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jamessylvester
Reviews
Love Is All There Is (1996)
Magnificent Kitsch! A terrific send-up of the Romeo and Juliet story.
This truly funny movie has a zany cast of characters, just about every voluptuous middle-aged female in Hollywood, and a touching, funny love story. The Capomezza's and the Malacici's are rival caterers in an Italian neighborhood in New York. They are also at opposite--extreme--ends of the taste scale. Their children are cast in the lead roles of a church production of Romeo and Juliet. Naturally, they fall in love. On stage! The mayhem and confusion that this causes, as the parents feud with each other and their kids, is played out for us against the backdrop of the Capomezza's magnificently tasteless home, and their magnificently tasteless catered weddings.
Besides the four over-the-top parents and the charming young lovers, the characters include a vaguely wise priest, a plain-speaking grandma, a lady who waves a wand and passes on spiritual advice she receives from a medium called The Blessed Roscoe, a motel with beds shaped like the back seat of a car, and two doves. There is not a sight gag or a punch line that doesn't click in this fast paced movie.
Even the family names of the two families are part of the fun. "Capomezza" could be interpreted as "low-brows," and "Malacici" could mean "stuck-up snobs."
If you are sensitive about Italian stereotypes, you may not like this movie. If Bette Midler embarrasses you, you may not like it, because all of the women in this movie make Bette Midler look like Martha Stewart. The rest of us should love it!
Joe the King (1999)
A dark, wonderful movie that celebrates the resiliency of the human spirit
The story of a bad luck boy. An insensitive mother, a drunken father, a well-meaning but incompetent counselor, Joe has nothing going for him but his own sense of decency. The movie follows him as he gets battered by one event after another. Finally he goes wrong, but he doesn't go bad. When that door clangs shut behind him at the end of the movie, you can sense that he will walk out a strong young man.
The plot is tight, the acting is excellent, the camera work is beautiful. There is an outstanding cast, but the film is carried by young Noah Fliess as Joe. It is a shame that young actors often do not get the credit they deserve for their effort.
Unless Vin Diesel is your favorite actor, see this movie!
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
An Entertaining Film
I groaned, and agreed to take my grandson to this movie. What a surprise! Its one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a while. Sure, its for kids; but an adult will not be bored. There are the good kids, and the evil kids (maybe). There's the bad guy who wants to take over the world. There's the befuddled scientist. There are some interesting, though perhaps not unique, creatures. The movie is often funny, and never very scarey. And it moves right along. The movie is fast paced, with never a dull moment, and you never know where it is going. Yeah, you've seen this stuff before, but never quite like this. My grandson never took his eyes off the screen; I think, because I never took my eyes off the screen.