Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Monday, 13 August 07 - 01:58 AM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in Movies |
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I was initially captured by the front of the video box. At the video rental the eyes just seemed to be staring at me.Upon closer examination the eyes were of Halle Berry. The film was recommended by Oprah Winfrey. Now I am not a big fan of Halle Berry but I can only say I sort of fell in love with Janie Crawford, whose journey takes her through three marriages with very different men, and during which she experiences all that life has to offer, from tremendous success to unspeakable heartbreak.
I understand from the many critiques that the book by Zora Neale Hurtson, on which this movie was based goes well beyond what was depicted in the movie. Having not read the book I thoroughly enjoyed watching this beautiful movie and was truly touched by the story of Janie Crawford. A timeless story of a beautiful woman (and I must add that for the first time I thought of Halle Berry as beautiful) in her journey to find love and spiritual fulfillment in a social environment that clashes in terms of the expectations of a colored woman in early 20th century USA.
Tristan And Isolde
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Thursday, 07 June 07 - 12:01 PM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in Movies |
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Before Romeo and Juliet, there was Tristan and Isolde.
Down at the video rental I stumbled upon this movie: romance, theatrics and battles. This promised to be a movie to serve all needs.
The story is a classic, of impossible love and being torn apart by it. It's a story about loyalty against a background of medieval times.
The story
Tristan (James Franco), an English boy and after losing his parents in a raid by the Irish, is raised by his new stepfather, King Mark (Rufus Sewell), who loves his new stepson as if it were his own. Tristan quickly shows great talent as a warrior and at a later age has the support of the English lords in leading their armies.
The boat ends up on the Irish coast where Tristan found and taken care of by Isolde (Sophia Myles) in a remote little hut. The two fall in and make but Tristan needs to get back to England.
Some time later, back in Ireland for a tournament, he wins the tournament for King Mark, to find that Mark's prize, the daughter of the Irish king. On the way back to England, Tristan convinces Isolde that they must forsake their feelings for each other. There is more at stake: the greater good of the warring tribes. She must marry King Mark in marriage in order to achieve peace.
Back home Tristan is made the Kings second, leaving Mark's son out of the loop. Unfortunately the initially noble sentiments of Tristan turn out to be hollow words. His personality quickly changes due to the burning love inside. Isolde copes but finds it hard to be apart from Tristan as well. As to be expected they end up having a love affair secretly meeting behind Mark's back. Mark finds himself loving Isolde very deeply. A triangle of love and betrayal.
As to be expected as well, they get caught, and Mark feeling deeply betrayed by his beloved stepson, arrests Tristan to think about his punishment for this betrayal. He then finds out through Isolde's confession that they had been in love well before the marriage and decides to send them off together in an act of forgiveness. It is claimed that their love had brought down the Kingdom, and resulted in the truce between the English and the Irish being broken. The result of a love affair and a carefully staged plot of several noblemen, including Mark's natural son.
By that time the Irish are attacking the kingdom of Mark and instead of taking off with Isolde, he turns back to back support his King in a battle against the Irish.
Their love did not bring down a kingdom. Legend says Mark defeated the Irish, rebuilt his castle and reigned in peace until the end of his days.Isolde laid Tristan, deadly wounded beneath the ashes of the Roman ruin, planted his grave with two willows that grew forever intertwined. After that she disappeared.
Comments
The characters are portrayed skillfully and are believable. No one is overdone in my view. It is a great combination of action and drama with a lot of underlying themes, that made this movie very worth while.
If you're planning a nice (romantic) evening on the couch with your partner to watch a movie you will both enjoy. This is your perfect choice.
More information and reviews of the movie can be found at
http://www.tristanandisoldemovie.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375154/
http://www.amazon.com/Tristan-Isolde-Widescreen-James-Franco/dp/B000EPFCPE
For a more historical approach to this epic saga:
http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/tristan.html
http://www.tristanandisolde.net/
Dreamgirls
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Monday, 21 May 07 - 03:06 AM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in Movies |
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Being a music lover, I still don't know whether I should post this as a music post or a movie post. But heh, since we are dealing with a movie let's keep things simple.
All I can say is I must have looked pretty silly being moved to tears by some of the very outstanding performances.
An incredible former American Idols alumna Jennifer Hudson with a voice and a soul that reminded me so much of Aretha Franklin, or better yet, it did the same to me as hearing Aretha Franklin sing: goose pimples and at times tears in my eyes because of the raw yet controlled beauty of what I am hearing. Her version of the cover "I am changing" really is one of the best I have ever heard . Not that that is any measure bit just wanted to share that with you.
I was so amazed to see the emotional side of Beyonce in her version of "Listen": a rawness that I had not seen of her before and a far cry from what I had seen of her so far.
And what to think of Eddie Murphy, I was amazed to see how he pulled of being a real soul performer, loved every minute of it. And how symbolic: "Fake your way to the top" a lesson I see mastered by so many.
All in all a fantastic movie experience and a definite recommeded watch for those that like great music.
The story itself was, and maybe because I was distracted by the great music, not that spectacular. For those more interested in the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamgirls_(film)
Happy Feet
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Wednesday, 17 January 07 - 02:41 AM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in Movies |
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As far as I am concerned it had everything a kids movie needed: action, great music, fantastic graphics, positive messages.I was happy with the messages:
It's ok to be different and don't let yourself be changed for the sake being accepted as "one of the group", be authentic and yourself
Follow your destiny
Don't forget your background
Contribute
Screw the dogmatics and be open to new ideas: what might be strange behaviour in your own society/environment could very well be accepted as normal in other communities: the relativity of rules and accepted norms and values
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing
Ain't no mountain high enough ain't no valley deep deep enough
Rsing up to he occasion
What was even better is that my 5 year old son picked up on all these same issues. The talks we had afterwards were just as interesting as the movie itself.
For me however one thing stood out beyond the obvious outlined above: the music production was just mind blowing, great originals, fantastic covers.How did the producers manage to have ten of the fourteen (thirteen on the CD plus "If your Leave me now" (Chicago)) songs be songs of my personal top 50 and what arrangements.
The rythm was so over the place I could not keep my feet still. The images toigether with the music was just mind blowing. Now you might start wondering about my mental capacities but I was not the onbly one to see it.
The following review seems to be very in line with my thoughts and since I could not have said it better:http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3921880a1870,00.html
"For sheer visual splendour, Happy Feet towers above all other CGI animated efforts last year. There's an unusual intensity in its execution and vision.
The strikingly dramatic Goya- esque lighting, the flawless sense of character-to-landscape proportions, the expansive, near-biblical widescreen compositions, the fluidity of movement and the inspired mixture of photorealistic and animated rendering - they all add to a bona fide eye-popper.
It's a tad off-kilter too, what with George Miller - the genius behind one of the most nightmarish children's films ever, Babe: Pig in the City - directing.
The plot's as old as Dumbo, and just as resonant: young Mumble (Elijah Wood), son of Elvis impersonator Memphis (Hugh Jackman) and soul diva Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman), can't sing to save his life; instead, he's a natural born tap- dancer. But seeing that finding your "heart song" is all important in penguin world, he's looked down upon by his kind.
The elders believe he's responsible for the lack of fish in the area, while love interest Gloria (Brittany Murphy) isn't too impressed with his tone-deaf vocal strainings. Forced to leave, he befriends Ramon (Robin Williams) and his band of Spanish-tongued Adelie penguins and learns that "aliens" - trawlers - are behind their diminishing food supply.
Featuring takes on everything from Prince to the Beach Boys, the musical numbers dominate - with most of the actors serviceably doing their own singing - but there are plenty of wild, imaginatively choreographed action sequences scattered throughout.
The dark tonal shift in the last third of the film might jar certain viewers, and its eco-conscious message goes way over the top with the concluding live action montage, but Happy Feet remains a stunning achievement for the genre, positively taking its technical innovations to the next level".
ALL IN ALL GO SEE THIS ONE: FEEL THE JOY.More importantly get into a good conversation with your young ones about hat what is really important in life. Best of all: you will remember again what the importance of being authentic and following your destiny is all about. The best self help-film so far!!!!!!!!!!
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