Critical Writing Movie Reviews

2011-11-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

Arthur Christmas (3D)

The animated movie Arthur Christmas (2011) takes a different view of who Santa Claus really is and how the north Pole is run in a more modern time. It is directed by Sarah Smith who also wrote the screenplay with co-writer Peter Baynham.

Arthur (James McAvoy) is the very english son of Santa Claus (Jim Broadbent). He is the youngest of two sons. His older brother, Steve (Hugh Laurie) is the military mastermind who uses all new technology to aid in producing and delivering millions of toys each year to children all around the world. Santa Claus pretty much leaves everything up to Steve and jumps into the new fangled "sleigh," more like a space ship, each year to deliver the toys to children on Christmas Eve. Then he retires to his bed and puts his cell phone on voicemail, telling all he will return calls next year on Christmas Eve when he wakes again.

Arthur, our main character, is a wide eyed dreamer, who is clumsy. He does not have a particularly important role in the family business. Yet, Arthur sees his role as a reader and responder of letters from children to Santa as very important. This job keeps him out of eveyrone's hair and satisfies Arthur's need to be part of the family business. Yet, Arthur is made to feel he will never amount to more than a letter reader. Steve is the next Santa in line for the job and he relishes the position.

When a mistake is made in what type of gift is sent to a little girl and Arthur catches the mistake, he jumps into action. Seeing that his father and brother have not caught the mistake, nor care if it is corrected, he decides it will bring him closer to both of them, if he solves the issue.

That is when we meet the grandfather, a former Santa himself, who longs for the old days without computers, cell phones and GPS. He thinks paper maps, the old sleigh with reindeer and magic dust works just fine. Arthur confides in him and he offers to help by revving up the old sleigh to take the correct gift to the little girl.

Along the way, they both fall into problems and issues, which mission control finds out about and tries to correct. And all Arthur wanted to do was to make sure every child was happy. Every child!

As I watched the movie, I noticed that children of all ages, including the adults, were transfixed to the movie. The 3D action was decent and fun to watch. There were moments in the film when children would cheer and clap. It definitely took everyone on an adventurous sleigh ride across the world. We were all right there with Arthur, wanting him to make sure every child, even just this one little girl, got what they wanted by Christmas morning.

I would highly recommend this movie for a family night out. It is always fun to have 3D sleighs and reindeer flying at you. We all enjoy the story of Santa and what Christmas means to a child. This version definitely takes you on a new and exciting trip into the future of Christmas!

2011-11-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

Jack and Jill

The movie Jack and Jill (2011) is directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Adam Sandler, Steve Koren and story by Ben Zook. The film walks us through a comedic look at the relationship between fraternal twin siblings, Jack (Adam Sandler) and Jill (Adam Sandler) Sadelstein. This also marks the first time we see Adam Sandler dressed in drag. Very funny!

Jack is a very successful advertising executive in Los Angeles. He is married to Erin Sadelstein (Katie Holmes) and has two kids, his adopted son, Gary (Rhohand Chand) and his daughter, Sofia (Elodie Tougne). They live a very comfortable and upscale life. Each year at Thanksgiving, Jack's twin sister, Jill, comes to visit. Jill is an embarrassment for Jack. She is slightly masculine, loud, boisterous and has never married. Jill has spent many of her years taking care of their parents, while Jack has pursued a career and life.

This Thanksgiving is different from the past, since their mother has passed away, leaving Jill alone in The Bronx in New York City. Once Jill arrives in L.A; things are not going well between her and Jack. Jill decides she needs to stay as long as she has to in order to repair her relationship with her brother. Jack is not happy about this, but goes along with it, since his kids love her so much and his wife reminds him she is alone now.

Jill meets the people Jack works with, the gardener who takes care of the family yard and goes to a L.A. Lakers basketball game with Jack. Jack has been trying to get Al Pacino for a commercial idea he has, so he goes to speak with him in the exclusive front row that is famous at the Lakers games. One look at Jill and Al Pacino falls in love. He starts to pursue her. And the hilarity begins!

Among the cast of characters are David Spade dressed in drag as an old school mate, Monica, Dana Carvey as a crazy Puppeteer, Tim Meadows and Nick Swardson as Jack's co-workers and Norm McDonald as Funbucket. A real Saturday Night live old school reunion.

I thought the movie was a little goofy at parts, but overall, really funny. There were actually some real moments of emotion and touching scenes about sibling relationships and how they can affect everyone involved, but particularly the relationship between twins. For an Adam Sandler movie, that was a surprise. At the beginning and end of the movie, we also get to see and hear from real life twins. Also, pretty funny, but eye opening as well.

Believe it or not, Adam Sandler is believable enough dressed in drag as Jill. Al Pacino is completely hilarious in this movie. His appearance is enough to make it worth the price of the movie ticket. My kid enjoyed the movie and I feel it is totally appropriate for kids to see. Overall, I would recommend the movie for a family night out and lots of laughs. Maybe even a few heartstrings will be pulled. :}

2011-11-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Moneyball

The movie Moneyball (2011) is a look inside the inner workings of America's favorite past time, baseball. Directed by Bennett Miller, famous for the film Capote (2005). Adapted from the book "Moneyball:The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" written by Michael Lewis, who also wrote "The Blind Side." Then bring in big hitter Aaron Sorkin who co-wrote the screenplay with Steven Zaillian, with the story by Stan Chervin, and forgive the pun, you have a home run!

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the long time losing Oakland A’s baseball team, continually negotiates with his owner for more money to bring better players to the team. He is told that he will have to work with the budget given and once again, like so many years before, bring in the players to try to become a winning team by the end of the year. Beane hears critics on the radio and television everyday stating that he should be fired and another GM hired to bring the team where it needs to be. He is taking the blame, but he is really not the problem. Budget constraints are.

This has had a profound affect on Beane’s family life. His wife, Sharon (Robin Wright), leaves Beane and marries a wealthier man. His daughter, Casey Beane (Kerris Dorsey), is not able to see him as often, because his schedule demands he scout across the country for minor league and worn out major league players to keep his team a float. Casey is left to watch her father struggle financially, professionally and see the emotional toll it takes on him. All of this from a one time major league baseball player who left the game, because of too many injuries. Yet, Beane is committed to his team.

While out scouting at a competing teams office, he sees a young man whispering advice to a negotiator. After the meeting is over, he confronts the young Ivy League college graduate, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Beane wants to know what he was telling the negotiators. Once coerced, the young man walks him to a parking garage and divulges his secret. Billy likes what he hears and within the week, he makes a trade with this team and includes hiring Peter Brand in the trade.

Beane and Brand are taken through the ringer as they try to convince the coaches, scouts, owners and the critical public that their strategy is the way to win games.

Brad Pitt pulls off a convincing roll as Billy Beane, the hard luck general manager, who just wants to win one season with his team. He lets us into a world that few understand and many criticize. It gave me a new appreciation for what general managers go through to get a team to the top. People are talking Oscar. I would not doubt it.

Jonah Hill show us that he does have some acting chops and we truly believe he is a young up and comer in this world of baseball who knows exactly what he is talking about and we all should just shut up and listen.

I think this is a great movie for all ages to see. It shows us what life can do to relationships, but also how going with your gut and chasing a dream can pay off in the end. Also, how turning left, when you should have turned right, can affect all you do. But in the end, it shows us that even when you think you failed, you really won. Especially when someone realizes you were the one with the original idea, writes a book and then produces a movie about you! Billy Beane and Peter Brand, you definitely changed the face of baseball for the better! Thank you!

2011-10-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Anonymous

"Anonymous" (2011), the movie, directed by Roland Emmerich and written by John Orloff, suggests the premise William Shakespeare (1564 -1616) never put pen to paper to write all the masterpieces we enjoy today. In fact, the movie claims Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford (1550 - 1604), actually wrote the plays, sonnets, etc. William Shakespeare was paid to take the credit. This is an Oxford Variant fringe theory, proposed 91 years ago questioning Shakespeare's legitimacy.

At this time in history, the Elizabethan age, a puritan view was very popular. Writing, considered an art, was seen as selfish and self-centered. It was frowned upon as a career or even a past time. Therefore, if the Earl was a talented writer of plays and sonnets, then he would need to hide behind a facade in order to make his works public.

Many scholars have researched and tried to prove this point. They claim William Shakespeare lacked the education and aristocratic sensibility or even the familiarity with the royal court that his writing displayed. I am not sure if that is a plausible argument, but it would change history, if true.

The movie also shows us the events of the time. We see Queen Elizabeth I, (1558 - 1603) struggling through the years with royal duties, who will succeed her and the many lovers and illegitimate children she is said to have bore.

During her younger years she meets Earl Edward De Vere and they fall in love. Unfortunately, the Earl is already married to another. They part ways.

Through the years, the Earl's works are put on the stage, supposedly by Shakespeare. The Queen recognizes the Earl's writings and supports the plays. Many plays during this time were shut down for the political views they exposed. The Earl was able to express his views, because of the Queen's love for him. His plays were allowed to continue even though they were causing discontent with the masses.

As the movie progresses, it takes us through a whirlwind of deceptions, both personally and politically. We are shown how and why the Earl felt he needed to employ Shakespeare as his "ghost writer" front. The trials and tribulations of all involved in this deception is exposed. We are shown what this can do to people's lives and how it can destroy relationships and careers.

In the beginning of the movie it uses flashbacks to show us the history of each character and how they are intertwine in their lives and deeds. It can be a bit confusing. The director and editor may have thought showing too much from the past would give the story away early on in the film. I think it would have flowed more to show the events as they happened through time. The beginning is a bit tedious, but hang on. It is well worth the story that unfolds.

The movie does put forward a credible argument for their doubts. I enjoyed the movie as well as my teen. This is a movie for 13 and over. If your teen is a bit more cerebral, they will enjoy the possibilities the film sets forth. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is open to a different view of what could have been in the life of William Shakespeare and the monarchy at that time. Watch it all the way through or you will miss pertinent information. It definitely holds your attention to the end!

Passion Of Mind Explained

2010-05-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

The movie Passion of Mind (2000) is a journey through looking in the mirror for us all. Directed by a Belgian, Alain Berliner, it is his first English-language film. Berliner is best known for the arthouse success Ma Vie en Rose. Co-written by Donald Bass and David Field, with the premise being, what if you had two lives at once and you knew that one life took place only in your dreams, but you didn't know which life was real.

The movie is a psychological romantic thriller where fantasy and reality become indistinguishable for Marty (Demi Moore) leading a double life in her dreams.

In one life, she is Marty a high-powered single literary agent in Manhattan. Through a business deal, Marty meets Aaron ( William Fitchner), an accountant. They fall in love. Marty confides in Aaron about her dreams and how vivid and real they seem to her. So much so, that she does not know what is her real life or what is her dream life. She is afraid she is losing her mind and fears he will want to run away and never see her again. He feels she uses the dream life to distacne herself from getting closer to people. Marty's New York psychiatrist, Dr. Peters (Peter Riegert), thinks her high powered, lonely New York life has driven her to dreams of being a mother and wife, living a simple life elsewhere.

In another life she is Martha Marie (Demi Moore), a mother and widow with two daughters, Jennifer (Eloise Eonnet) and Serafine (Chaya Cuenot). Her oldest daughter has a constant boy companion, Jeanne Pierre, (Hadrian Dagannaud-Brouard). They live in Provence, France. They are frequently visited by Matha's older friend, Jessie (Sinead Cusack), who Martha confides in about her double life woes. Martha also meets and falls in love with a writer, William Granther (Stellan Skarsgard). Her French psychiatrist, Dr. Langer (Joss Ackland), feels she is wanting more than her drab home life raising children. She longs to write and lead a more exciting life working in New York.

Which life is the real life and which is the dream? Thus begins our characters quest of who and where she is.

In her New York life, she loses her mother when she is 11. We are not told what the cause of death is, but the story alludes to alcoholism. Marty was raised by her father, who we assume is also gone at this point. Marty is alone living in New York. She is lonely. Each time she meets a man, she keeps them at a distance by telling them of her dream world.

In her alternate life, France, she is a widower. Martha is a single mom raising two daughters, whom she and her friend Jessie keep insinuating are just like her. Jessie is an older friend who is more like a mother to her. Martha confides in her and receives advice.

Along the way, Marty and Martha find clues of each other's life in each world. Yet, the real, tangible things are always found in the New York world. Eventually, she realizes her New York Life is real. Her French life is a dream. The two girls are Marty when she was 7 and 11. Martha Marie is basically her, giving herself the mother she never had and also lost at age 11.

Jeanne-Pierre is a memory of a trusted childhood male friend she had during the years after her mother died, who comforted her. He kept her sane during the death of her mother and possible distance of her father.

We then learn the brandy toting friend, Jessie, is a memory of how she wishes her mother would have been, but never was, because she was an alcoholic. Marty finds her mother dead one morning. She makes Jessie someone she can talk to, confide in. Someone who would always be there when she needed her. Yet again, she realizes she can be her own mother and confidant, even though her own mother was not capable of doing that for her.

The man she is falling for in France, William, has the voice of her father, who we are never quite sure, if he abandoned her emotionally or physically or both after her mothers death or had passed on later in life after she was grown. We can see that she is looking for a man who can love her like her father should have, someone to love her unconditionally, accept her just as she is. What all the shrinks say we are looking for in a partner, someone to heal our relationship with our parents. Oddly, he is the one in the story who leaves her and does not accept her alternate dream world. She brings him back in her dreams, so she can see him one last time. Get what she needed from him in real life. She says a final goodbye to a father, letting him move on and out of her heart, leaving room for a new man to come in and love her, just as we all have to do.

Now we see that Marty has created this dream world in France to comfort herself in her loneliness and sense of loss. Since she never really had a loving caring mother, she herself is being a mother to her 7 and 11 year old self, giving them the love she never received in real life. Letting us all know that when we don't get what we need from others we can love the child in ourselves and repair the hurt we may feel.

Aaron, who is real and not in her dreams, is the man who helps her to let go of it all. He tells her that he hopes if he cannot be her great love, he would settle for being her very good friend. He says he will always be there and never leave, no matter how crazy she thinks she is. He will wait for her to realize just how much he loves her. Aaron helps her to heal and gives her the unconditional love and acceptance she has been looking for all her life. Now she can let go of her dream world. Marty created the love she needed, which in fact, was her love for herself. She, in fact, was protecting herself from anymore hurt, until Aaron shows her he will not hurt her, leave her, but will love her for the rest of their lives together.

I have read several reviews on this movie. I think most have missed the point all together. This is a very complicated movie in theory, but a great premise and story. Isn't this what most of us do? We hold others at a distance before we let them in. Maybe even create something to test their true devotion to us.

We have all been hurt. We have to protect those vulnerable places from being further damaged. We wait for that person(s) to come along and show us that we can trust them, open up and give our hearts to them, without fear of being hurt once again. And when we do, we can let go and let them be our soft place to fall in this world. What a wonderful thought!

Benjamin Button quotes

2010-03-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

"For what it’s worth, it’s never too late,
or in my case too early,
to be whoever you want to be.
There’s no time limit...
start whenever you want...
you can change or stay the same.
There are no rules to this thing.
We can make the best or the worst of it.
I hope you make the best of it.
I hope you see things that stop you.
I hope you feel things that you never felt before.
I hope you meet people with a different point of view.
I hope you live a life that you’re proud of
and if you find that you’re not,
I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

"Some people were born to sit by a river.
Some get struck by lightning,
Some have an ear for music,
Some are artist,
Some swim,
Some know buttons,
Some know Shakespeare,
Some are mothers,
Some people.... dance!"

-Benjamin, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Benjamin, we’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?"

Tim Burton's: Alice In Wonderland

2010-03-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

The second installment of the movie Alice In Wonderland (2010), which is partially animated and partially actors in costume, is directed by Tim Burton, famous for films like Edward Scissorhands (1990) and The Nightmare After Christmas (1993). It is adapted from the books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) and Through the Looking Glass. The novels were written in 1865 by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. The screenplay for this 2010 version was written by Linda Woolverton.

The animated film Alice in Wonderland (1951) was originally made by the Walt Disney Company, directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske. There were several writers who adapted the books to the 1951 screenplay, which is listed at this site. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043274/fullcredits#writers. At that time, the movie was geared more for children and had a light heartedness about it.

Each tells the story of Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world checkered with animals and anthropomorphic creatures. It plays with our sense of logic, makes us think, which gives it an appeal with both adults and children. Although, the 2010 version tells us how Alice returns to wonderland at an older age, trying to escape the trappings adult life has brought her. Therefore, we see wonderland through the eyes of an older and more mature Alice.

The White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) is sent to our reality to find Alice (Mia Wasikowska), so she can return to help them save wonderland from the horrible Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Burton's wife). As Alice is older, she has forgotten her way to wonderland, which brings doubt that she is truly the real Alice who had visited with them as a child.

It has been predicted over time that the real Alice would return to fight against the Red Queen and her evil forces. The problem is Alice can barely remember her old friends and really is not up to be a champion for any one's causes. She is having a hard enough time dealing with growing up and making adult choices.

The movie takes us on a trip through our much beloved world of wonderland. Alice meets up again with the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and his tea totting friends, the Dormouse (BarbaraWindsor), March Hare (Paul Whitehhouse) and the White Rabbit. The Mad Hatter is overjoyed to see she has returned. He becomes the valiant protector of Alice through her journeys toward her destiny in wonderland. The Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) also returns slithering through the air. The Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman) continues to predict and prescribe for Alice. All in an attempt to help the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) fight against the evil that is taking over wonderland.

The movie continues the storyline. It brings nuances to the characters that we may never have seen without the great direction of Tim Burton. The cast of skilled actors assembled brings the story to a new level. The Mad Hatter is played gloriously well by Johnny Depp. He brings a sort of softness and sensitivity to the mad man. Maybe the people we think are mad are truly more sane than they let on. Add in Carter's strong depiction of the Red Queen and Hathaway's comical review of the White Queen, and you have a wonderful film!

Although a bit darker than the original animated version, this installment is very entertaining. It will be a joy for any child who enjoyed the first movie. I took my daughter and four little girls, whom were all mesmerized by this movie. Heck, I was mesmerized and enthralled. I recommend this for all ages. This is definitely a can't miss film and you won't regret spending a little more cash to see it. A treat for all!

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

2010-03-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

The movie New Moon (2009) is directed by Chris Weitz and the script is written by Melissa Rosenberg. This drama was adapted from the Twilight Saga novel series, written by Stephenie Meyer. The movie picks up where the last movie, Twilight (2008), left off. Each movie being an adaptation of the novels in this series, with two more movies to go. The excitement about this series has surpassed even the popular Harry Potter (2001-2011) movies, also adapted from several novels. Which is saying a lot!

The main character, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), returns with her vampire love interest, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Her Native American friend who secretly loves her, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), also returns to the story.

In this second film we see the powers that be have tried to stick with the plot of the book, since the fan backlash was not pretty when they changed things in the first film. In doing so, they also created a longer second film. Be ready to take some time to watch this movie, which is well worth it.

Between the longing for the lost unattainable love and the aching for the long time crush, we are taken through a love triangle that may never end in this series. The animosity between Edward and Jacob still exists. Jacob wanting to protect Bella from the vampire family of Edward, which he seems to have previous knowledge about. Edward trying to protect Bella from vampires who want to kill her, because he killed another vampire.

The story opens on Bella insisting that Edward change her to a vampire, so she can be with him forever. He, of course, refuses and tells her he could never bring her into the horrible life of a vampire. She fears that when she grows old, he will no longer want her and move on, even though he assures her that will not happen.

Jacob still longs for Bella to realize how much he loves her. He waits for her to see the truth about Edward and come running into his arms. Yet, there is a secret he is hiding that he can't tell his friend, Bella. What is it? Could that be the wedge between them and the reason they could never be in the first place?

Meanwhile, there have been several deaths in town. They are blaming bears, but they are not really sure what is responsible. Bella's dad, Charlie Swan (Billy Burke), the local policeman, sets out to solve the mysterious deaths. Joined by his friend and Jacob's grandfather, Harry Clearwater (Graham Greene), they start the search to solve the crimes. What or who is killing the people of the town?

Edward's vampire family all return in this second installment, with added extra branches of the family revealed. We also meet Jacob's Native American family and learn more about their part in this continually unwinding story.

The excitement, suspense, romance, feuds and fantasy continue in this modern day Romeo and Juliet story. Plenty of eye candy for both the male and female population. Overseas locations and special affects abound. You won't be disappointed, particularly if you are a fan of this series.

The World's Greatest Dad

2010-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

The movie The World's Greatest Dad (2009) was written and directed by stand-up comic Bobcat Goldthwait. The film debut at the Sundance Film Festival to great reviews. The film is a dark comedy about a man who learns that the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone.

The main character, Lance Clayton (Robin Williams), is a single parent raising his difficult son. Being a teacher where his son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), attends makes it even more difficult to deal with the antics his son's is pulling and bad grades he is getting. How do you explain that, being a teacher with the problem child?

Lance has low attendance for his writing class, so there is pressure to cancel the class. He is an aspiring writer who keeps sending out his work that never gets published. His career seems to be sabotaged on all levels.

He is dating a fellow teacher who is younger than him. She insists they keep their relationship secret. All the while, she flirts with other staff members. Lance's world pretty much sucks. Yet, he continues to put up with it all. Now you have one stressed out man!

It is an extreme event in his life that shows him who really cares about him and what is important in life. In these extreme circumstances, he finds himself at the edge and having to make some important decisions.

Robin Williams is an actor who can do it all with style . Everything from comedy to drama. He is the only actor who could have played this role with humor and sensitivity. This is a dark comedy. With the wrong actor, this film could have gone the wrong way and been very unpleasant to watch. That is not the case here!

Williams plays the role so well and pulls us into his world with not just the lines he speaks, but with the reactions on his face. He uses his body to express his feelings. We see the characters ups and downs. We are right there with him, able to empathize with him. The character could be seen very negatively, but Willams is able to shows us the character's intentions.

Add to that a wonderfully written script, great direction, a strong supporting cast and you have one great film. You will laugh, maybe cringe, but in the end you will feel the triumph of this film.

I highly recommend this film to anyone and everyone. I don't know anytime I have seen Robin Williams make anyone look bad. He is a superior actor and he definitely shines in this quirky role. A must see!

Rear View Window

2010-02-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

The movie Rear Window (1954) was debut at the Rivoli theater in New York, with over 2000 members of the social and entertainment world and United Nations members in the audience. A fundraiser for the American-Korean Society was held. Alfred Hitchcock for Paramount Pictures directed the film. The screenplay written by John Michael Hayes, was adapted from a short story or novelette, It Had To Be Murder (1942), by Cornell Woolrich (pen-name William Irish). The movie was a recipient of four Academy Awards nominations, best cinematography, best director, best screenplay and best sound, yet won no Oscar.

The story takes place in a world renowned photographer's apartment, Jeff (James Stewart), who is now in a wheelchair with casts on both legs after an accident. His incurable curiosity and voyeurism is the reason, we are told, that he was injured in the first place. This sets up the movie to be seen from Jeff's viewpoint throughout. He is a prisoner inside his apartment.

To amuse himself, he starts to look into his neighbors windows across the way. He becomes the cat sitting in the window, except this cat uses binoculars. The binoculars are much like the camera he uses in his profession to capture others in action whilst unaware of his lens. Here, the neighbors have no idea they are being spied on and listened to from a dark apartment across the way, Jeff's apartment.

Jeff is criticized by his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) and nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter), for spying on people and getting involved in things that are private to his neighbors. His excuse? What else does he have to do?

One evening, his nosiness gets him involved in one of the neighbors marriages. He notices the wife is missing and he has not seen her for days. Jeff starts to imagine foul play. He draws Lisa and Stella into his suspicions. The investigation from the three takes flight as they start finding clues, spying and piecing things together that indeed make them question whether the neighbor's wife is on a trip out of town or foul play has taken place.

Alfred Hitchcock shoots the film totally from the perspective of the main character, Jeff. Who just happens to be a photographer, which gives Hitchcock the freedom to use sweeping shots and close-ups, etc. since the shots are from a photographers eye.

Hitchcock leads us on a journey with Jeff by showing us the small world from within his apartment that has become a murder mystery on the rise. With colors, sounds, lighting and well place scenes and shots, we are taken on a roller coaster ride of intrigue, human passions and questions. Where is the neighbors wife? Why is he acting so strangely?

It all leads the characters into an investigation which may get them arrested or worse yet, killed. All because a bored, injured photographer was looking out his rear window. Quite a thriller!

THE MATRIX

2010-02-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

The Matrix (March 31, 1999 ) movie is the first in a trilogy of films about a sci-fi spiritual computer world. Directed and written by Andy and Lana Wachowski, the film won 4 oscars, with another another 28 wins and 36 nominations. At the time, it was touted as being one of the best films ever made with special effects, costuming and talent. An intrical story line with deep spiritual messages on every level. This extremely thought provoking story takes us into the computer world of the matrix. The characters move through their lives and changes to see who and what they truly are becoming in their mortal and spiritual lives.

The One, Neo (Keanu Reeves), works as a software agent by day and a hacker by night. The dichotomy brings his battle from within into his spirituality. He feels a hole in his soul, his life that cannot be filled during the day or at night.

As he is spending another night alone, selling his hacker ware to the highest bidder, he gets a message from a stranger telling him to follow the white rabbit, a tattoo on the shoulder of one of his customers. while at the nightclub, he meets Trinity (Carrie - Anne Moss) who leaves him with a thought provoking message about where his life is leading.

While Neo is at work getting a brow beating from his boss, he gets a call from a stranger instructing him how to escape the new agent like strangers who have shown up to take him away. But Neo is caught anyway. In the process, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and the others take him into a room to interrogate him. Once strange things happen in the interrogation, like his lips disappearing and his mouth being closed off, plus an insect being shot into his stomach, which he sees crawling under his skin, Neo realizes that things are not as they should be.

Trinity and the other fighters show up to save him and extract the insect, a probe to track him with. They fight off the agents and save Neo from his impending doom. Neo is still confused about why all this is happening to him. As Neo tries to leave, Trinity asks him, if he really wants to continue on the path he has been taking or if he is ready to take a chance, a risk and choose another path. He chooses another path.

They take Neo to Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) their fearless leader. Morpheus tells Neo about the matrix and how reality is really not true reality. He is asked to make a decision of staying where he is and choosing another path, a path of enlightenment, if you will. Once again, he has to make a choice, not knowing what the outcome will be, taking a risk to trust and believe in his own intuition.

Once Neo makes this decision, the viewer is taken on a whirlwind ride through the world of the computer matrix. All the dualing characters within the matrix battle it out to help "their" side win. Good again versus evil. Will evil eventually win or will the good in us all take over and battle against the evil inside us all? Will we all become thoughtless, emotionless programs in the matrix?

This film plays into many people’s basic religious and life beliefs. Dealing with where we come from, how we were created, how we live out our lives and where we will eventually go when we move on from one world to another. It brings in mainly christian beliefs, but also makes us aware that all religions have the same basic ideas. All are born out of the same basic beliefs. We may think we are separated and against one another, but we are truly a part of one person, one being, one mind.

Neo hears a still knowing voice at all times, telling him he is missing out on something. That “something” is the question that keeps him searching for the meaning of his life. He wants to fill up the hole inside his heart that just keeps growing as time passes. The same hole we all have, which is, "What is the meaning of life?" Or more poignantly, what is the meaning of my life in respect to the universe! This is the driving force throughout the movie. The questions will be answered at every level. And oh, what a ride it is!

The Bride of Frankenstein II

2010-01-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) was directed by James Whale, as the first movie and the screenplay written by James Hurlbutt. The movie is a sequel to the movie "Frankenstein," shot in 1931. The movie was produced by Universal studios the same year that the movie Dracula (1931) was, and saved the studio. Frankenstein was so popular they decided to make a second film. The Bride of Frankenstein is also known as Frankenstein Lives Again and The Return of Frankenstein. The movie sees it's two main stars returning, Boris Karloff as the monster and Colin Clive as the young doctor who creates the monster.

With the suttle Victorian undertones in these films, it is no surprise to find out the book it was based on. The novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Shelley started writing the novel when she was 18. The first edition was published anonymously in 1818 when she was 20. Shelley's name finally appears on the second edition published in 1831. The novel has elements of the Gothic and the romantic movement. It is a cautionary tale warning about man expanded into the Industrial Revolution, at the time the book was written. This book has influenced other horror and fiction books as well as helping to start the genre of horror films we all know and love today. The book itself is based on an exchange of letters between Captain Robert Walton and his sister Margaret Walton Saville, detailing the story he hears from Dr. Victor Frankenstein about his experiences with creating and dealing with the monster. While Walton is exploring the North Pole, his ship becomes trapped in ice. They find the doctor in pursuit of the monster he has created and nearly dead in a boat on the ice. Victor then begins to tell the story and warns of allowing your ambitions to push your aim beyond what you are capable of achieving.

The Bride of Frankenstein takes us beyond this beginning into the realms of creating more and even stranger characters. Now the monster, who has survived the mob who burned and collapsed the building under him and his creator in the first movie, is back! The monster is craving a partner and wants the doctor, his creator and father, to make him a female companion, just like him. Someone who is not afraid of him and who can care for him. Something or someone like we all long for in our own lives, therefore we can relate to the monster on this level.

We are lead down the path of gruesome experiences, severed body parts and graves, crazy characters and unpopular viewpoints toward the dead and living most of us would shutter to adopt. We cringe at the ideas of Dr. Praetorius who creates little people and figures he places in bottles for display and fun. Yet, based on his research, he convinces Dr. Frankenstein that they can and will be able to create another female being to be the mate of the monster. Dr. Frankenstein is hesitant to proceed, seeing the damage and horror that his first monster has created, as well as having learned his lesson to not meddle in the ways of God and creation. So Dr. Praetorius convinces the monster to capture Dr. Frankenstein's fiance and convince him to help in creating the partner the monster desires in exchange for the safe return of his love.

During the process, we get to see the monster as more of a victim than we did in the first movie. The story line shows us his gentler side while dealing with a child. His kindness while spending time in a blind man's home, who cannot judge him by what he sees, but only by how the monster responds to him. but as always, the mob comes along to destroy the monsters tranquil existence and warn the people he is dealing with that he is indeed dangerous, monsterous. so the the monster accidentally kills the child. The blind man is then cautious of a being that may not be safe or even human. people infusing fear into a situation that may not in fact be fearful. Judging the monster based on looks and past experiences. never giving the monster a chance to prove his value and worth. Again, something we all can relate to.

No matter how many times I see this film, I always learn a new viewpoint or see socially conscious examples throughout, from undertones of religion and the many views on creation, to same sex relationships and their validity, and also prejudices on every level from color to gender. I also see the film, as many of us do. A campy fun horror film that always scared me whenever I watched it as a child. The true meaning of horror in our culture.

The budgets, the lighting of the black white films and the innovations of this film in its day should be respected. The book it is based on and the movies themselves have opened the door for generations of films created behind them. I dare say, without films like these, we would not see the innovations and advances of the films we see now. They were pioneers of their time. For this alone, I have a great respect for the people who created them.

I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for great entertainment as well as a nostalgic look back at the way film used to be and how it has brought us to the way we see film now.

The Bride of Frankenstein I

2010-01-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

'The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) is an oldy, but a goody. Based on the ever popular novel by Mary Shelley. I have enjoyed watching this film over the years. Everyone has seen it at one time or another, so it is familiar to all and a great conversation piece. The first movie, Frankenstein, was then followed by this version, Bride of Frankenstein.

In the first movie, the monster is created and causes havoc through the town. Thusly he is chased and then caught in a burning building with his creator, Dr. Henry Frankenstein. The building collapses under them. We are left not knowing whether the monster and doctor are alive or not.

The movie sequel bring us back to find that the monster and Dr. Frankenstein have indeed survived. Movie goers had to wait three years to learn this exciting information!

There have been several versions of this story made and presented. This 75 minute run of "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) was directed once again, as the first, by James Whale from a screenplay by James Hurlbut. The players like Boris Carloff, Colin Clive and Valerie Hobson are animated and work well together in a campy horror picture that is sure to delight anyone who watches. As a child, I remember being very scared by the movie.

The movie takes us into the world of Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his group of players who are attempting to give his current creation, the monster, a female mate! Someone just like him! What we are all looking for, therefore we can understand his longing.

As we go along the journey of this gruesome task, we are led down alley ways, through people's lives, dead bodies and graves, to create the perfect woman and companion for the already pieced together, monster. Along the way, the monster is seen as very human a few times, saving the life of a drowning girl and having dinner with an old blind man. Simple human kindnesses. A sort of lamb in wolf's clothing facade. But then alas, the monster is seen as something that these people need to be protected from. The monster reacts and not in a good way, which then turns the town against him again.

Along the way we meet a miriade of characters ranging from the off the wall Dr. Praetorious who wants to create little people who live in bottles, to the wife of Dr. Frankenstein, who is used and kidnapped to get the good doctor to create this mate the monster craves.

I have always been a huge fan of these movies and love the campy aspect of them all. Being a student of film, I can only appreciate the innovative thinking that occurred during the making of this movie and others along the way. I have a grand appreciation of their style. They opened up many doors for future horror films that we now see today. It all may seem quarky to others, but I see the value of these films. I enjoy watching them and appreciating where they came from, because it took us to where we are and where we are going. For the time it was made, it was a movie everyone was waiting to see. I have to respect it for that value alone.