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m_a_a_n
Reviews
Little Women (1994)
Jo is one of my fave characters... and Laurie! Cutie!
SPOILERS When I first saw this movie with my mom in 94, I instantly fell in love with it. Since then I have fallen in love with Alcott's follow-up book, "Little Men" which was made into a short-lived tv series.
Jo is one of my favorite literary characters because of her attitude and views of life. Like her, I am fairly outspoken, I love writing "fairy stories" (as the mean editor on the movie said), and I feel the same way about life and love as she did.
Winona Ryder was a different Jo than others I've seen, but she portrays a different side of Jo that you don't really see with the others. She's a confused, angry, lovely, awkward you girl just like real people.
Christian Bale is a miraculous Laurie. In other movies, Laurie seems like a grown-up before he is, and is so sure of himself, has no real complaints on how he lives, and is a perfect gentleman. Christian Bale shatters that image in this movie. He is stubborn, makes mistakes, makes complaints, and you can see his emotions through his eyes. The words he says and how he says them when he proposes to Jo still pulls at my heart. And after Beth dies and Amy is alone in the park and he comes to see her - I only wish I knew someone who cared about me like that! He's so sweet! I enjoy watching Christian Bale so much that yesterday I watched Little Women just because of him. I also watch Swing Kids, Empire of the Sun, and Reign of Fire (great job in that one!) just because he's in it.
Claire Danes as Beth is perfect. She is a natural beauty, but she acts in such a way that you see inside her more than just what her face looks like. Her acting in her last scene is impeccable, and I want to cry every time I see it.
The only thing I wish was really different was that we could see Mr. March more after he comes home. We only see him that scene and once at Meg's wedding and a small time at the end. He hardly speaks, but he was a big part of the March girls' lives.
All around, this is one of my favorite movies ever! I recommend it to anyone who likes period dramas with a bit of love and even some comedy.
Swing Kids (1993)
Love the Movie with All My Heart!
One of the basic reasons I like this movie is because it was one of the first movies I watched with my older brother that we both enjoyed. I don't have a lot in common with him, but this one movie opened up lots of opportunities for other movies.
Other than that, I love this movie for its unique point of view. We always get the movies like Saving Private Ryan or Pearl Harbor, which are very important stories in themselves (and good movies of course) but how often do we get a movie about people who were part of the war from the beginning. people that didn't necessarily have a direct threat, but were still greatly affected. The story of Peter and Thomas and Arvid are wonderfully done. Peter is the kind of person any girl would like. Thomas, the rich brat that speaks his mind too much, helps put internal conflict in the group. Arvid seems to be the voice of reason, seeing what the Nazis are doing and doesn't want to be a part of it.
The acting is great, of course. Peter, played by Robert Sean Leonard, is portrayed as soft spoken, confused, and even a little bitter. Thomas, played by the beautiful Christian Bale, is the kind of people that drive me nuts - just "go along with it. We can have it both ways." It is virtually impossible to have it "both ways." The guy who plays Arvid is a lovely actor, obviously talented, and shows emotion so well you'd think he went through this himself. The history of the movie might be a little tweaked to make a few interesting scenes, but to see what the Nazis were doing to the youth of their country, brainwashing them and telling them to spy on people, is appalling. No wonder a few former Nazi soldiers still think they were right.
The music is like a whole nother character. This movie is what really got me to enjoy listening to swing music. Even though I can do very few steps, I realize now the feeling they got when they heard it and I get the same feeling, just not quite as strong probably.
All around, this movie is wonderful. I love showing it to my friends, and it is very interesting and jerks at your emotions.