mandykittycat Reviews

The Haunted Airman (2006 TV Movie)

Thank God it was short!!

[11 November 2009]

What an awful movie!! I could barely manage to watch it for the hour it lasted — any longer and it would've been off.

Low-budget I can handle. Weak supporting performances, poor special effects, bad editing… OK, fine. But there is no way to get past a film that is painstakingly slow, boring, and completely lacking a plot (or even an explanation)! Nothing happened! I watched the whole thing and still couldn't really say what it was about. Basically it's a guy who's scared of the shadows. Is he crazy? Why is he in a mental hospital? Is he imagining the spiders and the moving shadows? Who knows — or, more importantly, who cares? Sorry, but a slightly moving shadow on the floor in the middle of the night means nothing, especially when the curtains are open; it's probably just a branch moving outside the window.

Robert Pattinson is attractive as ever and turns in a pretty good performance, but there was no way he could salvage this piece of crap.

My response in a nutshell: yeah, it was only an hour lost…but I can think of so many better and more interesting things I could have done in that hour. Like, the dishes.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

What a horrible, horrible movie!

[2/10 · 13 September 2009]

I'm amazed that I can find nothing but praise for this film on this board! It was incredibly well made, yes, and up until the end I thought it was one I would really like. It was touching, effective, and seemed sweet and (as much as possible with Holocaust themes) family-themed and appropriate. But the ending was one of the most horrible I have ever seen and made it so I would never, ever recommend this film to anyone! Without giving any distinct spoilers, let me just say that we all watched in horror as the worst imaginable thing happened. And then there was nothing to justify it. If we had seen remorse on the part of the father, and been given the impression that maybe this horror touching him personally would be a life-changer and lead him to rethink what he was doing at the camp, the ending might have been somewhat justified. If we had seen a similar revelation in the sister, who was starting to associate with the Nazi ideology, that, too, would have helped.

Instead, we see the mother sobbing wretchedly, completely broken -- but then, she was already horrified at what was going on and didn't need to be taught a lesson. And we see the father frantically searching for Bruno, but we have no idea of his emotions when he realizes what happened. Will he rethink his life? Or will he fit this into his existing mindset, blaming the Jews for what happened, and using it as a reason to kill more and more of them? There was no conclusion; nothing was wrapped up at the end. Viewers are left with a sense of horror, nausea and depression. There was little warning of this, as the rest of the movie was really good and the previews didn't warn of the atrocity in store. The DVD cover touts the fact that this was by the same studio as "La Vita e Bella" (Life is Beautiful), which is misleading to a fault, as the two cannot be compared--La Vita e Bella was tragic, too, but it ended on a hopeful note instead of total depression.

So what was the point of this movie? What was the message? That the Holocaust was horrible? Yeah, I'm pretty sure we all knew that already.

There's enough to be depressed about in this world right now; I don't think we need our souls completely driven into the ground. Unless you enjoy horrors or being completely depressed, I wouldn't recommend "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" to anyone!

Dreamer (2005)

Dreamer: Soñador or Predictable?

[6/10 · 1 December 2005]

Set on "the only horse farm in Lexington, Kentucky without any horses," "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" is the story of a little girl and a horse. While that may seem like a familiar plot, "Dreamer" is something more—for one thing, the little girl is Dakota Fanning. The acting in "Dreamer," from Fanning to Kurt Russell to Kris Kristofferson, is of a somewhat higher quality than your typical girl-and-a-horse movie, and almost carries the film. The story of an injured filly who miraculously recovers and goes on to achieve greatness, "Dreamer" is also about the importance of family love. In the end, however, unless you are under 12, it is still a semi-predictable, inspirational, rent-the-video-when-it-comes-out- and-save-eight-bucks movie about a girl and a horse.

Cale Crane (Fanning) is a ten-year-old horse lover, who is allowed one day to go to work with her father, racehorse trainer Ben Crane (Russell). One of the horses he trains, Soñador, breaks a leg in a race, and, reluctant to have her put down in front of his daughter, Crane defies his boss and ends up losing his job, accepting the broken down horse as part of back salary. Crane nurses the horse back to health in the hopes of turning a profit by breeding her. Cale, on the other hand, dreams of racing Soñador. And the horse, whose name is Spanish for "dreamy," will do anything for the little girl—for the small fee of a Popsicle.

Full of family values, "Dreamer" shows how a horse brings father and daughter together. We also see Crane reconcile with his estranged father (Kristofferson). Parental sacrifice takes on a whole new meaning as Lily Crane (Elisabeth Shue) chooses to work 7-day weeks as a waitress so that her daughter and out-of-work husband can race a horse that in all probability will not amount to much. She tells Ben to do everything possible, including $120,000 in race entrance fees, so that Cale can take her dream as far as possible, as maternal dedication begins to border on improbable.

The acting in "Dreamer" is very good, especially by Fanning, who, as always, is excellent. The young actress, who has taken the film industry by storm since her debut in 2001's "I Am Sam," has the ability to portray a range of characters and has great emotional power and maturity for someone of her age. Interestingly, the part of Cale Crane was originally meant for a boy, but it was changed so Dakota Fanning's name could be added to the bill.

The filming, while nothing extraordinary, shows the beautiful scenery of Kentucky horse farms and the handsome horses that occupy them. The score, by John Debney, is melodious and moving. Inspired by the true story of Mariah's Storm, a filly who broke her leg in 1993 and went on to win the 1995 Breeder's Cup, "Dreamer" was written by John Gatins, who made his directorial debut with the film. After seeing the fast-paced animated comedy "The Incredibles" with his children, Gatins wanted to make a classic, live action, family drama movie that appealed to younger audiences but had a solid story adults could enjoy. I think he was successful.

For young audiences, "Dreamer" truly is a soñador, or dreamy, movie. For the rest of us, though, its predictability, while certainly its only notable flaw, may be its undoing. But in a time when the predictable happy movie ending is becoming increasingly less common, and thus, less predictable, perhaps we should sit back and enjoy a nice inspirational family story with traditional values, that shows us why happy endings became common and predictable in the first place—we like them!