Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) - 3/5

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

This movie is a weird mix of silly comedy, serious drama and Christian movie themes. I think they did a good job of pulling it off, but it's such a weird mix that it still stood out to me.

Tyler Perry has done several plays based on one of the (silly/comedic) characters, Madea. He plays her and also plays 2 others in the movie: one comedic and one serious.

The basis of the story is one, really two, marriages that are broken for two different fleshly sins. How do people react/handle the situation when they are wronged?

I was left wondering if the Christian influence and presence in the movie was cultural. Many shots of the Bible, church, people talking and referencing Christian things, topics and ideas. It wasn't overt, but it was clearly there (though I wdn't call it a Christian movie).

It was an interesting movie more for those reasons than the story itself.

SPOILERS:

Each of the offending spouses turns to the love of the flesh in one way or another. However, in one marriage, the offending spouse kicks the innocent out and the reverse for the other couple.

When the first needs salvation, the innocent returns to care for him out of Christian duty. In the other case, repeated failings have caused further requests to be rejected.

In the end, both relationships are restored in different ways. The first still winds up in divorce (all the Christian influence, but the divorce still continues) to stay w/ a man she has since fallen in love with. The first husband is redeemed by a change in ways and receiving salvation, but the wife no longer loves him and only helped him out of a sense of right.

The second marriage is reconciled when the offending spouse, the wife, goes thru rehab and returns to the church.

King Kong (2005) - 4.5/5

King Kong (2005)

Great action and a good story too. The characters were deep, varied and interesting - it wasn't just about a big monkey.

There's certainly some deeper thoughts behind it. Very intense and action, action, action.

And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing. And from that day, it was as one dead.

The Hustler (1961) - 4/5

The Hustler (1961)

Great story and cool acting. A lot of subtext w/ her being 'lame' in one way and him another; dependence on various things; living in various senses.

"Twisted, Perverted, Cripple"

Ed Wood (1994) - 3.5/5

Ed Wood (1994)

An interesting look at an interesting life. Who knows how accurate it is, but that just seems fitting. Depp and Landau give 2 great performances and others are good too... or at least fitting.

It didn't have too much trouble 'adapting' and sometimes it was compromise, but he loved making movies. He didn't care too muchfor details - he just seemed to love making movies.

There's a good bit of a touching story here btwn him and Bela. Set in this movie, I think it might lose something, but it's there.

"Pull the string! Pull the string!"

Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (2005) - 3.5/5

Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (2005) (V)

A homemade movie by 5 friends in Finland that has gotten a good bit of attention. You can down load it at starwreck.com.

It's an impressive effort w/ amazing CGI - hard to believe it's homemade. I can't say enough about how impressed I am w/ it. The story is pretty good, a bit campy in humor, but good and they use it to their strength. The plot is good too.

The acting is lacking, but better than I'd expect.

But the CGI is great.

Very impressed all over really.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - 4/5

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

I had high expectations of this mainly b/c of similarities btwn it and Lord of the Rings in both underlying subject matter and production.

Anyway, I thought it was really good. I think they did a good job of balancing the seriousness w/ a children's story. The CGI was really good, but in a couple places lacked just a little. Though that may have been intentional to keep things from looking 'too real'???

I felt they got to tell a lot of the story in the time they had. I don't know the story in enough detail to know all the places they made changes or how important they all are. I know of a few which I didn't think dramatically changed anything in the story.

I think it was well cast also.

SPOILERS:

I liked that Aslan told Peter to clean off his sword after killing the captain of the police. They didn't say why, but I liked that they didn't just take it all out.

I wish they wd have had Santa Claus tell Susan and Lucy that battle isn't proper for girls.

I liked how the White Witch wore a 'mane' at the last battle - like she was the new king.

I thought Aslan sd have been bigger and had a better, deeper and somewhat more expressive voice.

The Goonies (1985) - 3/5

The Goonies (1985)

Good kids movie - I wish I had seen this when it came out, but I didn't. I guess I was 15 so maybe it was too late for me???

I think it's a good, classic kids movie though there is a little bit of cussing in it which surprised me.

The slapstickness and general silliness sd appeal to most kids.

All in all, a good movie. I probably wd have given it a higher rating if I were younger.

Solaris (2002) - 3.5/5

Solaris (2002)

I may give this movie a different rating in time - it's tough to digest this one. I'm not sure it can be???

Definitely worth seeing. Slow, quiet, strange, confusing, intriguing and quite a journey to watch. The whole sci-fi aspect is just out of necessity.

"And death will have no dominion"

SPOILERS:

A possibly telling line in the movie is from Rheya when we wonders about Solaris saying "it made me, but I have no way to communicate with it." Is Solaris God? Is it Heaven? Hell?

It gives you what you sd want, but incompletely.

Why is it raining all the time on Earth?

I think Kelvin stays b/c he knows that no matter how artificial and empty (and short) live may be at Solaris, it's better than going back to Earth having been there. The boy welcomes him to stay... in Heaven?

Why don't the dead people from the station coming back?

Gibarian: "And you're not? Or maybe you're my puppet. But like all puppets you think you're actually human. It's the puppets dream, being normal. "

Gibarian: "There are no answers, only choices."

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be
one with the man in the wind and the west moon.
When their bones are picked clean
and the clean bones gone
they shall have stars at elbow and foot.
Though they go mad they shall be sane.
Though they sink through the sea
they shall rise again.
Though lovers be lost love shall not.
And death shall have no dominion.

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) - 4.5/5

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

Great movie. A powerful story about justice being blind in the wrong way. Mob justice.

It shows both sides of guilty-until-proven innocent. Not only the devastating effects on the victim, but those having to live w/ their actions.

What is this film saying about how things 'ought to be?' How can this change? Are we to listen to the elders, the wise, the religious? Are we to change in ourselves to be better? If so, how?

I think the movie tells us it's from a conscience from God.

SPOILERS:

The movie starts off and the first line remarks about how 'dead' the town is. The drifters come in to a barren town w/ the first member being a dog crossing the road.

They go in the saloon and stare at a picture above the bar of a woman seductively posed and a man half-way in the room behind her. One drifter comments about how the man is a bit slow to be leaving. He's somewhat jealous and protective in a way. He's probably already thinking of 'his girl' Rose in the town.

The barkeeper sees it from a different angle - the man is always close to her, but can't do a thing about it.

The drifter winds up in a fight w/ someone and his friend comments about how he sometimes needs to fight. It doesn't matter if he wins or losers - he feels better afterwards.

They learn about the robbery and start forming a mob posse. The older man, Davies, is the voice of reason and few side w/ him. A mocked paster, Sparks, and soon the judge. The Sheriff's Deputy, clearly immoral, joins the mob and 'deputizes' them all.

They head out and it's dark soon. They stop to rest and we learn that Sparks' brother had been lynched when he was young. No one knows for what or if he even did it, but it's close to him and he knows it can easily be done w/o good reason.

A coach goes by and thinks they're going to be robbed so they speed up and shot at the mob. Croft, the main drifter's friend, is shot. The coach has Rose in it newly married. It's pretty clear she still has feelings for one or more of the men and has married for money. It's a strange sub-plot that I'm not sure what to make of.

Later the mob makes it to the ox-bow and the shot is of them just under the tree they later hang the men from. A clear picture of them being guilty.

Thru the discussions of the situation some interesting comments are made:

Carter: "Hangin' is any man's business that's around." - no one is innocent

Deputy: "first he won't talk, now he talks too much" - the accused is guilty and can do no right.

The decide to wait until morning to hang them and move back to the fire. The accused men are on the left of the picture w/ the accusers on the right across from them. Straight ahead is Sparks, the man of God, between the two groups separated by fire.

The main accused man gets to write a letter to his wife. He entrusts Davies to delivery it. Davies reads it and shows it to 'the Major' who it seems has read it and realizes it's implications. He either thinks it trash from a guilty man or total rebuke from an innocent one and wants no part of either.

The mob calls for majority rules for hanging them. A complete mock of true justice, they turn to mob rules. Might is right. They call for those opposed to stand to the side. It starts w/ Sparks, a black man, and then Davies. The shot clearly showing the matter is black and white. Others join them including 'the Major's son. Sparks/religion/God again is the center of the shot. The group however is in minority.

Carter starts a bit of a fight. He loses, but maybe he feels better???

'The Major' forces his son to be one of the ones whipping the horses to hang the men. The father gives the son the whip in one last attempt to make him like himself. The son can't do it and the father clubs him unconscious. He'll have no female sons bearing his name.

After the lynching, the Sheriff shows up and explains Kincade isn't dead, but only shot and they caught the men who shot him. He snatches the star from the Deputy and calls on Davies for the truth (turning TO the wise for truth as opposed to running from it). The Sheriff hopes God will have mercy on them b/c he, the tool of justice, won't.

Carter asks for the letter to read from Davies.

'The Major' goes home w/ his son. He locks his son out of the house and the son, w/ a veil btwn them, tells off the father. He accuses his father of loving only power and cruelty and the son claims he wd have shot him if not for his own cowardness.

Carter reads the letter to his friend. You can't see his eyes as he reads. This may be an image of truly blind justice. The truth coming not from a man, but a higher source.

The letter:

A man just naturally can't take the law into his own hands and hang people without hurtin' everybody in the world, 'cause then he's just not breaking one law but all laws. Law is a lot more than words you put in a book, or judges or lawyers or sheriffs you hire to carry it out. It's everything people ever have found out about justice and what's right and wrong. It's the very conscience of humanity. There can't be any such thing as civilization unless people have a conscience, because if people touch God anywhere, where is it except through their conscience? And what is anybody's conscience except a little piece of the conscience of all men that ever lived?

In the end, the drifters leave to deliver the letter to the widow. They leave the way they came and things look the same. Even the dog crosses back to the other side of the street. Is this a message saying the despite all this, things don't change? Or is it a call to go back to the way things used to be?

Insomnia (2002) - 3/5

Insomnia (2002)

Remake of the Norwegian Insomnia (1997).

A pretty good movie, but seems to fall short in convincing and communicating the complete exhaustion of the main character. I think this falls on Pacino.

Certainly some imagery w/ the constanct sunlight ("There are two kinds of people in Alaska: those who were born here and those who come here to escape something.") - you can't hide from it. It's haunting and relentless. Like the truth.

The cinematography was good - constantly gloomy, gray, dank, damp, dull, etc. Every day is the same, they bleed into each other - one big day.

SPOILERS:

I have a hard time believing the main characters innocence in a sense. He's the 'great detective', but pretty quickly switches the guns to hide his accident. That, to me, says he's a 'bad guy' from the get-go.

"It's all about small stuff. You know, small lies, small mistakes. People give themselves away, same in misdemeanors as they do on murder cases. It's just human nature." He gave himself away. It makes it hard to be sympathetic.

He somewhat redeems himself in the end w/ Det. Burr. "A good cop can't sleep b/c he's missing a piece of the puzzle. And a bad cop can't sleep b/c his conscience won't let him." He sleeps at the end.

He confesses everything to the hotel lady - she's able to sleep.

Training Day (2001) - 3.5/5

Training Day (2001)

Good movie - intense.

To protect the sheep from wolves, you have to become a wolf yourself.

Spoilers:

Hoyt seems a little too 'green' coming into his position, but that works for the most part.

His 'do good' perspective early on helps save a girl which later comes back to save himself. Probably a larger message w/in the story - doing good saves you.

In the end, Hoyt does seem to lose a little when he leaves w/ the money Harris needed knowing what wd happen to him. It works in the film though.

Amadeus (1984) - 4/5

Amadeus (1984): "Amadeus (1984)"

Well made and powerful though made in the '80's w/ modern speech that now is actually a distraction.

The story is told from the point of view of Salieri who dispises Mozart and comes to dispise God for giving to Mozart the gift he wants for himself.

Amadeus: In Latin it means "Loved by God."

I like the point he made about God gave him enough talent only to recognize what He had given Mozart.

The X Files (1998) - 3.5/5

The X Files (1998)

It's been too long since I was watching the XFiles to remember how well this fit in w/ the plot of the show. At the time I probably was very close to the show and figured this was too. They tried to market this as being 'stand alone' so anyone cd enjoy it, but I still can't see that too much.

I remember being disappointed at the time, but now I liked the movie. It's not great, but it's a good sci-fi movie, but not just 'sci fi' all over the place all the time - good story and characters.

The ending is a bit abrupt in a sense and maybe a little over dramatic too. But overall I liked it.

Mad Max 2 (1981) - 2.5/5

Mad Max 2 (1981)

Better than the prequel, but only in production value: better sound, stunts, cinematography, etc. But still a weak story... if there is one really.

But again, loved it as a kid. Nostalgia.

Mad Max (1979) - 2/5

Mad Max (1979)

I wd give this movie a 1, but having seen and loved it as a kid, I can't help but give it a mercy point.

More of a horror style movie than action or anything else. The worst soundtrack imaginable... maybe.

This is a typical '70's movie style movie. It was 1979, but it was Australia.

It's bad all around, but I like it b/c of my experience w/ it as a kid.

Fever Pitch (2005) - 3/5

Fever Pitch (2005)

Cute, light, fun movie. Not vulgar or offensive.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) - 4/5

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)

Good, clean fun. Good story w/ plenty of action to move it along. The personalities and characters are great and it really goes how you'd like it to. Extremely creative w/ great animation.

Some people may not like it so much b/c it's so much of a 'kids' movie, but I liked that aspect too.

Made (2001) - 2/5

Made (2001)

Slightly entertaining, but quite disappointing given the past success of this duo in "Swingers."

Vince Vaughn spouts his usual excess which is normal art, but this time annoying (though it's clearly suppose to be).

The movie feels like a series of events that the viewer, and characters, doesn't know the goal of. Also, the ending feels forced and a bit trite.

Proof (2005) - 3.5/5

Proof (2005)

We saw this play in New York several years ago and really liked it. It's a good story told well.

Somehow I'm not sure it transitioned to the screen as well as the play??? It cd just be whatever you see first is better. Also, the first actors you see do it, seem to be better.

Either way, it was good, but not ground breaking.

What does 'the proof' prove?

SPOILERS:

Her dad's proof proved his insanity and her's her sanity. They both completed at the same time.

Jing wu men (1972) - 3.5/5

Jing wu men (1972)

Good fighting, comical over-dubbing.

What I was most impressed w/ was the story. The complexity of the 'spy' aspect w/in the school was interesting to me - he kills the spies, but if the other school is mad, they admit they had spies. However, if Chen's school doesn't blame them, they look guilty. He forces their had.

The disguises were good, but a bit goofy, but I assume that was the intent.

The ending was a bit sudden and lacking, but that may be the style???

Bottom line, for 1972 in Hong Kong, it was good and w/ Bruce, it was even better.