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Reviews
Mulan II (2004)
women's rights activism wins out over diversity...
...at least if it is just mere Asian diversity and not African American or homosexual diversity. The movie arrogantly favors western values or traditions (namely a woman's right to marry out of love) over the traditions of many cultures that use arranged marriages and codes of duty and honor.
To add injury to the insult (to cultures that use arranged marriages) there were these awful jokes such as Mushu's play on Shang's name calling him Shang-Hi.
Otherwise the story was fair and my 2nd grader got many laughs out of it.
Flatliners (1990)
deeper them than what's on the surface - SPOILER
Giving away what the hidden theme is in a film amounts to a ***SPOILER*** so read no further if you have not seen Flatliners. Explaining the theme in any regard involves talking about the story or plot so if you are looking for a critique about acting, cinematography, and direction but not any revelations about what happens this is your last chance to skip this entry. A bird's eye view of the plot can be described as a group of people try to cheat death. They do this by trying to experience clinical death and then revive themselves with the help of each other. In the context of the movie they are not trying to cheat the Grim Reaper like Mandy does on Cartoon Network but they are curious enough to want to experience it. I think I can say they are trying to cheat death. They all are haunted by something or another after the experience and in the end the only way to "win" and free themselves of want is haunting them is to forgive themselves or someone. In other words the only way the cheat death is to have forgiveness. May His Grace be with you.
Titanic (1997)
Annoying
Poor people are genuine, rich people are evil, selfish, and despicable--and they don't know how to party like folks in third class. Especially annoying was the exaggerated cartoon character villain played by Billy Zane. Bates' character (she always is a decent actress and this is no exception--hers was a better performance than DiCaprio's at least) is also used to get in a cheap shot at making a social statement. Maybe I am completely out in the weeds and rich people during this period in time were really that grotesque. I don't believe that though.
On the flip side are good production and historical cinematography. There was obviously lots of attention spent on detail and money spent on special effects--all commendable but not enough to counter the annoying political subtext.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Worth a Watch
The plot to me was captivating and the first half of the film was full of intrigue. The second half was ok if you can overlook the many unrealistic feats of heroinism (easier to do for Crouching Tiger). I had to wonder though, did Gena Davis really bleach her hair and thicken up her makeup or was that an uncredited Angie Dickinson? Hopefully you'll know what I mean when you see it.
Fresh (1994)
a couple of side bar notes (chess and hoops)
Cool hard hitting multi-layered film...but did any ballers out there notice that little Curtis' ball handling ability? Doing a search on Mizan Ayers I found that he is not just a good recreational street baller but went on to be an award winning standout at Connecticut College. Also, many of the great chess GM's including Bobby F are/were actually excellent at speed chess.
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002)
Not destined to become a classic fairy tale
There is barely a plot or story in Cinderella II. No great crisis or danger to be resolved, just syrup. Though my toddler enjoys it there are many other children's DVDs that I enjoy watching with her but not this one. She loves it when we watch her DVDs with her but Cinderella II makes it difficult for me to be able to. If you don't already have Snow White, Cinderella, Mulan, Pinocchio, the Lion King, Pocahantas, The Prince of Egypt, The Wizard of Oz, or Peter Pan, buy any of these before wasting your money on this effort to part you of yours. This weak effort is a stark contrast to the earlier fairy tell productions of Disney that were under Walt's direction. It makes one appreciate his effort to make a great production for entertainment for the whole family and not just pumping something out to make money. I'll give it a generous 4 out of 10 points only because my girl enjoys it.
Tampopo (1985)
A nice piece of art
Perhaps its a testament to the artistic value of the film that so many people enjoyed and appreciated the Tampopo on a certain level without really fully understanding what it was about.
Food and sex are related?--ok, but secondary. A comedy about food in society--very close. Food is a metaphor other things in life?--yes but not the whole picture.
Perhaps Zui Quan understands the film but is not so vain to spell it out. If you haven't seen the film please stop reading and see it first. Every scene that I can remember from Tampopo (I've seen it once) is about people depending on a woman to eat. From Tampopo preparing noodles to perfection to please her customers and attain perfection, to the gangster eating off a woman's body, to a mother preparing dinner for her family just before dying, to a baby being breast fed. Yes it is a comment or satire of society but more specifically about the dependence of society on woman or the importance of a woman's role in society. It not about the food but about the traditional woman and in not in a belittling but in an extoling sense.
BTW, I too enjoyed the film while missing this commonality of all of the scenes after watching it. A person I saw it with pointed it out to me immediately. It would have been poetic of the person who gave me (a man) the key to the movie was woman but sorry--it was just a drinking buddy.