Movie Stats:
Released 1988 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Alan Parker
Stars - Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, and many others
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story. In Mississippi during the summer of 1964, when three young civil rights workers go missing, FBI agents Rupert Anderson (Hackman) and Alan Ward (Dafoe) are sent to investigate.
Warnings:
Heavy blue language (including racial slurs); heavy violence; gore.
Bad Stuff:
The very last still shot was a bit ham-handed.
I didn’t care for some of the music (mostly the stuff in chase scenes); it felt too modern compared to the music in the rest of the film.
The FBI tactics portrayed toward the end of the film weren’t exactly believable but I decided to roll with it anyway.
Good Stuff:
The acting is all very good.
I enjoyed the shifting relationship between Anderson and Ward. They never dislike one another, but they don’t always respect each other. There’s a lot of distrust there. I liked watching them learn how to work together and integrate their disparate styles.
It felt well-crafted. From the first scene to the last, it told the story in such a riveting style that I never turned away, even though the subject matter was very upsetting to me.
About the Performance:
I really liked Hackman in this. It’s probably my favorite performance of his. Just like Ward, I initially felt suspicious of him. Is he on the same page? Does he want the same outcome as Ward and us, the viewers? The more you understand him and his motivations, the more you like him. Hackman does a great job portraying a man who understands what he’s up against because it’s what he’s come from. I would have enjoyed an even deeper exploration of how he came to be the person he was.
Other performances of Hackman’s I’ve reviewed: Unforgiven; Reds; Superman; The French Connection; Bonnie and Clyde.
The Verdict:
I thought this was a great movie. It is, however, a very difficult movie. I felt upset through pretty much the whole thing, right from the first scene. It’s a hard topic and it’s not fun, seeing people treat other people this way. While the film is dramatized, I know enough about history to know it wasn’t that far from the truth. Still, the difficulty of the material doesn’t detract from the overall quality of the film. I thought it was a masterpiece of storytelling that featured many fine actors doing excellent work.
I give it 4.5 stars.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Up with Geography: Fiji
Country Name:
Fiji
Capital:
Suva
Continent:
None; it’s an island chain
Map:
Neighbors:
The nearest neighbors are Vanuatu, Tuvalu, and American Samoa.
Water Borders:
Pacific Ocean, Koro Sea
Total Area:
7,056 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Suva, Lautoka, Nadi, Labasa, Ba
Famous Geographical Point:
Mount Tomanivi
Famous Person:
Elena Baravilala, singer
Book Set In/About:
Getting Stoned with the Savages by J. Maarten Troost
One man’s true life adventures living in Fiji & Vanuatu.
Movie Set In/About:
“Pear ta ma 'on maf (The Land Has Eyes)” (2004) by Vilsoni Hereniko
To-date, the only feature length film to come out of Fiji, it’s a coming-of-age tale about a young woman seeking relief from the pressures of island culture.
Headline of the Day:
“Fiji Is Open for Business Invites Trade Minister” on fbcnews.com.fj.
Fiji
Capital:
Suva
Continent:
None; it’s an island chain
Map:
 |
| Map of Fiji. Disclaimer: There are over 300 islands in Fiji's archipelago. I didn't depict them all. |
Neighbors:
The nearest neighbors are Vanuatu, Tuvalu, and American Samoa.
Water Borders:
Pacific Ocean, Koro Sea
Total Area:
7,056 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Suva, Lautoka, Nadi, Labasa, Ba
Famous Geographical Point:
Mount Tomanivi
Famous Person:
Elena Baravilala, singer
Book Set In/About:
Getting Stoned with the Savages by J. Maarten Troost
One man’s true life adventures living in Fiji & Vanuatu.
Movie Set In/About:
“Pear ta ma 'on maf (The Land Has Eyes)” (2004) by Vilsoni Hereniko
To-date, the only feature length film to come out of Fiji, it’s a coming-of-age tale about a young woman seeking relief from the pressures of island culture.
Headline of the Day:
“Fiji Is Open for Business Invites Trade Minister” on fbcnews.com.fj.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Top 50 Actors, #46 - Morgan Freeman: "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994)
Movie Stats:
Released 1994 (Canada)
American, in English
Director - Frank Darabont
Stars - Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
Plot Summary:
Over the course of nearly twenty years, Andy Dufresne (Robbins) and Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding (Freeman) form a tight bond of friendship while in prison.
Warnings:
Heavy blue language; violence; very minor gore; rape (off-screen); sexy times (brief, no nudity); brief reference to drug use (marijuana).
Bad Stuff:
The only true quibble I have is that it all wraps up in a nice little bow that seems a bit too neat.
Good Stuff:
I feel like it’s difficult to put your finger on what makes this movie so good. It’s got a great script with a solid story, excellent dialogue, a clever twist, and an ending that will please you unless you’ve got a heart made of stone. Plus, for a movie largely set in prison, it’s weirdly wholesome. Sure, there’s all these bad things that happen, but in a way you don’t even notice because of all the good things that Andy does. It’s like, “Yeah, there’s prison rape, but this movie makes me feel so dosh darn good!” Both Andy and Red are extremely likable characters. (Actually, most of the prisoners are.) You find yourself rooting for their happy ending, no matter what they might have done in the past. The acting is great, I enjoyed the cinematography, and while the score is a bit 90s schmaltzy, I found I rarely noticed it because I was so engrossed in the film.
What makes this a good movie? Pretty much everything.
About the Performance:
This is Morgan Freeman at his finest. Red is a professed murderer (the movie never tells you who his victim was). This should make him inherently a bad guy but you never feel that way about him. Freeman imbues Red with so much warmth and humanity that, even before he declares his feelings toward the end of the film, you get the sense that this is a man who regrets a rash, youthful decision. If Red had the chance to do it all over again, he would’ve made a different choice. Even if you’ve never committed a terrible crime, I think that’s someone practically anyone could find relatable. Plus, Morgan Freeman’s voice improves any film.
Other performances of Freeman’s I’ve reviewed: Million Dollar Baby; Unforgiven; Driving Miss Daisy.
The Verdict:
I think it’s pretty obvious that I like this film. It had been quite a while since I’d last seen it, so I thought, “Maybe it’s not as good as I remember it being.” It is. In fact, it’s even better than I remembered. The subject matter isn’t always easy, but in the end, it’s a heartwarming story that makes you feel good. Hands down, an all-time favorite.
I give it 4.75 stars.
Released 1994 (Canada)
American, in English
Director - Frank Darabont
Stars - Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
Plot Summary:
Over the course of nearly twenty years, Andy Dufresne (Robbins) and Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding (Freeman) form a tight bond of friendship while in prison.
Warnings:
Heavy blue language; violence; very minor gore; rape (off-screen); sexy times (brief, no nudity); brief reference to drug use (marijuana).
Bad Stuff:
The only true quibble I have is that it all wraps up in a nice little bow that seems a bit too neat.
Good Stuff:
I feel like it’s difficult to put your finger on what makes this movie so good. It’s got a great script with a solid story, excellent dialogue, a clever twist, and an ending that will please you unless you’ve got a heart made of stone. Plus, for a movie largely set in prison, it’s weirdly wholesome. Sure, there’s all these bad things that happen, but in a way you don’t even notice because of all the good things that Andy does. It’s like, “Yeah, there’s prison rape, but this movie makes me feel so dosh darn good!” Both Andy and Red are extremely likable characters. (Actually, most of the prisoners are.) You find yourself rooting for their happy ending, no matter what they might have done in the past. The acting is great, I enjoyed the cinematography, and while the score is a bit 90s schmaltzy, I found I rarely noticed it because I was so engrossed in the film.
What makes this a good movie? Pretty much everything.
About the Performance:
This is Morgan Freeman at his finest. Red is a professed murderer (the movie never tells you who his victim was). This should make him inherently a bad guy but you never feel that way about him. Freeman imbues Red with so much warmth and humanity that, even before he declares his feelings toward the end of the film, you get the sense that this is a man who regrets a rash, youthful decision. If Red had the chance to do it all over again, he would’ve made a different choice. Even if you’ve never committed a terrible crime, I think that’s someone practically anyone could find relatable. Plus, Morgan Freeman’s voice improves any film.
Other performances of Freeman’s I’ve reviewed: Million Dollar Baby; Unforgiven; Driving Miss Daisy.
The Verdict:
I think it’s pretty obvious that I like this film. It had been quite a while since I’d last seen it, so I thought, “Maybe it’s not as good as I remember it being.” It is. In fact, it’s even better than I remembered. The subject matter isn’t always easy, but in the end, it’s a heartwarming story that makes you feel good. Hands down, an all-time favorite.
I give it 4.75 stars.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Up with Geography: Ethiopia
Country Name:
Ethiopia
Capital:
Addis Ababa
Continent:
Africa
Maps:
Neighbors:
Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan
Water Borders:
None
Total Area:
426,400 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Addis Ababa, Gondar, Mek’ele, Adama, Hawassa (based on 2016 estimates; the middle 3 cities are all very close in population size)
Famous Geographical Point:
Lake Tana (the source of the Blue Nile)
Famous Person:
Yohannes Gebregeorgis, founder of childhood literacy non-profit Ethiopia Reads
Book Set In/About:
There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene
The true story of an Ethiopian woman who, after the deaths of her husband & daughter, opened her home to an orphan, only to soon find herself running a full orphanage during the height of the AIDS crisis.
Movie Set In/About:
“Adwa” (2009), directed by Haile Gerima
This documentary film tells the history of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, wherein Ethiopians armed only with knives and spears were able to defeat the invading Italian army bent on colonization.
Headline of the Day:
“Ethiopian Ethnic Rivalries Threaten Abiy Ahmed’s Reform Agenda” in Financial Times
Ethiopia
Capital:
Addis Ababa
Continent:
Africa
Maps:
 |
| African continent. Ethiopia outlined in dark ink. |
 |
| A close-up of Ethiopia & its neighbors. |
Neighbors:
Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan
Water Borders:
None
Total Area:
426,400 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Addis Ababa, Gondar, Mek’ele, Adama, Hawassa (based on 2016 estimates; the middle 3 cities are all very close in population size)
Famous Geographical Point:
Lake Tana (the source of the Blue Nile)
Famous Person:
Yohannes Gebregeorgis, founder of childhood literacy non-profit Ethiopia Reads
Book Set In/About:
There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene
The true story of an Ethiopian woman who, after the deaths of her husband & daughter, opened her home to an orphan, only to soon find herself running a full orphanage during the height of the AIDS crisis.
Movie Set In/About:
“Adwa” (2009), directed by Haile Gerima
This documentary film tells the history of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, wherein Ethiopians armed only with knives and spears were able to defeat the invading Italian army bent on colonization.
Headline of the Day:
“Ethiopian Ethnic Rivalries Threaten Abiy Ahmed’s Reform Agenda” in Financial Times
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Top 50 Actors, #47 - Denzel Washington: "Training Day" (2001)
Movie Stats:
Released 2001 (Italy)
American & Australian, in English (minor, non-translated Spanish, Russian & Korean)
Director - Antoine Fuqua
Stars - Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke
Plot Summary:
Rookie LAPD officer Jake Hoyt’s (Hawke) first day on the job with the narcotics department becomes a wild ride due to his supervisor, Alonzo Harris (Washington).
Warnings:
Extreme violence; extreme gore; extensive blue language; brief female nudity (everything); consensual (sort of) drug use (pot laced with PCP).
Bad Stuff:
I was bored to tears. I don’t understand how a movie with this much action & violence can be so dull, but it is.
Half the time, I didn’t understand what was happening. I’m a reasonably intelligent person, but I had to keep asking my husband (who’d seen it before) what was going on because nothing made much sense to me. I feel like they rarely explained anything.
There’s a big, eye roll-inducing coincidence that saves a character’s life & I can’t get over it because it was so stupidly unrealistic.
Good Stuff:
I liked the theme of it, the ideas that it played around with. It’s the movie’s one saving grace. To defeat “wolves,” does one need to become a wolf? And if one becomes a wolf, how far is too far to take it? It was an interesting insight into the kind of damage that battling against crime can do to a person’s psyche.
The cameos (Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Terry Crews) were fun.
About the Performance:
One of my most unpopular opinions in life is that I don’t care for Denzel Washington as an actor. Something about him bugs me, and I think he’s a bit of a scenery chewer. I also don’t tend to care for the types of movies he chooses to make. I had a hard time picking a film for him & wasn’t looking forward to watching this. That being said, I thought he was very good in it. I completely loathed his character, which I think was the point. However, I did feel that he fell into scenery chewing toward the end.
Other performances of Washington’s I’ve reviewed: Inside Man.
The Verdict:
Originally, I chose this film because it’s one of the ones Washington won an Oscar for, but I wasn’t particularly interested in it. So I decided to watch “Malcolm X” instead. After I got it from the library, though, I realized that it’s nearly 3.5 hours long, which was a firm “no” for me, so I went back to this. Everyone raves about this film, so I figured I would probably like it, despite my instincts. I was wrong. I didn’t like it at all. Alonzo is an asshole. Jake is whiny and annoying. Nothing makes any sense. The female nudity is ridiculously gratuitous. And it’s so slow! It’s supposed to be the longest day of Jake’s life, felt more like the longest day of my life. Just boo. Not my cup of tea for sure.
I give it 2.75 stars.
Released 2001 (Italy)
American & Australian, in English (minor, non-translated Spanish, Russian & Korean)
Director - Antoine Fuqua
Stars - Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke
Plot Summary:
Rookie LAPD officer Jake Hoyt’s (Hawke) first day on the job with the narcotics department becomes a wild ride due to his supervisor, Alonzo Harris (Washington).
Warnings:
Extreme violence; extreme gore; extensive blue language; brief female nudity (everything); consensual (sort of) drug use (pot laced with PCP).
Bad Stuff:
I was bored to tears. I don’t understand how a movie with this much action & violence can be so dull, but it is.
Half the time, I didn’t understand what was happening. I’m a reasonably intelligent person, but I had to keep asking my husband (who’d seen it before) what was going on because nothing made much sense to me. I feel like they rarely explained anything.
There’s a big, eye roll-inducing coincidence that saves a character’s life & I can’t get over it because it was so stupidly unrealistic.
Good Stuff:
I liked the theme of it, the ideas that it played around with. It’s the movie’s one saving grace. To defeat “wolves,” does one need to become a wolf? And if one becomes a wolf, how far is too far to take it? It was an interesting insight into the kind of damage that battling against crime can do to a person’s psyche.
The cameos (Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Terry Crews) were fun.
About the Performance:
One of my most unpopular opinions in life is that I don’t care for Denzel Washington as an actor. Something about him bugs me, and I think he’s a bit of a scenery chewer. I also don’t tend to care for the types of movies he chooses to make. I had a hard time picking a film for him & wasn’t looking forward to watching this. That being said, I thought he was very good in it. I completely loathed his character, which I think was the point. However, I did feel that he fell into scenery chewing toward the end.
Other performances of Washington’s I’ve reviewed: Inside Man.
The Verdict:
Originally, I chose this film because it’s one of the ones Washington won an Oscar for, but I wasn’t particularly interested in it. So I decided to watch “Malcolm X” instead. After I got it from the library, though, I realized that it’s nearly 3.5 hours long, which was a firm “no” for me, so I went back to this. Everyone raves about this film, so I figured I would probably like it, despite my instincts. I was wrong. I didn’t like it at all. Alonzo is an asshole. Jake is whiny and annoying. Nothing makes any sense. The female nudity is ridiculously gratuitous. And it’s so slow! It’s supposed to be the longest day of Jake’s life, felt more like the longest day of my life. Just boo. Not my cup of tea for sure.
I give it 2.75 stars.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Up with U.S. Geography: California
California is the fourth of the eight states I've lived in to make the list! At the time of this post, my husband & I have lived in SoCal for just over five years and plan to stay at least until retirement age.
State Name:
California
Capital:
Sacramento
Date of Entry:
September 9, 1850
Maps:
Neighbors:
Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Mexico
Water Borders:
Lake Tahoe, Colorado River, Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay
Total Area:
163,696 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno
Famous Geographical Point:
Mt. Whitney
State Nickname:
The Golden State. Well, California first experienced explosive population growth after gold was discovered here. Also, the state is known for its sunsets & fields of poppies (the state flower). And apparently, gold is one of our official state colors!
Famous Person:
Ansel Adams, landscape photographer & environmentalist
Book Set In/About:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Set in Salinas Valley, this novel follows the lives of two intertwined families, with strong parallels to Biblical tales.
Movie Set In/About:
“Shelter” (2007), directed by Jonah Markowitz
A young man who’s given up his dreams of art school to help raise his nephew finds himself slowly falling for his best friend’s older brother. I chose this film not only because it’s beautiful but also because each of the main characters represents a different side of SoCal, one poor, one wealthy.
Headline of the Day:
“California Governor Signs Executive Order Stopping State's Death Penalty for Now” on cnn.com.
State Name:
California
Capital:
Sacramento
Date of Entry:
September 9, 1850
Maps:
 |
| Map of USA. California outlined in dark ink & with name written on it. |
 |
| A close-up of California & its neighbors. |
Neighbors:
Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Mexico
Water Borders:
Lake Tahoe, Colorado River, Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay
Total Area:
163,696 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno
Famous Geographical Point:
Mt. Whitney
State Nickname:
The Golden State. Well, California first experienced explosive population growth after gold was discovered here. Also, the state is known for its sunsets & fields of poppies (the state flower). And apparently, gold is one of our official state colors!
Famous Person:
Ansel Adams, landscape photographer & environmentalist
Book Set In/About:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Set in Salinas Valley, this novel follows the lives of two intertwined families, with strong parallels to Biblical tales.
Movie Set In/About:
“Shelter” (2007), directed by Jonah Markowitz
A young man who’s given up his dreams of art school to help raise his nephew finds himself slowly falling for his best friend’s older brother. I chose this film not only because it’s beautiful but also because each of the main characters represents a different side of SoCal, one poor, one wealthy.
Headline of the Day:
“California Governor Signs Executive Order Stopping State's Death Penalty for Now” on cnn.com.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Top 50 Actors, #48 - James Cagney: "White Heat" (1949)
Movie Stats:
Released 1949 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Raoul Walsh
Stars - James Cagney, Margaret Wycherly, Edmond O’Brien
Plot Summary:
A heist caper featuring a remorseless killer — Cody Jarrett (Cagney) — with a mommy complex (Ma is played by Wycherly) who comes to trust a man he maybe shouldn’t trust, Vic Pardo (O’Brien).
Warnings:
Violence.
Bad Stuff:
It has a little too much “movie magic” for me, i.e. absolutely everyone is a crack shot or that one scene where Ma is being followed by the police & a car conveniently backs out of a driveway, blocking the police car following her, etc.
Cody’s wife Verna (Virginia Mayo) is completely superfluous to the plot. She added nothing beyond a pretty face. It would’ve been the same movie without her in it.
Good Stuff:
I enjoyed the cat & mouse nature of it.
The acting is good. I particularly enjoyed all three leads.
I liked the idea that Cody was thoroughly dependent on Ma, and not in a creepy way. She wasn’t his moral compass but his reality compass, making sure that his plans were solid & keeping an eye out for plots against him. Then [SPOILER] as soon as she’s gone, he’s completely incapable of making sound decisions [SPOILER]. I thought it was a nice twist on the genre.
About the Performance:
I don’t think it’s any secret that Cagney played a lot of gangsters. It was kind of his thing. Normally this is something I might complain about here, “Oh, he played the same type of character he always plays!” But I thought there was more nuance to Cody Jarrett than that. Here is this thief and murderer who rules his gang with an iron fist, who executes complex plots, and he needs his mommy to be successful. Watching him unravel was quite fascinating. [SPOILER-y] The scene where he discovers he’s been duped and says, “And we went for it, I went for it,” I absolutely loved his delivery. [SPOILER] I was impressed.
Other performances of Cagney’s I’ve reviewed: Yankee Doodle Dandy; The Public Enemy.
The Verdict:
I thought this would be a fairly standard gangster film but found that it had a little something extra. Perhaps that’s because it came fairly late in the game (old style gangster films had largely fallen out of fashion by the late 40s). I liked that it showcased actual hit-the-pavement police work. I liked how clever & resourceful Pardo was, and the delicate dance he does with Cody. Most of the acting falls on a range from good to impressive. Occasionally, things get a little too convenient in order to move the plot forward, but beyond that, I thought it was both engaging and enjoyable. A really solid film.
I give it 4 stars.
Released 1949 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Raoul Walsh
Stars - James Cagney, Margaret Wycherly, Edmond O’Brien
Plot Summary:
A heist caper featuring a remorseless killer — Cody Jarrett (Cagney) — with a mommy complex (Ma is played by Wycherly) who comes to trust a man he maybe shouldn’t trust, Vic Pardo (O’Brien).
Warnings:
Violence.
Bad Stuff:
It has a little too much “movie magic” for me, i.e. absolutely everyone is a crack shot or that one scene where Ma is being followed by the police & a car conveniently backs out of a driveway, blocking the police car following her, etc.
Cody’s wife Verna (Virginia Mayo) is completely superfluous to the plot. She added nothing beyond a pretty face. It would’ve been the same movie without her in it.
Good Stuff:
I enjoyed the cat & mouse nature of it.
The acting is good. I particularly enjoyed all three leads.
I liked the idea that Cody was thoroughly dependent on Ma, and not in a creepy way. She wasn’t his moral compass but his reality compass, making sure that his plans were solid & keeping an eye out for plots against him. Then [SPOILER] as soon as she’s gone, he’s completely incapable of making sound decisions [SPOILER]. I thought it was a nice twist on the genre.
About the Performance:
I don’t think it’s any secret that Cagney played a lot of gangsters. It was kind of his thing. Normally this is something I might complain about here, “Oh, he played the same type of character he always plays!” But I thought there was more nuance to Cody Jarrett than that. Here is this thief and murderer who rules his gang with an iron fist, who executes complex plots, and he needs his mommy to be successful. Watching him unravel was quite fascinating. [SPOILER-y] The scene where he discovers he’s been duped and says, “And we went for it, I went for it,” I absolutely loved his delivery. [SPOILER] I was impressed.
Other performances of Cagney’s I’ve reviewed: Yankee Doodle Dandy; The Public Enemy.
The Verdict:
I thought this would be a fairly standard gangster film but found that it had a little something extra. Perhaps that’s because it came fairly late in the game (old style gangster films had largely fallen out of fashion by the late 40s). I liked that it showcased actual hit-the-pavement police work. I liked how clever & resourceful Pardo was, and the delicate dance he does with Cody. Most of the acting falls on a range from good to impressive. Occasionally, things get a little too convenient in order to move the plot forward, but beyond that, I thought it was both engaging and enjoyable. A really solid film.
I give it 4 stars.
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