I hope the weather is nice wherever you may be. It̢۪s gorgeous here.
It̢۪s eighty degrees and sunny with a pristine blue sky that reassures
you that smog can̢۪t possibly be an option here---or ever again.
It̢۪s the kind of day where if there̢۪s a hole in the ozone layer and
it results in days like this, well, you don̢۪t want it to ever go
away. Global Warming be damned! Ok, that said, the husband just closed
up the house because he̢۪s hot and wants the air conditioner on.
Hmmmph. You just can̢۪t win, I guess.
Not much to ponder on today. Kind of lame, I know, but hell. That̢۪s
just me. Rented and watched two movies yesterday. I thought I̢۪d give
you the scoop on them, because hell, I̢۪ve always wanted to
disseminate my opinions on films to the masses, and now that I have the
option of doing so, I̢۪m going for it. As Vodkapundit
pointed out yesterday, life is short. This is one my things I want to
do before I dieâ€Â¦pfffft. I don’t care how lame it is in reality.
First, we have Bringin̢۪ Down The House with Steve Martin and
Queen Latifah. Not bad in all actuality, but as my film study/homeroom
teacher pointed out in high school, the editing of a film can either
make or break a movie. The editing in this one, wellâ€Â¦it broke it. Not
because the storyline didn̢۪t make sense, but because it wasn̢۪t
strong enough. The deleted scenes were on the DVD, and the reason for
this film̢۪s mediocrity became quite clear after watching them. To put
it simply, they shouldn̢۪t have been deleted. Here you have a film
that focuses on and makes fun of one of the touchiest topics we have
going on today: race. Whoever made this film chickened out. The edgy
scenes that actually said something interesting were deleted, and they
kept in the dumb scenes that played on tired stereotypes. How very
uncourageous. I can imagine it now: those scenes didn̢۪t play well to
the focus groups because they were things that struck a little too
close to home, the group responded badly, and they whacked them out
with a machete quicker than you can spit. I really do hate focus
groups. They suck the life out of everything. But, honestly, who needs
to see Joan Plowright (Lady Olivier to the uninformed) making blatantly
racist comments? Yes, yes, I know there are those
people out there, but somehow, I thought it was beneath her and over
the top. That said, however, the other gray lady of the film, Betty
White, was really quite funny when she came flying out of her house in
her nightgown, a bat in her hands, and said in a conspiratorial tone of
voice, “I thought I heard Negro being spoken out here!” or
screaming, “Mandingo!” when she comes across the Queen and Steve
pretending to have sex.
I̢۪d recommend it if you like safe films that have the ability to be
really funny and transform into comedy classics, but don̢۪t quite get
there. Lots of good jokes, and it really was funny, but it didn̢۪t
push the envelope, which, in this case, could have made it a better
film. In other words, it isn̢۪t Blazing Saddles, and it could have been.

The other movie of the night was Tears of the Sun.
Now, yes, it̢۪s predictable. Yes, it̢۪s another Bruce saves the world
flick, but hell, you̢۪ve gotta have a little fun every now and again.
I give it incredible kudos for actually switching the locale of the
world saving to Africa, with a plot that is relevant to some of the
things you hear on the news everyday with regard to that continent.
Coup d' etat's, child warriors, bloody dictators, tribal ethnic
cleansing. It̢۪s all there, and while some of it was handled with the
typical over the top “we’re here to do a job!” gusto that is so
common to any film centered around a group of American commandos, there
were some rather touching scenes as this uncovered territory became
charted. Rather interesting in all of its contradictions. There was
confusing character motivation, but it wasn̢۪t really a movie about
developing anyone̢۪s character other than Bruce̢۪s. As long as you
keep that in mind, it̢۪s not a bad way to kill a few hours. Keep an
eye out for Eamonn Walker who played Kareem Said on that fabulous train
wreck you can̢۪t turn away from, Oz.
This role was obviously below his terrific acting capabilities, because
it really didn̢۪t give him anything to do, but if it causes him to be
better known to the cats in Hollywood, I̢۪ll forgive him for it. The
man has the ability to scorch the screen. I sincerely hope he gets the
opportunity to do so sometime in the future. All right, kids. That̢۪s
all that̢۪s news here. Have a fantastic weekend. I̢۪m going to a drag
show this weekend, so I should have something interesting report on
Monday.
Keep cool and have a beer. Enjoy the summer while it lasts.

Posted by: Kathy at 02:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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