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AnandiC_W
Reviews
Home Again (2012)
A voice for Caribbean people
What is most amazing about this film is the subject matter. Who wants to hear about deportees? Our government ships them out of our tidy little society and it is not our problem any more. But from the opening scenes we realize that they are real people too. What separates them from us, is that they made a mistake and the law applies unfavourably and unequally to them.
The three deportees have their own stories, with one thing in common. A bad choice leads to no choices. They are no-class citizens in their land of birth and have to live at the outskirts of society just to survive day to day. The narratives are gripping and realistic. Even good choices don't always lead to happy endings.
A couple comments on filming on location in T&T: I am familiar with both Trinidad and Jamaica and the former does a decent stand-in for the latter. There are times when a location is obvious to me (the Mall, the market, the airport, North Coast) and I feel a little discombobulated with the Jamaican accents, but this should not be an issue with a general audience :) It was a real treat to have a cast with Caribbean roots, Tatyana Ali and Fefe Dobson in particular will give you goosebumps in their respective scenes.
Zoom (2006)
Funny Family Film
I carried my kids (ages 13, 9 & 5) to a budget cinema to see this film and I will admit that I went with pretty low expectations. We were joined by another family from church, whose 10 year old daughter had worn them into submission as well.
I thought the casting appropriate and well done...it was nostalgic to see Rip Torn in yet another movie with UFO's and references to Area 54. It's been a loooong time since I have seen Chevy Chase in anything and he was his usual goofy self. Tim Allen was really funny. You can understand why Home Improvement was at the top of the ratings for years. Ryan Newman (Cindy) was cute but sometimes her speech was hard to understand.
Not the greatest script, but the plot was very easy to follow for small kids (my kids are relatively unsophisticated). The scene when Dr. Grant was trapped in the weather simulator was very corny and did nothing to advance the plot, but the kids in the cinema loved it!!! Go figure.
The one "keep it real" moment is when Zoom trips. Really inane, really juvenile but I loved it. OK, I admit tears were rolling down my cheeks. I obviously don't get out much.
I am one of those geeks who look for the boom mikes and cars and planes in medieval scenes and I didn't notice any technical goofs. I was probably distracted by the film. Not like the time I was watching Fantastic Four (on DVD), on my knees begging hubby "Please, can we watch something else? Or scrub the toilets? Anything but?"
Zoom won't win an Oscar, and it may even be nominated for a Razzie or two. But it aims to be fun and fulfills its purpose to the delight of the kids.