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Briagh
Reviews
American Beauty (1999)
We wanted to like it, but ....
We agree entirely with the review from the fellow from Australia. This theme has been done lots of times before...e.g. "The Swimmer", "The Arrangement", or even good old "Middle Aged Crazy". All of these were sixties or seventies movies when we all knew the American Dream was banal and empty. The idea itself got old and banal but I guess with the passage of a few decades its time to recycle it one more time with a little more flesh.
It wasn't profound or insightful and the inconsistencies in characterization and plot were disappointing.
Anywhere But Here (1999)
Not two thumbs up
I was hoping for some kind of wisdom here. Unfortunately, it is a story of a wacko woman who's conversion to wisdom and maturity in the last five minutes of the film is unbelievable. Natalie Portman is very very good. I wonder why Susan Sarandon would want her role so badly. The idea that her character really, deep down, is doing it all for her baby is fine in theory, but the script just doesn't make that at all believable. The fairy tale ending is just that - make believe.