Sweet_Fiddler Reviews

The Village (2004)

It's a love story, people!!!

[10/10 · 10 September 2008]

I get so annoyed hearing people bash "The Village"--when I ask WHY, precisely, they deem it a terrible film, they answer, "It was not at all scary." Well... The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs... they should know by now that M. Night Shyamalan, this generation's Hitchcock, is not necessarily a "scary movie man." It's all about suspense, and story-telling, and the story he tells here is a love story.

I am always mesmerized by that powerful speech that William Hurt (who plays Ivy Walker's father) delivers about love, near the middle of the film. To me, that signifies the theme of the movie. It's the motivation for the characters' actions.

And brilliant music!! James Newton Howard deserved more attention for that mystical, gorgeous score. Hilary Hahn is amazing; her haunting violin solos make the soundtrack a must as well as the DVD. One does not necessarily even have to watch the DVD to understand the emotions of the film when listening to her play.

Go rent it again, if you were disappointed on its "lack of scariness." See it as a love story with a few "Shyamalanian" twists, and become enraptured.

Amadeus (1984)

Falling in Love with Mozart all over again...

[9/10 · 10 September 2008]

I absolutely adore classical music, and Mozart has always drawn me in. I had done the "cute little book report" on his biography for seventh grade, deeming him as a genius and giant of his day. One of those big, stuffy composers seated under a wig and a dim light at his piano, "taking dictation from God." This film warps that entire image.

My father, too, is big on classical (Masters degree on the piano), and he warned me that this is NOT what the real Mozart was like. More like a Hollywood-ized version of him. Well, authentic or not, this film is hilarious and brilliant, and I would prefer to think that old Wolfgang knew how to let his "hair hang down" and giggle in that maniacal way that Tom Hulce seems to enjoy doing over and over in the film.

Never thought I would laugh during a movie about Mozart. Never thought I would care about him beyond his music...or be moved by his personal defeats and triumphs.

F. Murray Abraham is astonishing. He plays Mozart's jealous-ridden rival, constantly at a war among envy, rage, and reluctant but inevitable admiration for so phenomenal a musician.

This movie is a favorite. I hope it becomes a classic.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

i'm the girl who would take ichabod crane over captain jack ANY day

[8/10 · 10 September 2008]

I've never been one of these girls who go all ga-ga when they pass Johnny Depp memorabilia in shopping malls. Like him as an actor, but he's not my idea of beautiful (don't throw stones at me!) Yet, I must say, I was "enchanted," to say the least, seeing Depp play this sweet, mild-mannered, quirky, terrified, and heroic (in the under-dog way) character, Ichabod Crane.

For those of us who have actually read Washington Irving's novel prior to seeing the film, it is NOT the same story...

No spoilers, I promise, but one thing I truly love about this film is the quiet little romance subtly weaving through the entire film: Ichabod and Katrina. I never realized to the full extent the intriguing beauty of Christina Ricci until this film. She expels a sort of Catherine-Linton-aura about her, which makes her bashfully breathtaking. I love the quiet courtship that goes on between the two characters.

That is why I classify this as a love story. A love story behind a bizarre and bloody nightmare that IS Tim Burton, and my number one favorite Johnny Depp film.

The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

Demented, Bizarre, You have NEVER seen a film like this!!!

[10/10 · 10 September 2008]

HUGE fan of French Cabaret music here! So when I hear the Triplets of Belleville song performed at the Academy Awards, I know I HAVE to check this out.

French independent film... does it get any better than this? NO speaking...or very little, to say the least, which gives the film a very eerie dimension.

Don't let the fact that this film is animated throw you. Kids should NOT see this. Not giving anything away, but it IS spooky--if nothing else, the "thematic" material might throw a "young whippersnapper" off.

I rented it a million times and showed it to all my friends during junior and senior year. Have yet to show it to a person who didn't end up falling in love with it as I have.

Very strange. Very quirky. I'm not the sort of person to go all out and buy DVDs, but this one is a keeper. If anything, because it's not the obvious American blockbuster, and I have no idea how long a film like this is going to be accessible to us.

Wonder Boys (2000)

Off-Beat, Genuinely Unpredictable

[9/10 · 10 September 2008]

I must say, this is certainly a hidden gem. Whenever I mention "Wonder Boys" to my friends, they look at me as if I'd just recommended watching some made-for-TV Disney film (which, given the title, okay, I see where they're coming from).

THIS is brilliant!!! So off-color! I absolutely adore quirky films like this. Yes, the kind of film that less than twenty people have actually heard of, and that less than ten actually saw. So pleased to see Tobey Maguire in this film...NOT playing his typical quiet-boy-meets-girl-out-of-his-league, as he has obviously mastered in nearly every other film of his. Brilliant, detached (as you'll probably read in the other comments), although I think that, from what I've heard about acting, it would be harder to play a role so withdrawn and mysterious. You can't give anything, even when you have gifted performers like Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr. just letting it loose.

And speaking of Robert Downey Jr.--can we say "crack up?" Anybody who is a Downey fan will love this. Even if you've never heard of Downey (he's Ironman, for those of you who have yet to see Chaplin), you'll like him in this film. Or hate him. Give or take.

Very, very quirky. And funny. Most people who only glance at this film on the shelf mistake it for some disturbing or nondescript drama. No, it is definitely a comedy, and a hysterical one at that.

The Rag Man (1925)

Funniest Film...and it's SILENT!

[10/10 · 10 September 2008]

I have seen more comedy flicks in my life than I ever care to count, and yet this SILENT film, made in the 1920s, trumps them all! By chance, I caught it on one of those old-movie channels, and it had me on the floor dying with laughter. I was amazed--that little boy had such a phenomenal understanding of humor, and what makes a punch line or a reaction or comedic timing funny! Brilliant. If a movie keeps me laughing the whole way through, it deserves ten stars. (I am normally very picky about my comedies.) It's definitely a new favorite.

Does anyone know where I can get it? I'd love to see it again! Apparently Netflix and Amazon have never even heard of it. Blockbusters, of course, do not hold it.