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hungryhippo1970
Reviews
Sublime (2007)
Don't Be Fooled By The Cover
It definitely kept my attention throughout. However, I was inspired to write this comment because of the cover art as opposed to the movie itself. Had I based my seeing the movie strictly off of the DVD artwork, I would've never watched it. Hell, I wouldn't have even picked it up to read the back of the box. (My initial reaction was that it was another in the "torture porn" realm.) The imagery is extremely misleading. It's nothing of the sort.
My advice is to watch the trailer to get a better idea of the feel for this film. It's much more a slowly-paced reality-turned-on-its-ear type of film, if there is such a genre.
Did I like it? Yep.
Dog Park (1998)
Would've seen it regardless...
I'm a big fan of The Kids In The Hall. I'm an even bigger fan of the "romantic comedy" genre. And, hell, sure, I like dogs, too.
However, while I loved watching the actors and actresses in "Dog Park" (great cast!), I had a problem watching the characters. More often than not, it seemed as if i was simpy observing people recite memorized lines they didn't really believe, while they moved from scene to scene without feeling or knowing why or how they got there.
Whether it was because of the writing, direction, or lack of focus, the movie itself, rather than the characters in it, ultimately seemed to have the biggest feeling of hesitancy and fear of commitment.
Magnolia (1999)
Great Flick!
SPOILERS!!! BEWARE!!!
I've seen this movie once and it ranks up with my absolute favorites. I saw it in the theatre a while ago and couldn't take my eyes off the screen, although i could hear the complaints of other people in the seats behind me. Up front, you should know that this movie is damn long, and that it's not for everyone (not that any movie really is, I suppose). Afterwards, in talking with friends about this movie, I heard comments as varying as the comments I've read on here. One friend mentioned "What was the point of that movie? Everything's interconnected? So what?" Another friend thought it was amatuerish and far too long. Another was excitedly talking about it for weeks after having seen it, still trying to unearth things she didn't notice initially. Regardless of what the reaction was, it definitely succeeded in eliciting just that, an emphatic reaction, from everyone I spoke with. Which, in a time where some may think we've "seen it all," is something worth noting. It deals with many extremely unhappy people in extremely depressing situations, but it is no way a depressing movie. It's ultimately a movie of hope. And while it's obvious that it's overall message is that of redemption and forgiveness and acceptance of our individual lives and everything that's previously bothered us, as well as the importance of owning up to the lives we've led before we can wholly move on to better things, it's told in such an unconventional way by today's standards that it gets lost for some.
As far as the length, I figure there are plenty of movies out there that DID get edited down to a more readily acceptable length. Hell, somebody had to leave everything in to see what would happen. And while there, why not just go all out? I completely respect and enjoyed everything about this movie for not in any way (that I can see) giving in to the idea of what "should be done." Instead it seemed a work of passion. In regards to people I've talked with who couldn't make any sense out of the frog storm, I've said a few things from what I could figure out: Firstly, it's in the bible, which is made obvious throughout the movie by conveying the exact passage countless times to the viewers. If you have a problem simply with the frog storm, it's not with the movie, it's with the preivous book. Secondly, some people I talked to asked why the hell it had to be "frogs"......why not just a gigantic thunderstorm? To that I answer "I don't know." And I don't think anybody should know. If anybody did, it would ruin the effect of the event itself, because it's origins could be traced back to something human and/or earthly and 100% explainable without the existence of another higher power, so to speak. I saw the storm as a big reminder to all the characters in the movie who thought their problems were more overwhelming than any other problems imaginable (which would be pretty much every character). A reminder that, regardless of how bad it might seem to be, there's still something out there beyond our comprehension that/who is watching us and basically letting us know it's okay.......we're not that badly off. Frogs make no sense in the realm of logic, but logic has little to do with faith. All this said, I'm not really extremely pretentious or "arty" or any of that crap. After all, I loved "Happy Gilmore," too. And I guess in the big picture, I usually like a lot of stuff that does what it does wholeheartedly, without pandering or second-guessing what others might like, and stays true to it's focus, whether it's making the longest most message-filled darkly funny movie you can, or the cheesiest dumbest movie you can. Or, in other words, yeah, I liked Magnolia lots and lots.