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Reviews
Connie and Carla (2004)
Thoughts on Connie and Carla
*may contain spoilers*
Connie and Carla is an enjoyable movie to watch. Two local girls see something they shouldn't have and end up being hunted down by a small time drug dealer. In a fright they leave their small town to hide in the wilds of LA and think of a plot to keep themselves safe and with enough money to make ends meet.
"Connie and Carla" does a good job at exploring the value of family even if what family does is not agreeable to you and exploring the journey there.
While this is a fun movie to watch and is clever in many ways, one question is never answered well by the movie. They witness a man being killed and a cop being involved in it. They never explain why they didn't go elsewhere and tell what they saw. Our two main characters haven't done anything and they do some things which seem unrealistic if it were real life.
Don't be surprised if you enjoy the movie, and equally, don't be surprised if watching it once is enough.
Carolina (2003)
A pleasant movie to watch
*may contain a few spoilers*
Carolina is an unusual movie (and character) in the fact that even in a family as dysfunctional as hers is, family always comes first. Rather than be weighted down by her past Carolina does her utmost to rise above it and make her life a bit more complete than the fractured past which she had grown up with, all the while she (and others) continue to make the same mistakes that got them there to begin with.
Overall the movie had a decent flow, and outstanding acting by all parties involved. There were a few areas it lacked in, one of the most notable was the ending which was as fractured as Carolina's family was. There were too many paths revealed without anything coming to fruition. There was also the possibility of more conflict (which was implied by the families action) which was never capitalized on. Apart from the fact that family stayed together, it failed to show any other values you would hope from a family movie. Instead you see each person falling into the same mistakes that their parents had without truly overcoming anything.
Overall it is very watchable, but expect to be left with a few questions at the end.
Fort Doom (2004)
A movie that didn't make it
This movie is about a group of women (perhaps not of the highest repute) who are heading to a small fort to take over a recently departed uncles property where they plan to set up shop. Upon arrival in a nearby city they find no one will go there (even though its only 15 miles away), so they walk. When they get there they find there are no soldiers but a good amount of people who have taken over use of the fort and built up a small city nearby. They soon find that something isn't right here and Fort McMillan (Ft. Doom as the locals call it) is in some serious trouble.
Rather than go into the plot line I will make some comments about things I noticed about the movie. First off the acting is very flat, only a few of the people seem to be real enough to believe in. My first though was poor acting, but at the end I watched some of the outtakes and these same people became alive. So my only thought left is this is how the director wanted it. On top of the bad acting I have a great problem where the people don't react right to a given set of circumstances. Take for example no one would take them to Ft McMillan for any price even though its only 15 miles away. Yet when we arrive at the Fort we find it is well maintained by a decent population of people, all of whom must get supplies from some one, not to mention mail etc. It is supposed to take place in 1867, yet we can see the railroad car has electric lights (they aren't on at least) and a locomotive engine that is at least 30 years later, not one of the general style of locomotives so popular at that time. There are also places where you can see paved blacktop, (and maybe a car at one point, didn't want to bother to go back and look) and other anachronistic items. If they had followed the rules of the "world" they made and let the actors be actors it might have gotten a 4 from me instead of the 2 I gave it, and they rewritten it about 4 more times it might have done even better.