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Reviews
Life of Brian (1979)
Some classic moments but it loses steam
I have loved Monty Python, I am a Church Historian, and I was really looking forward to watching this film. I found the beginning of the film immensely entertaining, the birth of Brian, the Sermon on the Mount, the ex-leper, and the very funny exchange about the various acronyms of revolutionary groups. However, with only a few exceptions, after that point the film fell flat to me. The film became too caught in the plot itself, which is usually a bad idea for comedies and lacked gags, which is something I never expected to say of Monty Python.
The film was not offensive in the manner that some religious people have stated. The movie in no way mocks Christ, but believers and the manner in which they act, more than anything.
The Life of Brian had some truly memorable moments and jokes I will be repeating for years, but overall the movie lost its comedic edge as the film progressed.
The Great Buck Howard (2008)
The Enjoyable Buck Howard
The Great Buck Howard is an enjoyable film, with John Malkovick playing the title character to a delightfully eccentric extent, but not the lead. Colin Hanks plays the lead, a he is a confused law school drop who ends up becoming the personal assistant to Buck Howard, a mentalist whose moment of fame came during the Johnny Carson era on the Tonight Show. Colin's character spends most of his time being enamored with Buck's aura.
The film follows the two as they travel to various minor cities across the USA in hopes of Buck landing it big again. The film is enjoyable because of characters, the story constructed and unfolds in a fairly traditional manner but Malkovick, Emily Blunt, and Steve Zahn make the entire event worthwhile.
The only issues with the film are that writer-director Sean McGinly is a little too much like Colin's character, Buck seems like an enigma even to him. The story unfolds without letting the viewer get to know Buck, he remains a fairly distance character. The viewer likes and roots for Buck, but it is purely through the eyes of his personal assistant and not on our own. McGinly created a fun film with interesting characters but decided not to examine the story with the depth he could have.
The Great Buck Howard was an enjoyable movie but it missed it chance at being much more.
Marathon Beirut, for the Love of Lebanon (2008)
A heart touching documentary
Marathon Beirut was an excellent documentary out of Lebanon. The film focuses on the production of the Beirut Marathon in 2006. Lebanon has been a country mired in the chaos of Middle Eastern politics and the people of the country have often been caught in between warring fractions.
The film avoids becoming a political or historical documentary. It doesn't bother with catching the viewers up on the history of Lebanon or even care to engage in any in depth conversation over modern Lebanese politics, which is much to its credit. Mainly because the film focuses on the people, the people putting on the event and in their eyes and their actions the weight of Lebanese history is seen, yet with hope, with untarnished hope.
Tragedy struck the nation right before the race and political fires began to burn bright, but the viewer is treated to seeing people who were unwilling to give up on an event that holds such national hope, pride, and peace.
Don't fear this film if you are worried about subtitles as most of the people speak English throughout the film, making it fairly American friendly.
A great film about a great people persevering.
Dance Me Outside (1994)
A poorly constructed film.
Dance Me Outside was a disappointing film. It is often praised for its show of reservation life, for being composed of a Native American cast, and so forth. There are better films to watch if you want to see a slice of reservation life, such as Pow Wow Highway, Smoke Signals, or even Thunderheart.
Dance Me Outside's actors are hit and miss in their ability, the direction is mundane, the cinematography is common. Worst of all is the story, which in its attempt to fight against Native American stereotype creates its own racial stereotyping by having white men who are either morons or murderers. While such an attempt to stereotype whites could have been used as an attempt at irony and satire, rather it comes across as lazy filmmaking, as most racial stereotypes do.
In the end the film attempts to create a sense of unity among the Native American cast who are, throughout the film, being torn in different directions, whether through their life choices or from actions outside of their control. The climax of the film sees our supposed heroes choosing to commit an action that is utterly detestable (not mention a previous scheme to deceive an unwitting and innocent individual, conspired nearly by the whole cast) and the director expects the audience to praise it.
In its attempt to create a tension of moral dilemma Dance Me Outside fails where films such as the Jordanian movie Captain Abu Raed succeed. We understand why the temptation exists but we don't want our heroes to become the villains, Dance Me Outside seems to be unable recognize that.