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Reviews
The Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1975)
Good old sentimental stuff.
This series of movies may have been sentimental and old fashioned in its attempt to make the far north version of Swiss Family Robinson. The acting if good and the stories, although fought with danger are realistic to life in the north country. If we are to goo through life only living for and watching movies made to please many of those who prefer the world through a cynics eye then we are doomed to miss a lot. Watching a skunk lapping the frosting off a much converted cake and the raven stealing the clothes pin may be far fetched, but possible. The scenery is beyond beautiful and even though the first girl who played the daughter is replaced in the second and third movies, the replacement is a delight to watch.
6 Bullets (2012)
Fast pace action with minimum spoilers.
As usual John-Claude Van Damme is back in the action, but this time it involve children kidnapped for human trafficking and all the sick, sick thing involved. Backed by Joe Flanagan of Star Gate Atlantis fame and the father of a kidnapped American fourteen year old girl. In the movies Flanagan plays a professional fighter and makes a suitable back up for Van Damme's knife play and fighting. JCVD is of course because of age has limited his high kicking karate kicks. Instead he's integrated all sorts of fire power, gas and fire bombs. I could have done without one event towards the end of the movie, but other than that it was well acted and it was nice to see Van Damme's real life son playing his son in the movie.
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009)
A Rise to Prominence
Dr. Ben Carson is a 'real life' doctor who overcame many, many hardships and disadvantages to reach the level of Neuro-surgeon at John Hopkins Hospital where he still practices. The primary actor, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Carson and Kimberly Elise as the single mother of two boys are played extremely well. As they grow up in not the best of circumstances she is their constant motivator even thought, at first, she is illiterate. As a youngster and teen he is constantly pushed by her to succeed and in the end succeed and succeed he does, to the top of his field while his brother goes on to become and engineer. The story is brilliantly told and realistically shot, well directed and as the actors ages advance we see the portrayed by the next actor in a realistic manner. All in all a great movie to watch and in the end as about as rewarding to have seen as it gets.
Edge of Madness (2002)
A realistic look at the time.
In this movie titled 'The Edge of Madness' from the very beginning as the young woman travels across the snow we can start to believe where the title has come from as she is nearly frozen in her meager thread bear garments. Once is is found and as the story slowly unravels we are lead to believe one thing and then another as she admits to killing her husband. At first as the movies viewer we don't understand, but as the movie progresses we are made more aware of what has gone one. The entire movie gives you a definite feel of the bleakness she must feel and only because she is give some sympathy from an older woman and a handsome young widower does she come to different thoughts about what has happened. One reviewer called it a mystery and I guess it is as we don't know what is going to happy, but I just saw it as a mind that is mixed up by the turmoil it has endured. The acting is well done, and a handsome lesser known actor stands out. His name is Paul Johannson and he adopt the needed accent/dialect so it is most believable. All in all I loved the mood and the realism of the movie. A rare find.
A Stoning in Fulham County (1988)
The Truth
I have mix feelings about this movie as it does tell about how the Amish are willing to use devices such as others telephones and be driven in others cars. This only touches on the exemptions they make to their religion, so I believe that the Amish need to decide to stick to the beliefs completely and not, when necessary they use modern means. Also, I find in a modern world with cars a trucks have not place on the road with the buggies they use. It's a danger to them. To this end perhaps they need to keep COMPLETELY to themselves, but wound it be a shame if we couldn't learn the great things these people have to teach. In the movie when the stones are throw by much more that prank loving youth they are throw at Amish buggies, traveling at night by victious, victious youth who in the film seem not to care that they have killed a small child. I do believe, should the Amish decide to cast away all modern things, then they need to do that and they need to keep themselves out of danger by keeping off the roads, but then on the other hand perhaps we who use bikes and run on public roads and make rules that dogs must be on leashes should be banned from the roadways as well as these thing are dangerous to all of them. When the day came that we accepted that these sort of youth should be allowed to get away with one such incident then the rest of us should hang our heads in shame. So, how about, buggies and runner/joggers, bikers and dogs be kept of the public roads to keep them and all safe.
The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
Taking a Trip to the past.
A Trip to Bountiful is in it's simplicity and superb acting a wonderful, wonderful, gentle trip, both real and metaphorically a beautiful movie. It is a tour de force for Geraldine Page. Her physicality is a thing beyond compare. Rebecca Demoney is also superb in one of her first appearances. Horton Foote has the ability to take a simple situation and make it a marvel of writing and style with a gentle touch, but considering that gentle touch and style so much as conveyed that a person comes away wondering how it was accomplished. You are given not only a feel for the people, but the wonder of the place where it takes place. Bountiful may or may not have been real, but in this story it is and to Carrie it's more real than anything else in her life and more important then anything that she get to see it one last time before her life is over. To reach this end she defies her irritating daughter-in-law who not only bow beat her, but her son; husband to the daughter-in-law. I bought this movie so I could watch the artful performance of Geraldine Page over and over again as every moment of her performance is sheer perfection. When you give an actress as great as her the words of Horton Foote you can't help, but have a magnificent performance.
Birdsong (2012)
Both book and movie wonderful
If you've read the book you may be one of those people who get it set in their mind 'as the book' and can't move beyond it, but the book is one thing and the movie another and if you've the ability to consider the worth of both then I believe you'll find value in both. In this review I deal with the movie as I loved the visuals of all of it from the setting of beautiful scenes with lush costuming and sets were magnificent. The costumes thought out each scene to the Nth degree in that they almost told a story them self. Eddie Redmayne costumes suit the scenes of the love story when the love story needs to have a special feel as do all the most extraordinary dress and skirts and blouses of Clémence Poésy. In addition she had a delicate beauty that was perfect for the role while Marie-Josée Croze was perfect as her not the not so beautiful sister, but never-the-less possessed her own sort of beauty with the need element of strength. The was scene were everything you'd expect of war in WWI in trenches that were literally a few feet apart with all the gore and horror and fear you'd expect.
Also, the costuming there was amazing as it wasn't exact, as it wouldn't have been under the circumstances, but for the most part it was nearly as perfect as I'd want. Now I'd like to take a step back and talk about Eddie Redmayne. I'd not heard of him until I saw the name attached to the actor who would play Marius in the upcoming version of 'Les Mis'so I looked him up, found a movie he was in to watch and came away from seeing it wondering why him in either this story or in Les Mis. Suffice it to say he does not have you classical good looks. BUT, after watching the BBC version of 'Birdsong' he won me over. He is one outstanding actor, with the unbelievable subtle expression he makes using not only his entire face, but just his eyes alone. He was, simply put, beyond belief and will be perfect as Marius, but back to his playing Stephen Wraysford. He play the full range of the character to perfection. I even found myself finding him a beautiful man even though not typically so ... All things considered it may not be a perfect copy of the book, but it stands on its own and that's what counts.
Goodbye Bafana (2007)
The Ability to See the Truth
In the Color of Freedom we have Dennis Haysbert and Nelson Mandela in just the way I think of him, and Joseph Fiennes who was his guard for many years. Along the way we see what man is capable of at his best and that is the ability to see the truth when it is before him every day of his life, day after day, year after year. In the case of Color of Freedom we are expose to why Nelson Mandela was, and is, who he is. I suggest watching this movie first and the watching Invictus as a follow up as they tie together using the lines of the poem Invictus which, if only possible, should be the motto for everyone. As the movie slowly evolves you'll be exposed to much about the thinking of South Africa of the past, where as in Invictus you be expose to it in the future. I don't know if there is a movie which tells the story of Nelson Mandela's like before he was imprisoned, but there needs to be.
A Painted House (2003)
A Life Led with Love
This multi-generational movie shows us a way of life where despite the poverty level of the family love is the abiding premise that holds the family together. In addition family members we are exposed to share cropper families and a family in even more desperate straight, but despite their limited resources of the main characters we see them reach out to neighbors who are even less fortunate. The acting is somewhat ensemble with Scott Glenn as the grandfather. All are superb in their roles. The overall feel of the time an place true to the story. Tidbits of life a throw in such as Tally, as played by Aurdry Marie Anderson admitting to Luke, played by a young Logan Lerman that she didn't mind him watching her bath in the river as that was what boys did. The move was a surprise considering I never thought of John Grisham's stories to be a writer of this ilk of story. It was a very pleasant change.
War Horse (2011)
Not Spielberg splendid, but close.
This movie may have had a few flaws with the most obvious being the German encampment being out in the open with their guns hidden in the woods, but I'd rather think it some German officers arrogance that made him think, as most of Hitler's forces obviously did that they were invincible.
The movie is beautiful set in the countrysides of England and France, the horse/s marvelous and the acting or the son, mother, father and all other superb. All else in the way of changes or mistakes are unimportant as the story is so special, so beautifully shot, so powerful, that it deserves this rating.
The Descendants (2011)
I don't get all the praise!
I found this movie was beyond bad. Perhaps if it hadn't been so hyped I wouldn't feel this way, but it was hyped and it is at the very least a poorly written movie in that the dialog was all over the place and throwing in comedy line simply didn't work. The entire movie didn't seem to flow. Secondly, the casting was strange. The teenage boy who played Alex's friend was really mis-cast and the writer missed a big opportunity with his role as he had recently lost a parent. It certainly would have been nice to have that fact tied in more than it was. Some of the minor actors were very bad, so that I had to wonder who they were related to, and even the younger daughter was so into herself as an actress it was glaring. I had no idea why Beau Bridges was in it as he stood out too much in the group of cousins, not to mention he looked like a bum. Judy Greer's insipid voice and her overly written final scene made here character end up annoying. Finally I couldn't see any thing about George Clooney's performance that was at all good other than he basically can basically act, especially when Viggo Mortensen's performance in 'A Dangerous Method' was beyond measure, and he didn't even get nominated. What's going on? Has this turned into a popularity contest.