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Reviews
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
A Great Love Story
I was really touched by this movie. At first I was apprehensive that it would turn out to be another "English Patient" (which for me meant an agonizing wait squirming in my chair wondering if this was finally the end of the whole tragic, dour affair), but I was very pleasantly surprised. The love portrayed in this movie is what it is all about, not the pretentious, miserable stuff of the English Patient. Anyway, I was not much for Shakespeare when I was forced to read it in school, but this movie gave me an appreciation for the beauty of his prose. I especially liked the expressions on the faces of the audience when it finally came time to perform Romeo and Juliet. That's how I felt about this movie, too. The only thing I can't figure out is which was Ms. Paltrow's true hair- the gold or brown? I can't see how one could have covered up the other, either way.
A Bug's Life (1998)
A Treat for the Senses
I really loved how well everything was coordinated in this fast-paced movie. The animation was superb, the colors brilliant, the story and dialogue very smooth. I liked the plot twist on "Seven Samurai." I have a multi-colored recollection of this movie when I picture it in my mind, whereas shades of brown tones are the picture when I recall "Antz." This really was a marvelous movie - non-stop, interesting, dazzling for the eyes and ears. I believe this movie accomplished what its creators set out to do - be entertaining.
Small Soldiers (1998)
Small Soliders, Small Heart
I went in expecting tongue-in-cheek and fun, but all I got out of this movie was mean-spiritedness. Aside from the Gorgonites, none of the cliched, one-dimensional characters had any redeeming value. Everything was done to excess and though we are supposed to be rooting against the soldiers, I found myself being disgusted at the entire debacle. As with Gremlins, the underlying tone of the movie is mean and nasty. The special effects were good, though, but there is nothing in this movie I would recommend to anyone. It is the Grinch without the humor.
Red Sky at Morning (1971)
Stirs Up the Memories
It was 1971 when I first saw this movie at the Picfair theatre on Fairfax near Pico in Los Angeles. We each coughed up 49 cents to get in and few things in my life have given me more for the money. I think it was the magnificent New Mexico scenery that made the movie extraordinary in my mind - sort of like how a fresh, windswept day after a rain (a rare thing in Southern California) can make even the dreariest of neighborhoods look alive and interesting. This, combined with the moving score, has kept this movie alive for me after all these years. With all the horrid things that appear on video, it truly bugs me that no one had the class to commit this one to tape!