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dmarsh-3
Reviews
Sideways (2004)
Not Worth Seeing
Good actors, lovely cinematography, bad story. It's slowly paced, with little dramatic tension. Okay, it's a character study, right? Except the male characters are so unsympathetic you don't care what happens to them. The female characters are unbelievable because they fall for the male characters.
The problem with the male characters is not that they have flaws. All interesting dramatic characters have flaws. Hamlet had flaws. Macbeth had flaws. These guys have flaws. But Hamlet and Macbeth had other characteristics, such as intelligence and courage, which made us sympathize with them, and care whether they succeeded or failed. These guys arouse no sympathy whatsoever, so we don't care what happens to them.
Save your money. Don't see it.
The Hawaiians (1970)
Unpretentious Entertainment
The Hawaiians was made from the middle third of Michener's novel Hawaii. Compared to the Julie Andrews - Max von Sydow movie Hawaii, made from the first third of the book, The Hawaiians is unpretentious, lowbrow, but much more entertaining. The plot of The Hawaiians revolves around two stories -- the rise to political and commercial power of second generation American immigrants, and the arrival in Hawaii of Chinese and Japanese immigrants.
The story of the American immigrants' rise to power follows the life of Whip Hoxworth, played by Charlton Heston. He gains wealth by establishing the first pinepple plantation in Hawaii, then participates in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, which led to the islands becoming an American territory.
The story of Chinese and Japanese immigration to Hawaii is told through the life of Char Nyuk Tsin, played by Tina Chen. She becomes the second wife of fellow immigrant Kee Mun Kee, who fails at almost everything he does. But through hard work and perseverence, Char Nyuk Tsin prospers and creates a better life for her children.
This is not highbrow cinema. The acting is second rate, the script is second rate, everything about it is second rate. For example, the attempts by the Chinese-American actors to speak Chinese is almost laughable. They speak Mandarin with atrocious accents, even though the characters are supposed to be speaking either Hakka or Cantonese. But it doesn't really matter. This is the sort of movie to watch when you don't want to have to think hard. It's an enjoyable no-brainer, a pleasant diversion while eating popcorn.
The Hawaiians enjoys a footnote in the history of the MPAA's movie rating system. When it came out in 1970, it earned a PG rating, despite having two scenes of female nudity. Japanese immigrant farm workers are shown enjoying a traditional communal bath, and one attractive young woman is shown topless for a short time. This created a mild controversy at the time, although the scene is about as sexy as a National Geographic pictorial.
I have not been able to find The Hawaiians on tape or DVD. If anyone in the business can get it released, please do!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Some Suggested Improvements
Spoiler Advisory: I describe details of several scenes, to make points about character development, mostly. But I do not reveal any significant plot elements. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a wonderful movie.
The people who made it did a superb job in bringing the story to life. The writing, the casting, the acting, the costumes, the art direction and set design are all first rate. My children and I have seen it more than once. Thank you Chris Columbus, thank you Steven Kloves, thank you all. Even such a well-made movie can be improved upon, though. The one element which I think is a weakness in the movie is its failure to properly evoke Harry's innermost thoughts and feelings. The two aspects of this, which were clear in the book but obscure in the movie, were his sense of wonder and astonishment at first encountering the realm of magic, and his fear at not knowing if he would fit in at Hogwarts, or be accepted into the social world of witches and wizards. In her book, JK Rowling could describe such emotions directly, through an omniscient narrator. In movies, that has to be done indirectly, usually through dialog. But for HP&SS this presents a problem. Harry, given his harsh upbringing by the Dursleys, is an externally passive, uncommunicative character. For him to convey his feelings so directly would be out of character -- it would not be Harry. Given this dilemma, the viewer often gets little sense of Harry's emotions, making him seem flat, harder to sympathize with. Normally, criticisms of this sort have a kind of after-the-fact pointlessness. Even if they wanted to, the movie makers cannot go back and reshoot the movie. But HP&SS is not a normal movie in that sense. It is the first in a series, and all the major participants are presumably under contract making the sequels. Thus if 20th Century Fox really wanted to, they could revise, and improve, HP&SS and issue it as a "special edition" DVD at little additional cost. So here are a few suggestions for making Sorcerer's Stone a better movie. At the first flying lesson, have Harry take a short preliminary flight, and have Madam Hooch comment on his natural ability. Then Harry could express surprise, turning into elation, at his unknown talent. At the end of the flying lesson, when Professor McGonagall hauls Harry away after his unauthorized flight, Harry could mutter fearfully to himself, "I'm going to be expelled, aren't I?" Professor McGonagall could reply noncommittally, "Well, you did violate Madam Hooch's orders, didn't you, Potter?" On his first night at Hogwarts, Harry sits alone in a window sill, petting Hedwig. What is he thinking? Nobody knows. Why not have him speak to Hedwig, asking her if she is happy at Hogwarts, getting along with the other owls? If Harry can't divulge his true feelings to other people, maybe he could hint at them to Hedwig. A later scene of Harry alone with Hedwig, letting her fly out from the snow-covered courtyard, is similarly an emotional blank spot. Harry encounters Professor Dumbledore at the mirror of Erised. Besides just discussing the mirror and its dangers, why doesn't Dumbledore ask Harry how he's feeling? Harry could be reluctant to reply, but Dumbledore could get at it indirectly, but talking about Harry's mother, who being muggle-born, would also have had a hard time adapting to life at Hogwarts. A reaction shot could show Harry turning away, trying not to cry. On a different note, Neville's accident at the first flying lesson does not work quite right. When he falls from the spear, then falls again from the brazier, it doesn't look right. It's not a human body, it doesn't accelerate right. But more importantly, the scene wrongly depicts Neville in a slapstick way, as someone to laugh at. But Neville, although hapless, is not a fool. He is a sympathetic character. He ought to fall off his broom straight to the ground, from high enough up to evoke fright and pity. What do you think, Chris Columbus and Steven Kloves? Why not extend shooting on Chamber of Secrets a few days, and make HP&SS a little bit better movie? My children would appreciate it if you did.