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mel_anie_98
Reviews
Rocky Balboa (2006)
Excellent!
Previous to seeing this movie last night I had been receiving mixed reviews. People seemed to either love it or hate it. Well, I am going to join the ranks of those who LOVE IT! I've been a "Rocky" fan since I was a little girl but the last movie, "Rocky V" left me hoping that he doesn't do another one. However, after reading that this one was going to follow the same quality as the first two I got excited and couldn't wait to see it. I'm SO glad I did! It is the perfect blend of drama, excitement, anticipation, and is very inspiring.
"Rocky Balboa" is a wonderful movie, and the perfect end to this series. All the actors do very well playing their parts ESPECIALLY Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, and Geraldine Hughes. I have to admit that Milo Ventimiglia (Rocky Junior), James Francis Kelly III, and Antonio Tarver were only okay in their performances, with James Francis Kelly not being much more than eye candy. I wasn't moved by them but neither did I wish them off the screen. Burt Young and Sylvester Stallone had tears coming down my cheeks in some parts of the movie because of their stirring performances, and that's really hard to accomplish with me. I haven't cried about a movie since "Rocky IV".
This movie is a definite must-see. They better win some big award for this movie because it definitely deserves it.
Disappearing Acts (2000)
Poor Adaptation
I rated this a 4 because of several factors including the casting of Franklin, and the overall movie based on the book. I don't expect the movie to replicate the book, but I do expect a good adaptation, which this movie was not. Had they cast Franklin more like he was in the book then I would the rating would have gone up at least 2 numbers. There is Zero chemistry between Sanaa and Wesley. Franklin is supposed to be a large, handsome intimidating Black man, but Wesley is a small Black man who, in this movie at least, was NOT handsome in the least. From what I've read in the book, Franklin's pleasing appearance is supposed to be something that kind of held Zora in place as his woman. It's mentioned several times throughout the book. Though it was not the only thing, it was certainly a large factor. In this movie Snipes was made to look kind of ugly, so that was a downer. He was also supposed to be an alcoholic, something that did not translate well in the movie. On the whole, the movie did a poor job of showing the journey of this woman, man, and their relationship. There are so many ways in which this movie went wrong that I'm not going to spend my life naming them. I didn't expect a replica of the book, but I did expect a good adaptation, which I did not get. The one good thing that can be said about this film is Sanaa Lathan's performance. When I think of the character Zora I think of someone who looks like Sanaa and she performed the role just as I saw it in my mind.
The Cotton Club (1984)
Really Historical!
Just out of curiosity I did some research on the main characters in this movie, gangsters and such. What I found out is that ALL of the main characters in this movie have been depicted VERY VERY accurately! The only exceptions are Richard Gere and Diane Lane, but they seem to be the links to make a story. But everyone else was depicted VERY realistically, especially the gangsters. All of those gangsters really did hang out at the Cotton Club, they also all lived, and died in the pretty much the same manner as they did in real life, and knew each other and interacted with each other as they did in the movie. The one seemingly pseudo-gangster, Vincent (Dixie's brother) really did the kinds of crimes that he did in the movie, including the scene where the kid was shot in the street. That really happened.
I always loved the movie to no end, but finding out how biographical it was took on a whole new meaning to me and I now love the movie more, if that was even possible.
Not Without My Daughter (1991)
EXCELLENT Movie!
I LOVE this movie! It's amazing that I haven't seen it until it came out on cable, but seeing that I was only 4-years old when the movie came out I shouldn't be surprised.
This movie is an excellent tale of a woman's plight to escape from her oppressive, abusive, guilt-ridden husband "Moody", who tricked her into moving to a country that she feared.
Moody is a legitimate Iranian doctor who feels that he has been treated poorly in the US due to being Iranian during a tumultuous time, when the US and Iran were not exactly friendly with one another. He is also guilt-ridden because he hadn't been home for 10 years or lived there for 20 years. So he tricks his wife into going to Iran, under the pretext that it will only be a 2-week vacation when in fact he fully intends to move there, which he does with his wife and their young daughter.
Sally Fields plays the role of the wife perfectly! Betty is a woman who didn't want to go to Iran in the first place, but agreed to go under the pretext that it would only be a visit to her husband's family, when in fact it was to be a permanent move. She then does everything she can to escape along with her young daughter Mahtob. She soon learns that leaving without her daughter is easy, but leaving WITH her will be very challenging and dangerous. Being the good mother that she is she refuses to go without her daughter (hence the name of the movie). She eventually gets help from local Iranians who understand her plight and assist her with getting back home to the US, with her daughter.
This movie is a TRUE STORY about a woman's plight. During the whole movie we see the two main character's individual internal struggles, how the problems between the US and Iran affected families, both in the US and abroad, and one woman's fight to get back to her homeland.
This movie is first and foremost a true story of one woman's fight to get back home. I think a lot of that is missed since there is mentioning of the problems between the US and Iran. There are good Iranians and bad Iranians represented, just as there are good Americans and bad Americans represented.
All in all, I LOVE this movie!!