Angela's Ashes Review

Director: Alan Parker (Midnight Express)

Screenplay: Laura Jones
Starring: Emily Watson (Red Dragon, Punch-Drunk Love), Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Stargate Universe), and Michael Legge.
Gross Revenue: $13,042,112
Rotten Tomatoes TomatoMeter: 52%
IMDB Rating: 7/10
       As I grow older and become more mature, I try to expand my film horizons.  By watching foreign flicks, films in a different language, and films from many years ago, there is much that can be learned about the nature of cinema.  When I first sat down to watch Angela’s Ashes, I was a little bit skeptical of it.  However, as the movie progressed, I was really impressed by the film and found myself thoroughly enjoyed.  Not only was it a thoughtful coming-of-age story, it was also an honest and often brutal look at poor Ireland in the 1930’s.

 Angela’s Ashes is a coming-of-age story about a young boy named Frank McCourt, who grows up in a working class Irish Catholic community, a harsh and restrictive environment.  His father is an alcoholic who can’t hold down a job, and when he is able to hold a job down for more than a week, he spends all the money on whiskey.  His mother has lost several children before the age of 5, and it has made her desperate for love and affection, which she goes looking for in strange and disgusting places.  Frank is the oldest child in his large family and has to be the male role model in his family from an early age.

            The movie’s setting is unique to most Hollywood major motion pictures: working class Ireland.  The movie is a time capsule to that time period, and it is very authentic.  It captures the look of the period perfectly, and it never looks “fake” or “cheap”.  The cinematography greatly adds to the mood of the picture, making it seem bleak and depressing.  The physical aspects of the production greatly add to the feel of the picture, and give the movie a radiance of despair

            The acting all around is quite memorable.  Robert Carlyle turns in an excellent performance as the alcoholic father.  He is able to simultaneously a loving and tender caretaker, as well as a violent and absent parent, without making the two qualities seem unnatural together.  The main character is portrayed by three different actors of varying ages, and each performance seems like an extension of the same characters, not three different performances.  This is an especially arduous task, considering some of the cast members are under the age of nine.  The rest of the cast rounds out satisfactory performances and the acting is often the highlight of the film.

            As someone who is around the same age as Frank McCourt was at the end of the picture, I can relate greatly to the themes of the movie. Growing is hard enough in the real world, but growing up in the harsh environment of the Irish Catholic community is even tougher.  Restrictive of thoughts, feelings, and ideas, it is a nearly impossible learning environment.  Not only that, but he has no male role model in his life to guide him and show him the ways of life.  I think the movie portrays the idea of adolescent angst very well, and my heart weeps for the main character’s troubles. Despite growing up in a dirt poor environment where he is told that he will never succeed because of where he comes from, it ends on an inspiring journey to New York City, making the two and one half hours of misery and despair worth it.  That’s why it is important to show all the obstacles in Frank McCourt’s life throughout the movie, it makes the emotional pay-off at the end that much greater.

            The coming-of-age tale has been told a thousand times over, and it is often hard to differentiate one from the other.  However, Angela’s Ashes is able to put a fresh spin on the familiar concept.  It portrays adolescent angst in poor Ireland with finesse and authenticity, and is relatable to anyone who has to grow up.  Though a little too long and very bleak, it is a film that will tug on your heart that you won’t forget one you stop watching. Angela’s Ashes is a fresh take on the traditional coming-of-age story, featuring memorable leading performances by its young cast, and is ultimately an entertaining and thoughtful biopic of one man’s triumph over adversity.  4/5
"You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace."

Risky Business Review

Image via Wikipedia

Director: Paul Brickman

Screenplay: Paul Brickman

Starring: Tom Cruise (Seriously, if you don't know who this guy is, we need to talk), Rebecca De Mornay, and Joe Pantoliano (The Goonies, The Matrix)
Gross Revenue: $63,541,777
Rotten Tomatoes Tomato Meter: 98%
IMDB Rating: 6.7
  Ever working actor longs for that "break-out" role, the one that will launch them into superstardom, or at least into a substantial salary.  Often an actor is hailed for a marvelous and spectacular role, indeed a "break-out" role, but it is quickly realized they do not have the acting chops to make it big in Hollywood.  Once in a while however, these "break-out" actors stick around.  Sometimes in a big way.  Such is the case with Risky Business, Tom Cruise's first major role in a motion picture.  Before Risky Business, Tom Cruise was an unknown actor, trying to navigate his way through Hollywood.  Afterward, he became a massive star and was for a brief period, the biggest box office draw on the planet.  So one must wonder, the movie that made him a star must be good right?  Well, one would be right.

     Risky Business stars the enigmatic Tom Cruise as Joel Goodson, an average student making his way through life in the privileged and highly pressured society of North Shore Chicago.  He makes average grades, participates in a few extracurricular activities, and is certainly not a bad student.  Despite these accomplishments, he is a disappointment to his parents, who want him desperately to attend Princeton University.  When his parents leave for a week long trip, he becomes acquainted with a "hooker with a  heart of gold" named Lana (Rebecca De Mornay).  She convinces him to turn his parents' house into a brothel to enact revenge on her cold-hearted and overbearing "Guido pimp".  At first he participates in these plans reluctantly and half-heartedly, he soon embraces it and goes on an emotional journey that transforms him from a boy to a man.

     The 80's was the decade of the teenage movie.  No decade seemed to best sum up and portray them in their angsty honesty better then the 80's.  Adults on the current generation often nostalgically look back on the 80's as the "golden years", due in no part due to the now classic teenage movies of the time.  Risky Business is certainly a member of this elite film group.  Risky Business is more then just a teenage sex comedy.  It is a satire and analysis of privileged white suburban life.  Joel spends his whole life pressured to be the best, and always live in the shadow of his parents and friends, who seem to succeed so much easier then he does, despite all the hard he puts in.  This has made him very cautious and not prone to taking risks.  He likes to play it safe, and is deathly scared of jeopardizing his future.  After meeting Lana however, this slowly changes.   He starts become more courageous and live his life to the fullest.  He gets involved in car chases, destroys his parents car, and runs an illegal prostitution ring from his parent's house.  All things he would have never done before meeting Lana.

   By dressing the movie as a teenage sex comedy, writer/director Paul Brickman is able to explore themes of teenage identity and growing up.  Joel always played life safe.  He never took risks, and could be described as a "wimp."  But once he develops a "what the heck" attitude, his life explodes with excitement.  Over the course of the film, he develops from a uptight, insecure boy, to a confident self-assured man.  Not to mention, the film is hilarious and incredibly entertaining.

    It is hard to talk about Risky Business and not talk about the best part of the film: Tom Cruise.  It is easy to see here why Tom Cruise went on to become one of the greatest movie stars of all time.  He delivers a charismatic and layered performance at the young age of 20, and is able to show wisdom beyond his years.  He can play both physical and emotional, and has a great sense of humor and comedic timing, a trait not often shown in his later films.  The film's most famous scene, when Joel dances to Old Time Rock and Roll in a dress shirt and underwear, was completely improvised by Cruise, showing also his ability to improvise and understanding of his character.  People that know me know of my ardent and passionate support of Tom Cruise.  Yes, he has done some really weird things in his later years, but look at some of these movies he's done and these wonderful performances.  Cruise doesn't play Joel as a stereotype and plays him as a person, making him relatable to every teenage guy who watches him.  Cruise's first major acting role proudly displays off the talents that will make him a star for future generations.

    Risky Business is everything I like out of movies.  A great story, relatable layered characters, an entertaining plot, and themes to mull over after the movie has ended.  While Risky Business isn't as funny as other teenage sex comedies, it is definitely deeper and a better representation of what it is like to live in a high pressure environment.  It is a thoughtful examination of what it means to truly live, and how to bridge the break in between childhood and adulthood.  Risky Business is an entertaining comedy about loss of innocence and living life to the fullest, which is always entertaining and exciting, anchored by a strong and marvelous performance by Tom Cruise.  4/5
Sometimes you just gotta say "what the heck." 

Hotel Rwanda Review

Director: Terry George (In the Name of the Father)
Screenplay: Terry George and Keir Pearson
Starring: Don Cheadle (Ocean's Eleven, Iron Man 2), Sophie Okenedo (The Secret Life of Bees), Joaquin Pheonix (Walk the Line), and Nick Nolte (48 Hours)
Gross Revenue: $33,882,243
Rotten Tomatoes TomatoMeter: 90%
IMDB Rating: 8.3
Awards: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor (Don Cheadle). Best Supporting Actress (Sophie Okenedo), Best Original Screenplay (Terry George and Keir Pearson)
  In 1994, one of the greatest atrocities of the modern era occurred.  Over 800,000 Rwandan citizens were massacred in a modern  day Holocaust, infamously known as the "Rwandan Genocide".  In stories of death and despair such as this, the news media and often the individual tends to focus on the negative: the death, the destruction, all the terrible things that have happened.  However, even in times of tragedy, perhaps even because of them, ordinary people step forward to stand up for what's right.  Ordinary people do extraordinary things, and can single handedly change the world.  That is the story of Paul Rusesabagina, and the story of "Hotel Rwanda"

     The story takes place in the midst of the Rwandan genocide, a racial war between the Hutu and the Tutsi.  Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) is the manager of the 4-star Milles Collines hotel, and is a Hutu.  His wife, children, extended family, neighbors, and friends are all Tutsi.  He is a hard working intelligent man with a quick tongue and sharp wit, and is able to talk himself out of nearly every situation.  After the country erupts into a violent civil war, Paul takes it upon himself to refuge hundreds of Tutsi and Hutu refugees in his hotel, despite numerous threats and attempts at his life.  Even when faced with nearly certain death, Paul never loses his compassion for these people and is able to save over 1200 people from death.
     Hotel Rwanda succeeds on so many levels.  Not only does it function as an inspiring story of perseverance and courage in the face of extraordinary adversity, it also works as an entertaining piece of cinema.  Don Cheadle delivers a spectacular performance as Paul Rusesabagina, a man who was faced with an impossible challenge, and had to make impossible decisions.  The performance isn't very flashy, it is very subtle.  But he bears his soul to the audience, and it is an incredibly heartfelt and honest portrayal of such a noble man.  Sophe Okenedo also shines as Paul's wife, and she does not disappoint.  She goes toe-to-toe with Don Cheadle, and she is never outmatched.  Her performance of a woman facing certain death of her family and must witness the collapse of her society, and yet support her husband as he tries to save others, is a heartbreaking and moving portrayal of true love.  The love and affection between Paul and his wife is the emotional core of the movie, and gives the movie its heart and soul.

       What I love about this movie is that it is not a story about the genocide, the violence, or the massacres; it is a story about people.  The movie is basically a romance between a married couple, who have to keep their family intact during such a horrific ordeal.  Most of the violence is portrayed off-screen, which makes the movie very tense and suspenseful.  I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was watching it, which is unusual for a film such as this.  It also manages to remain ultimately hopeful despite being about such devastating events.  The movie wouldn't work if it didn't end optimistically on a happy note; it would just be a story of death and despair.  Not only are these kind of human interest stories detrimental to personal and mental health, no one wants to watch a movie that just makes you cry and weep for the world, especially if it is based on true events.  By making the movie about Paul and his family, the filmmakers took the film to the next level, and embedded the movie in the heart and soul of its viewers.

    Despite being about such a bleak and depressing subject, Hotel Rwanda is one of the most inspirational movies I have ever seen.  People often complain about situations, but not many people ever stand up to do anything about it.  They say things like "What can one person do?"  Well, one person saved the lives of over 1200 people.  This movie is almost a call-to-arms for the world to stand up and say "I am ready to help".  At least for me, this movie inspired me to go to the next level in giving back to my community, and I hope to follow Paul Rusesabagina's in service of the world.

    Hotel Rwanda is an expertly crafted film. BY focusing on the human aspect of the story instead of the massacre, the movie becomes more then just the history of a holocaust, but an entertaining and touching story of human triumph.  Hotel Rwanda will make you cry, it will make you scream, it will make you cheer, and ultimately, it will make you stand.  Stand up for what is right and make the world a better place.  Hotel Rwanda is more then just a movie, it is an experience.  A heartbreakingly moving and inspirational piece of cinematic art, Hotel Rwanda tells a story of human triumph over tragedy, showing that one man truly can make a difference, which will make you stand up and cheer.   5/5
Paul Rusesabagina: "How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?"
Jack: "I think if people see this footage they'll say 'Oh my god that's horrible', and then go on eating their dinners...."
Don't let yourself be the one who eats their dinner.
Be the one who gets up and does something about it.

Catfish Review (Spoilers)

Director: Henry Joost, Alan Schulman
Starring: Nev Schulman, Henry Joost, and Alan Schulman

Gross Revenue: $1,232,000 (As of October 2, 2010)

Rotten Tomatoes Tomator meter: 76%

IMDB Rating: 6.9

      I have never done this before.  I have never written two blogs for the same movie, one that contains spoilers and one that doesn't.  I feel an obligation to people to give my thoughts on a movie without spoiling the experience for potential movie-goers.  I like to be surprised when I watch movies too.  However, this is one movie that is just too unique and polarizing to accurately sum up my opinions about the movie without spoiling them.  So I have decided to do both.  Knowing what actually happens in the movie will make it easier for me to explain my repulsive reactions to this movie.  If you have already seen this movie or don't mind being spoiled, please read this review.  If this ends up working and people like it, I may end up doing it more often.  So please let me know what you think!

     We live in a digital age.  When the world is smaller then ever before, and information can be transferred in an instant, and you can hold an entire processing system in one's hand.  In the age of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and social profiling, friendship is simultaneously benefited and hindered.  On one hand, it makes it easier for people to stay in contact with one another.  On the other hand, it allows people to remain isolated from contact, and to fake relationships.  These are the kind of issues the polarizing and provocative documentary Catfish raises.  A timely documentary for our times, that has left everybody talking about it.

     First of all, I doubt many of you have heard of this movie Catfish.  Before you continue, please watch this trailer.  Catfish Trailer  It is about this young New York photographer named Nev Schulman.  He takes a picture that ends up in the New York Sun.  He receives a painting in the mail from an 8 year old Abby, who painted an exact portrait of his photograph.  They begin a correspondence as she continues to send him paintings of the photographs she takes.  He becomes friends with her and her mother Angela, and especially Abby's attractive older sister Megan.  He begins a "virtual romance with her" and in the process spends hundreds of hours talking, texting, and chatting online.  He even photo shops a picture of them together, which shows how much he cared about his girl.  His two friends decide to document his experiences with this family, which is when things start to get weird.

    Megan is a songwriter/singer, and send Nev some songs she wrote and recorded.  Upon investigation, he not only discovers that he songs are not songs that she wrote but in fact songs already released by another artist, but that it is someone else entirely singing the song.  Basically, she stole a song from online and claimed it was hers.  After she refuses to admit that she stole the songs, Nev begins to get suspicious.  More and more mysteries begin to pile up, and Nev wonders whether the girl is even real at all.  He and his friends set out to her house in Michigan to discover the truth. 

     Once there, they quickly discover that many of the things she told them are false, such as Abby's supposed "art studio" and Megan's "horse farm".  They go to her house to meet Angela, Abby and Megan's mom.  They soon learn that Megan does not exist, and that Angela fabricated the whole thing.  She used a random model's pictures for Megan, and even created several other profiles for Megan's friends and family.  Angela does in fact have an 8 year old daughter named Abby, but she doesn't paint at all.  Angela painted all of the paintings, and even pretended to be Megan on the phone when talking to Nev.  Angela lives with her husband, who has two very mentally challenged twins from a previous marriage.  She alternates her time between taking care of them, taking care of the house, and...talking to Nev.

         As a Facebook user and an active and possibly addicted user of the Internet, I felt a personal connection to this movie.  The filmmakers did a very good job of making the documentary timely and a product for our times.  However, I feel that while the movie tries to be an "expose" and an "investigative mystery movie", all I got saw was an exploitation to the first degree.  Without spoiling the movie, all I can say is that this this movie made me feel sick to my stomach.  I didn't appreciate the way the filmmakers dealt with their subject matter, which in this case happened to be REAL people.  That's the problem with reality T.V. nowadays: sometimes it is actually real.  The filmmakers claim this movie is 100% real, and if it is, it makes me sad for the state of humanity.  

    Angela and her family are real people, and my heart goes out for them.  I watch this movie and my heart breaks.  Angela is a lonely and depressed woman, who feels like she is trapped in her life.  In an effort to escape her pathetic experience, she has to pretend to be someone else to have a friendship.  Her obsession with her fake persona goes to extreme limits and shows how truly desperate this woman is.  I think the filmmakers forget this.  I feel that because of this movie, Angela's life is now ruined forever.  She will never again be able to lead an anonymous life, and will always be known as the "Creepy Facebook Woman."  And that makes me angry.

    On one hand, I feel admiration for filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, for supposedly "stumbling" upon this story, and turning it into an engrossing movie.  However, I also feel empathy for Angela and her family, and I can't help but ask: why couldn't you just leave these people alone?  Why did you have to expose their story to the whole world?  It seems like people don't care about the feelings of other anymore, and are willing to do anything in order to make a buck or in service of a "story".

    This has movie made me think more then most movies I have seen recently.  Where is the line drawn between telling a story, and protecting the innocent?  How far will people do in order to feel accepted?  Is  Facebook a tool for social networking, or a weapon destined to sabotage relationships?  Could this incident have been avoided?  If Nev had stopped talking her to things when got weird, could this whole debacle have been avoided?  What was it that drove Angela to such extreme measures to be friends with Nev.  Is it possible to answer any of these questions, and more importantly, would I even like the answers?   I will hand this to the filmmakers; they have created a movie that has caused me to think, more so then most movies I see.

     Catfish was a very weird movie.  It is definitely polarizing, and has I have been wrestling with myself about what I should rate this movie.  On one hand, the movie was engrossing and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, wondering what new discovery I would make next.  On the other hand, I was left numb by the callousness of the situation, and was a left unnerved by the handling of the filmmakers to their subject matter.  I understand the merits of this movie, and can even understand why people are drawn to it.  It is certainly provocative and makes one think.  However, I just can't get Angel's crying eyes out of my head.  I pray to God that this movie is fake.  Despite being an engrossing documentary featuring a timely subject, Catfish ultimately ends up being exploitative of its participants, and will leave the audience feeling uneasy about relationships and social networking.  2.5/5

“Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun.” – Pete Cashmore, Mashable CEO

      

Catfish Review (Spoiler-Free)

Director: Henry Joost, Alan Schulman

Starring: Nev Schulman, Henry Joost, and Alan Schulman

Gross Revenue: $1,232,000 (As of October 2, 2010)

Rotten Tomatoes Tomator meter: 76%

IMDB Rating: 6.9

       We live in a digital age.  When the world is smaller then ever before, and information can be transferred in an instant, and you can hold an entire processing system in one's hand.  In the age of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and social profiling, friendship is simultaneously benefited and hindered.  On one hand, it makes it easier for people to stay in contact with one another.  On the other hand, it allows people to remain isolated from contact, and to fake relationships.  These are the kind of issues the polarizing and provocative documentary Catfish raises.  A timely documentary for our times, that has left everybody talking about it.
    First of all, I doubt many of you have heard of this movie Catfish.  Before you continue, please watch this trailer.  Catfish Trailer  It is about this young New York photographer named Nev Schulman.  Through a series of circumstances, he starts a correspondence with an 8 year old girl named Abby and her mother, named Angela.  He soon starts talking to her older sister Megan, and they begin a "virtual romance".  His two friends decide to document his experiences with this family, and what follows is an often unsettling look at the obsessiveness of people and how social networking has changed the way people interact with one another.

    As a Facebook user, I felt a personal connection to this movie.  The filmmakers did a very good job of making the documentary timely and a product for our times.  However, I feel that while the movie tries to be an "expose" and an "investigative mystery movie", all I got saw was an exploitation to the first degree.  Without spoiling the movie, all I can say is that this this movie made me feel sick to my stomach.  I didn't appreciate the way the filmmakers dealt with their subject matter, which in this case happened to be REAL people.  That's the problem with reality T.V. nowadays: sometimes it is actually real.  The filmmakers claim this movie is 100% real, and if it is, it makes me sad for the state of humanity.

    On one hand, I feel admiration for filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, for supposedly "stumbling" upon this story, and turning it into an engrossing movie.  However, I also feel empathy for the subjects of this documentary, and I can't help but ask: why couldn't you just leave these people alone?  Why did you have to expose their story to the whole world?  It seems like people don't care about the feelings of other anymore, and are willing to do anything in order to make a buck or in service of a "story".

   Catfish was a very weird movie.  It is definitely polarizing, and has I have been wrestling with myself about what I should rate this movie.  On one hand, the movie was engrossing and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, wondering what new discovery I would make next.  On the other hand, I was left numb by the callousness of the situation, and was a left unnerved by the handling of the filmmakers to their subject matter.  Despite being an engrossing documentary featuring a timely subject, Catfish ultimately ends up being exploitative of its participants, and will leave the audience feeling uneasy about relationships and social networking.  2.5/5
"There are these people who are catfish in life.  They keep you on your toes."

*Note: Due tot he vagueness of this review, I have decided to write a review that will contain spoilers, as to better explain my thoughts on the matter.  Check it out here: