response 14 of 306:

Dec 29 12:37 UTC 2003

IMDb is carrying some criticism of Peter Pan by its users about what 
they see as inappropriate sexual tension between Peter and Wendy.  The 
scenes in question struck me as the old-fashioned (circa 1950) type of 
movie love, where one kiss by a pretty girl can send your spirits (can 
send *you*, in Peter's case) soaring with happiness.  There was that, 
plus a little pop psychologizing about Peter's inability to feel deep 
emotions, and about the healing power of Wendy's willingness to show 
her affection for him.  

I don't want to give the whole thing away, but I should at least point 
out here that the actor who plays Peter is the only American in the 
cast, and he is very conspicuously so.  Okay, an American who refuses 
to grow up, and who bullies a bunch of innocent Brits into taking up 
arms and going on childish "adventures"?  Ahem.

The movie was executive produced by Mohamed Al-Fayed and dedicated to 
the memory of his son Dodi.  Personally, I think that's real blood up 
there on the screen.  Kids will see one thing, their parents might see 
another.  The best kind of kids' movie.

response 16 of 306:

Dec 29 14:52 UTC 2003

Re resp:12: I hear that song was included after it proved popular in the
live musical.  I hate it when movies are changed in between their
theatrical release and their video release.  Disney does this a lot,
usually for political correctness reasons.

response 18 of 306:

Dec 30 03:50 UTC 2003

Rented "Rabbit Proof Fence".  I liked this a lot.  It's set in Australia,
where, from 1905 to 1970, it was the policy of the government to remove
half-caste aborigine children from their families and raise them in government
schools where they could learn to be domestic servants.  It follows the true
story of three children who escape from the school and walk 1500 miles across
Australia to return home.  It's amazingly well done.  I strongly recommend
renting the DVD so you can see the little "making of" documentary that is on
the disk.  I'm not sure I didn't like the that even better than the movie -
it focuses on the challenge of casting the film - finding three aborigine
child actresses who can carry the entire film when no aborigine child
actresses exist proves a challenge.

response 20 of 306:

Dec 30 17:05 UTC 2003

I saw The Last Samurai the day after Christmas.  It was very bloody, which
isn't really what I'm into.  The teenage boys I went with liked the blood a
lot.

It bothered me that we never really explained what the fighting was about.
Apparently it was because the Samurai were protecting their way of life,
much the same way the American Confederacy was.  I didn't see why we
couldn't find a comprmise and merge Samurai ideals with modern technology.

response 24 of 306:

Dec 30 17:56 UTC 2003

Todd slipped in - I was responding to twenex in #21.

response 26 of 306:

Dec 30 19:03 UTC 2003

Re: #23. So would I, but this is real life, not Star Trek.

response 28 of 306:

Dec 31 00:30 UTC 2003

There was a struggle between the Emperor adn the Samurai class.  The Samurai
had held the Emperor in awe for centuries, it also meant they held him as a
prisoner.  A ruler unable to rule without the consent if the Shogun, who was
the head samurai.

Finally the Emperor was able to thro off the protective yoke and take his
place as ruler.He forbade the samurai to do many of the things they had done
for centurieas,siezed their property, and created an army from peasants, who
had feared the samurai forever.  But it was his army, adn he coudl feel safe
from samurai cntrol.

response 30 of 306:

Dec 31 07:00 UTC 2003

I finally saw "WHALE RIDER"-- my five year old niece got it on DVD from
Santa this year and she loved it.  Santa has fine taste in movies :)  So
we watched it and I found it to be a wonderful movie, the story of a Maori
tribe in New Zealand struggling to reconcile its old ways with the modern
world. The story centers around an eleven year old grandaughter of the
Maori chief who believes deeply that it is her destiny, in spite of tribal
practices that forbid it, that it is her destiny to be the new chief.  A
very moving and uplifting movie.

The twelve year old girl the producers discovered to play the lead, Keisha
Castle-Hughes (remember that name) is just wonderful and is being pushed
to be the youngest person ever nominated for Best Actor or Actress.  I
hope she gets nominated, and "Whale Rider" deserves to be considered for
Best Picture.  The New Zealand scenery was just great too :)  

response 36 of 306:

Jan 2 19:03 UTC 2004

Mona Lisa Smile. (IF you haven't seen the movie, and plan to do so, 
skip this)

Watched Mona Lisa Smile last night. Chick flick, yes. Mushy and sappy, 
no. Starring Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst and a couple 
of other women that gave pretty good performances. Some men too, but 
they were more extras than anything else

Mona Lisa Smile is set in Wellesley College, a conservative women s 
university with the brightest female minds of the country. Here 
they re taught physics, pre-law, art history and a variety og highly 
intellectual subjects. And they re also taught elocution, poise, and 
how to be a good wife. The girls are expected to marry and raise 
families, never mind their own aspirations. Catherine Watson is the 
bohemian teacher from Oakland State, who comes here to make a 
difference, and teach these girls that there is more to life for a 
woman than marrying and raising a family. And that you can do both, if 
you have to.

The movie was interesting on many angles. The costumes were great. And 
the bright red lipstick seemed to be the norm of the day. Today, 
bright red seems to be sported mainly at parties and the like, very 
rarely in schools and businesses. But back in 1953, it seemed the most 
natural thing for women s lips to be blood red, never mind that it 
clashed with their clothes. Then you have the course where the girls 
are taught to be good wives, and mothers, for that is the  role they 
were born to fill . Divorce was frowned on, and all a woman had to do 
was appear to be happy. She s smiling, of course she s happy. (Hence 
the title   Mona Lisa Smile). 

While the movie s main thread was women s liberation and getting women 
to learn that they too can pursue careers, it did touch upon the fact 
that women s liberation is about equality, and the right to make the 
choice between home and work. And it s ok if she decides that a home 
and family are more important than law school. I m glad they touched 
upon that aspect of the whole issue, because too often it s overlooked 
when one considers what women s lib was all about. 

And what surprised me was that it was ok for a teacher to sleep with 
his student. While pre-marital sex, and promiscuity was frowned upon, 
it wasn t illegal for a teacher to sleep with his students. Though it 
was illegal in the State of Massachusetts for the school nurse to 
distribute condoms. Go figure. 

Watching the movie, I realize we ve come a long way in terms of 
women s emancipation. This really struck a note in the scene where 
Betty asks Joan if she has asked her beau if it s ok for her to go to 
Yale. I remember telling   not asking   my fianc  that I was applying 
to grad school and what my choices were. This movie explained why my 
mother was so concerned about what the fianc  had to say about my plns 
for further education.

The movie takes place in 1953-1954, exactly 50 years ago. It s 
heartening to see women come a long way in half a century. A lot of 
the sentiments displayed in the movie are still evident in present 
life in India, but I m hoping in another 50 years mothers won t have 
to worry whether their daughter s choice to go to grad school won t 
spoil her chances of a good match.

Technically, the movie could have been better. The transition from the 
student s derisive behavior toward their teacher to one of respect and 
admiration wasn t well defined. Joan s deciding to get married rather 
than go to law school (which was a good point to make) seemed 
incongruent with her character. And the last scene with Betty cycling 
along side the teacher s car with tears running down her cheek was so 
Bollywoodesque, it was almost laughable. Though not a great movie, 
this one is definitely worth watching, if only to learn how far 
womanhood has come in the last 50 years