Change Your Image
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Reviews
Georgia, Georgia (1972)
Powerful
The great Diana Sands stars as a African American pop star with few political ideas, and no need for black-activist war deserters who want her voice for their cause--much to the dismay of the quietly seething white-hating Minnie Gentry. Georgia's mother-figure and companion fears for Georgia's soul--in every sense of the word. Written by Maya Angelou (but made on a low budget), this is a significant, powerfully radical movie-of-ideas in need of rediscovery. Limited runs on its release, it showed up briefly on video to, of all things, capitalize on the supporting performance of Dirk (Battlestar Gallactica) Benedict. Diana Sands should also check out the more readily available, The Landlord.
Rent (2005)
incredible
I know a suspension of disbelief is sometimes necessary for musicals, but since Rent is a "reality-based" musical tackling such heavy subjects as the homeless, housing, and AIDS, I found it hard to get around the fact that these two struggling artists are living in a warehouse-sized loft. What about a studio? A railroad flat? People would kill for a space like that in new York. Also, you don't hand-crank an 8mm camera DURING filming, (certainly Chris Columbus must know this?) and there's no way, in 1990, that his 8mm home-movie footage could have gotten him a job with a major news show. Having said that, I can still understand why some people have a soft place in their heart for it.