Change Your Image
binky-18
Reviews
Groove (2000)
Puts you in the Party!
Finally! A film that dead-on nails the rave experience. It's about time that an emotionally accurate depiction was shown to the public. These intimate underground parties are truly a positive unifying force; bringing all sorts of people together through music. There have been some previous attempts on film to capture the rave scene. Last year's film, "Go," tried, but the rave segment was merely a background setting. The story wasn't ABOUT the party. "Party Girl" was a pretty cool take on the New York scene of several years ago, but still failed to capture the true passionate essence of THE PARTY itself. Mainstream media has inaccurately and negatively smeared raves as being wholly BAD just because of some reckless drug use. Trying to use scare tactics by harping on the constant drug overdoses. It is indeed very unfortunate that there are party-goers who are not smart enough to know their limits. One must remember however that most rave folks' intentions are pure, like the promoter states in the film: It's all about the "nod"... the subtle, grateful acknowledgement from a party-goer who's spirts were lifted by the party. The rave experience is not solely about the pursuit of profit or the "perfect" drug high. It's about joining with your loved ones, friends, and peers in a magical and musical setting where anything seems possible. Even if only for a night (into an early morning!). "Groove" definitely captures this vibe and you can't help but love it. Even if you're not in the "scene," I beleive that there is a universal message of compassion and community that should speak to all. "Groove" literally puts you IN the party... the surround sound with the sounds of other party-goers talking around you create this amazing illusion. You feel like you're actually in the movie, taking part. "Groove" doesn't make you feel like an outsider. It wraps you up and sucks you in and leaves you jones-ing for more. That's why you'll have to make sure that you make plans to go out and dance right after you see it. "Groove" IS the Saturday Night Fever" for the Millennium. Get up and dance and FEEL IT!!!
The Iron Giant (1999)
I laughed, I cried...
I have been telling all my friends about this film. It touched me in such a way that when I got home from seeing it, I was such a weeping wreck, my friends were all looking at me funny! But this movie DOES NOT manipulate your emotions in the way a Disney film does. I enjoyed this movie a lot more than "Tarzan," that's for sure. No cutesy sidekick characters or schmaltzy musical numbers! Yay! This film does not insult your integrity. It has a theme that anyone young and old could relate to and enjoy. I love the way it really made me FEEL emotion. "The Iron Giant" is a film I will keep close to my heart always. If only everyone could have an Iron Giant in their lives... the world would be a better place.
Drop Dead Fred (1991)
Kooky and Touching...
I actually saw this movie during its very brief theatrical release, and although it has been dismissed as a mediocre piece of work, I happened to enjoy its strange qualities very much. As a whole, it may not be a very strong movie, but there are parts that are very entertaining.
Rik Mayall, in the role of Drop Dead Fred, is the main character Elizabeth's (played by Phoebe Cates) imaginary friend who returns to help her win her husband back. He's got a crude English wit that I got a kick out of, but mostly because I remember how funny he was as `Rick' on reruns of the wacky British early 80's television series THE YOUNG ONES. It was great to see him on screen again.
The coolest thing is when I discovered that my boyfriend also liked this obscure, sleeper film. We both agree that Ashley Peldon, who portrays Phoebe Cates' character as a little girl is the cutest!!! She steals a lot of the scenes in the film in playing off of Mayall. The `cat burglary' and `mud/pants-pie' memory flashback scenes are absolutely hilarious.
This is a light movie, but it has clever devices. I love how like a true childhood imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred isn't seen or detected by anyone else but Elizabeth and mischievous, terrible things that he does are thought to be done by her.
I was especially touched by how things are resolved at the end of the film. This film basically deals with how a grown woman must come to terms with her childhood issues and upbringing in order to become a better person and have a better life. This offbeat movie may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed and could personally relate to the overall message of healing your inner child.
A Town Like Alice (1981)
A moving film with captivating romance that you'll never forget!
A TOWN LIKE ALICE first captivated me when I was only 14 and caught a re-run of it on T.V. in 1984. It has since remained one of my most favorite romances on film. It is a modest, understated and "un-Hollywood" (thank God!) work, yet it is epic in the way it depicts the two very likable main characters, Joe Harmon and Jean Paget (played by Bryan Brown and Helen Morse, respectively) meeting during a tumultuous backdrop of war and despair, falling in love in spite of it, and then becoming blissfully reunited. But don't worry--I haven't given away the "happy ending!" The last half of the film that follows is what gives this work its integrity. The lovers then have to overcome the adversity of the differences of their cultures and beliefs--her being English and he being Australian. Jean Paget is an admirable, headstrong character, who when placed in the backwards Australian outback of the 1940's, is put to the test with her lover Joe, making one realize that love relationships don't go perfectly, but if the love is strong, it will persevere.
This movie truly pulls the viewer into the romance between Jean and Joe and you feel every heartache and every joy that they share in your heart as well. But these are not shallowly constructed "romance novel characters." They are complex and imperfect and through their hardships, show the audience that any love such as theirs is truly worth fighting for.
So, as long as this movie is on tape (being a two- part mini-series), please be patient with it (like you would with an E.M. Forster novel-to-film adaptation) because I guarantee the reward will be ever so sweet. It will draw you in and be compelling from start to finish with a story you will really care about. A wonderful, wonderful picture! Plus, the soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous and moving.
Xanadu (1980)
Pure escapist fun with an important message for everyone young and old!
For years, I have been so tired of hearing the negative reviews of this movie from stodgy movie critics. They've said things like `this film was a bad career move for Olivia' or that it's silly and pathetic. Well, all I have to say is, `Thank God for the internet!' Finally, we can hear the raw voice of this film's devoted fanbase, and not that of a stuck up critic of the media establishment. I was so pleased to come across so much glowing praise for this picture via the IMDB customer comments. I was of course inspired to write my own.
Of course this movie is silly. The dialogue is a bit cheesey at times and the acting tends to be somewhat stiff. But elements don't make the film outright bad. It is pure escapism... plain and simple. A chance for the viewer to be transplanted into the optimistic dawn of the 80's where the L.A. landscape is colored with futuristic and retro pastel hues and people had neon stars in their eyes. It was a simpler and innocent time, before the onset of the harsh and technically complicated 90's. (When record companies actually HAD internal art departments that painted enlarged album cover panels to hang outside of record stores. Oh, the bliss of vinyl nostalgia!)
I saw this movie when I was 10 years old, and it's had a magical impact on me ever since. Of course I loved roller skating and Olivia Newton-John (unicorns and rainbows too!) at that young age, but as I've gotten older, I've realized that this film means so much more. Being an artist, I loved the premise of a beautiful muse, Kira (Olivia), being summoned by the discarded renderings of a frustrated painter, Sonny Malone (played by Michael Beck). She then sets him on a path to follow his dreams, meeting up with Gene Kelly's character, Danny Maguire, the retired 40's clarinet player who also has a dream. It's the merging of music and art that is the true magic happening here--the magic that moves us mere mortals throughout our lives. It's touching to see Kira's vulnerability when, even though she's a goddess, she finds herself falling in love with Sonny.
I also had an appreciation for this film's attention to detail and accuracy because my own father is a scholar in Greek mythology. When Kira is trying to tell Sonny that she is a muse, only sent to inspire him but NOT to fall in love, she starts to say `... my real name is Ter...' but she is cut off by his kiss. `Terpsichord' is what she meant to say. Terpsichord is the muse of song and dance.
Anyway, the colorful cinematography and soundtrack by ELO and John Farrar are the most delicious aspects of this film, aside from, of course, Olivia's ethereal beauty (LOVE the differently colored animated neon-like halos that outline her and her 8 muse sisters!) and wispy, flowery wardrobe. She is truly convincing as a goddess. Of course all of us little girls wanted to `BE Kira,' but the important and truly beautiful message of this film is to always follow your dreams and vision and love makes anything possible.
So come on. Unfurrow that brow and lose your inhibitions. XANADU is NOT a movie to be taken so seriously, but not to be taken lightly either. And certainly not dismissed as mere celluloid fluff. Go on and allow yourself to `believe' in the `magic' of XANADU!