Change Your Image
lallen08-1
Reviews
Palindromes (2004)
Settle yourself and think
What's so disturbing and thought-provoking about this movie is the way it so blandly presents repugnant material. As if pedophilia, sexual abuse, and child exploitation were common place. Virtually mundane. No drama. No hysterics. This movie feels like it could have been made by a burnt out, formerly passionate child protection worker. I didn't see any nihilism in this movie. I saw despair that there is so much sh*t out there that gets passed down from generation to generation. There is no good parenting in this movie. Mama Sunshine is as exploitive as any other character, meeting her own needs through her special children. As long as they tow the Jesus line, remain "pure" little angels, and perform for her, they're in. She is happy to take care of special needs children unless that special need turns out to be sexual precocity in the dangerous and misguided pursuit of love.
SPOILERS****************
And the abortion stuff is a hoot- Peter Paul can rattle off a horrific description of an aborted fetus with no emotion whatsoever, but he has nightmares about harlots.
Ellen Barkin brilliantly persuading Aviva that she has a right to choose and the choice is hers as long as that choice is abortion. Classic.
I was just about to comment negatively on the obviously Solondz-directed, emotionally flat acting of the Avivas, but now it occurs to me for the first time that Aviva is mildly retarded. Which would be brilliant on so many levels. I'm going to go watch it again right now...
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000)
Witch hunt #2
Okay. Mark Byers is a wing-nut. So what. Documentary #1: Documents a witch hunt. No question. I'm totally on board. New trial - let's go. Documentary #2: Perpetrates a witch hunt. Drips with unintentional irony. That people can be put away for life and lethal injection based on no physical evidence or common sense even is chilling. That a documentary (and the convicted themselves) can then come along and blithely point fingers, also with no evidence, is no less chilling. And who ARE these Internet activist people? Do they have jobs or what? They are as asinine and loopy as Byers. The filmmakers should have just left it at film #1 and been done with it. But the awards and following went to their heads and they decided to crusade. Ugh.
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Beautiful
Absolutely heartwrenching and beautiful. The scenes of 3yo Zoe nursing were achingly innocent and sweet and made me cry. There are no similar moments on film anywhere as far as I know and I appreciate Egoyan's decision to include them. I watched Todd Solonz's Happiness for the first time yesterday and am struck by some things. I thought Happiness was well crafted, but am eager to forget it. It touched nothing, activating only disgust, anxiety, and dread. Sweet Hereafter, by contrast, (watched for the fourth time) touched me, moved me, and left me feeling love, loss, and gratitude for what I have and what I have had. Very different films, nothing in common, just leave me wondering what would be the highest best purpose of art, using these two equally well-conceived and well-crafted films as examples.
Monster-in-Law (2005)
stupid and irresponsible
***SPOILER ALERT***
MIL character puts peanuts in the food of JLo character knowing she's allergic? HaHa. Look at her face all puffed up. In the real world, she goes into anaphylactic shock and ends up in the ER or dead and MIL has to defend herself against a felony. Don't try this at home, folks. The writers might as well have had her put rat poison in her food for laughs.
What morons.
Plus the movie just plain sucked.
I want Jane Fonda back, but please pick a better vehicle next time.