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Student Seduction (2003 TV Movie)
I feel dirty for watching this.
2 August 2004
Oh boy, where to begin...

First off, it's a Lifetime Network movie, so you should know exactly what you're getting into when you turn to that channel. That being said, I never really sat through one of these long-winded diatribes before. You know right off the bat what's going to happen, and nothing comes as a surprise.

Elizabeth Berkley stars as the new teacher at some generic high school. Being young and attractive, she warrants the wrong kind of attention form some of her male students (and I think one of the girl students, too, but lesbianism is handled with graceful subtlety on Lifetime). After she begins tutoring one of her students, Josh, he becomes obsessed with her.

One thing leads to another, and Josh thinks they have something more than a teacher-student relationship. He forces a kiss on her in the hallway, then flips out and attacks her at home, ripping her shirt but nothing else.

Somehow, Josh's Dad and his lawyers are able to spin it as if it was the hot, young teacher was to blame for the whole thing. Then, the rest of the movie deals with her struggle to maintain her innocence.

You know what is going to happen. You know how it is going to end. Every single character looks plucked straight from the Big Book of Clichés; young, headstrong teacher, her doubting husband, her incompetent lawyer telling her to plead guilty, only one student who believes in her, the slimy cops and lawyers who are seemingly out to ruin one woman's life so some rich kid won't have to spend a month in juvenile hall. It is all so terribly predictable, and everyone acting in the film seems to know it, also.

I still don't get a few things, though. How on earth could those lawyers spin the facts to make Berkley seem like the predator? Wouldn't one tough (but effective) interrogation of Josh show what really happened? The characters seem to perpetuate on a different level where rational thinking and deductive logic make as much sense as looking for WMDs in Iraq (heh).

Now you understand my summary line. It is boring, stupid, pointless. I'm pretty sure these movies will serve as a backfire and hurt the reputation of women in the sense that they will always be viewed as the victim, and never the one who (gasp) is really guilty. Thank God I had three beers before sitting down in front of this one.
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Rad (1986)
Where were the oscar nominations for this??
17 April 2003
RAD....wow....17 years after it originally came out and it still remains one of the best films, most definitive films of a generation. Who will ever forget the stellar acting of Bill Allen, the luscious Lori Laughlin (speaking of oscars, where was hers for Casper 2? Huh?), and the amazing Bart Conner as THE Bart Taylor. Sure, a few elements might be a tad dated (They wouldn't call it Helltrack after 9/11, no siree bob!), but it still is just as good as the day it came out. A friend of mine were having a debate on which 80s film would stand the test of time...this or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Time will tell on that one.
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Auto Focus (2002)
10/10
A Day without Auto Focus is a Day Wasted
22 March 2003
Auto Focus is an excellent film by movie legend Paul Schrader that depicts the seedy private life of "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane and his downfall that ultimately led to his death that is still shrouded in mystery.

Who killed Bob Crane? The movie does not answer that question, it doesn't even focus on that. Instead, the movie mainly depicts the relationship between Crane and cohort John Carpenter. As "Hogan's Heroes" ends it six-year stint, with Crane struggling to find work, he becomes enveloped in a shadowy world of pornography and promiscuousness. His other obsession, the home video recording frontier, becomes entangled within it all.

Greg Kinnear is top-notch as Bob Crane. I'm surprised he hadn't been nominated for his dead-on portrayal of the late TV star. Willem Dafoe, as always, does an excellent job, again begging the question "Why hasn't he won an Oscar yet?" The two have good chemistry on screen together, and the character development is well founded.

The movie is a definite recommend to any who like to see the underbelly world of Hollywood's drug and orgy culture and how it can absorb those who play with it. 3 and a 1/2 stars out of 4.

On a side note, for those who would like to know more about Crane's mysterious death, go rent the DVD. It contains a well-made documentary that delves into the investigation that sheds more light on the subject than the movie touches.
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1/10
A perfect example of everything awful in movies today.
22 March 2003
This movie represents the reason I dislike hollywood movies so often. The film is riddled with bad cliches, rotten dialogue, horrible acting (can anyone else admit that Cameron Diaz is only on screen because of her looks?), and some of the most amateur directing this side of a High School Film Festival.

Everything I loathe about the movies is encapsulated here. There is nothing worth redemption. Do not touch this movie, for it will infect you.
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Rashomon (1950)
10/10
Kurosawa's Best
22 March 2003
"Rashomon" is real. That's the best way to describe it. When something so devastating on the fragile human mind occurs, the distinct lines of reality become blurred and distorted. People remember contradicting things.

A woman is raped by a bandit and her samurai husband is murdered. Those are the only facts we can hold onto. Four different views of the incident are given to us, from the the Bandit, the woman, the dead husband (via psychic medium), and a woodcutter who witnessed it from the bushes.

For simple minds, they will try to decipher who is telling the truth and who isn't, as if the situation is that simple and absolute. My friend 'Jenni' is convinced the woodcutter had to have told the truth, and everyone else is lying. There, simple as that. Not to get all philosophical, but everyone is right. Each person tells their version of it, and in their minds, nothing can be disproved. It is THEIR truth.

But don't listen to me; go rent the movie and judge it for yourself. A definite recommend.
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