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DiSchuch
Reviews
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
America's Role!!!
Do you know what the United States led all it's major news casts with that day?
"Kurt Colbain died" followed by story after story of him, his wife's rock and roll group and drug usage and of course his drugs and lunacy. Rwanda was a byline and remained that way. A VERY SMALL byline.
It bugged me as I watched "Hotel Rwanda", like DeJaVu that I had seen this somewhere before. And then I remembered the words April being in the title and sure enough I found the movie I was thinking about right here on IMDb Called "Sometimes in April"
It was in that movie that I saw America's role and how cavalier we were about it. If is wasn't for one of our politicians, Prudence Bushnell, our role would have been worse, if possible.
Although Hotel Rwanda" is everything and more than I heard about it, it closely resembles "sometimes in April".
Sometimes in April which is every bit as good and because of cast etc., it did not get the recognition. It was based on the Radio Hutu DJ that riled the masses and his brother, who was opposed to his brother's actions. The brother who was not a DJ and was also married to a Tutsi was very upset with his antagonistic brother. I do not want to blow this for anyone so I will say no more about that.
I was wondering if the director and producers of this movie took any of the history from that movie?
Trial at Fortitude Bay (1994)
A lesson in Life for the "white Man"
They are called INUIT (correcting the prior reviewers Indian name)and are a tribe of the Canadians
The movie carries a message that we can all learn from.
A crime was committed, there was no denial of that. However, the crime itself was ambiguous (for fear of giving the reader the plot, cannot reveal the exact details) it was obvious from all parties that the incident could have happened to even the most altruistic.
Pauloosie, the perpetrator, was adamant about telling the truth, a trait of his tribe that is second nature. Just as the actual miss step on his part would have been a right of passage among the young a second nature with no serious implications
" White Man" being the legal representation of the territory, 'The Crown as the legal system is forced upon the people for the purpose of trial, brought their theories, tactics and practices to a people that would only mock their efforts.
In the perfect world of the judicial system 'a refined system of law' as it were, the victim would be advised to claim to be 'not guilty'. As this alleged crime of sexual assault would be even under the most watchful eye of the prudent beholder have its loopholes.
Before she even arrived, Pauloosie had rendered his female attorney powerless by offering a gift of atonement to the family of the girl he allegedly violated.
Into this small town, small tribe, the 'crown: sent its best, A Judge who already had his head on a chopping block for handing down lenient sentences, a (of course) 'must win", soulless, cocky district attorney and a 'she's small but she's feisty' defense attorney with WIN tattooed where the sun don't shine.
All said and done, the trial goes as expected, however the penalty phase leaves us all trapped in the snowy stark glaciers of Canada laughing, crying and wanting to be part of a people and landscape filled with magic and spirit we 'Southerners may never see
Uptown Girls (2003)
Very Wonderful
This was a GREAT Movie Yes it started as a fairy tale, but it stayed that way for me. It was definitely a chic flic, but it was magic! Dakota Fanning - no matter how hard she tried, could not TOTALLY turn you off. You saw through her "Adult" facade and saw the hurt. Her acting is so unbelievable. In "I AM SAM" she was Oscar deserving. If this had not been a "not for the Academy" movie, she would have been nominated I am certain. I am a Brittany Murphy fan. I discovered her in - of all things- King of the Hill as a cartoon voice. She is diverse and fun. If nothing else - the deluge of color and fantasy type sets were worth the viewing.
The Weight of Water (2000)
Loved it - Hated it
The film was too vague when it came to the relationships of everyone. What was going on between Thomas Janes and his wife? They never say why she doesn't want to have sex with him. What was going on between Thomas Janes and Elizabeth Hurley's character? Why did she go on deck after the storm started? And where the heck did that storm come from in the first place? What is with the unspoken problem between her and Jean Janes. As for Ms. Hurley, we are all used to her provocative roles. For the most part they are acceptable to the roles she has been assigned, but in this case, I found her to be offensive, obnoxious and almost disgusting. The ice cube sucking was loud and gross, as was the crab legs scene.
As for the secondary characters, probably meant to be the primary, the Folks of Shoal Island. They were more defined and easier to grasp. The story line was a bit clearer. Yet it did not make sense that Maren Hontvedt did not go to her husband immediately when Louis Wagner made his obscene passes. It immediately repulsed the audience to here his demands on her. They were TOO sudden. He walks in the house, within the first minutes he is in the house he asks to see her hands, tells her she will be needed to "massage" his joints, WITHOUT HER HUSBANDS APPROVAL and then he immediately decides he is too ill to work that day and stays in his room with her at his beck and call. No husband in his right mind would allow such a thing. Even in today's lax standards he would have been called to task immediately. Without giving away the plot, I was almost glad to see the sister end as she did. Of course, not the sister-in-law.
In spite of it all - I liked the movie. I just wish it were better defined. At least so you could read between the lines. This version did not allow even that.