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amwoods13
Reviews
US Festival 1983 Days 1-3 (2009)
Incomplete picture of the festival
There's some good footage of a few of the bands, notably the English Beat, the Stray Cats, Missing Persons, and U2. However, apparently they didn't get the rights to show all the bands, so its missing bands and artists like Wall of Voodoo, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, The Pretenders, Joe Walsh, and David Bowie, most of whom aren't event mentioned. And there's more of Triumph than any other band for some reason, although they were one of the least significant bands to play the festival. The interview footage is almost all Steve Wozniak and Mark Goodman (the MTV VJ) and their remarks are lackluster. It doesn't look like a whole lot of effort went into this documentary. I was at days 1 and 3 of the 1983 US Festival and there were some great moments I would have liked to have relived, but there was no magic in this. Hopefully, someone does a better documentary of the US Festival in the future with all the bands and more and better interviews.
Sólo Dios sabe (2006)
Quite well done!
Solo Dios Sabe is, at its heart, a journey that explores love, romance, spirituality, and fate. The two main characters, a Brazilian-born art teacher from San Diego and a journalist from Mexico City, travel the same road from Tijuana to Mexico City to Sao Paolo, but their fates and spirituality go in different directions, intersecting for a brief moment in the middle of the film.
Alice Braga (as the art teacher) and Diego Luna (as the journalist) are revelations in the way they reveal the complex emotions that result from their journey. The chemistry between them is palpable. It is a joy to watch their journey. The cinematography and music brilliantly set the changing moods and tones of the movie. There are many subtleties throughout the movie that enrich the story, but might be missed on first viewing. The director, Carlos Bolado, is to be commended for delivering such a rich slice of the lives of the two mesmerizing lead characters.
Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
Wonderful and sad
Who'd have thought that sappy movie starring an ex-pro athlete about nuclear disarmament would be this terrific. While the big theme--nuclear disarmament--is always omnipresent, it is the small themes of the movie--family, friendship, hero worship, life priorities, peer pressure--that make Amazing Grace and Chuck so watchable and, ultimately, sure to make you cry. Amazing Grace and Chuck sounds corny, but is really moving. It is a movie I can see over and over.