aw8975 Reviews

November (I) (2004)

Worth it.

[7/10 · 24 July 2005]

This movie had a great structure. I liked exploring the real emotional reactions of "denial", "despair" and "acceptance" when dealing with trauma with the main character played by Courtney Cox. This movie is really difficult to talk about without giving it away and that is the one thing you don't want to happen when watching this movie. Trying to figure it out is what makes this intriguing.

I will say that the movie kept my interest and was terrific up until the ending. It is the type of ending that you can figure out so it doesn't "cheat" you. But it still wasn't a satisfying ending. Why? Because there were too many elements that were thrown in and even though I can understand why the main character would go through the thought processes that she did, I don't think that I would if I were in her shoes. That is, if I understood the ending properly.

Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)

Worth seeing

[6/10 · 11 June 2005]

Not nearly as good as the documentary, "Spellbound"also about school children , but still worth recommending. This documentary did keep my attention throughout and had some very charming moments. Many of the kids spotlighted were adorable and fun to watch. But overall, I had a difficult time keeping track of the different schools and children. Spellbound was able to focus on only a few children and document their lives from more angles. I felt a connection with every single one of the kids.

Mad Hot Ballroom on the other hand documented many children from three different schools and focused on the children's teachers, schools and dance classes more than their families and individual struggles. Still, it was a delight to see the sweetness that these kids have at that age. But in the end, I wasn't absorbed enough with the children from the winning team to have that same warm and uplifting feeling that I had from Spellbound. The only scenes I seem to be able to recall clearly now are of a silly teacher crying (her scenes got the biggest laughs from the audience) and the poor look on these kids faces when they didn't win a contest round. That says it for me.

Crash (I) (2004)

Relevant and entertaining

[9/10 · 8 May 2005]

The movie is much better than the trailer. Although this movie has a heavy theme and is thought provoking , there are many funny and even whimsical moments scattered throughout. I was afraid that the movie would be a lecture about racism. But I don't think it was. It's an honest look at how ill will towards others hurts others but also haunts yourself and those closest to you.

I don't think this movie tried to make me feel ashamed of racism in America. What it did for me instead is made me feel what its like when kindness and fairness overcome racism. I cared about every single character in this movie. No one is completely bad or "evil." I don't want to give this movie away or sound completely sappy, but in a nutshell this movie conveyed to me that it feels so much better to hug a human being of any race, rather than fight with them.

House of D (2004)

So very disappointing

[1/10 · 17 April 2005]

I grew up in the city, had confidence in Duchovny and had high hopes for this movie. But it was an enormous disappointment.

Erykah Badu was the best thing in the movie. Her performance was funny, touching and very convincing. And although, I like most of Robin Williams' (Popass) scenes, there are too many things that make no sense about this movie for it to have any believability. The music was intrusive. I kept wanting to turn it down to be able to focus on the difficult dialog. The best parts were the quiet scenes where the main character of the film at age 13 talks up to a female prisoner in a prison in the heart of Manhattan.

On a personal level, the movie really offended me. Every adult is made out to look like an idiot or pervert in some way:

* Robin Williams gets a hard on after seeing a scary movie. He tells a 13 year old girl he has a big penis.

* An entire characters only purpose in the movie is to unknowingly be made to say obscene things in French. (A joke that unfunnily showed up at the end of the movie as well with Tommy's wife. "French boner.")

* Tommy's mother laughs at an absurd hard-on her son fakes

* Tommy's boss looks a girly flip books. His other female boss bears puts his face in her breasts

* During a bible class, the only other teacher who is focused on, reads a sexual story from the bible

* A woman Tommy delivers meat to is a sex pot

I just can't believe that Tommy and Popass know every single sex joke that is a play on foreign languages, but an adult French teacher wouldn't know what the English word, "penis" is. This is a Catholic school. Come on. What is the point in making Catholic School look like it's run by a bunch of idiots?

Another running joke is to have dogs pee on bicycles. And yet another is a play on Robin William's character's name, Papass. We get treated to "momass" and then "Tomass".

I'm not prude and I don't mind an adult movie. But there is too much sexual innuendo in this movie. It would probably have been fine if it had been limited to the young teens. But it's with every adult as well. Every single scene has a sort of "dirtiness" to it. If this thing is going to be such a strong thing throughout the entire movie, I think it would have worked better as a pure comedy. Not a dramatic, coming-of-age story.

How can David Duchovny have made a movie that has so many glaring mistakes and is so unrealistic? I grew up in a small New York City apartment. We had two bathrooms, but only one had a shower in it. There is no way my parents would have had a clear shower curtain. But then, of course Duchovny wouldn't be able to show at least two very clear scenes through the shower curtain of Tea Leoni peeing while her son takes a shower if the curtain hadn't been clear.

This movie was dreadful. Horrible. Awful. I think Duchovny should go write sex novels. He seems to be obsessed with that type of humor.

Ice Princess (2005)

Good for a matinée

[19 March 2005]

Because a movie about figure skating comes around once a decade and tonight is the ladies world figure skating world championships, I'm in a great mood as I write this. This may explain why I liked the movie when I don't feel that I should have. To be honest, I think I liked the film because I love figure skating.

At least this Disney "Princess" film didn't star Anne Hathaway. Instead, Michelle Trachenberg played pretty much the same role but more appealingly. I never watched "Buffy", so I only knew of her from the Discovery Channel's "Truth of Scare" series in which she sounds like a robot. But I really like her in this movie. With some inflection in her voice, she's an effective and appealing actress.

I'm not the tween audience this film is targeted for, so maybe this is why the movie's lack of realism really bothered me throughout the film. I would like to see a movie about skating that show's the sport's realistic and competitive side more. This film showed it in a Disney, comical sense but this film is just as much a fantasy as The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast.

Overall, the film was enjoyable and I liked the theme to follow your dream and the main character's maturity and toughness. But this film doesn't make me want for more G rated films that aren't animated.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Extremely good

[19 February 2005]

I'm so glad I went to see Hotel Rwanda. At first I avoided it because I was afraid it would be too violent or political. But the film handled this brilliantly. The emotion and violence of the events are evident but you don't see the worst directly.

The movie reminded me of other political films. But this one is so much more uplifting and entertaining. It's truly a human story that's so much more effective because it's true. You see the events mainly through one man's eyes. It really is a hero film that shows how tragedy can bring out the best in people not just for caring about others, but for being strong, calm and setting an example.

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Moving

[16 January 2005]

This bare, emotional movie is the best that Eastwood has ever done in my opinion. For me, it's not because it has a ruthless, touching ending. So many people have written about it better than I can. I loved this movie because of the atmosphere that Eastwood created.

The movie had a lot of stretches. For me, the story line is too fantastical. It's hard to imagine that a prized fighter would train in such a run-down decrepit old gym. Isn't it a coincidence that two exceptional fighters would both come out of the same gym seemingly in the middle of nowhere, white trash America? But this movie was so realistic in its dialog that I forgot about all that. You could smell the sweat in that gym and it had such a homey feel to it, it made you believe that people would spend all day there. This is a character movie with fantastic actors who did it justice. Why isn't anyone talking about giving Morgan Freeman a nomination?

National Treasure (2004)

Agree with critics

[21 November 2004]

Sure it's not plausible and yeah, you're thinking, "Could that guy be so stupid? This could only happen in the movies." But still, I loved this movie.

Nicolas Cage surprised me. I'm not really a fan of his, but he was very likable in this movie. This guy is getting better looking as he ages. But for once, I feel as though he brought credibility to a film that otherwise could have been a joke.

This is a movie that makes you feel smart because you're smarter than some of the characters who are supposed to be highly educated. But still, I applaud the movie for being fast paced and a whole lot of fun. Plus, I enjoyed the historical aspect of the movie.

The Clearing (2004)

Wonderful

[17 July 2004]

I went to see this film mostly because of my admiration for the wonderful Mirren. But I was pleasantly surprised by how intrigued and entertained I was by the movie.

It's a simple movie that is suspenseful. I'm not a fan of Redford or Dafoe, but the dialog between their two characters was the strength of the movie in my opinion. I still don't understand any of the character's motives. I'm not sure if the movie is ambiguous or if I just didn't get it.

But it was Mirren's character that I related to the most. I liked the strength and complexity she shows and her reactions were completely believable. To me the message her character gives is that if one gives everything one can,one can accept that life's tragedies are beyond your control.

The movie has a deeper message played out between the male characters. But I don't want to give it away. I'm glad I saw the movie.

The Notebook (2004)

Too slow

[6 July 2004]

The movie was beautiful and at times I did like the slower pace. But overall it seems as if every scene is too long and the movie plays every trick on your emotions. It seemed contrived to me.

The best part of the movie is the way it urges you to try to figure it out. But it's like that slow paced book that you trudge through only to find out "who did it at the end." I wasn't satisfied by the ending. Otherwise, the cinematography is gorgeous. I love historical movies, but this one didn't have a lot of period sets. But from the very beginning, the views of nature are breathtaking.

The three girls behind me were openly sniffling and loved it. Titanic made me cry. Heck, even Rabbit Proof Fence made me cry. But this movie just made me look at my watch.

I'm Not Scared (2003)

Poignant

[12 June 2004]

My only criticism is that the movie was a bit slow moving at times. But now that I've gotten that out of the way, I must say that I was engrossed and moved by this movie.

I loved how the plot was played out gradually and suspense fully. Up until the very end, I honestly didn't know how the story was going to end up.

The background noise and music was perfect and the young actors were believable.

I found the main characters actions interesting. But I can't say how without giving things away.