tlowell5 Reviews

Caramel (2007)

Brilliant film-making

[10/10 · 24 January 2011]

I saw this film recently on Netflix, and I was very impressed. My wife's father is Lebanese, and my wife has three older sisters, so the film resonated with both of us and we enjoyed it very much.

*** MINOR SPOILER ALERT *** I won't go into all the plot points, which are well described in other reviews. One thing I did want to mention is a particular scene, probably the finest among many great scenes in the picture, where the shop owner Layale is speaking on a cell phone to her married lover while peeking out of the blinds of her shop. Across the street in a café is her admirer, a handsome policeman who patrols a beat near the shop. The policeman can see Layale through the blinds, and he imagines to himself that he is the one on the other end of the phone. He watches as Layale laughs, smiles, and acts coyly while speaking to her lover, and he invents dialog that would have elicited the responses that he is seeing. Finally, Layale hangs up the phone and catches a glimpse of the policeman across the street in the café. The final shot of the scene is the photo on the DVD cover.

This is one of the most beautiful, touching, and clever scenes I have ever seen in a movie, and it bodes well for a long and marvelous career for Ms. Labaki. I look forward to her next films with great anticipation, and I hope I can see them sooner than four years after they are released.

My Life as Liz (2010–2011)

Entertaining, if not entirely realistic

[8/10 · 25 November 2010]

I caught this show when MTV ran a marathon on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I was very impressed. From the previous comments and just from watching the show, it is obvious that it is scripted, but I respect that as an artistic choice.

Liz Lee (the character on the show) is a typical misfit teen with artistic leanings. She surrounds herself with other misfits, and does battle with the blonde, popular girls. In this way, the show resembles "Daria", but that's about where the similarities end. "Daria" was animated, satirical, and in every way a cartoon, while "My Life As Liz" is live-action and takes pains to show the misery and angst of teen life in a more human way.

Having said that, "My Life As Liz" is clearly not realism, although it is filmed in a cinema verite style. Liz the character is extremely pretty, brainy, witty, and talented, and yet hangs out with a bunch of overweight nerds (and one popular blonde girl who doesn't want to be pigeonholed as a popular blonde girl) and doesn't have a boyfriend. I fully understand why she is portrayed that way; it lends much more drama and pathos to the story than if she were to live among the circle of people that Liz the real person probably hangs out with. This creative choice is a smart one, and the show is much more successful as entertainment than it otherwise would be.

From reading the other comments, I understand that Burleson, TX is not as remote or dull as Liz the character makes it out to be, but I think Liz the character talks about it that way in comparison to a place like New York, where many young people of Liz Lee's talent and charisma eventually land. As an adult, I can appreciate the convenience of a well-placed Home Depot or Olive Garden, but someone like Liz, a young aspiring artist, has bigger thoughts in mind, and it is perfectly natural for her to want to get out of wherever she is to a place where she can realize them.

The style of the show is very arresting. I was drawn in from the very earliest scenes that I watched, not the least by Liz's acting ability and charm, but also by the naturalness of the dialog, the expert cinematography, and the way high-school relationships are portrayed as hopeless endeavors of non-communication and awkward silence. It's so hard to express one's feelings at that age, and the show has a marvelous way of capturing that phenomenon. This is in comparison to a show like "The Hills", where the awkward silences merely pointed out how vapid and shallow the characters were. Here, since the characters are in high school and not fully formed, it makes more sense and draws out more empathy from the viewer. Plus, when they do express themselves, what they say is smart and funny and, their failures to communicate only make the characters more likable.

I predict big things from Liz Lee, and I look forward to another season of "My Life As Liz" or whatever else she chooses to do.

Avatar (2009)

Plot familiar, but film making is superb

[10/10 · 25 December 2009]

I agree with other posters that the plot is familiar. There are elements of Aliens and Dances With Wolves as well as Ferngully and other Sci-Fi classics woven throughout.

However, the film making here is so spectacular and revolutionary, that I felt it was well worth the time and money. I saw it in 3-D IMAX. This is the ONLY format that this movie was designed for. If at all possible, you must see it in this format. The realism of the alien world and of the action sequences blow everything else I've ever seen completely out of the water. The story was engaging if not original, and while not advancing any new themes, it did express some old themes in fresh and exciting ways. The acting was remarkable in the sense that many of the characters were CGI motion-capture images, and given that limitation, the ease with which one becomes invested in the characters was outstanding.

I wholeheartedly recommend this film in 3-D IMAX format. It is hoped that someday, this technology could be put to use with a more original and incisive story, but Cameron has outdone himself again and should be commended for the effort.