So, I generally know what sort of movie I will like. And I should really know better by now than to take suggestions from people whose taste I know is completely at odds with my own. But somehow, I still cannot resist a glowing review, even if it comes from someone who thought that The Nutty Professor was comedic gold. Oh well. Live and learn.
Movie: Under the Tuscan Sun
My Rating: 2 stars
Now, I know my mom only watches mom movies. So I am baffled at why I decided to heed her suggestion to watch this movie. She just loves these sappy movies with sassy leading actresses. Only, this movie didn't really feature a sassy leading lady. Diane Lane played a pretty pathetic, desperate middle aged woman. Kinda depressing. But she also loves movies that are set in Tuscany. Everything that happens in Italy is inherently magical and romantic. To me, this just seemed like another story of a stupid American woman getting seduced, then unceremoniously dumped by one of those rakish Italian men. And by dumping her, I mean that he hid from her until she went away. Really pathetic. This movie just kinda made me feel bad more than anything. Viewer beware.
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Movie: Keeping Up Appearances
My Rating: 2 stars
So, I think my love for British TV got the better of me this time. This was one of the few times that I decided not to continue watching the rest of the 8-disk series after only 2 disks. It was just too painful. It is a series about an increedibly overbearing housewife, who is obsessed with maintaining a perfect-seeming life, and henpecks her husband to no end. She terrorizes her poor neighbor woman, and makes her husband's life miserable. It really is painful to watch. It became clear after 2 disks that most of the gags were very slapsticky in nature, and repeated over and over. There are almost no new jokes from one show to another. Watching this film, I began to feel as tormented as the poor husband.
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My Rating: 5 stars
This is an excellent, yet heartbreaking Japanese film. It is about a family of children that has been abandoned by their mother and have to survive on their own. This is an irresponsible young mother who is always out trying to find a new man to take care of her. When she finally finds one, her 4 kids don't fit into her new lifestyle, so she leaves them. Ths oldest child is about 12, and the youngest, maybe 4. These kids need to find a way to get enough money to eat, and pay rent. They have pretty much given up on school. The worst part of all, is that this movie was written based on countless true stories that happen every year in Japan. Apparantly this is quite a problem. Sure, its a downer, but this is a very good movie. One of the best I had seen that year.
1 comment:
Nobody Knows sounds intriguing. Thanks for the review.
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