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Kaykay
Member
01-21-2004
| Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 7:44 am
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991) I LOVE THIS MOVIE - it's a must see - has a great message for kids - my DD LOVES IT Editorial Reviews Amazon.com This charming Disney live-action picture is a genuine sleeper. It's a variation on the old boy-runs-away-to-join-the-circus story, except this time the boy is a girl. After she joins a traveling show in the 1930s, spunky teen Sonora Webster (Gabrielle Anwar) learns the ropes and eventually lands a plum role in the program: riding a horse off a 40-foot-high diving board into a tank of water. Well, Sonora thinks it's a plum, anyway. Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken has the usual love interest, a brush with tragedy, and some worldly wisdom (the latter doled out by old pro Cliff Robertson, in a nice role as a crusty barnstormer). What makes the movie memorable is the performance of the lovely Gabrielle Anwar, the doe-eyed actress who later danced the tango so memorably with Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. The movie may be sappy--no surprise with that title--but Anwar provides bright star wattage and a plucky role model. --Robert Horton Description Rarely has a film inspired and captivated audiences quite like the real-life story of Sonora Webster. As a runaway orphan, Sonora (Gabrielle Anwar) gets a job doing cleanup work for Doc Carver's traveling stunt show. Her biggest wish is to become a star "diving girl," but her youth and inexperience stand in the way. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy determination finally convinces Doc (Cliff Robertson) to give her a break. Just when she appears on the brink of stardom, however, a twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream. With the help of a loving friend (Michael Schoeffling, MERMAIDS), Sonora faces her biggest challenge yet to prove to herself and the world that WILD HEARTS CAN'T BE BROKEN!
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Saturday, June 25, 2005 - 8:59 am
Rize! Go see it. What is it? A documentary about "krumping" or "clowning," a kind of dance started in Watts, South Central LA, etc. It's a very demonstrative--yeah, I'll use that word--form of street dancing that "calls out" others. Want to know more? It was directed by David LaChapelle. Not Dave Chappelle from The Chappelle Show on Comedy Central. LaChapelle does fashion photography with over-saturated colors. You've seen it all over if you've looked at Vanity Fair or Rolling Stone or GQ or Vogue. He uses lots of these same photographic techniques in the film and it is a feast for the eyes. What if I don't like documentaries? OK, so you don't like documentaries. It's not like I'm telling you to go see Control Room or Bush's Brain here. It's about dance. But it's also about the sociological conditions--I'm not trying to be heavy here cause he just contextualizes it--that gave rise to Rize. It first started back in the day....the Rodney King Riots. It's beautiful, but the people it introduces us to are interesting and sometimes sobering. Besides, you'll love Miss Prissy and Tight Eyez. What Paris Is Burning did for Vogueing, this film will do for Krumping.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Saturday, June 25, 2005 - 3:46 pm
Just watched Secondhand Lions and I do agree with what others posted above. I enjoyed this story, as well as the sub-story, very much. How fortunate for them all to find each other and be able to share such wonderful times. I got a little teary too but it was a good teary. Now that I have read your posts, I better hurry back to watch the deleted scenes. Thank you for letting me know.
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Sunday, June 26, 2005 - 3:06 pm
Man Who Skied Down Everest (1975) is a pretty decent documentary about a Japanese skier who attempts to ski down Everest - he even meets Sir Edmund Hillary in the documentary. Its a good lesson in reaching for your dreams while also knowing your limits.
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Sunday, June 26, 2005 - 3:21 pm
Corporation is a pretty good documentary on the history of corporations and the spin of what they have done to society - but the way the documentary (which is two disks) portrays them is very interesting and its neat to hear all these CEOs and academics comment on them... its a cool movie if you like documentaries and want an insight into the corporate world. also Control Room is a great documentary about the arab TV network during the beginning of the war - its great to see behind the scenes of the reporters and what they do and decide etc.
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Ketchuplover
Member
08-30-2000
| Friday, July 15, 2005 - 6:31 pm
March of the Penguins. It's in theaters now. Haven't seen it yet. Anyone here see it?
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Friday, July 15, 2005 - 7:47 pm
i want to see it
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Ketchuplover
Member
08-30-2000
| Saturday, July 16, 2005 - 11:48 am
Either this coming Friday or the one after it will be in 500 theatres.
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Monday, July 25, 2005 - 6:55 am
SWIMMING UPSTREAM - great movie - very powerful and at points frustrating to watch how horrible Tony was treated by his father but it has resolution at the end, and trimuph, even if its not the normal kind of trimuph you expect in an inspirational sports movie - swimming has little to do with the story. "Set in 1950s Brisbane, Australia, this biopic follows aspiring swimmer Tony Fingleton and his overbearing, alcoholic father (Geoffrey Rush), who refuses to acknowledge his son's talents until Tony finally begins winning competitions. But by then, their relationship might be irrevocably damaged"
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Sunday, August 21, 2005 - 11:55 am
I went to see Broken Flowers, which stars Bill Murray and is directed by Jim Jarmusch [sp]. It's a really excellent, elegant little movie IMHO. I remember that it won something or other at the Cannes Film Festival. It's certainly not for everyone. If you don't like the laconic pacing and episodic narratives of some prominent recent films--think Lost in Translation and Sideways and go from there--you will probably not like this film, which co-stars Jeffrey Wright and Sharon Stone. I am a recent convert to Murray [loved him in the Wes Anderson films and Lost in Translation but hated him in, for example, Groundhog Day and his more broad comic roles], but I have admired Jarmusch for a long time. It's not Jarmusch's best film, but it's one of his better ones. As usual, the art direction and cinematography in his films is exemplary. It will almost make you forget that the last time you went to the movies, it was wasted on that debacle starring Jessica Simpson's breasts.
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Tashakinz
Member
11-13-2002
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 6:20 am
Watched "Beyond Borders" last night on cable. Well done movie, but very heavy (i.e., depressing) drama. It's a stark reminder of just how bad things are in other parts of the world.
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Tashakinz
Member
11-13-2002
| Monday, September 12, 2005 - 9:30 am
We somehow missed this one the first time around. We watched "The Insider" on Saturday night. Excellent acting and narrative.
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Monday, October 03, 2005 - 8:47 am
Capote is a really really good film! I saw it this weekend--I think it opens nationally in a couple weeks. It's about Truman Capote (duh!) and his effort to write his famous "non-fiction novel" In Cold Blood. It's easy to recommend for many reasons, not the least of which is Phillip Seymour Hoffman's incredible portrayal of Capote and its exploration of thanatos.
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Thursday, October 06, 2005 - 10:42 am
I agree Tish. I never knew that he was good friends with Harper Lee and that she was so tied up in In Cold Blood. Hoffman was brilliant as was the actress playing Harper. The way they showed the depth of Capote's character, the good the bad and the ugly was so impressive and it was uncanny how like Capote Hoffman was. It wasnt like watching an actor portray Capote, it was truly like watching Capote.
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Newman
Member
09-25-2004
| Friday, October 07, 2005 - 5:56 am
What's "thanatos"?
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Auntiemike
Member
09-17-2001
| Friday, October 07, 2005 - 7:36 am
Newman: Death (the god of death)
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Melfie1222
Member
07-29-2002
| Saturday, October 08, 2005 - 10:50 pm
Thanks to Tashakinz, I moved "The Insider" up on my Netflix queue and saw it two weeks ago. Good movie! A few others I've seen recently: "Off the Map": Joan Allen, Sam Elliott... beautiful southwestern scenery, a quiet simple little story with no big thing about it, just a good movie. I'm a Campbell Scott fan and he directed. "My Life Without Me": Sarah Polley (loved! her in The Sweet Hereafter) is beautiful, a young woman who has to face her own death and tries to complete her list of things to do.
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 10:59 am
mad hot ballroom must see!! its on DVD now and another fabulous documentary about ballroom dancing in NYC schools - the whole film is superb - you love the kids, the dancing, their dialogue, their abilities, everything is endearing and motivating and defiitely a boost to keep such programs in schools.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 4:57 pm
Melfie, I loved My Life Without Me. It really was a good film.
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Flossiebebe
Member
09-01-2005
| Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 8:17 pm
i saw 'Water'a couple weeks ago. An amazing film about 1930's India and the fate of widows...beautifully photographed as well. The film has an interesting history as the production company was kicked out of iNdia and had to start alll over again in Sri Lanka
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 1:28 pm
I agree with Tish and Maris, Capote is very good. I will see it again, and I almost never seen movies twice. I am surprised not to see a thread on it, now that it's getting more exposure in the entertainment news. When I first saw the title, I had no desire to see this movie because I figured it would just be about his life. On the contrary, it is about the process he went through while writing In Cold Blood. I took my 15 year old to see it. She brought a friend. When the movie was over, I apologized to them for bringing them to such a slow movie. (This didn't bother me at all, but they are teenagers!) They both looked at me as if I was crazy. They both thought it was great, the friend said it was probably the best movie she'd ever seen, or seen all year...something like that.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Friday, January 06, 2006 - 1:40 pm
Over the weekend we watched "the great raid" with Benjamin Bratt. It wasn't bad at all.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Sunday, January 08, 2006 - 2:09 pm
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I agree that this is an excellent movie. I thought it would just be a silly girls movie but it turned out to be much more. There were funny parts but I loved how the friendships grew and remained true. The girls matured together. Shall We Dance? This was an easy movie for me to watch since I love Richard Gere. A lovely story about life and the dancing was fun to watch too. Up Close & Personal How can you go wrong with Robert Redford in a movie? You knew what was going to happen most of the time but it was pleasant to go along with Redford and Pfeiffer.
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Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Monday, January 16, 2006 - 4:46 pm
I've just seen the Magdelene Sisters. It's not new--2003--but I discovered it at the Library. Its the story of three girls who are put into this prison like place because they were comsidered 'wayward' or 'lavacious' by parents or priests. Its a bit slow in places, but you get caught up in what will happen to these girls who lived and worked as prisoners in these places yet committed no crime. Their families never saw a lot of them who stayed til died. Thruout I was horrified by the fact that these places really existed. Here's a link for more information on the movie. http://www.grailwerk.com/docs/nytimes15.htm
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Sunday, February 26, 2006 - 3:33 pm
Legal, thank you for recommending The Story of the Weeping Camel. I finally sat down and watched it today. Liked it too. 
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