Reviews

I think most viewers miss the uniqueness of this film. Yes, it's a quintessential Adam Sandler comedy, and that is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. At the same time, Zohan is a marvelous parody about the life of Samson. Instead of dealing with the ancient Judge of the Israelites directly, the film modernizes Samson as Zohan, a virile Massad super soldier. Zohan is portrayed as an imperfect yet extraordinary soldier who can perform amazing physical feats. His Palestinian nemesis, Fatoush, is not unlike Goliath the Philistine.

Zohan sports long hair, but the issue of hair is not as simple as keeping it uncut. Instead, Zohan dreams of a peaceful life in which he can work as a hairdresser. Let me give the writers a high five: Too funny!! Zonhan falls for Dalia, a modern Palenstinian version of Delilah. Just think about The Book of Judges, Chapters 13 to 15, as you watch the film and chuckle the evening away.

Career Opportunities is a film worth a watch for a few key reasons. One reason is because the film is one of the last major projects of the great John Hughes. I wanted to take time out to watch this film recently because I never saw it when it was released back in 1991. I do not think I was ever aware of the film back then. As I watched the film, I asked myself why John Hughes chose to write and produce it. I think John wanted movie goers to explore the question, "How would his teenage characters, from films like "Pretty in Pink," "Sixteen Candles," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and "The Breakfast Club" feel about their lives and their prospects for their future after their high school years are behind them?"

The Jim Dodge character is like many memorable characters created by John Hughes: A handsome, witty, fast-talking, and extroverted charlatan. Unlike The popular and successful Ferris Bueller character, Jim Dodge doesn't fool most of the people in his life. People see through his charlatan antics and regard him as a disingenuous liar. Jim Dodge is also from a modest working class family. The Jim Dodge character is as engaging as the Ferris Bueller character, but he is not as funny or as entertaining to watch because his charlatan behavior is unsuccessful. Jim Dodge was not cool in high school, he doesn't have any friends his age, and he doesn't have a gorgeous girlfriend like the Sloane Peterson character from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." I think Hughes wrote the Jim Dodge character to represent the slacker stereotype of Generation X. The Jim Dodge character is in his early 20s, he lives at home, he has few job prospects, and he lacks tangible goals other than a general wish to be credible and successful.

The Josie McClellan character is strong-willed female lead who is similar to a lot of other John Hughes characters. Josie is an effortlessly beautiful young woman with a bad attitude. She believes her ideal high school experience means that her best days are behind her. She and Jim Dodge share a tremendous uncertainty about their futures, and they are both loners. Despite Josie's beauty and wealth, she feels as alone as Jim Dodge and she is also a slacker without clear goals. Jim and Josie find each other and bond within strange circumstances in "Career Opportunities." I think the film is really about how these two characters connect as fellow struggling Gen-Xers.

I think this movie failed to be a big hit because Hughes offers no clear answers for the Jim and Josie characters other than the idea that falling in love offers hope for both of their futures. The laughs are not frequent enough in the film and the music sequences are too numerous. The title of the film is also misleading. Regardless, this film is definitely worth a watch if you were born between 1966 and 1974.

Like all James Bond films, Skyfall provides great music, great acting, great international settings, and great action sequences. After so many of these films, it is a challenge for any writer to come up with something new. In Skyfall, I think the greatest aspect of the writing is the way in which the writers deal with the issue of age. M is old. Bond is middle-aged, and a new generation of the British Secret Service has risen to management and field positions. The issue of age was dealt with in earlier films like Thunderball and Never Say Never, but not to the same extent. In Skyfall, Bond is almost killed at the outset, and he looks beaten and exhausted through the rest of the film. There is a beautiful woman in Skyfall, but the 45 year old Bond character is no longer the aggressive stud we knew in earlier films. He also is full of physical and mental imperfections. In short, the writers let Bond become a middle-aged human being. Skyfall is different than all other Bond films because it is more of a survival story about two aging characters in a dangerous and unforgiving world.

This should be the last Bond film, but there is too much money to be made from additional sequels. Without any explanation, Bond is "reborn" with the death of M and once again fully capable of being the great spy.