I've rated 3,744 movies as I write this review and have to state that my wife and I agree this is one of the worst movies we have ever seen. It is a jumble of disjointed scenes with no logical focal point. Granted, there may be a specialty audience for fantasy however we are baffled at the number of nominations and awards granted by the Academy of Motion Pictures. The acting in some of the other nominated movies was considerably superior. Very disappointed in the Academy's selection and reinforces my belief that the Academy can no longer be relied upon as a barometer of great or even mediocre movies.
Reviews
12 Reviews
The Cat in the Hat
(2003)
One of the best misunderstood comedies ever made
21 July 2019
This is one of the best movies I have ever watched. I've watched it over 50 times because by grandchildren love it and I'm still falling over the jokes. The one liners are non-stop and while much of the humor is designed for an adult audience, the kids love the pastel colors and the simpler story. I cannot understand it's poor rating. This movie should be considered a comic classic, with Mike Meyers st his vintage best.
Second Coming
(2014)
An absence of plot development
23 December 2015
I am a big fan of the Film Movement series and my wife is a huge fan of Idris Elba so we both had great expectations for this movie. Unfortunately it became clear early on that the outline of the plot lacked development. It was shallow and the lead actress,Nadine Marshall failed to add depth to what was obviously meant to be a complex character study.
The movie opened and failed to develop many sub-plot lines which involved potential martial issues as well as mental state of mind. This is a very shallow and disappointing movie.
A word about Film Movement, I do not understand their reluctance to add sub-titles to movies with difficult accents such as the combined West Indian cockney used by the main characters. We don't think that would change our opinion of this movie but we missed 50 percent of the words.
The movie opened and failed to develop many sub-plot lines which involved potential martial issues as well as mental state of mind. This is a very shallow and disappointing movie.
A word about Film Movement, I do not understand their reluctance to add sub-titles to movies with difficult accents such as the combined West Indian cockney used by the main characters. We don't think that would change our opinion of this movie but we missed 50 percent of the words.
Broken Lines
(2008)
Adult Romantic Drama with Tragic Overtones
7 November 2009
We watched an advanced showing of Broken Lines at the Boston Jewish Festival followed by a brief discussion with the Director, Sallie Aprahamian. The question & answer period were relatively brief which may bear some reflection regarding the audience interest in the movie. The plot revolves around a deepening relationship between Jake (Dan Fredenburgh and B (Doraly Rosa) both of whom are involved with significant others. In B's circumstance, it's her husband (?) who has been crippled by a stroke (Paul Bettany and well acted). In Jake's circumstance its a gentile fiancé who appears loving but is too caught-up in her wedding plans to immediately detect any threats to their relationship (Olivia Williams) The complications deepen as the romance develops leading to complicated and depressing consequences. An under-current theme is Judaic and familiar circumstances arising from the death of Jake's father (the first scene, so not a spoiler) which appears to be a factor binding Jake's relationship with B The acting was for the most part professional and believable. The script written by the two lead actors was tight although the final scene appeared out of sync with the balance of the script. The Director indicated that considerable debate went into the final scene and it appears that the wishes of the authors outweighed the instinct of the Director. It was my biggest issue with the movie. Overall however, I felt that the evening was well spent and would recommend this movie with the caveat that it is romantic tragedy, not comedy.
O Jerusalem
(2006)
A very bad movie
12 May 2009
O Jerusalem is a terrible movie. Very bad, stilted acting and a very, very bad script. I had looked forward to watching this movie because I read the book and have emotional views regarding Israel's war of independence (or as the Arabs call it, "The catastrophe").
This movie had virtually no resemblance to that book, which was an excellent portrayal of the siege of Jerusalem and was not otherwise burdened down by a phony relationship between a Palestinian and an American Jewish fighter. The pace of the movie did not allow for any meaningful storyline development. Some of the acting was so bad it was laughable, which is sad, because there is no comedy in this story. The lines written only served to exacerbate the bad acting. The shame of it is that while probably low budget, the movie had suffcient props and scenery to have allowed for a better production.
My sad recommendation is to strongly urge you to stay away!
This movie had virtually no resemblance to that book, which was an excellent portrayal of the siege of Jerusalem and was not otherwise burdened down by a phony relationship between a Palestinian and an American Jewish fighter. The pace of the movie did not allow for any meaningful storyline development. Some of the acting was so bad it was laughable, which is sad, because there is no comedy in this story. The lines written only served to exacerbate the bad acting. The shame of it is that while probably low budget, the movie had suffcient props and scenery to have allowed for a better production.
My sad recommendation is to strongly urge you to stay away!
Santa Fe
(1986 TV Movie)
Excellent rendition of refugee life in war time New York
8 May 2009
The second movie of a trilogy, Axel Corti continues an excellent portrayal of the the saga of refugee Jews from Central Europe. Axel Corti did a fabulous job of blending in stock footage of New York City of the early 1940's along with original footage from a film made during the mid- 1980's.
The characters are believable and the circumstances thy find themselves appear to be true to life. The acting appears to be flawless as I found to be true in the first of the trilogy, "God Does Not Believe in us Anymore" I have not as yet viewed the third movie as yet, Welcome to Vienna, but anticipate similar quality.
The characters are believable and the circumstances thy find themselves appear to be true to life. The acting appears to be flawless as I found to be true in the first of the trilogy, "God Does Not Believe in us Anymore" I have not as yet viewed the third movie as yet, Welcome to Vienna, but anticipate similar quality.
3 Américas
(2007)
Uneven Drama
3 May 2008
We saw 3 Americas at a special screening on May 3rd, 2008 at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, followed by a question and answer session attended by the Writer/Director, Cristina Cornejo, her co-producer and several of the actors. The story line revolves around America, a 15-year-old American girl who lives in the United States but was born in Argentina. An orphan who lives with her aunt and an abusive uncle, an unfortunate tragedy results in her suddenly returning to Argentina to live with her Maternal Grandmother.
Set in both Boston and Buenos Aires, the movie unfortunately suffers from amateurish acting for the first 25% of the movie, which takes place at its start in the United States. The movie does attempt to redeem itself once the story moves to Argentina, where the local actors were more professional and where the lead actress, Kristen Gonzales (America) obviously was able to benefit from the professionalism and support of the Argentinean cast.
The story itself is a somewhat uneven tale of redemption in the face of adversity once America is forced to face up to her immaturity as a result of an unfortunate circumstance.
I appreciated the effort that the Director/Writer made in filming this story, which she indicated was somewhat biographical. Ms. Cornejo has not secured an agreement to release the movie to-date consequently not very many people may see a decent first effort. It is unfortunate that anyone looking to take this movie on will first need to navigate a poorly preformed 30 minutes before the more qualitative part of the film kicks in.
Set in both Boston and Buenos Aires, the movie unfortunately suffers from amateurish acting for the first 25% of the movie, which takes place at its start in the United States. The movie does attempt to redeem itself once the story moves to Argentina, where the local actors were more professional and where the lead actress, Kristen Gonzales (America) obviously was able to benefit from the professionalism and support of the Argentinean cast.
The story itself is a somewhat uneven tale of redemption in the face of adversity once America is forced to face up to her immaturity as a result of an unfortunate circumstance.
I appreciated the effort that the Director/Writer made in filming this story, which she indicated was somewhat biographical. Ms. Cornejo has not secured an agreement to release the movie to-date consequently not very many people may see a decent first effort. It is unfortunate that anyone looking to take this movie on will first need to navigate a poorly preformed 30 minutes before the more qualitative part of the film kicks in.
Blood of My Blood
(2007)
suspenseful tale with told with deep character development
26 April 2008
My wife and I saw Padre Nuestro, now called Sangre De Mi Sangre at a special showing at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and were treated to a question and answer session by the Director/writer, Christopher Zalla. The name of the movie was changed from Padre Nuestro to its new title in Mexico where it had a fairly wide distribution to avoid confusion with an earlier light weight comedy made in Chile with the same title. This movie is anything but light weight as it revolves around the gritty life experiences of illegal aliens struggling to survive in the United States in a dog eat dog world.
This movie contains wonderful performances from each of its four principal characters and Jesus Ochoa (Diego), who is the most well recognized of the Mexican cast, fills the screen with a performance as large as his girth. Armando Hernandez (Juan) deserves mention for an equally powerful performance with only a slightly lesser efforts from Jorge Adrian Espindola (Pedro) and Paola Mendoza (Magda, which certainly did not detract from the excellence of this film.
Filmed on location in a gritty industrial section of Brooklyn, the story contains a sense of believability with only a modest level of contrivance necessary to develop a credible, seamless story line. A powerful movie, which measured up to its success at the Sundance film festival in 1987. The movie will have a limited release in the United States at a single theatre in five city's during the month of May, 2008, so it may not be widely seen, which would be a shame. I look forward to seeing Christopher's next film which we are told will be set in a Bolivian prison for Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment and which may star Don Cheadle.
This movie contains wonderful performances from each of its four principal characters and Jesus Ochoa (Diego), who is the most well recognized of the Mexican cast, fills the screen with a performance as large as his girth. Armando Hernandez (Juan) deserves mention for an equally powerful performance with only a slightly lesser efforts from Jorge Adrian Espindola (Pedro) and Paola Mendoza (Magda, which certainly did not detract from the excellence of this film.
Filmed on location in a gritty industrial section of Brooklyn, the story contains a sense of believability with only a modest level of contrivance necessary to develop a credible, seamless story line. A powerful movie, which measured up to its success at the Sundance film festival in 1987. The movie will have a limited release in the United States at a single theatre in five city's during the month of May, 2008, so it may not be widely seen, which would be a shame. I look forward to seeing Christopher's next film which we are told will be set in a Bolivian prison for Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment and which may star Don Cheadle.
Tortilla Soup
(2001)
A Remake of Eat Drink Man & Woman, both are excellent
31 January 2005
This is an exact almost word for word copy of Eat Drink Man Woman, a 1994 Twainese production. Both movies are great, but Tortilla soup looses points for lack of originality.
Both movies offer sharp portrayals of their various cuisines, and your preference may be Mexican vs.Chinese, however if you can tolerate the fast pace Chinese dialog (subtitles), see the original first. I also preferred the scenery of the original (Eat Drink Man Woman), but perhaps that is because Taiwan is the orient and the architecture is spectacular.
Finally, both movies are well acted although the lifestyle portrayed in the story line may be somewhat more believable in the Southern California setting of Tortilla Soup.
Both movies offer sharp portrayals of their various cuisines, and your preference may be Mexican vs.Chinese, however if you can tolerate the fast pace Chinese dialog (subtitles), see the original first. I also preferred the scenery of the original (Eat Drink Man Woman), but perhaps that is because Taiwan is the orient and the architecture is spectacular.
Finally, both movies are well acted although the lifestyle portrayed in the story line may be somewhat more believable in the Southern California setting of Tortilla Soup.
A bit long, but a good flick
19 February 2004
Although the movie is too slow in the beginning and immediately after the invasion, it picks up nicely at the end. The scenery of central Europe is stunning and adds to the sensuality of the movie. Daniel Day - Lewis fills the main role well and Lena Olin is stunning in her supporting role. Juliette Binoche has been better in other movies.
Waiting for Guffman
(1996)
A one joke movie that doesn't last beyond the first 15 minutes
14 December 2003
This is a one joke movie that doesn't last beyond the first 15 minutes. Once the movie establishes how bad the actors really are, it doesn't move away from the "joke" subjecting the viewer to multiple scenes of boredom. If you see the DVD, you'll see a full 1/2 hour of outtakes, some of which are funnier than scense in the movie.
Bicycle Thieves
(1948)
A classic that has met the test of time
14 December 2003
The Bicycle Thief is a classic that has met the test of time. As powerful today as it must have been in 1949, it moves fast and furiously through its roughly 90 minute time frame. It avoids an unrealistic happy ending and we are enriched because of it.
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