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Reviews
Home Room (2002)
Surprising ending.
I rented this movie along with 'Elephant.' The two films are very different but obviously deal with the same subject (school shootings). I found the movie to be above average. In comparison 'Elephant' was better in my opinion. They are very different films but it seemed to me that 'Home Room' did what every other movie could have done. The cliché 'rich girl meets goth girl' idea did not really do it for me. I'm sick of 'odd couple' movies unless they have really good character development and are witty like say, 'Tin Men.' I didn't really feel the characters were developed interestingly enough. What I really liked about the movie however was the turn it took at the very end revealing how 'Alicia Browning' saved many more kids from being killed and how she had a baby die a year and a half earlier. I totally wasn't expecting that ending. Overall a well-made film with mediocre acting and mediocre dialog with a good ending.
The Constant Gardener (2005)
Better than 'City of God'
I saw this last night (opening day) and it completely blew me away. The way that it encompassed a political issue but came at it in a very personal way was amazing. The film used a lot of hand-held camera action which really connected the viewer into the action and made you feel as if you were a part of it. Also for the first half of the movie you saw Tessa as sort of a promiscuous slut especially in the scene where it cuts to her holding a black baby with Arnold and Justin right next to her made you think that she was carrying Arnolds baby the entire time. The end of the movie brings her back as a heroic figure. The movie is perfectly paced so that you feel as if you are inside Justins head. The narrative is expressed clearly through jolting camera action, quick cuts, and pacing. When Justin is just learning all the secrets about his wife's death there are tons of quick cuttings which make the viewer feel overwhelmed as Justin most certainly feels but then it slows again feeling almost as if Justin's found peace with his wife's death and suddenly has a clearer head. I could say much much more about this amazing film but it seems pointless because you really have to experience it for yourself. See this movie TWICE in the theaters. It won't be a waste of money guaranteed.
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Gilliam...but not quite...
I'm as big a 'Monty Python' fan as anyone else but my expectations for 'The Brothers Grimm' were not met. Sure, it was funny at parts. Even classic Gilliam funny but the funny parts were few and far between and filled in between was a fluffy cheesy CGI created world full of children-eating werewolves and grotesque queens. Sure, its well made but for those comparing this movie to the classically terrible 'Van Helsing' I can now see the resemblance. The characters in 'The Brothers Grimm' do approach their situations with more tongue-in-cheek humor but it still just doesn't quite work. You're left leaving the theater thinking 'ok....what am I supposed to come away with.' The movie is worth a rental but not much more than that.