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lplummer-2
Reviews
Spanglish (2004)
I walked out of this horrid film
I can't begin to describe how terribly flawed this movie was. Call me a snobby elitist film critic... but I marched right the heck out of the cinema (leaving my mother and sister) about 3/4 of the way through. It was not something I could even sit through. The cinema lobby proved much less painful. Perhaps if the horrible acting on the parts of the adults and the vomit-inducing over-acting on the children's parts, I could perhaps have endured the dull, predictable, and thoroughly awful movie.
The aspects of this movie that lent to its overwhelming unbelievability are just too numerous to mention. To touch upon specifics, Adam Sandler and the actress who portrayed his wife were so unbelievable as husband and wife. And the kids! Neither of them look a thing like their parents. In addition to this, the wife is more than a little crazy... The fact that Adam Sandler wants to help his wife looks more like stupidity than love! We are also to believe that an upper-class white woman who already has existing problems with her husband would suddenly invite a beautiful young Latina woman to live with them. Recipe for disaster, and yet she is insistent that she stays. Let's be real here people.
What's with all the screaming? I can recall at least three instances in which someone lets out an ear-piercing scream from another room. What does this lend to making a good movie? It was annoying as hell at best.
Then, of course, there's the matter of the on-the-spot translation. I happen to be fluent in both Spanish and English, and I found the translating scenes to be ridiculous, confusing, and deeply annoying. What purpose did they serve?! Yes, we know that the "gringos" didn't understand a word of Spanish. Yes, we know that Flor doesn't know English. Why throw it in our faces? It hurt my ears and my soul.
So, "Florrrrrr" listens to a few "English without Barriers" cassette tapes and suddenly she is confident in her conversational Spanish, never seeming confused or asking anyone to repeat or slow down. Anyone who has studied a second language knows this is a joke.
The plot was so weak, so poorly-developed, so painfully predictable. Nothing could have occurred in the last twenty-five minutes that would have surprised me in the least, or changed my opinion of this pitiful peace of cinema.
I went to this movie knowing full well it would be Hollywood cheese attempting to glorify the lives of Mexican-Americans. What I didn't expect was a thoroughly painful experience that banks on all of our stereotypes of Latinos in this country. Perhaps I was just spoiled for having seen Almodovar's 'Bad Education' the night before, but I've never left a cinema... until today.
Real Women Have Curves (2002)
Great message, but lacking...
This movie had an excellent message: to love your body no matter what your size. I really do believe that ALL women should view themselves as beautiful, be them large or small. However, I feel the script was highly predictable, clichéd, and not very well-written. The actors did a lovely job with what they were given... But the characters' interactions were not very satisfying. The relationships were not developed enough in the film to be believable. Ana and her "abuelito" have a little "moment" at the kitchen table, where he tells her she is his gold. This was cheese and Ana's embarrassment at this comment reflected our own. Ana and her mother were at such odds throughout the ENTIRE film that I wasn't at all moved by her refusal to speak to her at the end. She was so NASTY to her daughter. I don't recall her ever saying anything remotely kind or encouraging. Her character just seemed extremely selfish and unloving. Ana's little romance with Jimmy seems to have been thrown in just as a little gratifying bit for the audience. However, due to the film's rating, we aren't given any nudity to enjoy. My goodness. The script needed much tweaking.
Krámpack (2000)
LOVED it!
I have been studying Spanish for six years (two at the college level) and I was just blown away by the storyline of Nino and Dani. The Spanish accent (particularly that of Barcelona) is entirely fascinating to me. I caught myself rewinding certain parts over and over to clarify what the actors has said. It was brilliantly acted by all concerned. The filmmaker really caught the essence of a Spanish summer and made me long to go to Barcelona and ride my bike down to the beach. He did an amazing job of capturing the carefree feeling of summer for children, when they aren't worrying too much about the future, but rather enjoying the present.
Central do Brasil (1998)
Brilliant, poignant, well-acted...
"Central Station" is a brilliant modern film... well acted, well written, well directed. I just watched this movie recently and several aspects of the film that struck me... I was so moved by the young actor's performance in this movie. He was absolutely adorable! I would love to see him in more recent productions. The director was brilliant in capturing the beauty of the Brazilian countryside. Although I do not speak Portuguese, I am fluent in Spanish and was able to understand much of the movie without the English subtitles. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a predictable movie. This was anything BUT predictable. It seemed as though NOTHING occurred as I would have written it (or as I would have wanted it to). For example, when the trucker leaves Dora in the restaurant... Where did THAT come from? That and other parts came as surprises, which ultimately kept me very enticed until the very end of the film.