boltons-1 Reviews

Waiting for Superman (2010)

Way, Way Too Simple

[7/10 · 27 February 2011]

I enjoyed watching the DVD with my wife and daughter. It is a very nice story but really oversimplifies the issue. Don't take my word for it though--watch the deleted scenes on the DVD's special features and see how the filmmakers really took their own point of view to the extreme by funneling the story down to one issue.

Little Anthony's Grandmother says it all. School was not important to her because she didn't have anyone to push her, to talk to her about stuff. Her son, who died of a drug overdose, did not think school was important either. There my friends is one key answer: motivation--NOT mostly teacher unions. Anthony's Grandmother gets it so she motivates Anthony.

I have seen misplaced motivation in my own home with Hispanic families who praise a strong work ethic in their children but not a strong learning ethic. Their young children, in turn, say they would rather go to work than go to school.

I am kinda of angry that the Director drives by three public schools to take his child to private school. This reminds me of the State School Board in Texas--at one time every member had their own children in private school. Isn't this hypocrisy or is it just me?

I asked my daughter's principal about her experiences and she confirmed it is difficult to fire a teacher (and we are in Texas with no teacher unions just associations). The documentation required takes about a year and HQ says to only plan on firing, at most, one teacher a year. So she is very careful in hiring. Universities should also be more careful in who they graduate. Sounds like a better plan.

My advice is to go to RedBox and rent the DVD for a buck and watch it with a group and have a discussion. This film is better than 90% of what RedBox has to offer anyway and, with the Wisconsin teacher union busting Governor, there is no better time.

Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008)

Great Film

[10/10 · 4 October 2010]

Loved it. Enlightening. Controversial. Introspective. I am still thinking about it two days later.

Who knew about the Air Force and musicians--not me? Great stuff about Orin Hatch and making your own supplements.

I loved the deleted scenes too and learned even more watching them.

Wow--1,000 hours of film (600 archival and 400 original) edited down to just 106 minutes. Great work team! I would have liked to know more about Arnold and the side effects of his steroid use (penile implant? sterile?). Also, why does the Bell Family have such body issues? It is not just America--there is something else going on in the Bell family that needs to be explored.

Thank you for this film.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Big Finish-Not!

[10/10 · 1 April 2008]

The movie is engrossing. Each scene grabs your attention. The film stays with you for days.

The ending is wrong.

How about this ending instead? When Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) goes on the run he gives Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald) a gun as he sends her off to her mother's house.

Then later in the movie, when Carla Jean finds Chigurh sitting in her mother's house and Chigurh offers her a deal that if she calls correctly in a coin-toss he'll spare her life, Carla Jean can then act.

She can still dismiss Chigurh's game, saying that he's the one who decides on whether or not to kill her, not the coin. Then Chigurh says she is wrong and lifts his hand off the coin. At this time Carla Jean pulls the gun and kills him.

This would make the film a 10. The lesson is that yes life is full of chance but you can still be prepared for the evil one.

Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) can still give his little dream speech so the title of the film is confirmed. He might even add a word about women having to kill the bad guys.

Coyote Funeral (2006)

Great Soundtrack!

[6/10 · 30 August 2007]

In Coyote Funeral, battling brothers Casey and Dusty Cannon have their lives changed by a sign on Interstate 10 that states: "El Paso 857". Anyone who has driven across Texas is amazed by how wide the state is--857 miles is one tenth the diameter of the earth (7,901 miles)--so the brothers' decision to walk across Texas seems amazing.

Several months before passing this sign, we see Casey walk out on their family ranch which is also about the same time the brother's dad leaves their mom. Younger brother Dusty, shattered by a recent breakup with his sweetheart, doesn't know that Casey has several big chips on his shoulder.

Dusty finally accepts Casey's challenge to work through their troubles by walking from Orange to El Paso but I didn't really believe Dusty's motivation and I had to suspend belief here. During the journey Casey doesn't come out and discuss his problems but rather lets them manifest themselves as a constant barrage of comments against women. This constant berating of women becomes tiresome.

The great state of Texas is supposed to be a character in this film but for anyone who has ever traveled Texas--especially in a recreational vehicle--this portrayal of Texas, the character, is missing the depth that the state really has. Texas contains barrier islands and coastal lowlands, large river floodplain forests, rolling plains and plateaus, forested hills, deserts, and a variety of aquatic habitats. The people in East Texas have a different accent from the people in West Texas.

Then again most of the characters in this film could use more depth. In the movie "Friday Night Lights" (another Texas film) Peter Berg was told to go BACK and shoot a drive-in scene so the audience would have a chance to get to know the characters. Coyote Funeral needs flashbacks or an introduction scene so we can know the characters before the drama begins. I need to care about Dusty and Casey before I want to watch them walk 857 miles together.

The actors in this film all need to click on the link below, move the pointer to 45:32 and listen to Ben Kingsley--rather Sir Ben Kingsley--tell Charlie Rose what he does to be a great actor--don't rush the lines, play off the other person and pretend you don't know what the other actor is going to say so what you say appears spontaneous: http://video.google.com/ videoplay?docid=-3950790015676540082&q =charlie+rose&total=4792 &start=0&num=10&so=1 &type=search&plindex=0

The soundtrack for this film is great--Texas Renegade is a great band! The music is really professional and really, really helped the film.

The screenplay is a diamond in the rough; the twist is a creative, clever idea. However, we do need some "Paris, Texas" quality scenes before this movie rises above a film school effort.

Sicko (2007)

Loved it--make sure to see it!

[10/10 · 5 July 2007]

Michael Moore is a great filmmaker, one of the best. When I see his movies I laugh, I cry, I am educated, I am outraged. My mother-in-law won't see his films because Fox News has convinced her that Michael Moore's films aren't "fair and balanced". This is nonsense. Both CNN and michaelmoore.com show the facts and their sources for this film and, of course, "balanced", like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

One of the many things I like about Michael Moore is that he and his staff are always digging up great information. In this film we learn that on February 17, 1971, Richard Nixon met with John Ehrlichman to discuss the Vice President's position on health maintenance organizations. The next day, Nixon called for a "new national health strategy" that had four points for expanding the proliferation of health maintenance organizations, or HMOs. Seeing Nixon's hand in the creation of the health care mess really puts the whole issue into perspective.

Health care is a huge issue to tackle so I did some of my own research. Moore says that the U.S. spends more of its gross domestic product on health care than any other country. CNN confirms that's true. The United States spends more than 15 percent of its GDP on health care -- no other nation even comes close to that number. France spends about 11 percent, and Canadians spend 10 percent. As Michael Moore points out, more money does not equal better care. Both the French and Canadian systems rank in the Top 10 of the world's best health-care systems, according to the World Health Organization. The United States comes in at No. 37. The rankings are based on general health of the population, access, patient satisfaction and how the care's paid for.

So, if Americans are paying so much and they're not getting as good or as much care, where is all the money going? "Overhead for most private health insurance plans range between 10 percent to 30 percent," says Deloitte health-care analyst Paul Keckley. Overhead includes profit and administrative costs. "Compare that to Medicare, which only has an overhead rate of 1 percent. Medicare is an extremely efficient health-care delivery system," says Mark Meaney, a health-care ethicist for the National Institute for Patient Rights. Moore never tells us this important information. With the purpose of debunking socialism, we are asked to think about government services like the fire department and the police department but most of us really aren't happy with the job the government does with schools (drop out rate around 25%), the post office (takes too long to mail a package), highways (too congested around every major city), the I.R.S. (taxes are way too complex). Congress has a current approval rating of just 14%--a point below the current approval rating of the H.M.O'.s 15%--so maybe we should have been told about how Medicare might be expanded rather than asked to think of the things the government already does that anger us.

In U.S. medical schools, students training to become primary-care physicians have dwindled to only 10 percent. The overwhelming majority choose far more profitable specialties in the medical field. In other countries, more than one out of three aspiring doctors chooses primary care in part because there's less of an income gap with specialists. In those nations, becoming a specialist means making 30 percent more than a primary-care physician. In the United States, the gap is around 300 percent. Moore never tells us this and this is really important information. Why doesn't the U.S.A. have more primary-care physicians for the prevention of disease? Why are specialists in America able to make 300% more than general practitioners under the oversight of managed health care?

Moore also doesn't touch on the mental health aspect of our health care problem but then I guess "Psycho" has already been made. He also doesn't say much about health-care in the United States military which is what I would guess is similar to the government plans he shows us in Canada, France and Cuba.

As to style, in the documentary "Michael Moore Hates America", I learned that a film director is God unless the film is a documentary, then God is the director. Michael Moore has a point of view, and wants to be part of the solution, so he takes many liberties with this genre and acts more like the "Director God". However, I will give up the true documentary style for a movie with heart. As a man who once thought about becoming a Catholic priest, Moore works from the heart at the expense of satisfying my frontal lobe. "Sicko", as well as all his films, has heart. From the sounds coming from the audience we were very touched by his message.

A great moment in the film is the interview with former British MP, Tony Benn. Most of it is already posted on YouTube: "In the 1930s we had mass unemployment but we don't have unemployment during the war. If you can have full employment by killing Germans why can't you have full employment by building hospitals, building schools, recruiting nurses, recruiting teachers. If we can find money to kill people, you can find money to help people." "Keeping people hopeless and pessimistic--see I think there are two ways in which people are controlled--first of all frighten people and secondly demoralize them. An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern."

This film has a great ending and the Cat Stevens/Yusiuf Islam music is perfect! Thank you Michael Moore.

As for Michael Moore himself, I hope he takes Ralph Nader's advice or he won't be healthy enough to make many more films. This would be truly a loss to America and to cinema. Michael, if you can hear me: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!"

Catch and Release (II) (2006)

Slow and Boring

[3/10 · 2 June 2007]

The storyline just kind of drifts along and if you have seen more than ten movies in your life really doesn't take you anywhere.

It was a waste of my time and that is why I am here at my computer writing this while it plays in the background.

The Gray character is a pretty face and if you like to look at a pretty face with music playing then you will love this movie. I like more edges, more depth in my characters. The Fritz character takes a lot of photos and smiles and has sex on demand but where is the depth? Why do I care about this guy? Sam spends the first act and most of the second act eating--how entertaining is this? Dennis, oh Dennis, why is your character even in the movie? Maureen is an interesting addition and adds flavor. She seems the most real. The Ellen character is one dimensional with a weird about-face. The Grady character is the one with the most depth and he is never on the screen!!! These characters seem to have all the time and money in the world and all is well that ends well. If that is how you live or what you like to watch then go for it.

"For Every Loss, There's Something To Be Found", I lost my money and 112 minutes of my life and now I am waiting to find something.

Utsab (2000)

Equivalent to an American Soap Opera

[5/10 · 18 March 2006]

Shot in Bengali with English subtitles, the subtitles are many times hard to read (white on white).

The first act is hard to follow because you flip back and forth between too many characters. With so many characters it is hard to care about them all. I was overwhelmed with characters. I noticed that several audience members walked out at this time. I think it would have helped establish the characters if the video shot during the first act (by one of the characters in the movie) would have been shown in the first act instead of at the end of the story. Then the audience could have come up to speed on who the characters are.

Overall the story and the acting are more on par with an American soap opera.

The film did, however, provide cultural insights: we see servants always working in the background in what appears to be an upper middle class home, the telephone service is not working for the holidays so communication is put on hold, the word "puja" I later learned means worship, "Brother's Day" is held in appreciation of your sibling, you touch another person's feet and then move your hand to your head and downwards like a slinky to bathe in their goodness (good karma), a vermilion powder is used to create the eye for the soul although in the movie a plastic one is applied in the morning by one of the characters, writing 'Durga' 73 times is part of the religious festival featured in the movie.

The music is sparse except at plot points that convey sadness.

There is a sprinkling of, but not enough, humor.

The plot follows the "all's well that ends well" ending so loose ends are very neatly tied up--ahh, how convenient!

I was told that the movie was shot in 15 days, which may explain many things.

A Breath (2004)

Maudlin, Schmaltzy

[5/10 · 18 March 2006]

This is a slow moving film which is good if you have time to kill or want to get indoors in a climate controlled environment.

There are so many details that the story really drags. How much time do we need to spend on who is going to tell the little boy about his prognosis? In this movie, the answer appears to be forever! This film is too much like life rather than focusing on being entertainment.

Grandpa seems worried all the time so I would have had more empathy if his character would have had more depth. (Does he happen to have any more facial expressions at his disposal?) The kid is portrayed as a brat in many scenes. My sympathy was stretched thin at liking his character. The Social Worker appears to have recently graduated from the school of overacting--summa cum laude. The Doctor is likable. Although why the script won't let him tell the kid about his diagnosis in the first place is beyond me.

The story is rather maudlin. At the end many women in our audience were crying. I couldn't feel the empathy because the story had numbed me.

The cultural insights are: when you bob your head left to right that indicates "yes" (as opposed to up and down), "BaBa" means grandfather, people are shown everywhere which one expects in a country with the second highest population in the world.

A few realistic twists or turns would have made the time seem to pass quicker.

Continuity problems: operating in the evening after spending the day seeing the sights—what about the anesthesia and the boy's stomach contents? The doctor puts on his gloves in his office—what about the sterile field? (So now how are you going to get me to fly to India and have surgery?)

Coach Carter (2005)

More Coach Carter content

[8/10 · 13 July 2005]

Coach Carter is a good sports movie. The fact that it is based upon a true story makes it more compelling. It revolves around tough love and the idea that if you do thousands of push-ups and thousands of suicides (wind sprints) then you will develop the necessary respect for yourself and your fellow man. Ahh if everyone would just go to boot camp then wouldn't the world be a better place?

I liked that this movie asked the question, "what really is a student athlete?" The answer is that in today's schools "student athlete" is an oxymoron unless a contract is signed and enforced. And it is the enforcing of this contract that made this an unique sports movie.

Samuel L. Jackson is well cast and gives an excellent performance although in some scenes I was wondering if he was still training Jedi Knights.

During the filming of the "big" basketball games it appeared several of the cameramen were having seizures—the equivalent of my wife operating our camcorder—or maybe it was just the editor who was seizing?

Although Ashanti is really nice to look at I wasn't sure why her character was necessary to tell the story. Either her influence on the team (not just an individual) and the plot needed to be integrated better or her character should have been scaled down or cut.

I would have liked to have seen more about what made Coach Carter take the job (he was only paid $1,500 a season) and more on why he didn't have his son enroll in Richmond in the first place instead of sending him to a private school. I already know about drugs on the street and teenage pregnancy through many other films. What I don't know enough about is what motivates a Coach Carter type personality and in turn why there are so few like him.

The objective of life is not to try to reach one's peak during high school sports but rather to be prepared for the long haul. This movie conveys this message well but I still would have liked to see more of Coach Carter off the court and less of the basketball players off the court.

In Good Company (2004)

How about another ending?

[8/10 · 30 June 2005]

In Good Company has a compelling story line especially for those of us who have been through many a corporate buyout and merger. I certainly could relate. The performances by Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace are quite good and Topher was well cast considering he wasn't the first choice. For most of the movie the Director/Writer Paul Weitz makes the story quite believable. However, I had problems with how Weitz wraps up the film.

During his commentary on the deleted scenes Weitz says he feels as if he was making two parallel movies. His cuts eliminated one of the movies but we seem to be left with the ending to maybe the other movie? As we move into the third act we see Dan literally punch Carter in the eye and then we see Alex figuratively punch Carter in the heart. Dan and Alex's one-two punch to Carter left me cold.

Besides the romance, Weitz also gave up the ship on the larger level. Having the company being sold again in such an abbreviate time span (remember Dan's wife is pregnant at the beginning of the movie and she has a baby at the end) and then replacing everyone with the old team really seems hard to believe. The time line is just too short.

So how about this ending instead? Carter needed a father figure and he was looking for the company (or its Officers) to be his father. Dan was the kind of father Carter needed. Since Dan and Carter were already a team by closing the big account together then they could have teamed up to put the wheels in motion for a management buyout. So then Dan sticks it to the "man" by initiating a management buyout and in turn he also saves Carter from becoming another Teddy Kay.

Cut the whole "boss is sleeping with my daughter" romance because it is hard to believe (like Dan dyeing his hair at his desk (a deleted scene)) and it is difficult to properly resolve. If you have to have this romance in the movie then wouldn't it have been better if after Dan punches Carter in the eye he then later helps Carter and Alex reunite in the ending? Now we are talking "Synergy" baby and we are finally "In Good Company"! I enjoyed the movie but with a big finish I would have loved it!

The Birds (1963)

Birds symbolize women?

[8/10 · 27 June 2005]

This movie is not just about birds that attack humans but about many things. The birds themselves may be a metaphor rather than just a peaceful creature gone bad.

What might these birds symbolize—women ("bird" is British slang for a young woman), peace (doves), love (love birds), nuclear war (a bird is a guided missile and always ready to be fired), or maybe humans who are no longer rational and go into panic mode (like birds that are no longer peaceful and become ruthless predators)? Has anyone ever flipped you the bird?

There seems to be the strongest connection between the birds and the women in the film. The movie begins with a boy whistling at Melanie—the human equivalent of a bird mating call. Mitch has three "birds" circling him—his mother who wants no other women in his life and to rule the roost, Annie who longs for Mitch to return to their nest and Melanie who is really, really, really cooing for Mitch. (Melanie's chasing of Mitch makes one wonder if she is wearing a testosterone patch or maybe has ingested the same thing that make the birds so predatory.) At the birthday party when the real birds first attack en masse we see a shot of the mother, the new girlfriend and the old girlfriend and how they have changed from lovely ladies to conniving females--just as the birds have changed from docile creatures to deadly predators. The "bird as human female" analogy continues with Melanie longing to return to the nest since her mother flew the coop when Melanie was only 11. In the end though Mitch triumphs over all these various bird incantations—yea Mitch!

Remember the movie begins and ends with the love birds—"love thy neighbor" being the second most important commandment according to Jesus.

For those who have trouble with the idea that a bird would ever attack a human being, please get close to a Mockingbird's nest or have food around an Ostrich or EMU. Still not convinced? Then may I suggest you go get your car washed and then park it under a tree filled with birds? They do attack you from one end of their bodies or the other!

Alfred Hitchcock does have style. Even when Melanie's face is bloodied by the bird attacks he still uses a soft focus lens to make her look beautiful. Ahh beauty and the bloodied, bird pecked face--not an easy thing to pull off.

The sound effects are ethereal and there is no music like in the rat movie "Ben". Too bad. "Ben" produced a hit for Michael Jackson—a scary story in itself.

Waking Life (2001)

Packed with ideas

[8/10 · 20 June 2005]

Waking Life is a good movie for those who don't easily get seasick. The constant motion reminded me of being on a cruise ship, an alternate reality in itself. If you can get by the constant flowing "dreaminess" (on a cruise there are those who pop Dramamine or wear a patch) then there is a great deal to ponder: existentialism, nihilism, collective consciousness, human evolution, the criminal mind, lucid dreaming, free will, the holy moment, the power of the subconscious, your own reality and many other topics. The plot is introduced really late in the movie so the viewer is left wondering—"what the hec is going on?" However, patience does pay off and it will all come together for you if you don't get seasick and if you remember to use your higher brain function. I liked the gonzo style of the filmmakers and their creativity. This movie could lead to lengthy discussions on many different topics and I could even see a Philosophy Professor using it as a final exam. Watch it and expand your mind or don't and just "Dream on Dude"!

Spellbound (2002)

Great Work!

[10/10 · 19 June 2005]

The movie focuses on eight contestants and serves up a mini-profile of each. In their early teens, the octet hail from across the social spectrum and from across the country. The dominant group, however, are the diligent offspring of hard working immigrants. Their optimism and focus on hard work prove that the immigrant work ethic -- the very one that built America -- is alive in a new generation. If you know anyone who is xenophobic then this movie might be just the remedy.

On its most basic level, Jeff Blitz's Spellbound documents the 1999 nerd Olympics: 9 million nationwide spelling-bee contestants reduced to 249 finalists reduced to one winner. But the contest turns out to have a deeper resonance than if the "sport" (it is covered by ESPN) had been merely physical: Among other things, mastery of the English language becomes a means of affirming one's American-ness. On a higher level it shows what middle schoolers, tweenagers if you will, can do if given the chance. It is a microcosm of life--you work hard, try your best but being number one isn't just about the effort. Wouldn't it be nice though if in life you went to a "Comfort Room" after each major disappointment?

"Spellbound" is a gorgeous weave. It's funny in some places, deeply moving in others, and just a fine way to spend an hour and a half--longer if you view the film again with the Filmmakers' Commentary (in Set-up). I recommend watching the DVD a second time with the Filmmakers' Commentary because you get a greater depth of understanding (they used their credit cards to finance the film, the 160 HOURS they shot was edited down to just under 100 minutes, Georgie's parents (the very first visited) asked the Filmmakers to leave after only two days because they were interfering with Georgie's home schooling, . . .) and it is like getting two rentals for the price of one. The Bonus Features--especially about the Spellers who didn't make the editing--are great too.

By the way, you may ask yourself: "What the hec does spelling have to do with intelligence?" Marilyn vos Savant's: "The Art of Spelling" answers this question. Vos Savant describes the psychological evidence for where good (and bad) spelling originates, provides personality portraits of all kinds of spellers (a superb speller is more likely to keep a tidy house), and offers the most effective methods of spelling improvement known. Marilyn vos Savant is listed in The Guinness Book of Records Hall of Fame as having the highest recorded I.Q.: 228. Her Sunday "Parade Magazine" column, "Ask Marilyn," is read by more than 80 million people.

The Burning Season: The Chico Mendes Story (1994 TV Movie)

Good Earth Day Film

[8/10 · 22 April 2005]

It's a "true story" but I was left wondering: "Is it "Hollywood true" or "true-true"?" The bad guys are really bad and the good guys are really good.

Although the environmental issues are addressed and resolved were the economic issues ever resolved? I was left hanging. The issue is: it it possible to have environmental friendliness while being able to build a middle class?

There's a nude scene that is nice to look at but left me wondering how it was necessary to further the story.

The film did raise issues to discuss: the company store, liberation theology, the rain forest, non-violent protest and development versus saving the environment.

It is a good Earth Day film to view and then have a discussion. This is especially true for Americans who are the worst polluters in the world and tend to look to the rain forest instead of in their own backyards.

The performances are very good. Be prepared to cry.