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The film ultimately is rather routine and boring. There were three likable characters in the film but by the end of the film I was apathetic to their plight. Predictable and missable. Kind of a weak rip-off of Bully, a grittier, tougher film.
The Forgotten: Julianne Moore's son dies in a plane crash along with five other children. After a long bout of depression, Moore is beginning to move on with her life. As she's taking this broad step, people begin to forget that she ever had a son including her own husband. She seeks solace in a the father (Linus Roache) of another of the crash victims. He too has forgotten his daughter ever existed but Moore helps him remember. Afterwards, the Feds beging chasing them. There's car chases, people being sucked out of buildings and disappearing into thin air and a bulletproof man. Are you confused? Well, if you even have the desire to see this film I really shouldn't tell you much more.
I will say that this was a really lousy film. The payoff to the film was hokey and silly. The script was painfully bland and insulting. It treated the audience as if they really couldn't see what was going on in the film. If your eyes were open, you could see what was happening. For instance, in one scene Moore and Roache are trying to locate the Bulletproof Man. The arrive at his house and find it devoid of life. All the furniture is covered with tarps. Roache: "There's no one living here." Moore: "Yeah, they just took off and left everything behind." Well no shit! If I may predict a sure-fire line from a professional reviewer, The Forgotten will surely be forgotten.
A Dirty Shame: There's a certain sense of freedom that comes with seeing an NC-17 film in the theater. Then there's the disappointment that comes when you question why it wasn't just rated R. That's beside the point, though. A Dirty Shame is what happens when a frigid woman named Sylvia (Tracy Ullman) takes a bump on the head and the resulting concussion causes her to become a sexual deviant. As it would be, there is actually an underground movement of concussed sex addicts led by their cultish leader, Ray Ray (Johnny Knoxville) who are out to sex up the entire city of Baltimore. Ray Ray has "magical powers" and feels that Sylvia is the key to introducing a brand new sexual technique. That's the premise of the film.
Absurd, you say? Hey, it's a John Waters film! You know, Pink Flamingos, Pecker, Cecil B. Demented, Cry-Baby and several other silly, perveted delights. If you have a sick sense of humor, you will love this salacious bit of celluloid. Just don't ask what a Hot Carl is.
DVD REVIEW: BAAAADASSSS!: This is the docu-drama about the making of Melvin Van Peebles ground-breaking, revolutionary film Sweet Sweetback's Baaadassss Song, a tale about a black man who was sick of cowtowing to the white man. It was the first film to have a black hero and became a sort-of mission statement for revolutionary groups such as The Black Panthers. The film was written, directed, produced and starred Melvin and also introduced Hollywood to his son Mario Van Peebles. Following in his father's footsteps, Mario wroted, directed and stars in Baaadasss! and proved that he is definitely his father's son.
Mario tells a compelling tale about his father's plight to overcome Hollywood sterotypes and to reshape the image of black people in movies. He's sick of black people being portrayed as servants and cannon fodder so he sets out on a mission to leave the perception in the dust.
Melvin will stop at nothing to get this film made, even at the expense of his family and his own health (the stress of making the film causes Melvin's eyesight to degenerate). Melvin struggles with finding financing and distribution for the film, clashes with unions and the law and nearly alienates everyone he loves for the sake of his heritage and his people.
I can't recommend this film enough. I was hestiant going into this film because Mario's track record in Hollywood is rather dull. With the exception of New Jack City, Mario hasn't made an impression on the cultural landscape until now. Perhaps it's because he lived what he filmed and as they always say, write what you know. His direction and the acting deserved more notice than what it got. The film was honored at several film festivals but never quite got the mass recognition it deserved.
All-in-all, I think it was one of the best films of the year. A must see.
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