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Reviews
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
A warm, heart-felt family movie.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a warm, heart-felt family movie. Clifton Webb does a wonderful job as the scientifically minded father. The two eldest daughters are easy on the eyes. The eldest, played by Jeanne Crain, is more liberal and rebellious than her father would care for, but that special bond between daddy and his little girl cannot be broken. In fact, as the movie develops, the more the girl rebels, the closer she becomes to her dad.
There is one fact of this movie that does baffle me. The title implies that there are 12 children. No less than three times is there dialogue or narration that says there are 12 children. Yet, there are never more than 11 children shown in the movie, and there are at least 2 occasions when there is dialogue stating that there are 11 children. I don't know much about the family, so I don't know how many children there were, but it seems that there were only 11.
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
Disappointing, dull, unbalanced
I looked forward to spending part of my Independence Day weekend watching a good film about Jefferson. This film was not it. It was rather long, drawn out, dull and unbalanced. Too much time was spent exploring Jefferson's relationship with Cosway and not enough time was spent on his relationship with Sally Hemmings. The lady who played Sally, Thandie Newton, was absolutely awful. Her acting was so bad it was like watching an A1 airhead trying to recite Shakespeare. Her constant whining voice grated the nerves! Nolte's accent made Jefferson sound like an ignorant man, rather than a genius. Jefferson's relationship with his daughters and their feelings on slavery was also underdeveloped, yet his eldest daughter's rebellion (Patsy)is a key event late in the film. The film was too long and the script lacked energy and excitement. On the positive side, the costumes were quite beautiful, and Greta Scacchi played the part of Cosway well. If you want to watch a film about the revolutionary era and/or Jefferson, then watch 1776, it's much better than Jefferson in Paris.
Biruma no tategoto (1956)
Among the finest anti-war films, which also explores the Buddhist beliefs of altruism.
This is perhaps one of the finest anti-war films I have ever seen. It is the near total lack of violence/depiction of war that makes this movie so powerful. Rather than focusing on the battles and the guns and the ships, etc, this film instead focuses on the human tragedy and suffering caused by war. The viewer is introduced to Mizushima, a Japanese soldier who is well liked by his comrades. As the movie develops, he is separated from them. On his journey to rejoin his comrades, Mizushima witnesses the tragedy of war as he comes upon dozens and dozens of unburied Japanese dead. This exposure to the ultimate tragedies of war is countered by the kindness of a Buddhist monk, who takes Mizushima in and nurses him to health. Mizushima starts to realize that he must give his life to help others - altruism - even if those others are dead. Filled with Buddhism and the Buddhist way of life, the film explores altruism and sends a strong anti-war message that cannot be missed. The scenery is stunning, including the Schwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma, perhaps one of the most beautiful of all Buddhist temples. The music is outstanding as well. It is simple, yet moves the film forward and sends powerful messages. A great movie to watch and internalize. It is a tear jerker as well. At worst, it will make some understand that the Japanese were people too, and not just some monster as they were often depicted as in the USA.