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shinyobjects
Reviews
Empire Records (1995)
required viewing
It's safe to say I love this movie. Anyone who works with high school or college students (or those of that age group) must watch this film. It proves that life is never dull or meaningless if you're surrounded by people who really care about you, even if those people are your fellow tattooed, gum-chewing freaks. I love the friendships between these kids and their relationship with their boss. Anyone who doesn't understand Lucas and Joe's relationship has never had a mentor or been one. And Joe's love/hate relationship with his workers is so well written and portrayed. When I watched this for the first time, I was trying to figure out just when the writer had been a fly on my wall. My favorite line: "Have I fired anyone today? No! Why would I start with you?" I suggest watching it repeatedly. You'll catch something new every time.
The Cowboys (1972)
terrible film
John Wayne is not bad in this film, but you get the idea he signed on just for the paycheck. The premise of the story is promising but doesn't live up to it's potential. It moves slowly, does not engage the viewer emotionally in the lives of the characters and quickly descends into completely pointless violence. The scene in which John Wayne's main character is killed makes no sense, with the entire group of boys impassively standing by and watching their mentor be slowly shot to death. Then their method of dealing with Bruce Dern's character is just brutal. The scenery and John Williams' score are two slightly redeeming factors. Roscoe Lee Brown is wonderful, as usual, but overall, this film is terribly disappointing.