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Reviews
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Good story, but long
Maggie Smith was wonderful, and Harry very well cast but the movie as a whole was long and slow and lacking in wit. As for all the controversy, most of the content was harmless enough, and some just whimsical, but there were some bits that were emotionally pretty strong (a little boy sacrificing himself for the greater good???) and violent and probably nightmare material. It was a pretty good story but could have been better told. For all the frenetic pace, it did seem to drag.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
beautiful & moving
I haven't read Louis de Berniere's book, and don't know anything about the history, so I can't comment on the faithfulness of the film to either*. But Captain Corelli's Mandolin stood on it's own as a beautiful & moving story set on the stunningly lovely Greek island of Cephalonia. Go and see it if only for a sneak preview of your next holiday destination! Nicolas Cage's accent, shall we say, under-utilised his Italian background, but this is fairly easily ignored if you set out to enjoy the movie. Penelope Cruz carries the movie - she is gorgeous as Pelagia. There is an interesting bit just when Pelagia's local beau is about to leave to fight & he gives a lovely on-bended-knee speech, but only to set her up for a gag, as it turns out. Our emotions are easily aligned with Pelagia' feelings of confused humiliation. The relationship between Pelagia & her father (John Hurt) is sweet & lightly drawn.
*Go & see Captain Corelli's Mandolin even if you get uptight about the possibility that the movie will be different from the book - they're completely different mediums & movies can't possibly reproduce in every detail what's is a book, or vice versa.
Finding Forrester (2000)
Charming, disarming, funny, thoughtful
Finding Forrester was a very charming, warm & funny movie. I have seen some reviews that suggest the script is not up to scratch, but whilst there were a couple of bits that could have been better, don't use these people's comments as a reason not to go see the movie. Robert Brown (Jamal Wallace) was delightful & engaging & intimate - totally disarming in fact as a brainy high school trying to just be one of the boys. Busta Rhymes was entertaining as Jamal's brother. Anna Paquin was a bit of a wet blanket & could have almost been left out, apart from one pretty sweet scene where she is getting some 'defence' tips. There were some odd camera angles, almost like arthouse/experimental which were a bit out of place. But I mention that only as a passing comment - I don't want in any way to be negative about Finding Forrester, because I enjoyed it immensely, more than Good Will Hunting, if I'm allowed to say that! It was cheeky & clever & thoughtful - a very well-spent Saturday afternoon. Highly recommended.
Beautiful People (1999)
Joyous, delightful, carried off with humour & elegance
Beautiful People deals with some grim & difficult topics war in Bosnia, drugs, divorce, illegal immigration & more (without giving away any secrets) & uses the currently rather popular device of intertwining story lines to do so, but carries it off with humour & elegance. Such a combination of themes could have been sordid & depressing or worse trite, but in contrast Beautiful People is joyous & exhilarating a real delight & well worthy of your time.
Music of the Heart (1999)
makes you want to round up the neighbourhood kids & plant a garden or something...
So it's totally American shmultz - I don't mind a bit of that every now & then, even if it's intellectually uncool to say so! The fact that this is based on a true story means you can indulge the shmultz just that little bit more, should the mood strike. The kids are gorgeous and given a decent amount of screen time. Meryl wears such marginal outfits & has such an idiosyncratic speech pattern that I can only assume she spent at lot of time with the real Roberta Guaspari. She's quite convincing as the stroppy violin teacher & apparently spent weeks (!) training on violin in order to appear so.This is triumphalism movie-style & if you're in the mood to see one of those embarrassingly heart-warming stories where they give you exactly what you paid your $12.50 to see, it's not a bad watch.
The Princess Bride (1987)
A dear old friend that warms the cockles of your heart
To quote an Irish friend, this movie warms the cockles of your heart. Actually he was referring at the time to It's a Wonderful Life, but it applies equally to The Princess Bride (and more in my opinion!). It's a bit of a spoof I suppose, although the word doesn't seem gentle enough for the light humour in this story that has everything - action, adventure, romance, comedy. I know everybody says that, but it's true! If you haven't seen this movie yet, stop reading reviews of it and go out & rent it - in fact skip that part & go right out & buy a copy. I have watched this movie more often than any other & will often pop it in the VCR to cheer myself up on a rainy day. It has some great lines that really stick around and become part of the family. I recommend this movie wholeheartedly. It's a dear old friend.
Me Myself I (1999)
genuinely funny, warm, charming story - see this movie! I loved it...
Very very funny! I saw Me Myself I at a Patrick Rafter charity preview screening in Melbourne, Australia & it was really well received - the audience got quite involved & even vocal. The story is based on a very simple "What if." premise and explores the theme in an entertaining manner without being hokey or contrived. It was a genuinely funny, warm, charming story & Rachel Griffiths was perfect as a thirtyish single journalist Pamela Drury who gets to discover what her life would have been like if she had accepted a marriage proposal many years before. There is a poignant scene with Rachael's character in the bath when I was crying with laughter, then wondered for a brief moment if this was actually the right response, but I wasn't left dangling for long before the story swung back to it's comedic theme. A truly enjoyable experience. Go and see it if you've ever wondered it you've made the right decisions in life (and haven't we all?).