“In America” has a quality that isn’t seen in movies these days. It’s sappy but in the other hand it’s very genuine to the point where sappy is most welcome, it has a distinctly large knack for being so utterly convincing in its charm, grace and celebration of life. Surely that is what I’d best sum it up as: a celebration of life, and food for the soul and the heart. This is a film a family should watch together as we watch another family cope with what they have and with the cards they’ve been dealt in life. “In America” is the tale of the American dream that no one can grasp showing that the American dream is only that: a dream, a concept, something to reach for, and “In America” tells us that the American dream is something that’s in the eyes of the beholder. In this semi-modern tale, we meet an Irish family who trek to New York under the guise that they’re on vacation when really they’re there to live there.
Tag Archives: Romance
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
If you were to ask me right now which I prefer, British comedy or American comedy, I’d reply without a moment’s hesitation: British comedy. Uh-oh someone’s being unpatriotic! Think about it: they gave us “Monty Python”, “The Office”, “Coupling”, and inspiration for “All in the Family” and “Three’s Company” (and so much more), I love all British comedy because it’s just so utterly brilliant. Regardless, the British have comedy down to a tee, down to an art and theirs is subtle, so sharp and so unbelievably funny and sometimes weird, case in point: Shaun of the Dead. It’s quite obvious when watching this film that creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are not only pop culture buffs, but also horror buffs as they pay homage to the great George Romero with every aspect of a good zombie film, and yes there’s walking zombies, no runners here.
Duplex (2003)
I don’t mind dark comedies, I’ve seen a lot of them, some of them have been really good (Serial Mom, War of the Roses), and then there are the dark comedies that just shouldn’t be made (Death to Smoochy). “Duplex” is another one of them. With a plot right off of a sitcom, and with a script written with such a mean spirit and sense of disgust, we meet young couple Alex Rose (Ben Stiller) and Nancy Kendricks (Drew Barrymore). The two up and comers are nitpicking looking for a house. After a really cheesy set-up from director Danny Devito, the two finally stumble upon a really old but beautiful house which they discover has two floors and the second floor is being lived in by a little old woman Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel) who is a seemingly sweet lady but cannot be kicked out because she’s on rent control.
Monster (2003)
“Monster” is the biographical film and story of Aileen Wuornos, deemed the first female serial killer of Florida murdering five men from 1989 to 1990 who picked her up while she was a prostitute, attempting to get money without sex. Traumatized after being brutally attacked and raped, she no longer wanted to continue having sex for money and began killing the men who picked her up to support her lesbian girlfriend Selby. “Monster” is more of a tragedy than an actual biographical picture starring Charlize Theron who is basically stunning here transforming into the infamous serial killer who was executed on 2002. Theron is the most convincing actress to play Aileen Wuornos ever and really dives into the role of Wuornos. Here we witness not the birth of a monster, but the evolution of a monster, a woman who was always an outcast, always disliked, always abused, and always brought down, so inevitably she’s transformed into a ruthless killer.
King of the Ants (2003)
Director Stuart Gordon, the man who brought us the cult classic “Re-Animator” tells the tale of revenge in this low budget thriller about a young man named Sean Crawley, an out of work struggling man with no clue to his purpose or what he’s doing but takes any job he can get. After meeting a man named Duke in one of his jobs, Duke (George Wendt: Cheers) makes him a job offer. The details he gives him are vague and he seems to dance around what the job entails, but desperate, Sean agrees to meet with Duke’s boss Ray (Daniel Baldwin) a cocky self-assured rich man who tells Sean he wants a rival of his (Ron Livingston in a walk on role) followed. Sean agrees to tail his rival and proceeds to do so for a number of days until he’s approached by Ray to kill him and eliminate him as competition.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)
I liked “Legally Blonde”. I thought it was a very cute, very fluffy piece of comedy, I thought Reese Witherspoon was adorable for the most part and the characters were cute including Selma Blair whom played the resident villain, but “Legally Blonde” was based on a true story, and I really doubt this ever happened. The opening recalls the events of the first film through the three supporting female characters, Elle Wood’s friends, looking through a photo album, it’s sort of a sub-conscious message to the audience from the writers and director: “You liked the first film, right? well, this isn’t as good… but the first one was cute.”
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
In this charming flick for chicks, and basically any woman seeking entertainment in the fulfilling sense, Diane Lane off her successful Oscar nominated role in “Unfaithful” takes a much lighter approach this time around with this fun-filled satisfying romp worthy of watching. Based on the book from Frances Mayes, the charming Lane plays Frances, a woman who is basically a sort of socialite around the town, but her life is basically cut down when her husband (whom we never see) divorces her, leaving her for another woman. A wreck and with no clue as to what to do next, she moves into an apartment in a divorcee complex next to a man who sobs on a nightly basis. Her friends, a lesbian couple decide to give her a trip to Italy, she refuses not ready to get into the social scene yet, but much to her surprise, it’s a gay tour.