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disdained_heart
The same faces, the same stories ... nothing ever changes.
The smiles, the tears ... none of them mean a thing.
No joy, no comfort ... solace found only in empty places.
These silent grasps ... they hold no one near.
Time prevails ... unaware of all.
The moments left for granted ... the love seized in cold.
Agony sustained ... it breathes nothing more
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Reviews
The Birds (1963)
The movie lacks a solid story and an honest resolution.
Having never seen the movie, I read the script first to prepare myself for the 'visual companion', in other words, for the film. I am a huge fan of Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca", and although I have never read "The Birds" novel, I figured it would be an interesting story as well.
By the end of script page 161 I had not really learned anything worthwhile from any of the characters. Since the script called for "insert information here from Dr. X for a possible reason to why birds may violently attack", I decided to watch the movie in hopes that I might find a reasonable explanation and maybe have a better understanding of the characters. I also decided to watch the movie thinking maybe it was a story that needed to be 'seen' in order to capture the eeriness and essence of the birds' wrath. I must say, that was not the case.
Melanie (Tippi Hedren) is a spoiled rich girl that is used to being childish and foolish and uses her Daddy's newspaper to bid her ways. Mitch (Rod Taylor) is the sophisticated lawyer strangely attracted to Melanie's beauty despite her 'reckless' behavior. Lydia (Jessica Tandy) is Mitch's widowed mother who is (unsuccessfully) coping with the loss of her husband and clinging to her son tooth and nail. Annie (Suzanne Pleshette) is Mitch's ex-girlfriend who still remains friends with him but continues to love him. Add to this soap like melodrama the sudden attack of birds for no inexplicable reason and you have yourself a movie titled "The Birds".
The reason why it failed to even remotely interest me was not because it wasn't "scary enough" or because the "special effects weren't good enough"
those are poor excuses
but because I could not see a personal growth from almost all of the characters. The romance between the two lead characters seemed abrupt, there is a scene in the script that actually displays them getting close and ultimately displaying their affections for one another, but in the movie it just seems rushed and out of nowhere. Annie's love for Mitch is not resolved in a tasteful manner
her character meets a terrible faith and she is simply taken out of the equation. Lydia is about the only person that comes to some sort of resolution and resignation in this inexplicable catastrophe of events. The brief 10 minutes of monologue she has on screen serve to explain the struggles she finds herself in as she attempts to overcome the fear she has been plagued with.
Still, the connection and emotional value just lack from my part and do not allow me to engage with a plausible contempt for the story.
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Cowabunga , dude!
The Simpson's have been on air for 18 years now, the show has managed to stay fresh and some characters have been developed quite nicely, there is no doubt that they are an iconic cartoon family. I sat in the theater this evening, and although I laughed a few times and enjoyed the movie, I couldn't help but feel that the only reason why it was put on the big screen was for the following reasons: 1. So a penis could be shown. 2. So the middle figure could be shown. 3. So the word "mother earth" could distinctively be confused for motherf*ck!r".
Because other than that, I don't really see any another reasons to why it would be necessary to make an 87 min show. The movie is entertaining, don't get me wrong, I just think that for such an anticipated film (after so many years), it really doesn't leave anything that's groundbreaking to the series.
Unbreakable (2000)
Not your traditional hero tale.
M. Night Shyamalan does an interesting take on a very unconventional look at "super heroes" and "villains". Set in modern day, "Unbreakable" follows the change in life of a man, David Dunn (Bruce Willis), who inexplicably is the sole survivor of a train wreck. He is then sought out by an art dealer, Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), that claims he can prove the mystery behind this incident. Price was born with a genetic defect, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, causing him to have very weak bones and be susceptible to easy breakage. He believes that he was born for a purpose, and that there is someone out there who is as strong as he is weak. He believes this man to be Dunn.
This movie is not filled with high action sequences, it does not have big explosions, and it does not have any kind of spandex costumes. This is actually a very slow movie, and although easy to follow, there are many hidden meanings and symbolisms among the plot and characters. One can argue on whether or not Dunn is more than just an ordinary man and actually has a 'special' ability; or if he is merely an average human being who has been 'brainwashed' to think he is. The story does a interesting approach between Dunn and Price, in displaying the ideals and the thoughts that cross through peoples minds, in order for them to take the actions they deem necessary for what they believe in. It is not "good vs. evil", it is belief and what it is capable of doing.
Transformers (2007)
This was supposed to be a movie .... right?
Because for some reason I felt as if I were watching a deranged 144 minute "Victoria's Secret models meets Chevy Car Company Robots" commercial. I knew the movie would be bad, I just never thought that it would be THAT bad. I'm a pretty open minded person, I can live with a few plot holes in the story, even some cheesy lines thrown here and there, (I watched ID4 for God's sake). This movie just defies all of that ... I have never wanted to leave the theater as much as I did that night.
I can't explain it ... I am upset about sitting there for over two hours and watching this travesty. I am upset about contributing to the gross for opening weekend. I am upset about watching a Michael Bay film. But overall, I think that I am just upset that this movie just really, really sucked. The special effects were good but even they couldn't save the movie. They couldn't save the horrible acting, they couldn't save the lack of story ... everything is one dimensional and I just didn't care about anything or anybody. The ending battle dragged, there was no suspense, there was no emotion ... truly a waste of time.
Rojo amanecer (1990)
Government and Students on their own side of just cause
What makes this movie so disturbing as well as impressive, is that it chooses to avoid graphic displays and focuses on the psychological perspective a bit more. This movie demonstrates the effects that took place during the student movement in Mexico city during 1968. A movement that cost the lives of many innocent young people who were trying to gain their rights and fight for what they believed in opposition to the government. Don't expect to see any action packed scenes, any million dollar blowing up scenes, or gore/blood shots in every frame. The setting takes place inside a home, a home with an everyday family that unexpectedly becomes involved with the students and are forced to chose the right way or the human way. The suspense is quite nerve wrecking, although the setting only takes place inside an apartment, it builds up in such a way that you can understand what is going without ever even witnessing the outside. The ending may not be a "complete surprise", maybe it will deceive a bit, but it pays homage to that moment in time and it's not a disappointment in the least. An excellent film that displays the struggles from the different fighting sides, the good and the bad, and the consequences that such actions were capable of.
Vainilla, bronce y morir (Una mujer más) (1957)
A classic tale of romance and betrayal
Considered the "golden age" for Mexican cinema this is a classic film that shares the spotlight with titles like "Nosotros Los Pobres" and "La Mentira".
The story takes place during the 1950's and focuses, through a romantic perspective, between the upper and lower class in Mexico City. Laura (Elsa Aguirre) is a wealthy and prestigious heiress who falls in love with a poor but humble painter Ricardo (Ignacio Lopez Tarso). Happiness seems to have found it's place but Laura's father soon brings it to a halt after he forces her to marry someone else, someone she does not love. The journey then takes us into Laura's life as it takes a turn for the worst as things begin to unravel for her.
An excellent movie that deals with sacrifices, the loss of loved ones, betrayal and deception all discovered too late, and the consequences unjustly brought by greed and ignorance.