This movie was all over the place. Frogs, ears, ski masks & bad teeth, kidnapping, plastic surgery, etc. It was hard not to ask "hey, what happened to the frogs?" a few times during the movie. The subject matter is very interesting, but to me the director tried to look at different aspects of the film, and then bring everything together at the end. For me, it didn't work. The connection linking Magrinho and Jader Barbalho appeared thin. There was no "a ha!" moment that I think the director was gunning for. I also did not like at all how the plastic surgeon was portrayed. It appears that he has done some revolutionary work in the field and has greatly helped some people recover from brutal crimes. To show him enjoying himself at his fazenda with his dog frolicking in the pool implies that he is taking advantage of the system and crushing the little guy for his own benefit. This man works hard. The evil is Jader Barbalho, not the doctor. Overall, this movie could have been split in two, one covering the kidnappings of São Paulo, the other the corruption of Jader. Combining them was a mistake.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Chicken Tikka Masala
(2005)
missed opportunity
7 April 2006
The plot for a movie such of this is a giveaway. How can you go wrong with a gay plot line and all the colors and music of India - a story like this writes itself. I'll watch most anything, but this was unwatchable. The sad thing is, the white folks are the most colorful in the film. Vanessa was a riot with a mouth like a sailor, and Jack was great eye candy, but everyone else was so boring. Saeed Jeffrey, who was exceptional in My Beautiful Landrette, did what he could but the story was so boring. The saving grace was really the background music, which made it OK to laugh at the film, instead of with the film, or not at all. There are many other better gay movies, ethnic movies, just plain movies. I give a lot of low budget movies a pass, but this shouldn't have been made, or should have been made by someone else.
Match Point
(2005)
What is all the hype about?
10 January 2006
I was flabbergasted in seeing this movie. There was good buzz - nominations for Scarlett! - but what a disappointment. The worst scenes in the movie either Scarlett or Jonathan in the shots, and the unwatchable scenes had only them; that scene in the café was one of the worst I have seen in years. The story line was so predictable - haven't we seen this over and over? The only reason I give this a three and not a one is the supporting cast. Emily Mortimer and her whole family were excellent, but particularly Emily. The scene in the opera box at the beginning of the film is an indicator of what a great actress she is. Scarlett cannot hold a candle to her, but Scarlett is blonde and wears tight clothing (in the rain, no less) to accentuate her boobs, and low and behold a Golden Globe nomination? Sad; Emily should have had that nomination.
Mona Lisa Smile
(2003)
standard Hollywood schlock, but miscast
27 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
entertaining, as long as you don't have to shell out $10, but Julia Roberts is terribly miscast. the rest of the cast is truly believable, but Roberts looks like she fell out of a 1990s reverse time capsule and landed in the 1950s. Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent, particularly so. Ginnifer Goodwin is particularly good as well, but the rest of the cast, although believable in the 1950s, is blah. And why is Julia Stiles riding her bike with the taxi at the end? Her last moments with Roberts before this moment are hardly inspiring. The whole thing is formula tic, but I guess that is OK. No one is expecting earth-shattering material when Julia Roberts is involved, but the movie would have been infinitely better without Roberts and with better editing at the end. Dominic West is nice eye candy.
Touch of Pink
(2004)
close but no chemistry
17 January 2005
this movie had tremendous potential, following a standard line along the lines of THE WEDDING BANQUET, but the chemistry amongst the actors is dreadful. ALIM and GILES have no chemistry at all - each kiss looks absolutely tortured, and I thought the mother was terribly cast. if you've seen other ethnic English films this will leave you flat. the Cary Grant story was great, but everything else was blah. there are much better films out there. even though I seek out gay films, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM and EAST IS EAST and MONSOON WEDDING are far more entertaining than this mess if you are looking for the ethnic-family-surviving-in-England story.
Winged Migration
(2001)
Impressive, but some obvious flaws
16 June 2003
The cinematography is impressive, but the music is tortuous after a while. It is like listening to 2 Enya CDs back-to-back. And when the birds are flying with the globe in the background, you wonder well if this is fake, what else is fake. Could have been much better without being so schmaltzy.
The Good Thief
(2002)
what the hell was that?
13 April 2003
What a horrible film. I had no interest in any of the characters, the filming was loaded with cliches (a casino in monte carlo?), and Nick Nolte mumbled his way through the entire movie, looking more like the elephant man than anything else. A complete waste of time.
Real Women Have Curves
(2002)
refreshing
25 November 2002
This movie was refreshing and enchanting. Not only is this a movie about women who never have starring roles, it is about LATINAS, heavy latinas at that, facing day-to-day challenges. The characters have so much depth to them - Ana's sister could generate her own series she has so much going on. I can't recommend this movie enough.
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