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moorthyr
Reviews
Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008)
Bizarre conitnuation of the story
I am a big fan of LM Montgomery and her Anne books. The first two movies were faithful enough to the books (with some creative license taken), but the next two (AGG: The Continuing Story, and this one) are a bizarre detour with all sorts of fundamental changes from the books. Why? I won't even waste your time with all the weird changes, but Kevin Sullivan butchered this movie, and while Shirley Maclaine is a revered actress, she was wooden in this movie.
If you like the books even a bit don't waste your time with this (in fact, don't waste your time even if you don't know the books, it is a weak movie, no matter what).
I'm Reed Fish (2006)
Excellent movie, charming performances, gets better when you watch it again
I stumbled on to this on my Netflix "instant play" feature as something to watch. The Netflix rating system told me I'd like it, and they were right! So much so that I'll probably buy it soon.
The coming of age love story watches the goings-on of Reed Fish, a "literal" big fish in a small town who has a daily radio show he inherited from his dad. The slam dunk in this movie is Schuyler Fisk's performance and music. She's incredibly engaging. Her music is wonderful. Jay Baruchel, as the title character Reed, and Alexis Bledel, as his fiancée, do an excellent job.
Some reviewers trash this film for various perceived ills - being rough around the edges - the seeming improbability that two attractive women(Schuyler Fisk and Alexis Bledel) would fall for Reed, - the sometimes stinted dialogue - the complicated story-in-a-story
But they are completely missing the humour and the point. Reed Fish is a big fish, pun intended, in this little town, and spends his days solving problems for his listeners and otherwise operating as a pillar of his community despite his youth - its meant to be a little weird, I think. There are many moments where the movie laughs at itself for all these "flaws", which I'm sure were engineered in in part to mimic reality. Do yourself a favor - suspend reality for a moment and enjoy it for what it is - a delightfully engaging, charming romantic comedy with a few twists.
Finding Forrester (2000)
Well-written and acted movie.
What a nice movie. Great plot, nice character development, and moments of brilliance. To be sure the story of a prodigy and brilliant but sometimes reluctant mentor has been told before, but this story is a unique and interesting take on the subject. Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is a writing prodigy. His journey makes for riveting stuff.
Strengths of this movie? I love the depth to Jamal's character - he portrays the inner conflict the character feels without over-acting or unnecessary melodrama. The relationship with Forrester (Sean Connery) is a thing of beauty, in large part because Connery is (as usual) wonderful.
Downsides? Well, not any major ones in my opinion. You can nitpick almost any movie to death, but this movie is solid.
In the end, its strengths are great, its weaknesses are minimal, and the memorable touches here and there (moments of beauty between Forrester and Jamal, Busta Rhymes as Jamal's brother, and some beautiful quotes) make this a winner!