Movie Reviews - S
Shakespeare in
Love | Six Days, Seven Nights
| Spanish Prisoner | Shall We
Dance
She's So Lovely
Review by Jen Battler
I've never been a big fan of Shakespeare, but I have to admit, the movies that have come in his stead have been excellent. 1968's Romeo and Juliet, a loyal 'play on screen' was classic and heartbreaking, and soon after, 1996's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was a brilliant modern interpretation and has become a classic for what we call 'Generation Next'. Shakespeare In Love, I would say, is not only an openhearted Romeo and Juliet-esque saga, but also an invitation for moviegoers/english students into the quality of life in 1596, the risqué Shakespeare's plays may have represented then, and an encouragement for further appreciation of the Great Bard of Stratford. I'm glad I got so much out of it, but, then again, the average teenage girly-girl could just say that it was a kewl chance to get an eyeful of Ralph Fiennes' hot baby bro, Joseph.
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Harrison Ford Anne Heche David Schwimmer Temeura Morrison Danny Trejo Directed by Ivan Reitman Written by Michael Browning Produced by Julie Bergman Sender Roger Birnbaum, Wallis Nicita, and Ivan Reitman Released by Buena Vista |
Editor's Choice: Best Romantic Comedy of Summer 1998 Anne Heche plays a junior editor of a ditzy women's magazine on a romantic vacation
with her boyfriend (David Schwimmer). The trendy couple are flown in to their final
island destination by a dorky small-plane pilot (Harrison Ford), who's accompanied by a
hot Latino tour guide (Temeura Morrison). The first night, under a sky of stars in
paradise, the boyfriend pops the question and offers a dazzling ring; but the celebration
is somewhat postponed when chief editor telephones an urgent demand that Anne fly
immediately to Tahiti for a few hours for an important photo shoot. The only flight
out is with Harrison, who is getting a backrub from the tour guide, but agrees to take her
for a hefty fee. ***** |
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Spanish Prisoner
Check Out this Link...
http://www.spe.sony.com/classics/spanishprisoner/main.html
| Director - Masayuki Suo Koji Yakusho Tamiyo Kusakari Naoto Takenaka Erico Watanabe Akiro Emoto Yu Tokui |
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Apparently ballroom dancing is the latest craze in Japan, and the dancing in this movie is certainly fun to watch! We saw the "teasers" for this movie for weeks before it arrived locally, with its voiceover, something like "The dull accounting job; the mind-numbing commute...then one day he looked up and his life changed." The main character in the movie, Mr. Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho), is a middle-aged man who has worked hard to achieve financial success for his family, finds himself uninspired and unmotivated until one day, on his way home on the train, he glances up and sees a beautiful woman (Tamiyo Kusakari) leaning from the window of a dancing school. He obsesses about her for a week and finally gathers up enough courage to register for lessons, and discovers a whole new world. The Japanese language is gentle to the ears and the subtitles are easy to follow. This is a film to which you could take your children with no worries - the leading character is never disloyal to his family and the language is clean (no use of the f___ word, a rarity these days). Highly recommended light entertainment, especially if you like dancing. |
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| Rated R A rather "artsy" movie directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on a screenplay by his father, John Cassavetes Sean Penn as Eddie and Robin Wright Penn as
Maureen This is not the best script in the world; however, it is compelling. Sean Penn plays Eddie, a man who is "mentally challenged" (his off-the-wall musings about things are reminiscent of the kind of talk that floated around in the 60's) and ends up in a mental institution for ten years; meanwhile Maureen, the wife who puts him there (played by Robin Wright Penn) - who seemed to me to be the real nut case - marries Joey (John Travolta) and they have three daughters. When Eddie gets released from the institution Maureen explains to Joey that she has always loved Eddie; naturally Joey doesn't do too well when Eddie and his buddy show up to get Maureen. Some neat dialogue and good acting, but the point escaped me. If you think you know what this movie was all about, please e-mail! |
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