Cybertoad's Blog

Here are the rest of my movie reviews. Since there are so many, I have decided to post them in the extended entry section…

All of these were NetFlix rentals we have watched over the past couple of months…

Children of Heaven: A wonderful Iranian film that follows the story of a little boy and his quest for new shoes since due to circumstances he and his sister have to share a pair of shoes. The movie is incredibly endearing and is a rare reflection on the family aspect of the Middle Eastern and Muslim world. The movie is *not* political at all nor is it a movie of conflict. It is simply a movie of human emotion that all of us can relate to. The children are so sincere and emotionally straightforward too. Great family film if everyone can read the sub-titles.

All About Eve: I had seen bits and pieces of this classic Betty Davis film that won Best Picture (and several other awards) in 1951. Betty is amazing of course and interestingly enough, the film closely resembled her real life at that time. Great characters, unabashed dramatic flare and a beauty in black and white.

Children of a Lesser God: Another film great I had never seen. This film is about a deaf woman who falls in love with a hearing man. It won an Oscar in 1987 for Marlee Matlin’s performance (who is actually deaf like her character). Powerful story that truly shows you what an amazing actress she had to be to not be able to use words and still give such a great performance. Sappy, predictable but still a great love story that says a lot without using that many words.

A Prairie Home Companion: Being a huge fan of the NPR radio variety show, I was looking forward to this film, especially considering the actors. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly but unless you are a fan of the show, the movie will just be boring to you. I found enjoyment in it but really it was just a lot of dialog without much acting. Interesting concept but don’t know if it translated that well. If you are fan of the radio show like I am, go see it. If you’ve never heard of the show, skip this movie.

It Happened One Night: Yet another Hollywood classic starring Clark Gable. This film won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director & Best Writing Adaptation in 1935. It was good, of course but the story may be a little too slow and dated to keep some viewers interested. I enjoyed it but was ready for it to wrap up toward the end. Cute chemistry between the two stars and it is always fascinating to watch what the social customs were back in the day.

The Weather Man: Can I say again how much I dislike Nicolas Cage? Well, this movie wasn’t horrendous but the preview sure made it look like a much more light-hearted comedy. Instead, it was a dark movie with a lot of depressing low points. And the main character simply did not make me care about him. Marginal recommendation if there is nothing else to rent.

The Innocents: OK, I got into a pattern of renting older films so I could build up my film base. The movie description intrigued me so I added it my NetFlix queue… but sorry, this was just so lame. Even considering the year it was made (1961) and realizing the story lines were slower and more dramatic back then this movie was over acted, extremely slow and the build-up was pointless. Sorry but this film was not for me.