success goes to those who know how to "play the game".

After watching 'The Player', I am now never satisfied with a Hollywood film. When films so closely resemble a formula, the lack of complexity puts a haunting question mark on the industry's integrity - at least until a satire such as this is able to challenge us.