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paularsen47
Reviews
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000)
beautifully told stories of everyday
The only other movie I've ever been moved to write a comment for was Mission to Mars. Unlike MtM, which I was moved to review due to it being one of the very worst movies I've ever seen, this one is truly touching. Things You Can Tell... is a testimony that an American movie, with well-known American actors, can be delicate, beautifully acted, and most of all, not chewed and explained to death. It does not regard its viewers as braindead; neither does it regard them as artsy. It is a movie for everyone, about people just like us.
This is not an art-house movie - the story plot is a collection of stories about the everyday lives of everyday women (the reviewer who said she never seen such repulsive characters might be in for a shock if she actually talks to her daughter / mother / sister).
It shows women beautifully, and absolutely believably. It also shows nicely that diversity is not a question of the skin color, but of the attitude (hence the stories feature only white women).
It's also not a chick flick - while certainly it will be loved by women, it also works for cynical, hard to move guys like me.
Watch it, it's really good, in a not-in-your-face, subtle way.
Mission to Mars (2000)
Lame lame lame.
The worst movie I've seen in the last 2 years. Some movies are so bad it's not even funny. No. Actually it is funny. It successfully aims at the lowest common IQ denominator (it's worse than your daytime network show), it makes use of scientific buzzwords to make you feel smart, it features a shameless product placement (Dr Pepper is photographed from 3 different angles so you sure won't miss it, as well as many others), and above all the stale play of the entire crew is beyond belief. It is not even good for ESL training, so primitive the language is. In short, unless you consider yourself an authentic redneck, try spending your $8 somewhere else. :-)