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MrsClarenceWorley
Reviews
The Painted Veil (2006)
Simply Beautiful
Such a level of intimacy between character and viewer is so seldom achieved, that I could not help but be overwhelmed by it. I was moved and shattered by how well I knew these characters, how much I commiserated and empathized for them, and how deeply involved I was in their anger, fears, and love.
The camera often loomed within a dark room, filled only with soft light and the characters clothed in light-colored costume. This ciaroscuro, contrast between light and shadow, created elegance and simplicity that is nothing short of beautiful. Most incredible of all were the zoom shots onto a particular character's face or eyes, emphasizing the sweat on his/her brow or a particularly telling expression on his/her face.
The musical score was very powerful and in-tune with the story told and the amazing characterizations.
I simply LOVED this film. If you are interested in a slow-moving, deep and emotionally stirring film, The Painted Veil is just that film!
Jimmy Hollywood (1994)
Hopeful and Pleasant
Let me start by saying I was born in Hollywood, California and I have lived in Los Angeles all of my life thus far. In my childhood I would watch movies and hear about "Hollywood" in all its magic and glory and wonder, are we thinking about the same Hollywood? Are they SURE its the one I live in? Hollywood has always been home to me, but a home with a lot of putrescence and perversion. Yet in all its filth, and believe me it is FILTHY, I still love it...I love the movies and I believe that Hollywood was once magical, was once a place like no other. And sometimes if you block out the bothersome aspects of Hollywood, it still is. Jimmy Alto's and William's idealism in trying to make a difference in a city they love is something I immediately related to and deeply appreciated.
I love Christian Slater as William; he is such a strange but sweet character, so pleasantly lost, and Slater's portrayal is delightful.
For anyone who loves Hollywood, and movies in general, this film is a must.
Lost (2004)
Very Entertaining!
This film is a low budget wonder! It may not have had the budget to pursue its potential 100% but it is fantastic and definitely better than most large studio productions.
"Lost" is a film spawned from the fundamental and most crucial aspects of film-making: good acting and good writing. Most big-budget Hollywood films rely heavily upon the star system (the popularity and "pull-power" of its cast)and upon multi-million dollar advertising campaigns. "Lost" relies on neither of these superficial aspects, and is a far better film for it. Using but a select few actors, the film carries a story that is both entertaining and enthralling. The end was an unexpected surprise and the movie, in its entirety, introduced and explored several moral themes which provided a lot of food for thought. The main character, played by Dean Cain, was the type of person that we could all relate to and his actions in the film were VERY pertinent to anyone and everyone watching the film. All of these factors made the film quite enjoyable.
Like I said in the very beginning, the one and ONLY aspect lacking in this film was a larger budget. But regardless of that detail, the film's impressive script and great acting performances made it thoroughly entertaining!
Hope Springs (2003)
trite and common
Hope Springs is mediocre in every facet thinkable, not in comparison to the canon of remarkable films produced in the past several decades but mediocre in its own genre of "romantic comedies."
Colin Ware, as a character, loses his credibility early on in the film, cheapening the relationship that buds between Mandy and he and breaking the audience's identification with the character . What I'm talking about, of course, is the fact that Colin, so broken and downtrodden at the beginning of the film, is VERY quick to forget his fiancé and mend his broken heart. So in love was he with Vera that he was compelled to travel to an entirely different country to forget her; and once he arrives, it takes him an entire day to overcome his misery. Considering his condition at the beginning of the film, his unemotional and detached denial of Vera later on is premature and implausible. Had he cared about her so much, he would have had a lot more thinking to do upon discovering that the woman he loved was, indeed, still in love with him.
The romance between Colin and Mandy does not deserve even to be referred to as a "loving" relationship, it isn't even romantic. It seems that Colin's interest in Mandy is purely one of convenience, meaning she was available. There seemed to be little they liked about, or even KNEW about, one another, aside from Mandy's ridiculous and not-so-humorous display of quirks.
The characterizations were among the poorest I have ever seen. Vera is portrayed as a completely mad "monster" of a woman; but if this is so, why was Colin ever in love her? Mandy is supposed to be a professional caretaker, sweet and sunny, seemingly the opposite of Vera. However, I hardly think that Mandy's alcoholic tendencies and lunatic revisiting of her childhood shows her to be anything but an immature mess, incapable of taking care of ANYONE, including herself. As for Colin, he is a walking contradiction, a deeply loving and intelligent man who forgets he loved his fiancé and forgets himself, adopting the ridiculous activities of his new love interest, for no foreseeable reason other than all the sex.
To sum up, the script was very weak, the characters were badly represented, and everything else, including the character's names, the name of the town and the entire concept of Colin having visited it to acquire a sense of "hope," was trite. My greatest disappointment was that in this pain-inducing film starred Colin Firth, one of my favorite actors. Given the material he had to work with, he was superb, but it was ultimately not enough to carry the film.