Review of Last Holiday

STORY: A department store employee finds out she is terminally ill so decides to live it up the rest of her days and take advantage of those things she has missed out on.

MESSAGE: Don't hold yourself back from finding and living the passion of your life.

WIN: Good performances. Funny. The protagonist managed to live in luxury, endulge in gourmet food and try an extreme sport but kept her high ethics level and faith in God. She also treated others with love and forgiveness no matter what they had done to her. Promoted the idea that spiritually one lives on past death.

LOSE: Promoted social drinking, but in all fairness did show chastisement for overindulging in liquor. The Senator and CEO were a bit one-dimensional (greed) but it served the purpose of the film.

EFFECT ON ME: Made me want to go out and eat some aesthetic exquisite cuisine. Made me look at the positive aspects of life and made me want to strive harder for my own goals. I walked out of the theatre laughing and so did others in the audience.

My Mother Endorses Positive Aspects of Family

In this day and age of advocating sanction of dysfunctional families, I challenge any screenwriter or filmmaker to capture the essence of what my mother so eloquently said about family in answer to the question, "In your life so far, what is the one thing for which you are most thankful?"
Answer: I am most thankful to have been born into the family that I was…because it was here that I learned about faith, morals, ethics, pride of country, how to make good choices, learned to love literature, music, art, drama, travel, education, self-worth and self reliance, and a sense of humor to tie it all together. I learned to judge people not by race, color or wealth, how to treat my fellow man, how to fill the different roles that I would have to play in this life…daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, niece, friend; how to cope with the hard times…illness, death divorce, lack of funds…and how to appreciate the good times and how to play. To sum it up, I learned to see beauty in creation and in people, how to be a child of the world and how to be one with the universe. Barbara Glazier

Sincerely,
Becky Mate

Analysis of Script by Saena Yi read 1-16-06

STORY: (permission not yet acquired to reveal story or title)

READING: At Alameda Writers Group (www.alamedawritersgroup.org) special interest group gathering.

MESSAGE: A suburban David can conquer a mean Goliath with enought determination.

WIN: Fun and funny (even the writer laughed throughout the reading). The writer showed us a supernatural ability I've never seen before. Refreshing change from dysfunctional -- one character had it totally together, was very able, had a strong sense of ethics and regarded his duty as paramount despite being in what others might stereotypically put down as a blue collar job, and brought honor to that job.

LOSE: Promoted drinking to have a good time (bar scene.) Slight mention of a therapist attempting to handle a fear -- saving grace was that the therapist failed. The main character's emotional arc went rapidly from apathy to enthusiasm without some natural pit stops such as anger.

EFFECT ON ME: I learned a lot about how to write comedy that works. I laughed a lot and was cheerful (as were others at the reading). It made me appreciate the honor I can bring to my day-to-day jobs and my life.

Sincerely,
Becky

Analysis as Well as Review

I attend an Alameda Writers Group special interest group where we read and then comment on an entire script. As well as doing movie reviews on films I see, I've decided to do an analysis (pre-review) on these scripts in regards their spirituality (common sense) factor. In this way, the writers can avoid those unnoticed pitfalls which turn off both readers and audiences.
Sincerely,
Becky

Review of Family Stone

STORY: Fiance goes home with future husband for Christmas and his folks disapprove of her marrying him.

MESSAGE: Only an appropriate fit in a relationship brings harmony.

WIN: A lot of honesty; people stood their ground. Most characters consistent within their emotional make-up. The comedic set-ups and pay-offs were very funny. Positive, loving family ending. Accepted idiosyncrasies as just that.

LOSE: Promoted drinking and pot as a solution to relaxing and getting over being uptight. Attempted to promote being gay as a positive thing, but did so by robbing the gays of negative traits which made them one dimensional. In other words, grouped black, deaf and gay together, a focal point on "the usual prejudices" but devoid of character. (Example - one gay guy's only trait was that he liked to cook.)

EFFECT ON ME: Made me value my family as a source of pride. Made me laugh. Made my husband think of how much he'd miss his mother if she were gone -- therefore raised his current appreciation of her.

Review of Cassanova

MESSAGE: True love means sacrifice, devotion, selflessness and is the only kind of love of lasting value.

WIN: Appreciation of womanly beauty was very charming. Very aesthetic cinematography of Venice. The multiple mistaken identity twists were very playful, as was the movie's overall tone.

LOSE: Incongruous honesty, goodness, cheerfulness in the main character, doesn't fit the profile of one promiscuous.

EFFECT ON ME: It rekindled an aspect of romance that I had forgotten about, which was the pure attraction to beauty that a man can have in harmony with a sex drive. This led me to greater admiration for men knowing that they can admire beauty. And I was able to conceive my own beauty.

(If you are wondering why I have "Effect on Me" as a category, it is because I am part of a movement of artists who produce "Effective Art." It is so named by the late visual artist and writer Bruce Gilham, Sr., because these artists care about the effect their art has on people.)

Sincerely,Becky

Review of Memoirs of a Geisha

MESSAGE: The pursuit and attainment of beauty, beautiful acts and appreciation of beauty are a feast for the soul. Unwavering intention toward a goal means it will eventually be realized.

WIN: Very aesthetic cinematography. Told where the term "geisha" comes from. Uplifting messages.

LOSE: Barely touched on the fact that disloyalty, promiscuity and breakage of vows carry with them unhappiness.

EFFECT ON ME: I bought a spray of Japanese flowers to decorate my apartment. I've been looking for beauty in the world since seeing the film.

Sincerely,
Becky

Welcome movie lovers!

You've been jarred out of suspension of disbelief by a lock picked in seconds, the DNA test miraculously back in two hours and other stretches of reality that defy common sense.
Worse are affronts to innate wisdom which leave you knowing something is wrong but being unable to put your finger on it. Hence this blog. Check weekly for a completely different analysis of aspects of popular movies, which may explain why those box office numbers went up or down.

Sincerely,
Becky