Reviews
Enchanted (1998)
a better idea than...
A better idea for a movie than actually came to be. I really enjoyed the little scenes made up to be other movies - especially the infamous "you can't handle the truth" scene (Ward does a pretty good Cruise!). More variety in acting style would have really livened up this flick. I would have also enjoyed more little vignettes - who wouldn't like those? They were the best part of the movie. So basically...good but could have been great.
Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
Irreverent Fun with a great little soundtrack
What I expected to find, I didn't. I went knowing that I would think it was a bubble gum movie that I would never pay anything but the matinee price to go and see, but that it would do its job of picking me up before Finals this semester. What I didn't expect was such a goofy look at modern pop culture without Chirstina Aguilera screaming down my ear.
The players are fun because they poke fun at themselves. The product placement of the movie - you'll know what I mean ten minutes into the film - are hilarious. The irreverent way they look at the music industry is fun. And who knew I'd love the music so much? I really anticipated a lot of pop nonsense, but I loved the guitar and drums so absent in top 40 artists (you know who I mean).
Don't expect Saving Private Ryan or Sleepless in Seattle...this movie pokes fun at itself. It's more like Austin Powers. Seeing Seth Green in an orange and red boa is worth the price of admission - even full price.
Freak City (1999)
under-rated, poetic exploration of the human spirit
Samantha Mathis, Jonathan Silverman, and Natalie Cole? Sounds like it ought to be trite and even a bit goofy or silly...however, I was more than pleasantly surprised.
Ruth (Mathis) undergoes a beautiful transformation in this film. She finds her life in utter upheaval after the death of her grandmother. Dealing not only with that loss, she must also seek to find personal peace in Lewellyn, a care facility she is placed in against her will by her aunt.
It is here that she encounters Lenny (Silverman), Cass (Matlin), Elanor (Cole), and Cal (Sarsgaard). Each facing their own affliction, Ruth must learn to deal with her MS.
I must take a moment to applaud Peter Sarsgaard's performance as Cal. Through his conversations on Dante's inferno and his own personal demons rising to the surface, he monopolized my attention. He is phenomenal, powerful, real, and, above all, believable.
I urge you all to rent this, especially if you are involved in any way with health care. This is a beautiful story and film deserving more attention.
Caution: there are, at times, some predictable moments, Natalie's song does seem to be about two verses too long, and Lenny's mother (who you'll know as Roseanne's sitcom mom) is unavoidably annoying.