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mercywriter
Reviews
Anne (2017)
They should have just written a whole new story.
My family and I decided to watch the new reboot of the Anne of Green Gables series on Netflix. I was skeptical. I had read a review of it that said it was a little darker than the original mini series done in the 80s. The very first episode had some things that, indeed, gave it a little darker tint than the colorful and whimsical 80s version. But the changes were things I could live with. The majority of the episode stuck to the original, even maintaining most of the lightheartedness of the books. So I settled comfortably back into my seat and determined that I would enjoy the new version, and that I could and would embrace the changes.
But oh, that second episode! I'm not sure how many seasons they want to drag this out, but the additions to the story in episode two were unnecessary and boring. I thought, OK, let's get on with this already. You know how, when some high school students write a paper, they will often add a bunch of unnecessary words to make word count? That's how this episode came across. And it was all down hill from there.
When Anne finally gets to go to the Sunday school picnic, she is openly harassed by a bunch of kids who call her names while the adults sit by and do nothing about it or worse, laugh. It didn't happen that way in the books. Yeah, yeah, I know. This is a new take on the story. But it wouldn't have happened that way in life, either. Not at that time period. Children were to be seen and not heard, and even if the parents did agree with what was being said, they would not have allowed their children to act so rudely in public. Very unrealistic. Drama for the sake of drama. I was ready to give up on it by the end of episode 2, but for my family's sake, I thought I'd give it another try.
So Gilbert finally shows up. Snore. He's very nice looking, but what a drag! He is not the lighthearted, boyish dreamboat of either the books or the original series. We find out quickly that he's had to grow up fast because it's just he and his father, and his father is very sick. There is no chemistry between Gilbert and Anne. It's not the scholastic competition that was such a driving factor behind Anne's disdain for Gilbert in the books and original, or even the instant attraction Anne feels for him but is trying to deny that keeps her from being his friend. She snubs him because she's been told by the mean girls that someone else has dibs on him. The romantic tension is just not there.
For a series named Anne with an E, they totally missed a great opportunity to show Anne's strong spirit when she is reprimanded for breaking the slate over Gil's head. I can't remember if it's in the books, but in the original, when mean, evil teacher writes on the board that Ann Shirley has a very bad temper and writes her name without the E, with her nose in the air, Anne steps up to the board and adds that elegant E to her name. It shows her strength of character in not giving in to the intended humiliation. She also stays the rest of the day and after school and carries out her punishment with pride and dignity. In the new one, as soon as she has been reprimanded, Anne runs away in tears and refuses to go back to school. After days of sulking, when Marilla tells her she has to go back, she skips school for days and lies about it. And it's not a guilty conscience that gets her to confess. Only when Diana comes to bring Anne her school work and check on her does the truth come out. That is NOT Anne Shirley. It is not the girl of admirable character who overcomes terrible odds with strength and spirit. It might even be what most kids would do, then and now, but it's not Anne.
Then there's modern agenda flung in where it doesn't belong. In one of the clips that takes place in the city, a young newspaper seller shouts out something to do with global warming (I can't remember the exact wording). Um. Really? In the 1890s? Maybe in season 2 Anne will also travel by jumbo jet.
In the books and in the original, the minister and his wife were kindred spirits to Anne. In this one, the minister (no wife) is a misogynistic stereotype that is an insult to intelligence.
I could go on and on and on with all that is wrong with this series, but I will stop with the following. This new take on Anne has killed the spirit of the books by L. M. Montgomery. Not only did it snuff out the lighthearted spark of the original, it added an insidious undertone that is disturbing rather than realistic. It took fun and made it a drag. It took wholesome and sullied it. Fortunately for me, I have the DVDs of the 1980s version, which I watched twice, to find again the fun that Anne is supposed to be.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
A good show....most of the time.
Although the original Law and Order, imho, was a major yawner, SVU manages to capture my attention. I like the way this show gives the viewer some insight into the lives of the detectives and other main characters. The only reason I don't give it a 10 is because of the left-leaning bias of most of the shows that deal with controversial issues. Conservatives, whether politically or religiously, are usually portrayed as idiots or freaks who drive the perpetrators to commit their horrible crimes. As a writer myself, I know it is impossible to keep our own personal beliefs and biases from filtering into our writings. But a show that is played on national TV and probably in various other countries around the world, has a responsibility to be a little more fair in its portrayal of people of other beliefs. As it stands, L&O SVU is actually helping to foster hatred toward folks who happen to have more traditional views. I find this extremely irresponsible and disturbing at a time when conservatives such as anti-abortionists are being murdered in broad daylight simply for having the gall to make use of their first amendment right to freedom of speech. Tone down the anti-conservative agenda, and the show is one of the best police shows on TV.
Happy Feet (2006)
Great animation. OK story
The family has been waiting for...oh, just about forever to see this movie. Somehow, we missed it in the theaters. But frankly, I'm kinda glad we did. I would have been upset if I'd paid a movie theater price for the family to see this. The anticipation was really high, and although the movie was good, I expected more. Over all it was a fun movie. The animation, graphics and all the effects were top notch. It gets a 10 from me for all of that.
It's all the underlying things that bothered me. Oh, I get the environmentalist agenda, and I do not disagree. I think we humans need to be a whole lot more responsible with the earth than we have been. And yes, the whole "humans are bad" theme often seen in these kinds of movies was toned down a little at the end, but not enough. I am tired of the human bashing in so many kid movies. And yes, it was present in this cute little flick. There were some mixed messages in here that could confuse the still forming minds of young children and teens.
On one hand we are force fed (for the one hundred millionth time) the almost religious mantra that "I am what I am and don't you dare make me change." On the other hand we discover (also for the hundred millionth time) that humans are the source of all evil! So if I'm supposed to be proud of who I am, accept myself for who or whatever I may be, but humans are bad and I'm human...(gulp) Yikes! I must be bad!
Huh? What's wrong with this picture?
I kept hoping to see at least one adult human turn into a good guy. When poor Lovelace has a plastic six-pack holder around his neck choking him to death, and the penguins arrive in a place where humans obviously existed at one time, I was hoping some kindly environment-friendly scientist or such would be the one to take the thing off of the little guy's neck. But no. Humans only became "good" (well, sort of) once they saw the penguins dancing.
I think a good message of taking care of the environment, showing what has been done wrong and is still being done wrong, can still be broadcast. But without villainizing the entire human race! Our children already grow up with so many negative ideals thrown at them. The fact that they are human should not be pounded into their heads as a reason for shame. Frankly, I thought that aspect was highly irresponsible of the writers/producers.
Of course, the poke at religion is a huge yaaaaaaawn. You'd think Hollywood would get tired of poking fun at people of faith. I know a lot of wrong has been done in the name of religion. ALL religions. But I think replaying it over and over. And over and over. And over and over and over and over and over...Well, you get my drift. Enough is enough. We get it. Any kind of religion with rules and traditions (namely Christianity, for that's the only faith Hollywood likes to poke fun at...you didn't see any of the evil elders with, say, turbans on their heads) is bad. Funny thing. To be a non-conformist now days you have to actually LIKE organized religion. The Hollywood crowd, with few exceptions, is the most conformist group around. Conform to their thinking or else...
And lastly, the song that the movie was advertised all over with...not at all appropriate for a movie targeting children and young teens. Hit Me Up? Please. Not a very responsible move in a society that is already at its wit's end, trying to fight teen pregnancy and STDs.
So now that I've completely obliterated the movie, I must say again that it was, overall, an enjoyable watch. lol. I won't push DH to buy it for the kids, but I'm glad we saw it.
Jump In! (2007)
Surprisingly good
No major spoilers in this, but I want to be safe.
What a delightful surprise. My kids wanted to see this, and when it came on the Disney channel we all watched. I had a book in my lap, figuring I wouldn't find the movie all that interesting. But the book stayed closed in my lap (except for during commercials.) A nice movie. Clean. A message of "violence doesn't get you anywhere." And many more. It even taught some nice family values. In one scene, the boy says some harsh things to his father, but as soon as he sees the hurt in his father's eyes, he says he's sorry. A nice and rare example in this day and age of movies. All in all, a good family movie. I recommend it. Oh yeah, and the Double Dutch scenes are pretty good, too. :)
The Wicker Man (2006)
Interesting premise, ridiculous ending
This movie started out with an interesting plot. Dished out bits of information slowly, upping the suspense in a slow but steady way. Beautiful scenery. I'd love to live in a place like that. Without all the freaks, of course. But what a stupid ending. I kept expecting Cage's character to wake up and find out he'd been given the wrong medicine and was having really bad hallucinations. That would have been a better ending, in my humble opinion. The ending was one of those twists just for the shock value. No good reason for it to end that way. Frankly, it was a let down. I felt cheated as a viewer. I actually paid to see this movie, and I came away completely unsatisfied. There were things unexplained, like the accident. Was that somehow orchestrated by the freaks? And why was he having the hallucinations? Were the freaks giving him drugs? It wasn't explained, and it should have been.
I liked Nicholas Cage's character, but boy did I despise the character of Willow. She seemed retarded, or high on drugs or something. And her expression never changed throughout the whole movie. Not even at the end when her evil deed was made known. I suppose that was to make her a sympathetic character, just doing as she was told to do, but I didn't buy it. She was just as evil as all the rest of them. I would have liked to see the burning wicker man fall on top of them and kill them all. Or at least another failed honey crop. Or then, that there might have been one bullet left...to kill either Willow or her evil mother with. I think the writer just didn't know how else to end it. The worse is to think that money was spent to make this movie...twice!! Gah!
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Wonderful!
In a time when most movies turn out to be a waste of my time, what a pleasant surprise to find this gem. On the surface, it might look like just another romantic comedy. But there was a depth to this movie that surprised and captivated me. A lot of good messages for young girls, 13, 30, and any age before or after. And what an interesting commentary on society. Through the eyes of an innocent 13 year old, who just happens to have the body of an adult, we see just how shallow, false, and empty modern society can be.
Jennifer Garner is adorable. She exudes a fresh innocence that makes it very believable she is a 13 year old in a 30 year old body. And Mark Ruffalo! He was a surprisingly wonderful hero. I have since seen him in other movies, but this was the first time.
A definite keeper, and one my whole family enjoys watching, over and over again.
Silent Hill (2006)
Awful just doesn't describe it
I don't think there really are any spoilers in here, but I'm checking the little box just in case. So read with caution if you don't want to know anything at all about the movie.
I only give this one star because 0 isn't an option. Yeah, I have not played the game. Don't care to. Won't even be tempted after wasting my time seeing the movie. The back blurb was enticing, as was the fact that one of my favorite male actors, Sean Bean, was in it. But not even Sean Bean made this worthwhile. I suppose I could have stomached the gore, even the ridiculously unbelievable, if not for the painfully unoriginal idea of fanatical "Christian" bad guys.
I am sick and tired of Hollywood demonizing Christians and the Christian faith, even if thinly disguised. It's tiring, really, and frankly, cliché. I suppose if they gave other religions equal "bad guy" time, it mightn't bother me. But a major movie that criticizes any religion or belief system other than Christian, whether Catholic or Protestant, is rare. (Note: I said rare, not non-existent.) It was frustrating to sit down to see a movie that seemed to have an interesting plot line, just to find it one more of Hollywood's Christian-bashing fests. This sort of movie only fosters hatred and anger, the same type manifested by the "Christians" in it, toward those of the Christian faith. It makes all followers of Christ look evil and irrational, and that is just silly, and untrue. I won't go further into that point because this is not the place.
Although at one point or another I wasn't 100% sure, the end really was no surprise. My husband, who fell asleep about half way through it, guessed what was going on. I might have fallen asleep as well, except the movie got me too riled for that.
A Knight's Tale (2001)
Delightfully Different
When I first started to watch this movie, I wondered about some of the modern things that were completely inappropriate to the time period. But then I realized they were done on purpose. The movie, though set in a period long past, was made to entertain a modern audience. That mix of modern with ancient is one of the things that makes this movie so fun.
I appreciate the fact that this movie allowed men to be men. The main character wasn't in the least a wimp, although he was clueless when it came to women. (But isn't that a part of being a man?) My favorite character is Chaucer, with Roland coming in a close second. Or maybe they are both tied for first. Love Chaucer's wit, sarcasm, and the way he picks on Wat. Roland's loyalty to Will is endearing, and that alone makes him one of my favorites.
I like the message at the end. Without giving away anything, let me just say that it encourages one to take a stand and stick by it, no matter the consequences. The easy way out may not always be the best way.
One of my favorite movies of all time.
V for Vendetta (2005)
I'm surprised the English didn't protest this ridiculous flick
I mean, come on! They blew up several of their important buildings! Not a great idea to make a terrorist, who blows up government buildings, using a metro train, as the good guy. What is that? Legitimizing the guys who toppled the WTC and damaged the Pentagon? Giving a round of applause to the guys who planted those bombs in the transportation system in London? Or in Spain? Evil is good, and good is evil. What mixed up messages is our media sending to our youth?
I only give this a 1 because 0 isn't an option. I don't believe I've ever seen a worse, more agenda filled movie than this one. Many in the same category, but none, ever, worse than this one.
On the positive side, I can say that I was surprised with the acting ability of Natalie Portman. She's definitely improved, learned a little about the true mechanics of acting. Shame she wasted her fledgling talents on something like this. So I guess that would earn the movie its single star. I was also surprised, though not pleasantly, at some of the bigger name actors who demeaned themselves by being in this. I just can't believe they are that hard up for work.
The settings were dark (Yes, I know it was on purpose, which makes it all the worse) the premise...ridiculous, and the plot? Utterly predictable. Hollywood should keep to entertainment. That's it. Leave the preaching and politicizing to the clerics and politicians! I sat down to watch this expecting a good (futuristic) swashbuckling adventure. Shame on me for not doing my homework. If I had just read a little more about the movie, I wouldn't have put myself through the agony of watching it. Pure torture, right up to the end. Very little action. It was actually rather boring.
100% waste of time. If you're a parent of a youngster who wants to see it, do yourself and your child a favor and don't bother. It sends out all the wrong messages.
Simple Revenge (2004)
Pond Scum would be more pleasant
This may become my "signature" for what I see as bad movies, but I only give this one star because 0 isn't an option.
Evil is never good, and movies that portray evil that way really bother me. Our media today seems to, more and more, glorify bad. What's with that? I only continued watching this movie because I wanted to see the antagonist get what she deserved. What a let down. If there was one good thing in this movie, it was how it showed that evil this strong can corrupt even that which is good. Good people can make horrendously wrong choices when faced with injustice. Or temptation.
My whole family agreed that this movie was a major waste of time, with a ridiculous and completely unsatisfying ending. It was as if the creator of this story wanted to give it a "literary" twist at the end. You know, a tragic ending since that's "real life" and all. But it just didn't work. Didn't fit the type of movie, for this was definitely NOT a literary piece of work. Don't waste your time. Read a book. Any book. It would likely be better than this movie.