FreedomLand

Well I've not felt so ambiguous about a film in a long long time.

Wonderful performances were given by Sam L. Jackson and Marianne Moore, but this does not save the film from wishy washy oblivion.

The flaws of this film are many..first..character development for Lorenzo Counsel (Jackson) is incomplete. There are vague references to recovery from drug addiction, a dead son, another son in prison. The missing chunks are integral to really grasping the connection between himself and Brenda Miller (Moore). Miller is flawed because we are presented with a mentally damaged woman, but no exposition as to why. (she engages in self damaging behaviors - hits herself etc)

Perhaps the worst of the flaws was that the film makers, it seems could not figure out where or how to end the film.

This is unfortunate.. because the subtext of the film is that racism is alive and well in this country and being perpetuated by law enforcement and this important subtext is lost in the cloudiness of the film.

not a good view, I don't even recomment it for DVD

Till next time!

Pennypengo

Mrs. Henderson Presents...

All I can say is..a lovely film. But then when was the last time Judy Dench did a film that was not a work of art?

The film takes place in London between WW1 and WW2.
Mrs. Henderson is a very rich, very bored widow. On a whim she decides to purchase an old theatre. She renovates it with the dream of offering vaudeville entertainment for the first time in London. Then she hires Bob Hoskins to manage it for her. When her business falls apart because the other West End theatres copy her idea, she adds an "edge" to her productions. Nudity. Mrs Henderson's money has power with the local magistrate up to a point. He will license the nudity, but only if the women do not move....they must be posing, not unlike nude paintings in a museum. So Bob Hoskins' job is now to produce programmes featuring singing, dancing a la vaudeville, with tableau's featuring the nudes. He is very creative!

Meanwhile, WW2 breaks out. The theatre, which now has a mainly male clentelle, becomes a last point of joy for the boys going to the front. Because the theatre proper is well below street level, the theatre becomes a bomb shelter as all the actors move in for protection when Germany begins to bomb London.

This movie, as I said, is lovely..I highly recommend it. A wonderful view.

til next time

PennyPengo

Final Destination 3

Boy this one is really IN YOUR FACE! The first installment had an interesting concept. It got downright silly by the end, but that whole "Death's Design" thing was intriguing. The second installment was so downright insipid that I honestly have forgotten everything about it. This one..what a difference.

This one reminds me of the new Showtime series "The Masters of Horror." Its gothic, its graphic and well, I'll never ride Ghost Rider at Knotts, California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure, or Collossus at 6 flags in the same fearless fashion again.
Oh, and I"ve never had a desire or inclination to use a tanning salon..and that deal is now set in stone.

In this day of feature film remakes of everything from crappy television series to marginal horror films, this one is actually not too bad. It definitely feels like the early days of Freddy Kruger and Michael Meyers. I haven't had to hide my eyes because a scene was too icky for me in a long long time.

It's worth seeing!..btw..so is Masters of Horror - catch it on Showtime!

til next time

Penny

RENT

What happened???/

Here we are, Oscar time, and absolutely NO nods for Rent.

I LOVED this film. the staging and cinematography is wonderful. The score is wonderful, the re-recording is great well and beautifuly mixed.

I liked it waaay better than Chicago. I could never figure out what all the fuss was about that one.

It's due out on DVD late this month..I highly recommend it.

til next time!

Penny

The Matador

Ok, so the thing is..I HATE HATE HATE the 4 day stubble scruffy look..and I REALLY hate Pierce Brosnan that way!

That being said..I just did not care much for this film. The ending was blah. Now Pierce's character is certainly out there..and that part is very refreshing, but overall..I give it a resounding "eh".

Now, Craig Kinnear was GREAT..but then he's great in everything he does. If you wanna see somthing to make your head go, try Auto Focus..its a loose biopic of Bob Crane (Col Hogan from Hogan's Heroes)

Sorry I don't have more to say about this..but that's all there is.