| Garden State(writer/director Zach Braff) : DVD Review by Majorie O'Keefe
| Main Characters of this independent film:
Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff; TV Show, Scrubs, etc.)
Samantha or Sam (Natalie Portman; Movies, Star Wars Pre-quel, Where The Heart Is;etc)
 Garden State. Andrew Largeman, a somewhat successful actor comes home after many years for his mother's funeral. He, after just getting off his anti-depressant medication, has to confront the past including his psychiatrist father(his father prescribed the anti-depressants to him as a young boy). He also reconnects with old friends as well as meets a quirky new friend, Sam, a young woman who helps him deal with his past.
Good movie, a kind of "cogitate your navel" movie. The movie centers around youngsters(at least to this reviewer) trying to figure life out: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
Natalie Portman steals the show; while ditzy in a way, she is disarmingly strong. She was in one of my favorite movies Where The Heart Is where she was abandoned by her boyfriend and had her babe in the Walmart, but learns to support herself and her child while in the end gets the guy.
In Garden State, she not only wins, but transforms the guy, Andrew. I think that what Garden State does is reinforce that all of us have a story in one form or another. Part of the story here is a dysfunctional family with a twist and a turn here and there. The movie didn't develop much of this, but they only had a couple of hours. I would have liked to see the father fleshed out a little.
The movie is definitely an anti-psychotropic drug film. It asks the question: Do we really need all those antidepressants? Like all movies, what happens is what the director and writers want to happen and that is truly a good thing about movies. Zach Braff, writer, director, and star (Andrew Largeman) did his job well. |
| Danger is everywhere for the Guard and other Soldiers in IraqNam by KT
|  The National Guard General who said "soldiers not in danger"(see July 27 article Open Mouth; Insert Foot Part Deux) is trying to recruit soldiers. Talk about out of touch. I mean, what a nut. Of course, they are always in grave danger. What is different is that they are living pretty good as soldiers go. In Vietnam for example, we were sleeping on the ground in the jungles, and eating C-rations; in Iraq, they are sleeping in barracks, using regular bathrooms, and eating hot food.
I think the thing that throws people is the constant media, the emails, and the phone calls. It is a little hard for those who care or think to discipher; in other words, folks don't know what to believe. But, when soldiers are on patrol they are the combat soldiers and they are in danger and can't tell friend from foe. This general is trying to get young people to enlist in the Guard by saying that soldiers in Iraq are not in danger. Give us a break, General! |
 Open Water, (Wow) was a very interesting movie and based on a true story. I had read about the movie and the speculation around what happened.
The story: This couple, on vacation and on a scuba diving trek on a tour boat ended up being left in the middle of the ocean.
Due to a series of miscommunications and a distracted or incompetent crew, the couple is-after only forty minutes underwater-accidentally left behind.
The movie is mostly about them "making it" ie., realizing what they need to do to survive when they are left behind by the tour boat. It looks like they have a couple of chances at ships but don't swim, etc.; then, they have this awful argument; In the midst of this drama, they blame each other for their situation by bringing up past disagreements.
(Do not read further, if you have not seen movie or DVD. Spoilers are in following paragraphs.)
They are out in the ocean; sharks surface from time to time; then, he gets bitten. Eventually, he dies, we think, she is cradling him.
There's a "knowledge flash" on shore with the incompetent tour boat crew; they realize that they have left the couple: they find their packs; the rescue starts, but it is too late. We assume he dies, the sharks get him again. The sharks are circling, the movie gives the impression they get her.
What fascinated me was how the writers or whoever came up with all the superfluous stuff, mostly out of a writer's head I surmise. For instance, a scene where they are in their room. She and her husband, a handsome guy, are in bed. He gets amorous, she finally says, "I'm not in the mood." He gives up easily. She says, "We could talk," he turns over, "No, we really better get some sleep." Men. Interesting that they would portray this as it really adds nothing to the story. I would have enjoyed it more had I not known so much about it already by reading a couple of long articles in the New York Times.
Adding to the mystery, according to actual accounts, they were literally within swimming distance of a big oil rig platform which the movie didn't mention. Then, the Australian government tried to put a spin on it. Is it possible they survived and wanted to disappear and so they staged the whole thing? Quite the mystery.
Jeremiah Leigh |  |  About A Boy. Pretty good. I had seen it before, but seemed to have more redeeming qualities this time.
Huge Grant plays himself, kind of a bumbling type; he gets royalties from a song his Dad wrote about Christmas-kind of clever how the writers came up with it. Consequently, he is not employed and fills his time mainly doing nothing. He discovers that a good way to meet women is to pretend to be a single parent.
So, the idea of having a child comes about: first a two year old he made up; and, then, down the road, he gets to know this boy, about 12 years old named Marcus. He's a smart kid, but his Mom is a loony tune and a flower child. She tries to commit suicide. The boy decides that to help his mom, he needs a backup; and, because he has met Huge Grant called Will, he goes after him for help and friendship.
In the course of the movie, Will (Hugh Grant) is transformed in an odd way. The boy, although very verbal, a nerd in a sense, is bullied by other kids, but incredibly resilient and shows Will the risks to life and relationships. Interesting, if you haven't seen it, might want to rent.
The Notebook. This movie stars James Gardner and Gena Rowland as husband and wife. As young people they are known as Noah and Allie. Noah comes from a poor family and Allie from a rich one.
James Gardner(Noah and Duke in the film) reads Gena's(Allie's) diary to her hoping she will remember her past. Rowland's character is suffering from senile dementia.There are plenty of flashbacks to the early 1940s(the couple's youth) and present-day North Carolina.
Noah(James Gardner) wrote poetry as a young man. Here is a quote from Noah in the movie: "Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences; and, once we did, something rare and beautiful was created."
The movie is in many ways a typical romance, but worth seeing. Quite a tear-jerker.
Jeremiah Leigh |
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