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sarahmas
Reviews
Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County (2010)
Missed opportunity
I think there is a compelling story here to tell; unfortunately the filmmaker didn't find it. The documentary was disjointed and exploitative. There was no narrative and no cohesion; many kids were introduced for a few minutes and then never heard from again. And we didn't get a full storyline for any of them; many of the kids from the few featured families just mugged for the camera. I wanted to know more about the family backgrounds and about the situations the led to their motel residency.
While I understand why Pelosi selected Orange County, she never really contrasted the kids' experience with that of their more well off peers. Simply parading them past Disneyland and talking about how they had never been inside didn't provide any real insight.
Finally, I think the background research was lacking. The first woman's claim that you can't get a studio in Orange County for less than $1300 is flat out wrong. Maybe that's true in Irvine or Newport Beach, but definitely not in Orange, Anaheim, Santa Ana, and other cities in the area. I also would have liked to have learned about other organizations that are helping disadvantaged children in the area as well as charitable efforts of OC corporations - including the vilified Walt Disney Company.
This was a very disappointing film. The kids are cute and charming and their story deserves to be told by a more talented filmmaker.
V for Vendetta (2005)
Stupid
This movie was so long, boring, and pointless. I slept right through the last half hour. I was looking forward to a visually pleasing, intellectually stimulating action movie. I was treated to an unending diatribe that couldn't keep track of its targets: Americans, the English, Big Government, the Nazis, groupthink, the media, the Church, drug companies, or the unsuspecting public. Or was it the vast worldwide conspiracy that controls them all?! Give me a break.
I am so tired of the Wachowski brothers going all Ayn Rand on us, using film to espouse their political beliefs. Morpheous never shut up, Neo never shut up, and now Mr. V never shut up. Get over yourselves! I gave this movie a rating of 2/10 for Stephen Rea's performance, which was simple, honest, and believable. Everything else sucked.
On Edge (2001)
This movie was awful
Whoever wrote the positive comment on this movie had to be working for the production company. This movie was so mean spirited, stupid, and unfunny. How many more fat jokes could they make? What was up with the gross character played by Scott Hamilton? He should be ashamed for making this movie. How could Kristi and Tai want to be associated with this disaster? What happened to Jason Alexander's acting skills? Did he leave them all on the set of Seinfeld?
It didn't gently and affectionately poke fun at the sport, like Bring it On did for competitive cheerleading. It consistently stressed that all skaters are bulimic psychopaths, all the mothers are desperate middle aged hags trying to regain their lost youth, and all the judges are biased snobs whose scores can be bought with sexual favors. I was waiting for the gay jokes to come out but with no male skaters I guess the writers just couldn't figure out how work them in.
I am not against dumb but funny movies, but this movie was just depressing. Don't waste your time.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
This is the worst movie ever made.
I cannot stomach a movie that is so much maudlin claptrap yet takes itself so seriously. I am so resentful of Steven Spielberg for wasting three hours of my life. Haley Joel Osment was annoying and creepy as the clingy little freak who should have been programmed to understand and accept rejection.
Why was the doctor still in New York if it had all collapsed and been drowned by the rising oceans? What was up with the stupid mouth bridges leading into the city? When did the mother suddenly really love the little robot and start rationalizing to her husband that it was more than just a novelty? Why was the teddy bear the smartest, cutest, most believable character in the movie? How can they say "and then he sat there staring at the blue fairy for 2000 years" and have that be an acceptable transition to the completely stupid ridiculous ending?
If it hadn't taken itself so seriously, maybe I could have hated it a bit less. If it wasn't so pretentious, maybe I wouldn't be so driven to hunt down Steven Spielberg and demand the 3 bucks it cost to rent the movie back. If it wasn't so annoying, maybe I wouldn't still be flaming about it on a movie website.
I give it 1/2 star, for the snuggle bear.
Bring It On (2000)
It's sexy, it's cute, and hilarious to boot :)
I think everyone who likes teen comedies will enjoy this movie, although it can only really be appreciated by someone who has been a competitive cheerleader. It reminded me a lot of Clueless.
I saw this movie with my boyfriend, who merely puts up with my cheerleading obsession, and my friend, who also cheers. All of us, as well as the rest of the theater, were splitting our sides. I came into this movie with low expectations - I figured I'd be bored until the competition sequence at the end. I was really pleasantly surprised. If word gets out, I think this could be the sleeper fluff comedy of the summer.
The cheers are pretty lame but the competition sequences are outstanding. The tumbling and stunts are all well done, evidence of the fact that they brought in nationally-ranked choreographers and cheerleaders for the background action.
I liked the way the movie gently poked fun at the silly stuff we do to prepare for competition (yes we use that much hairspray), but also brought attention to the athleticism and dedication it takes to be a national champion.
This movie was so fun! Two thumbs up!