Movie Review

Thanks to those who posted comments answering my questions about American Life. It really helped, and I was able to finish both articles in time for our class tomorrow. Thanks a lot!

Every once in a while, I want to enlighten you with my views and reviews on movies, partly because I am forced to watch so many, but also because some people don't or can't see the movies at the theater, and so they must wonder if some DVDs are worth the rental cost.

The Producers
This is the movie version of a 1960-something musical written by Mel Torme. If you are used to the Andrew Lloyd Weber style musical, you will be in for a surprise when watching this. For the first 10 minutes, I thought we had made a mistake to waste our money on such dribble, but after that, we were thoroughly entertained. For our generation to see a film that pokes fun at the likes of Hitler is definitely a shock to the system. You cannot get any more unPC than this movie. I won't even mention the song about being gay. Oops. Or the songs about Hitler being gay. Oops again.

Rent
Another musical, and I saw them within a week of each other. I had no idea what this story was about except that it took place in NYC and involved a bunch of young people. I will say that it is an emotional story which takes place at the end of the 80's, and it is about 8 artist-type friends who have no money and half of them have AIDS. Apparently, the writer based this story on the original La Boheme. My favorite character was the lesbian lawyer, and it was worth watching just to see her sing. And there was a lot of singing to be had.

The Constant Gardner
Another movie that I knew virtually nothing about before going to see it. The acting is superb, the story even better. A guy marries a woman he has not been dating for long because he gets sent to Africa for work, and she wants to go with him as his wife. She is a very outspoken political activist, but they seem to get along well, until tragedy strikes. Then, her work takes a mysterious turn, and she ends up getting killed. Her husband has lost his trust in her by that time, but decides to go after the truth and find out why she was killed. In finding the true story, he finds himself, and realizes that she really did love him. It is a beautiful love story, not just about their marriage, but also about her passion for helping the people of Africa. I cried throughout the second half of the movie. Have to get the soundtrack also.

On DVD
Butterfly Effect
Whether or not you are an Ashton Kutcher fan, if you like weird, out-of-order movies, you will adore this one. Kutcher is a brilliant as a guy who has a special ability to change his past, which will then affect his future. He keeps going back and forth between a horrible incident that happened in his past and a "new" future, trying to get things just right. He gets so caught up in it that you will too.

Duplex
Starring my ever-favorite Ben Stiller, this movie is about a young married couple who purchase a duplex in NYC and have to deal with their old, decrepid upstairs tenent. She ends up driving them insane to the point that they devise several ways in which to kill her. I wouldn't say this movie is dark, but their duplex sure doesn't get a lot of sunlight. Perhaps that is the basic problem. It is worth watching 'til the end because their is an interesting plot twist.