JCHathaway-1 Reviews

Transformers (2007)

NOT a kids' movie, and that's a bad thing

[5/10 · 2 July 2007]

Looked at as a whole, as an adult viewer and lifelong fan, I enjoyed this film. The action sequences were a bit too frenetic, and left me with a nauseous migraine. As an "80s nostalgia" flick, it was very interesting. There's "Col. Sharp" (the name of Duke's boss before they brought Hawk into the Sunbow GI Joe series). The three main army guys could just as easily have been called "Duke," "Roadblock" and "Gung-Ho," and there are several other things a Joe fan will catch. There's even a line about Japanese technology taken almost verbatim from the cheesy _Masters of the Universe_ (non-Hasbro property, but 80s) movie.

One major "inside" reference: Jazz was originally a Porsche; Bumblebee was originally a yellow VW bug. A few years ago, when Hasbro started the "Alternators" line of TFs that were more "authentic" toy car replicas using "Generation 1" characters, VW and Porsche both refused to license their products to a "war toy." Since then, fans have been disappointed in these characters' classic alt-modes not appearing in various collector-oriented lines or in the movie. The movie addresses this comically in the scenes where Sam's dad takes him to buy a car.

But here's the big disappointment: this is not a kids' movie *at all*. Bay and other producers kept talking about not wanting to make a "toy movie." Many fans talked about wanting "realisim" and so forth. I had thought it was understood that this film should at least be *appropriate* for children, and that Hasbro would have seen to that.

I could not in good conscience allow my children to see this movie, and I'm advising all parents not to. They say Spielberg argued the MPAA down from an "R" rating to "PG-13". There are some things in "R" rated movies that I'd sooner tolerate my children viewing than certain scenes in this film. There are some highly gratuitous scatological jokes and sex references for a movie that is supposed to be striking a balance between a young kids' market and a young adult market.

I was expecting something along the lines of _Star Wars_ or _Ghostbusters_, where some more adult-oriented aspects just go over kids' heads, but this movie is very "in your face" about some things. It raises topics that many parents don't even want their kids hearing about.

Madeline: Lost in Paris (1999)

A decent and entertaining family film

[8/10 · 11 May 2007]

That Madeline is an orphan is a popular misconception, added to by the plot of this movie; she lives in a boarding school, not an orphanage.

This is a cute cartoon, and truly is appropriate for the whole family, unlike films like _Shrek_ that contain inappropriate humor. The music and animation are very simple, but have a nice, relaxing effect. Too many children's shows use frenetic imagery and postmodern art that encourages hyperactivity. This is

My main critique is that, while the story gets different in the last part, the beginning is a very obvious rip-off of _Annie_. There are several other clichés throughout the story, but it still has enough originality to make it worthwhile.

Little Black Book (2004)

Interesing movie--would make a good Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, if it weren't already a musical

[8/10 · 27 May 2005]

Given the reactions in other reviews, I'd suggest that this is one of those movies that is horribly mismarketed. The trailers, packaging, etc., bill it as a romantic comedy when, as another reviewer observed, it is actually a dark comedy, or a tragedy of sorts. The beginning was light and enjoyable. The middle was tedious and grating. The ending spoke to me on a profound level. Some have criticized the Carly Simon soundtrack. Man of us narrate our lives with a favorite singer or composer, so that merely adds a touch of realism and sense to the soundtrack, rather than randomly selected background songs that connect to the theme but not the plot. As for the theme of the movie, it has several, which can either make for good or bad art, depending upon the execution. The primary theme, if you go by the narrative framing device, is young adult coming of age. The character has been raised by a single, divorced mother--studies and common sense show that children of divorced couples are far more likely to be cynical about relationships. But she is yet naive and optimistic. She trusts too readily, and trusts the wrong people. For this Andrew Lloyd Webber fanatic, the film raised familiar feelings to two of his shows. One is _Song and Dance_, the story of a naive young woman trying to make it in NYC and being brought down by a series of bad relationships. In the end, she must confront her own descent and loss of naiveté. The other is _Sunset Boulevard_, based of course on the Billy Wilder film, which deals with moral descent in the pursuit of career. The climax scene of this film reminds me of both works. But ultimately, the lesson is that even our worst failures and bad experiences can be life lessons. In order to have our dreams and plans come true, we must be willing to allow ourselves to fail along the way, and learn from failure. This is true in relationships and in careers. Some people encounter liars and cheats, and become liars and cheats in return. Others encounter liars and cheats, then learn to avoid them and not stoop to their level.

Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

By modern Hollywood Standards, it was pretty good

[10/10 · 27 February 2005]

I can understand the criticisms that many have offered, but by modern movie standards, it's pretty good. First of all, it's not really a remake at all. Just a movie that uses the same title. And someone said the original inspired _The Brady Bunch_; it did not: that was "Yours, Mine and Ours" with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. Anyway, as others have noted, the main flaw in this movie is the lack of order in the household, but that is not entirely unrealistic. Family size has nothing to do with discipline or organization. I've known big families that operate on a strict regimen of chores and scheduling, and I've known families with two kids that are far more chaotic than these fictional Bakers. I thought it *was* a good message of discipline that the parents govern primarily with love--including the co-sleeping so derided by one reviewer here. The core message--that family must come before career--is true regardless of the number of children a couple has. The suggestion that the kids did not know the meaning of "grounded" could have several meanings--my wife and I took it to mean that the parents never had a situation that required such measures previously. We were offended by the vasectomy reference in the beginning, given the movie's premise, and a thought that "well, maybe they're not Catholic" was countered by the rosary reference later. As for the main plot line, I did not understand why two weeks at home with the kids would have *that* much effect on a college football coach's career? I mean, I realize college football is intense, but come on. How many games get played in two weeks? And wouldn't there be much more time to plan and schedule a book tour than "Come on, we're sending you off right now?" TV appearances can take months to schedule. Likewise, the mother's book tour crisis/homecoming carried the obvious question of how someone looks setting a side the family to push a book on children and family--a question of hypocrisy one might raise of several authors. As for the reviewers who've challenged Bonnie Hunt's "figure", I have seen plenty of women with large families who remain thin--usually from the amount of work they do. I saw a mother of 8 in her early thirties on EWTN a couple years ago, and she looked like a model right out of high school. The movie itself was enjoyable, and carried a good message, but tried to carry too many good messages, and the narrative would have been shored up better with a consistent theme (and a little more thought to the situations).

John Q (2002)

A good movie, but why the anti-Catholic subtext?

[8/10 · 11 January 2005]

The opening scene of the movie has an idiot woman causing her own death by driving recklessly. She has a rosary hanging from her rear-view mirror and is listening to "Ave Maria" on her stereo. The hospital in the movie is treated as a for-profit corporate monstrosity, but there are Catholic statues everywhere. The sad fact is that Catholic institutions in this country are often too bureaucratic and money-centered. And many traditionally Catholic hospitals have merged themselves with secular institutions, etc. But none of these interpretations are offered by the movie. While the word "Catholic" is never used, it is obviously a Catholic hospital and depicted horribly.