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Natalie-31
Reviews
Monster's Ball (2001)
THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR!
This is a film that separates movie lovers from movie goers; art lovers from action lovers; intelligent analysis from drivel. First, this movie (like many) is not meant to be watched on the TV screen. It is a big-screen movie. If you missed it on the big screen, you missed a lot. This film was not nominated for Best Picture by the Academy of Motionless Pictures, Arduous and Sizable (let's face it--if it's not long and boring like Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Titanic or A Beautiful Mind or it hasn't made its box office goals, it won't get many nominations.) However, the screenwriters who nominate the screenplays got it right and nominated this masterpiece. (Note: the same nominating group ignored Titanic which gives further insight into their superior intellect.)
Enough cannot be said about the perfection that this film achieves. The story is perfectly executed and filled with so much insight that it is eerie. Every detail adds to the character development and the development of plot. This movie is not for movie-goers who "just want to be entertained." They should stick to Rush Hour or A Beautiful Mind. There is no trite formula in this one.
Places in the Heart (1984)
THE Most Under-Rated Movie of All Time
This is a great film, in my personal top ten of all time. I know several people who did not like the ending, the affair, the title. All I can say is you have to think about this one. It's not trite nonsense like "A Beautiful Mind." When the ending arrives, think about what it means to love and forgive. Think about people in your life that have left for one reason or another. Think about where it is that those people that affected you still exist (hence the brilliant title and ending). When I saw this film in the theater, I was so stunned by the ending that I couldn't speak. I didn't just cry. I burst into tears. It is so touching and relevant to the themes of the whole movie--forgiveness, love, brotherhood. I have zero respect for the AFI and any other silly list makers when they leave PLACES IN THE HEART out of their top 100 or 200.
A Star Is Born (1976)
Worst Film Ever Made by a Major Star--Bar None
This film was made by people who thought they were creating something brilliant. It is so painfully bad. After seeing it in 1976, it took me at least fifteen years before I could respect Streisand again. It's hard to believe that she was involved in this mess and then went on to do films as good as Yentl, Mirror Has Two Faces etc. Barbra Streisand defended this film after it was savaged by every critic with a brain. I'll bet she has grown to realize how awful this one is. Scene after scene of utter nonsense--When the interviewer tells Kristoferson she'll do anything for an interview and then "surprises the viewer" with the fact that she wants the interview with Streisand, I think I might have thrown up. The final song that was meant to be filled with Streisand's raw emotions is agonizing to watch for all the wrong reasons--goofy Big Bird choreography mixed with hideous changing light cues.
The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)
One of my favorite films of all time.
I saw The Sterile Cuckoo by accident in 1970. I went to the movie theater to see True Grit because John Wayne had been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. The double feature that day included The Sterile Cuckoo and it changed the way I would view movies from that day on. I loved every second of this achingly beautiful story about first love for a gangly, awkward, pushy, scared girl and a shy young man. Liza Minnelli is so incredible in this role as she conveys the desperation of a woman who has probably never been loved and can't understand that it scares people away if you hold too tight and reveal too much. She has no game to play and it costs her. She is the whole movie as all the emotions of the part are captured in her beautiful, expressive eyes. Her monologue in the phone booth near the end of the film should be required viewing for anyone interested in persuing an acting career. Few before her or since have pulled off such a challenging feat with such seamless realism. She was fantastic in Cabaret because it showcased the full range of her talents but this is her best work as an actress.