zoemanning Reviews

Small Change (1976)

Simply great

[10/10 · 8 October 2004]

I watched "Small Change" on DVD at a single sitting, which is rare for me because I usually can't sit still for the duration of a DVD movie. The story got my full attention, and after less than 30 minutes, I have already bonded more or less with the characters. The entire cast was excellent, especially the children who are really delightful to watch.

It would be unfair to say that the plot lacks fluidity, but I was more taken with the many individual moments of brilliance. Some of the scenes (SPOILERS) are really simple and yet memorable. My favourites are Little Grégory and the cat, Sylvie with her father's megaphone, the children's pulley system that would have made MacGyver proud, and the setup for the kissing finale. I can't imagine such scenes being filmed today without being overly-pretentious or condescending.

All in all, Small Change is a great movie which reminded me of the silly things I've done in my childhood. It's definitely worth watching again.

Fallen Angel (1981 TV Movie)

Chilling, disturbing, brilliant (some spoilers)

[21 January 2004]

I first saw this movie way back when I was a teen. I only watched the latter half of it, and it was so captivating that I spent the next few years searching for the full movie. At that time, I was doing school research on the topic of paedophilia and child pornography, and Fallen Angel was an excellent case study about how children can be lured into a world of porn and sexual exploitation which they are not yet ready for.

The story in short is about 12 year old Jennifer who felt neglected by her single-parent working-mom Sherry. She sought friendship and solace with softball coach cum child pornographer Howard, who in turn abused her trust to lure her into the world of child pornography. In the end, Jennifer must decide whether to move on with her life, or risk her reputation and face up to her painful mistakes to prevent Howard from harming any more children.

It would be easy to point the finger at the paedophile Howard (Richard Masur) and clueless mother Sherry (Melinda Dillon), but the characters are multi-layered and complex, which makes this movie so good and disturbing. Howard came from an abusive family, and so he tried to treat children with respect like adults. Unfortunately, he also fell in love with girls as if they were grown women, and he couldn't see that he was wrong in having sexual relationships with children or putting them in pornography. Despite exploiting Jennifer (Dana Hill), he was also shown as a caring and protective father figure to her, raising her self-confidence. Her mother Sherry worked hard to provide for Jennifer, but her neglect and relationship with another man pushed Jennifer away towards Howard. Even Jennifer wasn't totally innocent, as she seduced Howard into taking her in when she ran away from home.

The acting is first class. Amazingly, the late Dana Hill was about 16 at that time, but she managed to convey the image and innocence of 12 year old Jennifer convincingly. Richard Masur was perfect as a creepy paedophile, yet still manages to draw sympathy for his "condition". His character was both manipulative and child-like at the same time.

Fallen Angel doesn't defend paedophilia or parental neglect, but it does try to offer reasons and underlying circumstances for them. It also explores the budding sexuality and curiosity in children which adults tend to ignore until too late. Most importantly, it addresses the darker aspects of society that parents try to shield their kids from, which actually make them easy targets for exploitation.

Overall, Fallen Angel is an exceedingly good made-for-TV movie. It would serve as a reminder for parents to remain vigilant and to educate their preteen children against society's ills.

Family Affair (2002–2003)

Good actors, but...

[22 July 2003]

I think the writers of Family Affair 2002 couldn't decide whether they wanted to do slapstick comedy, plain drama or a hybrid dramedy, so the show ends up as an odd mix that isn't really any of the above.

The decision not to record the show in front of a live audience was a huge mistake, since the subsequent "laughter tracks" seemed to be inserted out of place. It would have been way better if they followed Ally McBeal or The Gilmore Girls and dispense with the "canned" laughter altogether. There is simply not enough humour to spread out over each half-hour episode. I can't remember seeing any episode with more than two good jokes.

The actors tried their best, especially the younger actors. Caitlin Wachs is brilliant as Sissy and she's perhaps the only reason that kept me watching the show. Her acting is natural and convincing and is a step up from her performance in The Divine Secrets of The Ya Ya Sisterhood. Sarah Pieterse's Buffy has a surprisingly good range of emotions for her young age and has great potential. But the biggest boo-boo for the casting directors is their choice for the role of Jody. Jimmy Pinchak does a fine job as Jody, but he looks like he's much younger than Buffy and there's no way they could pass off as twins. Luckily the two of them have enough chemistry to make their sibling act believable.

Still, good acting alone can't save the show that is neither funny enough to be a comedy nor serious enough for a drama.

Hero (2002)

Most expensive comedy ever made

[28 January 2003]

To say that Hero is an "epic" is a joke in itself. Even though it does boast some scenes of China's wonderfully breath-taking landscape, it doesn't fully live up to its potential. It would have been much better if the large supporting cast of Qin soldiers were involved in one or two huge battle scenes (like the Helm's Deep battle in The Two Towers), possibly with the Zhao army. Instead, this grand army is reduced to shooting arrows at a school house and chanting "Wind! Wind! Wind!", while the Zhao army is nowhere to be seen. The martial arts stunts are beautifully choreographed, but they are too exaggerated even for a fantasy flick. Obviously, none of the choreographers have been schooled in the science of physics or gravity. The Qin king was simply hilarious, especially when he literally handed his sword to his unarmed assassin, even complimenting his would-be killer as though he wanted the killer to get it over and done with. Hilarious. I was bitterly disappointed in the film's plot, where the assassination scheme was retold from 3 different points of view. The sub-plot on the pseudo-love triangle between Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Moon was weak and unnecessary. And we were never told which of the main characters was actually the "Hero". Hero is essentially a beautiful, artsy film with a so-so love story and a fake pretense of grandeur. I managed to enjoy it cos I didn't take it seriously and took every given opportunity to steal a laugh or two. 4 out of 10.