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daizmay
Reviews
Inventing the Abbotts (1997)
Tries a little too hard
I had read a comment saying this movie is a good "Sunday afternoon movie". Well, I watched it on a Sunday afternoon, and was more than a little disappointed.
The story revolves around a young Doug Holt, a kid born on the "wrong side of the tracks", and his relationship with his brother Jacey. Now, early on in the movie the narrator (an older Doug) says that if the Abbotts had not existed, Jacey would have had to invent them. Yet, this is never illustrated, only repeated randomly throughout the story, which travels through unprovoked love, anger, and forgiveness.
The acting is definitely marvelous, especially considering that the characters are not well developed. People fall in and out of love, pretend they're in love, and cause serious problems because of love. But the audience does not follow: in many key situations, I felt betrayed by both the characters and the screenwriters. Why would a character do something no person alive would ever do, nor would any person in his situation?
If you're big on movies that revolve around aphorisms, this is the one for you. In retrospect, I shouldn't be so hard on it. Almost every scene with Jennifer Connelly is absolutely hysterical. And for that, I say, "Hi Doug".
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
definitely deserving of those Oscars...
I had always been putting off watching "Silence of the Lambs". Everyone always said I'd never sleep again (or something along those lines). Granted, they said that about "Jaws" and "Psycho", too, and I wasn't...completely...freaked out by them. Then a few weeks ago I watched "Red Dragon" (what can I say, I'm Norton/Fiennes fan). I thought it was very interesting -- and it caused me to ask myself, yet again, why I haven't seen the original Lecter-a-thon. So I finally watched it, and I am very, very glad I did.
I think that it is considered so great, not necessarily because of the writing, but because of the other beautiful aspects of its production. The cutaways added much appreciated suspense (as did the music...and acting, of course), the closeups pulled you closer into each character's world, and, much like "The Shining", the filmmakers were able to make the most open spaces seem the most confining and "scary".
I immediately noticed the difference between "Lambs" and its sequel-prequel "Dragon", most notably the effort involved. All of the actors WERE their characters, and everything seemed so wrapped up in the environment (in a good way).
Although this movie does not make it to my favorites list, I thought it was very good (the quality more than anything), and I recommend it to everyone - well, unless you hate bugs.
12 Monkeys (1995)
amazing movie
i think that this movie was amazing. i loved the plot, and the acting was great on brad pitt's part. before this movie i had only seen him in the mexican, oceans 11, and meet joe black, so i thought the only reason he was so famous was b/c of his good looks (i mean, come on, he is gorgeous). after watching this, i was in complete awe of his talent. i hold a permanent grudge against kevin spacey for winning the oscar instead of pitt. back to the movie - although the ending kind of makes you stand up and go, 'holy crap, how can they do that to me,' it definitely fit the movie. and i could have done without the eating of the spider and gauging out of the teeth. so, if you like movies that really make you think, brad pitt, and survivor (they eat bugs in that too!!), this is a good movie for you.