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stevedesantis
Reviews
The Hobart Shakespeareans (2005)
every teacher should see this film.
Wow! I was assigned to view this documentary as part of a class in my teacher certification course of studies. This teacher has his 5th grade students reading books that I didn't get to until I was one to five years older. By the way, these students are the children of immigrants, for whom English is their SECOND language.
Oh and he has them studying AND performing Shakespeare! These students stay after school and study Shakespeare - and as Sir Ian McKellen said -- the children understand what every word means, this is something that you can't say about adult actors working with the same material.
Inspirational!
I hope I can accomplish even one tenth of what Rafe has done, once I get into the classroom.
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
great movie
WOW! I just rented the DVD this weekend and watched it for the first time. I can't believe I allowed myself to miss out on this movie for so long. I saw an interview with Will Smith where he said that he enjoyed doing this film so much he would have done this movie for free. (Well maybe for "Five dollars guaranteed.") Jeremy Leven provided the groundwork with a powerful screenplay, and director Robert Redford made it all work with an insightful interpretation. I highly recommend renting the DVD and watching the special features. Redford provides an insight into the vision he intended to create. I found this feature interesting and educational. I only have one question for him: What's up with all of the free flowing alcohol at the peak of Prohibition? I know everyone still drank, but did they do it so openly?
Sahara (1995)
sometimes its a good thing to remake a classic movie.
I first watched this film on cable TV late one night. I stayed up (and awake) to watch the entire thing. After seeing the 1995 incarnation and hearing that it was actually a remake of a 1943 Bogart film I searched for the original(My rental stores are sadly lacking in variety from the classic era). I enjoyed the original even more. AMC and TCM need to air these less well known but excellent films more often.
Don Juan DeMarco (1994)
a really good movie!
This is one of my all time favorite movies. I wrote a rhetorical analysis of it for a film class I took last semester. On the surface the film is a fun little story where the patient cures the doctor, but if you look a little deeper there are a couple of messages that were important to me. Romanticism is not a malady that needs to be cured, but the very thing that makes life worth living. There is a quote from the movie that explains it best: "There are only four questions of value in life, Don Octavio. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same: only love."
The Marrying Man (1991)
REALLY didn't like this film
This film is proof that by just combining two of my favorite stars with the writing of Neil Simon, is not necessarily a guarantee of success. I understand that this is a comedy and the actions of the characters may be exaggerated for comic purposes. The problem is that even though the characters actions made no sense through the movie, it wasn't funny. I honestly found myself disliking Alec's character. Sorry everyone. I would rather watch Alec and Kim in The Getaway(1994) which I thought was a lot better than the 1972 original.