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devo33
Reviews
The Shape of Water (2017)
Bad reviews missed the point - watch it twice
COULD HAVE SPOLIERS. This is an interesting storyline to say the least, but it is a technical beauty and I'm impressed for once that so many details are there without dumbing them down for the audience. Don't believe the bad reviews - these people missed the point. Whether it is a refrigerator full of half-eaten pies, or how you spell Mardi Gras - I urge you to pay attention to the small things and you will see how brilliant this storyline really is.
Color plays a huge part in this movie, especially green (including teal) and then red. Unlike "The Sixth Sense" - this is way more subtle and most people don't even notice. Another example - so many people upset that Strickland "rapes" his wife, but the point of putting his hand over her mouth and asking her not to say anything is because he was immediately obsessed with the mute Eliza. Instead of thinking about the scene and what it means, It seems to go over most viewers heads (at least the ones who write reviews). Understanding this is critical to understand the complicsted relationship Strickland has with the asset.
Watch it twice or more - you will see things you missed. This film is deep, and intelligent. Thank you Guillermo del Toro for not assuming we are too stupid to understand.
Shallow Hal (2001)
Too much irony...
It seems very strange to send a message about inner beauty while at the same time taking every opportunity to make fun of fat people (and the handicapped, and people with accents, and people from Hawaii, etc.). Normally, the Farrelly brothers could pull something like this off, but in this case, it just doesn't work. The acting is atrocious. Jason Alexander is exceptionally bad. Jack Black is good as a background character, but needs acting lessons in a big way. Gweneth Paltrow is perhaps the only exception, but playing a depressed woman may not be a reach for her. The fat suit was not very life-like. It looked more like the stay-puff marshmallow man than "Rosie" (waddle waddle). Bottom line, there are only a few funny moments, and if you have seen the trailer, you have seen most of them already...
The Last American Virgin (2000)
Amusing
Short film, rather well done. Stephanie Quay is great. Matt Stasi is pretty weak (maybe its just the character). The writing is OK - the story concept is good and anything with Elvis works, but the dialogue with "Bill" just doesn't work. Camera angles are excellent - and the "sex" is tastefully done. Any nudity would just distract and make this a cheap short. Overall, well worth the time to watch.
Little Sister (2000)
Surprisingly good acting.
The storyline is weak, but Tori McPetrie is great (although she hardly looks 17). I expected high school quality acting, but Tori and Justin Doran were suprisingly good. The other characters were victims of the poor script - Jamie Terwilliger spent her whole part on the phone and Patrick Yonally was stuck in a cliche of a character. The masterbation references were unnecessary, but the music was well chosen and well mixed.
Magnolia (1999)
Don't be fooled
Don't be fooled by the comments regarding what "great" characters this movie has. The characters are shallow and that's why the actors had no problems portraying them well. Every one in LA is seen as a pathetic loser who either has a drug addition, cancer or has committed adultery (or all three). Everyone is miserable, especially those of us who had to sit through three plus hours of this angst. Don't get me wrong - I love unexplained weirdness (Book of the Damned type stuff), but I was disappointed in this overindulgent mess in which ranting and raving characters scream profanities. The dogs were cool, the frogs a joke. Andersen tries to bring everything together with a biblical rain of frogs, big monster bullfrogs falling from the skies in the San Fernando Valley (right out of Exodus 8). It doesn't work. He made the jump from what was set up to be strange but true phenomena and bizarre coincidences to pure, laughable overwrought melodrama. The best character was the eight year old rapper - but he mumbled through his rhymes and everything he said was missed. He was the one who could have tied it all together. Don't waste your money...Zero stars on any scale.