The title gives away the common thread of the various articles.
It's a fascinating film in that it shocks any kind of romance out of the settler/homesteading era. The madness, lack of social recourse, and ignorance in these remote locations is saddening, if not a quite upsetting.
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Jake, a "duchy" or German immigrant's son, is as young and innocent as they come. He joins with a rich man's son, another friend and a freed slave. Together they patriotically join various groups and experience great personal loss. The group changes over time and ultimately includes a fair maiden. The transformation among these Americans is tremendous to behold and Jake is a character that will blow you away by his modest resolve (a very able and long haired Tobey Maguire).
Top marks for this one.
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Keanu Reeves wasn't as bad as I expected and the film, while quite melodramatic and over the top one-liners, was great! As one of the better early comic book type films in recent years, The Matrix redefined what smart action was capable of. It also tells a great parable!
I'm actually looking forward to seeing the next three (though their reviews drop considerably from what I recall).
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Office Space satirizes the modern worker - the white collared and tender handed male. 
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Although I'm certain that many people can enjoy this film, the writing takes on too many cliché characters: the faithless priest (saw him in The Exorcist and Signs), political church leaders, the unholy temptress, the abused teenage girl, the faithful monk, the saintly woman, etc. And while I accept these characters, I would expect them to stray a bit from established ones.
The story weaves in and out from the past and flashbacks and adds the mysticism of a statue of Mary shedding tears of blood. Viewers are inevitably drawn into the question as to whether the claimed miracles are real or not, whether the saintly woman will be beatified, whether the priest will fall in love with the temptress, whether the girl will die, whether the political clergy will be overruled, etc. But it is all quite melodramatic. We are not watching a new story.
The acting is commendable; Ed Harris reveals his doubt dramatically on various occasions. The film is set in 1977-1981, but the costumes and styles seem a bit too modern.
Truth: Faith is given purpose and strength only when it is tested.
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An Irish teenage girl leaves her country to seek her boyfriend in England. She is terribly naïve and finds herself being preyed upon by a catering manager - not sexually, but for his need for companionship and desire to be needed. It is uncommon to find a film so rich with subtlety. The story slowly unfolds with flashbacks to Ireland and to a 1950's TV cooking show hosted by the caterer's mom.
Every aspect of the film production was quite impressive, from set location through to the design of the caterer's home to the writing. It is always inspiring to see excellence.
The film's ending is surreal. It carries the weight of a ripened fruit.
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A London family of four moves to the coast. The teenage son who has been away at a boarding school for the past 2 years is home and bored. While a baby sister is born and the family adjusts to this rural setting, the boy discovers the awful truth of incest being committed between his father and older sister. His struggle throughout the film is how to uncover this with the least amount of casualties.
With waves crashing on jagged rocks, a messy and drab unpacked house, steady rain and mist and a fantastic car wreck, it is the perfect setting for this unconventional war. Though the older sister won awards and notoriety for her role in the film, I consider her brother the protagonist and an incredible actor.
The issue of sexual abuse is dealt with in numerous films, but this one keeps the issue fairly black and white. There isn't much sympathy for the perpetrator. The portrayal of abuse is harsh, as it should be.
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We are guided through a long distance romance involving a devastated widower and an incredulous divorcée. As unlikely as the plot unfolds, we again have some straws to grasp as we slide down what we believe to be an inevitable end. First off, neither are looking for a relationship and secondly, there is plenty of stumbling. Paul Newman has a great act as the recovering alcoholic dad to Costner.
The theme of releasing what we once held dear in order to embrace a new dear because either death or rejection makes it impossible to continue living in the past dominates this film. We come out enlightened to the fact that life can really not go on as long as we cling to impossibilities in our lives or let our lives depend on people that don't depend on us. There is a salvation question here: what ultimately can save us?
The film did make my eyes roll a few times, again because of some of the ridiculous plot turns. The ending just makes me shake my head in wonder and while I understand its purpose, I can not acknowledge its value.
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The pure magic of the story is of course Shakespeare's wit. The wide vocabulary, sharp puns, and rhyming make this a joy to simply listen to, let alone the imaginative setting and colourful characters.
This production went all out getting half a dozen of the hottest actors of that year and then filling the rest of the cast with another half dozen familiar faces. Kevin Kline is by far the stand-out actor in the bunch and you can tell he's having fun as Bottom. Calista Flockhart plays a great skinny Helena and Stanley Tucci is a likeable Puck.
Watching it again after 4 years, I was surprised that the special effects weren't more elaborate. The sets and costumes were certainly over the top with a lavish setting in 19th Century Italy. All fun and seductive.
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But I was pleasantly surprised. If you know the true story of Archie Grey Owl, you know that Brosnan is a good pick for the part and he plays it beautifully. His counterpart, a young Canadian actress, is exuberant too. They both bring a welcome gentleness to the screen as they tell the story.
The story however is very simple. The real subject is Grey Owl himself. Fortunately Grey Owl is a very interesting subject. I think for most Canadians my age, he became a footnote in social studies class, but for the rest of the world, he is regarded as one of the most famous Canadians. One review of the film comments that he isn't like the other historical revolutionaries of the screen like Braveheart or Spartacus. He's more like Attenborough's other historical subjects, quiet, introverted.
The scenery of course if very wild. For me the Canadian wilderness seem very plain, but after being in Guatemala for two years, it was a welcome site and quite beautiful to behold.
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The focus of the film is the emasculation of the urban, consumerist man. We meet the Narrator (Edward Norton). He's got a desk job. He's addicted to purchasing Ikea furniture. He's ordinary. He's got insomnia. He meets Tyler (Brad Pitt) on a plane and his life is changed forever. He ends up leaving everything behind in the pursuit of manhood - disguised here as fighting.
The emasculation theme comes up repeatedly. The Narrator frequents a testicular cancer support group where he meets Bob (Meat Loaf) who has developed breasts due to a surge of estrogen in his body - a man who has almost literally turned into a woman. Bob ultimately joins the fight club. A penalty for errant fight club members later on in the film is castration. The main characters' fathers are discussed as having abandoned their families - and now a whole generation is living without having been fathered. The Narrator even says he is "a teenager in a 30-year-old's body."
Now the film of course is a caricature of losing your manhood, but it does inspire me to return to activities that affirm and define a man. I'm not saying that there are specific things that only men should do or that define manhood. I am saying that many things that men seek - physical struggle, to feel, to produce, truth, the wild, sexuality - have been replaced with comfort, complacency, consumerism, advertising, domestication, pornography. How many men eat chicken and have never killed one personally? I am one.
Consumerism is nearly a character in this film. Many brand names are mocked throughout the film; I'm not sure if it was product placement or not. Funny.
The acting was perfect, especially the four main characters - Norton, Pitt, Carter, Meat Loaf. I really focused on the writing this time around and it is spectacular, probably because it is based on a book. The other aspects of the film making are superbly wrought as well. Director David Fincher also directed The Game, Se7en, and this year's Zodiac. Fincher started directing music videos and it shows in this fast-paced thrill.
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