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brian57039
Reviews
Never Been Kissed (1999)
great movie: i know 'cause i've been there!
I've seen this movie along with my wife many a time. I've thought it was a fantastic one because of the small sense of triumph it brought. However, I find myself skipping scenes because they remind me oh so vividly and painfully of my own trials and personal hell I went through at that age. Yes, I was treated very cruelly and sadistically by the lowlifes who were popular back in the day. I'm still recovering from a lot of it, and I'm 33! I doubt if I will ever fully recover! I read a comment from another user, who said that if someone is tortured and belittled long enough and severely enough, that the targeted person comes to believe it and that self-esteem can ultimately be destroyed. Whenever I hear about a tortured kid finally having had enough and killing their tormentor(s), I have absolutely zero sympathy for the deceased bully/(ies). I truly believe they deserved what was coming to them. These kids have nobody to turn to. Lord knows they can't defend themselves, much less win. It also doesn't help that they have absolutely no emotional support from their parents. I would not be surprised if there were a real-life instance that imitated the prank where the Barbie girls and their boyfriends were about to soil Leelee Sobieski's character with pet food. Here's what would happen: they would have succeeded in humiliating her. They get their jollies from making themselves feel good at the expense of someone else's dignity. Shortly thereafter, the popular oppressing kids are all either dead or crippled. The picked-on kid has had enough. I give kudos to the kid (or whoever fought back) and smile at the prospect of evil kids being killed so they can't hurt anybody else, ever again. They get what they deserve! I would have liked the movie a little better if there were more severe punishment for the characters played by Alba, Ladd, and Shelton.
The Karate Kid (1984)
Great movie....but I would have done things differently
This is a fantastic movie. However, I feel that the bad guys did NOT get enough pain and punishment that they deserved. I loved it when Miyagi foiled all the bullies by the chain-link fence. It would have been better if he had actually crippled or even killed one or a few or even all of them. I smiled at the prospect of one of the bullies being kicked in the crotch hard enough to ensure that he would never have children. Good move! Same guy was kicked in the leg and arm. It would have been great if either or both limbs were broken. I would have killed Johnny, slowly and painfully. I'm sorry, but in the real world, kids are killing kids. That's exactly what the bullies were trying to do to Daniel. They weren't beating him up. They were trying to kill him. I especially would have also liked to see Miyagi dump the sadistic Kreese in the garbage dumpster. The baddies are p***ed off at Daniel for surviving, and it shows. If you ask me, bullies get off far too easy in films. Just once, I would love to see the good guy kill the bad guy instead of just defeat him. Give the bully exactly what is deserved!
Heaven Help Us (1985)
How can you call this a comedy?!!!
This is anything but a comedy!! This was meant to be a farce, a funny movie about 1960s era Catholic school. What I saw was a realistic depiction of cruel, sadistic, and downright evil behavior. I'm talking about the clergy of the Catholic church!! They claim to be teaching the word of God; however, they are anything but "God"-ly. They are evil and seek to oppress, beat, maim, and ultimately destroy children by beating them verbally and especially physically!! This was only a film, but this serves as a painful reminder to anyone who dares try to stomach watching it depict real-life related scenarios of sadistic brethren, bully nuns, and sick priests who seek to keep innocent children down and under their thumbs. I really would have liked to have seen a different outcome for the epitomy of sadistic bully brother: Jay Patterson's character. All that happens to him is he is transferred away by Donald Sutherland's character. I would have liked to have seen the five boys (McCarthy, Geoffreys, Dempsey, Danare, and Dillon) gang up on brother Constance and beat the living hell out of him and maybe even (as slowly and as painfully as possible)kill Constance and send him straight to where he belonged! YES, there!! That low-down pig got far less than he deserved after he nearly killed McCarthy by hitting him extremely hard in the face and eye. I wish McCarthy would have done more damage to Constance than he did in retaliation. I would have liked to have seen him kick him and beat him several to many times in the torso area and really hurt him badly!!!! But no, all he got was transferred. That wouldn't fly today! For all you brethren and sisters in the Catholic clergy who pride yourselves on hurting children: Heed this! You hurt children long and/or hard enough, you not only can get hurt in defense, but WILL more than likely!!!!
Heaven Help Us (1985)
How can you call this a comedy?!!!
This is anything but a comedy!! This was meant to be a farce, a funny movie about 1960s era Catholic school. What I saw was a realistic depiction of cruel, sadistic, and downright evil behavior. I'm talking about the clergy of the Catholic church!! They claim to be teaching the word of God; however, they are anything but "God"-ly. They are evil and seek to oppress, beat, maim, and ultimately destroy children by beating them verbally and especially physically!! This was only a film, but this serves as a painful reminder to anyone who dares try to stomach watching it depict real-life related scenarios of sadistic brethren, bully nuns, and sick priests who seek to keep innocent children down and under their thumbs. I really would have liked to have seen a different outcome for the epitomy of sadistic bully brother: Jay Patterson's character. All that happens to him is he is transferred away by Donald Sutherland's character. I would have liked to have seen the five boys (McCarthy, Geoffreys, Dempsey, Danare, and Dillon) gang up on brother Constance and beat the living hell out of him and maybe even (as slowly and as painfully as possible)kill Constance and send him straight to where he belonged! YES, there!! That low-down pig got far less than he deserved after he nearly killed McCarthy by hitting him extremely hard in the face and eye. I wish McCarthy would have done more damage to Constance than he did in retaliation. I would have liked to have seen him kick him and beat him several to many times in the torso area and really hurt him badly!!!! But no, all he got was transferred. That wouldn't fly today! For all you brethren and sisters in the Catholic clergy who pride yourselves on hurting children: Heed this! You hurt children long and/or hard enough, you not only can get hurt in defense, but WILL more than likely!!!!
Imagine: John Lennon (1988)
John as human; no more, no less
Forget the unmistakable legend of the Beatles for about two hours! This one is entirely about John! I give kudos to the producers who show how this complex and fascinating artist was also a brilliant man and a wonderful human being with strengths as well as frailties! Just listening to and watching the people from John's life (his two wives and sons especially) as they talk about him clearly shows how much they not only loved him, but that they miss him terribly. I went out and rented this film for the first time in years last December around the 20th anniversary of John's cruel and senseless murder! I loved seeing him triumph over the crooked Nixon White House in the latter's attempt to deport him. I also had to smile when the so-called "lost weekend" was over and he was back with Yoko, which only got better with Sean's birth! I found myself touched by the scene where he tells the vagrant the truth behind his songwriting, and then invites him in for a meal. I never met John personally, but after seeing this film I felt like I knew him. By the time the film got to the footage of the Lennons walking in Central Park shortly before his death, I cringed when I heard John's recorded voice saying "...until I'm dead and buried; and I hope that's a long, long time". The slowed-down footage against the background music of the crescendo coda of "A Day In The Life" leading up to the tragic event was well-edited and made its desired impact (the glasses falling and shattering on the cement). Then the newsreel footage of the mourners from around the world. As a fan of John's, I didn't have to look at that footage for very long before losing my composure and feeling the profound sense of loss I felt years ago when it happened. In short, I cried long and hard. I won't give the son of a bitch who shot him the satisfaction of mentioning his name. He is the lowest form of life on earth, and this film does John justice by not giving any mention of his name either. Those who love John will love this film. It doesn't portray him as a big shot rock star! It portrays him as I think he wanted to be seen: as a vulnerable human being, just like us!