Those who know me know I am against the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, I am against most wars. This movie was not promoted as an anti-war movie but that is exactly what it is. I have noticed more and more that movies are promoted in a way that the producers think will get more people to come rather than showing a real preview of what the movie is about. “Brothers,” I thought, was a love story triangle - two brothers, one who was thought to be dead, and one woman. However, this is really about what war can do to a man, his wife, his brother, his children and everyone involved with him.
At times it moved very slowly. I also don’t like it when people don’t talk – when they walk away without easily clearing up a conflict. Having said that, I thought the movie was actually better than I had imagined. The acting was pretty good. Tobey Maguire was very believable as the marine. Jake Gyllenhaal played the part of the brother showing about as much emotion as he did in Brokeback Mountain although he smiled and laughed more in this one. Natalie Portman was fine as the wife but the one that really blew me away was Bailee Madison, who played the oldest daughter. This little girl was amazing, showing a range of feelings, often by just curling her lip. I think we will be seeing a lot more from her. The other child was also very good.
Even though the movie moved slowly at times, I thought it was well-done and would recommend it as not a “must see” but one worth seeing and definitely worth getting from Netflix.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
It’s Complicated
This afternoon we decided to go to the movies after spending a great weekend with the family celebrating. It is also quite chilly out here in Milwaukee so a movie sounded good. We decided on It’s Complicated because Meryl Streep stars in it. As everyone probably knows who has seen the previews, Streep plays a divorced woman who had been married for something like 20 years before her husband left her for a younger woman. This happened 10 years ago and she had built a very nice life for herself. Then the complications begin which I will not mention since I don’t want to be spoiler.
Streep is excellent as always – funny, compassionate, confused and every emotion that can be imagined. She is just perfect. Alec Baldwin, not one of my favorite actors, was also very good as was Steve Martin but the movie belongs to Meryl Streep. Unfortunately, I was so tired that I dozed off and on through the first half but woke up to really enjoy the last half. When this comes on video, I am going to get it from Netflix so I can get all the clever lines that were missed because of all the laugher in the audience. I recommend this movie for everyone. I know it sounds like an older woman’s movie but I think all ages and both sexes will find it very entertaining.
Streep is excellent as always – funny, compassionate, confused and every emotion that can be imagined. She is just perfect. Alec Baldwin, not one of my favorite actors, was also very good as was Steve Martin but the movie belongs to Meryl Streep. Unfortunately, I was so tired that I dozed off and on through the first half but woke up to really enjoy the last half. When this comes on video, I am going to get it from Netflix so I can get all the clever lines that were missed because of all the laugher in the audience. I recommend this movie for everyone. I know it sounds like an older woman’s movie but I think all ages and both sexes will find it very entertaining.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Precious
This morning I along with 5 other people went to the 10:20 AM showing of Precious. Although it has been out for a while and it was early in the morning the day before Christmas Eve, I was surprised that so few people were there. I really thought this movie was excellent. It follows the story of a 16 year old girl who lives in a horrible situation in Harlem.
From the above description, one would think this was terribly depressing and in some ways it is but I left the theater with a real feeling of hope and that is the way one should feel when leaving a movie. Every time a person walks into a movie, that person brings along all the experiences that she/he has had. Also, I get much more involved if I can relate to the characters in some way. In this movie, I was able to relate, not personally to the main character, but to situations. I spent one year working for the Department of Social Services or the Welfare Department. In that time, I met people like Precious, her mother and her grandmother. I identified with the social worker. I also spent time working as a monitor for the youth programs of CETA, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. In that job, I interviewed and watched young people who were working very hard trying to get out of the situations they were in, bettering their lives. And I spent the last 25 years of my working life teaching kids who had trouble learning so I certainly could identify with the teacher. Therefore, I came to this movie with a background that would endear me to it.
There were times when I think some might say it went a bit slow. There were times when it was brutal but, in my opinion, much of the brutality was in our minds. We knew these things were happening but the director did an interesting diversion so that we saw little. I do wonder why almost every movie has a scene where someone throws up. This time there was enough foreshadowing so that I could cover my eyes and not see what I find extremely disgusting.
The acting was spectacular. The woman, who played Precious, was entirely believable as was her mother. I was totally ensconced in the story. I felt for every character. I know that sounds strange since some had little redeeming factors but I could see why they were like that. Would everyone like this movie? Probably not. However, I felt it was thought-provoking and will stick with me for a long time.
From the above description, one would think this was terribly depressing and in some ways it is but I left the theater with a real feeling of hope and that is the way one should feel when leaving a movie. Every time a person walks into a movie, that person brings along all the experiences that she/he has had. Also, I get much more involved if I can relate to the characters in some way. In this movie, I was able to relate, not personally to the main character, but to situations. I spent one year working for the Department of Social Services or the Welfare Department. In that time, I met people like Precious, her mother and her grandmother. I identified with the social worker. I also spent time working as a monitor for the youth programs of CETA, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. In that job, I interviewed and watched young people who were working very hard trying to get out of the situations they were in, bettering their lives. And I spent the last 25 years of my working life teaching kids who had trouble learning so I certainly could identify with the teacher. Therefore, I came to this movie with a background that would endear me to it.
There were times when I think some might say it went a bit slow. There were times when it was brutal but, in my opinion, much of the brutality was in our minds. We knew these things were happening but the director did an interesting diversion so that we saw little. I do wonder why almost every movie has a scene where someone throws up. This time there was enough foreshadowing so that I could cover my eyes and not see what I find extremely disgusting.
The acting was spectacular. The woman, who played Precious, was entirely believable as was her mother. I was totally ensconced in the story. I felt for every character. I know that sounds strange since some had little redeeming factors but I could see why they were like that. Would everyone like this movie? Probably not. However, I felt it was thought-provoking and will stick with me for a long time.
Explaining the movie blog
I have decided to write movie reviews because I don’t think there are many reviews that are written from my point of view. I am a 71 year old feminist. Right away that narrows the field of reviewers – maybe to none. Add to that, I don’t like slapstick or, what I consider silly films. I don’t like gore when that is the main point of the movie. I am not a great fan of action movies that don’t develop the characters. Shoot ‘em, kill ‘em, chase ‘em but never care about the people involved does not interest me. I can really enjoy psychological thrillers without gore. I like stories that fully develop characters. I like comedies that have some meaning behind them. I like moralistic films as long as they agree with my morals. Give me a good old-fashioned sappy story and I am a goner. So, after saying all that, I hope people will read my reviews and comment on them – agreeing and disagreeing with me. I think this will be fun for me.
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