DVD Reviews: 3 Holiday Picks

I’d like to state straight away that my sister picked these 3 DVDs for us to watch as a family over the New Year period. If you can’t guess what happens in these films and you don’t want to know, you might not want to read these.

Pick 1: The Terminal

Tom Hanks starred in this film, and carried the whole thing. Even Catherine Zeta-Jones was just a pretty face who cried a lot. The plot centres around Hanks character, who is visiting New York from a war torn Eastern European country which ceases to exist while he is in the air. Though he speaks no English, the officers at the airport spend a lot of time telling him slowly and loudly – in English – what the problem is. American arrogance on display. They won’t let him leave the airport, and he honourably rejects the few illegal opportunities they give him to slip out. He ends up living at the terminal for 9 months, during which time he gets a job renovating the terminal, sets up house, teaches himself English, and tries to win the heart of a flaky air hostess. We finally find out that he only needs to be in New York for a day to fulfil a wish of his late father. The war in his country ceases, he fulfils his task and the movie ends. The best bets of it for me were Hanks’ convincing portrayal of the man in a completely foreign environment, trying to understand things in his terms. His heartbreaking comprehension of the violence in his country, his loneliness and frustration, as well as his good nature and patience, are well portrayed by Hanks. See this movie if you’re a Hanks fan, otherwise give it a miss.

Official site



Pick 2: Raise Your Voice

This film is a Hilary Duff vehicle, and again, only for her ardent fans. The rest of us have to sit through her squeaky voice and a predictable story line for 2 sickly hours. She’s pleasant enough, and so is the film, which will no doubt appeal to teenage girls. Duff’s character is apparently a singing genius from a small town, who just wants to go to LA for the summer to pursue her dream at a prestigious music school. While her brother supports her wish, her father is not so keen. When he brother dies in a car crash, her mother and aunt hatch a plan to get her to the school in honour of her brother. Duff does an admirable job of portraying the grief she has for her brother. Things go along as you’d expect – our heroine gets to the school and finds it was harder than she thought it would be, falls in love, plays matchmaker, gains the favour of the cool teacher and eventually performs with her new boyfriend in front of an adoring crowd. Enter Dad, who is furious she has been at the school without his knowledge, but he is won over by her performance and all ends happily. This film was a bit of a chore to sit through, but I suppose I have to concede that Duff did a pretty good job with the limited material she had. Hopefully she will be given the chance to do better films.

Official site



Pick 3: Chasing Liberty

Mandy Moore is the teen idol taking centre stage in this film. Like “A Walk to Remember”, Moore benefits in this film from sharing the screen with a strong male lead (Matthew Goode – okay, maybe I just liked him because he’s British). She’s the president’s daughter, who can never go on a date without an army of guards, and he’s one of the said guards who fools her into thinking he’s just a good guy looking out for her. She runs away in Europe, he saves her from herself, they fall in love, she gets mad when his identity is revealed, and then she just happens to get a scholarship to Oxford so she can bump into him in London for the happy ending. The script is quite banal, but the European locations help to make things interesting. The best bits for me was when Ben (Goode) was trying to hide his affections for Amy (Moore) because of his position in the Secret Service. When he finally succumbs to his feelings and confesses his love for her, much of the dramatic tension is lost. This was a pleasant movie in parts, and probably my favourite of these three. One for the ladies or Mandy Moore admirers.

Official site

Movie review: A Walk to Remember

I saw this movie on the weekend. I had no idea what it was about as someone else had rented it. The first few minutes made me dubious about whether I would like it. Teens getting into trouble and all that. But soon afterwards we are taken on a wonderful, poignant, and heartbreaking journey. I just loved this film. I've got to admit I'm a sucker for these classic plots anyway - guy from the wrong side of the tracks, girl who believes in him, some terrible circumstance that will keep them apart. I love it when tough guys get gentle. But moving right along...

The film stars Shane West (Eli from Once and Again) as Landon and Mandy Moore as Jamie. Mandy does a good job, but her character is not as multi-faceted as Shane's. He was the stand-out performer for me. Entirely believable as a delinquent and as an earnest man in love. The rest of the cast is somewhat in the background, but fill the space well. The music is a mix of teen and Christian pop, songs by Mandy and also one written by Shane (although I couldn't figure out which one when I was watching it). The songs suit the moods well, and do a good job of illustrating Jamie's innocence.

The main reasons I loved this film are probably because I strongly identified with the female lead and was captivated by the performance of the male. The emotions feel very real (get your tissues ready for the second half). It's probably predictable to a cynic, but for those of us who go along for the romantic ride, it's brilliant. Rent it when you're next by yourself or in the company of other hopeless romantics.

Imdb

Official site