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Lorax1994
Reviews
My Sergei (1998)
Tragic Love Story
"Some say that when these legendary champions competed, everyone else just went for the silver. Maybe so. The truth is, as a team, Gordeeva and Grinkov were in a class by themselves in their artistry and in their love and devotion to one another." - Scott Hamilton Ekaterina (Katia) Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov remain the greatest pairs team ever to take the ice. They won two Olympic gold medals (1998 and 1994) and four senior World Championships (1986, 1987, 1989, 1999), the first of which they took when Katia was only 14 years old and Sergei just 19). They also captured three World Professional Championships (1991, 1992, 1994). They were, quite simply, perfection on ice. They partnered as children in the Soviet Union, became champions (several times), grew up, fell in love, married in April 1991, had a beautiful baby daughter named Daria on September 11, 1992, and were the image of perfection on and off the ice. On November 20, 1995, in Lake Placid, New York, all of that came crashing down when Sergei died of a heart attack on the ice with his beloved Katia at his side. Three months later, Katia took the ice by herself for the first time in well over a decade, skating a moving tribute to her beloved Sergei. She remains a solo skater to this day, and is beloved by many skating fans not only for her grace and elegance on the ice, but also for her courage off the ice.
This movie chronicles the life of these great champions up through the beginning of Katia's life on her own with Daria. It is based on the best selling book of the same name written by Katia. It is not so much a movie as a "docudrama" much of the movie is interviews with Katia and others who knew Sergei and video clips of the couple skating together. There are a few (only somewhat cheesy) reenactments of moments that were not caught on film, but for the most part, it's a documentary.
This story had a tragic ending, and if you've never seen it before, it will break your heart, but it is a beautiful love story. Even ten years later, it still resonates. Time has passed, Katia has remarried and has a beautiful new family, which makes the pain and sadness of ten years ago somewhat easier to watch. But G&G, their story and the perfection and passion they brought to the ice have not been forgotten. Figure skating still feels the loss of Sergei and G&G. They are timeless. This movie is a beautiful tribute to the life and career of someone who was, by all accounts, a wonderful man, and a powerful reminder that life is short and you should, as Katia said, "Try to find happiness in every day. And at least once, smile to each other every day. And say just one extra time that you love the person who lives with you. Just say, 'I love you.'"
The Legend of Zorro (2005)
Loved it!
I loved this. It was MUCH truer to the original Zorro. Not the first Antonio Banderas movie, the ORIGINAL Zorro. I took my mom, and she agreed. She's a Zorro fan from way back. The first one was too gross to be Zorro. My stomach turned with the severed head scene, alone. My stomach should not turn during a ZORRO movie - this is not supposed to be disgusting - it's supposed to be FUN. This one is fun.
It was nice to finally see an action movie with a lot less gore and a lot more humor. It was poking fun at itself - and the entire Western genre ... that's what Zorro is SUPPOSED to do! It's great! The kid steals the movie, but he's worth it. He steals the movie like the kid stole the movie in Jerry McGuire. He's fantastic! But, there is still plenty of Antonio Banderas (he keeps getting better with age) and Catherine Zeta-Jones. He doesn't take the movie away from them, he just steels the shots he is in.
I saw this twice, and enjoyed it as much the second time.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
The movie won over this skeptic
I should start by saying that I LOVE the books. They are among my favorite books of all time and I still re-read them as an adult. I've worn out copies of some of them. So, when I say I was skeptical, it was not of the story, but of the ability to translate it onto film and do it justice. I was terrified that Aslan would end up being silly - and the story doesn't work if Aslan comes off as silly. I was worried that they would make so many story changes that I would no longer recognize it and would spend the entire movie comparing and contrasting the book and the movie. On the flip side, I was worried that it might just not work on film for people who didn't know the books. But, my doubts are cleared up.
This is truly a masterpiece. There are some flaws. And some differences between the movies and the books. But there is nothing that guts the characters or the story or the world of Narnia. Well, there is one thing. It is in some ways a minor thing. But, in C.S. Lewis's Narnia, NO ONE would EVER ride a Talking Horse except in an emergency (the battle would qualify, the later scene would not) and if they did, said horse would not be wearing a bridle. The Talking Beasts of Narnia are free creatures just like all of us - the implication that Phil becomes "Edumund's" horse is just flat out contrary to the rules Lewis established for the way Narnia works. It sounds like a small thing, but to those who really love the books, it is no small thing - it is a very big thing, actually. That said, big thing or not to the world of Narnia, it is a very small part of the movie, so I can overlook it. The rest of the movie was magnificent.
My only other nitpick is that they didn't give the White Witch blood red lips - the one descriptive piece Lewis gave about her - and he gave it several times. I also found it difficult to believe that Edmund would be deceived by her beauty and apparent kindness, as he was in the books, given the way they played her. But, that aside, the performance was outstanding.
The children were absolutely wonderful. I thought the effects were terrific. There were some logic inconsistencies - like why the White Witch doesn't just kill Edmund so there are no longer four to sit in the thrones ... but that's an inconsistency that is never explained in the books, either, so I must fault Mr. Lewis for that one.
Some of the changes are for the better. For example, Lewis's blatant sexism is gone, much to my relief (I always had to overlook that in my enjoyment of the books - rather like his blatant racism in the books that address Calormene). Some changes, I suspect, were for pacing reasons. Some were to explain plot points without a narrator (like showing the air raid and bomb shelter sequence). None of them cut the heart of the story or of any of the characters, however and almost none of them were inconsistent with the work of C.S. Lewis. And THAT is what I was really worried about.
I love the nods to book fans - the little details that people who hadn't read and re-read the books would miss - Lucy leaving the wardrobe door open, and Edumund shutting it ... "he's not a tame lion".
My only other comment, and it has nothing to do with the movie really, is that someone really needs to teach Alanis Morrisette (I think it was her) how to pronounce "wunder kind" - she butchered it repeatedly and it was distracting.
In the end, I walked out of the theater relieved - and planning to see it again, and buy the DVD and hoping that they would make the rest of them. So, yes, it was a big hit with me! And Alan Lee did another superb job designing a magnificent movie!