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Directed by James Cameron, this film is part of the line of what can be imagined and still apply to reality.
The movie is more or less about connecting, or becoming one, with the earth/environment. Deciphering good from bad, right from wrong. When to take sides and why. Seeking the truth. A beautiful race of people, beautiful creatures, a beautiful language, a beautiful environment...but we come into their lives with greed, want, and anger, which ultimately leads to the destruction of beauty and everything pure. Sound familiar...trust me if nothing happens to our planet, it will.
The creatures in this movie move with lifelike grace, it is amazing really. In the beginning of the film the people/creatures were a bit jerky, but as the movie moved along the movements became more clear...and rarely can you make weird, animated sex hot. The art direction and animation were amazing, the setting, the spirits, the environment.
The movie was sort of lame beginning, but as it developed you got into it and wanted to find out what was going to happen next. The plot was a little predictable, but the way it was directed equaled it out.
This is a great excuse for a political movie, because it appeals to a large audience, kids, teens (like me), and adults, and it stills sends a message. It slips the message into your conciseness, without you really realizing it, but it will be there.

Garden State

A journey of broken relationships. Life, love, want, drugs, and blame. Written and directed by Zach Braff, this film is about growing up. Zach Braff plays Andrew who is a wannabe actor still trying to figure out what to do with his life. He has absolutely no connection to anyone, he is numb. Natalie Portman plays Samantha (Sam) who is an original, outgoing liar with epilepsy.
Andrew ends up back in his hometown, which he has been trying to avoid, due to his mothers death. He runs in to some old high school "friends" and he briefly relives his high school years. Samantha and Andrew run into each other in a neurological clinic and...she opens his eyes.
All of them slowly become a dysfunctional family. They all want something in their lives to be fixed for them, but they realizes that they have to fix it themselves.
It is hard for me to write movie reviews for these types of films. I get so caught up in the thought of the movie, how I can relate to it. I think we all have something in out lives that is dysfunctional, that we want to be fixed, but eventually we are going to have to fix it ourselves.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

This film is a glimpse inside the imagination of a middle aged man, played by Mathieu Amalric, who has had a stroke. A look at his reality. The film is directed, by Julian Schnabel, and written, by Ronald Harwood, as a steady stream of conciseness and images, therefor I am going to write this movie review as an ongoing thought. This is not going to be edited*, for the reason I just explained.

Images, beautiful images, drifting in and out of life, of reality...his reality, humor and grief, sadness, disappointment, through the known and unknown, dreams and nightmares, life and death, the life he didn't want- doesn't want, memories, human, inhuman, alienation, humiliation, longing, peace, disgrace, beauty, understanding, misunderstanding, distraction, denial, unwilling, constant, fear, love, acceptance, sympathy, existence, nothing and everything, home, thought, departure, lose, process, something more, split, passage, release, resurrection, darkness, light, journey...

His reality.

*spelling was edited
**based on a true story

Precious

Hm. Beautiful...beautiful. Cinematography, directing, acting, everything. Mo'Nique and Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe probably give the best performances. Their characters are both abused in a way. Gabby's character, Precious, physically and sexually, and Mo'Nique's character, Mary, mentally...jealousy. Mariah Carey, a social worker, surprisingly also gives a good performance (for once).
This movie is about recognizing who we are, what we can do, what we can accomplish, and why we have to push ourselves. There is nothing that can describe this film but the film itself. Go see it.

Precious. She is beautiful. She is precious.

Winter Films 2009

These are a list of films that I recommend this winter, and films that I highly don't recommend.

Recommended:

• Precious
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Pirate Radio
• The Road
• Broken Embraces
• Brothers
• The Imaginariam of Doctor Parnassus
• Sherlock Holmes
• Avatar
• Salt
• Fix
• The Fourth Kind
  

Not Recommended:

• Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squekuel
• The Men Who Stare at Goats
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon
• Planet 51
• Old Dogs
• The Princess and the Frog

Antichrist :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews

Antichrist :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews