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The Little Mermaid (1989)
The best Disney movie of my lifetime
Fine, I was pretty young when this movie came out. But I watched it again and again and again. Knew all the songs and still do. I'm sure I will know them all my life.
I do have a soft spot for "Dumbo" and "Robin Hood," but in my lifetime this is the best Disney movie ever made. And since Disney isn't making any more animated movies this may well be the last good Disney movie ever. Sorry all you Lion King and Beauty/Beast fans, they just didn't do it for me.
It's sad to witness an end to an era of creative genius but I'm glad they decided to close their animation offices rather than keep putting out things like Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I haven't seen any of the video sequels, thank god.
Oh, and by the way, when I talk about the Disney movies made in my lifetime, I'm not counting Pixar, which I think makes great films. Unfortunately, it seems like they've left the cartoon musical behind too. I'm afraid we'll never see another movie like The Little Mermaid again.
Garden State (2004)
Surprised and pleased at every moment
Garden State is a sweet film, a romance, a comedy, a drama, a film that defies categorization because it always keeps surprising you, always keeps you guessing. When the film begins, you really have no idea of the wild places it will take you.
The chemistry between Zach Braff (who I loved from Scrubs) and Natalie Portman is fun to watch. Natalie is charismatic, bubbling with energy, definitely a young star. Their budding relationship in the film is treated quite realistically, as more and more revelations about their pasts pop up as the film progresses. I had difficultly believing the end of the film, when his feelings for her are so strong that he gets off his plane to stay with her, but in a way I wanted to believe it.
There are two aspects to this film that elevate it from being a fairly good romantic comedy to being one of the best movies of the year, in my opinion. First of all, the soundtrack. Many of these songs were new to me when the movie came out, but hearing any one of them now conjures up all of the emotions I felt while I was watching it. Secondly, the creative ways they use the camera. Especially in the first part of the film, the interesting and surprising camera angles take you into a bit of a fairy tale world.
Besides the ending at the airport, the one scene that kind of annoyed me was when they went to the hotel and the bellhop character was peeping on some guests and you see a gratuitous, almost X-rated sex scene. Why is that in there? It seemed out of place and annoyed me but not so much as to ruin the film.
Hot Java (2004)
An entertaining, intricate, perfect short film!
I saw this at the Gen Art outdoor film festival in Miami and absolutely loved it! I strongly recommend checking this movie out if it comes to a festival near you or pops up on the Internet somewhere (I haven't found it yet, but post me a message if you see it anywhere).
Hot Java is exactly as a short film should be: entertaining at every second, creative, stylish, and full of surprises. Most short films I've seen are boring or pretentious, this one is pure fun (but with an interesting set of twists at the end that make you think). The acting is terrific and each character brings their own individual humor into the story.
Maria Full of Grace (2004)
A productive, different take on the Drug War
Maria Full of Grace delivers a great story well told with particularly compelling acting. But it's also an important film because it looks at the so-called War on Drugs in terms of its human, individual costs, something that is not done all that much in our culture today. I also find it interesting that the Director was not of Columbian origin; it's nice to know that empathy for people from a different culture still exists in the world and is inspiring creative and influential work.
From a film-making perspective, it's amazing how much production value they got on screen from what must have been a low budget. Impressive. Hollywood take notice: when it comes down to it, story, screen writing, and character will always win over pure money, at least when it comes to making a movie that will endure.