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Reviews
Tom Brokaw Presents: Bridging the Divide (2010)
You are the change!
After watching this documentary, I am more than moved to tears. I am moved to continue to affect change where I live. I find it extremely easy for people to complain. Especially when they have no intentions on helping to change that in which they feel is "wrong". But, it is much harder and therefore much more courageous, to find a way to help make a change in whatever your "peeves" are. That is exactly what this documentary tries to do. It is filmed in a way that makes you self-evaluate how you perceive what you believe in. The values of the people who are showcased have no grander visions than anyone else. But what makes them standout is that their dreams and visions for unity are being realized through their selfless efforts to bring about positive change in a society that is showing more and more resistance to that notion.
My hope is that the more people that see this film, helps to inspire more people to understand what hate in America is really all about. This nation can be the great nation that it was intended to be, if those who want it to be stand up for it. I think that Tom Brokaw and the producers of this documentary drive this point home.
Midnight Offerings (1981)
Good Witch Flick!
I agree with the other guy. It might not have been the best movie, but it was indeed entertaining. And it was especially nice to see Melissa outside of that Namby Pamby role on Little House. I just haven't seen this movie since probably 1981. I didn't know it came on Sci-Fi before. I hope to see it again. I don't think people would be that disappointed in the movie, personally. I guess it all depends on what you look for in a made-for-TV movie. The plot was great. A spin on the generational witch thing. That was the best part of the movie. It had the feeling of, I don't want to do this, but you are making me do this, from beginning to end.
Shadow on the Wall (1950)
Thriller in which the killer almost gets away ** contains spoilers**
I'm not sure why some people are bashing this movie. My only thought is that they were either too young to remember it when it used to come on quite often on the late show in the 60's or they weren't born. This matters because of the way thrillers are made and shown today. Today Hollywood is very clever with FX and big budgets to make you believe almost anything. But back in the 50's and 60's, movies had to be able to trick you into believing with smoke and mirrors. Alfred Hitchcock was a master of this. Which is why his movies were the more popular and respected of the lot. But there are many "old" movies that captured audiences' imagination with just suttle hints of realism and great acting. I mentioned smoke and mirrors, but let's add shadows to that group. This movie did just that. The "shadow on the wall" indeed was the ingredient to make this one of the sleeper thrillers of that era. Right when you think that the killer just might get away with the crime, you are hit with an obvious but unconscious dose of child's innocence which breaks through all barriers of psychology. I remember well as a little girl watching this movie in the sixties and being shocked at the end of it. It was one of those "see it every time it comes on" movies for me and my friends. That's because in part that is was well acted and challenging to the psyche. If you are looking for the new type of "sixth sense" thriller, then this movie isn't for you. But, if you like a good time trying to figure out what's going to happen, then "Shadow on the Wall" is not disappointing. It is fun without the blood and gore.
Two Can Play That Game (2001)
Give this movie a break and a laugh.
Just wanted to say that I think that a lot of viewers are really hard on this fun romp between African-American Professionals. You see, if you don't like it, you probably can't relate to relationships, or African-Americans. If you are African-American and you don't like it, well, all I can say is that you must be young. Anyone over the age of 35, would probably enjoy this light-hearted matching of wits between Shante'(Vivica Fox) and Keith (Morris Chestnut). The reason that age comes into view, is because growing up in the 60's, there were plenty of light-hearted romance comedies to enjoy. With one exception. You didn't see African-Americans in those movies. In the 70's, people like Richard Pryor provided us with plenty of funny movies, along with Veteran's such as Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. Romance comedies never quite made an impact within our community. And the love stories that did make it, such as "Melinda" starring Richard Roundtree and Vonette McGee, were dubbed blaxploitation movies and not given the exposure that movies garner today. I enjoy African-American films that are light-hearted, because the urban experience is often depicted as violent, drug-related, and unintelligent. We have plenty of movies for our children to see that offer no intelligent plot, and continue to perpuate stereotypes that we have been trying to tear down forever. Seeing African-American professionals deal with some of the challenges of nurturing a relationship in the 2000's was a lot of fun. That is, if you are looking for a little break from the shoot 'em up, drug-smoking, genre's. Women do have a tendency to expect certain things from men, and vice versa. Any game can be taken too far, which is what the movie depicts. No, it couldn't and should not have been an "Academy Award Nominee" by no stretch of the imagination, but it is highly entertaining and does have it's comedic moments. When movies are being made with names like Dumb and Dumber, and How High? I think I'll keep my viewing priorities straight and preference a movie like this over them.
Scarface (1983)
And that's the way it was!
Scarface. Undoubtedly one of the most entertaining movies about gangster life that was ever put on the screen. I saw this movie when it debuted in 1983. At that time, the Academy Awards (whom I have very little respect for) snubbed this film. The feeling then by a lot of people was that it was not a "politically correct film". It denounced and very loudly, everything it could about the government and how drugs were being brought into this country as well. Another stone cast was about the fact that there was too much violence. Well, there was a lot more violence being reported on the news in magazines at the time (Look, Life, etc.) than there could have ever been in a fictionalized account of a person who rose to the top with dirty money. How many people have done this in politics? Anyhoo, the snubbing by the Academy was aimed mostly at Oliver Stone for writing this story and Brian De Palma for directing it. By the way, same people who voted this one out did the same thing with the Color Purple and to Steven Spielberg. Yet another movie that moviegoes loved, but the Academy snubbed.
Makes you wonder about this country. I could tell by most of the reviews on the imdb, that most of these people were either not born or were too small to remember all the hoopla around Scarface. Bottom line: If a picture tells the truth, is blatant and flagrant about it and it sells a lot of tickets at the box office, it will be a flop at the Oscars. But, if it does all of that and people still talk about it 19 years later, it is a classic!!
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Psycho-serious mumbo jumbo teetering on delusional fluff
This was one of the worst head case movies that I have seen before. It's one thing to lead the viewer on in an unrelenting potpourri of random sequences, (expecting one to follow it) but it is even worse if the ending doesn't justify the means of getting there. I expected more out of movie that had Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in it. I think that they are both exceptional actors.
Psycho (1998)
Why???????
I still haven't figured out what was the point of remaking a perfect classic such as an Alfred Hitchcock thriller which was deliberately shot in B/W. I guess money and no imagination will buy you a little piece of anything except imagination in Hollywood.
Retroactive (1997)
Great Plot. Bad Scenes
This movie is a prime example of how a good movie could have been great. The plot is brilliant. The shooting by the psychiatrist is ridiculous. She used at least fifteen rounds in one scene and he was right in front of her. Aside from the bad shooting time and time again, the casting was perfect. When it first started, I thought I would tire of James Belushi's southern drawl, but he wound up being a real cut-up as Frank and quite entertaining.