Change Your Image
maxie-14
Reviews
Reunion (2001)
High School revisited something we can all relate to.
I saw this film in NYC at the Avignon Film Festival, and had the chance to meet about 95% of the cast. There was also a very informative Q&A afterwards. People got to ask questions and got the story behind the making of this film. There appeared to be a natural like between the cast members and it comes through in the film.
I think anyone who has gone back to a high school reunion will find someone or something they can relate to. This group of friends try to reconnect after 20 years, some have moved on but some are still in the same town. Have they really changed or become what everyone expected? The cast was great, you could see how their work on making their characters real paid off.
I enjoyed every performance, but the ones that stood out for me were:
Judd Rainer as Mindy, getting a divorce from her high school sweetheart on the day of the reunion, now that he is success and needs a "newer/younger wife", I found Ms. Rainer very much like a young Grace Kelly/Meryl Streep and am looking forward to seeing more of her talent.
Jennifer Rubin, as Jeannie, the world famous photographer who no one remembers as the "nerd". It was great to see Jennifer get a role where she can show what she can do with the right script and great directing. I also got to talk to her and what a funny, smart woman/actress she is along with being very beautiful.
Billy Wirth as Brad, the "Golden Boy", the one every girl wanted to date and every guy wanted to be, now driving a public bus in San Francisco, not quite the success everyone expected,including himself. Billy Wirth showing almost a "self image", seemed very comfortable in the role,and very natural. It was nice to see Billy doing a change of pace,very comfortable in his role and another plus for his fans he lives in the end.
I would recommend this film to men & women, everyone will be able to relate to the love/hate situations. I am sure we all were one of these characters in one way or another.
Last Lives (1997)
Time Travel Hits A Wall
Being a time travel fan I was disappointed in this film for a few reasons. I think the director could have thought out his ideas a little more, and the script, I had a feeling some of it was lost along the way. The actors needed more direction and input than they got.
I liked the ideas of the bracelet bringing people back from the dead, the trouble was the wrong characters kept getting brought back.
Jennifer Rubin is a gifted actress and the director and the writer did not help her at all in this film. She seemed confused and lost in a hopeless plot.
Billy Wirth did what he could with what was given to him in the writing and direction. It would be hard for any actor to pull off more than he did with this script. I know many Billy Wirth fans and women in general are still wondering why any normal woman would have a problem deciding between Wirth and Howell???
For the most part I liked the special effects it was the writing and length that killed me, I wanted to stop the film cut the car chase by 30 minutes and move on. Someone had a good idea but it went very wrong somewhere along the way.
Not a bad popcorn movie, will probably end up on peoples "films we hate but want to watch".
Children of the Dust (1995)
Great Cast, Great Scenery, Great Performances
I am a big fan of this film and found the TV mini series "Children of The Dust", the version fans should look for. At least 20 minutes or more are cut on the DVD version of this film.
I would also suggest viewers who enjoyed this film to check out the book there is a more rounded storyline with Corby/Whitewolf and Rachel, more on Black History and Buffalo Solders. There were two many storylines for the series or this film.
Sidney Poitier only shows he gets better with age, the talent just keeps growing the chemistry between his character of Gypsy Smith and Regina Taylor were wonderful viewing. I also enjoyed the Billy Wirth/Joanna Going storyline, they seems to play off each other well.
Billy Wirth is of course the "Model of Indian Vision". The look, the attitude, the dream of every woman who was wanted to be carried off in one of those romance novels by a native hero. Worked for me also.
Much more could have been done with this storyline but it did give the viewer a brief glimpse of racial problems back in the 1880's, white take over of native schooling, lack of Black pioneers to setup towns in the west. Michael Moriarty (Maxwell) as always a great actor comes across as a very caring and confused teacher, not sure if the "whites" should be interfering with native culture.
For anyone who enjoys characters and watching them change this film is for you. I thought the chemistry between Poitier's character and that of the orphan Whitewolf very moving and thought Wirth and Poitier worked very well together. Billy Wirth did some of his best scenes when working with Poitier.
Going got on my nerves sometimes when you want to just stop and shake her or give her a " wake-up and grown-up" call. But on the whole it was a great evening of entertainment.
Look for the two tape version of this mini series if you are a fan you will really see the difference.
MacArthur Park (2001)
I saw this film at Taos Talking Picture Festival April 2001
I saw this film in April 2001 after waiting over two years. Co-running a fanclub site for Billy Wirth, we have been waiting to see this film finally make it to the screen.
As a take it or leave it Hip Hop - Rap fan, I was blown away by the soundtrack. I felt the music blended and pulled the movie together, it set the pace and took the viewer on a roller coaster ride.
As a heavy duty movie viewer for over 30 years I thought the ensemble cast was extraordinary, with faces many of us will try and place from other films, television, etc.. I was truly amazed to see the performances that Billy got the cast to reveal. It is an intense film and subject matter but with a sense of family, for not giving up on family, or yourself. To see pass the weaknesses that we all share, that with love and faith in each other you can triumph.
I am no expert by any sense of the word but the camera work and the way Billy broke the tension more than once to keep the movie viewer from going over the edge was great. I feel Billy Wirth has found his calling behind the camera and am looking forward to what else he has up his writing/directing sleeve.
The performances of Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Carlton Wilborn, Keno Deary, Ellen Cleghorn were special to me. I look forward to more work from these gifted actors.
I also feel the movie forces the viewer to look inside themselves, to experience another world that many of us don't know and refuse to see. The addict, the homeless, they could all be us. That they do have faces, names, families and souls.