Driving Miss Daisy
1989, on VHS, from the library

You should know
Yeah, that’s right. There’s a whole slew of classic movies – a canon, really – that I have not seen, or had not until recently. I’m trying to correct that.

So?
Some people have problems with this film. Yes, Hoke has an air of “Magical Black Man” about him that can make the viewer a bit uncomfortable if s/he is looking for it. But since the plot of the movie is about race relations and employee-employer friendships, all tied up with an idealistic bow, that really comes as no surprise.

Daisy Werthan is a wealthy Southern Jewish woman with what’s made clear early on is far too much pride for her own good. No longer able to drive, she has no choice but to accept the services of the driver her son, Boolie, hired for her.

Hoke, the driver, is as meek and polite as he’s expected to be given the place and time, but as he gets to know the Werthans better, he rapidly picks up on exactly how much BS he can – and should – put up with. This being the movies, Daisy finds herself respecting and even liking him, in spite of herself.

Their partnership evolves as they age and the times change, and in the end, there is a tenderness between them in their advanced old age. It’s a sweet, if slightly cheesy, film.

Question to those who’ve seen it: do you think, in retrospect, it deserved to beat Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, or My Left Foot?

Rating
See it if...
You're like me and are trying to catch up on pop-culture canon... or if you just like a nice, simple story. But avoid it if you have a tendency toward finding things offensive when no offense was meant -- again, the movie is about race relations, so if you're looking to be offended, you will definitely be able to find something offensive here.

The rest of the Internet
The original play.
The IMDb page and wikipedia article.
Decent reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.
Roger Ebert weighs in.

Awesome link of the week
The Simple Dollar is a personal finance blog I've come to particularly like. The author, Trent, pulled himself out of financial ruin and takes the time each day to share his experiences, from how to have fun while pinching pennies to what personal finance books he finds most useful. He's an entertaining writer, and is always willing to reference fellow bloggers and take on challengers. I personally have bookmarked posts on Maximizing EBay sales, building a net worth spreadsheet, making homemade laundry detergent, free, fun weekend activities and other frugal weekend projects, ways to make leftovers better, indoor gardening, and writing thank-you notes.

Completely unrelated note
I'm considering changing the template of this blog, but I've been having some trouble uploading any of the ones I've picked out. I'm open to help or suggestions (and I wouldn't turn down a template, either, but don't go to any trouble).

Posted in 1980s, Housekeeping, Library, Movie, VHS, Video by Laura | 1 comments

Email this post

Much Ado About Nothing

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Much Ado About Nothing, 1993
VHS, from the Library

You should know
I was an English major as an undergrad, and Much Ado About Nothing was one of my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. I read it in class and saw it on stage. I even get the Elizabethan-era dirty joke in the title. So when my mother got the movie out of the library, I was curious to see how this interpretation would work.

So?
Well, first of all, I was very much amused at the concept of Denzel Washington and Keanu Reaves as brothers, though I suppose it’s feasible when you consider that Don Pedro and Don John are half-brothers. That’s not made clear until nearly halfway through, though; my mother didn’t pick it up until I pointed it out about a half hour in.

There was entirely too much time and camerawork spent on completely gratuitous nudity. There’s no bathing scene in the play, so several minutes of bare behinds was not really called for. At the same time, the best way to stay true to the Bard’s vision is to make a lot of money, so no doubt these scenes would have suited him just fine.

Both couples were well matched, so that both Beatrice and Benedick and Hero and Claudio looked like sets of siblings. Also, in this show, as in most of Shakespeare’s plays, the good girl (in this case, Hero) is supposed to be fair (blonde), while the bad girl (Beatrice) is supposed to be dark (brunette). It’s the other way around in the movie, which distracted me more than it probably should have. In a similar vein, Beatrice makes a speech about how only little boys do not have beards, while a beardless Claudio lurks nearby. These aren’t crucial plot points, and most people probably wouldn’t notice them, but the English major in me protested.

Rating
Check it out
Sure, it dragged at moments, but overall it was pretty good. I’m never one to recommend watching a movie instead of reading the book, but plays always make more sense if you see them. If you can’t see it performed live, this movie certainly makes for an acceptable substitution. Just be wary – I didn’t compare line-by-line, so I can’t vouch for any kind of precise fidelity to the original. It’s close enough for entertainment purposes, though.

The rest of the internet
The Wikipedia entry.
A flash cartoon of the play.

Posted in 1990s, Library, Movie, VHS, Video by Laura | 0 comments

Email this post

Clerks, Clerks II

Monday, July 31, 2006

Image by Roscoe Van Damme via Flickr

Clerks.

1994, VHS

Clerks II

2006, big-screen

You should know

Sorry about the late update. I'm in New York looking at apartments for the upcoming semester, and was on the run all day yesterday.

Last week I mentioned that I hadn’t wanted to see Clerks II until I had seen the first movie. Fortunately, my brother owns a copy and was willing to let me borrow it. Dan came over, and we watched Clerks. with my parents, then headed out to the theater to see Clerks II.

So?

Watching Clerks. with my parents was awkward. My mom really appreciated most of the humor, but I couldn’t tell how my dad was reacting at all. Actually, it was a lot like that episode of That 70s Show where Eric and Kitty see a movie together – the whole time, each is hoping the other doesn’t understand the dirty jokes.

Also, and I know this is blasphemy against pop culture, I think the movie would have been much better had Jay and Silent Bob been cut. Yes, I know Silent Bob is Kevin Smith himself, and I know Jay is played by his friend. Even so, the only thing they really contributed to the plot was a bit of dialogue at the end that anyone could have spoken – and the comic relief wasn’t that funny or that relieving. Flame away, but that’s what I think.

Clerks II was really enjoyable. It was completely different from its predecessor, but still managed to capture the spirit of the first.

The introduction of color reminded me of The Wizard of Oz, and the new characters fit in perfectly. Even Jay and Silent Bob seemed more organic, although I didn’t always welcome them. I could spot several places where the sequel could have made references to the first movie perfectly naturally, but it didn’t suffer for wanting them; if I hadn’t just seen the movie that day, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

And how can I forget the dance number? It never would have fit into Clerks. However, it was a fun moment in Clerks II. Like the rest of the movie, it was over-the-top in contrast to the lower-key first movie, but that just shows how cinema, Kevin Smith, and Dante and Randal have grown and changed in the last decade.

Rating

See them both.
Back-to-back, if you can. I considered recommending that you fast-forward through Jay and Silent Bob scenes, but you know what? Watch them and make your own call. They’re cultural icons, and me not liking them doesn’t make it not true. Of course, don’t watch it with your kids… and consider not watching it with your parents.

The rest of the Internet

IMDb entries for both movies.
Wikipedia entries for both films.
Rolling Stone reviewed Clerks II.
Movie Mistakes found continuity errors in both films.
Jeff at Minutiae enjoyed Clerks II.
Shameless but topical self-promotion: Attention, Shoppers! gives helpful hints that could keep cashiers from going the way of the Clerks.

Posted in 1990s, 2006, Dad, Mom, Movie, Theater, VHS, Video by Laura | 0 comments

Email this post

Cast Away

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Cover of Cast Away (Widescreen Edition)

Cast Away

2000, VHS from the library

You should know

I’ve honestly never seen this movie before, but I am a big fan of Lost. In fact, between Lost and Girl Scouting, I kept yelling at Tom Hanks’s character for his survival tactics. Not that I think I’d do any better.

So?

I’m not sure I bought the romance between Chuck and Kelly, at least in the opening scenes. Tom Hanks had more chemistry with Wilson the Volleyball than with Helen Hunt. Every scene did its job, but the understated scenes were definitely the more powerful, such as when Chuck and Wilson discussed the suicide test run.

The lack of score wasn’t noticeable until it returned, and even though Tom Hanks does all the acting for most of the movie, the portion that takes place on the island speeds by. His return to civilization is jarring and awkward, which is obviously the point, but it’s not the right kind of awkward. It’s more the awkward of leads who don’t click and a supporting actor who seems to be made of cardboard.

Rating

See it once.
I’m glad I saw it. It’s a powerful movie, and well-done. Wilson, at the very least, is a cultural icon, and you’d have a hard time convincing me that Cast Away didn’t, on some level, inspire Lost. Still, I don’t regret missing its theatrical run, nor do I feel the urge to run out and buy the DVD. If you haven’t seen it and are at the rental place or the library, pick up a copy. Otherwise, no rush; it’ll be on TV soon enough.

The rest of the Internet

Decent reviews from Rotten Tomatoes.
Wikipedia talks themes.
Movie Mistakes lists a lot of continuity errors that, I admit, I didn't catch.

Posted in 2006, Library, Movie, VHS, Video by Laura | 3 comments

Email this post

Shattered Glass

Monday, May 15, 2006

Cover of Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass

2003, On VHS, taped off Movies on Demand

You should know

I’ve taken two classes at NYU with Adam Penenberg, the reporter who broke the Glass case. He has told the story repeatedly, so I knew it well before I saw the movie. We studied Glass’s “Jukt Micronics” story in Penenberg’s Press Ethics class (you can find my own class blog entries at that link).

So?

The movie opens with information about the New Republic and a voiceover by the Stephen Glass character, who gives decent but cynical advice to a class of high school students. We then watch Glass devolve from the savvy prodigy he appears to be into the hysterical mess he becomes upon getting caught. In the process, he overworks himself and cuts corners to make himself look better. He charms his coworkers, rallying their support so that when the truth comes to a head, they blame their editor for having a vendetta against Glass. Office politics make it easy for Glass to get away with things, and a brand-new form of media – online reporting – is what ultimately brings him down.

Rating

Worth a rental
To be honest, I’m glad I wasn’t aware of this movie when it was in theaters; I don’t think I would have paid $10 to watch it. Since I knew the whole story going in, I found Stephen Glass to be less a tragic-but-sympathetic character and more a smarmy, manipulative jerk. Also, Penenberg is not fully developed; time constraints obviously don’t allow it, but it still would have been interesting to see more of the reporter I know show through (and Steve Zahn looks nothing like Penenberg)

While we’re on the topic of Steve Zahn, his character and Peter Sarsgaard’s looked way too similar. It was, at times, too hard to tell who was yelling at Glass.

It was fun to see Anakin Skywalker kiss up to Chief Wiggum (or Apu, or Moe, or Comic Book Guy, or pretty much anyone else in Springfield).

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. You may enjoy it more if you don’t know the whole story before the film starts. But if you don’t, I highly recommend researching it after you see the movie. It’s a good story, and deserved to be a movie. This movie, though, was never a blockbuster, and that seems right.

The rest of the Internet

The official Shattered Glass website.
Rotten Tomatoes gave it good ratings.

Posted in 2003, Movie, New York, Television, VHS, Video by Laura | 0 comments

Email this post

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Books

Fiction

Nonfiction

Food

Delaware

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New York

Ontario

Pennsylvania

Recipes

Movies

2006

2007

2008

2009

Internet

Video

Music

To Do and See

New Jersey

New York

Ontario

Pennsylvania

Television

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Monday, July 31, 2006

You should know

So?

Rating

The rest of the Internet

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

You should know

So?

Rating

The rest of the Internet

Monday, May 15, 2006

You should know

So?

Rating

The rest of the Internet

Navigate

Twitter Updates

Blogroll

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

Categories

Lijit Search Wijit