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greenrose
Reviews
Prison Break (2005)
Gets Worse as the Weeks Go By! Too Many Eps
Prison Break could have been so good, but failed for several reasons typical of US dramas. It's gone on for waaaay too long, losing any semblance to quality in weekly story lines. The constant loud drumming in the background serves to work up the emotions while quite boring things are actually happening. More can be done with subtleness than manufactured suspense. Try turning down the sound when a supposed intense scene is going down and all you see is not much going on.
We already know the bulk of the "mysterious" background story, yet are still made to feel like something greatly revealing is going to happen. whoop-de-do. the acting is really very wooden once you take away the intrusive soundtrack. excitement is given to us only by creating some extreme situation each week that the bad "good" guys get out of each time. no shades of gray here, ever.
I give it a 1/10. I'll stick to my Brit dramas which are far more creative, realistic and engaging.
The Piano Man's Daughter (2003)
A Powerful Work Wasted on this Film!
I really wanted to like this film because Findley's book evoked a lot of real emotion for me. Why can't Canadians make good films? This one had the look & feel of an amateur high school play, including the screenplay and the acting. I kept expecting the actors to break into giggle fits, so far removed were they from the internal feelings of the characters in the book. Horrendous! I watched half an hour and gave up, choosing to keep my positive memories of our dear Timothy's wonderful and artful fiction work intact. Dramatic arts need the full support of our Culture and Heritage departments, and they obviously aren't getting it. Very sad indeed.
Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (2004)
Unfortunately, A very poor TV flick
I remember cheering & tearing up when Marc Hall won his case in court. I also recall seeing his parents as being a bit media shy on TV news, but still way more articulate than the actors in this poor excuse for a film. It had nothing going for it, which is a shame and a waste of money and effort on an issue that is so vital.
The actor playing Marc was way too old for the part, and his hair looked grey, not blue, through most of the film, unlike the real-life character. I gasped when I saw a thinning circle at the top of his head. Yikes, this was supposed to be a high school student? The target audience was obviously around 13-17, which was silly since this story also involved parents and teachers, and still does. The music mostly sounded like something from a child's play program at a circus, adding to the horrible comedy made out of some of the more serious elements of Marc's story, i.e., when coming out to his parents. I could barely hear much of the dialogue with it blaring in the foreground. While Marc gave his key court speech, the music turned horribly clichéd, full of sobbing violins. Of course, the music hardly mattered when Mr. & Mrs. Hall were on, since they were portrayed as unable to speak 99% of the time.
Marc's boyfriend is given an attitude that makes us wonder why they even have a relationship. We know they did split up some time after the court case and the prom, but jeesh, they showed absolutely no affection or support for each at all.
It's one thing to show viewers how stereotyping does exist, but the goofy gay males at the Hall home meeting were inexcusable. Marc's lawyer preening in the car mirror and manipulating Marc, rather than firmly supporting his case, was another item that helped push my vote way down. What really helped to plunge it down to 1/10 for "Awful" were the 3 female students who did their best to live up to the Bimbo label. Ugh, and Why?
Oh, and there was no acting done at all during this film. What a waste. Canada - we can do better than this!
The Hurricane (1999)
Another Story Ruined by Hollywood
This film is sooooooo boring to watch. When I read the books about both Lesra's and Rubin's stories, I cried and cheered out loud many times. That was years ago. While watching the film tonight, which happened to be on TV, I could barely stay awake. Hollywood treats the audience like ignorant children. Every scene was ruined because the director doesn't trust us to understand the slightest complexity of the events. What's worse is that only makes the events onscreen even more incomprehensible, especially regarding the track record of the judge in New Jersey. As well, the activists in Canada were portrayed as 3 people who sat around in their house all day mouthing unpassionate quips about life.
I think most people who raved about this film were taken by the amazing story of justice finally done, and the escape of Lesra from the poverty and injustice of life in the ghettos of the US. For such deep and complex issues to be addressed, we need deep and complex filmmakers. Hurricane the film is so one-dimensional, and that's a shame because in the right hands it could have contributed to social change. Instead, it's just a showcase for Denzel the actor. I wish this film could have been made by an independent film group in the UK or anywhere else that wouldn't have sanitized the story & the issues with a constant orchestra of horns & violins in the background as is sooo typical in every single drama to come out of Hollyholywood.
Merlin (1998)
This film IS the end of magic
If only The Mists of Avalon had the production resources that Merlin I & II did. Merlin's director should stick to Mutant Ninja Turtle films, and stay away from deep mythological tales. No one should foist this on their children, unless they honestly point out its' major flaws.
The Lady of the Lake and Morgan Le Fay can easily be understood as more complex than in this fiasco of a film. Nothing wrong with humor, but this is just plain silly. I really hope that people read The Mists of Avalon (the film couldn't hold the story since it was Hollywood- produced, rather than British) to counteract the bizarre way the stories of Merlin, Arthur, Guinevere, Morgan and the gang are drawn in over-simplified black and white in this 2-part film. All the female characters are either really bad, or good - and dead.
Like I said, the only value here is what $$ could buy in effects, costumes, etc. It gets a 1/10 for that. I don't understand why Neil, Carter & Rossellini lent their skills to such nonsense. As the last line in the film says: "This is the end of magic". Thank goodness, this must mean there won't be a sequel.
100 Days in the Jungle (2002)
Boring and one-sided ode to oilmen
This film is an embarrassment to Canadians. Though it was horrible for the pipeliners to suffer their ordeal in the jungles of Ecuador, this film gives the viewer no opportunity to understand any of the complexities of global corporatization. The female Canadian translator who pointed out how the people of Columbia live in poverty while the US (and Canada) benefit from their oil was quickly shut up early on, and we never hear another word about living, breathing people in that part of the world.
The hostages dream of 2 inch, prime cut steaks while in captivity. What do the people of Central America have to dream about? Bringing a bunch of actors to Costa Rico's forests to cover them in mud and fake wounds is not enough to convey this true story. Hauling in Nicholas Campbell as the FBI agent felt like an attempt to pull in viewers. Campbell's successful tv role as real life Vancouver coroner Dominic DaVinci (not the original's real name) was based on a man who acted on behalf of suffering drug addicts in his city, rather than treating them like criminals. Aligning himself with this one-sided story gives it no more credibility.
100 Days is well filmed and terrifying to watch at times, though predictable and cliched. I never felt like the makers of the film knew what was really going on in the world beyond their privileged lives. 2/10 for defining "real men" in this shallow and partial way. Though Canada spends less on films that the US, this is no excuse for bad film-making. I've seen many excellent films made on shoestring budgets.
Günese Yolculuk (1999)
Excellent plea for human rights
Anyone interested in learning about human rights abuses will want to see this film. Journey to the Sun is the first film of 2001 to be nominated by the Political Film Society for best film exposé, best film on human rights, and best film on peace. I found it to be very moving, within the context of 2 Kurdish friends in Istanbul. This film is an antidote to the oversimplification of world history & politics in most Western films.
Der Einstein des Sex (1999)
Excellent production re: untold part of human history
This film, which has the look & feel of a docu-drama with authentic sets, scenery & standout costumes [when needed ;)], strives & succeeds in addressing two areas of socio-political history: human sexuality in general and a full rendering of gay & lesbian characters in popular culture and historic contexts. Rosa von Praunheim presents his characters with seriousness, gentleness & humor in THE EINSTEIN OF SEX, so that we get the idea that "darkness" in life can be confronted in as many hues and shades as comedy, romance & adventure genres. And that darkness is not necessarily a bad thing.
Modern society lacks a serious study of human sexuality, so Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld's story should be a cue for a movement in that direction. Some of the humor in the film is around this very fact - that we giggle at the sight of beautifully crafted male genital adornments from aboriginal cultures, yet we still find it difficult to approach the complexity of our sexual selves with the courage & empathy that Hirschfeld's character does. We will never know the lost segments of his writings & life events, but the fleshed out remnants in this film are an indication that we will not know ourselves truly until we know ourselves wholly and in diversity. THE EINSTEIN OF SEX is also an important work in terms of gay & lesbian visibility on film. Though set in a different time & setting than PRIEST, it will have a similar strong impact on viewers. For anyone who might want to learn more about the distressing effects of oppression on human beings, this is the kind of film I'd recommend and encourage more of from Hollywood-washed artists.