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Reviews
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Not quite as good as Empire, but not far off
I'm a huge Star Wars fan so I pretty much knew I would like Attack of the Clones going in. And I did enjoy it. It's not a flawless movie, and there is always room for improvement, but my complaints are minor.
The first half of the movie is pretty "talky" with only sporadic bits of action but the chit-chat is necessary so that the viewers can get some idea of what has happened in the past 10 years (the amount of time that has passed since the events in The Phantom Menace) and what is happening currently. The love scenes do have some clunky, cheesy dialogue but Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman do the very best they can with some pretty silly lines. Christensen is at his best when he's angry and conflicted (the Tusken raider scene and the following "confession" scene blew me away). Portman is stiff at times but then again, this befits the always-in-control personality of her character. Ewan McGregor does a great job as Obi-Wan and Sam Jackson and Christopher Lee do their parts well. Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine will give you the willies. And in one particularly memorable scene, we see why Yoda is the Master. The CGI is fabulous. There are a couple of CGI scenes that are less than perfect, but not many. As for the much-maligned love story...well, if you can't tell that they are in love by the time the arena battle takes place then you haven't been paying attention. I thought Christensen and Portman had great chemistry by the way. All in all, I give the movie an 8.5/10. I definitely recommend it, especially if you are a serious SW fan.
Matilda (1996)
Great for all ages
I have to admit I can't resist watching this movie every time it comes on TV. It always brings a smile to my face. Mara Wilson does a very good job of portraying the prodigious Matilda. Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman are hilarious as her neglectful white-trash parents. Probably one of the best performances is Pam Ferris as the kid-hating principal of Crunchem Hall (gotta love that name). There are a few minor annoyances or inconsistencies in the movie....Matilda's teacher Miss Honey is just a bit *too* perfect (although still very likeable) and I have to admit I am puzzled at how, despite the oppressive atmosphere of the school, each and every one of the children was perfectly sweet and well-behaved...not a single brat in the bunch. Kind of unrealistic, even with a super teacher like Ms. Honey. But that's minor stuff. For the most part, I think adults and children alike can cheer along as Matilda gets her revenge on the adults who have failed her. A really good movie.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
He may not be the walrus, but he'll always be Ferris!
When Ferris Bueller's Day Off was first released, I was already into my 20's, so obviously it's been a long time since I was a teenager. Nonetheless, this has always been one of my very favourite movies, and remains so today. Ferris is a teenager who decides to take the day off school and goes to incredible lengths to cover his tracks, right down to recording a fake "Funeral Home" answering machine message! Matthew Broderick is, of course, wonderful as the title character and Alan Ruck is absolutely brilliant (even upstaging Broderick at times) as the anal-retentive Cameron. The supporting roles are all very well done, especially Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward as Ferris' dim-bulb parents, Jennifer Grey as his wonderfully bitchy sister, Edie McClurg as the scatterbrained secretary Grace, and especially Jeffrey Jones as the hapless principal Ed Rooney. Also worth a giggle are the hilarious cameo performances by Kristy Swanson, Ben Stein and Charlie Sheen. Best scene of the movie: the "Twist and Shout" scene. This movie is filled with some terrific one-liners, such as "I weep for the future", "I think we should shoot her" and my personal favourite "what country do you think this is?" Matthew Broderick may be making it big on Broadway these days but to me he'll always be Ferris.
Little Criminals (1996)
Deeply disturbing, but excellent movie
When Little Criminals was first televised in my area in January of 1996, I taped it....and to this day I still have the tape, and have watched it a number of times. This is an incredibly engrossing movie, with terrific acting by all involved, especially Brendan Fletcher and the late Myles Ferguson (RIP). Fletcher plays Des, an eleven-year-old boy who is already a career criminal. He smokes, does drugs, sets fires, mugs people, steals everything from cartons of cigarettes to guns and automobiles, and (although we don't actually see evidence of it) claims he is sexually active. He lives in an old, dilapidated, roach-ridden house with his neglectful mother. His friend and partner-in-crime is Cory (Ferguson), a basically decent kid who is going through a rather vigorous adolescent rebellion due to his ambivalence towards his new stepfather, stepsister and baby half-brother.
He falls in with Des for awhile, but eventually wises up, near the end of the movie. When Des is finally taken away from his mother, he gets sent to an assessment centre for troubled children. At this point, we get to see what makes Des tick, and it looks as though Des might turn his life around. A happy ending? Sadly, no. This movie has a very downbeat, depressing conclusion, which actually serves to make the movie even more powerful and poignant. A must-see.